The rock opera Nicky & Alix

CAST OF CHARACTERS:

NICKY, Czarevich, the Emperor of All Russia

ALIX, the Princess of Hesse, the Empress
ALEXANDER III, the Emperor of All Russia, Nicky’s father
OTMA, Grand Duchesses: Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia
ALEXEI, the heir to the Russian throne
RASPUTIN, Siberian peasant , the friend of the royal family
GAPON, priest
BOTKIN, the royal family physician
KERENSKY, the Chairman of the Provisional Government
LENIN, the Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars
SVERDLOV, the Chairman of the Central Executive Committee
YAKOVLEV, the Extraordinary Commissioner
BELOBORODOV, the Chairman of the Ural Council
YUROVSKY, the Commandant of Ipatiev House
YERMAKOV, the Military Commissar of Verkh-Isetsk
The court, society, the conspirators, the folk and others

Time: June 1884 - July 1918
Places: Russia, Britain, Germany

ACT ONE

STAIRWAY OF LOVE

1884 -1905

Scene 1. PROLOGUE

From the shores of the Baltic and Black Seas to the Pacific Ocean stretches the Russian Empire, the territory of which is inhabited by one hundred and thirty millions of subjects of the Tsar.
The 300-year-long period of the Romanov dynasty reign is coming to its end marked by the first harbinger of future violence - the murder of the Emperor Alexander II, the reformer, who died in front of his grandson, Nicky.

Rus, where are you rushing? Give your answer. No answer.

1.1. Contemporary - "Rus"

Scene 2. NICKY AND ALIX. June 1884.

Alice, the Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt, accompanied by her husband Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, comes to St. Petersburg for her sister Ella’s wedding.

During the ceremony in the Grand Church of the Winter Palace Alice keeps looking at the best man, the 16-year-old czarevitch Nicky. The heir to the Russian throne is also drawn to the tall golden-haired princess.
They take walks in the gardens and parks, go boating, and take carriage rides. Romantic love sparks between them. They scratch their names "Nicky, Alix" on the windowpane overlooking the backyard of the Italian house in Peterhof.

2.1. "Nicky and Alix"

Scene 3. LOVE YOU. 1889.

The 17-year-old Alix arrives in St. Petersburg to visit her sister Ella for the second time. She has not seen Nicky for nearly five years. Now Nikcy sees a beautiful young girl with a shy smile on her face. They meet each other at the receptions, dinners and balls, skate on the frozen pond and sled down the icy hills. They are drawn to each other. She likes Nicky’s look, his natural delicacy and charm. He is fascinated by her beauty, intelligence and charm.

The society cast acid remarks in relation to the young princess: " unengaging, wood-like, cold-eyed, as stiff as a poker."

                         3.1. Nicky - "I fell in love with you, suddenly..."
                         3.2. Alix - "I love you and the sky too..."
                         3.3. The capital's beau monde - "Just look at her!"

Scene 4. ENGAGEMENT. April 1894.

        The most notable royal families of Europe arrive in Coburg for the wedding of the Duke of Hesse Ernst-Ludwig and the Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh.
        The wedding ceremony is overshadowed by another event – the engagement of the groom's sister Alix and the heir to the Russian throne, czarevich Nicky.
        As the wife to be of the heir to the Russian throne, Alix has to adopt Orthodoxy. However, she does not have the heart to change her religion, considering it a great sin. Afterlongh persuasions and lots of tears Alix finally agrees to her religion change and the engagement.

4.1. Alix - "I do not know what to do"
4.2. Nicky - "Sweet Alix"

Scene 5. LOVE WITHOUT BORDERS. June 1894.

        Alix goes to England to Queen Victoria. A month later, the imperial yacht, the Polar Star, with the czarevich on board enters the Thames.
        Nicky and Alix spend five unforgettable weeks with each other - "the best days of our lives", as Alix will say later. They walk on the green meadows, pick flowers in the surrounding fields, and sit on the grass under old chestnut trees in the garden. Then they travel to the Windsor Castle to be met by the Queen Victoria.
        Left alone, they kiss and kiss to state dizziness. They roll in happiness. The tower clock chimes - it's high time to part...

