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foreverinthepagesofhistoryy · 1 month

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~ ♔ ꧁ OTMA ꧂ ♔ ~

❧ “In the darkness of the mystery which surrounds the fate of these innocent children it is with poignant emotion that I recall them as they appeared, so full of life and joy, in those distant, yet incredibly near, days before the World War and the downfall of Imperial Russia.”

❧ “Olga was perhaps the cleverest of them all, her mind being so quick to grasp ideas, so absorbent of knowledge that she learned almost without application or close study. Her chief characteristics, I should say, were a strong will and a singularly straightfor, ward habit of thought and action.”

❧ “Tatiana was almost a perfect reincarnation of her mother. Taller and slenderer than her sisters, she had the soft, refined features and the gentle, reserved manners of her English ancestry. Kindly and sympathetic of disposition, she displayed towards her younger sisters and her brother such a protecting spirit that they, in fun, nicknamed her "the governess."

❧ “Marie had splendid eyes and rose-red cheeks. She was inclined to be stout and she had rather thick lips which detracted a little from her beauty. Marie had a naturally sweet disposition and a very good mind.”

❧ “Anastasia, a sharp and clever child, was a very monkey for jokes, some of them at times almost too practical for the enjoyment of others. I remember once when the family was in their Polish estate in winter the children were amusing themselves at snowballing. The imp which sometimes seemed to possess Anastasia led her to throw a stone rolled in a snowball straight at her dearly loved sister Tatiana. The missile struck the poor girl fairly in the face with such force that she fell senseless to the ground. The grief and horror of Anastasia lasted for many days and permanently cured her of her worst propensities to practical jokes.”

- Anna Vyrubova (friend and personal confidante of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna)

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imperial-russia · 2 months

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Russian Imperial family with officers of the Polar Star yacht. Included in the group are also courtiers and family friends Ekaterina Schneider and Anna Vyrubova, 1905.

#Russia #Romanov #Nicholas II.#Alexandra Fyodorovna #Olga Nikolaevna #Tatiana Nikolaevna #Maria Nikolaevna #Anastasia Nikolaevna #Alexei Nikolaevich #Anna Vyrubova #Ekaterina Schneider

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romanovsonelastdance · 14 days

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Anastasia, Maria and Tatiana with their mother Alexandra Feodorovna, Anna Vyrubova, and N.P. Sablin.

#romanov #otma #alexandra feodorovna #tatiana nikolaevna #maria nikolaevna #anastasia nikolaevna #anna vyrubova #nikolai sablin #my collection

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thestarik · 1 month

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Alexandra and Anna Vyrubova with Olga/Tatiana. 1907/08

#otma #romanov #olga nikolaevna #tatiana nikolaevna #alexandra feodorovna #anna vyrubova

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foreverinthepagesofhistory · 10 months

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POV; Where’s Waldo but make it Romanov edition:

I’ll give you time to figure it out *hint, it’s Olga that your trying to find*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ahem i present to you~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SHE IS IN THE FREAKING CURTAINS! HAHAHAHAHA

Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna hiding in the curtains at Evpatoria in 1916, surrounded by her family, Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, Grand Duchesses Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia Nikolaevna, and Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich

Also featured is Anna Vyrubova (friend of the family), and Margarita “Rita” Khitorovo (friend of OT and fellow Sister of Mercy)

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the-last-tsar · 24 days

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Nicholas II and other at the tennis court.

#tsar nicholas ii #anna vyrubova #tsar #officers #my own #tennis

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otmaaromanovas · 9 months

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Myth-busting - did sailor nanny Derevenko betray the family?

Several members of the imperial entourage have been villainised over the decades, none more than Andrei Eremevich Derevenko, whom Anna Vyrubova claimed in her memoir to have betrayed the family. Many historians in the 20th century took this as fact, but more evidence has shown that it is highly likely that Derevenko did not betray the family or Alexei, and fell victim to one of the many lies in Anna Vyrubova's book. Some popular history books go as far as calling him 'abusive' - but let's look at the real facts.

Andrei Eremevich Derevenko was born in 1878, in Volyn, Zhytomr, in the Ukraine. He was a member of the baltic fleet, originally a sailor before being employed by the Imperial Family. In May 1906 he was appointed as the Dyadka, meaning 'uncle', to Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich. Derevenko was a sailor nanny, his primary role was to look after Alexei, and to ensure that the haemophilliac did not do himself an injury.

Derevenko found himself in more favour with the family in 1907, when his actions during a collision of the yacht Standart with a large rock were seen as admirable. His experience as a sailor came in incredibly handy; he knew that the boiler rooms of the ship were most likely to sink first, so grabbed the tiny Heir and ran to the opposite side of the ship, ensuring the Tsarevich's maximum safety.

