Anastasia: The autobiography of H.I.H. the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nicholaevna of RussiaSmith, Eugenia
History
Anastasia: The autobiography of H.I.H. the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nicholaevna of Russia
Smith, Eugenia
Anastasiia Nikolaevna, Grand Duchess, daughter of Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia, 1901-1918
On the second morning, May 22nd, we arrived in Tiumen. Here were more
guards armed to the teeth, even with a machine gun. They were afraid of
possible riots when we would disembark. There were crowds of people to
see the arrival of the first boat of the season, or perhaps they were
aware of our being on board. We waited on the boat several hours before
we disembarked, then we walked from the landing, crossing the same
tracks to the waiting train as we had done, in reverse, the previous
year. A group of ladies threw flowers at our feet, but we did not dare
to look in their direction. We saw they were wiping their tears with
handkerchiefs. Many crossed themselves and others made a cross in our
direction. Still others stood motionless except for their quivering
lips. An elderly gentleman knelt down. Immediately a guard pushed him
over, swearing at him in a mixed tongue. I felt ashamed to see such
brutal disrespect for venerable years. This Russian gentleman was one
of the old generation. I could tell by his posture and by the cut of
his clothes. He had a familiar look; it seemed I had seen him before
somewhere. Tatiana asked Commissar Rodionov if it would be possible
to have Baroness Buxhoeveden and others with us. He grinned, saying
“Panie, nyet” (lady, no).
We were exhausted and hungry. We had had nothing to eat since noon
the day before, and still there was a long trip ahead of us to
Ekaterinburg. Finally our brave Nagorny managed to get us a bottle of
milk. I presume someone gave it to him and he rushed to give it to us.
We sisters each had half a glass and the rest we saved for our brother.
Then we were transferred to the train. One car was assigned to us girls
and our brother. One side of the aisle was occupied by us sisters and
Hendrikova, Buxhoeveden, Schneider, and Ersberg. On the other side
were General Tatishchev, Alexei and Nagorny. We were not allowed to
speak with those on the other side. Now Alexei was separated from his
devoted teacher and protector, M. Gilliard. The rest of the suite, we
understood, was in the car behind.
We did not dare to undress that night since the guards were pacing back
and forth in the aisle and at each end of the car. They stood or sat
continually guarding us as if we were criminals. The shades were pulled
down all night, but several dim lights were kept on. We knew we were
approaching Ekaterinburg when the guards spoke of Bazhenovo, a town
near Ekaterinburg. At midnight the train stopped and we spent the rest
of the night there on the train. We remembered Bazhenovo where, on our
way to Tobolsk, we had stopped along the track. Father had told us that
near here were the famous emerald mines.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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