5.1. Nicky - "You're here with me..."
5.2. Alix - "I cry of pain..."

Scene 6. I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERY SINGLE DAY...

After the parting Nicky and Alix write letters to each other. The lovers’ letters fly day by day, sometimes two or three a day. Hundreds of his letters. And hundreds of her replies... Endless Love spells...

6.1. Nicky - "I think about you every single day..."
6.2. Alix and Nicky - "I am writing to you..."

Scene 7. GOD SAVE THE TSAR. 1894.

The Royal Family is concerned about the health of the 49-year-old Emperor Alexander III. He suffers from splitting headaches, swellings and shortness of breath. He and his family have atrip to Livadia, the Crimea. Nicky invites Alix to Livadia. Pale and exhausted giant, sitting in a chair, fully dressed in uniform, blesses the couple.
The Sovereign is getting worse. Nicky is confused: - "What will happen to Russia? I'm not ready to be the Tsar! I cannot manage the empire. I do not even know how to talk with the ministers. " He begs his father to allow him to abdicate. But Alexander III is adamant - the law of succession must be respected.

The thunder of the navy artillery pays the last tribute to the deceased monarch. Standing in a semi-circle, the members of the Royal Family, the government officials and courtiers swear allegiance to the new Emperor, Nicholas II.

                7.1. Nicky, Alexander III - "I'm not ready ..."
                7.2. Chorus - "God Save the Tsar!"
                7.3. Nicky - "Oh, God, give me strength ..."

Scene 8. WEDDING. November 26, 1894.

Nicky and Alix are in the Palace Church in the Winter Palace in front of the Metropolitan with lighted candles in their hands. The wedding ceremony is in progress. Because of the mourning there will be no reception and honeymoon after the ceremony. The young couple moves to Anichkov Palace and occupy the rooms where Nicky lived as a child. The newlyweds are left alone ...
On the night after the wedding Alix wrote in Nicky’s journal: "I would never have believed in the existence of such complete happiness in this world - the feeling of unity of the two mortal beings. We’ll never ever part. At last, we're together, and our lives are tied until the end, and when this life is over, we will meet again in another world and will be together forever. "

8.1. Nicky - "I'll take your hand"

8.2. Alix - "On this night, I'll become a lampion"

Scene 9. DAUGHTER. November 16, 1895.

Deep inside the Tsarskoselski Park, among the trees and small lakes is the Alexander Palace. There the first daughter of Nicky and Alix is born, who’ll give them new joys and new worries.

From the journal of Nicky: "It’ll be always the memorable day for me, during which I suffered a lot! As early as 1 am my lovely Alix was in the pain that prevented her from sleeping ... We named our God-sent daughter Olga in our prayer! When all the excitement has subsided, and the horrors were over, I fell into a blissful state of mind because of what’s happened!".

9.1. Nicky - "Daughter"

Scene 10. CORONATION. May 26, 1896.

Blue cloudless sky is over Moscow. The bells are tolling. We can hear enthusiastic cries of "Hurrah" and the sounds of the orchestra playing "God Save the Tsar".

        Accompanied by the sounds of trumpets and cymbals, the Emperor and the Empress descend the steps of the Red Porch and head for the Assumption Cathedral. Everyone is quiet now – the Metropolitan Sergius of Moscow welcomes Their Majesties with a speech at the door of the cathedral.
        After the ceremony of the sacred anointing the Emperor swears to rule and protect Russian autocracy. He goes toward the throne through the tsar's gate and puts on the crown, and then he touches the Empress’s head with it.
        All members of the royal family approach the crowned autocrat of all Russia and swear allegiance to him. The Tsar and Tsarina go out to the Red Porch and bow to the people.

   10.1. Coronation March
   10.2. Metropolitan - "Pious Emperor"
   10.3. People - "Long live the Russian Tsar!"

Scene 11. KHODYNKA. May 30, 1896.

