Department of Culture of the Voronezh Region. The fate of the sisters of Nicholas II. Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna and Olga Alexandrovna

Princess Olga Andreevna

The great-great-granddaughter of Nicholas I and the grand-niece of the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II lives in the 13th-century Provender family estate in Kent, filled with unique belongings belonging to many generations of the Romanovs, family photographs and documents related to the history of Russia. Writes a book based on the memoirs of her father, Prince Andrei Alexandrovich. He is the patron of the Russian Ball of Debutants.

Very often loving fathers call their little daughters “my princess”. It has nothing to do with the title. But you have this title. How did your father treat you affectionately as a child? Calling you “princess” is just a statement of fact.

My father never called me a princess. Always just “my dear”, “my darling”, “my honey-bunny”. And very often - "baby". Even when he introduced me. I have always been a little girl for him, the youngest daughter. His children from his first marriage are much older than me. By the age of 26, he already had three children, and when I was born - 54 years old. By the way, he never called me Olga either. I did not like the name Olga, in my opinion, it is not English enough. I would rather be Mary, Elizabeth or Alexandra. There are many different options. Alexandra, for example, is Alex, and Sandra, and Sasha. And Olga - only Olga and that's it.

I read that you received a private education at home, typical of the House of Romanov. What did this education include?

When my parents got married, they began to live on my mother's estate, Provender, in Kent (Provender, Kent) - I was born there, grew up and now live there. At the age of 8, my mother and her brothers - seven and six years old - were sent to a boarding school, because my grandmother traveled a lot, wrote books and did not have time to deal with children at all. Mom had terrible memories of this school, and since I was their late and only child, she insisted on my home education. Dad didn't mind, he just adored me. Until I was 12, I studied at home. In addition to teachers in academic subjects, there were teachers in tennis, ballet, horse riding. And all my local friends came to practice ballroom dancing with me.

Prince Andrei Alexandrovich - Olga Andreevna's father

The father spoke five languages ​​fluently, communicated in Russian with his older children. But not with me. When his cousins, uncles, aunts came to us, they spoke only Russian, and my mother and I quietly sat in the corner and listened. I think this is due to the tragic revolution. Father tried not to forget Russia and everything connected with it, but rather not to let her into our life. Unfortunately, he talked a little about that period of his life. He was only 21 years old when in 1918 his family was forced to leave Russia. During the revolution, they were in the Crimea, in Ai-Todor - the estate of his father (Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich). It is not far from Yalta. A small path connected the estate and the Livadia Palace - the summer residence of Nicholas II. Grandmother Princess Xenia Alexandrovna was the sister of Nicholas II. It was easy to get to the palace along this path - they spent a lot of time together.

Father loved Ay-Todor very much. Children with nannies lived there in a large house, and their parents - nearby, in a smaller house. Separated from children. The huge house was surrounded by vineyards that slope down to the sea. Grandfather owned 90% of all Crimean vineyards. They made wonderful wine there.

Did your father suffer from nostalgia for Russia?

My father missed Russia very much and always said that someday the situation would change and it would be possible to return. He wanted to go with all his heart, but he was very afraid for himself and his family. There was a huge risk to go there. After the revolution outside Russia, attempts were made on my two great-uncle's grandfathers. My parents and me asked not to go to Russia. We were very nervous about this. The first time I went to Russia was in 1998 for the ceremony of reburial of the remains of the royal family together with my son and fifty-six other Romanovs.

When they left Russia, were they able to take something with them, which then passed on to you by inheritance and you are now keeping?

To evacuate members of the Romanov family, King George V of Great Britain sent the battleship of the British Royal Navy "Marlborough". On board, my father and his first wife, grandfather (Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich), grandmother (Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna), great-grandmother (Empress Dowager Maria Feodorovna) and many other family members left Russia forever. Surprisingly, they were able to take with them even more than they expected. Much that was taken out of Russia by the great-grandmother Maria Dagmar - Maria Fedorovna - went to her native Denmark, where she settled at the Villa Wiedere, not far from Copenhagen. Much later we moved here some of the furniture, a collection of porcelain, paintings and family photographs. In the library in my house, Provender, there is a table made especially for Maria Dagmar, brought from Copenhagen. And in the leather chests that belonged to my father, with which he left Russia, I keep blankets and pillows. They are still in excellent condition.

What about family jewelry? Did you get any of them?

I would really like to, but, unfortunately, no. Many jewelry, Faberge eggs and other valuables, the great-grandmother had to sell or exchange for food. They had no money at all. Some of the remaining passed on to the daughters. Father did not get any of the jewels. But we have preserved many icons.

Andrei Alexandrovich with Setra Irina Alexandrovna, mother Ksenia Alexandrovna and aunt Olga Alexandrovna in Vider. 1926 year.

