Olga Alexandrovna Romanova: an unloved daughter and a fictitious wife. Grand Duchess O.A. Kulikovskaya-Romanova, her children and grandchildren

Olga Alexandrovna Romanova (June 13, 1882, Peterhof - November 24, 1960, near Toronto) - Grand Duchess of the Romanov family, known as a talented artist, trustee and benefactor.

Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna.

The youngest child and youngest daughter of the Russian Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna after Nicholas, Alexander, George, Xenia and Mikhail. In honor of her birth, on June 13, 1882, 101 guns were fired from the bastion of the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg and throughout Russia. Such children as she, the Byzantines called crimson-genetic, and the Russians - porphyrogenic. On earth, count them on the fingers, because they were to be born to the anointed of God, that is, to the reigning emperor.

Maria Fedorovna with Olga (pictured on the left) and with all the children (pictured on the right).

Empress Maria Feodorovna considered her daughter an ugly duckling with an unbearable character - the girl preferred to run around in games with her brothers, rather than carry dolls in strollers. On the advice of her aunt, Alexandra of Denmark, Queen of Great Britain, Olga was brought up by the English governess Elizabeth Franklin. “Throughout my childhood, Nana was a protector and advisor for me, and later a loyal friend. I can't even imagine what I would do without her. It was she who helped me get through the chaos that reigned during the years of the revolution. She was a sensible, brave, tactful woman; although she performed the duties of my nanny, both my brothers and my sister felt her influence, ”Olga Aleksandrovna recalled.

Family of Emperor Alexander III. Olga is in the center with her father, Alexander III. From left to right: Grand Duke Michael, Empress Maria Feodorovna, Grand Duke Nicholas (Nicholas II), Grand Duchess Xenia and Grand Duke George. 1888

The imperial family was under the threat of a terrorist attack, therefore, for security reasons, Olga was brought up in the Gatchina Palace, 80 kilometers west of St. Petersburg. Olga and her sister lived in a simple, strict environment. They slept on hard camp beds, got up at dawn and washed themselves with cold water, and ate oatmeal for breakfast.

Nikolai, Georgy, Maria Feodorovna, Olga, Mikhail, Xenia and Emperor Alexander III.

Olga, Mikhail, Georgy and Maria Fedorovna. / Olga with her brother Mikhail.

The sisters were educated at home. They were taught history, geography, Russian, English and French, drawing and dancing. From an early age they were taught equestrian sports, and they became skilled riders. The imperial family was religious and strictly observed Great Lent. The holidays were spent in Peterhof and with my grandmother in Denmark. Olga's relationship with her mother was difficult. Especially warm were her relations with her father and the youngest of the brothers, Mikhail. They often spent time together - walking in the forests of Gatchina.

Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich and Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna on the deck of a ship at sea. 1887

Olga first left the Gatchina Palace in the early autumn of 1888 for a trip to the Caucasus. On October 29, on the way back near the small station of Borki, the tsarist train went off the rails. At this time, the royal family was in the dining room. The car was torn apart, and the heavy iron roof caved in threateningly. The emperor himself held the roof of the carriage so that his family would not suffer, and this would affect his health - complications on the kidneys would arise, which would lead to death. Little Olga was thrown out of the car by the explosion. She was so scared that she ran away from the train, shouting: "Now they will come and kill us all." A six-year-old child, of course, did not know anything about revolutionaries and terrorists, but by the word THEY Olga meant something terrible.

The wreck of the imperial train. October 29, 1888

In 1894, the emperor fell seriously ill, and a trip to Denmark was canceled. On November 13, at the age of 49, Alexander III died. Olga was very upset about the loss. “My father was everything to me. No matter how busy he was with his work, he devoted half an hour to me every day ... And once my dad showed me a very old album with adorable drawings depicting an invented city called Pugsopol, in which Pugs live ... He showed me secretly, and I I was delighted that my father shared with me the secrets of his childhood, ”Olga Aleksandrovna recalled.

Serov Valentin Alexandrovich. Portrait of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna Romanova. 1893

She, like her father, did not like balls, dresses, jewelry. Her favorite dress was the linen sundress in which she painted. The Empress, like a tsar's daughter, taught Olga to all these external attributes, Maria Feodorovna was most of all worried that the children would not violate etiquette. Olga was supposed to be published in the summer of 1899, but due to the death of her brother, Georgy Alexandrovich, the release was postponed for a year. Olga retained negative memories of this event. As she later confessed to her official biographer Jan Vorres: “I felt like an animal on display in a cage”.

Grand Duke Georgy Alexandrovich with Olga.

In 1901, Olga was appointed an honorary commander of the 12th Akhtyrka hussar regiment. The regiment was famous for the victory over Napoleon in the battle of Kulm, its members wore special brown dolman.

Grand Duchess Olga with the governess Mrs. Franklin (left), and in the uniform of the 12th Akhtyrka hussar regiment (right).

In the imperial family, all the children studied painting, but only Olga began to practice it professionally. Her teachers were teachers of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, in particular V. Makovsky, S. Zhukovsky, S. Vinogradov. In the 1900s, the Grand Duchess held art vernissages in the Gatchina Palace, which presented not only her works, but also paintings by young artists.

“The Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, among all the persons of the imperial family, was distinguished by her extraordinary simplicity, accessibility, and democracy. On her estate in the Voronezh province, she completely relied on: she walked around the village huts, nursed peasant children. In St. Petersburg, she often walked, rode in simple cabs, and was very fond of talking with the latter, ”said Protopresbyter Georgy Shavelsky.

Frustrated by the fact that by the age of eighteen, as usual in fairy tales, Olga had not turned into a beautiful swan, and even demonstratively adheres to some special views on life, Maria Fedorovna considered it best to marry her daughter. Most often, husbands for royal daughters were found among other reigning royal houses, which actually meant parting with their homeland. But Olga categorically refused this option. This meant that the prince should be found in Russia. And such an option was found ... The Russified branch of the German princes of Oldenburg lived in Russia since the time of Emperor Nicholas I and were relatives of the Romanovs. Empress Maria Feodorovna was friends with Princess Eugenia of Oldenburg (née Leuchtenberg). The only son of Princess Eugenia and her husband Alexander Oldenburgsky - Prince Peter Alexandrovich Oldenburgsky (1868-1924) was by no means an enviable groom (he was 14 years older than 18-year-old Olga). But this was not the most important thing. "Not a young groom" was far from a man, he was not at all interested in women, he loved cards, wine and ... men.

