Letter to Alexandra from Olga, year 1908

13 year old Olga wrote this letter to her mother on December 4, 1908. Legible despite spelling errors and broken English. Olga and her sisters were more used to Russian and were never very good with English, but they always put in the effort.

Source:

A Lifelong Passion, letters and diary entries compiled by Andrei Maylunas and Sergei Mironenko

The letter:

With all my heart I thank you sweetest Mama dear for your dear little note and kiss you tenderly for it and will never through it away from me. I will trie to do what you wrote to me in the little note. So sorry that never see you alone Mama dear, can not talk so should trie to write to you what could of course better say, but what is to be done if there is no time, and neighter can I hear the dear words which sweet Mama could tell me. Good-bye.

God bless you. Kisses from your very own devoted daughter
Olga

Above: Alexandra.

Above: Olga.

Alexandra's diary entries from January 1 to 10, 1916

January entries from Alexandra's 1916 diary.

Source:

Transcripts and photos of scans of diary pages courtesy of GARF via Olga Grigor'eva at lastromanovs on VK.

https://vk.com/lastromanovs?w=wall-56510987_45940

The entries (with a note from Tatiana at the beginning):

For my darling Mama with tenderest wishes for a happy Xmas & New Year
fr. yr. loving
Tatiana
1915

1916
Царское Село

No: 416 1 Январь -25
Пятница

N. at the Ставка. The 5 Children & I at Ц.С.
Spent the day in bed, because of my heart, lunch, tea & dinner in bed.
A.
9-11 on the sopha.

--

Св. Серафим. No: 417
-20 2 Январь
Суббота

1st anniversary of Ania's accident.
lunch, tea & dinner in bed.

A.
9-11 on the sopha.

--

N. 418
-5 3 Январь
Воскресенье

lunch, tea & dinner in bed.

A.
9-12 on the sopha.
10-11 Н.П.

--

4 Январь No: 419
-15 Понедельник

lunch, tea & dinner in bed.

A.
9-11 on the sopha.

--

5 Январь No: 420
-15 Вторник

lunch & tea in bed.
Anastia in bed with a cold.
Батюшка blessed our rooms at 1.

A.
8-11 on the sopha.

--

-5 6 Январь No: 421
Среда

lunch & tea in bed. -1
11¾-12 lay on balcony.

A.
dinner on sopha.
Н. П. 9-11

--

-1 7 Январь No: 422
Четверг

lunch, tea & dinner on sopha
12¼-1 lay on balcony, with Isa.

A. at 5.38
Алексей 38.4 at 6.
Анастасия
Н.П. 9-11

--

-2 8 Январь No: 423
Пятница

lunch & dinner on sopha.
half an hour on balcony

4-6 upstairs.
Aн: 37.2. Ал. 37.1 Аня 38.6
                 later 37.5      38.1
9-9½. Isa

--

-1 9 Январь No: 424
Суббота

Isa —
lunch & dinner on sopha.

Ал. 36.4. Ан. 36.3. Аня 35.8

4½ - upstairs
6 ч. Ан. 36.8½. Ал. 36.8½ Аня 37.8
                                   37.5

--

-1 10 Январь No: 425
Воскресенье

lunch & dinner on sopha
Ал: 36.2. Анасt. 36.2. Аня 36.8.
Isa lunched.

Upstairs 3½-6ч

Above: Alexandra.

Alexandra's last written words

Alexandra wrote the following entry in her diary — the last words she would ever write — on July 16, 1918. She had written down the date of the next day, July 17, which, of course, she would not live to complete; for, just hours later, she and her family were brutally shot to death in the cellar of Ipatiev House in Ekaterinburg.

Sources:

A Lifelong Passion, letters and diary entries compiled by Andrei Maylunas and Sergei Mironenko

https://tsarnicholas.org/2019/03/15/archival-documents-regarding-the-murder-of-the-imperial-family-in-ekaterinburg/

Latter photo/scan of diary page courtesy of GARF (State Archives of the Russian Federation) via the above blog post.

The entry:

Grey morning, later lovely sunshine. Baby [Alexei] has a slight cold. All went out ½ hour in the morning, Olga & I arranged our medicines*. Tatiana read Spiritual reading. They went out, Tatiana stayed with me & we read Book of prophet Amos and prophet Audios. Tatted. Every morning the Komendant comes to our rooms, at last after a week brought eggs again for Baby.

