The Home of the Last Tsar - Romanov and Russian History

These extracts have been chosen to provide an idea of daily life for the Tsar and his family and specifically to give a picture of life in the Alexander Palace. They were translated by Jsenya Dyakova.

Fund 601, doc.237. January - September, 1897.

Jan.1. "...We spent the evening in our usual way. I read aloud to Alix Stanyukovich's "Sea Stories"..."

 

Jan.2. "...Alix moved to the Mauve Room in her bed and stayed there till night..."

Jan.4. "...After tea we bathed our daughter in Alix's room near her bed. She can walk quite well now!..."

Jan.9. "...After breakfast I spent an hour at Linghardt's. When I returned home. After my walk I began hanging pictures in the new rooms. Our daughter was bathed near Alix's bed. In the evening I read aloud..."

Jan.11. "...I spent some time at Linghardt's again..."

Jan.15. "...Our obstetrician in ordinary Ott suggested that Alix should be brought out to the balcony right in her bed to breathe some fresh air for half an hour which she liked very much..."

Jan.17. "...Our daughter was bathed in the Mauve Room..."

Jan.18. "...I've been hanging pictures upstairs in the new bedroom with green furniture. In the evening I read aloud to Alix interesting memoires of the former French tutor M.Janson about his stay in Russia for 5 months in 1886..."

Jan.19. "...My Mother and I visited the exhibition of water-colours in the Manege and bought quite a lot of works there..."

Jan.20. "...After tea I went to Petersburg, I had dinner with Mother and then went to the theatre. They showed "Manon" with Landerson and van Deyk. It was a good and beautiful performance..."

Jan.22. "...At about 6 my dog Shilka whelped 2 puppies whose father was Iman. It caused a lot of fuss in the house..."

Jan.23. "...After breakfast Alix sat in the balcony and then on the sofa in the Mauve Room. At 6.30 I went to town, had dinner with Mother and then went to the French Theatre. They showed a funny play which was called "Les erreurs du mariage"..."

Jan.24. "...We saw "Romeo and Juliet" together with Misha and Olga. I really enjoyed that splendid opera..."

Jan.29. "...I was reading and then hanging the last pictures in the new rooms upstairs and downstairs..."

Jan.30. "...We had breakfast as we used to, in her room. We went to the Maple Rooms (English Suite) as she wanted to see them with the pictures on the walls. I sledged down the hill with my daughter on my lap which she obviously liked but was a little frightened..."

Jan.31. "...After breakfast Alix was brought upstairs to see the new rooms there. At 6.30 I went to town, had dinner with Mother and took Misha and Olga to the Opera House to see "Dubrovsky". It was wonderful..."

Feb.4. "...The three of us went to see the new rooms and to put the new carpets there which had been given to us as gifts at the exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod..."

Feb.6. "...I looked at different models of the grating for the garden. At 8 p.m. Misha, Olga and I went to see "Romeo" in the Opera House. Excellent!..."

Feb.7. "Uncle Pavel had dinner with us. The three of us listened to the balalaika players of the Composite Battalion who were playing in the Grand Hall in front of the open door of Alex's room! It's a good way to spend an evening!..."

Feb.8. "...I went to the French Theatre to see an interesting play by Dumas "Charles VII chez ses grand vassaux".

Feb.11. "...In the evening Dr.Pesetsky showed moving pictures of the sights of Moscow during the coronation, of Cherburg and Paris of the time we were there and the West-Siberian Railway. Very beautiful and interesting..."

Feb.11. "...Misha and I went to see Varlamov's benefit performance. I left for Tsarskoe long before the end as they showed three plays that were to last very long...."

Feb.12. "...We bathed our daughter at Alix's downstairs. After dinner we played the piano..."

Feb.14. "...Misha and I came just before "Carmen" began. The Digners sang and played perfectly. They were given an ovation with a lot of gifts and flowers..."

Feb.15. "...After breakfast we were hanging pictures upstairs in the nursery... At 4.30 I left for Petersburg. That night I went to the theatre where they showed a very funny play under the title "Le sursis". We were dying of laughter..."

Feb.16. "...After dinner we listened to the balalaika players. They were hussars. They played well but sometimes I felt they were not as good as the players of the Composite Battalion"

Feb.17. "...At 8 p. m. Misha, Olga and I went to listen to "Eugene Onegin". I enjoyed its beautiful music..."

Feb.19. "...Misha and I went to see "The Nutcracker" which I hadn't seen for a long time..."

Feb.21. "...After that the whole family met at the theatre where they showed wonderful "Escamonde" at last with Sanderson..."

Feb.22. "...At 12.30 I went to town to spend some time theatre-going as it is a custom at Shrovetide time. I saw the ballet "Blue Beard" for the first time in my life...At 8.15 p.m. Misha and I where they showed a very interesting drama performance "Les 2 gosses". It produced a rather depressing impression on me!..."

Feb.23. "...I spent my last night listening to the opera "Samson and Delilah"..."

Feb.24. "...We were at the service in our field church which was installed in our Corner Red Sitting Room. It is very pleasant and very convenient..."

March 6. "...In the evening we watched Pesetsky's moving pictures for the second time! It was very interesting!..."

March 9. "...We looked at the Maple Rooms (English Suite) and added some decorations there..."

March 10."...At 4 p.m. I went to town to visit the exhibition of old works organized by Aunt Mikhen with charity purposes. I went there with Mother. It was very interesting. Then I had tea at Mother's and after that I went back to Tsarskoe. Mother and Misha came later to have dinner with us. Then there was a small concert. A trio was playing - Power, the pianist whom we had got to know in Darnstadt, a cellist and a violinist. They made a remarkably harmonious ensemble..."

March 12."...At breakfast time Uncle Sergei & Ella came & settled in the opposite wing of the house .... In the evening we had a cinema-show. The program was extremely beautiful & varied ..."

April 1. "...In the morning we took all our dogs for a walk with their grown puppies..."

Apr.15. At 8 p.m. we went to the gala performance of the "Sleeping Beauty" with Emperor Francis Joseph (of Austria). They showed two acts. Wonderful!"

Apr.16. "At 2 p.m. we went to Tsarskoe Selo. I was so happy to get back there..."

Apr.19. "...At 10 a.m. we went to meet Irene who came to stay with us for some time from Kiel. We brought her to the Alexander Palace and showed her her new rooms. (the Maples (English Suite) )."

Apr.20. "...We had tea in Alix's balcony..."

Apr.23. "...My dear wife's name-day. The day was beautiful. In the morning the German choir from St.Petersburg sang a serenade below her windows and our choir also performed some pieces..."

Apr.29. "...In the evening we invited the cossacks whom Irene had never seen before. They sang and danced very well..."

May 1. "...We listened to the singers and balalaika-players of the Composite Battalion. Irene liked them very much..."

May 6. "...We had breakfast in our rotunda and listened to the music at the same time - that was Andreev's choir with his 20 balalaika-players. They were wonderful..."

May 8. "...Linghardt brought my portrait and finished it here with everybody present. Alix gave him her instructions..."

May 11. "...We went boating to our both ponds. Alex was taking pictures..."

May 12. "...The two of us had breakfast in the balcony where we had had dinner the day before..."

May 15. "...When we were boating we transplanted the willows in the new place near the second pond..." (at that time Nickolas had a dog whose name was Monte Christo. He took him for a walk every day to hunt crows).

July 23. Peterhof "...French artist Rolle was painting my portrait and kept the table occupied in the balcony for two hours - a real rogue!!..."

Aug.23. "...In the evening we enjoyed our well-known choir and orchestra of Andreev's balalaika-players..."

Aug.22,Warsaw "...At 9.30 p.m. we went to see a gala performance in the Grand Theatre. They showed "Lohengren" with Peshke singing beautifully..."

Sept.25. Darmstadt. "...In the evening we were in the theatre and enjoyed listening to the charming Offenbakh's opera "Hofmann's Stories" which was made up of his 3 stories..."

Oct.18. In the train going from Darmstadt to Russia. "...I've been reading Count Buturlin's Notes in The Russian Archive for the whole day..."

Oct.19. "...At 7.30 p.m. we came to Tsarskoe Selo. We used the new railway from Alexandrovka to our station. We showed Thora (maybe Princess Victoria) her rooms upstairs. The 3 of us had dinner together at 8.30. We were awfully hungry after our trip and what's more the dinner was cooked by Cubat so I stuffed myself in an indecent way..."

