Tuesday, June 21, 2022

Tatiana's letter to Xenia, dated November 18, 1912

Source:

Olga Grigor'eva at lastromanovs on VK







The letter:

Дания
H. I. H.
Prinsesse Xenia Alexandrovna
of Russia
Copenhagen.
Denmark.
Т Н

Царское Село
Александровский дворец.
18го Ноября 1912.
Милая Тетя Ксения,
Сегодня у нас была дочь Твоя Ирина. Она приехала около 4 ч. и оставалась до шести т. к. она должна была ехать в театр с дядей Сандро в балет "Раймонда". Надеюсь что будем ее видеть часто. Она худая сделалась после болезни. Страшно была рада видеть Тетю Ольгу, у нее очень помоему хороший вид и сравнительно со всеми нами загорелое лицо. Алексея сегодня в первый раз снесли его вниз к Мама. Папа его снес по лестнице, там его положили в кресло и он был очень доволен. Потом поехал по залам смотреть как Мари и Анастасия катались с Верой Константиновной (косулей) с горы. Теперь он спит. Мама была сегодня с Папа у Тети Eugenie, Мама в первый раз выехала из дома со дня нашего приезда.

Как Твое и Бабушкино здоровье? Мы каждый день гуляли с Папа днем до чая. Мама же сидит весь день с Алексеем. Напиши мне пожалуйста, так буду рада получить от Тебя письмо.

Мы были сегодня у обедни в новой церкви Сводного полка и Конвоя, было ужасно хорошо в особенности когда некоторые молитвы солдаты и казаки вместе пели. Досвидань моя дорогая Тетя. Мне надо идти спать так как очень поздно.

Напиши пожалуйста.

Крепко, крепко Тебя и Бабушку целую.
Любящая Тебя
Твоя Крестница
Татьяна.

English translation (my own; original English in italics):

Denmark
H. I. H.
Princesse Xenia Alexandrovna
of Russia
Copenhagen.
Denmark.
T N

Tsarskoe Selo
Alexander Palace.
November 18th 1913.
Darling Aunt Xenia,
Today Your daughter Irina was with us. She arrived at about 4 o'clock and stayed until six because she had to go to the theater with uncle Sandro to the ballet "Raymonda". Hope we see her often. She got thin after her illness. I was terribly glad to see Aunt Olga, she has a very good look, in my opinion, and a tanned face compared to all of us. Today for the first time Alexei was taken down to Mama. Papa carried him down the stairs, where they put him in a chair and he was very pleased. Then I went through the halls to watch how Marie and Anastasia rode with Vera Konstantinovna (roe deer) from the mountain. Now he is sleeping. Mama was with Papa today with Aunt Eugenie, Mama left the house for the first time since the day we arrived.

How is Your and Grandmama's health? Every day we have walked with Papa in the afternoon until tea. Mama sits all day with Alexei. Please write to me, I will be glad to receive a letter from You.

Today we were at mass in the new church of the Consolidated Regiment and Convoy, it was awfully good, especially when some prayers were sung by soldiers and Cossacks. Goodbye my dear Aunt. I have to go to bed because it's very late.

Please write.

I kiss You and Grandmama firmly, firmly.
Your loving
Goddaughter
Tatiana.


Above: Alexandra.


Above: Alexei.


Above: Tatiana. Photo courtesy of Ilya Chishko at lastromanovs on VK.


Above: Xenia.

Tatiana's letter to Xenia, dated March 19, 1912

Source:

Olga Grigor'eva at lastromanovs on VK




The letter:

Ливадия 1912
19го Марта
Милая Тетя Ксения,
Как страшно тут хорошо. Когда мы приехали в Севастополь то не было очень тепло. Переход был чудный. Издали видели "пустой" Ай-Тодор. Но тут теплее чем в Севастополе. Вчера был чудный день. Сегодня тоже утром было тепло 20° на солнце и 10 в тени. Так было приятно сидеть у моря. Папа поехал кататься на моторе в лесничество. Так жалко что Тебя не будет.

У Мама есть новый маленький экипаж с одной лошадью и она одна может там сидеть, а мы гуляем около.

Масса чудных цветов и много пахучих фиалок. Так жалко что Тебя не будет тут на Пасху. Поцелуй пожалуйста Ирину очень от меня и маленького Варсануфия.

Пиши мне пожалуйста часто и скажи Ирине тоже и я Вам буду писать часто. Крепко, крепко Тебя целую.
Любящая Тебя
Крестница.

English translation (my own):

Livadia 1912
March 19th
Darling Aunt Xenia,
How wonderful it is here. When we arrived in Sevastopol it was not very warm. The transition was wonderful. From a distance we could see the "empty" Ai-Todor. But it's warmer here than in Sevastopol. Yesterday was a wonderful day. This morning too it was warm 20° in the sun and 10° in the shade. It was so nice to sit by the sea. Papa went to ride a motor in the forestry. It's so sad that You won't be there.

Mama has a new little carriage with one horse and she alone can sit there, and we walk around.

A lot of wonderful flowers and a lot of fragrant violets. So sorry You won't be here for Easter. Please kiss Irina very much from me and little Varsanufy.

Please write to me often and tell Irina too and I will write to You often. I kiss You firmly, firmly.
Your loving
Goddaughter.


Above: Alexandra with Tatiana.


Above: Xenia.

Olga's letter to her tutor Peter Vasilievich Petrov, dated January 4, 1912

Source:

Olga Grigor'eva at lastromanovs on VK




The letter:

Ц. С. 1912.
4 Янв.
Милый Петро Васильевичо!
Приходите к нам с Батюшкой в субботу к десяти часам. Уроки настоящие начнутся в понедельник. В котором часу будет Алексей заниматься с Батюшкой в понедельник? Мама должна знать. И она хочет что-б у Алексея был урок Закона Божиего у себя в комнате внизу. Поняли?

С Новым Годом.
Как всегда спешу.
Ольга.

English translation (my own):

Tsarskoe Selo 1912.
Jan. 4.
Dear Peter Vasilievich!
Come to us with Batyushka on Saturday at ten o'clock. The real lessons start on Monday. What time will Alexei study with Batyushka on Monday? Mama should know. And she wants Alexei to have a lesson on the Law of God in his room downstairs. Understood?

Happy New Year.
I'm late as always.
Olga.


Above: Alexandra with Olga and Alexei.