8 Supper.

Suddenly, Lenka Sednev* was fetched to go & see his Uncle & flew off — wonder whether it's true & we shall see the boy back again!

Played bezique with Nicky.

10½ to bed. 15 degrees.

Above: The last known photo of Nicholas and Alexandra, taken during their captivity at the Governor's Mansion in Tobolsk. When they and their third daughter Maria arrived in Ekaterinburg in 1918, their cameras were confiscated, ending a family tradition of candid camera.

Note: "Medicines" was Alexandra's code word for jewels that she and her daughters secretly took into captivity with them and had sewn into their clothing.

Leonid "Lenka" Sednev was a kitchen boy at Ipatiev House who befriended Alexei. He was sent away in advance, just hours before his friend was killed.

Alexandra in colour

Colourised photos of Alexandra that I've made over the years using various methods; with before and after.

Above: Alix as a baby, year 1873. Colourised in 2015.

Above: Alix as a toddler. Colourised in 2017.

Above: Alix as a child, year 1878. Colourised in 2016.

Above: Alix, year 1878. Colourised in 2014.

Above: Alix as a child. Colourised in 2017.

Above: Alix as a teenager. Colourised in 2017.

Above: Alix as a teenager with her sister Irene. Colourised in 2013.

Above: Alix, year 1887. Colourised in 2016.

Above: Alix, year 1889. Colourised in 2016.

Above: Alix, year 1889. Colourised in 2016.

Above: Alix in costume, year 1891. Colourised in 2013.

Above: Alix, year 1891. Colourised in 2014 or 2015.

Above: Alix, year 1892. Colourised in 2013.

Above: Alix, year 1894. Colourised in 2013.

Above: Alix, year 1894. Colourised in 2017 or 2018.

Above: Alix, year 1894. Colourised in 2015.

Above: Alix, year 1894. Colourised in 2017.

Above: Kissing couples. Colourised in 2013.

Above: Alexandra in court dress, year 1895. Colourised in 2016.

Above: Nicholas and Alexandra with their eldest daughter Olga, year 1896. Colourised in 2013.

Above: Alexandra with Olga, year 1896. Colourised in 2015.

Above: Alexandra, year 1896. Colourised in 2014.

Above: Alexandra with Olga and Tatiana, year 1897. Colourised in 2013.

Above: Nicholas and Alexandra, year 1898.

Above: Alexandra with her third daughter Maria, year 1899. Colourised in 2016.

Above: Alexandra with Anastasia, year 1901. Colourised in 2017.

Above: Alexandra, year 1901. Colourised in 2015.

Above: Alexandra. Colourised in 2016.

Above: Alexandra in the uniform of her Uhlan regiment, year 1903. Colourised in 2017.

Above: Alexandra with Alexei, year 1904. Colourised in 2014.

Above: Nicholas and Alexandra with their children, year 1904. Colourised in 2013.

Above: Alexandra with Alexei, year 1906. Colourised in 2014.

Above: Alexandra, year 1906. Colourised in 2014.

Above: Nicholas and Alexandra with their children, year 1906. Colourised in 2013.

Above: Alexandra on her mother-in-law's yacht the Polar Star, year 1907. Colourised in 2016.

Above: Alexandra in court dress. Colourised in 2013.

Above: Alexandra in court dress. Colourised in 2013.

Above: Alexandra. Colourised in 2016.

Above: Alexandra in court dress. Colourised in 2015.

Above: Alexandra in her Mauve Room, or Mauve Boudoir, as she called it. Colourised in 2013.

Above: Alexandra with Alexei. Colourised in 2013.

Above: Alexandra with her youngest daughter Anastasia. Colourised in 2013.

Above: Alexandra with Maria. Colourised in 2013.

Above: Alexandra. Colourised in 2015.

Above: Alexandra. Colourised in 2016.

Above: Alexandra. Colourised in 2013.

Above: Alexandra with her three youngest children, Maria, Anastasia and Alexei. Colourised in 2017.

Above: Alexandra with her daughters, year 1913. Colourised in 2013.

Above: Alexandra with Alexei, year 1913. Colourised in 2013.

Above: Alexandra with her two eldest daughters, Olga and Tatiana, as nurses during World War One. Colourised in 2013.

Above: Alexandra with Olga and Tatiana as nurses during World War One. Colourised in 2018.

Above: Nicholas and Alexandra, year 1917. Colourised in 2013.