Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia (russian: Павел Александрович; 3 October 1860 – 28 January 1919) was the sixth son and youngest child of Emperor
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Poland and Gra ...
by his first wife, Empress
Maria Alexandrovna. He was a brother of
Emperor Alexander III
Alexander III ( rus, Алекса́ндр III Алекса́ндрович, r=Aleksandr III Aleksandrovich; 10 March 18451 November 1894) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 13 March 1881 until his death in 1894. ...
and uncle of
Nicholas II
Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...
, Russia's last monarch.
He entered the Russian Army, was a general in the Cavalry and adjutant general to his brother Emperor Alexander III, and a Knight of the
Order of St. Andrew
The Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called (russian: Орден Святого апостола Андрея Первозванного, translit=Orden Svyatogo apostola Andreya Pervozvannogo) is the highest order conferred by both the ...
. In 1889, he married
Princess Alexandra of Greece, his paternal first cousin once removed. The couple had a daughter and a son, but Alexandra died after the birth of their second child. In his widowhood, Grand Duke Paul began a relationship with
Olga Valerianovna Karnovich, a married woman with three children. After obtaining a divorce for Olga and in defiance of strong family opposition, Grand Duke Paul married her in October 1902. As he contracted a
morganatic marriage
Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...
with a divorcée in defiance of the Tsar's prohibition, Grand Duke Paul was banished from living in Russia and deprived of his titles and privileges. Between 1902 and 1914, he lived in exile in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
with his second wife, who gave him three children. In the spring of 1914, he settled back in Russia with his second family.
With the outbreak of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Grand Duke Paul was appointed in command of the first corps of the
Imperial Guard
An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the Emperor or Empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial forces, in ...
. Afflicted with ill health, he served only intermittently. During the last days of the Tsarist period, he was one of the few members of the Romanov family who remained close to Tsar Nicholas II and his wife,
Alexandra Feodorovna. It fell upon Grand Duke Paul to inform Alexandra of Nicholas II's abdication.
After the fall of the Russian monarchy, Grand Duke Paul initially remained at his palace in
Tsarskoe Selo
Tsarskoye Selo ( rus, Ца́рское Село́, p=ˈtsarskəɪ sʲɪˈlo, a=Ru_Tsarskoye_Selo.ogg, "Tsar's Village") was the town containing a former residence of the Russian imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the c ...
during the period of the
provisional government
A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...
. With the
Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
ascending to power, his palace was expropriated, and eventually he was arrested and sent to prison. In declining health, he was shot by the Bolsheviks with other Romanov relatives in the courtyard of the
Peter and Paul Fortress
The Peter and Paul Fortress is the original citadel of St. Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706 to 1740 as a star fortress. Between the first half of the 1700s and early 1920s i ...
in January 1919, and his remains were thrown into a common grave.
Early life
![Tsar Alexander II of Russia with his wife and their three youngest children](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Tsar_Alexander_II_of_Russia_with_his_wife_and_their_three_youngest_children.jpg)
Grand Duke Paul was born on at the
Catherine Palace
The Catherine Palace (russian: Екатерининский дворец, ) is a Rococo palace in Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin), 30 km south of St. Petersburg, Russia. It was the summer residence of the Russian tsars. The Palace is part of the ...
, in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
.
[Lee & Davidson, ''Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich'', p. 149.][Zeepvat, ''Romanov Autumn'', p. 195.] He was the eighth and youngest child of Tsar
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Poland and Gra ...
and his first wife,
Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia
Maria Alexandrovna ( rus, Мария Александровна), born Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine (8 August 1824 – 3 June 1880), was Empress of Russia as the first wife and political adviser of Emperor Alexander II. She was one of the ...
, ''née'' Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine.
As the youngest child in a large family, he was much loved by his parents and siblings.
His early years were spent with his two siblings closest in age: his sister
Marie
Marie may refer to:
People Name
* Marie (given name)
* Marie (Japanese given name)
* Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973
* Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in Tr ...
, and his brother
Sergei, from whom he was inseparable.
[Zeepvat, ''Romanov Autumn'', p. 196.] By the time of Paul's birth, his mother was afflicted with tuberculosis and the doctors advised her not to have more children. Relations between Paul's parents ceased.
[Van der Kiste, ''The Romanovs 1818–1959'', p. 42.][Lee & Davidson, ''Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich'', p. 153.] The family was struck by tragedy in 1865 with the death of Paul's eldest brother,
Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich, when Paul was four years old.
[Lee & Davidson, ''Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich'', p. 152.] The following year, his father, Alexander II, started an affair with
Princess Catherine Dolgurokova, who gave him three children.
Grand Duke Paul's early years were spent at
Tsarskoye Selo
Tsarskoye Selo ( rus, Ца́рское Село́, p=ˈtsarskəɪ sʲɪˈlo, a=Ru_Tsarskoye_Selo.ogg, "Tsar's Village") was the town containing a former residence of the Russian imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the cen ...
and at the
Winter Palace
The Winter Palace ( rus, Зимний дворец, Zimnij dvorets, p=ˈzʲimnʲɪj dvɐˈrʲɛts) is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the Emperor of all the Russias, Russian Emperor from 1732 to 1917. The p ...
in Saint Petersburg, with vacations at
Livadia, the family's Crimean retreat. As time passed and the Empress’ health dictated her to avoid the harsh Russian climate, the Tsarina spent long sojourns abroad with her three youngest children in
Jugenheim outside
Darmstadt
Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...