        The program of festivities at Khodynskoe field includes the giveaway of royal gifts and theatrical performances. In the evening the place is filled with continuously arriving masses of people Everywhere you can see bivouacs of peasants and factory workers. By the dawn over half a million people gather on the Khodynka. The field reminds a sea of heaving rye.
        Suddenly the rumor is spread that there’ll be not enough presents for everyone. The crowd rushes forward. The squadron of Cossacks, which arrived to maintain order, is swept away. The people fall into ditches and trenches.
        Thousands of feet trample the crippled, dying of suffocation people. Hodynka resembles a battlefield. Hundreds are dead, thousands injured.

11.1. The Contemporary, the Folk - "Hodynka"

Scene 12. LOVE HIM, THE EARTHBORN!

        Nicky and Alix adore each other, their happiness is endless. Love fills them up.
        They live in seclusion away from the bustling capital. The favorite place of the imperial couple is Peterhof, where their "private residence" is located. This is a small but very comfortable Lower Dacha, situated by the sea.
        Below are the offices, the second floor is only for chosen people; the third floor is closed for nearly everuone: there is the holy of holies – the bedroom of Nicky and Alix.

12.1. The Fairy of Love - "Love him, the earthborn!
12.2. Nicky, Alix - "Me and You"

Scene 13. HEIR. August 12, 1904.

        The royal family is in the summer residence, the Lower Dacha in Peterhof. The weather is sunny and hot. During breakfast Alix is in pain. An hour later, a boy is born. The Heir to the Russian throne is named Alexei in the honor of the Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the father of Peter the Great.
        The fireworks erupt to celebrate the Heir’s birth in the military harbor of Peterhof. The guns of Kronstadt join in; Peter and Paul Fortress follow suit.
        All over the country the bells chime, the flags wave. St. Petersburg is decorated with festive illumination, in the streets are full of celebrating people, the imperial anthem sounds everywhere.

13.1. Nicky - "The Heir"
13.2. "God Save the Tsar!"

Scene 14. GRIGORY. 1904.

A peasant, Grigory Rasputin comes to St. Petersburg from the village of Pokrovskoe, Tyumen county, Tobolsk province. Dressed in a peasant shirt and trousers tucked into his greased boots, he appears in the most fashionable salons of St. Petersburg. Grigory meets the representatives of the Russian nobility. The doors of high society salons are always opened for him.
He is invited to pray and give spiritual advice. Illiterate Gregory knows the Scriptures by heart and skillfully interprets it. Rasputin behaves respectfully but does not grovel. He laughs loudly and makes critical remarks without a shade of embarrassment.

14.1. Philistine - "The Coming of Rasputin"
14.2. Rasputin - "I used to be like everyone else"

Scene 15. LULLABY.

        Alix gives birth to her children and takes care of them herself. Her family is her world, her kingdom. In the nursery Alix feels herself safe, confident and calm. There, she is at her best; all her interests are there too.
        She devotes a lot of time to raising her children, teaching them manners, language, and handicrafts. She talks with them on spiritual topics.
        Looking at her children, Alix smiles. What a great joy to look at the little ones - so funny, touchingly helpless, needing protection from all the dangers. What a pleasure is in their educating, upbringing and letting them go into the wide world.
        Evening comes. Alix puts children to bed and sings them a lullaby.

15.1 Alix - "Lullaby"

Scene 16. OMENS. End of 1904.

Stormy clouds gather above Russia. There are first reports of the failures in the war with Japan. The first signs of impending social storm are clearly seen. The discontent is openly manifested on newspapers and magazines pages, during meetings of rural and urban leaders. University students revolt. The country is covered with waves of strikes and demonstrations. The demands for political changes prevail.
In Paris, the Congress of opposition Russian political parties is held. It unanimously approves the resolution on the need to eliminate autocracy and its replacement with a free democratic system.

16.1. Contemporary - "Omens"

ACT TWO

LOVE AND HATE

1905 -1917

Scene 1. THE BLOODE SUNDAY. January 22, 1905.

