Marie Feodorovna--WWI and the Crimea

[dmitri]

March 7/20, 1917

"Wrote more to Alix, finally got her three old, touching telegrams. To lunch with Nicky. Continues to snow. Gave my letter to Xenia to Golokiev. Nicky received the military agents; I drove back to the train at three. Everything is horribly appalling. Alek came to pray N. not to linger at Tsarskoe, but to continue on his way immediately. That is easy to say, with all those sick children! Everything is infamous. If only God would help! Nicky came to dinner with N. Leuchtenberg, after which we played bezique. I told him what Alek and Williams advised; not to remain at Tsarskoe. Nilov (Admiral K. D. Nilov aide-de-camp) came and said that Nicky would leave tomorrow."

March 8/21, 1917  

"One of the most awful days in my life! when I was separated from my beloved Nicky! In the morning I saw Velyaminow (surgeon, head of all the Red Cross hospitals during the war), wiith whom I spoke at length. Then Nicky came after 12, after having taken leave of the entire staff and all of them; he, especially was disconsolate at being separated from his dear Cossack. We had lunch here in my train. Boris (Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich, the Emperor's cousin), General (unclear) , who commanded the Regiment of St.George. A splendid man, made the best impression on me. Nicky gave him a few words to say to his St.George cavalry .. We sat together until five; when he (Nicky) left. An awful, sorrowful parting!! May God hold his hands over him. Dead tired of everything. Nilov was not allowed to travel with Nicky. That is too much. Most of the suite remained in Mogiliev; accompanying Nicky were only N. Leuchtenburg, V. Dolgoroukov, Kira and Professor Feodorov. A sad sight!"

March 9/22, 1917

"General Williams came over; I bade him take a letter with him for Alix. He is an honorable man. Will now stay with Nikolasha. Alek came to lunch, I am finally leaving today, long to get away from here, dreadful place. Still no news from Nicky. People say that poor Benkendorff has also been arrested. True anarchy. May our Lord help us and protect my poor Nicky. Boris (Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich) and Serge (Serge Mikhailovich) came to tea. They have all sworn alleigance to the new government. Everything is disgusting. Finally left at five o'clock. Alek also came to say good-bye, after which we finally left this horrible, disastrous place."  

[dmitri]

March 10/23, 1917

"Still had a little lunch on the train at 12 o'clock with the usual: Zina M, Sandro, Shervashidze, Dolgourouky and (unclear). Arrived in Kiev at one o'clock. Everything changed. No one at the station, only on the platform, civilians with red bands. Horrible, no flag on the palace. Received in the house by officers and Ignachev (governor general of Kiev) in civilian dress, whom I saw for a moment. The came Baby, remained until half past five. Awful reunion! Finally got a telegram from my Nicky, who arrived at Tsarskoe. It is said that he was not allowed to see his own family; those horrible villains. Sandro came to dinner. He and Serge have resigned."

At the end of March, the Provisional Government gave orders for the Dowager Empress to take up residence in the Crimea on the Black Sea, where several members of the family had country houses. She was lodged in the palace of Ai Todor with Xenia and Sandro. The couple's children joined them, and Irina and Felix Yussoupov moved into their own palace, Koreiz. The Dowager Empress's younger daughter, Olga, came with her new husband and their son Tihon. The former commander-in-chief, Nicholas Nikolaevich, and his brother Peter, both with their wives, came to Dyulber Palace. In the beginning, the family lived in the Crimea with a measure of freedom. The Dowager Empress still had her car at her disposal ad it was used frequently for outings in the picturesque surroundings. But the effects of the revolution began to make themselves felt with increasing intrusiveness. Money and food became scarce, and above all, uncertainty about the fate of Nicholas and his family was nerve-wracking. In a letter begun on May 4, 1917, to her brother, Prince Valdemar, Maria Feodorovna described the situation:

[dmitri]

Ai Todor, Crimea
May 4, 1917

My own angelic, beloved Valdemar!
I am writing again without knowing if you will ever get my letters, for I have heard nothing from you since February, it is frightful to be cut off from all of you like this! I have written three times since I got your last letter in Kiev; once I had been in Mogiliev, with my poor beloved, sorely tried Nicky in order to take heartrendering leave of him, and twice here from the Crimea. Everything is awful beyond description, and I only wonder that I am still alive. It is inconceivable how much sorrow and despair one can stand without the unfathomable misfortune, which has struck us with the speed of lightning.