, and the winters in the south of France.
Paul was a protected delicate child; he never had a robust constitution.
[Zeepvat, ''Dear, Unforgettable Alix'', p. 7.]
Education
![Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich and his brother Sergei Alexandrovich](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Grand_Duke_Paul_Alexandrovich_and_his_brother_Sergei_Alexandrovich.jpg)
Grand Duke Paul was educated at home by private tutors. From the 1870s, Paul and his brother Sergei were kept in Russia by their studies. They were destined to follow a military career. From 1864 to 1885, their tutor was Admiral Dmitri Arsenyev (1832-1915), who encouraged his pupils to have a broad artistic education as well.
Grand Duke Paul became a good amateur actor and an excellent dancer.
[Chavchavadze, ''The Grand Dukes'', p. 127.] He was widely liked due to his gentle character, very different from his boisterous eldest brothers.
[Alexander, '' Once a Grand Duke'', p. 140.]
He was from birth a Guard cornet in an Infantry Regiment.
However, his career advanced more slowly than that of his elder brothers. He became a Lieutenant in January 1874, but as he was still too young, he was the only one of Tsar Alexander II's sons not to take part in the
Russo-Turkish War (1877–78)
The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histor ...
.
Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich was known as a gentle person, religious and accessible to people. In June 1880, he was afflicted by the death of his mother, whose slim figure and delicate health he inherited. Shortly after, his father married his mistress Catherine Dolgorukova.
[Lee & Davidson, ''Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich'', p. 154.] Grand Duke Paul, overprotected by his brother Sergei, did not know of the affair. Emotionally distraught by the news, he had to travel abroad to recuperate. Grand Duke Paul was on a trip to
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
with his brother Sergei when their father Alexander II was assassinated on 13 March
.S. 1 March1881. Paul's eldest surviving brother, Alexander III, ascended to the Russian throne.
[Lee & Davidson, ''Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich'', p. 155.]
Since childhood, Paul was very attached to his brother Sergei, their closeness remaining even after Sergei's engagement and later marriage to
Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine (1864–1918)
Princess Elisabeth Alexandra Louise Alice of Hesse and by Rhine, later Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia (russian: Елизавета Фёдоровна Романова, Yelizaveta Fyodorovna Romanova, Elizabeth Feodorovna Romanova; ca ...
.
Paul accompanied the couple to England to meet Elisabeth's British grandmother,
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
, who was favorably impressed by Paul.
After Sergei's marriage, Paul moved in with his brother and his new sister-in-law, who also became very close to him.
The trio shared the same household for some time, and they made a trip together to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
in 1888.
[Zeepvat, ''Romanov Autumn'', p. 197.] Grand Duke Paul suffered from weak lungs and spent periods abroad to recuperate.
On medical advice, he visited Greece in 1887.
[Van der Kiste, ''The Romanovs 1818–1959'', p. 126.]
First marriage
![Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich Romanov and Princess Alexandra of Greece](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Grand_Duke_Paul_Alexandrovich_Romanov_and_Princess_Alexandra_of_Greece.jpg)
During his visits to Greece, in the family atmosphere of his first cousin
Queen Olga of Greece
Olga Constantinovna of Russia ( el, Όλγα; 18 June 1926) was queen consort of Greece as the wife of King George I. She was briefly the regent of Greece in 1920.
A member of the Romanov dynasty, she was the oldest daughter of Grand Duke C ...
, Grand Duke Paul grew closer with Olga's eldest daughter,
Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark
Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark ( el, Αλεξάνδρα); – ), later known as Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna of Russia (russian: Алекса́ндра Гео́ргиевна), was a member of the Greek royal family and of the ...
.
[Zeepvat, ''The Camera and the Tsars'', p. 49.] Alexandra's father, King
George I of Greece
George I ( Greek: Γεώργιος Α΄, ''Geórgios I''; 24 December 1845 – 18 March 1913) was King of Greece from 30 March 1863 until his assassination in 1913.
Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen, and seemed destined for ...
, was a brother of
Tsarina Maria Feodorovna, Paul's sister-in-law. During the
silver wedding anniversary of King George and Queen Olga, Paul asked for Alexandra's hand and he was accepted.
Alexandra had come to Russia several times during visits to her maternal relatives. She was lively and mischievous, while he was reserved.
[Zeepvat, ''Dear, Unforgettable Alix'', p. 8.] Their engagement was announced on 10 November 1888.
The wedding took place on in
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, at the chapel of the
Winter Palace
The Winter Palace ( rus, Зимний дворец, Zimnij dvorets, p=ˈzʲimnʲɪj dvɐˈrʲɛts) is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the Emperor of all the Russias, Russian Emperor from 1732 to 1917. The p ...
.
Grand Duke Paul was twenty-nine years old and his wife ten years younger.
[Van der Kiste, ''The Romanovs 1818–1959'', p. 140.]
Paul settled with his wife in his own palace in St. Petersburg on the English Embankment, No. 68.
