1
00:00:17,285 --> 00:00:20,165
In my efforts to solve
the mystery of the young girl

2
00:00:20,245 --> 00:00:22,325
who claimed to be Princess Anastasia,

3
00:00:22,845 --> 00:00:25,805
the sole surviving heir
of the Russian imperial family,

4
00:00:26,445 --> 00:00:28,372
I was joined by someone who'd

5
00:00:28,397 --> 00:00:30,789
known her all her
life, her aunt.

6
00:00:34,125 --> 00:00:35,565
Your Imperial Highness.

7
00:00:35,885 --> 00:00:36,885
Olga.

8
00:00:37,445 --> 00:00:38,485
Just Olga now.

9
00:00:41,285 --> 00:00:43,365
The resemblance is only slight.

10
00:00:45,765 --> 00:00:46,965
The physical evidence...

11
00:00:48,005 --> 00:00:49,005
debatable.

12
00:00:49,605 --> 00:00:51,485
If she is my little Pixie, I'll know.

13
00:00:52,205 --> 00:00:53,205
Pixie?

14
00:00:53,925 --> 00:00:55,685
My nickname for her as a toddler.

15
00:00:58,565 --> 00:00:59,845
What does your gut say?

16
00:01:03,845 --> 00:01:05,045
She tried to kill herself.

17
00:01:06,325 --> 00:01:09,205
She must have been through something
terrible to do that.

18
00:01:10,485 --> 00:01:12,605
But so many others have made claims.

19
00:01:13,045 --> 00:01:14,045
I know.

20
00:01:15,285 --> 00:01:16,445
But it's not the lies,

21
00:01:17,925 --> 00:01:20,405
it's how they force you
to rake it all up again.

22
00:02:05,925 --> 00:02:08,205
The body of Grigori Rasputin

23
00:02:08,845 --> 00:02:12,285
was discovered beneath the ice
of the Malaya Nevka River

24
00:02:13,645 --> 00:02:16,005
on the 19th of December, 1916.

25
00:02:22,245 --> 00:02:25,005
The infamous mystic had been poisoned,

26
00:02:25,125 --> 00:02:27,365
beaten and shot in the head.

27
00:02:38,045 --> 00:02:40,485
But while the imperial family mourned,

28
00:02:41,205 --> 00:02:44,165
many hoped
that this was Russia's second chance

29
00:02:44,725 --> 00:02:47,965
to rule free of Rasputin's
poisonous influence.

30
00:03:19,325 --> 00:03:20,365
He's gone.

31
00:03:21,245 --> 00:03:23,365
The only man who could save our son.

32
00:03:26,205 --> 00:03:27,525
What do we do now?

33
00:03:28,645 --> 00:03:29,965
We carry on.

34
00:03:30,925 --> 00:03:34,085
He had faith in us.
He said God shines on us.

35
00:03:34,725 --> 00:03:36,845
Now we must have faith in ourselves.

36
00:03:44,805 --> 00:03:46,805
Mm.

37
00:03:50,885 --> 00:03:52,925
Rasputin has been murdered.

38
00:03:53,445 --> 00:03:57,085
There is a chance for Nicholas
to reform and to make changes.

39
00:03:57,405 --> 00:04:01,165
And yet, Nicholas continues
exactly the same way as before.

40
00:04:02,205 --> 00:04:03,845
Everyone realizes suddenly,

41
00:04:03,925 --> 00:04:06,925
that actually it wasn't Rasputin
who was governing Nicholas.

42
00:04:07,045 --> 00:04:09,165
It was Nicholas governing Nicholas.

43
00:04:09,685 --> 00:04:12,485
I understand
you need time to mourn, Nicky.

44
00:04:12,605 --> 00:04:14,365
But you must put this behind you

45
00:04:14,445 --> 00:04:15,765
and listen to your family.

46
00:04:16,005 --> 00:04:18,085
The country needs your leadership.

47
00:04:18,165 --> 00:04:20,645
My family murdered Grigori.

48
00:04:21,445 --> 00:04:23,125
Felix should be punished.

49
00:04:23,725 --> 00:04:25,045
He deserves a parade.

50
00:04:25,725 --> 00:04:27,125
Here, give me that.

51
00:04:29,965 --> 00:04:31,525
Nicky, Nicky,

52
00:04:31,765 --> 00:04:32,925
listen to your sister.

53
00:04:33,765 --> 00:04:34,845
You need to act now.

54
00:04:35,485 --> 00:04:36,685
Appoint new ministers,

55
00:04:37,045 --> 00:04:39,045
and regain the confidence of your people,

56
00:04:39,765 --> 00:04:43,005
- or there will be total anarchy.
- I have to go, Mother.

57
00:04:43,325 --> 00:04:45,965
But please have faith.

58
00:04:49,645 --> 00:04:51,245
All they do is criticize.

59
00:04:55,765 --> 00:04:57,485
What would Father Grigori say?

60
00:05:00,885 --> 00:05:02,525
To trust my instincts.

61
00:05:08,885 --> 00:05:10,325
I will head back to the war.

62
00:05:11,485 --> 00:05:13,485
That's where I'm needed, not here.

63
00:05:13,565 --> 00:05:15,245
I can keep the ministers in line.

64
00:05:18,165 --> 00:05:21,325
We will continue the way we were.

65
00:05:27,405 --> 00:05:30,645
This is a decision
that could doom the Romanovs.

66
00:05:30,885 --> 00:05:33,325
When Nicholas goes back
to military headquarters,

67
00:05:33,445 --> 00:05:36,085
Nicholas is in fact leaving control
of government,

68
00:05:36,325 --> 00:05:38,845
exactly when government needed him
the most.

69
00:05:38,925 --> 00:05:41,765
When Russia needed to be held together
by its Czar.

70
00:05:44,765 --> 00:05:47,485
The war by this time
is deeply unpopular.

