Family of Nicholas II: the truth about the last emperor of Russia. Four Grand Duchesses
Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna with their children, the Grand Duchesses (from left to right) Olga, Maria, Anastasia, Tatiana and Tsarevich Alexei.
I don’t really like painted photographs, but they are the ones that best show how beautiful the girls really were. My favorites are Olga and Maria. Here they are on the right.
The girls themselves came up with the idea of being called “OTMA” - a monogram based on the first letters of their names. And they were all divided into a group of older ones (Olga and Tatyana) and younger ones (Maria and Anastasia). But they were very close to each other.
Tsarevich Alexei's teacher Pierre Gilliard: " The Grand Duchesses were charming with their freshness and health. It would be difficult to find four sisters so different in character and at the same time so closely united by friendship. The latter did not interfere with their personal independence and, despite the difference in temperaments, united them with a living connection. From the initial letters of their names they formed the common name "Otma." Under this common signature they sometimes made gifts or sent letters written by one of them on behalf of all four."
Perhaps due to the fact that they led a rather closed life. Their mother was quite strict with them.
“The upbringing of daughters in the royal family was indeed strict, since Alexandra Feodorovna herself, the granddaughter of Queen Victoria, was raised this way, and Emperor Nicholas was not spoiled by his father, Emperor Alexander III, as a child. The princesses slept on camp beds, little covered, and took a cold bath every morning Alexandra Feodorovna, herself very modest in her clothes and choice of hairstyles, did not allow her daughters to dress up either. Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna fully embraced this attitude towards luxury and, according to her recollections, dressed very modestly, constantly reprimanding other sisters in this regard. Every ruble, saved on a luxurious dress, went to charity in the royal family. Perhaps Alexandra Feodorovna, if she were an ordinary mother, would have pampered her daughters, but she felt a constant responsibility for her subjects: when did the First World War begin? World War, new dresses stopped being made altogether."
The Empress's maid of honor S. Ya. Ofrosimova recalled: “The life of the Princesses was neither cheerful nor varied. They were brought up in a strict patriarchal spirit, in deep religiosity. This instilled in them that faith, that strength of spirit and humility that helped them meekly and lightly endure the difficult days of imprisonment and accept martyrdom "The Empress did not allow the Princesses to sit idle for a single second. They had to be always busy, always in action. Wonderful works and embroideries from under their graceful, quick hands."
But from Nikolai’s letters to his wife, and from the diaries of the girls, it is clear that the family was very loving. And the only reason for such closeness was that their mother, knowing the world and society, tried to protect them from its corrupting influence.
"The Empress was afraid bad influence secular young ladies and didn’t even like it when her children saw cousin- Irina Alexandrovna. However, they did not suffer from boredom; When they grew up, they were constantly carried away and dreamed of this and that. In the summer they played tennis, walked, rowed with the yacht or security officers. These childish, naive hobbies amused their parents, who constantly made fun of them. Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna (sister of Emperor Nicholas - M.K.) organized youth meetings for them. Sometimes they drank tea at her place with their friends. Mm Brisac was their dressmaker; They dressed simply, but tastefully, in the summer - almost always in white. They had few gold things. At the age of 12 they received their first gold bracelet, which they never took off."
Maria, Tatiana, Anastasia, Olga, Alexey.
Olga Nikolaevna (23 years old at the time of death)
« Of the four, Olga and Maria Nikolaevna were similar to their father’s family and had a purely Russian type... She had wonderful blond hair, large Blue eyes and a marvelous complexion, a slightly upturned nose, resembling the Emperor"- recalled the maid of honor A. A. Vyrubova.
One day, one of the adult guests asked jokingly, pulling her out from under the table, where she had crawled, trying to pull some object off the tablecloth:
- Who are you?
“I am the Grand Duchess...” she answered with a sigh....
- Well, what a princess you are, you couldn’t reach the table!
- I don’t know myself. And you ask dad, he knows everything... He will tell you who I am.
Olga answered seriously and hobbled on her still unsteady legs, towards the laughter and smiles of the guests.(E. Radzinsky. “Nicholas II Life and Death”. Chapter 5 The Royal Family.)
"X her characteristic features were strong will and incorruptible honesty and directness... She had these wonderful qualities since childhood, but as a child Olga Nikolaevna was often stubborn, disobedient and very hot-tempered"- Anna Vyrubova wrote in her memoirs.
« She played the piano, loved poetry and literature... She couldn’t stomach housekeeping and women’s interests in general and was not practical in life“- said Ersberg (the maid).
She also loved Russia very much, just like the other sisters, and did not think of leaving her, even for the sake of marriage. Olga was supposed to marry the Romanian king, but went against her mother’s will. Now I’m very curious how everything would have turned out if the wedding had taken place. And it’s a shame that this happened - at least someone from their family would be alive.
“The years seem distant to me,” recalls A. A. Taneyeva, “when the Grand Duchesses were growing up and we, those close to us, thought about their possible weddings. They didn’t want to go abroad, but there were no suitors at home. From childhood, the thought of marriage worried the Grand Duchesses, since for them marriage was associated with going abroad. Especially Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna did not want to hear about leaving her homeland. This issue was a sore point for her, and she was almost hostile towards foreign suitors.”
They say that she was in love with her cousin, Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich Romanov. And it was because of him that she rejected the king’s matchmaking. But although the young man was beautifully built, witty and cheerful, he was also a gambler and loved to party.