We did feel long ago that it was fermenting as I wrote several times last year, but never would one have been able to foresee such a dreadful catastrophe. It shows how stirred up people must have been even in the past few years. People have been playing with fire for far too long, always done everything against those with sense without wanting to open their ears or eyes to see or understand (that) they themselves helped the revolt. One blunder was made after the other, all the many changes of minister, almost every week, and then at last the unbelievable choice of Protopopov, who was proved an out and out villain and traitor, whom she considered the best and most devoted friend! In order to justify himself afterwards, he is said to have exclaimed ; what could I do with the two mad people in front of me: which is despicable, disgusting fellow, who lied to their faces the whole time and convinced them that everything was going beautifully and that she was much wiser than Catherine II! What must she think and feel now, the helpless creature? -

I do not hear the least from them and am disconsolate not to know how my poor Nicky is, and how he is being treated! It is all surpassingly awful and you can imagine how it tortures and plagues me night and day! In addition we do not know yet how pecuniary matters will be resolved since the appanage for the family has already been confiscated, so they can live on air and water. It is downright scandalous.

Here we are already living quite modestly since everything is so expensive these days and costs three times as much as it did before. Xenia and Sandro have already been obliged to send most of their people away, since they do not have the money to keep so many. I have only my one servant and a Cossack here, who waits on table at dinner. I eat lunch with everyone in the large house, but dinner is here together with Olga and Irina and Andre (the oldest son of Xenia and Sandro). We live a very quiet existence, walk a great deal in the lovely garden, where everything is flowering so magnificently. But one cannot enjoy anything when one is so unhappy and profoundly sad and disconsolate! -

The weather is unfortunately quite unstable, fairly cold with a nasty wind. Only in the sun is it lovely. I have still not been in Livadia, which it would indeed be difficult for me to see again after an absence of 22 years! I never thought of coming here again to the Crimea, which I loved before, when my beloved Sascha and I lived here together so happily. But after the indescribable pain of losing him here, with all the heartrendering memories, I could not think of ever living here again. Now I have been forced to because of the appalling events and must even be grateful for having found shelter with my dear Xenia and Sandro! For me, this is all new, since Livadia is all the way on the other side of the coast and the view of the sea is also completely different ..

Ai Todor has become so lovely, newly planted where once there was only an ugly, little wild oak forest, Now it has become a lovely park and the most charming garden filled with flowers and all kinds of fruit trees.

It is a joy and a great comfort that at least we can live together here en famille far from it all. Olga lives in the same house as I with her husband , who no longer feels like a stranger in our circle. He is quite nice, and what is most important, she is so happy with him, thank God.

All my grandchildren are happy and content and help put some life and encouragement into our sad existence. Irina lives in Koreiz, quite nearby, so that she comes over several times a day. Her baby is a charming little girl, who runs around and is beginning to talk, not at all afraid or shy.

I am happy that you got Felix's telegram, the only way I can send messages, since my telegrams may not be sent; I do not understand why, since there is no sense in it -

I was furious to read in the newspaper from Stockholm that I soi disant had immediately thrown myself over to the side of the revolution. I hope, that none of you has believed it; what nerve to write such things about me, those brutes - as if I had begged for permission to come here, something I never dreamed of doing. -

I have nothing to do, unfortunately, with the Red Cross; like everything else I was in charge of, it was immediately taken away. Fortunately, Count Ignachev is at its head together with the former one, Illyin, so I am certain it is in good hands, than God.                   
     

[dmitri]

I haven't got that far Margarita!!

[Belochka]

I haven't got that far Margarita!!

Sorry about this confusion Dmitri but you already have supplied the details from your Danish/English edition!

August 8/21, 1915

"...  First and foremost: the "evil spirit Grigory" has returned, and Alicky ... ."     

My edition provides the notation "Gr." and "A." which is not the same as what you have written, i.e.  "Grigory" and "Alicky"

Do you now comprehend what I am asking? I want to understand if your copy correlates with my Russian edition. I have reasons why I am seeking this clarification. Thanks for your help.

Margarita

[dmitri]

Yes I understand.

[Vecchiolarry]

Hi,

Well, I suppose that poor old MF was used to calling it St. Petersburg and not Petrograd as she had been in Russia since 1866, 50 years!!
And, before that the city had always been St. petersburg, so she would have learned to call it that as a child learning her lessons in Denmark.

