#Anna Demidova

[otmaaromanovas]

105 years ago, on the night of 16/17 July 1918, the Romanov family and their attendants were killed in Ekaterinburg.

Pierre Gilliard, the beloved tutor of the imperial children, was one of the first people to enter the Ipatiev House after the murders. As part of the Sokolov Investigation into the crime and the subsequent media frenzy, he gave these statements:

“…the stoves; they were all full of various burned articles. I recognised a considerable number of burned things such as tooth- and hair-brushes, pins and a number of small things bearing the initials: "A. F." [Alexandra Feodorovna.]”

"I then went to the lower storey, the greater part of which was a basement. I entered with intense emotion the room in which, perhaps, they had died. Its aspect was most sinister. Daylight came in through a window with iron bars across it. The walls and the floor bore marks of bullets and bayonet thrusts. It was quite obvious that a dreadful crime had been committed there, and that several people had been killed.  In my despair believed that the Emperor had perished, and, that being the case, I could not believe the Empress had survived him… Yes, it was quite possible that they had both been killed. And the children? Had they also been massacred? I could not believe it. The idea was too horrible. And yet everything seemed to prove that the victims had been numerous."

Nicholas II Alexandrovich Romanov (1868-1918) Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova (1872-1918) Olga Nikolaevna Romanova (1895-1918) Tatiana Nikolaevna Romanova (1897-1918) Maria Nikolaevna Romanova (1899-1918) Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova (1901-1918) Alexei Nikolaevich Romanov (1904-1918) Dr. Evgeny Sergeievich Botkin (1865-1918) Anna Stepanova Demidova (1878-1918) Ivan Mikhailovich Kharitonov (1872-1918) Alexei Aloise Egorovich Trupp (1856-1918) Ortipo (1914-1918) Jimmy (1915-1918)

SOURCES: The Last Days of the Romanovs, Telberg, Wilton, Sokolov. The Crime of Ekaterinburg, Illustrated London News

[loiladadiani]

The Romanov Martyrs

I wanted to put together a little memorial that included all the members of the Romanov Family (as well as the members of their staff) that were murdered by the Bolshevik terrorists. This seems like a good week to keep them in our minds. Although we love and mourn the children especially, there were others we cannot forget.

Tsar Alexandre II was hunted down until finally blown to pieces.

Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna lost two sons and five grandchildren (no wonder she could not accept they were dead)

Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich was also hunted down and blown to pieces

Three Mikhailovichi brothers were murdered

Four Konstantinovichi were murdered, three of them brothers; I cannot imagine what their mother, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Mavrikievna, went through...and so on.

May they rest in peace.

[krasivaa]

The saddest day in my life

July 17th

On this day, 105 years ago, Wednesday July 17th 1918, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (50), his wife Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna (46) and their children, Grand Duchesses Olga (22), Tatiana (21), Maria (19), Anastasia (17), Tsarevich Alexei (13), their four loyal friends, Alexei Trupp (62), Ivan Kharitonov (46), Anna Demidova (40), Evgenie Botkin (53) and beloved pets Ortipo (4) and Jimmy (3) were brutally murdered in shooting by Bolsheviks in Ipatiev House, Ekaterinburg.

Orthodox chuch has canonised them as Saints after the fall of communism.

We can only believe that they are praying for us. 😭💔

[foreverinthepagesofhistory]

Today, July 17th 2023, marks the 105th anniversary of the execution of the last Imperial Family of Russia…

Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, Olga Nikolaevna, Tatiana Nikolaevna, Maria Nikolaevna, Anastasia Nikolaevna, Alexei Nikolaevich and the family’s 4 faithful servants, Doctor Evgeny Boykin, Anna Demidova, Ivan Kharitonov, and Alexei Trupp were brutally executed in the basement of the Ipatiev House or “The House of Special Purpose” as it was know to Yakov Yurovsky and other Bolsheviks who killed the family. This photo is what was left of their execution, taken by the White Czechs.