Anna Vyrubova's account of Alexandra letting Alexei go to Headquarters (Stavka) with Nicholas, 1915

Sources:

Memories of the Russian Court, pages 127 to 128 by Anna Vyrubova, 1923


The account:

In October [1915] the Emperor came to Tsarskoe Selo for a brief visit, and on his return he took with him to the Stavka the young Tsarevitch. This is the first time he had ever separated the boy from his mother, and the Empress was never happy except in the few minutes each day when she was reading the child's daily letter. At nine o'clock at night she went up to his bedroom exactly as though he were there and she was listening to his evening prayers. ...


Above: Alexandra with Alexei. Photo courtesy of Ilya Chishko at lastromanovs on VK.


Above: Anna Vyrubova.

Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden's account of Alexandra's family life during year two of World War One (1915) and letting Alexei go to General Headquarters with Nicholas

Sources:

The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, pages 210 to 212, by Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden, 1928


The account:

With the Emperor at Mohileff, twenty-six hours distant from the capital, life at the Imperial Palace became, if possible, even quieter. The whole place seemed dead. There was no movement in the great courtyard. We ladies-in-waiting went to the Empress through a series of empty halls. The Empress gave audience daily, but only to those people whom it was imperative to see, including a few on charitable business. Her latest bout of activity had exhausted her much more quickly than at the beginning of the war, and a month after the Emperor's departure, Her Majesty, though still going when possible to the Tsarskoe Selo hospitals, spent most of the day and all her evenings on her sofa, in a state of utter exhaustion. But no matter what was in her heart, she always had a smile for her children; they always found their mother interested in their doings. Her face would light up whenever the Emperor or one of her children came into the room. After dinner the Empress and her daughters sat together in the mauve boudoir, the children round her couch. One daughter would play the piano, another would read. When the Emperor was at Tsarskoe and had a moment's free time, he would read aloud, generally an English novel, which rested his brain. The young Grand Duchesses never seemed to feel the austerity of their lives, or expect the amusements that should have been theirs at their age. The only changes they had were an occasional concert got up at the hospital for the patients, or a small party at Mme. Vyrouboff's, to which the Empress sometimes accompanied them.

Mme. Vyrouboff had a charming little house near the Palace. She knew how to entertain simply and informally, and invited to those small parties a few intimate friends. Her sister, Mme. "Alya" Pistohlkors (married to the son of the Princess Paley by her first marriage) was generally there; Countess Emma Freedericsz, Mme. Dehn (Lily), Countess Rehbinder, née Mouwesz (looking very like the Empress in appearance, though shorter) as well as some young girls, Irina Tolstoy, Daly (Nathalie) Tolstoy, Marguerite Hitrovo, and some officers of the Imperial yacht, when they were on leave from the front.

The realities of war were known to the Empress. She heard accounts of life at the front every day at the hospitals, and from the reports of officers on leave she realised that the spirit that prevailed at the front was very different from that in the rear. The officers from the army were full of hope, energy and patriotic feeling. Those who had been some time in the Petrograd hospitals were dispirited and full of alarming tales.

The hope that the Emperor would be able to make short stays only at Headquarters could not be fulfilled. He did not return to Tsarskoe till October, and then only for a short time. When he was there the Palace sprang to life. Ministers came and went daily, carriages drove to and fro. He was satisfied that all was going well and was full of hope for the future. When the Emperor left, he took the Cesarevitch with him. He wanted the troops to know his heir. He also wanted his son to see at close quarters what war meant, so that he should be able to understand, in years to come, what the struggle had been and what it had cost Russia.

This was a terrible wrench for the Empress. She had never been parted from her boy for more than a few hours, except for one week on one of her inspection journeys. Every moment she was away from him she was filled with anxiety that something would happen, for the sword of Damocles was always hanging over his head. She made up her mind that she must make this, the greatest of all sacrifices. She would part with her peace of mind and let her treasure go; she was always anxious when her vigilant eye could not guard him. It was for her son's future and also for the Emperor's sake; he was often lonely at Mohileff, and the boy would cheer him up — but the look of anxiety never left her face from that day.


Above: Nicholas and Alexandra with Alexei.


Above: Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia.


Above: Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden.

Pierre Gilliard on Alexandra letting Alexei go to General Headquarters (Stavka) with Nicholas, family visits there, and a severe nosebleed Alexei suffered in December 1915

Sources:

Treize années à la cour de Russie: Le tragique destin de Nicolas II et de sa famille, pages 121 to 131, by Pierre Gilliard, 1921


Thirteen Years at the Russian Court, pages 148 to 156, by Pierre Gilliard, translated by F. Appelby Holt, 1921


The account:

L'empereur rentra le 6 octobre [1915] pour quelques jours à Tsarskoïé-Sélo et il fut décidé qu'Alexis Nicolaïévitch repartirait avec lui pour le G. Q. G., car il avait le plus grand désir de faire voir aux troupes le grand-duc héritier. L'impératrice se soumit à cette nécessité; elle comprenait combien l'empereur souffrait de son isolement: à l'une des heures les plus accablantes de son existence, il était privé de sa plus grande joie, de sa famille. Elle savait quel réconfort il puiserait dans la présence de son fils. Mais son cœur saignait à la pensée du départ d'Alexis Nicolaïévitch; c'était la première fois qu'elle se séparait de lui et l'on peut s'imaginer quel sacrifice s'imposait cette mère qui ne quittait jamais son enfant, ne fût-ce que pour quelques minutes, sans se demander avec angoisse si elle le retrouverait vivant.

Nous partîmes le 14 octobre pour Mohilef; l'impératrice et les grandes-duchesses vinrent nous accompagner à la gare. Au moment où je prenais congé d'elle, Sa Majesté me demanda de lui écrire chaque jour pour lui donner des nouvelles d'Alexis Nicolaïévitch. Je lui promis de me conformer scrupuleusement à son désir pendant toute la durée de notre absence.

