#olga romanov

[kootyl]

I took the popular side-view profiles of OTMA and merged it into one photograph with my photoshop program. I'm absolutely in love with this.

A side view of the Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Marie and Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanov.

[otmaaromanovas]

Romanov myths part three - did the Grand Duchesses go shopping?

Over the years, a prevalent belief that the Romanov Grand Duchesses, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia, did not go shopping continues to be repeated. Some historians have even suggested that the girls did not know how paying for items worked. However, primary sources from people who knew the girls, were members of their entourage, and the Grand Duchesses' own diaries, tell a different story...

"Saturday. 10 August. … We walked along the historic boulevard and the main streets, but crowds followed us everywhere, so we were able to go into only 2 shops for a minute..." "Friday. 15 November. Had lessons, after that went shopping for wool with Nastenka as usual.." From Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna’s 1913 diary [my underlining]

In this entry, Olga describes shopping Countess Anastasia 'Nastenka' Vassilievna Hendrikova, who was a young lady-in-waiting at court and a particular favourite of the Grand Duchesses, often accompanying them on trips. As described in the first entry, it appears that safety and security concerns due to crowds, rather than a lack of understanding about shops, contributed to the Grand Duchesses not being able to shop frequently. Nastenka is frequently mentioned by the Grand Duchesses in their diaries, and volunteered to join the Romanov family in their house arrest and imprisonment. She was murdered by the Bolsheviks in September 1918.

"After coffee, I went for a walk with my pupils… They really liked to go to the shops and buy everything. Anastasia Nikolaevna was especially attracted to stores, where they sold doll shoes of various sizes… Tatiana Nikolaevna did not always accompany since the doctors found her heart was weak and she went with the Empress to take baths." A Few Years Before the Catastrophe by Sofia Ivanovna Tyutcheva.

Sofia Ivanovna Tyutcheva was a maid-of-honour to Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, and in 1907 was appointed as governess to the Grand Duchesses. The Grand Duchesses referred to her as "Savanna". She was dismissed in 1912 when she voiced concerns over Grigori Efimovich Rasputin. She wrote a short memoir in 1945, and passed away in 1957.

"[The] Grand Duchesses went shopping in the morning with one of the ladies-in-waiting to the Empress. They delighted in that because they could mix with the crowd and buy things just as everyone else did, and they were so pleased if they were not recognised at once." -- Upheaval - Olga Voronova [my underlining]

Countess Olga Konstantinovna Voronova was part of the aristocratic Kleinmichel family and in 1914, married one of the Romanov's favourite officers, Pavel Alexeievich Voronov. Through these connections, Olga Konstantinovna became a friend of the Grand Duchesses, exchanging frequent letters with Olga and Tatiana in particular, before and after the Revolution. She published her memoirs in 1932. Once again, it is inferred that being recognised and subsequent security concerns stifled the Grand Duchesses' shopping sprees.

Where did the myth come from?

It appears that the myth came about due to this extract from Margaretta Eagar, an Irish nanny who cared for the children from 1898 to 1904:

Her only knowledge of shops and shopping was derived from the toy and sweet shops in Darmstadt. One day she asked me why the Americans spoke English, not American. I told her the story of the Pilgrim Fathers, and described how they built houses and shops, and so made towns. She was exceedingly interested and inquired, ' Where did they find the toys to sell in the shops ? " Six Years at the Russian Court, by Margaretta Eagar

It appears that some historians forgot that Margaretta Eagar moved on from her nanny position in 1904, when the eldest Grand Duchess was nine and the youngest was three, and perhaps did not look for sources from when the Grand Duchesses had grown up and had slightly more independence.

Over time, the myth appears to have been exaggerated and repeated until it became part of the 'folklore' surrounding the Romanov Grand Duchesses, portraying them as isolated and naïve.

Whilst it is clear that the Grand Duchesses did enjoy going shopping in their lifetimes, safety and security concerns meant they could not enjoy shopping as frequently as other teenagers may have. In the same way royals today would not be able to go to shops without being recognised, there was a chance that a crowd could gather. Similarly, Olga and Tatiana appear to have shopped more than the younger pair, Maria and Anastasia, likely due to being older in age and therefore having more independence.

