Tsar Alexander I died at the age of just 47 from typhus on December 1825
But experts believe he lived on as highly educated monk Feodor Kuzmich
The humble monk lived for in the Siberian city of Tomsk and died in 1864
Handwriting analysis concluded that they were 'one and the same man'
By Will Stewart In Moscow for MailOnline
Modern science is being called in to solve an intriguing royal mystery over whether one of Russia's most famous tsars faked his own death to live as a humble Siberian monk.
Alexander I of Russia
Emperor of Russia
Alexander I reigned as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825. He was the son of Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. Wikipedia
Born: December 23, 1777, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Died: December 1, 1825, Taganrog, Russia
Spouse: Elizabeth Alexeievna (m. 1793–1825)
Reign: 23 March 1801 – 1 December 1825
Siblings: Nicholas I of Russia, More
Children: Grand Duchess Elizabeth Alexandrovna of Russia, Nikolai Lukash
Rumours have persisted that Alexander I - who defeated Napoleon in 1812 during a 23 year reign - remained alive after he was declared dead at the age of just 47 from typhus on 1 December 1825.
Now a leading Orthodox churchman has signaled that genetic analysis will be carried out on the remains of a humble but high-educated monk - known as Feodor Kuzmich - who was believed by some contemporaries to be the former emperor in disguise.
Modern science is being called in to solve the mystery over whether one of Russia's most famous tsars Alexander I (left) faked his own death to live as a humble Siberian monk, nown as Feodor Kuzmich (right)
Rumours have persisted that Alexander I - who defeated Napoleon in 1812 during a 23 year reign - remained alive after he was declared dead at the age of just 47 from typhus on 1 December 1825
Now a leading Orthodox churchman has signaled that genetic analysis will be carried out on the remains of Monk Feodor (pictured), who was believed by some contemporaries to be the former emperor in disguise
'It is quite likely that such an analysis will be held soon,' said Bishop Rostislav, of Tomsk.
He indicated the tests would be conducted by the Russian Academy of Sciences with the involvement of officials of the Orthodox Patriarch, Kirill.
The DNA analysis is expected to reveal whether the tsar lived for 39 years after his official death while his brother Nicholas I took the vacant throne.
Holy man Feodor, declared a saint by the Orthodox church, lived for almost three decades in the Siberian city of Tomsk before his death in 1864.
'He told people that he had been a wanderer and was unable to recall his past,' reported The Siberian Times.
'Alexander I's empress Elizabeth - they wed when she was 14, and he a year older - officially passed away a few months after him.
'There is a separate theory that her death was also faked, and that she subsequently became a nun known as Silent Vera.'
Detailed handwriting analysis carried out two years ago by the Russian Graphological Society concluded the tsar and the monk were 'one and the same man'
The monk's handwriting (pictured) looks remarkably similar to the royal's
The most prominent proponent of the theory that the monk had royal blood was Russian writer Leo Tolstoy.
But detailed handwriting analysis carried out two years ago by the Russian Graphological Society concluded the tsar and the monk were 'one and the same man'.
Professor Andrey Rachinsky, of the Paris Institute of Eastern Languages and Civilisations, said that Tsar Alexander III had a picture of the monk in pride of place alongside those of his royal predecessors in his office.
And the monk's belongings were passed to a leading churchman close to royal family after he died.
The theory that the tsar craved a holy life as a monk is based on him seeking forgiveness for coming to power after the murder of his father, Paul I.
Historians say it is doubtful that he was directly involved in killing his father but he was in the palace at the time, and became the direct beneficiary.
The inscrutable monk was quoted by Tolstoy as having said: 'If I had not confessed the truth about myself, the heavens would have been surprised; if I had confessed it, the earth would have been surprised.'
Alexander I's empress Elizabeth (pictured) - they wed when she was 14, and he a year older - officially passed away a few months after him
There is a separate theory that her death was also faked, and that she subsequently became a nun known as Silent Vera (pictured)
Tolstoy said: 'Even when monk Feodor Kuzmich was alive - he came to Siberia in 1836 and lived for 27 years in various places - there were strange rumours about him that he was hiding his real name and position and that it was Emperor Alexander I.
'After the monk's death these rumours only spread and became stronger.
'Not only common people believed them but many from the elite, including the royal family of Tsar Alexander III.
'The reasons for these rumours were the following: Alexander died unexpectedly, he did not suffer from any disease before, he died far away from home in a remote place of Taganrog, and when he was put in the coffin many who saw him, said that he changed a lot, this is why the coffin was quickly sealed.
'It was known that Alexander said and wrote that he wanted so much to leave his post and to stay away from this world.
Holy man Feodor, declared a saint by the Orthodox church, lived for almost three decades in the Siberian city of Tomsk before his death in 1864
Saint Petersburg - where the tsar was buried - and Tomsk - where the monk lived - marked on the world map
Pictured, Svetlana Semyonova the graphologist who examined Alexander I's handwriting
'And one more fact which is less known is that in the official statement where Alexander's dead body was described there was a line that his back and bottom were of dark red colour and it was hardly possible to be a true description of the body of the emperor.'
The monk's and tsar's 'height and appearance' were similar with 'the same kind of round shoulders'.
The monk had claimed to have been 'a homeless man' who did not remember his family yet he spoke foreign languages and had 'a noble way gentle with others which clearly meant that he was the person with a high position in the society'.
At his death, he is said to have left a 'coded message' signed A.P. which matched the tsars name and patronymic, Alexander Pavlovich.
The tsar was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St Petersburg, according to history books, but rumours have persisted that his tomb is empty.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4545020/Russia-use-DNA-check-tsar-lived-disguise.html#ixzz4iNDlIf00
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
No comments:
Post a Comment