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Biography. "Labor makes free"

A war between Russia and Austria would be most beneficial for the revolution, but it is extremely improbable that Franz Joseph and Nicholas would give us such a gift.

The train arrived and doused the people standing on the platform with clubs of white steam. But the early June morning quickly, like a bad dream, scattered them and scattered them in a gentle gentle breeze. This day turned out to be sunny and clear in Sarajevo, as if to order. And good: after all, those who were standing at the station of the Bosnian capital met the distinguished guest, and everyone wanted to take a good look at him. In good weather, it was more likely to see the future head of Austria-Hungary. And such a chance can appear only once in a lifetime - rarely, distinguished guests indulge the provincial capital of their youngest province with their attention.

The orchestra began to play the Austrian anthem, the soldiers took up arms on guard. And when Franz Ferdinand and his wife emerged from the carriage, a slight groan swept through the crowd. The wait was not in vain - the Archduke and his wife looked just great. The future emperor was dressed in a cavalry general's blue uniform, black trousers with red stripes and a high cap with green parrot feathers. The wife of the heir to the Austrian throne fluttered out in a white dress and an incredibly wide hat with an ostrich feather.

Darling, it seems we were lucky with the weather today! - said Franz-Ferdinand, giving his wife his hand, and squinting from the bright sun.

This is the only way loyal subjects of their young master should meet! - Sophia Hotek-Gogenberg smiled at her husband, gracefully handing him her brush, hidden in a lacy snow-white glove.

You're always joking - Franz Ferdinand smiled - But it looks like a really warm day, but also a welcome!

Sarajevo was bursting with flowers, the black and yellow Habsburg banners and the red and yellow Bosnian flags hung everywhere.

Welcome, Your Highness - the Governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Leon Bilinsky, muttered embarrassedly - We were waiting for you with impatience!

Thank you - Franz-Ferdinand smiled - I hope, apart from boring ceremonies, you have planned a delicious dinner. I'm just tired of this military kitchen. It is not at all as tasty as the sergeant-major's promise to the mothers of the recruits.

The Governor smiled. It seems that the distinguished guest is in good spirits, and this lifted his spirits as well. In the end, not today or tomorrow, this cheerful gentleman and his imposing wife will become the rulers of Austria-Hungary. And it is quite important to make a favorable impression on them - a future career can easily arise from the train and the carpet laid to it. The chances of occupying the throne very soon were almost one hundred percent for the distinguished guest. It was only in words that Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the "young" heir to the Austrian throne. In fact, he is a fifty-one year old man, and the aged Emperor Franz Joseph was already 84 years old. Another head of state could withdraw into the world literally at any moment, so most of his powers were quietly transferred to the Archduke. Therefore, Franz Ferdinand held many government positions. Including he was considered the inspector general of the armed forces of the Austrian empire, and it was in this capacity that he arrived at the military maneuvers held near the Bosnian capital.

I was told that Sarajevo has a very beautiful town hall - the Archduke whispered in his wife's ear - I think that her red brick will favorably set off your white dress!

Sofia just smiled slightly and got into the car next to her husband. Her dress is really splendid, and the Viennese dressmaker sent such an invoice for him that Franz even joked that he was not going to buy a whole atelier. But it's worth it! Therefore, we must try not to get it dirty on the very first day ...

It was an ordinary, unremarkable visit by a high-ranking empire leader to one of his central cities. And for us, it would not be interesting at all, if not for one "but". As a result of a whole chain of suspicious accidents and strange coincidences that led to the death of the heir to the Austrian throne, what happened was the First World War. And she led Russia to revolution, Civil War and complete disaster! Therefore, the events of this visit concern us directly ...

The strangeness on that fateful day began from the very beginning. And it was precisely a large number of mysterious "accidents" that led to the death of the heir to the Austrian throne. In accordance with the developed program of the visit, the distinguished guest was supposed to attend a reception in the city hall, and then a trip was planned to explore local attractions. But when, after the first words of greeting, Franz Ferdinand and his wife got into an open car and went to the city, the security agents who arrived with the future successor of Emperor Franz Joseph I, for some reason stayed at the station. This is all the more surprising since on the eve of his arrival, persistent rumors began to circulate about the planned murder. But no extraordinary security measures were taken even after the Serbian (!) Envoy to Austria-Hungary announced the possibility of an assassination attempt on Franz Ferdinand. And the date of arrival, June 28 (June 15, 1914, 1914 was chosen enough strange... In 1389, on this day, the Turkish army defeated the Serbian army, and deprived the Slavs of independence for many centuries. In 1878, Bosnia and Herzegovina was occupied by the Austrians as a result of the Russian-Turkish war, and only in 1908 was it officially annexed to the Habsburg empire. The military holiday of the new "enslavers" on such a day was very similar to a provocation. But the date of the maneuvers was not changed, the arrival of the Archduke was also not canceled.

A motorcade of four cars at a speed of 12 km / h was moving along the embankment of the Milyachka River, which was densely filled with people. Everything was solemn and festive. people on the embankment waved their hands and shouted toast in German and Serbian. One of the spectators, a young man of 18 years old, began to squeeze into the first row. Seeing the questioning look of the policeman, he smiled and asked to see the Archduke's car. And at that very moment he threw a parcel with a bomb into the car. The driver, who saw a suspicious movement with peripheral vision, sharply pressed the gas pedal. The package bounced off the canvas top of the cab and exploded under the wheels of the second car. The thrown bomb was stuffed with nails: Franz Ferdinand was not injured, his wife's neck was slightly scratched. Twenty people in the crowd and two officers from the heir's retinue were wounded. Nedelko Gabrinovich (that was the name of the young terrorist) rushed to run, but was immediately captured.

Before ordering a quick move on, the Archduke inquired about the condition of the wounded. Then the car of Franz Ferdinand, without stopping, rushed to the city hall, where, surrounded by troops, the heir was able to calmly get out of the car. Oddly enough, but a failed assassination attempt made no changes in the prepared program of the visit. The mayor read a colorful speech. And then Franz-Ferdinand could not resist and interrupted the speaker:

Mr. Headman! I came to Sarajevo on a friendly visit, and here I was greeted with bombs. This is unheard of! - But still he pulled himself together and allowed - Ok, go on!

By the end of the speech, the heir to the throne had completely calmed down, his usual irony returned to him, and he asked the burgomaster:

Do you think there will be another attempt on my life today?

The answer of the burgomaster of history is unknown, and the further words of the archduke are not recorded. However, as a result of their conversation, the most important thing was not done: despite the obvious danger, no additional security measures were taken! Moreover, it was decided to adhere to the previously developed program of the visit! Imagine this picture: a bomb exploded next to the car of the modern Austrian president, but after a couple of hours his car is again driving peacefully through the city, and he happily waves his handle to the jubilant crowd. This is simply not possible. And in Sarajevo everything was exactly the way it was.

However, one addition to the developed program was made. Franz-Ferdinand and his wife immediately went from the town hall to the hospital to visit the wounded in the bombing. This is the noble desire of the heir was not stopped due to the obvious danger of a repeat attempt. The Archduke did not even leave his wife in a safe place, and after lunch at the city hall, again with her, he went to the city center.

