February Revolution
New Year 1917 was spent back at Gatchina. During the February Revolution two months later, Nicholas II abdicated for himself and his son and nominated Michael to succeed him. Michael declined to accept unless ratified by an elected assembly, and issued a manifesto that recognised the de facto control of the Russian Provisional Government. With the revolutionaries in power, and the influence of the imperial family all but ended, George and his family were placed under house arrest at the villa in Gatchina.
In September 1917, the house arrest was lifted. At the end of the following month, Prime Minister Alexander Kerensky was deposed in the October Revolution and the Bolsheviks seized power. With a permit to travel issued by Peter Polotsov, a former army colleague of Michael's who held a command in Saint Petersburg, the family planned to move to the greater safety of Finland. Valuables were packed and the children were moved to an estate south of Gatchina owned by Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov, the brother of one of Natalia's closest friends (Nadine Vonlyarlarskaya) and the father of the famous writer, Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov. George was friends with Nabokov senior's niece, Sophie Vonlyarlarskaya. Their plan was discovered by the Bolsheviks, and the children returned to Gatchina, once again under house arrest.
In March 1918, George's father was exiled to the remote city of Perm by the Bolsheviks, and Natalia became concerned for her family's safety. She turned to her friends, Prince and Princess Putyatin, for help. The Putyatins' apartment in Saint Petersburg was next door to the Danish embassy, and the Danes agreed to surreptitiously smuggle George out of the country. The Danish diplomat overseeing prisoner-of-war exchange, Colonel Cramer, gave George and his nanny, Miss Neame, shelter at his home in Sergeyevskaya street for a month until 25 April. On a train carrying prisoners-of-war who were being repatriated back to Germany, and with false passports in the name of Silldorff, Miss Neame posed as the wife of an Austrian officer and George posed as her son. A Danish officer, Captain Sorensen, accompanied them, since neither spoke German, and if they were discovered Miss Neame was in danger of being shot as a spy. They reached the Danish embassy in Berlin safely, and were given shelter by the ambassador, Count Carl Moltke. Informed of their escape, Wilhelm II, German Emperor, chose to ignore the fact that the British Miss Neame was an enemy alien, and permitted them to continue their journey to Copenhagen.
Read more about this topic: George Mikhailovich, Count Brasov
Famous quotes containing the words february and/or revolution:
“In my experience, if you have to keep the lavatory door shut by extending your left leg, it’s modern architecture.”
—Nancy Banks-Smith, British columnist. Guardian (London, February 20, 1979)
“Freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and freedom of person under the protection of habeas corpus, and trial by juries impartially selected. These principles form the bright constellation which has gone before us, and guided our steps through an age of revolution and reformation.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)