Oct.25. "...At 7.15. Alix, Thora and I went to town. We saw "La douleureuse" which was performed by Rejane's company. She herself played her part ideally..."

Oct.26. "...While we were having dinner we enjoyed listening to the music which was played in the next hall to 10 p.m...."

Oct.28. "...After dinner we listened to Cossacks' songs and watched them dancing..."

Nov.2. "...In the evening we listened to the string orchestra..."

Nov.9. "...We listened to the string orchestra, to our new cellist and to Mamechik, a Romanian chamber music virtuoso..."

Nov.9. "At 7.30 Thora and I went to town to listen to "The Queen of Spades". We enjoyed listening to that wonderful opera..."

Nov.13. "...At 7.30. we went to town to listen to the marvellous "Eugene Onegin"..."

Nov.16. "...At 7.15. we went to town to see the new ballet "Macado's Daughter". The dancing and the staging were excellent but the music and the ballet itself were dull..."

Nov.18. "...At 7.15. we went to town to listen to the opera "Oprichnik" which we liked very much..."

Nov.20. "...Grigory and I were selecting pictures for the museum named after Father. We had a family dinner in the Library and listened to Andreev's orchestra's remarkable playing. They have 21 people now..."

Nov.21. "...We spent the whole evening in the Library where we had had dinner..."

Nov.22. "...After dinner we listened to the string orchestra. Misha and I bathed together in my swimming bath..."

Nov.23. "...At 7.15. we went to town to see "The Sleeping Beauty". It was a wonderful performance..."

Nov.23. "...The two of us went for a walk with all our dogs..."

Nov.26. "...We returned to our old home with great pleasure..."

Nov.27. "...Alix and Thora went to the Opera House and I went to the French Theatre. They showed a very good play that was called "La mari de la debutante..."

Nov.28. "...The two of us had breakfast alone. Then we hung pictures in the new rooms..."

Dec.15. "...At 7.15. we went to Petersburg to the circus. We had been there together only once in 1889! The performance was interesting. They showed a lot of different things. We were especially impressed by the finale - different animals jumped into the water and swam across the arena..."

Dec.22. "...We went to the theatre again to listen to the wonderful "Mephisto". This opera makes me think of many things. Father liked it very much! The Figners sang beautifully..."

Dec.29. "...At 12 sharp I received Metropolitan Palladium and his brotherhood in the Corner Room..."

Dec.31. "...Having walked through all the rooms of our house we left Tsarskoe at 3.30 for dirty Petersburg..."

1898

Jan.6. "...We went to see the wonderful "Dubrovsky" which was a great success..."

Jan.7. "...We went to see a new beautiful ballet called "Raymonda". Glazunov's music was very nice and the staging was good, too..."

Jan.8. "...Listened to "The Clowns". Wonderful!..."

Jan.10. "...After breakfast we went to see the exhibition of English painting and I bought 3 pictures...

Jan.11. "...At 2 p.m. I took her (the Spanish infanta Eulalie) to the exhibition of water-colours in the Academy of Arts. We bought 4 pictures..."

Jan.13. "...We went again to see the funny play "La Jalousse" and laughed a lot..."

Jan.14. "...After dinner we enjoyed listening to "Eugine Onegin" in the Opera House..."

Jan.15. "...At 8 p.m. we went to see Savina's benefit performance. They showed the play "Marianna Vedel" that had been written by Vsevolozhsky a long time before. After that we laughed a lot at the funny play "Women's Nonsense..."

Jan.17. "...At 8.30. I went alone to see the French play "Les 3 Silles de M.Dupont". A tragic modern picture..."

Jan.24. "...We went to the theatre to see "Margot", a sweet thing. It was Thomassini's farewell benefit performance..."

Jan 27. "...I looked at Becker's pictures in the White Hall..."

Jan.28 ."...I listened to the wondertul "Esmeralda". Bolska was singing that part..."

Feb.5. "...After dinner I went to see Vasilyeva's farewell benefit performance. They showed several plays. The main one was "The Khrushchev Landowners".

Feb.8. "...They showed three different ballets & the old man Kshessinsky's benefit performance to celebrate the 60th anniversary of his stage service. He danced several mazurkas himself. The performence was splendid."

Feb.13."... In the evening I began reading aloud to Alix "War & Peace..."

Feb.21."...At 3 p.m. I went to see the travelling exhibition in the Society for the Promotion of Artists..."

Feb.22."...At 2 p.m. Mother & I visited the academic exhibition. It is very big & more interesting than all those I had seen before."

Feb.24."...At 2 p.m. I went to see the exhibition of Petersburg painters in the Academy of Sciences ... At 8 p.m. I went to hear the wonderful "Valkyria"..."

Feb.25."...After dinner I went to the German Theatre where I saw a very good play "Hoffhunst"."

Feb.26."...In the evening I read "War & Peace" aloud to Alix for a long time. Very interesting though I am reading it for the second time!".

Feb.28."...At 3 p.m. I went to look at the museum named after my Father in his memory. It was quite ready to be opened and produced a very favourable impression on me. It looked quite full of things though they have been selecting them for the Museum for no longer than 2 years!..."

Mar.2. "...I went to listen to the wonderful "Lohengrin". Both Reshkes were singing..."

Mar.3. "...The opera "Meistersinger" lasted for hours on end we left before it ended..."

Mar.5. "...I went to listen to the opera "Ziegfried" which I had heard in 1889. I enjoyed it this time!..."

Mar.7. "...At 2 Mother and I went to see the opening ceremony of the museum named after my dear Father. After the service we looked at the halls of both floors..."

Mar.11. "...At about 9 p.m. we went again to listen to "Meistersinger" which I liked very much..."

Mar.13. "...In the evening I went to listen to the opera "Tristan and Isolde". Though I heard it for the first time I liked it very much..."

Mar.16. "...After breakfast the 4 of us went to the Hermitage to look at the new archaeological excavations..."

Mar.17. "...I went to listen to "Tristan and Isolde" for the second time and deeply enjoyed it..."

Mar.21. "...I went to Stiglitz's Museum to see the exhibition of Italian painting. There were a lot of beautiful and interesting pictures..."

Apr.11. "...We spent the night in the French Theatre and enjoyed the play "La famille Pont-Bignet".

Apr.12. "...I began packing things to leave for Tsarskoe with great pleasure..."

Apr.14. "...At 2 p.m. we left for Tsarskoye Selo. It's been a long time since I felt so impatient to move here! As soon as we arrived I took my dogs for a walk in the park... We spent the evening in my study..."

Apr.15. "...I went for a walk with my whole pack of dogs. They are 7 now. After dinner I read "War and Peace" to Alix..."

Apr.19. "...We had breakfast in the rotunda as usual..."

Apr.20. "...After dinner we were busy hanging pictures in our rooms and in the new rooms upstairs..."

Apr.23."...My dear Alix's name-day... While we were having coffee an orchestra was playing below our windows. Then" Liedertaffel" sang in the hall. There were gardeners with heaps of flowers and all other servants - they were all eager to wish a happy name-day and to kiss her hand and shoulder. It was very touching but dull!... There was a big breakfast in the Mirror Hall (Billiard Hall)and a lot of talking..."

Apr.24. "...We were boating and sailed from our pond to the Krestovsky pond through the lock that was made again under the bridge..."

Apr.25. "...After the string orchestra we listened to the harpist Chiarlono and the violinist Grigorovich...'

May 6. "...I am 30 years old! In the morning, as usual, our servants wished me "happy birthday"- the gardener with flowers and fruit, etc. At 11 a.m. we went to the church. We had breakfast in the Mirror Hall (Billiard Hall) again... After dinner we listened to the music and then went for a drive..."

May 8. "...We visited all the greenhouses and ate a lot of different fruit and vegetables there..."

May 11. "...We drank tea in the corner balcony as we did last year..."

May 14. "...A memorable anniversary for us!... We had breakfast in our Corner Sitting Room..."

May 16. "...After walking we hung a lot of old pictures in the vacant places in the rooms which used to be occupied by pictures by Russian masters that had been taken to the Father's Museum..."