The line of cars moved along the embankment in the opposite direction. This time the cars went faster. The wife and military governor of Bosnia, General Potiorek, were still sitting next to the heir. An officer jumped on the left side step of the car with a drawn saber. Somewhere in the middle of the way, the driver of the front car went astray and by chance turned right into Franz Josef Street. Then General Potiorek noticed that they were going in the wrong direction, and sharply scolded his driver. He braked and the car drove onto the sidewalk and stopped. The whole motorcade got up after her, and then at low speed in reverse tried to get out of the resulting traffic jam. Driving in this way, the Archduke's car stopped in front of the Moritz Schiller Delicatessen grocery store. Exactly there was accidentally the second 19-year-old terrorist destined to go down in history. His name was Gavrilo Principle. The stuck car of the Austrian heir did not just stop nearby, he accidentally stood to the terrorist with his right side, on the step of which there was no guard. There was no one to cover the heir and his wife.

Princip drew his revolver and fired twice at the stationary car. The first bullet struck Countess Sophia, piercing the body of the car and her tight corset. The second - fell into the heir to the Austrian throne. Both were killed. Three children remained orphans - 13, 12 and 10 years old. Gavrilo Princip, like his accomplice, also tried to hide, but he was immediately seized and beaten for a long time. They beat him with their hands and feet, even inflicted several saber blows, so that in the conclusion Princip had to amputate his arm. The investigation began almost immediately. Now it had to answer the question of who organized this attempt. And here's what's strange: so suspiciously negligent in the protection of Franz Ferdinand, the Austro-Hungarian Themis shows downright champion zeal in solving the crime. The investigation went unprecedentedly promptly. A wave of arrests immediately swept through, and the picture of the crime became clear and understandable almost immediately.

Gavrila Princip showed that he shot at the Archduke because in his eyes the latter was "the embodiment of Austrian imperialism, the representative of the Great Austrian idea, the worst enemy and oppressor of the Serbian nation." After a series of interrogations, the picture of the crime was completely clear: Franz Ferdinand was killed by Serbs, students of the University of Belgrade, members of the organization "Mlada Bosna" ("Young Bosnia") specially transferred from Serbia for this purpose. The organization was founded in 1912 and its goal was to liberate the country from the oppression of the Austrian empire and create an independent state through the reunification of Serbia with the provinces occupied by Austria. Behind this terrorist organization loomed the contours of the secret organization of Serbian nationalists "Black Hand", headed by a colonel named Apis ...

However, the strangeness of the tragic day gives reason to suspect that in Austria-Hungary there were forces interested in the death of the archduke. Indeed, many in the two-pronged empire were unhappy with the possible policy of the future emperor. Married to a Czech woman, Franz Ferdinand had great sympathy for the Slavs, both inside and outside his empire. Granting them equal rights with the Germans and Hungarians, in his opinion, should have given the monarchy additional strength. In Budapest, and in Vienna itself, such plans did not delight many politicians. The fact is that the Slavic regions were then part of the Hungarian part of the monarchy and were governed from Budapest, and if Franz Ferdinand's plans were implemented, the Slavs received autonomy and independence. Perhaps this is what explains strange behavior of the Austrian security service.

But the simplicity and obviousness of the murder of the unfortunate Archduke and his wife are very deceiving. The leaders of Austria-Hungary did not even think that the simplicity and obviousness of the conclusions of the investigation were programmed by the organizers of the murder! Because the organizers of the atrocity rendered tremendous help in the "disclosure" of the murder of the Austrian police ...

Those behind the eighteen-year-old assassins needed more than just the death of Franz Ferdinand. They needed the Austrian Themis to draw the "correct" conclusions in determining the perpetrators, and for this the killers had to alive fall into the hands of the investigation. Therefore, all the participants in the assassination attempt were supplied with capsules with poison!

Nedelko Gabrinovich and Gavrila Princip, seeing that they could not hide from the scene of the crime, took poison. But for some reason he did not work on a single terrorist! This, at first glance, accident, is the most important link in the chain of further tragic events! The foresight of those who organized the crime is striking: if they had not supplied the terrorists with "safe poison", they could have had time to shoot themselves. The crowd and the proximity of the archduke's guards do not give the assassins a second chance to self-destruct, and they fall into the hands of Austrian justice.

It was on the words of the caught terrorists that the entire investigation and its conclusions were based! If instead of two intact terrorists at the disposal of the police were only corpses without documents, then further investigation would immediately come to a standstill. But, thanks to the strange poison, the investigation receives not just a thread, but a whole rope, for which it can untangle the whole ball. Who gave the murderers of Franz Ferdinand the harmless poison? Someone who is interested in the Austrians quickly finding the culprit and unleashing their wrath on Serbia. It is unnecessary for the Serbs to leave living terrorists in the hands of the police - this will only damage the reputation of the Serbian state. Austrian special services can only badly protect a high-ranking person and at the right time "not have time" to cover her. This is where their contribution to the murder ends.

But this is only the visible part of the iceberg. The poison to the members of "Mlada Bosna" was clearly passed on by agents of completely different special services ...

We can calculate the true organizers of the death of the heir to the Austrian throne by comparing the following facts:

The one who led the investigation to obvious and quick conclusions was not only interested in the death of the Archduke, but clearly wanted to use the situation as a pretext for inciting a conflict;

- those who gave the terrorists harmless poison created a pretext for something more than the Austro-Serbian war.

And these are not Serbs, and not Austrians! Vienna's desire to punish Serbia for subversive activities and will lead to the outbreak of the First World War. But let us ask ourselves one simple question: did the Serbian organizers of Franz Ferdinand's death want anything more than his death? Did they need a huge bloody war with millions of victims? Did the Austrians, who were kindled with righteous anger, want a military conflict of SUCH SCALE?

The interest of Serbian nationalists and some Hungarian politicians was limited to the destruction of the Archduke, precisely as an individual. Neither the Serbs nor the Austrians needed a big war. Serbia wanted to sow confusion in Austria-Hungary, but was by no means going to fight with it. Further fighting this has been perfectly confirmed. Having offered decent resistance to the Austrians at first, in 1915 the Serbs were utterly defeated. Their army was loaded onto the ships of the Entente and evacuated to Greece, and the country itself was occupied by the enemy. As a result, the loss of Serbs per unit of population became the highest among all the belligerent countries! Austria-Hungary, which used this murder, to deal with restless Serbia as a result of a small victorious campaign, as a result of a total war, ceased to exist, broke up into several states, and the Habsburgs lost their throne forever.

It is no coincidence that Sir Edward Gray, the British Foreign Secretary in his "Memoirs" admitted: “The world will probably never be told the whole ins and outs of the assassination of Archduke Franz-Ferdinand. Apparently, we will never have a single person who would know everything there is to know about this murder. " What secret did the head of British foreign policy have in mind? After all, the investigation so quickly and easily named the perpetrators. But the head of the British Foreign Office says something completely different: within a month, the assassination of the Archduke led to a world war and the death of tens of millions of people. Until now, no one can clearly explain how this happened. And we will try to understand who needed a military conflict of an unprecedented scale?