[Belyakova, '' Grand Duchess Maria Nikolayevna and her palace in St Peterburg '', p. 14.] The mansion was located behind the Church of the Annunciation and faced the Corps de la Marine in the very center of Saint Petersburg. It was built in the Florentine renaissance revival style by the architect Alexander Krakau between 1859 and 1862 for Baron Alexander von Stieglitz, a prominent financier and the first Governor of the Bank of Russia.
After Stieglitz's death in 1884, the mansion was inherited by his adopted daughter, Nadezhda Polovtsova. She sold the property to the Treasury in 1887, and Grand Duke Paul bought it the same year.
In 1889, he had the architect
Maximilian Messmacher
Maximilian (von) Messmacher (russian: Максимилиан Егорович Месмахер, ''Maximilian Yegorovich Messmacher''; 1842–1906) was a Russian architect of German ancestry.
He attended the School of Painting of St. Petersburg S ...
redesign some of the interiors, creating a Moorish Hall.
The treasures of the house included the white marble staircase, the sitting room decorated with caryatids, the oak-paneled library, and the concert hall with portraits of great composers and panels depicting ''The Four Seasons''.
[
]
![Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, his wife, Grand Duke Paul and his son Dimitri and Marie](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Grand_Duke_Sergei_Alexandrovich%2C_his_wife%2C_Grand_Duke_Paul_and_his_son_Dimitri_and_Marie.jpg)
Grand Duke Paul's marriage was happy, but brief.
Alexandra, after a difficult first pregnancy, gave birth to a daughter on ,
Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia (1890–1958).
Alexandra was of a frail constitution and she was also homesick for her native Greece. In autumn of that same year, Grand Duke Paul took his wife for a holiday in Greece.
At their return to Russia, he was appointed commander of the imperial house guards at
Krasnoye Selo
Krasnoye Selo (russian: Кра́сное Село́, lit. ''Red village''). Г. П. Смолицкая. "Топонимический словарь Центральной России". "Армада-Пресс", 2002 is a munic ...
and, therefore, he was usually away fulfilling his military duties.
Paul and his wife were given rooms at the
Catherine Palace
The Catherine Palace (russian: Екатерининский дворец, ) is a Rococo palace in Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin), 30 km south of St. Petersburg, Russia. It was the summer residence of the Russian tsars. The Palace is part of the ...
in Tsarskoye Selo, but they saw each other only on weekends.
Although Grand Duke Sergei and his wife Elizabeth moved to
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
in May 1891, the two couples remained very close.
[Lee & Davidson, ''Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich'', p. 156.] In the summer of 1891, Paul and Alexandra decided to spend some time with them at Ilinskoie, Sergei's country estate outside Moscow.
While there, Alexandra, seven months pregnant with her second child, carelessly stepped into a waiting boat, causing premature labor and the following day gave birth prematurely to a son,
Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia
Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia (russian: Великий Князь Дмитрий Павлович; 18 September 1891 – 5 March 1942) was a son of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia, a grandson of Tsar Alexander II of Russia and a ...
(1891–1942).
Alexandra did not recover consciousness and died six days later on .
Grand Duke Paul was deeply affected by Alexandra's death.
[Zeepvat, ''Romanov Autumn'', p. 198.] During this period, his brother Sergei and Sergei's wife took care of Paul's motherless children in a pattern of behavior that would be repeated in the years to follow.
[Perry & Pleshakov, ''The Flight of the Romanovs'', p. 43.][Van der Kiste, ''The Romanovs 1818–1959'', p. 141.] In his widowhood, the grieving grand duke moved to
Tsarskoye Selo
Tsarskoye Selo ( rus, Ца́рское Село́, p=ˈtsarskəɪ sʲɪˈlo, a=Ru_Tsarskoye_Selo.ogg, "Tsar's Village") was the town containing a former residence of the Russian imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the cen ...
, leaving his palace in St Peterburg that had been his home with Alexandra to never return. For a long time, the palace stood vacant. After that, the building changed many hands over time. When the revolution ended, the mansion was sold to the Russian Society for the Production of Equipment and Military Supplies. Eventually it became home to various Soviet institutions.
The palace has survived to the present and today it is at the disposal of Saint Petersburg State University.
Grand Duke Paul's brother, Tsar Alexander III, died on and Paul's nephew, Nicholas II, became the new Tsar. There was only an eight-year gap between uncle and nephew and Paul had known Nicholas II's wife, Alexandra Feodorovna, since she was a little girl, when in his youth he made many visits to his mother's native Darmstadt. Therefore, Grand Duke Paul was well-liked by the new Tsar and Tsarina.
[Lee & Davidson, ''Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich'', p. 162.]
Second marriage
![Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovcih of Russia and Olga Paley](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Grand_Duke_Paul_Alexandrovcih_of_Russia_and_Olga_Paley.jpg)
In 1895, Paul began an affair with a commoner,
Olga Valerianovna Karnovich.
[Zeepvat, ''Romanov Autumn'', p. 199.] Olga was married with three young children, a son and two daughters.
Her husband, Eric von Pistohlkors, was an aide de camp of Paul's brother,
Grand Duke Vladimir, and a captain in Paul's regiment.
[Van der Kiste, ''The Romanovs 1818–1959'', p. 165.] The affair initially remained secret, but it became public knowledge at court when Olga attended a court ball wearing a diamond necklace that had belonged to Paul's mother, Empress Maria Alexandrovna.
