Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) - Quotes

Desire for Violence Amidst Unrest

Petya: I want to kill somebody. They come here sometimes, the other factory workers, and they tell us that we should burn things down, make bombs. Well, I want to fight back once.

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Cultural Critique in Political Discussion

English Journalist: Excuse me, Mr. Lenin. I'm from the Socialist Worker. Could you tell me what you think of the socialist movement in England?

Mme. Krupskaya: The English cut their meat wrong, their tea is terrible, and the weather was better in Siberia. At least you keep your policemen under control.

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Consequences of War and National Pride

Count Witte: Have I Your Majesty's permission to review the facts again? If Port Arthur falls...

Nicholas: No fact begins with "if.

Count Witte: Port Arthur has been under siege for six months. It has cost us 30,000 dead. If it ... A student stopped me in the street the other day. "Excuse me, sir, but why are we at war?" "Because, my boy, we want Korea, but the Japanese would insist on fighting us for it." "Thank you, sir, but what does Russia need Korea for?" "Because, my boy, we have no ice-free port on the Pacific." "I see. In that case, sir, it isn't good enough." He's right, sir. It's not good enough at all. Imagine, sire. Imagine that you are a factory worker. You're really poor. Your belly is never full. You freeze eight months of the year. Your children have no school, no doctor. Your country taxes you and sends your sons a continent away to die on a piece of land on the Pacific. Now, sir, Japan is a third-rate power. If she defeats us, if Port Arthur falls, we shall be disgraced in the eyes of the world, and here at home, we shall have an insurrection on our hands.

Nicholas: My people love me, Sergei Yulyevich.

Count Witte: They want a constitution and the right to vote for an elected duma. They're angry, and they're serious.

Nicholas: Are you advising me to give my rights away?

Count Witte: I'm advising you to stop a hopeless war.

Nicholas: Is it so hopeless, Nikolasha?

Grand Duke Nicholas: [holds up a cigarette] Well, Nicky, let me put it this way. Here's a bullet, a bullet made in St. Petersburg. I send it off to war. How does it get there? On a single spur of track 4,000 miles long. And in the middle, no track at all. Oh, God help it; it spends three days packed on sleds. And every boot, shell or pound of tea we send. Get out now, Nicky, while there's time.

Nicholas: The Russia that my father gave me never lost a war. What shall I say to my son when the time comes? That I had no pride, that I was weak? I've always thought... God meant me to rule. He put me here. He chose me. And whatever happens is His will. We shall fight on to victory.

Count Witte: There will be no victory. Only strikes and riots. You must give your people a little of what they want, sir. Not all. Just a taste.

Nicholas: The English have a parliament. Our British cousins gave their rights away. The Hapsburgs and the Hohenzollerns too. The Romanovs will not. What I was given, I will give my son.

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Debate Over Naming Their Child

Alexandra: Does he have to be Alexis? Can't we call him something else?

Nicholas: Alexis was a gentle czar. Perhaps the only one.

Alexandra: Not counting you.

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The Futility of War and Its Consequences

Count Witte: None of you will be here when this war ends. Everything we've fought for will be lost. Everything they've loved will be broken. The victors will be as cursed as the defeated. The world will grow old, and men will wander about lost in the ruins and go mad. Tradition, virtue, restraint, they'll all go. I'm not mourning for myself but for the people who will come after me. They will live without hope. And all they will have will be guilt, revenge, and terror. And the world will be full of fanatics and trivial fools.

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Reflections on the Meaning of War

Count Witte: I'm old, sir. I've seen so many wars. They all seemed so important at the time. Now, I don't even remember what they were called. Millions of dead men. I don't know why. Nobody knows.

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Desire for Strong Leadership in Turbulent Times

Marie Fedorovna: I wish your father were alive ... He knew how to be a czar. He'd have burned Vienna down, stomped on the Germans, and shot the strikers. Anything to give Russia peace. And he'd certainly have known how to deal with Rasputin.

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Preserving Russia's Strength in a Modern World

Marie Fedorovna: We're an 18th-century country in a 20th-century world. We need all our strength and money to look after Russia. Don't waste it on those little yellow Buddhists or pagans or whatever they are. It's a great mistake to get involved in all these strikes and wars. You only encourage them by taking them seriously.

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Boredom in the Company of Romanovs

Marie Fedorovna: Not even London on a Sunday is as boring as a room full of Romanovs.

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Accusation of Betrayal and Murder

Gapon: He didn't come. He never came. Nicholas, the murderer. The bloody, bloody murderer.

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A Plea for Justice and Protection

Gapon: [holds up a paper] The czar is here in Petersburg to bless the troops. He's staying at the Winter Palace. Thousands of us will march there on Sunday morning. I'll go to him on the balcony and read this. "Sire, we working men and inhabitants of St. Petersburg come to you, sire, to seek for truth, justice and protection. Only you can hear our prayers. And if you do not, we shall die here on this square, before your palace.

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Lenin's Reflection on Relevance and Isolation

Lenin: In the last ten years, I've spent three months in Russia. I'm out of fashion. No one's wearing me this year. I talk, and no one listens. I write, and no one reads.

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The Cost of Power and Freedom

Lenin: Of course, I agree you're free to say what you like, and you must agree I'm free to shoot you for saying it. Murder, arson, terror. I'll agree to anything that gives us power. Power! And we can't have power if we compromise. Even though it takes years, terror and power.

