Summers in the Finnish Skerries: Life Aboard the Russian Imperial Yachts

 by Greg King

Each June, as the northern skies over St. Petersburg were suffused with the brilliant pearls, blues, and magentas of the famous "White Nights," the Emperor and his family regularly made a series of journeys to a series of lodges and palaces throughout the Empire. From the long wooden dock which stretched before the Lower Palace at Alexandria-Peterhof, Nicholas, Alexandra and their five children would board a tender and slowly steam across the placed waters of the Gulf of Finland to Kronstadt, the island naval base which served as the semi-permanent home to the Imperial yachts. From here, at least for the next few weeks, the Imperial Family could relax as they cruised through the Finnish Skerries, enjoying both the simple pleasures of life at sea and daily excursions to the small islands and protected compounds edged by deep pine and evergreen forests. 

The Imperial yachts provided the most luxurious means of travel. By the turn of the century, royal yachts were necessities; European sovereigns used them for state visits to fellow monarchs, where they served as miniature floating palaces, serving not only as places entertainment but also for discrete diplomacy. 

Between 1675 and the end of the Russian Empire, members of the Imperial family commissioned a total of 346 yachts.1 Many of these were simple sailboats, and, perhaps not surprisingly, forty alone were built at the command of Peter the Great. The first real Imperial yachts, on which members of the Dynasty could travel in comfort to various parts of their Empire or undertake foreign visits, only began to appear in the 19th century, however, when the advent of steam and sail combined to allow voyages of longer duration. 

When he came to the Imperial Throne in 1894, Nicholas II had over a dozen yachts at his disposal; some ranged from simple barges to truly impressive sea-going vessels. Throughout his reign, he would add another ten yachts of varying size and design. Of the 346 vessels built between 1675 to 1917, however, only a handful carried the designation of "Imperial Yacht." 

Identifying the Imperial yachts is somewhat complex, as names tended to be repeated; there were, for example, a dozen yachts called Alexandria, several called Tsarevna, a handful of Neva's and at least nine vessels called Standart throughout the years. But many of these were smaller vessels, permanently attached to local ports in the Crimea like Yalta, Sevastopol and Odessa, or kept in Moscow, Kostroma or Kiev for voyages across interior Russia. Other ships were harbored in Reval and at the naval base at Kronstadt. 

By the turn of the centuries, four Imperial yachts remained in commission, but were rarely used. The oldest of these was Alexandria, built between 1852-1854, and designed to replace an earlier vessel of the same name which dated from the 1830s.2 A paddle-wheel steamer, Alexandria was used primarily after the turn of the century in and round St. Petersburg, when the size of the later Imperial yachts made navigation of the Neva impossible. 

Derzhevna was built in 1866 for Alexander II.3 Like Alexandria, Derzhevna was a paddle-wheel steamer, with twin black funnels and a schooner-like profile, with an extended bowsprit encrusted with a gilded, double-headed Romanov eagle.4 

The ship contained two principal decks. The first was given over to the public rooms and the apartments of the Imperial family. According to the tastes of the time, the interior was finished in dark wood: mahogany, walnut, and oak. The Dining Saloon was finished in a neo-Jacobite theme, with walls divided by mahogany beams into panels decorated with beige stipplework. Above, from a white-painted ceiling inset with strapwork, hung a pierced copper chandelier, illuminating the heavily-carved mahogany dining table and leather-upholstered chairs.5 

Like all of the Imperial yachts, Derzhevna carried specially-commissioned porcelain, ordered from the Popov, Gardiner and St, Petersburg Imperial Factories. The Derzhevna service consisted of some two hundred pieces of white porcelain, whose rims were decorated with royal blue circles, medieval designs, and anchors enclosed in circles, all rimmed in 24 karat gold. Like the porcelain, the stemware was etched with the personal monogram of Alexander II.6 

In 1868, Alexander commissioned another yacht, this one called Strelna.7 Powered by a single screw, it was largely used to covey members of the Imperial Family from their estates on the Gulf of Finland to the Imperial capital. 