Le lendemain nous nous arrêtions à Riegitza, où l'empereur voulait passer en revue les troupes qui avaient été retirées du front et qui étaient cantonnées dans les environs. Tous ces régiments avaient pris part à la dure campagne de Galicie et des Carpathes, et leur effectif avait été presque entièrement renouvelé à deux ou trois reprises. Mais, malgré les pertes terribles qu'ils avaient subies, ils défilèrent devant l'empereur avec un élan admirable. Il est vrai qu'ils étaient au repos depuis quelques semaines et qu'ils avaient eu le temps de se remettre de leurs fatigues et de leurs privations. C'était la première fois que le tsar passait en revue ses troupes depuis qu'il en avait pris le commandement; elles voyaient donc en sa personne à la fois leur empereur et leur généralissime. Après la cérémonie, il s'approcha des soldats et s'entretint familièrement avec plusieurs d'entre eux, les questionnant sur les durs combats auxquels ils avaient pris part. Alexis Nicolaïévitch suivait son père pas à pas, écoutant avec un intérêt passionné les récits de ces hommes qui tant de fois avaient vu de près la mort. Sa figure, expressive et mobile d'habitude, était tendue dans l'effort qu'il faisait pour ne pas perdre un seul mot de ce qu'ils racontaient. Sa présence aux côtés de l'empereur excitait l'intérêt des soldats et, lorsqu'il s'était éloigné, on les entendait échanger à voix basse leurs réflexions sur son âge, sa taille, son expression. Mais ce qui les frappait le plus, c'était de voir que le tsarévitch portait un simple uniforme de soldat, qui ne se distinguait en rien de celui d'un enfant de troupe.

Nous arrivâmes le 16 octobre à Mohilef, petite ville de la Russie blanche, d'aspect très provincial, où le grand-duc Nicolas avait transporté le G. Q. G. deux mois auparavant, au moment de la grande offensive allemande. L'empereur habitait la maison du gouverneur, construite sur la falaise qui domine la rive gauche du Dniepr. Il y occupait au premier étage deux pièces d'assez grande dimension, dont l'une lui servait de cabinet de travail et l'autre de chambre à coucher. Il avait décidé que son fils partagerait ses appartements. On dressa donc le lit de camp d'Alexis Nicolaïévitch à côté de celui de son père. Quant à moi, on me logea, ainsi qu'une partie de la suite militaire du tsar, dans le bâtiment du tribunal de district qui avait été désaffecté pour les besoins du G. Q. G.

Notre vie s'organisa de la façon suivante. L'empereur se rendait tous les matins à neuf heures et demie à l'État-major; il y restait en général jusque vers une heure et je profitais de son absence pour travailler avec Alexis Nicolaïévitch dans son cabinet où, vu le manque de place, nous avions été obligés de nous installer. Le déjeuner avait lieu ensuite dans la grande salle de la maison du gouverneur. Il réunissait chaque jour une trentaine de convives parmi lesquels figuraient le général Alexéief, ses principaux collaborateurs, les chefs de toutes les missions militaires alliées, la suite, et quelques officiers de passage à Mohilef. Après le déjeuner, l'empereur expédiait les affaires urgentes, après quoi, vers trois heures, nous sortions en automobile. ...

L'empereur désirant visiter les troupes avec le grand-duc héritier, nous partîmes le 24 octobre pour Berditchef, où le général Ivanof, commandant en chef du front sud-ouest, prit place dans notre train. Quelques heures plus tard nous étions à Rovno. C'est dans cette ville que le général Broussilof avait établi son État-major et nous devions nous rendre avec lui sur les lieux où les troupes avaient été rassemblées. Nous montâmes aussitôt en automobile, car la distance à parcourir était de plus de vingt kilomètres. Au sortir de la ville, une escadrille d'aéroplanes nous rejoignit et nous escorta jusqu'à moment où nous aperçûmes les longues lignes grises des unités massées derrière une forêt. Un instant plus tard nous étions arrivés. L'empereur parcourut à pied avec le tsarévitch tout le front des troupes, puis les unités défilèrent les unes après les autres devant lui. Il fit ensuite sortir des rangs les officiers et les soldats désignés pour des récompenses et leur remit la croix de Saint-Georges.

Quand la cérémonie prit fin, la nuit était tombée. Au retour, l'empereur, ayant appris du général Ivanof qu'un poste de pansement se trouvaut à peu de distance, décida de s'y rendre sur l'heure. Nous nous engageâmes dans une forêt épaisse et bientôt après nous apercevions un petit bâtiment faiblement éclairé par la lueur rouge des torches. L'empereur, suivi d'Alexis Nicolaïévitch, pénétra dans la maison et s'approcha de tous les blessés qu'il questionna avec bonté. Son arrivée inopinée à une heure aussi tardive, dans un endroit si rapproché du front, causait un étonnement qui se peignait sur tous les visages. Un soldat qu'on venait de recoucher sur son lit, après le pansement, regardait fixement l'empereur et, quand ce dernier se pencha sur lui, il souleva sa seule main valide pour tâter ses vêtements et se persuader que c'était bien le tsar qui était devant lui et non une apparition. Alexis Nicolaïévitch se tenait un peu en arrière de son père, profondément ému par les gémissements qu'il entendait et les souffrances qu'il devinait autour de lui.

Nous regagnâmes notre train qui partit aussitôt pour le sud. Le lendemain nous nous reveillâmes en Galicie; nous avions franchi pendant la nuit l'ancienne frontière autrichienne. L'empereur tenait à venir féliciter les troupes qui, grâce à des prodiges de valeur et en dépit du manque d'armes et de munitions, étaient parvenues à se maintenir en territoire ennemi. Nous quittâmes la voie ferrée à Bogdanovka, et nous nous élevâmes peu à peu jusqu'au plateau sur lequel on avait réuni des détachements de tous les régiments de l'armée du général Chtcherbatchef. La cérémonie terminée, l'empereur, refusant d'écouter les représentations de son entourage, visita à cinq kilomètres des premières tranchées, et dans un endroit que pouvait atteindre le feu de l'artillerie ennemie, le régiment Pétchersky. Nous rejoignâmes ensuite les automobiles que nous avions laissées dans la forêt, et nous nous dirigeâmes vers l'armée du général Létchitzky qui se trouvait à cinquante kilomètres de là. Au retour nous fûmes surpris par la nuit; un brouillard épais recouvrait la campagne, nous nous égarâmes et, à deux reprises, il fallut rebrousser chemin. Enfin, après de nombreuses péripéties, nous pûmes rejoindre la voie ferrée, mais nous nous trouvions à vingt-cinq kilomètres de l'endroit où nous attendait notre train! ... Deux heures plus tard nous partions pour le G. Q. G.