May 17. "...We listened to the string orchestra and the quartet named after Tchaikovsky in which Varlikh (Kapelm) himself was playing..."

May 20. "...At 7 p.m. we gave a big dinner to the king of Bukhara..."

June 6. "...After breakfast Alix and Ella took each other's pictures in the room..." June 7. "...We had breakfast together and then talked in the balcony. Gorodetsky (former Lapret) took pictures of Ella, Alex and me in the corner balcony. I went for a walk alone and as it is my old habit, I wandered about the forest. Then I read up to 7.30. Then we had dinner with music..."

Dec.16, p.175. "...At 10.15 we came to Tsarskoe Selo..."

Dec.20, p.178. "...We had breakfast in the Mauve Room with Sergei"

Dec.22, p.180. "...I listened to the reports in the Library. Then we had breakfast with Count Muravyov. At 8 p.m. the banner of the Pavlovsk Military School was hammered in the Concert Hall. A deputation of the Military School of Sensire was present....Alix and I had dinner in the bedroom as we used to do in the Crimea..."

Dec.23, p.182. "...We had dinner alone and then looked at the porcelain and crystal things manufactured at our factories..."

1899

Jan.5, p,193. "...At 2.30 p.m. I went to the Society for the Promotion of Artists where I with the other members of the family looked at the interesting exhibition of French painting..."

Jan.19, p.204. "...We had dinner with Sergei and looked at Zizi's wonderful drawings made by her for the album of Father's and Mother's coronation..."

Jan.30, p.210. Petersburg "...At 2.15 I went to the Academy of Arts to see the exhibition of water-colours... When I came back home (the Winter Palace) Alix and I went to the Hermitage to see the collection of ancient Greek things which had been bought in Paris not long before. It was very interesting..."

Feb.13,1899, p.218. "...At 2.30 we went to see the exhibition of pictures and other works of art in Stiglitz's Museum..."

March 7, p.9. "...I've visited the exhibition of St.Petersburg painters in the Academy of Sciences...'

March 13, p.13. "...After breakfst I visited the academic exhibition where I bought one picture by Rosen..."

March 14, p.14. "...The two of us went to the Hermitage where we looked at the collection bought by the Bocks from Egypt. The exhibits date back to the first Christians... Tsarskoye Selo.

March 18, p.16. :...At 2.30 we left St.Petrsburg for our sweet Tsarskoe Selo...As soom as we arrived there I went for a walk. I enjoyed the park and my solitude. I unpacked and arranged my things in a few minutes as now I have a double complete set of things in both places..."

March 19, p.17. "...I went for a walk in the morning. After the reports there was a grand reception. Here in Tsarskoe it seems more pleasant than in the city to do that sort of things, that's why I do my work here more eagerly and assiduously..."

March 20, p.18. "...At 7 p.m. we were at the night service in our Field Church in the Red Sitting Room. After dinner Alix and I were in my room..."

Apr.5, p.28. "...I was busy hanging pictures in the halls and rooms..."

Apr.9, p.30. "...We listened to our string orchestra. After dinner a Frenchman played the organ for us which he himself had invented..."

Apr.11, p.31. "...We looked at the water-colours and photos in the Corner Room..."

Apr.13, p.33. "...At 3.30 we left Tsarskoe again for St.Petersburg..."

Apr.17, p.36. "...Then I was sitting for a long time for the miniature. It's very dull to deny oneself a walk when the weather is fine..."

Apr.21, p.39. "...At 3 p.m. we returned to our sweet Tsarskoe Selo. As soon as we arrived I went for a walk with my pack..."

Apr.23, p.40. "...My darling Alex's name-day. In the morning things happened in their usual way. We were at the service in the Corner Room. Only members of the family were present. We had breakfast in the Library...'

Apr.24, p.41. "...From 2.30 to 5.30 I sat for the last time for the miniature..." St.Petersburg.

May 2, p.47. "...At 2 p.m. the whole family went to the Michailovsky Manege to see the exhibition of poultry farming. Nickolasha (Grand Duke Nickolai Nickolayevich) was its chairman. It was rather interesting and useful. Then I visited the French exhibition in Stiglitz's Museum. There were a lot of beautiful works. I bought two..."

May 5, p.51. "...We all enjoyed listening to Andreev's balalaika-players. They played perfectly. At tea-time in the evening I got presents from all the members of the family..."

May 8, p.54. "...It's a pity we have to leave our sweet Tsarskoe so soon!..." (They moved to Peterhof).

Aug.12, p.127. "...At 10 a.m. we went to the Grand Palace to look at the pictures that came after they had been ordered..."

Sept.6, pp.148-149. Denmark "...We also selected a lot of porcelain things made at the Bing Private Factory..."

Oct.8, p.177. Darmstadt "...At 4.30 we went to Darmstadt. Having had tea in their house we went to the furniture store "Trier" which we knew very well. We explored every room there and bought alot of things..."

Nov.5, p.205. "...At 9.30 we came to our sweet home - Tsarskoe Selo... We felt joy when we entered our cosy rooms again. Wedidn't notice anything new except for the lift to the nursery which had been built in the passage... The whole eve-ning we watched the boxes with a lot of things we had bought abroad being unpacked! It was a joyful procedure. Then I enjoyed bathing in my swimming-pool..."

Nov.19, p.216. "...We had dinner in the Library - all of us and Kyrill. In the evening I put the pictures taken in Denmark and Wolfsgarten in the album..."

Nov.20. p.216. "...I saw the exhibition of Austrian painters in St.Petersburg in the Society for the Promotion of Artists. I discovered a lot of new things for myself as I had known nothing about those painters before. Besides paintings, there were exhibited a lot of sculptural pieces, pieces of furniture and other works of art. I bought two pictures, a bronze statue of a soldier and a Hungarian glass vase..."

Nov.21, p.217. "...We looked at the hand-made things brought by Galkin and Vrassky from the regions that had suffered of bad harvest a year before..."

Dec.8, p.6. "...From 2.30 to 5 I was present at the sitting of the Siberian Committee which took place in the Corner Room..."

Dec.27, p.19. "...At 4.30 we had a New Year party for the officers in the Semi-circular Hall..." 1900. St.Petersburg.

Jan.15, p.38. "...At 3 we went to the Society for the Promotion of Artists in Morskaya St. to see Vereshchagin's exhibition..."

Jan.19, p.39. "...At 8 p.m. we went to the Mariinsky Theatre to see Savina's benefit performance dedicated to the 25-th anniversary of her stage work. There was no end of ovation and innumerable gifts. It was so nice to be in that theatre again after 2 years' interval!..."

Jan.21, p.41. "...We went to listen to the opera "Faust". Chaliapin sang Mephisto's part perfectly!..."

Jan.26, p.44. "...We went to the Michailovsky Theatre to see the play "Cyrano de Bergerac". It's an extraordinary beautiful and interesting play which produced a great impression on me!..."

Jan.28, p.45. "...At 8 p.m. Alix and I went to listen to our favourite opera "Tristan and Isolde" and enjoyed its beautiful music..."

Feb.3, p.50. "...At 2.30 we went to see the exhibition of paintings in Solyanoy Gorodok..."

Feb.10, p.55. "...The ballet "Harlequiniada" was remarkably good and beautiful..."

Feb.13, p.57. "...For some short period of time I sat for my portrait which Serov is painting. Then I read for a long time. After dinner I went to see Kshessinnskaya's benefit ballet performance dedicated to the 10th anniversary of her stage work. The performance was really very beautiful..."

Feb.16, p.59. "...We went to listen to the new opera "Bohema" by Puccini. Beautiful but sad..."

Feb.17, p.60. "...At 7 p.m. "Hamlet" began and finished at 1.30 a.m.in the Hermitage Theatre. The performance was a great success, Kostia (K.R. - Grand Duke) played best of all and the staging was remarkable..."

Feb.18, p.60. "...I was sitting for Serov's portrait and nearly fell asleep..."

Feb.26, p.67. "...I sat for Serov's picture..."

Feb.28, p.68. "...At 2.30 we went to see the academic exhibition and then another one in the Academy of Sciences. There we saw a lot of trash. It's a fashion nowadays to fall into disgusting decadence..."

Feb.29, p.69. "...At 2.30 we went to see the exhibition of the Travelling Artists where we saw much better pictures than the day before..."