[Perry & Pleshakov, ''The Flight of the Romanovs'', p. 71.][Van der Kiste, ''The Romanovs 1818–1959'', p. 166.] The Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna recognized the jewels and had Olga removed from the ball.
[Papi, ''Jewels of the Romanovs: Family & Court'', p. 162.] In the subsequent scandal, Paul was moved to a different regimental command and Eric von Pistohlkors was sent away, but it was already too late.
Olga was pregnant with Paul's child. She gave birth to a son,
Vladimir
Vladimir may refer to:
Names
* Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name
* Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name
* Volodymyr for the Ukr ...
, in January 1897, and Eric von Pistohlkors asked for a divorce.
[Lee & Davidson, ''Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich'', p. 158.]
Paul wanted to recognize Vladimir as his son and marry Olga, but his family opposed his union. His nephew
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...
and older brother
Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia
Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia (russian: Влади́мир Александрович; 22 April 1847 – 17 February 1909) was a son of Emperor Alexander II of Russia, a brother of Emperor Alexander III of Russia and the senior Gra ...
were particularly angry about his intentions. His brother
Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia
Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia (''Сергей Александрович''; 11 May 1857 – 17 February 1905) was the fifth son and seventh child of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. He was an influential figure during the reigns of h ...
and his sister-in-law,
Grand Duchess Elizabeth begged him to reconsider and think about his children and his responsibilities in Russia.
The relationship with his brother Sergei and his sister-in-law Elisabeth, so close before, never recovered.
Grand Duke Vladimir asked Paul to swear a solemn oath that he would not marry Olga, which Paul did.
[Zeepvat, ''Romanov Autumn'', p. 200.]
Despite his family's opposition, Paul remained infatuated with Olga. He lost interest in Maria and Dmitri and spent long periods abroad with his mistress.
In 1900, he bought a mansion in
Bois de Boulogne
The Bois de Boulogne (, "Boulogne woodland") is a large public park located along the western edge of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine. The land was ceded to the city of Paris by t ...
that had previously belonged to Princess Zenaida Ivanovna Yusupova, intending to settle there and marry Olga once she would obtain a divorce.
Olga's divorce was granted in 1902.
In August 1902, Paul's niece,
Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna, married
Prince Nicholas of Greece
Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark ( el, Νικόλαος; 22 January 1872 – 8 February 1938), of the Glücksburg branch of the House of Oldenburg, was the fourth child and third son of King George I of Greece, and of Queen Olga. He was kn ...
, Paul's former brother-in-law.
It was the first time that Paul's former father-in-law, King George of Greece, came to Russia since the death of his daughter Alexandra.
Their meeting was very uncomfortable. After the wedding celebrations were over, Paul left for Italy where Olga awaited him.
On 10 October 1902, Grand Duke Paul married Olga in a Greek Orthodox church in
Livorno
Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
.
Because he married morganatically and without Emperor Nicholas II's permission, Grand Duke Paul was banished from Russia; he was dismissed from his military commissions; all his properties were seized, and his brother
Grand Duke Sergei was appointed as guardian of Maria and Dmitri.
[Perry & Pleshakov, ''The Flight of the Romanovs'', p. 72.][Zeepvat, ''Romanov Autumn'', p. 201.]
Paul's family was outraged by his marriage. Emperor Nicholas II wrote to his mother: "The nearer the relative who refuses to submit to our family statutes the graver must be his punishment. . . How painful and distressing it all is and how ashamed one feels for the sake of our family before the world! What guarantee is there now that
Cyril
Cyril (also Cyrillus or Cyryl) is a masculine given name. It is derived from the Greek name Κύριλλος (''Kýrillos''), meaning 'lordly, masterful', which in turn derives from Greek κυριος (''kýrios'') 'lord'. There are various varian ...
won’t start the same sort of thing tomorrow and
Boris, or
Sergei Mikhailovich the day after? And, in the end, I fear, a whole colony of members of the Russian Imperial Family will be established in Paris with their semi-legitimate and illegitimate wives! God alone knows what times we are living in, when undisguised selfishness stifles all feelings of conscience, duty or even ordinary decency!”
[Julia P. Gelardi, From Splendor to Revolution, p.179] Nicholas' mother
Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna was equally angry: "This marriage of Uncle Paul’s is really too distressing! Alas, he seems to have forgotten everything— his duty to his children, to his country, service honour, all, all, have been sacrificed . . . How could he go through with it after all he had been told by his brothers and by us all? . . . The thought of the misery of his poor little children for whom he had been everything and whom he has abandoned distresses me more than I can say . . . And then there is the scandal! I am simply ashamed of it... So he is even slinging mud at our family! Awful, awful! And into what an awkward and disagreeable position it puts you, my poor Nicky, you who will have to punish him, because such an act cannot remain unpunished, and, into the bargain, marrying a divorced woman!”
Exile
![Grand Duke Paul with his son Dimitri and daughter Maria](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Grand_Duke_Paul_with_his_son_Dimitri_and_daughter_Maria.jpg)
Grand Duke Paul and his second wife were still vacationing in Italy when they were banished from Russia.
[Vassiliev, ''Beauty in Exile'', p. 435.] They settled in Boulogne-sur-Seine where a daughter, Irina, was born on .