The most peculiar of the Imperial yachts was Livadia, a massive ship built in the reign of Alexander II for use on the Black Sea. Commissioned in 1877, in its original form it followed the basic format of the other Imperial yachts. The first plans called for a yacht of three decks, with the public rooms housed in cabins on the top deck, a dining saloon below along with the rooms for the Imperial family, and a deck which contained rooms for the crew. Central paddle wheels, churned by twin turbine engines, could reach a top speed of 16 knots.8 

Between 1877 and 1879, however, the yacht underwent a number of important changes, largely at the direction of Vice-Admiral Alexander Popov. By the time it was finally christened Livadia on 25 March, 1880 and launched on 3 October, 1880, the newest Russian Imperial yacht was like nothing built before or since.9 The vessel, 235 feet long and 153 feet wide, resembled nothing so much as it did a large, floating gun platform. Popov had hoped that such a rotund design would reduce any rolling on rough seas. 

Livadia's unique design also allowed for spacious cabins for the Emperor and his family. The Dining Room was light and airy, lit on both sides by curved windows. The white walls were hung with chintz-covered panels, and the strapwork, neo-Jacobean ceiling was supported by a delicate, columned arcade. Guests dined off dinnerware commissioned from the St. Petersburg Imperial Porcelain Factory, plain white plates, cups and saucers whose rims were edged with a motive of anchors and chains in royal blue. The crystal, like the porcelain, was delicately etched with the monogram of Alexander II and rimmed with gold.10 

Alexander II was assassinated before he could use the ship, and his successor, Alexander III, found Livadia to be anything but comfortable. On his only voyage aboard Livadia, contrary to Popov's expectations, the ship pitched and rolled so violently that it was quickly deemed unseaworthy except for the most shallow water. Thereafter, Livadia remained at dock at Sevastopol in the Crimea, and Nicholas II never used the curious vessel.11 

With Livadia worthless as an Imperial yacht, the new Emperor, Alexander III, commissioned Tsarevna. Powered by coal, its single screw was capable of achieving nearly 18 knots. Unlike the previous Imperial yachts, the teak decks of Tsarevna were relatively uncluttered, marked by a single funnel, several masts, four lifeboats and an aft cabin which contained the main drawing and dining rooms. The profile of the vessel, too, was changed, subtly shifted to be more reminiscent in spirit of a graceful clipper, with an extended bowsprit encrusted in gold leaf.12 

In keeping with this newer theme, the main rooms on Tsarevna, designed by the architect Ipolit Monighetti, were largely decorated in light ash, and white-painted woodwork, with English chintzes hung at the portholes and Oriental carpets and potted palms spread throughout the staterooms to add a homey touch. The china service, too, stood in complete contrast to the porcelain ordered for previous yachts: Tsarevna's service featured plates with plain white borders, with the centers delicately painted to represent pastoral scenes of Russia, Finland and Empress Marie Feodorovna's homeland, Denmark.13 

Tsarevna was not a large yacht, and Alexander III, with his wife and five children, often accompanied by a numerous string of aunts, uncles and cousins, found the vessel too small for his needs. In 1888, therefore, he ordered a new, altogether impressive ship. The decision was reached rather suddenly; one day, Alexander III happened to be visiting the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg, During his inspection tour, he saw that the keel had been laid for a large cruiser, and, after a short conversation, declared that he would like to commission its completion as a new Imperial yacht. There was little the Baltic Shipyard could do but comply with the Emperor's request. 

A group of naval engineers and architects were called in and the plans for the cruiser were scraped. Construction took two years; on 19 May, 1890, Alexander III launched the vessel, christening it Polar Star. By the time of its completion, it had cost 3,557,100 rubles--the most expensive royal yacht built to that date.14 

The new Imperial yacht was 337 feet in length, with a displacement of 4100 tons; during her trials, she managed a cruising speed of just over 17 knots.15 Following the general outline of maritime architecture as directed on the earlier Tsarevna, Polar Star was designed to resemble a sleek clipper ship. An elongated bowsprit encrusted with gold leaf, lengthened the over-all impression, adding a sense of dignity. Two tall white funnels stood evenly spaced between three masts, again adding to the illusion of a sailing vessel. The teak decks were largely kept clear of any clutter; only a handful of vents and the eight lifeboats, four to each side, detracted from the aesthetic beauty of the ship. 

Four decks held the public and private rooms of the Imperial Family. Ipolit Monighetti and Nicholas Nabakov designed the majority of the public and private rooms. The Drawing Room, located aft and lit by large windows overlooking the rear deck as well as leaded-glass skylights, was the most elaborate of the state apartments. Its walls were covered with marquetry panels inlaid with delicate traceries of mahogany, ash, oak, walnut and Karelian birch.16 These panels, as well as the majority of the mahogany and oak furniture in the public rooms, was manufactured in the Svirskii Furniture Company in St. Petersburg. 

