Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra were crowned Emperor and Empress of Russia on. Four days later, a banquet was going to be held for the people at Khodynka Field. In the area of one town square, theatres, 150 buffets for distribution of gifts, and 20 pubs were built for the celebrations. Near the celebration square was a field that had a ravine and many gullies. On the evening of 29 May, people who had heard rumours of coronation gifts began to gather in anticipation. The gifts which everybody was to receive were a bread roll, a piece of sausage, pretzels, gingerbread and a commemorative cup. At about 6 o'clock in the morning of the celebration day, several thousand people were already gathered on the field. Rumours spread among the people that there was not enough beer or pretzels for everybody, and that the enamel cups contained a gold coin. A police force of 1,800 men failed to maintain civil order, and in a catastrophic crowd crush and resulting panic to flee the scene, 1,389 people were trampled to death, and roughly 1,300 were injured. Most of the victims were trapped in the ditch and were trampled or suffocated there. Despite the tragedy, the program of festivities continued as planned elsewhere on the large field, with many people unaware of what had happened. The Emperor and Empress made an appearance in front of the crowds on the balcony of the Tsar's Pavilion in the middle of the field around 2 p.m. By that time the traces of the incident had been cleaned up.
Aftermath
Emperor Nicholas and Empress Alexandra were informed of the tragedy, but not immediately. A festive ball had been scheduled that night at the French embassy to Russia. Nicholas, under the circumstances, thought it best not to attend. His uncles, however, still wielded influence at court, and considered it worse for him not to attend, and to offend the French, than for him to appear callous towards the Russian people. Nicholas, therefore, attended the ball regardless. The next day, the Emperor and his new bride visited hospitalized victims of the stampede. The government distributed a large amount of aid to the families of the dead, and a number of minor officials were dismissed. The negligence and the tone-deaf response of the imperial authorities, however, caused further public indignation in Russia. The Emperor's uncle, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, then Governor-General of Moscow, became known as "the Prince of Khodynka" and the Emperor received the nickname of "Nicholas the Bloody".
