Alexander I, ruler of Russia, died suddenly in 1825 in Taganrog, leaving behind an empire at a crossroads. However, numerous conspiracy theories grew around his death, and one of them claims that the tsar did not die at all, but merely faked his death to start a new life away from the hustle and bustle of the court. Was this really the case?
A Double in the Grave?
There are many indications that seem to confirm the above theory. First, the circumstances of Alexander I’s death raise doubts. The tsar fell ill suddenly during his stay in Crimea, and his health deteriorated rapidly. He died within a few days, and typhus was given as the official cause of death. However, the lack of reliable medical examinations and conflicting accounts from witnesses of those events raise questions about the true cause of death.
Second, the appearance of the tsar’s corpse aroused astonishment. According to some accounts, Alexander I’s body was unnaturally pale and waxy, and his face was deformed. Characteristic scars and birthmarks were also missing, suggesting a substitution of person.
Over time, it was even openly speculated that Alexander had been killed in an assassination attempt and that the body of his double had been placed in the grave. However, available source information seems to contradict such speculation, as no such events occurred in Taganrog; this did not in the least prevent people of that time from spreading stories pulled out of thin air.
Alexander’s remains were transported to St. Petersburg in a closed coffin. The journey took a long time, as crowds of people wanted to bid farewell to the deceased ruler along the way – they pressed against the catafalque with incredible force and wanted to push as close to it as possible.
To calm the situation, security officials responsible for transporting the body spread word that the coffin being transported was empty. This fact was later used to disseminate information about Alexander’s faking of his own death. This was yet another unverified rumor and, as it would later turn out, not the last one in this matter.
England or Tibet?
Experts on the subject enumerate over fifty theories that circulated throughout Europe regarding the final moments of Tsar Alexander I’s life. According to one of them, after faking his own death in Taganrog on the Sea of Azov, the tsar boarded a boat and sailed to England, where he was received by sympathetic Quakers.
His stay in England apparently did not suit the Romanov well, since he decided to set out – as proponents of another theory argue – to Tibet. There he supposedly devoted himself to meditation and, incidentally, learned the secrets of Eastern medicine. It is believed that the tsar’s brother, the then-reigning Nicholas I, was initiated into the entire affair and systematically sent him the means necessary for living.
Among the inhabitants of Russia, a rumor also spread that Alexander I did not stay long in Tibet and left from there to the Holy Land, where he entered one of the Orthodox monasteries (of which there was no shortage in that part of the world) to lead a hermit’s life.
In Which Monastery?
According to yet another version, Alexander moved to the Sarov Hermitage located near Taganrog, where at the urging of one of the holy elders he remained, adopting the name Feodor. It was simultaneously maintained that his brother Nicholas I visited him in this secluded place, though Nicholas rather did not believe in the sincere conversion of his predecessor on the tsarist throne.
Many people claimed that Alexander I additionally stayed in Kiev – one of the most important centers of religious life in Russia at that time – where he found shelter in the famous Pechersk Lavra.
But this version too quickly became outdated, and people began to say loudly that the tsar ultimately settled in the Pochaev Lavra in Volhynia, where he lived among holy monks and purified his soul of many sins. Years later, in the cell where the former tsar allegedly lived, an icon of the Mother of God of Pochaev was found with a tiny letter „A” with a tsarist crown, which was identified as Alexander’s monogram.
However, this interpretation does not withstand current criticism, as in the Orthodox tradition the letter „A” most often denoted the Absolute, and thus God. However, this did not prevent conspiracy theory supporters from maintaining the version of Alexander’s „life after life.”
The Sphinx Alexander I
All the accounts of Alexander I’s alleged faking of his death owed their origin to human imagination, fervent religiosity, and the virtually boundless submissiveness of the masses to the ruler. In Russia at that time, many tsars, both those adored by their subjects and those sincerely hated, were attributed characteristics of sanctity. Over time, these gave way to fantastic theories that existed in various forms for decades to come in the minds of ordinary people, who unconsciously repeated stories they had heard.
At the same time, one should not be surprised at the existence of so many speculations regarding Alexander I’s „life after life.” This ruler was, after all, one of the most controversial and simultaneously mysterious Russian sovereigns. Not without reason is he still called the Sphinx today and compared to a person with many faces.
The tsar was assessed ambiguously in historiography and memoirs. He was presented as a hypocritical and calculating ruler, but also as a supporter of liberal principles and progressive constitutional changes. He was praised for granting a constitution to the Kingdom of Poland and intending to grant a similar one to Russia. For many historians, Alexander was a wavering, indecisive, and superstitious man, but also a strong monarch consistently pursuing his goals and plans.
According to specialists, Tsar Alexander’s personality was influenced by the constant necessity of adapting to the whims of his powerful grandmother, Catherine the Great, and his father Paul I, who was at odds with her. Both warring camps tried to pull the young heir to the throne to their side, and wanting to please each of them, he quickly learned to assume masks.
The views of Frédéric de La Harpe, a supporter of Enlightenment ideas and republicanism who was responsible for Alexander’s education, also played an important role; from him the future emperor learned hypocrisy and posturing, while reading appropriate literary works developed in him an inclination toward pathos and false sentimentality.
What Really Happened?
Contrary to conspiracy theories still functioning today, Tsar Alexander I did not fake his death at all and died already in 1825, not many years later as some would like.
The last months of Alexander’s life were marked by deteriorating health. The tsar had long suffered from various ailments, including rheumatism, insomnia, and stomach problems. The journey to Crimea in 1825, initially intended to improve his health, proved fatal for him.
In Taganrog, the tsar’s condition deteriorated rapidly. He developed fever, cough, and abdominal pain. Doctors, unable to diagnose the disease, applied various, often ineffective treatment methods, including bloodletting and opium-based medications.
To make matters worse, the ruler’s mental state deteriorated as he was informed of further conspiracies in the army, which was preparing to carry out a palace coup. This information caused Alexander to have a nervous breakdown. He experienced uncontrolled fits of rage, which he had never had before.
Already toward the end of his illness, Alexander I did not leave his bed, at which his distraught wife Elizabeth kept constant vigil. His wife, seeing that her husband would soon depart this earthly vale, persuaded him to receive the last sacraments. They were administered by a local priest, who managed to convince the dying man to take medications.
The tsar died on November 19, 1825, surrounded by family and court. Typhus was given as the official cause of death, but this diagnosis raised many doubts. Many specialists now believe that the tsar actually died of syphilis or another sexually transmitted disease. This fact – it is argued – was carefully hidden for many years to avoid discrediting the ruler, about whom numerous shocking legends already circulated during his lifetime.