Here's the pie:
Tatiana (left) and Olga in the center.
During the First World War, Olga and Tatyana worked at the Tsarsko-Selo hospital. They worked hard and just like any other sisters of mercy. Participated in complex operations, during amputations, they helped and looked after the sick. They wrote about each of them in their diaries.
From Olga Nikolaevna’s diary:
October 6
“The Sign”, dressing. I have Mikertumov of the 16th Mingrelian Grenadier Regiment, wounded in the arm. Gainulin - 4th Caucasian Rifle Regiment, also in hand. Lyutenko of the 202nd Gurian Regiment, they cut his chest. A piece of bone was removed under chloroform. Tatyana Arutinov of the 1st Caucasian Rifle Regiment had shrapnel removed from his cheek and neck, which came out through his left eye...”
Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana (in the center) and Anna Vyrubova (Taneeva).
Maria, Tatiana, Anastasia, Olga
Baroness Buxhoeveden, the Empress's maid of honor, recalled that she once had to address Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna in full form... with a deep curtsy and full title. The Grand Duchess was confused and, blushing, rushed to the elderly Baroness with the words: " Are you crazy? Why do you call me that?!"The sisters preferred to be called simply by their first name - patronymic.
"I got the impression that she had no illusions about what the future held for them and, as a consequence, was often sad and worried."- Gleb Botkin recalled.
From “the most talkative” (S. Pavlov), “very charming and the most cheerful” (S. Buxhoeveden) Grand Duchess Olga turned into her own shadow and, having moved to Ipatiev’s house, acted aloof and sad. The guards recalled that “she was thin, pale and looked sick. She rarely went for walks in the garden and spent most of her time next to her brother.”
Olga and Tatiana
Tatyana Nikolaevna (21 years old at the time of death)
According to the memoirs of contemporaries, it was Tatyana who was considered the brightest of the sisters; they said that she was very photogenic. She was very elegant and knew how to present herself in society. She was the leader among them. Mom’s favorite, through her it was easier to achieve some concessions from strict parents.
“Tatyana Nikolaevna was by nature rather reserved, had a will, but was less frank and spontaneous than her older sister. She was also less gifted, but she made up for this deficiency with great consistency and evenness of character. She was very beautiful, although she did not have the charm of Olga Nikolaevna... With her beauty and natural ability to behave in society, She overshadowed her sister, who was less concerned with Her person and somehow faded away.”, - recalled P. Gilliard (teacher).
“...Grand Duchess Tatiana; for example, before going to the infirmary, she gets up at seven o'clock in the morning to take a lesson, then goes to bandages, then breakfast, more lessons, touring the infirmaries, and when evening comes... she immediately takes up needlework or reading<...>Doctor Derevenko, a very demanding person in relation to nurses, told me after the revolution that he rarely met such a calm, dexterous and efficient surgical nurse as Tatyana Nikolaevna.”
From Tatyana Nikolaevna’s diary:
Saturday, September 13, 1914
“...Today I had two operations, my yesterday’s Girsenok, they cut his leg and took out pieces of crushed bone, and then Olgin Ogurtsov from his hand right hand the same. Then we sat in the 3rd ward. We went to see the others."
September 26
“There was a lesson in the morning. At 9.45, my dear Papa arrived, alive, healthy and cheerful. Thank God!... Bandaged: Konstantinov of the 111th Don Regiment, Skutin of the 109th Volzhsky Regiment, Bobylkin of the 286th Kirsanovsky Regiment. Then Mama arrived and bandaged the officers. I attended the dressings of Malama, Ellis and Pobaevsky. Poor guy, his arm still hurts. We sat with ours.”
Both princesses are not even 20. And so day after day for 3 years. Names of new arrivals, descriptions of injuries, records of operations and dressings. What you involuntarily pay attention to first of all is the inherent sense of responsibility for each soldier and officer entrusted to them by doctors. Subject personal diaries, that is, data on the patients’ temperature, changes in their well-being, the first signs of improvement and, finally, recovery and discharge become a personal matter.
Like Olga, Tatyana quickly found admirers among the hospital beds. There were enough of them, but Dmitry Malama was especially singled out. According to the stories of relatives, Dmitry Malama, having learned about the execution royal family, lost all caution, began to consciously seek death and was killed in the summer of 1919 in a horse attack near Tsaritsyn.
Her I.Highness V.K. Tatyana Nikolaevna in the uniform of a nurse of the Tsarskoye Selo hospital at the bedside of the seriously wounded cornet D.Ya. Malama
“Olga Nikolaevna keeps insisting that she dreams of remaining an old maid, and by her hand, Shah-Bagov predicts twelve children. Interesting hand for Tatyana Nikolaevna: the line of fate is suddenly interrupted and makes a sharp turn to the side. They assure me that I must do something extraordinary."(from the diary for January 1916 older sister Imperial Palace Infirmary Valentina Chebotareva)
P The first time after operations in the infirmaries, they closed their eyes, carrying out basins of blood and cut off arms and legs. Then we got used to it. If you can get used to this at all...
