The Last Days of the RomanovsSokolov, N. (Nikolai)
History
The Last Days of the Romanovs
Sokolov, N. (Nikolai)
Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia, 1868-1918; Romanov, House of
People began to get frightened to show their feelings towards the
imperial family. The Grand Duchess Olga was very much liked by Margaret
Hitrovo. Often she came to me and asked me to deliver letters to Olga
Nicholaevna. She always used to sign her letters: “Margaret Hitrovo.” In
the same way, all the letters that were brought to me by Olga Kolsakova,
bore also her full signature. But there were some letters brought to me
to be delivered that were signed merely: “Lili” (Den) or “Titi”
(Velitchkovskaya). I said to Miss Hitrovo: “You always sign your letters
with your full name, the same as is done by Olga Kolsakova, but there
are others who hide their names. This is not fair. Suppose the mail
should be seen by somebody else and I should be asked who are the
authors of those letters? My position would be extremely embarrassing.
Please inform the writers of those letters that I desire them to call on
me. I must know who they are.” After that I ceased to receive letters
from “Lili” or “Titi.”
Count Apraksin very shortly after the arrest made a request to be
allowed to resign, as all his business in the palace was finished and
his family resided in Petrograd. By order of the minister of justice
(the order was given to me through Korniloff) he was allowed to leave
the palace.
Now I have related everything that I remember about the state of the
imperial family in Czarskoe-Selo.
I can only add that the imperial family received all the newspapers that
appeared at this time, as well as English and French magazines. Of the
Russian newspapers I can name: “Russkoe-Slovo,” “Russkaia-Volia,”
“Retch,” and “Novoe-Vremia,” “Petrogradsky Listok,” and
“Petrogradskaia-Gaseta.”
Now I am going to tell you how the imperial family was moved to Tobolsk.
This was preceded by the following events:
About a week before the departure of the imperial family, Kerensky
arrived at Czarskoe-Selo. He called me up as well as the chairman of the
soviet and the chairman of the military section of the Czarskoe-Selo
garrison, Ensign Efimoff (Efimoff was an officer of the second
regiment). Kerensky said to us: “Before speaking to you I ask your word
that everything I say will be kept secret.” We gave our word to
Kerensky. Then he told us that according to the resolution of the
council of ministers, the imperial family were to be taken out of
Czarskoe-Selo, but that the government did not consider it a secret from
the “democratic organizations.” He said also that I had to go with the
imperial family. After that I retired but Kerensky continued a
conversation with the chairman of the soviet and Efimoff. In about an
hour I met Kerensky and asked him where we were going, adding that I
must give notice to the family so that they could prepare themselves for
the trip. Kerensky responded that he would do it personally and
proceeded to the palace. In the palace he had a personal talk with the
emperor, but he did not give any answer to my question as to when and
where we were going.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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