Beyond the Drawing Room was the Dining Saloon, decorated in light Hungarian ash and birdseye maple. The china service here consisted of plain white plates, cups and saucers decorated with the Emperor's monogram, and crystal etched with double-headed Imperial eagles in the sides.17 The Library, Sitting Rooms for the Emperor and Empress, and their private rooms were finished in teak, mahogany, lemonwood, and Karelian birch. Rooms for the Imperial children were hung with English cretonne on the walls and filled with furniture covered in bright English chintzes. 

If Tsarevna had suffered from a lack of accommodation, there was no such worry with Polar Star. In addition to rooms for the Imperial Family, the vessel carried a crew of 349, including nineteen officers.18 Once, at Marie Feodorovna's insistence, the Imperial Family even took a cow aboard, to provide the children with fresh milk during their voyage. This sleek yacht, filled with happy memories of life with her beloved husband and children, remained Empress Marie Feodorovna's favorite vessel. 

In 1893, Alexander III ordered a new Imperial yacht from the Burmeister and Wain Engine Company and Shipyard in Copenhagen. Polar Star was scarcely two years old, and on the surface there seemed little need for a new yacht. As his sons and daughters married, Alexander III himself would have had no need for a larger Imperial yacht. It is possible, however, that the Emperor was looking to the future, and intended the new ship to be a gift to his eldest his son, Tsesarevich Nicholas. 

This new ship was to surpass all of the older yachts in every respect. On 1 October, 1893, the Emperor, Empress and Tsesarevich Nicholas, who had arrived in Denmark aboard Polar Star, attended a ceremony to watch the keel being laid.19 The public rooms were planned to be nearly twice as large as those on Polar Star, and no expense was spared in the construction of the new yacht. 

Work continued for eighteen months. Alexander III died before the ship was finished but, on 21 March, 1895, the vessel was launched at the Burmeister and Wain Shipyard, in the midst of a terrible winter storm. Neither Nicholas II, his wife, nor his mother could attend; in their place, members of the Danish Royal Family watched from the quay as the ship was christened Standart.20 Throughout the summer of 1896, final sea trials were conducted, and the yacht was fitted out. By the time Nicholas II took possession in September during a family visit to Denmark, Standart had cost 4 million rubles, and was the largest royal yacht in the world.21 

Standart was the most elegant of all royal yachts ever built, and the envy of other European sovereigns. Many of the Emperor's crowned cousins asked to study the designs for the ship. Kaiser Wilhelm II, whose smaller white and gold yacht Hohenzollern had been converted from a military destroyer, actually declared to the Emperor that he would be proud to receive such a fine vessel as a gift. This rather unsubtle hint prompted the Emperor's mother Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna to write, "I am sure the beautiful lines of Standart would be an eyesore to Wilhelm. Still, his joke about how happy he would be if the yacht were given to him was in very doubtful taste. I hope he will not have the cheek to order himself a similar one here, this really would be the limit, though just like him, with the tact that distinguishes him."22 

Everything about Standart was on a massive scale. She was 420 feet in length, and weighed in at 4,334 tons. Twin screws propelled her through the water at a top speed of 22 knots, fueled by steam and coal.23 Her hull was divided into a series of watertight compartments, each bulkhead extending up several decks to protect the ship in the event of any flooding. Yet she was extremely graceful and elegant. In appearance, Standart resembled a clipper, with a sleek black hull and jutting bowsprit encrusted with a gilded, double-headed Imperial eagle.24 Eight main lifeboats, with two auxiliaries aft, lined the decks. Three tall masts rose from her gleaming teak decks; her twin funnels, painted buff, were the only visible evidence that she was indeed a modern ship. 