L'empereur emportait de son inspection la meilleure impression, c'était la première fois qu'il avait pris contact aussi intimement avec les troupes et il était heureux d'avoir pu constater par lui-même, presque sur la ligne de feu, le bon état des régiments et l'excellent esprit qui les animait.

Nous rentrâmes à Mohilef le 27 octobre au soir, et le lendemain matin Sa Majesté et les grandes-duchesses arrivaient à leur tour au G. Q. G. L'impératrice et ses filles s'étaient arrêtées pendant leur voyage dans plusieurs villes des gouvernements de Tver, Pskof et Mohilef, pour y visiter les hôpitaux militaires. Elles restèrent trois jours avec nous à Mohilef, puis toute la famille repartit pour Tsarskoïé-Sélo, où l'empereur devait passer quelques jours. ...

Vers le 10 décembre, nous apprîmes que l'empereur avait l'intention d'aller visiter les régiments de la garde qui étaient alors rassemblés à la frontière de la Galicie. Le matin de notre départ, jeudi 16 décembre, Alexis Nicolaïévitch, qui avait pris froid la veille et souffrait d'un gros rhume de cerveau, se mit à saigner du nez à la suite d'un violent éternuement. Je fis appeler le professeur Fiodrof, mais il ne put parvenir à arrêter complètement l'hémorragie. Nous nous mîmes en route, malgré ce contretemps, car tout avait été préparé pour l'arrivée de l'empereur. Pendant la nuit le mal empira; la température avait monté et le malade s'affaiblissait. A trois heures du matin le professeur Fiodrof, effrayé de la responsabilité qui pesait sur lui, se décida à faire réveiller l'empereur et à lui demander de rebrousser chemin jusqu'à Mohilef où il pourrait soigner l'enfant dans de meilleures conditions.

Le lendemain nous étions de retour au G. Q. G., mais l'état du tsarévitch était devenu si inquiétant qu'on décida de le ramener à Tsarskoïé-Sélo. L'empereur se rendit toutefois à l'État-major où il passa deux heures avec le général Alexéief, puis il vint nous rejoindre et nous nous mîmes immédiatement en route. Le retour à Tsarskoïé-Sélo fut particulièrement angoissant, car les forces du malade déclinaient rapidement. Il fallut plusieurs fois faire arrêter le train pour pouvoir renouveler les tampons. Dans la nuit, à deux reprises, Alexis Nicolaïévitch que Nagorny, son matelot, soutenait dans son lit — on ne pouvait en effet le laisser complètement étendu — fut pris de syncope et je crus que c'était la fin. Vers le matin, cependant, une légère amélioration se produisit et l'hémorragie diminua. Nous arrivâmes enfin à Tsarskoïé-Sélo; il était onze heures du matin. L'impératrice, en proie à une mortelle angoisse, nous attendait avec les grandes-duchesses sur le quai de la gare. Avec d'infinies précautions, on transporta le malade jusqu'au palais. On parvint enfin à cautériser la plaie qui s'était formée à l'endroit où un petit vaisseau sanguin s'était rompu. L'impératrice n'en attribua pas moins aux prières de Raspoutine l'amélioration qui s'était produite, le matin, dans l'état du tsarévitch et elle resta persuadée que l'enfant avait été sauvé grâce à son intervention. ...

English translation (by Holt):

The Czar returned to Tsarskoïe-Selo on October 6th [1915] for a few days, and it was decided that Alexis Nicolaïevitch should go back with him to G. H. Q., for he was most anxious to show the Heir to the troops. The Czarina bowed to this necessity. She realised how greatly the Czar suffered from loneliness, for at one of the most tragic hours of his life he was deprived of the presence of his family, his greatest consolation. She knew what a comfort it would be to have his son with him. Yet her heart bled at the thought of Alexis leaving her. It was the first time she had been separated from him, and one can imagine what a sacrifice it meant to the mother, who never left her child, even for a few minutes, without wondering anxiously whether she would ever see him alive again.

We left for Mohileff on October 14th, and the Czarina and the Grand-Duchesses came to the station to see us off. As I was saying goodbye to her, Her Majesty asked me to write every day to give her news of her son. I promised to carry out her wishes faithfully the whole time we were away.

The next day we stopped at Riegitza, where the Czar wished to review some troops which had been withdrawn from the front and were billeted in the neighbourhood. All these regiments had taken part in the exhausting campaigns in Galicia and the Carpathians, and their establishment had been almost entirely renewed two or three times over. But in spite of the terrible losses they had suffered, they marched past the Czar with a proud and defiant bearing. Of course, they had been resting behind the line for several weeks, and had had time to recover from their weariness and privations. It was the first time that the Czar had passed any of his troops in review since he had taken over the Command. They now looked upon him both as their Emperor and Generalissimo. After the ceremony he mixed with the men and conversed personally with several of them, asking questions about the severe engagements in which they had taken part. Alexis Nicolaïevitch was at his father's heels, listening intently to the stories of these men, who had so often stared death in the face. His features, which were always expressive, became quite strained in the effort not to lose a single word of what the men were saying. His presence at the Czar's side greatly interested the soldiers, and when he had gone they were heard exchanging in a whisper their ideas about his age, size, looks, etc. But the point that made the greatest impression upon them was the fact that the Czarevitch was wearing the uniform of a private soldier, which had nothing to distinguish it from that of a boy in the service.

On October 16th we arrived at Mohileff, a little White Russian town of a highly provincial appearance to which the Grand-Duke Nicholas had transferred G. H. Q. during the great German offensive two months before. The Czar occupied the house of the Governor, which was situated on the summit of the steep left bank of the Dnieper. He was on the first floor in two fairly large rooms, one of which was his study and the other his bedroom. Alexis Nicolaïevitch's camp-bed was accordingly placed next to his father's. I myself and some members of the Czar's military suite were lodged in the local court-house, which had been converted for use by G. H. Q.

Our time was spent much as follows. Every morning at half-past nine the Czar called on the General Staff. He usually stayed there until one o'clock, and I took advantage of his absence to work with Alexis Nicolaïevitch in his study, which we had been obliged to make our workroom owing to lack of space. We then took lunch in the main room of the Governor's house. Every day there were some thirty guests, which included General Alexeieff, his principal assistants, the heads of all the military missions of the Allies, the suite, and a few officers who were passing through Mohileff. After lunch the Czar dealt with urgent business and then about three we went for a drive in the car. ...