        The capital is wsept with strikes. Gapon, the priest, goes from one meeting to another, making passionate speeches. He promotes the idea of going to the Tsar with a petition containing a number of totally unrealistic demands.
        On Sunday morning Gapon heads one of the column of demonstrators to the city center. The demonstrators carry crosses, holy mages and banners, flags and portraits of the Tsar. The anthem "God Save the Tsar!" is heard.
        When the columns approach the Winter Palace, the soldiers open fire. Men, women and children fall on the ground, dying. Ther snow is stained with blood. Gapon curses the Tsar.

        1.1. People - "God Save the Tsar!"
        1.2. The people, Gapon - "Petition"
        1.3. Gapon - "Our Tsar"

Scene 2. GOD FORGIVE. 1905 - 1906.

There is unrest in Russia. In Kronstadt and Sevastopol the sailors rebel against the Tsar. In Moscow, the Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies leads thousands of workers and students, who are fighting with government troops, to barricades. Russia is the first civilized world’s country to experience the terror of such magnitude. The targets of the terrorists are the officials of the Russian Empire as well as the Tsar and all the representatives of the Romanov dynasty.

For Nicky it is the time of ordeal. He is surrounded either by very old or too immature people. In the summer of 1906 the Tsar signs the bill on martial courts, which convict and hang 600 people charged with political terrorism during few months’ period. The terrorists have already eliminated 1,600 governors, generals, soldiers and policemen.
The terrorist acyivity is ceasing.

2.1. Nicky - "God, forgive ..."

Scene 3. REFORMER. 1906.

The Emperor appoints Stolypin, a little-known in the capital young governor of Saratov, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers.

Stolypin becomes a target for terrorists. He carries a steel sheet in his briefcase to shield himself from bullets. After the explosion at his dacha in St. Petersburg (killing 27, injuring 32 people, including his son and daughter), Stolypin begins to ruthlessly suppress the turmoil.
Stolypin carries out the country's agrarian reforms, which give 9 million farmers the right to become landowners. Stolypin's reforms trigger sharp criticism from both the left and right wing political forces. The reactionaries do not like the changes in the old settled way of life. The revolutionaries hate any improvement of conditions that lead to discontent among the masses.

3.1. Beau mond - "A smart alec"
3.2. Contemporary - "Reformer"

Scene 4. YOU’RE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL!

        Every spring, the Imperial family travels to the blossoming Crimea, in their Livadia Palace. It is built from white limestone on the top of a cliff overlooking sea. There, Nicky and Alix feel themselves much more relaxed than anywhere else. Alix travels to Yalta for shopping, which she never does in St. Petersburg.
        When Nicky and Alix are left alone, they spend time quietly and solitarily. They talk about what is most important to them - the children and family affairs. Sometimes, in the evenings, Nicky reads her something just like in their first years together. She silently listens and smiles.
        Kids love their mom with ingenuous and faithful love. They adore her and for them she is impeccable. However, misunderstandings occur due to their young and impulsive characters. The only thought that their dear mother is hurt, even slightly, is intolerable for children. If someone inadvertently does something that may hurt or offend her, he or she owes her explanations, and sometimes tears of repentance.

5.1. Nicky - "You're the most beautiful!"
5.2. Kids - "Mom!"

Scene 5. I BELIEVE IN RUSSIA.

       The stout figure of Stolypin is recognizeable when he appears in the State Duma. "You won’t intimidate me!" - Pyotr Arkadevich thunders, addressing the left wing deputies of the Duma. – “You need great upheaval, but we do need the Great Russia. "
       «I believe in God and I know that all it’s meant for me to do, I will do, no matter what obstacles ... I believe in Russia ...”

5.1. Stolypin - "I believe in Russia"

Scene 6. RASPUNIN.

        Rasputin lives a very hectic life. His vision affects everyone who meets him. His gaze is difficult to endure. His eyes are lit with indomitable, mysterious will. They seem to see through the interlocutor and won’t let him go at his own will.
        Rasputin is surrounded both by the most ordinary people - farmers, tradesmen and the most notable - the princes, senior officials and courtiers of the Tsar. His supporters call him a teacher and a mentor. His enemies consider him a fraud and a scoundrel.
        Grigory behaves independently and confidently, like a man who knows his higher purpose. He bows to no one and is not afraid to tell the truth directly, which most do not like.

