266 



DISCOVERY 



The Empty Tomb of a 

 Russian Emperor 



The latest discovery, made in August 1922, concerning 

 the probable end of the Emperor Alexander I (com- 

 monly called the Blessed) of Russia. 



By Princess E. M. Almedingen, B.A. 



The official date of the death of the Emperor Alexan- 

 der I, commonly called " The Blessed," ' of Russia is 

 November 19, 1S25, and it is said to have taken place 

 at Taganrog, a small town in the south of Russia. 



It was rumoured that the Tzar had died from some 

 infectious disease, and, in consequence of this, the 

 coffin, said to contain his body, was sealed up immedi- 

 ately. Very few of the courtiers were enabled to see 

 the corpse, which was soon afterwards transported to 

 St. Petersburg, and there laid to rest in the usual 

 burial-ground of the Sovereigns of All the Russias — 

 the magnificent Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul, 

 erected by Peter the Great within the precincts of the 

 famous fortress bearing the same name. However, 

 soon after the Emperor's biirial, strange things began 

 to be whispered with regard to the fate of the much- 

 beloved Tzar. People said that he had not died at all, 

 but had just disappeared in order to consecrate the rest 

 of his da3-s to God's service and work and prayer. 

 These rapidh' spread rumours, together with the 

 slender evidence which existed even then concerning 

 the authenticit}- of the body placed in the coffin, 

 gave birth to a series of legends based upon a firm 

 popular belief that the Emperor was still alive and 

 would come back to rule his people once again. 



A good reason for these beliefs was naturally sug- 

 gested b}- the very character of the Soverei.gn, a char- 

 acter so strange and weird that it has hardly ever 

 been subjected to analysis by historians. Merejkovskj- 

 rightly called him " the mystic on the throne." 



The fact that the Emperor's body was seen but by 

 very few people was accepted by the majority as final 

 evidence; and the "Tzar Blagosloweny," or "the 

 Blessed," continued to be alive for his subjects, who, 

 for the most part, considered the rule of his brother, 

 Nicholas I, to be a temporary one only. But all these 

 rumours and easily woven legends had hardly any 

 basis to stand on until they became centred round one 

 mvsterious person, living buried in the deep and silent 



1 The title of " Blessed " was given to Alexander I, after 

 his ultimate victory over !\apoleon, by the people of Russia. 

 Napoleoai was notliing less than Antichrist in the popular 

 imagination, and the fact that he was conquered by their 

 Tzar brought the Russians to a firm conviction that the 

 Sovereign was endowed with some peculiar graces of God. 

 Hence the origin of the appellation " Blessed." 



Siberian forests — the famous hermit, " Fedor Kus- 

 mitch." 



Historically speaking, this hermit's real identity 

 was never proved, and there is now hardly a chance 

 that anything further will come to light with regard 

 to him. The life he led in Siberia was that of a hermit, 

 or, rather, of a recluse. No one knew how he had come 

 there or what he had done in earlier years. That he was 

 a person of importance is sufficientl}' proved by the 

 fact that the Emperor Nicholas I would often come 

 to him, seeking his advice on many a difficult matter 

 concerning the government of Russia. Many wit- 

 nesses have stated that the Emperor's attitude to the 

 hermit, as shown on these occasions, was one of 

 profound respect, not to say reverence. The occa- 

 sional visits of Nicholas I to the strange hermit's cell 

 only served to deepen the mystery. But in spite of 

 the laborious researches of Russian historians, two 

 facts have never been sufficiently proved : first, that 

 Alexander I actually died in 1825 at Taganrog, and, 

 .secondly, that the strange Siberian hermit, who lived 

 in his solitary cell for many years, acquiring a verj- 

 wide reputation for piety and saintliness, was the same 

 person as Alexander I. The legend of Fedor Kus- 

 mitch, howe\"er, found great favour with the Russians, 

 and many great authors took it as a subject for their 

 writings. First among these authors one should 

 mention Leo Tolstoy and his famous story entitled. 

 The Legend of Fedor Kusmilch. 



Though historically unproved, the strange legend 

 of an Emperor, giving up his crown and sceptre and 

 all the splendour and glory of court life for the sake 

 of dedicating his life to God in the dark depths of the 

 Siberian forests, in order, as he thought, to expiate 

 his own sins and to plead with God for his country, is 

 quite acceptable to anyone familiar with the Russian 

 soul in general and with the person of Alexander I 

 in particular. The Tzar's spirit grasped the idea of 

 podvieg,- and all the numerous religious influences 

 under which he had spent his life might very well 

 have led him to a desire to make a great podvieg of his 

 life itself. For the present, however, we must be 

 satisfied with the following facts brought to light 

 about one year ago. 



In the summer of 1922, during the period of the 

 sequestration of Church plate, a decree was issued 

 by the Petrograd Soviet appointing a Committee of 

 experts for the inspection of all Imperial tombs. It 

 was surmised by the authorities that the Sovereigns 

 might be found buried with their regalia and other 

 gems of great value. This decree was duly executed, 

 and every Imperial tomb was opened and the con- 

 tents of every coffin duty searched. As could well 



- Podvieg — undertaking of some particular work for God's 

 sake; sometimes dedication of one's whole life to God. 



