What does the name of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich Romanov tell you? Little. Meanwhile, his memoirs are among the most interesting documents of the era. Because the author wrote what he saw with his own eyes, described what he knew firsthand. After all, he: - Was married to the daughter of Emperor Alexander III, sister of Nicholas II; - was not only a relative, but also a close friend of the last Russian emperor; - was the grandson of Emperor Nicholas I; - became the founder of Russian aviation - he initiated the creation of the first officer aviation school near Sevastopol. His daughter married Prince Felix Yusupov. The very one who became the murderer of Grigory Rasputin, and allegedly it was to meet her that the killers invited the holy elder on the day of his tragic death. Alexander Mikhailovich Romanov managed to survive in a whirlwind civil war, being in the very epicenter of the atrocities of the "revolutionary sailors" - in the Crimea. At the same time, both him and the Dowager Empress, the mother of Nicholas II, were guarded from them by ... other "revolutionary sailors". Who were sent to guard the Romanovs in November 1917 ... Lenin personally! Facts, first-hand knowledge of the situation and a wonderful style of narration - that's what the memoirs of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich Romanov are.

Memories of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich Romanov
With a preface by Nikolai Starikov

Great but unknown

Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich Romanov can rightly be attributed to those personalities of Russian history who are familiar only to historians and people deeply immersed "in the material." Meanwhile, it was his memoirs that belonged to his pen, which, undoubtedly, should be considered the most interesting document of that time.

But before talking about the content of the Grand Duke's memoirs, a few words must be said about him. Then it will become clear what high positions he held, with whom he communicated, what he knew, what he wrote about, and what he only hinted at in his memoirs.

Alexander Mikhailovich Romanov (1866–1933) was the grandson of Emperor Nicholas I, the son of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich. Since the Romanov family tree has grown quite a lot over the 19th century, it is necessary to give a few more guidelines. Alexander Mikhailovich was both the cousin uncle of the future Emperor Nicholas II and his childhood friend. But even this does not end his closeness to our last tsar. On July 25, 1894, the Grand Duke married Nicholas's own sister, Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, daughter of Emperor Alexander III. In this marriage, which would later break up in exile, seven children would be born. The eldest daughter Irina Alexandrovna will marry Count Felix Yusupov. Yes, yes, the same one - the future murderer Grigory Rasputin. And Irina Yusupova herself, according to the "official" version of the murder of the holy elder, acted as a bait for Rasputin. True, in absentia and not knowing about the terrible plan of her husband and ... British intelligence.

The magnificent marriage of Alexander Mikhailovich and Xenia Alexandrovna took place in the cathedral of the Great Peterhof Palace, and a few months later the sovereign died. "Childhood friend" Alexander Mikhailovich became king. The Grand Duke retained a fairly close relationship with Nicholas II, but he was not the closest friend of the last Russian Tsar. Being a specialist in shipbuilding, the Grand Duke led the noble cause of re-equipping the fleet (having taken the post of chairman of the Special Committee for Strengthening the Fleet with voluntary donations) after the tragic defeats for Russia at sea during the Russo-Japanese War. But he made the main contribution to the defense capability of Russia in a completely different area. Alexander Mikhailovich Romanov actually became the founder of Russian aviation, he is the initiator of the creation of an officer aviation school near Sevastopol. Therefore, during the First World War, he was in charge of the aviation part of the army. Further fate the Grand Duke is inseparable from the fate of the reigning house. After February Revolution he was exiled to the Crimea, after October he and a number of other representatives of the Romanov family were settled under the protection of a detachment of revolutionary sailors sent by Lenin himself (!), In the Dulber estate. And this detachment desperately defended the Romanovs from the encroachments of local "revolutionaries", who really wanted to kill them. As a result, all the Romanovs, alive and healthy, were handed over to the Germans who entered the Crimea in 1918.

Further - the British dreadnought and emigration to Europe after the end of the First World War. There, in exile, the Grand Duke died. The grave of his daughter Irina and her husband Felix Yusupov is located near Paris - on Saint-Genevieve-des-Bois.

Why are the memoirs of Alexander Mikhailovich Romanov so interesting? First of all, the style: it is written very excitingly and talentedly. Yes, and the facts are presented very openly and without ambiguity. If he writes about Russian-Turkish war, then directly says that Russia is not at war with the Turks, but with England, which stands behind Istanbul. The father-in-law of the author of the memoirs, Emperor Alexander III, is also beautifully depicted. It was Alexander Mikhailovich who gave the full version of the famous statement of the tsar-peacemaker: "In the whole world we have only two faithful allies," he liked to say to his ministers: our army and navy. All the rest, at the first opportunity, will take up arms against us."

Alexander Mikhailovich accurately describes the country that was at that moment the main geopolitical rival of Russia: “We owe the British government the fact that Alexander III very soon expressed all the firmness of his foreign policy. Less than a year after the accession to the throne of the young Emperor, a serious incident on the Russian-Afghan border Under the influence of England, which looked with fear at the growth of Russian influence in Turkestan, the Afghans occupied Russian territory in the neighborhood of the Kushkoi fortress.

The commander of the military district telegraphed the Sovereign, asking for instructions. "Kick me out and teach me a lesson," was the laconic answer from Gatchina. The Afghans shamefully fled, and they were pursued for several tens of miles by our Cossacks, who wanted to capture the English instructors who were with the Afghan detachment. But they got away."

Much can be found in the memoirs of the Grand Duke. For example, to find out that the famous disaster in Borki, when the train of Alexander III derailed, was a terrorist act, and not an accident. Make sure that Nicholas II did not want a war with Japan and did not even believe that it could begin. The whole sea of ​​facts, food for thought is more than enough. And all this is written very brightly and vividly. Even about the roots of the modern crisis in Ukraine can be found in the memoirs of Alexander Mikhailovich:

"We demand an independent Ukraine." The last slogan - a masterful strike of the hetman's strategy - needs to be explained. The concept of "Ukraine" covered the colossal territory of southwestern Russia, bordered in the west by Austria, the central provinces of Great Russia in the north and the Donets Basin in the east. Kyiv was to be the capital of Ukraine, and Odessa was to be the main port that would export wheat and sugar. Four centuries ago, Ukraine was a territory where the Poles and the free Cossacks, who called themselves "Ukrainians", fiercely fought among themselves. In 1649, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, at the request of Hetman Bohdan Khmelnitsky, took Little Russia under "his high hand." As part of Russian Empire Ukraine prospered, and the Russian monarchs made every effort to develop its agriculture and industry. 99% of the population of "Ukraine" spoke, read and wrote in Russian, and only a small group of fanatics who received material support from Galicia conducted propaganda in Ukrainian in favor of the rejection of Ukraine.

"Apparently the 'allies' are going to turn Russia into a British colony," Trotsky wrote in one of his proclamations to the Red Army. And wasn't he right this time? - but with this quote from the proposed memoirs, perhaps, it is worth finishing the preface.

After all, nothing has changed in the past hundred years ...

Nikolai Starikov

The Romanovs, Igor Kurukin

The book is ideal for those who are just getting started with . The author does not dump dry facts on the reader, but “draws” a whole gallery of portraits of representatives of the dynasty - from Mikhail Fedorovich to Nicholas II.

Alexei began to reign - but not to rule. How much did a 16-year-old boy know and be able to do, even though the people of the Middle Ages matured earlier than our contemporaries? Of course, he passed the prescribed "course" of science - he learned to read, mastered the liturgical texts of daily services and church hymns. The king loved to sing and even composed church chants himself. But he wrote sloppily, “like a paw” - so he’s not a clerk

"Romanovs"

Igor Kurukin

"Nicholas and Alexandra", Robert Massey (Massi)

The history of the last Russian monarchs interested the American Pulitzer Prize winner when he learned about his son's illness: like Tsarevich Alexei, the boy was diagnosed with hemophilia. They say that “Russia cannot be understood with the mind,” but Massey seems to have succeeded: the book about Nikolai and Alexandra Feodorovna was filmed in Hollywood (the film received two Oscars), and we often reprint it.

