Messages

361

Olga Nicholaievna / Re: Tsarina Olga!?!?

« on: July 14, 2014, 02:41:28 PM »

Your right, I didn't think of my response clearly though, I posted it very quickly before bed.

Like you said Nicholas being a reformer is nothing but far from the truth but perhaps they thought Nicholas turned a corner and was slowly starting to become a reformer for the people. The government did become less reactionary and censorship was eased. Also between 1906 and 2011 Stolypin was making numerous reforms that needed to be made and people were cautiously optimistic about the course Russia was taking so who knows. I'm probably completely wrong though.

Your right about Michael being slightly more progressive then Nicholas and considering how likable and free spirited he appeared I'm surprised they would paint him as the anti-reformer. If anyone that close to the throne was really going to make Russia a constitutional monarchy it was Michael not Nicholas. I wouldn't trust the Vladimirs to do it either.  

I'm guessing they also didn't think much of baby Alexei (his hemophilia wasn't that known yet) and that a regent government with him would be a disaster unless that's in the other snippet of the article. Either way the article appears to be ridiculous.

362

Marie Feodorovna / Re: Empress Marie Feodorovna - discussion and pictures, Part III

« on: July 14, 2014, 02:01:12 AM »

Maria Feodorovna definitely was bossy and that's probably part of why she was able to survive in the ruthless Russian court. She may have been a small woman but at heart she was a lion. I think Alexandra and Thyra could have been successful in their own way as Russian Empresses too but Maria was definitely the best fit.

She definitely had the heart, wits and common sense to be successful. She was anti-Semite yet showed great kindness to Jews and then supported the liberal ministers during her son's reign because she knew that's what Russia needed despite it being the opposite of what her husband championed. She knew what ways the wind was blowing and what had to be done. If Maria Feodorovna was consort to Nicholas I think a lot things would have ended differently.

Nobody ever put Minny in a corner!!! 

363

The Imperial Family / Re: Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, discussion and pictures Part 2

« on: July 14, 2014, 01:41:53 AM »

I do think she was kind of hypocritical in her treatment of Michael and his affair considering her own situation. If she had gotten the divorce from Peter when she first wanted it she would most certainly have married Nikolai Kulikovsky sooner then she did and that probably would have hurt the Romanov prestige pretty badly too. The sister of the Tsar marrying a commoner and a man in her husband's regiment doesn't look very good.

I remember reading somewhere that she said she never met Natalia before the scandal yet there is clear evidence in picture that she did. So I guess Olga proved she was human and not a saint. Does anyone know if Olga met Natalia and her nephew outside that one time Maria Feodorovna did? I'm guessing Olga was there when they met her mother but were there other times they met?

I think Olga kind of worshiped Nicholas and viewed him like a father due to the big age gap whereas Michael was closer in age and her playmate through childhood so she seem to have different standards for them. I also think Alexandra's shyness and desire for quietness fit better with Olga's personality and that's why unlike other Romanovs she was able to connect with her. Olga didn't like large gatherings and preferred more simple things too so they connected.

It's interesting in her book she seems to almost absolve all blame from Nicholas and Alexandra and instead blames everyone else. It's true the other Romanovs could have done more to help and the advisors could have been a little less reactionary and Russia's allies could have helped more to avoid WWI but Nicholas and Alexandra themselves did cause a lot of the problems too. Many times family members and advisors were reacting to Nicholas and Alexandra's own actions so they share a huge part of the blame too yet Olga seems to portray them as complete innocents.

364

Marie Feodorovna / Re: Books on Empress Marie

« on: July 14, 2014, 01:11:04 AM »

Really???

Do you know where and by who? I would appreciate it very much.

I have the Royal Digest reprint of her letters with Nicholas as well as some of her correspondence that was featured in the 1997 Copenhagen exhibition catalog on her and I found a lot of what she wrote to be very interesting and in some cases pretty revealing. I hope her diaries are as good, especially considering the time period they cover!

365

Olga Nicholaievna / Re: Tsarina Olga!?!?

