Romanov Nikolai Alexandrovich "Nicholas II, Emperor". Nicholas II Alexandrovich Personal diary of Nicholas 2 read

Emperor Nicholas II*

Diaries

* Romanov-Koshkin-Zakharyin Nikolai Alexandrovich

Content

Started in Tsarskoe Selo

Got up early. Left dear Alix for half a day, leaving for the city at 93/4. Mom was getting dressed in Winter in our bedroom. At 11 o'clock the exit began. After mass the diplomats worked and returned to Malachite at 11/2. We had breakfast with the family as always. After that, Mom favored the ladies’ hand. At 3 o'clock I left back.

Alix did not get up, although she felt well. They responded to a lot of telegrams. Had dinner in the bedroom and went to bed early.

A lot of snow fell and a thaw began. After the usual reports, I received 6 people. deputations from the troops of the Odessa district who arrived at the funeral of A. I. Musin-Pushkin. Orlov had breakfast (dec.). Accepted Plehve's report. At 71/4 we went to the city for lunch at the village of Alexei. Returned to Tsarskoye at 103/4 with Boris. Alix didn’t get up all day; she had a headache and a headache. was still elevated.

Alix lay in bed all day again.

Had three regular reports. Uncle Sergei arrived for breakfast. After a long conversation with him I went for a walk. It was melting and the weather was pleasant. We drank tea together in the bedroom and had dinner at 8 o'clock. In the evening he went back to Moscow. I read a lot.

It was a clear, good day.

At 11 o'clock went to mass with Olga and Tatiana. Then I had breakfast with them. I walked for a long time and enjoyed the air. I read a lot. Uncle Vladimir drank tea with me. Nikolasha dined with me. Alix got up in the evening and went to the couch for a few hours. He sat with us until 111/2 an hour.

Only Uncle Alexey was there with a report. At 111/2 I went with Olga to mass with the blessing of water. He and Kotya Obolensky (dec.) had breakfast. I walked for a long time. Read. At 6 o'clock. accepted Abaza. Alix got up in the evening. Had lunch with Obolensky in the “mauve room” while Alix was lying on the couch. In the evening I continued our old reading “The Fracture” aloud.

The day was festively sunny. At 93/4 I went to the city. Mom was getting dressed in our bedroom. At 103/4 he began to walk around the troops in the halls. At exactly 11 o'clock the exit began. The bishop's service did not last long. It was absolutely pleasant in Jordan. We sat down to breakfast at one.

After changing clothes, I accepted Lamsdorf’s report. Returned to Tsarskoe at 41/2. Alix was already up; Thank God she felt better. We had lunch together. In the evening I read it out loud to her.

There was a thaw again, there was fog all day. I had a great reception. Obolensky had breakfast (december). I also received Zhelobovsky and Protasov with a report. Went out for a walk after 4 o'clock. I read a lot. The two of us dined for real, that is, Alix also sat at the table. I read it aloud to her.

We got up late. I read the reports before. Had breakfast: Olga and Petya (dezh.). Alix went for a sleigh ride this morning. In the afternoon I took a walk. At 7 o'clock I went into town and went to the theater for the first time. They gave "Gutter dammerung" remarkably well; Litvin and Ershov sang. Mom, Misha and Olga also arrived. Everyone enjoyed it together. Returned to Tsarskoye at 121/4.

Nice sunny day. After reading the papers I had time to take a short walk. Before breakfast I had a small reception. We ate alone with the children.

Alix’s health, thank God, is getting better! In the afternoon I received Sturmer (1) with his interesting report on Tver zemstvo affairs.

I worked a lot. After lunch Alix read aloud.

In the morning I read for a long time and walked a little. The reports ended on time. After breakfast I took gr. A. P. Ignatieva.

It was melting, it was quite warm.

Alix rode in the sleigh twice today. After lunch I read aloud to her.

It was a wonderful sunny day at 4°C. The two of us went to mass at 10 o'clock. Then he returned and quickly changed into a hunting dress and went to the station. All the participants with whom we went to Gatchina were already waiting there. We had breakfast on the way. The raid took place in a pheasant farm near Remiz.

Deeply enjoyed the gorgeous weather and spring day. The hunt was very successful - a total of 879 were killed. By me: 115 - 21 partridges, 91 pheasants, hare and 2 rabbits.

Returned to Tsarskoe at 5 o'clock. After lunch I read aloud. We started packing for Peter.

The weather is as warm as yesterday. On the morning of her name day, Tatyana received gifts. I had two regular reports and several governors. Villagers Alexey and Kirill (dec.) had breakfast. Then he accepted Wit-te in the case of a trade agreement with Germany (2). I took a long walk without the dogs, as they had already been moved to the city. I worked out a lot in the evening and went to bed. Alix read it aloud.

