Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia (russian: Великий князь Никола́й Миха́йлович; 26 April O.S._14_April.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 14 April">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 14 April1859 – 28 January 1919) was the eldest son of Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia and a first cousin of Alexander III of Russia, Alexander III. On 29 January 1919, Nicholas was moved to Peter and Paul Fortress in Petrograd, and in the early hours of the following day he was shot there by a firing squad, along with his brother, Grand Duke George Mikhailovich, and his cousins Grand Dukes Paul Alexandrovich and Dmitri Constantinovich. According to historians

Edvard Radzinsky Edvard Stanislavovich Radzinsky (russian: Э́двард Станисла́вович Радзи́нский) (born September 23, 1936) is a Russian playwright, television personality, screenwriter, and the author of more than forty popular history ...

, their executions had been ordered by

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

as retaliation for the recent

summary execution A summary execution is an execution in which a person is accused of a crime and immediately killed without the benefit of a full and fair trial. Executions as the result of summary justice (such as a drumhead court-martial) are sometimes include ...

s of

Karl Liebknecht Karl Paul August Friedrich Liebknecht (; 13 August 1871 – 15 January 1919) was a German socialist and anti-militarist. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) beginning in 1900, he was one of its deputies in the Reichstag from ...

and

Rosa Luxemburg Rosa Luxemburg (; ; pl, Róża Luksemburg or ; 5 March 1871 – 15 January 1919) was a Polish and naturalised-German revolutionary socialist, Marxist philosopher and anti-war activist. Successively, she was a member of the Proletariat party, ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, by

Freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European military volunteer units, or paramilitary, that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenary or private armies, regar ...

forces loyal to the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...

Honours and awards

* : Knight of the

House Order of Fidelity The House Order of Fidelity (german: Hausorden der Treue) is a dynastic order of the Margraviate of Baden. It was established by Charles III William, Margrave of Baden-Durlach as a reward for merit and to mark the laying of the foundation ston ...

, ''1876'' * : Grand Cross of the Order of the Württemberg Crown, ''1876'' *

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by Frederick the Great, King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Or ...

(military), ''19 November 1878'' * : Grand Cross of the

Ludwig Order The Ludwig Order (german: Großherzoglich Hessischer Ludwigsorden), was an order of the Grand Duchy of Hesse which was awarded to meritorious soldiers and civilians from 1807 to 1918. History The order was founded by Louis I, Grand Duke of Hesse ...

, ''10 March 1886'' * : Grand Cross of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

, ''December 1894'' * : Knight of the

Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant ( da, Elefantordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional ...

, ''18 November 1897'' * : Decoration of Honour for Arts and Sciences, ''1908'' * : Knight of the

Order of the Seraphim The Royal Order of the Seraphim ( sv, Kungliga Serafimerorden; ''Seraphim'' being a category of angels) is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the P ...

, ''12 May 1908''

Ancestry

Bibliography

* Alexander, Grand Duke of Russia, ''Once a Grand Duke'', Cassell, London, 1932. * Chavchavadze, David, ''The Grand Dukes'', Atlantic, 1989, *Cockfield, Jamie H. ''White Crow: The Life and Times of the Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich Romanov 1859–1919''. Praeger, 2002, * George, Grand Duchess of Russia, ''A Romanov Diary'', Atlantic International Publications, 1988. *Hall, Coryne, ''Little mother of Russia'', Holmes & Meier Publishers, Inc, 2001. *King, Greg, Wilson, Penny, ''Gilded Prism'', Eurohistory, 2006, *Troyat, Henri, ''Tolstoy '',Doubleday, 1967. *Zeepvat, Charlotte, ''The Camera and the Tsars'', Sutton Publishing, 2004, .

References

1859 births 1919 deaths People from Pushkin, Saint Petersburg People from Tsarskoselsky Uyezd Russian grand dukes House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov Russian lepidopterists Honorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Biologists from the Russian Empire Russian military personnel of World War I 19th-century people from the Russian Empire Murdered Russian royalty People executed by Russia by firing squad 19th-century historians from the Russian Empire 20th-century Russian historians 19th-century scientists from the Russian Empire 20th-century Russian scientists Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Fourth Degree Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Executed royalty Prisoners of the Peter and Paul Fortress Burials in Saint Petersburg {{Russia-royal-stub