After the revolution in Russia, many Romanovs were shot by the Bolsheviks, but mostly representatives of the Russian Imperial House were able to leave the country. Once in exile, they settled in Europe, someone moved to North America and Australia. After World War II, contacts between members of the clan weakened significantly. Then the idea of ​​Unification arose in order to be able to communicate more often and monitor the success of family members. In 1979, his father was the oldest of the Romanovs and it was he who was asked to head the Association. But he refused - at 82, it is quite difficult to take on such responsibility. It is difficult to say exactly how many family members are left, many are no longer alive. The last time the Association met was in 2001. The Romanovs are strange people; when they meet, they love each other immensely, but once they leave, they may not make themselves felt at all for several years.

How did your parents meet? Is there a romantic story about meeting your parents?

Not that the story is very romantic. The parents first met at the Finnish Embassy in London in the mid-1920s. My grandmother was friends with the Finnish ambassador, and my mother sometimes helped to meet guests at receptions at the embassy. The father was with his first wife, they then met many times in other places. After the death of his father's first wife, the parents met again in Scotland, at a reception at the royal Balmoral Castle and soon got married.

Your mother's maiden name is McDougall, there is an auction house in London specializing in Russian art of that name. Are these your maternal relatives?

My mom's name was Nadine McDougall. We are distant cousins ​​with William McDougall, but I have never met him.

I know that you are the patron of several balls in London. Remember the ball you debuted at?

I am the patron of four balls and not only in London. Russian Summer Ball - my grandmother Ksenia Alexandrovna was the patron of this ball, the Cassack Ball, The Russian Debutant Ball in London is in London, and the Russian Ball in Bulgaria is held in Sofia. Every debutant remembers his first ball. Therefore, it gives me such a pleasure to be a patron and be present at the Ball of Debutants. This year, in November, the fourth Debutant Ball will be held in London. My very first ball was at the German Embassy in London in the late 1960s. It was terribly interesting. Then I spent the whole season, eight months in a white dress. My own ball for 400 people was held at the Dorchester Hotel. Of these, only 150 were my friends, and the rest of the invitees were friends of their parents. It was a costume ball in the style of Georgette Heyer, the founder of the Regency romance novel. It was wonderful! Especially men's suits - breeches with garters.

Do you dance when you come to the ball?

Not very often. But a mazurka and a Russian square dance are a must!

Are you leading an active social life? Besides balls, do you go to horse races, equestrian polo, regatta?

To be honest, my social life is not that active. I went to the Royal Ascot only a few times in my life. I love the countryside, horses and hunting. I come to London only for some special events. My daily life takes place in Provender, a village in Kent. I am a typical villager. Proper country bumpkin. I love my dogs - they always and everywhere follow me. Grandchildren say: "Grandma loves her dogs more than us and talks to them all the time." And there is. I often feel better and more comfortable with animals than with people.

Grand Duchess Romanova Olga Alexandrovna (1882 - 1960)

Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna Romanova went down in history not only as the last daughter of the Tsar Emperor Alexander III, but also as an ascetic of mercy and as a talented artist.

Floral watercolor and the hard fate of the Grand Duchess

All I have to do is cry, and I may never stop. Therefore, I prefer to laugh.
Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna

The Grand Duchess was ugly, knew about it and did not even try to hide her unattractiveness. She didn't care much about that. The girl preferred to tinker with dogs and horses, spending many hours secretly from her mother in the stables.

Tsar's children were often given animals, sometimes very exotic - bears, wolf cubs, elks, lynxes. The august father gave little princess Olga a white crow, which she loved very much.

The little princess began to take a great interest in the newfangled photography: she developed and printed the pictures. But painting became the main thing for her. As soon as the opportunity arose, she made sketches and sketches.

To form the artistic talent that manifested itself in young Olga, leading teachers of the Academy of Arts were involved, including Makovsky, Zhukovsky and Vinogradov.

A distant relative, fourteen years older than her, Prince of Oldenburg, was elected to the bridegroom of 19-year-old Olga Alexandrovna. The prince spent his first wedding night in 1901 not on the matrimonial bed, but at a gambling table with fellow officers.

Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna and her first husband Prince Peter of Oldenburg

The marriage was unhappy ... It was concluded for two reasons: obedience to the will of the mother and unwillingness to leave Russia. Such was her family life, and therefore she gave all her unspent love to her nieces, girls, daughters of Nicholas II.

Art helped to fight loneliness. Olga Alexandrovna began to paint avidly. She took an easel, two of her beloved dogs and went on long walks around St. Petersburg. During this period of her life she painted a lot, her paintings are bizarre and vivid.