In 1910, he was paid 120 rubles a year annually. By 1913, this had increased to 360 a year. Derevenko was joined by another sailor nanny, Klimenty Grigorievich Nagorny, in 1913 to help protect the heir as he grew into a rambunctious boy. The Tsarevich especially enjoyed playing with Derevenko's sons, Sergei, Alexei, and possibly a third, Alexander. The Tsarina were the children's godmother, and in turn the Tsar and Tsarina paid yearly expenses for the boy's education, and covered the cost of a surgery one of them underwent. Derevenko kept a daily diary, where he mostly recorded the duties he performed for Alexei, and what they both got up to during the day.

Now we come on to the origin of the myth. In her memoir, Anna Vyrbova claimed that after the February Revolution, she discovered:

"Lying sprawled in a chair was the sailor Derevenko, for many years the personal attendant of the Tsarevitch, and on whom the family had bestowed every kindness, every material benefit. Bitten by the mania of revolution, this man was now displaying his gratitude for all their favors. Insolently he bawled at the boy whom he had formerly loved and cherished, to bring him this or that, to perform any menial service his mean lackey's brain could think of. Dazed and apparently only half conscious of what he was being forced to do, the child moved about trying to obey. It was too much to bear."

Anna Vyrubova was arrested in March 1917, and did not spend the following months with the family at the Alexander Palace. She claims that this event happened on 20 March 1917. In contrast, family photo albums show that Derevenko was still a part of the retinue until the day of departure to Tobolsk, and was actually promoted in July 1917 by the Tsar to the role of Alexei's official valet.

Historian Charlotte Zeepvat proposes another explanation:

One of the most enigmatic figures, and the most intimately involved with Alexei, was the sailor Derevenko. Anna Virubova claimed to have seen Derevenko bullying Alexei, shouting orders at a boy too bemused to fight back. If this is true it would have been a shattering experience, but its truth is not so clear cut as it may seem. According to Anna, it happened on 20 March, two days before her own arrest. After a display like that the sailor would surely have left or been made to go, but he was still at the palace months later. Shortly before the move to Tobolsk in August he submitted an invoice for new clothes and shoes for Alexei to Colonel Kobilinski, the commandant of the palace garrison. He was asking a huge amount, so payment was withheld: when the sailor complained to the Tsaritsa and she intervened on his behalf, Kobilinski showed her the invoice. She took the Colonel's part. Derevenko was refused permission to accompany the family to Tobolsk, but months after their departure, he was still pleading to be allowed to join them. Failing that, he asked for the return of a trunk, which he said had gone to Tobolsk in error. It was found and opened, and inside were the new clothes and shoes, and an icon given to Alexei by his great-uncle, Grand Prince Sergei Alexandrovich. Was Derevenko stealing? Looking after the boy's interests in his own peculiar way? No one will ever know.

Several letters sent by Derevenko have survived. In the letters, he explains that the commissioners at the Alexander Palace and Tobolsk had informed him that there was 'no space' to take him on the trip, and that he was awaiting summons to Tobolsk, should he be required. Interestingly, these letters detail that the other sailor nanny, Nagorny, stayed in contact with Derevenko, and he also reveals that he was receiving multiple letters from the family and retinue from Tobolsk.

Historian George Hawkins, who has translated all of Alexei's correspondence and diaries from 1905-1918, found an interesting account by Comissar Pankratov. In this account, he explains that Colonel Kobylinski was confronted by Alexandra Feodorovna when Derevenko was not on the list, though was embarrassed when she discovered that he had requested a disproportionately high invoice to the Provisional Government for his duties. Pakratov added that Derevenko wrote to him repeatedly asking "when would he be called to Tobolsk to continue his official duties with the “heir”."

George Hawkins summarises: "Going by this account, it would seem he didn't [betray the Imperial Family]. Ania Vyrubova is the ultimate source for his 'betrayal' where she wrote that he started ordering Alexei about. I think something like that may well have happened, as it is also reported by Sokolov in his investigation into the fate of the Romanovs, but it would seem he still stayed with the family until their departure to Tobolsk - trying to get extra money out of the provisional government with his exaggerated bill, and kept trying to get to Tobolsk for some time."

The exact fate of Derevenko is unknown. Some sources suggest that he joined the White Army and died in 1921, either from being wounded/killed in action or succumbing to an illness. The early 1920s were years of intense turmoil and civil war in Russia, so it is not unusual that his documents drop off the record.

Though we can conclude that Derevenko did not betray the family in that he was 'abusive' to Alexei, he was not exactly popular with the suite. Pierre Gilliard recalled in his memoirs 'Thirteen Years at the Russian Court' that Derevenko preferred peasants to:

"[drop to their] knees before Alexis Nicolaïevitch to offer him what they had brought. I noticed that the boy was embarrassed and blushed violently, and when we were alone I asked him whether he liked seeing people on their knees before him. "Oh no, but Derevenko says it must be so !".

Gilliard also believes that the sailor nannies stifled Alexei's progress too much, and did not allow him to test the boundaries of his disease in order to become more self-disciplined.