Photos:

First set, left: Olga, Anastasia (hidden behind Olga), and Maria Shopping in Germany, 1910. Right: Olga and Tatiana out shopping in the Isle of Wight, 1909, accompanied by Dr. Evgeny Botkin (in the suit)

Second set, left: Tatiana and Maria shopping with Sofia Ivanovna Tyutcheva, circa 1910. Right: The Grand Duchesses and their entourage by shops, most likely taken in Germany, 1910

Sources:

Journal of a Russian Grand Duchess: Complete Annotated 1913 Diary of Olga Romanov, Eldest Daughter of the Last Tsar, translator Helen Azar, (Independently published: 2015)

A Few Years Before the Catastrophe: The Memoirs of Sofia Ivanovna Tyutcheva, translator George Hawkins, (Independently published: 2020)

Upheaval, Olga Voronova (Woronoff), (New York; London: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1932) -- Free to read online here

Six Years at the Russian Court, Margaretta Eagar, (New York: Charles L. Bowman and Company, 1906) -- Free to read online here

[foreverinthepagesofhistoryy]

New photo of Grand Duchesses Anastasia and Olga Nikolaevna, Mogilev 1916

Photo shared by Ilya aka LastRomanovs on Flickr and Sledstvie on Instagram

[wildfieldz]

The more elevated a person is, the sooner that person should help everyone and never in fellowship remind everyone of their position. My children should be like that.

Nicholas II

[colourbymarie]

Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna Romanova, 1914

[yornationalanthem]

Grand Duchess Olga and Tatiana Nikolaevna and their evening dresses

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩

[ozempicdoll]

girl's favorite historical figures ♡

[ykzzr]

Mikhail, Xenia and Olga with their cousin Maria Georgievna in Gorvitsy near Gatchina, June 2, 1904.

[last-grand-duchess-of-russia]

In the autumn of 1903 the Romanov family made a visit to Darmstadt for the wedding of Princess Alice of Battenberg and Prince Andrew of Greece.* Ernie and Ducky—a mismatched couple from the first—had by now sadly separated and divorced, but Ernie was devoted to their eight-year-old daughter Elisabeth, who spent six months of the year with him. After the wedding, the two families. travelled to Wolfsgarten for a private holiday, where Olga and Tatiana played happily with their cousin, riding bicycles and ponies and going out mushroom-picking. Elisabeth was a strange, ethe real child with eyes full of pathos and a halo of dark curly hair that contradicted her warm and lively personality. She was greatly taken with her 'tiny cousin' Anastasia, took to mothering her and wanted to take her back home with her to Darmstadt.

Rappaport, Helen. Four Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Romanov Grand Duchesses. United Kingdom, Pan Macmillan, 2014.

[1920sitgirl]

[byzantiumcyber]

Photograph of Olga Romanov, the eldest of the Romanov sisters.

[kootyl]

Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna Romanov in 1908, giving a silly sour face.

[otmaaromanovas]

Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna’s peach tercentenary kokoshnik, created to celebrate 300 years of the Romanov dynasty

The kokoshnik was made by nuns at the Starotorzhsky Convent, and is part of a set made for the Tsar’s four daughters to celebrate the Tercentenary of the Romanov Dynasty in 1913. Two other kokoshniki, owned by Grand Duchesses Tatiana and Anastasia, are in the Museum’s collection. There are no known (as of May 2024) photographs of the Grand Duchesses wearing their kokoshniks. 

Olga’s kokoshnik is made of peach velvet fabric, with satin ribbons used to secure the headdress. The kokoshnik is adorned with numerous precious stones, including pearls, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and moonstones. An intricately beaded double-headed eagle sits in the centre of the headdress, symbolising the Romanov dynasty, intricately hand stitched.

The kokoshnik is preserved in its original presentation box, including its plaque, which reads  “To Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, Nikolaevsky Starotorzhsky nunnery, Galich, Kostroma province. 1913” in Cyrillic. The Romanovs visited Kostroma as part of the Tercentenary tour in May. Preserved in its original box, the label still reads “Alexander Palace, the Children’s Half, Grand Duchesses’ drawing room.” 

The kokoshnik was sold to an international market in the decades following the Revolution, similar to a number of other jewels and artefacts that remained at the Alexander Palace and Winter Palace following the departure of the Romanovs. Meanwhile, Tatiana and Anastasia’s kokoshniks remained at Tsarskoe Selo, and were evacuated to safety during WWII. They have remained at the Museum ever since. Maria’s kokoshnik is still lost - perhaps owned by a private collector.

Olga’s kokoshnik was acquired by the Tsarskoe Selo State Museum Preserve in the early September 2014, for over $15,000 from a private collector. The kokoshnik was recently exhibited in St. Petersburg at the OTMA + Alexei exhibition. 

Bonus edit by me of what the kokoshnik might have looked like!

Sources: Ekaterina Potselueva / Tsarskoe Selo State Museum Preserve

Photographs: svetskyspb, babs71, Tsarskoe Selo State Museum Preserve 

[foreverinthepagesofhistoryy]

ミ★ ~ OTMAA through the years ~ ★ シ

Part three, Early Childhood ; Age 3yo - 8yo

Olga: Nov. 1898 - Nov. 1903

Tatiana: June 1900 - June 1905

Maria: June 1902 - June 1907

Anastasia: June 1904 - June 1909

Alexei: August 1907 - August 1912

~ ★ ~

[straw-ser]

🫃

[colourbymarie]

Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana Nikolaevna, 1913