r/romanovs

1st picture: Prince Vasily ("Valya") Dolgorukov in Tobolsk

2nd picture: A letter Valya sent to his mother (14th August 1917) after he arrived in Tobolsk with the Romanov family and their entourage of servants, originally written in French, translated by Nick Nicholson

"My very dear Mother,

You will see here the houses where we live. The 1st is reserved exclusively for the family, the 2nd (belonging to) the Merchant Kornilov has 7 rooms above containing Hendrikova, Schneider, Ilyusha, me, two ladies-in-waiting, and two domestics. One room is destined for the TsIK. Below, the Commandant, (Eugene) Botkin and a room for his daughter, one for the Doctor, Derevenko, and two officers. For meals one crosses the main street to the house. The sick ones, Alexis and Marie, are getting better. In general, my dear, it is filthy and barely civilized — it’s frightening! Thank God I’m doing well at present. It is too hot. I asked Makarov to have the permission (Russian sentence: It will all work out when needed to return with feelings. Makarov promised to work on it. Everything else is going well.) I embrace you to my heart warmly, and kiss your hands. How God has protected us until this lodging! Your Valia (Final word illegible)

3rd picture: The floor plan of the Governor's House, attached to Valya's letter, drawn in his own hand.

4th picture: Some of the people who accompanied the family into Siberian exile.

5th picture: Valya sawing wood outside of the Governor's House with Nicholas ll in 1917.

Since I'm feeling kind of down today, I wanna talk about one of my favourite moments from OTMAA. The White Flower Day Festivals. (Specifically the one held in 1912)

They began in 1911 and were held annually until 1917. The day involved selling real or paper white flowers in exchange for donations in order to combat tuberculosis.

I saw someone on here suggest searching for footage of the Romanov children in Russian in order to gain access to more footage. It totally worked! I was able to find so much more footage of OTMA at the White Flower Festival.

I specifically loved watching Maria, of course. It was so sweet watching her exchange her flowers for donations and a kiss on the hand. I'm sure she had lots to talk about with the people she met that day.

There was a moment from Anastasia that I enjoyed too. At some point in the footage, a man approached her from her right side, trying to reach into the basket of flowers she had. Anastasia didn't notice him at first because she was slightly turned away. However, once she did, she looked quite surprised for a minute, as if the man had given her a brief fright, then she smiled and let him take a flower, in exchange for a donation and a kiss. It was really quite funny to watch.

I also enjoyed watching all 5 of the children walking around the fountain in the grounds of the Livadia Palace, holding up their tall flower poles, which they used as banners to draw people's attention to their charity booths. They all looked like they were having such fun!

Overall, I just loved watching all the footage and it made me feel so much better. It truly makes me wonder what it would've been like to get the chance to interact with OTMAA in person.

Videos I mention:

https://youtu.be/b9\_VSmAwR70?si=EQ9XlidnB94oGil2

https://youtu.be/z11SyjFtQzA?si=6KrArHnp0f-e0\_LM

(sorry if this post is a bit messy, I caught a headache while writing it)

I've got a lot of questions about that turning day and sources are confusing. Things were worsening for the Reds and they aimed to bring back the Romanovs from Tobolsk to Moscow, for a big trial. They didn't want them to escape a trial, and exile was ruled out.

We know that Alexei, sadly, fell in the stair (by sliding it?). But moving wasn't ruled out (which I find a bit weird, but that led to the famous "jewels dresses" episode). So the group was cut : first Nicholas II, Alexandra, Maria, Anna Demidova, (some others?). The next group would go the following month.

Remaining retainers admitted in Ipatiev : cook Kharitonov, both Sevdev, Botkin (of course for Alexei), valet Trupp, maid Demidova. Demidova was on the first group, I don't know for Kharitonov and Trupp nor the Sednev² [Demidova had her room in Ipatiev, Botkin sometimes slept with Alexei, but idk where the other men slept including Nagorny and Sednev before their exclusion]. Excluded and freed : Gilliard (and Tegleva) with Gibbes (because of their passport) and Buxhoeveden. Jailed (and later killed, at the exception of valet Volkov) : Schneider, Hendrikova, etc. Derevenko (Vladimir, the other doctor) also survived (for a time), Tutelberg and Ersberg also........ well I should probably make a new post for that, I'm just making it more confusing and it's off-topic.

