Out Of My Life

PRESIDENT EAYRS introduced the speaker. The GRAND DUKE ALEXANDER was cordially received and said :-I am very happy to speak to you, my Canadian friends. I say friends because I mean real friendship for American people guided my decision to visit your beautiful country. I will ask you not to consider me as a Grand Duke, because before being Grand Duke I am a Russian, and before being a Russian, I am a man. (Hear, hear.)

I will try my best to speak to you about some of my experiences during the past fifty years, and the conclusions to which I came. I was born in the Imperial family of Russia, being a Grandson of Emperor Nicholas I., who governed a sixth part of the world. I had wealth, position, power; I was happy in my family life, and never knew the value of money. My father, who was the youngest son of Emperor Nicholas I., after his death was nominated as officer to the Caucasus, a province at the south border of Russia. He was there just when the war with troops of the Caucasian Mountains was finished. I was born three years after he arrived there, in Tiflis, the capital of Caucasus. My childhood was passed amid beautiful nature; I always felt one with nature, and I think that feeling has to be felt by every human being who is not to separate one's self from one's fellows. My education was very good, my general education as well as that for an officer of the navy, which was special, but I had not received an answer to the more important questions which have to interest every human being; I mean, What we are, What we aim at in the sense of Life on Earth, and What the Future; I have tried to find out those, so to say, mysteries.

When war broke out in 1877 I was eleven years old. I lived with my mother, my five brothers and one sister, about fifteen or twenty miles from the frontier. My mother arranged hospitals in barracks, and all the wounded and sick officers and soldiers passed through that place, so I saw all the suffering of those poor people, and hated the war and the useless bloodshed. All the same, I must say that the war was declared by my uncle, Emperor Alexander II. to free Rumania, Serbia, and Bulgaria. The war was victorious, and since the year 1879 those three countries are free and independent. (Applause.) Our troops came under the walls of Constantinople, and the Balkan Peninsula was occupied by our soldiers. The idea of Emperor Alexander II was to end the never-ending Balkan question, which has started so many wars, but the Berlin Congress called together by Bismarck deprived us of the fruits of our victory, and you know how much blood was shed since the year 1879 until now.

My life was passed under three emperors-Alexander I., Alexander II., and Nicholas II. After the war, in 1881, I came for the first time to St. Petersburg, which today is called Leningrad, and I saw for the first time real Russia, and I must admit that after living over in Caucasus I did not like to live in St. Petersburg and its surroundings. The summer is short, the winter is long, the sun never appears, and the depression was terrible.

I was present on the first of March, 1881, at the murder of Emperor Alexander II. Of course it made a terrible impression on me, so much more because he was the most liberal of all our emperors. He offered freedom to the Serfs, the Peasants; he gave them land, instituted true justice, gave liberty to three countries of which I spoke, he supported education, and one can say that during his reign real progress and culture began in Russia. All the same, the foreigners, the Bolsheviki, killed him because all the liberals of Russia had been executed, and Russia was not ready to help the culture regime, as it is not ready today, because the Bolsheviki, as you know, and their government are nothing more than an autocracy of a minority of people over 160,000,000 peasants.

I can say that Alexander I. was the first real national emperor, and one can see how people loved him because after thirteen years' reign, at his funeral I saw about 3,000 soldiers sent from all the Russians, which shows his popularity. He was called the Peacemaker. During his reign I was taking voyages. My first voyage began in 1876 and lasted three years. I visited all the countries of Europe and the colonies of the British Empire. I must say that I admired very much and I was always impressed with the way the British knew how to colonize those countries, and how to give freedom to the people without giving them power for which they were not yet ready. (Hear, hear.)

In all those countries I always paid attention to the spiritual side of the people, because the spiritual is more broad. This makes you understand better what my interests were. Of course I studied all the religions. I wanted to find an answer to the questions of which I spoke. This answer I have not found, but when I came home a change probably was seen in me, because my brothers, for a joke, used to call me Buddha. Of course I was not a Buddhist, but they saw in me some kind of a spiritual change. Well, I must say that I came back to the Christian religion and studied the beautiful teaching of Christ, and Z came to the conclusion of which I will speak later.

