Why were the daughters of Nicholas II unmarried? Why did the daughters of Nicholas II never get married?
The mystery of the family shooting last emperor Nicholas II never ceases to excite the minds of researchers throughout the 100 years that have passed since the day of his execution. Were the members of the royal family actually shot, or did their doubles die in the basement of the Ipatiev House? Is it true that some of those sentenced to death were able to survive?
And were those who called impostors right those who tried to declare themselves as the miraculously saved children of Nicholas II? Of course, among the latter there were a lot of scammers, but sometimes the question still arises: what if one of them was telling the truth?
In 1993, Anatoly Gryannik, who worked at the Baltika Foundation, discovered Natalia Bilikhodze living there in Georgia, who admitted that she was the surviving daughter of Nicholas II, Anastasia Romanova. The Foundation was created in 2000 Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanova with headquarters in the State Duma of the Russian Federation. The goal of the foundation was to return royal values to their homeland. In the imperial family, as stated, the youngest daughter Anastasia was given special role. The Romanovs knew about several visionary predictions about tragic fate their families believed them. Therefore, from an early age, Anastasia’s parents forced her to memorize account numbers in foreign banks, which made it possible, if Anastasia was the only one left alive, to receive for her what the Romanovs had placed abroad.
Princess from Georgia
One of the members of the foundation, Doctor of Historical Sciences Vladlen Sirotkin, is convinced that in 1918 the Bolsheviks shot not the Romanovs, but their doubles the Filatovs. Moreover, the Filatovs were not only doubles, but also distant relatives The Romanovs - it was precisely because of this, in his opinion, that examinations carried out in the 90s discovered their genetic similarity. In addition, Professor Sirotkin devoted 20 years of his life to the search for Russian values abroad. It was he who discovered that the bulk of the royal inheritance was placed in European banks, and Russia gave 48,600 tons (according to Professor Vladlen Sirotkin) of gold to the US Federal Reserve System in trust for 99 years. In this regard, members of the Princess Anastasia Foundation planned to return the lost trillions to Russia with the help of the found princess, who, as stated, turned out to be Natalia Bilikhodze.
Bilikhodze told the story of her salvation. As she said, she was taken out of the Ipatiev House by Pyotr Verkhovsky, who at the court of Nicholas II was responsible for training doubles - understudies of members of the imperial family
The fund's organizers actively defended their idea in the media, proclaiming that in order to return gold to Russia, Bilikhodze needed support. The fact that Bilikhodze is Anastasia Romanova, according to members of the foundation, is evidenced by the results of 22 examinations. In addition, Bilikhodze herself told the story of her salvation. As she said, she was taken out of the Ipatiev House by Pyotr Verkhovsky, who at the court of Nicholas II was responsible for training doubles - understudies for members of the imperial family. Then Anastasia was taken from Yekaterinburg first to Petrograd, from there to Moscow, and then to Crimea, from where she and Verkhovsky arrived in Tbilisi. Here Anastasia was subsequently married to a certain citizen Bilikhodze and named Natalia Petrovna. In 1937, her husband came under a wave of repression and died, and then all documents in the name of Anastasia Romanova allegedly disappeared. However, it was difficult to verify this story, since the local KGB archive burned down, and no documents from the Tbilisi registry office about the marriage were found.
On this topic
After the death of her husband, Natalia Petrovna got a job at the Tsentrolit plant, where, at the insistence of the director who sympathized with her, she changed her year of birth from 1901 to 1918.
Then she married again - to a certain Kosygin, who later died in the 70s. It seems very likely that both husbands were secret service employees. How do we know about all this? From the book “I am Anastasia Romanova” - memoirs recorded from the words of Bilikhodze. The memoirs also describe childhood stories of the princess against the background historical events, her escape from the Ipatiev House (by the way, during its destruction, a previously unknown underground passage was found, which Bilikhodze recalled) and life in Georgia. The main thing that Bilikhodze-Romanova asked was to return her name to her. For this, she was ready to transfer to the state everything that she could return from abroad.