As the Czar was anxious to visit the troops with the Czarevitch, we left for the front on October 24th. The next day we arrived at Berditcheff, where General Ivanoff, commanding the South-Western Front, joined our train. A few hours later we were at Rovno. It was in this town that General Brussiloff had established his headquarters, and we were to accompany him to the place where the troops had been assembled. We went by car, as we had more than twelve miles to cover. As we left the town a squadron of aeroplanes joined us and escorted us until we saw the long grey lines of the units massed behind a forest. A minute later we were among them. The Czar walked down the front of the troops with his son, and then each unit defiled in turn before him. He then had the officers and men on whom decoration were to be bestowed called out of the ranks and gave them the St. George's Cross.

It was dark before the ceremony was over. On our return the Czar, having heard from General Ivanoff that there was a casualty station quite near, decided to visit it at once. We entered a dark forest and soon perceived a small building feebly lit by the red flames of torches. The Czar and Alexis Nicolaïevitch entered the house, and the Czar went up to all the wounded and questioned them in a kindly way. His unexpected arrival at so late an hour at a spot so close to the front was the cause of the general astonishment which could be read on every face. One private soldier, who had just been bandaged and put back in bed, gazed fixedly at the Czar, and when the latter bent over him he raised his only sound hand to touch his sovereign's clothes and satisfy himself that it was really the Czar who stood before him and not a ghost. Close behind his father stood Alexis Nicolaïevitch, who was deeply moved by the groaning he heard and the suffering he felt all around him.

We rejoined our train and immediately left for the south. When we woke next morning we were in Galicia. During the night we had crossed the former Austrian frontier. The Czar was anxious to congratulate the troops, whose prodigies of valour had enabled them to remain on hostile soil notwithstanding the dearth of arms and ammunition. We left the railway at Bogdanovka and gradually mounted the plateau on which units from all the regiments of General Tcherbatcheff's army had been assembled. When the review was over the Czar disregarded the objections of his suite and visited the Perchersky Regiment, three miles from the front lines, at a place which enemy artillery fire could have reached. We then returned to our cars, which we had left in a forest, and went to General Lechitzky's army, which was some thirty miles away. We were overtaken by darkness on our way back. A thick mist covered the countryside; we lost our way and twice had to go back. But after many wanderings we at length struck the railway again, though we were sixteen miles from the place where we had left our train! Two hours later we left for G. H. Q.

The Czar brought away a most encouraging impression from his tour of inspection. It was the first time that he had been in really close contact with the troops, and he was glad that he had been able to see with his own eyes, practically in the firing-line, the fine condition of the regiments and the splendid spirit with which they were inspired.

We returned to Mohileff in the evening of October 27th, and the next morning Her Majesty and the Grand-Duchesses also arrived at G. H. Q. During their journey the Czarina and her daughters had stopped at several towns in the Governments of Tver, Pskoff, and Mohileff, in order to visit the military hospitals. They stayed three days with us at Mohileff and then the whole family left for Tsarskoïe-Selo, where the Czar was to spend several days. ...

On December 10th we heard that the Czar was intending to visit the regiments of the Guard which were then on the frontier of Galicia. On the morning of our departure, Thursday, December 16th, Alexis Nicolaïevitch, who had caught cold the previous day and was suffering from a heavy catarrh in the head, began to bleed at the nose as a result of sneezing violently. I summoned Professor Fiodrof, but he could not entirely stop the bleeding. In spite of this accident we started off, as all preparations had been made for the arrival of the Czar. During the night the boy got worse. His temperature had gone up and he was getting weaker. At three o'clock in the morning Professor Fiodrof, alarmed at his responsibilities, decided to have the Czar roused and ask him to return to Mohileff, where he could attend to the Czarevitch under more favourable conditions.

The next morning we were on our way back to G. H. Q., but the boy's state was so alarming that it was decided to take him back to Tsarskoïe-Selo. The Czar called on the General Staff and spent two hours with General Alexeieff. Then he joined us and we started off at once. Our journey was particularly harrowing, as the patient's strength was failing rapidly. We had to have the train stopped several times to be able to change the plugs. Alexis Nicolaïevitch was supported in bed by his sailor Nagorny (he could not be allowed to lie full length), and twice in the night he swooned away and I thought the end had come.

Towards morning there was a slight improvement, however, and the hæmorrhage lessened. At last we reached Tsarskoïe-Selo. It was eleven o'clock. The Czarina, who had been torn with anguish and anxiety, was on the platform with the Grand-Duchesses. With infinite care the invalid was taken to the palace. The doctors ultimately succeeded in cauterizing the scar which had formed at the spot where a little blood-vessel had burst. Once more the Czarina attributed the improvement in her son's condition that morning to the prayers of Rasputin, and she remained convinced that the boy had been saved thanks to his intervention. ...


Above: Nicholas and Alexandra with Alexei.


Above: Alexandra with Alexei. Photo courtesy of Ilya Chishko at lastromanovs on VK.


Above: Alexei.


Above: Alexei with his sisters Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia.


Above: Pierre Gilliard with Alexei.


Above: Grigori Rasputin.

Alexandra's telegram to Pierre Gilliard on Alexei's name day, dated October 5/18, 1915

Source:

Treize années à la cour de Russie: Le tragique destin de Nicolas II et de sa famille, page 122, by Pierre Gilliard, 1921



The telegram:

JE VOUS REMERCIE DE TOUT MON COEUR POUR VOS BONS VOEUX ET LETTRES QUE J'ATTENDS CHAQUE JOUR AVEC IMPATIENCE J'EMBRASSE LE PETIT BIEN TENDREMENT -- ALEXANDRA -

With normalised structure:

Je vous remercie de tout mon cœur pour vos bons vœux et lettres que j'attends chaque jour avec impatience. J'embrasse le Petit bien tendrement. — Alexandra.

English translation (my own):

I thank you with all my heart for your good wishes and letters which I impatiently await every day. I kiss the Little One ever so tenderly. — Alexandra.


Above: Alexandra with Alexei. Photo courtesy of Ilya Chishko at lastromanovs on VK.


Above: Pierre Gilliard with Alexei.

