Посещение императором Николаем II г.Севастополя. Император Николай II с наследником-цесаревичем Алексеем и сопровождающими их лицами обходят почетный караул от Черноморского флотского экипажа на Севастопольской пристани во время встречи.
Посещение императором Николаем II г.Севастополя. Император Николай II,
наследник-цесаревич Алексей, командующий флотом Черного моря адмирал
А.А.Эбергард у машинного трюма на линкоре "Императрица Мария".
(Source)
Посещение императором Николаем II Севастополя. Император Николай II,
императрица Александра Федоровна, наследник-цесаревич Алексей, вел.
княжны Ольга, Татьяна Николаевны в сопровождении свиты проходят по
пристани, направляясь на смотр военных кораблей. (Source)
Посещение императором Николаем II Севастополя. Император Николай II, императрица Александра Федоровна, наследник-цесаревич Алексей, вел. княжны Ольга, Татьяна Николаевны, морской министр, адмирал И.К.Григорович, князь Игорь Константинович и др. на катере перед отправкой на смотр военных кораблей. 12 мая 1916 года ГА РФ, ф. 673. оп. 1 д. 206 л. 7
Посещение императором Николаем II г.Севастополя. Император Николай II, императрица Александра Федоровна, наследник-цесаревич Алексей, дочери императора, вел.княжны: Ольга, Татьяна, Мария и Анастасия Николаевны, командующий флотом Черного моря, адмирал А.А.Эбергард (2-й слева) в группе офицеров на палубе линкора "Императрица Екатерина Великая". 12.05.1916 г.
Император Николай II,
морской министр, адмирал И.К.Григорович, командующий флотом Черного
моря, адмирал А.А.Эбергард, наследник-цесаревич Алексей, вел. княжны
Ольга, Татьяна, Мария, Анастасия Николаевны, князь Игорь Константинович и
др. на катере перед отплытием на осмотр минной бригады. Дата съемки:
13.05.1916
Николай II посещает эсминец 'Дерзкий' в Севастополе, 13 май 1916 г.
Nicholas II visits the destroyer Derzky in Sevastopol, 13 May 1916.
Летопись войны 1914-15-16 гг.
Посещение Их Величествами с Августейшими детьми Севастополя и черноморской эскадры в мае 1916 г. (К статье «Воспоминания») [3 фото.] – стр. 1697
Tsar Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra had dinner on board the French battleship France on the evening of 23 July 1914, which was President Raymond Poincare's final day in Saint Petersburg. I don't know if Alexei or the grand duchesses were there, but Maurice Paleologue's diary mentions Olga.
It had indeed a kind of terrifying grandeur with the four gigantic 304 cm. guns raising their huge muzzles above the heads of the guests. The sky was soon clear again; a light breeze kissed the waves; the moon rose above the horizon... I found myself alone with the Tsaritsa, who asked me to take a chair on her left. The poor lady seemed worn out... Suddenly she put her hands to her ears. Then with a pained and pleading glance she timidly pointed to the ship's band quite near to us which had just started on a furious allegro with a full battery of brass and big drums.
'Couldn't you?' ... she murmured. I signalled sharply to the conductor... The young Grand Duchess Olga had been observing us for some minutes with an anxious eye. She suddenly rose, glided towards her mother with graceful ease and whispered two or three words in her ear. Then addressing me, she continued, 'The Empress is rather tired, but she asks you to stay, Monsieur l'Ambassadeur, and to go on talking to her.'
If Olga was on board, surely her siblings were there too.
The footage above shows two grand duchesses accompanying their mother on the carriage with the French president at Krasnoye Selo on 23 July 1914. There is no mistaking Anastasia with her flowing hair. Her sister, on the other hand, is difficult to identify, and that is not helped by the video's 480p quality. Luckily, the few high resolution photos below provide some clarity.
I think it's safe to say that the grand duchess looking in the direction
of the camera is without a doubt, Tatiana. The Big Pair were in a
carriage with two other ladies. Perhaps one of them is the wife of the French president?