There were four main decks on the yacht. The state rooms were positioned aft on the promenade deck. A large drawing room, paneled in carved mahogany pierced with large windows and French doors, opened off the main deck; skylights set into the white coffered ceiling flooded the room with light. Louis XV revival-style couches and chairs, upholstered in floral silk brocade, were scattered across the deep Oriental carpets, and a grand piano was provided for music at sea. The walls were lined with portraits of foreign relatives, amongst them the hated Kaiser Wilhelm II.25 

For formal luncheons and banquets, the mahogany table in the Dining Saloon could be extended to seat eighty, each place set with the ship's own rose and cream-colored china decorated with cherubs and the yellow Imperial Standard with its black, double-headed eagle. The crystal service was etched with the Romanov Coat-of-Arms and Standart in Cyrillic.26 The ceiling above the Dining Saloon, like that in the Drawing Room, was raised to form a skylight, further flooding the room with light; from the center, at intervals down the length of the skylight, hung brass chandeliers. The chairs were simple, with square backs upholstered in green leather. At one end of the room, a mast rose through a second, smaller table, which was used for the children, or extra members of the Suite at state banquets. 

From these two rooms, French doors opened on to the stern deck, where white canvas awnings shaded the whicker chairs, tables and chaises longues, offering a pleasant, cool retreat from the summer sunshine. 

Beyond these rooms, a mahogany staircase descended to "A" Deck. Here, doors opened to gangways which descended down the exterior of the ship, allowing access to the yacht from tenders on the sea. A small Reception Room, paneled in mahogany and hung with portraits of Alexander III and Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna, opened to a suite of rooms spread along the port and starboard sides of the ship for the Emperor and the Empress. A small room for the Adjutant-on-Duty opened to Nicholas II's Library, lined with ornate mahogany bookcases, where the Emperor often received important diplomats on his foreign visits. On the opposite side of "A" deck, cream-colored Writing Room served the same purpose for the Empress. The yacht also contained a private chapel for services at sea, built in a semi-circular fashion round one of the masts which passed through Standart's decks. The semi-circular iconostasis held six painted icons to each side of the double, "Royal Doors,' which in turn opened to the High Altar, beneath a white painted ceiling decorated with strapwork detailing. Whenever the Imperial Family took to sea, the Holy Synod assigned a chaplain to conduct regular, daily services for the family and crew. 

The private cabins used by the Imperial Family were decorated in mahogany and teak paneling, with bright English chintz papers for the walls, and chintz fabrics for the furniture and curtains. Nicholas had a small study, a dark cabin filled with his favorite green leather sofas and chairs, while Alexandra's boudoir was finished in mauve and gray, its walls covered with family photographs and icons. The rooms for the children all had brass bedsteads, with walls hung with English floral cretonne and chintz curtains at the portholes, and marble washbasins. Although the Dowager Empress retained use of Polar Star, she had a private suite on Standart as well, with a sitting room hung with chintz, a bedroom with a brass bed, and a dressing room filled with family photographs.27 

Along with staterooms for the children and the Imperial Family's guests, the lower decks held food and wine pantries; galleys for the Imperial family and for the crew; a dining room for the crew whose ceiling was covered with water and steam pipes; and a separate suite of rooms for officers, including their general sitting room and their mess.28 Decks "B," "C," and "D" contained holds for ice, cargo and coal; a distilling plant which could produce 60 tons of hot and cold fresh water daily, and a teak-lined stable for a cow to provide fresh milk.29 In addition, forward quarters housed "Standart's" 350 person crew, including officers, cabinboys, stewards, bakers, cooks, kitchenboys, engineers, stokers, and deckhands, along with an entire platoon of the Garde Equipage or Marine Guard, the men of the ship's brass band, and a special balalaika orchestra.30 

Although Nicholas and Alexandra used Standart on a regular basis from 1986 to its last voyage in the summer of 1914, the yacht also underwent several renovations, including major refittings in 1907-1908.31 At the beginning of his reign, the Emperor often used Polar Star as well, when Standart lay at anchor in the Crimea and was thus unavailable for northern travel, but the conflict with his mother's frequent foreign schedule led the Emperor to commission one last yacht, to fill in when either or both of the two main Imperial yachts was unavailable. 

In 1903, Nicholas ordered a new yacht built. Like its older paddle-wheeled predecessor, it, too, bore the name Alexandria. At just over two hundred feet, it was much smaller than either Polar Star or Standart, and was designed to serve the Imperial Family's travel needs round the Gulf of Finland, or when Standart was docked in Sevastopol and unavailable for travel near St. Petersburg. 