Let's go back to Toblosk. Again, here in 1918, a health issue about the kids complicated everything. First in 1917 it were the measles which might have prevented their exile from Tsarskoïe Selo to England or idk (but we have to also take in account that the railroads weren't safe as they were controlled by the Reds, but Lenin hadn't come back from exile so they were still weak). Still in 1918 (Alexei ill), I don't think them leaving together and separated would have changed much of their remaining story.

So, that April 1918, our imperial trio boarded a convoy of carriages. The travel from Tobolsk (no railway) to Tioumen (railway) was excruciating. Robert Service's book says there was an attempt to kidnapp/kill (from the Ekaterinbourg Reds) the trio en route, but I didn't hear of that before.

The Reds in Ekaterinbourg were much angry, Moscow had some fears about that. At Tioumen, the train was sent to Ekaterinbourg (there was a rail branching here which could lead to Tchelyabinsk, and then to Moscow). Then it backtracked to Omsk (another branch on the Transsibérien line, leading to Moscow). Then again, it moved towards Ekaterinbourg, where, it seems, the Ipatiev House had just been acquired to house them (if I understood well, that wasn't the original plan) before at any time finally going to Moscow. That was a total mess, the telegrams are tricky.

Moscow never happened because of the civil war threatening the Reds power. I don't know how it was meant to turn out : trial for Nicholas II and Alexandra for sure, but for Alexei? For the daughters??The death penatly had been abolished (thank you Kerensky) but was soon to be reitablished. How the family could have remained together after this? Who would have taken care of the five children?

Before (and after) the trial, where would they have been detained in Moscow? (hopefully not Saint-Peter-and-Paul at Saint-Petersbourg, this is were they finally shot some others grand-dukes in 1919) The Kremlin? The soon to be Loubianka? (actually it wasn't a thing before 1920 but Tchéka already had offices... and fortunately, there was not INFAMOUS Beria at that time (if you don't know him, don't Google him)) Some soon to be gulag in Siberia?

Much questions which were never meant to be answered. Ekaterinbourg was soon to be their last home, just a few meters away from the decaying Kharitonov palace.

(Map from User Sardaka, Wikimédia Commons)

(I used "pictures" flair as there wasn't a "letters/diaries/documents" one, I hope it's okay!)

"Résumés d'histoire [History briefs], A. Romanova, 1917"(idk if we have to read TS for Tsarkoïe Selo or PG for Pierre Gilliard, it seems she wrote the sticker)

You can have a glimpse on 11 years-old Anastasia's handwritting, and her French. The brief is about Frank history, at the time of Charlemagne (Charles the Great), near 800.

Pictures taken by the Tsarkoïe Selo museum. This is a fac-similé. The original remains in the Swiss archives with 99% of Pierre Gilliard's belongings. This FS was given by his heirs, among two cigarets boxes. Previously had been given : his Kodak camera (he never wanted to use it again because it reminded him of the Romanov), Alexandra Tegleva's ruby brooch and gold watch initially offered bu Empress Alexandra (at first I thought she lost/let them in her Alexander palace bedroom).

Can't write the source at it triggers Reddit anti-russian links policy and deletes the whole block, will try in comment!

And I wish to thank u/Azurzelle who's incredible and led me to discover theses pictures and trivia!

Alexander III firmly believed that Nicholas was too weak and "childish" to handle serious state matters. Once, when Finance Minister Sergei Witte suggested introducing Nicholas to state committees, Alexander responded: "He is a child... his opinions are utterly childish."

Due to this, Nicholas was completely barred from critical government council meetings. When Alexander died unexpectedly of kidney disease in 1894 at the age of 49, Nicholas was thrust onto the throne completely blind to how the empire was actually governed.

Upon his father's death, a weeping Nicholas famously cried out to a close cousin: "What is going to happen to me and all of Russia? I am not prepared to be a Tsar. I never wanted to become one. I know nothing of the business of ruling."

Alexander frequently berated Nicholas (including screaming, "You are a girl!" when Nicholas let a playmate take the blame for a mistake)

Because the young Nicholas was a shy, quiet, and sensitive young man, Alexander III frequently mocked him, often going so far as to call him a "girly girl" in front of his peers. The father also intentionally raised his children under severe, ascetic conditions. Alexander made his sons frequently wait to eat. This further contributed to Nicholas's lifelong timidness and lack of preparation for leadership.