Sometimes in the rooms of the royal wing a melodic sound was heard, similar to a bird's trill. With this signal, Nikolai called his wife to him. In the first years of marriage, having heard this call, Alexandra Fedorovna, covered with a blush and leaving all things, hurried to her husband. When the children grew up, the king called them to him in the same manner; this sound, similar to a bird's whistle, was often heard in Alexander Park

"Nikolai and Alexandra"

Robert Massey

"Russian Imperial Family", Yuri Kuzmin

What was the family nickname of Nicholas II? How many illegitimate children were born to the kings from 1797 to 1917? Which foreign dynasties were related to the Romanovs? 226 articles about monarchs and their relatives, collected in this book, will be especially interesting to read for those who are already a little “in the know” and want to learn more about the history of the Romanov dynasty.

"The Romanovs. History of the Great Dynasty, Evgeny Pchelov

Here we are talking not only about the past, but also about the present of the Romanov dynasty - about: the young heirs of the family, who, after the revolution, were scattered all over the world. The main thing in the book is not political upheavals, but the personal characteristics of representatives of the royal family. “I set a goal in a popular form to describe the history of the entire Romanov family from the 17th century to the present day. It turned out to be a very interesting gallery, because among the Romanovs there were many notable figures who left their mark in various fields - from poetry and theater to zoology and astronomy, ”says Yevgeny Pchelov himself.

The large Romanov family, which included more than 60 people on the eve of the revolution, broke up. 18 of them died during the years of revolutionary terror, the rest managed to leave their homeland in different ways. Deep faith, inexhaustible optimism, self-esteem and impeccable upbringing helped many to overcome all hardships. They mastered new professions, dispersed all over the world - now the Romanovs and their descendants live in France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, Great Britain, USA, Canada, Uruguay. But, wherever they lived, in their hearts they kept love for Russia. Now many of them are returning home. Their story continues

Rubankov K.S.

"Kostroma national newspaper"

Celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty (1913) in the memoirs of members of the dynasty and their entourage

Most of the studies devoted to the reign of the last Russian tsar refer to the descriptions of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty in 1913. The Romanov celebrations are interpreted as a holiday that was celebrated “solemnly and popularly”, and 1913 itself is “the pinnacle of prosperity for the empire and the year of the great jubilee” . At the same time, contemporaries themselves radically disagreed in assessing the results of the Romanov celebrations from the point of view of forming a positive image of the monarchy: from “triumphant success” (maid of honor of the Empress S. Buksgevden) to “miserable failure” (leader of the cadets P. Milyukov) . Polar assessments of the anniversary are also shown by memories of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty in Kostroma, published by local researchers: fragments of the memoirs of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers V. Kokovtsev and Comrade Minister of the Interior V. Dzhunkovsky. If the latter wrote that he had witnessed "an incomparable patriotic upsurge among the people", then V. Kokovtsev considered: "The Romanov celebrations were somehow pale", noting, however, that Kostroma was an exception. At the moment, there is no comprehensive study of the Romanov celebrations in historiography; in fact, this plot is only touched upon in the capital monograph by R. Worthman, who analyzed the symbolism of the Russian autocracy. Worthman viewed the 1913 celebration of the jubilee as an attempt to "rally the masses around the tsar" and concluded that "the celebrations were intended to demonstrate the enduring appeal of monarchism in the eyes of the masses" they "reaffirmed the belief of Nicholas [Second] that the majority of the population , especially the peasantry, is loyal to him.

The circle of sources in most publications is quite narrow, and even published sources of personal origin are practically not used. Of considerable interest, in our opinion, is the assessment by the Romanovs themselves of the results of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of their kind. As a rule, in most studies, including local history, only fragments are quoted from the diary of Nicholas II, which, as you know, is quite restrained for emotional assessments. Meanwhile, the range of such sources should be expanded. In particular, in addition to the family of Nicholas II, thirty members of the Russian imperial family arrived in Kostroma to celebrate the anniversary. Twenty-four of them managed to survive the revolutionary events, four published their memoirs in exile (Grand Dukes Kirill Vladimirovich, Gabriel Konstantinovich, Alexander Mikhailovich, Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna). Two more memoir texts adjoin here: the memoirs of the cousin of Nicholas II - Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna Jr. - she took part in the celebrations of the anniversary in Moscow, and the memoirs of the spouse of the tsar's niece Felix Yusupov. The Romanovs’ close associates also paid attention in their memoirs to the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the dynasty (we used the memoirs of the maid of honor A. Vyrubova, the valet A. Volkov, the friend of the last queen S. Buksgevden, the palace commandant V. Voeikov). Finally, as already mentioned, prominent officials of tsarist Russia (V. Dzhunkovsky, V. Kokovtsev) paid attention to the anniversary on the pages of their books. In total, we analyzed about a dozen such memoirs.

An analysis of fragments of memoirs dedicated to the celebration of the anniversary, in our opinion, allows us to come to the following conclusions. Firstly, the description of the celebrations is used by most memoirists as a device of opposition between the loyal attitude towards the dynasty in 1913 and the subsequent revolutionary events. The memoirists here literally echo each other: “Enthusiastic greetings [during the celebrations] ... were repeated every day, and it seemed that nothing - neither time nor circumstances - would change these feelings of love and devotion” (A. Vyrubova), “It seems almost impossible that people who enthusiastically greeted the revolution four years later could so express their devotion and take part in such festivities ”(S. Buksgevden, our translation - Auth.),“ At the sight of these enthusiastic crowds, who would have thought that in less than four years, the very name of Nika [Nicholas II] will be mixed with dirt and become an object of hatred! (Grand Duchess Olga). Sometimes the authors use a variant of the same technique: they expressly neutrally report on the magnificent celebration of the anniversary, and the reader, knowing about the further development of events, himself feels the contrast: “The main topic of conversation was the tercentenary of the Romanov dynasty ... Everything seemed to be in order. The government assured that since the time of Alexander III there had not been such prosperity ”(Grand Duke Alexander). “Everywhere [in 1913] - the inspiration of the population, deputations” (A. Volkov). In most memoirs, the text on the anniversary of the dynasty ends the chapters that precede the description of the events of the First World War and the revolution, in other words, the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty is perceived by memoirists as a kind of final chord in the history of tsarist Russia.

Secondly, we can conclude that the memoirs of the Romanovs and their associates, if they are considered only as evidence of the preparation and holding of the holiday, are not very rich in information. But it is a very valuable source for the reconstruction of emotions and sensations. Russian elite during the anniversary and the "behind the scenes" history of the festivities. All memoirs - with small variations - reproduce the same pattern of events: a prayer service in the Kazan Cathedral, followed by a reception at the Winter Palace, then a move to Moscow, a ball in Nobility Assembly, travel along the Volga, visit to Kostroma, return to Moscow. However, such repetition allows for a cross-check of information: in particular, V. Kokovtsev’s statement that during the trip along the Volga only “small groups of peasants ... were waiting for the Sovereign to leave”, is refuted by all other evidence: “The arrival on the Volga was accompanied by an extraordinary uplift population. The people entered the water to the waist, wanting to get closer to the royal steamer", "the shores were crowded with people, and in every village the peasants entered the water in their desire to see the royal steamer", "When our steamer sailed along the Volga, we saw crowds of peasants standing waist-deep in water." Finally, the value of "Romanov's" memoirs is that the authors report unique facts: about the disease led. Princess Tatyana, which forced to reduce the celebrations in St. Petersburg, about how the well-being of Empress Alexandra, for whom many hours of ceremonies were painful (this is also confirmed by other sources), influenced the schedule of festivities and their organization, about the influence on Empress G. Rasputin, which manifested itself in during the celebrations in Kostroma and ended in an unpleasant scandal for the Romanovs.

Thirdly, one can note the unequal volume of fragments devoted to the description of the anniversary - and one can draw an unambiguous conclusion: the scale of participation - non-participation of the author in the celebrations does not affect (or very slightly affects) the volume of the text. For example, F. Yusupov and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna practically did not take part in the holidays, but if the first only mentioned the anniversary, then the second dedicated about a page of text to them. Even more striking is the contrast between the memories of the princes Gavriil Konstantinovich and Alexander Mikhailovich, whose participation in the celebrations is absolutely identical, but at the same time the first memoirist tells about these events for two chapters (Gavriil Konstantinovich’s memoirs are the longest “Romanov” text about the 300th anniversary of the dynasty), then the second one mentions the holiday in one sentence.

