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Preserved perfumes belonging to the last Imperial Family

I have labelled who each bottle belonged to. A case of Maria's favourite perfume 'Lilas Pourpre' was also donated to the museum, but not pictured here.

SOURCE: Tsarskoye Selo Museum-Reserve on behalf of the Association of Slavic Culture "Svetoch" (Canada)

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Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia, 1913

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Maria Feodorovna by Ivan Kramskoi (1880’s)

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Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, 1887.

Ella, was one of the most beautiful women of her time. Her head was in perfect shape, like a statue, and beautiful features. Her complexion was like rose petals, and she never used make-up or powder. At the ball, she was simply dazzling, always dressed beautifully and wore her wonderful jewelry like no other. I was devoted to her, and throughout all the years that I knew her, she was always the same kind and dear friend. The stay with her in the beautiful country house of her husband, Ilinskoe, near Moscow, was amazing. She did everything so that everyone felt at home. 

Grand Duchess Maria Georgievna (x)

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The Imperial Family with officers from the 13th Grenadier Regiment of Erivan in Livadia, 11th December 1911.

Photo 1-2 : On the ground : Boris Ravtopulo, Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich, Prince Ernstov and Otar Purtseladze. Middle row : Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna, Tsar Nicholas II, Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna and Tsaritsa Alexandra Feodorovna. Back row : unknown officer, Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna, Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna and Silaev Zakharovich.

“11th December. Sunday. Was at obednya. After breakfast, 6 Erivan officers came to Anya, with whom we were photographed with Papa and Mama in the garden. It was a lot of fun […]” (1911 Diary of Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna)

“[…]After breakfast the Erivans came to Anya to see the children. We were photographed with them in a group in front of the house in the garden […]” (1911 Diary of Tsar Nicholas II)

Photos from: Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna’s 1910 - 1912 Album

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Details on Konstantin Yegorovich Makovsky's portrait of Tsarina Maria Feodorovna.

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Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (1899-1918) filmed playing with her box brown camera, 1909. Seconds after she walks out of frame she is photographed by her mother’s lady in waiting Anna Vyrubova.

Here is the photograph Maria took:

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"Lord, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” — Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna’s last words.

In September 15/28, Alapayevsk was briefly liberated from the Bolsheviks. In October, the White Army soldiers discovered the remains of Elizabeth and her companions, still within the shaft where they had been murdered. The mine from which the corpses were extracted was 28 arshins (19.9 m) deep, and littered with various rubbish: firewood, poles, boards and earth. At various depths in the shaft found the bodies: 8 October Feodor Semyonovich Remez, 9 [October] Varvara Yakovleva and Prince Paley, 10 [October] Princes Konstantin Konstantinovich, Igor Konstantinovich and Grand Duke Serge Mikhailovich, 11 [October] Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna and Prince loann Konstantinovich. Since the bandages of some victims remained untouched, it can be assumed that death occurred either instantly, or stunned by bruises, without regaining consciousness. Despite having lain there for almost three months, the bodies were in relatively good condition.

Elizabeth had died of wounds sustained in her fall into the mine, but before her death had still found strength to bandage the head of the dying Ioann with her wimple. The only one who sustained a gun shot wound was Sergei Mikhailovich. While his secretary Fyodor Remez was the only one who may have died from the grenade explosion. Prince Paley was found in a sitting position and it can be assumed that after the fall he had the strength to sit down.

An autopsy was carried out, and had turned out that they continued to live in the mine for several more days and died from bruises from the fall and hunger — Konstantin’s mouth and stomach were stuffed with dirt, a desperate attempt to quench his hunger and thirst. The details of the autopsy results are in the images above.

The bodies were placed in coffins and were moved to the far east. Grand Duchess Elizabeth's remains were taken to Jerusalem, while the coffins of the others were interred in a former Russian Mission in Beijing, now beneath a parking area.

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In the early hours of 17th July 1918, the entire Imperial Family along with their servants, were brutally murdered in the cellar of the Ipatiev House.