Old habits die hard, I guess.....

Larry

[mishaxenia]

I just checked my book and the man sitting left to Olga is Prince Orbeliani, an aide-de camp to Sandro.
The two people behind MF are Nicholai Fogel, also aide-de camp to Sandro, and the woman is Olga Konstantinovna Vasiljeva, a nurse at GD Olgas hospital in Kiev, and mistress to Sandro.

I connect to this old post, for help and information on Olga K Vasiljeva, I know of his life in France with her ​​husband and children, but would like to know of his departure on HMS Marlborough and the period before the arrival in France. In exile know that he was a great friend of the GD Sandro , (with a question mark about his real or presumed liaison with GD)
during the war was a friend of GD Olga but after the escape perhaps they have never met.
Which book is written about her ? that of Van der Kiste ? thanks !!

[Eric_Lowe]

Must be a big comedown for MF to say things are "expensive".

[Maria Sisi]

I suppose the question beings in this thread but here goes.....

I know its a long shot and probably silly to ask but I was reading about the rescue of the Imperial Family at Yalta by the HMS Marlborough on the site's main page and it mentions:

On 4th April 1919, on a cold and misty morning, HMS Marlborough left Constantinople for Sevastopol, the Captain (C.D. Johson, CB, MVO, DSO), being entrusted with a letter from Queen Alexandra to her sister the Dowager Empress Marie of Russia, urging her to leave Russia before it was too late to escape from the Bolsheviks and telling her that HMS Marlborough had arrived and was ready to receive her on board and carry her to Malta and England.

Now my question is did the letter from Alexandra to Marie survive, or did anyone else know exactly what was written? I'm guessing it probably was never kept and most likely thrown out after being read but it would be really interesting to read the exact wording of the Queen's pleas to her sister to leave. I just had to ask!

[Forum Admin]

I have never seen nor heard that the letter still exists.  It may well still exist as the family had a habit of keeping correspondence.  It might be in Xenia's collection now at Hoover Institute, Stanford University, there is no inventory published of the contents and some are not permitted to be opened, so we might never know, unless one of her descendant's knows of the letter's whereabouts.

[historyfan]

March 10/23, 1917

"Still had a little lunch on the train at 12 o'clock with the usual: Zina M, Sandro, Shervashidze, Dolgourouky and (unclear). Arrived in Kiev at one o'clock. Everything changed. No one at the station, only on the platform, civilians with red bands. Horrible, no flag on the palace. Received in the house by officers and Ignachev (governor general of Kiev) in civilian dress, whom I saw for a moment. The came Baby, remained until half past five. Awful reunion! Finally got a telegram from my Nicky, who arrived at Tsarskoe. It is said that he was not allowed to see his own family; those horrible villains. Sandro came to dinner. He and Serge have resigned."

At the end of March, the Provisional Government gave orders for the Dowager Empress to take up residence in the Crimea on the Black Sea, where several members of the family had country houses. She was lodged in the palace of Ai Todor with Xenia and Sandro. The couple's children joined them, and Irina and Felix Yussoupov moved into their own palace, Koreiz. The Dowager Empress's younger daughter, Olga, came with her new husband and their son Tihon. The former commander-in-chief, Nicholas Nikolaevich, and his brother Peter, both with their wives, came to Dyulber Palace. In the beginning, the family lived in the Crimea with a measure of freedom. The Dowager Empress still had her car at her disposal ad it was used frequently for outings in the picturesque surroundings. But the effects of the revolution began to make themselves felt with increasing intrusiveness. Money and food became scarce, and above all, uncertainty about the fate of Nicholas and his family was nerve-wracking. In a letter begun on May 4, 1917, to her brother, Prince Valdemar, Maria Feodorovna described the situation:

If I'm reading this correctly, there are some errors.

According to Olga Alexandrovna (see Vorres' biography), it was she and Sandro who convinced Maria Feodorovna to leave Kiev and move to the Crimea, not the Provisional Government. This was indeed in March or early April of 1917, and Olga and her husband, Nikolai Kulikovsky accompanied her, along with Sandro. Olga was at this time expecting her first child, who was born at Ai-Todor in August 1917. Olga and Col Kulikovsky remained with the Dowager Empress until early 1919, when they left the "mousetrap" the Crimea was becoming with the departure of the Germans - who, up till that point, had offered the Imperial family a measure of protection from the Reds.