Fourthly, for some memoirists, the description of the Romanov jubilee is a clear way of representing themselves or their ideas. As already noted, the pattern of creating a fairy tale story “about the life of a princess”, characteristic of the first, pre-revolutionary, part of the memoirs of Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, also determined her approach to depicting celebrations in Moscow. Most of them are occupied by a description of a ball in the Nobility Assembly, where the Grand Duchess attracted everyone's attention with her outfit and ability to waltz (other memoirists also talk about this). Finally, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, who also took part in all the festivities, has a completely special approach to depicting celebrations: he is inclined not to descriptions, but to reasoning, and he is the only one among all memoirists who tries to see in the events of 1913 not only the past, but and the future of the dynasty. For the Grand Duke, recognized in exile by the majority of the Romanovs as the head of the imperial house, memories of the anniversary are a way once again, in an implicit form, to declare the dynastic rights of his branch to the Russian throne (it is characteristic that the memoirs should have been called “My life in the service of Russia then and now”) and the opportunity to recall the connection of the Romanovs with Russia: “They [the Romanovs] are connected with it by one fate ... despite the fact that this connection is now temporarily interrupted.”

Fifthly, we can conclude that the desire of the organizers of the festivities to emphasize the connection between the events of 1913 and the events of 1613 - primarily the organization of the "repeated" (after 300 years) journey of the Romanovs around the Volga cities - succeeded, in any case, if we proceed from memoirs. All the texts we have reviewed (20 to 50 years are separated from the time of their writing in 1913) contain descriptions of the Romanovs' journey along the Volga. We can agree with the opinion of R. Worthman that "the main part of the celebrations dedicated to the anniversary ... took place in Kostroma" . Of the eleven examined texts describing the holidays, ten contain references to the reception of the royal family in Kostroma. Moreover, in the memory of memoirists, Kostroma became a kind of center for celebrating the 300th anniversary of the dynasty: A. Volkov, V. Voeikov, Grand Duchess Maria, Grand. Princess Olga of all the Volga cities mentions only Kostroma, Sophia Buksgevden writes that “The Ipatiev Monastery was the goal of their [Romanovs’] journey” (our translation), Grand Duke Gabriel adheres to the same opinion: “After the Moscow celebrations, we all set off along the Volga to Kostroma” (emphasis added). V. Kokovtsev also joined this opinion, in the already cited fragment of his memoirs, noting: “Only Kostroma made a big impression. The sovereign and his family were surrounded by a solid crowd of people, genuine expressions of joy were heard. One can also agree that the enthusiasm shown in Kostroma, in general, supported the conviction of the imperial family that the people were committed to the monarchy, only a small part of the elite was dissatisfied (this, in particular, confirms the remark of A. Vyrubova: “ The journey [to Kostroma] in the moral sense consoled and refreshed Their Majesties”). V. Kokovtsev also joined this opinion, believing that the stabilization of the situation in the country and the celebration of the anniversary “gave room ... faith in boundless devotion to him [Nicholas II], as the Anointed of God, of the whole people, blind faith in Him of the masses ...” , ignoring the opinions "reminding that it is no longer possible to do as it was, and demanding to adapt to some new conditions" .

Finally, in our opinion, one can come to the conclusion that neither the Romanovs nor their associates had a unified assessment of the results of the anniversary (and its success). However, it is obvious that the assessments that appear in the memoirs were directly influenced by the further development of events, forcing the memoirists many years later to assert: during the holidays they experienced “a strange feeling that some new, terrible living conditions are arising,” or to assert: “anniversary The house of the Romanovs passed without much enthusiasm, ”although at the same time the memoirists themselves cite numerous facts of general rejoicing, that is, they refute their own words. At the same time, it cannot be said that the assessment of the memoirists directly depended on their attitude towards the autocratic regime and the personality of Nicholas II. In particular, V.Dzhunkovsky and V.Kokovtsev, both dismissed from their positions some time after the celebration of the 300th anniversary, hold opposite positions in their assessment of the anniversary, and led. Prince Gavriil Konstantinovich, loyal to the tsar, and P. Milyukov, who is opposed to the opposition, agree in assessing the anniversary as a failure.

Thus, the memoirs of the Romanovs and their entourage are a valuable source for reconstructing the history of the 300th anniversary of the dynasty. At the same time, it should be taken into account that, firstly, when describing events, memoirists, as a rule, did not pursue the goal of analyzing the entire course of the festivities, and, secondly, all assessments of the authors in terms of the “success” of holding the anniversary are of a retrospective nature, and their must be used with caution. In our opinion, they should be correlated with other sources of personal origin - epistolary heritage and diaries.

Notes

See, for example: Ferro M. Nicholas II. M., 1991. S. 153; Kudrina Yu.V. Empress Maria Feodorovna. M., 2005. S.135-136; Radzinsky E.S. Nicholas II. Life and death. M., 1995. P. 139.

Milyukov P.N. Memories. T.2. New York, 1955. P. 184; Buxhoeveden S. The life and tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna //Alexander Palace website: http://www.alexanderpalace.org/2006alix/

See: Provincial House. 1998. Nos. 5-6. pp. 123-132.

Kokovtsev VN From my past: Memoirs. Book 2. M., 1992.S. 140.

Worthman R. Nicholas II and the image of autocracy / / History of the USSR. 1991 No. 2. pp.122-123. See also: Wortman, R.S. power scenarios. Myths and ceremonies of the Russian monarchy. T. 2: From Alexander II to the abdication of Nicholas II. M. 2004.

Alexandra Fedorovna Romanova

Memoirs of the last Empress

God and man. Faith and eternity

Without the blessing of God, without the consecration of marriage by Him, all the congratulations and good wishes of friends will be an empty sound. Without His daily blessing of family life, even the most tender and true love will not be able to give everything that a thirsty heart needs. Without the blessing of Heaven, all the beauty, joy, value of family life can be destroyed at any moment.

* * *

We know that when He refuses our request, it would be to our detriment to do so; when He leads us on a different path than we have planned, He is right; when He punishes or corrects us, He does it with love. We know that He does everything for our highest good.

* * *

An invisible Guardian Angel always hovers over each of us.

* * *

There is grief that hurts even more than death. But the love of God can turn any trial into a blessing.

Behind the cloud lies the starlight

After the rain, the sunbeam shines

God does not have unloved beings,

He sends blessings to all his creatures!

* * *

And so the life of the true home flows, sometimes in bright sunlight, sometimes in darkness. But in light or in darkness, she always teaches us to turn to Heaven as to the Great House, in which all our dreams and hopes come true, where bonds again torn on earth are united. In everything we have and do, we need the blessing of God. No one but God will support us during the great tribulation. Life is so fragile that any parting can be eternal. We can never be sure that we will still have the opportunity to ask for forgiveness for an evil word and be forgiven. Our love for each other can be sincere and deep in sunny days, but it is never so strong as in the days of suffering and grief, when all its previously hidden wealth is revealed.

* * *

Christianity, like heavenly love, elevates the soul of man. I am happy: the less hope, the stronger the faith. God knows what's best for us, but we don't. In constant humility I begin to find the source constant strength. "Dying daily is the path to daily living"

* * *

The closer the soul approaches the Divine and Eternal Source of Love, the more fully the obligations of sacred human love are revealed, and the more acute the reproaches of conscience for neglecting the smallest of them.

* * *

We are closer to God when we consider ourselves the most unworthy (corrected by hand). And we are most pleasing to Him when we humble ourselves and repent to dust and ashes.

* * *

The humbler the person, the more peace in his soul.

* * *

We must be strong and pray to God to give us patience to endure everything that He sends down to us. Temptations allowed by a wise and loving Father precede His mercies.

* * *

He who wants to kindle the hearts of others with love for Christ must himself be aflame with this love.

* * *

The remembrance of past mercies will support faith in God in the trials to come.

* * *

Learn, for the love of God, to part even with a person close and dear to you.

* * *

There are many people in whom God has placed a thirst for perfection, who are dissatisfied with themselves, ashamed of themselves, tormented by desires they cannot satisfy, by instincts they cannot comprehend, by forces they cannot use, by duties they cannot fulfill, by confusion. which they cannot tell anyone. I would be glad for any change that would make them nobler, purer, more just, more loving, more sincere and reasonable, and when they think about death, their thought can be expressed in the words of a poet:

To life, not to death I aspire,

I'm going to live brighter, fuller,

I am not satisfied with a little.