Apr.24, p.117. "...We went to Tsarskoe Selo..."

May 13, p.133. "...During the interval between the reports I received 4 American scientists..."

May 14, pp.133-134. "...We had breakfast in the Alexander Palace in the Semi-circular Hall. We went outside and talked and smoked near the colonnade where I was for the first time..."

May 25, p.142. "...My dear Alix's birthday. She is 28 today! Having received the gardeners we went to the Semi-circular Hall to listen to the beautiful singing of the German choir..."

May 31, p.148. "...On the ground in front of the Palace the old cossacks who were leaving for their homes and the new ones who came to take their place introduced themselves to us and to each other..."

June 4, p.151. "...We left Tsarskoe and came to Peterhof..."

Fund 601, doc.242, 1901.

Jan.29, p.141. Petersburg "...I went to the Opera house. Mother came there, too. They showed "Tristan and Isolde". The music and singing were superb! I deeply enjoyed myself

Feb.2, p.144. "...We went to the Opera House. They showed "Valkyria". It was wonderful!..."

Feb.3, pp.144-145. "...After breakfast Ernie and I went to the Academy of Arts to see the exhibition of decadent artists with Diaghilev at the head. Then we visited all the studios in the semi-circular department... Then I put on my full-dress uniform and went to the Mariinsky Theatre; there was a masquerade performance consisting of different strange scenes in a pure decadent style. It was all for the benefit of the Theatrical Society..."

Feb.9, p.139. "...After the reports the 4 of us went to Tsarskoye Selo. We showed the whole Alexander Palace to Ernie and Ducky. Then we went for a walk and enjoyed fresh air..."

Feb.26, p.162. "...Alex wint to see our children in Tsarskoe Selo to find out that they were doing quite well..."

March 4, pp.166-167. "...We went in Mother's train as far as Tsarskoe, then we said "good-bye" to her and she went on her way to Denmark. Misha and Olga stayed with us in the Alexander Palace. We were very happy to see our dear children..."

March 5, p.167. "...It was so nice to wake up and to realize that I was not in town but in Tsarskoye Selo..."

March 6, p.168. "...It's so quiet here and it's much more pleasant to work here than in the city..."

March 8, p 169. "...At dinner-time and after we enjoyed listening to our string orchestra..."

March 9, p.170. "...After Witte's report I had a sitting with several ministers to discuss the riots in the higher educational establishments..."

March 10, p.171. "...After dinner we went to the Manege where Han showed to us some very funny films..."

March 11, p.171. "...At 10.30 we were at the service in the Red Sitting Room where there is our Field Church now..."

Fund 601, doc.242.

March 13, p.172. "...After dinner we enjoyed listening to the wonderful music of Andreev's balalaika-players..."

March 15, p.173. "...At dinner-time and after a brass band was playing..."

March 16, p.173. "...From 12 to 1.15 we had a sitting of minis-ters... After dinner we listened to a rather interesting report of the Captain of the 1st Engineer Battalion Ziegercorn about the English-Boer War. He spent 4 months in Transvaal..."

March 18, p.175. "...Then a wonderful cellist played for us. It was a French boy, Bazeler by name..."

March 20, p.176. "...At 12 we received the Duke of Abercorn with his Ambassador Extraordinary to announce Uncle Berty's coming to the throne. I had to wear my Scots Greys uniform..."

March 21, p.177. "...At 7 p.m. we gave a gala dinner in honour of the English in the Semi-circular Hall. They left at 9p.m...."

March 22, p.178. "...In the evening we listened to our balalaika-players. They are 18 now. They played very well..."

March 26, p.181. "...In the evening I talked to a remarkable Frenchman, M.Philippe by name. Alix met him, too..."

March 28, p.182. "...In the evening we made our confessions in the bedroom..."

Apr.6, p.188. "...In the morning I took all my dogs for a walk, as usual. From 12 to 1 p.m. I had a sitting with the ministers..."

Apr.28, p.203. "...We had breakfast, tea and dinner in the balcony. We went for a walk, picked up a lot of flowers and went bo- ating in the ponds..."

May 5, p.209. "...At 7 I got presents from my dear Alix and a very beautiful show-case among other gifts..."

Nov.5, p.160. "...At 9.30 we came to Tsarskoe Selo. The weather was frosty (-3 C) but sunny. The sledge track was very good. As soon as we came we had a service..."

Nov.7, p.162. "...We spent the whole evening with our "friend" who had come with them (Nickolai Nickolayevich, Melissa Nickolayevna, Anastasia Nickolayevna) from the Crimea..."

Nov.9, p.163. "...We spent the rest of the day and the whole evening with our friend. We got acquainted with his daughter; her husband was also there. We had a nice time together. I got a medical degree certificate for him of the Military Medical Academy. Nickolasha ordered a full-dress uniform of a military doctor for him right away. We returned to Tsarskoye at 12.30..."

Nov.11, p.165. "...We had breakfast in the Semi-circular Hall as we had done before... Then Alix and I went for a walk. At dinnertime we listened to the string orchestra which played up to 10.30 p.m...."

Nov.15, p.168. "...In the evening we looked at the old prints from the shop..."

Nov.19, p.170. "...After dinner Alix, Ella and three orchestra pla-yers played in the Corner Sitting Room...'

Dec.12, p.188. "...At 3.30 we went to the Society for the Promotion of Artists where we looked at the exhibition of French works of art and jewelry. We bought a few things...'

Dec.29, p.199. "...It was a frosty day. At 12.30 Metropolitan Antony came to the carol-singing with the monks of the Alexander Nevsky Monastery. Then they had breakfst with us..."

Dec.30, p.200. "...After the service we received the Crown Prince of Siam and had breakfast with him and everybody staying in the Palace. After that I also received the Spanish Ambassador Piode Savua..."

Dec.31. "...At 3.30 we left Tsarskoye and the whole family settled in Petersburg..."

1902. St.Petersburg. Fund 601, doc.244

Jan.3, p.2. "...At 7.15 we went to the theatre. They showed "Crime and Punishment" in French. It was well-done..."

Jan.23, p.17. "...For the first time this year we went to listen to the opera. It was "Valkyria". The performance was wonderful!..."

Feb.2, p.24. "...Then we all went to listen to the new opera "The Princess of Dreams". The music is good but it seems to be stolen..."

Feb.4, p.25. "..."Ziegfrid" was wonderful!..."

Feb.10, p.29. "...We all went to the French Theatre to see the play "La Tosca". It was extremely interesting...'

Feb.11, p.30. "...We went to listen to the opera "Prince Igor". It was beautiful but lasted too long..."

Feb.18, p.35. "...We came back to Uncle Misha's. In the Grand Hall we listened to the singing of the amateur choir. They gather at Sergei's every week. Then Chaliapin came and gave us a lot of moments of delight..."

Feb.20, p.36. "...We went to listen to "Life for the Tsar" which was an excellent performance. Chaliapin sang Sussanin's part..."

Feb.23, p.38. "...I went to see two exhibitions - of the Travelling Artists in Morskaya St. and of St.Petrsburg Artistic Club in the Passage. The second was better and richer in good pictures..."

March 2, p.44. "...We went to see the academic exhibition which seemed to us much poorer than others..."

March 6, p.47. "...At 2.30 I went to the Academy of Sciences to see the exhibition of old paintings and portraits organized by Maura..."

March 7, p.47. "...Sergei and Ella had breakfast with us. She and Alix went to organize a charity fete of Faberge things belonging to our family..."

March 9, p.49. "...After breakfast we went to see the opening ceremony of Alix's charity fete in Dervise's house. It felt strange to see my own things as well as the things belonging to other people whom I knew very well. The collections of the old snuff-boxes and miniatures were very interesting..."

March 10, p.50. "...We went to the Nobility Club to listen to the concert of church choirs (550 people all in all) conducted by Arkhanguelsky. They sang very well and moved my soul. The items were well chosen..."

March 11, p.51. "...We went to the museum named after Father where we looked at the collection of about two thousand Buddha statuettes bought by me from Ukhtomsky..."

March 13, pp.52-53. "...We went to the Michailovsky Theatre where Alexeev's amateur company was playing "Three Sisters" by Checkov. The performance left a depressing impression..."

