Unaware of what lay ahead for Russia, they danced
July 17, 2022
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Russia pre Revolution. A fancy dress ball. My grandmother and her partner dancing with no idea of the tragedy to come…
What’s in a Name? Was I named in memory of the Empress?
March 27, 2022
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Was I named after Empress Alexandra (pictured above), wife of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia? It is a question I have been asked time and time again. It was not something I ever discussed with my mother. How do parents decide on names for their children? I had a few
Christmas greetings from Grand Duchess Olga to another Olga
December 26, 2021
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Grand Duchess Olga Nikolayevna as a nurse in WWI – postcard from the author’s personal collection
Remembering Grand Duchess Olga on what would have been her birthday
November 14, 2021
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I was reminded by the Facebook post in the group “In the Steps of the Romanovs” that Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, eldest daughter of the Tsar Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia, was born on 15th November. The Facebook post is linked to Helen Azar’s video about GD Olga’s
Royal Romanov playmates of my grandmother
October 10, 2021
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Above is a photo, taken at Ivnia, of my maternal great-grandmother, Countess Catherine Nicholaievna Kleinmichel, her daughters and Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich – according to the writing on the back of the photo. I believe my grandmother, Olga Voronov (Woronoff) née Kleinmichel, is second from the left, next to her
At long last they made their escape – Part 2
April 25, 2021
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Last week we left my great-grandmother, now Catherine Yakovtsov, and her second husband, Vasily Yakovtsov (pictured together above), en route to Petrograd probably at the beginning of 1919. This week the story continues. Catherine and Vasily made it to Petrograd but were dismayed at what the once beautiful city had
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