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| As a semi official signature, the girls used OTMA |
They lived a life quite far from that we could imagine a princess' could be. They were raised in the simplest way possible. They bathed in cold water in mornings, slept in camp beds except if they were ill .
As young teenagers, the elder three of them were assigned a regiment of soldiers. They loved to do their job inspecting the soldiers regularly and going in reviews to see their crushes. "I would like so much to go the review of the second division as I am also the second daughter and Olga was at the first so now it is my turn," Tatiana wrote to Alexandra on 20 April 1911. "...Yes, Mama, and at the second division I will see whom I must see ... you know whom ..." During the World War I Olga and Tatiana became nurses as sisters of mercy. Marie and Anastasia were too young to become nurses, entertained the wounded soldiers by chatting with them, reading books and playing games.
At the dreadful early morning of 17, July 2928, they along with the whole family and the dogs and servants and doctor were executed by the Bolsheviks by firing squad. In 1981, the family was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church as holy martyrs.
But right now let's go back in those sweet times and remember why OTMA was one of the most special princesses in history. (note: below are just Olga and Tatiana, articles of Maria and Anastasia are to be coming soon! ♥)
Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna Romanov
"Give us strength, oh Lord of justice, Our neighbor's evil to forgive, And the Cross so heavy and bloody, with Your humility to meet, In days when enemies rob us, To bear the shame and humiliation, Christ our Savior, help us."
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| 1914 Portrait |
Olga Nikolaevna was born on November 15 (O.S.)November 3] 1895, November 16 after 1900 – July 17, 1918. She’s the eldest child of Tsar Nicolas II of Russia and Tsarina Alexandra. Her name means “Holy” or “Healthy”. As a child, she was known to be an ugly one. She was described by her Great Grandmother, Queen Victoria of England to be having an “immense head”.
Because everyone were excited or the imperial couple’s first child, she was then took to tours in Austria, Kiev, Denmark, England, France and Germany. When they were in France, people used to shout: "Vive le bebe!" or "Vive la Grande Duchesse!" when they saw her in carriage with a nurse. The family returned home after two months and could enjoy some peace again. Soon after their return, Xenia wrote into her diary: "Before tea we went into the nursery. Nicky and Alix sat in the playpen and played with their daughter! She is a splendid, huge little girl, and seems to have got prettier, taller and even fatter!"’
Growing up, people around her started to notice how smart she’s becoming. She felt that the rights of the eldest children should be protected. When she was told the Biblical story of Joseph and his coat of many colors, she sympathized with the eldest brothers rather than Joseph. She also sympathized with Goliath rather than David in the Biblical story of David and Goliath. When her French tutor, Pierre Gilliard, was teaching her the formation of French verbs and the use of auxiliaries, ten-year-old Olga responded, "I see monsieur. The auxiliaries are the servants of the verbs. It's only poor 'avoir' which has to shift for itself.” When a book form Alexandra’s collection was missing, they know Olga was the culprit. Once, she told her mother that Alexandra must wait until she determined if a book was right for her to read.
She was best known for being the most studious among her siblings. She reads all the daily newspapers, even political and the papers and documents on his father, the Tsar’s desk. She was also the closest to her father, often talking long walks and talks with him. It’s the opposite with Alexandra. They often fought with each other. Alexandra found Olga, in her adolescent years hard to discipline and very rebellious. Perhaps it’s because Olga was the most independent thinker among her siblings. She knew what she wanted and do what she felt was right. On World war I, Olga became a nurse but was horrified at the bloody sight and work and even had a nervous breakdown. She was then assigned to the office works instead.