[Van der Kiste, ''The Romanovs 1818–1959'', p. 168.][Vassiliev, ''Beauty in Exile'', p. 437.] In 1904, Grand Duke Paul arranged, through
Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria
''Leopold Charles Joseph William Louis''
, image_size =
, image = Luitpold Wittelsbach cropped.jpg
, succession = Prince Regent of Bavaria
, reign = 10 June 1886 – 12 December 1912
, reign-type = Tenure
, regent = Ludw ...
, for his wife and their children to be granted the hereditary title of Count and Countesses de Hohenfelsen with a coat of arms.
With the assassination of his brother Sergei in February 1905, Grand Duke Paul was allowed to return to Russia for the funeral, but Olga was denied entrance that April to attend the promotion of her son
Alexander Pistohlkors
Alexander Erichovich von Pistohlkors (6 June 1885 in Saint Petersburg – 8 September 1941 in Brest, France) was a Russian Imperial Guard officer who was known for his cruelty in putting down the rebellion following the Russian Revolution of 1905 ...
as an army officer.
Paul claimed the custody of Marie and Dmitri, but the Tsar made Elizabeth their guardian.
From then on, Grand Duke Paul was allowed to visit his children from his first marriage, but not to return to Russia permanently with his second wife. On 5 December that same year, Grand Duke Paul and Olga had another daughter,
Natalia, completing their family.
Although an outcast to the Romanovs, Grand Duke Paul had a happy life in Paris with Olga and their three children.
They lived in style employing a household staff of sixteen maids, gardeners, cooks, and tutors and they were avid art and old porcelain collectors.
At their mansion in Boulogne-sur-Seine, they had a hectic social life offering dinners and lavish receptions entertaining writers, artist and Russian abroad. The couple was very close to their three children, and on Sundays, the whole family attended private mass at the Russian church on rue Daru.
Although he was not consulted in the engagement of his daughter Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna to Prince
Wilhem of Sweden, Paul attended the wedding on . That same year, Grand Duke Paul, Olga and their three children visited Russia together for the first time. Shortly after, they returned to Paris but their son, Vladimir, stayed in Russia and became a student in the
Corps des Pages
The Page Corps (russian: Пажеский корпус; french: Corps des Pages) was a military academy in Imperial Russia, which prepared sons of the nobility and of senior officers for military service. Similarly, the Imperial School of Jurispru ...
.
[Van der Kiste, ''The Romanovs 1818–1959'', p. 182.][Zeepvat, ''Romanov Autumn'', p. 202.] In 1912, on the occasion of Dmitri reaching his majority, Tsar Nicholas II, finally relented and pardoned his only surviving uncle, restoring Grand Duke Paul titles and privileges. He also recognized as valid Paul's second marriage.
[Lee & Davidson, ''Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich'', p. 160.] However, Grand Duke Paul decided to remain living in France. In 1913, Paul visited Russia, once again, to take part in the celebration for the
300th anniversary of the Romanov family on the Russian throne.
Grand Duke Paul moved back permanently to Russia only when he finished a house for himself and his family at Tsarskoe Selo in May 1914.
[Van der Kiste, ''The Romanovs 1818–1959'', p. 183.]
World War I
![Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich and his second family](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Grand_Duke_Paul_Alexandrovich_and_his_second_family.jpg)
At the out break of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich's two sons, Dmitri and Vladimir, joined the war effort and his daughter,
Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, became an army nurse. In August 1915, the Tsar granted Paul's wife, Olga, the title of
Princess Paley
Princess Paley was a Russian nobility, Russian noble title that was created in 1915 by Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. It was first bestowed upon Princess Olga Paley, Olga Valerianovna Karnovich, Countess von Hohenfelsen, the morganatic second wife of ...
with the style of
Serene Highness
His/Her Serene Highness ( abbreviation: HSH, second person address: Your Serene Highness) is a style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein, Monaco and Thailand. Over the past 400 years, it has also used as a style for senior members ...
, and their children also became Prince Vladimir Pavlovich Paley and Princesses Irina Pavlovna and Natalia Pavlovna Paley.
[Papi, ''Jewels of the Romanovs: Family & Court'', p. 174.][Zeepvat, ''Romanov Autumn'', p. 203.] In the same month, Prince Vladimir Paley joined a regiment. Although he had been away from active service for many years and his health was frail, Grand Duke Paul begged his nephew, Tsar Nicholas II, to give him an active military appointment in the battle fields.
By that time, Paul was, once again, one of the few members of the extended Romanov family on good terms with the
Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.
Through her intervention, Nicholas II placed Paul in command of the First Corps of the
Imperial Guard
An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the Emperor or Empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial forces, in ...
in 1915.
[Lee & Davidson, ''Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich'', p. 161.] However, before he could assume his military appointment, Paul felt gravely ill with gall bladder troubled.
It was feared that he had cancer and he spent the fall and the winter of 1915-1916 sick.
It was only after he recovered many months later, in May 1916, that Grand Duke Paul, ignoring his doctor's advice, left to take command of the
1st Guards Corps.
He served with the rank of General of Cavalry.
[Chavchavadze, ''The Grand Dukes'', p. 129.] After a difficult spell at the front under heavy enemy bombardment at the village of Sokoul, he was awarded a St George's Cross 4th class, one of the most coveted military decorations.
