Tatiana's attitude?

[Lanie]

I think she most certainly did like and dote on responsibility.  It was part of her character.  She liked to organize, arrange and had the practical mind to do it; she wasn't interested in the same things Olga was, hings, didn't let her emotions rule her like Olga did.

[HIH_Sammy]

I think she most certainly did like and dote on responsibility.  It was part of her character.  She liked to organize, arrange and had the practical mind to do it; she wasn't interested in the same things Olga was, hings, didn't let her emotions rule her like Olga did.

I don't doubt she did, but I've been responsible for younger kids that other people should be responsible for, and enjoyed the responsibility, but when I'm put in the situation I can't help but be a little aggrevated becaue I could be off doing other stuff while the guardian puts thier responsiblily on my shoulders. Of course Tatiana was also older than MAA, so she did have responsiblilty for them too.
I agree with you fully about her like for responsibility, I was just wandering if she ever felt that way.

[felix]

I think part of Tatianas success during WW.I were her qualities of organization and a take charge attitude. she did good things for refugees,even selling her own diamond necklace.Getting Elena of Srebia involved.She seemed to know the  process of getting things done,while Olga retreated into her self. No wonder they said she "Was the daughter of an Emperor" She was like her mother,but better understood her duties.

[Maria_Romanov_fan]

"Was the daughter of an Emperor"

She sure did act the part!

[Margarita Markovna]

People, she was one of four sisters! Growing up with siblings can sometimes get you frustrated! Everyone has their "off days".

Can you imagine having four sisters and a brother? First of all, her brother was easily the "most important" of the children because of a) being the heir and b) having hemophilia. Then Olga was the oldest. I have noticed that the oldest child is usually the favorite, for instance the first grandchild is always the favorite of the grandparents (at least in my family). Anastasia was a trickster and that got attention. Maria was close with Anastasia. It must be pretty hard to be Tatiana.

Also, I don't think photos are the way to judge people. How many photos are there of you that show your complete personality?

[Michelle]

Can you imagine having four sisters and a brother?

Well, she actually only had three sisters and a brother.

[Margarita Markovna]

wow i need to start getting more than an hour of sleep...because this is the type of stuff you get!

three sisters and a brother. (i'm not stupid! honest!)

[clockworkgirl21]

I always thought that if I somehow went back in time and visited OTMAA, I probably would not have liked to spend time with Tatiana. I don't dislike her or anything, but she would probably make me uncomfortable.

[Margarita Markovna]

Uncomfortable? I can imagine that, actually- I always picture her as very regal, and I would be uncomfortable around someone like that.

[grandduchess_sofia]

In a family, like in any community, people assume roles. It just happens, it doesn't mean tatiana was boring or self-important or whatever, just because she looked after her siblings and new what proper behaviour was,
sopsxx

[jackie3]

As part of a research project I had to do some researching into the archives of the NY Times via my college computer account. The archives go back to the mid 1800s. When I typed in "daughter of tsar" the name that came up most often was Tatiana Nicholaivena, this was almost entirely in the WWI period when the children were more seen.

Olga was only mentioned as a nurse or or in rumors to her possible marriage, Maria and Anastasia not at all (until after the murders). Tatiana, on the other hand, had several articles on her. Her Committee for Refugees or whatever was apparently a big deal and she really was running it and it had a lot of foreign financial sponsors helping (English and American, that's why the Times covered it). There was one article on a rich American who went to Russia to help with charity work and in it he's quoted as being honored to meet the GD Tatiana, who chaired the meeting and welcomed him to Russia. She apparently did this a lot. Another article (more a blurb really, this is before the NY Times focused heavily on International news) mentions that the Empress Alexandra and GD Tatiana oversaw the arrival and commissioning of several ambulance cars payed for by Americans. And in the charity lists of all the groups that people could contribute to, there was a listing for each country (ALLIED country, that is) and under the Russian section - "the Committe of GD Tatiana" was always listed first.

She was obviously the more visible of all of N&A's children outside the Heir and did a lot more than expected of a SECOND daughter. Not surprising considering Olga's more retiring and introverted nature. What did surprise me was despite the fact we've been told that the GDss didn't like their royal titles used, how much Tatiana was involved in with the war effort (especially considering she also did nursing work) in her position as NII's daughter. During the war years, one could say she was as visible as her mother, the ailing Empress.

More proof if any that the family was born in the wrong period, they would have made model and respected constitutional royals in the British model if they had not been stuck in the autocratic model. Tatiana in particular seemed to thrive on her public role.

[RealAnastasia]

I'm very surprised to read all those post...Tatiana "grumpy and mean"? I don't think so. She know how she was in the World (a Tzarevna), and was always the "one in charge" of her siblings when their parents are not around. But I think she was a nice girl, and a very sympathetic one. Perhaps she wasn't as merry as Olga (if she wanted to be merry, for she also could be very moody and bad tempered), as sweet and cheerful as Maria or as comical as Anastasia...But she must have been a really nice girl. All people who knew her wrote about her kidness and sense of duty.

RealAnastasia.  

[Janet_W.]

Jackie, this is a great perspective that you have presented.

Of course, newspapers from that time (or any time!) were subject to favoritism as well as error, and it's possible that Tatiana's predominance over her sisters resulted from preconceived notions/preferences amongst reporters. But from what I've read, probably not; she seems to have been a genuine favorite of both the press and the public, not only abroad but in her native Russia as well. Undoubtedly her regal, elegant look had something to do with it, but the fact that she was a "take charge" sort of person and subsequently was out in the public eye more than her elder sister undoubtedly boosted her public popularity. There used to be (and still may exist) a company in the United States that tracked "recognizability" of certain celebrities, politicians, etc. If that sort of rating system were applied to the daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra during the years of, say, 1912-1917, I wouldn't doubt that Tatiana would "win," hands down.

[Arianwen]

I think everyone else has basically summed this up for me. Tatiana is the one I identify with most, the one who can come across as a bit cold and aloof, but ALWAYS keeps her head in a crisis, is the practical one, but also with a dreamer's tendencies, and the one who always wants to be involved, taking charge of situations. No, that's not me at all...

I'd also agree that her nature made her the Grand Duchess most in the public eye, between nursing and her charity work, and then, of course, we have her looks. People at the time considered her the beauty of the family, and she had the look that's currently the ideal with models: tall and willow-thin. Add those all up, and we have quite the combination for popularity...

Regards,
Arianwen

[Margarita Markovna]

I completely agree, Aria.