71
00:05:47,565 --> 00:05:48,685
It's not only unpopular,

72
00:05:48,765 --> 00:05:52,605
it's also arguably the engine
that's causing economic crisis,

73
00:05:52,685 --> 00:05:55,005
that's causing general unrest.

74
00:05:55,605 --> 00:05:57,125
Partly because of the war,

75
00:05:57,205 --> 00:05:59,205
there's food shortages in the cities,

76
00:05:59,365 --> 00:06:00,565
there's bread rationing,

77
00:06:00,645 --> 00:06:01,845
people are starving.

78
00:06:04,325 --> 00:06:05,885
To help the Russian war effort,

79
00:06:05,965 --> 00:06:08,685
workers are toiling
under horrendous conditions,

80
00:06:08,805 --> 00:06:12,005
and winter has made life even more
unbearable.

81
00:06:15,845 --> 00:06:18,805
The very day
that Nicholas leaves, there is a strike

82
00:06:18,885 --> 00:06:20,565
at the Putilov armaments factory.

83
00:06:20,765 --> 00:06:22,885
This strike is joined by more and more
workers

84
00:06:22,965 --> 00:06:24,165
throughout Petrograd,

85
00:06:24,245 --> 00:06:27,125
and over the day we see a snowball
striking effect.

86
00:06:29,445 --> 00:06:32,414
Workers are turning
to revolution as

87
00:06:32,426 --> 00:06:35,245
the only way to
change their fate.

88
00:06:36,285 --> 00:06:39,285
There aredozens of political groups
and factions,

89
00:06:39,365 --> 00:06:43,805
all with different agendas and
varying levels of extremism.

90
00:06:44,405 --> 00:06:47,765
And at the radical edge of
the revolutionary parties

91
00:06:48,125 --> 00:06:50,925
are the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin.

92
00:06:52,485 --> 00:06:55,885
Lenin's vision of the rule
of the working class

93
00:06:55,965 --> 00:06:57,685
means the utter annihilation

94
00:06:58,125 --> 00:07:01,245
of the royal family,
headed by the Czar himself.

95
00:07:12,565 --> 00:07:15,525
Nicholas returns to a catastrophic
situation at the front.

96
00:07:15,605 --> 00:07:18,685
Not only is the Russian army losing
everywhere

97
00:07:19,005 --> 00:07:21,725
but the Russian army is also
falling apart.

98
00:07:26,085 --> 00:07:27,748
The Czar's reputation
amongst the

99
00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:29,485
military has
completely collapsed.

100
00:07:31,165 --> 00:07:33,885
It was the revolutionaries that
were much more popular

101
00:07:33,965 --> 00:07:35,885
amongst the military rank and file.

102
00:07:37,045 --> 00:07:39,365
Men like Yakov Yurovsky,

103
00:07:39,485 --> 00:07:41,525
whose hatred of the Czarist regime

104
00:07:41,845 --> 00:07:44,325
has turned him into a fervent Bolshevik.

105
00:07:44,405 --> 00:07:45,405
Up!

106
00:07:46,125 --> 00:07:47,125
Up!

107
00:07:49,365 --> 00:07:50,405
Get up!

108
00:07:50,485 --> 00:07:51,485
Get up!

109
00:07:54,285 --> 00:07:55,565
Get rid of that corpse.

110
00:07:56,085 --> 00:07:57,645
Fucking peasants.

111
00:07:57,725 --> 00:07:59,165
Rife with disease.

112
00:07:59,485 --> 00:08:01,045
He was under your command, sir.

113
00:08:01,605 --> 00:08:03,405
Doesn't he deserve some respect?

114
00:08:11,525 --> 00:08:13,685
So, that's what we get for serving
Mother Russia?

115
00:08:14,765 --> 00:08:15,765
No!

116
00:08:16,445 --> 00:08:18,205
Keep up your Bolshevik bullshit

117
00:08:18,565 --> 00:08:20,085
and you'll get the bullet.

118
00:08:22,925 --> 00:08:23,925
Up!

119
00:08:33,885 --> 00:08:37,605
Across the Russian empire,
resentment of the Czar is building.

120
00:08:38,085 --> 00:08:39,845
And in February 1917,

121
00:08:39,925 --> 00:08:42,445
this resentment is displayed
in Saint Petersburg

122
00:08:42,605 --> 00:08:44,365
by one of the most unlikely groups.

123
00:08:49,925 --> 00:08:52,125
It's International Women's day.

124
00:08:52,205 --> 00:08:55,285
A hundred thousand women
flood the streets of Petersburg,

125
00:08:55,925 --> 00:08:57,765
protesting the shortages of bread.

126
00:09:00,605 --> 00:09:03,965
As they go into the street,
factory workers join them.

127
00:09:04,925 --> 00:09:07,205
More strikes spread
from factory to factory.

128
00:09:07,285 --> 00:09:09,005
It begins to spread even to Moscow

129
00:09:09,085 --> 00:09:10,685
and becomes huge in scale.

130
00:09:19,085 --> 00:09:20,085
How many?

131
00:09:21,125 --> 00:09:23,085
But I was told these protests were small.

132
00:09:23,165 --> 00:09:26,325
Perhaps your Interior Minister
is holding back bad news, sir.

133
00:09:27,325 --> 00:09:30,485
Then my wife will deal with him,
General Ruzsky.

134
00:09:33,885 --> 00:09:36,525
In Saint Petersburg
you have this crazy situation

135
00:09:36,605 --> 00:09:39,405
where Alexandra, who all her life
had isolated herself

136
00:09:39,485 --> 00:09:41,365
and disdained politicians,

137
00:09:42,205 --> 00:09:44,485
now she found herself running
the Russian Government.

138
00:09:47,525 --> 00:09:49,285
Sorry, Your Highness.

139
00:09:50,605 --> 00:09:52,605
The children were asking where you were.