Together with their father, Olga and Tatyana were at the Kiev Opera House during the murder of Stolypin. They could clearly see that enormous power does not save from death and is often the direct road to it. They also could not be surprised by betrayal. During the arrest of the Empress and her children by the Provisional Government, members of the retinue were asked to choose whether to remain with the prisoners or leave the palace. Most of the most devoted " to the august persons"chose to disappear. About 10 people remained nearby: Countess Gendrikova, Lily Dehn, Anna Vyrubova, doctor E. S. Botkin, Baroness Buxhoeveden, Count Benckendorff.... You can list them on your fingers.
Doctor Ostrogorsky, a famous pediatrician, who previously came every morning to examine sick children. (The crown princes* fell ill with a severe form of measles, which turned into typhus. Alexei was also sick, but avoided typhus), refused to arrive at the request of the ex-empress, citing the refusal by the fact that the road to Tsarskoye Selo "too dirty and dangerous!“All this happened after March 14, 1917. Nicholas had just abdicated the throne and had not yet come to his family.
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Hear it for the first time! Where is the link to such a statement? Who wrote, on what basis? What then do DNA studies of the found remains near Yekaterinburg mean? Yes, some Romanovs managed to leave when a Danish subject, Empress Mother Maria Fedorovna, came to Crimea to pick them up, but Nikolai himself and his family were already under arrest in Yekaterinburg at that time. And if so, then where are Nicholas’s daughters or their descendants now? So I don't believe these statements. They are not supported by facts and evidence. They have no basis, because... in this case, the descendants of the great duchesses would have responded long ago. Even if Tsarevich Alexei died in infancy from his illness. But where did the girls go? So, dear friend, I do not believe this statement. And if another new historian like Fomenko made this up, then I won’t believe it. In this case, you will have to believe the nonsense that the ancient Ukrainians are 400 thousand years old, that the Egyptians descend from the ancient Ukrainians, that the Ukrainians populated the entire globe and the whole civilization came from them. In short, all this nonsense.
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At one time, KGB officers placed documents on Gorbachev’s desk (according to media reports) indicating that the Empress and her daughters were sent to the Perm region to live in some monastery. I have two books about this. First: A. Summers,T. Mangold “The Romanov Case or the Execution that Never Happened”, second: V. Sirotkin “Anastasia - the story of salvation.” In addition, a friend of mine (from school) named ROMANOV served in the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Perm region, he told me that local residents knew that the royal family lived in some kind of monastery. The legend about the execution was created specifically so that no one would look for the family. Officially, the Yekaterinburg authorities reported to the Government about the execution of ONLY Nikolai Aleksandrovich Romanov himself; there are no official documents about the execution of the family.
While researching the issue, I discovered a lot of inconsistencies in various publications about the shooting. Therefore, I DO NOT BELIEVE that the Bolsheviks shot innocent, beautiful WOMEN. The version of this execution is needed by the ENEMIES of the Bolsheviks and Soviet power.
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And yet: where then are the descendants of these princesses? After all, they were probably married and had children. If so, then NOW, when so many years have passed and everyone looks at the history of the royal family differently, absolutely the whole world would be glad to know that the girls remained alive and now their descendants will tell about it. What then are they afraid of now7 And in general, all these strange tales of all sorts of peasants and other foreigners are not evidence. There is a sea of documents that say otherwise. And no one now needs to denigrate the Soviet regime and the Bolsheviks: on the contrary: now more and more often they are returning to everything good that was in the USSR. So I don’t believe the author you named. And I don’t think that Gorby would have missed such an opportunity to show everyone that members of Nikolai’s family were alive. He would have tried his best to present it!
On December 12, “Channel One” will show an 8-episode series dedicated to the last days of the reign of Emperor Nicholas II, as well as one of the most mysterious close associates of the royal family - the elder. Nicholas II and his family (wife and children) are the last representatives of the House of Romanov and the last rulers of the Russian Empire, shot by the Bolsheviks in July 1918.
In Soviet textbooks, the autocrat was presented as a “strangler of freedoms” who was not interested in state affairs, and the Russian Orthodox Church (though already in our days) canonized the tsar as a martyr and passion-bearer. Let's figure out how modern historians evaluate life and government.
Life and reign of Nicholas II
TraditionNicholas, the eldest son of Emperor Alexander III, was born in Tsarskoe Selo on May 6 (18), 1868. The heir to the throne received a thorough education at home: he knew several languages, world history, and understood economics and military affairs. Together with his father, Nikolai made many trips to the provinces of Russia.
Tradition Alexander III did not make concessions: he wanted his offspring to behave like ordinary children - they played, fought, sometimes played pranks, but most importantly, they studied well and “didn’t think about any thrones.”
Contemporaries described Nicholas II as very easy to communicate with, full of true dignity as a person. He never interrupted his interlocutor or raised his voice, even to those of lower rank. The emperor was lenient towards human weaknesses and had a good-natured attitude toward ordinary people - peasants, but never forgave what he called “dark money matters.”
In 1894, after the death of his father, Nicholas II ascended the throne. The years of his reign came during a turbulent period in history. Revolutionary movements arose all over the world, and the First World War began in 1914. However, even in such difficult times, he managed to significantly improve the economic situation of the state.
Arguments and Facts Here are just some facts about the reign of Nicholas II:
- During his reign, the population of the empire increased by 50 million people.
- 4 million rubles, left by Alexander III as an inheritance to his children and kept in a London bank, were spent on charity.
- The emperor approved all petitions for pardon that were sent to him.
- The grain harvest has doubled.
