Vladimir seems to have been more of a quiet sort. His talents started to show very early on and they were deeply encouraged by his parents (especially his mother). He was very much loved within the family from all that I've read. His mother, particularly, doted on him more than in any of her children, but at least Irina and Natalia didn't mind the preference because they also saw their brother as a role model and loved him so much that they thought this connection of their mother with him was fair.
According to Jean-Noël Liaut, all this attention had an effect on him during his childhood and early teen years and he was somewhat spoiled and not very nice to others outside his family. His days were spent writing, composing and painting under the watchful eye of his mother. Eventually he started to grow a more mature personality and to let himself do more of his life than the arts when he was sent to St. Petersburg at age of about 13-14 to begin his military training in the Corps de Pages. There he started to be more sociable, to have new experiments, etc... and it was there too that he developed his already deep religious personality. He was well-loved by everyone he knew.
