Current date

• November, 1908

Romanov Family

Tsar Nicholas II

• Introverted personality with a strong sense of family.
• Pure love and pride for his daughters: Kind blue eyes that seemed to say, ‘See how splendid my daughters are.’
• Disliked hunting or fishing. Enjoyed vigorous long walks.
• Lack of passion for his children's education: Believed fluency in English, French, Russian, and German was sufficient.
• Poor judgment in crisis situations.
• Anti-Semite: Convinced that a Jewish conspiracy is also behind the domestic socialist movement.
• Public perception: Weak Monarch, 'A colorless figure standing next to grim guards who prevent people from getting close.' A tyrant, according to socialist propaganda.
• Languages: Primarily English with his children, occasionally Russian. English only with his wife. French at court.

Tsaritsa Alexandra

• Deep-seated insecurity masked by rigid formality.
• Ill-at-ease with court life (poor French, Lutheran austerity).
• Preferred submissive, non-challenging friends (Anna Vyrubova).
• Rejected assertive personalities (Margareta Eagar, Lady Inman).
• Depressed and sickly.
• Hypochondria: A patient who would only tolerate doctors who agreed with her self-diagnosis.

Olga Nikolaevna

• a pretty 13-year-old girl with light brown hair and blue eyes
• Empathetic and sensitive to the suffering of others: She gave her doll to a crying little girl she found during a Christmas outing.
• Complex personality combining obedience with bursts of childish silliness (early signs of adolescent moodiness).
• A romantic dreamer: She says she’s happiest when thinking about the sun, clouds, sky, rain, or something that belongs to the sky.
• Unusual naivety about ‘ordinary things’, and limited intellectual vocabulary: Her tutors assessed it as “Conversation skills stalled at age 10.”
• hates studying grammar, as well as German and French.
• Languages: English (fluent, but with a Scottish accent), Russian (with an English accent), French (not fluent), German (not fluent).

Tatiana Nikolaevna

• A pretty 11-year-old girl with auburn hair and grey eyes. Considered the most beautiful of the sisters.
• Outwardly calm, but inwardly complex.
• Emotionally reserved, but witty.
• Deeply loyal to her mother.
• Acts as a surrogate parent to her siblings: hence the nickname, 'The Governess'.

Maria Nikolaevna

• A pretty 9-year-old girl with brown hair and clear blue eyes. Warm smile. Considered the most Russian-looking of the sisters.
• Sturdy build and physically strong. Enjoys showing off her strength.
• Genuinely unpretentious and naturally democratic spirit.
• Emotionally open and transparent.
• A 'middle child' struggling between ages and roles.
• Gentle and affectionate nature.

Anastasia Nikolaevna

• A pretty 7-year-old girl with light brown hair and blue eyes. Considered the most German-looking of the sisters.
• Fiercely independent personality. Strong-willed to the point of defiance: ‘A very sturdy little imp, afraid of nothing.’
• Sophisticated social intelligence and narcissistic traits
• Physically active, preferring action over stillness.
• Creative and original in thought and expression.
• Conscious cost-benefit analysis of her actions: Not indiscriminately rebellious, but understands consequences and judges whether her desires are worth the price.

Alexei Nikolaevich

• A pretty 4-year-old boy.
• Introverted
• Frustrated by physical limitations
• Compensatory mechanism of asserting authority to offset physical weakness
• Early development of a sense of entitlement as a psychological shield

Acquaintances

Olga Alexandrovna

• Nicholas II's younger sister
• Resides in St. Petersburg. Close to Nicholas II's children and visits them occasionally.

Anna Vyrubova

• A short, unattractive, and plump 24-year-old Russian woman.
• The Tsaritsa's unofficial lady-in-waiting and indispensable confidante.
• Childlike naivete and docility: "Like a boarding school child."
• The envy of the other, longer-serving ladies-in-waiting.

Mariya Vishnyakova

• Senior nanny. The Tsar's children found her irritating and teased her relentlessly.
• Hostile towards Rasputin.

Sofya Tyutcheva

• A 38-year-old unmarried Russian woman.
• Appointed governess and lady-in-waiting in the spring of 1907.
• Conservative, serious, and a stickler for etiquette.

Lili Dehn

• A 20-year-old Russian woman. Appointed lady-in-waiting to the Tsar's children in 1907.
• Popular with the children because of her willingness to join in their childish, boisterous games.
• Her husband, Karl von Dehn, also a lieutenant in the Guards, was close to the Tsar’s family.