Around midnight, Yakov Yurovsky ordered the family physician, Eugene Botkin, to awaken the family and ask them to put on their clothes, under the pretext that the family would be moved to a safe location due to impending chaos in Ekaterinburg. They were led in the semi-darkness steep, narrow stairs to the ground floor. Instinctively the Romanovs followed the order of precedence instilled in them, the Tsar in front but refusing assistance as he struggled with the burden of Alexei, who winced with pain from his bandaged leg; then Alexandra leaning heavily on Olga’s arm, followed by Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia. As they made their way to the stairs, the family paused and devoutly crossed themselves at the stuffed mother bear and her cubs that stood on the landing — a sign of respect for the dead, thinking as they did that they were going to be leaving the house.

Following the family came Dr Botkin, Alexei Trupp (Tsar’s footman), Anna Demidova (Tsarina’s maid), and Ivan Kharitonov (the family’s cook). They all exited the house, re-entering by another, adjacent door leading down into the basement. Nicholas asked if Yurovsky could bring two chairs, on which Tsarevich Alexei and Alexandra sat. Yurovsky's assistant Grigory Nikulin remarked to him that the "heir wanted to die in a chair. Very well then, let him have one."

The prisoners were told to wait in the cellar room while the truck that would transport them was being brought to the House. A few minutes later, an execution squad of secret police was brought in and Yurovsky read aloud the order given to him by the Ural Executive Committee:

“Nikolai Alexandrovich, in view of the fact that your relatives are continuing their attack on Soviet Russia, the Ural Executive Committee has decided to execute you.”

Nicholas, facing his family, turned and said "What? What?" Yurovsky quickly repeated the order and the weapons were raised.

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10th June (O.S. 29th May) 1897

Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna, the second daughter of Emperor Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna was born on this day in the Farm Palace, Peterhof, Saint Petersburg.

According to the diary entry of her father, “the second bright happy day in our family: at 10.40 in the morning the Lord blessed us with a daughter - Tatiana. Poor Alix suffered all night without shutting her eyes for a moment, and at 8 o’clock went downstairs to Amama’s bedroom. Thank God this time it all went quickly and safely, and I did not feel nervously exhausted. Towards one o’clock the little one was bathed and Yanyshev read some prayers. Mama arrived with Xenia; we had lunch together. At 4 o’clock there was a Te Deum. Tatiana weighs 8 3/4 pounds and is 54 centimetres long. Our eldest is very funny with her. Read and wrote telegrams...”

Tatiana was calm, balanced with auburn hair and a large wide-set grey eyes. In many aspects, she resembled her mother the Empress, and was considered the most elegant of the four sisters. She was direct, honest, practical with a highly developed sense of duty. For which she became known amongst her siblings as “The Governess”. She was the closest to her mother, and was considered her favourite, often spending many hours reading to her. During World War I, her practical talents became of use. She trained as a nurse, tending to wounded officers in the ground of the Tsarskoe Selo, while chairing many committees. The Tatiana Committee was a war-refugee relief organisation during the war, and was one of the committees that stayed on after the Revolution (although it was renamed).

“God will surely help us and we will meet again in better times.” Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna.

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Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna watching military maneuvers, 1900s.

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Alexandra Feodorovna photographed by John Thomson in 1892. Posed with an open book in hand, she's donned in an evening dress, numerous bracelets, a diamond necklace, a pair of diamond earrings and a tiara.

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1894 was the year in which Alexandra married Nicholas, the Tsarevich and later the Tsar of Russia. Theirs was a story filled with tribulations and tragedies, but their marriage was not scarce of deep love and devotion. The two shared a passionate love for one another. This is evident in a diary Nicholas wrote on the day of their engagement;

"A wonderful unforgettable day in my life, the day of my betrothal to my beloved Alix. (...) God what a mountain has fallen from my shoulders; how this joy will make dear Mama and Papa rejoice! I walked around as if in a dream all day, not fully understanding what had happened to me!"

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Photos edited by me.

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Grand Duchesses Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (1899-1918) walking into a church with her family and members of the Imperial court. 

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what ifs of history: if the romanovs had escaped and lived

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Olga Nikolaevna & Tatiana Nikolaevna