[Lee & Davidson, ''Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich'', p. 163.] Due to his bad health, the grand duke was moved, in September 1916, to a new appointment as inspector general of the Guard at the Tsar's headquarters and his son, Vladimir, was placed under his orders.
[Princess Paley](_blank)
Memories of Russia.
![Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich and his son Valdimir during the war](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Grand_Duke_Paul_Alexandrovich_and_his_son_Valdimir_during_the_war.jpg)
In the autumn of 1916, Paul took a three-week holiday in
Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
with his wife and children. On his way back north, in November, he visited the Dowager Empress
Maria Feodorovna in
Kiev
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
. Maria Feodorovna and her son-in-law,
Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, enlisted Paul's help in order to persuade Nicholas II and his wife of the need for change and to get rid of
Rasputin
Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin (; rus, links=no, Григорий Ефимович Распутин ; – ) was a Russian mystic and self-proclaimed holy man who befriended the family of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, thus ga ...
's damaging influence.
[Van der Kiste, ''The Romanovs 1818–1959'', p. 188.] Grand Duke Paul had an audience with the Tsar and Tsarina in December.
He handled the issue with tact, but without success.
[Van der Kiste, ''The Romanovs 1818–1959'', p. 189.] Nevertheless, he was able to retain Nicholas II and Alexandra's confidence even after it was shaken with Paul's son Dmitri's involvement in Rasputin's murder in the early hours of .
Paul, who was at
Stavka
The ''Stavka'' (Russian and Ukrainian: Ставка) is a name of the high command of the armed forces formerly in the Russian Empire, Soviet Union and currently in Ukraine.
In Imperial Russia ''Stavka'' referred to the administrative staff, a ...
with Nicholas II when both received news of the event, was horrified of his son's participation in the murder.
[Van der Kiste, ''The Romanovs 1818–1959'', p. 190.] The Grand Duke supported his son and wrote a letter to the Tsar asking for clemency for Dmitri.
Nevertheless, after spending some time under house arrest, Dmitri was sent to the Persian front as a form of exile.
On , Alexandra summoned Paul and asked him to go to the front and gather some troops to save the throne.
He declined, convinced that it was going to be a fruitless endeavor.
Instead, with the assistance of Prince Michael Putiatin and the lawyer Nicholas Ivanov, Grand Duke Paul drafted a manifesto introducing the idea of a constitutional monarchy with Nicholas II remaining as an Emperor.
[Perry & Pleshakov, ''The Flight of the Romanovs'', p. 148.] It was signed by Paul,
Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich and
Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, the three most senior grand dukes in the last period of Imperial Russia. The manifesto was then delivered to the
Duma
A duma (russian: дума) is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions.
The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were for ...
to be presented for the Tsar's signature on March 1, at Nicholas II's return from headquarters.
However, before that, the Tsar's train was held up and Nicholas II abdicated on 2 March.
It fell upon Grand Duke Paul to inform Alexandra of Nicholas II's abdication on 3 March.
[Van der Kiste, ''The Romanovs 1818–1959'', p. 194.]
Revolution
![Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Grand_Duke_Paul_Alexandrovich.jpg)
At the fall of the Russian monarchy in March 1917, Grand Duke Paul, his wife, and their children remained united living at their luxurious estate in Tsarkoe Selo amid the upheaval.
[Lee & Davidson, ''Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich'', p. 164.] As Tsar Nicholas II and his family were sent to internal exile in
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
, the
Provisional Government
A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...
, led by
Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky, ; Reforms of Russian orthography, original spelling: ( – 11 June 1970) was a Russian lawyer and revolutionary who led the Russian Provisional Government and the short-lived Russian Republic for three months ...
, placed Paul under house arrest on .
[Van der Kiste, ''The Romanovs 1818–1959'', p. 197.] His telephone line was cut and a squad of soldiers guarded all the exits to his home.
[Van der Kiste, ''The Romanovs 1818–1959'', p. 196.] Through the intervention of his daughter,
Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia, whose second wedding he was not able to attend, the guards in charge of overseeing his house were removed.
The lives of the
Romanovs
The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastasia Romanova, was married to t ...
deteriorated sharply after the
Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
rose to power in October 1917. On , Grand Duke Paul's house was ransacked and his firearms collection was taken away.
[Zeepvat, ''Romanov Autumn'', p. 204.] Paul was arrested and held for two weeks at the Bolsheviks' headquarters in the
Smolny Institute
The Smolny Institute (russian: Смольный институт, ''Smol'niy institut'') is a Palladian edifice in Saint Petersburg that has played a major part in the history of Russia.
History
The building was commissioned from Giacomo Quar ...
.
He was going to be incarcerated at the
Peter and Paul Fortress
The Peter and Paul Fortress is the original citadel of St. Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706 to 1740 as a star fortress. Between the first half of the 1700s and early 1920s i ...
, but the Grand Duke protested. He was treated well by his captors, who addressed him as "Comrade Highness".
Due to his frail health, he was released and returned to live in Tsarskoe Selo with his family.
[Zeepvat, ''The Camera and the Tsars'', p. 207.]
The Bolshevik Government confiscated all property held by the banks on 27 December.
Grand Duke Paul, who had deposited all the jewelry he had inherited from his parents in the banks, under his wife's name, lost all his fortune.
[Papi, ''Jewels of the Romanovs: Family & Court'', p. 175.]
