Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia - Khodynka Tragedy

Khodynka Tragedy

Alexander III died in November 1894 and his son Nicholas II ascended to the Russian throne. The relationship between Grand Duke Sergei and his nephew, who had served under his command in the Preobrazhensky Life Guard Regiment, was close and became stronger with Nicholas II’s marriage to Princess Alix of Hesse, the youngest sister of Sergei’s wife. This was a union that Sergei and Elizabeth Feodorovna had helped to promote.

The coronation ceremonies of the new Emperor and his wife, as tradition demanded, took place in Moscow and Sergei as Governor General of the City was in charge of overseeing the arrangements. As part of the preparations, Sergei had introduced the novelty of electric light to Moscow. Towards the end of the festivities, according to custom, every newly crowned Tsar presented gifts to the populace; and on this occasion Khodynka Field, on the outskirts of Moscow, was chosen as a suitable place where the distribution could take place. The choice was questionable, as the field was normally used as a military training ground and was crisscrossed with ditches. Nevertheless, Sergei, as Governor General approved the plans. Although a crowd of nearly half a million was expected from all over Russia, only one squadron of Cossacks and a small detachment of police were sent to maintain order.

Early in the morning of May 18, 1896, families began to gather outside the frail wooden fence that protected the field, watching carts laden with beer, and the eagerly sought after gifts. Around 6 am, a rumor swept through the mass that the booths had already opened and the souvenirs were being given out. Suddenly moving as one, that great body of people began to surge forward in the direction of the booths. As it did so, men, women and children, hundreds of whom had no idea what was happening, fell or slipped on the uneven ground and were crushed and trampled underfoot. Others suffocated in the mayhem. The police, far too few in numbers, were helpless to do much and even the Cossacks when they arrived were unable to stop the catastrophe. One thousand three hundred people, many hideously mutilated and unrecognizable, were killed and twice that number were seriously injured.

While Grand Duke Sergei had not directly participated in the planning for Khodynka Field, he was to blame for the lack of foresight and as Governor General, ultimately responsible. However, he did not assume his part of responsibility for the tragedy. He laid the blame on others, most notably on Count Voronzov-Dashkov, head of the Ministry of the Imperial Court, with whom there had been some dispute over the management of the coronation festivities, and Colonel Vlasovsky, the city of Moscow’s Chief of Police. In the eyes of public opinion Sergei had done himself great harm by not going to the scene of the incident, or at least putting in appearances at the victims' funerals.

On Khodynka there existed a Romanov family divide. There were Romanovs, headed by Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich and his brothers, who thought the festivities should have been cancelled. On the other hand, Sergei Alexandrovich and his brothers thought that an historical event, such as a coronation, should not be disrupted or marred by a conspicuous period of mourning. The latter opinion believed that the crowds who came long distances should not be disappointed, and that the tightly scheduled events for foreign dignitaries not be slighted and should go forward. There was also division among the Romanov family as to whether Grand Duke Sergei should have resigned. Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich and his brothers called for his resignation, while Sergei’s own brothers Grand Dukes Vladimir Alexandrovich and Alexei Alexandrovich closed ranks supporting him and threatened to retire from public life if Sergei was made the scapegoat for the Khodynka tragedy. Sergei ultimately offered to resign but Vorontzov-Dashkov did not. The Tsar ultimately did not support a thoroughly proposed investigation, the Chief of Police was dismissed, but Grand Duke Sergei retained his high office.

The night of the tragedy Czar Nicholas II, for diplomatic reasons, attended a ball in honor of the French; because of that, his reputation suffered for what was perceived to be his lack of sympathy for the victims.