Olga Alexandrovna Romanova
Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia ( Russian Ольга Александровна Романова / Olga Alexandrowna Romanowa , scientific transliteration Ol'ga Aleksandrovna Romanova ; * June 1 jul. / June 13, 1882 greg. In Peterhof , Russian Empire ; † November 24, 1960 in Toronto , Canada ) was the youngest sister of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia .
Life
Olga was born as the youngest child of Tsar Alexander III. and his wife Maria Fjodorovna in the St. Petersburg Tsar's Palace , where they experienced a sheltered childhood with their siblings Nikolaus II , Georgi , Alexander, Xenia and Michail . The tsar attached great importance to an intimate family life, but he died early and Olga's older brother Nikolaus followed him to the throne at a young age. Olga played the violin and loved to paint. In general, she lived a secluded life in St. Petersburg until she too was drawn into the unrest of the First World War and the Russian revolutions .
When her brother Mikhail married his improper lover Natalia Sergejewna Sheremetyevskaya abroad, she was outraged by her brother's improper behavior and broke with him. From then on the family was divided.
On July 27 jul. / August 9, 1901 greg. she was married to Prince Peter of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf . The couple set up an elaborate summer residence in Gagra on the Black Sea . Because of Peter's secret homosexuality and his lack of interest in his wife, the marriage was unhappy.
After the outbreak of World War I , the Grand Duchess began to work as a nurse at the front. There she met Nikolai Kulikowski , a colonel in the imperial army. Her marriage to Holstein-Gottorp was annulled by an imperial decree on October 16, 1916, and in November 1916 she married Nikolai Kulikowski, who was not in keeping with her class. This marriage had two sons: Tichon (1917–1993) and Guri (1919–1984).
After the October Revolution , she and her husband fled from Russia to Denmark, their mother's homeland. She lived there with her until Maria Feodorovna died in 1928. The fate of her family, especially that of her two brothers, hit Olga hard. When the rumors about the survival of her niece Anastasia emerged , she went to Berlin in 1925 and met Anna Anderson , her supposed niece. Eventually she came to believe that Anna was not Anastasia.
During the Second World War , Stalin's propaganda accused her of conspiracy with Germany. With the beginning of the Cold War she no longer felt comfortable in Denmark and in 1948 moved to a small town near Toronto in Canada.
Olga died in Toronto on November 24, 1960 and found her final resting place next to her husband Nikolai in a city cemetery.
literature
- Phenix, Patricia (1999) Olga Romanov: Russia's Last Grand Duchess. Toronto: Viking / Penguin. 306 pp. ISBN 0-14-028086-3 (English)
- Vorres, Ian (2001) [1964] The Last Grand Duchess. Toronto: Key Porter Books. 260 pp. ISBN 1-55263-302-0 (English)
Web links
- Biography , Belaya Rossija (Russian)
- IS Semyonov: Christian Dynasties in Europe (Христианские династии Европы), Olma Media Group, 2002, page 429 (Russian)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Romanowa, Olga Alexandrovna |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Olga of Russia; Романова, Ольга Александровна (Russian spelling) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Grand Duchess of Russia |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 13, 1882 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Peterhof , Russian Empire |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 24, 1960 |
| Place of death | Toronto , Canada |