Austin, Texas
March 2000
Foreword
In her brief introduction to the original publication of her book Lili Dehn states that she wrote "The Real Tsarista" in order to counter the negative newspaper accounts, books and even movies that had already reached the public in 1922, five short years after the Revolution occurred. As soon as the Romanovs had been imprisoned in the Alexander Palace, newspaper editors from Petrograd to San Francisco were responding to an insatiable public's interest in the fate of the Imperial Family with 'eyewitness' accounts. Reporters in Russia had the best chance to get the "scoop" and they pursued anyone who might have inside information on the Romanovs. Palace servants, court officials, guards and even palace grocery-men were sought out for information. The most fantastic stories were spread by the press describing a court dominated by German spies, sexual orgies and sybaritic luxury. No act was too wild not to be attributed to the Romanovs, even the young Grand Duchesses were said to have been the mistresses of Rasputin. While people were starving in the streets of Moscow and Berlin, newspapers carried tales of luxurious banquets at the Alexander Palace, where the Imperial prisoners were said to be feasting on rare delicacies and fine wines.
While the absurdity of these stories amused Nicholas and his family, they were generally believed by the public and had a dangerous effect on the Romanovs' reputation in Russia and abroad. Alexandra bore the brunt of the public's distaste. She had never been popular in Russia because of her remoteness, strong views on religion and morality, and her view of the role and responisibilies of royalty, which she learned from her reclusive grandmother, Queen Victoria.
Although her face was familiar around the world, Alexandra was virtually unknown outside of inner court circles and a small circle of relatives and friends. Even those closest to the throne, who should have been the Empress's natural supporters, were frequently ambivilent about her personality and the motives behind her actions. Closeted away in her rooms with her children and husband, Alexandra was an enigma to them. They resented her silence, aloofness, and what appeared to them to be self-righteousness.
No one was more dismayed at her low level of popularity than the Empress herself. She felt there was little that she could do about it. To actively attempt to increase her popularity was beneath her dignity and ran counter to Alexandra's serious and introspective personality. She abhored what she saw as the false emotions and trivial obsessions of Russian aristocracy which progressively lead the Empress to withdraw from society.
Every year fewer and fewer Imperial invitations arrived at Petersburg palaces inviting the high-born to court. Instead Alexandra preferred the company of a few close friends, which caused more resentment toward her from those who felt their position or birth entitled them to be close to a Russian Empress.
Among Alexandra's closest friends was Lili Dehn. She was well liked by the entire family and the Emperor thought she was a good, practical person for his wife to have about. Her intimacy with the family increased over time and during the war her friendship evolved, until she entered the tiny innermost circle of friends of the family and was a confidante of the Empress. This was partially a result of her belief in Rasputin, for which Alexandra was thankful, and which established her trust in Lili. Her closeness to the Empress earned the attention of the Empress's enemies and through wild gossip her name became notorious just as with Alexandra's close friend, Anna Vyrubova.
During the Revolution, Lili's closeness to pivotal events and her bravery placed her in a unique position to observe, record - and even participate - in the critical days of 1917. Her descriptions of these events are often charged with emotion and her direct impressions. Frequently, Lili's memories are the only recorded eyewitness decriptions of certain events and the reactions of the Imperial family to them.
As with most eyewitness accounts, Lili's memories are not always perfect, and she sometimes confused details. She occasionally makes small mistakes in her descriptions of rooms in the Alexander Palace, or of events, but these errors are understandable in that she did not keep a journal of events, nor did she attempt a forensic reconstruction of places and people. These are rapidly composed memoirs in defence of a maligned friend, five years after the fact.
Lili's book is frequently marked by aspersions on the Jews, whom she blames - in part - for the Revolution. Unable to comprehend the true sources of the Revolution in the disunity and conflicts within various factions of Russian society, Lili relies on a superficial analysis of its causes, blaming one of Russia's most disenfranchised ethnic group and the traditional scapegoat of European and American right-wing society of the time.
After leaving Russia, Lili moved to Caracas, Argentina, where she lead a quiet life occupied with family affairs. Later in life she was drawn into the controvery surrounding the false Anastasia, Anna Anderson, whom she endorsed.
Lili's memoirs have remained one the chief sources for many subsequent books about the Romanovs. Her recollections, so close to the actual events and the people involved, are critical to anyone seeking an intimate knowledge of the Imperial family and their responses to the events which eventually overwhelmed them.
Bob Atchison
Go to the first chapter.
A special thank you to Robert Moshein for scanning the text for this online edition.Contact Bob Atchison for comments on this site.
Other books on Russian History from the Alexander Palace Association:
The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna by Sophie Buxhoeveden | Left Behind by Sophie Buxhoeveden | Memories of the Russian Court by Anna Vyrubova | Thirteen Years at the Russian Court by Pierre Gilliard | Last Days at Tsarskoe Selo by Paul Beckendorff | St. Petersburg - Imperial City | Charles Cameron - Imperial Architect by Georges Loukomski | Tsarskoe Selo in 1910
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