The Diary of Olga Romanov: Royal Witness to the Russian Revolution

The Diary of Olga Romanov: Royal Witness to the Russian Revolution

Helen Azar

Language: English

Pages: 180

ISBN: 1594161771

Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub


The First English Translation of the Wartime Diaries of the Eldest Daughter of Nicholas II, the Last Tsar of Russia, with Additional Documents of the Period

In August 1914, Russia entered World War I, and with it, the imperial family of Tsar Nicholas II was thrust into a conflict they would not survive. His eldest child, Olga Nikolaevna, great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, had begun a diary in 1905 when she was ten years old and kept writing her thoughts and impressions of day-to-day life as a grand duchess until abruptly ending her entries when her father abdicated his throne in March 1917. Held at the State Archives of the Russian Federation in Moscow, Olga’s diaries during the wartime period have never been translated into English until this volume. At the outset of the war, Olga and her sister Tatiana worked as nurses in a military hospital along with their mother, Tsarina Alexandra. Olga’s younger sisters, Maria and Anastasia, visited the infirmaries to help raise the morale of the wounded and sick soldiers. The strain was indeed great, as Olga records her impressions of tending to the officers who had been injured and maimed in the fighting on the Russian front. Concerns about her sickly brother, Aleksei, abound, as well those for her father, who is seen attempting to manage the ongoing war. Gregori Rasputin appears in entries, too, in an affectionate manner as one would expect of a family friend. While the diaries reflect the interests of a young woman, her tone grows increasingly serious as the Russian army suffers setbacks, Rasputin is ultimately murdered, and a popular movement against her family begins to grow. At the point Olga ends her writing in 1917, the author continues the story by translating letters and impressions from family intimates, such as Anna Vyrubova, as well as the diary kept by Nicholas II himself. Finally, once the imperial family has been put under house arrest by the revolutionaries, we follow events through observations by Alexander Kerensky, head of the initial Provisional Government, these too in English translation for the first time. Olga would offer no further personal writings, as she and the rest of her family were crowded into the basement of a house in the Urals and shot to death in July 1918.
The Diary of Olga Romanov: Royal Witness to the Russian Revolution, translated and introduced by scientist and librarian Helen Azar, and supplemented with additional primary source material, is a remarkable document of a young woman who did not choose to be part of a royal family and never exploited her own position, but lost her life simply because of what her family represented.

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commander of the army, leaving the ambitious but incapable Alexandra in charge of the government. Perhaps to hold on to some sense of stability, Olga continued some of her favorite “normal” pastimes, which included riding her bicycle, playing the piano and board games, and regularly attending church services. Princess V. I. Gedroitz was a medical doctor at the imperial infirmary who worked closely with Olga, Tatiana, and Alexandra. In her memoir, she wrote down heartfelt, if perhaps overly

together. At 2 o'clock Mama and I received a Norwegian young lady. After that, took a walk with Papa. It's snowing a little and [there is] snow on the ground. Aunt Ella came over, had tea. Sat with her until 7 o'cl. while Mama received Uncle Mekko[?]. They had some serious discussions. Holy God help us. She [Aunt Ella] also had dinner. Went to Al.[eksei's] to say goodbye. Papa and M. pasted [photos] into the album. After 11 o'cl. to bed. Read V gostyakh u turok [Visiting the Turks] by Leikin.

year plus a few months of the next. The entire 1910 diary is missing—probably burned by Olga after the revolution. All the diaries consist of short entries about regular events, activities, and meetings kept daily during the year. Only during the early years do we come upon missed entries. As Olga got older, the diary entries were kept more carefully and consistently. From 1911 on, the grand duchess began using her own special codes. When Crimean researcher Maria Zemlyanichenko read Olga's

balcony. Aleksei had pains in his arm. Spent an hour in the morning in the garden, and during the day—two hours. Yesterday started to read “L'ile enchantee.” In the evening played dominos: Alix, Tatiana, Botkin and I. At teatime there was a big rainstorm. Moonlit night. 18th August. Friday. The morning was gray and cold, the sun came out around one, and the day became really nice. In the morning, Rita Khitrovo, who came from Petrograd, appeared in the street, and went to see Nastenka

Tatiana, xix, xxii–xxiv, xxvii, xxix, xxxi, 3, 5–6, 10, 20–21, 23, 25, 27, 29–33, 36, 39, 45–46, 48–51, 57–59, 67–68, 73, 76, 87, 91–92, 95, 99–100, 102–107, 109, 122, 137–140, 155, 159–160, 167, 169 Nikolaevsky Hall, 8 Ninty-third regiment, 11 nizhnegorodetz, 37, 170 obednitza, 122–123, 125, 127, 131, 140, 146 obednya, 15, 21–22, 25, 28–29, 34, 41, 52, 64–65, 68, 70, 73, 75, 81, 83, 89, 92, 95, 101–104, 106–107, 115, 122, 125, 127, 137–138, 143, 170 Ofrosimova, S. Y., 60, 171 Okhta, 27–28

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