1913 Diary of Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaievna, transl. by Marina Petrov

[blessOTMA]

Raegan, I'm looking forward to your news concerning more Olga Nikolaievna diaries or from the other other
grand duchess ! I think it would be great if someday there is a book that has all the entries that exists
for each GD for a given day together in two columns per page, with perhaps slightly  different colours.

It would be interesting to compare and contrast  how each sister experienced  the same events. It would
most likely show up thier similarities and thier differences in  interesting ways. The four seem like clock works,
separate parts and yet they also work together in an unique way.

Thank you for all you do!

[Romanov_History_Buff]

Having  now finished reading Olga Nikolaievna 's 1913 diary, I feel she certainly  cared very much for AKSH and dear S . But imo part of what is driving these relationships is Olga  had to have at least  the possibility at of an  highly charged unscheduled event for her to feel at her best. Olga Nicholaievna loved a surprise , the unexpected. She loved the emotional charge found in such a happening. But Olga Nikolaievna  was a Grand Duchess,  a royal, and she could basically  know where she would be and  what she would be doing for years ahead.  It seems with maturity, Olga's  love of school room pranks gave way to officer flirtations as a means to find some variance . No wonder she was often using  those field glasses, looking for the current favortie. Just sighting them was a relief.

Field Glasses? Does anyone know of any of her (Olga) pranks?

[blessOTMA]

No wonder she was often using  those field glasses, looking for the current favortie. Just sighting them was a relief.

Field Glasses? Does anyone know of any of her (Olga) pranks?

When during the day Olga couldn't speak with her current favorite officer , she'd use filed glasses to try and see them!
What's funny is that Maria has the reputation within the family of being the flrit ...I believe because she was more likely to
quote Anastasia, " bellow"  to her favorite from the balcony...lol!

[clockworkgirl21]

I finally got my hands on a copy! Everyone's reviews are very accurate. It's a little tedious and boring, but at the same time, it's exciting and really lets you into Olga's life.

But I do have a question. Olga sometimes says her mother's heart is 11/2 or 2. What does this mean?

And I'm impatiently waiting for the announcement on possible future books!

[Sarushka]

But I do have a question. Olga sometimes says her mother's heart is 11/2 or 2. What does this mean?

I'm still trying to figure this out! Probably it's a family shorthand for the severity of Alexandra's discomfort, but so far I haven't been able to correlate specific symptoms with the numbers.

[blessOTMA]

Probably it's a family shorthand for the severity of Alexandra's discomfort,...

Exactly...but whether the lower numbers means it's better or wrose is the question!
It would make sense that the higher the number, the greater the discomfort...but it
doesn't seem to follow that always....so it could be the  inverse . And another question
is,  is this a rating system the girls came up with or Alexandra?

[Sarushka]

And another question is,  is this a rating system the girls came up with or Alexandra?

It appears in Alexandra's diaries as well, but I don't know where it originated. My guess is with the empress herself. She had, as Jonathan Hunt says in the front matter of The Last Diary of Tsaritsa Alexandra, "an idiosyncratic interest in numbers and coded language."

[nena]

I am completely agreed with you, Sarushka. She was prone to write down in codes. When I just remember whole series of letters written in those codes. But for her, it meant something. Could it be 1 and 1/2, and not 11/2?  Since 1 and 1/2 is more closer to 2. Simply logical. Perhaps blood pressure, expressed in older system of writing. pulse, heart-beat?

[Sarushka]

Could it be 1 and 1/2, and not 11/2?  Since 1 and 1/2 is more closer to 2. Simply logical. Perhaps blood pressure, expressed in older system of writing. pulse, heart-beat?

Yes, that's exactly right. I think that's what clockworkgirl meant, but the spacing in her post wasn't clear. The numbers Alexandra used for her heart code are:
1
1½ (sometimes written 1.5)
2
2½ (sometimes written 2.5)
3

I don't think it could be pulse, because Olga sometimes records her mother's pulse in the traditional way. On 30 June, for example, Olga writes "pulse 100."

[nena]

Thank you. Well, and what if she divided her 'upper /bigger (heart - body - heart)' and 'down/smaller(heart - lungs - heart)' blood pressure measurements (if Surgeon measured Empress' blood pressure).

For example, those two are 160/85. When it is divided , it turns to have results going between 1.5 up to 2 and higher.  ;-) (here I have got idea about possible dividing those two measurements).

Pulse: Idealistic pulse would be 80 if I am not mistaken. And Empress had it 100 ( heart beats per minute I suppose, how else). Either it was too hot weather, so by grasping large amount of oxygen she indeed reached that high.

[blessOTMA]

nena ,I think it's genius to think of it in term of two measurements...of course!
Certainly both of  Alexandra's heart and legs would be seen as big enough issues to
warrent  thier own measurements. It tells one a great deal more of her state than just  one would.

[Sarushka]

On 21 October 1917, Alexandra notes in her diary, "heart 1½." In response to this, the editor of the Russian edition of N&A's 1917-1918 diaries proposes:

"Запись, вероятно, означает, что императрица испытывала боли в сердце в 1½ часа."
(Entry likely means that the Empress experienced pain in the heart at 1:30.)

It seems plausible, but on the other hand it's odd that according to this theory Alexandra's heart pain occurred almost exclusively between 1:00 and 3:00 in the afternoon.

[blessOTMA]

There is  known medical science and then there is how AF experienced her ailments and expressed herself about them. In part that's why this is so puzzling . It's a private code of a private code. Does Tatiana's diary mention the numbers? If her and Olga's diaries could be looked at for the same day, there might be a chance to break at  least one of the codes.

[GrandDuchessAndrea]

I was wondering about "heart #2" etc. too. I also have 2 other questions:
Who is Trina?
What are those names in front of the dates? Does that mean that it's those people's name days?

[Ally Kumari]

Trina was nickname for Ekaterina Schneider, who later followed the fmaily to Siberia and was murdered.
I think the names before the dates stadn for people who came to tea or something liek that...