OTMA ARCHIVE

Charity Bazaar, Crimea 1911.

“A great and unforgettable day for us, during which we were clearly visited by the grace of God. At 1.15 in the afternoon Alix gave birth to a son, whom we named Alexei as we prayed.” —Nicholas II’s diary (from A Lifelong Passion by Andrei Maylunas and Sergei Mironenko) “The more the boy opened his heart to me the better I realised the treasures of his nature … He had very quick wits and a keen and penetrating mind. He sometimes surprised me with questions beyond his years which bore witness to a delicate and intuitive spirit. I had no difficulty in believing that those who were not forced, as I was, to teach him habits of discipline, but could unreservedly enjoy his charm, easily fell under its spell. Under the capricious little creature I had known at first I discovered a child of a naturally affectionate disposition, sensitive to suffering in others just because he had already suffered so much himself.” —Pierre Gilliard, Thirteen Years at the Russian Court

Photos from Nicholas’ 1911-1913 Album

Nicholas with his daughters, Anastasia, Tatiana and Maria, and sister, Olga Alexandrovna. 1911

Princess Irina Alexandrovna of Russia (later countess Yusupoff) with two of her six brothers, on October 23rd, 1903.

Tatiana watches two officers try to knock the other off.

“A happy day: the Lord sent us a third daughter—Maria, who was safely born at 12.10!” —Nicholas II’s diary (from A Lifelong Passion by Andrei Maylunas and Sergei Mironenko) “Tall, plump with sable brows, a bright blush on her open Russian face, she is especially appealing to a Russian heart. One looks and involuntarily imagines her dressed in a Russian Boyar sarafan; around her arms one imagines muslin sleeves, on the high breast—precious stones, and above the high white brow—a kokoshnik with exquisite pearls ... her eyes illuminate her entire face with a unique, radiant luster; they sometimes seem black, as long eyelashes throw shadows over the bright blush of her soft cheeks. She is merry and alive, but she has not yet awakened completely to life; probably concealed in her are the immense forces of a real Russian woman.” —Sofia Ofrosimova (from Maria Romanov: Third Daughter of the Last Tsar, Diaries and Letters, 1908-1918)

Photos from Sophie Buxhoeveden’s 1913-1916 Album

Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich (1878-1918), younger brother of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. 

Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia (1872-1918), c. 1894.

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Three different postcards of Alexei Nikolaevich from the same photoshoot.

"I can gaze for hours at your new charming photos (Now! at Ryde) the looking at them … absorbs me so utterly that I quite forget I am sitting in my room without my precious one … " —Nicholas II to Alix, August 15/27, 1894 [Alexandra Feodorovna Diaries and Correspondence: Volume 2: Engagement and Marriage 1894]

Source: Ilya aka LastRomanovs on Flickr and Sledstvie on Instagram

1896 Magazine page featuring Alexandra Feodorovna.