140
00:09:55,365 --> 00:09:56,725
I'm in mourning.

141
00:10:00,605 --> 00:10:03,445
Also, the ministers are still
waiting inside for you.

142
00:10:09,005 --> 00:10:11,485
They have some urgent news from the city.

143
00:10:11,965 --> 00:10:14,845
Tell them to come back tomorrow.

144
00:10:28,965 --> 00:10:31,965
Nicholas and Alexandra
are completely unable to understand

145
00:10:32,045 --> 00:10:33,805
what's happening in the streets
of Petrograd.

146
00:10:33,845 --> 00:10:35,765
They do not understand the discontent.

147
00:10:35,845 --> 00:10:38,045
Their mentality has become so isolated

148
00:10:38,485 --> 00:10:40,565
that they really believe
that the central link

149
00:10:40,645 --> 00:10:43,525
between the Czar
and the Russian people remains unbroken.

150
00:10:43,605 --> 00:10:45,085
This is a major mistake.

151
00:10:46,685 --> 00:10:49,605
What begins with a female bread riot,

152
00:10:50,365 --> 00:10:54,125
begins to acquire a political context.

153
00:10:58,325 --> 00:11:02,685
The streets are filled
with protesters and revolutionaries

154
00:11:02,805 --> 00:11:05,285
who are no longer just demonstrating.

155
00:11:05,645 --> 00:11:08,965
They're calling for the overthrow
of the regime.

156
00:11:14,525 --> 00:11:16,885
200,000?

157
00:11:18,925 --> 00:11:20,925
My report says nothing like that.

158
00:11:21,005 --> 00:11:22,725
Your Interior Minister, sir,

159
00:11:22,805 --> 00:11:24,805
is not only incompetent,

160
00:11:25,125 --> 00:11:26,485
he is a liar.

161
00:11:39,125 --> 00:11:42,005
Send out the Petrograd garrison
to disperse the crowds.

162
00:11:44,125 --> 00:11:45,365
We need to put this down.

163
00:11:46,285 --> 00:11:47,285
Now.

164
00:11:50,725 --> 00:11:52,765
It's chaos in the streets.

165
00:11:52,845 --> 00:11:55,605
The soldiers obey the orders.
They fire into the crowds.

166
00:11:55,885 --> 00:11:57,525
Hundreds of people are killed.

167
00:12:01,405 --> 00:12:03,445
This is a horrible atrocity.

168
00:12:03,525 --> 00:12:07,205
There is a child that is poignantly
crucified by bullets

169
00:12:07,325 --> 00:12:09,245
on a fence near the Winter Palace.

170
00:12:09,325 --> 00:12:12,365
Some soldiers at this point are even
joining the protesters.

171
00:12:12,485 --> 00:12:15,005
This is a make or break moment
for the Czarist regime.

172
00:12:16,525 --> 00:12:20,125
Despite the massacre
the people won't back down.

173
00:12:20,205 --> 00:12:23,725
The next day, a group marches
to the palace itself.

174
00:12:53,485 --> 00:12:54,725
Apologies, Your Highness.

175
00:12:55,645 --> 00:12:57,485
But the doctor wants you to see something.

176
00:13:02,645 --> 00:13:03,645
Measles.

177
00:13:05,445 --> 00:13:06,885
What about the Czarevich?

178
00:13:07,205 --> 00:13:10,005
He's got it, but not so badly.

179
00:13:11,525 --> 00:13:13,005
Right, come on everyone, to bed.

180
00:13:14,525 --> 00:13:16,245
- Your Highness.
- Come on.

181
00:13:18,165 --> 00:13:20,485
Maybe now is a good time
to leave the palace.

182
00:13:20,725 --> 00:13:22,765
The girls would benefit from
a warmer climate.

183
00:13:24,645 --> 00:13:26,685
There are protesters atthe gates.

184
00:13:33,245 --> 00:13:35,245
Well, the children are far too sick
to be moved.

185
00:13:36,645 --> 00:13:38,845
The people will come to their senses.

186
00:13:41,325 --> 00:13:44,325
As Father Grigori used to say,
"No fear. No hate.

187
00:13:45,485 --> 00:13:46,485
Only love."

188
00:13:53,645 --> 00:13:55,365
Alexandra is oblivious,

189
00:13:55,445 --> 00:13:58,445
she believes that this revolution
is just a few hooligans,

190
00:13:58,525 --> 00:14:00,845
that the army is totally loyal to them.

191
00:14:01,445 --> 00:14:05,485
In fact, morale is very low at the front.

192
00:14:06,165 --> 00:14:08,005
The war is going very badly.

193
00:14:08,085 --> 00:14:12,645
And nothing drives revolution
like political and military defeat.

194
00:14:14,925 --> 00:14:15,925
Get up!

195
00:14:16,205 --> 00:14:17,685
You have your orders.

196
00:14:18,445 --> 00:14:20,165
On your fucking feet!

197
00:14:24,685 --> 00:14:28,165
- Up that ladder!
- You don't have to. Stand firm.

198
00:14:30,485 --> 00:14:33,925
You do know the penalty for mutiny?

199
00:14:34,965 --> 00:14:36,805
Same as if he climbs that ladder.

200
00:14:38,205 --> 00:14:40,285
You will follow my orders.

201
00:14:56,725 --> 00:14:59,285
That time is gone.

202
00:15:27,525 --> 00:15:30,085
The Russian army is, at this point,

203
00:15:30,165 --> 00:15:31,005
dissolving.

204
00:15:31,165 --> 00:15:32,525
We've got mass desertions,

205
00:15:32,605 --> 00:15:35,085
entire battalions simply deciding

206
00:15:35,205 --> 00:15:37,525
to walk away from the battlefield.