Alexander III deeply despised the luxurious, "spoiled" lifestyle of typical European royalty. He famously stated, "I don't need porcelain. I need normal, healthy, Russian children,"

Nicholas and his siblings slept on hard, simple army camp beds rather than luxurious royal bedding. Every single morning began with washing or bathing in freezing cold water. Alexander III lived this way himself. Waking up at 7:00 AM, making his own coffee, and wearing simple clothes. He believed physical hardship was necessary to build a strong, resilient character

Alexander III forced his children to live under a harsh, minimalist routine. They slept on hard camp beds, took freezing cold baths every morning, and ate incredibly simple meals. If Nicholas or his siblings were late to the table, they simply were not allowed to eat.

Olga Alexandrovna, Nicholas’s sister, wrote that Alexander’s children often went hungry. When the family was at the table, the children received their food last, only as dinner was already ending. When the Emperor stood up from the table, everybody else was required to finish their meals, which didn’t leave the children enough time to eat properly. Eating between meals was forbidden and asking servants for food was unacceptable.

When he was young, Nicholas once ate the contents of his baptismal cross. All children in the royal family were given a baptismal cross that was said to contain a piece of the True Cross embedded in wax mastic. A hungry Nicholas opened the cross and ate everything from the inside, including the piece of the True Cross.

Nicholas II spent his entire reign trying to mimic his father's unyielding political stubbornness. However, because Nicholas lacked his father's naturally dominant presence, his attempts to act tough usually just manifested as tragic, rigid stubbornness at moments when he desperately needed to compromise with the Russian people.

This timidness combined with marrying Alexandra, who was both shy outside and dominant in the family.

When Nicholas faced political crises, Alexandra, convinced that they were chosen by God to rule, would fiercely pressure him to be strong. She famously wrote to him, urging him to be more like his autocratic father, Alexander III, telling him to "be the Emperor," "crush them all," and to show Russia the "iron will."

Because Nicholas lacked a strong inner voice, thanks to years of his father breaking it down, he leaned completely on his wife's advice during major political crises. This insulation from reality ultimately paved the direct path toward the Russian Revolution in 1917.

Most Russian Tsars beforehand were like ALexander III. It is sad that as a father, Nicholas was the one to break this cycle and treat his kids nicely, but he couldn't save them at the end.

NIcholas, Alexandra (with her dog Ara), Olga Alexandrovna, Xenia Alexandrovna, Alexander Mikhailovich and Mikhail Alexandrovich. GARF 662-2-77 no.17

Maria Nikolaevna's kindness was matched by an exceptional memory for people, a quality that left a lasting impression on those around her. Unlike many members of European royalty, she did not simply greet people politely and move on. Instead, Maria took a genuine interest in their lives, remembering their names, their families, and even details from previous conversations. Those who encountered her (guards, servants, soldiers and others alike) often remarked that she had an unusual ability to make people feel seen and valued.

This gift for remembering others reflected her naturally warm and compassionate personality. During the Imperial family's years aboard the Imperial Yacht "Standart" and later throughout the First World War, Maria frequently spoke with sailors, guards, and wounded soldiers. Rather than treating these conversations as formal duties, she asked about their wives, children, and homes, and would often surprise them by recalling these details when they met again. Interactions like these demonstrated her concern for others was sincere rather than ceremonial.

Historian Helen Azar notes in Maria Romanov: Third Daughter of the Last Tsar – Diaries and Letters, 1908–1918 that Maria possessed an unusually affectionate nature and found it easy to connect with people from every social background. This is also reflected in memoirs by those who knew the Imperial family, who consistently described her as the most approachable of the four grand duchesses.

Guards from the Ipatiev House recalled: "She showed them pictures from her photo albums and talked with them about their families and her own hopes for a new life in England if she was released".

Her remarkable memory was therefore not simply an impressive skill, but evidence of her genuine interest in the lives of ordinary people—a characteristic that remained one of her defining qualities throughout her short life.

Ever since I took a history of jewelry course for my art history degree I zoom in on old pictures to look at the jewelry. I liked jewelry before, but that class took me to a whole new level. I was looking at this picture of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (Romanov) and I noticed the ring on her ring finger it looks like the stone is sticking out/down her finger. Anyone know what style this is? I googled but I didn't find anything. I'm guessing a lot of her jewelry was lost.
On a side note, I also really love her arrangement of bracelets.

I have been reading Baroness Buxhoeveden's book Left Behind. She followed the family to Siberia after the abdication and stayed in Siberia for about fourteen months.

I wondered what the rest of her life was like after she got out of Russia. This is what I found:

https://helenrappaport.com/footnotes/sophie-karlovna-buxhoeveden-pt-2/#:~:text=Returning%20to%20London%20Isa%20never,The%20Mountbatten%20family

Edit to add a spoiler: she lived long enough to attend Queen Elizabeth II's coronation!