Botkin was born in Tsarskoye Selo, Russian Empire, the son of Anastasia Alexandrovna and Sergey Botkin, who had been a court physician under Tsars Alexander II and Alexander III. Botkin followed his father in studying medicine, getting his degree at the University of St. Petersburg and doing additional studies at the universities of Berlin and Heidelberg. He was later appointed as chief physician at St. Georgievsky Hospital in St. Petersburg. He served with distinction aboard the St. Georgievsky Hospital Train during the Russo-Japanese War. Botkin was appointed as court physician in 1908. Botkin married and had four children, Dimitri, Yuri, Gleb and Tatiana. His marriage broke up under the strain caused by Botkin's dedication to the Romanovs and his long hours at court. His wife, Olga, started an affair with the children's German tutor. She asked for, and was granted, a divorce. Botkin was later devastated when his oldest sons, Dimitri and Yuri, were killed in action during the First World War. Botkin became increasingly religious and "developed an increasing abhorrence for the flesh," according to his son Gleb.
"From a very tender age, his beautiful and noble nature was complete," his brother Peter recalled later. "He was never like other children. Always sensitive, of a delicate, inner sweetness of extraordinary soul, he had a horror of any kind of struggle or fight. We other boys would fight with a fury. He would not take part in our combats, but when our pugilism took on a dangerous character he would stop the combatants at risk of injuring himself. He was very studious and conscientious in his studies. For a profession he chose medicine: to help, to succour, to soothe, to heal without end."
Exile and death
Botkin felt it was his duty to accompany the Romanovs into exile, not only because of his responsibility to his patients, the Romanov family, but also to his country. Botkin was considered a friend by Tsar Nicholas II. The doctor also often spoke with Tsarina Alexandra in her native German and acted as a translator for her when she received a Russian delegation. After Botkin and the family were executed, White Russian Army investigators found this unfinished letter by him in 1919. It was written in his quarters on the night of 16 July 1918: The letter was interrupted when Commander Yakov Yurovsky, the head of the command at the Ipatiev House, knocked on Botkin's door. He ordered the entire Romanov party to dress and come downstairs, on the premise that there was gunfire in the town, and they were to be evacuated. But the entire family and their servants were murdered a short time later. In the early 1990s, after the unmarked gravesite had been discovered and Botkin's remains were examined, he was found to have had bullet wounds on his pelvis, vertebrae, and forehead.
Honours and awards
Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd and 2nd classes with swords,
1981, canonised by Russian Church Outside of Russia as New Martyr.
2016, canonised by the Russian Orthodox Church as passion bearer.
Representation in other media
Dr. Botkin features as a character in D. Logan's play, Ekaterinburg. It explores the time in captivity of the Romanovs and their retainers in the Ipatiev House in Ekaterinburg. Dr. Botkin was featured in and was portrayed by David Warner.