In the year 1893 I paid my first visit to the United States. Of course I had to see Niagara Falls, and that is why I visited Canada for a few days. (Laughter.) I stayed for six months. The United States and Canadian people always attracted me because of their freshness, of their vitality, of their energy. When visiting and reading about your country, for me it was always the ideal which I wanted Russia to imitate. One day it will happen, of course not now, but when this tyranny will finish, when the Russian people from within will understand that evil power is to be dismissed. I am sure that, with the help of the United States and Canada, Russia will regain her place among the civilized peoples. (Applause.)

In 1894 I married the daughter of Emperor Nicholas II. My family life was very happy. I had one daughter and six boys. They are all alive, and three of them are now working in the United States. The last one I brought with me because I think that the United States, and your country too-because I really cannot divide the energy, the vitality of those countries, it is so alike-is the best country to form young men for future work in Russia. I cannot say I am sure that I will see the day when I can go back to Russia, but I am sure that my children will live to see that happy day. Of course the state of things will never be the same as before the Revolution, and my boys will have to work hard for the Russian people. I may say that all our refugees, which count about 2,500,000, are all working, all over the world, and I see in them the great treasure for the future progress of Russia.

I must say something about the late Emperor Nicholas. Much was written unfairly to him. You must remember that when he became Emperor in the year 1904 he was only 27 years old. He passed his young manhood in cavalry and infantry, but he was not prepared for the post of Emperor. I remember, being his friend, how he complained to me of his fate, that he had to begin with his heavy burdens so young; but I can say that he knew his duty, and if you ever saw how emperors work I will say that he was the hardest worker for human happiness. Emperors never have a vacation, or time of their own. The Emperor was very happy in his family life, and he did the best he could.

While I cannot say a single word against the Emperor, I can say many words against the persons who formed his government, who were not really honest. They had not the civil courage which is so much needed in countries where there are Emperors, and so much more in Russia, where he was the autocrat and always had the last word. Their dishonesty appeared often in the fact that when a law was popular and the people liked it, you heard always that such and such a man promoted it; but when the law was unpopular, everything was put on the head of the Emperor. So it was that the popularity of the Emperor gradually went down.

Of course you will read so much about the man whose name I do not want to pronounce, who had such an influence on the Empress-absolutely incomprehensible unless you remember that her son had an incurable illness, and doctors could not do anything, and during the childhood of the boy that man cured him and saved his life. He had some kind of power which we find in some individuals. I know, myself, two persons like that in Paris who really can cure people. So if you remember that, you will understand-and you mothers more than anybody-how she believed in him, and how she would not believe anything that was said against him, counting it jealousy, which is always existent in the Courts.

Well, after my marriage I continued my service in the navy, in the Baltic and the Mediterranean, and in 1900 I became Minister of Foreign and Commercial Navy, and took part in the Russian Government during three years. In 1904 the war with Japan broke out. It was a great mistake to have this war, because of course Japan could not stand our presence in Northern Korea and Port Arthur. I personally did everything I could to show that the policy of the foreign war was wrong-(applause)--but somehow there was some kind of power that just pushed us to Japan. That war finished badly for us for two reasons; one was because of the enormous distance -10,000 kilometres from Russia--and because the army which went there never understood why we took issue with Japan. They had never even heard of the existence of Japan, and of course, after travelling for three or four weeks in a train, and going straight from the carriage to the battle, you can understand how they talked. The results of that war were very sad.

The Revolution broke out in 1905, but was finished very quickly because the propaganda had not reached the depths of the masses of the peasants. A new government was formed. I left it because I had no confidence in the person who formed it; and you know that in 1905 and in the beginning of 1906 the Duma was first given to Russia. The last word remained with the Emperor, and here I must say one thing, and you will understand why the Emperor could not say it, because our Emperors at their coronation give their oath not to yield their right to anybody. The Emperor often talked to me, and said he would be glad to do it, but he had no right.