March 24, p.60. "...In the Malachite Sitting Room we listened to the bylin singer (a bylin is a Russian traditional heroic poem), a peasant of Olonetsky province..."

March 27, p.62. "...We looked at the famous collection of Russian crystal and porcelain things in Nickolasha's house..."

March 28, p.63. "...At 7.30 p.m. we went to Stanya. The seven of usgathered again with "our friend". We listened to him at dinner-time and through the whole evening up to 1 a.m.. I'd never be tired of listening to him..."

Apr.12, p.73. "...I showed to Nickolasha the museum of china upstairs..."

Apr.15, p.75. "...We went to the French Theatre to see "La dame aux camelias". A fascinating performance..."

Apr.17, p.77. "...The day to move to our dear Tsarskoe Selo came at last... After dinner I read and made arrangements in my rooms..."

Apr.21, p.79. "...After tea I hung the new pictures in the rooms upstairs..."

Apr.23, p.80. "...My dear Alix's name-day... In the morning our good German choir from Petersburg sang a few beautiful songs.There was a big breakfast in the Mirror Hall (Billiard Hall)..."

Apr.29, p.85. "...Today there was a big service in the Red Sitting Room on the occasion of ...(?) 11th anniversary..."

Apr.30, p.86. "...Before dinner I was riding a bicycle and fell down as I ran into one of my dogs..."

May 23, pp.104-105. "...At 10 o'clock we left our dear Tsarskoe for Peterhof..."

June 3, p.113. "...I went to the farm where I received a Turkish delegation which brought porcelain vases and a tea-set from the Sultan made in his own factory..."

Fund 601, doc.245. 1902.

Dec.11,p.66. "...We came to Tsarskoe Selo at 12.30 (from Livadia)... Then we looked at our new rooms that had been built to replace the former Concert Hall and the nursery upstairs..."

Dec.15, p.70. "...At 8 p.m. we had dinner with Uncle Vladimir, Aunt Mikhen and our family. We listened to the young Check violinist Kubelik who played incredibly complicated music and showed himself as a real virtuoso..."

Dec.16, p.71. "...I hung pictures in both new rooms..." Dec.18,pp.72-73. "...At 7.15 we went to town to listen to the wonderful "Mephisto" in the Opera House. Chaliapin was singing the main part. It lasted for a long time - we came back to Tsarskoe at 1 a.m...."

1903

Jan.17, p.95. "...We went to listen to "Tristan". Van Deyne was singing his part and Isolde was sung by Litvin. We deeply enjoyed that wonderful music and splendid singing..."

Jan.20 p.97. "...At 7.30 the wonderful "Gotter dammerung" began. I had not heard that marvellous opera for a long time..."

Feb.3, pp.106-107. "...At 3.15 we went to the Passage to see the exhibition of water-colours. I bought one picture..."

Feb.5, p.108. "...At 3 o'clock we went to see the exhibition of French painting in the Society for the Promotion of Artists..."

Feb.6, p.109. "...We went to the arts exhibition in Moskovskaya St. where we looked at the interiors decorated in the new disgusting style... Then we went to listen to Rimsky-Korsakov's opera "The Tsar's Bride" Not bad!..."

Feb.24, p.122. "...At 3 o'clock we went to the Academy of Sciences to see the exhibition of pictures. I bought one..."

March 9, p.133. Tsarskoye Selo. "...At 2.30 we left St.Petersburg and, thanks God, we settled comfortably in Tsarskoe Selo.I walked in the park and looked into all its corners inspite of the heavy rain. Then I arranged things in my rooms. After dinner we went about the Palace and pointed the places to hang the pictures. In the evening we put everything in order..."

March 14, p.136. "...After dinner Han showed the film in which we saw ourselves marching through the halls of the Hermitage wearing the Russian national costumes..."

March 15, p.136. "...When Tatiana was standing up in the car she badly pinched her leg..."

Apr.17, p.168. "...At 10 p.m. we came to Tsarskoe Selo (from Moscow). The weather was fine and the temperature was the same as in Moscow but the trees were not so green as there. As soon as we came I went for a walk with my dogs..."

Apr.22, p.172. "...We had dinner in the hall next to the Semi-circular Hall where the string orchestra was playing..."

Apr.23, p.173. "...We watched Han's films for a long time..."

May 18, p.196. "...We were happy to settle down in Tsarskoe. It was time to rest after all those celebrations and fuss of the last 4 days!...

Fund 601, doc.246, 1903, Tsarskoye Selo.

 

May 21, p.2. "...After the reports there was a grand reception in the halls - 40 people. After breakfast the two of us received the mayors of six French cities..."

May 26, p.6. "...We had dinner in the balcony..."

May 31, p.9. "...For the last time I went for a walk to our wonderful shady park and visited Voron's and Iman's graves on the Children's Island. At 2.30 we left our sweet Tsarskoe and at 3.30 we came to Peterhof. The weather was dull and rather cold..."

Sept.29, p. 119, Germany. "...After breakfast we dropped in at the new furniture store on our way to Jugenheim..."

Oct.6, p.125, Germany. "...At 10 o'clock Ernie and I went to Frankfurt by car. We visited Goldsmidt's Store and got stuck there, so we didn't have time to go to other stores. I spent quite a sum to buy some wonderful old things..."

Oct.8,p.127. "...I read aloud an old English book "The Invisible Man"..."

Oct.13, p.130. "...Ernie and I went to Frankfurt and having bought a lot of things there, came home very soon..."

Oct. 20, p.137. Germany. "...Painter Kaulbakh painted my portrait..."

Nov.22, p.166. "...At 2 o'clock we came to our dear Tsarskoe Selo. The children were waiting for us in the Library and met us with flowers. Having unpacked my luggage I went for a walk with my dogs to the garden..."

Dec.5, pp.175-176. "...I was choosing porcelain and glass vases to be sent abroad as presents. Alix was also busy selecting things for Christmas presents... Before dinner she gave me wonderful gifts..."

Dec.18, p.184. Petersburg. "...At 7 p.m. Misha and I went to have dinner with the shots (?) of the Imperial Family. We had a very good time there. The Romanians played some music; an American couple danced sax-walk. Actor Malsky told us very funny anecdotes..."

Dec.24, p.188. Tsarskoe Selo. "...The children's New Year party was organized upstairs in the Big Corner Room (Playroom). At 5 p.m. we left for Gatchina. Mother, I and others were at the service, then we had our family New Year party in Maria Fyodorovna's apartment, as usual. We had dinner and at 10.30 went back to Tsarskoe. We lit our small fir-tree in our bedroom as we had done before. We gave each other a lot of wonderful gifts..."

Dec.31, p.194. "...Alix got up at last and moved to the couch in the Mauve Room. At 7.30 there was a service in her new room (Maple Room) and she could hear it as the doors were not closed. I had dinner in the bedroom. We went to bed early...'
NICKOLAS'S DIARY STARTING FROM JULY 1,1907. FUND 601, FILE 251.

p.193,Oct.27, "...We came to Tsarskoe Selo at 3.30 (from Peterhof). Just after the arrival I went for a walk. After tea I read for some time and then arranged my things in the rooms. In the evening we played two games of pyramid..."

p.198,Nov.4, "...Music was played when we were having breakfast. We went for a walk with the children. Just before we left Aleksey had come to show me his new crimson shirt. He was very pleased as he thought that he looked like a real shot. Anya (Vyrubova) had tea with us, then I read. After dinner we went to see the rooms on the other side..."

p.201, Nov.9. "...At 10.30 Ella, Maria, Dmitry and William (of Sweden) came from Moscow. They all took the rooms on the other side that were rather comfortable. We had break- fast all together... In the evening I played billiard with Willy and Dmitry..."

FUND 601, FILE 252

p.2, Nov.13. "...Alix was better but stayed in bed the whole day not to take the risks. I slept in my bathroom..."

p.4, Nov.15. "...After tea Grigory came to see us quite unexpectedly!..."

p.6, Nov.18. "...In the evening we listened to Glavach playing the organ..."

p.7, Nov.21. "...At 10 a.m. I received the American State Secretary of Defence Mr.Taft and General Edwards. I invited them to visit the Manege and to have breakfast with me. The table was laid in the Grand Hall and we talked up to 2 p.m...."

p.23, Dec.13. "...For the first time after her illness Alex had dinnerin the Mauve Room lying on the couch. Ella and I ate at her side..."

p.25, Dec.18. "...I had dinner near Alix's couch..."

p.28, Dec.23. "...I sat for the medal-master Vasyutinsky..."

p.29, Dec.24. "...At 4 p.m. Alix went up in the elevator to the children's rooms to be present at their New Year Party.."

p.30, Dec.25. "...After tea we lit our fir-tree and gave each other a lot of good presents..."

p.31, Dec.26. "...I sorted out and arranged the presents I had got."