[roses-of-the-romanovs]

Forensic facial reconstructions of Nicholas II (Skeleton 4), Alexandra Feodorovna (Skeleton 7), Olga Nikolaevna (Skeleton 3), Tatiana Nikolaevna (based on the conclusion that she was Skeleton 5), Anastasia Nikolaevna (based on the conclusion that she was Skeleton 6), Eugene Botkin (Skeleton 2), Anna Demidova (Skeleton 1), and Aloise Trupp (Skeleton 9).

[graceofromanovs]

Execution of the Romanov Family

On this day, 105 years ago, the former Emperor of Russia, Nicholas II with his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, their five young children and four of their entourage: court physician Eugene Botkin; lady-in-waiting Anna Demidova; footman Alexei Trupp; and head cook Ivan Kharitonov, were murdered in the cellar of the Ipatiev House.

[urbandesign-lab]

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[noeticprayer]

Holy Royal Martyrs of Russia

Reading from the Synaxarion:

Tsar Nicholas II was the son of Alexander III, who had reposed in the arms of Saint John of Kronstadt. Having been raised in piety, Tsar Nicholas ever sought to rule in a spirit consonant with the precepts of Orthodoxy and the best traditions of his nation. Tsaritsa Alexandra, a grand-daughter of Queen Victoria of England, and a convert from Lutheranism, was noted for her piety and compassion for the poor and suffering. Their five children were beloved of all for their kindness, modesty, and guilelessness.

Amidst the political turmoil of 1917, Tsar Nicholas selflessly abdicated the throne for what he believed was the good of his country. Although he had abdicated willingly, the revolutionaries put him and his family under house arrest, then sent them under guard to Tobolsk and finally Ekaterinburg. A letter written from Tobolsk by Grand Duchess Olga, the eldest of the children, shows their nobility of soul. She writes, "My father asks that I convey to all those who have remained devoted to him ... that they should not take vengeance on his account, because he has forgiven everyone and prays for them all. Nor should they avenge themselves. Rather, they should bear in mind that this evil which is now present in the world will become yet stronger, but that evil will not conquer evil, but only love shall do so."

After enduring sixteen months of imprisonment, deprivation, and humiliation with a Christian patience which moved even their captors, they and those who were with them gained their crowns of martyrdom when they were shot and stabbed to death in the cellar of the Ipatiev house in Ekaterinburg in 1918.

Together with them are also commemorated those who faithfully served them, and were either slain with them, or on their account: General Elias Tatishchev; Prince Basil Dolgorukov; the physician Eugene Dotkin; the lady-in-waiting Countess Anastasia Hendrikova; the serving-maid Anna Demidova; the cook John Kharitonov; and the sailors Clement Nagorny and John Sednev.

Apolytikion of Royal Martyrs of Russia in the First Tone

Most noble and sublime was your life and death, O Sovereigns; wise Nicholas and blest Alexandra, we praise you, acclaiming your piety, meekness, faith, and humility, whereby ye attained to crowns of glory in Christ God, with your five renowned and godly children of blest fame. O Marytrs decked in purple, intercede for us.

Kontakion of Royal Martyrs of Russia in the Third Tone

Royalty and martyrdom were joined together, O blest ones, in your death for righteousness and right belief, O wise Sovereigns, Nicholas and Alexandra, with your five children. Hence, Christ God hath deemed you worthy of thrones in Heaven; and with twofold crowns of glory, ye reign for ever, adorned with grace divine.

[flowers-and-fichte]

Meet My OCs

This expansive post does not cover all of my OCs (ex. select ones for fandom, and more will be added as I release more new stories), but it's still going to bee relatively good-sized. As you may tell, I'm a History Nerd™ who has a lot of historical OCs, mostly from the World War I and II eras and in between. Here they are:

A Fine Artist Storyline:

Magda: 19yo, former art student, Dachau survivor, Polish-Jewish, very smart, sometimes underestimates herself but isn't a pessimist at all, resourceful. Arrives in Berlin and is protected by Frau Sophie Schmitz. Falls in love with Werner Künzle.

Werner Künzle: 23yo, from Germany, really interested in German Romantic writers and artists (his favorite book is The Sorrows of Young Werther btw), REALLY hates Hitler, had an abusive alcoholic father who shot and killed little Werner's mother, generally optimistic but also suffers from breakdowns. Really emotionally expressive. Also hides Jews with his friends in an abandoned grocery store.