22 "yes" and 1 "no"
As reported, 22 examinations were carried out in relation to Natalia Bilikhodze in Russia, Latvia and Georgia to identify her with Princess Anastasia. Experts compared literally everything: structural features of bones and ears, features of the skeleton and gait, biological age, handwriting, motor activity, blood, hereditary diseases, mental condition, photographic and video materials were also used, depicting the daughter of the last Russian sovereign. According to representatives of the foundation, all researchers came to the conclusion: Natalia may well be the youngest daughter of Nicholas II. At the same time, the best psychiatrists in Georgia claimed that Bilikhodze is mentally healthy and does not have sclerosis. Based on the combination of matching signs between Natalia Bilikhodze and Princess Anastasia, this can only happen “in one out of 700 billion cases,” members of the fund said.
Subsequently, they transported Bilikhodze to the Moscow region. Moving from warm Georgia to not too good conditions middle zone led to the development of left-sided pneumonia and cardiac arrhythmia, for which reason in December 2000 she was hospitalized at the Central Clinical Hospital of the UDP. There she soon died. However, the death certificate was issued by the Kuntsevo registry office in Moscow only in February 2001. Anastasia’s body lay in the Central Clinical Hospital morgue for almost two months - at the initiative of members of the foundation, experts conducted a genetic study of Bilikhodze. The examination was carried out by a doctor biological sciences Pavel Ivanov at the Russian Center for Forensic Medicine of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. The result of the DNA test was as follows: “The mitotype of Bilikhodze N.P., which characterizes the matrilineal (maternal) branch of her pedigree and should normally be present in all of her blood relatives on the maternal side, does not coincide with the DNA profile (mitotype) of the Russian Empress A.F. Romanova (from the burial?). Origin of N.P. Bilikhodze from the maternal genetic line of Queen Victoria of England is not confirmed. On this basis, consanguinity on the maternal side in any capacity Bilikhodze N.P. and Alexandra Fedorovna Romanova is excluded...”
Queen Victoria was Anastasia Romanova's great-grandmother, that is, the comparison went through two generations. Why didn’t the geneticist take biomaterial? sister Anastasia's mother - Elizaveta Feodorovna? It is also unclear who double-checked Ivanov’s conclusions, as well as what methodology he used. By the way, it is very likely that the conclusion could not have been different if we take as a basis the version according to which all those shot in the Ipatiev House, with the exception of Anastasia, were doubles of the members royal family.
2 trillion dollars
This is what members of the foundation wrote to Vladimir Putin at one time. “Today foreign banks are ready at the request of A.N. Romanova to resolve issues with her personal funds and the funds and values of the entire Romanov family. It is possible to receive about 2 trillion dollars. Anastasia Romanova – legitimate return key Money through the US Federal Reserve. The world's 12 largest banks formed the Federal Reserve System in 1913 with money belonging to Russian Empire in the person of Tsar Nicholas II. Currently, their estimated commodity coverage is approximately $163 trillion.”
Why there is a problem with obtaining these funds was described in a letter sent to the Security Committee State Duma. “We believe that this situation has arisen due to the possibility of obtaining the indicated financial resources another contender, namely Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain, mother (died in 2002), since she is a dynastic relative of A. Romanova. The English royal family repeatedly appealed to the USSR Government with a request to issue death certificates for the family of Nicholas II, but the response from the country's leadership was negative, since it knew about the availability of funds and desire royal family get them. Things, for example, even got to the point where M.S. Gorbachev was given an ultimatum: “If you do not bury the family (which means confirming the fact of the death of the family), England will not support Russia.” But M.S. Gorbachev did not agree to this.”
Well, if all this is true, then the Russian side should collect all the documents and present them to the Western side in order to return the valuables. Probably, here it is necessary to involve the Western detective agencies “Kroll” and “Pinkerton Agency”, which have already carried out work to search for Russian valuables and, probably, are ready to present the materials they have on certain conditions. In particular, “Kroll” worked on the instructions of Yegor Gaidar in 1992, and the “Pinkerton Agency” - in the 20s of the last century on the instructions of People’s Commissar Leonid Krasin, apparently collecting a significant database on Russian values abroad.
On December 12, “Channel One” will show an 8-episode dedicated to last days 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 king 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, 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 towards ordinary people- to the peasants, however, he 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 Alexander III as inheritance to 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 held military reform: 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 (“In last time I appeal to you...”) to change the meaning of the autocrat’s words.
Wife of Nicholas II - Alexandra Feodorovna
Subscription to publications Empress ( born 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 son - 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. WITH early years She had 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 fit. Unfortunately, it's the end 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 cheerful a cheerful child, however, 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 Tsarskoye 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 special purpose” on the night of July 17, 1918.
