Alexandra's diary of July 4,1918 tells how their jewels had been taken from them, and lists the theft of them as a possible reason that Avdiev and his men were replaced:
Diary of Alexandra Feodorovna
July 4. A new Commandant [Yurovski]. All the inner sentries are gone. (Probably one has discovered that they have taken all our things out of the loft) - the Commandant and his young assistant made us show all our jewels we had on and the younger one noted all down and then they were taken from us. Why? For how long? Where?-I do not know-they left me only two bracelets from Uncle Leopold [the late Duke of Albany] which I cannot take off, and left each of the children the bracelets we gave them, and which cannot be slipped off, also N's engagement ring, which he could not take off. They took away our keys from our boxes in the loft, which they had still left us - but promised to return them. Very hot, went early to bed, as I was frightfully tired and had pains in the heart.
July 5. The Commandant came with our jewels, sealed them up in our presence and left them on our table. He will come every day to see that we have not opened the parcel.
Once Yurovsky took over, he made a complete list of the family's jewels and other valuables, cataloged them and checked them almost every day.(Lost Fortune of the Tsars p.100) It is evident that, considering all the searches, stealing, cataloging and checking, if the Bolsheviks had been aware of the ones in the clothing, those jewels would not have escaped, either. With this proof, we can safely say, they were unaware, meaning Buxhoeveden did not tell anyone about any jewels.
Further fact-checking reveals another interesting fly in the ointment, from FOTR page 142 again
Two further members of the Romanov household also betrayed the I family telling both bux and the bolsheviks what they knew of the hidden jewels. Countess Hendrikova's maid, Alexandrine Nikolaeva, and the maid Anna Romanova. When the prisoners arrived in Ekaterinburg, Rodionov reported this news to the Ural regional soviet, and all three women were questioned the same day. Like Buxhoeveden, Nikolaeva crumbled under pressure, according to Ural Regional Soviet member Paul Bykov, 'revealing where these things could be found.'
A big problem with this is that Anna Romanova stayed in Tobolsk and never made the trip to Ekaterinburg. Her name is not on Kobylinski's list of those who traveled onto Ekaterinburg, and is specifically mentioned by name as one who remained in Tobolsk.(Last Days of the Romanovs, page 125) Therefore, she could not have been on the Rus, and could not have been interrogated in Ekaterinburg as implied. The other alleged accomplice in squealing, said to be Hendrikova's maid Alexandrine Nikoleava, also does not appear on the list of those who left for Ekaterinburg. As a matter of fact, this name appears literally nowhere else but in these accusations. No such person was listed as being with the family, and did not go to Ekaterinburg so she couldn't have been questioned there by the Ural Soviet, either.. A VICTORINE Nikolaevna, listed as a ward (minor orphan charge) not maid of Hendrikova did come to Tobolsk with Hendrikova but did not leave with her. This leaves another hole in the story.
Anna Romanova, who had arrived with Bux in Tobolsk, also readily disclosed the secrets of the family she had served; she later married a Bolshevik commisar and remained in the USSR.
This is true, but it had nothing to do with Buxhoeveden or any jewels. It was Soloviev and the money. From Nicholas and Alexandra, pages 464-467 or 489-491 in the paperback:
Soloviev established contact with the empress through one of her maids, Romanova, who had an apartment in Tobolsk. Though her he passed notes and part of the money. He used Romanova to raise their hopes by promising '(Father) Gregory's family and friends are active'. He arranged through her to have one of the IF give a hand signal showing support for the plan...
..as soon as the family left he (Soloviev) hurried to talk to Romanova, who later married a Bolshevik commisar.
Ah. This brings us back to Soloviev, which as established earlier in this thread, was the source of the original rumors against Buxhoeveden for stealing money he took!
For the record, I also saw it mentioned here that the Mademoiselle X he allegedly gave things to came later to Tobolsk, did not get to live the house but had an apt. in town. This describes Romanova, who came later when Buxhoeveden and another maid Anna Ultkin arrived later. She was younger than Buxhoeveden which may account for the age given of 23 years. As described in the accounts by Bulygin, Romanova did have contact with the family, though she did not live with them. Showing Soloviev coming to talk to her after the family was gone is yet more proof she did not go to Ekaterinburg. She did indeed betray the family, but not over jewels. She did in fact marry a Bolshevik commisar.
I hope this clears up a few of the questions about poor old Sophie Bux. and helps to save her reputation. Now her name should be cleared on both the money grabbing and the jewel squealing. A disclaimer, I am only relaying this and do not intend to fight on the subject. While there is sufficient evidence to discount the allegations as false, I offer no theory nor speculation on how they came to be wrong. Surely Soloviev is one reason. I have no further comment. The information is here, take it or leave it. Thank you for your time.