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| This photograph of Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia and Tsarevich Alexei was taken in May 1918 aboard the Russia, a ship that ferried them from Tobolsk to Yekaterinburg, Russia. |
During the revolution, she became more resigned and troublesome, always seem to be looking faraway. It was reported that Nicholas gave Olga a small revolver which she hid in a boot, but later gave it up before going to Yekaterinburg, in Germany. Olga tried to draw comfort from her faith and her proximity to her family. To her "beloved mama", with whom she had sometimes had a difficult relationship, she wrote a poem in April 1917, while the family was still imprisoned at Tsarskoye Selo: "You are filled with anguish for the sufferings of others. And no one's grief has ever passed you by. You are relentless, only towards yourself, forever cold and pitiless. But if only you could look upon your own sadness from a distance, just once with a loving soul — Oh, how you would pity yourself, how sadly you would weep." In another letter from Tobolsk, Olga wrote: "Father asks to ... remember that the evil which is now in the world will become yet more powerful, and that it is not evil which conquers evil, but only love ..."A poem copied into one of her notebooks prays for patience and the ability to forgive her enemies:
"Send us, Lord, the patience, in this year of stormy, gloom-filled days, to suffer popular oppression, and the tortures of our hangmen. Give us strength, oh Lord of justice, Our neighbor's evil to forgive, And the Cross so heavy and bloody, with Your humility to meet, In days when enemies rob us, To bear the shame and humiliation, Christ our Savior, help us. Ruler of the world, God of the universe, Bless us with prayer and give our humble soul rest in this unbearable, dreadful hour. At the threshold of the grave, breathe into the lips of Your slaves inhuman strength — to pray meekly for our enemies."
Also found with Olga's effects, reflecting her own determination to remain faithful to the father she adored, was Edmond Rostand's L'Aiglon, the story of Napoleon Bonaparte's son, who remained loyal to his deposed father until the end of his life.
Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna Romanov
"one has to struggle much, because the return for good is evil, and evil reigns. "
On May 29(O.S.)/June 10(N.S.), 1897, the second daughter of the Tsar was born. She was named Tatiana" as an homage to the heroine in Alexander Pushkin's novel in verse Eugene Onegin. Her father liked the idea of having daughters named Olga and Tatiana, like the sisters in the famous poem. As a baby, it was immidiaetly noticed that she’s to be a beautiful girl. She had somewhat more of eastern features and was considered by courtiers to be the most beautiful among the sisters. She had wide spaced eyes that were rather narrow, a dark chestnut hair and a delicate and thin frame. At later years, she’s to be taller than Olga or her mother, Alexandra.
She and Olga were close to each other and was labeled the big pair. In the spring of 1901, Olga had typhoid fever and was confined to the nursery for several weeks away from her younger sisters. When she began to recover, Tatiana was permitted to see her older sister for five minutes but didn't recognize her. When her governess, Margaretta Eagar, told her after the visit that the sickly child she had been conversing so gently with was Olga, four-year-old Tatiana began to cry bitterly and protested that the pale, thin child couldn't be her adored older sister. Eagar had difficulty persuading Tatiana that Olga would recover. French tutor Pierre Gilliard wrote that the two sisters were "passionately devoted to one another."
Tatiana was said to have the bearings of an English aristocrat and the daughter of the Tsar. Unlike her sisters, who were rather unlady-like in manners, Tatiana was regal and there was something in her air that let’s people never forget who she was.
During the World War I, her popularity grew, now overshadowing her sisters. Perhaps, besides the good looks it’s also because of her strong sense of duty.
“Through her good looks and her art of self assertion she put her sister in the shade in public, as the latter, thoughtless about herself, seemed to take a backseat” Pierre Gillard wrote.
Later, she was nicknamed “the governess” within the family. She constantly looked after her siblings and even Olga. She instructed them what to do and was a constant help to the household. When she grew older, she always took care of her mother, giving what she needed. She also helped in arranging official duties so it would not clash with any private engagements. Unlike her siblings, she was practical and didn’t argue. Maybe for these qualities, her mama’s friend and confidante, Anna Vyrubova made her a godmother of her first baby and even named it after her. According to Sophie Buxhoeveden Tatiana´s character was „a mixture of exactness, thoroughness and perseverance, with leanings towards poetic and abstract ideas. She was closest in sympathy to her mother, and was the definite favorite of both her parents. She was completely unselfish, always ready to give up her own plans to go for a walk with her father, to read to her mother, to do anything that was wanted... She had a less strong character than Olga Nikolaevna, whose lead she would always follow, but she could make up her mind in an emergency quicker than her elder sister, and never lost her head.
