Marie returned to Pskov where she learned from General Ruzsky, Commander of the Armies of the Northern Front, uncomfortable reports. Dissolution within Russia was in process.
For Marie, the new prime minister, B.V. Stuermer, was showing a new German influence. Samarin, the Procurator of the Synod, was released from his position. Vladimir, the Petrograd Metropolitan, was sent to Kiev. Vladimir’s post was given to Pitirim, “a trusted partisan of Rasputin.” (Page 248)
July 1916, Sazonov, Minister of Foreign Affairs, was released from his position and hopes of ally assistance felt dim, particularly now that a believed-to-be pro-German was now in position. September 1916, Protopopov was placed as Minister of Interior and clearly was “a Rasputin appointment,” and very much discussed among many, (Page 248) The “animosity and contempt” began to be apparent to Marie while overhearing many conversations. (Page 248) “Revolution” was beginning to be in discussions. (Page 248) Rasputin had seemed to gain great notoriety and strength in power which had seemed so incomprehensible for many.
Marie described Rasputin. “This power was tremendous; it was like dusk, enveloping all our world, eclipsing the sun. How could so pitiful a wretch throw so vast a shadow! It was inexplicable, maddening, baffling, almost incredible,” (Pages 248-249)
1916 Winter was severe. It began in November and hospital supplies began to be slow to arrive. The suppliers became “scarce and of lower quality,” (page 249) Rubber gloves included. The surgeries for gangrene had to be done with “bare hands.” (Page 249) Ice from the Velikaya river was sawed and placed in ice cellars.
“The buzz of the saw, the cries of the workers, floated far and wide through the clear air. Long files of peasant sledges - upon which the immense, blue squares of ice had been loaded with hooks - drove screeching up the high bank of the shore. In the fields, a mellow, downy snow was waist deep. Dry wood burned hotly in the stoves, the furniture and the wooden frames of the windows cracked.” (Page 249)
Despite few people would be out in this weather, Marie would go out with her skis in the woods. At times it seemed she was at the level of the higher part of trees, due to the amount of snow. “The sun became towards dusk an immense fiery circle, glimpsed through the black trunks of the trees and the purple shadows became sharp. On the way home I would watch the thickening of the blue winter evening, and the dawning of the stars.” (Pages 249-250)
On one of her outings, she had understood Rasputin had died. Many responses of people were diverse. He was blamed for the fallen Russia. The Russian people had tired of the ongoing war and Rasputin had become the scapegoat, versus years earlier, he was at Russian court and rarely absent.
The Emperor’s son had hemophilia since birth and was considered not curable. Rasputin had helped relieve the child’s suffering during internal hemorrhages which had increased over the son’s years. Rasputin was the Empress’s only help for her son. The Empress had increased in anxiety which affected her health negatively. She had stayed with her son in the nursery in the earlier years for long lengths of time.
“Rasputin cunningly and adroitly took possession of the Empress’s mind. But his domineering character could not be satisfied with the comparatively modest rôle of a household’s miracle worker, he needed vaster field of action” (Page 251)
Reflecting on documents since released from that time period are public property. Rasputin was a peasant and his alliances were those of a peasant - no trusting nobles and viewed as being oppressed as there was lines of communications available to the Tsar.
Rasputin would test the level of his power. He began to alienate the Empress of those around her. The Empress had been a great study coming into her marriage with the Emperor. She was adept in the Russian language and spoke expertly in comparison to many foreign princesses. What the Empress had not learned, was “understand(ing) the true character of the people over whom she reigned.” (Page 251) The Empress had a daughter in her first two years of her marriage. Her son was her second child and he was born with a disease she had brought into this new family, a deeply upsetting and personal nature the Empress would contend with.
The Empress’ grandmother, Queen Victoria, was domineering and the German court where the Empress grew-up was small. Queen Victoria was not tolerant of the weaknesses of others and was not an advocate of the Russian aristocracy. The Empress was a devoted wife, Christian, “exceptional mother.” (Page 252) She seemed most successful with family interests, versus with the public.
Rasputin in court had used his power to incite antagonistic behavior among this in court. He also drew the Empress to more “state affairs”, versus household ones. (Page 252) Rasputin had been constricting those around the Emperor and Empress. The Emperor had desired to have more connection with the Russian people.
As Rasputin’s power grew, so did his change in his outer behavior. Marie had described him to have become a braggart, conceited, increased drinker of wine to extremes, and he involved himself in intrigues where the ramifications of his actions created results that were greatly magnified and complex.
“His (Rasputin’s) death came too late to change the course of events. His dreadful name had become too thoroughly a symbol of disaster. The daring of those who killed him to save their country was miscalculated. All of the participants of the plot, with the exception of Prince Yusupov later understood that in raising their hands to preserve the old regime they struck it, in reality, its fatal blow.” (Page 253)
“True, Rasputin had to be annihilated, but it should have been done earlier, and in such a way as to raise no hue and cry. Then the imperial couple would never have been submitted to the humiliating necessity of punishing their kinsman for a killing which had brought about general rejoicing.” (Page 253)
There had been so much stories as to how and who killed Rasputin. Marie was contacted for an immediate meeting with Prince Shakhovskoy, the Red Cross local representative. He spoke of her brother, Grand Duke Dmitri, and Prince Yusupov, as being part of the participants in Rasputin’s assassination and were heroes to free Russia from Rasputin. Marie was quiet and looked down as she was taking in what he was saying without showing any expression. She was having a feeling of being separate from her brother now as he never mentioned this to her. Then her feelings were of her brother protecting Russia from further demise. He had said Rasputin’s corpse had not yet been found. Under the orders of Empress, both Dmitri and Yusupov had been arrested and guarded in Petrograd. The Emperor was still at Headquarters the prior day. He received General Ruzsky. Prince Shakhovskoy let her know that those in Pskov were aware of this information and this was to let her know. After he left, she deeply wanted to connect with Dmitri but felt too dangerous by note or in person. Marie paced in her room as she thinking about all the possibilities and that life has changed and will never be the same.