These people can repeat the words of the Lord: “Be of good cheer, child!” (Matt. 9, 2) God generously endows people. If there is a thirst for the Divine, it will surely be satisfied. If you strive to be better, then so be it. Just trust your best feelings, do not try to drown out this thirst for a saint in yourself, fight, despite mistakes, blunders, even sins. For everyone whom God asks you for, even when He forgives, keep fighting despite all the disappointments. Blessed be those who yearn for the truth! We were told, “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come! And let him who hears say, Come! He who is thirsty, let him come, and he who desires, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev. 22:17).

* * *

The soul that is more open to the spiritual, knowing God better, is more afraid of making mistakes before Him, trembles more in memory of the Last Judgment.

* * *

We need to seek our salvation in the position in which Providence has placed us, and not build castles in the air, imagining how virtuous we would be in some other position. And then, we need to truly believe in God, even in small things. Most people spend their lives groaning and lamenting about their habits, reasoning about how they need to be changed, making rules for their life in the future, which they expect, but which they may be deprived of, and thus waste time that should have been. to spend on good deeds on the way to your salvation. Salvation must be pursued every day and every hour. There is no better time for the one that the Lord in His mercy gives us now, and what tomorrow will bring us, we do not know. Salvation is achieved not by our dreaming alone, but by diligent diligence. Constant sobriety pleases God.

Even small things become great when they are by the will of God. They are small in themselves, but they immediately become great when they are fulfilled for His sake, when they lead to Him and help to unite with Him forever. Remember how He said: “He who is faithful in a little is also faithful in much, but he who is unfaithful in a little is unfaithful in much” (Ac. 16:10).

The soul that sincerely aspires to God never looks at whether it is a big or small thing; it is enough to know that He, for Whom this is done, is infinitely great, that all His creatures must be completely devoted to Him, and this can be achieved only by fulfilling His will ...

To suffer, but not to lose courage, that is the greatness ... Wherever God leads us, we will find Him everywhere, both in the most exhausting deed and in the most calm reflection ...

What depresses us and hurts our pride is more beneficial than what excites and inspires.

* * *

The nature of God is Spirit. The name of God is Love. The relationship between God and man is that of the Father and the son.

* * *

People saw thorns on the head of Jesus, and angels saw roses.

* * *

When I wake up, I need again

All my devotion and all my love.

Then I will see Him as He is,

Who knows everything that was and that is.

Christ knows what is in the heart of man. When He looks at us, He sees not only what we are, but what we can become. Christ looks at the young life that stands before Him, and sees in it - under external unattractiveness, a magnificent maturity and calls for its incarnation.

Jesus always sees the best in a person. He saw the opportunity for good that lurked in the publican behind all greed and dishonesty, and He called him to be one of His friends. In the fallen woman who lay at His feet, He wished to see a pure soul and spoke to her words of mercy and hope that saved her. In everyone who appeared next to Him, He saw an opportunity to bring out something good.

It is necessary to see the best in a person that is in him, and be able to find beauty and goodness in everyone's life, if we want to inspire people to develop their best qualities. God does not need help to open His buds and let His roses bloom. The buds must open and the roses bloom naturally, the way the Lord has ordained. To make them bloom before their time would be to ruin them. We must be as careful as possible when trying to influence the spiritual life of others, especially children. Violence can cause irreparable harm. The best thing we can do to develop the spiritual life of others is to give them an atmosphere of love and purity. A new friendship for many changes the whole future. It means a lot to each of us to know that someone is interested in us.

One of the first secrets of being able to help is the ability to encourage others. Encouragement inspires us; if it is absent, many noble possibilities go out. You think you can't achieve much in life, you can't do anything good, nothing beautiful. You feel like your friends feel the same way, and you get overwhelmed by a hopeless sense of your own insignificance. Then someone comes along who sees your abilities, whose gaze catches precious glimpses of your soul, who sees opportunities in your life that you never knew existed and tells you about it. You understand what this means to you. The love of Jesus for Simon, expressed by Him, and His encouragement, became for him the beginning of a new life. Jesus believed in him, and this filled him with hope.

Her memories of the tortured brothers bore the imprint of spontaneity and authenticity. In her criticisms of other members of the Imperial family, for all their severity, there was not a trace of rancor. But, most importantly, this most peculiar representative of the Romanov dynasty, as I later became convinced, knew her homeland to the point of pain. Listening to her was like wandering through the gardens of history.

Finally, I plucked up the courage and advised her to write her memoirs, if only for the sake of future generations. I stressed that her memoirs are of great historical value. What arguments I did not give! In addition to her sister, Xenia, who has already become an invalid, who lives in England, she, Olga Alexandrovna, is the latest Grand Duchess, granddaughter, daughter of the Tsars, sister of the Tsar, who was born surrounded by brilliance and splendor, which today is even difficult to imagine, having experienced such hardships and hardships that fall to the lot of not every noble lady. Despite all this, she accepts the lot of a little-known exile with innate tact and meekness, managing to keep her faith unsullied in the face of troubles and misfortunes. Surely the story of such a person will be of great value in our days, when most people are so indifferent to spiritual beauty.

The Grand Duchess listened to my arguments patiently enough. I've finished. She shook her head.

• - What will be the point of my writing an autobiography? Too much has been written about the Romanovs already. Too many false words have been said, too many myths have been created. Let's take Rasputin alone! Nobody will believe me if I tell the truth. You know yourself that people only believe what they themselves want to believe.

I confess that I was disappointed, but I respected too much the point of view which she held to continue my persuasion.

But then, some time later, one morning she greeted me with one of her rare smiles and said:

• - Well, when do we start?

• - Let's start what? I asked.

• - That is, like what? Of course, work on my memoirs.

• - So, you still decided to write them?

• “You will write,” the Grand Duchess said with conviction. “I think fate brought us together so that you could write the story of my life. I am convinced that you can do this because you understand me better than most other people.

• “To begin with,” she said, “I have thought about everything you have said to me the other day and realized that I really am a kind of historical phenomenon. Except for my sister who lives in London [Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna died in London in 1960], who is very ill, I am the last Russian Grand Duchess. Moreover, I am the last porphyry-born member of the dynasty [The term "porphyritic" referred only to sons and daughters born to a reigning monarch. The Romanov dynasty reigned for three centuries (1613-1917), but there were relatively few porphyry children in it. Among them are the youngest son of Paul I, Mikhail Pavlovich, the three youngest sons of Nicholas I and the two youngest sons of Alexander II. Grand Duchess Olga was the only porphyry child of Alexander III. On the other hand, all five children of the last tsar, Nicholas II, born after his ascension to the throne in 1894, were porphyry.].

I am not inclined to sentimentality, but in the depths of my soul I understood that the poor, cramped little room could not make me forget the high origin of its owner. All external attributes of greatness were lost, but the indestructible feeling of the breed remained. As her story unfolded before my eyes, I was more and more amazed every day by some beginning akin to genius inherent in this little old woman. Perhaps it was even genius - the ability to find a common language with life, which dealt her blow after blow, wounded, mocked her, but could not defeat and harden her. Peter I and Catherine II could rightly be proud of such a descendant of theirs.

The Grand Duchess had an extraordinary memory. Many events cut so deeply into her that it seemed as if they had happened a day or two ago. As our work continued, it became clear to me that she was increasingly pleased with her decision. She placed particular emphasis on accuracy and often described some events with her own hand, such as the collapse of the imperial train in Borki (see p. 20).

Working with the Grand Duchess required familiarization with almost all the books that had been written about the Romanovs over the past forty years. Her views on Rasputin, the Yekaterinburg atrocity, and on Anna Anderson's assertion that she is Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna will be given in the right place. It should be noted that the Grand Duchess was the last living witness who could separate facts from fiction. Her indignation and anger, which aroused in her slanderous fabrications about the name of the Romanovs, which appeared on the pages of the world press, knew no bounds.

The Grand Duchess approached each problem with all possible objectivity. She had no conceited feeling that her memories had great importance. She spoke with condemnation both of her loved ones and of her homeland. However, despite the fact that our work was moving forward, there was growing confidence in it that we should hurry.

Once Olga Alexandrovna said:

• - We need to hurry, because there is very little time left.

Obviously she had some kind of premonition. It wasn't long before all those hardships and sufferings that she so courageously endured began to affect her. She could no longer work in the garden. The world for her was a cluttered living room. But her memory didn't fail her.

It is not for me to judge whether I coped well with the task entrusted to me by the last Russian Grand Duchess, but I want to assure my readers that I wrote this book with a feeling of sincere devotion and gratitude for being awarded the friendship and trust from one of the most courageous and noble women of this century.