By early January 1918, Grand Duke Paul and his family could no longer afford to heat their large Tsarskoe Selo palace and they were forced to move to a nearby English dacha that belonged to his nephew,
Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich.
[Van der Kiste, ''The Romanovs 1818–1959'', p. 199.] Shortly after they moved out, their home was expropriated and turned into a museum, while
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 ...
himself rode in their car.
[Hall, '' The English Dacha at Tsarkoe Selo'', p. 28.]
In March 1918, all male members of the Romanov family, including Paul's son, Vladimir, were ordered to register at
Cheka
The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə), abbreviated ...
headquarters and shortly after they were sent away into internal Russian exile.
[Perry & Pleshakov, ''The Flight of the Romanovs'', pp. 207–208.] They never saw Vladimir again. He was murdered by the Bolsheviks, along with several other Romanov relatives, on 18 July 1918 in a mine shaft near
Alapayevsk
Alapayevsk (russian: Алапа́евск) is a town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Neyva and Alapaikha rivers. Population: 44,263 ( 2002 census); 50,060 ( 1989 census); 49,000 (1968).
History
Alapayevsk is on ...
, one day after the murder of Tsar Nicholas II and his immediate family at
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administra ...
.
[Van der Kiste, ''The Romanovs 1818–1959'', p. 198.] Grand Duke Paul, who was too ill to travel, initially escaped the fate of his son.
Although under constant harassment, Grand Duke Paul continued living a simple life with his wife and their two daughters at Grand Duke Boris's dacha.
[Hall, '' The English Dacha at Tsarkoe Selo'', p. 27.] It was difficult to find provisions, but as the Grand Duke suffered from a stomach ulcer, he was kept on a strict diet.
On , Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna came to say farewell to her father. She and her husband, Prince Sergei Putiatin, fled Russia through
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
.
A week later, Grand Duke Paul was offered, through the Danish Ambassador,
Harald Scavenius, to be smuggled out of the country and taken to
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
wearing an
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n uniform with a convoy of returning prisoners of war.
The Grand Duke flatly refused, preferring to die rather than put on an enemy uniform.
Execution
Determined to round up the last Grand Dukes remaining on Russian soil, the Bolsheviks arrested Grand Duke Paul at 3 a.m. on .
[Van der Kiste, ''The Romanovs 1818–1959'', p. 200.] He was taken to the local Soviet, housed in Grand Duke Vladimir's Tsarkoe Selo villa. The next morning, he was sent to Spalernaia prison, where he would remain for most of his incarceration.
His cousins, Grand Dukes
Dimitri Konstantinovich,
Nicholas Mikhailovich and
George Mikhailovich, were already imprisoned there.
[Zeepvat, ''Romanov Autumn'', p. 218.]
The four Grand Dukes, all men in their fifties, each had their own cell, by .
[Marie Georgievna, ''A Romanov Diary'', p. 218.] Their days began at 7 a.m., when they were awakened by the steps in the hall of their jailers and the clank of their keys in the door. Lunch was served at noon, which consisted of dirty hot water with a few fish bones in it and black bread.
[Marie Georgievna, ''A Romanov Diary'', p. 230.] The lights were turned on in the cells at 7 p.m., although as the winter approached, the prisoners had to sit in darkness until that time.
During the short time they were given to exercise, the Grand Dukes were able to exchange a few words. Paul's wife was allowed to visit him twice a week, staying from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
She did all she could to have him released.
Queen Alexandrine of Denmark, a niece of Grand Dukes Nicholas and George Mikahilovich, tried unsuccessfully to obtain the release of her Romanov relatives through the intervention of
Harald Scavenius, the Danish Minister in Petrograd.
[Hall, ''Danish efforts to Help the Imprisoned Romanovs'', pp. 38–40.]
On 6 December, as the Grand Duke's health, already bad, declined sharply, he was transferred to the prison hospital on the island of
Goloday.
[Hall, ''Danish efforts to Help the Imprisoned Romanovs'', p. 39.] Before he left, he was allowed to say goodbye to his young daughters,
Irina
Irina (Cyrillic: Ирина) is a feminine given name of Ancient Greek origin, commonly borne by followers of the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is derived from Eirene (Ancient Greek: Εἰρήνη), an ancient Greek goddess, personification of pe ...
and
Natalia.
Shortly afterwards, Princess Paley arranged for the two girls to be smuggled into
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
. They never saw their father again.
On Christmas Day, according to the old calendar, Princess Paley arrived at the hospital as usual to see her husband and bring him food.
There was a new director, and the Princess was treated roughly.
She was allowed to see her husband only briefly.
It was their last time together.
[Van der Kiste, ''The Romanovs 1818–1959'', p. 201.] Princess Paley continued making desperate attempts to have her husband released through the intervention of
Maxim Gorky
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...
.
[Perry & Pleshakov, ''The Flight of the Romanovs'', p. 208.]
On January 9, 1919, the Presidium of the
Cheka
The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə), abbreviated ...
in a meeting was attended by
Martin Latsis
Martin Ivanovich Latsis (russian: Мартын Иванович Лацис, lv, Mārtiņš Lācis, born Jānis Sudrabs, russian: Ян Фридрихович Судрабс, translit=Yan Fridrikhovich Sudrabs) (December 14, 1888 – February 11, ...