She enjoyed little parties and later also danced on several great balls. Her first party took place when she was only two and a half years old. On the top of the staircase little Imperial daughters were welcomed by Maria Pavlovna and her brother Dmitri, who held the party, and their nurse. Only a few days after that Imperial children had such party too and little Tatiana as frantically anxious to be dressed and ready. She would hardly stand still have to sash tied. „When we went to Marie's house she and Dmitri were waiting for us at the head of the stairs, and I know it must be right for us to wait for them,“ she explained her anxiousness. And really – while Olga and Maria would content themselves with amusing one or two visitors at their parties, Tatiana would copy the adult hostesses she had seen and try to look after everyone.
If Alexandra would choose who her favorite daughter was, it would be Tatiana. Though she was trying not to show it, she proffered her second daughter than the rest of her siblings. Not that she loved the others less but Tatiana’s like her soulmate. She wrote Nicholas that indeed Tatiana was the only one of her daughters who seems to “grasp it” when she explains her way of looking at things.
“If the Tsarina made any difference between her children, Tatiana Nikolaevna was her favorite. It was not that her sisters loved their mother any less, but Tatiana knew how to surround her with unwearying attentions and never gave way to her own capricious impulse” Their French tutor Pierre Gillard also said.
She also loved fashion. Thanks to her elegant figure she looked great in every frock no matter old it was. Vyrubova wrote that Tatiana had a great talent for making clothing, embroidery and crochet and even dress her mother’s hair better than any stylist. She was also good at piano and painting, but these are more of academic reasons that that of passion.
During the Great War, Tatiana along with sister Olga and Alexandra became nurses to the wounded soldiers. While Olga, later, quitted her job because of the bloodiness, Tatiana did her job greatly and made great friends with the nurses she won’t meet if not because of the war.
Perhaps one of the reasons for the soldiers’ recovery was their being charmed by the grand duchess. She talked to them and sometimes flirt with them and play different games with them. Some developed crushes on her and admired her greatly. But only a few stole her heart and caught her attention. Though an ice queen as she is always thought of, she also had the heart of a young girl. She met Dmitri Yakovlevich Malama on around 1914. He was one of the wounded soldiers confined to the hospital and one of her patients and was a handsome young man loyal to the Tsar. They grew to love each other under the approving eyes of the Tsarina. “looks flourishing more of a man now, an adorable boy still. I must say a perfect son in law he would have been -- why are foreign Princes not as nice!” Alexandra wrote to Nicholas.
Hoping to please her, he gave her a french bull dog and they named him Ortino, after Malama’s horse. But he eventually died, and Malama, without hesitation, gave Tatiana another puppy who died with them in the execution.
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| Dmitri Malama(on the wheelchair) and Tatiana behind |
However, Malama was not the only one to gain the affection of the Grand Duchess. Both she and Olga were fond of a soldier Vladimir Kiknadze, whom they took care about in 1915 and again in 1916. Chebotareva described that Tatiana would sometimes sit beside “Volodya” at the piano as he played a tune with one finger and talked to her in a low voice, wearing a mysterious expression on his face. She would often sit on his bed and some nurses were afraid such behavior could very easily cause gossiping and the girl´s reputation could suffer from it. There were other soldiers taken by Tatiana´s beauty and caring, her devotion to the wounded and they remembered her even a long time after she died.
In April 1918, the Bolsheviks moved Alexandra, Nicholas and Maria to Yekaterinburg. It was Tatiana who told her mother to “stop tormenting yourself” and move with her father. Alexandra decided Tatiana must be left behind, being level headed, she was able to take care of her ill brother Alexei was was having Hemophilia attacks that time.
On 14 July 1918, local priests at Yekaterinburg conducted a private church service for the family and reported that Tatiana and her family, contrary to custom, fell on their knees during the prayer for the dead.The final entry in Tatiana's final notebook at Yekaterinburg was a saying she had copied from the words of a well-known Russian Orthodox holy man, Father Ioann of Kronstadt:
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