Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, discussion and pictures Part 2

[Eric_Lowe]

If you want to compare oranges and apples. Alicky's grandmother QV never let her children's aliments blocked any offical function, and she was a soverign queen ! Similarly, Alicky's cousin Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain had sick children (more than Alicky) yet she never let that be an excuse for not doing her duty. Anyway, Olga was apalled when her sister-in-law wanted her to see Rasputin. She absolutely refused.

[Belochka]

If you want to compare oranges and apples. Alicky's grandmother QV .... Alicky's cousin Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain ... Anyway, Olga was apalled when her sister-in-law wanted her to see Rasputin. She absolutely refused.

Reading your response it is most evident that it is YOU who insists on making comparisons with other Courts.

Once again Eric you are confusing the facts with your fictitious notions.

Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna FIRST met Rasputin in 1907. She stated that: “When I saw him I felt that gentleness and warmth radiated from him.” [Ref: Vorres, p 131]

Surely it was up to the Russian Empress to structure her time in her Court as she saw fit?

[Carolath Habsburg]

Some editions  as mine has that quotation in page 138 chapter "The rasputin Legend"

She also states "I do know that all i have said so far may well seem to turn me into a devotee of Rasputin`s. But let me say it straight out: I never  liked that man. All the same, the interest of history cannot be served by a false perspective" [Vorres P 138, chapter "The legend of Rasputin]

What olga refused was to be a devotee of him but she meet him and saw him with Alexei.

[Eric_Lowe]

Thank you Katenka !

You are right, Olga never took to Rasputin although she said she was amazed by his powers of healing. Also she could see that because of her blind trust of the man, the good name of the imperial family went down with it. It also broke the unity of the Imperial Family, Miechen (Grand Duchess Vladimir) and other Romanovs (grand Duke Alexander and Grand Duke Paul included) thought the Empress was mad and some even favor a palace revolution and exile her to a nunnary, while set up a regent for Alexis. To her credit, Olga never told anyone about those anxious last days on the monarchy.

[Kalafrana]

'As far as the Dowager was concerned she had the fortunate position of raising healthy children who required minimal personal attention, unlike her daughter-in-law who personally took on the role of motherhood. Her responsibilities towards Alexei took precedence over organizing grand balls and entertaining persons who grew accustomed to such Court amusements during Alexander III's reign.'

Surely organising balls was a matter for the household. Alexandra could be as much or as little involved as she wished. Here the Queen is well-known for her interest in the minutiae of state occasions (she always inspects the place settings for state banquets), but things would happen perfectly well without her doing anything. Realistically, all Alexandra needed to do was decide what outfit she was going to wear, perhaps cast an eye over the guest list, and turn up. Since the children had nannies she would not even need to find a babysitter, and, however obsessive she was over Alexei, she would only be away from him for a matter of hours. I'm guessing slightly here, but I would imagine that she and Nicholas would only need to turn up at a ball for a couple of hours at most, and could then disappear.

I don't think balls were an innovation of Alexander III's reign. The catalogue I have for the Hermitage Amsterdam exhibition 'At the Russian Court' (very well worth a visit if it's still on) has a good deal to say about balls and dinners under Nicholas I and Alexander II.


'Surely it was up to the Russian Empress to structure her time in her Court as she saw fit?'

Not entirely. There were things that were 'part of the job'. Just to draw a parallel, King George VI was terribly shy and, in particular, hated reviewing troops. However, it was part of his job as king so he did it - though there is a tale that when visiting the Eighth Army in North Africa in 1943 he had to be coaxed out of his tent for the purpose! One reason he is held in considerable affection is that he struggled to overcome his speech impediment and did things he'd have preferred not to do (such as being king in the first place!)

Ann

[Eric_Lowe]

Well said. It was Alicky who was neglecting "her duty as Empress" that effected the popularity of the imperial family. How could they be popular when they were seldom seen and cocooned in their own world ? It was under this that many rumours about the family began to spread like the Empress and Rasputin were lovers and the heir need the blood of a soilder every day to be alive. All rubbish of course, but Alicky's insistance on Rasputin fueled further speculation. One historian even wrote that "If there was no Rasputin, there would not been a Russian Revolution !" Olga was a minor royal and did her bit in the war like others (The Dowager Empress, Grand Duchess Elizabeth...), but too unimportant to effect the turn of the fate of the dynasty. She was by then very much in love and hope to get married after her divorce from Peter of Oldenburg.

[Twobsbob]

Would love to visit there one day ! Is York cemetery close to downtown Toronto ?

The cemetary is within walking distance of a subway stop.  I saw Olga's grave; it has a nice, impressive monument and a plaque.

[Condecontessa]

It's a shame that Grand Duchess Olga is not buried in her native country. Being buried in Canada, far away from her imperial past. I guess there's no interest in having her interred at the Grand Ducal Vault in St. Petersburg.

[Eric_Lowe]

I don't think she minded too much...as long as she could be buried near her husband and her children.

[aleksandr pavlovich]

Concerning Replies # 122 and  #123:  I believe that this topic has been brought up somewhat earlier.  As I understand it, there are no plans to separate her from her beloved husband, and it is certain that HE could never be interred in SS. Peter and Paul.  AP

[Eric_Lowe]

Well. Unfortunately I agree. I don't think Misha's and Pavel's morganetic wives were buried in SS also.

[Kalafrana]

Mikhail and Pavel do not have known graves. I have been to SS Peter and Paul, but in all the crush of the crowd I didn't get a chance to look for memorials to them. Does the Orthodox Church have any view on memorials which aren't graves? Unless the view of the church would be a problem the solution would be a memorial to Olga there, while her grave remains in Canada. The Austrians have done this with the Emperor Karl - he is still buried on Madeira, but there is a nice memorial tablet in the  Kaisergruft in Vienna (lots of flowers on it when I went there).

Ann

[Belochka]

Hi Ann,

There are no memorials dedicated to Grand Dukes Mikhail and Pavel Alexandrovich at the St. P Fortress. In fact nor are there memorials to the other Grand Dukes who were executed there on-site by the Bolsheviks in 1919.

You may recall that two "memorials" exist at the moment - dedicated to Grand Duchess Anastasia and Tsesarevich Alexei, in the small front annex where Nikolai II and some members of his family and entourage are already interred.

I very much doubt that Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna's remains will ever be exhumed and returned to Russia. Had she been an Empress who died in exile, then it might have been a different matter.

If one considers Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna's remains, then why not extend it to her sister as well and then to all the other Russian born Grand Dukes and Duchesses who died en exile?

Apart from the prohibitive costs involved, its just all too much for too many for no real good reason.

Margarita

[Belochka]

... I don't think Misha's and Pavel's morganetic wives were buried in SS also.

Both women were buried in Paris.

[Belochka]

... As I understand it, there are no plans to separate her from her beloved husband, and it is certain that HE could never be interred in SS. Peter and Paul.  AP

Quite correct aleksandr pavlovich!

No commoner will ever be buried in the Cathedral.

However there was a unique dispensation granted for Nikolai II's entourage who died with him and now share a common vault.

Margarita