Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova (1884-1964), Part 2

[lilianna]

"The Empress bad taste - to destroy all of its rooms." So thought the Bolsheviks and carried from the palace of all things, they took them, gave to his friends, gold objects sold at auction. Then there was war. Nothing remains of the palace rooms. After the war Kuchumov at Pavlovsk was able to collect some of the Maple Room and Boudoir. Now, all over the world looking for things from the Alexander Palace, but can not find much.

[PAVLOV]

Yes, I sometimes agree sometimes with the Soviets. She had bad taste even by the standards of the day.

Personally I think many aspects of the Alexander Palace are over romantised, and find myself hoping that that the recent restoration does
not include any of her awful rooms. Does one want to spend a fortune on duplicating her bad taste a century later ?

[lilianna]

Each person has their taste. We have Russian, there is a saying "The taste and color - no friends.

[Snegurochka]

Do any of you posters and readers out there have pictures and/or family stories/oral traditions about Anya?  I've been researching her for several years and have just started working on a biography of her.   I can access the photos from Yale, and plan a trip to the Hoover Institute at Stanford next year, but I'd really like to include as much "personal" history as possible.  I would very much appreciate any assistance that readers of this forum can provide. 

Thank you!

[morvilaRomanov]

I will want your biography about Anna. When you finished it please tell us.

[lilianna]

t seems to me that there was nothing known about her life. Therefore, it will be very interesting to learn new things about it.

[rudy3]

Nothing known about Anna Vyrubova? Books about her have been published in the late 80's, 90's in Finnish, French and most lately in Russian. There is some information on an old thread: Anna Vyrubova's memoirs.

[miki_nastya]

 How was Anna called Alix? In formal style like Your Heignes or informal by her own name?

[PAVLOV]

I wonder if she had a lonely sad life after 1917 ?  She lived for so many years afterwards with her memories, I also wonder  how the other Russian emigre community treated her.  Perhaps they regarded her as part of, or an accomplice of the downfall of the dynasty, their way of life and country. Particularly because of the Rasputin connection.  I dont think many  people liked her very much for this reason.
I think she was lucky to survive, although she had many close encounters with death before she eventually got away.

I wonder where her spirit wonders around ? Perhaps in the little house in Tsarskoe ? 

[Olga Maria]

How was Anna called Alix? In formal style like Your Heignes or informal by her own name?

S
She calls Empress Alexandra as ‘Madame’ or ‘Empress’.

[Douglas]

The Tsarina valued Anna's devotion to her and befriended her, ignoring women of more distinction at the court.

Anna was a wonderful friend for the Empress.  Her value to the Empress was that she never criticized her, which was something the haughty ladies in waiting were often guilty of.

[Alan]

Pavlov,
You mentioned Anna's house. I read somewhere that it still exists but when I was there on 6 August this year, I could not find it. Does anyone know if it still exists?

[PAVLOV]

Yes there are photos of it on this thread, if they have not been removed. The little house is across the street from the Alexander Palace, and was leased to her, at what was quite a high rental at the time. Today it is used as offices.
   

[Sarushka]

It's a little house on a corner -- the brown roof just above the label:

[Aglaya]