Countess Irina Sheremeteva (Bebe,daughter of Felix) and her descendants

[ashanti01]

I guess I can see it...

[loulia]

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a388/ashanti01/youssoupov/bebe.jpge

She looks so cute! As a mother it's hard for me to understand how Felix and Irina could leave so far from her... Did she ever speak about it in her later life? How were her relationship with her parents as an adult?

[ashanti01]

It has always appeared that Bebe was basically in the care of Zenaida and Felix Sr, even before the Revolution. After the Revolution, Irina and Felix decided to leave Bebe with his parents while they went to Paris and tried to work things out. You have to understand that back then, it was rare high society to raise their own kids, Irina and Felix themselves had plenty of nannies to care for them as children, and for them it seemed natural that other's would do the actual upbringing for them. With this in mind, when Bebe finally came to live with her parents in Paris, it was a rather akward adjustment as Bebe didn't seem to get along with Irina but seemed very fond of her father. It's funny to look at the body language of Bebe when photographed with her parents.

[Cambria_Coheed]

does anyone know how Irina acted toward Bebe? perhaps there lies the answer.
or perhaps she was just a daddy's girl.

[ashanti01]

I'm trying to remember the source but I can't but I seemed to have read that Irina loved her daughter but had a hard time showing her affections. Will look it up.

[loulia]

in the tread "were felix and irina really in love with each other?" I think, Taksa posted letters from Felix to Irina at the begining of their relationship, and Felix often wrote about how hard it was for Irina to express her feelings. May be that was not only shyness and she was that way till the end of her life?

[LisaDavidson]

in the tread "were felix and irina really in love with each other?" I think, Taksa posted letters from Felix to Irina at the begining of their relationship, and Felix often wrote about how hard it was for Irina to express her feelings. May be that was not only shyness and she was that way till the end of her life?

I realize that everyone is just speculating, but one reason that Irina brought suit against MGM was that she was still traumatized by the loss of her first cousins, the Emperor's daughters and felt the film was disrespetful to her and her family. There were many years where she and Olga were one another's only same age companions - and the Emperor was reported to be very fond of his niece.

All together, this is evidence that she was not shy as an adult and did not find it difficult always to express her feelings. What needs to be better understood, I think, is how traumatized all the surviving family members were over the killings of their relatives.

[Victor]

Quite right Lisa,perhaps we do sometimes forget to consider that trauma.Most people simply wouldn't get over such a thing or certainly wouldn't be the same again.Bebe possibly came through it all right because she might not have had strong memories of life before the revolution.Felix seems to have been less affected than others.Don't know if that indicates a strength of character or lack of it.Perhaps he had more imagination and optimism about the future than some of his relatives and friends.Irina tended to be more withdrawn anyway so maybe even more so but with more intense feelings in excile.

[Annie]

traumatized by the loss of her first cousins, the Emperor's daughters and felt the film was disrespetful to her and her family. There were many years where she and Olga were one another's only same age companions - and the Emperor was reported to be very fond of his niece.

Exactly. Those who survived were traumatized and deeply hurt by the losses they suffered and wanted to make sure the dead were respected. This is also why Olga A., Ernie and others fought so hard against claimants.

[Cambria_Coheed]

yea, i guess you really couldnt blame Irina for the way she acted ...she was traumatized from everything

[loulia]

traumatized by the loss of her first cousins, the Emperor's daughters and felt the film was disrespetful to her and her family. There were many years where she and Olga were one another's only same age companions - and the Emperor was reported to be very fond of his niece.

Exactly. Those who survived were traumatized and deeply hurt by the losses they suffered and wanted to make sure the dead were respected. This is also why Olga A., Ernie and others fought so hard against claimants.

thank you for your answers, I didn't think about it under that angle, it's very interesting.
I totally agree with you

[loulia]

I've watched a documentary by Frederic Miterand on the Romanov in exile, he interviews Ksenia Sfiris about her grand parents and she said Irina and Felix deeply loved each other and she never saw a couple so complementary: Felix was very charming and extroverted while Irina was very calm and shy (she adds as "almost all the Romanovs")

[Victor]

Wish I'd seen the doco.Sounds interesting.And accurate,at least some of the Romanovs anyway seemed calm and a little shy,certainly Irinas' mother and aunt.

[ashanti01]

I've watched a documentary by Frederic Miterand on the Romanov in exile, he interviews Ksenia Sfiris about her grand parents and she said Irina and Felix deeply loved each other and she never saw a couple so complementary: Felix was very charming and extroverted while Irina was very calm and shy (she adds as "almost all the Romanovs")

Do you know the name of the documentry? When and where did it air? Sounds like something I would have loved to have watched.

[loulia]

Sorry I'mnot home today but I'll check the source tomorow evening when I get back home. I just can tell you I recorded it some years ago I think 1998 or 1999 on the french channel France 2 and that was especially interesting, with many pictures and a lot of interviews,a lot from Michail, Irina Paley and Theodor's son, which was very touching