In April 1903, brother Mikhail took 22-year-old Olga with him to a military parade. Olga returned from the parade ... a loving and happy woman. And this love lasted all my life. A chance meeting at the parade with Nikolai Kulikovsky, colonel of the guards cuirassiers, brought her happiness.

She asked her husband to give her a divorce, but he said that he would return to this conversation in 7 years. Olga and Nikolai waited 13 years ... Only in 1916 was her marriage declared invalid. In November 1916, she became the wife of Kulikovsky, and they had two sons, Tikhon and Gury.

In 1920, Olga Aleksandrovna, together with her family, immigrated to Denmark, and then the bitter bread of exile far from the Motherland, her own farm in Denmark, started from scratch, the Second World War and the capture of the sons of Tikhon and Guria by the German invaders, the end of the war and immediately the persecution of the KGB , an almost impossible escape ... emigration to Canada.

So in 1948, at the age of 66, the Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna found her last refuge in Toronto. And all this time they painted pictures. They are surprisingly airy, light, and you cannot tell from them that the person who wrote them suffers.

But such is art - it can often hide the true state of a person's soul.

Olga Aleksandrovna often heard the banal accusation that the Romanovs were Russians only by last name, to which she invariably answered: “Is there a lot of English blood flowing in the veins of George VI? It's not blood that matters. The point is in the soil on which you grew up, in the faith in which you were brought up, in the language you speak. "

In the summer of 2017, St. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Montreal, of which I am a parishioner, celebrated its 110th anniversary. While in his book depository, I accidentally came across one album of photographs from the times of the Russian Empire, and in it - one portrait photograph that caught my attention. From her, the sister of the last Russian tsar, the passion-bearer Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov, looked at me. Yes, it was a photo of Olga Alexandrovna Romanova, the Grand Duchess.

I became curious, and I began to carefully leaf through the archive. And I found in it a record that Olga Aleksandrovna had also visited our cathedral on a visit, and had lived her last years just a few hours away from Montreal.

Having been interested in the history of the royal family for a long time, I decided to find everything that Russian Canada keeps about the life of the Grand Duchess and tell my reader about it. Perhaps something written here will already be known, and something, perhaps, will be news to readers. In any case, today is my story about Olga Alexandrovna - from birth to funeral.

So, let's begin. Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna Romanova was born in the city of St. Petersburg on June 14, 1882. She was the youngest daughter of Emperor Alexander III and his wife, Empress Maria Feodorovna, born a Danish princess. 101 volley from the bastion of the Peter and Paul Fortress sounded in her honor, on her birthday. In addition, as time will tell and how she will later say about herself, she was the last porphyrogenic, or, as they said, purple-colored member of the dynasty. This term only referred to sons and daughters born to the reigning monarch. Of all the children of Alexander III, only the youngest daughter Olga was porphyry, since all her older brothers and sisters were born before their father became the sovereign of Russia. All the children of her brother Nicholas II were porphyry, since they were born after their father's accession to the throne. But we know the ending of their tragic destinies.

But back to Olga. Like all children of the reigning dynasty, her childhood was filled with luxury, wealth, happiness and carelessness. From an early age, her family noticed her penchant for painting, and immediately the best professors of this art were hired for her to teach her craft. I must say that later this skill helped her and her family a lot, since her watercolors, which were in demand, were well sold out, and the proceeds helped feed Olga Alexandrovna's family.

Little Olga was very fond of horses. And they appear in large numbers in her first paintings. She associated everything with drawing, even mathematics.

An English governess was hired to raise the girl. It was this woman who became for the Grand Duchess a friend, adviser, helper, inspiration and comforter.

Olga was the closest friend of all to her sister Ksenia, who was a little older than her. The girls played together, dressed up, rode horses and studied the sciences. By the will of fate, both sisters will leave this world in the same year with a difference of only a few weeks.

The end of the century before last was not easy for the Romanov family. The threat of terrorism haunted the royal family. Therefore, the children were kept away from the palace. The girls - Xenia and Olga - were brought up outside the city, in the Gatchina Palace. It was called a palace very conditionally, because girls, accustomed to delicacy and abundance, had to sleep practically on hard camp beds, and eat oatmeal in the water. But in such a difficult time for the family, it was impossible to choose the conditions. And the girls meekly accepted the living conditions offered to them.

And Olga realized very soon that these were not empty fears. The family went to rest in the Caucasus. On the way back, their train derailed. The compartment in which the family was traveling was destroyed, and the collapsing roof almost fell on the seated frightened children. The tsar-hero, thanks to his gigantic physique, managed to keep the collapsing roof. For this, he subsequently paid with his health - the overload affected the sovereign's kidneys, which gradually began to fail.

When Olga was 12 years old, her father was gone. Being very close to him, often communicating a lot with her father on various topics, she deeply experienced the loss.