For this we turn to the results of the First World War. As a result, Britain's two main competitors, Russia and Germany, were destroyed. Making sure that Russia was not crushed during Russo-Japanese War and a carefully financed revolution, a new, much larger project began to be prepared in London, the goals of which were ambitious and impressive. As you know, remelting metals requires very high temperatures... Likewise for changing the existing political map great heat was needed European war... Only in its flame could borders, states and even entire nations melt and change beyond recognition. The destruction of Russia required not just a war, but a WORLD war, in which only it would be possible to destroy the hated Russian state. To destroy Germany, where there was no trace of a revolutionary situation, a war of unprecedented strength was also needed. Only such a catastrophe could have prompted the German burghers to hate their beloved Kaiser!

The main goal English plan was the destruction of Russia, in the second place - Germany. For our primordial enemy, England, her policy was, like, above all, one main task - to prevent the creation of a strong continental power or, even worse, a strong bloc of several powers. The union of Russia and Germany is an English nightmare. Therefore, the main political task of the British was smoothly divided into two successive tasks: to prevent an alliance between Russia and Germany, and then play them against each other in a mortal battle. But here's the bad luck - at the beginning of the 20th century, Russia and Germany have no contradictions that can serve as a reason for a conflict. Both countries are ruled by cousins ​​Nikolai and Wilhelm, who have a good relationship with each other. Why would you suddenly start fighting? For us, who were born at the end of the 20th century, this is Germany, an arrogant aggressor, who twice in a century has brought Russia to the brink of destruction. This was not at all the case with the historical memory of the Russians before the First World War. Germany for them is a country with a traditionally friendly regime, the last encounter with which was during the Napoleonic wars, that is, exactly one hundred years ago. A weighty reason was needed, a combination of circumstances that would allow both countries to forget about their long-term friendship. Therefore, provoking a Russian-German conflict became the main direction of England's policy. France, which had no foreign policy of its own, was striving for the same result. Alsace and Lorraine could be returned only as a result of the war, and France could not defeat Germany alone. Who else could have fought for the "noble cause" of returning the French lands to the bosom of the Motherland, and then collapse and fall to pieces? Of course - Russia!

The assassination of the heir to the Austrian throne is only the final link, the last brick in the preparation and kindling of a world fire. The work was titanic and meticulous - it began immediately after the end of the Russian-Turkish war and took almost ten years. It was necessary to prepare the opponents, and when the preparation comes to its logical end - to ignite the fuse of a future war, a war truly WORLD. And there was no place more ideal than the Balkans with their century-old interweaving of intrigues, conspiracies and wars for these purposes. The death of the unfortunate Franz Ferdinand was supposed to be the reason for the start of the war. And it did - just over a month after the shot of Gavrila Princip, Germany declared war on Russia! (How this happened will be discussed in detail in the next chapter.)

The circle has closed: England entered into an alliance with Russia in order to prevent our rapprochement with Germany, organize a terrible war and destroy both rivals!

It is the British (and French) intelligence agencies that are behind the organization of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand:

It was England that was interested in a quick investigation of the murder and the emergence of a clear Serb trace;

It was England that was interested in fomenting the conflict between Serbs and Austrians;

It was England that was interested in the war between Russia (Serbian ally) and Germany (ally of Austria-Hungary).

According to the British plan, as a result of this war and the outbreak of the revolution, Russia had to lose all its national outskirts, turn into a weak republic and become completely financially dependent on its "benefactors"! The same sad fate awaited Germany. And the signal for all these misfortunes was the fatal shot of Gavrila Princip ...

However, in preparation for the Russian-German clash, another problem arose. The tsarist government nevertheless soberly assessed its own military forces and would never, in its right mind, get involved in a war with Germany and its ally Austria-Hungary, that is, with two superpowers at the same time! Consequently, in order to entangle Russia in the most terrible war, it is necessary to convince her that she has "loyal allies" who will not throw Petersburg into difficult moment... This is how the scenario of drawing us into the war with the Japanese was repeated on a larger scale: the pacified tsarist government at the moment of real danger should be left alone with the enemy. It is according to this scenario that the pre-war events begin to develop. England, our most implacable enemy, is dramatically changing its position and gradually becoming our "ally". In 1907, a convention was signed between Russia and Great Britain, and St. Petersburg actually joined the Entente bloc created by the British with France (which got its name from the French words “cordial accord” (Entente cordiale). The sons of Albion, who spoiled the blood of Russian diplomats so many times, provoked so many wars with the goal of weakening our country, became our “ally!” There was something to be wary of. However, Nicholas II believed and paid dearly for this, becoming an obedient instrument in the hands of enemies of his state, for convincing friends who donned clothes.

England prepared and nurtured the future conflict with all her might. And behind her, the silhouette of another of our future "ally" was already looming. The United States, which generously paid for the Japanese aggression and the Russian revolution, also did not sit still, slowly entering the world arena. With their arrival, the entire world balance of power had to radically change. If earlier, the English dog twirled its American tail, now the tail began to twirl by the dog itself.

But maybe those who prepared the First world war just had no idea what would come of their venture? Why did our "allies" in the Entente so boldly go to this conflict? The answer is simple: Not a single democratic state was destroyed during the world war. By their very nature, democratic states have a more stable structure than monarchies. In the event of a global cataclysm in such a country, another party, another government or a new leader simply comes to power, but there is never a revolution or other major social explosion. Monarchies do not have such a wonderful lightning rod of popular discontent as a simple change of political scenery. Even if during the war the tsar or the kaiser replaces any leader, all the same, all responsibility for the country lies with him. And they hate not only a specific crowned person, but the monarchy itself! Changing the tsar is much more difficult than replacing the prime minister. Therefore, under a monarchical system, it is not the head of state that changes, but as a result of the revolution, the very form of government changes. And a revolution during a war inevitably leads to its loss!

It was the amazing resilience of the democratic form of government to various crises that gave the governments of these countries the determination to organize a global conflict that was supposed to destroy their monarchical rivals. Therefore, England, France and the United States boldly went to confrontation and prepared it with all their might. Just look at the outcome of the First World War: the United States has not lost anything, has earned a lot of money on military supplies and is becoming stronger and stronger. England destroys dangerous rivals - Russians and Germans, and leaves the war only slightly weakened. However, compared to all other participants in the war, it is an oasis of well-being. France is the worst of all "warmongers" - the war is going on on its territory, it suffers great human and economic losses. And yet, the French achieve their goal - to revise the results of the Franco-Prussian war and return the lost provinces! The main adversary of Paris - Germany will be crushed to dust, and the great losses of the French army are a price to pay for the elimination of a dangerous neighbor ...