Pierre Gilliard's diary entry, dated August 21 (New Style), 1914

Sources:

Treize années à la cour de Russie: Le tragique destin de Nicolas II et de sa famille, pages 96 to 97, by Pierre Gilliard, 1921


Thirteen Years at the Russian Court, pages 116 to 117, by Pierre Gilliard, translated by F. Appelby Holt, 1921


The diary entry:

Vendredi 21 août. — Leurs Majestés, avant de rentrer à Tsarskoïé-Sélo, ont tenu à se rendre au couvent de Troïtsa, le plus célèbre des sanctuaires de Russie après la vieille laure de Kief. Le train nous amène jusqu'à la petite station de Serghievo, d'où nous gagnons en voiture le monastère. Campé sur une hauteur, on le prendrait, de loin, pour un énorme bourg fortifié, si les clochers bariolés et les dômes dorés de ses treize églises ne venaient révéler sa véritable destination. Rempart de l'orthodoxie, il eut à subir au cours de son histoire des assauts redoutables, dont le plus fameux est le siège qu'il soutint pendant seize mois au début du XVIIe siècle contre une armée de trente mille Polonais.

C'est, avec Moscou, et les villes de la Volga supérieure, l'endroit où s'évoque avec le plus d'intensité le passé, la Russie des boïards, des grands-ducs de Moscou, des premiers tsars, et où s'explique le mieux la formation historique du peuple russe.

La famille impériale assiste à un Te Deum, et se prosterne devant les reliques de saint Serge, le fondateur du couvent. L'archimandrite remet alors à l'empereur une icone peinte sur un fragment du cercueil de ce saint, un des plus vénérés de toute la Russie. Jadis cette image accompagnait toujours les tsars dans leurs compagnes. Sur l'ordre de l'empereur, elle sera transportée au Grand Quartier Général et placée dans «l'église de campagne» du commandant en chef des troupes russes.

L'empereur, l'impératrice et leurs enfants se rendent ensuite dans la petite église de Saint-Nicon, puis ils s'arrêtent quelques instants dans les anciens appartements des patriarches. Mais le temps presse et nous devons renoncer à visiter l'ermitage de Gethsémané, qui se trouve à une petite distance du monastère, et où, selon un usage encore fréquent en Russie, certains ermites se font enfermer dans des cellules souterraines murées. Ils y vivent ainsi dans le jeûne et la prière, parfois jusqu'à la fin de leurs jours, complètement retranchés de ce monde et ne recevant leur nourriture que par un guichet, seul moyen de communication avec leurs semblables qui leur soit laissé.

La famille impériale prend congé de l'archimandrite et quitte le couvent, accompagnée jusqu'à l'enceinte extérieure par une foule de moines qui se pressent autour des voitures.

English translation (by Holt):

Friday, August 21st. — Their Majesties, before returning to Tsarskoïe-Selo, decided to visit the Troïtsa Monastery, the most celebrated sanctuary in Russia after the world-famed Laure of Kiev. The train took us as far as the little station of Serghievo, from which we reached the monastery by car. Perched on a hill, it would be taken for a fortified city from a distance if the bright-coloured towers and gilded domes of its thirteen churches did not betray its true purpose. In the course of its history this rampart of Orthodoxy has had to resist some formidable assaults, the most famous being the sixteen months' siege by an army of thirty thousand Poles at the beginning of the seventeenth century.

This monastery, like Moscow and the towns of the Upper Volga, is a spot where the past seems ever present. It calls up visions of the Russia of the boyarin, the Grand-Dukes of Moscow, and the first Czars, and vividly explains the historical evolution of the Russian people.

The Imperial family were present at a Te Deum and knelt before the relics of St. Sergius, the founder of the monastery. The Archimandrite then handed the Czar an icon painted in a fragment of the coffin of the saint, one of the most revered in Russia. In olden times this image always accompanied the Czars on their campaigns. On the Czar's orders it is being sent to General Headquarters and placed in the "field chapel" of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armies.

The Czar, Czarina, and their children visited the little church of Saint Nicon and then stayed a few minutes in the ancient residence of the patriarchs. As time was pressing, we had to abandon the idea of visiting the hermitage of Gethsemane, which is a little distance from the monastery. In accordance with a practice still frequently observed in Russia, certain hermits still have themselves shut up here in subterranean walled cells. They live in prayer and fasting to the end of their days, completely isolated from the world, and the slit through which their food is passed is their sole means of communication with their fellow-men.

The Imperial family bade the Archimandrite farewell and left the monastery, accompanied by a crowd of monks who swarmed round the cars.


Above: Nicholas and Alexandra with their children.


Above: Pierre Gilliard.

Alexandra's letter to Nicholas, dated April 17, 1915, and Nicholas's telegrams, dated April 18, 1915

Sources:

Letters of the Tsaritsa to the Tsar, 1914-1916, published by Duckworth & Co., 1923



The letter:

No. 69.
Tsarskoje Selo, April 17-th 1915
My own sweetest One,
Bright, sunny but cold, lay an hour on the balkony & found it rather too fresh. — Yesterday Paul came to tea. He told me he had just received a letter from Marie, telling him about your talk in the train concerning Dmitri. So he sent for the boy last night and was going to have a serious talk with him. He is too greatly shocked at the way the boy goes on in town etc. —

In the evening at 8.20 there was this explosion — I send you Obolensky's paper. Now I have had telephoned to Sergei for news — one says 150 severely wounded — how many killed one cannot say, as one collects the bits — when the remaining people are assembled together, then they will know who is missing. Some parts in town & streets heard absolutely nothing — here some felt it very strongly, so that they thought it had occured at Tsarskoe. Thank God its not the powder-magazine as one at first had said. —

I had a long, dear letter fr. Erni — I will show it you upon your return. He says that "if there is someone who understands him (you) & knows what he is going through, it is me". He kisses you tenderly. He longs for a way out of this dilema, that someone ought to begin to make a bridge for discussion.

So he had an idea of quite privately sending a man of confidence to Stockholm, who should meet a gentleman sent by you (privately) that they could help disperse many momentary difficulties. He had this idea, as in Germany there is no real hatred against Russia. So he sent a gentleman to be there on the 28 — (that is 2 days ago & I only heard to-day) & can only spare him a week. So I at once wrote an answer (all through Daisy) & sent it the gentleman, telling him you are not yet back, so he better not wait — & that tho' one longs for peace, the time has not yet come. —

I wanted to get all done before you return, as I know it would be unpleasant for you.

