What were the unusual circumstances behind Tchaikovsky 's death?

Answer 1

There has been no conclusive evidence that point to his committing a suicide. There are three theories as to why he might have committed suicide. His suicide was ordered by Tsar Alexander III. His suicide was ordered by the Court of Honour. His suicide was due to personal issues possibly concerning his sexuality or his love life.

Answer 2

It is not confirmed that he killed himself. He apparently drank a glass of toxic water, but it is discussed if he did it on purpose or was an accident.

Tchaikovski had a very tormented life. He was -probably, though neither confirmed- homosexual, and fought all his life to keep it secret. He was depressive and had very low morale episodes. He also kept a very intimate friendship with an older aristocrat lady who supported his work: he exchanged letters with her for decades, and when this friendship broke, he fell in a terrible depression.

Answer 3

Tchaikowski knew that he was in a region with cholera, and deliberately took the huge risk of asking for and drinking unboiled cold water in a restaurant even when he was explicitly warned by the waiter and by his table companions not to do it. In the next days he developed all the signs of a developing cholera, but repeatedly refused to have a doctor called. When one finally was admitted, Tchaikowski was already beyond help and died a few days later.

This strange behaviour of Tchaikowsky has given rise to a theory that he had been forced to commit suicide by a 'court of honor' of his former fellow law students because of his homosexuality. There is however no proof of this and it does not seem very probable. Others have speculated that he - having been a heavy smoker all of his life - may have been in the final stages of some form of cancer or another illness and was for this reason deliberately quickly ending his life. But his doctor's verdict did not go beyond "cholera", so we will never know for sure.

Answer 4

That is not known for sure. The facts as we know them are that he drank unboiled water during a cholera epidemic, and he contracted the disease which killed him. Whether he intended to kill himself is only conjecture.

Answer 5

Some people believe that's how he died, but there is no definite answer. He made a feeble attempt when he was in despair about his marriage, by standing up to his knees in the Volga river.