The Characters of the Romanov Sisters as Young Ladies

It is hard to understand the four sisters’ characters as they matured; often, accounts by family friends, which are the ones most often relied on, are overly sentimental and seek to cleanse the imperial image following the Revolution. Despite the attempts of these imperial friends, however, with some cross examination with other, less biased documents as well as some personal writings, we can receive a glimpse of the characters of the four maturing young ladies.

Olga was by all accounts a merry and charming teenager before the Revolution. Although Anastasia has since gained the reputation of the funny, mischievous one, Olga, especially as a young child, delighted in playing pranks on her teachers. Sophie Buxhoevedon described how Olga and Tatiana, once a teacher left the schoolroom, would scramble over the furniture and then dash back into the seats, where their next teacher would find them once more demurely seated. Olga was the ringleader in these games. Quite the opposite from the rather blasé, dull, even arrogant grand duchess much of the internet perceives her as now, Olga, although shy and introverted, was social and loved to make people laugh, such as when she visited patients during WWI. Accounts by family friends yield an image of a sweet, sincere, principled, and clever girl—with a temper. This last bit did not quite fit with the overall image, perhaps why Anna Vyrubova added that “she early learned to keep [her temper] under control.” Sophie Buxhoevedon was more frank, writing that the hotheaded Olga could be easily offended. Olga was exceptionally devoted to her father. And all praised her great kindness of heart. Indeed this was the sanitized image that reached the outside world: “Olga’s character was even, good, with an almost angelic kindness,” even perceived not very serious nor deep despite her true, fiery nature. When she began receiving her allowance at age 20, she set some of it aside each month for the treatment of a crippled girl.

Some of the best descriptions of the Romanov sisters come from the guards during their imprisonment, as these persons tended to be honest in their assessment. But by this point Olga was depressed—her character completely changed, Buxhoevedon explained, by the Revolution and the vilification of her father—and the cheerful girl of yore was gone. Despite increasingly drawing into solitude, Olga was still noted to look friendly and simple, often playing the piano. Although she had a newer, grimmer outlook, she still preferred tunes that were “plaintive” and “catchy.” Unlike her sisters, though, she was not at all eager to converse with guards.

The second sister, Tatiana, was the opposite of her more lazy and disorganized sister. As Buxhoevedon explained the contrast, “[Olga] was generous, and an appeal to her met with immediate response. ‘Oh, one must help poor so-and-so. I must do it somehow,’ she would say. Her more careful sister, Tatiana, would suggest practical measures, would note names and details, and come back to the subject later, out of duty.” Whereas Olga was impulsive and temperamental, Tatiana was cautious, careful, and above all, dutiful. Buxhoevedon described her as being completely selfless, standing in for her mother to take care of her brother, arranging the nursery, forfeiting her own plans for the sake of her mother. It is true that Buxhoevedon, like the other family friends, had a tendency to idealize, but as she describes none of the others sisters this way, it indeed makes sense to assume she was being honest here. Moreover, Buxhoevedon claims, “her natural friendliness made her want to say friendly things to other people. She became much better known than her cleverer elder sister, as she took more trouble about the people she met.” Tatiana was greatly popular with the general public, but those who met her often described her as being aristocratic-looking, stiff, and even proud. While Lili Dehn put this down to Tatiana’s shyness, which is likely the reason, it cannot be ignored that this impression contrasts with Buxhoevedon’s description. Likely Tatiana genuinely was interested in people and tried to be friendly, but her shyness sometimes manifested in awkwardness and stiffness. A. A. Mossolov, a member of the court, described her as having “a difficult character.” However people disagreed on her temperament, however, it was nearly universally agreed that Tatiana was the beauty of the sisters with her wide-apart blue-grey eyes, tall and slim figure, and natural tendency toward elegance. She enjoyed her beauty and she enjoyed clothes, wearing them with grace and aplomb. Photographs and video footage show her with a lovely smile.

The third sister, Maria, is perhaps the most misunderstood in the modern day. She has been lauded as the angel of the family, the one who never did anything wrong. That is the impression Margaretta Eagar leaves us with; however, Eagar was dismissed when Maria was only five years old, hardly enough time for Eagar to understand what Maria’s character in her teenaged years would be like. For this we must rely on other friends of the family. A.A. Mossolov, though an outsider, perhaps best summed up Maria’s personality when he wrote of her as “kind, though not without a certain obstinacy.” That was basic, but it was true of Maria’s personality. She was kind and unselfish but also, as Lili Dehn put it in kinder terms, “much more decided in her outlook [than her sisters]. The Grand Duchess Marie knew at once what she wanted, and why she wanted it.” Buxhoevedon, always the frank one, simply wrote, “Marie Nicolaevna was obstinate.” There is some clash in the descriptions of Maria as well; while Vyrubova writes of her as being as mischievous and roguish as her sisters, Dehn tell us that she was not as lively. Maria was considered by Mossolov to be the least capable of the sisters (or at least, when Anastasia grew up, Maria would be the least capable,behind her others sisters), and it is true that at lessons she was hardly remarkable. But she was an excellent artist, one that always drew with her left hand, and Buxhoevedon remarked that “Marie Nicolaevna, alone of the sisters, had a decided talent for drawing.” After imprisonment, Maria was described as still strong and healthful, blooming into beauty with rosy red cheeks. A guard described an incident where Maria suddenly grabbed on to a tree branch and began swinging. An infuriated Commandant Yurovsky yelled at her to stop damaging the trees. But even Yurovsky was impressed by Maria’s sweet, modest, and sincere demeanor. She adapted well to the family’s new circumstances, and was universally liked by the guards.

Anastasia was a completely different character to contend with. Despite vast differences between the three eldest sisters, Anastasia still stood apart as being the one the most different from the group, especially evidenced in her unprecedented boldness: “the only one of the sisters who never knew the meaning of shyness.” Even as a young child she could entertain somber old men. Yet her great difference becomes a flaw when we try to discern the real Anastasia. Accounts by friends often focus on Anastasia’s wit, her laughter, her deviousness and her endless pranks, but this is all very shallow, only the tip of the iceberg. Unlike with her sisters, there are not many additional notes or comments to help us understand the subtleties of Anastasia’s character. But we can grasp that Anastasia was a funny, witty child with a sense of humor that could be too roguish at times; she was impulsive and lazy, especially when it came to her lessons, despite the fact that her teachers found her exceptionally clever.