1. Porphyrogenic baby

In the spring of 1865, the entire Romanov family gathered in Cannes. Twenty-two-year-old Tsarevich Nikolai, the eldest son and heir of Tsar Alexander II - "the hope and consolation of our people", as the poet Tyutchev wrote, was dying of pneumonia. His betrothed, Princess Dagmara of Denmark, hurried to the south of France to catch her fiancé alive. According to legend, the dying Grand Duke asked everyone except his brother Alexander and his bride to leave his bedchamber. What happened there is known only to those who were present there, but, according to legend, Nikolai took the hands of Alexander and Dagmar and put them together, placing them on his chest. A year later, the young Tsesarevich (Alexander was born in 1845) and the princess from Denmark were married [A similar event took place in England twenty-seven years later. Princess May, betrothed of the Duke of Clarence, became engaged to his younger brother Prince George (the future King George V) after the sudden death of the Duke of Clarence from pneumonia in 1892.].

Their family life, which began in such an unusual way, turned out to be happy. Tsarevich Alexander, who succeeded his father's throne in 1881 and became Emperor Alexander III, became the first Romanov to emerge as good husband and a father in whose life the demands of the court never overshadowed the joys of family life. Alexander and Dagmar, who received the Orthodox name Maria Feodorovna at baptism, were struck by great grief at the very beginning of their married life: their first-born, Alexander, died in infancy. But in 1868 their second son was born, the future Emperor Nicholas II, in 1871 - the third, George. Following him, in 1875, the daughter Xenia was born, in 1878 another son, Mikhail. On June 1, 1882, the second daughter, Olga, was born.

The 1870s were full of important events for Russia. In 1875, thanks to his wise foreign policy, Alexander II managed to prevent another conflict between France and Germany. Two years later, the Emperor declared war on Turkey, as a result of which the Balkan Peninsula was forever liberated from the Turkish yoke. For this feat and for the abolition of serfdom in 1861, Alexander II was named Tsar-Liberator. But in the Empire itself, the situation remained far from serene. Revolutionary organizations appeared one after another. With a few exceptions, they were all terrorist organizations hoping to achieve their goals through assassinations. Several devoted servants of the Throne died. Many attempts were made on the Emperor himself, and one of them ended in murder. On March 13, 1881, Emperor Alexander II was killed in St. Petersburg by a bomb explosion. Olga's father, who was then thirty-six years old, became Alexander III. The killers, including a girl from a noble family, were captured, convicted and publicly hanged. The new king was not inclined to be soft-hearted. He inherited the Empire, roiled by the riots and riots of the seventies.

Despite the harsh measures taken, the revolutionaries continued their "activities", and Alexander III, having left Winter Palace, moved to Gatchina, located more than forty miles southwest of the capital. It was there that he raised his offspring, leaving the Great Gatchina Palace for the summer months and settling in a small palace in Peterhof. Alexander III continued to work there, "the busiest man in Russia," as his cousin Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich said about him.

Despite the sentiments that continued within the Empire, during the reign of Alexander III, Russia enjoyed the outside world. Himself participating in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, the Tsar declared: "Every ruler ... must take all measures in order to avoid the horrors of war."

Russia enjoyed the peace and was given an opportunity such as had never before been given to her people - the opportunity to observe family life her young king.

Not a single Romanov family has seen anything like it. For Alexander III, the bonds of marriage were inviolable, and children were the pinnacle of marital happiness. His reign lasted a little over a year, when on June 1, 1882, Empress Maria Feodorovna was relieved of her burden in Peterhof, giving birth to a daughter. A few minutes later, all the bell towers of Peterhof struck the bells. An hour or so later, one hundred and one shots from guns mounted on the bastions of the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg announced the joyful event to the inhabitants of the capital. Dispatches rushed along the telegraph wires, in every big and small city of the Empire, gun volleys thundered.

The baby, baptized by Olga, was of delicate build. On the advice of her sister, the Princess of Wales, and guided by the example of her mother-in-law, the girl's mother decided to take an Englishwoman as a nanny. Soon Elizabeth Franklin arrived from England, bringing with her a suitcase full of starched caps and aprons.

• “Nana,” the Grand Duchess told me, “during my entire childhood was my protector and adviser, and later faithful friend. I can't even imagine what I would do without her. It was she who helped me survive the chaos that reigned during the years of the revolution. She was an intelligent, brave, tactful woman; although she performed the duties of my nurse, both my brothers and sister experienced her influence.

The word "protector", which the Grand Duchess used in relation to Mrs. Franklin, has a special meaning. Naturally, the children of the monarch were protected from any possibility of getting into trouble, but Mrs. Franklin's duties did not include protection of this kind. She was an indisputable authority in the nurseries, and under her command there were many assistants, but the Russian servants were distinguished by excessive talkativeness. Even exemplary families are not protected from gossip. The inhabitants of the Imperial Palaces were no exception. That tales of the atrocities of the revolutionaries, from which the blood runs cold in the veins, reached the ears of little Olga, can be inferred from her story about the tragedy that occurred in Borki, but Mrs. Franklin's ignorance of the situation created at that time in Russia must be served as a good antidote, and the Englishwoman could calm the child better than anyone else.

About the luxury and wealth that surrounded the Romanovs in their Everyday life, many tales have been written. Of course, the Imperial Court shone, but the splendor was alien to the chambers in which the Tsar's children lived. Back in 1922 one could see the rooms in which the august children lived in the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, in Tsarskoe Selo, Gatchina and Peterhof. They slept on camp beds with hair mattresses, with a skinny pillow under their heads. On the floor is a modest carpet. No armchairs, no sofas. Viennese chairs with straight backs and wicker seats, the most ordinary tables and shelves for books and toys - that's the whole situation. The only thing that adorned the nurseries was the red corner, where the icons of the Mother of God and the Divine Infant were studded with pearls and other precious stones. The food was very modest. Since the reign of Alexander II, his wife, Empress Maria Alexandrovna, Olga's grandmother, introduced English customs: oatmeal for breakfast, cold baths and plenty of fresh air.

Olga was the only baby: her brother Mikhail was four years older than her, however, it cannot be said that she felt abandoned. Both older brothers, Nikolai and George, sister Xenia and, of course, Mikhail could freely enter the nursery, with Mrs. Franklin's permission.

Gatchina, located more than forty miles from St. Petersburg and not too far from Tsarskoye Selo, was the favorite residence of Emperor Alexander III. Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna also preferred it to all other royal possessions. It was there that most of her childhood passed. There were 900 rooms in the Gatchina Palace. It consisted of two huge squares, interconnected by a concave multi-storey gallery decorated with pilasters and towers that towered at the corners of the square. Separate galleries kept rich collections of art objects. The Chinese Gallery housed priceless pieces of porcelain and agate collected by former monarchs. The Chesme Gallery was so named because there were four large copies of Hackert's paintings depicting episodes of the battle with the Turks in the Chesme Bay in 1768, where the Russian sailors won.

Unlike the Hermitage, the galleries of the Gatchina Palace were not open to the public at that time, but nothing prevented the Tsar's children from going there, especially on rainy days.

• - How we had fun! recalled the Grand Duchess. -- The Chinese Gallery was the perfect place to play hide-and-seek! We often hid behind some Chinese vase. There were so many of them, some of them were twice our size. I think they cost a lot, but I do not remember the case when any of us even broke anything.

Behind the palace stretched a huge park, cut through by a river and artificial lakes dug out in the middle of the 18th century. At some distance from one of the squares were stables and kennels, representing a special world inhabited by grooms, grooms, kennels and other employees. On the parade ground in front of two half-circles stood a bronze sculpture of Emperor Paul I [Gatchina Manor at one time belonged to Grigory Orlov. Catherine II presented it to her favorite, in addition to several thousand acres of land, who built a castle there. After the death of Prince Grigory Orlov, the entire Gatchina estate was bought by the Empress from Orlov's heirs for one and a half million rubles and granted to the Sovereign Heir Pavel Petrovich, who enlarged the palace to its current size and turned the city into a tiny Potsdam. Alexander III was the first Emperor who lived in the Gatchina Palace after the assassination of Emperor Paul I in 1801.].