« on: July 14, 2014, 12:59:51 AM »

Great find Dru, thanks!!!

edubs31: I'm guessing that quote means exactly what it says and is meant to reflect negatively on the Romanovs. After all the article was written in 1908 after the 1905 Revolution and all the troubles that followed. The Romanovs were seen as suppressive tyrants and didn't exactly have the best of reputations internationally so the quote is not surprising really.

366

Olga Nicholaievna / Re: Tsarina Olga!?!?

« on: July 13, 2014, 02:01:59 PM »

I was reading through Marlene Eilers Koenig's blog Royal Musings (fantastic blog!!!!) and she published an old article from the New York Journal in 1896 that stated rumors of Franz Joseph telegramming Emperor Wilhelm about changing the line of succession to the Austro-Hungarian throne and name his daughter Archduchess Marie Valerie as his heir instead of Franz Ferdinand and that an announcement was "soon".  

Now of course as we all know it didn't happen and was probably just crazy gossip but I was wondering if any newspaper ever wrote such a thing with Olga? Was there ever publication of rumor that Nicholas considered changing the line of succession that could make Olga Tsarina?

367

Maria Nicholaievna / Re: Maria photos III

« on: July 13, 2014, 01:32:06 PM »

It's amazing the amount of new photos you can find on the net these days! You think you've seen them all and then a whole bunch suddenly appears.

Seeing all these new images on the net makes me upset that all the books use the same ones over and over when with a little extra research you can find a lot of new stuff. And now with digital taking over physical books its a real shame that many of these photos will never see a hand held page.

368

The Imperial Family / Re: Memoirs

« on: July 10, 2014, 09:06:31 PM »

http://www.pavlovsk-spb.ru/deti-vladeltsev/vera-konst.html

This site features information based on the articles published but I'm sure Dru can find you the actual articles themselves.

The site is also pretty interesting on its own and is filled with a lot information on Pavlovsk's owners and those connected with it

369

The Habsburgs / Re: Archduchess Elisabeth 'Erzi', Otto Windisch-Graetz and their family

« on: July 10, 2014, 03:12:38 PM »

Sorry if this has already been addressed but in her will Elisabeth ordered that all of her dogs be put down  when she died so they didn't have to go to  other trainers. Was this actually done?

I can understand her wish that the heirlooms be given to the state and that the paintings and books be returned to their original places but the dog thing seems excessive and over the top.

370

Films and TV shows about the Romanovs and Imperial Russia / Re: "Romanovy:Ventsenosnaya semya"

« on: July 10, 2014, 02:35:48 PM »

I LOVE this movie!!! They really did a good job capturing the spirit of the family. The actors, costumes and art direction were fantastic.

I found it interesting they snuck in a small semi-romance between Olga and that soldier as well as a blood transfusion when there is no proof of any of those yet didn't show anything between Maria and the soldiers when that's been at least talked about actually happening.

I also found it strange that they for the most part completely skipped over the poor treatment they received from the soldiers who were guarding them. The small conflicts they showed (the sling shot/prisoner photos) seemed pretty tame when you consider what they actually did go through.  

It's also too bad they didn't show the last meeting between Nicholas and Maria Feodorovna on the imperial train right after the abdication but I guess it was a money/running time issue which is too bad as it could have been a great scene.

Overall I still love the film although I wish it had been a full length mini-series and not just the end of their lives.

371

The Imperial Family / Re: Memoirs

« on: July 10, 2014, 02:03:48 PM »

I don't know if Vera wrote any actual memoirs but she apparently did write four short articles about her life for the magazine "Kadetskaya pereklichka". It was published by Union of the Russian Kadets in New York in 1972.

372

The Habsburgs / Re: Crown Prince Rudolph--controversies, affairs & his death, Part II

« on: July 10, 2014, 01:53:25 PM »

Sorry if this has already been discussed but I was reading Joan Haslip's biography on Elisabeth and she mentioned the possible signs that Rudolph wasn't exactly mentally stable started at an early age. She said Rudolph drew pictures of dead animals with all the blood showing and how he was excited to show them to his mom and her horror didn't register with him or something like that. Is this actually true, has anyone actually seen such pictures?