6.1. Society - "Grigory Rasputin "

Scene 7. I WALKED ON. August 1911.

Germany is afraid that the successful economic reforms in Russia will undermine its dominant position in Europe within a generation. Lenin pessimistically believes that its wih his successful policy Stolypin takes the wind from the Bolsheviks’ sails. After the 11^th attempt on Stolypin’s life he dies The bullet of the assassin Bogrov hits Stolypin in Kiev theater, not far from the Imperial box. Falling down, Pyotr Arkadevich has time only to cross the couple.

7.1. Bagrov - "I walked and staggered”

Scene 8. DO NOT DIE. 1912.

        From his mother little Alexey inherited a terrible disease - hemophilia. Death walks right behind him ... The tragedy of the family is hidden under the cloak of secrecy; the outsiders suspect nothing.
        In autumn of 1912 Alexei suffers from extensive internal hemorrhage as a result of injury. Doctors warn - prepare for the worst.
        For eleven days Alix sits on her sick son’s bed. Alexey’s waxen face is like a dead man's face. Nicky cries in seclusion. The parents are sure - the child is going to die. The boy feels the same way.
        Alix sends a telegram to Rasputin begging to pray for her son. Soon comes the reply: "Do not worry. Your son will live." The heir’s condition is dramatically improved - the disease withdraws.

        8.1. Alix, Nicky - "Do not die!"
        8.2. Rasputin, Alix - "I pray for him"
        8.3. Alix - "Sunbeam"

Scene 9. 300 ANNIVERSARY OF THE DYNASTY. 1613 - 1913 years.

Comes in 1913 - top of the prosperity of the empire and the year of the great jubilee. 300 years ago, on Feb. 21, 1613, the throne of Moscow Zemsky Sobor elected sixteen boyar Mikhail Romanov, who became the ancestor of a new dynasty.

In celebration of 300 years the family moved to the Winter Palace. You can hear the thundering cheers of troops. Festivities begin with a liturgy in the Kazan Cathedral, and then - taking the Winter Palace. All the ladies in Russian costumes. The tsar family accepts congratulations.

Over 300 years of the Romanov dynasty Moscow State became a great Russian empire. In a country with unprecedented enthusiasm and intellectual explosion. Homeland Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Turgenev, Chekhov, Tolstoy, Glinka, Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, Mussorgsky and Tchaikovsky becomes a laboratory of the coming art of XX century: Malevich, Kandinsky, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Stravinsky, Stanislavsky, Meyerhold ...

9.1. Folk, Contemporary, 1613 - "All the elections "

9.2. Zemsky Cathedral in 1613 - "The Cathedral oath"

9.3. Contemporary - "300 years of power!"

Scene 10. RUSSIA.

In the first days of spring the royal family is sent to the Volga in the pilgrimage to the memorial for the dynasty places. Along the way the royal family are loyal demonstrations.

Under the thunder of fireworks, ringing bells and singing of the anthem "God Save the Tsar!" tsar flotilla approaching at the Ipatyevsky Monastery. From there, Family goes to the ancient Cathedral of the Assumption.

Sound the jubilant cries - this is a people met the tsar family. On the face of Nicky and Alix - joy. How unexpected happened this long-awaited unity: the people and the tsar!

10.1. People - "God Save the Tsar!

10.2. Nicky - "Russia"

Scene 1. LOVE AND HATE. 1913 - 1914 years.

The Deputy of the Fourth Duma, Kerensky, travels around the country making speeches criticizing the government. His efforts and those of similar to him yield the results - more than one million workers go on strike. For the imperial family Grigory Rasputin is the embodiment of hope. He is the only person that could help the heir to cope with his illness. The relationship between the family and him become closer and closer, later turning into a real friendship. Their meetings are held infrequently and quietly.
St. Petersburg is full of rumors about Rasputin and his influence on the Tsar. The aggressive campaign campaign in the press against him is launched. His name becomes a household word. "The Case of Rasputin" is discussed by the State Duma deputies and the members of the Government. Almost all members of the ruling family, including the Tsar's mother, are hostile toward Rasputin.

