Every summer prior to the war, the Romanov family boarded their imperial yacht “The Standart” and headed for a holiday on the Finnish skerries. The time they spent in Finland was always one of their fondest memories.
From Grand Duchess Olga’s 1913 diary:
“We walked through the woods for ¼ an hour and finally came to the picnic site. [They] set up a stage there, and a few people from ‘The Polar Star’ performed 2 plays. Very funny. We all sat on the rocks. After that there was dancing, first to an accordion, then musicians played. Lots of Finns came over from the villages with little children. The crew had a lot fun and danced a lot. The crew had a lot fun and danced a lot. [We] went to dinner at 9 o’cl. Sat at the table until 11 o’cl. because by the end of dinner the singers came out, and they sang and danced and every other thing one can imagine. Artemiev and T.[atiana] Yevg.[enievna] were really making everyone laugh on stage. They told funny stories on stage and mimicked sailors from different countries, danced folk dances in different [ways], the way they dance them in various provinces. Then we returned to the old spot and danced again. We danced with the officers. Then Allaverdov, etc. Datzoev danced the ‘lezginka’ very well and did not even get tired. When he finished, Artemiev started mimicking him – [it was] unbelievably funny. The last dance was the polonaise to the ‘Old Ranger’ march. I danced with Pavl. Al. [We] returned to the yacht at 12 o’cl 35 min. Mama was already in bed. It was so nice and fun.”
From the book “Journal of a Russian Grand Duchess: Complete Annotated 1913 Diary of Olga Romanov, Eldest Daughter of the Last Tsar” by Helen Azar
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