In the year 1906 I interested myself very much in aviation, and started the first aviation school in Russia. (Applause.) It was interesting to know how difficult it was to prove to the Ministers of Navy and Army the need of aviation. They would not believe it. They fought with me, and would not help. Well, it was very sad, because when the Great War began we were not prepared in that branch of the military service. The state consented to put me at the head of the aviation which I started. Of course it was a difficult work, because we had to create everything, to build our own airplanes; but thanks to the help of the English and the French, we held the ground against the Germans when the Great War began.

During my whole life I was thinking what was the reason for the wrong side of life, like war, revolution, suffering, and unhappiness in which people live, and I was rather puzzled to find how to end or transform it. I came to the conclusion that so long as our spiritual side will not receive an evolution the same as our material side, this negative side of human life will continue. That is quite comprehensible, because we speak of peace, what is peace? Peace is an ideal brotherhood of people based on the law of love.

Here comes the capital question-How can you produce the law of love if you are not prepared when you are young? Now, all the young are prepared for family life; of course there is religious education, but the religious education does not touch the people powerfully. Of course those that are spiritually prepared and go on to spiritual life are in the minority, but I speak of the masses. To prepare the masses for future peace instead of war we have to introduce what I call the spiritual education. That spiritual education is to give a possibility to our soul and spirit to evolve in a normal and sane way. Religious education comes in, certainly, but everything will be understood better when you have a spiritual preparation. After all, this is absolutely comprehensible, because when we prepare ourselves for some material career we have to study. The doctor has to learn for five or six years before he can practice his profession. Well, I say absolutely the same thing with our spiritual side. Our spirit has to be prepared. Being the father of seven children-and many of you are fathers-you probably have remarked how spirituality develops in the children, and how, gradually, when we get older, the spiritual side is more and more hidden, and when we become men nothing remains to save the soul except the deep nature of man.

When we ask what President Hoover and the Prime Minister of England, Mr. MacDonald, have done, of course it is a step to peace, but when you do not eliminate the reasons why wars can begin again you cannot have peace. Another reason is that so long as Russia has the Bolsheviki government, so long as they form the Red Army-which exists, according to them, specially to raise a monetary revolution-how can you get on?

I think that to preach peace one has to be above all the politics and above all the parties, be it Right, Left or Middle, because every party has, so to say, its program, and does not live for peace. I beg pardon of the present clergymen who are here, but I want to say that the Great War showed us that the Christian religion failed, because we all became like the people 2,000 years ago. This does not prove that the splendid religion of Christ failed, but it shows that in the last 2,000 years we have not found how to adopt its practice in the everyday life of the human being. That is what I am trying to show-how easy it is to adopt its principles in our life. Now, Christ, being God, is at the same time the greatest human being the earth ever possessed, because every word of His teaching is the life of the soul, and the evolution. His teaching is a moral and poetic expression of scientific principles. I am absolutely convinced that all His principles are scientific, and just now I am working on a book where I am trying to prove it.

Well, for me the War lasted three years. When the Revolution broke out I was in Kieff, that is the capital of South Russia. I must say that the act of Revolution, because of the action of people who started it, was a betrayal of the Emperor and of Russia. Just at the time when the Emperor was the chief of his 160,000,000 people it was pressed at his back. He could have suppressed them, because the army was absolutely loyal to him. I know it, first, from the branch of aviation in the army, and second, from my brother George, who was inspector, and having finished the inspection, of the full loyalty of the whole of the armies, and their readiness to continue the war.

The Emperor decided to abdicate, first, because he did not want to have civil war; secondly, because he was true to the allies and did not want to weaken the front; and thirdly, because he believed in the honesty and patriotism of the people who started the Revolution. Well, he made a great error, and was mistaken, because eight months later the Bolsheviki signed a shameful peace with the Germans. The Civil War lasted three years, and the provisional government which started the Revolution fled, and they are all now in Europe, fortunate to be alive.

