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The Russian Imperial Family: In Their Own Words
1913 Diary of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna: Complete Tercentennial Journal of the Third Daughter of the Last Tsar
Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna was the third daughter and middle child of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, and 1913 was the tercentennial year of her family’s dynastic rule—the last full year before the outbreak of World War I. In her journal, Maria documents the ceremony and celebrations of this important date in Imperial Russian history, while at the same time showing herself to have been a remarkably ordinary young girl who happened to be the daughter of the most powerful man in the world. Maria’s journal records the daily routines of the Imperial family, from the mundane to the magnificent, allowing the reader a peek into the lost and distant world of the last Romanovs.
159 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 5, 2017
31 people are currently reading
191 people want to read
About the author
Helen Azar
20 books103 followersHelen Azar has been interested in history of the Romanov Dynasty for many years, ever since she became fascinated with the saga of the human remains discovered outside Ekaterinburg in the 1990s, which were proven to be those of Russia’s murdered imperial family. The subsequent controversy about these bones, and Helen’s science background (she studied biochemistry), moved her to co-author several articles explaining the authenticity of the remains.
At the time, Helen was attending library school, and in summer of 2005, she got a unique opportunity to do an internship at Tsarskoe Selo Museum, where she worked with the imperial book collection – books which once belonged to the Tsars and Tsaritsas – from Catherine the Great to Nicholas II.
In 2012 Helen published her first book, “The Diary of Olga Romanov“, which was based on numerous wartime diaries and letters written by the eldest daughter of the last Tsar, which she translated directly from the scans of the Grand Duchess’s own handwritten documents.
In 2014 Helen founded and became administrator of this website, where she publishes original articles and excerpts from her books.
In the following few years Helen released 7 more books based on her original translations of diaries and letters of the other Romanov family members; the latest is scheduled to be released in 2019 – “Maria Romanov: Third Daughter of the Last Tsar” – the book based on the writings of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna.
Late in 2018, Helen released a book, which is only available electronically through this website: THE PRIVATE DIARY OF MATHILDE KSCHESSINSKA, 100% of proceeds from which will go right back into running the website.
It had been Helen’s long standing dream to organise “In their steps” tour, which would allow to share her passion for the subject with others, as well as teach and learn more about this fascinating and tragic family. Their story truly represents the proverbial “truth is more interesting than fiction”, but unfortunately through the years, there has been a lot of misinterpretation and misinformation about them in secondary sources. The reason for that may be the lack of ready access to primary sources, not just during the Soviet era, but also today. There is also a strange shortage of Russian speaking historians outside of Russia who are interested in writing about this particular subject in English; and those few who know the language are not able or willing to spend months or even years deciphering the often indecipherable handwriting of the imperial family members.
Yet, in Russia there is still a mountain of untapped archival material which can give the world so much new information about that period in Russian history, as well as eliminate long standing myths and misinformation. Helen always felt that it’s very important to present this material in its almost raw form, which is why in her work she refrains from offering subjective interpretations, and allows the reader to make up his or her own mind based on the text they read.
In 2018, the hundredth anniversary year of the murders of the Romanov family, Helen published the book IN THE STEPS OF THE ROMANOVS, and created the dream tour, bringing a group of Russian imperial history enthusiasts to experience important historical events first hand, by literally following in the footsteps of the last imperial family during the last two years of their lives.
Among a number of other places, the group visited Tsarskoe Selo, Tobolsk and Ekaterinburg. A smaller group even went to Crimea and Moscow, where they ended their journey at the Russian State Archives, looking at the original documents written by the Romanovs. A six part documentary from this trip will be available later in 2019.
At the time, Helen was attending library school, and in summer of 2005, she got a unique opportunity to do an internship at Tsarskoe Selo Museum, where she worked with the imperial book collection – books which once belonged to the Tsars and Tsaritsas – from Catherine the Great to Nicholas II.
In 2012 Helen published her first book, “The Diary of Olga Romanov“, which was based on numerous wartime diaries and letters written by the eldest daughter of the last Tsar, which she translated directly from the scans of the Grand Duchess’s own handwritten documents.
In 2014 Helen founded and became administrator of this website, where she publishes original articles and excerpts from her books.
In the following few years Helen released 7 more books based on her original translations of diaries and letters of the other Romanov family members; the latest is scheduled to be released in 2019 – “Maria Romanov: Third Daughter of the Last Tsar” – the book based on the writings of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna.
Late in 2018, Helen released a book, which is only available electronically through this website: THE PRIVATE DIARY OF MATHILDE KSCHESSINSKA, 100% of proceeds from which will go right back into running the website.
It had been Helen’s long standing dream to organise “In their steps” tour, which would allow to share her passion for the subject with others, as well as teach and learn more about this fascinating and tragic family. Their story truly represents the proverbial “truth is more interesting than fiction”, but unfortunately through the years, there has been a lot of misinterpretation and misinformation about them in secondary sources. The reason for that may be the lack of ready access to primary sources, not just during the Soviet era, but also today. There is also a strange shortage of Russian speaking historians outside of Russia who are interested in writing about this particular subject in English; and those few who know the language are not able or willing to spend months or even years deciphering the often indecipherable handwriting of the imperial family members.
