the orchestrators of Russia's downfall a legitimate pretender to the throne remaining alive is a catastrophe. This is a real threat for the whole carefully planned operation. The strong forces of the country can line up behind him, and the country will be saved. That's why none of the real indisputable pretenders to the Russian throne should survive during the revolution.
This is why the liquidation of the Romanovs did not start with the family of the former Emperor. Those who were planning the murder of the members of the Russian ruling dynasty knew the rules of succession to the throne well. Besides the fact that all the main pretenders to the throne were eliminated at the same time, we have to point out another peculiarity of this grim operation.
The Romanovs were being killed in the order in which they could be enthroned.
The chronology was followed rigidly. We must admit that to kill the third or the fourth pretender to the throne does not make any sense if the first and the second ones are still alive. Only from this perspective we can truly understand the massive slaughter of the Romanovs that started in the second half of 1918. Thus, let's remember two main rules of this liquidation: SIMULTANEOUSLY AND IN THE ORDER OF SUCCESSION TO THE THRONE.
Let's ask ourselves, who was №1 pretender to the Russian throne? In order to disorientate and confuse us and not let us see the cast-iron logic that was at the base of the liquidation of the crown-bearing family members, one simple but effective method was used. First, everything was being hushed up and kept secret. When the facts and documents had been published, the tactics were slightly changed in order to cover the truth. Everyone everywhere was being persuaded that there was only one version of what had actually happened. This one version obscured the real depth of the tragedy. A wonderful veil was woven in order to stop people from seeing and understanding what was going on. What do I mean?
Everywhere you can read that in the night of July 17 the whole family of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II was shot dead in Yekaterinburg. You can also read that the bloodthirsty Bolsheviks have shot dead all the other Romanovs in order to wipe off the Romanov dynasty and the very memory of it. But this is not the case. After Nicholas II had abdicated from the throne on March 2, 1917, himself and on behalf of his son, his brother Michael Alexandrovich Romanov became the emperor. It was him who on March 3, 1917, under the dictation of the Duma delegation transferred the succession of the Russian throne to the discretion of the All-Russian Constituent Assembly. Exactly after he had done this and before the convocation of the latter, the Provisional Government was established in Russia. The Provisional Government has spent a lot of energy and efforts to prepare the elections but it has spent even more to disrupt the country and eliminate the Romanovs.
It was exactly Michael II who was the last Russian emperor.
Only one day has passed between Nicholas II abdicating from the throne and Michael agreeing to postpone his ascending to the throne till the decision of the All-Russian Constituent Assembly will be taken. All this time it was Michael II, who was the Russian tsar.[20] Then, why is all this confusion necessary? Why call Nicholas II the last Russian Emperor and deprive his brother of this title of honour? There are several reasons for entangling the truth. One evident fact comes to the front: Michael Romanov was the main pretender to the throne and he was the first of the Romanovs to be murdered. It was the matter of how the one who was killed should be called: was it just the younger brother of the last Russian Tsar or the main pretender to the throne? The following events only confirm our guess. Who was the second in this tragic list? The one who was the next candidate to becoming a Russian tsar. So, who is this person? It is Crown Prince Alexei, the 14-year old son of Nicholas II, suffering from hemophilia. But hasn't his father abdicated from the throne himself and on behalf of his son? Yes, he has. Yet, this fact could be disputed. Whether Nicholas II could or could not abdicate from the throne on behalf of his son is a subject of a separate legal research. Does the abdication of the Tsar from the throne have any legal force at all? Since Nicholas had abdicated from the throne, so many God's and human laws were broken that the former Tsar could have appealed against his own abdication. He could have cited being under pressure and his life being under threat. In such conditions, he could do nothing but abdicate from the throne. Theoretically, we cannot reject such a possibility. That's why Crown Prince Alexei and Nicholas Romanov himself could be №2 and №3 on the list of the pretenders for the throne, respectively.
Now, a few words about the very first pretender to the Russian throne. Michael was the favourite son of Alexander III, who, being rather strict with other children, was always forgiving to his favourite son for all his antics. In July 1899, after the death of his brother George, he was declared the heir of the throne and had been the heir until the birth of Nicholas II's son -Crown Prince Alexei, in July 1904. It looked as if the throne had forever become inaccessible for Michael. And he behaves in the respective way: in October 1912, in Vienna he gets secretly married with Natalia Wulfert without having got a permission from his brother – the Emperor. This union is a fruit of the frenzied passion of the grand prince. The result was a secret wedding abroad. Because of this marriage, Michael was banned from entering Russia by the order of Nicholas II. Besides that, he was dismissed and was striped of his title of aide-de-camp. But Michael was not worried about all that, he was enjoying his serene family happiness living in London. He was allowed to return to Russia and received his title back only when the World War started, and his wife was conferred the surname of Brasova. During the war, Michael was the commander of the so-called Caucasian Savage Division formed of Chechens and Dagestani, which was famous for its uncontrollable temper. However, the brother of the Tsar was not allowed to go to the frontline.
And absolutely unexpected, at a twist of history, Michael becomes the Russian tsar. However, Michael didn't follow his brother's advice. On the contrary, being under pressure from Kerensky and other Duma members,[21] he left the question of succession to the throne to be decided by the All-Russian Constituent Assembly. Being who he was, could he proceed in a different way, take the power and save the country from the future turmoil? The fact is that he was not able to do it. That's why Nicholas II allegedly had to write the instrument of abdication twice. It was necessary that Nicholas abdicated not in favour of his son Alexei, but in favour of his brother Michael. The psychological portrait of Michael Romanov was well-known, because he had lived with his beloved in London for two years. He steers clear of the crown, preferring a calm private life to it. His reaction to the extreme situation can be easily predicted. In the moment of choice, Michael can be easily pressed and will use any pretext to absolve himself of any responsibility for power. And it really turns out that way. The decision regarding the takeover of the tsar's power by Michael, dictated by the Duma members and approved by the Constituent Assembly, had no precedent in the history. It has never been so that the transition of power from one monarch to another was decided by the results of the plebiscite and, in addition to this, during the war!
Having performed his task and having given up power, Michael settled down in the Gatchina Palace in the suburbs of Petrograd. In August 1917, the first bell rang for him, as well – he was also arrested by the Provisional Government.
However, the release was not long in coming. And after that the real Theatre of the Absurd started. After the October overthrow, the pretender to the throne Michael Romanov asked Bolsheviks for the permission for a "free residency" in Russia in the capacity of a rank and file citizen, and received it. Not being able to understand the secret motives of the current events, not feeling the peril, which was created by his very existence, the naive Michael Alexandrovich believed that everything would be just so.
And later on the dates started to coincide oddly. Michael Romanov was again arrested by the Bolshevik government in March 1918. "Without any reasons," as the historians used to put it, describing these events. We fully understand the reason of the arrest: the second stage of the future elimination of the main pretenders to the throne begins. The Provisional Government didn't let anybody go abroad, now Lenin's government must kill
It is essential to also note the fact that the abdication from the throne of a ruling monarch has not been stipulated by the applicable legislation of the Russian Empire. That is why the abdication of Nicholas II added more confusion to the already complicated situation, when it was hard to understand how legitimate the country's authorities were. Everything got so tangled up that until now among monarchists there is no consensus on a rather simple issue – who the lawful heir to the throne is.
Translator's note: The State Duma was established in 1906 and was the first elected Russian parliament.