Only a few knew the truth about the Sarajevo murder. In every good play, every actor has a role to play: there is time to go on stage, to speak words and take actions. Then it's time to head backstage. This is how the main witnesses and protagonists of the murder of Franz Ferdinand disappeared into oblivion. Nedelko Gabrinovich was the first to die. Behind him, on May 1, 1918, also from tuberculosis, Gavrila Princip died quietly in prison. The young terrorists performed their role twice: by killing the Archduke and giving the Austrians a "correct" trail. The military and political organizers of the assassination attempt played out the scenario prepared by him. The head of the secret organization of Serbian nationalists "Black Hand", Colonel Apis (Dmitrievich), fought honestly at the front of the war provoked by him for four years, when he was unexpectedly arrested on the orders of his own government. An important organizer of behind-the-scenes affairs is now an unnecessary witness: a court-martial without delay condemns the chief of intelligence of the Serbian General Staff to death.

Under mysterious circumstances, the "political" organizer of the Sarajevo assassination attempt, Vladimir Gachinovich, also passed away. He was simultaneously a member of all three organizations suspected of atrocities: "Young Bosnia", "Narodnaya Obrana" and "Black Hand". In addition, in "Mlada Bosna", which carried out the terrorist act, he was the most influential member and the main ideologist. It was through him that contacts of these organizations with Russian revolutionaries were carried out, who will successfully use the chance for revolution that Gachinovich gave them. Among his friends and acquaintances were the leader of the Socialist-Revolutionaries Natanson, the Social Democrats Martov, Lunacharsky, Radek, Trotsky. The latter even honored his memory with an obituary. Because in August 1917, a healthy and flourishing 27-year-old Vladimir Gachinovich suddenly fell ill. So incomprehensible and mysterious was this disease that the Swiss doctors who operated on it twice (!) Did not find anything. But in the same month Gachinovich died ...

The first bullet hit the Archduchess in the chest. She just had time to gasp and instantly fell back on the seat.

Dress, dress - she muttered, seeing a red spot blurring on the white silk.

But it was not her blood. The second bullet lodged in her husband's spine, passing through the collar of his uniform and through the cervical artery. The heir to the Austrian throne grabbed himself by the neck, but through his fingers the blood pulsating in jerks, in a matter of seconds flooded the snow-white dress of his wife and the dapper blue uniform of the Archduke himself.

Sophie, Sophie, don't die! Stay living for our children! Franz Ferdinand croaked, turning to his wife.

She no longer heard his words, having died almost instantly. At the same moment, a new portion of his blood poured directly onto the spread hands of Governor Potiorek, who tried to help the Archduke. People, the heir's adjutants, ran to the car.

Neck, pinch his neck! - someone shouted heart-rendingly. Nearby, a photographer who was nearby was flapping with a flash, who almost captured the very moment of the shot.

Fingers tried to close the wound of Franz Ferdinand. But the blood continued to pour out in a stream - to clamp down on the carotid artery and in a calm atmosphere is not an easy task, and here the collar of the uniform was still in the way. The Archduke, who has greatly replenished in recent years, once joked with his characteristic humor that the tailor sews clothes right on him - otherwise the buttons may fly off. Now on this fateful day, the adjutants desperately tried to unbutton their soiled blue uniform to stop the bleeding. No one had scissors.

General Potiorek came to himself first.

To the hospital, quickly! - he yelled at the driver and thus brought him out of the state of prostration. The car took off on the move. In the back seat, supported by two adjutants who tried in vain to close the wound, Franz-Ferdinand was dying. Having lost consciousness, the Archduke breathed for another fifteen minutes. Then he died in the car next to his wife, whose white dress was stained with the blood of both august spouses.

In a month, the whole of Europe will be flooded with a little blood ...

Eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig (brother of Emperor Franz Joseph, 1833-1896) and Maria Annunziata, Princess of the Two Sicilies (1843-1871).

In 1875 he inherited a significant fortune and the name d'Este from Franz V of Modena, and in 1896, after the death of his father, became the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. However, in fact, they began to prepare for the throne of Franz Ferdinand earlier, after the suicide of Crown Prince Rudolph, the only son of Franz Joseph, in 1889. In 1892 he made a great trip around the world, a description of which ("Tagebuch meiner Reise um die Erde") was published in Vienna, in 1895-96 In 1898 he was appointed deputy emperor in the high command of the army.

In 1900, Franz Ferdinand married a Czech noblewoman Sophia, Countess Chotek and Vognin (1868-1914), in a morganatic marriage, who received the title of Princess Hohenberg when she married. Before the marriage, performed with the consent of the emperor, Franz Ferdinand had to solemnly renounce the right to the throne for his future children. The announcement of this and the corresponding bill were adopted in the Austrian Reichsrat rather calmly; only the young Czechs took advantage of the opportunity to once again demand the separation of the Bohemian crown from the Austrian one. In the Hungarian Reichstag, the opposition caused a tumultuous scene; she insisted that the Hungarian law did not recognize morganatic marriages, and therefore the marriage of Franz Ferdinand should be recognized as completely legal. Minister-President Sell defended the project, and it was adopted only after heated debate.

Franz Ferdinand and Sophia had one daughter, Sophia, and two sons, Maximilian and Ernst. They bore the surname Este and the title of princes of the Hohenberg. In the 1930s, Maximilian and Ernst Hohenberg, as relatives of the Austrian house, were imprisoned by Hitler's order in the Dachau concentration camp. They survived the war, and their offspring now exist.

Franz Ferdinand's family lived in the Konopiste castle in the Czech Republic.

Political activity

Franz Ferdinand, who planned to reign under the name of Franz II after accession to the throne, was a supporter of the dominant position of the Catholic Church and clericalism, but at the same time somewhat more liberalism in relation to the national regions of the empire. He had a plan to transform a two-pronged monarchy into a triune one (by granting independence to the Czech Republic).

Best of the day

In 1901, Franz Ferdinand took over the "Catholic School Union", and gave a speech expressing his sympathy for the clerical aspirations of the union and advocating the need for a decisive struggle against Los-von-Rom-Bewegung (the movement "Away from Rome"). This speech aroused strong indignation in the entire non-clerical press in Austria.

In 1902, Franz Ferdinand, having received a list of newly elected honorary members for approval as chairman of the Prague Academy, deleted Leo Tolstoy from it.

In 1902, as a representative of the emperor, he traveled to London for the coronation of Edward VII and to St. Petersburg for an official visit. On his last trip, he wanted to take with him Count Zichy, chairman of the Clerical People's Party. Sell, the then Hungarian minister-president, protested against this, and Franz Ferdinand had to refuse the attendance of gr. Zichy. The Hungarian Reichstag overwhelmingly approved Sell's behavior.

Murder

On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand arrived in Sarajevo at the invitation of General Osk. Mlada Bosna decided to kill Ferdinand. The assassination was assigned to a group of six conspirators.

Shortly before 10 am on Sunday, the couple arrived in Sarajevo by train. At 10.10 a motorcade of six cars (the Ferdinands were in the second, together with Potiorek), greeted by crowds of people, passed the central police station. There the conspirators were waiting for them.

Gymnasium student Gabrinovich threw a bomb in the direction of the motorcade, which did not harm anyone, and was seized on the spot. Franz Ferdinand continued his way through the city in a car, not expecting a new assassination attempt, when Gavrilo Princip, armed with a pistol, appeared on his way; he shot twice, at the Archduke and his wife. Both wounds were fatal; Sofia died a few seconds later, Franz Ferdinand lived 10 minutes after being wounded.