207
00:15:41,885 --> 00:15:43,805
Even more worryingly for Nicholas,

208
00:15:43,885 --> 00:15:45,725
those battalions are heading home

209
00:15:45,805 --> 00:15:49,365
to cities in the grip
of rising revolutionary fury.

210
00:15:49,845 --> 00:15:51,885
Russia is ready to explode.

211
00:16:08,445 --> 00:16:09,485
This morning, sir,

212
00:16:10,645 --> 00:16:13,445
thousands more soldiers deserted
to join the uprising.

213
00:16:15,445 --> 00:16:17,685
Where are my family? Are they safe?

214
00:16:17,765 --> 00:16:20,365
Your wife refuses to leave the palace,
sir.

215
00:16:20,445 --> 00:16:21,805
The children are too sick.

216
00:16:25,725 --> 00:16:28,525
Deploy the entire Marine Guard
to the palace.

217
00:16:28,605 --> 00:16:31,125
I want loyal soldiers guarding
the imperial family.

218
00:16:32,045 --> 00:16:33,365
Get me home, General.

219
00:16:34,005 --> 00:16:35,005
Sir.

220
00:16:49,645 --> 00:16:50,645
Sir.

221
00:16:50,805 --> 00:16:53,885
We have to take the route east,
via Malaya Vishera.

222
00:16:53,965 --> 00:16:56,005
How much time will that add
to the journey?

223
00:16:56,245 --> 00:16:57,685
Look, I need to be home now.

224
00:16:57,765 --> 00:17:00,885
Sir, it is the troops you dispatched
to reinforce Petrograd,

225
00:17:00,965 --> 00:17:03,365
we need to keep the main line
open for them.

226
00:17:05,685 --> 00:17:07,045
Alright. Let them through.

227
00:17:17,525 --> 00:17:21,005
Before long, a number
of soldiers have taken to the streets,

228
00:17:22,765 --> 00:17:26,765
some of them begin waving red flags,
they commandeer vehicles.

229
00:17:27,925 --> 00:17:31,405
And by evening, it is clear
that the government has lost control

230
00:17:31,525 --> 00:17:33,005
of public order in Petrograd.

231
00:17:34,765 --> 00:17:36,165
The strange thing is

232
00:17:36,245 --> 00:17:38,525
that there's no leadership
in this revolution.

233
00:17:38,845 --> 00:17:41,765
Nicholas's secret police
have been incredibly effective.

234
00:17:41,925 --> 00:17:43,005
They've arrested

235
00:17:43,285 --> 00:17:44,125
or exiled

236
00:17:44,205 --> 00:17:47,045
all the leaders
of the revolutionary parties.

237
00:17:47,565 --> 00:17:49,045
Stalin is in Siberia.

238
00:17:49,125 --> 00:17:50,565
Lenin is in Switzerland.

239
00:17:51,245 --> 00:17:55,125
This is that rare thing,
a truly spontaneous revolution.

240
00:18:04,925 --> 00:18:06,165
No one can contact Nicky.

241
00:18:07,045 --> 00:18:08,805
Telegrams aren't getting through.

242
00:18:10,805 --> 00:18:12,765
Petrograd is falling to the mob,

243
00:18:14,325 --> 00:18:16,805
and the Ministry have no idea
where my son is.

244
00:18:40,365 --> 00:18:42,845
Don't worry, my darlings.

245
00:18:42,925 --> 00:18:45,005
It's nothing the guards can't handle.

246
00:18:50,885 --> 00:18:51,885
Your Highness.

247
00:18:52,365 --> 00:18:53,565
We have to leave.

248
00:19:02,445 --> 00:19:04,605
We are in a fortress, Monsieur Gilliard.

249
00:19:05,685 --> 00:19:07,565
And you are scaring the children.

250
00:19:27,045 --> 00:19:30,565
It's very important
to understand how many deserters

251
00:19:30,645 --> 00:19:34,365
from the front lines have made
their way back to the city.

252
00:19:35,685 --> 00:19:36,845
It was a situation

253
00:19:37,085 --> 00:19:39,398
that was pregnant with disaster

254
00:19:39,410 --> 00:19:42,485
because never before
had so many people

255
00:19:42,565 --> 00:19:45,565
been armed in the streets
of the Russian capital.

256
00:20:00,645 --> 00:20:02,685
We've had no news for six hours.

257
00:20:02,765 --> 00:20:05,765
Will somebody please tell me what's
going on with my family?

258
00:20:19,805 --> 00:20:20,885
How is he?

259
00:20:25,045 --> 00:20:26,765
The guards did their best.

260
00:20:30,365 --> 00:20:32,165
He bled to death in the lobby.

261
00:20:34,445 --> 00:20:35,445
Er..

262
00:20:37,645 --> 00:20:38,645
Er...

263
00:20:39,845 --> 00:20:40,965
I, uh...

264
00:20:42,725 --> 00:20:44,085
I need to telegram Nicky.

265
00:20:44,765 --> 00:20:46,365
He needs to tell me what to do.

266
00:20:49,405 --> 00:20:52,605
A revolutionary gang has captured
the railway line ahead.

267
00:20:54,525 --> 00:20:56,245
How far are we from Petrograd?

268
00:20:56,325 --> 00:20:58,045
We're 60 miles. But it's no use.

269
00:20:58,645 --> 00:21:00,365
They've commandeered machine guns.

270
00:21:00,445 --> 00:21:01,685
Then find another route!

271
00:21:05,645 --> 00:21:08,085
One of the soldiers
of the Petrograd garrison

272
00:21:08,165 --> 00:21:11,165
assassinates an officer
that had slapped him the day before

273
00:21:11,445 --> 00:21:15,645
during the protests,
and the entire regiment joins the protest.

274
00:21:15,725 --> 00:21:18,645
The next day,
they tie red ribbons around their rifles.

275
00:21:18,765 --> 00:21:21,805
Suddenly, the military has joined
the revolution.

