The murder of Mikhail Alexandrovich

Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich

After the revolutionary events of February-March 1917, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich settled in his Gatchina Palace, where after Kornilov’s speech in the fall of 1917 he was placed under house arrest.

On March 7, 1918, the Grand Duke and his entourage were arrested by order of the Gatchina Council in connection with the alarming situation and the possible German advance on Petrograd . The arrested were taken to the Petrograd Cheka . On March 9, 1918, at a meeting of the Small Council of People's Commissars , the proposal of M. S. Uritsky on the expulsion of Mikhail Alexandrovich and others arrested in the Perm province was considered. As a result, a decision was signed by V.I. Lenin :

... the former Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, (...) to be sent to the Perm province up to a special order. The place of residence within the Perm province is determined by the Council of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies, and Johnson must not be settled in the same city as the former Grand Duke Mikhail Romanov.

Together with Mikhail Alexandrovich and the aforementioned Johnson (Nikolai Nikolaevich Zhonson ^{[13] [14]} ), the former head of the Gatchina railway department, Colonel P. L. Znamerovsky and clerk of the Gatchina Palace AM Vlasov, were expelled. Soviet authorities announced that family members of the Grand Duke could follow him into exile at any time. Together with Mikhail Alexandrovich, his valet V.F. Chelyshev and the driver P. Ya. Borunov voluntarily went into exile (Mikhail Alexandrovich took with him money and extensive luggage, including a pharmacy with the necessary medicines, a library and a Rolls-Royce car). The grand duke refused and persuaded his wife, who wanted to share the fate of her husband, and persuaded him to stay in Gatchina. On March 10, 1918, the Committee of Revolutionary Defense of Petrograd ordered the commissioner of the Nikolaev station to allocate a sleeping car for the arrested and their seven guards ("comrades" Kvyatkovsky, Mengel, Eglit, Leingart, Elix, Greenberg and Schwartz ^[15] ) and give orders for all railway stations of the line about the hitching of this car to trains bound for Perm ^[16] .

Johnson, learning that he was ordered to live separately with Mikhail Alexandrovich, on March 15, 1918, sent a telegram from Sharya to V.I. Lenin asking the Council of People's Commissars not to separate him from his patron. On March 17, 1918, the wagon with the deportees and their escort arrived in Perm, at least this date marks the receipt issued by the Perm Executive Committee S. R. and S. D. in that he received “a citizen from the Petrograd escort” Mikhail Alexandrovich (former Grand Duke), citizen Nikolai Nikolayevich Johnson ... ”and other exiles. On the same day, the local Council arrested the arrived exiles, placing them all in the city prison under general regime, and the “former Grand Duke” in the solitary confinement of the prison hospital.

On March 20, 1918, the Grand Duke managed to send telegrams to Uritsky and Bonch-Bruevich protesting at such actions of the local council, and with the same request, in view of his own “illness and loneliness”, did not separate him from his personal secretary. On March 25, 1918, two telegrams were sent to the Perm Council: from SNK signed by Bonch-Bruevich and from the Petrograd Cheka signed by Uritsky confirming permission to Mikhail Romanov and his secretary to live free "under the supervision of the Soviet government" ^[18] . They were allowed to settle in the Hermitage Hotel, and then in the Korolevsky Numbers Hotel, which is at 5 Sibirskaya Street (in Soviet times Karl Marx Street), in rooms Nos. 1 and 2. At first, their freedom was not significantly limited . However, after a new chief appeared in the Perm police at the end of April 1918, V. Ivanchenko , the regime was substantially tightened ^[11] .

As the local historian V.F. Gladyshev wrote, the Permian life of Mikhail Romanov greatly attracted the attention of city dwellers, many of whom wanted to "at least take a look at the future anointed of God" , perceiving him as a potential candidate for accession to the Russian throne ^[20] . After the beginning of May 1918, in view of the deterioration of the situation of Soviet power in the Urals, the Perm Provincial Executive Committee officially notified the central authorities that it was not responsible for the “integrity” of Romanov, the supervision of the Perm Cheka was established for Mikhail Alexandrovich. His diary of May 21, 1918 was preserved in his diary: “I received a paper in which I was invited to come there daily at 11 o’clock. (Good people, tell me what it is) ” ^[19] .

Perm situation

By the end of the spring of 1918, the situation in Perm was becoming more and more tense. The Bolsheviks were still forced to fight for power in the soviets: for example, even in the city council of Motovilikha, a city with an exclusively proletarian composition of the population, the Bolsheviks held only 50% of the mandates. The population was dissatisfied with the persecution of the church (the Soviet government carried out "registration of church values"). To obtain financial resources, the Perm Provincial Council of Deputies on April 1, 1918 taxed the propertied sections of the population with a tax “to the maximum” , threatening to apply “the most repressive measures” against defaulters. All housebuildings were declared a “public domain” . On April 2, food stock accounting was introduced and the withdrawal of its surplus was announced. These measures aroused the discontent of the wealthy population. In some villages, self-defense units from representatives of the Soviet government began to be created. Workers of nationalized enterprises, whose activities were virtually destroyed by the policy of war communism pursued by the Bolsheviks, also murmured ^[21] .