A book by historian Helen Rappaport, “Four Sisters,” about the short life of the daughters of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas, has been published in the UK. II, killed by the Bolsheviks in July 1918 in the basement of Ipatiev’s house in Yekaterinburg. Helen Rappaport– author of many works on the history of Russia, in particular, biographies of Lenin and Stalin and the monograph “Ekaterinburg”, dedicated to the last days of Nikolai’s family II.
The subtitle of Helen Rappaport's book, The Lost Lives of the Grand Duchesses of the House of Romanov, has a double meaning: on the one hand, it says that the lives of four Grand Duchesses - Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia - were cut short when they were brutally murdered in July 1918 by the Bolsheviks , on the other hand, that after that they were forgotten for a long time. For almost a hundred years since the murder of the royal family, a huge number of books have been written and films made about its tragic fate, but the four Grand Duchesses are mentioned only briefly in them. Helen Rappaport's book is the first historical study to focus on the lives and fates of these young girls. It is clear that the title of the book refers the reader to the title of Chekhov’s play, and the author undoubtedly does this intentionally, contrasting four sisters living in the “golden cage” of the imperial court with three of their contemporaries languishing in the Russian wilderness. "Four Sisters" recreates a vivid picture of the childhood, youth and youth of four pure, innocent and noble creatures with their touching romantic hopes and dreams, which were cut short on the night of July 17, 1918, when they descended 23 steps into the basement of the Ipatiev house in Yekaterinburg. There they were brutally killed without trial; their only fault was that they were born into the family of the Russian Tsar. At the time of the death, the eldest of the sisters, Olga, was 22 years old, the youngest, Anastasia, was 17 years old. At the same time, their younger brother, 13-year-old Tsarevich Alexei, was killed, along with their parents, servants and Doctor Botkin - 11 people in total.
One of the chapters of Helen Rappaport's book is called "Lord! What a disappointment... The fourth girl!" This is how Grand Duchess Ksenia, the sister of Nicholas II, greeted the news of Anastasia’s birth. Were the parents really disappointed by the birth of four daughters? In an interview with Radio Liberty, Helen Rappaport explains:
- Of course, they were disappointed, but this in no way cancels their love for their daughters. Yes, they passionately wanted an heir. Moreover, in this regard, Nikolai and Alexandra were under extreme pressure Russian society. Alexandra was especially criticized, whom the public considered to be the culprit of the “feminization” of the dynasty. The birth of the prince was a triumph not only for the Romanovs, the whole country rejoiced. Of course, there was a special attitude towards Tsarevich Alexei - both as the heir to the throne and as a terminally ill child. But the daughters always enjoyed the unfailing love of their parents, who were heavily involved in their upbringing and education. I do not have the slightest doubt about the sincerity of the love of the king and queen for their daughters. And this is understandable: for Nikolai and Alexandra, family has always been the most important value. The sisters were an important part of her; her parents couldn’t imagine without them. family life.
– You write that “the sisters were trapped in an artificial and closed world.” How did this happen?
The sisters practically did not appear in society, they had no acquaintances among the aristocracy, they simply did not know it. But Russia didn’t know the sisters either
– They found themselves in this trap due to circumstances Russian life, which emerged after the 1905 revolution, when the lives of the Tsar and his family were threatened by extremist revolutionary groups. The revolutionary terror that began in the 19th century did not stop at all. Alexandra was very afraid for the lives of the children, especially for the life of Tsarevich Alexei. The opportunity for the royal children to communicate with the outside world was very limited, and strict security measures were taken. Another reason for the secluded lifestyle of the royal family was explained by its attempt to hide the fact that the heir to the throne had hemophilia. It was necessary to prevent the possibility of falls, bruises or wounds of the prince and to hide their consequences from strangers. Paradoxically, Alexandra did not want to believe that her son was sick. In addition, the sisters were not allowed to have close contact with the Russian aristocracy, which their mother despised, considering them decadent and immoral. She didn't want children to become a part of her. In St. Petersburg, the sisters practically did not appear in society, they had no acquaintances among the aristocracy, they simply did not know it. But Russia didn’t know the sisters either.
–Did the four Romanov sisters have any kind of personal life: romantic interests, love?