Sophie Schmitz: thirtysomething, lives in Berlin, hates the Nazis and hides Jewish people in her home. Very kind, skeptical of Künzle at first and gladly takes Magda and Sergei in. Cares about the people she's saving and is generally good-natured.

Sergei: 10yo, from Russia (Soviet Union). Dachau survivor, escapes with Magda. Was sent to Dachau because his family was Soviet. Originally Russian Orthodox but his family had to give it up due to communism. Like a little brother to Magda and to Künzle.

Others:

Friedrich: 22yo, Kabarett performer (singer, more specifically countertenor). Occasional female impersonator who sometimes changes backstage mid-show and says that it's his "sister", Anna. Has a boyfriend named Helmut. He hates being called Fritz for reasons unknown. Inspired by Klaus Nomi, somewhat based on Gustav Fröhlich, and also based on the 1982 film Victor/Victoria.

Helmut: 21yo, Friedrich's boyfriend. Started out as a backup dancer for one of his shows (Friedrich has both male and female backup dancers). They live together.

Andreas: 22yo, Friedrich's best friend. Tall and thin, think a wacky waving inflatable arm-flailing tube man but more menacing. Also a Kabarett performer. Has 2 sisters. Does not smoke or drink. Allegedly punched Heinrich Himmler once.

*more to come from this series; this is the Weimar Republic era, also in Berlin to be more specific*

Ottmar "Otto" Rehm: 22yo at death. Brutally murdered nearly a year after the end of the Great War. He doesn't know who murdered him after his body was found dumped in a river (exactly which river that is I'm still trying to figure out). He was also a soldier during the war. And yes, he's a ghost and he's trying to solve his own murder.

Hans Rehm: 25yo, Otto's older brother. Also a former soldier. Desperate to know who murdered his brother and why. Wants Otto to have justice.

Dieter Rehm: 12yo, Otto and Hans's younger brother. Doesn't know why Otto had to die and who would want to kill him. Poor Dieter is just a kid; death scares him a little.

Melina "Lina" Demidova: 26yo, Russian. Has been living in Germany with her boyfriend of six years, Dmitriy, since before the war. Those two have the best relationship ever; they're so soft for each other. She also wants to help Otto and his brothers find Otto's killer.

Dmitriy Volkov: 25yo, Russian. Lina's boyfriend. Hans's friend, likes to paint. Not a big fan of the communists. Moved to Germany with Lina before the war started because Russia was slowly becoming screwed over. Also wants to help solve Otto's murder.

Carlo Mancini: 24yo, Italian. News photographer on vacation in Germany when Otto is killed and wants to investigate the murder. He meets the rest of the group and wants to get a story out about the whole thing for the paper. He's very good-natured.

*more will be added for this storyline as well*

[otmaaromanovas]

hi! So I was just rewatching the movie Romanovs an Imperial Family and I noticed that at Tobolsk they (the guards) took pictures of the family (front and side profiles) and I was also just watching Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) and I noticed that they also took pictures at Tobolsk. Did this happen in real life or is it just a myth? (If it’s a myth you can put it on the list for your series :)

Thank you!

Hi! Thank you so much for your question lovely! It made me dig a lot deeper into whether this was actually true and I am pleased to say that it isn't a myth, but something that actually happened. Here are some details!

Pierre Gilliard's diary mentions the family having to have identification photos taken. On 17 September 1917 he wrote that "ID cards with numbers, equipped with photographs" were taken of the family. According to Paul Gilbert, who runs the Nicholas II website and has a great article about this, Alix also wrote about this in her diary.