At the end of May 1918, an uprising of the Czechoslovak Corps began on the Trans-Siberian Railway ^[11] . On May 26, 1918, Czechoslovakia liquidated the Soviet regime in Chelyabinsk, and on June 7 in Omsk. A full-blown civil war has begun in Russia. The railway link east of Perm was interrupted. In the city by the beginning of June 1918, up to ten thousand passengers had accumulated, unable to continue further east. Among them were many former soldiers , some of whom sympathized with the White movement . All this instilled alarm in the Soviet authorities of Perm, who everywhere saw the threat of conspiracies and anti-Soviet protests ^[22] .

As the local historian V.F. Gladyshev wrote, detailed information has not been preserved about the last days of Mikhail Alexandrovich’s life. The main source of information is his personal diary, preserved in the Sverdlovsk archive of the CPSU . The Grand Duke, being by nature a musically gifted person, often played music, in the evenings went to the theater, where he always occupied the lower left box, or to the country garden, to listen to the string orchestra. He followed political events with interest - he read the local Soviet newspaper Izvestia of the Perm Provincial Executive Committee without missing a single issue, and sometimes even reading the newspaper aloud ^[4] . According to the estimates of the historian S. L. Firsov, Mikhail Alexandrovich’s life in Perm was “monotonous and boring” - however, the historian noted that until the end of May 1918 his living conditions were quite satisfactory ^[3] .

The Grand Duke had the opportunity to hide, but did not, fearing to harm his arrested relatives. According to the recollections of an eyewitness who lived in the Korolevsky rooms at the same time as Mikhail Alexandrovich, who was already published in exile, he was once asked why he would not take measures to escape. The Grand Duke replied: ““ Where am I going to go with my great growth. They will immediately find me. “At the same time, he always smiled” ^[8] .

Although the local authorities did not have any information about Mikhail Alexandrovich’s counter-revolutionary activity, he was annoyed by many of his lifestyle — living in expensive rooms with a servant, traveling by car (the best in the city), meeting with different people (at the beginning of May 1918 to my husband for two weeks came the Countess of Brasov , in the circle of friends of Mikhail Alexandrovich included representatives of the clergy and merchants Perm, Danish vice-consul Ray and his secretary, an Austrian, a former gendarme colonel PL Znamerovsky and er wife), visiting the theater and walk around the city ^[23] .

The last entry in Mikhail Aleksandrovich’s diary is dated June 11, 1918 ^[8] :

Today, the pain was weaker and less prolonged. I read in the morning. In the afternoon I lay down for an hour. Znamerovsky and my godson Nagorsky (a lawyer) came to tea, he ate with great appetite, even, after the famine of Petrograd. Then I wrote to Natasha in Gatchina. Dr. Shipitsin walked in at about 8 ½. In the evening I read. The weather was sunny at times, in the afternoon it did not rain for long, 13 ½ °, in the evening too. At about 10, my godson, a lawyer Nagorsky, came to say goodbye; today he is leaving for Petrograd.

Historians noted that a diary entry for the last day of the Grand Duke’s life - June 12, 1918 - is absent, although he used to carefully and regularly write down the events of the past day in his diary. It is known that when the captors appeared to the Grand Duke, he was already in bed, preparing for bed. The lack of a diary entry for June 12 led historians to think that either the grand duke did not have time to make a note, or the record was seized by the KGB during a search after the disappearance of the grand duke ^[24] .

Organizers and Performers

The organizers and perpetrators of the murder were:

• Drokin V. A. - Assistant to the Chief of Perm Police;
• Zhuzhgov N.V. (1879-1941) - a direct participant in the abduction and murder, a Motovilikhinsky worker, a member of the RSDLP since 1902, in 1907 a close associate of the famous expropriator Lbova , a Bolshevik, since May 1918 an assistant to the chief of police Motovilikha, a member of the Perm Provincial Commissariat ^{[ 25]} . In 1921 he was expelled from the RCP (b) for drunkenness. In 1928, he wrote in his autobiography: “On behalf of the Board of the sponge, I carried out many important tasks, such as arrests and executions. Personally, I was arrested and shot by Mikhail Romanov (brother of the tsar), Andronik (Bishop of Perm) ... ” ^[11] ;
• Ivanchenko V. A. (1874-1938) - a direct participant in the abduction and murder, a member of the RSDLP since 1902, in 1906-1907 he supplied weapons to the Libovites , the Bolshevik, Perm Commissar and the head of the Perm Police ^[26] . According to the historian L. A. Lykova and the conclusions of the investigation of the General Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation, it was Ivanchenko who initiated the abduction and murder ^[11] ; ^[23]
• Kolpashchikov I. F. - a direct participant in the abduction and murder, Motovilikhinsky worker, Red Guard ^[26] ;
• Malkov P. I. - Bolshevik, member of the city committee of the RSDLP (b) Perm, member of the collegium of the Perm Provincial Chechen Republic ^[27] ;
• Markov A.V. (1885-1965) - a direct participant in the abduction and murder, a Bolshevik since 1906, a member of the Motovilikhinsky Revolutionary Committee and the Perm Provincial Commission, the Commissioner for Nationalization and Management of Cultural and Educational Institutions of Perm ^{[11] [28]} ;
• Myasnikov G.I. - direct participant in the abduction and murder, professional revolutionary, member of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee , in leading Soviet and Bolshevik work in Motovilikha and Perm: chairman of the Motovilikhinsky district committee of the RSDLP (b), member of the district committee of the RSDLP (b), deputy chairman of the Perm Province , member of the executive committee ^[25] . A number of historians call it the initiator and organizer of the abduction and murder ^{[1] [3]} ;
• Novoselov I.G. (1884-1931) - a direct participant in the abduction and murder, Motovilikhinsky policeman, a member of the RCP (b) since 1918 ^{[11] [26]} ;
• Pleshkov A.I. - direct participant in the abduction and murder, left SR, police chief Motovilikha ^[25] ;
• Sorokin V. A. - Chairman of the Perm Provincial Executive Committee of the Council.

Planning and preparation

The historian L.A. Lykova believes that the most complete and truthful materials about the murder of Mikhail Alexandrovich were prepared by the department of the Istpart of the Perm District Committee of the RCP (b) in 1924 in the form of a response to a request from the Central Committee of the RCP (b) to provide materials about the murder of Mikhail Romanov and found in archives only at the beginning of the XXI century ^[11] . In general, the conclusions of the investigation of the General Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation coincide with the version of the Perm events of June 1918 set forth in this answer. So, according to the answer of the Perm Istpart and the conclusions of the investigation, the initiative of the secret murder of Mikhail Alexandrovich belonged to Ivanchenko, who, being appointed to the post of head of the Perm police in April 1918 and realizing the difficulty of the task assigned to him to protect Mikhail Alexandrovich, in view of the possibility of escaping the latter, decided in general "Get rid of the Romanovs . " He tried to get support in the executive committee, but the executive committee was categorically against it. Then Ivanchenko decided to act secretly. He shared his thoughts with Myasnikov, who enthusiastically set about developing an action plan to eliminate Mikhail Romanov.

In early June 1918, preparation for the abduction of Mikhail Alexandrovich was completed, Markov was involved in the operation. The first meeting of the conspirators (Ivanchenko, Myasnikov, Markov) was held at the Motovilikhinsky police department. Due to the difficulty of implementing the plan for three people, two more were brought to business - Ivanchenko brought in Zhuzhgov, and Markov recommended Kolpashchikov. Since it was too risky to discuss the plan of murder in the police premises, the conspirators moved to the Luch cinema (the cinema as a cultural and educational object was within Markov’s competence), where the details of the operation were agreed on in the cinema room. It was decided that the abductors would arrive at the hotel where Mikhail Alexandrovich lived late in the evening, present him with a fictitious document of arrest and demand that they be urgently followed, supposedly to be moved to another place of serving the exile. In the event that the Grand Duke will resist, use force. Outwardly, the whole case was decided to arrange in such a way as if Mikhail Romanov had been abducted by his own monarchist supporters ^{[11] [23]} .

Zhuzhgov as an employee of the Motovilikhinsky police was ordered to get two covered phaetons with good horses, which was done. On June 12, all five direct perpetrators of the abduction went on these phaetons from Motovilikha to Perm, where the phaetons were left in the courtyard of the Perm city police department, and the conspirators themselves went to the administration building ^{[11] [23]} .

Crime

In the evening of June 12, in the premises of the Perm Provincial Chess Club Markov and Myasnikov in the presence of the chairman of the Perm Provincial Executive Committee V. A. Sorokin and a member of the collegium of the Perm Provincial Chess Club P.I. Malkov put the seal of the provincial Cheka and his signature on this document, deliberately modifying it. At the same time, V. A. Drokin was involved in the operation, who was instructed to be on duty at the police telephone, where Mikhail Alexandrovich or those around him could call to signal the abduction, and, in case of danger of disclosing the conspiracy, do everything to to disrupt or delay the expulsion of a police detachment in pursuit of the abductors ^{[11] [23]} .