Paul I, the only son of Catherine the Great and great-great-grandfather of the Grand Duchess, was a restless ghost: his shadow was seen in the Mikhailovsky Castle, in the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, he also appeared in the Gatchina Grand Palace. His bedchamber, located in one of the towers, according to the Grand Duchess, was preserved in the same form as it was during the life of the Emperor. All the servants claimed to have seen the ghost of Paul I.

• “I never saw him myself,” said the Grand Duchess, “which drove me to despair. Despite everything that was said about him, Emperor Paul I was a nice person, and I would like to meet him.

Such was a very original judgment about the unfortunate Emperor, who possessed by no means an amiable character. The Grand Duchess, apparently, was the only member of her family who would have spoken with such sympathy of his ancestor, who had a tyrannical and suspicious nature, whom some of his contemporaries considered mad.

Every corner of Gatchina reminded of the former greatness of Russia under the scepter of the Romanovs. The exploits of Russian soldiers and sailors during the reign of Peter the Great, Empresses Anna Ioannovna, Elizabeth Petrovna, Catherine the Great and Alexander I the Blessed were depicted on tapestries, paintings and engravings. Subsequently, Olga Alexandrovna began to study history together with mentors, but with a sense of belonging to Russian history she, apparently, was imbued with the most childhood.

There were many servants in Gatchina. According to the Grand Duchess, there were over five thousand of them. Among them were people who worked at the stables, on farms, in gardens and parks, but it is quite possible that here the memory betrayed the Grand Duchess. Emperor Alexander III had to take care of many things. Under his care were Gatchina, Peterhof, two large palaces in Tsarskoye Selo, Anichkov and the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg and Livadia in the Crimea. Emperor Nicholas II, brother of Olga Alexandrovna, had seven palaces in charge [During the reign of Nicholas II, the Anichkov Palace served as the residence of Empress Mother Maria Feodorovna.], and the total number of servants who looked after them rarely exceeded fifteen thousand people. It is unlikely that a third of this number served Gatchina alone.

Nevertheless, one could say about the servants of the Imperial family: "Their name is legion." Each employee was carefully selected, many came from families that had served the House of Romanov for many generations [One such example was the Popov family. Popov, a peasant in the Novgorod province, was a trusted servant of Catherine II, the only person from all the servants who was allowed to clean the Empress's office. His son, grandson, great-grandson served Emperor Alexander I, Nicholas I and Alexander II. It is likely that one of Popov's later offspring served royal family and at the time when the Grand Duchess was a child and a young girl.]. Not one, not two Tsar's children knew not only by name. Respect, impeccable service and affection on the one hand, and care and love on the other, bound children and servants. Among the servants were not only Russians, but also Abyssinians, Greeks, Negroes, Finns, Circassians and representatives of other nationalities. Little Olga's mother was served by Abyssinians who wore black jackets embroidered with gold, scarlet trousers, yellow shoes and white turbans. Others wore crimson jackets and white pants.

• “They were all our friends,” said the Grand Duchess. “I remember old Jim Hercules, a Negro who spent every vacation in the States and brought back guava jam. These were gifts for us children. I remember a giant Abyssinian named Mario. Once, when Mom was not at home, she received a telegram. At that time in Russia it was customary to sign for each telegram. This was supposed to be done by Stepanov, mother's senior footman, but he was absent, and Mario, who knew how to write in Russian, signed instead. The ending of his name "o", apparently, looked like "a", since the Gatchina postmaster framed the receipt and hung it on the wall: he decided that this was my Mom's signature. I am glad to note the fact that none of the palace employees began to disappoint him.

All these people were wholeheartedly devoted to the royal family. And yet they were not averse to gossip.

• “I don’t think they eavesdropped on our conversations,” said the Grand Duchess, “but they knew much more about us than we did ourselves. When I was very young, despite Nan's watchfulness, the latest gossip would seep into the nurseries before breakfast. I learned about my brothers' latest antics and the punishments that followed them, that my sister had a runny nose, that Dad was going to receive the parade, and Mom was giving a dinner party, what guests were expected at the palace.

Such was the Gatchina Grand Palace: nine hundred rooms, a whole army of servants and lackeys, a huge park. However, except for court receptions, under his roof there was no place for pomposity and pomposity. Olga's father, the Emperor of All Russia, got up at seven in the morning, washed his face with cold water, put on a peasant dress, brewed coffee himself in a glass coffee pot and, having filled a plate with dryers, had breakfast. After the meal, he sat down at his desk and set about his work. He had a whole army of servants at his disposal. But he didn't bother anyone. He had bells and bells in his office. He didn't call them. Some time later, his wife came to him, two footmen brought a small table. Husband and wife had breakfast together. For breakfast they had hard boiled eggs and buttered rye bread.

Did anyone break their joint meal? It was at this moment that their little daughter appeared in the office. Having finished breakfast, the Empress left, but the tiny Princess remained with her father.

Olga's children's rooms were located next to the Emperor's office. There were four of them: Olga's bedroom, Mrs. Franklin's bedroom, living room and dining room. Nana ruled this tiny kingdom undividedly, and all lackeys and servants had to obey her. In particular, this concerned cooking for little Olga.

• “We all ate very simply,” the Grand Duchess told me. “For tea we were served jam, bread and butter, and English biscuits. We rarely saw pastries. We liked the way they cooked porridge for us - it must have been Nana who taught the cooks how to cook it. For lunch, most often they served lamb cutlets with green peas and baked potatoes, sometimes roast beef. But even Nana could not make me love this dish, especially when the meat was undercooked! However, we were all brought up the same way: we ate everything that was given to us.

During the early years of the Grand Duchess's childhood, the most exciting moments were after breakfast, when Mrs. Franklin brought her pet to the Emperor's study. Little Olga immediately climbed under her father's desk and quietly sat there, clinging to a large shepherd named Kamchatka. I sat until my parents finished their breakfast.

• “My father was everything to me. No matter how busy he was with his work, he gave me those half an hour every day. As I grew older, I got more privileges. I remember the day when I was first allowed to put the Imperial Seal on one of the large envelopes that lay in piles on the table. The seal was of gold and crystal and very heavy, but what pride and delight I felt that morning. I was overwhelmed by the amount of work Papa had to do day in and day out. I think the Tsar was the most industrious man on earth. In addition to the audiences and state receptions that he attended, every day piles of decrees, orders, reports, which he had to read and sign, lay on the table in front of him. How many times did the Pope indignantly write on the margins of documents: "Dumbass! Fools! Well, what a beast!"

Sometimes the emperor unlocked a special drawer in his desk and, gleaming with joy, took out his "treasures" from there and showed them to his favorite. "Treasures" was a collection of miniature animals made of porcelain and glass.

• - And once the Pope showed me a very old album with delightful drawings depicting a fictional city called Mopsopolis, in which Pugs live [The album with drawings depicting Mopsopolis was a joint work of Alexander III and his older brother Nicholas. The inhabitants of the city had faces that looked like muzzles of pugs. Both Grand Dukes apparently found enough taste in themselves not to make their satire too obvious, and preferred to portray pugs instead of bulldogs. The drawings date back to 1856, when Alexander III, then the Grand Duke, was eleven years old, and when all Russians were bitter against Great Britain and France, who started the Crimean War.]. He showed me secretly, and I was delighted that my father shared with me the secrets of his childhood.

Listening to the memories of the Grand Duchess about her early childhood, I was struck by one circumstance: in the foreground of little Olga were the Emperor, Nana, brothers and sister, behind them - a host of servants, soldiers, sailors and various commoners. But the Grand Duchess spoke very little about her mother. Trusted conversations with her father began only after the Empress left her husband's office. Then the huge palace was again filled with court staff, but Olga's childhood memories did not retain any impressions of these people. It must have been before the eyes of the little girl a whole string of representatives of foreign sovereign houses, ladies-in-waiting, butlers, horsemen. She saw them all often. You must have heard of them. But for the little Princess, the warmest memories are not associated with the luxury and splendor of court ceremonies. Morning meetings with her father cast their bright and pure light on the rest of the life of the Grand Duchess.

• - Father had the power of Hercules, but he never showed it in the presence of strangers. He said that he could bend a horseshoe and tie a spoon into a knot, but he did not dare to do this, so as not to arouse Mama's wrath. Once, in his office, he bent and then straightened an iron poker. I remember how he looked at the door, fearing that someone would come in!

In the early autumn of 1888, Olga left her dear Gatchina for the first time. The entire Imperial family was going to go to the Caucasus. She was due to return in October.