The new Alexandria was completed by summer, 1904. In design, it echoed both Polar Star and Standart, with a clipper-ship profile, an elongated bowsprit decorated with a golden, double-headed eagle, two buff funnels and three tall masts which rose from its teaks decks. Alexandria could only carry the Imperial family and a crew of barely fifty, all that could fit in the yacht's two main lifeboats. The only principal public rooms were located aft on the promenade deck, a Drawing Room and a Dining Saloon, both decorated in lemonwood, ash and Karelian birch. With space so cramped, there was little room to do much extensive entertaining on Alexandria. The mahogany dining table could seat eighteen guests in leather-backed chairs; above them, twelve central crystal globes, lit by electricity, surrounded a mirrored surface against which hung two larger cut-crystal light fixtures enclosing electric bulbs. Empress Alexandra herself helped design the china service for Alexandria, simple white plates, cups and saucers with an anchor and rope motif in blue repeated round the edges.32 

Nicholas had a small study below, with walls paneled in ash. The white ceiling, decorated with strapwork, helped to enliven the room somewhat, but the two portholes, between which the Emperor had his desk, kept the room in a perpetual gloom, and the dark green leather sofa also did little to enliven the room.33 His adjoining cabin, with a bedstead nestled snuggly in a corner, also contained a marble washstand a tiled corner stove, and a table surrounded by four art-nouveau-style chairs designed by Roman Meltzer. 

When the Imperial Family left on their usual summer cruises, they usually boarded a tender at the end of the wooden dock which stretched out into the Gulf of Finland in front of the Lower Palace to travel to the Naval Base on the nearby Island of Kronstadt. Five tenders were regularly used between the turn of the century and the outbreak of the First World War: Onega, a paddle-wheel steamer with one funnel built in 1852 34; Dagmar, built in 1872 which contained one cabin-reception room on the deck just behind its single funnel 35; Stavyanka, a one-funneled tender built in 1876 and driven by a single screw36; Mavra, again driven by a single screw and holding two lifeboats 37; and Neva, a larger, one-funneled tender with two decks and an extended bowsprit encrusted with gold leaf.38 

From their tender, the Imperial family crossed the Gulf of Finland and joined Standart, which lay at anchor just off the naval base. The men in charge of Standart enjoyed especially close relationships with members of the Imperial Family. The yacht had two commanders during its use by the Romanovs: the first was a Captain Neverovsky who, when he retired, was replaced by Captain Chaiguin; assisting Chaiguin was Sablin. The Rear Admirals Lomen and Nilov served as the Emperor's Flag-Captains.39 The regular sailors assigned to the yacht were able to witness their Emperor and his family at close range, and many of the younger officers enjoyed innocent flirtations with the Grand Duchesses as the girls matured. 

"This," recalled Baroness Buxhoeveden, "was the Emperor's only holiday. For some weeks his audiences and his work with the Ministers were interrupted. Messengers came daily from the capital, bringing him ministerial reports, but his day was free to do as he liked with--a rare treat for him. All possible formality was dispensed with and the Court led a simple life, in which the officers of the yacht took part."40 

Wherever she sailed, Standart was always shadowed by an escort of destroyers dispatched by the Russian Imperial Navy to protect the Emperor and his family. On 11 September, 1907, their presence prevented a disaster. Standart was cruising westward through a narrow channel off the Gulf of Finland, where the Imperial family intended to dock at the estate of Count Arofelt.41 

Near Horso, Standart suddenly struck a submerged rock, buckling plates in her hull.42 The Empress's friend, Anna Vyrubova, recalled: "We were seated on deck at tea, the band playing, a perfectly calm sea running, when we felt a terrible shock which shook the yacht from stem to stern and sent the tea service crashing to the deck. In great alarm we sprang to our feet, only to feel the yacht listing sharply to starboard. In an instant the decks were alive with sailors obeying the harsh commands of the captain, and helping the suite to look to the safety of the women and children."43 

"The extend o the damage could not be seen at once," recalled Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden. "The yacht was fast making water and listed more and more to leeward, and the convoy, which drew more water, had not been able to follow the Imperial yacht into this particular channel."44 

For a few moments, panic set in. Then, Buxhoeveden recalled, "sirens screeched, men ran about in obedient commands from the officers."45 "The fleet of torpedo boats," recalled Vyrubova, "which always surrounded the yacht made speed to the rescue and within a few minutes the children and their nurses and attendants were taken off."46 