With the beginning of the last century, the question arose about the marriage of Olga, who by that time had already turned 18 years old. But the mother, who loved her youngest daughter with some kind of special love, never wanted her to go abroad. The prince was found for her in Russia. This was a distant relative of the Romanovs, a Russified German prince. At that time he was 32 years old. The wedding was played. But she did not bring happiness. The prince was not only an avid gambler who often lost large sums of money, but also a gay. In other words, women did not interest him at all.

Painting classes and little nieces, daughters of Nicholas II, to whom Olga Alexandrovna fully gave all her unspent love, helped the princess to overcome loneliness.

And in 1903, love knocked on her heart. At the parade in the Pavlovsk Palace, the Grand Duchess saw the captain of the Life Guards Nikolai Kulikovsky. Olga's feelings turned out to be mutual, and young people began to fight for their happiness.

She could not get a divorce for a very long time. But at last the sovereign took pity on his sister, and at the end of 1916 Olga, who was then working as a sister of mercy in the hospital, finally received a letter from her brother about the dissolution of her marriage.

Later, she will remember this moment and say that at that moment she will say the phrase:

"For fifteen years of marriage, I have never been married to my lawful husband ..."

The same letter contained the royal blessing for the wedding of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna and Colonel Kulikovsky.

But the year 1917 was approaching, the terrible year of the Red Terror, the year that decided the fate of the Russian Empire. The year that signed the verdict of the entire royal dynasty.

Olga Alexandrovna in August of this year gave birth to a son, who was named Tikhon. The happiness of the young family was overshadowed by the terrible news of the death of the family of the brother-sovereign in 1918. And the Kulikovskys began to seriously think about leaving Russia, which was unsafe for them. After another year and a half, their second son is born - Guriy.

Soon after the birth of their second son, Olga's family, bypassing Constantinople, Belgrade and Vienna, lands in Denmark.

Very often Olga Alexandrovna was visited by moments of repentance for her cowardice, for her fear, for her flight ... But the life of children, so beloved, long-awaited and desired, was above all.

At first they lived in the royal palace of Amalienborg in Copenhagen, together with the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna and the Danish king Christian X, who was her nephew. Then they moved to a house bought for the empress, which was called Vidor Castle, on the outskirts of Copenhagen. After the death of Maria Feodorovna here in 1928, Olga Alexandrovna did not want to stay there. They first moved to a small farmhouse, where they stayed for about 2 years. And when all the formalities with the inheritance of Maria Fedorovna were resolved and Olga Alexandrovna received her share, for the first time in her life she bought her own apartment in Knudsminda in Bollerule. In those days, it was just a small village 24 kilometers from Copenhagen, but gradually Copenhagen expanded, and now this place, Bollerule, is already a suburb of Copenhagen, practically part of the city. While they lived there, Tikhon and Gury grew up, went to an ordinary Danish school. But in addition to this, they went to a Russian school.

The days of everyday, nothing like and unremarkable life flowed by. But thunder in this family struck again. Many years later, after the Second World War. The Grand Duchess was accused of helping Russian prisoners of war and declared an enemy of the Soviet people.

Denmark did not want to extradite Olga to the Soviet Union, but at the same time did not want to spoil diplomatic relations with him. Therefore, using their connections, the Danish royal family transported the Kulikovsky family to Canada.

So, at 66, the Grand Duchess begins a new life again. Together with her family, she bought a plot of land of 200 acres in the province of Ontario, as well as a small farm: cows and horses - Olga's childhood love.

The neighbors just called her Olga. And when one day a neighbor's child asked her if it was true that she was a princess, Olga Alexandrovna replied:

"Not. I am not a princess. I am the Russian Grand Duchess "

Every Sunday the Kulikovsky family visited the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Toronto. Periodically leaving the city, Olga Alexandrovna visited other churches in different cities of Canada. Including she repeatedly visited our St. Peter and Paul Cathedral.

Living rather poorly, Olga Alexandrovna nevertheless sought funds to help her cathedral, painted icons for the iconostasis. A portrait of the Grand Duchess now hangs in the cathedral's museum. Those few very elderly parishioners who were fortunate enough to be friends with her remember Olga Alexandrovna with great warmth and tenderness. The Sunday church school now bears her name.

The aged spouses no longer had the strength to work on the farm, and they decided to sell it. And having sold, they moved to the suburbs of Toronto, where Olga Alexandrovna fully showed her talent as an artist. She wrote about two thousand works. Exhibitions of her works have been organized many times.

Works belonging to the brush of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna are now in the gallery of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, in the collection of the Duke of Edinburgh, King Harald of Norway, in the Ballerup Museum, which is located in Denmark, as well as in private collections in the USA, Canada and Europe. Her paintings can also be seen at the residence of the Russian ambassador in Washington and at the New Tretyakov Gallery.

The Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna was finishing her earthly journey in eastern Toronto, in a family of Russian emigrants, surrounded by former compatriots and a huge number of icons.

In 1958, she buried her husband, who was seriously ill and did not get out after the illness. And two years later, on the night of November 24-25, 1960, she herself departed to the Lord. The princess was buried at the North York Russian cemetery in Toronto next to her husband Nikolai Kulikovsky.

The eldest son Tikhon wrote a few days later in a letter to an old acquaintance of the family that in recent days his mother suffered greatly, there was an internal hemorrhage. And for the last two days she was unconscious. But before that, God vouchsafed the Grand Duchess to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.

In a remote part of the North York cemetery, you can see the graves with inscriptions in Russian. You will definitely see a massive stone cross with an Orthodox icon. This is the grave of Olga Alexandrovna Romanova, Nikolai Alexandrovich and Tikhon Nikolaevich Kulikovsky. Here they found their last refuge. The letters EIV under the cross mean: Her Imperial Highness.

The life of the Grand Duchess was abundant in humiliation, fall and disaster. But only the art of painting, the love for which she carried through her whole life, and faith in God, which deeply and firmly from an early age until the last days settled in her mind, saved her, did not allow her to break, helped to withstand, no matter what!

Eternal memory to you, Your Imperial Highness, Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna! And forgive all of us, whose ancestors, not knowing what they were doing, brought so much grief and blood to your family!

Pray for us before the Almighty! We need forgiveness ...

In contact with

The Romanovs loved to relax in the Caucasus. Here the royal family was freed from anxiety, leading a carefree village life. But the Turkish border was nearby, and there were a lot of bandits around. The family was guarded mainly by Caucasians. They were all armed, and whenever the Empress Dowager left the palace, she was accompanied by a Caucasian bodyguard. Among them, according to the Grand Duchess, was Omar - a strikingly handsome and strong mountaineer with burning black eyes, the Empress's favorite.

- Every time Mom asked him about the robbers and jokingly remarked: “Omar, when I look you in the eyes, I think that you yourself were once a robber!” Omar avoided looking at her and replied in the negative. However, one day he could not resist. Falling to his knees, he confessed that he had really been a robber before and began to beg Mom for forgiveness. Mom not only granted him forgiveness, but included him among her permanent bodyguards. From that time on, Omar began to accompany her everywhere, as if tamed.

I can imagine what a fuss would have been made in Petersburg if they had learned that one of the Empress's bodyguards had once been an ordinary highwayman!

My marriage is a hoax!

In May 1901, the population of the country learned about the engagement of the Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna to Prince Peter of Oldenburg.

The news shocked St. Petersburg and Moscow. No one believed that the upcoming marriage was based on mutual love. Olga was nineteen years old, the Prince of Oldenburg was fourteen years older, and all Petersburg knew that he did not show much interest in women. The parents of the Prince of Oldenburg, in particular, his ambitious mother, Princess Eugenia, who was a close friend of Maria Feodorovna, persuaded the latter to give her daughter for her son. It was a marriage of convenience. In addition, the prince's father was a well-known fighter against homosexuality in Russian circles, and this marriage was extremely necessary for his reputation. Young Olga, of course, did not know about such a fraud.

On top of that, they were too different. He did not like painting and music - he found them boring pursuits. He devoted all his free time to gambling and noisy men's companies. He did not tolerate animals, walking and open windows. During the day he sat at home, at night he "went out." With everything else, the prince was a military man, aide-de-camp, and later a major general. When did he manage to serve?

“To tell you frankly, I was tricked into this story,” said the Grand Duchess. - I was invited to an evening with the Vorontsovs. I remember that I did not want to go there, but I decided that it was unwise to refuse. As soon as I arrived at their mansion, they took me upstairs to the living room. Then the door closed behind me. Imagine my amazement when I saw cousin Peter in the living room. He stood as if plunged into the water. I don't remember what I said. I only remember that he did not look at me. He stammered and proposed to me. I was so taken aback that I was able to answer one thing: "Thank you." Then the door opened, Countess Vorontsova flew in, hugged me and exclaimed: "My best wishes." I don’t remember what happened next. In the evening at the Anichkov Palace, I went to my brother Mikhail's rooms, and we both burst into tears.

The wedding took place at the end of July 1901, "hastily". It was one of the saddest and most boring weddings in the history of the royal house of the Romanovs. After the newlywed changed clothes, the couple went to St. Petersburg, to the palace of the Prince of Oldenburg. The Grand Duchess spent the first night alone. Having cried a lot, she fell asleep. Prince Peter went to his old friends in the club, from where he returned in the morning.

