The Czarina loves me.
She's I can make her do anything.
Anything! I piss, and I shit on all of you! Ha ha! The Czarina, she's my precious one! My precious one.
Rasputin got blind drunk, pulled down his breeches and pulled out his penis.
The Czarina loves me.
I can make her do anything.
He boasted about his relationship, his power with the empress.
There's incredibly toxic rumors and illustrations in the press of Rasputin and Alexandra together in sexual situations.
It's assumed they must be sleeping together.
But this is not the case.
Rasputin was there primarily to look after the boy.
Remember that the Czareviches' illness is a secret, even from close family.
Lies and hate, and spin! Yes, but lies the people believe! Look, we need to distance ourselves from him.
And, what about your son? What's the point in winning the war if the heir to the throne is dead? Stop it! This is not just coming from me.
It's coming from my ministers and the Commander-in-Chief.
Oh, Nikolasha.
Fuck Nikolasha! Who's running this country? Him or you? - I am! - Really? Nikolasha may as well be Czar.
He's the one who gets all the press.
He's the one people see.
All we hear about is defeat after defeat.
Nikolasha should go.
Not Grigori.
The people need to see their Czar strong and in control.
You should be leading the army.
Nicholas had long wanted to take control of the army.
But, in 1915, he says that he has been spoken to by God.
He heard an inner voice, telling him that he needed to lead the Russian people to victory.
I'm going to the front.
Are you mad? I had a vision.
Now, Nicky.
You've been under a lot of stress.
I've decided to take over as Commander.
No, Nicky.
You're needed here in the capitol.
My place is with the army.
Ha.
You'll be blamed for every military defeat.
You know that.
Trust me, Mother.
Please.
Of course I trust you.
Not those around you.
Is this coming from Rasputin, or Alix? It's my decision.
I'm taking over as Commander-in-Chief.
You now have the greater honor of serving his majesty.
I bet the Czarina is behind this.
She is leading us to disaster.
The monk has to go.
How will I cope without my boys? We'll be fine.
Look after her while I'm away.
You concentrate on the war.
I'll look after everything at home.
Taking control of the army is a very unwise decision at this point.
Leaving Petrograd means leaving the government under the influence of Empress Alexandra and, of course, Rasputin.
Alexandra was never popular with the Russian aristocracy to begin with.
And to leave a German-born princess and the monk from Siberia in charge of the government during a massive global war, made them even less so.
Alexandra is not the best person to be in charge of government.
She's taking very strong drugs, including opium-derived products, and is becoming increasingly paranoid.
And is relying ever more on her personal relationship with Rasputin.
I'm running late.
Another attempt on my life.
What? Poison.
Lucky for me, the er the cat got to it first.
Come to the palace.
No, no, I er I should leave the city.
Go home.
No.
You can't go.
What can I do to persuade you? Nothing.
The ministers hate me.
They're behind these plots against my life.
Well then we must fire them.
Mm, mm.
That would sort it.
You must do what you think is best.
I will do whatever it takes to keep you by my side.
Alexandra and Rasputin start this toxic partnership that really destabilizes the government.
They change ministers all the time because their key concern is that anyone that they appoint into the chief ministries, defend Rasputin from all of his many, and growing number of enemies in Petrograd.
With Nicholas away at headquarters, she writes to him every day, sometimes several times a day.
Telling him what to do, and what not to do.
Who to listen to, who to ignore.
Remember to listen only to the advice of our friend, Rasputin.
For he alone knows how you ought best to act.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers are being slaughtered, as the war goes from bad to worse.
By 1915, the war effort has deteriorated appallingly, and the Russian army is in a great retreat, losing cities, losing thousands of square miles.
They're retreating on the entire front.
The German armies are basically putting enormous pressure on the Russian military.
The Germans look like they could push on, right into Russia.
The Czar is in crisis.
Nicholas turns out to be utterly irrelevant at Stavka headquarters.
Far from being shown to be a great warrior-leader, he just makes people wonder what the point of him is.
Mother.
You're early.
Shall we step outside? I was worried about you.
We all are.
Well, don't be.
Worry about the war.
Worry about the country.
 God knows that's what keeps me up at night.
We've lost almost a million men since the summer.
Who's helping you with all this? My God, Nicky.
Our friend says, you should not advance to the north, and you must heed his words.
He Is the monk now making the military decisions? Nicky, you cannot allow Rasputin to rule the country through your wife! They've just made a syphilitic, insane drug addict Interior Minister.
They're putting idiots into positions of power.
I'm doing everything I can.
What more can I do? Take back control.
Dismiss Rasputin.
Grigori is the only man that can keep my wife sane and my son Dismiss him! Otherwise, you will lose your crown.
"I'm going to change the Interior Minister.
Please don't involve Grigori.
" It is my responsibility and my decision.
This is his mother's doing.
We must plan calmly.
And guide him to make the right decision.
You must persuade him.
Guide him with love.
Alix.
Stay there.
I missed you.
I need you.
You make everything make sense.
I need you to stop being so difficult about the ministers Grigori has chosen.
I've been advised.
You listen to everyone except the one person you should be listening to.
When did I become the enemy? You're not.
Then trust me.
By 1916, discontent with the royal family has reached all levels of society.
The war is going very badly.
Large parts of Russia are occupied by the Germans.
Millions have been killed.
The Czar's reputation amongst the military has completely collapsed One soldier that will play a major role in the Romanov story is Yakov Yurovsky.
A medical orderly on the front line.
No boots.
It's disgusting.
Who keeps them in power? We do.
Workers and peasants.
If we all downed tools, this country would fall to its knees.
By the end of 1916, faith in the regime and the monarchy was at rock bottom.
At the same time, there's a perception amongst the Russian population that Alexandra is actively undermining the Russian war effort.
She is of course, a German princess originally, and so she's widely believed to be a German spy.
People believe there are German spies everywhere.
Even the Empress's own sister is the subject of xenophobic abuse at this point.
People are convinced in the capital that Alexandra and Rasputin are now running the show.
Alexandra, who's German-born, is running the government, and she's guided by a mad monk who is apparently sleeping with half of Petersburg society, probably having an affair with the Empress.