Alexandra Feodorovna (1872-1918) was a German princess who became the wife of Nicholas II, the last czar of Russia. Her mismanagement of the Russian government while Nicholas was away on military duties during World War I (1914-1918) hastened the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the overthrow of the Russian monarchy.
Alexandra was born on June 6, 1872, in Darmstadt, Germany, and brought up at the court of her father, Louis IV, Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt. Her mother, Princess Alice, was a daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. In 1894, Alexandra married Nicholas, who was seen as a weak ruler. The czarina, as she was called, was unpopular with the Russian court and took refuge in mysticism and an intense belief in the teachings of the Russian Orthodox Church.
In 1904, Alexandra and Nicholas had a son, Alexis, who carried the title czarevich. Alexis inherited the genetically transmitted blood disease hemophilia, and Alexandra devoted herself to looking after him. She enlisted the help of the so-called mad monk, Grigori Rasputin, to cure the boy. After Rasputin’s initial apparent success with her son, Alexandra regarded him as a saint. Rasputin came to exert great influence over Alexandra and her husband, and he gained input into important political decisions.
After the outbreak of war in 1914, Nicholas had to leave the Russian capital of St. Petersburg to take command of the country’s forces against Germany. Alexandra assumed responsibility for the domestic government. Rasputin persuaded her to dismiss competent ministers and replace them with inept and corrupt ones. The government of Russia broke down and, even after Rasputin was murdered in 1916, Alexandra was incapable of rescuing the situation. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Alexandra, Nicholas, and their five children were captured by the Bolsheviks and imprisoned. They were shot at Yekaterinburg on July 17, 1918.
See also Nicholas II ; Rasputin, Grigori Efimovich .