Olga Alexandrovna with her first husband, the Duke of Oldenburg.

State Secretary Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Polovtsov wrote: “The Grand Duchess is not pretty, her upturned nose and, in general, the Mongolian type of face is redeemed only with beautifully expressed eyes, kind and intelligent eyes, looking right at you. Wanting to live in Russia, she chose the son of Prince Alexander Petrovich of Oldenburg. With his gentility and the significance of his money state, the prince is mediocre in all respects, but in his appearance he is lower than a mediocre person; despite his years, he has almost no hair on his head and generally gives the impression of a frail, far from breathing health and in no way promising numerous human offspring. Obviously, considerations alien to the success of marital coexistence were put in the foreground here, which will almost certainly have to be regretted over time. "

Olga Alexandrovna Romanova with Peter Alexandrovich Oldenburgsky.

On July 27, 1901, Olga Alexandrovna's marriage ceremony with Prince Peter Alexandrovich, Duke of Oldenburg took place in the Gatchina palace church. In the evening after the betrothal, she cried with her brother Mikhail. The couple lived in the Baryatinsky mansion (46-48 on Sergievskaya Street, now Tchaikovsky). Peter and Olga were both second cousins ​​and fourth cousins: Olga's father, Emperor Alexander III, was a cousin of Peter's mother and a second cousin of Peter's father. Thus, the couple had two common ancestors - two Russian emperors Paul I and Nicholas I.

Petr Ivanovich Neradovsky. Portrait of the Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna. 1905

The spouse was quite pleased with the fact that in the eyes of the whole baptized and unbaptized world he was the husband of the sister of the sovereign of all Russia. And in the shortest possible time he left in the gambling houses a fabulous sum - a million gold rubles, which belonged to his wife. And Olga remained a virgin. In April 1903, the 22-year-old Grand Duchess met the captain of the Life Guards Cuirassier Regiment, Nikolai Aleksandrovich Kulikovsky. It was love at first sight, and this love she carried through her whole life. She asked her husband to give her a divorce, but he said that he would return to this conversation in 7 years. Peter made a compromise: he offered Kulikovsky to become his adjutant and move to their house on Sergievskaya. Olga and Nikolay have been waiting for 13 years. This love triangle has long been a mystery to everyone. Olga Alexandrovna recalled the period of her marriage with the Prince of Oldenburg: "We lived with him under the same roof for 15 years, but we never became husband and wife."

From 1904 to 1906, Duke Peter served in Tsarskoye Selo, a palace complex south of St. Petersburg. In Tsarskoye Selo, Olga became close to her brother Nikolai and his family. Olga appreciated her relationship with the royal daughters. From 1906 to 1914, she took her nieces to parties and balls in St. Petersburg. She especially loved Anastasia. Through her brother she met Rasputin, but did not recognize him, although she did not openly show her dislike.

Shtember Viktor Karlovich. Portrait of the Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna. 1908

The course of the Russo-Japanese war and public discontent with the political course caused constant unrest and protests. On the Annunciation of 1905, a gang of terrorists opened fire on the Winter Palace. Shards of glass fell on Olga and the Dowager Empress. Three weeks later, during Bloody Sunday, at least 92 people were killed by the Cossacks in the suppression of the uprising. A month later, Olga Alexandrovna's uncle, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, was killed. Constant popular performances, the escape of Grand Duke Mikhail for the sake of a morganatic wedding and her own unsuccessful marriage affected Olga Alexandrovna's health.

Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna. 1915

During the First World War, Olga was a nurse in the hospital she founded. The captain of the 2nd rank of the Guards crew, Sablin Nikolai Vasilyevich, wrote: “A lovely woman, a real Russian man, of amazing charm ... Olga Alexandrovna is a warm comrade of our officers. How many secrets, secrets, sorrows, novels of our youth the princess knows! "

Olga Alexandrovna goes to the front with her hospital. Before that, she took Nikolai Kulikovsky there. I came to my husband and said that she was leaving him forever. In 1915, the couple separated; Olga had no children from her first marriage. On August 27, 1916, Emperor Nicholas II approved the definition of the Holy Synod, which recognized her marriage to the Prince of Oldenburg as dissolved. Nicholas II, came to inspect the hospital, which Olga equipped in Kiev at her own expense. At the end of a short stay, the tsar gave his sister his photograph and a handwritten letter in English so that others could not read it, dissolving her marriage to Prince of Oldenburg and blessing her to marry Colonel Kulikovsky.

Nicholas II, Olga Alexandrovna in the hospital. Kiev. 1916

Maria Fedorovna, Nicholas II, Olga Nikolaevna, Olga Alexandrovna, Tatiana Nikolaevna, Ksenia Alexandrovna with Vasily. Kiev, 1916

Olga with her husband, Nikolai Aleksandrovich Kulikovsky, and their mother, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna.

On November 4, 1916, in the church of St. Nicholas in Kiev, Olga Alexandrovna was married to Nikolai Alexandrovich Kulikovsky, who became her husband and friend until the end of her days.

Olga Alexandrovna and N.A. Kulikovsky after the wedding. Kiev, 1916

After the abdication of Nicholas II from the throne in 1917, many members of the imperial family, including the emperor himself and his close relatives, were placed under house arrest. The Dowager Empress, Grand Duke Alexander and Olga Alexandrovna moved to the Crimea to Ksenia Alexandrovna. They lived in the Alexandria estate, about 12 kilometers from Yalta.

Olga Alexandrovna with her second husband Nikolai Kulikovsky.

On August 12, 1917, Olga gave birth to her first child, who was named after Tikhon Zadonsky, a saint revered in Olga Alexandrovna's estate. Empress Maria Feodorovna wrote about it this way: “At times, when it seems that it is already impossible to endure all this, the Lord sends us something like a ray of light. My dear Olga gave birth to a baby, a little son, who of course brought such unexpected joy into my heart ... ”.

Father and son (N. A. Kulikovsky with his first-born Tikhon). Watercolor by Olga Alexandrovna.