On October 29, the long Tsar's train was in full swing towards Kharkov. the Grand Duchess remembered: the day was overcast, it was snowing sleet. At about one o'clock in the afternoon the train drove up to the small station of Borki. The Emperor, Empress and their four children dined in the dining car. The old butler, whose name was Lev, brought in the pudding. Suddenly the train rocked sharply, then again. Everyone fell to the floor. A second or two later, the dining car exploded like a tin can. The heavy iron roof collapsed down, missing a few inches from the passengers' heads. All of them were lying on a thick carpet lying on the canvas: the explosion cut off the wheels and the floor of the car. The first to crawl out from under the collapsed roof was the Emperor. After that, he lifted her, allowing his wife, children and other passengers to get out of the mutilated car. This was truly a feat of Hercules, for which he would have to pay a heavy price, although at that time no one knew this yet.

Mrs. Franklin and little Olga were in the children's car, just behind the dining car. They waited for the pudding, but it never came.

• - I remember well how two pink glass vases fell off the table at the first blow and shattered. I got scared. Nana sat me on her lap and hugged me. There was another blow, and a heavy object fell on them both. - Then I felt that I was pressing my face to the wet earth ...

It seemed to Olga that she was completely alone. The force of the second explosion was so great that it was thrown out of the car, which turned into a pile of rubble. She rolled down the steep embankment, and she was seized with fear. Hell raged all around. Some of the cars at the rear continued to move, colliding with the front ones, and fell sideways. The deafening clang of iron hitting iron, the screams of the wounded, frightened the already frightened six-year-old girl even more. She forgot both about her parents and about Nana. She wanted one thing - to run away from the terrible picture that she saw. And she rushed to run wherever her eyes look. One lackey, whose name was Kondratiev, rushed after her and lifted her up in his arms.

• “I was so frightened that I scratched the poor fellow’s face,” the Grand Duchess admitted.

From the hands of a footman, she passed into her father's hands. He took his daughter to one of the few surviving carriages. Mrs. Franklin was already there, with two broken ribs and severely damaged internal organs. The children were left alone in the car, while the Sovereign and the Empress, as well as all the members of the retinue who had not received injuries, began to help the life physician, caring for the wounded and dying, who lay on the ground near huge fires, lit so that they could warm up.

• “Later I heard,” the Grand Duchess informed me, “that Mama behaved like a heroine, helping the doctor like a real sister of mercy.

So it really was. Convinced that her husband and children were alive and well, Empress Maria Feodorovna completely forgot about herself. Her arms and legs were cut with pieces of broken glass, her whole body was bruised, but she stubbornly insisted that she was all right. After ordering her personal luggage to be brought in, she began to cut her underwear into bandages in order to bandage as many of the wounded as possible. Finally, an auxiliary train arrived from Kharkov. Despite all their fatigue, neither the Emperor nor the Empress wanted to get into it before all the wounded had been put on, and the dead, decently cleaned, were loaded onto the train. The number of victims was two hundred eighty-one people, including twenty-one killed.

The railway accident in Borki was a truly tragic milestone in the life of the Grand Duchess. The cause of the crash was never established by the investigation. Everyone was convinced that the crash was due to the negligence of the Railway Regiment, whose responsibility it was to ensure the safety of the Imperial trains, and that two bombs were in the railway track. According to rumors, the leader of the terrorist group was himself killed in the explosion, but it was definitely not possible to prove this.

The Grand Duchess herself was inclined to believe that the accident occurred due to the fact that the train ran into a damaged section of the track. However, her own words did not support this theory:

• - I was only six years old, but I felt that an incomprehensible threat hung over us. Many years later, someone told me that when I rushed to run away from the mutilated car, I kept shouting: "Now they will come and kill us all!" This is quite likely. I was too young to know anything about revolutionaries. "They" had a collective meaning, the word meant some unknown enemy.

Many of the retinue died or became crippled for life. Kamchatka, the favorite dog of the Grand Duchess, was crushed by the rubble of a collapsed roof. Among those killed was Count Sheremetev, commander of the Cossack convoy and personal friend of the Emperor, but the pain of loss was mixed with an intangible, but terrible sense of danger. That gloomy October day put an end to a happy, carefree childhood, the snowy landscape, dotted with the wreckage of the Imperial train and black and scarlet spots, crashed into the girl’s memory. The six-year-old Grand Duchess could hardly find words to express the feelings that she then experienced, but instinctively she understood much more than a child at such a tender age and so protected from external dangers should understand. This understanding was facilitated by the serious expression that she had seen more than once on her father's face, and the worried look of her mother.

Olga's parents saw Emperor Alexander II die. They saw his mutilated body: the result of an explosion of a bomb thrown by a terrorist at the Sovereign, who on the day of the assassination attempt on him made an important decision to introduce a jury trial in Russia [The assassination attempt on Alexander II was committed in broad daylight on the embankment of the Catherine Canal in St. Petersburg on March 13, 1881. Several Cossacks of the convoy and passers-by were injured by the explosion of the first bomb. The Emperor's carriage was blown to pieces, but he himself remained unharmed. Not caring about his own safety, the Emperor began to help the wounded. At that moment, a second assassin ran up and threw a bomb. This explosion mortally wounded the Emperor, killed ten and maimed fourteen people. The first bomb tore off the head of a peddler boy. (See Yu. Gavrilov. State House. - Ogonyok. 1989. N 47.]. Alexander III did not flatter himself with the hope that the terrorists would bypass him with their "attention", but continued to appear in public, although he was well aware that the strictest police measures cannot fully guarantee his safety.

In Gatchina, where the Imperial family returned, life went according to routine, but little Olga knew that everything had changed for her.

• “It was then that I began to be afraid of the dark,” the Grand Duchess admitted to me.

She began to avoid the dark corners in the galleries and corridors, and for the first time in her life she understood why mounted police drove around the park fence. In the late evening, the lanterns tied to the necks of their horses could be seen bouncing. It also became clear to her why the famous regiment of the Blue Cuirassiers was quartered not far from the Gatchina Grand Palace. In addition, the Tsar was guarded by the Consolidated Infantry Regiment. It included representatives of all guards regiments. His barracks were also in Gatchina. The Grand Duchess had such a nature that she began to treat all the soldiers who guarded their family as her friends. Their presence, as it were, healed to some extent the wounds she received in Borki.

• “I made friends with very many of them,” said the Grand Duchess. - How much fun we had when Mikhail and I ran away to their barracks and listened to their songs. Mom strictly forbade us to communicate with the soldiers, just like Nana, but every time we returned from the barracks, we felt like we had gained something. The soldiers played different games with us, threw us into the air. Although they were simple peasants, they never allowed themselves any rudeness. I felt safe in their company. After the crash in Borki, I first noticed that the Cossacks of the Imperial convoy were on duty at the entrance to our apartments in the Gatchina Palace. Hearing them tiptoe past my door in their soft leather dudes made me fall asleep with an amazing sense of security. They were all giants, and I felt like one of the characters in Gulliver's Travels.

Soldiers and sailors [The river and numerous lakes of Gatchina were administered by the Admiralty.] were true friends of the Imperial children. But there were also people who were annoyed by their presence: detectives in civilian clothes met at every turn, and no one could hide from their attention. It seemed to me that in the winter of 1888-1889, little Olga for the first time realized their purpose.

• “I suppose their presence was necessary, but my father could not stand them, they were conspicuous to everyone. We gave them the nickname "naturalists" because they now and then looked out from behind trees and bushes [Prince V.S. Trubetskoy in his book "Notes of a Cuirassier" (M., "Russia", 1991) explains this name by that the ranks of the special palace guards wore twisted green plaits instead of shoulder straps. (Note. Translator)].

Little Olga was not even seven. She never appeared in public. The magnificent receptions arranged by her parents in St. Petersburg and Gatchina meant nothing to her. She lived in her little world - the well-established world of her children's apartments, her father's study, palace galleries and the park. However, on this sun-drenched simple life under the wise supervision of an Englishwoman's nanny, clouds were already gathering. And this will be repeated over and over again.

2. The classroom and the outside world

Olga's bedroom in the Gatchina Palace remained the same, but as soon as the girl was seven years old, her dining room was turned into a classroom. There, together with eleven-year-old Mikhail, she studied from nine in the morning until three in the afternoon. Since then, brother and sister have become inseparable.

• “We had a lot in common with him,” the Grand Duchess told me. - We had the same tastes, we liked the same people, we had common interests, and we never quarreled.