1908

p.37, Jan.2. "...I had dinner in the bedroom and worked for a long time..."

p.51, Jan.25. "...After dinner I read aloud to Alix Leskov's short stories..."

p.57, Feb.4. "...After breakfast I went for a walk with my children and we built a snow-house..."

p.63, Feb.14. "...We looked at the pictures brought from the exhibition of water-colours..."

p.68, Feb.21. "...I walked for some time and then worked with the smaller children on the snow; we started building a tower..."

p.70, Feb.24. "...Children and I worked for a long time on the skating-rink. Alex sat there, too, an took pictures of us..."

p.70, Feb.25. "...70 lower ranks introduced themselves to me in the Semi-circular Hall. They came to serve in the Composite Regiment..."

p.72, Feb.28. "...I sat for the medal-maker Vasyutinsky for quite a long time..."

p.73, Feb.29. "...After breakfast I sat for the portrait-painter Bogdanov -Belsky..."

p.74, March 3 "...After dinner Irene and I looked at my old albums."

p.75, March 4 "...After dinner we looked at the albums and played old games..."

p.83, March 17 "...In the evening we looked at the things from the China Factory and took away the vases that we did not need..."

p.85, March 21 "...At 6 p.m. we went to the station to meet Erni and Onor (?)... We brought them here and gave them rooms in Ella's part..."

p.86, March 22 "...Ernie rearranged the Corner Room (Aleksandra's Formal Reception Room). He brought there a lot of vases from the other side..."

pp.90-91, March 27 "...We gave a dinner in honour of Prince of Chernogoria. Misha, Olga, Nickolasha, Stana, Petyusha and Milicia came to take part in it. All the Ministers were also present. We talked for some time, smoked in the Corner Room and at 9 p.m. said "good-bye" to our guests..."

p.92, March 30 "...I read aloud to Alix the beginning of Empress Elizabeth's Biography written by Nickolai Michailovich..."

p.100, Apr.11 "...Alex and I went to meet Ella, Maria and Dmitry at the station. They took their former rooms. The house is quite full of guests now. There are a lot of people at meals..."

p.107, Apr.19 "...We had a big family dinner with a lot of people present and the Swedes. We sat in the Portrait Hall,smoking and listening to music..."

p.114, Apr.27 "...After dinner Glavach played the organ..."

p.119, May 3 "...After tea we went to the rotunda where children were watching films..."

p.127, May 13 "...We had tea and dinner on the balcony for the first time..."

p.128, May 14 "...We played our favourite game - field billiard..."

pp.132-133, May 19. "...Today we have sent our lugguage to Peterhof in a motor-train "Renard" which was on probation. It proved to be quite all right. It went to Peterhof and back 3 times fully loaded..."

p.133, May 20 "...At 2 p.m. we left our dear Tsarskoe Selo. The sun was shining brightly. We reached Peterhof at about 3 p.m..."

FUND 601, FILE 253

p.74, Oct.23 "...We came to Tsarskoe Selo at 3.30. I found the house surprisingly clean and in good order. I started to arrange things and, what's more important, to sort out papers..."

p.90, Nov.13 "...I read aloud "The Imprinted Angel"..."

p.94, Nov.19 "...I read aloud Leskov's short stories the whole evening..."

p.100, Nov.29 "...Dmitry had dinner with us. We played billiard and I won 6 times..."

1909

p.129,J an.11 "...At 5 p.m. they began to show films for children in the Semi-circular Hall. We went there after tea. It was so interesting that I stayed there up to 7.30..."

p.135,Jan.21 "...Alix is not very well - she has some health problems all the time - she either has an intermittent pulse or she feels pain in her legs and back. She lies on the couch almost all the time. It makes me anxious..."

p.14, Feb.4 "...At 6 p.m. Archimandrite Feophan and Grigory came to see us. He went to see children as well..."

p.149, Feb.9 "...At 11.30 a service began in Alix's new room (Maple Room). The two of us listened to it through the open door..."

p.152, Feb.14 "...The night service took place in the room..."

p.162, Feb.27 "...We took lamp-brackets and electric lamps for our house in Peterhof from the Semi-circular Hall..."

p.162, Feb.28 "...At 2.30 Grigory (Rasputin) came to see us. We received him with all our children present. It was so nice to listen to him when he talked to the whole family. At about he went upstairs with the children..."

pp.166-167, March 6 "...From 6 to 8.15 I was present at the sitting of the Council of Ministers dedicated to the Austrian-Serb affairs"

p.168, March 8. "...from Frankfurt Goldsmidt brought a lot of ancient things for sale. I could not resist buying an elephant of the Danish Order of Elephant..."

p.169, March 10. "...After breakfast I spent an hour and a half in the Portrait Hall where Boisson took pictures of me in different navy uniforms - Russian, German, English, Swedish. Then I worked with Aleksey on the snow..."

p.171, March 12 "...The French engineer Peletri made a profound and a very interesting report on aeronautics and showed a lot of film shots and photos made from aeroplanes. This went on from 10 to 11.30 p.m..."

p.173, March 14 "...When we were playing billiard all the electric lamps suddenly went out and it was dark for about 6 minutes..."

p.182, March 26 "...We walked and worked for a long time on the skating rink at "dear Sasha's" cape..."

p.182, March 27 "...At 12 o'clock we attended the bearing-out of the Shroud of Christ. It is one of my most favourite services! After breakfast Dmitry and I went for a walk to the Island. We also worked there and made a trench in the snow... At 7 a.m we attended the prime. Dmitry and I carried the Shroud. In the evening we played billiard..."

p.184, March 29 Easter. "...After tea I spent some time with Grigory up stairs with the children. He had come unexpectedly!..."

p.186, Apr.1 "...At 12.30 the Japanese Prince Kuni came. He was a small ugly fat young man. There was breakfast in his honour with 24 people present..."

p.187, Apr.2 "...Aunt Mi came to have tea with me in my new study..."

p.188, Apr.3 "...At 6 p.m. Feophan came with Grigory. They stayed for about an hour..."

p.190, Apr.5 "...From 5 to 7 Gan showed to us his new film shots..."

p.195, Apr.12 "...At 9 we went to the rotunda where Prince Golitsyn read to us a very interesting report about earthquakes.."

p.196, Apr.13 "...After dinner I started reading aloud the book "It Happened in St.Petersburg..."

p.203, Apr.23 "...Grigory came at 6. We spent an enjoyable hour and a half in his company..."

FUND 601, FILE 254

p.1, Apr.26 "...After dinner I played billiard with Dmitry, then spent some time with Grigory in children's rooms..."

p.5, May 2 "...We opened the navigation on the ponds, Aleksey and I. First we sailed in "Gatchinka", then in the canoe..."

p.6, May 3 "...In the evening Professor Prokudin-Gorsky made an interesting report about colour photos and showed to us a lot of beautiful pictures..."

p.8, May 5 "...In the evening we enjoyed listening to the wonderful Andreev's orchestra up tp 11.30..."

p.11, May 9 "...We had dinner in Dmitry's rooms. I stayed there up to 10 and then read aloud to Alex..."

P.13, May 12 "...They took a picture of myself in the Portrait Hall wearing Preobrashensky uniform..."

p.24, May 25 "...Alix's birthday began in its usual way - a lot of birthday greetings before the service. Mother came from Gatchina. In the church we stood upstairs during the service. We had a holiday breakfast in our rotunda..."

p.25, May 27 "...At 2.30 we left our dear Tsarskoe. In Peterhof we were met in the usual way..."

p.184, Dec.5 The Crimea. "...Before breakfast I looked at Benois's collection of water-colours..."

p.196, Dec.20 "...At 2.30 we came to Tsarskoe Selo (from the Crimea). We went to the Palace in a sledge..."