I was very sleepy and couldn’t wake up before 91/4. Having tidied everything up and put away what was needed, I went for a walk in the nice park for the last time. There were only two reports. We had breakfast with the children. At 3 o'clock we left Tsarskoye Selo. Upon arrival in St. Petersburg, we went to Anichkov to see Mama. At 41/2 we arrived at our place. Now they started to sort it out and very soon brought the rooms into a habitable state. After tea I read. We had lunch together. Reading aloud in the evening.

We got up early. I read a lot in the morning; I ran around the garden twice with the children. After the reports, he received 10 senators. He put on a Prussian uniform and walked with Alix and Misha to breakfast with the German embassy on the occasion of Wilhelm’s birthday. At 3 o'clock I received two Don Kalmyks - officer Ulanov and Lama Ulyanov, who were leaving for Tibet (3).

We visited Comrade Sani, saw Kostya and Mavra. We went to the fortress and on the way home we stopped at the village of Vladimir and Comrade Mikhen. He and Comrade Evgenia drank tea with us. Dined Drenteln (d.). Before 9 o'clock. Let's go to "Gotter dammerung". We returned home at 113/4.

We got up early, thanks to which we read a lot and had time to take a walk. There were all three reports. Tienchen and Boris (decision) had breakfast. The weather is surprisingly warm, there is some snow left in the garden, and the streets are full of caravanning all winter long. Strange winter!

We had lunch at about 8 o'clock and then went to the Alexandria Theater. There was a new rather meaningless play "An Ordinary Woman". We returned disappointed at 121/4.

Quite a busy day. After the reports, I received 21 people. Solova had breakfast (dec.). I also received Skrydlov, who came from Sevastopol. I took a walk, the weather was windy. At 5 o'clock. Let's go to Mama's for tea. I studied for a long time. We had lunch at 8 o'clock. and spent the evening quietly at home reading aloud.

Romanov Nikolay (II)

Romanov Nikolay (II)

Diaries

Emperor Nicholas II*

Diaries

* Romanov-Koshkin-Zakharyin Nikolai Alexandrovich

Content

Started in Tsarskoe Selo

Alix did not get up, although she felt well. They responded to a lot of telegrams. Had dinner in the bedroom and went to bed early.

Alix lay in bed all day again.

It was a clear, good day.

After changing clothes, I accepted Lamsdorf’s report. Returned to Tsarskoe at 41/2. Alix was already up; Thank God she felt better. We had lunch together. In the evening I read it out loud to her.

Nice sunny day. After reading the papers I had time to take a short walk. Before breakfast I had a small reception. We ate alone with the children.

Alix’s health, thank God, is getting better! In the afternoon I received Sturmer (1) with his interesting report on Tver zemstvo affairs.

I worked a lot. After lunch Alix read aloud.

In the morning I read for a long time and walked a little. The reports ended on time. After breakfast I took gr. A. P. Ignatieva.

It was melting, it was quite warm.

Alix rode in the sleigh twice today. After lunch I read aloud to her.

Deeply enjoyed the gorgeous weather and spring day. The hunt was very successful - a total of 879 were killed. By me: 115 - 21 partridges, 91 pheasants, hare and 2 rabbits.

Returned to Tsarskoe at 5 o'clock. After lunch I read aloud. We started packing for Peter.

We had lunch at about 8 o'clock and then went to the Alexandria Theater. There was a new rather meaningless play "An Ordinary Woman". We returned disappointed at 121/4.

From 10 o'clock took it in the morning; first there was Hesse, then Sakharov and all the other reports. After breakfast, I also received Richter and the engineer Yugovich, the builder of the Manchurian railway. roads. I took a walk in the garden, it was freezing. We visited Comrade Evgenia and Alec and drank tea with them. We had lunch at 71/2 with Sergey Dolgoruky (department). Let's go to France. theater. They performed an interesting play "La Rabouilleuse".

We went to mass at 10 o'clock. After her, Misha and I went to the railway station. dor. and with the rest of the hunters to Ropsha, where they arrived at about one o'clock in the afternoon. The hunt took place in the same pheasant field and was very successful. Total killed: 489. By me: 96 - 81 pheasants and 14 partridges and hare. The weather was excellent, quiet and warm. Hunting teams were chasing. At 61/4 I returned home very happy with the day.

We dined in the family style at Mama's with music. We listened to a 10-year-old boy play the violin. We sat with Mom and returned home to 101/2.

It was a busy morning and a generally tiring day. Received the report and various presentations until 4 o'clock. The walk cleared my head. I studied until 7 o'clock. Andrey (day) had lunch. At 91/2 the big ball began. There were more people than ever. There was plenty of room for everyone for dinner. He walked around the tables throughout the halls. Fortunately, dear Alix had a great time at the ball. Returning to our place at 11/4 and undressing, we had a light snack at my place in the old way.