By 23 o’clock on June 12 ^{[K 1]} Myasnikov went on foot to the Korolevsky numbers, the other four participants in the abduction went there on two phaetons. Arriving at the hotel, the group split up: Markov, Ivanchenko and Myasnikov stayed with the horses, and Zhuzhgov and Kolpashchikov went to the hotel. The latter stayed on the ground floor near the hotel doorman, and Zhuzhgov went up to his room to Mikhail Alexandrovich, who was already in bed. The Grand Duke in those days suffered from an exacerbation of a long-standing disease - stomach ulcers . Zhuzhgov presented a false arrest warrant, but Mikhail Aleksandrovich, not recognizing Malkov’s signature on it, demanded that he be given the opportunity to speak with him. The conversation took place in elevated tones, which attracted the attention of guests of other rooms. Alarmed by what was happening, the driver and valet Mikhail Alexandrovich went down to the first floor to the telephone and began to call the police. Their call was received by Drokin. Kolpashchikov, who was watching what was happening, ran out into the street and informed the remaining accomplices there that the events were unfolding according to a scenario unfavorable for the kidnappers. Zhuzhgov was sent reinforcements in the person of Markov and Kolpashchikov. Abductors armed with revolvers andthe Communist grenade , threatening with physical violence, forced Mikhail Alexandrovich to get up and get dressed. The Grand Duke asked his secretary Johnson to be allowed to accompany him. His request was granted (according to the testimony of Markov, this possibility was agreed upon in advance by the abductors) ^{[11] [23]} .

The abducted were taken outside and put in chaise. Ivanchenko got into the same phaeton with Mikhail Alexandrovich, controlled the phaeton Zhuzhgov. Kolpashchikov ruled the second chaise, and Markov sat next to Johnson. Butchers followed them separately in the third wagon. The procession went towards Motovilikha, where Myasnikov remained, but Pleshkov and Novoselov joined the group on the third wagon. About seven kilometers from Motovilikha and one kilometer from the Nobel’s kerosene warehouses, the procession turned off the road into the forest and stopped 100-120 meters away from the road. The command was given to get out of the carts ^{[11] [23]} .

At the time of disembarkation of passengers from the chaise, a murder was committed. Markov's first shot was killed by a bullet at Johnson's temple. Kolpashchikov also shot at the same time, but his gun misfired. The first bullet fired by Zhuzhgov at Mikhail Alexandrovich only wounded him in the shoulder. The second time, Zhuzhgov never fired: he used home-made cartridges for firing, and after the first shot, the drum of his revolver jammed. Subsequent shots from pistols and revolvers by Zhuzhhov, Pleshkov, Novoselov, Kolpashchikov and Markov finished off their victims ^[23] . Historians draw attention to the magnanimity of Mikhail Alexandrovich ^[30] , who, already wounded after the first shots, according to Markov’s recollections, “... with his arms spread wide ran towards me, asking to say goodbye to the secretary” ^{[8] [11]} .

Soon it was getting light. The criminals, fearing to be discovered, hid the corpses under a layer of brushwood and left the scene of the murder. Returning to the scene of the murder the next night, Zhuzhgov and Novosyolov buried corpses nearby ^{[11] [23]} .

According to a number of evidence, the things of those killed were divided between the participants in the abduction and murder. In particular, Novosyolov claimed that Ivanchenko received the “golden hexagonal clock of pure gold” with the inscription “Mikhail Romanov” on the lid, and for Pleshkov, the golden name ring, coat and pins were removed from the killed Grand Duke ^[31] . The historian G.Z. Ioffe, in connection with this information, suggested that the motive for the murder could be robbery ^[32] .

Probable motives for the murder

Along with the assumption made by the historian G.Z. Ioffe, the killers could have been driven by a primitive desire to seize the values ​​of the Grand Duke ^[32] , historians note that the forces that ruled Russia after the February Revolution looked at him as a real contender for the Russian the throne in case of restoration of the monarchy, as a potential competitor for power in the country. That is why Mikhail Alexandrovich was arrested both in the days of the Kornilov uprising and in the days of the October uprising . Obviously, for the same reasons, it was decided to send Mikhail Alexandrovich to Perm in March 1918, and this same desire to get rid of a political rival ultimately led to his abduction and murder ^{[11] [33]} .

In Russian historiography, the question of the involvement of the central Soviet authorities in the incident remains open. The historian S. P. Melgunov in his work “The Fate of Emperor Nicholas II after Abdication”, referring to the Perm murder, wrote that although what had happened to him was undoubtedly the result of a KGB special operation, “all relations between the organizers of the murder and the center still remain at least secret ” and it is likely that the assassination of Michael was the initiative of the local Perm Communists ^{[12] [K 2]} .

In post-Soviet times, the historian G.Z. Ioffe wrote about the “recent allegations” that the command to kill Mikhail Romanov came to Perm from Ya. M. Sverdlov through A. G. Beloborodov , but the historian wrote nothing of these allegations justified. Immediately after the first reports of the "disappearance" of Mikhail Romanov, the central authorities from Moscow and the Ural authorities from Yekaterinburg asked Perm about what had happened. The historian G.Z. Ioffe noted that, apparently, comprehensive answers were given to the requests of the authorities - however, no one was punished for the murder ^[12] .