Back in 1905, General Alexei Nikolaevich Kuropatkin, who knew Olga's simplicity and democratic taste, jokingly replied that she was “with a little blush”: “My next meeting with the leader. Princess Olga Alexandrovna was on November 12, 1918 in the Crimea, where she lived with her second husband, the captain of the hussar regiment Kulikovsky. Here she became even more simple. It would be difficult for someone who did not know her to believe that this was the Grand Duchess. They occupied a small, very poorly furnished house. The Grand Duchess nursed her baby herself, cooked and even washed the linen. I found her in the garden, where she was driving her child in a stroller. Immediately she invited me into the house and there she treated me to tea and her own products: jam and biscuits. The simplicity of the furnishings, bordering on squalor, made it even more charming and attractive. "

The Romanovs were isolated from the world and knew practically nothing about the fate of the Emperor. In February 1918, most of the imperial family moved from Ai-Todor to Dyulber, where the Grand Dukes Nikolai and Peter were already under house arrest. Olga Alexandrovna and her husband stayed in Ai-Todor. The Yalta Revolutionary Council "sentenced" the entire Romanov family to death, but the execution of the sentence was delayed due to the rivalry between the revolutionary councils.

Olga Alexandrovna with her son Tikhon.

By April 1918, the Central Powers had invaded Crimea, and the revolutionary guard was replaced by a German one, but the detention regime became looser. In November 1918, after surrendering in the First World War, German troops left the occupied territories of the former Russian Empire. The territory temporarily came under the control of the allies loyal to the white movement, and members of the Imperial family were able to leave the country. The Dowager Empress with her family and friends left on the British ship "Marlboro". By that time, Nicholas II had already been killed, and the family rightly considered that his wife and children were killed along with him. Mikhail, a beloved brother, was killed in the Perm region in June 1918.

Self-portrait of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna.

At the beginning of 1919, when Ukraine was captured by the Bolsheviks, and the Don and Kuban were white, Olga Alexandrovna and her husband decided to leave the Crimea and go to Rostov, where General Denikin's headquarters was located. The family was accompanied by the empress's personal bodyguard, the Kuban Cossack Timofei Ksenofontovich Yashchik, a native of the village of Novominskaya. Denikin did not accept them. Timofey Yashchik did not know what to do next and brought them to Novominskaya. Here in 1919 the couple had a second son, Guriy. The child was named after Gury Panaev, an officer of the Akhtyrka regiment who was killed during the First World War. Olga Alexandrovna's children, although they were the grandchildren of the emperor, did not belong to royalty, since their father was a simple nobleman.

In the late autumn of 1919, the Cossacks reported that a red patrol had appeared not far from Novominskaya. The Kulikovskys gathered in half an hour, wrapped the children in blankets, collected belongings that they could take with them, and left the village. Only in February 20, the Romanov-Kulikovsky managed to board an English ship and leave their homeland forever. The ship was packed with refugees, they, along with other passengers, occupied a cramped cabin. “I couldn’t believe that I was leaving my homeland forever. I was sure that I would be back, - Olga Aleksandrovna recalled. - I had the feeling that my flight was a cowardly act, although I came to this decision for the sake of my young children. And yet I was constantly tormented by shame. " Through Constantinople, Belgrade and Vienna, in 1920, they finally reached Denmark.

Gury in a carriage. Watercolor by Olga Alexandrovna.

Self-portrait of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna. 1920

The Empress Dowager Maria Feodorovna lived in one of the wings of the royal palace of Amalienborg in the immediate vicinity of her own nephew, King Christian X, who did not hide his hostility towards his disadvantaged relatives. The financial situation of the fugitives was in disarray. The matter worsened thanks to the thoughtless generosity of Maria Fedorovna. Thousands of Russian emigrants wrote to her from all over the world and asked for help, and the Empress considered it her duty to satisfy all their requests. During this period, the family of Olga Alexandrovna was located together with Maria Fedorovna.

Tikhon and Gury. Watercolors by Olga Alexandrovna.

For some time, many wealthy friends of Empress Maria Feodorovna provided her with financial support, but the situation worsened every day. To reduce costs, Maria Fedorovna, together with her yard, to
the unspeakable joy of King Christian X, moved to the Vidore palace. Guriy and his brother attended a regular Danish school. But in addition to Danish education, the sons of the Grand Duchess studied at the Russian school in Paris, at the Church of St. Alexander Nevsky.

Tikhon and Gury Kulikovskiy on the veranda of the Videre Palace.

Olga Alexandrovna with her sons in Denmark.

In 1925 Olga Alexandrovna left her family for 4 days in order to go to Berlin. Anna Andersen, who pretended to be Anastasia, the youngest daughter of Nicholas II, had been in the hospital for several years there. Olga Aleksandrovna was discouraged by everyone from going, but she decided to put an end to this story. She so wanted to believe that her beloved niece and goddaughter was alive. But when she arrived in Berlin, she saw the impostor and realized that she was being forced to play the role of Anastasia.

Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna with her beloved niece Anastasia.

After the death of Maria Feodorovna in October 1928, Christian sent his cousin, Prince Axel, with an urgent request that the Grand Duchess and her household leave the palace immediately. A Danish millionaire, Mr. Rasmussen, came to Olga Alexandrovna's aid. He had a large estate not far from Vidore and hired Colonel Kulikovsky, an excellent horse connoisseur, to manage his stables. The Grand Duchess and her husband happily moved to the estate.

Olga Alexandrovna with her husband Nikolai Kulikovsky.

Olga Alexandrovna with her sons Tikhon and Guriy.

The Grand Duchess's legal rights to the Videore Palace were soon confirmed. She was able to sell it and buy the estate with the proceeds. But it all took almost four years. It wasn't until 1932 that she and her family became the owners of a large Knudsminne farm in a town called Ballerup, fifteen miles northwest of Copenhagen. The happiest period of her life began. Olga Alexandrovna was able to return to painting again. They began to buy her paintings. The Grand Duchess was friends with the outstanding Danish artist, master of landscape P. Mensted, with whom she went on sketches. The works of the 1930s-1940s depict scenes of a peaceful and prosperous rural life. Olga often gave her paintings to relatives and friends from both the Romanov family and other royal families.

Olga Alexandrovna with her husband N.A. Kulikovsky and sons Tikhon and Guriy.

Watercolor by Olga Alexandrovna. Portrait of Tikhon's son. 1940

Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna with her sons Tikhon and Gury (officers of the Danish army).

Both her sons, Tikhon (1917-1993) and Gury (1919-1984), after completing their education, joined the Danish Royal Guard. Soon they both married Danish girls.

Guriy Nikolaevich on May 10, 1940 married Ruth Schwartz (02/06/1921 - 07/22/2015), the daughter of a small merchant in Ballerup. The married couple had a daughter, Ksenia (07/29/1941) and two sons - Leonid (05/02/1943 - 09/27/2015) and Alexander (born 11/29/1949). In 1956, Gury and Ruth Kulikovsky divorced. A few years later he married Aza Gagarina (born 1924).