- Nicholas II carried out a military reform: he shortened the terms of service, improved living conditions for soldiers and sailors, and also contributed to the rejuvenation of the officer corps.
- During the First World War, he did not sit in the palace, but took command of the Russian army, finally managing to repel Germany.
Kommersant However, the emerging revolutionary sentiments increasingly captured people's thoughts. On March 2, 1917, under pressure from the high command, he handed over the Manifesto of Abdication, in which he bequeathed the army to obey the Provisional Government.
Modern historians believe that the Manifesto was a fake. In the original draft, Nicholas II only called for listening to your superiors, maintaining discipline and “defending Russia with all your might.” Later, Alekseev only added a couple of sentences (“For the last time I am addressing you...”) to change the meaning of the autocrat’s words.
Wife of Nicholas II - Alexandra Feodorovna
Subscription to publications The Empress (nee Princess Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt) was born on May 25 (June 6), 1872. She received a new name after baptism and marriage to Nicholas II. The future empress was raised by the English Queen Victoria, who adored her granddaughter.
Alice graduated from the University of Heidelberg with a Bachelor of Philosophy.
In May 1884, at the wedding of her sister Elizaveta Fedorovna, she met Nikolai Alexandrovich. The wedding took place on November 14 (26), 1894, just 3 weeks after the death of Emperor Alexander.
During the war, Empress Alexandra and the Grand Duchesses personally assisted in operations in hospitals, accepted amputated limbs from surgeons and washed purulent wounds.
Arguments and Facts Despite the fact that the empress was not popular in her new fatherland, she herself fell in love with Russia with all her soul. Doctor Botkin’s daughter wrote in her diary that after Nicholas II read out the manifesto on the war with Germany (her historical homeland), Alexandra cried with joy.
However, liberals considered her the head of the court Germanophile group and accused Nicholas II of being too dependent on his wife’s opinion. Because of the negative attitude, the once sparkling joy of the princess, the “Windsor ray of sunshine” (as Nicholas II called Alexandra in his time) gradually became isolated in a narrow circle of her family and 2-3 close associates.
Her friendship with the elder, Siberian peasant Grigory Rasputin, caused a lot of controversy.
Children of Nicholas II
Sites - Google The family of Nicholas II Romanov raised five children: four daughters (Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia) and a son, the heir to the throne, Alexei Nikolaevich.
Olga Nikolaevna Romanova
Wikipedia Olga, the eldest daughter of Nicholas II, gave the impression of a gentle and fragile girl. From an early age she showed a passion for books and was a very erudite child. However, at times the Grand Duchess was hot-tempered and stubborn. Teachers noted that the girl had an almost perfect ear for music - she could play almost any melody heard somewhere.
Princess Olga did not like luxury and was distinguished by modesty. She didn’t like housework, but she enjoyed reading, playing the piano and drawing.
Tatyana Nikolaevna Romanova
Wikipedia Tatyana Nikolaevna was born on May 29, 1897. As a child, what she loved most was riding a pony and a tandem bicycle with her sister Olga; she could spend hours wandering around the garden, picking flowers and berries.
Tatyana's character was similar to her mother: she laughed less often than the other sisters, and was often thoughtful and strict.
Unlike her older sister, the girl loved to be in charge, and she was great at it. When her mother was away, Tatyana embroidered, ironed clothes and managed to look after the younger children.
Maria Nikolaevna Romanova
Wikipedia The third daughter in the family of Nicholas II - Maria - was born on the night of June 14, 1899 at the summer residence in Peterhof. Very large and strong for her age, she later carried her brother Alexei in her arms when it was difficult for him to walk. Because of her simplicity and cheerful disposition, the sisters called her Masha. The girl loved to talk with the guard soldiers and always remembered the names of their wives and how many children they had.
At the age of 14 she became a colonel of the 9th Kazan Dragoon Regiment. At the same time, her affair with officer Demenkov broke out. When her lover went to the front, Maria personally sewed a shirt for him. In telephone conversations, he assured that the shirt was just right. Unfortunately, the end of the love story was tragic: Nikolai Demenkov was killed during the civil war.
Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova
Wikipedia Princess Anastasia was born when the family of Nicholas II and Alexandra already had three daughters. Outwardly she looked like her father, she often laughed and laughed loudly. From the diaries of those close to the royal family, you can find out that Anastasia had a very cheerful and even mischievous character. The girl loved to play lapta and forfeits, could tirelessly run around the palace, play hide and seek, and climb trees. But she was never particularly diligent in her studies and even tried to bribe teachers with bouquets of flowers.
Alexey Nikolaevich Romanov
Wikipedia The long-awaited son of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna was the youngest of the children of the royal couple. The boy was born on July 30 (August 12), 1904. At first, the Tsarevich grew up as a cheerful, cheerful child, but later a terrible genetic disease appeared - hemophilia. This complicated the upbringing and training of the future emperor. Only Rasputin managed to find a way to alleviate the boy’s suffering.
Alexei Nikolaevich himself wrote in his diary: “When I am king, there will be no poor and unhappy people, I want everyone to be happy.”
Execution of Nicholas II and his family
All of Switzerland at your fingertips After signing the manifesto, from March 9 to August 14, 1917, the royal family of Nicholas II lived under arrest in Tsarskoe Selo. In the summer they were transported to Tobolsk, where the regime was a little softer: the Romanovs were allowed to go across the street to the Church of the Annunciation and lead a quiet home life.
