Although Nicholas showed no emotion throughout this ordeal, abdication was for him an immense sacrifice: not because he craved either the substance of power or its trappings—the one he thought a heavy burden, the other a tedious imposition—but because he felt that by this action he was betraying his oath to God and country.125
His trials were not yet over. At the very instant when he was signing the pledge to abdicate, in Petrograd two delegates from the Provisional Committee, Shulgin and Guchkov, were boarding a special train bound for Pskov. They carried their own draft of an abdication manifesto, hoping to extract from Nicholas what, unknown to them, he had already conceded. They were sent by the Provisional Committee, which had decided the preceding night that it required the Tsar’s abdication to begin functioning. The hope of the government was that by acting swiftly it could present the country with a new tsar, the child Alexis, before the Soviet proclaimed Russia a republic.
As he was leaving the Imperial train, Ruzskii was told that Shulgin and Guchkov were on their way. He informed Nicholas and was requested to return the cables to Rodzianko and Alekseev. Ruzskii thought that the two deputies, both known monarchists, could be carrying a message from the Duma that would enable Nicholas to retain the throne.126
While awaiting their arrival, Nicholas sent for Professor S. P. Fedorov, the Court physician, to inquire about the prospects of Alexis’s recovery. He told Fedorov of Rasputin’s prediction that upon reaching the age of thirteen—that is, in 1917—Alexis would be completely cured. Was that correct? The physician responded that such a recovery would be a miracle, for medicine knew of no cure for hemophilia. Even so, Alexis could live for many years. He further expressed the personal opinion that it would be inconceivable that after abdicating Nicholas would be permitted to keep his son, now installed as tsar, with him, because he would almost certainly be required to go into exile abroad.127 On hearing this, Nicholas changed his mind. He would not part with the boy: therefore, instead of abdicating in favor of Alexis he would hand the crown to Michael.
This impulsive decision was the last gasp of the patrimonial spirit, a reflex that showed how deeply this mentality was still embedded in the Russian monarchy. The order of succession was clearly established: according to Russian constitutional law, the crown automatically descended to the reigning tsar’s eldest son, even if he was a minor and unable to rule.128 Nicholas had no authority to abdicate on his son’s behalf and appoint Michael successor: “The Russian throne [was] not the emperor’s private property nor his patrimony [votchina] to dispose of according to his own free will.”129 The choice of Michael was doubly irregular in that Michael, having taken for his wife a commoner who was twice married and once divorced, had disqualified himself from the succession in any event.
Shulgin and Guchkov arrived in Pskov at 9:45 p.m. and were immediately taken to the Imperial train. Both were unshaven and dressed in rumpled clothes: Shulgin is said to have looked like a convict.130 In the presence of Ruzskii, Count Fredericks, and General Naryshkin, who kept notes, Guchkov presented a somber account of the situation in the capital. Avoiding Nicholas’s eyes, his own fixed on the table before him, he stressed the danger of unrest spilling to the frontline troops and the futility of dispatching punitive expeditions. He insisted that the mutiny was spontaneous: Khabalov’s assistant told him that the troops joined the rebels immediately. According to Ruzskii, Nicholas was shattered when told that his own Guard unit participated in the mutiny: after that, he barely listened to Guchkov.131 Guchkov went on to say that the Petrograd crowds were passionately anti-monarchist, blaming the Crown for Russia’s recent misfortunes. This called for a drastic change in the manner in which the government was run. The Provisional Committee had been constituted to restore order, especially in the armed forces, but this move had to be accompanied by further changes. The difficulty of having Nicholas keep the throne lay not only in the animosity of the populace toward him and his wife but also in its fear of retribution: “All the workers and soldiers who had taken part in the disorders,” Guchkov said, “are convinced that the retention [vodvorenie] of the old dynasty means punishment, for which reason a complete change is necessary.”132 Guchkov concluded that the best solution would be for Nicholas to abdicate in favor of his son and appoint Michael Regent: such was the opinion of the Provisional Committee. This step, if promptly taken, could save Russia and the dynasty.
Shulgin, who kept his eyes on Nicholas as his colleague was speaking, says that the Tsar displayed no emotion. When Guchkov finished, he responded, “calmly, as if it were an everyday matter,” that he had made up his mind earlier in the day to lay down the crown in favor of his son, “but now, having thought the situation over, I have decided that in view of [my son’s illness] I must abdicate simultaneously for him also, since I cannot be separated from him.”133 The crown would pass to Michael. This news left Guchkov and Shulgin speechless. When they recovered from the shock, the legal question was raised: was such procedure legitimate? Since no lawyers were present, it was held in abeyance. Shulgin and Guchkov expressed the opinion that quite apart from the legality of the matter, the assumption of the throne by the young Alexis would have a much better effect on the public: “A beautiful myth could have been created around this innocent and pure child,” Guchkov thought to himself, “his charm would have helped to calm the anger of the masses.”134
But Nicholas would not yield. He retired to his private car, where he remained for twenty minutes, in the course of which he revised the abdication manifesto so as to designate Michael his successor. At Guchkov and Shulgin’s request he inserted a phrase asking his brother to take an oath to work in “union” with the legislature. The time was 11:50 p.m., but Nicholas had the document read 3:05 p.m., when he had made the original decision, to avoid giving the impression he had surrendered the throne under the Duma’s pressure.
HEADQUARTERS Copies to all Commanders
To the Chief of Staff
In the days of the great struggle against the external enemy, who has striven for nearly three years to enslave our homeland, the Lord God has willed to subject Russia to yet another heavy trial. The popular disturbances which have broken out threaten to have a calamitous effect on the further conduct of the hard-fought war. The fate of Russia, the honor of our heroic army, the welfare of the people, the whole future of our beloved Fatherland demand that the war be brought at all costs to a victorious conclusion. The cruel foe exerts his last efforts and the time is near when our valiant army, together with our glorious allies, will decisively overcome him. In these decisive days in Russia’s life, WE have deemed it our duty in conscience to OUR nation to draw closer together and to unite all the national forces for the speediest attainment of victory. In agreement with the State Duma, WE have acknowledged it as beneficial to renounce the throne of the Russian state and lay down Supreme authority. Not wishing to separate OURSELVES from OUR beloved SON, WE hand over OUR succession to OUR Brother, the Grand Duke MICHAEL ALEK-SANDROVICH, and give Him OUR BLESSING to ascend the throne of the Russian State. We command OUR Brother to conduct the affairs of state in complete and inviolate union with the representatives of the nation in the legislative institutions on such principles as they will establish, and to swear to this an inviolate oath. In the name of OUR deeply beloved homeland, WE call on all true sons of the Fatherland to fulfill their sacred duty to It by obeying the Tsar in the difficult moment of national trials and to help HIM, together with the representatives of the people, lead the Russian State to victory, prosperity, and glory. May the Lord God help Russia.