Pierre Gilliard also wrote about this in his memoir Thirteen Years at the Russian Court, Page 286:

In September Commissary Pankratof arrived at Tobolsk, having been sent by Kerensky. He was accompanied by his deputy, Nikolsky—like himself, an old political exile. Pankratof was quite a well-informed man, of gentle character, the typical enlightened fanatic. He made a good impression on the Czar and subsequently became attached to the children. But Nikolsky was a low type, whose conduct was most brutal. Narrow and stubborn, he applied his whole mind to the daily invention of fresh annoyances. Immediately after his arrival he demanded of Colonel Kobylinsky that we should be forced to have our photographs taken. When the latter objected that this was superfluous, since all the soldiers knew us—they were the same as had guarded us at Tsarskoie-Selo—he replied: " It was forced on us in the old days, now it's their turn." It had to be done, and henceforward we had to carry our identity cards with a photograph and identity number."

It's worth mentioning that all the staff that worked at the palace before the Revolution did indeed have to carry ID passes with photographs.

We have a brilliant example of what one of these passes in Tobolsk might have looked like in the form of passes for Botkin and Demidova, which are now Museum of the Family of Emperor Nicholas II in Tobolsk. I sadly couldn't find Demidova's, so have just attached Botkin's.

Captioned: 'Identity card (pass) E. S. Botkin for the right to enter the house number 1 (“Freedom House”) dated November 6, 1917.'

Which brings me on to a lady named Maria Mikhailovna Ussakovskaya. For clarification, I don't know if she was the person who took the photos for definite, but she was a prominent photographer in the area and could have been hired to take the photos. She did 100% have some connection to the Romanov family, as I'll explain later.

Maria was a photographer in Tobolsk, in fact she was the first woman photographer from the region that operated professionally, and she had her own salon. She even photographed Rasputin - you can see her surname embossed on the cabinet card here, reading Уссаковская

She photographed the family's entourage, too, as the staff were able to move freely about Tobolsk. Shown here are (left-right): Catherine 'Trina' Schneider, Count Ilya Tatishchev, Pierre Gilliard, Countess Anastasia 'Nastenka' Hendrikova, and Prince Vasily Dolgorukov. Note Maria's surname embossed again onto the card, showing it was taken and produced at her salon.

Invoices for the family show that the Romanovs had several payments sent to Ussakovskaya for postcards and "correcting negatives", so we know that there definitely was a relationship between the two parties. She took photos of the exterior of the house in Tobolsk, and postcards were sent by the Grand Duchesses showing the house, so they might have used her photos.

Letter sent from Maria to Nikolai Demenkov, her 'crush'

Which then begs the question of what happened to these ID photos...

Apparently, Maria Ussakovskaya's daughter Nina owned some photographic plates of the Romanov family. It's not explained whether these were casual photos taken of the family, or ID photos, but according to Paul Gilbert "in 1938... fearing arrest, [Nina] destroyed all the photographic plates".

Owning any Romanov or Tsarist related items, including photographs and postcards, was an arrestable offence. The rise of the gulags in the 1930s with the Stalinist regime probably prompted Nina to destroy what she owned.

Personally, I don't have much hope that any of the photos of the family will ever turn up. But there is always a small chance, I suppose :)

To conclude: yes, this happened, photos were definitely taken of the family for identification passes. Pierre Gilliard is a trustworthy source and the fact that it was written in his diary and also Alix's diary is pretty much concrete evidence. The existence of Maria Ussakovskaya and her association with the family also points towards this, alongside the bills and invoices sent to the family at Freedom House.

Maria with her husband, Ivan.

SOURCES:

The woman who photographed the Imperial Family in Tobolsk by Paul Gilbert

Thirteen Years at the Russian Court by Pierre Gilliard

[tiny-librarian]

Yurovsky, in 1922, wrote “after checking again to see that all were dead, I ordered the men to start moving them.” The entire executions had taken fewer than ten minutes.

His finger caught the trigger, and, with a flash of smoke and a deafening noise, the first bullet smashed into Nicholas’s chest. “He reeled suddenly,” remembered Andrei Strekotin. In an instant his khaki tunic exploded in blood, as “all ten people firing” took direct aim at their former emperor. “I shot Nicholas,” Yurovsky later wrote, “and everyone else also shot him.” Kudrin, who opened fire the same instant as Yurovsky, squeezed off five rounds in rapid succession, each ripping into Nicholas, who, Strekotin remembered, “stood quivering as shot after shot pierced his body.” Three of these wounds, to the left side of his chest, were, in and of themselves, fatal, tearing through Nicholas’s rib cage, into the pericardial cavity, into his heart, and exiting out his back. With “wide, vacant eyes,” Alexei Kabanov recalled, “Nicholas lurched forward and toppled to the floor.”