Tikhon Nikolaevich in 1942 married Agnet Petersen (1920-2007). Divorced in 1955, there were no children from the marriage. On September 21, 1959, in Ottawa, he married Livia Sebastian (June 11, 1922 - June 12, 1982), from marriage he had one daughter - Olga Tikhonovna (b. January 9, 1964). On June 8, 1986, in Toronto, he married Olga Nikolaevna Pupynina (b. September 20, 1926).

Olga Alexandrovna with her husband N.A. Kulikovsky.

The Kulikovsky family at breakfast on the veranda of their home in Ballerup.

Portrait of Ksenia's granddaughter. Watercolor by Olga Alexandrovna.

The Nazi invasion of Russia led to terrible complications in the life of the Grand Duchess. Refraining from participating in politics all her life, Olga Aleksandrovna found herself drawn into a dangerous cycle of intrigue. She was Russian and felt obliged to help her compatriots, who donned German uniforms in the hope that the victory of Hitler in Russia would end communism. After Hitler was defeated, many Russians who fought on his side came to Kundsminna, hoping to get asylum. The Communists repeatedly demanded that the Danish authorities extradite the Grand Duchess, accusing her of helping her fellow countrymen to hide in the West, and the Danish government at that time could hardly have resisted the Kremlin's demands.

The Kulikovsky family before leaving for Canada. 1948

The life of the Grand Duchess and her loved ones was under threat. The atmosphere in Ballerup became more and more tense, and it became obvious that the days of Olga Alexandrovna's family in Denmark were numbered. It was not very easy for the Grand Duchess, who was sixty-six years old, to break away from her habitable place. In the spring of 1948, with great difficulty, the Romanovs-Kulikovskys sold their estate and were able to move to Canada, settled in the village of Cooksville, now merged with the city of Mississauga, near Toronto, where Tikhon Nikolayevich worked for many years in the department of highways of the province of Ontario. Guriy Nikolaevich became a talented teacher, taught Slavic languages ​​and culture in Ottawa. He also taught Russian to Canadian pilots, believing that during the Cold War, a Canadian soldier should know Russian.

Olga Alexandrovna, Leonid Kulikovsky, Ruth Kulikovskaya and Gury Kulikovsky.

Olga Alexandrovna lived in Canada under the name of Kulikovsky (Olga Alexandrovna Kulikovsky), continuing, nevertheless, Russian traditions, celebrating all Orthodox holidays. A neighbor's child once asked if it was true that she was a princess, to which Olga Alexandrovna replied: “Well, of course, I'm not a princess. I am the Russian Grand Duchess. " Olga Alexandrovna was vitally close to virtually every royal family in Europe. In 1959, Queen Elizabeth II of England and her husband, Prince Philip, visited Toronto; only 50 people were invited to dinner, including Olga Alexandrovna, who was now called the last Grand Duchess.

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. " During these years, the idea arose to proclaim Olga Empress. It goes without saying that the not ambitious and very modest Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna flatly refused such an offer.

She died in 1960, at the age of 78, 2 years after her husband. She was celebrated in an Orthodox church in Toronto, where officers of the 12th Akhtyrsky E.I.V. Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna regiment, whose chief she became back in 1901, were on guard at the tomb. Buried in York Cemetery (English) Toronto.

The family grave of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna at the North York cemetery in Toronto.

Commemorative plaque at the grave of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna.

Guriy Nikolaevich Kulikovsky died on September 11, 1984 in Brookville and was buried in the Oakland cemetery. His widow, Aza Gagarina lives in Brookville. None of the children of Gury Nikolaevich remained in Canada, all of them, together with their mother, returned to Denmark after their parents divorced.

Tikhon Nikolaevich Kulikovsky died on April 8, 1993, after a second heart operation. The funeral service took place on April 15 at Holy Trinity Church in Toronto. The burial took place on the same day at the York Cemetery, in northern Toronto, next to his parents. Samples of his blood taken during the operation were preserved and became a powerful argument in identifying the remains of the Imperial family.

** Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna left a memoir, the literary record of which was made by Jan Vorres.
** In the Danish city of Bollerup (date), where she lived with her husband and children from 1930 to 1948, the Olga Alexandrovna Museum was created.
** In 2003, Russia, Denmark and Canada jointly shot the documentary "Olga, the Last Grand Duchess" (directed by Sonia Westerholt)
** In Vladivostok, on Okeansky Avenue, there is the 35th Hospital named after Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, opened in 1901 and built with the money of the merchant Skidelsky.
** In January 2011, a unique exhibition of watercolors by the Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna was held at the Romanov Museum in Kostroma.

Olga Alexandrovna Romanova was born in 1882. She was the youngest daughter of Emperor Alexander III and his wife Maria Feodorovna, as well as the younger sister of the last tsar, Nicholas II.

Father's daughter

Little Olga was brought up in simplicity and severity, like all the children of Alexander III. At first she grew up at the court of her father, and in adolescence already at the court of her older brother Nikolai.

Until 1888, Olga did not travel outside the Gatchina Palace, and her very first trip to the Caucasus was marked by tragedy: at the Borki station, the tsarist train went off the rails and her father broke down, holding the twisted roof of the carriage so that all family members could get out.

The emperor undermined his health and 12-year-old Olga was left an orphan. Her father was the closest person to her. It was to him that Olga confided her childhood secrets, with him she tried to spend her free time.

But relations with mother Maria Fedorovna remained more than cool all their life. What is the reason for this misunderstanding? Unknown. Either the mother was jealous of the youngest daughter, who devoted so much time to her father, or there was a simple dissimilarity of characters.

Olga's contemporaries described Olga as follows:

On her estate, she walked through the village huts, nursed peasant children. In St. Petersburg, she often walked, rode in simple cabs, and was very fond of talking with the latter. A charming woman, a real Russian man, of amazing charm ...

Unsuccessful marriage

In 1900, Olga Alexandrovna was first published as an adult girl.

And her mother began to actively arrange her marriage with Prince Peter Alexandrovich of Oldenburg, which took place just a year later, in 1901. The groom was 14 years older than the bride. At the same time, the spouses were blood relatives: fourth cousins ​​on one line, and second cousins ​​on the other.

The prince considered his wife ugly. They said that he would consider any woman ugly, as there were persistent rumors about his unconventional orientation.