11.1. Kerensky - "We know what to do!"

11.2. Rasputin, Alix - "Love and Hate"

Scene 12. THE WAR. 1914.

On August 1, 1914 Germany's Ambassador to Russia presents the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs a note with the announcement of war. Russians enthusiastically welcome the beginning of the war. Everyone is convinced that the war will last no more than four months and will end victoriously.
Shortly after the outbreak of war, it is clear that it will last a lot longer. The optimism yields to despondency and despair. The Tsar and his entourage are held responsible for the military failures and protracted military campaign.

12.1. Contemporary - "What are we fighting for?"

Scene 13. LETTER. 1915.

        Alix is imersed in the work of a nurse. The huge Catherine the Great Palace in Tsarskoe Selo is transformed into a military hospital.
        She suffers every time Nicky leaves to the frontline. Alix writes letters to her husband like a young girl: "I so want to hold you tight and put my head on your shoulder ... I yearn for your kisses, your embraces...".
        In 1915, the Emperor decides to lead the army. Alix writes to him: "Excuse me, my dear, but you yourself know that you are too kind and gentle ... Be more assertive and confident ... They should better remember who you are ... Humility is the highest gift of God, but the monarch must often display his will ... Be an autocrat, my dear ... Be the owner and the master, you are the autocrat.

13.1. Alix - "After all, you are the Emperor!»

Scene 14. TESTAMENT. December 1916.

        Shortly before his death Rasputin makes the most known and most terrible prophecy: "I have a feeling that I’m going to die before January 1 ... Russian Tsar ... if I die because of someone from among your relatives, I’m telling you that none of your family, none of your children and relatives will live for more than two years ".
        On December 30, 1916 Grigory Rasputin is found dead. The residents of the capital celebrate vigrously: "the evil spirit is gone!"
        The investigation reveals the murderes - Prince Yusupov, the husband of the Emperor’s niece and Grand Duke Dmitri, the Tsar’s cousin. The next day the Tsar orders the exile of the assassins from Petrograd.
        All members of the Imperial House rebel against the decision. As a result, the Emperor and Empress find themselves in isolation. The couple is experiencing profound disappointment in their close relatives, who previously were trusted. For the first time they do not send Christmas gifts to the princes...

      12.1. Rasputin - "Testament"
      12.2. Society - "Finally!"
      12.3. Nicky - "Let’s keep quiet..."

Scene 15. CONSPIRACY. February 1917.

Petrograd population suffers from cold and hunger. Riots and turmoil around the country do not meet serious resistance from the authorities. On February 27 during the Duma session, Kerensky attacks not only the government but also the sovereign: - "The Ministers flit like shadows ... To avoid disaster, you need to depose the tsar, even if it takes a terrorist attack.
The Chairman of the State Duma, Rodzianko, the leader of the Cadets, Miliukov, the chairman of the military-industrial committee Guchkov, Kerensky, and the generals: Alekseev, Ruza, Brusilov plan a coup. The conspirators arrogantly believe that they can better manage Russia than the Tsar.

15.1. Kerensky - "We must depose the Tsar!"
15.2. Conspirators - "Down with talks!"

ACT THREE

LEFT MARCH

1917 -1918

Scene 1. TREASON. March 1917.

        The Chief of Staff, General Alexeyev entices the Tsar from Petrograd to the GHQ. In Pskov, the imperial train is taken under the strict control by the conspirator general-adjutant, Ruzskii.
        On March 2, after agonizing reflections, Nicholas II abdicates. Alix writes to him: "My beloved, my precious angel, light of my life, my heart breaks at the thought that you're all alone going through all this pain and strife, and we do not know anything about you, and you do not know anything about us."
        The Provisional Government is powerless to keep the elementary order. The country that is swept with terror, murders and unlawful arrests, destruction and burning of government offices.

1.1. Nicky - "Treachery and cowardice around me "

Scene 2. CITIZEN ROMANOV. March 1917.