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Rasputin's Defiance Against Betrayal and War

Rasputin: You tried to kill me. You all have. You silly fools. I thought I could trust you. Silly fools. You can't even kill properly. You're too small to destroy me. Look! ... Now get up, prince. Get up! Try. Let's see you try to kill me. ... I begged Batushka not to start this war. I know who dies. You don't die. The people die. The wise old men, the generals, the ministers, the ones who say, "Do this. Go there." No mud on their boots. No bullets in their bellies. Where's your rifle, Prince? Why aren't you at the front where the blood is? I'm not a German. I come from the Russian soil, and you fools will never destroy me. Thank God Russia has sons like me and isn't at the mercy of scum like you.

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A Comment on Aspiring Opera Singers

Rasputin: [admiring a big-busted woman] So, you would like to be an opera singer? Yes, you have the chest for it.

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Vision of Power and Divine Purpose

Rasputin: I see blood when I shut my eyes. A lot of blood. I saw blood once before, when I was in Jerusalem. And then my father died. In Kazan, there is an ivory Christ whose wounds bleed. Someone told me there's a Madonna in Kharkov that sheds real tears. Matushka, I see things. I have power. I cure the sick. Holy men kneel to me and kiss my hands. I am a vessel of the Lord. I have spoken with God. It must be so. How else can I do these things? I save souls and bring peace. God leads me. He brought me here. He speaks through me. I am the voice of God. It is His will. I have been sent to do great things.

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Journey of a Starets: A Pilgrim's Path

Rasputin: I started late to be a starets. I was twenty when this vision came. We peasants get them all the time. The Virgin comes and tells them when to sell their sheep if they want to make a profit. She told me to become a pilgrim, so I started to walk. I waited for Her to tell me when to stop, but she didn't. I walked two thousand miles, and when I got to Greece, I couldn't walk any further, so I stopped. I spent two years in a monastery, and then I walked home again. Sometimes, people say to me, "What do I need to become a starets?" And I say, "Good feet.

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A Woman's Fear of Strangers

Rasputin: I knew a woman in Pokrovskoe. That's my home, a little village in Siberia. And this woman, she was so afraid of strangers that she bought herself a pinewood box and lived in it. Then, one day, her husband nailed the lid on, dug a hole, and dropped her into it. "Ivan, don't!" she cried. "But I only want to make you happy," he said. "I know, but Heaven's full of strangers. Let me out.

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Struggles of a Leader in War

Grand Duke Nicholas: I could have won this war in time if I were only fighting on one front. But I had two enemies at my back, your Sunny and her monk. Not long ago, he wrote to me. Could he come and bless the troops? I told him if he came, I'd hang him. Should have let him come. Hung the bastard when he got here.

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The Arrival of Grigori Rasputin

Grand Duke Nicholas: [[w:starets|starets] There's this fantastic holy fellow just arrived. You must meet him. He's a live, authentic ] straight from the fields. Cures diseases by the laying on of hands. I've seen him do it. Saw this fellow wheeled in, legs like pretzels. Then the starets – Grigori Rasputin is his name – gave him a deep look, touched him, prayed a bit. And up the pretzel popped and skipped about the room. A bit grotesquely, I admit, but you could tell he was skipping.

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Reflections on Life and Regret

Alexandra: At times, I actually like it. Mending clothes and teaching classes and quiet afternoons. I doze and daydream, and I think about my life. I don't know what I did wrong. I'd feel better if I did.

Support and Confidence in a New Reign

Alexandra: This is the beginning of the glory of your reign. Our friend told me so. It will be the greatest page in Russian history, the story of these weeks and days. And when you go, don't worry over what you've left behind. I'm here. Lean on me, use me. I'm not wise or strong, but God will show me what to do.

A Sinful Sacrifice for Love

Alexandra: To marry Nicky, I had to change my faith. That was a great sin, don't you think? God thinks so. He won't hear me when I pray. I've sinned and He won't listen.

Reflections on Communication and Disconnection

Alexandra: You never see unpleasant things, you drift away. I even wonder if you hear me half the time.

The Complexity of Motherhood and Emotion

Alexandra: I've had a son. For years, I've daydreamed how I'd feel. And all that time, I never dreamed ... I'm filled with ... I don't know. It isn't joy or anything like that. It's more. It's terribly important. And I don't know why you're smiling.

Hope for a Brighter Future

Nicholas: Mama's off to England in a month or so. She says the spring was late this year but very beautiful. Lord, but it's good to be alive! The world is like a field in summer, bursting with good things. One day, when all the wars are over, someone young will lead us to the harvest. As long as there are children, anything is possible.

Desire for a Simpler Life

Nicholas: I've often thought I should like to be a country gentleman. I've always liked to watch things grow.

The Burden of Sacrifice and Expectations

Nicholas: All my life, my whole life, I've done what you want. I gave Mother up. You hated her, so we don't see her anymore. I gave my friends up. Do you know I haven't a single friend? I've got my family. Four girls, one sick boy, and you. I ask before I eat, sleep, or change my clothes, "Is this what Sunny wants?" And it never is. There's always more. Sweet Jesus, how much do you want of me?

Diplomatic Solutions to European Tensions

Nicholas: Our diplomats will send some angry notes, a few generals will go on exercise, and everyone will be sensible again. All over Europe, the kings and queens are sleeping safely in their beds. And that's what we are going to do.

The Consequences of Helping Others

Nicholas: [[w:Alexander II of Russia|grandfather] He's a good man. They always kill the good men, the ones who help the most. They killed my ]. He freed the serfs, you know. He helped them, so they threw a bomb. Stolypin is a good man. I can't find a match. ... Damn them all. You help them, and they kill you for it. Give them dumas, and they give you bombs. I want them paid in kind. You understand me? I want something done.