Did the mother know about this? Certainly. Maria Feodorovna believed that with such a marriage she would finally make her youngest daughter pay more attention to herself.

The marriage lasted 15 long years. All these years Olga Alexandrovna remained a virgin, she will later write about this in her memoirs.

In 1916, Olga got the Holy Synod to dissolve her ill-fated marriage. Brother Nicholas II approved this decision, although he opposed this event for several years in a row.

The happiness of motherhood against the backdrop of a dying empire

The second husband of the tsar's daughter was officer Nikolai Kulikovsky. In August 1917, 35-year-old Olga gave birth to a son, Tikhon. And 2 years later, another son was born, named Guriy.

The country in which her father and brother ruled had already ceased to exist. Mother, Maria Fedorovna left Russia, and Olga at first refused to leave. She remained in the Caucasus, cleared of the Bolsheviks until 1920.

By this time, her brother Nikolai had already died with her whole family, the Bolsheviks and brother Mikhail had been shot.

And yet Olga and her family had to leave. They fled by sea, through Constantinople, and left for Denmark. She lived for several years with an unkind mother. She helped Russian emigrants a lot.

Bitter bread of a foreign land

It was because of Olga Alexandrovna that the USSR made claims to Denmark. Their essence was that Olga Romanova helps "enemies of the people."

Fleeing from possible persecution by Stalin, in 1948 Olga Aleksandrovna left with her family for Canada. There she lives under the surname of her second spouse - Kulikovski.

She led public activities among emigrants until the very last day of her life, and left her memoirs.

In 1960, Olga died, having outlived her beloved second spouse for 2 years. By the way, it was she who was the last Grand Duchess of the Romanov dynasty, who received this title even during the existence of the autocracy in Russia.

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 finally 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 ...

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Olga Alexandrovna Romanova (June 13, 1882, Peterhof - November 24, 1960, near Toronto) - Grand Duchess of the Romanov family, known as a talented artist, trustee and benefactor.

The youngest child and youngest daughter of the Russian Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna after Nicholas, Alexander, George, Xenia and Mikhail. In honor of her birth, on June 13, 1882, 101 guns were fired from the bastion of the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg and throughout Russia. Such children as she, the Byzantines called crimson-genetic, and the Russians - porphyrogenic. On earth, count them on the fingers, because they were to be born to the anointed of God, that is, to the reigning emperor.

Maria Fedorovna with Olga (pictured on the left) and with all the children (pictured on the right).


Empress Maria Feodorovna considered her daughter an ugly duckling with an unbearable character - the girl preferred to run around in games with her brothers, rather than carry dolls in strollers. On the advice of her aunt, Alexandra of Denmark, Queen of Great Britain, Olga was brought up by the English governess Elizabeth Franklin. “Throughout my childhood, Nana was a protector and advisor for me, and later a loyal friend. I can't even imagine what I would do without her. It was she who helped me get through the chaos that reigned during the years of the revolution. She was a sensible, brave, tactful woman; although she performed the duties of my nanny, both my brothers and my sister felt her influence, ”Olga Aleksandrovna recalled.




Family of Emperor Alexander III. Olga is in the center with her father, Alexander III. From left to right: Grand Duke Michael, Empress Maria Feodorovna, Grand Duke Nicholas (Nicholas II), Grand Duchess Xenia and Grand Duke George. 1888
The imperial family was under the threat of a terrorist attack, therefore, for security reasons, Olga was brought up in the Gatchina Palace, 80 kilometers west of St. Petersburg. Olga and her sister lived in a simple, strict environment. They slept on hard camp beds, got up at dawn and washed themselves with cold water, and ate oatmeal for breakfast.


Nikolai, Georgy, Maria Feodorovna, Olga, Mikhail, Xenia and Emperor Alexander III.


Olga, Mikhail, Georgy and Maria Fedorovna. / Olga with her brother Mikhail.
The sisters were educated at home. They were taught history, geography, Russian, English and French, drawing and dancing. From an early age they were taught equestrian sports, and they became skilled riders. The imperial family was religious and strictly observed Great Lent. The holidays were spent in Peterhof and with my grandmother in Denmark. Olga's relationship with her mother was difficult. Especially warm were her relations with her father and the youngest of the brothers, Mikhail. They often spent time together - walking in the forests of Gatchina.


Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich and Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna on the deck of a ship at sea. 1887
Olga first left the Gatchina Palace in the early autumn of 1888 for a trip to the Caucasus. On October 29, on the way back near the small station of Borki, the tsarist train went off the rails. At this time, the royal family was in the dining room. The car was torn apart, and the heavy iron roof caved in threateningly. The emperor himself held the roof of the carriage so that his family would not suffer, and this would affect his health - complications on the kidneys would arise, which would lead to death. Little Olga was thrown out of the car by the explosion. She was so scared that she ran away from the train, shouting: "Now they will come and kill us all." A six-year-old child, of course, did not know anything about revolutionaries and terrorists, but by the word THEY Olga meant something terrible.


The wreck of the imperial train. October 29, 1888


In 1894, the emperor fell seriously ill, and a trip to Denmark was canceled. On November 13, at the age of 49, Alexander III died. Olga was very upset about the loss. “My father was everything to me. No matter how busy he was with his work, he devoted half an hour to me every day ... And once my dad showed me a very old album with delightful drawings depicting an invented city called Pugsopol, in which Pugs live ... He showed me secretly, and I was delighted with that my father shared the secrets of his childhood with me, ”Olga Aleksandrovna recalled.


Serov Valentin Alexandrovich. Portrait of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna Romanova. 1893
She, like her father, did not like balls, dresses, jewelry. Her favorite dress was the linen sundress in which she painted. The Empress, like a tsar's daughter, taught Olga to all these external attributes, Maria Feodorovna was most of all worried that the children would not violate etiquette. Olga was supposed to be published in the summer of 1899, but due to the death of her brother, Georgy Alexandrovich, the release was postponed for a year. Olga retained negative memories of this event. As she later confessed to her official biographer Jan Vorres: “I felt like an animal on display in a cage”.


Grand Duke Georgy Alexandrovich with Olga.
In 1901, Olga was appointed an honorary commander of the 12th Akhtyrka hussar regiment. The regiment was famous for the victory over Napoleon in the battle of Kulm, its members wore special brown dolman.