I also read somewhere else he also had a whole dead horse stuffed and on display in a glass case in some wild pose and that he was very rough with other animals as well when growing up. I believe Brigitte Hamman's bio on Elisabeth has a similar theme concerning Rudolf and animals as well although I'm not sure.

It's been mentioned that Rudolph tried to win his mother's affection by taking interest in things that she had passion for so I find it strange that he would do such things considering how much of an animal lover she was.

I've only read a few things on Rudolf but never a full biography study since I unfortunately don't know German. Is there anything in English that anyone can recommend?
 

373

Marie Feodorovna / Maria Feodorovna's Diaries

« on: July 10, 2014, 01:32:48 AM »

Sorry to start a new topic but the other one concerning this subject is very old.

I know Maria's diaries from the years 1914-1923 have been published in Russian and Danish but have there been any official translations in English? I unfortunately can't read Russian or Danish and I would really like to read them. Does anyone know any English translations of her diaries?

Maria is my favorite Romanov so it would be great to know what she was writing about during this time period!

374

The Imperial Family / Re: Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, discussion and pictures Part 2

« on: July 10, 2014, 01:13:23 AM »

Olga was such a fascinating person despite only being a witness and not much of a player to history.  

I recently purchased a 1965 copy of "The Last Grand Duchess" and while I'm only half way though it I find myself really enjoying it and admiring her a lot. So far its really living up to its hype! She really comes off as the complete opposite of what everyone thinks a Romanov is like yet there is no mistaking she is one if that makes any sense. The mini antidotes are fantastic and its the little things she remembers that makes the book so precious. I especially love the story of George's parrot and how it would always attack the boys tutor, Mr. Heath, and mock his accent or the inside joke the siblings shared about Nicky's sacrilege and any good food being 'immorally good'. She really put a human face on everyone that you wouldn't get in a history book.

Despite so much terrible things happening in her life she really did pick herself up and survive. Sometimes when you look at a photograph of someone and their smiling you can tell the smile doesn't always reach their eyes yet with Olga you can tell they do. She was a proud yet humble woman who accepted what was handed to her and make the best out of it when others would have fallen.    

It was very sad to me that she wasn't told about her sister's death. I know Olga herself was in poor health and it was probably for the best but it still feels terrible. Considering they were the last two of their family and after everything they had been though for them to die so far apart and not know is to me tragic.

It's also amazing thinking about where she died. I know she didn't want to accept any charity but does anyone know if her sons did for anything her? I get the impression that once they grew up they moved out and after her husband died Olga was all on her own. I know she had her friends and support from the Russian émigré community but it seems shocking to me that they would let their mother spend her last days above a beauty salon.

375

Films and TV shows about the Romanovs and Imperial Russia / Re: Edward The King

« on: July 10, 2014, 12:34:19 AM »

I absolutely adore this series!

All the actors did a marvelous job and the casting just felt perfect. I personally don't like Edward VII very much since I find him very selfish and hate how he treated his wife but the series did a great job showing him as a multilayer person that there were times where I did sympathize with him. I loved how they showed the complicated history between Bertie and his mother, nobody came out as the villain.  

Timothy West was fantastic and Annette Crosbie really proved fit to play a Queen, and Felicity Kendal was charming but I loved Helen Ryan most of all.

It's a real shame they just don't make them like this anymore. Watching this only makes me upset that nobody at the BBC suggested a series on Queen Victoria herself! The longest reigning monarch and easily one of the most iconic. I mean after all when people think of England its always Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and Victoria. After doing those 2 it amazes me that nobody said "Victoria next". I mean its not like her life was short on drama/conflict, they could have easily found enough material for 12/13 episodes. I just can't believe it slipped though and now will never be properly done since I don't trust the entertainment industry today to do it right as "The White Queen" proved.