25 Chapters of My Life: The Memoirs of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna

by Olga Alexandrovna, Paul Kulikovsky, Sue Woolmans

The Grand Duchess Olga wrote her memoirs as a personal account of the final years of Imperial Russia... The youngest daughter of Alexander III and sister of Nicholas II, Olga was brought up in a happy and loving environment, where the wealth and majesty of the Russian court seemed forever assured. With an artist's eye for detail, she records her life against the background of the historical events, which shook the world. Her marriage to Prince Peter of Oldenburg failed, and she saw at first hand the horror and suffering while nursing in a field hospital during The Great War. At the onset of the Revolution in 1917, Olga and her new husband Nicholas Kulikovsky moved first to The Crimea and in early 1919 to the Caucasus, which was under White Russian control. When the Red Army moved in, Nicholas and Olga, with their two children, managed to escape to Denmark, and her mother's home. After the end of WWII the family emigrated to Canada to avoid the dangers posed by Soviet occupation of Dani

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Russia, Biography, Russian History, Romanovs, Memoir

216 pages, Paperback

First published March 4, 2010

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna was the daughter of the second last Tsar of Russia - Alexander III - and the sister of the the last Tsar - Nicholas II. Olga was 14 years younger than Nicholas, and was raised almost as a second family by her mother. She had no great love for all the finery and spelndour of the Russian court and regularly sought ways to escape court life. Part of this escape was her unhappy marriage to the homosexual Peter of Oldenburg and her love for Nicholas Kulikovsky, a cavalry officer. At the outbreak of WWI, Olga went to the front to be a nurse (and be close to Kulikovsky) and they were eventually granted permission to marry by Nicholas II.

This likely saved her life - or at least enhanced it during the years of revolution. As the wife of a soldier, she was not imprisoned with her mother, sister, and other family. She and her husband stayed on in Russia until 1920, when the rabid bloodlust of the Bolsheviks (always their calling card) reached the point that it was time to get out.

These are personal memoirs, not a complete picture of the period. It is interesting to note how she either did not see some things (the evilness of Rasputin, the idiocy of her sister in law Alexandra, the blundering of her brother the tsar, etc.) or if she didn’t have the heart to be honest. Either way, who would? She really led a harrowing life, lived the “common life” of the Russian people. The scrounged for food and went with all the other women to be “deloused” when they escaped Russia. Very interesting.

[Jacqueline Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good reflection of her life although some of the letters seemed a bit detached although not sure about the translation. However if you want a critique of the Russian politics of the time or her relation with her brother Nicholas II then this is not the book for you. She came across as being well educated and a lovely person but not intelligent and seemed alouf from her country of the time.

[Christina Eaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting but also very benign considering what she lived through. Wish she could’ve commented more on her marital situation.

[Ekaterina T. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Politically correct sort of diary. I hardly enjoyed it. A few chapters were interesting, but the rest nah.

[Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna Romanova's personal reflections of her life. As the daughter of one tsar and the sister of another, she lived in the final decades of imperialist Russia. She seemed to be a very positive person despite the horrible travails she and her family experienced in the Russian Revolution. Her words are interesting and insightful. Yet, the failing of what she wrote is that it is devoid feeling about the horror that she had to have experienced. She ends without once expressing how she felt about the uncertainty she had to have felt about the disappearance (and later assassination) of her brother (Tsar Nicholas II) and his family. She doesn't discuss the horror of knowing that so many of her family members faced the same fate. This wasn't written as an intended memoir per se, but the lack of depth of feeling about those events was surprising and disappointing at the same time, yet perhaps psychologically understandable as well. Or perhaps as an optimist she just couldn't face the negative. Nevertheless, it was an interesting read, well worth exploring further if one is intrigued about this time period.

As an aside, the Kindle version of this book is poorly edited with many errors. Words are often run together and also some sloppy title work in one place that was incorrectly written causing me to ponder it and re-read several times before I figured out what was really going on. More time certainly could have been spent by the editors to fix these errors.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as I'd hope it would be. This gentle and sad woman who witnessed the fall of a dynasty, the suffering of her hemophiliac nephew, who was a confidante of her nieces says nothing of what she felt or thought about it all. She was forced to marry in 1903 Prince Peter of Oldenburg, the homosexual son of her mother's good friend so Olga would stay in Russia as her mother's companion. (This seems to have been the fate of all the youngest princesses of 19th century Europe.) Early in her marriage she met and fell in love with the man whom she'd finally marry in late 1916. One of the last things her brother Nicholas II did before the Revolution was to annul her first marriage. Yet this marriage to Nicholas Kulicovsky did not please her mother. But none of this drama is in these memoirs. You have to go to other sources for the good stuff.

[Marcie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of the book was interesting and gave me a good idea of the day to day life of Olga and the Romanov's, but then the entries seemed to become more vague and it was hard to get a good sense of what she really thought or felt. The chapter on Rasputin was especially disappointing because with all of the rumors you heard about him, I was hoping for an insight on what he was really like or if her sister-in-laws fascination with him was all it was made out to be but alas, she said nothing regarding what he was truly like. I guess throughout the book I was looking for more detail and it seemed it was just a rough sketch with no real substance. I was disappointed in the book by the time I finished it.

[Rebecca Huston · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating account of Romanov life before the revolution. Beautifully written, in the Grand Duchess's own words, with many photographs, compiled by two of her descendants. Those interested in Russia's royals will want to read this one.

For the complete review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/review/Olga_A...

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

the autobiography of grand duchess olga as evidenced by her letters/diary, from her earliest memories to pre-WWII. i think she glossed over so many things, such as her marriage, annulment, and subsequent marriage, and her brother--tsar nicholas II--but overall it was an interesting look at what life was like as daughter and sister to the richest men in russia who also ruled 1/6th of it till the revolution. if you want more facts then the vorres book would be more to your taste.

[Aldi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not nearly as good as expected. Unfortunately this book shows clearly that not everyone who's had a really interesting life can also write about it in an interesting way. For the most part this was a detached-sounding and disappointingly dull memoir, with whole chapters dedicated to lengthy descriptions of grounds and flowers and random boring encounters instead of any of the fascinating and deeply engaging experiences that marked this woman's unusual life.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

The two stars are mostly because of the HORRIBLE formatting of the e-book. It was a nice first-person companion to "Nicholas and Alexandra" but it took me forever to get through it because is was almost unreadable on the Kindle. Get the real book.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as illuminating as I was hoping, but still interesting to hear about the Romanovs from one of them.

[Ronald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting memoir from the last Tsar's sister... from her youth through WWI and the revolution and ending with her flight to Denmark... not exactly a tell-all, but fascinating nonetheless.

[Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sister of the last tsar of Russia, Olga's remembrances offer an personal look at the royal family.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read eclipsing the life of a woman who went from cherished daughter of an emperor to working the fields to feed her family.