Like Magic Childhood Dreams . . .

Tuesday. 2nd June [1915]
At 2 1/2 went to the graveyard with Mama. . . . Picked T. at 3 o'cl. and went to the Grand Palace, upstairs to Mama's warehouse (surgical department). At 4 hrs 20 min, we 2 with Papa to the city. Darling Sh. met us. Had tea at Grandma's. Came home at 7 o'cl. went to Pavlovsk for the panikhida for poor Uncle Kostya, he passed away at 6 1/2. Sat with all of them and for a little while with Elena, who did not feel well and [was] lying down [illegible] on the couch. Around 11 o'cl. to bed. Lord save us.

Above is a diary entry from Olga Nikolaevna Romanov's diary. Since it's translated from Russian (at least I think it was Russian) the wording is a little rough around the edges. As you may have guessed, I took this entry from the book I got for Christmas, The Diary of Olga Romanov by Helen Azar. Throughout the whole book are entries from her father, Nicholas's, diary, letters from Olga to to her father (as well as a few others), memoirs from V. I. Chebotareva, Alexader Kerensky, and Anna Vyrubova. Basically if you're interested in the last royal family of Russia, this book is a little gold mine.

The entire imperial family kept diaries, they also took lots of photos, so theirs is a story that's easy to follow. Until the end of course. The ever present rumors of one of the grand duchesses having survived the mass murder of their family and friends is a mystery that will probably never be solved for sure. As of the moment I have no idea where I stand, but recent research is bringing me to strongly consider that Anna Anderson was in fact Anastasia Nikolaevna. But that's not what this post is about.

In the past I've done most my research on Anastasia, being intrigued by her story of possible survival. It's a mystery story most anyone would be interested in. But after discovering Olga's diary, I became interested in her story too. During the war she was a nurse, and helped care for wounded soldiers. A few times in her diary she wrote about her crushes, or attachments she'd made to the wounded soldiers in her hospitals, as well as just recording simple events in her life. While Anastasia, along with her older sister Maria, did sponsor hospitals and visit the wounded, they were not allowed to actually become nurses like their older sisters.

Random fact: The entire family read A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I don't know why, but that it just kind of cool to me.

In The Diary of Olga Romanov, a midst the diary entries and memoirs, there is a letter, written by a wounded officer February 21, 1916. He was very grateful for the visits from the Tsar's children, as written below.

I was a patient at the infirmary the entire April of 1916. The white nurses [nurses in white?] and kind doctors I thank very much. . . .

"When the Tsar's children came to visit,
It became easier to breathe for all,
The suffering suddenly went away
From us ailing soldiers,
And even in our future anguish,
Perhaps already grey haired,
We will remember these visits,
Like magic childhood dreams . . ."
Your Imperial Majesty's Hussar, Posadnoy. 21/II/1916

***

15th March. Wednesday. [1917]

On the 23rd [February] at breakfast got sick with measles- was put to bed. Aleksei [got sick] during the day, and Anya too. The ear[ache] went away slowly. The next day Tat.[iana] got sick, [we] lay down together. Al. came by during the day in his bed-- it was dark. My T° reached 40,3. Mama is with us all the time. Shvybz got sick on the 2nd [of] M.[arch]-- Maria [on] the 7th. On the 27th or 28th Febr. Lili Dehn arrived here and is still living in the Red Room.

That is the last diary entry Olga made in her diary. It's unknown why she stopped writing, though she did continue to write letters to people while imprisoned.