The death of Franz Ferdinand at the hands of Serbian terrorists prompted Austria to issue an ultimatum to Serbia; Serbia was supported by Russia, and this was the beginning of the First World War.

Since the children of Franz Ferdinand were born from a morganatic marriage, the nephew of Franz Ferdinand, the son of his younger brother Otto, who died in 1906, the 27-year-old Archduke Karl, became the new heir to the elderly Franz Joseph I. In 1916, he became the last ruler of Austria-Hungary (see article Charles I).

Various facts

The mention of the Sarajevo murder at the beginning of J. Hasek's novel "The Adventures of the Good Soldier Schweik" is famous: "They killed our Ferdinand, the one who lived in Konopishte, so fat, pious ..."

The rock group Franz Ferdinand is named after the Archduke.

Franz Ferdinand (who did not expect that his elderly uncle would outlive him) was going to reign under the name of Franz II.

Franz Ferdinand Karl Ludwig Joseph von Habsburg Archduke d'Este(German Franz Ferdinand von sterreich-Este; December 18, 1863, Graz, Austrian Empire - June 28, 1914, Sarajevo, Austria-Hungary) - Archduke of Austria, since 1896 heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary. General of the Cavalry (1899). The assassination of Franz Ferdinand by the Serbian student Gavrila Princip, who was a member of the secret organization Mlada Bosna, was the reason for the outbreak of the First World War.

Biography

Eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig (1833-1896) - brother of Emperor Franz Joseph and Maria Annunziata (1843-1871), Princess of the Two Sicilies.

In 1875 he inherited a significant fortune and the name d'Este from the representative of the side branch of the Habsburgs Francesco V, Duke of Modena, and in 1896, after the death of his father, became the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. However, in fact, they began to prepare for the throne of Franz Ferdinand earlier, after the suicide of Crown Prince Rudolf, the only son of Franz Joseph, in 1889.

In 1893, Franz Ferdinand made a great trip around the world, visiting Australia, New Zealand, New Hebrides, Solomon Islands, New Guinea, Sarawak, Thailand, Japan. From Yokagama he proceeded to Vancouver on the RMS Empress of China and returned to Europe via Canada. In 1895-1896 he published in Vienna a description of the trip around the world "Tagebuch meiner Reise um die Erde". In 1898, Franz Ferdinand was appointed deputy emperor in the high command of the army. From time to time, the emperor sent him on representative missions abroad. Franz Ferdinand formed his own "office" in his Viennese residence - Belvedere Palace, where he gathered around him advisers: Count Chernin, Field Marshal Konrad von Goetzendorf and others.

In 1900, Franz Ferdinand married the Czech Countess Sofia Chotek (1868-1914), through a morganatic marriage, whom he met at a ball in Prague Castle. Having married, she received the title of Princess of Hohenberg. Before the marriage, performed with the consent of the emperor, Franz Ferdinand had to solemnly renounce the right to succession for his future children. The announcement of this and the corresponding bill were adopted in the Austrian Reichsrat rather calmly; only the young Czechs took the opportunity to once again demand the separation of the Bohemian crown from the Austrian one. In the Hungarian Reichstag, the opposition insisted that Hungarian laws did not recognize morganatic marriages, and therefore the marriage of Franz Ferdinand should be recognized as completely legal. Prime Minister Kalman Sell defended the project, and it was adopted only after heated debate.

The family of Franz Ferdinand lived in the Austrian castle of Hohenberg and in the castle of Konopiste, in the Czech Republic. Franz Ferdinand and Sofia had one daughter - Sofia and two sons - Maximilian and Ernst. They bore the surname Este and the title of princes of Hohenberg. In 1938, Maximilian and Ernst Hohenberg, as relatives of the Austrian house and opponents of the Austrian Anschluss, were imprisoned by Hitler's order in the Dachau concentration camp. Maximilian was released after 6 months, and Ernst was transferred to another camp and released in 1943. They both survived the war, and their offspring now exist.

Political activity

Franz Ferdinand, who planned to reign under the name of Franz II after accession to the throne, was a supporter of the dominant position of the Catholic Church and clericalism, but at the same time somewhat more liberalism in relation to the national regions of the empire.

In 1901, Franz Ferdinand took over the "Catholic School Union" and made a speech expressing his sympathy for the union's aspirations and advocating the need for a decisive struggle against Los-von-Rom-Bewegung (the "Away from Rome" movement). This speech aroused strong indignation in the entire non-clerical press in Austria.

In 1902 he traveled as a representative of the emperor to London for the coronation of Edward VII and to St. Petersburg on an official visit. On his last trip, he wanted to take with him Count Zichy, chairman of the Clerical People's Party. Sellle, the then Hungarian minister-president, protested against this, and Franz Ferdinand had to refuse the attendance of Count Zichy. The Hungarian Reichstag overwhelmingly approved Sell's behavior.

Chapter 7. Franz Ferdinand Karl Ludwig Joseph von Habsburg Archduke D'Este

Lovers and mistresses. Impudent boy. The crown prince without pantaloons. Threesome sex. Tragic denouement. Pay.

A wonderful man, they said, kind and benevolent - in a word, noble.

These are the words from the notes of the collegiate assessor Kondraty Filimonovich Voropaev, who was sent to the Archduke's retinue with an assurance of friendship from the Moscow Governor-General.

Bright, kind, gentle heart, my friend and beloved husband.

This is what his wife Sofia wrote about Franz.

And here is the story that was told to me when I came to Austria to find the origins of the rumors that Franz Ferdinand was a man of not the most noble impulses and very ambiguous actions. But since for the Austrians the figure of their precious Archduke is akin to the face of the Mother of God, I did not expect to find anything reprehensible in the archives. I knew that the archive and the library were plundered after the First World War, and some of the documents surfaced in private collections. Countess Palenskaya, known among private lovers of all kinds of correspondence, somehow let slip that she was ready to tell about her collection of letters (which, as I understood, includes personal letters from Franz and Sophia), but for a decent reward. I was a little surprised: what else is the reward? But Jerry reassured me - you should just sleep with the lady. I opened my mouth. Ruben laughed at me:

Did you think that only girls get their way through the bed?

I swore.

Nothing, nothing, maybe she will not like you yet, although, - he gave me an appraising look, - most likely, get ready to be a gentleman.

So, in fact, in such a "high" mood I arrived in Austria. Sitting in a tiny cafe, I waited for a meeting to be attended by a person who was recommended to me in Paris in a closed society of canine hunting lovers. I did not go into the details of the "non-disclosure of rules and recommendations", but I realized that the dogs there hunt not only for hares or deer. But I was told to be silent, and I was silent. After all, my interest was exclusively with Franz Ferdinand.

Hello, - I looked at the approaching man and stood up, responding to the handshake. He introduced himself:

Orlov, Andrey Ignatievich.

Bale Chris. Shall we sit down?