        The Provisional Government decides on the detention of the former Emperor Nicholas II, his wife and those remaining with them.
        Nicholas returns to the Alexander Palace. Being left alone with Alix, he cries. A handful of people loyal to the imperial family feel like shipwrecked.
         Unshaven men in unbuttoned shirts and unpolished boots wander around the palacenew power is here - the power of the victorious mob.
        The country is forced into the situation of universal hatred of the imperial family. There are rumors that the "citizen Romanov” and his wife, “German Alexandra” secretly conspire with the Germans. Petrograd sovdep demands to lock Nicholas Romanov in the Peter and Pavel Fortress.
        The Provisional Government is bombarded with letters and telegrams demanding immediate execution of the Tsar and his family. By the initiative of Kerensky the committee of inquiry is established to investigate the crimes of Nicholas II and the Empress.

2.1. Nicky - "I'm sorry"

         2.2. Soldiers - "Citizen Romanov"
         2.3. The revolutionary masses - "Finish ‘em off!"

Scene 3. FAREWELL. August 1917.

        Kerensky is confused - he needs to smuggle the imperial family away from the troubled Petrograd. The English King George V refuses to accept the Tsar and his family. Nicky turns to Kerensky with the request to send them to the Crimea.
        In the end, Kerensky decides to move the imperial family to Tobolsk.
        August 13, 1917 is the last day when Nicky and Alix spend with their children in Tsarskoe Selo. All day long the children excitedly run around the Alexander Palace, say goodbye to the servants, favorite places and the island in the pond, where they were so happy.
        Nicky and Alix bypass deserted rooms which were their home for 23 years ...

3.1. Kerensky - "What should I do?"
3.2. Kids - "Goodbye ..."

Scene 4. TOBOLSK. August 1917.

The family of the last Russian Emperor arrives in Tobolsk on August 6 on the boat "Rus". They are stationed in the house of the former governor.
The family leads calm regular life: they read, work in the yard of the governor's house and pray. The children continue their studies. Their father reads them a course of Russian history.

Alix is engaged in reading, needlework, and painting. Sometimes, being alone in the house, she plays the piano and sings. From time to time the family arranges amateur theatricals.

4.1. Nicky, Alix - "Rain"

Scene 5. LEFT MARCH. October 1917.

On the night of 24th of October (old style) the quiet revolution happens. There are no demonstrations; the workers' Red Guard troops and the sailors of the Baltic Fleet simply disarm the government guards, low the bridges raised by Kerensky, take control over the railway stations, the power stations, the telephone exchange, the telegraph, etc. - all without firing a shot, calmly and methodically.
The Provisional Government doesn’t have a clue of what is happening. They find about the actions of the Military Revolutionary Committee only by "secondary attributes": at some point the telephones in the Winter Palace stop working, then the lights go out ...

5.1. Sailors - "Left March"

Scene 6. I DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO. April 1918.

        The Extraordinary Commissar Yakovlev with a detachment of Red Army arrives in Tobolsk. He announces that he intends to move the imperial family to Moscow.
        Alexei is ill and can’t go. Alixis in two minds - to stay with her sick son or leave with her husband. She cannot pull herself together... Clenching her fists, she rushes back and forth across the room, talking to herself: "I simply can not allow the Emperor to go alone... They want to tear him away from his family, as they intended to do before ... I must be with him, but the boy is still so sick. Oh God! For the first time in my life I do not know what to do ... I just can not think straight ".
        Two people inside her are in struggle - the wife and the mother. Suddenly she stops and says: "Yes, it would be the best, I'll go with the Emperor."

6.1. Alix - "I do not know what to do"

Scene 7. EKATERINBURG. April 28, 1918.

        The train with the Commissar Yakovlev, Nicky, Alix and daughter Tatiana arrives in Yekaterinburg. The day is blindingly sunny and warm.
        At the station a crowd gathered; the cries and threats are heard: "We need to hang them right here!.. Finally they got into our hands! .." Hey, Yakovlev! Show us the Romanovs! Let us spit in their hideous mugs"...
        The Commissar Yakovlev commands his soldiers: "The machine guns at the ready!. Crowd backs away, but after a while they return.
        The train is taken to the outskirts of the city where Yakovlev hands the " cargo " to the UralSoviet representatives. The imperial family is placed in the house engineer Ipatiev, called the House of special purpose.