Sources:

Memories of the Russian Court - Anna Vyrubova

Romanov Autumn - Charlotte Zeepvat

Russian Imperial Family: Romanovs in Their Own Words - Helen Azar and George Hawkins

Expenses of Alexey - Alexander Palace Org

Alexei - Russia's Last Tsesarevich: Letters, diaries and writings Part One: 1904 – 1915 - George Hawkins

Alexei - Russia's Last Tsesarevich: Letters, diaries and writings Part Two: 1916-1918 - George Hawkins

Photos:

Public domain, flickr - LastRomanovs

#myth busting #Romanovs #Alexei Nikolaevich #Tsarevich Alexei #myths #my own #Andrei Derevenko #Pierre Gilliard #Derevenko #Dyadkas #Nagorny #Klimenty Nagorny #russian history #romanov family #Anna Vyrubova #sources

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worldoftheromanovs · 6 months

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Anna Vyrubova and her sister Alexandra Pistohlkors in front of the Catherine Palace in 1908

#anna vyrubova #Alexandra Pistohlkors #Catherine palace #tsarskoe selo #1908

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loiladadiani · 8 months

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Swimming

This is a very cute picture although the girls don't look too happy. But I love their swimming hats with the bow. If you notice, Ana Vyrubova is holding Alexei who has a puzzled expression on his face. I don't know the lady all the way on the back, next to Olga.

#OTMA #Tsarevich Alexis Nikolaievich #anna vyrubova #russian imperial family #vintage photography #romanov dynaty #Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaievna #Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaievna #Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaievna #Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaievna

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enamoredpast · 1 year

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Tatiana Nikolaevna with Anna Vyrubova; Livadia, 1912

#source in reblog #tatiana nikolaevna #anna vyrubova #livadia #1912 #otma

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kootyl · 5 months

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Grand Duchess Marie Nikolaevna Romanov sitting with Anna Vyrubova. 1913.

#Anna Vyrubova #Marie Romanov #Romanov #Romanovs #Marie Nikolaevna #Marie Nikolaevna Romanov

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foreverinthepagesofhistoryy · 5 months

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Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna in bed recovering from her bout of measles and double pneumonia, spring 1917

❧ “Maria took her turn, who until now was her mother's greatest support. Even in the first stages of her illness, she hoped that she would be able to avoid staying in bed. She intended to endure until her father returned and she begged Baroness Buxhoeveden not to trouble her mother when she also developed a fever. At last, however, her exhausted nature betrayed her very badly. Along with the measles she suffered double pneumonia and reached the gates of death. In her feverish delirium and nightmares, she saw terrible soldiers who came to kill her mother and she shouted in terror, "Crowds of peopl... dreadful people... they re coming to kill Mamma!! Why are they doing these things?" - Romanov Royal Martyrs ☙

❧ “She was now anxious about Marie Nicolaievna on latter had been taken ill much later than her sisters, condition was aggravated by a severe attack of pneumonia of a virulent kind. Her constitution was excellent, but she had all she could do to survive. ☙ - Pierre Gilliard, 13 Years At The Russian Court

❧ “On 19 March I received a note from the Empress that Maria Nikolaevna is dying and asking for me. The messenger told me that Anastasia Nikolevna is also very sick; both had pneumonia, and the latter also became deaf due to the ear infection…I tiptoed to Maria Nikolaevna. She was lying there, white like linen, her eyes, naturally large, seemed even larger, temperature was 40.9, she breathed oxygen. When she saw me, she made some attempts to pick up her head and started to cry, repeat-ing: "Anya, Anya." I stayed with her until she fell asleep.” ☙ - Anna Vyrubova

❧ “Apparently Maria's and Anastasia's illness broks the tamp remained normal; they are weak and slept all day, of cours with breaks.” ☙ - Tsar Nicholas II diary entry, March 20th 1917

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imperial-russia · 1 year

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Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana with family friend Anna Vyrubova during the charity-based The Wtie-Flower day, Crimea 1912

#Russia #Romanov #Olga Nikolaevna #Tatiana Nikolaevna #Anna Vyrubova

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glazarina · 11 months

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1910, the Finnish skerries

(Aww, Anastasia’s little side part is everything.)

#anastasia nikolaevna #olga nikolaevna #maria nikolaevna #anna vyrubova #pavel voronov #nikolai sablin #the romanovs #otma #grand duchesses

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thestarik · 5 months

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The Imperial Family on the Standart, 1907.

#otma #romanov #olga nikolaevna #tatiana nikolaevna #maria nikolaevna #anastasia nikolaevna #alexandra feodorovna #nicholas ii #anna vyrubova #standart

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foreverinthepagesofhistory · 7 months

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Grand Duchess Anastasia “Shvybzik” Nikolaevna funnily being pushed off of a chair while her elder sister Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna watches on, Finland 1909-1910 🤍🤣✨

People in the background for whom I can identify: Anna Vyrubova, Nikolai Pavlovich Sablin, Pavel Voronov

#lmao 🤣🤣🤣#olga nikolaevna #anastasia nikolaevna #shvybzik #otma #romanov #romanovs #romanovs being funny #russian history #russian imperial family #anna vyrubova #pavel voronov #Nikolai Pavlovich sablin #1909 #1910 #finnish skerries

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