,
Yakov Peters Yakov (alternative spellings: Jakov or Iakov, cyrl, Яков) is a Russian or Hebrew variant of the given names Jacob and James. People also give the nickname Yasha ( cyrl, Яша) or Yashka ( cyrl, Яшка) used for Yakov.
Notable people
People ...
,
Ivan Ksenofontov and secretary Murnek issued a resolution: "The Cheka's verdict against the persons of the former imperial pack - to approve, informing the Central Executive Committee".
On 27 January 1919, Grand Duke Paul was taken to Cheka headquarters and then transferred to another prison, Gorochovaia.
[Van der Kiste, ''The Romanovs 1818–1959'', p. 202.] He was kept there until 10 p.m., when he was driven to the
St. Peter and St. Paul Fortress.
Paul's three cousins, Grand Dukes Nicholas Michailovich, George Michailovich and Dimitri Constantinovich, were taken there directly from Spalernaia prison.
The four Grand Dukes were then locked up in the dungeons of Troubetskoy Bastion.
All four were to be shot early the next morning as hostages in response to the murders 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, ...
in Germany.
At 3 a.m. on the following day, the four Grand Dukes were taken outside the fortress and stripped to the waist, despite the fact that it was almost .
[Lee & Davidson, ''Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich'', p. 165.] His three cousins were each escorted, with a soldier on each side, towards a trench that had been dug in the courtyard.
[Cockfield, ''White Crow'', p. 245.] The fusillade of shots sent them reeling into the trench, joining thirteen other bodies in the mass grave. Grand Duke Paul, who was too emaciated and too sick to stand, was carried on a stretcher. Before he was murdered, he was heard saying «''
Lord, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing''». He was killed shortly afterwards.
Grand Dukes Paul, Michael, George and Dmitri were buried in a mass grave in the Fortress, the Bolsheviks having refused the distraught Princess Paley the right to bury her husband. On 31 January 1919, ''The Petrograd
Pravda
''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, "Truth") is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most influential papers in the co ...
'' published the news about the execution of the four Grand Dukes.
In 1981, Grand Duke Paul was canonized by the
Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (russian: Ру́сская Правосла́вная Це́рковь Заграни́цей, lit=Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, translit=Russkaya Pravoslavnaya Tserkov' Zagranitsey), also called Ru ...
as a holy martyr. In 1999, he was rehabilitated by the Prosecutor General's Office of Russia.
Ancestry
Notes
References
*
Alexander, Grand Duke of Russia. ''Once a Grand Duke''. Cassell, London, 1932, ASIN: B000J3ZFL2
* Belyakova, Zoia. ''Grand Duchess Maria Nikolayevna and her palace in St Peterburg''. Ego Publishers,
*
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,
*
King, Greg. ''The Court of the Last Tsar''. Wiley, 2006. .
* Hall, Coryne. ''Danish efforts to Help the Imprisoned Romanovs''. Published in ''Royal Russia'' N 6. 2014. .
* Hall, Coryne. ''The English Dacha at Tsarkoe Selo''. Royalty Digest Quarterly. 2007 N 1. ISSN 1653-5219
* Lee, William & Davidson, Lisa. ''Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich''. Published in ''The Grand Dukes''. Eurohistory, 2012.
*
Marie Georgievna, Grand Duchess of Russia. ''A Romanov Diary: the Autobiography of the Grand Duchess Marie Georgievna of Russia''. Gilbert's Books, 2012.
* Papi, Stefano. ''Jewels of the Romanovs''. Thames & Hudson, 2013.
* Paley, Princess. Memories of Russia, 1916–1919. Herbert Jenkins Ltd, 1924. ASIN: B000O5UBBE
* Perry, John and Pleshakov, Constantine. ''The Flight of the Romanovs''. Basic Books, 1999, .
*
Van der Kiste, John. ''The Romanovs 1818–1959''. Sutton Publishing, 1999, .
* Vassiliev, Alexandre. ''Beauty in Exile: The Artists, Models, and Nobility who Fled the Russian Revolution and Influenced the World of Fashion''. Harry N. Abrams, 2001.
*
Zeepvat, Charlotte. ''Dear Unforgettable Alix''. Royalty Digest Quarterly. 2012 N 3. ISSN 1653-5219
* Zeepvat, Charlotte. ''The Camera and the Tsars''. Sutton Publishing, 2004. .
* Zeepvat, Charlotte. ''Romanov Autumn: stories from the last century of Imperial Russia''. Sutton Publishing, 2000.
* Zeisler, Wilfried. ''Vivre la Belle Époque à Paris : Olga Paley et Paul de Russie''. Paris, Mare et Martin, 2018.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paul Alexandrovich
1860 births
1919 deaths
People from Pushkin, Saint Petersburg
People from Tsarskoselsky Uyezd
Russian grand dukes
House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov
Russian military personnel of World War I
Recipients of Russian royal pardons
19th-century people from the Russian Empire
Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia)
Murdered Russian royalty
Victims of Red Terror in Soviet Russia
Executed Russian people
People executed by Russia by firearm
People executed by Russia by firing squad
Executed royalty
Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary
Children of Alexander II of Russia
Sons of emperors
Prisoners of the Peter and Paul Fortress
Burials in Saint Petersburg