Kdo je hodil z Mathilde Kschessinska?

Mathilde-Marie Feliksovna Kschessinska (31 August [O.S. 19 August] 1872 – 6 December 1971), also known as Princess Romanovskaya-Krasinskaya upon her marriage, was a Polish-Russian ballerina from the noble Krzesiński family. Her father, Felix Kschessinsky, and her brother and sister danced in Saint Petersburg. She was a mistress of the future Emperor Nicholas II of Russia before his marriage, and later the wife of his cousin Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich of Russia. She was known in the West as Mathilde Kschessinska or Matilda Kshesinskaya.

Nikolaj II. Ruski, ruski monarh, * 18. maj 1868 Puškin, Ruski imperij † 17. julij 1918 Jekaterinburg, Sovjetska Rusija.

Bil je zadnji cesar Ruskega carstva, kralj Poljske in veliki vojvoda Finske. Vladal je od leta 1894 do prisilnega sestopa z oblasti leta 1917. Rojen je bil v Aleksandrijskem dvorcu v Sankt Peterburgu. Bil je sin Marije Fjodorovne, rojene Dagmar, princese Danske in očeta, carja Aleksandra III.

Nikolaj je imel odlično izobrazbo in je verjetno bil najbolj izobražen evropski vladar svojega časa. Nikolaj je odraščal izolirano v krogu svoje družine in je dozorel zelo pozno. Vedno je bil nezaupljiv, tako do sebe kot do drugih. Zelo malo je imel stika z ljudmi in življenja navadnih prebivalcev sploh ni poznal. Prav tako ni imel skoraj nobenega stika z rusko inteligenco in umetnostno srenjo, kar je verjetno botrovalo temu, da je imel izredno ozke vrednote, kot so čast, služenje in tradicija, kar ga je oviralo kasneje, ko je prevzel prestol in postal car.

Kot carjevič (prestolonaslednik) je Nikolaj postal polkovnik v cesarski gardi. Zelo rad je imel vojsko in vedno je v sebi videl vojaka. Vojaška leta so pustila neizbrisen pečat v njegovem značaju in navadah. Tudi njegovi najboljši prijatelji so bili iz časov, ko je bil mladi oficir. To so bila tudi njegova najsrečnejša leta, ko je bil njegov oče še relativno mlad in mu ni bilo treba skrbeti za državo.

V času služenja vojske je spoznal tudi mlado plesalko iz cesarskega baleta, Matildo Kšesinsko, ki je postala njegova prva resna zveza. Toda kmalu zatem je že spoznal svojo bodočo ženo, nemško princeso Aleksandro Hessensko, ki je prestopila v pravoslavno vero in se prekrstila v Aleksandro Fjodorovno. Uradno sta bila zaročena leta 1893. Leta 1894 je umrl njegov oče, car Aleksander III. v carski letni rezidenci Livadija na Krimu.

Nikolaj je menil, da ni sposoben vladati. Zavedal se je, da je naloga vladati Rusiji večja od njegovih sposobnosti in izkušenj. A kljub temu je menil, da je božja usoda tako odločila.

Kmalu po kronanju je car ugotovil, da lahko zaupa le malo ljudem, zato je začel iskati svet pri svoji ženi in pri izbranih prijateljih. Z družino ni živel v Zimskem dvorcu (Ermitažu), temveč v Aleksandrijskem dvorcu, njegova obmorska rezidenca pa je bil dvorec Peterhof. Nikoli ni hotel imeti tajnika, pomagal mu je zgolj carski pribočnik. Rad je imel glasbo, posebno Wagnerjevo Tristana in Izoldo.

Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich of Russia (Russian: Серге́й Миха́йлович; 7 October 1869 – 18 July 1918) was the fifth son and sixth child of Grand Duke Michael Nikolaievich of Russia and a first cousin of Alexander III of Russia.

He was born and raised in the Caucasus, where his father was viceroy. In 1881 the family moved to Saint Petersburg. He became a close friend of the then Tsarevich Nicholas. They grew apart upon Nicholas II's marriage and accession to the throne. Grand Duke Sergei remained a bachelor living at his father's palace in the imperial capital. He had a long affair with the famous ballerina Mathilde Kschessinska, who had previously been the mistress of Nicholas II. She was also later involved with Grand Duke Andrei Vladimorovich. Sergei recognized Mathilde's son as his own and remained their protector until his death.

Following family tradition, Grand Duke Sergei pursued a military career. He served as General Inspector of the Artillery with the rank of Adjutant General. During World War I he was chief of the artillery department, a position he was forced to resign amid controversy. He was then appointed Field Inspector General of Artillery at Stavka. After the fall of the monarchy, he remained in the former Imperial capital keeping a low profile. With the ascension of the Bolshevists to power, he was sent to internal Russian exile.

He was murdered by the Bolsheviks along with several other Romanov relatives and his personal secretary at Alapayevsk on 18 July 1918, one day after the murder of Tsar Nicholas II and his immediate family at Yekaterinburg.