“We lived with him under the same roof for almost fifteen years,” Olga Alexandrovna said frankly, “but we never became husband and wife.

The prince's mother often generously gifted her daughter-in-law. She presented Olga with a necklace of twenty-five diamonds, each almond-sized, a ruby ​​tiara, which Napoleon once gave to the Empress Josephine, and a fabulously beautiful sapphire necklace.

- The necklace was so heavy that I could not wear it for a long time. Usually I hid it in my purse and put it on before appearing in society, so as not to suffer extra minutes ... After my marriage was declared invalid in 1916, I returned all the jewelry to the family of the Prince of Oldenburg. I was especially glad that I did this when I learned that Prince Peter and his mother lived quite tolerably on the proceeds from the sale of jewelry they took out of Russia after the revolution.

The princess did not have a honeymoon. From loneliness and depression, her hair began to fall out, and in the end she had to order a wig, which she wore for about two years, until she regained her health and did not branch her own hair.

My heart was free, - the princess told with confidence, - but I was tied by the knot with a man for whom I was just the bearer of the Imperial family name. My husband lived his own life, he never interfered in my affairs, and did not help in anything. Together we almost never showed up.

Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna

Financial difficulties

- All of us - Mom, Nicky, Xenia, Mikhail and me - were confused by the following circumstance. My annual income was about two million rubles (million dollars) , but I never saw this money and did not know essentially how it was spent. Of course, ledgers were kept, but that didn't help. I had twelve accountants and one very knowledgeable treasurer, Colonel Rodzevich, and the accounts they kept were, of course, in perfect order, and yet the money melted like snow in spring. I had so much money - and yet I never had the opportunity to purchase the things I needed.

One day, at the end of the reporting year, I wanted to buy a small painting worth less than four hundred rubles ($ 200), but my treasurer said that there was no money to pay the bill.

The Romanovs had an unwritten law - to pay for all their purchases in cash, and men and women of my generation strictly followed it.

Wardrobe, travel expenses, the cost of maintaining mansions in St. Petersburg and Holgin, as well as a number of donations for charitable needs, made regularly - all this did not exhaust the list of expenses. The Grand Duchess also had to pay for the education of the children of her servants.

- The staff of servants in St. Petersburg consisted of about seventy people, which was rather modest for the Emperor's sister. Moreover, they all had many children, and they all wanted to see their sons as doctors and engineers. It's not hard to imagine how much money it cost. But I didn’t mind this expense item. In any case, it was of some use.

However, the biggest problem was that the Grand Duchess's husband was an avid gambler. She inherited a million gold rubles from her brother George. In a matter of years, this entire amount was squandered to a penny by Prince Peter Alexandrovich.

The Emperor's expenses were enormous!

1904. Emperor Nicholas II on the platform of st. Chrysostom, June 30

And yet the family was fabulously rich - lands, palaces, objects of art, jewelry - all these treasures were fabulous capital, which in no case could be touched. One of the sources of income for the Imperial family was specific lands - the Imperial estates, scattered across the vastness of the Empire. Despite this, Nicky very often experienced financial difficulties. This was due to the theft of state funds by officials.

The Tsar was responsible for the maintenance of two palaces in Tsarskoe Selo, two in Peterhof, one in Moscow and one in the Crimea. It was necessary to pay the salaries of thousands of palace officials and servants. All of them received gifts for Christmas, Easter and the birthday of the Emperor. Large funds were spent on the maintenance of the Imperial yachts and trains, as well as on transportation costs. From the funds of the Ministry of Court and Districts, money was spent on the maintenance of three theaters in St. Petersburg and two in Moscow, as well as the Imperial Ballet School.

The Imperial Academy of Arts and the Imperial Academy of Sciences also demanded funds, although officially they were supported by the State Treasury. Almost all orphanages, institutions for the blind, nursing homes (almshouses), as well as many hospitals were supported by the Tsar's personal funds.

Pupils at lunch in the dining room of the House of Charity and Handicraft Education of Poor Children in St. Petersburg. Early 1990s

The sovereign had to take care of the maintenance of the Imperial family. Each Grand Duke received about 800,000 gold rubles annually. Each Grand Duchess, upon marriage, was entitled to a dowry of 3 million gold rubles.

- By the time Nicky ascended the throne, there were so many of us. Only Sandro, the husband of Xenia's sister, had five brothers; my uncle Constantine had five sons and two daughters.

In addition, many requests for financial assistance came to His Majesty's own office. So, the widow of a policeman asked to educate her children, a talented student needed money to complete the course, and he applied to the Highest name; the peasant needed a cow, the fisherman needed a new boat, the official's widow asked for money to buy glasses. The officials of the Sovereign's Own Chancellery were strictly forbidden to ignore at least one request. After checking the validity of the requirements of the petition, it was satisfied.