FUND 601, FILE 255. 1910

p.3, Jan.4 "...We played pyramid with Dmitry and then Alix, Anya and I played dominoes..."

p.5, Jan.6 "...Grigory came to see Alix and we talked together for a long time..."

pp.8,9, Jan.12"...I received the explorer of the South Pole Sheckleton from England, who turned out to be a very interesting personality..."

p.9, Jan.13 "...I took Aleksey to my swimming-pool to bathe. He was in raptures!..."

p.20, Jan.29 "...After supper I listened to a very good Romanian choir for a long time..."

p.32, Feb.16 "...After breakfast we went to the Portrait Hall to watch the Italian sculptor Canonic make Alexey's bust..."

p.42, March 2 "...After breakfast I sat for a long time for the sculptor Canonic..."

p.52. March 17 "...I was receiving people the whole morning. They were 54. Ella came to have breakfast with us. Then I went for a walk and after that I worked for some time. After tea Ella and I talked about Grigory..."

p.61, March 28 "...After supper with the Composite Regiment we all listened to Plevitskaya's singing. She sang Russian songs which I enjoyed. During the intermission Leonardi's Romanians played but the singer was a much greater success..."

p.63, Apr.1 "...I came back to Tsarskoe Selo at 3. I enjoyed wonderful fresh air which was especially pleasant after the town's disgusting smells. We broke the ice with Aleksey. At 6 p.m. I received Stolypin. Then I read for some time and we finished the evening quietly doing the "puzzle"..."

p.64, Apr.2 "...In the evening we had a sitting of the Historic Society which ended at 12 at night..."

p.71, Apr.10 "...At 3 p.m. I came back to Tsarskoe Selo. Alexey and I opened the navigation on our ponds. We sailed in "Gatchinka" for some time, then I took the canoe and sailed alone."

p.78, Apr.21 "...Smaller children had tea in the garden in front of their Mother's windows... I went for a bicycle ride..."

p.101, May 16 "...Aleksey and I bathed in my bathroom..."

p.103, May 20 "...We had tea on the balcony..."

p.109, May26 "...I packed my things, read and walked about our beautiful park for the last time... At 2.30 we came to Peterhof..."

p.187, Aug.25 GERMANY."...In the afternoon Ernie and I went to Hamburg. We went for a walk to the park. Then we bought some pieces of jewelry from the English jeweller Marx and soon we returned to Friedburg..."

p.193, Sept.1 "...Soon people began to recognize us and we got bored - we could not enter a single shop without being recognized, so we had to go back sooner than we had planned.."

FUND 601, FILE 256

p.48, Nov.3 "...At 11 a.m. we came to Tsarskoe Selo (from Germany).."

p.51, Nov.7 "...I came back home a bit before 6 (after the party they had had in the Hussars' Club). I slept on the couch in my study..."

p.51, Nov.11 "...In the evening I read Averchenko's short stories first for myself and then aloud..."

p.55, Nov.12 "...In the evening we arranged the last photos taken abroad in the album..."

p.56, Nov.14 "...In the evening we played pyramid..."

p.57, Nov.15 "...In the evening I put my photos into the album..."

p.63, Nov.24 "...After dinner I read Gazenkamit's Diary about the war of 1877-78..."

p.70, Dec.5 "...At 6.30 there was a service in our room. We had dinner together, the two of us. I got some presents from Alix..."

p.72, Dec.7 "...I received the American Mr.Hammond..."

p.74, Dec.10 "...I looked at two Tkachenko's pictures about our arrival in Cherbourg and the review of the English fleet..."

p.75, Dec.12 "...I looked at Makovsky's religious pictures..."

p.78, Dec.16 "...At 2.30 I received a deputation of citizens of Tsarskoe Selo who gave all of us, including the children, the medals dedicated to the 200th anniversary of that town.."

p.79, Dec.17 "...At 7.30 I was invited to dinner with the cuirassiers. After dinner we listened to gypsy songs and then to Plevitskaya's imitator Bosharinova..."

p.83, Dec.24 "...At 4 p.m. there was a New Year party for the children upstairs...In the evening there was our party with a lot of presents..."

p.84, Dec.25 "...We attended the liturgy and then looked at Aleksey's new, very complicated but interesting toy - electric rail- way which was a gift from William..."

p.85, Dec.27 "...My holidays came to an end and my regular working days started again. After the Navy report we all went to the Corner Room where the Metropolitan and his brotherhood were carol-singing. Kyrill had breakfast and dinner with us. I walked for some time. At 6 p.m. I received Krivoshein. In the evening we sat near the fir-tree and I read aloud..."

p.87, Dec.30 "...After breakfast I received a deputation from the Urals which brought me a present. Then I sat for the bust Kustodiev was making..."

p.88, Dec.31 "...After breakfast I sat for the bust again for an hour. Alexey tried to entertain me talking with me and making clay figures. At 6 p.m. I received Frederix and Casseo. After dinner we wrote telegrams. At 11.30 there was a service. God bless the beginning of the new year..."

1911

p.90, Jan.2 "...After breakfast I spent some time with Aleksey upstairs. He couldn't leave his bed. Then I sat for the bust for an hour. We walked about the park, it became less frosty, the trees were covered with beautiful rime. Before tea I spent some time with the children, then I worked. After dinner I read aloud..."

p.92, Jan.5 "...I stayed for a long time with Aleksey and Tatiana. They still cough and run a high temperature..."

p.93, Jan.6 St.Petersburg."...At 7.30 Olga and I went to the Opera House. "Boris Godunov" with Chaliapin was on. Chaliapin was splendid...It ended late and I came back to Tsarskoe Selo at 1.15 a.m..."

p.94, Jan.8 "...In the evening I read aloud stories about our ancestors, Boyars the Romanovs..."

p.99, Jan.16 "...For the last time I sat for Kustodiev's bust..."

p.104, Jan.22 "...At 9 Prokudin-Gorsky showed to us his beautiful colour photos of the Volga and the Urals in the Semi-circular Hall. Dmitry and I played billiard..."

p.105, Jan.24 "...Mother and I went to see the collection of stones from the Urals and Denissov-Uralsky's paintings. It was a big and a very interesting collection..."

p.106, Jan.25 "...In the evening our railway pavilion caught fire and was burnt..."

p.108, Jan.28 "...I went to listen to my favourite opera "Tristan and Isolde". It was perfectly conducted by Mottle from Munich. I deeply enjoyed myself!..."

p.113, Feb.4 "...After dinner we enjoyed reading Leskov's short stories.."

p.114, Feb.6 "...We looked at our busts made by Canonic which he showed to us in the Semi-circular Hall. Then he had breakfast with us..."

p.116, Feb.9 "...At 7.30 I brought Olga and Tatiana to town. Our favorite "Eugene Onegin" was on... We were all greatly impressed. We were home safely at 12 though we risked to get stuck in the snow because of the terrible snow-storm..."

p.117, Feb.11 "...Aleksey and I began to build a snow-tower on the skating rink..."

pp.118 Feb.12 "...At 7.30 I was present at the friendly dinner with the Cuirassiers. At first chorus singers sang, then the Neapolitans and Tamara in turn. Her singing was really superb. And she fascinated us with her talent... I left at 5.15 very pleased. I got up at 9... After dinner I read for some time and then we went to Anya's where we talked with Grigory for a long time..."

p.119, Feb.13 "...At 7.15 I left for St. Petersburg. I had dinner with Mother and then we both went to see Kshessinskaya's jubilee performance. There were long greetings and a lot of gifts. I came back to Tsarskoye at about 1..."

p.119, Feb.14 "...We went to see the new opera "The Captain's Daughter". It was very long - 8 scenes. The music was beautiful. I liked the opera..."

p.120, Feb.16 "...I came back home after supper at 5.15 a.m. I slept on the ottoman in my study up to 9.30..."

p.121, Feb.17 "...At 12.20 I took all my daughters to town to see "The Sleeping Beauty". It was excellent! Children enjoyed it....I read Leskov aloud to Alex..."

p.123, Feb.19 "...Irene came to see all our children and all Ksenia's boys. The children were shown films..."

p.127, Feb.26 "...In the afternoon I went tabogganing with children, then we continued building the snow-tower. Dmitry came to have dinner with us, then we played billiard..."

