ALEXIS NICOLAIEVITCH, GRAND DUKE, ex-heir apparent (Tsarevitch) to the Russian throne: b. 30 July (N.S. 12 Aug.) 1904. The birth of a son to the Tsar caused great rejoicing in Russia; the imperial couple had four daughters, and there seemed reason to apprehend that the throne would not descend in the direct line of succession. The young heir proved to be of a bright, active and in telligent disposition, thoroughly Russian in all his tastes. In common with several of his near relations, however, he had a serious organic affliction consisting of a tendency to internal hemorrhage which might be brought about by any slight accident. This tendency is hereditary in the Romanoff family, and in this case has been the source of grave concern. Until the birth of Alexis, the younger brother of Nicholas II, the Grand Duke.. Michael (b. 1878) was heir apparent to the throne. It was then decided that, in the event of the Tsar's death before the young child at tained his majority, the Grand Duke should act as regent for him in conjunction with the dowager Empress. This formal arrangement, however, was canceled some years ago when he contracted a morganatic marriage with a divorcee. He thereafter lived abroad and dis appeared from public view until the outbreak of the European War, when he returned to Russia and served in the army. After the deposition of the Tsar in March 1917 he was appointed regent — an arrangement that lasted but a short while.
In October 1912 a sensation was caused by a rumor that the young heir — then eight years old— had been the victim of a bomb outrage, while another story ran that he had been mutilated by his nurse. All that could be gathered of a definite nature was the fact that he was in a critical condition of health. An official statement issued on 3 November an nounced that the child had injured himself by jumping into a boat, which had induced hemorrhage and would require a long period of recuperation. The question of succession rose
again. The Grand Duke Michael having been eliminated, an heir-designate was appointed in the Grand Duke Dmitri (b. 1891), son of the Tsar's uncle, the Grand Duke Paul. The child recovered in due course, and assisted his father in distributing decorations among the troops at Tsarskoe Selo in December 1914. In the fall of 1915 he accompanied the Tsar to the front and for a time shared the military life at the imperial headquarters. Dressed in a i little Cossack uniform, he joined his father in tours of inspection and made himself a great favorite with the soldiers. When the Russian revolution became an accomplished fact in March 1917, M. Alexander Gutchkoff and a deputy were commissioned to go to General Ruzsky's headquarters and inform the Tsar that he had ceased to reign. Realizing the hopelessness of his situation, the dethroned monarch asked the delegates, ((What do you want me to do?* He was told that he must abdicate in favor of his son under the regency of the Grand Duke Michael. The Tsar replied, cannot part with my boy; I shall hand the throne to my brother. Have you a piece of paper?" A manifesto was drafted on the spot ; the Emperor of all the Russias for the last time appended his signature as a monarch, lay ing down the supreme power and renouncing all rights of succession on behalf of his son. The document was signed at Pskoff on 15 March 1917. The boy was sick at the time; his four sisters were suffering from measles, which disease he also eventually contracted. He sub sequently accompanied his parents into exile.