In the personal collection of jewellery of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, there was a pearl-ruby sautoir with a removable pendant, presented to her by Emperor Nicholas II in late 1900.
In early October 1900, by order of Nicholas II, the Volga-Kama Merchant Bank transferred 80,000 German marks from the Tsar’s personal funds to the Empress's brother, Grand Duke Ernst of Hesse.
On 30th October, a box with five seals arrived in St. Petersburg from Darmstadt. The Empress liked the necklace very much and wore it often, as evidenced by numerous photographs during the early 20th century.
In August 1917, the Empress took this necklace, among other items of jewellery, when she and her family were sent into exile. It was discovered in 1933 in Tobolsk among 154 other precious objects and was described under No141 as "a belt of small pearls with 11 large rubies, studded with diamonds and additional rubies, worth 75,000 rubles."
The whereabouts of this necklace remain unknown. [From Paul Gilbert]
"Children Without a Smile" from the Washington Post, May 28 1905.
REMARKABLE is the group of portraits herewith reproduced from Leslie's Monthly Magazine, of the children of the Czar. Not one bears a smile. All are sweet and innocent in expression, but melancholy has marked them for her own. The series of seven portraits of the Czar's family was taken at the Palace of Tsarskoe-Selo, just outside the capital, In the midst of the revolutionary events which seem to mark the beginning the end of the Romanoff dynasty.
English and no other language, it is said, is spoken in the Czar's family. His children are being educated strictly according to English ideas. The older ones could talk fluently in that language before the knew a word of French, or much of Russian. Even the food they eat comes from London, or is prepared by English cooks. Breakfast differs slightly from that which ordinary American families enjoy the year around. Eggs and bacon constitute a breakfast dish of which the members of the Imperial family are particularly fond.
The Czarina is a beautiful woman, looking more matronly now than she appears in the pictures usually published of her. She is tall and very fair, and apparently as unconscious of any danger to herself or to her consort as a child. The Czar, In walking, inclines his head slightly to one side; the Czarina holds her head high, overtopping her husband by several inches. Her self-possession or self-control is in marked contrast to his manner in public. She bows to left and right and smiles upon those she greets, although the smile Is clearly forced and betokens a sad heart.
The private life of this family, almost prisoners in their palaces, surrounded by servants and guards whose fidelity, in the light of past events, must always be distrusted, is not that which either Nicholas or his wife would live from choice. Both are intellectual and fond of literature, art, and music; and both have ideas of advanced Christian socialism, which would never be listened to by their advisers, and to try would precipitate the empire into anarchy. In his early years Nicholas was fond of sports and simple pleasures, He has no time or inclination for these now. His throne is one whose appalling responsibilities and sleepless dangers broke the heart of his iron father and drove several of his ancestors out of their minds.
An American laborer, with his eight hour day, leads a life of comparative indolence in comparison, with that of the Czar, who is supposed to be not only the most powerful but the richest man in the world. He maintains in the most lavish European style more than one hundred palaces, castles, and country houses, and the total army of servants maintained for these is about 80,000 people. The cost of these households is far in excess of the salary which is paid out of the government's coffers. He maintains stables with at least 5,000 horses and the total estimate of all his expenses each year is six times that of his salary, or $30,000,000. Out of all this expenditure of wealth the Czar gets little in the way of pleasure, not to speak of the constant fear of violent death. He is a great smoker of black, strong, and big Havana cigars. When the court physician protested against the great number of these which the Czar consumed, the monarch turned upon him with a pettish snarl: "Do you want to deprive me of the one solitary pleasure of my life?"
One day in the life of Emperor and his family is the same as all others. His dally duties constitute a profitless routine of heavy drudgery. The Czar rises every morning, the year round, at 6 o'clock, takes a cold bath, dresses, and is at the breakfast table at 8:30. Half an hour later he is at his desk. His habits of work resemble those of Former President Cleveland. The ministers, knowing conscientious habits of studying every document sent to him for his signature, ply him with many more than are strictly necessary in order to leave him as little time as possible for brooding over peace conferences and similar ideas, which they regard with anything but favorable eyes. One thousand documents digested and signed is an average week's work.
And in this work there is no specialization. He deals with every imaginable question: Appointments, legal problems, church rituals, the grievance of a prince, the appeal of a criminal for clemency, the increase of the army and navy, diplomatic relations with foreign countries, internal finance; all these receive an answer, 'yes" or "no," from the "Little Father,' After four hours of this work, audience is given to ministers, generals, and all who have business entitling them to see the Czar. From 11 a, m. to 1 p.m. this imperial court, is held daily. From 2 until 4 p.' m. the Czar is supposed to take rest and recreation. In these days he usually gets neither.
In earlier years of his reign, it was his custom to devote these hours to walking, cycling, shooting, skating, riding, or lawn tennis, according to the season of the year or the wishes of the Czarina, who often accompanied him. Of all outdoor pleasures the Czar loves picnicking the most, and in this he used to find with his wife much pleasure. When they were in Livadia their beautiful country home in the Crimea, surrounded by forests, the whole family greatly enjoyed these outings. The Czarina is in charge of these excursions.
She and her children go in a carriage, her husband and friends ride on horseback. At 5 o'clock p. m. the desk duties are resumed for two hours more, and at 7 o'clock any minister with particularly urgent business is given a brief audience. Dinner is served at 7 30, usually a formal affair, with a dozen or more guests.
Atter dinner, cards, preferably bridge or a Russian game called "wint," in which a fortune may be lost or won at a single sitting. Nicholas inherits from his mother, the Dowager Empress, a passion for gambling. His whole nature seems to change when at the gaming table. His nervousness disappears; he is alert, cool-headed, eager, bold, a master of strategy, and most successful. Frequently the Czar entertains his guests with music. He is a composer, but the Czarina far surpasses him in skill as a performer When the guests have gone and the Czarina has retired, Nicholas goes back to his desk and his papers, which he frequently studies until long after midnight.
Unfortunately, available only in Russian (so far), here is a 5-part series ‘The Romanovs. The Final Word‘, documentary.
In 1964, members of the firing squad Grigory Petrovich Nikulin (1894-1965) and Isai Radzinsky, on the orders of Nikita Khrushchev, recorded their memories of the execution of the Imperial Family in July 1918. These audio recordings were subsequently ordered sealed and stamped “SECRET” and placed in the archives. These important historical recordings are now made public for the first time in the documentary series ‘The Romanovs. The Last Word.’
For the first time, this documentary series reconstructs in detail one of one of the most notorious crimes in 20th century Russian history – the murders of Emperor Nicholas II and his family – based on the memories of the killers. as well as the circumstances of hiding the bodies by a team of executioners. The project was narrated by Sergey Minaev.