***********

With the first shot, Trupp turned from the execution squad toward the northeastern corner of the room; two bullets, fired in rapid sucession, struck his left thigh, shattering his femur and breaking his leg. Unable to stand, Trupp crumpled to his knees; seeing him beneath the thick layer of smoke, one of the executioners in the first row took aim, firing a bullet into the right side of his head. Smashing through his skull, it killed him instantly.

***********

Kharitonov, standing against the northern wall, was hit with several bullets at once, the force so powerful, Yurovsky recalled, that he “sat down and died.”

***********

Drunk and consumed with his own lust for blood, Ermakoy turned from Nicholas to Alexandra, who, he recalled, stood “only six feet away.” He raised his Mauser as she turned her head away and began to cross herself; but before she could finish, as Andrei Strekotin recalled, he pulled the trigger. A bullet slammed into the left side of her skull, a spray of blood and brain tissue exploding from her right ear as the force drove her violently back, knocking her onto the floor.

***********

When Yurovsky entered the room, he saw Botkin, covered in blood, leaning on his right arm as he tried to raise himself from the floor. He stepped across the pile of blood spreading from the emperor’s body, held his Mauser close to Botkin’s head, and pulled the trigger. The bullet ripped through the doctor’s head, exiting out the lower right side of his skull, its force slamming his body against the floor in a shower of gore.

***********

Yurovsky fired the last bullets from his Mauser directly into the tsesarevich, who slowly slipped from his chair and crumpled to the floor. Paul Medvedev, who had staggered back into the room, saw Alexei on the floor, “moaning and alive.” Out of bullets, Yurovsky yelled to Ermakov, who turned back to the center of the room, pulling and eight-inch triangular bayonet from his belt as he stumbled over the growing pile of arms and legs. Crouched on the floor, he raised the knife; over and over, the glint of steel flashed in the dim electric light as he stabbed the supine boy, blood flying from the blade with each arc and seeping across the once-yellow floorboards. Yurovsky watched in horror as Alexei struggled against the powerful, wild Ermakov: “nothing seemed to work,” Yurovsky wrote. “Though injured, he continued to live.” None of the assassins knew that, beneath his tunic, the tsesarevich wore a shirt wrapped with jewels, which shielded his torso from both bullets and Ermakov’s bayonet. Finally, “unable to stand by,” Yurovsky pulled his second gun, a colt, from his belt, pushed Ermakov aside, and first two shots into the boy.

***********

Yurovsky, standing behind Tatiana, aimed his Colt and fired. The bullet tore into the rear of her head; it ripped through her skull instantly, blowing out the right side of her face in “a shower of blood and brains” that covered her screaming sister.

***********

In an instant, Ermakov, “wild-eyed and face splattered with blood,” moved forward. As Olga tried to rise, he violently kicked her back, sending her spinning toward the floor; at the same time he squeezed the trigger of his Nagant revolver. With a flash of smoke, the bullet caught her as she fell, just beneath her chin, breaking her jaw as it seared through her skull, lacerating her brain before smashing through the top of her forehead. In a second, she toppled across her sister, dead.

***********

Hearing their terrified screams, Ermakov turned from the lifeless body of their eldest sister, rounding on them with his blood-stained bayonet. Kabanov watched as he grabbed Marie, “stabbing her in the chest over and over again.” Yurovsky looked on in horror as Ermakov attacked her, but “the bayonet would not pierce her bodice.” She was, Yurovsky wrote, “finished off” with a shot to the head.

***********

Anastasia had backed into the corner next to the storeroom door. Ermakov turned on her, slashing frenziedly “through the air” as he approached. Drunk and crazed, he struck the pier, his bayonet slicing deeply into the plaster, before drawing back the blade and plunging it into Anastasia’s chest as she struggled to fend him off. In an increasing spiral of savagery, he swung his knife repeatedly, unable to penetrate her bodice. “Screaming and fighting,” Yurovsky wrote, she fell only after Ermakov put his gun to her head and pulled the trigger.

