At the end of 1916, during a reconnaissance flight above Turkey’s Mount Ararat, Lieutenant Rosovitsky of the Russian Imperial Army allegedly discovered a giant vessel that resembled Noah’s ark. After this information was reported to Tsar Nicholas II, an expedition consisting of 150 soldiers was sent to the area. Read more NICHOLAS II: ORIGINAL RAIDER OF THE LOST ARK?
From 1913 diary of Olga Romanov:
Read more ROMANOV FAMILY: ON THIS DATE IN THEIR OWN WORDS. OLGA ROMANOV. 27 JULY, 1913
Tsar Nicholas II arrived in Mogilev at the Imperial Headquarters. His command to the army and navy from that day read:
“On this date I assumed leadership of all land and sea armed forces located in the theater of military operations. With a firm faith in God’s grace and with unwavering confidence in ultimate victory we will fulfill our sacred duty to protect the Motherland to the end and not shame the Russian Nation. Nicholas. “ Read more ROMANOV FAMILY: THIS DAY IN HISTORY – 5 SEPTEMBER, 1915
Born in 1890, Princess Tatiana Konstantinovna was the eldest daughter of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich (KR) and Grand Duchess Elizaveta Mavrikievna, cousins of Tsar Nicholas II. Tatiana Konstantinovna was a good friend to Nicholas II’s two eldest daughters Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana, and the two often mentioned her in their diaries. Read more PRINCESS TATIANA KONSTANTINOVNA: POET’S DAUGHTER
Of all the Romanov cousins, Grand Duchess Tatiana most resembled Princess Irina Alexandrovna, daughter of Nicholas II’s sister Grand Duchess Xenia. In some photographs the resemblance is startling! The two cousins even looked more alike than they looked like their own siblings. Princess Irina, who married the notorious Rasputin murderer, Prince Felix Yusupov, was about 2 years older than her look-alike cousin and unlike Grand Duchess Tatiana she survived the revolution and lived abroad until old age. Irina’s photographs in older age give us an idea of what Tatiana would have looked like had she not been tragically murdered at age 21. Read more GRAND DUCHESS TATIANA AND PRINCESS IRINA: LOOK-ALIKE COUSINS
After the start of the First World War, “The Little Pair” – Grand Duchesses Maria and Anastasia were still too young to be certified as “Sisters of Mercy” like their elder sisters Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana. However they too had their own infirmary located within a short distance of the Alexander Palace. The girls visited the patients at their infirmary daily: reading to them, helping them write letters, playing games, and generally trying to boost the morale of the wounded soldiers and officers. This was probably the first time the young grand duchesses faced the darker side of life – and death – as war time became their new reality. They recorded news of the infirmary regularly in their diaries and letters. Read more GRAND DUCHESSES MARIA AND ANASTASIA’S INFIRMARY