- Compared to some American tycoons, my brother was poor, - Olga Alexandrovna testified.

However, the difficulties faced by the Imperial Family were constantly compounded by the incredible incompetence of the officials.

The king was swindled

The emperor wanted to acquire Mount Ai Petri, located next to his estate Livadia. Ai Petri, together with the neighboring land, belonged to one noble family. In the end, the parties agreed on a price that was huge, and the property passed to a new owner. But when the Emperor decided to build a small mansion on Ai Petri, it turned out that he had no right to do this: the amount he paid did not imply such use of the land.

Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna on Mount Ai-Petri in Crimea. Autumn 1909. Photo: ITAR-TASS

- I remember how angry Nicky was, but so many influential people were involved in this scandalous story that he decided to give up on her.

Let me give you another example of blatant irresponsibility.

Before the beginning of 1914, the total annual rent of the five children of Emperor Nicholas II was 100 million rubles. Contrary to the wishes of the Emperor, the Minister of Finance, together with two leading bankers, invested all these funds in German securities. The emperor opposed this operation, but they began to assure him that the funds were deposited securely and extremely profitable. Of course, after the First World War, all these amounts evaporated.

Decent privates and begging officers

“Besides, there were many beggars,” the Grand Duchess said with contempt. - I do not mean the poor people from among the common people. We are talking about noble beggars, in particular, about the officers of the Guards regiments, who lived beyond their means and hoped that we would pay their debts.

Once an officer of the Ataman regiment, whom she knew from childhood, came to the palace to the Grand Duchess and asked her for something about 350 thousand gold rubles.

- I asked why he needed such a sum. He was desperate. Said it was a duty of honor. I gave him money. A few days later, I learned that he had bought a racehorse stable with my money. Since then, I have not spoken to him.

The rank and file behaved much more decently. They never begged. For all these years, only one sailor, who was returning to his home somewhere on the coast of the Caspian Sea, asked me to help him buy a fishing net. I gave him money, which he returned to me to a penny. At that time, the rank and file were called "lower ranks". For me they were noble people because they were noble in soul. They were worthy of friendship. None of them looked at the Grand Duchess as the owner of a wallet that you could get into.

Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna. Princess of Oldenburg. Olga Romanova-Kulikovskaya. It's all about the same woman: the daughter of Alexander III, the sister of Nicholas II, the wife of Prince Oldenburg, the beloved wife of a simple officer Nikolai Kulikovsky, the artist Olga Romanova-Kulikovskaya.

Read how they wrote sublimely and respectfully about Olga Alexandrovna, the younger sister of the last Russian emperor. This is not flattery in front of a high title and regal kinship. This is the respect and gratitude of the people for her good deeds. Charity is the duty of the royal children to their people, and they taught to give this time, energy and money from early childhood. The Tsar's children had to - and set an example of caring for those who needed help, especially since, entering the new century, Europe immediately entered the World War, and Russia had to support its allies before the first attempt in the new century to take over the world.

"The younger sister of the last Russian emperor Nicholas II, Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna was a talented professional artist.
Olga Alexandrovna is the youngest daughter of Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna, nee Princess Dagmar of Denmark. She was born in 1882. Unlike her older brothers, including the future Emperor Nicholas II, and her sister, Grand Duchess Olga was called crimson because she was born when her father became the reigning monarch. In the galleries of the huge Gatchina Palace, where she spent her childhood, unique collections of art from all over the world were kept. Every corner in Gatchina spoke about the great past of Russia. The Grand Duchess Olga studied the history of Russia in the most conscientious way and from a young fingernail absorbed an inescapable love for her fatherland.

Under Emperor Alexander III, Russia enjoyed peace along the perimeter of all borders, the home life of the royal family was peaceful and happy. Grand Duchess Olga adored her father, a powerful, confident ruler, and in the family circle he was cheerful, affectionate and so cozy. The untimely death of Alexander III in 1894 was the first cruel blow of fate for 12-year-old Olga. Very early at the Grand Duchess Olga's talent as an artist began to show. Even during her geography and arithmetic lessons, she was allowed to sit with a pencil in her hand, as she listened better when she drew corn or wild flowers. Outstanding artists became her painting teachers: academician Karl Lemokh, later - Vladimir Makovsky, landscape painters Zhukovsky and Vinogradov. In memory of her other teacher, academician Konstantin Kryzhitsky, Olga Aleksandrovna founded in 1912 the Society for Aid to Needy Artists, in her palace on Sergievskaya Street she organized charitable exhibitions - the sale of her own paintings.