We got up late. From 10 o'clock hosted Abaza; then there were the usual reports. Dmitry Sh(eremetev) (department) had breakfast. Received Kulomzin. The whole day there was some kind of yellow darkness. I didn't walk for long. I read a lot. After lunch we went for the first time to Petya and Olga. They had an amateur performance in which both of them and Misha took part. They played very well and very friendly. Then downstairs in Petit’s office we had dinner with everyone who played in both plays and returned home at one o’clock.

Woke up at 9 o'clock. The weather was dark but frosty. Before breakfast I received 56 people. military and sailors in the Rotunda. Uncle Alexey was present and then had breakfast with us and Engalychev (dezh.). From 3 to 41/2 he accepted 21 more people. We only managed to walk for half an hour. After tea, Lamzdorf visited me according to the Japanese agreement. We had lunch together. I went to the theater. "Sleeping Beauty" was on - great, haven't seen it for a long time. Was at home at 113/4.

Finally in the morning the sun came out for a few hours. There were three reports. After breakfast we went to Kamenny Island. to Tienchen, but she was lying; so we took a ride around the islands and returned home by 4 o'clock. I was walking in the garden. I read a lot. At 8 o'clock we went to dinner at Mom's and spent the whole evening with her. It was snowing.

Sunny frosty day. I read a lot this morning. Had reports from Lobko and Romanov. Received 43 people introducing themselves. Sergey (dezh.) had breakfast. Having accepted Abaza, he went for a walk. Stana arrived from France with letters and good news from “our friend”(*1).

About 9 o'clock. the whole family gathered in the Romanov Gallery. There was a very successful performance in the Hermitage. They gave the prologue and the 4th act of "Mephistopheles", in cat. Medea, Chaliapin and Sobinov sang. Dinner is over...

As we have already said, throughout his life Nicholas II kept a diary, and he did it with unique pedantry; for several decades there was not a day that he did not describe consistently and in detail. He carefully recorded all the events of his life, both sad and joyful: from the death of his father to his abdication of the throne in favor of his brother, from his engagement to his marriage to his beloved Alix. Of course, much more attention was paid to what is connected with family life than to political and social issues, although nothing significant was missed there either.

In the era of Nicholas II, keeping a diary was considered an obligatory activity, part of a healthy lifestyle, and the emperor willingly submitted to this tradition, as did many of his contemporaries. He made notes in the evening, before going to bed, most of all they resembled a listing of the things done during the day, since each of them was allocated only a few lines. His language is compressed and dry, his style is laconic and dispassionate.

And only in his youth did Nicholas II allow himself to show emotions or make a funny observation. Later, when he is burdened with numerous government affairs, the diary will turn into a dry statement of facts, into a constant alternation of episodes from public and private life.

So, these were short notes in which the emperor managed to outline all the events of the day (he, however, never analyzed them); so as not to miss anything, the facts were listed in chronological order, one after the other, as if they were of the same plane or had the same meaning. Nicholas II did not become tsar of his own free will: for him, a visit to the ministry, a family dinner, or the arrival of “mother” were episodes of the same life, destined for him by fate.

These notes were not written for publication as memoirs; Nicholas II made notes exclusively for himself, never stooping to lie. And yet, some episodes should be omitted, since it was this diary that became the main incriminating document against the king.

Many passages concerning the events of 1917 and 1918 were published in the Red Archive after the death of the sovereign; the telegraphic style of his notes was regarded as a manifestation of narrow-mindedness, and the emperor himself was considered a fool, unable to draw the line between everyday life and history. The courtiers always knew about the existence of the diary and, when Nicholas II was still tsar, they secretly took out individual sheets of paper to later use them, if necessary, as evidence against the sovereign.

And yet it is possible to appreciate this enormous mass of material - fifty-one notebooks - both from a purely literary point of view and as an important historical document. If we read these entries in a row, in chronological order, they will reveal themselves to us as an inexhaustible source of knowledge of the human personality: they will reveal the depth of the nature of Nicholas II, the significance of the education he received and his attitude to the world.

Particularly beautiful are the pages that are dedicated to the young years of the emperor and his peers (almost all of them faced a painful death). The future king was an unusually gentle and warm-hearted person, a typical young man from a good family, with a “happy childhood”: he was simply brought up that way and could not change, even when, by the will of fate, he found himself on the throne prematurely.

