Nicholas & Alexandra 1971 quotes

Rasputin

"God works in mysterious ways, Matushka. There was a man in Prokovskoe. He did not work or wash himself. He drank, he stole, he lied, he chased after all the peasant girls. Why then, of all people, did the Virgin Mary come to him?

Tsaritsa Alexandra

"Maybe he lied. You said he was a liar."

Rasputin

"No, Matushka', she came. I saw her. God is here. Pray with me, Matushka.
[A large open area. Alexander Kerensky is with a group of men protesting the Russo-Japanese War] Men (shouting in unison): "NO!"

Alexander Kerensky

"More men! Port Arthur falls and Nicholas is sending more men!"
Men (shouting in unison): "NO!"

Alexander Kerensky

"I say we students lead the way!"
Men (shouting in unison): "YEAH!"

Alexander Kerensky

"I say we give Nicholas a Port Arthur right here!"
Men (shouting in unison): "YEAH!"

Alexander Kerensky

"They are coming for us. Now, do we run or do we fight?"
Men (shouting in unison): "WE FIGHT!"
[Kerensky and the men rush the soldiers; who proceed to club the men for their resistance to conscription. Kerensky is knocked to the floor]

Tsar Nicholas II

The boy will bring us luck. It has all changed. I have a son to fight for now. We will smash the Japanese and drive them from Korea and I do not care what the cost will be!

Tsar Nicholas II

The Russia my father gave me never lost a war. What shall I say to my son when his time comes? That I was weak? That I had no pride? We shall fight on to victory.

Alexandra

Tell them they are mistaken. Tell them we shall go to other doctors. Tell them to get out! My son is perfect! He will lead a long life, and grow up to be a great Tsar, like his father!

"We have orders to deploy. Pick up your rifles and get going!"

"Bug off! We're eating!"

"I said move! NOW!"
[One of the enlisted men picks up his rifle, loads it and without the faintest fear of a court-martial, aims it at the superior officer and opens fire. This scene is indicative of the rampant mutiny and lack of discipline in the Russian military during World War One]

Tsaritsa Alexandra

"I know there is supposed to be a proper arrangement of the saints. Now I cannot even remember all their names."

Rasputin

"It does not matter Matushka (Mother of the Russian people), they know you."

Leon Trotsky

Lenin thinks freedom is something you write on a wall but you do not actually practice. I do not understand you. You hate anyone who is not your kind of Bolshevik more than you hate the Tsar. No wonder why they call you Robespierre. Everybody has got to think like you are they are out!

Tsaritsa Alexandra

"May I say something intimate?"

Tsar Nicholas II

"In public?"

Tsaritsa Alexandra

"I will whisper it."

Tsar Nicholas II

"Well, if you must."

Tsaritsa Alexandra

"Nicky, I adore you."

Leon Trotsky

Look at this, a massacre in Saint Petersburg! People were shot by the palace guards and Russia is in a riot! This time the Tsar has outdone himself. There is raw, naked power in the streets, just waiting for us to claim it! On top of that, the Japanese have forced Nicholas to accept peace on their terms. He has lost the war and all for nothing!

[In an unnamed nation, presumably Poland, Belarus, or Austria. Ragged Russian soldiers are lined up in formation. Colonel Volkov, his mood now much more depressed and realistic from his prewar overconfidence a couple of years ago, is inspecting soldiers, who are poorly equipped. The Imperial Russian Army, unable to afford being selective, has drafted many types of men to become soldiers, from teenage boys just barely finishing puberty to old men with white beards. Volkov confers with an inferior officer.]

"The men have orders to be on the front line tonight. Do we have any horses or motor transport?"

"No sir, there is none available for our unit."

"Very well, then they have to walk."

"Right face!" <Soldiers face right> "Forward, march!" <Major leads the soldiers marching down the road>
[Colonel Volkov walks off in the opposite direction and reclines under a tree. He takes one last look at the clouds, sky, and falling leaves from the trees as he unholsters his pistol and places it in his mouth. Camera zooms off screen as the sound of a gunshot is heard, indicating Colonel Volkov has taken his own life]

Lenin

In my ten years of exile, I have only been to Russia three months. I speak, no one listens to me. I write, no one bothers to read what I publish. I am out of style, no one is wearing me this season. I know what happens to expatriates; they go mad or they fade away in lands they are not native to. Is this all there is. I mean, three hundred years of Romanovs. What is there to say there will not be three hundred more?