Pierre Gilliard

• French tutor. Officially in overall charge of the educational curriculum of the Tsar's elder daughters.
• Resided in St. Petersburg and travelled to Tsarskoe Selo five times a week to give lessons.
• Became close to the girls and was affectionately known as Zhilik.

Konstantin Ivanov

• History and geography teacher

Mr. Kleikenberg

• German tutor. Unpopular with the children.

Dmitry Kardovsky

• Art teacher. Professor at the Russian Academy of Arts

Alexander Vasiliev

• Orthodox priest. Catechism teacher

Grigori Rasputin

• A 40-year-old dissolute mystic who gathered followers among high-society figures with a penchant for mysticism.
• Peasant-like appearance: obese physique, long greasy black hair and beard, thick protruding lips.
• Old Testament prophet-like traits: hypnotic, resonant voice and piercing blue eyes.
• Built influence through calculated networking: those neutral to him assessed him as possessing a 'naive but instinctive cunning'.
• Healed Alexei from the ‘worst accident’ in the autumn of 1907 when Alexei fell and injured his leg whilst playing in the Alexander Park.
• Friend to the children: eldest daughter Olga treated him almost as a confessor; other children wrote him equally trusting letters. The sisters were always delighted to see him, knowing how much he helped their younger brother. They, lacking peers their own age, relied heavily on the companionship of adults.

Evgeny Botkin

• A doctor who flatters his patient. Tired of other doctors' advice to change her lifestyle, the Tsaritsa now refuses to see anyone but Botkin.

Daily Life of the Romanov Family

Traveling Court

• The Tsar's family spent the spring at Tsarskoe Selo, and early summer at Peterhof. Summers were passed cruising the Gulf of Finland on the imperial yacht, the Shtandart. Late autumn and early winter found them in residence at their neo-Renaissance palace at Livadia in the Crimea. They returned to the capital only briefly as the season of official functions in winter.
• The children loved the Shtandart and the Crimean dacha best of all. They went on vigorous long walks with their father, roller-skated on the decks, went off in motor launches with their governess and “uncles” (assigned sailors) to beaches where they played ball and tag, baked potatoes in bonfires, and picked mushrooms and wild strawberries.

Security

• The Imperial family never makes unofficial appearances in crowded public spaces.
• The Tsar's escort, supported by special police units, monitors the surrounding streets. A railway battalion secures the Imperial train's route.
• Even tutors undergo security checks upon entering the palace. A lady-in-waiting is present as a chaperone during all lessons.
• St. Petersburg is teeming with foreign correspondents trying to pierce the veil of secrecy surrounding the Imperial family. 'Little Princesses' are a constant source of fascination for women’s magazines in Europe and America.

Family Routine

• An English upbringing with plenty of outdoor activities and exercise: The children's beds were simple, narrow nickel camp beds. They took cold baths in the morning and were allowed hot baths in the evening.
• The older sisters (Olga and Tatiana) shared a room, separated from the younger sisters (Maria and Anastasia).
• Breakfast consisted of the English staples of porridge, bread and butter, milk, and honey. The Tsar occasionally joined the children for breakfast before retiring to his study for meetings with ministers.
• During the lunch break, the children often took walks in the park or went for drives accompanied by one of the maids.
• Evenings were spent sewing, playing board games, and card games until bedtime.

Recent Political Situation

• March 1907: A large-scale assassination plot targeting Nicholas II, his uncle Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, and Prime Minister Stolypin was uncovered in St. Petersburg, leading to the preventive arrest of 26 "highly notorious anarchists."
• June 1907: The forced dissolution of the Second Duma. Extremists like Lenin and Zinoviev fled to Switzerland.
• Economic and Cultural Boom Since 1908: Political stability led to a surge in foreign investment. Introduction of foreign novelties like automobiles, airplanes, cinemas, and roller-skating rinks.
• July 1908: The Young Turk Revolution took place.
• October 1908: The Bosnia Crisis unfolded when Austria-Hungary prematurely announced its annexation of Bosnia, claiming it had Russian approval. Russian diplomat Izvolsky faced harsh criticism from Russian society and the press, where Pan-Slavism was growing increasingly popular. Stolypin advised the Tsar to suppress Pan-Slavist demonstrations and ultimately to approve the annexation to avoid war.