Riding his sled/sledge down the stairs at Tobolsk

[clockworkgirl21]

I know this has been discussed before, but between other topics, and not very deeply. I thought it was interesting enough to have its own thread. Why does everyone think he did this? Boredom maybe?

[Caleb]

It wouldn't surprise me if it was boredom, seeing as Alexei was an active boy & the long hours of boredom that the ex-Imperial Family endured at the governor's house in Tobolsk & then in Ekaterinburg.

[grandduchess_42]

yes i think it was bordom. being cooped up all day inside, must really take a toll on the guy. i would want to do somthing daring too if i were him.

[Sarushka]

Could also have been a symptom of what folks call the "daredevil reaction" in hemophiliacs.  It's basically rebellion against the constant protection and worry that surrounds them. Massie may mention it in Nicholas & Alexandra, but I think I heard about it first in relation to Ryan White.

[Eternal_Princess]

Most likely it was bordem,if it actually happened. (Imagine being a thirteen year old, active boy stuck in a house with nothing to do.) Most people believe it was only a myth though, there's no real evidence to back it up.

[Margarita Markovna]

I am pretty sure it did happen, after all, he never walked again.

[Sarushka]

Most people believe it was only a myth though, there's no real evidence to back it up.

Really?

He was certainly sick in March of 1918 - Alix mentions his pain & difficulty sleeping on 31 March/13 April - and it was considered his worst attack since Spala. Further, he was unable to walk for the remainder of his life. If the sledding incident is a myth, what caused the hemmorhage that prevented him from being transferred to Ekaterinburg?

[Sarushka]

Robert Massie & Greg King both attribute the story to Tatiana Botkina (page 56 in her book, Vospominaniia o Tsarskoi Sem'ye). Wasn't she living across the street in the kornilov house at the time? I don't have a copy of her book, so I can't be more helpful than that.

Neither the Tsar nor the Empress seem to make mention of what caused Aleksei's final attack. Nicholas's diary on March 30 states: "Aleksei's groin began to hurt from coughing, and he stayed in bed all day."

[nene]

I know this may sound shocking, but I think Baby rode his sled down the stairs on purpose. Maybe he was looking for a way out-out of this situation he and his family are in, out of the pain he was in half the time, out of everything. And to tell the truth, I really can't blame him. Death would be so much more appealing than living, especially when you're a prisoner who has to be cooped inside all day.

[Romanov_Fan19]

I  Dont think it was  on purpose

[clockworkgirl21]

Well, I don't think it was a suicide attempt. But I also believe it was more than boredom.

[Georgiy]

Well, if the tsar mentioned it was caused by coughing, that could well be. He could have got a really strong cold, and coughed so much he strained his inside which caused the bleed. (OTOH, the Tsar mightn't have written the real reason). Tatiana Botkin wasn't in the house after all, so she mightn't be fully accurate. If he did sled down the stairs (and though I think it is a myth, it is possible), it would be from boredom. Teenage boys do stupid things when they're bored. Even intelligent ones.

[RealAnastasia]

I know this may sound shocking, but I think Baby rode his sled down the stairs on purpose. Maybe he was looking for a way out-out of this situation he and his family are in, out of the pain he was in half the time, out of everything. And to tell the truth, I really can't blame him. Death would be so much more appealing than living, especially when you're a prisoner who has to be cooped inside all day.

This is exactly what was shown in "Nicholas and Alexandra"'s movie...But of course, movies are not "the real thing" . I suppose that he did it for he was extremely bored, but I'm surprised that he did such a stupid thing. He was not a little boy any more, but a 13 years old teenager. He must have realized how dangerous what he was doing was...

And of course, there is proof about him riding his sled down the stairs. Almost all books about the IF quotes the fact, and I remember (I would go to check to "Nicholas and Alexandra"'s book) that Nicholas or Alix mentioned the accident in a letter to someone.

RealAnastasia.

[clockworkgirl21]

No, Aleksey was no longer a little boy. But I'm not surprised he did something stupid like that. Just because you get older doesn't mean you quit doing stupid things. You should ask my aunt, who's a nurse, how many adults end up in the emergency for being stupid while bored.  

[Georgiy]

I reiterate, teenage boys do 'stoopid' things. And they don't think through the consequenses of their actions.

As for most of the books about the IF saying he did this, I can't recall reading it anywhere. I haven't read Tatiana Botkin's book, and last I read Massie was ages ago. is it really in there? I don't recall it. I thought it was just in the movie for 'dramatic effect', - when I first saw the movie I was very surprised about it. Maybe someone can quote from either Massie or Botkina-Melnik with this information?