The biographer of Mikhail Alexandrovich V. M. Khrustalyov in the book “Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich”, published in 2008, expressed confidence that the murder was committed according to a previously drawn up general plan, according to which all the Romanovs were first assembled in the Urals, and then they were all destroyed. The historian fully admitted that this plan, which began with the transfer of Mikhail Alexandrovich to Perm, was developed by the highest political leadership of Soviet Russia ^[34] . According to the historian, there is no doubt that the top leadership in the person of Y. M. Sverdlov was informed of all the details of the already completed action from its performers themselves and approved its implementation ^[35] .

Historians believe that the assassination of Mikhail Alexandrovich laid the foundation for a multi-turn KGB operation that included various elements, including a disinformation campaign to hide the true circumstances of the incident and justify the need to eliminate the other Romanovs ^{[3] [8]} . According to the scenario of the kidnappers, it was necessary to imagine the disappearance of the prince as an escape organized by his monarchist supporters ^[4] .

Although the Chekist and police leadership of the city knew all the details of what happened ^[11] , the Perm GubChK sent a telegram to Moscow, Petrograd and Yekaterinburg at the same time after the day’s abduction: “Moscow. Council of People's Commissars. In a row. Petrograd commune . Zinoviev . Copy: Yekaterinburg. Regional Council. In a row. Tonight, Mikhail Romanov and Johnson were abducted by unknown [in] soldiers' uniforms. The searches have not yet yielded results, the most vigorous measures have been taken. Perm district. In sharp fashion, ” and on June 15, 1918, the Ural newspapers published the following note ^[8] :

The abduction of Mikhail Romanov

On the night of June 12–13, at the beginning of the first hour of modern time ^{[K 3]} , three unidentified soldiers in armed uniform arrived at the Royal Rooms, where Mikhail Romanov lived. They went into the room occupied by Romanov and presented him with some kind of arrest warrant, which was read only by Romanov’s secretary Johnson. After this, Romanov was invited to go with the visitors. He and Johnson were taken away by force, put into a closed chaise and taken along Torgovaya Street towards Obvinskaya.
Emergency Committee members called by phone arrived in the rooms a few minutes after the abduction. An order was issued to detain Romanov immediately, horse-drawn militia units were sent out to all tracts, but no traces were found. A search of the premises of Romanov, Johnson and two servants yielded no results. The abduction was immediately reported to the Council of People's Commissars, to the Petrograd Commune and to the Ural Regional Council. Vigorous search is carried out.

The same issues of the newspapers reported that rumors about the execution of Nicholas II were false. The mention of the escape of Mikhail Alexandrovich simultaneously with information about Nicholas II was supposed to distract readers from the fate of the Grand Duke on the one hand, and, on the other, to make parallels and think about the possible escape of Nicholas II ^{[8] [11]} .

The disappearance of Mikhail Alexandrovich gave one side effect, which was not only not taken into account by the organizers of the secret elimination of the Grand Duke, but which, on the contrary, was tried to prevent his abduction - Mikhail Alexandrovich became one of the symbols of anti-Bolshevik resistance. Since the publication of official information about his "disappearance" here and there, messages began to appear that Mikhail Alexandrovich was met in different cities of Siberia and the Far East, that they "... issued a manifesto to the people calling for the overthrow of Soviet power and the promise to convene Zemsky Sobors ... " that he is the leader of anti-Soviet actions in Siberia and the like. Perhaps in order to bring down this wave of rumors, the Chekists planned an information campaign to “discover” the Grand Duke. So, in the “Izvestia of the Perm District Executive Committee of the Council of Peasant and Worker Deputies” dated September 18, 1918, the message of the Perm Cheka was to appear about the detention of the “escaped” Mikhail Alexandrovich with the story of his “capture”. However, at the last moment they chose to remove the information, perhaps due to its complete absurdity ^[36] , having scored the material that had already been collected with black paint. In other provincial and district newspapers, similar messages were also removed - in their place appeared white squares ^[3] . However, an inconsistent development of this story took place - on September 20, 1918, by direct line from Moscow to Kiev, which at that time was the capital of an independent state recognized by the Bolsheviks , a ROSTA telegram was sent as follows: Perm, September 18. At 10 versts from the Chusovsk plant Mikhail Romanov and his secretary were detained by an agent of the Perm Provincial Commissariat. They were taken to Perm . ” This gave historians the basis to argue that the disinformation campaign was specially designed and conducted from some center ^[8] .