W. knows of course absolutely nothing about this. — He says they stand as a firm wall in France, & that his friends tell him, in the North & Carpathians too. They think they have 500.000 of our prisoners. —

The whole letter is very dear & loving; — I was intensely grateful to get it, tho' of course the question of the gentleman waiting there & you away, was complicated; — & E. will be disappointed. —

My heart is again enlarged, so I don't leave the house. Lilly D. is coming to me for half an hour. — I do hope you have warmer weather to-day, Sebastopol is not amiable both times. —

Xenia is coming to-morrow to luncheon.

Ania sat with me this morning for an hour. — 2 Girls are riding & 2 driving — Alexei out in his motor. — I wonder whether you return 21-st or 22-d.

Ressin has gone to town to see the place & bring me details, as I should like to help the poor sufferers. —

Now Lovebird, I must end, as I have to write for the English messenger & to sister Olga. —

God bless & protect you. I kiss you over & over again in tenderest love
Ever, Nicky, dear, yr. old
Sunny.

Nicholas's telegrams:

Telegram. Sevastopol. 18 April, 1915.
Warmest thanks for dear letter and telegram. I have just returned from an inspection of all the II battalions of the plastouni. An interesting, beautiful sight, and unique of its kind. I have appointed Alexey Chief of the 3rd Batt. Be kind enough to telegraph to them in his name...

...

Telegram. Sevastopol. 18 April, 1915.
Thirteen thousand ikons have arrived. I intend to drive by car beyond the Baidars. Tender embraces.
Nicky.


Above: Alexandra.


Above: Nicholas.

Monday, June 13, 2022

Flowers in the bedroom

Source:

GMZ Tsarskoe Selo


Flowers in the Maple Room

Source:

GMZ Tsarskoe Selo


Olga's letter to Alexandra, dated Christmas 1911

Source:

Olga Grigor'eva at lastromanovs on VK





The letter:

God bless You my very sweet Mama dear on this Xmas, & give You health, and happiness. Give You this postcard to remind You of Шт, & our dear Friend there so far from here.

Kiss You heartily.
Ever yr. very own
loving and true daughter
Olga
Xmas 1911.


Above: Alexandra.


Above: Olga.


Above: Grigori Rasputin.

Note: Alexandra and her children always referred to Grigori Rasputin as "our Friend".

Olga Alexandrovna's letter to Tatiana, dated August 1, 1911

Source:

Olga Grigor'eva at lastromanovs on VK







The letter:

Ольгино 1911. 1 Августа.
Милая моя душка Татьяна,
Спасибо тебе огромное за милое письмо. Конечно я тебе картинку подарю и даже 2 если хочешь. Я оставила несколько — пять, только что сделанных в Петергофе — и написала туда чтобы их переслали тебе. Одна из них в рамке — а 4 так. Если тебе понравятся возьми что хочешь а другие если останется подари на знаменитый базар. Хотя, т. к. ты вероятно выберешь лучшие — то остальные будут слишком скверные для паблики — поэтому подари сестрам — одним словом делай с картинками что хочешь! Я тут наслаждаюсь так что сказать не могу... Рисовать для меня высшее наслаждение — а тут такие аппетитные сюжеты что я кричу от радости...

Громадное поле с подсолнышниками. Я вчера рисовала их и сегодня собираюсь туда же — хотя это довольно далеко — и ближе к Дону. Вчера ко мне принесли крестника Володю — которого я весной крестила. Ему 2 месяца. Он спал крепко так что я мало его видела всущности. Что делает Аня? Наверно тоже скучает по яхте и подушкам и дразнение.

Вечером вчера до 8 ч. я сидела под своими яблонями (пахнет яблоками и сливами) и рисовала большое аппетитное розовое облако — и его отражение в реке — далеко внизу под садом. Довольно мило вышло. Я тебе покажу зимой.

Вы должны ко мне раз приехать в Питер — чай пить — видеть мой уютный дом — которого вы никогда не видели — и все мои картины. Наверно Мама позволит?! Я приеду за вами и отвезу вас сама и буду ужас как рада!

Ну вот. Слив у нас в саду ужас сколько! Все плоские вазы на всех столах переполнены — тем что от ветра падают и мы едим каждый день вкусный "pie" из них кроме тех что целый день приходится есть! ..

Княжна кланяется. Полярная радуется и идет скоро в Англию за Амама и затем в Данию на осень с нею. Скажи Папа что я кончила читать "Жар-цвет" и что страшно интересно было. Прочел ли он, и нравится ли ему?

Теперь довольно — т. к. почта идет сейчас.

Крепко обнимаю тебя душка милая. Также крепко целую Папа, Мама, Ольгу и маленьких.
Любящая тебя нежно
Твоя Тетя Ольга.

English translation (my own):

Olgino 1911. August 1.
My sweet darling Tatiana,
Thank you very much for your lovely letter. Of course I'll give you a picture and even 2 if you want. I left a few — five, just made in Peterhof — and wrote there to send them to you. One of them is framed — and 4 are like that. If you like it, take what you want, and if there are others, donate to the famous bazaar. Although, since you will probably choose the best ones, the rest will be too bad for the public — so give it to your sisters — in a word, do what you want with the pictures! I am enjoying myself here, so much so that I can't say... Drawing is the highest pleasure for me — and here are such mouth-watering subjects that I scream with joy...

Huge field with sunflowers. I drew them yesterday and today I'm going to the same place — although it's quite far away — and closer to the Don. Yesterday they brought my godson Volodya to me — whom I baptised in the spring. He is 2 months old. He slept soundly, so I saw little of him. What is Anya doing? Probably also misses the yacht and pillows and teasing.

Yesterday evening until 8 o'clock I sat under my apple trees (it smells of apples and plums) and drew a big appetising pink cloud — and its reflection in the river — far below under the garden. Turned out pretty nice. I'll show you in winter.

You should come to me sometime in St. Petersburg — drink tea — see my cozy house — which you have never seen — and all my paintings. Surely Mama would allow it? I will come for you and take you myself and I will be terribly glad!

Here you go. How many drains we have in the garden! All the flat vases on all the tables are overflowing with the fact that they fall from the wind and we eat every day a delicious "pie" of them, except for those that we have to eat all day! ..

Princess bows. The Polar Star rejoices and soon goes to England for Amama and then to Denmark for the autumn with her. Tell Papa that I have finished reading "Fire-Colour" and that it was terribly interesting. Has he read it and does he like it?