For his diary, the then young heir to the throne chose a style characteristic not of a writer, but of a military man, since that is exactly what he considered himself to be. He wrote only about the most important things or about his favorite activities: about a walk, about conversations at the dinner table, about meetings with family. On the other hand, Nicholas II can be regarded as an extremely modern writer, and his diary as a wonderful work. After all, these notebooks use an artistic method used many years later by Hemingway: the apparent absence of an author, the “untold story,” a narrative that speaks for itself, without unnecessary additions.

May the Lord bless the coming year, may He grant Russia a victorious end to the war, lasting peace and a quiet and silent life!

We left at 11 o'clock. to mass. Then we had breakfast: ladies, prince. A. S. Dolgoruky and Dm. Sheremetev (dec.). Accepted Sakharov's report. I took a walk. Answered telegrams. We had dinner and spent the evening together. We are very happy to stay in our native Tsarskoe Selo for the winter.

Clear frosty day. We attended mass and had breakfast as before in the round hall with everyone. I walked for a long time. At 4½ there was an officer's Christmas tree there. The children were present, even a “treasure”; it behaved very well. We had lunch together.

It was a busy morning and I didn’t have time to go for a walk. Having breakfast: D. Alexey and D. Sergei, who arrived today from Moscow on the occasion of his leaving the General Government and being appointed commander-in-chief of the Moscow troops. military env. Took him for a nice walk. After lunch he went back. We adopted Ataman Krasnov, cat. came from Manchuria; he told us a lot of interesting things about the war. In "Rus. disabled,” he writes articles about her.

It was a busy morning again. The lieutenant had breakfast. Roshchakovsky, former mine commander. "Decisive". Received Epanchin and Poretsky, who returned from the last mobilization, and Prince. Obolensky, Finnish gubernia general. I went out for a walk at 4¼. After tea, Mirsky had a big talk with him after his report. Dined with Solovaya (dec.).

Started taking from 10¼. At 11½ we went to Vespers with the blessing of water; stood below. Boris (dez.) had breakfast. It took a long time to accept introductions. I was walking.

After tea there was Abaza. I read for a long time in the evening.

Until 9 o'clock let's go to the city. The day was gray and quiet at 8° below zero. We changed clothes at our place in the Winter Palace. At 10½ I went to the halls to greet the troops. Until 11 o'clock we set off for the church. The service lasted an hour and a half. We went out to see Jordan wearing a coat. During the salute, one of the guns of my 1st cavalry battery fired grapeshot from Vasiliev [sky] island. and it doused the area closest to the Jordan and part of the palace. One policeman was wounded. Several bullets were found on the platform; the banner of the Marine Corps was pierced.

After breakfast, ambassadors and envoys were received in the Golden Drawing Room. At 4 o'clock we left for Tsarskoye. I took a walk. I was studying. We had dinner together and went to bed early.

The weather was calm, sunny with wonderful frost on the trees. In the morning I had a meeting with D. Alexei and some ministers on the matter of the Argentine and Chilean courts. He had breakfast with us. Received nine people.

The two of you went to venerate the icon of the Mother of God. I read a lot. The two of us spent the evening together.

Clear frosty day. There was a lot of work and reports. Fredericks had breakfast. I walked for a long time. Since yesterday, all plants and factories have been on strike in St. Petersburg. Troops were called from the surrounding area to reinforce the garrison. The workers have been calm so far. Their number is determined at 120,000 hours. At the head of the workers' union is a priest - the socialist Gapon. Mirsky arrived in the evening to report on the measures taken.

Hard day! Serious riots occurred in St. Petersburg as a result of the workers’ desire to reach the Winter Palace. The troops had to shoot in different places in the city, there were many killed and wounded. Lord, how painful and difficult! Mom came to us from the city right in time for mass. We had breakfast with everyone. I was walking with Misha. Mom stayed with us for the night.

There were no major incidents in the city today. There were reports. Uncle Alexey was having breakfast. Received a delegation of Ural Cossacks who arrived with caviar. I was walking. We drank tea at Mama's. To unite actions to stop the unrest in St. Petersburg, he decided to appoint General-M. Trepov as governor-general of the capital and province. In the evening I had a meeting on this matter with him, Mirsky and Hesse.

Dabich (d.) dined.

During the day there were no major disturbances in the city. Had the usual reports. After breakfast, Rear Adm. received. Nebogatov, appointed commander of the additional detachment of the Pacific Ocean squadron. I was walking. It was not a cold, gray day. I worked a lot. Everyone spent the evening reading aloud.

The day passed relatively calmly; there were attempts at several factories to get to work. After the report I received 20 people. introducing themselves. Later he received Kokovtsov and Linder, the new Minister of Art.-Sec. Finnish.

Was very busy all morning and after breakfast until 4 o'clock. I didn't walk for long. The weather was mild and it was snowing. We drank tea at Mama's on the other side. Trubetskoy dined (dezh.). I read Mama and Alix aloud.