One day after the Revolution I wakened up to the fact that I had lost everything-wealth, position and everything I had-but happily I had not lost my soul, which talked to me. (Applause.) Of course I had to consider all the values of the life which was no more valid to me, and gradually I came to understand that only one thing remained, only one power existed, only one happiness was worth while living for, and that was lovelove for one's neighbour, love for the whole of humanity, and love for everything that is living. (Applause.) From this deep conviction came the birth of what I call the religion of love. This religion of love has nothing of myself in it, of course, because after all it is the purest religion of Christ. I call it religion because I could not find another word, but I can say that the religion of love is the same love which transmits to your mind and makes you think of God always according to the law of love, in other words, to the law on which our world is built. It is the positive law of the world, and if we do not follow this love of course we are all working against the universal harmony. Universal harmony does not result from work, but it is the ruling power that causes everything. I spoke of education. To produce the law of love you have to have a part of spiritual education, to possess it, as a matter of fact, without any effort.

Well, after that, being a prisoner of the provisional government and then prisoner of the Bolsheviki, my life was quite easy. I lost everything I had materially, so I gained everything spiritually, and now I have such richness which nobody and nothing can ever take from me. (Applause.) I can say absolutely sincerely and honestly that I was never so happy as I am now-which is, after all, comprehensible, because before I was not free; I was attached to some material interest; I had to spend my force as a Grand Duke, which, though it seems very nice, is after all a great burden. (Laughter.) Well, when I was offered all this I rested, and just came into the arms which I was always looking for.

Now, with me in Kieff was my mother-in-law, the Empress Marie, sister of Queen Alexandra of England, who passed her 84th year a year ago, and I had to think where to go to save her and to save my family. I decided to go to Crimea, another district in the south-east point of Russia, on the Baltic Sea, where I had a property; and my family came from St. Petersburg, and we were prisoners of the provisional government. From the time the Bolsheviki came into power in November it became less agreeable. We were shut up in one vault together, with Grand Duke Nicholas, ex-chief of the army, and his family. We could not go out except into the small garden. The food was bad, because the Bolsheviki wanted us to eat just the same as they had, and it was always pea soup. In my life as a soldier we had pea soup, but for the Empress of course it was awful. Our friends in the population succeeded in bringing us something, and fresh bread. The imprisonment lasted eight months, and the worst moments were the last four weeks, when the German army came to Crimea. Of course we knew nothing, because we had no .newspaper or telegrams or letters, but our cheka was not a Bolshevik and he became our friend and wanted to save our lives. I say that was the worst time, because about 10 kilometres from our vault they decided to murder us before the Germans came, but the best civilians had not so decided, and they played on the more proper feelings of the soldiers and defended us. We were told that when the Germans came they would murder us, so there was a competition as to which would have the honour of murdering us-not a very agreeable situation, because it lasted four weeks, but I must say that being very religious, all of us, we never believed that we would be murdered, notwithstanding the enormous power of those who sent us there.

The Germans came one morning before Easter. I think it was the most happy one I ever lived, because they liberated us. Of course they did not agree there to liberate us, but the first time they were against the Bolsheviki and struck them by hundreds everywhere, and so they wanted to shoot our guard, and we had to hand in our names through our friend, and we asked them to be spared, because we did not want them to be Germans; so for two months more we had the same Bolsheviki guard, but they became absolutely loyal and saluted us, so we were again under the Russians.