At noon, she leaves her room and goes into the dining room where eyes looked up at her and she she realized all knew the news. As she wrote, “ There was a sort of covert excitement and hidden admiration in the looks given me; it was as if they thought that I also was involved in this assassination. But no one said anything.” (Page 255)
Marie wanted to speak with General Ruzsky that day but he was to return the next day from Mogilev. Once Marie was alerted of his arrival which was late afternoon and early evening, she went over to where the General’s house was. The natural beauty around the house surpassed the poor condition house. She went into the garden to gather peace within herself - and appreciated the river Velikaya and old linden trees. “The light of the moon was reflected in the snow as in a dull silver mirror.” (Page 256)
When she entered the General’s home, he was at his desk with many papers on top. she described him. He was a “short, lean old man with topping shoulders, sunken cheeks, and thick grey hair cut in the German manner, so as to stand, in short bristles, all over his head. His deep-set and extremely bright eyes shone behind gold-rimmed glasses.” (Page 256) Marie felt was Russia’s “most talented generals.” (Page 256) He happened to be out of favor at that moment due to being suspected of some “political intrigue.” (Page 256)
He spoke to Marie saying he had just arrived back from Petrograd, as he wanted to understand more clearly “the mood of the capital.” (Pages 256-257) He was silent to gather his thoughts and proceeded to let her know the general military and political situations. He had given a report to the Emperor and he did not accept it well. The Emperor left rather abruptly from the conference for Tsarskoie-Selo.
To recap on the report of the mood of those armies under his command. It began with “the slackness of discipline, the disappearance of all martial spirit.” It continued. “Propaganda had penetrated all ranks, and was taking insidious effect. There had even been outright insubordination, refusal to leave the trenches and attack. Severity, punishments, were no longer possible or safe. It was necessary to work out some new plan, to face an unprecedented situation, to organize a psychological counter-attack.” (Page 257)
On 2 accounts, the Emperor’s reaction was almost calm and relaxed. General Ruzsky nor Marie’s father knew at the time of Dmitri’s involvement.
General Ruzsky had visited factories and discovered that the propaganda had infiltrated as well as in Petrograd.
The Empress had not waited for the return of her husband. She gave orders for Dmitri’s arrest and he was held at his own home. Many stopped by Dmitri’s vestibule, to express their “admiration and acclaim.” (Page 258) Both Prince Yusupov and Dmitri were guarded by sentinels at Dmitri’s home.
After Marie’s conversation with General Ruzsky, she decided to write a difficult letter to her brother. She wrote many drafts and the final draft she sent by an orderly who previously had been a footman in her home. Several days later, Marie learned that General Ruzsky was no longer in command of the Petrograd district. She also learned the murder had taken place at Prince Yusupov’s palace, via the newspaper printing a copy of an official document with no details. While the courier for Marie returned 2 days later, she did not receive a reply. Later Marie received a wire that was brief in words from Dmitri to come to Petrograd immediately. Marie contacted General Ruzdky and he ordered a special train and it arrived in 2 hours to take Marie to Petrograd. General Laiming met Marie at the train station, they shook hands, and during their drive in the automobile they both were silent. As they were driving up the Neva, Marie’s memories were triggered. She then saw the sentinels and the servants who had been with both Dmitri and her since childhood.
Marie was greeted by Mme. Laiming and her old butler served Marie some soup. Once the butler left, Marie asked many questions of the Liming without using terms such as murder.It was clear that tension was high in Petrograd and in the provinces. People seemed to be reacting differently. Some rejoiced in Rasputin’s death, yet others were more malicious toward the grief of the Empress.
“The chief danger, according to Laiming, lays in a lust for revenge now sweeping the partisans of Rasputin, who were not neglecting to fan in the heart of the Empress a similar sentiment. For the most part adventurers, or men with a blemished reputation, they had nothing to lose and were capable of anything. Laiming had been warned by the police to watch over Dmitri day and night. Outside, the palace was guarded by plain-clothes men; inside, the sentinels stood at each entrance. Suspicious-looking men had several times sought under different pretexts to get into the house. Protopopov, Minister of the Interior, whose career Rasputin had made, sent spies of the famous Okhrana to watch all that was happening in the house, but Laiming’s vigilance kept them, perforce, at watch from without.” (Page 260)
“By this time the corpse of Rasputin had been found and buried in Tsarskoie-Selo. There was an inquest, and talk of extreme punishments, even of court marshal, which it seemed the Empress demanded. The case was altogether exceptional, and it was still unknown how it would be examined. As one of royal blood Dmitri was presumably immune from civil prosecution. All Russia, moreover, knew that the Emperor treated Dmitri as his own son, and could put no other interpretation upon hi act than that of loyalty to the throne. He and Prince Yusupov had become the heroes of the day, especially among officers of all ranks, and somewhat among public workers. To prosecute them now would not only be dangerous but even fatal; it seemed likely to arouse an outburst of rage, the consequences of which could not be foretold.” (Pages 260-261)
The Imperial Family fully isolated from others in the Alexander Palace and rarely saw anyone. Some family members tried to warn them against severe measures, but the Imperial Family response was cold and they gave official treatment only. Marie’s father had returned from Headquarters and was deeply affected by what had transpired between Dmitri and their father.
“As for myself, I did not know what to say or do. It seemed all a terrible dream, a madness which had taken possession of us all, a circle of fire with no way out.” (Page 261)