The next three photos (probably not in sequence) show the other carriage with Empress Alexandra, President Poincare and the two grand duchesses. Again, there is no mistaking Anastasia's flowing hair. The photo on the right (with all the officers saluting), shows a grand duchess looking in the direction of the camera. However, her face is partially obscured by shadow.
But judging by the shape of her face I would guess that she is Maria, as she was known to be the chubbiest of the four. Maria and Anastasia always travelled together anyway, as did Olga and Tatiana. There was clearly not enough space for all four girls, so they travelled on seperate carriages, the Little Pair with Alexandra and the Big Pair on the other.
Thus I believe it is safe to assume that all four girls attended the farewell banquet on board the battleship France with their parents that evening. The only person missing from this occasion is the Tsarevich Alexei. No photos of the Romanov family on board the battleship, but a well documented event nonetheless.
Nicholas and Alexandra: The Tragic, Compelling Story of the Last Tsar and his Family by Robert K. Massie
It's so good out in the garden, but even better when you go deep into the wood, where it is quite wild and you can go along the little paths and so on . . . Oh how envious I was to read that you saw the dreadnoughts Alexander III
and the Prut. This is what we miss so much – no sea, no boats! We had
grown so used to spending practically the whole summer on the water, at
the skerries; in my opinion there is nothing better; it was the best and
happiest of times – after all, we went sailing for nine years in a row
and even before, when we were quite small; and now it’s so strange to
have been here for three years without the water, there’s no other such
feeling in the summer for me as we only used to live at Tsarskoe Selo in
the winter and sometimes in the spring, till we went to the Crimea.
Right now the lime trees are in full bloom and it smells so divine.
Letter of 17 July, quoted in Dnevniki I, pp. 596-7.
The Romanov Sisters - Helen Rappaport, pp. 316-317.
«Гангут» и «Петропавловск»
Дневник Татьяны Николаевны -1914
Весёлкин. 20 Июля. Воскресенье.
В 10 ч. Мама, Ольга и я поехали к обедне в Уланский собор. Очень было хорошо. Завтракали 5 с Папа и Мама. В 2 ч. мы 4 с Папа и Мама поехали на «Александрию» и пошли в Петербург. Т. Ольга с нами. В Неве видели наши два судна «Гангут» и «Севастополь». Чудные. Дорогую Яхту видели. Проходили мимо. Видели на ней Н.П. Оттуда на «Петергофе» с Пав. Алек. до Зимнего дворца. Там через улицу пешком. Масса народу на коленях крича «ура» и благословляя Папа и Мама. Все родственники. Пошли в Николаевскую залу полную военными офицерами. Был молебен там же посередине. Батюшка читал манифест Папа об объявлении Германией войны. Потом Папа им несколько тёплых слов сказал, и они ужас как «ура» кричали. Чудно было хорошо. Много было наших Яхтинских офицеров и Экипажных. Видела Н.Н. и даже могла с ним поздороваться. Так была рада. Потом с балкона Папа и Мама кланялись народу на площади. Тысячи и тысячи стояли. Потом возвращались опять между огромной толпой. С одной стороны простые, с другой офицеры. Наши тоже были. Вернулись в 7 ½. Обедали 2 с Папа и Мама. Страшный подъём духа. (ГАРФ Ф. 651 оп. 1 д. 317 л. 66-67)
Спуск на воду линейного крейсера "Бородино" со стапеля Адмиралтейского завода, 19 июля 1915 года (source)
Переписка Татьяны Николаевны с Ольгой Вороновой (1914-15)
Царское Село. 1915. 20/ VII
Дорогая моя Ольга душка,
Спасибо Вам большое за Ваше письмо. Очень была удивлена услышать, что все наши в Севастополе. Какая там у Вас погода? У нас теперь много раненых и все лазареты увеличивают число мест так много нужно теперь. В лазарете Большого дв. вместо 45. – теперь около 60 офицеров. У нас тоже вероятно прибавят количество коек, а на солдатском отд. там в коридорах будут ставить койки т.к. места нету. Что Вы делаете теперь в Севастополе? Как проводите время? Мы ездили с Папа на спуск «Бородина». Я первый раз видела спуск и мне ужас как понравилось. Страшно было красиво. И такой невероятной длины. Потом мы завтракали у Морского министра на «Неве» и так было приятно и вместе с тем грустно проходить мимо нашей Яхты и не быть на ней и видеть её пустой. Ужасно !.. Это первый год за десять лет, что мы не плаваем. Так грустно. – Простите за болтовню, но я посмотрела на фотографию Яхты и подумала обо всём.