I had both reports, and I received Witte and Kokovtsev on a work issue. We had breakfast in the rotunda with the German embassy on the occasion of Wilhelm's birthday. I was walking. The weather was gray and pleasant. Misha returned from Gatchina; Olga and Petya are from the city. We had lunch with them and Rudnev (dezh.). Had a long conversation with Petya.

The city is completely quiet. Had three reports. Had breakfast: Ksenia, Sandro and P.V. Zhukovsky. We received the new Italian Ambassador Meregali. I was walking. Uncle Vladimir arrived for tea. Then I had Sergei. He stayed to dine with us.

In the morning I received Fullon, who had been dismissed from the post of mayor. We attended mass and had breakfast with everyone. After the sleigh ride I was walking with Alix, Misha and Olga. There was a snowstorm. I worked a lot. The five of us dined and spent the evening.

In the morning I visited Mama as usual. Had two reports. Uncle Alexey was having breakfast. We received the new Swedish envoy, Mr. Wrangel. I was walking, it was cold and windy. I worked a lot. After lunch I received Trepov with a long report.

Had two reports. A lot of things to do and all sorts of fuss. I was walking. Dinner: Misha, Ksenia, Olga and Petya. We played eight hands. I read it in the evening.

Tiring day.

After the report there was a big reception. Had breakfast: George and Minnie. Received three wounded below. rank, to whom the Military gave insignia. orders Then he received a deputation of workers from large factories and factories in St. Petersburg, to whom he said a few words about the latest unrest.

Adopted Bulygin, cat. assigned min. internal business I walked for a short time. Before tea he received Sakharov; later Witte and Gerbel. I had to read for a long time in the evening; From all this I finally lost my head.

Today was freer. Had a report from Budberg and received Manukhin, the new manager of the mine. Justice.

Having breakfast: Misha, Olga, Tinchen with daughter Albert, both Benckendorff brothers and Prince. Shervashidze. I was walking. It was clear and 15° below zero. I read a lot. Dinner: Ksenia, Petya and Olga.

There were two reports and a small reception, including 5 workers from the State procurement expedition. papers, the only institution that continued to operate all this time. Had breakfast: M-elle de l’Escaille and Prince. Khilkov. I also took Lobko. I was walking. The weather was calm and frosty.

Diaries of Emperor Nicholas II (1894–1918): In 2 vols. T. 2: 1905–1918. Part 1: 1905–1913; Part 2: 1914–1918/ Rep. ed. S.V. Mironenko; hands preparation team text of the diary for the editor: Z.I. Peregudova (Part 1), E.A. Chirkova (Part 2); prepared text to the editor: D.A. Andreev, I.N. Zasypkina, Z.I. Peregudova, G.G. Tolstikova, E.A. Chirkova, V.M. Khrustalev. M.: ROSSPEN, 2013. – 824 p. – 1000 copies.

The second and final volume of the diary of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II covers the events of 1905–1918. Already the first entry demonstrates the memoirist’s main desires: to end the Russo-Japanese War victoriously, to live “quietly and silently” in the country and with his family. This made him pay much more attention to state affairs. The Emperor established a regular system of reports, actively worked with documents in the morning and evening, and when he was away from his residences, including foreign trips, he used both courier communications and summons of ministers for personal reports.

And yet, the solution to state problems very soon and right up to the tragic ending with the abdication of the throne becomes more of a ritual than an urgent need. He lived every year in accordance with his own interests. Political problems in the changing Russian Empire irritated him, because they did not coincide with the ideals he had learned in childhood, distracted him from his usual life, and only a more or less honest environment pushed him to weak modernization decisions. The Emperor stubbornly resisted change and, at best, was willing to accept modern technological advances suitable for war and entertainment. To his traditional entertainments (hunting, theater, billiards, cards) cinema was now added.

This is the general context of the second volume of Nicholas II’s diary. We will try to analyze the diary entries included in it and the methodology for their publication, using the experience of the previous analysis of the first volume.

After 1904 until approximately 1914, their typology that we identified is preserved; the simplest type predominates - the impersonal one. This is evidenced, for example, by randomly selected entries for 1905 (“Had three reports”), 1906 (“Had two reports and a reception”), 1913 (“Received two regular reports before breakfast”), 1917 (“The report ended on time”) (Part 1. P. 16, 18, 114, 728; Part 2. P. 295). Later, the second, semi-anonymized type is increasingly discovered, with only the names of visitors to the emperor’s office mentioned, which is confirmed, for example, by records of 1905 (“After tea there was Abaza”), 1914 (“After Mamantov’s report, he received the Japanese ambassador Motono”), 1917 ("From 10 o'clock I received: Gurko, Belyaev and Pokrovsky") (Part 2. P. 4, 289).