Alix tells Niki about her dream, in which they, as children, get lost in a huge dark forest. Among the trees they see firelight...

7.1. The crowd - "Finally, they got into our hands!"

7.2. Alix - "Dream"

Scene 8. HE MUST BE EXECUTED. July 1918.

The Urals is in the midst of the civil war. The detachments of the Czechoslovak Rifle Regiment and the Orenburg Cossacks rush to Ekaterinburg. The Red Army is retreating. The Red Urals is about to surrender.
In Moscow, Lenin and Sverdlov decide on the fate of the imperial family: "We can not leave them the living banner. To frighten, terrify, to deprive the enemy of hope and to shake up our own troops it is mandatory to execute the Tsar. Let’s show everyone that there is no room to retreat. Ahead of us is either total victory or complete destruction... The workers and soldiers won’t understand or accept any other option".

8.1. Lenin and Sverdlov – “He must be executed!”

Scene 9. DOCTOR.

        The guards, whom he renders medical assistance to, trust Doctor Botkin. He is a mediator between the imperial prisoners and the house commandant as well as the members of the UralSoviet.
        The doctor intercedes for regular walks for the prisoners, tries to ease the strict regime of their stay in the house.
        Belborodov and Goloshchekin urge Botkin to abandon the family and get a job at a Moscow hospital. They take efforts to convince him that the days of the imperial family are over.
        Botkin makes his choice: “Thanks, but I stay. I gave my word to the Tsar.” In his last letter to his frined Botkin writes:”I am dead, but not buried yet…”

9.1. Beloborodov, Goloshchekin - "Proposal"

9.2. Botkin - "Thanks, but I remain ..."

Scene 10. THE MEETING OF THE URALSOVIET. 12 - July 13, 1918.

The UralSoviet meeting is in progress. Those present unanimously adopt the resolution on the execution "of the former Tsar Nicholas Romanov guilty of countless bloody crimes. Another decision: to replace the guards in the House of the Special Purpose. The period of active and silent execution preparation begins.

Nicky: “There is no sacrifice I would not make to release my family. Having murdered me, of course, they will set everyone else free. This is the only way to release them all.”

10.1. The Meeting of the UralSoviet
10.2. Nicky – “There is no sacrifice I would not make... “

Scene 11. THE SPECIAL PURPOSE HOUSE. July 14, 1918.

All members of the imperial family and their attendants are worried and depressed. They feel the atmosphere of hopelessness. Botkin writes in his last letter to his friend: "I am dead, but not buried yet ... My children might hope that we will meet again some day in this life, but I, personally, have lost all hopes...”
The Special Purpose House Commandant, Yurovsky, allows the priest, Father Storozhev, to pray in the House of Special Purpose. A deacon and Father Storozhev start singing Peace to Thee with the Saints prayer. Standing behind them, the members of the Romanov family and their attendants kneel. After the service, everyone kisses the cross.

When outside, the deacon says: “You know, father, there is something wrong with them ... they completely different; they don’t even sing.”

11.1. Archpriest Storozhev – “God save the Tsar"

Scene 12. THE LAST DAY. July 16, 1918.

On their last day they get up at 9 am. The whole family and their attendants: Botkin, Trupp, Kharitonov, and Demidov gather in the room of Nicky and Alix and pray together ... In the evening Yurovsky receives the order to annihilate the Romanovs and their servants. He begins preparations for the execution.

12.1. Family and attendants – “The Prayer”
12.2. Yermakov, Yurovsky – “It's time!”

Scene 13. THE DAY IS GONE... The night, July 16, 1918.

The family and their attendants go to bed, as usual, at 10:30 pm. The lights in the second- floor windows go out. Everyone but Nicky and Alix fall asleep. They are having yet another sleepless night listening hard to the distant sounds of gunfire and noises outside their window... They hear voices and the sound of the truck in the yard...

13.1. Nicky, Alix – “The Day is Gone ...”

Scene 14. THE END.

They did not live to be old. They died on the same day and hour...

14.1. “God, Save Ny Native Rus”