GRAND DUCHESS TATIANA: WORK AT THE INFIRMARY
From the 1914 diary of Sister [of Mercy] Tatiana Romanov: Read more GRAND DUCHESS TATIANA: WORK AT THE INFIRMARY DIARY
GRAND DUCHESS TATIANA: WORK AT THE INFIRMARY DIARY
ROMANOV FAMILY: FAVORITE CHAIR
ROMANOV FAMILY: FAVORITE CHAIR
Based on photographic evidence, the Romanov family certainly had a favorite chair where they loved to pose. One can literally see the imperial children grow up in these “chair” photos. “The Chair” was located in Empress Alexandra Feodorovna’s Mauve Boudoir, near the window. Not much commentary is needed here, so please scroll down this page and enjoy the Romanov family “Favorite Chair” photos through the years! Read more ROMANOV FAMILY: FAVORITE CHAIR
ROMANOV FAMILY AND VOLTAIRE
The article below was translated from Russian by Helen Azar.
Note from the translator:
When I first showed up at the Tsarskoe Selo Rare Book Fond for my library school internship, I found out that they just made an amazing discovery: two previously unidentified books from the vast collection of books once owned by the famous French philosopher, François-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire. At this time, it was thought that all of Voltaire’s books, which were brought to Russia by Empress Catherine the Great upon his death, were accounted for, and thousands of his marginalia had been transcribed and published. But it seemed that two of these books slipped through the proverbial cracks. Voltaire’s handwriting in the marginalia of these two books, held for years in The Rare Book Fond at the Tsarskoe Selo Museum. Somehow no one recognized them for what they were, for all these years. Read more ROMANOV FAMILY AND VOLTAIRE
ANASTASIA’S LETTER TO FRIEND
Anastasia wrote this letter to a friend, Katya Zborovsky, from captivity in Tsarskoe Selo.
“23 June, 1917. A.N.
My heartfelt thanks for the charming letter, which made me so happy. We too remember everything and constantly talk about it… Each of our days is very structured, therefore they pass rather quickly. Do you remember 24 August, on the “Dnepr”[?] and 11 July?! Every day we took walks, watered our garden and usually had water fights, as it was very [illeg.] and also sprayed water on [our] brother from the pump…” Read more ANASTASIA’S LETTER TO FRIEND
ROMANOV FAMILY PETS: THE ELEPHANT
ROMANOV FAMILY PETS: THE 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.
As a point of reference, the income of an average Russian citizen in early 20th century was about 4,300 rubles per year. Read more ROMANOV FAMILY PETS: THE ELEPHANT
TSARSKOE SELO TODAY
TSARSKOE SELO TODAY
Exactly ten years ago, in July and August of 2005, I got an extraordinary opportunity for an extended stay (2 months) at Tsarskoe Selo, the town currently known as Pushkin. Although I wasn’t there a tremendously long time, the nature of my visit allowed me a very close glimpse of what it would be like to live and work in Pushkin, as opposed to coming there as a tourist. Read more TSARSKOE SELO TODAY
