The leader was Prince Nikolaevich Nikolaevich Sr. Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Romanov (senior). The career rise of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich

Grand Duke, son of Nicholas I and younger brother of Alexander II, military leader, commander-in-chief of the army on the Danube during the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878.

Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich the Elder prepared for a military career from childhood. At the age of 8, he was enrolled in the 1st Cadet Corps, with which he underwent annual camp exercises, but received his education at home. In 1846, the young Grand Duke was enlisted as a second lieutenant of the guard. He quickly moved up the ranks and already in 1852 received the rank of major general. In the same year, V.Kn. Nikolai Nikolaevich the Elder became inspector general for engineering. In 1854-1855 he spent some time at the disposal of Prince M.D. Gorchakov and participated in the defense of Sevastopol, including the Battle of Inkerman. In 1856, the marriage of the Grand Duke and Princess Alexandra Petrovna of Oldenburg took place.

The Grand Duke had a hard time coming to terms with the changes that began to occur during the accession of Alexander II. He did not sympathize with the reforms and revered the memory of the late Nicholas I. However, he did not exercise influence in political matters.

In 1862, V.Kn. Nikolai Nikolaevich the Elder was appointed commander of the Guards Corps and chairman of the commission for improvements in the military unit (in the same year, renamed the Committee for the Organization and Education of Troops). Thus, from the beginning of the 1860s, the Grand Duke began to play an important role in combat training and military transformations of the Russian army. His position was strengthened by his appointment as commander of the Guard troops and the St. Petersburg Military District (in 1864, due to the abolition of the Guards Corps) and inspector general of cavalry. All those who served under the Grand Duke. Nikolai Nikolaevich considered him to be an unusually attentive, easy-to-treat and even-tempered boss.

The family life of the Grand Duke gradually began to crack. Since 1865, he was in a relationship with the artist of the Krasnoselsky Theater E.G. Numerical, with whom he lived almost openly. They had four children. The fifth daughter Galina died in infancy. Rumors about their connection threatened the prestige of the imperial house, and in 1875 Chislova was expelled from St. Petersburg to Wenden (Livonia province), where she was under public police surveillance. Only with the accession of Alexander III were the Grand Duke and his mistress able to reunite. In 1883, their children were granted the surname “Nikolaevs” and the dignity of nobility.

The pinnacle of the Grand Duke's career was the post of commander-in-chief in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. This appointment took place on November 1, 1876. However, on December 8, the Grand Duke felt severe pain in his stomach. Only in January 1877 did Nikolai Nikolaevich feel better, and a month later he was already quite healthy.

General N.N. was planned for the role of chief of staff of the commander-in-chief. Obruchev, however, V.Kn. Nikolai Nikolaevich flatly refused to work with the general, suspecting him of liberal sentiments. The Grand Duke chose generals A.A. as his assistants. Nepokoichitsky and K.V. Levitsky. Most contemporaries and historians recognize this choice as unsuccessful.

The role of the Grand Duke as commander-in-chief during the war of 1877-1878 is assessed rather ambiguously. Due to the failures, strong dissatisfaction with the commander-in-chief and his staff spread in the army. After the failure of the third assault on Plevna, the Grand Duke expressed the idea of ​​retreating beyond the Danube and postponing the campaign to 1878, but this decision was not made. The campaign continued and brought long-awaited success, but the influence of the commander-in-chief on the course of hostilities was already insignificant. Despite the overall unsuccessful command, it should be noted that V.Kn. Nikolai Nikolaevich the Elder entrusted responsible operations to talented commanders, generals M.I. Dragomirov and I.V. Gurko.

At the end of the war against Turkey, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich received the rank of Field Marshal. Even during the campaign of 1877-1878, Nikolai Nikolaevich’s relationship with his nephew, who became Emperor Alexander III in 1881, deteriorated greatly. The influence of the Grand Duke on military affairs in the 1880s was insignificant and was mainly limited to chairmanship of various commissions, leadership of maneuvers and inspectorate duties in the cavalry.

The Field Marshal's health had deteriorated greatly after the war of 1877-1878, and he spent a lot of time abroad for treatment. In 1889, when Chislova died, the state of the Grand Duke. Nikolai Nikolaevich’s condition worsened sharply, and signs of mental disorder began to be noticed. The following year, 1890, after large maneuvers in the vicinity of Rivne, the Grand Duke suffered a nervous attack. He was transported to Alupka. On April 13, 1891, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich the Elder died after a serious long illness.

Nikolai Nikolaevich (07/27/1831-04/13/1891), leader. prince, third son of the emperor. Nicholas I. Received a special military engineering education. Participated in the defense of Sevastopol, served as inspector general of cavalry and engineering troops. During the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-78 he was commander-in-chief in the European theater of operations, for which he was awarded St. George. Order of the 1st degree and the rank of field marshal.

Materials used from the site Great Encyclopedia of the Russian People - http://www.rusinst.ru

Nikolai Nikolaevich (Senior) (VII.27.1831 - IV.13.1891) - Russian Grand Duke, third son of Emperor Nicholas I, Adjutant General (1856), Field Marshal General (1878). Received military education. He began his service in 1851 in the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment, and from 1852 he commanded a brigade of guards cavalry. In 1852 (actually from 1856) - 1891 - Inspector General for Engineering. Since 1855 - member of the State Council. At the same time, since 1856 - head of the Guards Cavalry Division, since 1859 - commander of the Guards Reserve Cavalry Corps, since 1861 - commander of a separate guards corps. In 1864-1880 - commander of the troops of the guard and the St. Petersburg military district and at the same time in 1864-1891 - inspector general of cavalry. During the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878 - Commander-in-Chief of the Danube Army. He was a very limited person. He did not possess the abilities of a military leader and his influence on the course of military operations was mainly negative (in particular, during the failures at Plevna). After 1880, being sick, he actively participated in the war. did not take control.

A. A. Zalessky. Moscow.

Soviet historical encyclopedia. In 16 volumes. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1973-1982. Volume 10. NAHIMSON - PERGAMUS. 1967.

Grand Duke

Nikolai Nikolaevich the Elder (unlike his son Nikolai Nikolaevich the Younger - Grand Duke (Romanov, third son of Emperor Nicholas I. Born on July 27, 1831. His initial education was carried out from 1838 under the leadership of General A.I. Filosofov. For practical purposes familiarizing himself with the duties of military service, the Grand Duke studied for several years with the cadets of the First Cadet Corps. On July 1, 1846, he was promoted to ensign. He was promoted to officer and awarded the rank of lieutenant the following year, and in 1848 the captain was not stopped his activities in the corps, although by 1850 he already commanded a battalion of cadets. The Grand Duke began active military service the following year as the commander of a division of the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment. In 1852, with the rank of major general, he was enlisted in the retinue and appointed general -inspector of engineering, as well as brigade commander in the First Light Guards Cavalry Division.

With the beginning of the Crimean (Eastern) War of 1853-1856. Nicholas I sent the Grand Duke along with his brother Mikhail to the active army. Nikolai Nikolaevich arrived near Sevastopol on October 23, 1854, on the eve of the Battle of Inkerman and took part in it. While under heavy enemy fire, he showed courage and valor, for which on November 7 he was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree. From January of the following year he supervised engineering work, fortifications and batteries in the northern part of Sevastopol.

The death of Emperor Nicholas I (February 18, 1855) forced the Grand Duke to return to St. Petersburg. On March 27, his elder brother, Emperor Alexander II, appointed him a member of the State Council. In the same year, he was engaged in engineering and defensive work near Vyborg in Finland, in Nikolaev on the Black Sea coast and in Kronstadt. He worked on the restructuring of the Russian armed forces, especially in the field of engineering and cavalry service. In 1855 he became an honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

On January 25, 1856, Nikolai Nikolaevich took up his duties as inspector general of the engineering unit. On the same day he received the rank of adjutant general. On August 26, the Grand Duke was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed head of the guards cavalry division. In 1859, Nikolai Nikolaevich became commander of the Guards Reserve Cavalry Corps, and a year later, with the rank of engineer general, he became commander of a separate Guards Corps. From 1864 he served as inspector general of cavalry.

As a member of the reigning dynasty, he was quickly promoted and occupied key command and administrative positions in the state. At the age of 38, the Grand Duke was appointed commander of the guard troops and the St. Petersburg Military District, inspector general of cavalry, retaining all his previous positions and ranks. During these years, reforms took place to radically transform the army. They also affected the troops under the command of the Grand Duke, which had a particularly positive effect on the cavalry units.

When in the fall of 1876 the inevitability of war with Turkey became obvious, Emperor Alexander II appointed Nikolai Nikolaevich commander-in-chief of the Danube Army. On November 23, the Grand Duke arrived in Chisinau and began work on concentrating the army and preparing to cross the Danube. On June 10, he was present at the crossing of the 14th Army Corps of General Zimmerman, and on June 15, he led the crossing of the Danube at Sistov, for the successful completion of which he was awarded the Order of St. George, 2nd degree.

During the war of 1877 - 1878. was the commander-in-chief of the army operating in the European theater of war. Occupation of Tarnovo by the detachment of General I.V. Gurko prompted the Grand Duke to go with his main forces to the Balkans, but the unsuccessful assault on Plevna stopped the further advance of the Russian army. On July 18, during the second assault on Plevna, the scattered frontal onslaught of Russian forces from the east and south was repulsed by the Turks, who had a powerful defense system. Russian troops lost over 7 thousand people and were forced to go on the defensive in the Balkans. In early August, the Turks launched an assault on Shipka. Despite the large superiority in forces, the Turkish army was unable to capture the Shipka Pass. In the battles from August 9 to 14, the Russians and Bulgarians lost about 4 thousand people, the Turks - about 7 thousand.

On August 22, Russian troops began the assault on Lovchi. It was defended by an 8,000-strong garrison led by Rifat Pasha. The assault on the fortress lasted 12 hours. The fall of Lovchi eliminated the threat to the southern flank of the Western Detachment and allowed the third assault on Plevna to begin. On August 25, a military council was held in Gorny Studn. Most senior commanders spoke in favor of an immediate assault, recognizing the siege as impossible and threatening to drag on until winter. Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich took the side of the majority and set August 30 as the day of the assault. This was the bloodiest battle of the entire war. The siege troops numbered up to 85 thousand people, including 32 thousand Romanian troops. On August 30 and 31, the bloody battle continued. Osman Pasha threw all his reserves against the units that broke through. The Russian command did not support the attacking battalions with its reserves, and the Turks repelled the assault. Russian troops lost over 12 thousand people, allied Romanian units - another 3 thousand. After this failure, Commander-in-Chief Nikolai Nikolaevich proposed to withdraw beyond the Danube. He was supported by a number of military leaders, but the emperor spoke out sharply against it, and it was decided to proceed to the blockade of Plevna.

In the second half of November, the army of Osman Pasha, surrounded in Plevna by four times superior Russian forces, began to lack ammunition and food. At the military council, the Turks decided to break through the encirclement. On November 28, the Turkish army attacked the grenadier corps, but the attack was repelled along the entire line of defense, the Turks retreated to Plevna and laid down their arms. The fall of Plevna dramatically changed the military situation. The Turks lost an army of 50,000, and the Russians freed 100,000 soldiers for a new offensive.

On November 29, 1877, Nikolai Nikolaevich was awarded the Order of St. George, 1st degree “... for the capture of the strongholds of Plevna on November 28, 1877 and the capture of the army of Osman Pasha, which stubbornly resisted for 5 months, with the valiant skill of the troops under the leadership of His Highness " He became the last holder of this greatest military leadership award in Russia. For the subsequent crossing of the Balkans, he received a golden saber with diamonds as a reward. The Grand Duke wrote to the emperor that “under the present circumstances, it is impossible to stop now and, in view of the Turks’ refusal of peace terms, it is necessary to go to Constantinople and there finish the holy work You have undertaken.”

The Russian troops liberated near Plevna allowed Turkey to be dealt a decisive blow. The army crossed the Balkan passes and, having defeated the army of Vesel Pasha at Sheinovo, opened the road to Adrianople. The last major battle of this war took place at Philippopolis, where the 50,000-strong Turkish army of Suleiman Pasha was stationed. From January 3 to January 5, 1878, the enemy lost up to 20 thousand people and fled in panic towards the Aegean Sea. In the battles of Sheinovo and Philippopolis, Russian troops defeated the main forces of the Turks beyond the Balkans. On January 19, 1878, a truce was concluded, which became the threshold of the San Stefano Peace Treaty. The Grand Duke showed himself to be an unbalanced man and not possessing all the abilities necessary for a military leader on the scale of the Balkan War, and his influence on the course of hostilities was often negative. Despite this, at the end of the war the Grand Duke was promoted to field marshal general.

Since 1880, Nikolai Nikolaevich was seriously ill. Died on April 13, 1891 in Crimea. He was buried in the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg.

He was married (since 1856) to Princess Frederica-Wilhelmina of Oldenburg, who took the name Alexandra Petrovna in Orthodoxy. Their children: Grand Dukes Nikolai Nikolaevich (the Younger) and Pyotr Nikolaevich.

In 1914, a monument to the Grand Duke was erected in Petrograd, on the square opposite the Mikhailovsky Manege.

Warlord

Romanov Nikolai Nikolaevich, (senior) (1831 - 1891), Grand Duke. Nikolai Nikolaevich was the third son of Emperor Nicholas 1. His initial education began in 1838 under the leadership of General A.I. Filosofov. For practical familiarization with the responsibilities of military service, the Grand Duke studied for several years with cadets of the 1st Cadet Corps. On July 1, 1846, he was promoted to ensign. His promotion to officer and awarding him the rank of lieutenant the following year, and in 1848 captain, did not stop his activities in the corps, although by 1850 he was already commanding a battalion of cadets. The Grand Duke began active military service the following year as commander of a division of the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment. In 1852, with the rank of major general, he was enlisted in the retinue and appointed inspector general for engineering, as well as brigade commander in the 1st Light Guards Cavalry Division. With the beginning of the Crimean War of 1853-1856. Nicholas 1 sent the Grand Duke and his brother Mikhail to the active army. Nikolai Nikolaevich arrived near Sevastopol on October 23, 1854, on the eve of the Battle of Inkerman and took part in it. While under heavy enemy fire, he showed courage and valor, for which on November 7 he was awarded the Order of St. George 4th degree. From January of the following year he supervised engineering work, fortifications and batteries in the northern part of Sevastopol.

The death of Emperor Nicholas 1 forced the Grand Duke to return to St. Petersburg. On March 27, his elder brother, Emperor Alexander II, appointed him a member of the State Council. In the same year, he was engaged in engineering and defensive work near Vyborg in Finland, in Nikolaev on the Black Sea coast and in Kronstadt.

On January 25, 1856, Nikolai Nikolaevich took up the duties of inspector general of the engineering unit and remained in this post until his death. On the same day he received the rank of adjutant general. On August 26, the Grand Duke was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed head of the guards cavalry division. In 1859, Nikolai Nikolaevich became commander of the Guards Reserve Cavalry Corps, and a year later, with the rank of engineer general, he became commander of a separate Guards Corps. As a member of the reigning dynasty, he was quickly promoted and held many key command and administrative positions in the state. At the age of 38, the Grand Duke was appointed commander of the guard troops and the St. Petersburg Military District, inspector general of cavalry, retaining all his previous positions and ranks. During these years, reforms took place to radically transform the army. They also affected the troops under the command of the Grand Duke, which had a particularly positive effect on the cavalry units.

When in the fall of 1876 the inevitability of war with Turkey became obvious, Emperor Alexander 11 appointed Nikolai Nikolaevich commander-in-chief of the Danube Army. On November 23, the Grand Duke arrived in Chisinau and began work on concentrating the army and preparing to cross the Danube. On June 10, he was present at the crossing of the 14th Army Corps of General Zimmerman, and on June 15, he led the crossing of the Danube at Sistov, for the successful completion of which he was awarded the Order of St. George 2nd degree.

The occupation of Tarnovo by the detachment of General Gurko prompted the Grand Duke to go with his main forces to the Balkans, but the unsuccessful assault on Plevna stopped the further advance of the Russian army. On July 18, during the second assault on Plevna, the scattered frontal onslaught of Russian forces from the east and south was repulsed by the Turks, who had a powerful defense system. The Russians lost over 7 thousand people. The Second Plevna forced Russian troops to go on the defensive in the Balkans. In early August, the Turks launched an assault on Shipka. Despite the large superiority in forces, the Turkish army was unable to capture the Shipka Pass. In the battles from August 9 to 14, the Russians and Bulgarians lost about 4 thousand people, the Turks - about 7 thousand.

On August 22, Russian troops began the assault on Lovchi. It was defended by an 8,000-strong garrison led by Rifat Pasha. The assault on the fortress lasted 12 hours. The fall of Lovchi eliminated the threat to the southern flank of the Western Detachment and allowed the third assault on Plevna to begin. On August 25, a military council was held in Gorny Studn. Most senior commanders spoke in favor of an immediate assault, recognizing the siege as impossible and threatening to drag on until winter. Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich took the side of the majority and set August 30 as the day of the assault. This was the bloodiest battle of the entire war. The siege troops numbered up to 85 thousand people, including 32 thousand Romanian troops. On August 30 and 31, the bloody battle continued. Osman Pasha threw all his reserves against the units that broke through. The Russian command did not support the attacking battalions with its reserves, and the Turks repelled the assault. Russian troops lost over 12 thousand people, allied Romanian units - another 3 thousand. After this failure, Commander-in-Chief Nikolai Nikolaevich proposed to withdraw beyond the Danube. He was supported by a number of military leaders, but the emperor spoke out sharply against it and it was decided to proceed to the blockade of Plevna.

At the beginning of September, Suleiman Pasha again attempted to attack Shipka, but the attack was repulsed. In general, the September offensives of both the troops of Suleiman Pasha and the army of Mehmet Ali on the Russian positions at Chair-Kioy were quite passive and did not cause any particular difficulties in repelling. In November, the Turks, however, managed to break through the Russian positions of the Eastern Detachment, but the transferred reinforcements closed the gap. This blow was the last success of the Turkish army in the war. On November 30, the Turkish strike force tried to attack the Eastern Detachment units near the village of Mechka, but after a fierce battle the onslaught was stopped. The Russians launched a counteroffensive and pushed back the Turks.

In the second half of November, the army of Osman Pasha, surrounded in Plevna by four times superior Russian forces, began to lack ammunition and food. At the military council, the Turks decided to break through the encirclement. On November 28, the Turkish army attacked the grenadier corps, but the attack was repelled along the entire line of defense, the Turks retreated to Plevna and laid down their arms. The fall of Plevna dramatically changed the military situation. The Turks lost an army of 50,000, and the Russians freed 100,000 soldiers for a new offensive.

On November 29, 1877, Nikolai Nikolaevich was awarded the Order of St. George 1st degree "... for the capture of the strongholds of Plevna on November 28, 1877 and the capture of the army of Osman Pasha, which stubbornly resisted for 5 months, with the valiant skill of the troops under the leadership of His Highness." He became the last holder of this greatest military leadership award in Russia. The Grand Duke wrote to the emperor that “under the present circumstances it is impossible to stop now and, in view of the Turks’ refusal of peace terms, it is necessary to go to Constantinople and there finish the holy work You have undertaken.”

The Russian troops liberated near Plevna allowed Turkey to be dealt a decisive blow. The army crossed the Balkan passes and, having defeated the army of Vesel Pasha at Sheinovo, opened the road to Adrianople. The last major battle of this war took place at Philippopolis, where the 50,000-strong Turkish army of Suleiman Pasha was stationed. From January 3 to January 5, 1878, the enemy lost up to 20 thousand people and fled in panic towards the Aegean Sea. In the battles of Sheinovo and Philippopolis, Russian troops defeated the main forces of the Turks beyond the Balkans. On January 19, 1878, a truce was concluded, which became the threshold of the San Stefano Peace Treaty. The Grand Duke, although he was awarded the rank of field marshal for the Russian-Turkish war, showed himself to be an unbalanced person and lacking the abilities of a military leader, and his influence on the course of military operations was mainly negative.

Since 1880, Nikolai Nikolaevich was seriously ill. Died on April 13 in Crimea. He was buried in the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg. He was married to Princess Frederica-Wilhelmina of Oldenburg, who took the name Alexandra Petrovna in Orthodoxy, and had two sons.

Book materials used: Soloviev B.I. Field Marshals of Russia. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix" 2000

Read further:

Romanovs(biographical reference book).

Literature

Gervais Wed. V. Field Marshal General, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, St. Petersburg, 1911.

Soloviev B.I. Field Marshals of Russia. Rostov-on-Don, "Phoenix" 2000.

(November 6, old style) 1856 in St. Petersburg in the family of the third son of Emperor Nicholas I, Nikolai Nikolaevich. Since the father of the Grand Duke was his full namesake - also Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich - therefore, at birth, the son received the addition “junior”, and his father, accordingly, “senior”.

His mother was Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna (née Princess of Oldenburg).

Like all the Romanovs, the Grand Duke was destined for military service, therefore, while still an infant, he became the chief of two regiments - the Lithuanian Life Guards and the 56th Zhitomir Infantry.

Having received a good education at home, at the age of 15, the Grand Duke entered the Nikolaev Engineering School as a cadet, from which he graduated in 1872 and was left in the capital in a training infantry battalion. Here he acquired practical command skills while commanding a unit, and a year later he was transferred to a cavalry training squadron to study the tactics of this type of troops.

He then entered the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff, from which he graduated in 1876 with a silver medal. His name was inscribed on a marble plaque. Promoted to captain, Nikolai Nikolaevich was assigned to the general staff, receiving the honorary title of aide-de-camp and becoming part of the emperor's retinue. In 1877 he received the rank of colonel.

During the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878, he was assigned as an officer for special assignments under the commander-in-chief of the Danube Army - his father. Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Jr. carried out reconnaissance of the banks of the Danube in order to select a place for crossing troops and was with General Mikhail Dragomirov during the Sistov crossing. He took part in the assault on the Sistovsky Heights and in the capture of the Shipka Pass. For his bravery in battle, the Grand Duke was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree, for crossing the Danube and a golden saber with the inscription “For Bravery” for crossing the Balkans.

After the end of the war, Nikolai Nikolaevich was sent to the Life Guards Hussar Regiment. He served in it for twelve years - he commanded a squadron, a regiment, and a cavalry division. In 1890, the Grand Duke received command of the Guards Cavalry Division.

In 1891, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich was appointed adjutant general to His Imperial Majesty. In 1895-1905 - inspector general of cavalry. This position was inherited from his father, who held it for many years, and gave him the opportunity to make numerous foreign trips as head of military missions.

From 1905 to 1908 - Chairman of the State Defense Council, which was created on his initiative.

In 1905-1914 - commander of the guard troops and the St. Petersburg Military District.

In 1914, with the outbreak of the First World War (1914-1918), he was appointed supreme commander of all land and naval forces of the Russian Empire.

In 1915, when Nicholas II took command of the troops, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich was appointed governor of the Caucasus and commander-in-chief of the Caucasian Front.

In March 1917, before the abdication of Emperor Nicholas II, the last official act of the sovereign was the reappointment of Nikolai Nikolayevich to the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, but this appointment was not accepted.

For the next two years the Grand Duke lived in Crimea. In March 1919 he emigrated to Italy and then to France.

In 1924, he took over the general leadership of Russian military organizations in exile - the “Russian All-Military Union”. Among part of the Russian emigration, he was considered a contender for the Russian throne as the oldest member of the Romanov dynasty, although he himself did not express any monarchical claims.

Since 1907, the Grand Duke was married to Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Oldenburg (1868-1935, née Princess Stana Njegos of Montenegro, in her first marriage - Duchess of Leuchtenberg).

The marriage was childless.

Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich died on January 5, 1929 in Antibes, and was buried in the crypt of the Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Cannes (France).

On April 30, 2015, the ashes of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Romanov (junior) and his wife Anastasia Nikolaevna at the Bratsk Military Cemetery in Moscow. The initiators of the reburial of the remains of the royal family from France to Russia were the Grand Dukes Dimitri Romanovich and Nikolai Romanovich Romanov, citing the will of the deceased (their cousin).

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Articles

NIKOLAI NIKOLAEVICH Senior(27.07 (08.08).1831, Tsarskoe Selo, St. Petersburg province - 13 (25).04.1891, Alupka, Yalta district, Taurida province; buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral of St. Petersburg), Grand Duke.

Married on January 25 (02/06), 1856 with Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna, née. Princess of Oldenburg.

Inspector General for Engineering (1855), participant in the Crimean War, member of the State Council (1855), inspector general of cavalry (1864), commander of the Guards of the St. Petersburg Military District (1864-80), commander-in-chief of the army in the Balkans in 1877-78 , Field Marshal General (1878).

Essays
“I will sacredly fulfill my duty”: Correspondence of Tsarevich Alexander with Vel. book Nikolai Nikolaevich 1877-1878 // Source. 1993. No. 1.
In Sevastopol in 1854 // Assembly of the Nobility. 1995. No. 3.

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Expulsion of dancer E. G. Chislova // Past. 1918. No. 2 (30).
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Sipyagin V.N. Travel of His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich the Elder through Turkey, Syria, Palestine and Egypt in 1872. St. Petersburg, 1873.
Skalon D. A. 1) Traveling through the East and the Holy Land in the retinue of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich in 1872. 2nd ed. St. Petersburg, 1892; 2) Forgotten Field Marshal: (Essay on the activities of the Commander-in-Chief during the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878 on the Balkan Peninsula) // Russian Antiquity. 1907. No. 11, 12; 3) In the service of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich // Ibid. 1909. No. 5, 6, 11, 12; 1910. No. 1, 2; 4) My memories of 1877-1878. St. Petersburg, 1913. T. 1-2.
Sukhomlinov V. A. Memoirs. Minsk, 2005.
Tarakanovsky G. Monument from Manezhnaya Square // Neva. 1998. No. 4.
Tarasov M. Ya. 1) Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich the Elder: To the 140th anniversary of the formation of the St. Petersburg Military District // History of St. Petersburg. 2004. No. 6; 2) At the head of the army, guard and military district. Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich the Elder // Military Historical Journal. 2004. No. 8.
Shilov D. N., Kuzmin Yu. A. Members of the State Council of the Russian Empire. 1801-1906: Biobibliographic reference book. St. Petersburg, 2007.

Electronic resources
Nikolai Nikolaevich the Elder // Diary of a porcelain doll: [Live journal of user Duchesselisa].

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Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Sr.

“How can a man of such immeasurable stupidity nevertheless go mad?” - Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich asked ironically when he learned about his brother’s clouding of reason.

So we are done with the Konstantinovich line - the grandchildren of Emperor Nicholas I. Now let's move on to the description of the love affairs of the Nikolaevich line. There were only two of them: Nikolai Nikolaevich Sr. and Nikolai Nikolaevich Jr. Their parents named them in a very original way, as if there were no other names in the calendar! Well, what can you do - we’ll have to call them as they are, we’ll just add the definitions “senior” and “junior” to their names.

Nikolai Nikolaevich Sr., the third son of Emperor Nicholas I, was born in 1831. From an early age they began to prepare him for military service; I must say, he really liked it. His family called him Nizi. In the winter, he studied military theory under the guidance of General Filosofov, and in the summer he made trips to camps together with students of the 1st Cadet Corps. In 1846, he received the rank of second lieutenant (junior lieutenant in today's terms), then was promoted to rank, and in 1851 he began active military service in the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment. He spent all this time in St. Petersburg, where the service was easy and unburdensome. However, during the Crimean War of 1853-1856, after the defeat of Russian troops in the Battle of Alma, Nicholas I sent his sons Nikolai and Mikhail to Crimea to raise the morale of the soldiers. Both of them bravely participated in the Battle of Inkerman, for which they received the Cross of St. George, IV degree. In 1855, his father died, and Alexander II ascended the throne. The war continued, and Nikolai Nikolaevich, already with the rank of lieutenant general, was engaged in strengthening the coastal defense of Vyborg, Nikolaev and Kronstadt. The military career of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich developed successfully: already in I860 (at the age of 29!) he was appointed commander of the troops of the Guard and the St. Petersburg Military District. When, in 1876, war with Turkey became inevitable, Alexander II appointed his brother Nicholas as commander-in-chief of the Danube Army, which stood at the forefront of the attack. Under his leadership, Russian troops took Plevna and after a short time found themselves on the approaches to Constantinople. Although Nikolai Nikolaevich did not show any special leadership talent in these battles, he was awarded the St. George Cross, 1st degree, and the rank of Field Marshal. By the way, in the entire history of its existence, only 25 people received the Order of St. George, 1st degree, among whom were Suvorov and Kutuzov. For Nikolai Nikolaevich it was a great honor. He was already ready to take the Turkish capital when the political games began. An English squadron entered the Bosphorus; Great Britain, which had its own interests in the area, clearly threatened Russia with a new war. In this situation, Alexander II began to hesitate and sent conflicting orders to Nikolai Nikolaevich - either to take Istanbul or to stop the offensive. Finally, in 1878, a peace treaty was signed in the city of San Stefano under the walls of the Turkish capital. The Grand Duke, exhausted by the hassle and dissatisfied with the decisions of his brother Alexander II, asked for a replacement. The Tsar recalled Nicholas from the front. In 1914, a monument was erected to him in St. Petersburg on Manezhnaya Square, dedicated to the exploits of our soldiers in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. In 1919 it was destroyed by anarchists.

According to contemporaries, Nikolai Nikolaevich Sr. did not shine with intelligence, although he had a high opinion of his abilities. It was also known about his major financial frauds during the Crimean War. Three years have passed; Alexander II was killed by terrorists in 1881, and Alexander III, the nephew of Nikolai Nikolaevich, ended up on the throne. He disliked the field marshal very much and alienated him from army affairs, allowing him only occasionally to attend military maneuvers. So at the age of 50 he retired. The reason for this was not the lack of talent in the military field and embezzlement, but excessive agility in family life. Alexander III in this regard was strict - like no other - the head of the Romanov family. Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich married Princess Alexandra Petrovna of Oldenburg in 1856. She was Nikolai's cousin and was 7 years younger than him. Their marriage turned out to be unhappy. After ten years of marriage, according to her husband (and not only him), she ceased to shine with beauty and femininity. They had two boys - Nikolai and Peter. Nikolai Nikolaevich never particularly loved his wife. In the first years of their life together, he treated her evenly, but over time, their family life became worse and worse, and then everything went wrong. The Grand Duke gradually simply hated his wife. After the birth of her son Peter, she became fat, clumsy and grouchy. When people talked about his wife in public, Nizi called her nothing more than “cow” or “this woman.”

Nikolai Nikolaevich Sr. was ruined by his love for ballet. Uncompromising, rude and sometimes intemperate, the Grand Duke was transformed in the theater. The sight of “incomparable etoile” and “airy fairies” brought him into a state of ecstasy. If it were his will, he would become a major theatrical figure so that he would not leave his favorites day and night.

After the performance, he always went backstage, where he spent time with emotion in the company of relaxed and flirtatious girls. The Grand Duke gave them gifts, patted them on the butts and pinched their sides without hesitation, and they just laughed playfully. Just like the old poems say: “His Excellency / Loved poultry / And took under his protection / Pretty maidens.”

A passion for ballet led the commander of the St. Petersburg Military District to the idea of ​​building a large wooden theater “for the entertainment of officers” in Krasnoe Selo (the main training center of the capital). The officers in this case were only an excuse - the Grand Duke himself was going to have fun. After finishing training sessions with the soldiers, the gentlemen officers enjoyed funny vaudeville shows there. The theater also hosted performances of corps de ballet divertissements. Such stage actions, when the actresses threw up their legs, greatly appealed to Nikolai Nikolaevich, who was the most devoted viewer.

Soon, on the ballet stage, he noticed a woman who turned his whole life upside down. Her name was Ekaterina Chislova. She was fifteen years younger than the Grand Duke. The laughing cocotte turned Nizi’s head, and he “fell victim to Cupid’s arrow.” The first years of their life together, she was an affectionate and gentle cutie, but behind this façade hid an iron character. True, for the time being Nikolai Nikolaevich had no idea about this. His beloved Katenka embraced the field marshal so tightly in her arms that he could not get out of them until her death. He was so in love that he ordered her image to be captured in a medallion above the stage of the theater in Krasnoe Selo. Many generations of officers knew about this, but years passed, and the new owners of the theater no longer knew that the medallion depicted Nikolai Nikolaevich’s mistress. And only during restoration work under the medallion they found the inscription: “Numbers.”

Catherine abandoned the stage, since she had become the Grand Duke’s mistress, and began setting up her nest on Pochtamtskaya Street, which her lover Nizi bought for her. Financial worries fell, of course, on the shoulders of Nikolai Nikolaevich. In truth, Ekaterina Chislova was not even a mistress, but his second wife. He completely abandoned his first wife, Alexandra Petrovna, and didn’t even want to meet her. When present with her at official receptions, Nizi did not even look in her direction - she was so disgusting to him.

Having learned that her husband had a mistress, she threw a scandal and rushed to the king for help so that he would talk some sense into his brother. However, Alexander II, who himself was not blameless in this matter (which we will talk about in its place), did not accept Alexandra Petrovna’s complaint and even ridiculed it. “Listen, your husband is in full strength (and Nikolai Nikolaevich was then only a little over thirty), he needs a woman who could please him; now look at yourself... how you are dressed!” It was a terrible insult to her, but it was the truth. Alexandra Petrovna completely neglected herself - fat, clumsy, she didn’t put on makeup, didn’t take care of herself, dressed in anything - in general, she was a slob. Probably, she could be compared with Nadezhda Krupskaya, a person of the same character. Anyone who has seen the portraits of Lenin's wife knows what we are talking about. And the reason for this was the social activities of both. Here is a list of things that Alexandra Petrovna was involved in: she founded the Pokrovskaya community of sisters of mercy in Galernaya Harbor, which had a hospital, an outpatient clinic, a department for young girls and a paramedic school; for a long time she was the chairman of the Council of orphanages, founded the Pokrovsky convent in Kyiv with a surgical hospital attached to it, and so on. She had no time left to take care of herself, much less go to balls and masquerades. She did not know how to please, and it is not surprising that her husband turned his back on her.

A purposeful and unsmiling wife did not suit Nikolai - he liked flirts and laughers like Katenka Chislova. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Grand Duke and Alexandra Petrovna became strangers. Nikolai Nikolaevich began to live with Chislova, and she bore him four children. Later, in 1883, at the request of his uncle, Alexander III granted them noble rights and the surname Nikolaev. However, the wife did not let up and continued to harass her husband with scandals. Having learned that brother Nicholas had started a second family, Alexander II finally became indignant. A mistress is all right, but a second wife, without a divorce from the first, is no longer an option! The tsar gave the field marshal a scolding, and Chislova was immediately sent to the town of Wenden in the Baltic states. However, Nikolai Nikolaevich’s beloved did not stay there long.

How to rescue your “incomparable” Katenka from exile? – the Grand Duke wondered. Only through a divorce from Alexandra Petrovna. But how to do that? After all, there are no formal reasons for this. And Nikolai Nikolaevich decided to find this reason himself, publicly accusing his wife of adultery! However, it was also necessary to name the man with whom Alexandra Petrovna committed adultery. And he was named - Alexandra’s confessor, Archpriest Vasily Lebedev. He allegedly admitted this himself in confession. It was complete nonsense. First of all, an adulterous priest is something new; An archpriest must not even think about sinning with women. Secondly, the times of Peter I, when he ordered the holy fathers to report without fail what parishioners said in confession, are long gone. The secret of confession was observed unquestioningly. Who could convey the words of Vasily Lebedev to the ears of Nikolai Nikolaevich? Nobody! It was he himself who came up with an insidious plan to get a divorce for the sake of his charming “fairy”.

So, a formal pretext was found. Now is the time to act. Nikolai Nikolaevich kicked his wife out of his Nikolaevsky palace and took away all her jewelry, including his own gifts. Not only that, he also deprived her of her clothes! The unfortunate woman ended up on the street as a homeless tramp! And this despite the fact that she was a Grand Duchess! Thank God, there were compassionate relatives who sheltered the poor thing, otherwise she would have walked around the world with a knapsack in her hands, wearing the clothes her mother gave birth to.

When Alexander II learned about what had happened, he did not bother to sort out who was right and who was wrong. He's terribly tired of these family squabbles. He refused to accept Alexandra Petrovna with a complaint and ordered her to immediately go abroad “for treatment” so that “without special notice” she would not dare to appear in Russia. It was cruel. It’s good that at least the tsar took all the expenses for her maintenance abroad at his own expense. Alexandra Petrovna, humiliated and insulted, was forced to submit to the will of the sovereign.

As we already wrote, Alexander II was killed by Narodnaya Volya in 1881, his place was taken by Alexander III, who removed his uncle from all posts. He had not felt any good feelings towards him at all since the Russian-Turkish war; once, in 1880, Alexander publicly remarked that “if he weren’t just stupid, I would call him a scoundrel.”

In this situation, Aunt Sasha (as the younger generation of the Romanovs called her) writes the following to the new tsar: “Forgive me generously that I dare to bother you with this letter... Unfortunately, my health is not improving, there are no expected favorable results. I feel worse than when I left. We've been through a lot of hard things. The horrific catastrophe of March 1st... Before that, in January in Naples, during a visit to Uncle Nisi, I experienced something that I would not wish on my worst enemy, and all this, and the ever-increasing loss of strength received after our transition, and, moreover, the strongest homesickness kills the last strength. Pulls and draws you to your blessed homeland. Having said all this, I beg You to allow me to return to Holy Rus' and slowly, with God’s help, reach Kyiv through Nikolaev and Odessa. You know well that I myself am a beggar, I live on the Tsar’s blessings, therefore, settling in Kyiv for the fall and winter depends entirely on Your will and Your bounty. Living in St. Petersburg with my serious illness and with the disorder in our House, with my weakness, is disastrous, and the doctor is still not discouraged, hoping for the restoration of the paralysis of both legs and right arm. And the left one is getting very weak. The only hope for healing is a peaceful life. Living in Holy Kyiv would be a spiritual joy for me. I heard that there is an unoccupied palace there. Maybe You will graciously accept my request... Everything depends on You! Strength is leaving... I... need to remember about death, and therefore I ask You to lovingly listen to the cry of my heart... I am writing to You my dying letter... Aunt Sasha, devoted to You with all my heart.”

From this letter it follows that “Uncle Nizi” pestered Alexandra Petrovna abroad, and pestered her so much that “you wouldn’t wish it on your worst enemy.” What a bastard! Because of all these experiences, she suffered a stroke - her legs and right arm were paralyzed. Why was she homesick? And her homeland was Russia, since her father was Prince Peter Georgievich of Oldenburg, and her grandmother was Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna (daughter of Paul I). As for the suicide letter, the Grand Duchess got excited. Alexander III allowed her to come to Kyiv, where she founded the Intercession Monastery; in the same monastery she took monastic vows under the name of Anastasia and died only in 1900, having outlived both her unfaithful husband, his mistress, and Emperor Alexander III himself.

As soon as Nikolai Nikolaevich dealt with the “cow” he hated, he began to work for the return of his beloved Katenysia from exile. The death of Alexander II freed his hands - at the request of his uncle, Alexander III allowed her to return to the capital. She moved from Pochtamtskaya Street, settled with her children in the Nikolaevsky Palace and on the estate of Nikolai Nikolaevich Znamenka near Peterhof. Ekaterina Chislova finally got the Grand Duke in trouble, but, alas, he had already lost interest in her. She soon bored him; Nisi already has new “cuties” from the corps de ballet in mind. Nikolai Nikolaevich was so stupid that once at a performance it seemed to him that the troupe of “etoiles” were ready to give themselves to him right there on stage, which is why he fell into terrible excitement. However, he was not destined to flirt and pinch the soft parts of ballerinas in their makeup closets. His “incomparable” was on alert.

She did not belong to the cohort of those people who meekly accept the blows of fate. She created it herself. Katerina was an intelligent woman - she did not, like some mistresses, seek recognition in the Romanov family; she tried to keep Nizi with her, realizing that her own position and the future of her children depended on him. Therefore, as soon as Nikolai Nikolaevich looked at the next “etual,” she threw scandals at him that thundered throughout St. Petersburg. At the same time, she, the daughter of a cook, was not shy in her expressions and the wing of the Grand Duke was no different.

She strictly made sure that her “sponsor” did not go one step closer to the theater flower garden - for fear that one of the cocottes would be able to get “her fool.” Catherine knew very well all the intrigues of the theater behind the scenes, since she herself had gone through a good school in conquering the Grand Duke and destroying her rivals. A couple of times Chislova intercepted playful notes from girls and, presenting this evidence to Nikolai Nikolaevich, created storms and typhoons for him that he could hardly endure. Not embarrassed by the servants, she whipped the field marshal on the cheeks; but the measures of physical influence on the unfaithful lover were not limited to this. Catherine loved to hit the prince with her sharp-heeled shoes and throw porcelain objects at him. Sometimes they hit the target.

The Field Marshal General more than once appeared in public with bruises on his face, the origin of which he did not want to explain. But in high society they knew all the ins and outs of the relationship between Nikolai Nikolaevich and his passion. In 1888, General Bogdanovich entered into her diary the latest news from the Grand Duke’s love affair: “This fall, Nikolai Nikolaevich left Znamenka, said goodbye to everyone and moved to St. Petersburg for the night. Suddenly, that same night, the servants in Znamenka are woken up and told that the Grand Duke has arrived again with Chislova. She went to his room and, in the presence of his valet Zernushkin, began to pull everything out of the tables, out of chests of drawers, throwing everything on the floor and shouting that she would find everything she needed; that she should make sure if he has any love affairs. Zernushkin then said that it was a pity to look at the Grand Duke - he was very upset, he kept asking to pack his things so that others would not see this disorder. Now he has forbidden himself to submit letters, all his correspondence is sent to her, she has placed a whole lot of strict supervision over him. The Grand Duke gets up early, Chislova at 3 o'clock, and she does not allow him to sleep before 2 o'clock or longer, and if he falls asleep in the chair, she gets so angry that she makes him go to bed an hour later. What a despot! How does he tolerate everything?”

And really, how did he endure all this? Tall (let us remember that his father, Nicholas I, was also tall), representative, bald, fifty-year-old Grand Duke with a beard allowed some cook’s daughter to beat him? And did you even read his correspondence? Gee...

Their love, so to speak, continued for another year. In December 1889, Ekaterina Chislova died in severe agony from esophageal cancer. Nikolai Nikolaevich was very upset by the death of the “incomparable” one, cried and ordered funeral services. The public was most astounded by the news that the deceased left her children a fortune exceeding a million rubles!

So, his beloved Katenka died. It would seem that now there is complete freedom and you can have other “etoiles”. By the way, in French “étoile” is a star, an artist of a light genre. And easy behavior. However, the Grand Duke was unable to enjoy freedom. That same year, he was diagnosed with a malignant gum tumor, colloquially called a caries beetle, or, in other words, cancer. The disease progressed quickly and spread to the brain. Straight from the military maneuvers near Rovno, the field marshal, at the insistence of Alexander III, was sent to Crimea for treatment. There, in Alupka, Nikolai Nikolevich Sr. died in 1891. On this occasion, the Tsar wrote to his son Nicholas (the future Emperor Nicholas II): “We barely had time to bury poor Aunt Olga (Olga was the wife of Nikolai Nikolaevich’s brother, Mikhail), when again there was a new death - poor Uncle Nizi in Alupka, but this death was more likely desirable; He had been in such a terribly sad position lately, almost in complete idiocy. And for everyone around him it was pure hard labor and a difficult ordeal. I still can’t forget in what sad state we left him when we said goodbye in August in Rivne, and then it went worse and worse, and he didn’t live in Alupka, but vegetated.”

This is how Field Marshal General, Knight of the Order of St. George, 1st degree, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Sr. ended his days ingloriously. However, the disease does not choose whether you are a grand duke or a commoner. Death takes away those it needs most now. We all walk under God... Probably the Lord did not forgive him for the cruel way he treated his wife.