The third type—partially meaningful, sometimes revealing with just hints the essence of the emperor’s conversations with his visitors—is still rare and almost every time needs clarification. These records clearly reflect the interests and moods of Nicholas II both as a person and as a statesman. For example, “We received Ataman Krasnov, who came from Manchuria; he told us a lot of interesting things about the war. In “Russian Invalid” he writes articles about her,” “Min, who was promoted to major general and enlisted in the retinue, had breakfast. He told a lot about Moscow and the suppression of the rebellion; he showed us samples of revolvers and guns taken by the regiment”, “I spent the whole morning fiddling with Petyusha and Roediger about new uniforms”, “At 10 o’clock he received Dzhunkovsky upon his return from a business trip to Moscow on the occasion of riots and pogroms”, “At 10 o’clock I received Markov on Finnish business” (Part 1. P. 14, 108, 279; Part 2. P. 133, 292).

The named types of records reflect the hierarchy of importance for the emperor of the state affairs being decided, therefore, willingly or unwillingly, he demonstrates it. We see that, firstly, before us is a person who feels like the absolute ruler of what is happening. He is confident in the perfection of the existing system of governing the empire, which allows him to rely on the opinions and actions of ministers. This explains the predominantly impersonal recording of state affairs being decided in the diary of Nicholas II. True, there is an exception to this rule: during the premiership of P.A. Stolypin, the number of receptions with ministerial reports is clearly decreasing. It is difficult to say whether this was one of Stolypin’s conditions or whether the emperor simply trusted him, but most likely it was both.

Secondly, Nicholas II almost subconsciously ranks his associates in managing the empire. By calling them exclusively by their surname, the emperor demonstrates his special attitude - constant and even goodwill, wariness and formality, which can gradually turn into disappointment. Judging by the diary, he is either favorable towards such people or dissatisfied with them. Perhaps, with the exception of Stolypin. The Emperor clearly relied on him in state affairs, he trusts him, listens with interest, and not just out of obligation, to his mostly evening regular reports. With regard to Stolypin, the habit of evaluating subordinates' reports by length rather than by substance is absent.

Thirdly, Nicholas II, in a number of cases, recording the essence of the issues he resolved, thereby demonstrating not only their national importance, but also his fundamental interest. These records are very important for understanding the personality of the emperor.

Of particular interest to modern readers are the records of a personal nature (they are much less common than others). The author of the diary is generally strict and consistent in conveying personal feelings. After 1904, we will find virtually no traces of outright suffering, for example, due to the illness of his son Alexei or the constant ailments of the empress. The diary in this sense corresponds to the image of a public person dressed in an official uniform. Only two or three times the emperor seems to cry out from the suffering of the heir, for example, writing on July 16, 1913: “Alexey had a pain in his right elbow in the evening from intense movements of his hands during the game, he could not sleep for a long time and suffered greatly, poor thing!” (Part 1. P. 773). Emotions are typical only for notes about G. Rasputin, with whom hopes for getting rid of the disease are associated: “After tea we went upstairs to the other side and there we had the joy of seeing and talking with Grigory!”, “After lunch Grigory came to us; sat with him for a long time. It was very good,” “Only in the evening, under the influence of Gregory’s calming conversation, did my soul come into balance!” (Part 1. P. 189, 377; Part 2. P. 66), and such mentions in frequency are second only to records of meetings with relatives and ministers, hunting, military parades, reviews and exercises.

Rare records contain an emotional assessment of events in the state. So, on January 9, 1905, he writes: “Hard day! Serious riots occurred in St. Petersburg as a result of the workers’ desire to reach the Winter Palace. The troops had to shoot in different places in the city, there were many killed and wounded. Lord, how painful and difficult! : “Today an important change took place for me: Kokovtsev was dismissed from his duties, Goremykin was appointed chairman of the Council of Ministers, and Bark was appointed manager of the Ministry of Finance” (Part 1. P. 15, 206, 334 ; Part 2. P. 8). He clearly does not like the State Duma, overcoming himself, meets with its chairmen and traditionally leaves only dry protocol notes about this. Notes from the last days before the start of the First World War are similar to them. It seems that their author is hiding feelings and thoughts from himself. But it is not so.

Unlike the diary of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, where the emperor did not hide the dependence of his mood on the weather, here the author is more secretive: he learned to control himself. However, he does not always succeed in this. On July 18, 1914, the day before the signing of the manifesto declaring war on Germany, as if anticipating the future, Nicholas II wrote: “The day was gray, and the inner mood was the same” (Part 2, p. 47). And what is significant: until July 21, the diary for the first time in its history does not contain information about the weather.

