Russian History expert Helen Rappaport does the best job I have seen in recounting the era leading up to
the Imperial tragedy of July 17, 1918. The English author gathered the best selection of material from many Romanov aficionados as well as consulting records all over Europe. Thus the result is a refreshingly interesting account, unmarred by all sorts of intrusive political jabs, such as found in a new Young Adult biography of the Romanovs by a woman named Constance Fleming. The latter book, more representative of the usual fare from American authors with a relentless agenda, is heavily laced with criticism and even probably fabricated incidents to mar the legacy of Czar Nicholas II in conformity with the prevailing view during his time of Marxist revolutionaries and many so-called democrats living in the West ever since.
Juxtaposed with such deflating material, Helen Rappaport's book stands out all the more as enjoyable to read. One isn't bombarded with charts of the average income of a peasant in Russia in the early 1900s, or breakdowns of occupations in early 20th century Russia as in Fleming's angry diatribe against the Russian monarchy, marketed as "history" for American young adults.
Instead, in "The Romanov Sisters", one can relax and read the facts about each member of the family of the Czar, culled from diaries, memoirs written at the time and in succeeding decades by eyewitnesses. These reminiscences are shrewdly woven together to present a clear picture of the hitherto-little known Grand Duchesses. We have all heard about them : we know their names well from hearing them at Liturgy. But who were they, actually ? How did they differ from each other in character ? How did they change as they grew up ? Why is it we have this idea of them as a monolithic block, referred to even by the 4 themselves as "OTMA" after the first initials of their names, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia. And why did even much of the world see them the same way, as a single unit, rather than as Grand Duchesses with differing personalities and talents ?
The girls were invariably dressed in matching white lace dresses for public appearances. That repetitive style accentuated the lack of individuality of each Grand Duchess.
The 4 were mentioned in the American and British press of the time. But usually superficially, in the context of speculation about which European Prince would become engaged to Grand Duchess Olga, the eldest. [As it turns out, it seems to me that it is a sad twist of fate that Olga was not married abroad before the Russian Revolution descended. She might otherwise have survived and left an entire line surviving all this time.]
The author devotes much time to each of the "Big Pair"'s - the older 2 Grand Duchesses - crushes on young officers whom they met on the Imperial yacht [she helpfully spells it throughout as "Shtandart" so we know how it was really pronounced. I never realized that it was anything other than how the name looked, like the word Standard]. Or in the military hospital where the Big Pair worked during World War I. That part got slightly boring, because we know that none of these dashing young officers were ever going to marry their Princesses ; thus it seems almost a waste of time, both on the girls' part and ours to read about ! Teenagers are teenagers, everywhere, so of course it was natural that these painfully sheltered girls would have overly obsessed about the very few men in their own age group with whom they were allowed to chatter. And apparently flirt too much, the author does well to gently inject. She asks why Empress Alexandra, normally so strict, was remiss in not seeing how emotionally involved the Elder Pair had become with a succession of young officers during these years.
We also see how much their mother "infantilized" them -- the author's unpleasant but realistic term -- referring to them even when they were well grown as "my girlies".
Thus we can understand why they weren't able to assert themselves more in any way and remained "OTMA" all the way to their horrific martyrdoms.
[To Be Continued]