Orlov turned out to be completely unlike any of his illustrious ancestors. Slouchy. Dumpy. And only in the eyes of the greatness of the old noble family. Sighing, I thought, "So much for the nobles." We ordered coffee, a couple of cakes, and somehow I immediately got down to business without my usual shyness about communicating with a special noble blood.

Andrei Ignatievich, - I uttered the difficult name with difficulty, - when I read Churchill's correspondence, there was a passing mention of the legendary hunting in the spirit of

Actually, I did not really count on a detailed story, naively believing that the archive was really completely destroyed, and what I managed to save would not be sold to an ordinary reporter. And I was wrong.

People were hounded by dogs. - Orlov began without a preface. His voice was muffled, deep, pleasant to the ear. I immediately remembered the night DJs who managed to dilute the frankness with just one voice. - We hired all sorts of rabble, ready for copper coin even to die, and let down the pack. The main requirement is the ability to run fast.

They were specially checked - there were people in the service of the Archduke who received a salary precisely for the fact that the hunt turned out to be exciting. For hunters, of course. The victims were often buried later. Who will look for a vagabond, to whom not a single living soul cares?

Most often they went on Fridays. There were a lot of guests in the estate, no one wanted to refuse. Although, apparently, many were against such fun. Say what you like, but people are people, even with dogs you cannot erase sympathy from some. At least to the serfs, at least to the level. Some people opened schools for the children of their courtyards. I tried to teach somehow, I kept the doctor again. This was especially true for women. They often found self-realization in this. Some were even proud of their role as village educators. True, Franz did not invite women to such hunts. Although this was part of his nobility. Or maybe he just didn't want to listen to a woman's screeching, who knows. The Archduke borrowed the fun from a Russian friend. The friend at that time was about sixty years old, and he still remembered the times of serfdom in Russia.

He did not specifically invite, but some still came themselves. In graceful Amazons from the best tailors, some of them got real pleasure from such a hunt. They returned from the show, flushed, satisfied, did not refuse the brought glass.

What about your ancestor? Still hunting, excitement? Or was he turning away? - I snapped, unable to resist. And got what he deserved.

Why did you turn away? It was impossible to turn away. Turn away, show weakness - that's it. Although some had nothing to lose. He was.

My interlocutor ended the conversation on this that day. Probably he didn’t like the fact that I didn’t speak very politely about his ancestor. I had to call and apologize. “Here, I think, is a stubborn Russian bear!” And he still paused - he waited while I was choosing the words. But he agreed to come to the meeting. And now I have already decided that I will not say anything superfluous to him: it turns out that the temper of a Russian hereditary nobleman was very cool.

I suppose Orlov himself was haunted by the information about hunting, and he wanted to use it somehow, but did not know how. I decided that I would definitely help him come up with something. Andrei Ignatievich chose a successful evening, to be sure - the last thunderstorm of this year broke out, a downpour lashed through the window, creating the very atmosphere of a "terrible story."

Was the pack large? - I bring up a burning topic.

Thirty greyhounds. And everything is like a selection - Franz loved the dog shore more than any of the people.

Still, I can't believe in such fun. Is it really that easy: dogs, departure - and people who at any moment can be pulled up, shot, in the end?

You want me to describe the details to you, - nods, not even bothering with an interrogative intonation. - Well, there will be details for you. I know your journalistic bread - you just need something hotter, right?

I could only keep quiet modestly, and, apparently, my interlocutor was content with this.

Departure was scheduled for the morning. In the evening they gathered at the Archduke's. An ordinary evening. Quiet, almost homey, apart from the number of guests. Cards. Cigars. Some schnapps. No frills.

Franz, judging by Orlov's notes, was neat. He did not like slackness, non-obligation - what now we call gullibility. There was no question of weakness as a phenomenon of human character. And the state of a hangover, he considered it to be a weakness.

Everything happens for the first time. So my ancestor once got on such a hunt for the first time. You know, no one told newcomers what the sacrifice was. They called the person on whom the pack would be lowered, a hare, sometimes - a fox, if a woman. But foxes were very rare, literally several times in four years. Apparently, there was still something of a noble man left in the Archduke.

It was strictly forbidden to mention before the hunt who exactly would be targeted. Talking about the peculiarities of the Archduke's hunting in society is also the case. The society of Franz Ferdinand was appreciated by many, and to be considered an unreliable person, there was no source of gossip.

Count Orlov described in great detail his first hunt of this kind.

Frankly, I’m even sorry that my nanny’s non-photographic memory can accurately reproduce every word for you. And I regret much more that the diary, along with many of my documents, died in the fire. Who needed to set fire to my house, I have no idea. I have never done evil to anyone. There is nothing to envy me - especially big money was not found. Apparently, there are people for whom to cause grief, pain to another is already a reason for joy. By the way, the Archduke was not a sadist. Rather, he was too gambling person, to whom the persecution of an animal no longer brought the proper moral satisfaction. Pale. Ordinary. Boring, after all. Although I myself am a fan of dog fox hunting, I never could understand what the joy of hounding a person can be, no matter what that person is. But everything is in order.

It was at dawn. Departure was collected early - the fog did not have time to dissipate, if the day promised to be sunny. So that day turned out to be sunny after the night rain, which had charged since last noon. It was autumn, and surely the yellow leaves were crumpled under the horses' hooves, trampled into the mud of the well-worn roads.

The count was filled with curiosity. Not knowing anything specifically about the upcoming hunt, I was incredibly intrigued by the mystery that surrounded the exit. The hunters shared their impressions with joy, but everything was somehow general, without details, cutting off and stopping themselves. The count, who at that time was only twenty years old, even got up in the saddle to see possible game. And then the horn sounded. The huntsmen raised the "hare". And in an instant the hunt took off. Everything was drowned in the loud barking of the dogs, the greyhounds almost creeped over the ground, sensing the trail. And people followed them - the horses flew at a trot through the open forest, the riders did not notice the thin branches whipping, touching their clothes from time to time, they only tightened their grip on the reins, completely submitting to the general excitement. The Oryol trotter did not disappoint the Russian count, and he was soon almost ahead of the whole hunt - almost on a par with the last greyhounds from the pack. Standing up on the stirrups again, he tried to make out the hunted game.

After the count examined the picture that presented itself to his eyes, he rushed forward, spurring the trotter. Instead of a hare, the pack attacked some vagrant and was now driving him through the undergrowth. The tramp stumbled, fell, got up smeared with mud and again ran as fast as he could. Several linden leaves stuck to his armchair. The man ran barefoot and, judging by the way the dogs behaved, he rubbed his feet in blood. The greyhounds did not rush yet - they only drove further and further through the undergrowth. Apparently, they were toughly trained - not to tear the victim to the command. The count had already brought the arapa over the first dog from the pack when he heard an angry cry. Turning around, he saw that the Archduke himself was shouting. Having approached close, he mockingly asked what the Russian count was going to do and if he wanted to deprive the whole society of the pleasure of hunting, and the Archduke himself as the best greyhound of his pack? Franz Ferdinand ordered his guest, if he does not want to quarrel with him completely, to take further part in the hunt, "which, judging by the current hare, promises to be exciting."