Revealing the true picture of what happened

The version of the Soviet authorities that Mikhail Alexandrovich was abducted by unknown people and went missing remained valid until the end of 1923, when S. P. Melgunov 's work “The Red Terror in Russia” was published, in which the historian directly pointed to G. I Myasnikov as the killer of the Grand Duke. Buttered out and failed the entire disinformation campaign, butcher himself. It happened as follows. In 1921, Myasnikov, already in opposition to the ruling communist government, published a pamphlet of his polemic with Lenin . In it, he inadvertently wrote this: “... If I go free, it’s because I’ve been a communist for fifteen years ... and the working mass has known me all this, and if it hadn’t, I would have been just a communist locksmith ... where would i be To Cheka or more: they would have “fled” to me, as I had once fled Mikhail Romanov, like “fled” Rosa Luxemburg, Liebknecht . ” The brochure appeared in the West. Melgunov accidentally stumbled upon it, collecting materials for his work, Red Terror in Russia. So all over the world it became known what was the real fate of Mikhail Alexandrovich ^{[37] [38]} .

The materials of the investigation conducted by the Perm GubChK were falsified. In the future, this served as the basis for repressions against members of the Russian Imperial House and people from their entourage in the Urals ^{[11] [23] [39]} .

В Перми сразу после «бегства» Михаила Александровича 13 июня 1918 года были арестованы по подозрению в организации «побега» его слуги В. Ф. Челышев и П. Я. Борунов, И. Н. Сапожников и жандармский полковник П. Л. Знамеровский ^[23] . Прошли обыски и были произведены аресты всех подозреваемых в тайных сношениях с монархистами вообще, среди прочих под стражу были взяты архиепископ Андроник, четыре священника и один протоиерей.

На имя Ф. Э. Дзержинского , В. Д. Бонч-Бруевича и Я. М. Свердлова из Екатеринбурга была прислана телеграмма: «После побега Михаила Романова [в] Алапаевске нашим распоряжением [в] отношении всех содержащихся лиц романовского дома введён тюремный режим. Председатель областного Совета Белобородов» ^[38] .

Пермская ГубЧК взяла в заложники десятки лиц из представителей пермской буржуазии, священников, интеллигенции, государственных служащих бывшей Российской империи. После объявления политики красного террора все они были расстреляны — 11 сентября 1918 года «Известия Пермского губисполкома» опубликовали список из 42 расстрелянных заложников ^[11] .

За «участие в организации побега» Михаила Романова и его секретаря в различное время без суда как «организаторы и пособники побега» были взяты в качестве заложников, а затем по постановлению Пермской губЧК от 9 октября 1918 года расстреляны люди из окружения Михаила Александровича ^[23] :

1. Знамеровский, Пётр Людвигович (1872—1918) — бывший жандармский полковник;
2. Знамеровская, Вера Михайловна (1886—1918);
3. Лебедева Серафима Сёменовна (1882—1918) — служащая Петроградской центральной электрической станции;
4. Борунов, Петр Яковлевич (?—1918) — шофёр Михаила Александровича;
5. Челышев, Василий Федорович (?—1918) — камердинер Михаила Александровича;
6. Смирнов, Сергей Николаевич (?—1918) — секретарь и управляющий делами княгини Елены Петровны, дочери короля Сербии Петра I;
7. Мальцев (имя, отчество, дата и место рождения не установлены).

Примечательно, что приговор им вынесли те же чекисты, которые убили Михаила Александровича и которые знали, что казнят заведомо невинных людей ^[9] .

Отсутствие официальных подтверждений о казни (в отличие от брата ), а также то, что поиски их останков не дали результатов ^[23] , породило слухи об иной, не столь трагичной, судьбе Михаила. В частности, существует версия, отождествляющая Михаила Александровича с епископом Истинно-Православной церкви Серафимом (Поздеевым) ^[3] .

В различные годы в разных местах и по различным поводам четверо участников убийства оставили о нём свои воспоминания, сохранившиеся в архивах. Исследователь М. И. Давидов отметил, что так как часть воспоминаний писалась по заданию большевистского руководства, участники похищения и убийства должны были указывать в них правдивые сведения. Отличаясь в некоторых деталях, а также в том, кому принадлежала главная роль в убийстве, эти воспоминания в целом дают одну и ту же картину ^[40] .

А. В. Марков 15 февраля 1924 года оставил записку, в которой изложил причины произошедшего (осложнение политической обстановки на Урале, слабость власти большевиков, возможность для Михаила Александровича совершить побег) и описал, как происходило само «изъятие из обращения путём похищения» . В своих воспоминаниях Марков подчёркивает, что именно он своими решительными действиями принудил сопротивляющегося Михаила Александровича подчиниться похитителям ^[11] .