***********

Yurovsky and Ermakov had reached the open door to the corridor when, as Kudrin recalled, “something white moved in the corner.” It was Anna Demidova, who had fallen in a faint after being shot in the leg. ‘Thank God!“ she screamed. "God has saved me!” She tried to get to her feet, but Ermakov, bayonet held high, reached her, swinging out in delirium. “She grabbed it with her hands,” Kabanov remembered, “screaming and crying.” With her hands sliced to ribbons and unable to defend herself, finally she, too, fell still.

The Fate of the Romanovs - Greg King and Penny Wilson

[krasivaa]

~17th July, 1918 edit~

my edit made by using capcut

[foreverinthepagesofhistory]

Do you have any pictures of NAOTMAA from Yekaterinburg?

Hi! Sadly there are no known photos of NAOTMAA from Yekaterinburg. There are photos of Olga, Tatiana, Anastasia, and Alexei traveling onboard the steamer Rus from Tobolsk to Yekaterinburg

Alexei and Olga

Tatiana and Anastasia (i have never seen the figure on the left side be identified as Tatiana but I believe strongly that is her. I can do a separate post about it if anyone wants.)

Also there is a photograph of the carriage that was holding Maria, Alexandra and Nicholas as they were waiting to embark on their trip from Tobolsk to Yekaterinburg. This photo was taken about a month before the rest of the family came.

And there are photographs of the inside of the Ipatiev house. These photos were taken when the Romanov’s were not in residence and I believe when they were already executed but i do not know the exact date.

The bathroom and the stairs

The stairs

The dining room

A study/living room

Anna Demidova’s room (looking into the dining room)

Nicholas, Alexandra, and Alexei’ Bedroom

The doors that the Romanov Family went in and out of on the night that they were murdered

And sadly, we have the photos of the execution scene. I think that the white army took these photos when they got there (correct me if I’m wrong)

⚠️TRIGGER WARNINGS!!! ⚠️

There might be unreleased photos of NAOTMAA in the Russian archives but I’m not exactly sure.

Thank you for asking me questions!!!

[roses-of-the-romanovs]

Hello! I'm creating a Romanov roleplay so could you give me a list of members and friends of the Romanov family, and others (Standart officers, Bolsheviks, etc.) for people to roleplay? That would be very helpful since I know I'm going to accidentally miss some characters (^^”).

Hi! These are some people who were involved with the Romanovs:

Friends:

Anna Vyrubova—quite possibly Alexandra's dearest friend. Typically viewed as a bit of a simpleton or a cunning spy--the reality is probably that she was neither. Also very attached to Rasputin.

Lili Dehn—another of Alexandra's friends, a lady-in-waiting. Also close with Nicholas and the children; was with Alexandra when Nicholas abdicated.

Elizabeth Naryshkina—the elderly mistress of the robes.

Sophie Buxhoevedon—lady-in-waiting, affectionately known as "Isa" (also spelled "Iza").

Catherine "Trina" Schneider—also attempted (unsuccessfully) to teach the Romanov sisters German. Taught Russian to Alexandra. Lutheran.

Grigori Rasputin—infamous. Especially intimate with Alexandra, also a sort of mentor for the daughters. Killed in 1916.

Kolya Demenkov—Alexei’s friend.

Gleb Botkin & Tatiana Botkina—the children of Evgeny Botkin.

Sofia Orbeliani—Alexandra’s friend and an invalid. Died in 1915.

Countess Anastasia “Nastenka” Hendrikova—family friend.

Family:

Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna—OTMA's grandmother. But a bit frosty in her relations with Alexandra.

Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna—Nicholas II's sister. Often the grand duchesses spent Saturdays with her.

Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna—Nicholas’s sister. Her family was known as the Ai Todories due to their estate. Her daughter Irina especially was close to the daughters. (Irina’s husband, Felix Yussupov, was one of Rasputin’s assassins.)

Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich—one of Nicholas’s favorite cousins, and once considered a possible groom for Olga. Under the care of Elizabeth Feodorovna. One of Rasputin’s assassins.

Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna—Alexandra’s sister. Became a nun after her husband Sergei’s assassination in 1905; sent coffee and chocolate to the family during imprisonment. Murdered by the Bolsheviks.

Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich—Nicholas’s brother. Married morganatically and exiled. Saw Nicholas before Nicholas’s departure to Tobolsk. Also murdered by the Bolsheviks.

Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich—commander in chief of the Russian army during WWI until Nicholas II took over. Not liked by Alexandra due to his dislike of Rasputin.

Tutors/Staff:

Pyotr Vasilievich Pyotrov—the Russian tutor, known as "PVP."

Pierre Gilliard—the French tutor, especially close to Alexei. Often called "Zhilik" or "Monsieur."

Sydney Gibbes—the English tutor, often known as "Sig."

Sofia Tyutcheva—Known as "Savanna," OTMA's unofficial governess when they were young. Outspokenly against Rasputin, and not popular with the Romanovs' other friends.

Margaretta Eagar—OTMA's Irish governess, dismissed in 1904.

Anna Demidova—lady-in-waiting who accompanied the family and was eventually killed with them. Known as “Nyuta.”

Aloise (Alexei) Trupp—footman who was killed with the family; unique in that he was Latvian, and Catholic.

Ivan Kharitonov—cook killed with the family.

Leonid Sednev—companion of Alexei during captivity, eventually sent away by Yakov Yurovsky.

Eugene Botkin—doctor (primarily Alexandra’s). Killed with family.

Nagorny and Demenkov—Alexei’s “sailor nannies.” Only Nagorny continued on with the family to Tobolsk.

Standart Officers of Note:

Pavel Voronov—Olga's love interest in 1913. She wrote of him as "S." in her diaries.

Alexander Konstantinovich Shvedov—Also Olga's love interest in 1913, took place before Voronov. Referred to as "AKSH" in diaries.

Viktor Zborovsky—Anastasia's crush. She also exchanged letters with his sister Ekaterina "Katya" in captivity. Nicholas's favorite tennis partner.

Patients during WWI/Nurses, Doctors:

Dmitri Shakh-Bagov—Olga's love interest. Known as "Mitya."

Dmitri Malama—Tatiana's love interest. Gave her a dog known as Ortipo, named after his cavalry horse.

Valentina Cheborateva—OT’s friend and fellow nurse.

Margarita Khitrovo—fellow nurse and friend. Known as “Ritka” or “Rita.”

Dr. Vera Gedroits—female doctor. Known as “Princess Gedroits.” After the tsar’s abdication, her behavior turned increasingly unconventional.

Vladimir Kiknadze—Tatiana’s love interest after Malama. Considered a dangerous flirt by the other nurses and doctors.

Politicians:

Sergei Witte—Served as prime minister 1905-1906.

Pyotr Stolypin—Served as prime minister 1906-1911. Sofia Tyutcheva, Nicholas II, and OT were there at his assassination.

Mikhail Rodzianko—state chairman of the Duma, 1911-1917.

Bolsheviks/Captors, etc.:

Alexander Kerensky—member of the Provisional Government. Oversaw the Romanovs’ house arrest.

Eugene Kobylinsky—commandant during house arrest; nevertheless on good terms with the family.

Vasily Yakovlev—commissar, searched the house at Tobolsk; helped transfer the family to the Ipatiev House at Ekaterinberg.

Alexander Avdeev—commandant at the Ipatiev House.

Yakov Yurovsky—commandant at the Ipatiev House after Avdeev. Orchestrated the murders.

Pyotr Ermakov—one of the executioners, his accounts of the Romanovs and their murder are highly exaggerated and untruthful. Was drunk on the night of the murders.

Ivan Skorokhodov–despite the rumors there is no reliable evidence to support the idea of a liaison with Maria. However, he was really a guard at the Ipatiev House.

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Morgana and Victor’s family birthday party, featuring the new lavender banquet room on the fifth floor of the palace.

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Nikolay Grinko, Anna Demidova, Margarita Terekhova. Photo from The Mirror (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1975).