While imprisoned, the family of Tsar Nicholas II did not sit idle: the former monarch personally chopped wood and looked after the garden.
In the spring of 1918, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee decided to transfer the Romanov family to Moscow for trial. However, it never took place. On July 12, the Ural Council of Workers' Deputies decided to execute the former emperor. Nicholas II, Alexandra Feodorovna, their children, as well as Doctor Botkin and the servants were shot in Yekaterinburg in the “House of Special Purpose” on the night of July 17, 1918.
The history of the last royal family will forever remain a sad page for the Russian people and full of “dark spots.” There are too many “What if?” questions, too many unfortunate events and too many human factors. Regarding some of the decisions of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna, the question arises: who were these people more - a couple of monarchs or parents who simply loved their children very much? Researchers today agree that several years before the revolution they had the opportunity to save one of their daughters from a terrible fate and, perhaps, change the entire course of history.
Eldest daughter
Grand Duchess Olga was the first-born of the royal couple. Her christening coincided with her parents' first wedding anniversary. According to the recollections of people close to the Romanov family, she grew up as a gifted and kind child. She captivated everyone with her warmth and sweet manners. She loved to read. Anna Alexandrovna Vyrubova, maid of honor and close friend of the empress, wrote in her memoirs: “Olga Nikolaevna was remarkably smart and capable, and teaching was a joke to her, why was She sometimes lazy. Her characteristic features were a strong will and incorruptible honesty and directness, in which She was like her Mother. She had these wonderful qualities since childhood, but as a child Olga Nikolaevna was often stubborn, disobedient and very hot-tempered; subsequently She knew how to restrain herself.”
Having matured, Olga became a true friend and adviser to Nicholas II. Sergei Yuryevich Witte recalled that before the birth of Tsarevich Alexei, the emperor seriously thought about the issue of transferring the throne to his eldest daughter in the event that he did not have a son.
Failed weddings
It is known that the royal daughters in the eternal “game of thrones” are a strong trump card with which you can change the balance of power on the political map of the world. At the time of the collapse of the Russian Empire, the eldest daughter of Nicholas II was already 22 years old. The age is quite suitable for marriage. And indeed, attempts were made to arrange her fate more than once.Her engagement to Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich was scheduled for June 6, 1912. This marriage would become largely consanguineous (the intended groom was a cousin of Nicholas II), but the young people were brought up together and had tender feelings for each other. The engagement did not take place under the influence of the empress. It is believed that the reason was Dmitry's antipathy towards Grigory Rasputin. By the way, he really didn’t like him so much that after 4 years he joined the killers of the favorite.
During the First World War, Olga's dynastic marriage with the Romanian Prince Carol almost took place. It cannot be said that a young and eccentric heir could make a girl like Grand Duchess Olga happy. The young prince suffered from a somewhat indecent disease - pripiasm, and this is precisely what his contemporaries justified his dissolute behavior, tactfully calling what was happening “sexual escapades.” Olga refused to get married. In this case, the parents did not use their power and did not insist.
Pierre Gilliard, a family friend and teacher of the royal children, recounts a conversation he had with the Grand Duchess on this topic: “...she (Olga) added: “Well, so!” If I don't want it, it won't happen. Dad promised me not to force me, but I don’t want to leave Russia.” - “But you will have the opportunity to return here whenever you please.” “Despite everything, I will be a stranger in my country, but I am Russian and I want to remain Russian!” It must be admitted that the excuse for refusal was royally plausible.
The third matchmaking took place already in 1916. Olga was again offered a relative as a groom, and even 18 years older than her - Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich. This time Alexandra Feodorovna took responsibility for the refusal. In a letter to her husband, she explains this decision as follows: “The thought of Boris is too unsympathetic, and I am sure that Our Daughter would never agree to marry him, and I would understand Her perfectly.”
Contemporaries also understood the empress, because the candidate for groom this time was not distinguished by exemplary behavior - he had a constant mistress for many years.
What's next?
As a result of all these unsuccessful attempts, the Emperor's eldest daughter remained in the bosom of her family and shared its tragic fate. By the way, all the men who did not become the princess’s suitors successfully survived the subsequent turbulent years.After the assassination of Rasputin, Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich was actually exiled to serve in Persia, but this allowed him to survive the beginning of the revolution. He later emigrated to London. Interestingly, in Paris he experienced a stormy love affair with Coco Chanel, which lasted exactly a year. Currently, it is his descendants who are the eldest among the Romanovs (in the male line among descendants from morganatic marriages).
The Romanian prince, despite all his youthful quirks, subsequently married another princess - Helen of Greece. Albeit with adventures, he ascended the throne, which remained in place during the revolutionary events in Russia, under the name Carol II.
Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich emigrated and in 1919 married his longtime mistress. Their family lived in Paris. Having sold the family treasure - the famous emeralds, which later ended up in the collection of Elizabeth Taylor, he was able to buy the castle of Sans Souci.
Of course, it is unknown whether at least one of the possible unions could have brought Grand Duchess Olga a happy family life, but now, knowing the tragic fate of the princess, one can only regret that her marriage did not take place. In addition, one can only assume how a possible heir, born of the daughter of the Russian Emperor, could influence the course of further events. Still, sometimes I really want to apply the subjunctive mood to history!