Ну, досвиданья. Сердечный привет Вашему мужу, Кажевникову и Родионову. Крепко, крепко целую вас как люблю.
Всем сердцем Ваша
Татьяна.
(Ф. 651 оп. 1 д. 48 л. 69-71)
Anna Vyrubova, Alexandra Feodorovna and Olga Nikolaevna aboard the cruiser Asia.
Source: https://vk.com/wall-56510987_24326
The family's imperial yacht Standart ran aground in August 1907 during one of their holiday cruises to Finland. Fearing it could sink, the family was transferred aboard the Russian cruiser Asia. Fortunately, the Standart didn't sink and it was later recovered by naval engineers.
Prince Carol of Romania and his parents made an official visit to Russia in January 1917. It was during a state dinner in the prince's honour that the Grand Duchess Maria accidentally tripped, to which Tsar Nicholas II replied, "Of course, fat Marie." It was also during Carol's visit that he formally asked Nicholas if he could marry Maria. The Tsar rejected it as Maria was still too young (she was 17 at that time).
Interestingly, all this took place not long after Rasputin was murdered and shortly before the revolution. I guess the Romanovs were just trying to move on with their lives. I've read of Maria tripping and Carol's proposal before, just didn't know it was during the same event or when it happened.
I was taken to a hotel that was being used by the Cheka, half a mile away from the Ipatiev House. People were being tortured and executed there. They threw me into a cell with Klementy Nagorny. He was badly hurt from weeks of abuse. In the adjacent cell was Prince Dolgorukov. He was convinced that the Romanovs were in grave danger and begged us to save them. Guards took him from his cell shortly after and we never saw him again. In spite of his injuries, Nagorny overcame the jailers to help me escape, giving up his life.
The house was empty when I returned and the bedrooms had been ransacked. Almost nothing remained except for a pouch of Alexei's toy soldiers. My heart sank when I went down to the basement. Blood was strewn across the floor and the walls were riddled with bullet holes. I came to the sudden realization that I was too late. I staggered back into the grand duchesses' room where I eventually collapsed. There was nothing I could've done, for I would've been killed too. But I knew the risks when I chose to be imprisoned with the imperial family.
Before long I found myself in the company of the anti-communist White Army. I had hoped to find the murderers as well as the Romanovs' grave site. I dreaded at the thought of seeing their decomposing corpses, but it wasn't right to just leave them there. The hours turned to days. Then, finally, I shot dead a commissar during a skirmish. I recognized him as one of the thugs who served at the Ipatiev House. Inside his bag was my journal, along with many valuables taken from the Romanovs. Among them was a partially bloodied, shredded garment sewed with diamonds. It must've belonged to one of the girls. The bastards stripped them. The commissar's documents only stated that he was to report to Moscow with the stolen goods. I couldn't capture him alive for interrogation. My search had reached a dead end.
For a while I was in anguish. I spent weeks in the city trying to find new traces, but to no avail. I am not a detective. When I regained composure, I remembered Olga's letter. Hopefully her aunt is still in the Crimea. I won't be staying with the Whites, who are divided about their goals. Nor will I stay with the surviving imperial entourage. They plan to head east towards Omsk. My only remaining duty is delivering Olga's letter to her aunt. My journey to the Crimea will be long and treacherous, but I'm doing this for Olga. The personal belongings I recovered, though sentimental to me, are not mine to keep anyway.
I feel terrible for leaving the Romanovs behind. I wanted to give them a proper burial somewhere safe and far away from the chaos that is ravaging Russia. They have made a real difference in
my life, and the grand duchesses were more than just friends to me. The
eight years I spent with them are by far the best years of my life. I
will always treasure my relationship with them and think of them with
fond memories, warm feelings and a special place in my heart.
