MovieChat Forums > Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) Discussion > A question about Alexsi

A question about Alexsi

posted 16 years ago by LostRomanovPrincess
17 replies | jump to latest

I was reading on the internet that before the romaniv's were excuted Alexsi never walked again. can someone tell me why he never walked again.

[–] jdcofield 16 years ago

Because he was injured when he slid down the stairs in Tobolsk. He was still recuperating from that injury when he and his family were shot.

[–] LostRomanovPrincess 16 years ago

why did he slide down the stairs.

[–] jdcofield 16 years ago

He was playing. The movie's depiction of this as an attempted suicide has no real basis in reality.

[–] LostRomanovPrincess 16 years ago

he should of known it was dangerous.

[–] FrizzKWest 15 years ago

Yes, but because he was cooped up all his life he had a tendency to disregard what was safe. This was depicted again in the rock climbing scene. Afterwards Nicholas tells Alexandra tyhat the doctors he told them he would act this way.

______
Life is far too important a thing to ever talk seriously about it - Oscar Wilde

[–] MalContentUSA 15 years ago

According to Robert Massie, himself the father of a hemopheliac son, this sort of behavior among hemopheliac children is common enough to be called "the daredevil syndrome." Partly it's rebellion against the natural tendency of the parents to be restrictive and overly protective, partly it comes from a desire to simply act as any other child. One of the more heartbreaking things in the book, hinted at in the film, is that Alexsi, when told, "No, you can't do that," would at times break down in tears and ask, "Why may other boys have everything and I nothing?" Pretty sad, considering that his position was in fact a highly privileged one in other respects, including having the best medical care available at the time.

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] joyfarrah 14 years ago

There was no cure at the time for haemophilia. THe czar did have the best doctors, but they could not do much to help the boy. Rasputin's calming him down may have done as much if not more good....

[–] MalContentUSA 14 years ago

As I understand it, there is even to this day no "cure" for haemophilia, only better ways of controlling it. Massie makes somewhat the same point as joyfarrah, that Rasputin's seeming ability to keep Alexsi and his frantic mother calm may have been just as helpful as anything the doctors of that time could offer. And let us assume that the Tsar would indeed have been able to command the best doctors available.

[–] joyfarrah 14 years ago

Sorry yes there is no cure, but there are drugs which can help the blood to clot...and probalby better pain killers. At the time there was nothing anyone could do except watch the poor child suffer. Rasputin DID seem to be able to calm down Alexis and help him a littlte and Nicholas said that it was better to have one Rasputin than having his wife in hysterics 10 times a day....

[–] MalContentUSA 14 years ago

Fair point about Nicholas not only going through his own agony at watching his child suffering, but knowing that his wife was, if anything, feeling WORSE for knowing that the disease had come down through her bloodlines. Explains to a large degree why he would tolerate Rasputin, even if he did seemingly have some suspicions that Rasputin was a right old fraud in a lot of respects.

[–] rrb 14 years ago

Nicholas' first responsibility was as Tsar. As his mother Marie said in that fictional scene in his railway car, he should've hanged Rasputin and sent Alexandra to Livadia--anything to meet his responsibility to his country. Because he couldn't say no to his wife, as the Marie tells him, Imperial Russia and his family were destroyed.

[–] JoJo31 14 years ago

**zelda2025: "Ah, like because his parents didn't have the brains to take him to a clinic. They just let a holy healer do it as if they were Christian Scientists, Scientologists or something like that. Earth to Czar you had wealth and power, why didn't use it to bring your son to the best clinics in the world?"**

A clinic? There WERE no clinics. There were doctor's offices, but not a "clinic" as we know them now. Can you imagine the Czar and his wife walking into a clinic to get treatment for their son? The Czar had the best doctors in Russia treating Alexi, but there was nothing they could do but keep him quiet so he wouldn't injure himself. As for the "holy healer", he most likely hypnotized Alexi, this would bring down his blood pressure and slow the bleeding to an extent . . .

[–] bittermilk2 14 years ago

@zelda2025 how old are you? really, didn't you know that Alexei had a disease incurable at the time?

[–] tropical_dream_22 14 years ago

Robert K Massie speculates that perhaps Rasputin's calming ability on Alexei had just as much to with Alexandra as Alexei. For often, particularly at Spala in 1912, Alexandra had to sit by her son's side helplessly holding his hand and wiping his brow as he screamed and begged to die. This was certainly very emotionally distressing for her, and therefore Alexandra's distress would have been evident to Alexei. However, even if Rasputin's reassurances of "the little one won't die" only calmed Alexandra, that perhaps could have been enough for Alexei to observe enough of a calm in his mother to begin to recover. In any case, Nicholas himself found sitting with his suffering son too distressing and only forced himself to do it so Alexandra could get a few hours' sleep. Like it has been said, it was for this reason that Nicholas allowed Rasputin to remain at court. Nicholas knew very well his wife would be devasted if Rasputin were sent away, so he chose to keep him. More importantly, if he sent Raputin away and then "Baby" died, then he knew Alexandra would hold him responsible for "killing Baby."
"My care is like my shadow in the sun, follows me flying, flies when I pursue it..."

[–] velcronewsletter 9 years ago

added to that, if alexei died, there would be no direct heir and the tsar's brother would be next in line and alexandra would be even more hated as no doubt she would be blamed for it and for not having more sons. women were always blamed for the sex of the child before science noted that it's the sperm that defines it