If the cards had fallen on the table of fate a little differently, then this blue-eyed, smart girl with a fiery temper could have become the Russian empress. Theoretically it could, for the most part, of course. The situation at the beginning of the 20th century with the appearance of only daughters for Nicholas II forced him to consider, among others, the possibility of changing the law on succession to the throne to allow a woman to ascend the throne.
However, the matter did not progress further than talk: the king had an heir. The girl Olga, meanwhile, grew up and turned into an interesting girl who should have become the wife of a king or prince of some European country, give birth to children, do charity work and die calmly in her old age in her own bed, remaining in the memory exclusively of historians and inquisitive people ...
...If those same mythical cards had not led her to the basement of the Ipatiev House, early in July morning, exchanging the life of the family of the last Russian emperor for immortality.
Olga Nikolaevna was born on November 3, 1895, almost a year after the wedding of Nicholas II and Alexandra, and became the first of their four daughters. Modern psychologists would say that in character and abilities she was a typical eldest child in the family. “Her characteristic features were a strong will and incorruptible honesty and directness... She had these wonderful qualities since childhood, but as a child Olga Nikolaevna was often stubborn, disobedient and very hot-tempered,” Anna Vyrubova wrote in her memoirs.
Because of these traits, Olga received the most moralizing from her mother. “Yes, try to be more obedient and don’t be too impatient, don’t get angry because of this. This upsets me very much, you’re very big now,” Alix wrote to her daughter. “My child. Don’t think that I angrily said goodbye to you on the night. That didn't happen. Mom has the right to tell the children what she thinks, and you left with such a gloomy face." “My girl, you must remember that one of the main things is to be polite, and not rude, both in manners and in words. Rude words in the mouths of children are more than ugly. Always think about your behavior, be honest, listen to your elders. .." "Try to be an example of what a good, little, obedient girl should be. You are our eldest and should show others how to behave. Learn to make others happy, think about yourself last. Be soft, kind, never "Don't be rude or harsh. Be a real lady in your manners and speech. Be patient and polite, and help your sisters in every way."
“Olga, dear, whether I’m in the room or not, you should always behave the same. It’s not I who is looking after you, but God sees everything and hears everything everywhere, and it is Him who we must, first of all, try to please by doing everything that we need to obey our parents and those who care about us, and overcome our shortcomings. Let's say there are things that you like to do, but you know that I have forbidden them - strive not to do them, even if my prohibition seems strange to you and "You don't understand his reason, but I know it and I know that it's for your benefit. Carry out my orders quickly, and don't waste time to see if others are doing it."
Gilliard recalled: “The mother, whom they adored, was, in their eyes, as if infallible; Olga Nikolaevna alone sometimes had a desire for independence.” In one of her letters already during the war, Alexandra complained to Nikolai: “O. is always very unsympathetic to every instruction, although she often ends up doing according to my wishes. And when I am strict, she sulks at me.”
In general, the princess (like all her sisters, with the exception of Tatiana) “loved her father more than her mother” (Kobylinsky’s words). Gibbs claimed that “she loved her father more than anyone in the world.”
And she was more like her father, including the impression she made. “Of the four, Olga and Maria Nikolaevna were similar to their father’s family and had a purely Russian type... She had wonderful blond hair, big blue eyes and a marvelous complexion, a slightly upturned nose that resembled the Emperor,” Vyrubova recalled. “The Emperor, as always, in such cases, looked kindly and smiled... Olga Nikolaevna smiled as well as the Emperor,” wrote Spiridovich.
The range of interests and inclinations of the most intelligent and prone to intellectual pursuits (according to Gilliard, “the other sisters ... were rather gifted with practical qualities”) Olga was typical for an intellectual. “She played the piano, loved poetry and literature... She couldn’t stomach housekeeping and women’s interests in general and was not practical in life,” said Ersberg.
Semyon Pavlov recalled: “Concerts were often held in the infirmary. They invited either artists from the Imperial Theaters or students of the Petrograd Conservatory. ...But very often we organized home concerts ourselves... The accompaniment was usually Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, who had a wonderful ear for music. For example, it was easy for Her to find an accompaniment to a melody that was completely unfamiliar to Her. Her playing was subtle and noble, the touch was soft and velvety. I still remember one waltz, my grandfather’s old waltz - soft, graceful and fragile, like an expensive porcelain toy - the favorite waltz of Grand Duchess Olga. We often asked Grand Duchess Olga to play this waltz for us, and for some reason it always made me very sad.”
However, the princess also loved to have fun. “In the evenings, Olga, me and sometimes Maria fly on bicycles around our rooms at full speed. Olga catches me or I catch her, it’s very nice. We fall sometimes, but we’re still alive,” Anastasia wrote to her father. “Olga was naughty, sitting on a small table, until she successfully broke it,” Alexandra recounted to him the events of the day.
Sometimes it is difficult to understand where the border between a good mood and some hysteria lies: “We walked to Caprice and climbed the stairs You know (drawing). And so, when we got up there, Olga took her umbrella and fiercely rushed at one window and broke 3 panes...”
Despite the widespread opinion that “only Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna was at the real ball, and then only once, on the day of the tercentenary of the House of Romanov,” Olga attended balls (albeit not as luxurious as it used to be before) more than once and with danced with pleasure. The father often took his older daughters to the theaters and one such visit took place after the murder of Stolypin.