И. Г. Новосёлов 3 августа 1928 года направил в газету «Правда» письмо, озаглавленное «Ищу правды». В этом письме он, очевидно зная о содержании записки Маркова, вступил с ним в заочную полемику, возмущаясь тем, что Марков «присвоил» себе «славу» главного убийцы Михаила Александровича, и утверждая, что это именно он, Новосёлов, совместно с Жужговым и убил Михаила Александровича, а оставшиеся — Марков, Иванченко и Колпащиков — убили Джонсона. Новосёлов утверждал, что Михаил Александрович и Джонсон были убиты «по нелегальному постановлению Мотовилихинской организации РКП(б)» , что по приезде похитителей и их жертв в Мотовилихинскую милицию Мясников там и остался, а в его фаэтон сели Новосёлов и Плешков. По версии Новосёлова, первый выстрел в Михаила Александровича произвёл Жужгов, но лишь ранил его, после чего Михаил, «схватив Жужгова в охапку» , повалил его на землю и стал бороться с ним, но Новосёлов выстрелом в висок убил его. Далее Новосёлов описал делёж вещей убитых между убийцами в управлении мотовилихинской милиции и то, как на следующий день он вместе с Жужговым хоронил трупы в только им известном месте, над которым Новосёлов выцарапал «В. К. М. Р.» на стволе сосны. Это письмо сохранилось в архивах, и о нём стало известно в 1990 году ^[32] .

Г. И. Мясников — в начале 1930-х годов, находясь в эмиграции во Франции, куда он смог сбежать из ссылки с территории СССР, написал политический памфлет «Философия убийства, или Почему и как я убил Михаила Романова». В нём, помимо общей критики существующего в СССР режима и его вождей, доведших «старого революционера» до необходимости скрываться в эмиграции, Мясников подробно описал обстоятельства убийства «падали истории, Михаила» , приписывая себе как идею самого тайного похищения и последующего убийства, так и разработку всех деталей проведённой операции. Из этой работы следовало, что Мясников считал необходимым физически уничтожить всех Романовых, чтобы «успокоить рабочих всей России» , что он сам разработал детальный план проведённого похищения, отобрал для этого помощников с необходимыми качествами — «твёрдых, настрадавшихся от самодержавия,… готовых зубами глотку перегрызть…» — Николая Жужгова, Василия Иванченко, Андрея Маркова, Колпащикова. Мясников отдельно описывает свои размышления, что похищением Михаила он фактически обрекает на гибель лиц из ближайшего окружения Михаила Александровича ^{[11] [23]} :

Но что же я буду делать с этими двенадцатью, что охраняют Михаила? Ничего не буду делать. Михаил бежал. ЧК их арестует и за содействие побегу расстреляет. Значит, я провоцирую ЧК на расстрел их? А что же иначе? Иного выхода нет. Выходит так, что не Михаила одного убиваю, а Михаила, Джонсона, 12 апостолов и двух женщин — какие-то княжны или графини, и, несомненно, жандармский полковник Знамеровский. Выходит ведь 17 человек. Too much. Но иначе не выйдет. Только так может выйти …Собирался убить одного, а потом двух, а теперь готов убить семнадцать! Да, готов. Или 17, или реки рабоче-крестьянской крови… Революция это не бал, не развлечение. Думаю, даже больше, что если всё сойдет гладко, то это послужит сигналом к уничтожению всех Романовых, которые ещё живы и находятся в руках Советской власти.

— Мясников Г. И. Философия убийства, или Почему и как я убил Михаила Романова

Историки отметили, что, по-видимому, в своей работе Мясников описывал произошедшее в выгодном для себя свете и преувеличивал своё собственное участие ^[11] .

П. И. Малков в «автобиографии старого большевика» , написанной 13 октября 1954 года писал ^[8] :

В марте 1918 года Пермским губкомом и губисполкомом я был назначен для организации губернской Чрезвычайной Комиссии. Работая в должности председателя коллегии, я по поручению Пермского городского комитета партии большевиков вместе с товарищами Марковым А. В. и Трофимовым А. В. был организатором похищения из номеров гостиницы Михаила Романова (брата Николая II) и его расстрела.

Широко распространённую в литературе версию о том, что тела Михаила Александровича и его секретаря были сожжены в плавильных печах Мотовилихинского завода, пермский краевед Н. Зенкова оценивает как «абсурдную» ^{[11] [41]} .

К лету 1997 года были систематизированы архивные документы и опубликован ряд статей в пермской прессе, посвящённых последним дням Михаила Романова. По сообщению краеведа В. Ф. Гладышева, до той поры никакой серьёзной практической работы в изучении этой истории и в поиске останков убитых не предпринималось. Тогда же состоялись первые экспедиции по поиску захоронения останков, организованные по инициативе редакции областной газеты «Пермские новости» ^[20] .