276
00:21:24,365 --> 00:21:26,764
Nicholas has long relied
on military force

277
00:21:26,776 --> 00:21:28,365
to keep his empire together.

278
00:21:28,445 --> 00:21:30,045
He has just lost the military.

279
00:21:56,605 --> 00:21:58,765
Mama, the taps aren't working.

280
00:21:59,325 --> 00:22:00,445
There's no water.

281
00:22:00,925 --> 00:22:02,405
The electricity is off too.

282
00:22:14,685 --> 00:22:17,405
Well, then we will use candles.

283
00:22:19,325 --> 00:22:20,845
There's no need to be afraid.

284
00:22:22,205 --> 00:22:24,005
Everything is in the hands of God.

285
00:22:25,365 --> 00:22:26,365
And tomorrow,

286
00:22:27,285 --> 00:22:28,645
your father will be back.

287
00:22:31,765 --> 00:22:32,765
Mama?

288
00:22:33,205 --> 00:22:34,365
Your Highness,

289
00:22:35,365 --> 00:22:36,765
the soldiers are leaving.

290
00:22:41,165 --> 00:22:42,565
My own Marine Guard.

291
00:22:44,125 --> 00:22:45,125
I don't believe it.

292
00:22:47,405 --> 00:22:49,285
And where the hell is Nicky?

293
00:22:50,045 --> 00:22:51,805
Why hasn't he replied?

294
00:22:55,205 --> 00:22:57,445
If the entire Marine Guard has deserted,

295
00:22:57,525 --> 00:22:59,245
then who is protecting my family?

296
00:23:08,045 --> 00:23:10,005
Telegram the President of the Duma.

297
00:23:12,445 --> 00:23:14,445
Tell him he can have whatever he wants.

298
00:23:14,565 --> 00:23:15,565
Sir.

299
00:23:29,085 --> 00:23:30,805
Nicholas offers concessions,

300
00:23:30,885 --> 00:23:32,925
he offers to make
a representative government,

301
00:23:33,245 --> 00:23:35,245
give the Duma much more control,

302
00:23:35,765 --> 00:23:37,565
but it's way too late by this point.

303
00:23:38,885 --> 00:23:41,725
None of the forces
that were destroying the monarchy

304
00:23:41,805 --> 00:23:43,045
were stoppable.

305
00:23:43,125 --> 00:23:45,445
The war could not have been won overnight,

306
00:23:45,565 --> 00:23:47,516
major grievances
like food shortages,

307
00:23:47,528 --> 00:23:49,285
employment could
not be resolved.

308
00:23:49,605 --> 00:23:52,805
There was nothing at this point that
Nicholas could truly do

309
00:23:53,045 --> 00:23:54,885
to repair the political situation.

310
00:24:08,445 --> 00:24:09,645
Your Highness.

311
00:24:09,725 --> 00:24:11,805
Petrograd is lost.

312
00:24:13,085 --> 00:24:17,085
Any further troops we send
will only mutiny.

313
00:24:20,245 --> 00:24:21,845
So, what do you want me to do?

314
00:24:24,525 --> 00:24:28,405
You must renounce the throne
in favor of your son, Alexei.

315
00:24:29,925 --> 00:24:32,165
With your brother Michael as regent.

316
00:24:34,965 --> 00:24:35,965
This...

317
00:24:36,685 --> 00:24:39,685
is the unanimous decision
of all your generals,

318
00:24:41,125 --> 00:24:43,525
as well as the Admiral of the Baltic Fleet

319
00:24:44,125 --> 00:24:46,565
and Grand Duke Nicholas.

320
00:24:49,205 --> 00:24:50,685
Nikolasha...

321
00:24:52,445 --> 00:24:53,445
It is, sir,

322
00:24:53,525 --> 00:24:55,525
the only choice you have left.

323
00:25:08,765 --> 00:25:09,965
Telegram the generals.

324
00:25:13,645 --> 00:25:14,645
Tell them that...

325
00:25:20,005 --> 00:25:22,765
as a duty of conscience for our people,

326
00:25:24,685 --> 00:25:28,405
I have decided to renounce the throne
of the Russian Empire.

327
00:25:30,365 --> 00:25:32,645
In favor of your son, sir?

328
00:25:36,245 --> 00:25:37,245
Sir?

329
00:25:47,645 --> 00:25:49,245
My son has a condition.

330
00:25:56,085 --> 00:25:57,085
Hemophilia.

331
00:26:03,965 --> 00:26:05,925
He may only have a few years left.

332
00:26:09,245 --> 00:26:12,005
So, surely, we have a right to keep him
for ourselves.

333
00:26:13,445 --> 00:26:14,525
Yes, sir.

334
00:26:19,525 --> 00:26:22,285
I will renounce the throne in both
my name and his.

335
00:26:23,445 --> 00:26:25,925
My son will live with his family.

336
00:26:33,645 --> 00:26:34,805
All of us.

337
00:26:39,965 --> 00:26:40,965
Together.

338
00:26:42,005 --> 00:26:43,245
Your Highness.

339
00:27:28,045 --> 00:27:29,045
No.

340
00:27:30,645 --> 00:27:31,685
Nicky.

341
00:27:37,605 --> 00:27:41,645
Nicholas' abdication
is one of the most important moments

342
00:27:41,885 --> 00:27:43,365
in the twentieth century.

343
00:27:45,845 --> 00:27:47,925
With just one stroke of the pen,

344
00:27:48,005 --> 00:27:52,925
he eliminates 300 years
of Romanovs' rule.

345
00:27:53,485 --> 00:27:55,965
This event sends shockwaves throughout
the world.

346
00:27:59,525 --> 00:28:02,285
He ends the last full autocracy in Europe.

347
00:28:02,565 --> 00:28:05,605
He has a huge effect
on the outcome of World War I,

348
00:28:05,685 --> 00:28:07,453
but he also brings
about instability

349
00:28:07,465 --> 00:28:09,005
in Russia that ultimately leads

350
00:28:09,085 --> 00:28:10,085
to a revolution.