Comparing the emperor's coverage of the periods of the Russian-Japanese and the First World War, one can notice that there are much more records about the latter. Of course, by the time of the First World War, communication had become much better, however, the sheer scale of events forced Nicholas II to monitor them more closely, turning the diary into a kind of chronicle, revealing the peculiarities of personal perception of what was happening. For example, he is present at a review of the people's militia, which takes place in the pouring rain. Noting this point, the emperor writes: “The warriors have a good cheerful appearance; only the combination of all kinds of shoulder straps and cap bands in the same part makes a strange impression” (Part 2, p. 59). As we see, he is not concerned about the formation of the militia, but only about the appearance of the warriors - the diversity of their uniforms irritates him.

With regard to the archaeographic side of the publication, we note that in the second volume it has generally improved. The names of the elements of the publication's search system, which are also part of the comments, correspond to their essence: now these are not “indexes”, but “lists” and “lists” of church and religious terms, geographical names, places and buildings, ships, etc. However, their role, with the exception of lists of church terms, definitions and abbreviations, is still negligible, since they do not contain page references. A particularly provocative violation of generally accepted norms appears to be such an innovation by the compilers as replacing the generally accepted geographical index with an “Annotated List of Geographical Names, Places and Structures,” in which readers are offered impressive short stories about Vyborg, Gatchina, the Dnieper, Kiev, Livadia, Orsha, Finland, etc. and at the same time the “pleasure” of independently searching for their mentions on almost 1300 pages of the publication. Not everything is in order with the name index. Of the 60 names of authors of books read by the sovereign, less than half are present in it - 23 names. In addition, a random sample shows that G. Rasputin, mentioned in the index to the first part of the publication, is absent (Part 1. P. 551, 554, 562, 574, 578, 582, 584, 586, 588, 593, 601, 611, 617, 618, 643, 778, 791). These pages feature exclusively the Minister of the Russian Navy I.K. Grigorovich. Perhaps this is a “computer joke”: during automated sorting, he could not distinguish Grigory from Grigorovich. However, the archaeographer is also obliged to check the results of machine data processing. The absence in the second volume of a number of important elements present in the first volume is also inexplicable. It is especially offensive that there is not at least a list of military structures with which Nicholas II dealt in one way or another during the First World War. They were the most intense in the life of the emperor and the history of the Russian army.

The publication has done a lot to improve the quality of the content notes. There were even traces of going back to the text twice to comment on previously missed passages that required clarification. Repeated comments are marked in the footnotes with an asterisk so as not to change the numbering of previous explanations placed in special parts of the annual diary entries. In contrast to the first volume, interlinear explanations of the contents of the source are now found on many pages (in the first part alone there are about 120 of them, but in the second there are only three). An attempt at secondary commentary on the content of the source, even if it violates the architecture of the publication, can only be welcomed, but it should be recognized that in general the comments are still far from not only the ideal, but also from the capabilities available to the compilers. According to our calculations, there are about 300 “unidentified gaps” of text left in the first part of the second volume of the diary, which is a lot for such a documentary source. The second part of the volume in this sense is also far from perfect: the number of unexplained fragments here is much greater.

At the same time, the second volume of the publication, like the first, is remarkable for its real commentary on the contents of the diary, which cannot but amaze with its thoroughness. These comments still resemble micro-articles, and sometimes anthologies of documentary sources related to the text, but they demonstrate the knowledge of the compilers in a more restrained manner than in the first volume. The overwhelming majority are now more businesslike and have essentially acquired the necessary bibliographic aspect, which is important.

Nevertheless, an obvious redundancy of comments is also inherent in the second volume of the publication. For example, commenting on the mention in the diary of the Union of the Russian People, the compilers do not limit themselves to its general description as “an Orthodox-monarchical, nationalist organization, the largest Black Hundred formation on the territory of Russia,” but continue: “The Emperor supported the “Union”” and then provide extensive information about the financing of this “Union”, Stolypin’s attitude towards it, the text of Nicholas II’s encouraging telegram to its chairman (Part 1, pp. 550–551). And in vain, because even these data still do not give a complete picture of the activities of the “Union”, the attitude of Nicholas II and Stolypin towards it. The publication takes up almost a page of commentary about the Russian master of photography S.M. Prokudin-Gorsky (Part 1. P. 443–444), but the entry dated March 10, 1914 does not clarify at all: “In the evening we looked at interesting transparencies, color photographs of views of the Altai District” (Part 2. P. 16) .

In any scientific documentary publication, comments must contain not only necessary, but also impartial explanations of the source text. In this publication, in order to impart objectivity to the comments, citations of documents of an official nature and personal origin (diaries, letters, memoirs of people around the emperor) are used. The latter are sometimes factual in nature, but very often contain assessments of the most important historical events. For example, the opening of the Second State Duma was commented in the publication with a quote from the work of S.F. Oldenburg “The Reign of Nicholas II” (Part 1, p. 259), in contrast to which directly opposite judgments can be made.