– The problem was that the sisters’ entourage consisted mainly of court ladies, guards, Cossacks on horseback, and the crew of the yacht “Standard”. Summer months they usually spent in Livadia. The only objects of their possible romantic interests could only be the guards and naval officers. The sad irony of their fate was that their first contacts outside their circle were men who stood immeasurably below them on the social ladder. This happened when the older sisters Olga and Tatyana began working as nurses in a military hospital during the First World War. It was there that they developed infatuations with some of the wounded officers, perhaps even flashes of love. But the wounded constantly changed, the relationship remained platonic, and there was no talk of marriage. The sisters knew what they were destined for dynastic marriages, which involved leaving Russia. I think that they would be happy to marry a Russian officer and stay in Russia.
– It is known that NikolaiIIwas an Anglophile. Did this affect the upbringing of your daughters?
– They were strongly influenced by English culture. This influence did not come only from the father. Their mother, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, was the daughter of Grand Duchess Alice of Hesse, daughter of Queen Victoria. Thus, Alexandra was the granddaughter of the British Queen, and her daughters were her great-granddaughters. Alexandra's mother died very early, and Victoria had a strong influence on her and her family. The daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra had English nannies, governesses and teachers. The family followed many English customs. The sisters constantly spoke to their mother in English. They communicated in Russian among themselves and with their father, who also spoke fluent English. So English culture and English values played a very important role in their lives. Both of their parents were close relatives of the British royal family. All this did not prevent the sisters from feeling deeply Russian people. And when at times it came to the inevitability of their marriage with foreign crowned heads, the sisters always said that they would like to stay in Russia. They always felt a deep connection with her. They loved Russia.
– Like Nicholas's daughtersIIbehaved after the revolution and deportation to Yekaterinburg?
– In Yekaterinburg, the royal family was kept in harsh conditions. Upon arrival there, they were told that they were prisoners and that from now on they would have a regime like prisoners. The house in which they lived was surrounded by a high fence, and they were assigned 24-hour security. What admires me about the behavior of the four sisters after their deportation from St. Petersburg, first to Tobolsk, then to Yekaterinburg, is how courageously they behaved; During all this time, no one heard a single complaint from them. They consoled their parents when they lost heart, and looked after their brother when he started bleeding. I would call their behavior stoic. These were loving children upon whom all the cruelty and all the mercilessness of the Bolshevik revolution fell and Civil War. And in this situation, the sisters did not completely lose their strength of spirit.
– What is known about last minutes the lives of four sisters in the basement of Ipatiev’s house?
– Information about what happened in the basement of Ipatiev’s house is contradictory. All witnesses describe chaos and despair at the moment of the brutal murder of eleven people. None of the killers could remember the details of the behavior of the members of the royal family at the time of the murder; everything was chaotic and disorderly. This was not an execution by a firing squad, it was precisely a brutal, indiscriminate murder. Nikolai was luckier than others; he died instantly and without suffering, since Yurovsky, who led the murder, shot at him, and his henchmen also aimed at the tsar. The sisters at that moment could not experience anything but incredible horror.
– Why did Great Britain deny asylum to the royal family? After all, GeorgVhow the closest relative wanted to receive her...
I want to talk about privacy four charming creatures who became innocent victims of a bloody and merciless era
“I don’t think King George alone should be blamed for this.” Other crowned relatives of the Romanovs did not want to accept her: in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany. Nobody wanted to help. The reason, in my opinion, lay in the reputation of Nicholas II that arose in left-wing circles. It is known that after the shooting of the demonstration on Bloody Sunday in January 1905, in these circles the tsar became known as the Bloody Nicholas; he was also accused of organizing pogroms. We must not forget that at that time World War was still going on. Germany was an enemy of Great Britain, and Alexandra Fedorovna was not liked very much in England, she was considered German, and it was very difficult for the government and the king to accept her at the height of the war. It was difficult for everyone to provide shelter to the royal family; In many countries, social democratic and leftist governments were in power at that time. King George changed his original intention under intense political pressure.
– Your previous books were dedicated to major historical figures. What made you want to write a book about young girls who are hardly historical figures?
– The four daughters of Nicholas II were too young to be considered historical figures. I had the feeling that after their death they were forgotten for a long time. When I began to collect material about their lives - and I did this very carefully and for a long time - I realized that I wanted to talk about the family life of the royal family, about the private life of four charming creatures who became innocent victims of a bloody and merciless era . Actually, these girls had no other life other than a private one. In the process of working, I even felt some kind of inner kinship with them, I fell in love with them. I am writing about Nicholas and Alexander not as emperor and empress, not as autocratic rulers, but exclusively as loving and beloved parents. The center of my book is family, family relationships and family values. It seemed to me no less important and interesting than historical achievements, misconceptions and intrigues.
