Romanov Family Diaries – Page 25

October 5, 2015Helen Azar No Comments

ROMANOV FAMILY: “AUNT OLGA” – GRAND DUCHESS OLGA ALEXANDROVNA AND HER NIECES

Grand Duchess Olga with her aunt and namesake Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna and her two sisters Grand Duchesses Maria and Anastasia.

Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, Tsar Nicholas II’s youngest sister was the closest to his four daughters. Olga Alexandrovna’s four nieces regularly recorded in their diaries and letters the time they spent with their beloved aunt, and it is clear that she was a steady and welcome part of their lives. Olga Alexandrovna was not only aunt to Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia’s but also their friend, who visited them often, and took them out on day visits to St Petersburg for teas and dinners. It was a truly special relationship. Read more ROMANOV FAMILY: “AUNT OLGA” – GRAND DUCHESS OLGA ALEXANDROVNA AND HER NIECES

October 2, 2015Helen Azar No Comments

ROMANOV FAMILY: DECLARATION OF WAR

Tsar Nicholas II on the balcony of the Winter Palace on 20 July, 1914. The declaration of the First World War.

From the 1914 diary of Nicholas II: 19th July. Saturday. In the morning heard the usual reports. After breakfast summoned Nikolasha and told him of his appointment as supreme commander until my arrival in the army. Rode to Diveyevo monastery with Alix. Took a walk with the children. At 6 1/2 went to vsenoshnaya. Upon return from there we learned that Germany had declared war on us. Dinner with: Olga A, Dimitri and Ioann. In the evening the English Ambassador Buchanan arrived with a telegram from Georgie. Wrote a response together with him for a long time. Then saw Nikolasha and Fredericks again. Had tea at 12 1/4. Read more ROMANOV FAMILY: DECLARATION OF WAR

October 2, 2015Helen Azar No Comments

DIARY OF OLGA ROMANOV: PALACE INFIRMARY, 1916.

Sister Olga Romanov and Sister Alexandra Romanov posing with the wounded at the Palace Infirmary.

From the 1916 diary of Olga Romanov: Read more DIARY OF OLGA ROMANOV: PALACE INFIRMARY, 1916.

September 30, 2015Helen Azar 3 Comments

ROMANOV FAMILY IN ODESSA

The Romanov family arriving in Odessa on 2nd June, 1914.

The City of Odessa, in southern Ukraine, located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea, was founded by a decree of the Empress Catherine the Great in 1794. From 1819 to 1858 Odessa was a free warm water port, a southern “window to the west”. During the 19th century it was the fourth largest city in imperial Russia, after Moscow, St Petersburg and Warsaw.

Odessa was initially introduced to the west via “Battleship Potemkin” – the 1924 silent film directed by Sergei Eisenstein – where the famous “Odessa Steps” were immortalized in the baby carriage scene.

In early June of 1914, a few weeks before the breakout of the First World War, the Romanov family visited Odessa. Read more ROMANOV FAMILY IN ODESSA