As for the sufficiency of comments, it is less amenable to regulation. The shortcomings in this regard are largely caused by the model of documentary publication chosen by the compilers, so we consider some of them debatable. However, there are miscalculations that can be entirely attributed to the responsibility of the responsible editor. They are expressed both in incomplete commenting and in cases of inexplicable duplication of comments. Let's say especially about the latter.

In the first part of the second volume, the entry for 1909 mentions Agvan Dorzhiev, the envoy of the 13th Dalai Lama. A lengthy commentary to him reports on the construction in St. Petersburg, at his request, of a datsan, and in the Irkutsk province - a temple in the name of the longevity of the heir to the crown prince. In the commentary to the entry for 1913, this information is repeated in a slightly modified edition and with important additions (Part 1, pp. 442, 813–814). It is clear that the comments were prepared by different compilers, and the editor did not remove the repetition. Another example of the inattention of the responsible editor of the publication is the peculiar lag in comments on the content - they are given not at the first mention of objects requiring clarification, but after several entries. Thus, on December 6, 1907, the emperor writes: “After many years of deliberation, I finally decided to change the uniform of the army, return the guard to the previous uniform of Anpap and restore the old Uhlan and Hussar regiments. All this was announced in the order today” (Part 1. P. 250), but the commentary on the reform is tied to the entry dated January 19, 1908: “In the morning Petyusha brought a collection of shakos and 10 lower [lower] ranks dressed in different kavalas [ Erian] forms” (Ibid. 1. p. 275).

In conclusion, let us dwell on reproductions of photographic documents. There are 87 of them here, of which 25 are of a portrait nature, 44 are situational, 13 are event-related and five are species-specific, and photographs of scenes from the private life of the emperor predominate. Only 10–12 photographic documents can be classified as official. In other words, the intention of the compilers of the publication is obvious: the documentary photo series was associated primarily with showing the personal life of the imperial family and selectively with its official activities, for example, the emperor as Supreme Commander-in-Chief. This approach of the compilers to the publication of photographic documents is quite understandable: almost half of the text of this source concerns the personal life of the emperor and his family. And the photographs demonstrate this to us perfectly: snow removal, boat trips on the yacht “Standart”, vacation in Crimea, playing tennis, driving a car, swimming, hunting trophies, etc. At the same time, photographs complement the text of the diary. For example, they depict the faces of members of the royal family. They are almost always stern, even in children; only in one photo does Nicholas II smile restrainedly; in three, Alexandra Feodorovna allows herself to smile. Whatever the reasons for their grief, it is important for us that the photographs correspond only to the private line of the diary of Nicholas II. Another line, related to the state activities of the emperor, is reflected in the photographs more than modestly, i.e. virtually remained unnoticed.

As a result, the archaeographic component of the publication of photographic documents as a whole in terms of their selection cannot be considered satisfactory. There is only partial accompaniment of the text of the written source with reproductions of photographic documents. Turning to the titles and annotations of the latter (based on a random sample of nine photographs - No. 1, 11, 21, 31, 41, 51, 61, 71, 81), we note that only one corresponds to the content. The rest are either careless or inaccurate. For example, one photograph is titled as a portrait (“Grand Duchess Tatyana Nikolaevna in the Alexander Park. Tsarskoe Selo. April 28, 1917”), although it is a situational photograph related to the arrangement of a vegetable garden by the imperial family. Indeed, in the emperor’s diary on April 28, 1917, it is written: “We walked during the day and began work on setting up a vegetable garden in the garden opposite Mama’s windows” (Part 2, p. 307).

The modern historiographical and archaeographical situation is such that it makes it possible to ignore criticism of any publishing project without consequences for its future fate. Not often, but sometimes we see that the scientific result of a particular documentary publication is determined not so much by compliance with generally accepted norms of archaeographic design, but by the value of the sources included in it - they hide archaeographic flaws and are ready to turn failure into success. Archaeographic errors in the publication of Nicholas II's diary in the first volume were corrected when the second volume was published, but only partially and somewhat reluctantly. Therefore, readers who are grateful to the staff of the State Archives of the Russian Federation for introducing into scientific circulation the complete and accurate text of the diary of Nicholas II should know that its archaeographic part could be more fundamental.

V.P. KOZLOV

Kozlov V.P. Diaries of Emperor Nicholas II (1894–1918) [Rec.] // Domestic archives. 2012. No. 5. pp. 114–120.

The terminology proposed by the author of the review is used here. Cm.: Kozlov V.P. Publications of photographic documents in the 1990–2000s: archaeographic analysis // Ibid. 2015. No. 1. pp. 46–55.