The last Russian Emperor had 4 daughters, at the time of the overthrow of Nicholas II, all of them, except herself younger Anastasia, were adults.
Why did the Tsar and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna never arrange the fate of their beloved eldest daughters? after all, the girls were very beautiful, well educated, modest and had an impeccable pedigree. Weren't there any suitable suitors?
Olga
Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, the eldest daughter of the last Russian Emperor, was born in 1895.
Nicholas II named his older girls after the heroines of Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin": Olga and Tatyana.
Olga loved to read and began writing poetry in her youth: a typical romantic young lady of her time. Well-mannered, chaste and thoughtful. The girl, the only one from the royal family, had a cat named Vaska, whom Olga adored and spoiled very much.
Like all girls of her age, Olga dreamed of love, family and children. Around 1911, Olga began to look at cousin father, Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich, who was 4 years older than her.
He was a brilliant young man. Officer, athlete, he took part in Olympic Games 1912 in equestrian sport.
The feelings between the young people were mutual. On June 6, 1912, their engagement was scheduled. The groom’s candidacy was quite satisfactory to the father, who wished Olga happiness, but Alexandra Feodorovna thought differently.
Dmitry had one, but very significant drawback: he could not stand Grigory Rasputin. The Empress could not forgive him for this, and it was she who insisted on a break between the lovers.
Olga suffered greatly, her happiness was destroyed, but she could not resist her mother’s will, as she had been brought up in the traditions of honoring her parents. The marriage did not take place.
Dmitry Pavlovich subsequently took a direct part in the murder of Rasputin. After the revolution, he, a participant in the First World War and a Knight of St. George, emigrated to London and later moved to the USA. He was married in a morganatic marriage, but did not find happiness. Soon after the birth of his son, he separated from his wife.
Olga Nikolaevna’s failed husband died at the age of 49 from tuberculosis, having outlived his love for many 23 years, lonely and completely disillusioned with life.
Tatiana
Tatyana was most friendly with her older sister Olga. But her interests and character were different.
The girl, born in 1897, loved outdoor games, pony and bicycle riding. Like her mother and sisters, Tatyana was very attached to the holy elder, as Grigory Rasputin was called, because only he could ease the suffering of his brother Alexei, who had hemophilia.
But there were unkind rumors about him. One of the maids claimed that Rasputin could enter the room where Olga and Tatyana lived without knocking when they were only in their nightgowns.
Another maid said that Tatyana was raped by Rasputin in 1910, when she was only 13 years old. The Empress refused to believe it, a secret investigation was carried out, but no evidence was found, and Rasputin’s guilt was not established.
Tatyana, like Pushkin's heroine, in whose honor she received her name, was very romantic. It was this daughter of Nicholas II that Serbian King Peter dreamed of marrying his son to.
The prince's name was Alexander, he came to St. Petersburg in 1914 and met his bride. But the marriage plans were interrupted by the First World War.
Tatiana and Alexander wrote tender letters to each other until the end of her life, and when Prince Alexander learned that Tatiana had been shot by the Bolsheviks, he was so dejected that he almost committed suicide.
But the young girl, despite the almost completed engagement and affection for the groom, in the same 1914 managed to fall in love with the cornet Dmitry Malama. She met him in the hospital, where the royal daughters worked as nurses.
He was wounded and helpless, but very beautiful. Tatyana lingered at his bedside for a long time. Oddly enough, the empress’s mother also sympathized with the young man; she wrote to her husband:
... lovely boy. I must admit that he would be an excellent son-in-law - why are foreign princes not like him...
But duty was stronger than sympathy. This marriage was unacceptable. And it didn’t take place.
Maria
The third daughter of Nicholas II was born in 1899 and received the name Maria. She had a cheerful and easy-going character, was funny and very active.
The family jokingly referred to his new blue eyes as “machine saucers.” Maria was distinguished by her blond hair and special charm.
The girl was compared to the old Russian hawthorn. She was distinguished by her simple manners and loved to talk even with ordinary servants. The girl loved to play tennis and dance to loud music.