With every passing minute, Standart seemed to be taking on more and more water, her list progressing and making it imperative that the yacht be abandoned. "The Empress," recalled Buxhoeveden, "was always resourceful and full of energy and never lost her head in face of danger. She arranged that the children and the ladies' maids should be first lowered into the boats."47 Then, as soon as her children were safe, Alexandra grabbed and fetched her friend Anna Vyrubova and ran with her below. Stripping sheets from the beds in the various cabins, the two woman piled precious icons, scrapbooks, family photographs and important souvenirs into the makeshift bundles, tied them together, then quickly carried them up the Grand Staircase to the lifeboats, casting them in to be saved before the boats departed.48 

The Emperor, meanwhile, stood at the ships' rail. Every few seconds, he leaned over to look at the waterline and the numbers painted on the hull, and then again turned to his pocket watch. To Princess Elizabeth Obolensky, he explained that he meant to remain on board until the very last minute, and was trying to determine how long the ship had to live. The situation seemed hopeless, and Nicholas announced grimly that he expected Standart would only stay afloat for another twenty minutes.49 

"The Empress," noted Baroness Buxhoevden, "was the last woman to leave the yacht."50 With Anna Vyrubova at her side, she stepped over the side of the swaying lifeboat and climbed in to the unsteady boat, watching intently as the sailors on deck lowered away by ropes foot by foot until it had reached the water.51 

After some minutes, it became obvious that Standart's watertight bulkheads would hold after all, and Nicholas II finally and reluctantly left the vessel. A passing Finnish boat, Ellekeinen, happened to witness the incident and steamed over to the contingent of lifeboats, now filled to capacity and bobbing in the clear blue waters of the Gulf of Finland. Within a few hours, the Russian cruiser Asia arrived, and the Imperial party transferred to makeshift cabins aboard the vessel. "Happily," recalled Buxhoeveden, "no one suffered from anything but great discomfort and agitation. But had the seas been high, the matter would have been serious, for the yacht would undoubtedly have sunk and the boats were very full."52 

Conditions aboard Asia were cramped that night. Alexandra and Alexei shared the captain's cabin, while Nicholas took a small officer's cabin on deck. "The little Grand Duchesses were crowded in a cabin by themselves," recalled Vyrubova, "their nurses and attendants finding beds where they could. The ship was far from clean, and I remember the Emperor, rather disheveled, himself bringing basins of water to the Empress and me in which to wash our faces and hands. We had some kind of a dinner about midnight and none of us passed an especially restful night."53 

It took a day for the Imperial yacht Alexandria to arrive from St. Petersburg, and the Imperial Family transferred to crowded cabins from Asia.54 Two days later, the Dowager Empress arrived in Polar Star, and the Imperial family and most of the crew remained on board on the older yacht, watching for a week as naval engineers tried to extricate Standart from the rocks on which she had run aground.55 

Despite that extraordinary occurrence, cruises on Standart were true holidays for the Imperial Family. "Generally," wrote Baroness Buxhoeveden, "these cruises were limited to that part of the coast that lies between Kronstadt and Helsingfors, for the Emperor had to be within easy reach of his government. A favorite place of anchorage was the lonely bay at Pitkopas, near Bjorke."56 

"Here," wrote Baroness Buxhoeveden, "was typical Finnish scenery: rocky islands, with tall pines growing in the chinks of the gray granite, with no house in sight. Dark forests stretched far into the mainland, and here were hidden a few lonely fishermen's huts. The transparent waters were still and quite in the wonderful white nights of May and June, when the light of one day lasted long till the dawn of the net."57 

Many afternoons, with Standart at anchor in the calm of a secluded Finnish fjord, the Imperial Family, along with several officers and members of the crew, boarded tenders and smaller boats and went ashore, to picnic or play tennis. The Emperor and his children hunted through the forests for mushrooms and berries, or swam in shallow coves while Alexandra lay on carpets spread across the beach, reading and watching her family at play. Occasionally, Nicholas, joined by members of his Suite and some of Standart's officers, took to the woods, to shoot or hunt for a few hours, or raced his crew in rowboats from the yacht. The family's dogs - Nicholas's favorite English Collies and German Shepherds, Alexandra's Scottish Terrier, Alexei's King Charles Spaniel and Tatiana's Japanese Spaniel and French Bulldog - raced about noisily, barking and chasing rabbits and squirrels. Large wicker baskets containing sandwiches, bread and butter, pastries, tea and wine were brought ashore from the ship and the family had tea sitting on carpets and blankets set along the sandy beaches.58 