You know. - Andrey Ignatievich unexpectedly got distracted from his story. - Diaries are such a funny phenomenon. For example, the graph cites this phrase exactly. And I remembered it from the first time, word for word. Although nothing aphoristic is observed in it. For a long time I read and reread Count Orlov's diary, thought about what was written there, but it was this scene, the scene of the hunt for a man, for some reason most strongly engraved in my memory. And of course, who am I to judge my ancestor? But sometimes it seems to me that he was in vain then on the hunt. But he stayed.

The Russian count set the horse at a trot, not lagging behind the pack, which in circles, then from side to side, drove through the forest a man who was exhausted from his strength. Not a single dog came close enough to the victim to start vomiting. Only the deafening barking and clinking of teeth surrounded the tramp. And then one greyhound could not stand it - apparently, the smell of blood excited her more than the others, and grabbed the edge of the semblance of an army jacket, in which a skinny peasant was wrapped. She grabbed - and knocked the victim to the ground. He jerked, rolling over, slipping like a snake out of his shabby clothes, and again rushed to run, waving his arms stupidly, wobbling from side to side. Hunters circled around him, trying not to miss a single detail of the spectacle. Finally the peasant fell, covering his head with his hands, curled up into a ball. The dogs huddled around, growling. Just about - and they will jerk, begin to gnaw the exhausted victim.

And only then came the sharp, abrupt command of Franz Ferdinand. The huntsmen ran up and carried the dogs away. A horn sounded, announcing that the bullying was over. The hunters excitedly discussed how hardy the "hare" was this time and whether to use his services in the future, the next time the man went to bed. The lively hubbub subsided only when one of the gamekeepers bent over the still still lying peasant. He turned it over and, rising, looked at the Archduke. The hardy and nimble "hare" was dead. The heart could not stand it.

But it is probable that such accidents happened quite often during the hunts organized by Franz Ferdinand. Because the huntsmen quickly took away the body. The conversation, after a short silence, was soon resumed, and only the Russian count still could not come to his senses.

But he also went on similar hunts afterwards?

I've been. But understand, this is the first impression. Nobody else died with him, and some things smoothed out over time.

He fell silent. I was silent too. The picture was too lively before my eyes. Taste of blood on lips and smell of hounds:

Do not consider me cynical, Andrei Ignatievich, but I would advise you to sell this story to Hollywood.

Cold look.

If the diary reaches the Archduke's heirs, an international scandal may erupt.

But you're going to use these materials, aren't you?

The look is the same.

I will use a lot of information, Mr. Orlov, but I have a reliable rear, so I do not fear persecution.

Orlov narrowed his eyes and finally grinned:

You are a typical journalist, Mr. Bale, the life of information in any reliable or unreliable form is important to you, right?

I smiled back a little and nodded.

That's it, - Orlov got up. - I prefer to do without Hollywood nonsense.

I got up too and shook the outstretched hand.

Thanks for the story and sorry if I offended you in any way.

Empty, Mr. Bale, we Russians are not very touchy, only remembered - and, having paid for the coffee, he left the cafe. I sighed involuntarily. I suspect I won't have to write about hound hunting now. Or just cover it outside of Europe.

The next day I was sitting in the library and for the hundredth time I reread the scanty lines from the encyclopedia:

Franz Ferdinand (1863–1914), Austrian archduke and prince of Este, the alleged heir to the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, whose assassination sparked the First World War. Born December 18, 1863 in Graz, the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig, younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph.

I took the next encyclopedia, dictionary, research materials and read the same lines everywhere, that the assassination of Franz unleashed the First World War. The Archduke, of course, is not the last figure in the political arena of the early 20th century, but this figure was not put in place to keep the powers on the brink of war. Historians long ago proved the inevitability of war, but it was not the murder of a playboy and, in essence, a very short-sighted politician that caused it. The influence section was inevitable, and the count went on for minutes. Then they exchanged the figure of a cruel, despotic and outspoken archduke. After all, it was Franz Ferdinand who could tell any of the ladies at the reception that the dress made her look full, or, on the contrary, her breasts became more seductive thanks to a well-chosen corset. It was he who, when meeting with the ambassadors of Great Britain or Russia, smiled an all-knowing smile and, flashing his eyes mockingly, asked:

Well, gentlemen, when is the war?

It was he who came with his lover, Zosia Zamoyskaya, a Polish girl, on his favorite hunt, publicly kissed her on the mouth, and then he could openly lag behind the cavalcade and make love to the girl right on the road.

And it was he who loved to poison the peasants with dogs.

Is it not true, such a person, in order to be called the apple of discord, is too common?

Deliberate, '' said the very Countess of Palenskaya, who wanted some kind of reward for secret correspondence, but I got access to the correspondence through her assistant, an enterprising girl, young and flexible in the choice of means in all respects.

Among the letters I found several romantic letters from Sophia to her husband, and quite frank ones, which Franz exchanged with Zamoyska before her marriage. For example, there was a lot of discussion about “hills crowned with delicate strokes of pink chocolate,” from which I assumed that the Polish girl's nipples were pink. And other little things that are exchanged in confessions with sex partners. The secret of the Archduke's death was naturally not revealed in these letters.

And according to the official version, Franz Ferdinand and his wife were shot dead on June 28, 1914 in Sarajevo (Bosnia). The Archduke wanted to cover his wife with his body, but as a result, both were killed. One could endlessly wonder why the scandalous Franz was killed, if one day I did not receive a letter from Jerry. When I opened it, I read only one name in it - Rudolph.

Of course, Rudolph! How could I forget that there was still Rudolph! In 1889, tragedy struck at Mayerling Castle. Crown Prince Rudolph - the son of Emperor Franz Joseph - was found shot to death along with his mistress Maria Vetera. Doctors pronounced suicide. Frankly, judging by the way contemporaries described the crown prince, he could have committed this act, because he was famous for frequent depression, increased susceptibility and credulity to the most ridiculous rumors and gossip. Under the pressure of his father all the time, Rudolph, unlike Franz, could not abandon the imposed marriage and was forcibly married to the Belgian princess Stephanie, a girl who was not at all pleasant in appearance and a rather meager mind. Of course, the emotional and ardent young man was not happy, and this marriage eventually fell apart, depriving Belgium of prestige in the political arena of the late 19th century.

Rudolph received a terrible scolding from his father. Franz Joseph, I must say, was a man of such an unbridled disposition that he did not hesitate to openly raise his hand against his son. Patriarchal to the core, he never refused corporal punishment. At the same time, he remained a subtle diplomat, a wise politician and the smartest person... But the imperial trousers were lowered from the prince that evening, and his bare ass was carved in the most cruel way. The guard at the door to the imperial chambers stood with their hands over their ears - on pain of death, they were forbidden to listen to what was happening in the closed room. And in the evening the court physician would drink Rudolph, sobbing like a boy, and changed his compresses. The crown prince fell ill from such treatment and almost fell into melancholy, but Franz threatened with a second flogging, and the heir was forced to come to breakfast, hide his tear-stained eyes and listen to his father's remarks about a certain warrior who behaves worse than a woman (the emperor was never shy expressions).