351
00:28:11,845 --> 00:28:14,245
One feels sympathy for Nicholas,

352
00:28:14,325 --> 00:28:18,205
but he brings everything upon himself,
ultimately.

353
00:28:19,285 --> 00:28:22,605
It's his cascade of catastrophic decisions

354
00:28:23,005 --> 00:28:27,405
that ends up culminating
with the loss of an empire.

355
00:28:34,845 --> 00:28:36,285
He's abdicated!

356
00:28:38,165 --> 00:28:39,285
He's abdicated!

357
00:28:49,245 --> 00:28:50,245
It's true.

358
00:28:51,445 --> 00:28:53,165
It's actually happened.

359
00:28:55,525 --> 00:28:58,045
I'm going home, back to Ekaterinberg.

360
00:28:58,485 --> 00:29:00,405
To a war we can win.

361
00:29:10,005 --> 00:29:12,125
You didn't have to come all the way here.

362
00:29:13,125 --> 00:29:14,045
I'll be fine.

363
00:29:14,125 --> 00:29:15,845
Oh, this is so humiliating.

364
00:29:16,685 --> 00:29:19,245
Kept here under armed guard,
like a criminal.

365
00:29:19,325 --> 00:29:21,325
They're taking me to the palace, Mother.

366
00:29:22,325 --> 00:29:24,645
It's hardly Napoleon's exile
to Saint Helena.

367
00:29:32,485 --> 00:29:33,765
Will you go back to Kiev?

368
00:29:33,925 --> 00:29:34,925
Yes,

369
00:29:35,925 --> 00:29:37,845
but Russia is no longer safe for you.

370
00:29:38,405 --> 00:29:39,485
Promise me, Nicholas.

371
00:29:40,365 --> 00:29:42,685
You'll get the family out
as soon as you can.

372
00:29:47,125 --> 00:29:49,565
I was thinking the retreat in Livadia.

373
00:29:51,005 --> 00:29:52,285
I like the flowers there.

374
00:29:52,445 --> 00:29:53,445
No!

375
00:29:53,725 --> 00:29:54,725
No!

376
00:29:54,765 --> 00:29:56,205
Another country!

377
00:29:56,965 --> 00:29:58,365
England, perhaps.

378
00:29:58,445 --> 00:29:59,805
Speak to cousin George.

379
00:29:59,885 --> 00:30:01,685
I'm going home, Mama.

380
00:30:06,085 --> 00:30:07,085
Then...

381
00:30:07,565 --> 00:30:08,845
God protect you.

382
00:30:13,605 --> 00:30:16,285
Heaven knowswhen we shall meet again.

383
00:30:43,605 --> 00:30:44,725
Where is Mama?

384
00:30:45,405 --> 00:30:48,045
She's talking to your sisters.

385
00:30:49,085 --> 00:30:50,565
She asked me to speak toyou.

386
00:30:56,845 --> 00:30:58,005
Your father...

387
00:31:00,525 --> 00:31:02,485
doesn't want to be Czar anymore.

388
00:31:07,245 --> 00:31:08,245
Why?

389
00:31:10,285 --> 00:31:11,885
It's complicated.

390
00:31:15,925 --> 00:31:18,005
He's trying to do his best for everyone.

391
00:31:22,045 --> 00:31:23,725
Am I going to be Czar then?

392
00:31:25,285 --> 00:31:26,285
No.

393
00:31:30,125 --> 00:31:31,125
But

394
00:31:31,205 --> 00:31:32,365
if there isn't a Czar,

395
00:31:33,125 --> 00:31:34,805
who is going to rule Russia?

396
00:31:45,805 --> 00:31:48,461
Nicholas abdicates
in favor of his brother Michael,

397
00:31:48,485 --> 00:31:50,885
who is only Emperor for less than one day.

398
00:31:51,685 --> 00:31:55,165
His brother realizes
that this is absolutely a poison chalice,

399
00:31:55,245 --> 00:31:57,245
he wants no part of this whatsoever.

400
00:31:57,525 --> 00:31:59,405
So, he turns down the throne

401
00:31:59,485 --> 00:32:00,485
and once that happens

402
00:32:00,605 --> 00:32:02,765
it's clear that Russia
no longer has a Czar.

403
00:32:27,525 --> 00:32:31,485
Russia had gone from one-man rule
to political chaos.

404
00:32:42,085 --> 00:32:43,959
The Czar doesn't
really understand

405
00:32:43,971 --> 00:32:45,965
what's happening
around the country.

406
00:32:46,045 --> 00:32:47,925
He doesn't understand the revolution.

407
00:32:48,005 --> 00:32:50,565
And he seems to be in denial
about the situation.

408
00:32:51,445 --> 00:32:55,005
And that is why neither Nicholas
nor his family leave the country.

409
00:33:22,525 --> 00:33:23,765
I'm sorry.

410
00:33:26,485 --> 00:33:29,485
You are more precious to me as my husband

411
00:33:31,765 --> 00:33:32,765
than as Czar.

412
00:34:00,565 --> 00:34:02,005
Oh, my boy.

413
00:34:09,925 --> 00:34:11,045
I'm so sorry.

414
00:34:34,285 --> 00:34:36,085
Russia's political condition

415
00:34:36,165 --> 00:34:38,365
in the weeks
after the abdication of the Czar

416
00:34:38,445 --> 00:34:39,826
is sometimes referred to as

417
00:34:39,838 --> 00:34:42,005
dvoyevlastiye,
which means 'dual power'.

418
00:34:43,245 --> 00:34:45,765
Now, we have got two main bodies

419
00:34:45,845 --> 00:34:48,365
competing for legitimacy on power
in Petrograd.

420
00:34:48,445 --> 00:34:49,565
We have got the Duma.