I must say that the conduct of the Germans in the Crimea was marvellous. I might say that they were the angels of peace. They did just what their religion ordered, but I wanted to leave Russia under the Germans, but the German Emperor said we could not, so we had to remain till the Armistice and one month later, and we were allowed to enter the Black Sea, where the English, French, Italian and United States destroyers were. The English Admiral, who was my personal friend about twenty years before when I was captain of a battleship in the Black Sea, gave me a cruiser, and I went to Paris. I hurried there, because I wanted to open the eyes of the statesmen who were sitting in Paris at the Peace Conference; I wanted to speak before the Bolsheviki regime, but nobody would listen to me, because they thought that of course an ex-Grand Duke would speak against the Bolsheviki. I wanted to speak to them simply as a human being, about the terrible danger of this disease which will spread all over the world, as it proved.

You must understand that the Bolsheviki regime is built of the negative principles of life. The Bolsheviks are against Christ and everything spiritual in all religions. They are against any morals. They are for free love. In Russia a woman is not a woman, really, only to mate. If a woman wants to live with any man she is laughed at, and called "bourgeoisie", and the family principles are undermined. Thank God, such circumstances exist only in towns, but the great mass of the peasants still stick to their religion. I can say that they are more deeply religious than before. I was not there, but I can speak from those who have come. Such a word as "citizen" does not even exist in Russia. To them there is only one right, that is, the right to be poor. There is no freedom of conscience; there is no freedom of press. They want everybody to be poor, because so long as people are poor they have power to hold the masses, but the moment people begin to prosper of course there is no question of Bolshevism left.

If you ask my opinion how long it will last, I am absolutely sure that a regime that is working against the principles of love cannot last, and of course countries who recognize the Bolsheviki go against the regime of the Russian people, because we must break with the Soviet, the Bolsheviki, and the Russian people are going to do so, for there are no Communists in the 140,000,000 Russian people. To recognize the Soviet is to give that government extra power and kill the hopes of the Russian people to get rid of them one day. Thank God the United States have not recognized them. Speaking there, I always say that if you are Christians you have Christian decency, and Christian honour does not allow you to recognize an element which openly fights God, makes blasphemous professions all over Europe, which has opened two institutes, one in Moscow and one in St. Petersburg, for the spread of atheism. It is beyond my view that any Christian can have anything to do with them; of course it is my personal opinion that I have to express.

When I came to Paris I began to work on spiritual lines. I am glad to be with you because, coming to a definite conclusion, I had to speak about it. I do not need to say that I have discovered something new; absolutely nothing; only I am prepared to give a new aspect to eternal truth which can be easily adopted, that is all. My program must end in the creation of new forms of life. It is the religion of love, its profession in acts and deeds and everything; secondly spiritual education; thirdly, a question which may perhaps astonish you; I mean that you give civil rights to the soul, and openly demand its possession and existence. It is strange to say that the supposed civilized countries have not officially admitted the existence of the soul, and have no laws to protect it. I insist on the fact that the soul has no rights at all. The body has, but the rights of the body coincide with the rights of the soul, and one cannot mix the two things together. The body is only the vehicle of the soul, but it is not the same thing. My program grants rights to the soul, and if we follow that program we will arrive at the reign of spirit. I mean, by that, the right to the body as part of the spirit. It may take hundreds of years, but I can start it tomorrow, because there is nothing to impart but what is needed in every one of us.

The positive side of the law of love is as if you thought of yourself as being an electric lamp through which the electric current passes. You know that you have to switch it on if you want to have work or light or heat. Well, in our spiritual life so long as we do not profess the religion of love we cannot get into contact with that superior power of God, which is the switch we must all have.

I could talk more, because the subject is enormous, so I will ask you to think on what I was telling you. I am not wanting to enforce any spiritual truth. The spiritual reform must not be enforced in any way; one must feel it in one's soul and mind. I may say that you can compare me with an artist, who, knowing that a beautiful view existed somewhere, he spent years finding it out and then presented it to the people. I do the same thing in Toronto, to present Christ, who over 2,000 years ago became an attraction, so to say. I felt such joy that I felt I must transmit the joy to my friends. (Loud applause.)

SIR WM. HEARST expressed the thanks of the Club, and asked for three cheers for the speaker, which were given heartily, amid loud applause.