[Sarejevo, Serbia. Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the Crown Prince of Austria, and his wife are riding in a motorcade waving to spectators. A man comes out of the crowd and guns them both down. Scene changes to Tsarskoe Selo. The Tsarevitch Alexei awakens screaming as it was a nightmare of his. The Tsar, Tsaritsa, and their four daughters are awakened by the screaming and run to Alexei's room to see what is the matter.]

Grand Duchess Olga

"What is it Alexei, what is wrong?"

Tsaritsa Alexandra

"It is all right darling, we are here"

Tsarevitch Alexei

"There were royals in a car; a man shot them..."

Tsar Nicholas II

"You were dreaming about Archduke Franz Ferdinand. This is what happened..."
Tsaritsa Alexandra<interrupting him>: "Nicky, please do not tell them those horrible things."

Tsar Nicholas II

"Sunny, they are not children anymore. They have to know these things. Franz Ferdinand's assassination is bad for the royal family of Austria. It is also an unbelievable burden and sadness for the family of the assassin. You see, sometimes governments do things their people do not like. So the people react in different ways. The British vote. The Americans frequently remind their leaders they must be loyal to the U.S. Constitution. And the Serbs throw bombs. You see, Serbia wants its independence. But Austria will not grant it to them. So the Serbs resort to violence. It has happened in this country too sometimes. Your great-grandfather was killed by a bomb, so was Uncle Sergei. But Serbia is a long way away. Our foreign ministry will write some angry letters to the Serbian leaders, our generals will go on exercise and everything will be right again. And we do not need have bad dreams about archdukes. All over Europe kings and queens are sleeping safely in their beds, and that is what we are going to do too."

]

"Witte had tea with me today."

Tsar Nicholas II

"Oh, did he?"

"He ate all my sturgeon but he never stopped talking. Clever man! He talked about the war like everyone else. He thinks..."
Tsar Nicholas II<cutting her off>: "I know what he thinks."

"Nicky, will you please let me finish. I know I am not as clever as everybody makes me out to be but I do know this. Witte thinks we cannot afford wars. They are too ambitious. I very much agree with him. We are an 18th Century nation trying to make it in a 20th Century world. Get out of Korea and forget about Japan. We need all our strength, resources, and money to look after Russia. Do not waste it on those little yellow Buddhists, pagans, or whatever the heck they are called. You only encourage them by taking them seriously."

Tsar Nicholas II

"I am 36 years old, Mama. You must let me look after this war on my own."

"It is as your father always said..."
Tsar Nicholas II<again cutting her off as she has hit a sore point>: "Thank you for your kind advice."

[The Russian flag officers are all celebrating and congratulating themselves on their war plans and believe their entry into the First World War will be quick and painless for Russia. Witte, now retired, is trying in vain to convince them and the Tsar of the dire consequences of what World War One will do. It seems Witte is prophetic in predicting the rise of the Soviet Union, the rise of Nazi Germany, and the eventual coming of the Second World War]
None if you will be here when this war ends. Everything we worked to build will be destroyed. There is no question another great war will come. The societies and kingdoms of Europe we knew will crumble, and out of the wreckage madmen and lunatics will come to power. And the world will grow old.

[The Tsar is meeting with his flag officers to discuss troop movements as the Austrians have engaged in a military exercise near the Russian border. It looks imminent that Russia will be hurtled into the First World War. Retired Prime Minister Witte is trying to convince the Tsar not to agitiate any other nation. He is sending a recieving telegrams to Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, the so called "Willy & Nicky" correspondences]

"Your Majesty, good news. I have a personal telegram from the Kaiser offering to mediate between us and Austria!"

Tsar Nicholas II

"I knew I could count on Willy! You see?"

"With all due respect to your cousin sire, the Kaiser is a deceitful megalomaniac. If he is offering to help, then it is really time for us to start praying."