421
00:34:49,645 --> 00:34:52,405
On the other hand, we have got the far
more radical

422
00:34:52,485 --> 00:34:56,325
and deeply revolutionary Petrograd Soviet.

423
00:34:57,965 --> 00:34:59,845
Neither of them is powerful enough

424
00:34:59,925 --> 00:35:02,125
to outmaneuver the other,
so they join together

425
00:35:02,205 --> 00:35:05,205
and create the provisional government,
a temporary government,

426
00:35:05,285 --> 00:35:07,205
that's meant to just hold things together,

427
00:35:07,285 --> 00:35:09,045
hold the war effort together

428
00:35:09,125 --> 00:35:12,085
until something more permanent
can be decided on.

429
00:35:15,645 --> 00:35:17,725
The real dynamo, the real energy

430
00:35:17,805 --> 00:35:19,725
in this new Provisional Government

431
00:35:19,805 --> 00:35:21,365
is Alexander Kerensky.

432
00:35:23,405 --> 00:35:25,485
He's a member of the Soviet and the Duma.

433
00:35:26,845 --> 00:35:29,085
He's a socialist revolutionary,

434
00:35:29,165 --> 00:35:31,445
but he's also worked with the Duma,

435
00:35:31,525 --> 00:35:34,165
and so he's trusted to a degree
by both sides.

436
00:35:35,725 --> 00:35:38,205
It is ironic that a man

437
00:35:38,285 --> 00:35:40,485
who had called for the overthrow

438
00:35:40,565 --> 00:35:45,365
of the Czar several weeks earlier
is now in charge

439
00:35:45,445 --> 00:35:48,045
of keeping the royal family safe.

440
00:35:55,125 --> 00:35:56,125
Hello.

441
00:35:57,005 --> 00:35:58,565
I'm the "medieval regime."

442
00:36:05,925 --> 00:36:07,845
Shall we take a walk?

443
00:36:19,205 --> 00:36:20,970
I assure you,
you can have complete

444
00:36:20,982 --> 00:36:23,005
confidence in the
Provisional Government

445
00:36:23,125 --> 00:36:25,125
to keep you and your family safe.

446
00:36:27,325 --> 00:36:28,325
But there are rules.

447
00:36:29,245 --> 00:36:30,965
The telephone line has been cut.

448
00:36:31,045 --> 00:36:33,405
Any communication must be via my office.

449
00:36:35,245 --> 00:36:36,325
Your belongings...

450
00:36:40,645 --> 00:36:42,605
your belongings will be searched.

451
00:36:42,925 --> 00:36:44,392
And like all public servants,

452
00:36:44,404 --> 00:36:46,445
you will survive on
a ration for food.

453
00:36:46,845 --> 00:36:48,085
So, my home is a prison.

454
00:36:49,045 --> 00:36:50,965
Am I allowed outside to exercise?

455
00:36:53,725 --> 00:36:57,325
At first, it looks like
Alexander Kerensky is the ultimate radical

456
00:36:57,405 --> 00:36:59,605
hostile to the family.

457
00:36:59,885 --> 00:37:02,605
But gradually, as he begins to take charge
of them,

458
00:37:02,685 --> 00:37:05,765
they realize that actually
he's rather sympathetic to them.

459
00:37:05,845 --> 00:37:07,405
He becomes almost fond of them.

460
00:37:07,525 --> 00:37:10,725
And he begins to worry
about how to protect them

461
00:37:11,005 --> 00:37:13,965
from the more extreme elements,
the Bolsheviks and others

462
00:37:14,045 --> 00:37:15,725
who might threaten their lives.

463
00:37:18,445 --> 00:37:22,085
The position of the Romanovs
has changed beyond imagination,

464
00:37:22,165 --> 00:37:24,125
one incident really sums this up,

465
00:37:24,365 --> 00:37:27,645
as they sit as prisoners
in their old home, the Alexander Palace,

466
00:37:27,725 --> 00:37:31,005
soldiers actually dig up the remains
of Rasputin,

467
00:37:31,365 --> 00:37:34,405
the Empress Alexandra's
most beloved advisor,

468
00:37:34,725 --> 00:37:38,045
and mutilate the body
in full view of the palace.

469
00:37:42,725 --> 00:37:46,885
The Romanov family rely on Kerensky
for their protection.

470
00:37:47,085 --> 00:37:48,885
But by the middle of the summer,

471
00:37:49,085 --> 00:37:52,965
Kerensky's own position becomes
increasingly tenuous.

472
00:37:53,045 --> 00:37:57,725
It does not look like Kerensky
will actually be able

473
00:37:57,805 --> 00:37:59,525
to convince the Russian population

474
00:37:59,925 --> 00:38:02,645
to stay in the war
and to sacrifice for it,

475
00:38:02,725 --> 00:38:06,045
and his political power
is under serious threat.

476
00:38:14,685 --> 00:38:15,885
So, we have to leave?

477
00:38:16,925 --> 00:38:18,245
It is no longer safe here.

478
00:38:20,045 --> 00:38:21,205
And not just for you.

479
00:38:24,725 --> 00:38:26,685
My officers will escort you.

480
00:38:28,845 --> 00:38:29,845
I trust them.

481
00:38:32,085 --> 00:38:35,325
If you say we must leave now, we will.

482
00:38:43,845 --> 00:38:47,245
Just in time,
Kerensky moved them in great secrecy

483
00:38:47,325 --> 00:38:49,725
to Tobolsk, far away in Siberia

484
00:38:49,805 --> 00:38:52,645
where they'll be safe from the extremists,

485
00:38:52,725 --> 00:38:54,245
fanatics, and revolutionaries

486
00:38:54,325 --> 00:38:56,165
who threaten them in Petrograd.

