Grand Duke Serge blown to pieces!

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 February 17, 1905

Grand Duke Serge of Russia was killed today in Moscow by an assassin's bomb.
The New York Times reporter happened to be entering the Kremlin at 3p.m. when he "heard a terrific report."

"In the middle of the flames, I saw several black masses into the air and fall in pieces on the ground....A cloud of smoke was lifting, and scattered on the ground, amid a heap of debris, were pieces of a human body, smoldering beside splinters of wood and broken glass."

The correspondent noticed "in a handsome sleigh a young and pretty woman had fainted, and around her, a crowd, attracted by the explosion, was pressing." The correspondent recognized the young woman as Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, sister of Empress Alexandra, and wife of Grand Duke Serge.

"The terrible truth was at once made clear to me. The smoking human debris was all that remained of the Grand Duke. His head had been literally blown from his body and lay there, almost unrecognizable. Soldiers who had rushed from the guardhouse, aided by Generals and dvorniks, began to gather up the remains."

Grand Duke Serge "was driving to town in his coupé at the usual hour," when a "bomb was skillfully thrown under his carriage." Serge's body was "literally stripped of its clothing by the force of the explosion and was reduced to pulp."
Windows in surrounding buildings, including the Palace of Justice and the Arsenal "for a distance of 250 yards were shattered."

One of the assassins, who was injured, was quickly arrested.

The Grand Duke's remains were placed on a stretcher, and were "covered by a coat lent by a General to hide the horrible sight."

Grand Duchess Elizabeth, who had quickly regained consciousness, walked behind the stretcher. She was "enveloped in a blue cloak. Her head was bare, and she was pale as death." Several officers supported her as she followed her husband.
A few days ago, Grand Duke Serge moved into the Imperial Palace in the Kremlin as he was told by the police that they could not guarantee his safety in his residence on the Tverskalia. His wife had been "warned not to go out in the same carriage as the Grand Duke." Her sleigh had not been damaged by the bomb.

According to the New York Times reporter, "there is a rumor that this murder is the first of a long series which has been planned. Fourteen names are on the list, it is said, the second being that of the Grand Duke Vladimir."

Emperor Nicholas II was in St. Petersburg, meeting with General Gripenberg when he was told about his uncle's death. He became prostrate with grief. He returned to Tsarkoe Selo, where other members of the Imperial Family were entertaining Prince Friedrich Leopold of Prussia who is en route to the Far East to join the Russian army as an observer for the German emperor. The news of Serge's death "created the greatest consternation." All events honoring the Prussian prince were canceled as Nicholas ordered his family to the chapel, where a requiem was held for his slain uncle.

Nicholas released a manifesto to the public, where he lamented the death of his uncle. "He was stricken down by the ruthless hand of an assassin, who aimed at his life, so dear to us. Mourning in him an uncle and friend whose life of activity and care was always devoted to the service of our house and fatherland, we have firm confidence that all our subjects will share and sympathize in our sorrow and will unite their heartfelt prayers with our own for the repose of the soul of the departed."

Other European countries were not surprised by the death of Grand Duke Serge. The Chicago Tribune reported that a "wise choice was made in the selection of the first victim of the nation's revenge. It was Grand Duke Sergius more than Grand Duke Vladimir, and more than any other single member of the grand-ducal cabal, who imposed the regime of tyranny upon the czar."

Russia "has now entered the real crisis in its national existence."

King Edward VII, a first cousin to Nicholas and Alexandra and Grand Duchess Elizabeth, sent a telegram to the Czar, "expressing his horror and sympathy."
Grand Duke Serge was known to be unpopular due to his "haughty demeanor and hard, reactionary spirit." On the other hand, Serge's wife, Grand Duchess Elizabeth was one of the few popular members of the Russian Imperial family.
Serge was once called the Ivan the Terrible of modern Russia. For years he was known in every European capital as "vicious, cruel, unprincipled, a fanatical enemy of Jew, Protestant and Roman Catholic, a leader of the reactionary party, the staunchest supporter of the autocracy, and the bitterest enemy to the aspirations of the Russian people for a more enlightened form of government."

He was also considered the wealthiest member of the Russian Imperial family, and he was "tall, handsome and cordial in manner, despite the ruthless fashion in which he exercised his authority" as the Governor of Moscow.

Grand Duke Serge's marriage was childless, although he and his wife were the guardians of his brother Paul's two children. Serge obtained custody of Grand Duchess Marie and Grand Duke Dimitri after Grand Duke Paul contracted a morganatic marriage and was forced to leave Russia.