Maria was kind and even gave in to the persuasion of her older sisters to ask her parents for them if they wanted something.
Your younger brother Maria often carried Alexei in her arms because she was physically a very strong girl.
Those around her said that by nature she was a “typical mother”: caring, kind. The girl herself dreamed of marrying a simple soldier and having at least 20 children.
First love overtook Masha at the age of 11, but the name of the crown princess's chosen one remained unknown.
Romanian Prince Carol asked for her hand when his engagement to his sister Olga broke down. But the prince was told that Maria was still just a child and was refused.
During the First World War, Maria Nikolaevna seriously fell in love with naval officer Nikolai Demenkov. With all straightforwardness, the 14-year-old girl went to her father and asked his permission for this relationship. Maria began to sign her letters “Mrs. Demenkova.”
When her Kolya Demenkov went to the front, Maria gave him a shirt she had sewn with her own hands. They spoke on the phone several more times, corresponded, but never saw each other again.
Nikolai Demenkov died in exile in Paris, and Maria died in Yekaterinburg. Of course, this marriage was also unacceptable, even if the young people had more time.
Neither mother nor father would have allowed this misalliance.
And who knows what the fate of three of the four daughters of Nicholas II would have been if not for their mother’s attachment to Grigory Rasputin, because of whom Olga became unhappy, and the class prejudices of the throne, because of which the marriage of Tatiana and Maria did not take place. Maybe the girls could survive?
Illustrations from the public Internet.
18 April 2012, 17:26The second daughter of Nicholas II and Alexandra, Tatiana, was more like a princess than an older sister. In their union, traditionally called the big pair, she played a leading role, leaving Olga the place of an intellectual and a dreamer. Having a difference of only a year and a half and living in an extremely closed world, the sisters were close to each other and appeared together not only at official events, but also in the memoirs of their contemporaries. Together and in opposition to each other. 
“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 involved in Her special and somehow faded away,” recalled P. Gilliard. Olga and Tatyana 
Unusually wide apart big eyes, slender figure and amazing profile forced many to recognize Tatiana as the most beautiful of all the daughters of Nicholas II. “Tatiana... was more beautiful than her sister, but gave the impression of a less open, sincere and spontaneous nature,” recalled Gilliard. “Dark-haired, pale-faced, with wide-set eyes - this gave Her gaze a poetic, somewhat absent expression, which did not correspond to Her character,” said Buxhoeveden. 
Olga could have her head in the clouds, get irritated over trifles, easily flare up in anger and quickly calm down, while Tatyana was usually calm, collected and annoyingly practical. The malicious nickname “governess”, given by her loving sisters, stuck tightly to her. 
“If Grand Duchess Olga was the embodiment of femininity and special affection, then Grand Duchess Tatiana was undoubtedly the embodiment of another principle - courageous, energetic and strong,” recalled Semyon Pavlov, who was lying in the hospital. - A little higher older sister, but just as graceful and slender, She revealed great firmness and strength in everything. According to Her character, Her movements, although soft, were clear and sharp. The look is expressive and bold. She also greeted in a purely masculine way, shaking hands firmly and looking straight into the eyes of the person she was greeting....If Grand Duchess Olga predisposed to frankness and intimate conversation, then Grand Duchess Tatiana evoked a feeling of deepest respect for Herself. She was as accessible as Princess Olga. But in moments of difficult mental state, I would turn not to Her, but to Grand Duchess Olga.” However, “firmness and strength” (S. Pavlov), “strict and important view"(A. Yakimov), "natural ability to hold on" (Gilliard) and made people feel "that she is the daughter of the emperor" (Kobylinsky), "The Grand Duchess from head to toe, she is so aristocratic and regal" (Ofrosimova). “I feel without words that She is somehow special, different from the sisters...” Ofrosimova enthusiastically recalled years later. Y. Yurovsky echoed her: “The general impression of their life is this: an ordinary, I would say, bourgeois family, with the exception of A.F. and, perhaps, Tatiana.” The three other grand duchesses were much simpler, often “playing naughty and frolicking like boys, and in manners they resembled the Romanovs,” as Vyrubova wrote. Suffice it to recall Olga and Maria breaking glass in the pavilion, or Anastasia throwing a mouse into a room with a timid court lady. Tatiana “is completely different from her sisters. You recognized in her the same features that were