p.129, March 1 "...At 2 I went to the Academy of Arts to see the exhibition there. I also saw the collection of Canonic's works."

p.135, March 8 "...I worked on the Island and on the Tower for a long time..."

p.136, March 9 "...I went to see the exhibition of the Travelling Artists and then the exhibition of Moscow Artists. I came back to Tsarskoe at 4.30..."

p.142, March 18 "...After dinner there was a sitting of the Imperial Historic Society in the Corner Room. They made 3 reports. We finished at 11.15. Alix and I had tea together..."

p.143, March 19 "...At 2 I looked at very interesting objects found during the archeological excavations... Dmitry had dinner with us, then we played billiard..."

p.144, March 20 "...We built the top of the Tower and blocked the entrance."

pp.146,147, March 23, 24 "...I had supper with the Composite Regiment. Plevitskaya sang wonderfully and was never tired of singing..."

p.152, March 31 "...We had breakfast with the Austrian Embassy..."

p.162, Apr.14 "...At 6 they showed films to the children. I stayed with them up to 8. After dinner I read for some time and played billiard with Dmitry..."

p.171, Apr.24 "...We had tea and dinner on the balcony. The evening was very pleasant. I read aloud to Alix "The Karamazovs Brothers"..."

p.171, Apr.25 "...After the reports I received 3 Dutchmen who brought a silver model of Peter the Great's house in Zaandam as a present for me. Canonic had breakfast with us. I took Alix for a drive in her wheel-chair to the park. It was a pleasant but a sweaty occupation... Aleksey and I sailed in "Gatchinka" and in the canoe. We had tea and dinner on the balcony..."

p.175, Apr.29 "...After breakfast we sat on the balcony to feel the spring sun on our skins..."

p.180, May 6 "...I was 43 that day... We listened to the wonderful Andreev's balalaika players up to 11.30..."

p.183, May 10 "...Ella came from Moscow to stay with us for some time..."

p.188, May 16 "...Alix and I had tea in the bedroom..."

p.194, May 22 "...Aleksey and I rode bicycles. The elephant was taken out of his house and brought to our pond in which he bathed for a long time..."

FUND 601, FILE 257

p.1, May 25 "...We had our breakfast with the whole family and up to 2 p.m. we stayed in the Mauve Room with Alix who had been lying on the couch since 12... Dmitry and I played billiard. Then Alix and I had tea together..."

p.2, May 26 "...In the evening I read aloud the correspondence of Catherine and Pavel Petrovich from Our Imperial Library."

p.3, May 27 "...We watched Gan taking pictures of Olga and Tatiana on horsebacks in the garden wearing their Chiefs' Uniforms... At 6 I received Rukhlov and then Putiatin to discuss household problems..."

p.4, May 28 "...We left Tsarskoe Selo at 2.30 and came to Peterhof at 3.20. We moved at a low speed because of Alix..."

p.187, Dec.18 "...We came to Tsarskoe Selo at 6.10..."

p.188, Dec.19 "...I had breakfast with children. Alix was on the couch in the Mauve Room. I inspected the rooms on the other side and then went for a walk to the park. It was snowing but the snow melted as soon as it touched the ground. I put everything in order in my rooms..."

p.192, Dec.26 "...Though it was only the second day of the holidays, I read much in the morning and received Nilov, Grigorovich, the new Belgian and Chinese Ambassadors and the Italian sculptor Marc Orrigo. Alix had breakfast with us... After dinner I took my presents away from under the fir-tree..."

FUND 601, FILE 258

p.3, Jan.4 "...At 4 p.m. we went with the children to the Semi-circular Hall where the New Year party with the officers of the Convoy and the Composite Regiment was going to be held..."

pp.6,7, Jan.8 "...In the Semi-circular Hall we looked at the works of the students of the Arts School of the Society for the Promotion of Artists. Roerich showed them to us and commented upon them..."

p.10, Jan.13 "...After Kokovtsev's report Alix and I received an English deputation consisting of 30 people. We talked to each of them - it lasted up to 1..."

p.11, Jan.14 "...At 1 p.m. we had lunch with the German Ambassy to celebrate William's birthday... At 3 p.m. we left for St.Petersburg to go to the Academy of Arts to see a very interesting exhibition of ancient Russian icons, embroideries, etc. as well as the collection of prints, books and other print matter..."

p.16, Jan.20 "...After breakfast the members of the Administration of the Vocational School named after Tsarevich Nickolas and 4 students gave Aleksey different presents and a small lathe which they had made themselves... At 7.20 I went to town to see the performance with kind Medea - Figner. It was "Carmen". She sang beautifully..."

p.28, Feb.4 "...I came home at 5.15 to find my children dancing with the officers and "Klein Michaels". After the common tea there was an outdoor party and sleighing down the hills..."

p.33, Feb.11 "...At 4 p.m. Grigory came and was received in my new study together with all the children. It was a great comfort to see him and to listen to him..."

p.35, Feb.13 "...Mother came to have tea with us and we talked with her about Grigory..."

p.38, Feb.19 "...I looked at the ancient things of the Goldsmidts from Frankfurt..."

p.44, Feb.26 "...I came back to Tsarskoe Selo at 2.30. Alex and I went to see the lifting of the crosses to the cupolas of the Church of the Regiment and the Convoy (Fyodorovskii Sobor) which is being built now. Cossacks and lower ranks worked there. Then we looked at the church's interior..."

p.45, Feb.27 "...In the evening we sorted out our icons in order to decide which ones to leave for ourselves and which ones to give to the Church of the Composite Regiment..."

p.50, March 5 "...I worked with Aleksey on the ice near the lock to the kitchen pond..."

p.55, March 11 "...After tea the children were shown films..."

p.56, March 12 "...At 9.15 in the Corner Room there was held a sitting of the Imperial Historic Society which lasted up to 11.30..."

p.59, March 15 "...At 12 we said "good-bye" to Tsarskoe Selo and started for the Crimea..."

p.192, Aug 20 "...At 9 a.m. the whole family started for Tsarskoe Selo (from St.Petersburg) except Aleksey. At 10 our Regiment Church (Fyodoroskii Sobor) was sanctified. It turned out to be remarkably beautiful perfectly imitating the style of the old Moscow churches. We liked it very much as well as the Crypt Church. The service ended at 12 o'clock..."

FUND 601, FILE 259

p.62, Nov.5 "...I came to Tsarskoe Selo at 7.10. In spite of the thaw daughters and I went home in the sledge; Alix and Aleksey followed us in a motor-car. There was a service in the Corner Room. We had dinner in the Mauve Room. I spent the whole evening sorting out and arranging my things and finished it at 12..."

p.63, Nov.6 "...Alexey had a good time in the playroom where he spent the whole day. He sat in the armchair for some time."

p.63, Nov.7 "...On the way here I got a letter from Misha in which he wrote that he had married the woman with whom he had lived as husband and wife for 5 years. They had a wedding ceremony in Vienna in a Serbian church. My only brother and he broke his word of honour!!! We had tea upstairs in Aleksey's room. He is cheerful and plays in bed..."

pp.64,65, Nov.8 "...We had tea in Aleksey's room. Derevenko drove him in his wheel-chair along the passage and back for a long time... In the evening I put pictures into my album..."

pp.66, Nov 10 "...To get back home from the Grand Palace we went through the kitchen and the tunnel... At 6.30 my daughters and I went to attend the night service in the new Regiment Church (Fyodorovskii Sobor). It's very beautiful in the evening and we found it no less comfortable for praying than the field church..."

p.68, Nov.13 "...We had breakfast with the former Portuguese king Manuel who appeared to be a very kind and open-hearted guy..."

p.96, Dec 22 "...In the evening I read aloud Count Tolstoy's story "The Cossacks"..."

p.97, Dec 24 "...I came back to Tsarskoe Selo at 5 to be present at the children's New Year's party. At 6.30 I went to attend the night service. After dinner we had our New Year's party and our daughters were present at it for the first time..."

p.101, Dec 29 "...I ordered a horizontal bar to be made for myself. I placed it in my bathroom and now am beginning to exercise..."

p.103, Dec 31 "...I read a lot before and after tea. After dinner Alix and I spent our time together. At 11.30 there was a service in Alix's new room. I ardently prayed God to bless Russia and us all and to give us peace, silence and piety in the coming year..."

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