The princess also liked the duties of the honorary chief of the 3rd Elisavetgrad Hussar Regiment, but the public events - meetings of the committee to help the families of soldiers, which she was obliged to attend during the war, bored the girl.
Together with Tatyana and Alexandra, in 1914, Olga completed a training course for nurses and began working at the Tsarskoye Selo infirmary, but she could not stand being present at operations for long and soon switched to “administrative” work. “Grand Duchess Olga took upon herself the morning distribution of medicines to the wards and She performed this duty carefully to the point of pedantry. He used to bring medicine, smile affectionately, say hello, ask how you are feeling, and leave quietly. ... Sometimes Princess Olga changed the water in vases of flowers. They told me that she used to work in a dressing room. But the terrible sight of crippled people greatly weakened Her fragile nervous system, and She completely refused to work in the dressing room,” recalled one of the patients.
As the eldest daughter of the emperor of a great power, Olga was a tempting bride. The fact that she could be a carrier of a defective gene and pass hemophilia to her sons worried little about the European royal families. Firstly, the issue of marriage in this case was a matter of international politics, and secondly, families usually had many children, so the chances of a healthy heir somehow increased.
Some assumed that the four princesses “would marry four Balkan heirs. Moreover, this project seemed to us the best way to resolve all Balkan conflicts...”; Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna Sr. dreamed of marrying Olga her son Boris, who was 18 years older than the intended bride years old and had a reputation as an inveterate womanizer and waster of life, and the foreign ministers of Romania and Russia planned to unite the princess with her second cousin, Crown Prince Carol. There were rumors that Olga could receive the English crown, complete with the hand of that same Prince of Wales, Edward, who would later become the husband of Wallis Simpson, as well as the fact that the future king of Yugoslavia, Alexander I Karagiorgievich, was not indifferent to the girl. She herself treated the latter warmly, writing in her diary that she loved his sister, Grand Duchess Helena, as " a piece of Alexander."
As a teenager, the princess, apparently, was not indifferent to one of the officers of the “Standard”: a good article (albeit with an erroneous year of the morganatic marriage of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna) was posted.
Olga with officers, including Pavel Voronov
With the beginning of the war, the peaceful fun on the Shtandart was a thing of the past, but now next door there was an infirmary full of brave military men with serious and not very wounded. Many of the patients ended up in the hospital, after treatment they went to the front and ended up back again. In Olga's diary of that period, the same name is often found: Mitya, Dmitry, Shakh-Bagov (“he is very sweet”, “terrible darling”). They handle tools together, talk, and call on the phone.
In the notes of Valentina Chebotareva, who worked in the infirmary at the same time, you can read: “Shah Bagov has a fever and is lying down. Olga Nikolaevna sits by his bedside all the time... Isn’t all this closeness and touching harmful? I feel terrible. After all, the rest are jealous, angry, and I imagine that they are weaving and spreading throughout the city, and then beyond. ... Vera Ignatievna told me that Shakh Bagov, drunk, showed Olga Nikolaevna’s letters to someone. Only this was still missing! Poor kids!
“And then a letter arrived from Shah Bagov - Olga Nikolaevna, in delight, scattered all her things and threw a pillow on the top shelf. She was hot and jumping: “Is it possible to have a stroke at 20 years old? In my opinion, I’m in danger of having a stroke.”
“Olga Nikolaevna has become seriously attached to Shakh Bagov, and it’s so pure, naive and hopeless. A strange, peculiar girl. He never reveals his feelings. It was reflected only in the special gentle note of the voice with which she gave instructions: “Hold your pillow higher. Aren’t you tired? Aren’t you tired?” When he left, the poor thing sat alone for an hour, with her nose buried in the machine, and sewed stubbornly, persistently. The mother's nature must have rubbed off on her. The empress said that “from the age of twelve she fell in love with the sovereign... and did everything to prevent this marriage from taking place. There is no happiness on earth, or you will pay dearly for it.” Yes, she paid dearly for hers. Is Olgina really having the same fate? She searched diligently for the penknife that Shah Bagov sharpened on the evening of departure - and tied up her beard, she searched the whole morning and was happy when she found it. He also keeps a piece of paper from the calendar, June 6th, the day of his departure.”
The hobby remained a hobby when the revolution came. First, house arrest in Tsarskoye, then Tobolsk and Yekaterinburg.
The natural tendency to think played a bitter joke on Olga. "She was a natural thinker, and as it turned out later, she understood the general situation better than anyone in her family, including even her parents. Finally, I got the impression that she had no illusions about what the future held for them, and, as a result of this, she was often sad and anxious,” recalled Gleb Botkin. He was echoed by Claudia Bitner, who communicated much more with the princess: “It seems to me that she understood their position much more than anyone else in the family and was aware of its danger. She cried terribly when her father and mother left Tobolsk.”
When leaving Tobolsk for the unknown, Nikolai and Alexandra take with them one of their younger daughters, Maria, while Tatyana remains with the eldest. Olga, who has never insisted on her authority as the eldest child, is apparently simply in a state of extreme anxiety. Sophie Buxhoeveden describes her result: “Olga Nikolaevna has also changed a lot. Anxiety and anxiety due to the absence of her parents, and the responsibility that fell on her when she remained the head of the house to care for her sick brother, produced a change in the tender, beautiful girl of twenty-two, turning her into a faded and sad woman of middle age. She was the only princess who was acutely aware of the danger her parents were in.”