inherent in her mother - the same nature and the same character” (E. Kobylinsky), the princess “rarely played naughty and in her restraint and manners she resembled the Empress. She always stopped the sisters, reminded her of the Mother’s will” (A. Vyrubova). “It was Tatyana Nikolaevna who babysat the younger ones and helped organize affairs in the palace so that official ceremonies were consistent with the family’s personal plans. She had a practical mind, inherited from the Empress - her mother, and a detailed approach to everything,” wrote Julia Den. Strict and extremely attentive to compliance with the most important rules, in her opinion, the empress was a balm for the wounds after constant letters eldest daughter with moral teachings on how she should behave, there were short notes in the middle: “Maybe I have many mistakes, but please forgive Me”; “I give you my word that I will do whatever you want and will always obey you, my love.” With Mother 
“Only T. understands when you talk to her calmly; O. is always very unsympathetic to every instruction,” Alexandra complains to her husband in 1916. A month later, she repeats: “Olga grumbles all the time... she causes difficulties everywhere, thanks to her mood. T. helped me in distributing eggs and receiving your people.” The domineering mother, who never forgets that her love should be rewarded with obedience and boundless respect, felt especially good not in the company of the wayward Olga, who worries that she is unloved, Maria or the fidgety Anastasia, but in the company of Tatyana, who always emphasizes her superiority. Middle daughter gave Alexandra exactly what she wanted to receive: “Tatyana Nikolaevna knew how to surround her with constant care and never allowed herself to show that she was out of sorts.” (Gilliard). 
All memoirists agree that from OTMA it was Tatyana who was closest to Alexandra. “In my opinion,” sums up the opinions of those around C.S. Gibbs, “the Empress loved her more than her other daughters. Any indulgence or encouragement could only be achieved through Tatyana Nikolaevna.” To ask, to convey, to influence - for this, everyone (not only the closest relatives, but also those who knew enough about the balance of power in the family) turned to her. And “when the Tsar and Empress left Tobolsk, no one somehow noticed Olga Nikolaevna’s seniority. What they needed, they always went to Tatyana: “As Tatyana Nikolaevna says,” recalled E. Kobylinsky. In general, as his wife, Claudia, said Bitner, “if the family had lost Alexandra Feodorovna, then Tatyana Nikolaevna would have been her roof.” During the war, Tatyana was the honorary chairman of the Committee for Providing Temporary Assistance to Victims of War: she was present (mostly silently) at meetings (sometimes at collecting donations) and signed appeals or thanks. Olga, Tatiana and Alexandra at a meeting of the Tatiana Committee, 1915 
But how sister of mercy Tatyana left about herself good memory. “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,” recalled Botkin’s daughter. The even (in the context of education, rather even indifferent) attitude and perseverance, which were characteristic of Tatyana the student, were very appropriate in the operating room. Valentina Chebotareva, who worked with the princesses, wrote in her diary on December 4, 1915: “Tatyana Nikolaevna is a wonderful sister. On the 27th, the day Vera Ignatievna returned, they took Smirnov to the dressing room. The temperature remained the same, the pulse was bad, the puncture was decided after a test injection. The needle became clogged with clots of pus, nothing could be sucked out, another injection, and Vera Ignatievna ended up directly on the abscess; Thick, unusually smelly pus flowed out. Solve the cut immediately. We ran in, I rushed to filter the novocaine and boil it, Tatyana Nikolaevna independently collected and boiled all the tools, moved tables, and prepared linen. After 25 minutes everything was ready. The operation went well. After the cut, at first with difficulty, and then in a river, incredibly stinking pus poured out. For the first time in my life I had the urge to feel sick, but Tatyana Nikolaevna did nothing, only when she complained and moaned, her face twitched and she became all crimson.” Headscarf and uniform dress, simplifying round face Olga, just emphasized fine features Tatiana. Combined with her calmness and restraint, so important in medicine, in the eyes of romantically minded monarchists, they made the girl a real angel and idol. Ofrosimova recalled: “If, as an artist, I wanted to draw a portrait of a sister of mercy, as she appears in my ideal, I would only need to paint a portrait of Grand Duchess Tatyana Nikolaevna; I would not even need to write it, but only point to the photograph Her, always hanging over my bed, and say: “Here is a sister of mercy.” In this portrait, the Grand Duchess is photographed in the robe of a sister of mercy; she stands in the middle of the chamber, flooded with rays