Comments on Last Days at Tsarskoe Selo
hi
On the 23rd of April, the Empress's birthday, we went at 10:45 to offer our congratulations. At 11 o'clock Mass was celebrated in the chapel.
On the 25th of May, the Empress's birthday, we waited upon Her Majesty before Mass without congratulations.
in the part number 2 he mentioned that empress birthday its on 23 april
and in the part three its on may 25
its little bit confusing memory without years
how many years they v been kept all in this palace before the tranfert to siberia and the why the empress got 2 different birthday
thanks u very much and its very nice site and work
On the 23rd of April, the Empress's birthday, we went at 10:45 to offer our congratulations. At 11 o'clock Mass was celebrated in the chapel.
On the 25th of May, the Empress's birthday, we waited upon Her Majesty before Mass without congratulations.
in the part number 2 he mentioned that empress birthday its on 23 april
and in the part three its on may 25
its little bit confusing memory without years
how many years they v been kept all in this palace before the tranfert to siberia and the why the empress got 2 different birthday
thanks u very much and its very nice site and work
i think it is very sad about the romanovs and feel pity for nicholas and alexandra
i think its very sad and that they never should have had to die like that. it makes me wonder what they did that someone thought was so wrong that they used peer pressure to get the whole of russia to go against the tsar and his family. it is just very sad and something i hope never happens to any royal family again
shannon | 02.02.2007 - 08:39 pm | #
Splendid writing; you have enriched all of us by working so hard on this project and making it available to the worldwide public.
How good was it? I lost interest in watching a fairly good Super Bowl game!
These first-hand accounts are essential, because by the time that the dry-as-dust historians publish their work, they've wrung all of the passion out of the story.
A good example of this would be "Moscow 1941," by Rodric Braithwaite (2006).
It's a good read, and maybe things will heat up in later chapters, but at this point, Russia's been invaded - and the only person who's lost his temper is Stalin! Which can't possibly be the case...
If you're a fan of first-person accounts, grab a copy of "Berlin Diaries, 1940-1945," by Marie Vassiltchikov (1987). What she accomplished by carefully keeping a diary - an extremely dangerous thing to do - is simply wonderful.
DPR
How good was it? I lost interest in watching a fairly good Super Bowl game!
These first-hand accounts are essential, because by the time that the dry-as-dust historians publish their work, they've wrung all of the passion out of the story.
A good example of this would be "Moscow 1941," by Rodric Braithwaite (2006).
It's a good read, and maybe things will heat up in later chapters, but at this point, Russia's been invaded - and the only person who's lost his temper is Stalin! Which can't possibly be the case...
If you're a fan of first-person accounts, grab a copy of "Berlin Diaries, 1940-1945," by Marie Vassiltchikov (1987). What she accomplished by carefully keeping a diary - an extremely dangerous thing to do - is simply wonderful.
DPR
Addendum to the above:
A warning to those who use this for research:
"Moral" and "morale" are two quite different words. The translator has confused the two; unfortunately, he is using the wrong one.
Where "moral" is seen, the reader - by seeing the context in which it is used - knows that it should be "morale."
And without warning, all of the dates provided are Julian Calendar dates - "Old Style."
I don't pretend to be an expert @ the difference between the obsolete Julian and present-day Gregorian calendars.
But I do know that employing the correct, exact dates in historical works is absolutely non-negotiable. "Close enough" is unacceptable.
So an "old style - new style" warning should precede all historical accounts from this era.
From Robert Massie's "Nicholas & Alexandra," (1967), "Note" (p. 2, opposite the start of Chapter One):
"Until 1918, Russia adhered to the old Julian calendar.
"In the nineteenth century [1800's], this calendar was 12 days behind the Gregorian calendar used almost everywhere else.
"In the twentieth century [1900's], the Russian calendar fell 13 days behind.
"In this book, all dates are given according to the newer, Gregorian calendar, except those specifically indicated as Old Style (O.S.)."
Unfortunately, here, this warning & rule-of-thumb was not employed.
So it is recommended that all exact dates be extracted from "N&A," Chapters 26-31, rather than this account - which is valuable, instead, for its unique, irreplaceable 1st-person observations & insights.
And beware of one particular instance of a carelessly worded indication of O.S. versus N.S., in this account:
"The Emperor was shot on the 16th of June - old style..."
Being shot in the old style certainly hurt far more than being shot in the new style. When the calendar style was changed, Lenin's revolutionary legislation mandated that the bullets were now to merely graze the target.
Hopefully, the above will be useful to those who are enjoying Count Benckendorff's history of the final dangerous & dismaying days at T.S.
Don Reed
A warning to those who use this for research:
"Moral" and "morale" are two quite different words. The translator has confused the two; unfortunately, he is using the wrong one.
Where "moral" is seen, the reader - by seeing the context in which it is used - knows that it should be "morale."
And without warning, all of the dates provided are Julian Calendar dates - "Old Style."
I don't pretend to be an expert @ the difference between the obsolete Julian and present-day Gregorian calendars.
But I do know that employing the correct, exact dates in historical works is absolutely non-negotiable. "Close enough" is unacceptable.
So an "old style - new style" warning should precede all historical accounts from this era.
From Robert Massie's "Nicholas & Alexandra," (1967), "Note" (p. 2, opposite the start of Chapter One):
"Until 1918, Russia adhered to the old Julian calendar.
"In the nineteenth century [1800's], this calendar was 12 days behind the Gregorian calendar used almost everywhere else.
"In the twentieth century [1900's], the Russian calendar fell 13 days behind.
"In this book, all dates are given according to the newer, Gregorian calendar, except those specifically indicated as Old Style (O.S.)."
Unfortunately, here, this warning & rule-of-thumb was not employed.
So it is recommended that all exact dates be extracted from "N&A," Chapters 26-31, rather than this account - which is valuable, instead, for its unique, irreplaceable 1st-person observations & insights.
And beware of one particular instance of a carelessly worded indication of O.S. versus N.S., in this account:
"The Emperor was shot on the 16th of June - old style..."
Being shot in the old style certainly hurt far more than being shot in the new style. When the calendar style was changed, Lenin's revolutionary legislation mandated that the bullets were now to merely graze the target.
Hopefully, the above will be useful to those who are enjoying Count Benckendorff's history of the final dangerous & dismaying days at T.S.
Don Reed