Yet, in Russia there is still a mountain of untapped archival material which can give the world so much new information about that period in Russian history, as well as eliminate long standing myths and misinformation. Helen always felt that it’s very important to present this material in its almost raw form, which is why in her work she refrains from offering subjective interpretations, and allows the reader to make up his or her own mind based on the text they read.
In 2018, the hundredth anniversary year of the murders of the Romanov family, Helen published the book IN THE STEPS OF THE ROMANOVS, and created the dream tour, bringing a group of Russian imperial history enthusiasts to experience important historical events first hand, by literally following in the footsteps of the last imperial family during the last two years of their lives.
Among a number of other places, the group visited Tsarskoe Selo, Tobolsk and Ekaterinburg. A smaller group even went to Crimea and Moscow, where they ended their journey at the Russian State Archives, looking at the original documents written by the Romanovs. A six part documentary from this trip will be available later in 2019.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 25, 2017
Two volumes of Maria’s letters and diaries,1913 Diary of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna: Complete Tercentennial Journal of the Third Daughter of the Last Tsar and Maria and Anastasia: The Youngest Romanov Grand Duchesses In Their Own Words: Letters, Diaries, Postcards, edited by Helen Azar, finally allow the Grand Duchess to speak for her herself and demonstrate that she was not fully understood by those who met her in passing during the final months of her life.
Klavdia Bitner, a tutor employed in 1917 noted that the Grand Duchesses were unfamiliar with certain contemporary authors and concluded that they were indifferently educated but Maria’s 1913 diary reveals that at the age of thirteen and fourteen, Maria’s days were dominated by lessons. On February 5, 1913, she wrote, “Had lessons in the morning…[In the afternoon] Had a dance lesson. Had a music lesson…Then did homework.” A report card from that year demonstrates that Maria received top marks from all of her tutors and that she experienced a wide variety of educational opportunities from frequent visits to theatre and ballet to physics lessons in the science lab of a secondary school near the Alexander Palace.
View my full review here http://www.royalhistorian.com/imperia...
Klavdia Bitner, a tutor employed in 1917 noted that the Grand Duchesses were unfamiliar with certain contemporary authors and concluded that they were indifferently educated but Maria’s 1913 diary reveals that at the age of thirteen and fourteen, Maria’s days were dominated by lessons. On February 5, 1913, she wrote, “Had lessons in the morning…[In the afternoon] Had a dance lesson. Had a music lesson…Then did homework.” A report card from that year demonstrates that Maria received top marks from all of her tutors and that she experienced a wide variety of educational opportunities from frequent visits to theatre and ballet to physics lessons in the science lab of a secondary school near the Alexander Palace.
View my full review here http://www.royalhistorian.com/imperia...
October 30, 2019
Obviously not a book that was meant to be published and read; as others have said, it was extremely dry and occasionally hard to read. But it was wonderful to read Maria’s own words and all of her careful time keeping. A neat little relic of another time and a lovely little tribute to the grand duchess.
March 26, 2019
if ever i needed to feel creepy i just needed to remind myself that i was reading the diary of a 14 year old
May 19, 2019
It is extremely moving to read the Grand Duchess’s daily diary for 1913, and most especially, to see the photographs of her during the Romanov celebratory tour. My heart aches for this innocent girl who never got to live her life. As a teen, I kept a daily record of everything I did that day in much the same way GD Maria did and I think that helps me to connect emotionally to this girl from another time, place and circumstance.
I am also quite surprised that there is so much contact with the extended family at this point. I did expect to see Xenia and Sandro and their family and also Olga as they are the sisters of the Tsar. The Konstantinovichi are also frequent visitors, which I can understand but also the Vladimirovichi which I did not expect. Also, very little mention of Uncle Misha. The point of all this is that even in the most humble of sources like this daily log of a teenager, one can find bits of treasure.
I am also quite surprised that there is so much contact with the extended family at this point. I did expect to see Xenia and Sandro and their family and also Olga as they are the sisters of the Tsar. The Konstantinovichi are also frequent visitors, which I can understand but also the Vladimirovichi which I did not expect. Also, very little mention of Uncle Misha. The point of all this is that even in the most humble of sources like this daily log of a teenager, one can find bits of treasure.
August 16, 2023
Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna was a typical middle child and often forgotten so it is lovely to discover her diary from 1913 which historians feared had been destroyed during the Russian Revolution. While the diary is an important discovery I must admit that by itself it was monotonous and I was pleased when I had finsihed it but I believe it is a must read for all Romanov fans.
May 17, 2021
Let's call it. This wasn't quite what I expected. I could only read so many entries about which rooms and with whom she ate her meals. Perhaps I didn't give it enough time as I would have thought there would be some drama ramping up on the eve of WWI, but then again she was probably a sheltered child, despite being royalty.
Honestly, my biggest take away was that Tsar Nicholas II made time to eat with his children and go on daily walks with them.
Honestly, my biggest take away was that Tsar Nicholas II made time to eat with his children and go on daily walks with them.
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February 23, 2021Did not finish/Need to finish
July 11, 2022
Excellent for anyone truly passionate about the Grand Duchesses and their daily lives.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews