Royal Martyr Nicholas II

Yet another forgotten or little known page from the reign of Emperor Nicholas II, is his nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize in 1901, in recognition for his efforts to limit armaments and promote peace among the great powers.

Archimandrite Gerasim (Spruce Island) in 1963 relates -

"I remember a dream I had of the Emperor which I saw at the time of my deep sorrows, when spiteful bishops and slandering priests persecuted me and with malice judged me. The Emperor said to me at that time: ' I understand you. I myself endured all this. ' and his eyes became very sorrowful."

-Taken from the book "Father Gerasim of New Valaam"

Icon of Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II at Archangel Michael Cathedral in Uralsk, Kazakhstan. Nicholas II stopped here to pray in July 1891.

A faithful peasant carrying a portrait of Tsar Nicholas II in a lone procession through the Vologda Oblast region.

Patriarch Tikhon on the murder of the Tsar: “But we, to grief and shame, survived until the time when a clear violation of God’s commandments are not only not recognized as sin, but justified as legitimate. So, a terrible thing happened: the former Tsar Nikolai Alexandrovich was shot … We must, in obedience to the teaching of the Word of God, condemn this action, otherwise the blood of those shot will fall upon us, and not just on those who committed it … Let them call us counter-revolutionaries, let us be imprisoned, let us be shot. We are ready to endure all this in the hope that the words of our Saviour are also referred to us: “Blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it” (Luke 11:28). “

This photo depicts Emperor Nicholas II and Tsesarevich Alexei greeting Russian soldiers on their way to the Front in 1916.
Quite often, the soldiers were not informed that the Emperor would visit them. When the soldiers saw the Tsar, it created a great impression on them, filling them with surprise and joy.

Archpriest Alexander-
“My grandfather, Vladimir Pavlovich Krasovsky, loved to recall his two meetings with Emperor Nicholas II. The first meeting took place at the beginning of the 20th century. The Emperor inspected Palace Square, sometimes asking questions, one of whom was my young grandfather:

- Lieutenant ...
- Krasovsky, Your Imperial Majesty!
- Single?
- That's right, Your Imperial Majesty!
Nicholas II smiled:
- Okay, but not for too long ...
And he went on.

In 1913, during inspection, the Emperor again bypassed the guard loyal to him and went up to my grandfather, who was now the captain of the guard:

- Captain!
And, smiling, he finished himself:
- Krasovsky!
The Sovereign had a great memory, so that he remembered by name everyone he met. He asked the same question that he had asked him a few years ago:
- Single?
- Not at all, Your Imperial Majesty! I am married and have two sons
- Well done!

“Grandfather loved to recall this incident and told his sons about it with pride and love for the Emperor.”

Did Rasputin have influence/control over the Tsar in WW1? Lets see what French tutor to the Romanov children and close friend to the Tsar had to say -

"Another result of the war, agreeable as unexpected, was that Rasputin had retired into the background. At the end of September (1914) he had returned from Siberia completely recovered from the wound which had all but ended his days. But everything pointed to the fact that since his return he was being more or less neglected. In any case, his visits were more and more infrequent."

Book: "Thirteen Years at the Russian Court" by Pierre Gilliard