487
00:39:01,725 --> 00:39:05,285
Three months
after the Romanov family leaves Petrograd,

488
00:39:05,365 --> 00:39:08,325
Kerensky's government itself is overthrown

489
00:39:08,405 --> 00:39:10,045
in a coup d'état

490
00:39:10,125 --> 00:39:12,565
by Lenin and the Bolsheviks.

491
00:39:15,165 --> 00:39:18,125
As the Bolsheviks
are taking over, during a period of only

492
00:39:18,165 --> 00:39:21,605
twenty hours, Kerensky is forced to flee.
At one point,

493
00:39:21,685 --> 00:39:25,525
he's almost shot at a checkpoint
as he tries to leave Petrograd.

494
00:39:27,485 --> 00:39:30,805
Suddenly we're in
a more merciless, more flint-hearted,

495
00:39:30,885 --> 00:39:32,445
more ruthless era.

496
00:39:33,245 --> 00:39:36,965
Lenin had spent 20 years
calling for the violent overthrow

497
00:39:37,045 --> 00:39:40,165
of the monarchy,
even for the execution of the Czar.

498
00:39:40,645 --> 00:39:43,445
Now, the Bolsheviks
are in charge of the royal family.

499
00:39:43,565 --> 00:39:47,085
The fate of the imperial family is in
Bolshevik hands.

500
00:39:47,725 --> 00:39:51,685
And those hands happen
to include former army medic,

501
00:39:51,765 --> 00:39:53,405
Yakov Yurovsky.

502
00:40:01,405 --> 00:40:03,325
I'm the Military Commissar

503
00:40:03,725 --> 00:40:05,365
from the Ural Soviet.

504
00:40:05,445 --> 00:40:07,525
Honored to meet you, Comrade Goloschekin.

505
00:40:08,325 --> 00:40:12,125
Your work for the secret police
has been noticed.

506
00:40:12,205 --> 00:40:17,165
But I need your diligence for a little
more delicateoperation.

507
00:40:18,325 --> 00:40:19,685
Top secret.

508
00:40:19,765 --> 00:40:20,885
Straight from Moscow.

509
00:40:21,085 --> 00:40:22,285
From Comrade Lenin.

510
00:40:25,525 --> 00:40:29,605
A house is being prepared here
in Ekaterinberg

511
00:40:30,165 --> 00:40:33,165
for some high-profile guests.

512
00:40:34,645 --> 00:40:36,165
They will arrive in secrecy

513
00:40:37,205 --> 00:40:40,125
and need to be kept
under maximum security.

514
00:40:40,565 --> 00:40:41,565
How many?

515
00:40:41,925 --> 00:40:44,565
It's a family of seven
and their servants.

516
00:40:46,645 --> 00:40:50,805
By the Spring of 1919,
the imperial family are in huge danger.

517
00:40:50,885 --> 00:40:52,765
They are split into two groups,

518
00:40:52,885 --> 00:40:55,445
Nicholas, Alexandra and one of the girls
are taken

519
00:40:55,525 --> 00:40:58,485
to their new safe-house deep
in Bolshevik territory.

520
00:41:08,845 --> 00:41:10,245
A few weeks later,

521
00:41:10,325 --> 00:41:11,990
the Romanov children are sent to

522
00:41:12,002 --> 00:41:14,045
join their
parents in Ekaterinburg.

523
00:41:15,325 --> 00:41:17,605
Let's move, the truck is waiting.

524
00:41:23,365 --> 00:41:24,405
Move! Move!

525
00:41:24,485 --> 00:41:27,485
- Where are you taking us?
- Not you, just the children.

526
00:41:27,565 --> 00:41:30,365
No, no, I am their teacher!

527
00:41:30,445 --> 00:41:31,765
Then you understand my words.

528
00:41:31,845 --> 00:41:34,205
I promised their father
I would stay with them.

529
00:41:34,525 --> 00:41:36,925
You have no right to stop me
from doing my duty.

530
00:41:40,165 --> 00:41:41,565
We are no good to them dead.

531
00:41:43,245 --> 00:41:44,765
Look after each other.

532
00:41:45,085 --> 00:41:46,325
Stay safe.

533
00:41:46,645 --> 00:41:47,645
Anastasia!

534
00:41:48,805 --> 00:41:50,245
No! Please!

535
00:41:50,605 --> 00:41:51,685
Anastasia!

536
00:41:57,245 --> 00:41:58,125
Let's go.

537
00:42:06,205 --> 00:42:07,365
My poor niece.

538
00:42:08,725 --> 00:42:12,125
Hoping desperately that someone would come
and rescue her.

539
00:42:21,805 --> 00:42:23,125
She's waited long enough.

540
00:42:24,565 --> 00:42:25,565
Shall we?

541
00:42:30,885 --> 00:42:32,285
I am so sorry.

542
00:42:32,365 --> 00:42:34,205
She asked to come out to meet you.

543
00:42:41,725 --> 00:42:43,765
Please. Just a moment.

544
00:42:55,445 --> 00:42:56,885
I am so happy to meet you.

545
00:42:59,205 --> 00:43:00,805
Is the hospital treating you well?

546
00:43:05,245 --> 00:43:06,885
If there's anything you need...

547
00:43:08,405 --> 00:43:09,565
you must let us know.

548
00:43:15,005 --> 00:43:16,325
Aren't you lovely, my dear.

549
00:43:25,005 --> 00:43:26,125
Please,

550
00:43:26,965 --> 00:43:28,405
I'm your little Pixie.

551
00:43:32,685 --> 00:43:33,685
What did you say?

552
00:43:37,445 --> 00:43:38,445
Say it again.

553
00:43:40,365 --> 00:43:41,365
Pixie.

554
00:43:45,045 --> 00:43:47,325
I am the only person in the world

555
00:43:48,125 --> 00:43:49,285
that called her that.

556
00:43:50,000 --> 00:43:53,700
Subtitle translation by Metia Bethell