From “the most talkative” (S. Pavlov), “very charming and the most cheerful” (S. Buxhoeveden) Grand Duchess Olga turned into her own shadow and, having moved to Ipatiev’s house, behaved aloof and sad. The guards recalled that “she was thin, pale and looked sick. She rarely went for walks in the garden and spent most of her time next to her brother.”
Last known photograph
And then the night of July 16-17 came and instead of the crown of the Russian Empire, Olga received the halo of the passion-bearer.
Honestly, I personally wonder what she herself would prefer if she had the opportunity to choose?
“Very tall, reed-thin, she was endowed with a graceful cameo profile and brown hair. She was fresh, fragile and pure, like a rose,” this is how Julia Den, a close friend of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, described the second daughter of Nicholas II.
The girl was born in Peterhof on June 10, 1897. Her parents chose a name for her that was unusual for the Romanovs - Tatyana. As the President of the Imperial St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich later recalled, the emperor once mentioned that his daughters were named Olga and Tatyana, so that it would be like Pushkin’s in Onegin.
The age difference between the eldest Olga and Tatyana was small - 1.5 years. According to the recollections of their teachers, the girls were very friendly. After the birth of two more sisters - Maria and Anastasia - and brother Alexei, the family began to call them “elders”. But unlike Olga, it was Tatyana who loved to babysit the younger ones and help organize things in the palace.
Strict upbringing
The Empress's maid of honor Anna Vyrubova wrote in her memoirs that Olga and Maria Nikolaevna were more like their father's family, while Tatyana went to her mother's family - the granddaughter of the English Queen Victoria and the daughter of the Grand Duke of Hesse and the Rhine. She inherited her mother's analytical mind and practicality. Unlike the older Olga, Tatyana was more restrained and rational. Because of these manners, outsiders often accused her of the same thing as Alexandra Feodorovna - arrogance and pride.
“Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna was as charming as Her elder sister, but in her own way.” Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
“Grand Duchess Tatyana Nikolaevna was just as charming as Her elder sister, but in her own way. She was often called proud, but I didn’t know anyone who was less proud than she was. The same thing happened to her as to Her Majesty. Her shyness and restraint were mistaken for arrogance, but as soon as you got to know Her better and won Her trust, the restraint disappeared and the real Tatyana Nikolaevna appeared before you,” recalled Yulia Den.
It is worth noting that Empress Anna Fedorovna was personally involved in raising her daughters. She was convinced that girls should always be busy, always in action. Often she was even present in lessons, which sometimes embarrassed the teachers.
Pierre Gilliard, who taught French to the royal children, recalled his first lessons with Olga and Tatiana: “The Empress does not miss a single word of mine; I have a very clear feeling that this is not a lesson that I am giving, but an examination that I am undergoing...”
He later noted that when the girls left the office, Alexandra Fedorovna discussed teaching techniques and methods with him, and he was “amazed by the common sense and insight of her judgment.”
Pierre Gilliard with his students: Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
Over time, discipline and diligence instilled in Tatyana prudence and fortitude. She became the “eldest” daughter, albeit not by birthright, but in relation to her sisters and brother. So, when the emperor and his wife left Tobolsk, it was Tatyana Nikolaevna who remained in charge.
“This was a girl of a well-developed character, straightforward, honest and pure nature; she was noted for her exceptional inclination to establish order in life and a highly developed sense of duty. She was in charge of the Mother’s illness, the routine in the house, took care of Alexei Nikolaevich and always accompanied the Emperor on His walks if Dolgorukov was not there. She was smart, well-developed, and loved to be in charge,” is how Colonel Kobylinsky described her.
Nicholas II with his daughter Tatyana Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
First love
In 1914, when Tatyana was 17 years old, the family began to talk about her possible marriage. Among the contenders for her hand and heart was the son of the Serbian King Peter I - Alexander.
To meet the bride, he and his father even came to St. Petersburg. It seemed that the issue of concluding a profitable alliance was almost resolved, but all plans were confused by the First World War. As a result, conversations about the wedding had to be postponed. Despite this, the young people maintained friendly relations and continued communicating by correspondence.
In the same year, according to the recollections of those close to the royal family, Tatiana’s first love came. Her heart was won by Dmitry Yakovlevich Malama, cornet of the Life Guards Ulan Regiment of Her Imperial Majesty Alexandra Feodorovna. She met him in the hospital, where she came with her sisters and mother to visit the wounded. Patients lying in the same ward with him noticed that during visits the Grand Duchess always sat at his bedside.
Their mutual sympathy was no secret to their relatives. Once Dmitry gave her a French bulldog, which became the reason for good jokes and light teasing from her older sister and aunt, Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna.
A letter from the Empress has also been preserved, in which she described Nicholas II’s visit to Malame: “He has a flourishing appearance, matured, although still a charming boy. I must admit that he would be an excellent son-in-law - why aren’t foreign princes like him?”
Alexandra Fedorovna with her daughters. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
But this relationship could not have a future.
On the night of July 16-17, 1918, in Yekaterinburg, in the “House of Special Purpose” - Ipatiev’s mansion - Nicholas II, Alexandra Fedorovna, their children, Doctor Botkin and three servants were shot.
After the news of the death of the royal family reached Malama, he lost the will to live. The comrades with whom he fought in the White Army said that he was constantly looking for death. And this happened in 1919 in the battle of Tsaritsyn.