The crown prince, being a man of a rather gentle disposition, nevertheless was distinguished by one very important quality for the future emperor. He knew how to make decisions. And get your way. Gradually, the father forgave Rudolph for his trick with the divorce and turned a blind eye to the fact that the heir had acquired a mistress, with whom he was happy to spend everything free time... True, he also did not start the science of governing the country, as evidenced by the respectful views of Franz Joseph and the way he groaned quite when his son reported something at military councils.

The boy grew up to be a worthy successor to his father.

And this, unfortunately, was seen not only by the emperor, but also by his opponents. The united Austria-Hungary was a fairly strong monarchy, and Franz Joseph - the only monarch then ruling - had a very close relationship with the Roman Catholic Church. It was this that made the emperor a useful ally and a very uncomfortable rival.

The church was richer and in many respects more literate than many politicians of those times, ”Dr. Irdiss Rerner, a professor at the University of Cambridge, told me. - She distributed funds wisely, deals were made extremely profitable. As a result, the richest state and centralized power were in her hands. Pope Leo XII never intervened in the political relations that were forming in those years, but his voice was decisive at the secret meetings, which, like the salons of the Republic of 1793, sometimes played a decisive role in the life of states.

Whom did Rudolph interfere with?

To everyone, Mr. Bale, and above all to the allies, who suspected that the strengthening of Austria-Hungary would sooner or later lead to cooperation with Germany. Bismarck is the smartest chancellor, but he also recognized the future for a united Europe. Therefore, he was so irritated by the alliance of France and Russia. A union of countries with completely different development paths, with deep contradictions that could lead Europe very far from the development of capitalist relations.

It sounds a little dry, - I smiled, remembering that history has always confused me with these general concepts: "capitalist relations", "world revolution" and so on.

Nevertheless, the murder of Rudolph is the result of a conspiracy, although Franz Ferdinand was directly involved in it.

I widened my eyes:

How did you take it?

Eh, my friend, do you know that the Archduke would have received the right to become emperor if he had not been killed?

Yes, of course, but.

And the fact that he was an inveterate womanizer, - the professor unceremoniously interrupted me, - did you know that?

Yes, I read the correspondence, but.

Last but not least, did you know that Franz was in love with the young Baroness Maria Vetera?

I didn’t know, ”I admitted sincerely.

Just about, ”Dr. Rerner nodded edifyingly, leaning back in his chair with pleasure,“ since my youth I have been in Prague, in one very pleasant house, and saw a marvelous collection of paintings and entries from the diary of this Mary.

I was still sitting with my mouth open.

This girl, - my interlocutor continued calmly, - wrote everything down in detail as an obedient schoolgirl, including her romantic nights with both gentlemen.

And then everything was simple: by accident or by conspiracy with someone, Franz Ferdinand one evening, when they were having fun in the castle as usual, quarreled with Rudolph. We drew our pistols. The Baroness screamed and rushed out of the bedroom in whatever she was wearing. The crown prince killed her at the door. A very expensive Persian carpet and Maria's very expensive cambric shirt were soaked in blood. The puddle was spreading over the parquet, but the men did not look at the floor. They looked at each other. Franz's bright, bulging eyes glared unkindly at Rudolph's face. He was only in pantaloons, barefoot and without a shirt. But in his hand was a weapon. The Archduke was undressed, lying on the bed, and before his weapon, which was on the bedside table, you still had to reach out.

Shoot, ”he squinted calmly,“ no one sees, prove that you are a real man.

Rudolph flushed and silently raised his hand. The black muzzle looked straight into the forehead. Franz did not flinch. He didn't scream. Nodules entered his cheekbones, and his lips curved into a predatory, contemptuous smile. And then what is called providence happened. The crown prince slipped, one bare foot was in a pool of blood, and the sock slipped slightly. The heir twitched in disgust and looked away from Franz for a split second. The same didn't need it anymore, because he was enlisted in the army since childhood, and from about seven years old, the boy was already happy to climb the carriages, beat drums and get close to the guns. At nine, he knew how to shoot pistols.

Rudolph saw the weapon in Franz's hands and immediately pulled the trigger. He answered. Calmer, more determined and experienced, he certainly did not miss. The room, filled with the scent of sandalwood, cigars, and pleasure a few minutes ago, was filled with the scent of blood, gunpowder, and burnt bones. The bullets fired from the Archduke's weapon shattered the ribs and shattered Rudolph's heart.

Two weeks later I met with Jerry Ruben and, as always, showed him my notes.

I just do not understand, the organization was controlled by Franz Ferdinand?

Is it at those closed meetings, the participants of which were more powerful than the monarchs?

Nod again.

He couldn't refuse?

I could not, - Jerry finally put the papers aside, - a quiet life with his beloved woman in a world where everything is subject to war requires reliable guarantees. He was offered to assist in the murder, in response he was given the opportunity to choose. Either a monarchy or a safe haven, and the fact that he chose the latter did not interfere with the Clan in any way.

Indeed, Franz Ferdinand married Countess Sofia Chotek, a Czech aristocrat, but not the heiress of the Habsburg royal blood. Marrying her deprived the Archduke's heirs of the right to claim the throne. Franz agreed. Thus, the dynasty ended with his death.

Who killed him?

Ah, - Jerry mechanically finished his cold coffee, - some fanatic in Sarajevo. The ideological dumbass decided that he was fighting a tyrant. The Archduke would have been killed anyway, because Franz Joseph, in fact, no longer had weight in the political arena, and Europe needed bloodletting.

I shuddered again at Ruben's calm cynicism.

The clan needed a war, do you think that the death of some heir could disrupt our plans?

Why kill Sophia? I asked angrily.

She was killed by accident, as was Diana Spencer. (A thin smile.) For company, for love, for passion. In my opinion, a wonderful death! What do you think?

Quiet laughter. I grabbed my papers and almost flew out of the cafe. Jerry started laughing louder after me.

I could not understand in any way what scares me so in this story. Some Serbian fanatic killed Franz Ferdinand, his beloved wife, left the children orphans simply because the Clan thought: Europe needs war? .. The sacrifice is so unnecessary that it is impossible to comprehend why it was made. If you follow the logic of Jerry Ruben, then it turns out that everyone who is associated with the Clan should be ready that at any moment his hour may come? Or simply comprehend - life is not an absurd series of accidents, but a chain of laws that occur in a person's life due to the commission of a particular act. Blood for blood, or what? But the son of Marilyn Monroe lives - a man who actually killed his mother. Yes, he didn’t pull the trigger and he didn’t put sleeping pills into the champagne, but he made her suffer! And then I hear Jerry's voice in my ears: "And she is his?" And she is his. Franz Ferdinand killed Rudolph. And he himself choked with blood when they shot at him, and even his beloved woman was dying in his arms. What is it? Maybe the pattern, which is the observance of the law of balance, retribution, if you will? I am not a priest, not a philosopher and, unfortunately, not the Lord God, I just know: if a person commits an atrocity, the atonement can be no less bloody ...