When she was separated from her brother, Olga became desperate. In such cases, she managed to send a note to her brother through one of the servants. This way of communication has grown into a habit. Sometimes she sent Mikhail two or three letters a day. Once the Grand Duchess showed me several notes, scrawled on paper with the Imperial coat of arms, which she wrote to her brother in Gatchina:

"My dear old Misha! How is your throat? I'm not allowed to see you, I'll send you something! And now goodbye. I kiss you, Olga."

"Dear Misha! Mom won't let me go out for a walk tomorrow because I took a walk this morning. Please talk to her again. I'm terribly sorry. Olga."

Little Olga had several affectionate nicknames for Mikhail, but most often she called him "dear dear little rascal", which remained with him for the rest of his life. Later, when they were already adults, they attended official receptions, and Olga Alexandrovna, often forgetting herself, in the presence of dumbfounded dignitaries, turned to her brother: "dear rascal."

Listening to the stories of the Grand Duchess about her distant school years, I caught myself thinking that, despite the excellent upbringing that the children of Alexander III received, their education left much to be desired [Only two representatives of the reigning Romanov House out of nineteen received a corresponding to their high position education: Alexander I, a student of Frederic Laharpe, and Alexander II, whose mentor was the poet V.A. Zhukovsky. Core subjects in teaching younger sons The emperor had languages ​​and military disciplines.]. The Grand Duchess told me the names of many mentors, all of whom had been chosen by her parents. Among them were Mr. Heath, an English teacher, and Monsieur Tormeyer, a teacher French, and one nameless gentleman who taught geography to the Tsar's children and annoyed them by taking himself too seriously. Although he never left Petersburg, he used to talk with great aplomb about foreign countries, describing in detail the landscapes and flowers growing in these countries, as if he had traveled the whole world. Grand Duke George every time cooled the zeal of the poor fellow. As soon as the geographer started talking about some regular monument of sculpture or a flower, Georgy politely asked: "Have you seen it yourself? Have you smelled this flower yourself?" To which the poor fellow could only timidly reply, "No."

According to his sister, George was a big prankster. His classroom was next to the room of his brother Nikolai, the Heir to the Throne, who laughed to tears, listening to George torment teachers. It was often difficult for Nikolai to concentrate during classes because Georgy kept distracting him.

• - Generally speaking, George had a special sense of humor. Whenever he gave a particularly good joke, Nicky wrote it down on a piece of paper and hid it in the "box of curiosities" along with other reminders of his adolescence. He kept this box in his study when he became king. Often his cheerful laugh was heard from there: Nicky was rereading his brother's jokes retrieved from the hiding place.

To top it off, Georgie had an accomplice in his antics, and a very picturesque one at that. It was a green parrot, Popka, who for some reason did not like Mr. Heath. Whenever the poor teacher entered Georgie's room, the parrot would get angry and then mimic Mr. Heath, who flaunted his British accent. In the end, Mr. Heath became so angry that he stopped giving Georgie lessons until Ass was taken to another place from his brother's classroom.

Tsar's children were taught dancing, Russian language and drawing.

• - Dancing was one of the important "subjects" that we did with Misha. Our dance teacher was Mr. Troitsky, an artistic nature, very important, he had white sideburns and an officer's posture. He always wore white gloves and demanded that his accompanist's piano should always have a vase of fresh flowers.

Before starting a pas de patina, a waltz, or a polka that she hated, Misha and I had to curtsy and bow to each other. We both felt like such fools and were ready to sink into the ground from embarrassment, especially since we knew that despite our protests, the Cossacks who were on duty near the ballroom were peeping at us through the keyholes. After class, they always greeted us with big smiles, which added to our embarrassment.

It seems that only the lessons of history and drawing really attracted the young Grand Duchess.

• “Russian history,” she confessed to me, “seemed to be a part of our life—something close and dear—and we plunged into it without the slightest effort.

Morning visits to my father's study became shorter and shorter, but more interesting and varied. Olga was old enough to listen to stories about the past - about Crimean War, about the success of the abolition of serfdom, about the great reforms that her grandfather carried out, despite the desperate resistance from various circles, about the Russian-Turkish war of 1877, as a result of which the Balkans were liberated from Turkish rule.

But there were many gaps in her knowledge. As we shall see later, together with her family, Olga moved from one palace to another, located in the northern part of the Empire; I studied the Crimea, got acquainted with Denmark, where I went every year to visit my grandfather, the Danish king Christian IX and my grandmother, Queen Louise. However, the palaces of Peterhof, Tsarskoye Selo and Gatchina were located in the region of the empire that was captured from the Swedes by Peter I [The author is mistaken. The lands about which in question, and even those that are now part of Finland, as is clear from the Finnish historical atlas, once belonged to Veliky Novgorod. (Note. Translator).]. The rural population here was the so-called Chukhons. This Old Russian definition referred to the inhabitants of the eastern end of the Baltic coast. Neither Olga nor the rest of the Tsar's children had a full idea of ​​how the population of the central part of Russia lived. Acquaintance with the living conditions of subjects was hindered rather by the security measures taken than by questions of etiquette. Members of the Imperial family crossed the whole of Russia during their trips from St. Petersburg to the Crimea, but they traveled in carefully guarded Imperial trains under the watchful eye of soldiers of His Majesty's Own Railway Regiment. In a word, they did not have the opportunity to study their homeland. One can only be surprised that the young Princess from infancy fell in love with the common people. She knew the common people because she never missed an opportunity to make friends.

• “They called my father the peasant Tsar,” the Grand Duchess once told me, “because he really understood the peasants. Like Peter the Great, he could not stand pomp and luxury, he had simple tastes and, according to him, he felt especially free when he could put on a simple peasant dress. And I know no matter what they say about him, the common people loved him. You should have seen these joyful faces of soldiers during maneuvers or after some review! Such an expression does not appear in a soldier by order of an officer. Even at an early age, I knew how devoted they were to him.

After 1889, Olga no longer dined and dined in her children's dining room every day. It often happened that, on the orders of the Empress, Mrs. Franklin put on a new dress for the girl, combed her hair especially carefully, and the youngest daughter of the Emperor went to long journey to one of the palace dining rooms, where she was to dine with her parents and guests invited that day. With the exception of dinner parties, when the hosts and guests ate in the Marble Dining Room next to the Throne Room of Paul I, while living in Gatchina, the imperial family dined in a spacious bathroom on the ground floor overlooking the rose garden. This room was indeed used as a bathroom by Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Nicholas I. There was a huge marble bathtub against one of the walls, behind which four large mirrors were fixed. The mother of the Grand Duchess ordered to fill it with pots of colorful azaleas.

• “I was not timid,” the Grand Duchess said, “but these family dinners soon became a real torment for me. Mikhail and I went hungry all the time, and Mrs. Franklin did not allow us to grab pieces at an inopportune time.

• - Hungry? I asked, not hiding my astonishment.

• - Well, of course, there was enough food, - Olga Alexandrovna began to explain, - and although the dishes were simple, they looked much more appetizing than those that were served to us in the nursery. But the fact is that there was a strict regulation: first, food was served to my parents, then to guests, and so on. Mikhail and I, as the youngest, received our portions at the very last turn. In those days, it was considered bad manners to eat too quickly and eat everything that was put on your plate. When it was our turn, we only managed to swallow one or two bites. Even Nicky got so hungry once that he committed a sacrilege.

The Grand Duchess told me that every child from the House of Romanov received a golden cross at baptism. The cross was hollow and filled with beeswax. A tiny particle of the Life-Giving Cross was placed in the wax.

• - Nicky was so hungry that he opened the cross and swallowed all its contents. Then he felt very ashamed, but he admitted that it was immorally tasty. I alone knew about it. Nicky did not want to tell even George and Xenia about his misdeed. As for our parents, there would be no words to express their indignation. As you know, we were all brought up in strict obedience to the canons of religion. Liturgies were served every week, and numerous fasts and every event of national significance were celebrated with a solemn prayer service, all this was as natural to us as the air we breathed. I don’t remember a single case when any of us took it into his head to discuss some questions of religion, and yet, - the Grand Duchess smiled, - the sacrilege of my older brother did not shock us at all. I just laughed when I heard his confession and later, when we were given something especially tasty, we whispered to each other: “It was immorally tasty”, and no one ever found out our secret ... (to be continued)