of the sun; they bathe her entire thin, tall figure in bright light, with golden highlights lie on her snow-white clothes. Her head, in a white scarf worn low on the forehead, is taken in profile; her features are beautiful, tender and full of sadness, her eyes are slightly lowered, her long thin hand lies along her robe... this is not a portrait, no... this is a living a nurse entered the ward on a bright spring day... She approached the bed of a seriously wounded man... she sees that he fell asleep in his first life-giving sleep... she is afraid to move so as not to disturb him... she froze over him, happy, and reassured for him, and tired from sleepless nights and the suffering that surrounds her." Like Olga, Tatyana quickly found admirers among the hospital beds. There were enough of them, but she especially singled out two - Dmitry Malama and Vladimir Kiknadze. Dmitry was sent to the hospital shortly after the start of the war and left in December 1914; the next time Tatyana apparently met him in the spring of 1916. “Malama was young, ruddy, and fair-haired. Before the war, he stood out because, being the youngest officer, he took first prize in the hundred-mile race (on the mare “Cognac”). In the first battle he distinguished himself and was soon seriously wounded. What was striking about him was his remarkably conscientious attitude towards the service and the regiment, in particular, recalled I. Stepanov, who was lying in the same ward with Dmitry. “He only saw the side of “duties” and “responsibility.” Having received from the hands of the Empress the St. George’s weapon, which he had deserved in battle, he was tormented by the knowledge that “there” they were fighting, and they were “enjoying life” here. Never any swagger about anything. Only a sense of duty." The princess often lingered at Dmitry’s bedside: “usually the princesses left the dressing room before the Mother and, having gone through all the chambers, sat down in ours, the last one, and waited for Her there. Tatyana Nikolaevna always sat next to Malama” (Stepanov). In October 1914, Dmitry gave Tatyana french bulldog, Ortipo, which gave Grand Duchess Olga a reason to make fun of her niece: “Tatiana, which lancer gave you a dog? (bitch?) You are sitting on his bed, Olga says. Very interesting" Tatyana and Anastasia with a "gift" 
Alexandra also sympathized with the young man, writing to Nikolai: “My little Malama spent an hour with me last night, after dinner at Anya’s. We haven't seen him for 1 1/2 years. He looks blooming, 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?” But the misalliance was unacceptable for the Tsar’s daughter, whose husband was predicted by rumors to be either Karol of Romania, who had ricocheted away from Olga, or the godson of Nicholas II, Boris of Bulgaria, or Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich. Dmitry Pavlovich 
Boris Bulgarian 
At the end of 1914, Malama returned to the army, and a certain Vladimir Kiknadze became a new character in the diary of the Grand Duchess. At first, apparently, he appeared in the infirmary as a wounded man, then, as mentioned in Chebotareva’s diary for the end of 1915, Vladimir, with the consent of the empress, remained in the infirmary as an orderly. In Tatyana's diary he is mentioned often, but with slightly less emotion than Malama. Chebotareva, who was somewhat hostile towards Vladimir, wrote indignantly in her diary: “In general, the atmosphere now reigning is also not inspiring calm. As soon as the dressings are finished, Tatyana Nikolaevna goes to do the injection, and then sits down together with K. The latter is relentlessly sewn, then sits down at the piano and, playing something with one finger, chats a lot and passionately with the cute child. Varvara Afanasyevna is horrified that if Naryshkina, Madame Zizi, had entered this scene, she would have died. Shah Bagov has a fever and is lying down. Olga Nikolaevna sits at his bedside all the time. Another couple moved there, yesterday they sat next to each other on the bed and looked at the album. K. is clenching. Tatyana Nikolaevna’s sweet childish face can’t hide anything, pink and excited. 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. K. Vera Ignatievna sends to Evpatoria - and thank God. Out of harm's way." What happened to Vladimir Kiknadze after the revolution, history, alas, is silent. According to the stories of relatives, Dmitry Malama, having learned about the execution of the royal family, lost all caution, began to consciously seek death and was killed in the summer of 1919 in a horse attack near Tsaritsyn (Volgograd). However, Tatyana could no longer find out about this. 
“Tatiana Nikolaevna has an interesting hand,” Valentin Chebotarev wrote in January 1916, a little over a year before the revolution and more than two before the execution, “the line of fate suddenly breaks and makes a sharp turn to the side. They assure me that I must do something extraordinary.” It would be better not to throw it away.