Her soul was open to the beauties of nature and selfless help to people. Since childhood, the Grand Duchess has sponsored many charitable institutions and organizations. Before the revolution, the august artist was known all over Russia - charity cards with her watercolors, published mainly by the Community of St. Eugenia at the Red Cross, were sold in huge numbers. "

A somewhat popular print, isn't it? But if you put aside the old-fashioned turns of speech, all this is true, because the life of the royal family was always in sight. Everyone knew about the unhappy marriage of the Grand Duchess. It was not a fairy tale, although on the threshold of the 20th century, girls, free from debt to the royal family, chose their husbands themselves, most often by inclination. Of course, both class and the mercantile interests of the family, although more and more misalliances occurred. But the tsar's children were taught from childhood that they live for higher, state interests, feelings did not play a role here. But nevertheless, the proverb “Tolerate - fall in love!” Often came into play, which sometimes brought very good results. Olga's older brother married very successfully and eventually became happily married. But Olga was so unlucky. At the age of 19, by the will of her mother, Olga Alexandrovna was married to Prince Peter of Oldenburg. Family happiness with this passionate gambler could not even be thought of. Memoirists testify that the prince spent his wedding night at the gambling table. It is not surprising that he subsequently squandered a million rubles, which Olga inherited from her brother George. Where is happiness here? After all, two must build it ...

But then fate gave Olga Aleksandrovna great love and a lifelong "knight" Nikolai Aleksandrovich Kulikovsky. The Grand Duchess had to wait 7 years for her happiness with an officer, a man of a non-monarchical family, until, by decree of Nicholas II, her marriage to Prince of Oldenburg was not canceled. The wedding took place in 1916 in Kiev, in the church at the hospital, which during the First World War Olga Alexandrovna headed and equipped at her own expense.

After the February Revolution, the Empress Dowager with both daughters and their families was in the Crimea, where the first-born, baptized by Tikhon, was born to Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna in August 1917. In Crimea, they all ended up captives and were actually sentenced to death. In November 1918, the Whites came to the Crimea, and with them the allies. King George V of England sent for Maria Feodorovna, who was his own aunt, the warship H.M.S. Marlboro. The Dowager Empress preferred to settle at the Danish royal court, a year later her youngest daughter Olga Alexandrovna with her husband and already two sons joined her.

"After the death of the empress mother in 1928, Olga Alexandrovna's family could rely only on their own, very modest means. The couple acquired a farm near Copenhagen with a cozy house, which became the center of the Russian monarchical colony in Denmark. At the same time, the artistic talent of the Grand Duchess was truly appreciated. She worked a lot and exhibited her paintings not only in Denmark, but also in Paris, London, Berlin. A significant part of the money raised from the sale of paintings, as before, went to charity. Only the icons painted by her, she donated to Christ for the sake of and apparently never signed. ”In the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Toronto, Canada, fragments of the iconostasis of her brush have been preserved.

The reason for the move in 1948 of the family of the Grand Duchess to Canada was a Soviet government note to the Danish government accusing Olga Alexandrovna of helping "enemies of the people." All years of occupation Denmark by the Germans and after the liberation of the country by the allies, the Grand Duchess helped all, without exception, Russian exiles, among whom there were also "defectors". The last decade of the Grand Duchess's life was spent in a modest house on the outskirts of Toronto. She continued to paint. The fruits of her creativity gave a noticeable contribution to the family budget. Her professionalism as an artist is evidenced by the author's copies of the plots especially loved by admirers of her talent, which she made to order. Olga Aleksandrovna preferred to send her works to Europe, rather than exhibiting in Canada, where it was required to create a kind of public "publicity" around the artist's name. However, as the circle of Olga Alexandrovna's Canadian acquaintances expanded, her authority as an artist grew, now on both sides of the ocean. "

A large exhibition of Olga Alexandrovna's works was in the Tsaritsyno Museum, represented by her daughter-in-law of the Grand Duchess - Olga Nikolaevna Romanova-Kulikovskaya.

photo from the exhibition

"Thus, the Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, who was endlessly devoted to Russia until the end of her days, but who did not have the opportunity to set foot on her native land, is returning today with her creativity."

Found material on the net Lenny... Rubric editor processing.

Galla: Lenny, thank you, very interesting and beautiful story !!!
Indeed, an amazingly talented artist and an extraordinary woman with an amazing destiny !!! First birth at 35 years old !!! While!!! And even in 1917 !!!

Spate: Lenny, thanks a lot for the article - very interesting! And what kind of pictures ... I especially liked the last one - she is so cozy, tender, bright, summer ... And the girl seems to be about to jump off her place and run away to play. By the way, soon we will have a theme for artists, I hope you can cook something more interesting for us?

Snow covered garden

Old wattle fence

M de R.