Grand Duchess Olga with the governess Mrs. Franklin (left), and in the uniform of the 12th Akhtyrka hussar regiment (right).
In the imperial family, all the children studied painting, but only Olga began to practice it professionally. Her teachers were teachers of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, in particular V. Makovsky, S. Zhukovsky, S. Vinogradov. In the 1900s, the Grand Duchess held art vernissages in the Gatchina Palace, which presented not only her works, but also paintings by young artists.


“The Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, among all the persons of the imperial family, was distinguished by her extraordinary simplicity, accessibility, and democracy. On her estate in the Voronezh province, she completely relied on: she walked around the village huts, nursed peasant children. In St. Petersburg, she often walked, rode in simple cabs, and was very fond of talking with the latter, ”said Protopresbyter Georgy Shavelsky.


Frustrated by the fact that by the age of eighteen, as usual in fairy tales, Olga had not turned into a beautiful swan, and even demonstratively adheres to some special views on life, Maria Fedorovna considered it best to marry her daughter. Most often, husbands for royal daughters were found among other reigning royal houses, which actually meant parting with their homeland. But Olga categorically refused this option. This meant that the prince should be found in Russia. And such an option was found ... The Russified branch of the German princes of Oldenburg lived in Russia since the time of Emperor Nicholas the First and were relatives of the Romanovs. Empress Maria Feodorovna was friends with Princess Eugenia of Oldenburg (née Leuchtenberg). The only son of Princess Eugenia and her husband Alexander Oldenburgsky - Prince Peter Alexandrovich Oldenburgsky (1868-1924) was by no means an enviable groom (he was 14 years older than 18-year-old Olga). But this was not the most important thing. "Not a young groom" was far from a man, he was not at all interested in women, he loved cards, wine and ... men.


Olga Alexandrovna with her first husband, the Duke of Oldenburg.
State Secretary Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Polovtsov wrote: “The Grand Duchess is not pretty, her upturned nose and, in general, the Mongolian type of face is redeemed only with beautifully expressed eyes, kind and intelligent eyes, looking right at you. Wanting to live in Russia, she chose the son of Prince Alexander Petrovich of Oldenburg. With his gentility and the significance of his money state, the prince is mediocre in all respects, but in his appearance he is lower than a mediocre person; despite his years, he has almost no hair on his head and generally gives the impression of a frail, far from breathing health and in no way promising numerous human offspring. Obviously, considerations alien to the success of marital coexistence were put in the foreground here, which will almost certainly have to be regretted over time. "


Olga Alexandrovna Romanova with Peter Alexandrovich Oldenburgsky.
On July 27, 1901, Olga Alexandrovna's marriage ceremony with Prince Peter Alexandrovich, Duke of Oldenburg took place in the Gatchina palace church. In the evening after the betrothal, she cried with her brother Mikhail. The couple lived in the Baryatinsky mansion (46-48 on Sergievskaya Street, now Tchaikovsky). Peter and Olga were both second cousins ​​and fourth cousins: Olga's father, Emperor Alexander III, was a cousin of Peter's mother and a second cousin of Peter's father. Thus, the couple had two common ancestors - two Russian emperors Paul I and Nicholas I.


Petr Ivanovich Neradovsky. Portrait of the Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna. 1905
The spouse was quite pleased with the fact that in the eyes of the whole baptized and unbaptized world he was the husband of the sister of the sovereign of all Russia. And in the shortest possible time he left in the gambling houses a fabulous sum - a million gold rubles, which belonged to his wife. And Olga remained a virgin. In April 1903, the 22-year-old Grand Duchess met the captain of the Life Guards Cuirassier Regiment, Nikolai Aleksandrovich Kulikovsky. It was love at first sight, and this love she carried through her whole life. She asked her husband to give her a divorce, but he said that he would return to this conversation in 7 years. Peter made a compromise: he offered Kulikovsky to become his adjutant and move to their house on Sergievskaya. Olga and Nikolay have been waiting for 13 years. This love triangle has long been a mystery to everyone. Olga Alexandrovna recalled the period of her marriage with the Prince of Oldenburg: "We lived with him under the same roof for 15 years, but we never became husband and wife."


From 1904 to 1906, Duke Peter served in Tsarskoye Selo, a palace complex south of St. Petersburg. In Tsarskoye Selo, Olga became close to her brother Nikolai and his family. Olga appreciated her relationship with the royal daughters. From 1906 to 1914, she took her nieces to parties and balls in St. Petersburg. She especially loved Anastasia. Through her brother she met Rasputin, but did not recognize him, although she did not openly show her dislike.


Shtember Viktor Karlovich. Portrait of the Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna. 1908
The course of the Russo-Japanese war and public discontent with the political course caused constant unrest and protests. On the Annunciation of 1905, a gang of terrorists opened fire on the Winter Palace. Shards of glass fell on Olga and the Dowager Empress. Three weeks later, during Bloody Sunday, at least 92 people were killed by the Cossacks in the suppression of the uprising. A month later, Olga Alexandrovna's uncle, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, was killed. Constant popular performances, the escape of Grand Duke Mikhail for the sake of a morganatic wedding and her own unsuccessful marriage affected Olga Alexandrovna's health.




Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna. 1915
During the First World War, Olga was a nurse in the hospital she founded. The captain of the 2nd rank of the Guards crew, Sablin Nikolai Vasilyevich, wrote: “A lovely woman, a real Russian man, of amazing charm ... Olga Alexandrovna is a warm comrade of our officers. How many secrets, secrets, sorrows, novels of our youth the princess knows! "


Olga Alexandrovna goes to the front with her hospital. Before that, she took Nikolai Kulikovsky there. I came to my husband and said that she was leaving him forever. In 1915, the couple separated; Olga had no children from her first marriage. On August 27, 1916, Emperor Nicholas II approved the definition of the Holy Synod, which recognized her marriage to the Prince of Oldenburg as dissolved. Nicholas II, came to inspect the hospital, which Olga equipped in Kiev at her own expense. At the end of a short stay, the tsar gave his sister his photograph and a handwritten letter in English so that others could not read it, dissolving her marriage to Prince of Oldenburg and blessing her to marry Colonel Kulikovsky.


Nicholas II, Olga Alexandrovna in the hospital. Kiev. 1916


Maria Fedorovna, Nicholas II, Olga Nikolaevna, Olga Alexandrovna, Tatiana Nikolaevna, Ksenia Alexandrovna with Vasily. Kiev, 1916


Olga with her husband, Nikolai Aleksandrovich Kulikovsky, and their mother, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna.
On November 4, 1916, in the church of St. Nicholas in Kiev, Olga Alexandrovna was married to Nikolai Alexandrovich Kulikovsky, who became her husband and friend until the end of her days.


