romanov pets – The Romanov Family

November 18, 2015Helen Azar No Comments

TATIANA ROMANOV: HER LITTLE FRENCH BULLDOG, ORTIPO

TATIANA ROMANOV: HER LITTLE FRENCH BULLDOG, ORTIPO

t and o 2 — Grand Duchess Tatiana and Grand Duchess Anastasia with Ortipo.

Ortipo - Tatiana Romanov's little French bulldog — Ortipo – Tatiana Romanov’s little French bulldog

Dmitri Malama, a wounded officer at Grand Duchess Tatiana’s infirmary (and a great favorite of Sister Tatiana Romanov), gave her a little French bulldog puppy that she named “Ortipo.”

“Ortipo” was reportedly also the name of Malama’s favorite horse, so using this name was a tribute to Dmitri.

This funny little dog, which the entire Romanov family very much enjoyed, is mentioned frequently in their diaries and letters.

August 13, 2015Helen Azar No Comments

GRAND DUCHESS OLGA’S CAT

In keeping with the Romanov family pet theme, I would like to dedicate his own page to Grand Duchess Olga’s cat Vaska. From Grand Duchess Anastasia’s letter to her “Papa” Nicholas II:

“31 October, 1916. Tsarskoe Selo. My dear Papa Darling! Well it is again my turn to write to you… Forgive me that I’m writing so violently, but this quill scratches terribly and nothing comes out… We continue playing billiards a bit at our infirmary, sometimes it turns out well – and then I’m happy… Right now Olga’s cat is running around here, I think he grew and is rather cute… Well now, my dear Papa! I send you and Aleksei a 1000 awfully big kisses, may God be with you. Your loving loyal and faithful Kaspiyetz [sic].”

ROMANOV FAMILY PETS: THE ELEPHANT

Tsarevich Alexei feeding the Romanov family pet elephant

One of numerous criticisms by St. Petersburg society of the last ruling Romanov family was what they perceived as their frivolous waste of money. An example used was often the very costly upkeep of the pet elephant at Tsarskoe Selo, which cost the Russian imperial treasury a whopping 18, 000 rubles annually – a very significant sum at that time.

Tsar Nicholas II with the Romanov family pet elephant

As a point of reference, the income of an average Russian citizen in early 20^th century was about 4,300 rubles per year. Read more ROMANOV FAMILY PETS: THE ELEPHANT

August 10, 2015Helen Azar 1 Comment

ROMANOV FAMILY PETS

Grand Duchess Anastasia with her dog Jimmy, Grand Duchess Tatiana with her French bulldog Ortipo, and Tsesarevich Alexei with this spaniel Joy. Only Joy survived the revolution.

All the members of the Romanov family were animal lovers, and each imperial child had pets: dogs, cats, horses, and even a pet elephant. The children even had a little pet cemetery where they buried their beloved animals, which was located on the Children’s Island in the Alexander Park. They visited it often and brought fresh flowers… Read more ROMANOV FAMILY PETS