М. И. Давидов писал, что найти останки Михаила Романова и его секретаря до сих пор не удалось потому, что поставленной похитителями задачей было не только убийство Михаила Александровича, но и надёжное сокрытие его останков с целью не допустить поклонения «святым мощам» и тому месту, где они были погребены. Давидов предположил, что похищение и убийство осуществляла одна группа (а именно, Жужгов, Марков, Иванченко, Колпащиков), которую, вероятно, контролировал Мясников, а захоронение — другая. Из состава последней известен Жужгов и, предположительно, Новосёлов, причём роль Жужгова, вполне возможно, ограничивалась только указанием места, в котором были укрыты трупы сразу после убийства. Возможно, что у команды похоронщиков был свой руководитель, имя которого до сих пор неизвестно. Так как участники убийства адресовали свои воспоминания ответственным партработникам ^[11] , эти воспоминания, считает исследователь, должны быть правдивы. Давидов считал вероятным, что и участники захоронения также рассказывали о том, что ими было сделано, в партийных инстанциях, и предлагает искать в архивах их воспоминания. Пока же известно, что трупы не были увезены далеко от места убийства, а были закопаны поблизости на глубине до шести метров под сосной, на стволе которой одним из похоронщиков было будто бы выцарапано «ВКМР» ^[40] .

Поставить окончательную точку в расследовании обстоятельств убийства Михаила Александровича и Жонсона и обнаружения их останков мешает то обстоятельство, что историки и исследователи до сих пор не имеют возможности изучить архивные материалы, касающиеся гибели представителей дома Романовых, содержащиеся в спецхранах ФСБ как центрального, так и областного уровня. За время, прошедшее с падения советской власти, учёным удалось получить доступ только к материалам сфабрикованного пермской ЧК дела «о похищении» Михаила Александровича и Джонсона ^[42] .

Историк-архивист В. М. Хрусталёв писал в 2013 году, что чья-то опытная рука целенаправленно «вычистила» архивы ЦК РКП(б), коллегии ВЧК, Уральского облисполкома и Екатернбургской ЧК за лето и осень 1918 года. Нет никаких сведений, что исчезнувшие документы попали в руки белых или немецко-фашистских оккупантов во время Великой Отечественной войны. Просматривая разрозненные повестки заседаний ВЧК, доступные историкам, Хрусталёв пришёл к выводу, что были изъяты документы, в которых упоминались имена представителей династии Романовых. Архивист писал, что эти документы не могли уничтожить, их, вероятно, перевели на хранение в Центральный партийный архив или «спецхраны». Фонды этих архивов на момент написания историком своей книги не были доступны исследователям ^[43] .

В конце октября (по старому стилю ) 1981 года Михаил Александрович был причислен к лику мучеников Русской православной церковью заграницей , открыв своим именем скорбный синодик членов Дома Романовых, «безбожной властью убиенных» в 1918—1919 годов ^{[44] [45]} .

В 2009 году Михаил Александрович и лица его окружения были реабилитированы решением Генеральной прокуратуры РФ ^[46] . После этого в Пермь прибыли сотрудники Генеральной прокуратуры России, проведшие там несколько недель в поисках захоронения Михаила Александровича и его секретаря. Захоронение искали в двух местах, которые, по заявлению директора пермского Государственного Архива новейшей истории, являются наиболее вероятными местами сокрытия трупов — в Красном логу, возле бывших керосиновых складов Нобеля , и в районе Архиерейки. В ходе поисков использовалась специальная аппаратура, однако положительных результатов поиски не дали ^[47] .

Осенью 1991 года у входа в бывшую гостиницу « Королёвские номера » была установлена первая мемориальная доска в память о проживании в этой гостинице Михаила Александровича. Эта мемориальная доска была спустя несколько лет кем-то уничтожена и впоследствии заменена на новую, а в 1998 году доска была пополнена барельефом великого князя ^{[48] [49]} .

Пермский скульптор Рудольф Веденеев на личные средства установил памятный деревянный крест на месте предполагаемого убийства Михаила Александровича и Н. Н. Жонсона. Там же было начато строительство часовни , которая не была завершена из-за нехватки средств. В 2005 году по инициативе Пермского областного отделения Всероссийского общества охраны памятников истории и культуры была создана коалиция общественных групп за увековечение памяти Михаила Романова под условным названием «Святой Михаил», занимающаяся сбором пожертвований на завершение сооружения часовни. 13 июня 2006 в часовне была отслужена первая в России панихида по Михаилу Романову. В 2008 году, в дни 90-летней годовщины гибели великого князя, был организован крестный ход его памяти, прошедший от Перми до Екатеринбурга ^{[48] [49]} .

Пермская гимназия имени Сергея Дягилева создала интернет сайт «Виртуальный музей Михаила Романова в Перми». Пермские кинематографисты посвятили памяти Михаила Александровича несколько фильмов. В Перми начали проводиться ежегодные научные конференции, посвящённые памяти Михаила Александровича, по результатам работы которых публикуются научные доклады. В 2010 году такая конференция впервые состоялась не в Перми, а в Санкт-Петербурге ^{[48] [49] [50]} .

• Расстрел великих князей в Петропавловской крепости

Comments

Sources

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Мемуары и документы

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