Olga Alexandrovna and N.A. Kulikovsky after the wedding. Kiev, 1916
After the abdication of Nicholas II from the throne in 1917, many members of the imperial family, including the emperor himself and his close relatives, were placed under house arrest. The Dowager Empress, Grand Duke Alexander and Olga Alexandrovna moved to the Crimea to Ksenia Alexandrovna. They lived in the Alexandria estate, about 12 kilometers from Yalta.


Olga Alexandrovna with her second husband Nikolai Kulikovsky.
On August 12, 1917, Olga gave birth to her first child, who was named after Tikhon Zadonsky, a saint revered in Olga Alexandrovna's estate. Empress Maria Feodorovna wrote about it this way: “At times, when it seems that it is already impossible to endure all this, the Lord sends us something like a ray of light. My dear Olga gave birth to a baby, a little son, who of course brought such unexpected joy into my heart ... ”.


Father and son (N. A. Kulikovsky with his first-born Tikhon). Watercolor by Olga Alexandrovna.
Back in 1905, General Alexei Nikolaevich Kuropatkin, who knew Olga's simplicity and democratic taste, jokingly replied that she was “with a little blush”: “My next meeting with the leader. Princess Olga Alexandrovna was on November 12, 1918 in the Crimea, where she lived with her second husband, the captain of the hussar regiment Kulikovsky. Here she became even more simple. It would be difficult for someone who did not know her to believe that this was the Grand Duchess. They occupied a small, very poorly furnished house. The Grand Duchess nursed her baby herself, cooked and even washed the linen. I found her in the garden, where she was driving her child in a stroller. Immediately she invited me into the house and there she treated me to tea and her own products: jam and biscuits. The simplicity of the furnishings, bordering on squalor, made it even more charming and attractive. "


The Romanovs were isolated from the world and knew practically nothing about the fate of the Emperor. In February 1918, most of the imperial family moved from Ai-Todor to Dyulber, where the Grand Dukes Nikolai and Peter were already under house arrest. Olga Alexandrovna and her husband stayed in Ai-Todor. The Yalta Revolutionary Council "sentenced" the entire Romanov family to death, but the execution of the sentence was delayed due to the rivalry between the revolutionary councils.


Olga Alexandrovna with her son Tikhon.
By April 1918, the Central Powers had invaded Crimea, and the revolutionary guard was replaced by a German one, but the detention regime became looser. In November 1918, after surrendering in the First World War, German troops left the occupied territories of the former Russian Empire. The territory temporarily came under the control of the allies loyal to the white movement, and members of the Imperial family were able to leave the country. The Dowager Empress with her family and friends left on the British ship "Marlboro". By that time, Nicholas II had already been killed, and the family rightly considered that his wife and children were killed along with him. Mikhail, a beloved brother, was killed in the Perm region in June 1918.


Self-portrait of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna.
At the beginning of 1919, when Ukraine was captured by the Bolsheviks, and the Don and Kuban were white, Olga Alexandrovna and her husband decided to leave the Crimea and go to Rostov, where General Denikin's headquarters was located. The family was accompanied by the empress's personal bodyguard, the Kuban Cossack Timofei Ksenofontovich Yashchik, a native of the village of Novominskaya. Denikin did not accept them. Timofey Yashchik did not know what to do next and brought them to Novominskaya. Here in 1919 the couple had a second son, Guriy. The child was named after Gury Panaev, an officer of the Akhtyrka regiment who was killed during the First World War. Olga Alexandrovna's children, although they were the grandchildren of the emperor, did not belong to royalty, since their father was a simple nobleman.


In the late autumn of 1919, the Cossacks reported that a red patrol had appeared not far from Novominskaya. The Kulikovskys gathered in half an hour, wrapped the children in blankets, collected belongings that they could take with them, and left the village. Only in February 20, the Romanov-Kulikovsky managed to board an English ship and leave their homeland forever. The ship was packed with refugees, they, along with other passengers, occupied a cramped cabin. “I couldn’t believe that I was leaving my homeland forever. I was sure that I would be back, - Olga Aleksandrovna recalled. - I had the feeling that my flight was a cowardly act, although I came to this decision for the sake of my young children. And yet I was constantly tormented by shame. " Through Constantinople, Belgrade and Vienna, in 1920, they finally reached Denmark.


Gury in a carriage. Watercolor by Olga Alexandrovna.


Self-portrait of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna. 1920
The Empress Dowager Maria Feodorovna lived in one of the wings of the royal palace of Amalienborg in the immediate vicinity of her own nephew, King Christian X, who did not hide his hostility towards his disadvantaged relatives. The financial situation of the fugitives was in disarray. The matter worsened thanks to the thoughtless generosity of Maria Fedorovna. Thousands of Russian emigrants wrote to her from all over the world and asked for help, and the Empress considered it her duty to satisfy all their requests. During this period, the family of Olga Alexandrovna was located together with Maria Fedorovna.


Tikhon and Gury. Watercolors by Olga Alexandrovna.
For some time, many wealthy friends of Empress Maria Feodorovna provided her with financial support, but the situation worsened every day. To reduce costs, Maria Fedorovna, together with her yard, to
the unspeakable joy of King Christian X, moved to the Vidore palace. Guriy and his brother attended a regular Danish school. But in addition to Danish education, the sons of the Grand Duchess studied at the Russian school in Paris, at the Church of St. Alexander Nevsky.


Tikhon and Gury Kulikovskiy on the veranda of the Videre Palace.


Olga Alexandrovna with her sons in Denmark.
In 1925 Olga Alexandrovna left her family for 4 days in order to go to Berlin. Anna Andersen, who pretended to be Anastasia, the youngest daughter of Nicholas II, had been in the hospital for several years there. Olga Aleksandrovna was discouraged by everyone from going, but she decided to put an end to this story. She so wanted to believe that her beloved niece and goddaughter was alive. But when she arrived in Berlin, she saw the impostor and realized that she was being forced to play the role of Anastasia.


Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna with her beloved niece Anastasia.
After the death of Maria Feodorovna in October 1928, Christian sent his cousin, Prince Axel, with an urgent request that the Grand Duchess and her household leave the palace immediately. A Danish millionaire, Mr. Rasmussen, came to Olga Alexandrovna's aid. He had a large estate not far from Vidore and hired Colonel Kulikovsky, an excellent horse connoisseur, to manage his stables. The Grand Duchess and her husband happily moved to the estate.