"The Emperor," remembered Buxhoeveden, "would go to shore with the gentlemen of his suite to walk or play tennis on a rather primitive court, and in autumn there was generally some shooting, in which the officers of the yacht joined. The young Grand Duchesses now went about with their father, replacing their mother, while the little Tsesarevich played with the ship's boys on the rocky beach. It was a healthy life for the young people and the bracing air of Finland did them all good, particularly the delicate little boy who, except on such occasions, never had any real country air."59 

Alexandra enjoyed these holidays as much as did her husband. "She had loved the sea from childhood," recalled Baroness Buxhoeveden, "and the greatest pleasure she had was when the Imperial family were on their yacht, cruising in Finnish Waters."60 Whilst Nicholas was occupied with his official duties and the children played or had lessons, Alexandra sat on deck knitting, reading or writing, or she played the piano in the Drawing Room, often singing duets with Anna Vyrubova. "We spent hours playing four hand pieces," Anna recalled, "all our early loved classics, Bach, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and others. The Empress had a lovely contralto voice, which, had she been born in other circumstances, might easily have given her a professional standing."61 

Anna Vyrubova recalled life on board the yacht as "very informal, very lazy and agreeable."62 Nicholas and Alexandra enjoyed sitting on deck, where wicker chairs and chaises were scattered beneath white canvas awnings, enjoying the gentle rolling of the ship as they steamed through the clear waters of the Gulf of Finland, the yacht's brass band playing nearby. Occasionally, they played shuffleboard, or had the yacht stopped so that they could swim. Each of the Imperial children was assigned a special sailor when they boarded the ship, and for the length of the cruise, these keepers followed the Grand Duchesses and Tsesarevich about, watching that they did not accidentally fall over the sides of the yacht. At the end of each cruise, these sailors were presented by the Emperor with a gold watch, in return for their services.63 

"The Empress," recalled Baroness Buxhoeveden, "spent most of her day lying on a couch on deck, one of her daughters always staying with her when she did not feel well enough to go ashore. She was often joined by one or other of the officers, or by some of the Household, who at and talked to her, while she worked or drew."64 Often, she spent long hours chatting with Anna Vyrubova, forming a deep bond which would last to the end of her life. "What she told me that summer seemed to relieve her mind and she was more cheerful at the ending of the cruise then at the beginning. The commander of the yacht was good enough to tell me that I had broken down the wall of ice that seemed to surround Her Majesty, and that now she could be more easily approached."65 Even Alexander Mossolov, the Head of the Court Chancellery, who often found his relations with Alexandra cold and distant, recalled that while on board Standart, "The Empress herself grew gay and communicative."66 

Returning to the yacht, the Imperial Family gathered on deck for evening prayers at sunset. "The Empress loved the long, still days," recalled Baroness Buxhoeveden, "the bright, moonlight nights on the water, the evening prayer of the sailors on deck before the lowering of the flag, when the last rays of the setting sun rested in the sea, on the woods, and on the escorting ships, while the deep voices of the men, singing the Lords Prayer, echoed far away into the silence."67 By eleven o'clock, the lights on deck had been extinguished, and the Imperial Family had retired to their staterooms below, watching from their portholes as the sky danced with the pinks, blues and reds of the northern lights.68 It was a tranquil, idyllic existence, far removed from the pressures and intrigues of St. Petersburg.69 

Source Notes 

1 I. A. Fretsko, Editor. Russkie Imperatorskie Yatii Konets XVII-Nachalo XX Veka. St. Petersburg: Ego, 1997, pages 234-259. 

2 Ibid., pages 15, 91. 

3 Ibid., page 18. 

4 Ibid., page 131. 

5 Ibid., pages 141-43. 

6 Ibid., pages 134-5.

 7 Ibid., page 126. 

8 Ibid., pages 154-161. 

9 Ibid., pages 21, 167. 

10 Ibid., page 162. 

11 Nicholas Rousmaniere. The Great Yachts. New York: Time-Life, 1979, pages 142-47. 

12 Fretsko, page 170. 

13 Ibid., page 174. 

14 Alexander M. Golubev and Andrei L. Larionov. Two Ships. In Maria Feodorovna, Empress of Russia: An Exhibition about the Danish Princess who became Empress of Russia. Copenhagen: Christianborg Palace Royal Exhibition Fund, 1997, pages 230-236, 440. 

