Царская Семья в Спале, сентябрь-ноябрь 1912 года
ГА РФ, ф. 640 оп. 3 д. 25 л. 25 фото 335

There is something so haunting about this picture. Somebody is taking a picture of a group of women, one of whom is photographing a group of men. My first thought was that the woman with the grand duchesses is Alexandra. But the more I think about it, the more I'm doubting it. At the time this picture was taken, Alexis was in the agonizing throes of his terrible hemophilia crisis within the palace - or perhaps recovering from it. Could an utterly spent Alexandra be standing there, all dressed up and calmly taking a picture of Nicholas and his companions? Or could the woman be Anna Vyrubova? Height, figure, and fur lead me to believe it is she.