Olga Alexandrovna with her husband Nikolai Kulikovsky.


Olga Alexandrovna with her sons Tikhon and Guriy.
The Grand Duchess's legal rights to the Videore Palace were soon confirmed. She was able to sell it and buy the estate with the proceeds. But it all took almost four years. It wasn't until 1932 that she and her family became the owners of a large Knudsminne farm in a town called Ballerup, fifteen miles northwest of Copenhagen. The happiest period of her life began. Olga Alexandrovna was able to return to painting again. They began to buy her paintings. The Grand Duchess was friends with the outstanding Danish artist, master of landscape P. Mensted, with whom she went on sketches. The works of the 1930s-1940s depict scenes of a peaceful and prosperous rural life. Olga often gave her paintings to relatives and friends from both the Romanov family and other royal families.


Olga Alexandrovna with her husband N.A. Kulikovsky and sons Tikhon and Guriy.


Watercolor by Olga Alexandrovna. Portrait of Tikhon's son. 1940


Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna with her sons Tikhon and Gury (officers of the Danish army).
Both her sons, Tikhon (1917-1993) and Gury (1919-1984), after completing their education, joined the Danish Royal Guard. Soon they both married Danish girls.
Guriy Nikolaevich on May 10, 1940 married Ruth Schwartz (02/06/1921 - 07/22/2015), the daughter of a small merchant in Ballerup. The married couple had a daughter, Ksenia (07/29/1941) and two sons - Leonid (05/02/1943 - 09/27/2015) and Alexander (born 11/29/1949). In 1956, Gury and Ruth Kulikovsky divorced. A few years later he married Aza Gagarina (born 1924).
Tikhon Nikolaevich in 1942 married Agnet Petersen (1920-2007). Divorced in 1955, there were no children from the marriage. On September 21, 1959, in Ottawa, he married Livia Sebastian (June 11, 1922 - June 12, 1982), from marriage he had one daughter - Olga Tikhonovna (b. January 9, 1964). On June 8, 1986, in Toronto, he married Olga Nikolaevna Pupynina (b. September 20, 1926).


Olga Alexandrovna with her husband N.A. Kulikovsky.


The Kulikovsky family at breakfast on the veranda of their home in Ballerup.


Portrait of Ksenia's granddaughter. Watercolor by Olga Alexandrovna.
The Nazi invasion of Russia led to terrible complications in the life of the Grand Duchess. Refraining from participating in politics all her life, Olga Aleksandrovna found herself drawn into a dangerous cycle of intrigue. She was Russian and felt obliged to help her compatriots, who donned German uniforms in the hope that the victory of Hitler in Russia would end communism. After Hitler was defeated, many Russians who fought on his side came to Kundsminna, hoping to get asylum. The Communists repeatedly demanded that the Danish authorities extradite the Grand Duchess, accusing her of helping her fellow countrymen to hide in the West, and the Danish government at that time could hardly have resisted the Kremlin's demands.


The Kulikovsky family before leaving for Canada. 1948
The life of the Grand Duchess and her loved ones was under threat. The atmosphere in Ballerup became more and more tense, and it became obvious that the days of Olga Alexandrovna's family in Denmark were numbered. It was not very easy for the Grand Duchess, who was sixty-six years old, to break away from her habitable place. In the spring of 1948, with great difficulty, the Romanovs-Kulikovskys sold their estate and were able to move to Canada, settled in the village of Cooksville, now merged with the city of Mississauga, near Toronto, where Tikhon Nikolayevich worked for many years in the department of highways of the province of Ontario. Guriy Nikolaevich became a talented teacher, taught Slavic languages ​​and culture in Ottawa. He also taught Russian to Canadian pilots, believing that during the Cold War, a Canadian soldier should know Russian.


Olga Alexandrovna, Leonid Kulikovsky, Ruth Kulikovskaya and Gury Kulikovsky.
Olga Alexandrovna lived in Canada under the name of Kulikovsky (Olga Alexandrovna Kulikovsky), continuing, nevertheless, Russian traditions, celebrating all Orthodox holidays. A neighbor's child once asked if it was true that she was a princess, to which Olga Alexandrovna replied: “Well, of course, I'm not a princess. I am the Russian Grand Duchess. " Olga Alexandrovna was vitally close to virtually every royal family in Europe. In 1959, Queen Elizabeth II of England and her husband, Prince Philip, visited Toronto; only 50 people were invited to dinner, including Olga Alexandrovna, who was now called the last Grand Duchess.


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. " During these years, the idea arose to proclaim Olga Empress. It goes without saying that the not ambitious and very modest Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna flatly refused such an offer.


She died in 1960, at the age of 78, 2 years after her husband. She was celebrated in an Orthodox church in Toronto, where officers of the 12th Akhtyrsky E.I.V. Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna regiment, whose chief she became back in 1901, were on guard at the tomb. Buried in York Cemetery (English) Toronto.


The family grave of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna at the North York cemetery in Toronto.


Commemorative plaque at the grave of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna.
Guriy Nikolaevich Kulikovsky died on September 11, 1984 in Brookville and was buried in the Oakland cemetery. His widow, Aza Gagarina lives in Brookville. None of the children of Gury Nikolaevich remained in Canada, all of them, together with their mother, returned to Denmark after their parents divorced.
Tikhon Nikolaevich Kulikovsky died on April 8, 1993, after a second heart operation. The funeral service took place on April 15 at Holy Trinity Church in Toronto. The burial took place on the same day at the York Cemetery, in northern Toronto, next to his parents. Samples of his blood taken during the operation were preserved and became a powerful argument in identifying the remains of the Imperial family.
** Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna left a memoir, the literary record of which was made by Jan Vorres.
** In the Danish city of Bollerup (date), where she lived with her husband and children from 1930 to 1948, the Olga Alexandrovna Museum was created.
** In 2003, Russia, Denmark and Canada jointly shot the documentary "Olga, the Last Grand Duchess" (directed by Sonia Westerholt)
** In Vladivostok, on Okeansky Avenue, there is the 35th Hospital named after Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, opened in 1901 and built with the money of the merchant Skidelsky.
** In January 2011, a unique exhibition of watercolors by the Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna was held at the Romanov Museum in Kostroma.

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 to attend 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 the mazurka and the 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.