15 Fretsko, page 250. 

16 Ibid., page 187. 

17 Ibid., page 187. 

18 Golubev and Larionov, op. cit., page 440. 

19 Fretsko, page 24; Golubev and Larionov, op. cit., pages 230-236. 

20 Holubev and Larionov, op. cit., pages 230-236. 

21 Ibid., 452. 

22 Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna to Nicholas II, Letter of 8 August, 1897, in GARF, fond 601., op. 1. 

23 Golubev and Larionov, op. cit., page 452. 

24 Frestko, page 198. 

25 Alexander Spiridovich. Les Dernieres annees de la Cour de Tsarskoise Selo. Paris: Payot, 1928, page 1:193. 

26 Fretsko, page 210. 

27 Golubev and Larionov, op. cit., pages 230-236. 

28 Fretsko, page 202. 

29 Golubev and Larionov, op. cit., page 454. 

30. Ibid., pages 230-236; Alexander Mossolov. At the Court of the Last Tsar. London: Meuthuen & Company, 1935, page 246; Rousmaniere, op. cit., pages 128-33; Spiridovich, op. cit, pages 1:187-93. 

31 Fretsko, page 26. 

32 Ibid., page 217. 

33 Ibid., page 217. 

34 Ibid., page 224. 

35 Ibid., page 150. 

36 Ibid., page 169. 

37 Ibid., page 177. 

38 Ibid., page 177. 

39 Mossolov, op. cit, page 246. 

40 Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden. The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia. New York: Longmans, Green, 1928, page 119. 

41 DeeAnn Hoff. Trans-Atlantic Times. In Atlantis Magazine: In the Courts of Memory, Volume 1, Number 2, page 92. 

42 Ibid., page 92. 

43 Anna Vyrubova. Memories of the Russian Court. New York: Macmillian, 1923, page 33. 

44 Buxhoeveden, page 114. 

45 Ibid., page 114. 

46 Vyrubova, page 33. 

47 Buxhoeveden, page 114. 

48 Buxhoevedeven, page 114; Vyrubova, page 33. 

49 Buxhoeveden, page 114. 

50 Buxhoeveden, page 114. 

51 Buxhoeveveden, page 114; Vyrubova, 33. 

52 Buxhoeveden, page 114. 

53 Vyrubova, pages 32-33. 

54 Ibid., page 34. 

55 Vyrubova, 34; Spiridovich, 1:194-195; Mossolov, 247; Buxhoeveden, 114. 

56 Buxhoeveden, pages 119-120. 

57 Ibid., page 120. 

58 Vyrubova, page 18. 

59 Buxhoeveden, page 119. 

60 Ibid., page 199. 

61 Vyrubova, page 28. 

62 Mossolov, page 247. 

63 Vyrubova, page 18. 

64 Buxhoeveden, page 119. 

65 Vyrubova, page 23. 

66 Mossolov, page 247. 

67 Buxhoeveden, page 120. 

68 Vyrubova, page 29. 

69 Ibid., page 18. Both yachts served as converted minelayers and then were used as training ships by the Soviet Navy. Standart was renamed first Marti then Oka, and finally sunk as a floating target in 1960. Golubev and Larionov, pages 230-236. 

Bibliography 

Buxhoeveden, Baroness Sophie. The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia. New York: Longmans, Green, 1928 

Fretsko, I. A., Editor. Russkie Imperatorskie Yatii Konets XVII-Nachalo XX Veka. St. Petersburg: Ego, 1997 

Golubev, Alexander M. and Larionov, Andrei L. Two Ships. In Maria Feodorovna, Empress of Russia: An Exhibition about the Danish Princess who became Empress of Russia. Copenhagen: Christianborg Palace Royal Exhibition Fund, 1997 

Hoff, DeeAnn. Trans-Atlantic Times. In Atlantis Magazine: In the Courts of Memory, Volume 1, Number 2 

Mossolov, Alexander. At the Court of the Last Tsar. London: Meuthuen & Company, 1935 

Rousmaniere, Nicholas. The Great Yachts. New York: Time-Life, 1979 

Spiridovich, Alexander. Les Dernieres annees de la Cour de Tsarskoise Selo. Paris: Payot, 1928 

Vyrubova, Anna. Memories of the Russian Court. New York: Macmillian, 1923