So if I understand you correctly, in your opinion, Sunny, Mchael was just should take the throne and die. And then no one would have said he was a coward, isn't it?.
Not exactly; my words have been strong, and i'm sorry for that. Obviously it is simply IMHO, only my personal view, nothing more.
I'll try to better explain what i meant.
I perfectly understand it was a terrible situation. I wouldn't blame him simply because he abdicated. On the contrary! What i meant - maybe i've not been clear - is that if he didn't want to be emperor (perfectly understandable) he shouldn't have signed that GDs manifesto agains Nicholas. Since the manifesto clearly required the abdication of Nicholas to have Michail as a regent. I'm quoting from The Fall of the Romanovs, page 87 - 91. On page 90 appear 3 request of abdication for Nicholas. One from Nikolasha, the second (the one i'm referring to) from General Brusilov. This latter clearly writes: "
I ask you to report His Imperial Majesty (...) to abdicate the throne in favour of His Majesty's Heir tsarevitch with Grand Duke Michail Aleksadrovich as regent."What i meant is: did Michail know of this request? i can't say for sure, but it's likely since he signed the manifesto. So: IF he knew, and agreed, he acted IMHO like a coward because he firstly accepted this request and then, when Nicholas called him to reign (and so following that precise request) he refused. First he agreed and then was scared and refused. And this would be very odd.
If he did not know, well, it was not his fault, of course (and he did not act like a coward as i said, and i was completely wrong and i'm sorry) but if i were him i'd have been more careful after signing that manifesto, since, after Alexej, he was obviously the Heir. You see, he signed that manifesto, which required a Constitution, a provisional cabinet who granted peolpe's will and a Parliament. I'm not saying it was a stupid request - on the contrary! - but it was obvious that in a political crisis, being the Heir so ill, he (Michail) COULD have been brought into that chaos. Or, at least, it sseems obvious to me.
he was just feared for his life and life of his family
this is right, i was seeing only the political side.
Indeed, Nicholas did the same - he abdicated because he thought it was better for Russia and for his family. Alas, he was wrong.
In the other post, anyway (i know you did not mention it, but just to be precise), i did not mean having a morganatic marriage is wrong - i simply tried to reason like AF would have done - morganatic marriages were still considered out of law, and the law should have been changed if Michail had become tsar, otherwise his son couldn't have been the Heir. But this just a "What if"!
I meant to underline that people who signed that manifesto and went to Alix to ask Nicholas's abdication were all people who wanted a political change and also a change of Laws. Personally, i don't find ANYTHING wrong in morganatica marriages!