Now that's enough — because the mail is coming now.

I hug you tight, my dear. I also firmly kiss Papa, Mama, Olga and the little ones.
Your tenderly loving
Aunt Olga.


Above: Alexandra with Tatiana.


Above: Olga Alexandrovna.

Notes: Amama = the Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna, Olga's mother, Alexandra's mother-in-law and Tatiana's paternal grandmother.

The book "Fire-Colour" is by Alexander Amfiteatrov.

Olga Alexandrovna's letter to Tatiana, dated July 30, 1911

Source:

Olga Grigor'eva at lastromanovs on VK







The letter:

Ольгино. 1911.
30 Июля.
Dearest little sweet Татьяна,
Thank you awfully for your dear letter. I was so delighted and pleased to get. Я тебя так хорошо понимаю, и понимаю твое чувство пустоты после жизни на яхте и дружбы со всеми офицерами — и вдруг никого из них нет около — да, очень скучно теперь вам всем. Пожалуйста попроси и напомни чтобы Мама прислала мне фотографии тебя и Ольги в формах — я так их хотела и не получила в конце концов.

Уехали мои Ахтырцы! Они были так милы и просты и наслаждались глубоко здесь; даже вахмистр Аралкин имел свое маленькое удовольствие — поехал на охоту и убил одну утку — которую я съем в свое время! Каждое утро в 7½ я еду в степь со своими красками — с Ник. Алек. (он правит) и найдя красивое место с желтеющею рожью и цветами около — рисую — а он с лошадьми пасется и разговаривает с мужичками. Теперь они все в поле на уборке хлеба — и так красиво в степи — яркие рубашки и платки.

Смешно подумать что когда твой юбилей 10ти летнего шефства — тебе только будет 24 года! Я загораю здесь еще лучше. Я Ольге вчера писала как я кутила всю ночь на Полярной — до 4 ч. утра. Солнце вышло пока мы еще не разошлись и мы стояли на самой корме около флага и смотрели на дивное небо и розовое солнце!

Мичман Сем. Тян Шанский теперь совсем и бесповоротно мой — и я не боюсь Анастасии — он мне это сказал и повторял на пикнике и после ночью на Полярной. Я была еще тогда же на парусной яхте "Зизи". Так уютно и мило — там 4 койки, 2 каютки, стол, W.C. и ванна...

Чего же более? Мы сидели там — у самого трапа Поляр. Зв. Итак у вас больше не было пикников. Я рада — потому что очень завидовала вам, я знаю как это нехорошо завидовать чужому счастью — но иногда изредка приходится! Крестники мои — больше парни 10ти лет — уже работают в поле и помогают своим родителям — и издали орут мне при встречах: "Здравствуй Мама крестная!" и бегут "shake-hands" со мною.

Княжна очень благодарит тебя и Ольгу за поклоны и очень приветствует.

Одна моя кума была у меня сегодня утром — она овдовела недавно — и осталась с 9-ю детьми — шестью дочерьми и 3мя сыновьями.

Она кажется не горюет очень о "покойнике" т. к. он пил, бил ее — и умер от пьянства — еще молодым совсем человеком.

Мой локоть тоже черный и до сих пор болит т. к. трескается и сгибать локоть больно. Nana сидит передо мною и читает свою газетку.

Пожалуйста пиши мне часто. Ты говоришь что нечего будет писать — всегда приятно вспоминать прошедшее хорошее время — об этом можешь писать — да и так всегда много. Пришли пожалуйста карточки которые вы все поснимали — для моего альбома.

Досвиданья милая душка. Господь с тобою.
Целую всех ужасно крепко.
Твоя Тетя Ольга.

English translation (my own; original English in italics):

Olgino. 1911.
July 30.
Dearest little sweet Tatiana,
Thank you awfully for your dear letter. I was so delighted and pleased to get. I understand you so well, and I understand your feeling of emptiness after life on a yacht and friendship with all the officers — and suddenly none of them are around — yes, you are all very bored now. Please ask and remind Mama to send me photos of you and Olga in your uniforms — I wanted them so much and didn't get them in the end.

My Akhtyrs have left! They were so sweet and simple and enjoyed deeply here; even the sergeant-major Aralkin had his little pleasure — he went hunting and killed one duck — which I will eat in due time! Every morning at 7½ I go to the steppe with my paints — with Nik. Alex. (he rules) and finding a beautiful place with yellowing rye and flowers around — I draw — and he grazes with horses and talks with peasants. Now they are all in the field harvesting grain — and it is so beautiful in the steppe — bright shirts and scarves.

It's funny to think that on your anniversary of 10 years of patronage — you will only be 24 years old! I sunbathe here even better. I wrote to Olga yesterday about how I spent the whole night on Polar Star — until 4 o'clock in the morning. The sun came out before we parted and we stood at the very stern near the flag and looked at the marvelous sky and the pink sun!

Midshipman Sem. Tyan Shansky is now completely and irrevocably mine — and I'm not afraid of Anastasia — he told me this and repeated it to me at the picnic and later at night on Polar Star. I was still on the sailing yacht "Zizi". So cozy and cute — there are 4 berths, 2 cabins, a table, W.C. and bath...

What more? We were sitting there - at the gangway of Polar Star. So you didn't have any more picnics. I am glad — because I envied you very much, I know how bad it is to envy someone else's happiness — but sometimes you have to occasionally! My godchildren — more than 10-year-olds — are already working in the field and helping their parents — and from a distance they shout at me when they meet: "Hello, Mama Godmother!" and run "shake-hands" with me.

Princess thanks you and Olga very much for your regards and greets you very much.

One of my godmothers was with me this morning — she was recently widowed — and left with 9 children — six daughters and 3 sons.

She does not seem to grieve very much about the "deceased", because he drank, beat her — and died of drunkenness — while still a very young man.

My elbow is also black and still hurts because it cracks and bending the elbow hurts. Nana is sitting in front of me and reading her newspaper.

Please write to me often. You say that there will be nothing to write — it is always nice to remember the past good time — you can write about it — and there is always a lot of it. Please send the cards that you all took off — for my album.

Goodbye sweet darling. The Lord be with you.
I kiss everyone very firmly.
Your Aunt Olga.


Above: Alexandra.


Above: Olga Alexandrovna.


Above: Tatiana.