Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna was one of the few Romanovs who survived the bloody Russian Revolution—but most of her life was anything but luxurious.
1. She Was Born With A Target On Her Back
Olga Alexandrovna, the last Grand Duchess of Russia, was born in a time of utter turmoil in her home country of Russia. Although she was daughter of the Tsar Alexander III of Russia, and sister to the future Tsar Nicholas II, very little of her life was princess-like.
The Russian imperial family had many enemies, after all, and Olga would be running for her life soon enough.
2. She Lived In Opulence
Olga was born in the Russian version of Versailles, but raised in another giant castle, Great Gatchina Palace. Indeed, her family's enormous palaces were dotted all over St Petersburg, and Gatchina was one of its crown jewels. But looks can be deceiving. Although Gatchina was swanky on the outside, inside it was anything but.
3. She Had A Surprising Childhood
Although Olga was born into unimaginable wealth, she and her siblings did not have a comfy cozy existence inside the walls of the extravagant Gatchina Palace. They slept on hard beds, bathed in freezing cold water, and ate basic porridge for breakfast.
Yet the young Olga would quickly have her comforting, if rigid, routine interrupted by tragedy.
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4. Her First-Ever Outing Ended Horribly
When Olga was six years old, she left Great Gatchina Palace for the first time ever—only for the trip to end in literal disaster. While she was on the train home, eating lunch with her family in the dining car, the train suddenly and violently came off the rails.
When the dust settled, Olga witnessed a chilling scene.
5. She Witnessed A Horrific Accident
The train didn’t just de-rail; it literally tore open. The roof of the dining car where Olga had been eating lunch caved in,and the floor and wheels of the car were completely sliced off. Although her father reportedly helped people off, and her mother made bandages for the wounded, their heroism couldn't overcome the dark thought that settled into everyone's chests.
6. Conspiracy Surrounded Her
Although Olga and her family survived the train accident, afterward they started to hear chilling rumors. Everyone was saying that the derailment had been deliberate, and a direct attack on the Tsar’s family. And their speculation was logical. This family had a lot of enemies...and Olga actually knew this better than anyone.
7. Her Childhood Home Was A Hiding Place
Olga had fond memories of her childhood in Gatchina Palace. But she was actually there for safety reasons. Namely, trying to avoid being assassinated. A year before she was born, the Grand Duchess’s grandfather, Alexander II, had been brutally slain in the street.
In spite of this, Olga's childhood did have its bright spots.
8. She And Her Dad Shared A Secret World
Olga and her dad, Tsar Alexander III, had a special father–daughter bond. One day he let her in on his secret world. He had a sketchbook full of drawings of an imaginary city called Mopsopolis. The truly imaginary part? Its residents were all pug puppy dogs.
Besides that, he also took her on long walks in the forest, teaching her how to build campfires and forage for mushrooms. Until, that is, this happiness was cut short in a cruel way.
9. She Lost Her Closest Family Member
When Olga was 12 years old, all these special moments with her dad evaporated. In 1894, Alexander III realized he had terminal kidney disease, or nephritis, and didn't even live out the rest of the year. Little Olga was devastated at the early loss of her father, but this was just the beginning of her troubles.
10. She Hated Being A Celebrity
As Russian royalty, when Olga turned 18, she was due to make her first official public appearance. Sounds like every little girl’s dream, but Olga's response was surprising. She absolutely hated it. "I felt as though I were an animal in a cage,” she said, “Exhibited to the public for the first time”.
Sadly, things were about to get even worse for her...though it didn't look that way at first.
11. She Accepted A Shocking Proposal
The same year Olga officially “came out,” she got escorted to the opera by her distant cousin, Duke Peter Alexandrovich. Olga seemed to make an huge impression on him, and a year later he asked for her hand in marriage. As Olga remembered, “I was so taken aback that all I could say was ‘thank you".
Soon after, she said yes. She would regret it.
12. Her Suitor Was A Bad Fit
Even on the surface, Peter didn't seem like a particularly good match for Olga. After all, he was 14 years older than her, and his hobbies included a passion for literature and an equal obsession with gambling. Not necessarily the interests of an 18-year-old, sheltered girl.
Yet there was one reason Olga desperately wanted to get married as soon as possible.
13. She Never Got Along With Her Mom
Empress Marie, Olga's mother, adored being the wife of arguably the most powerful monarch in all of Europe at the time. She loved the role, and the people loved her. Her own daughter? Not so much. Their relationship was strained and chilly from the time she was young,and Olga evidently wanted out from under her apron skirts.
But her mother was now the least of her worries.
14. Her Husband Had A Scandalous Side
Olga was young and naive. So she couldn't see the glaring truth. As it happened, Olga wasn't the only one who was surprised at Peter's proposal—all of royal Russia was too. Some suspected his own ambitious mother had shoved him into it, because he had never demonstrated a drop of interest in women before.
In fact, most believed he was gay. Is it any wonder, then, that their wedding night was disastrous?
15. She Spent Her Wedding Night In Tears
Duke Peter set right to work ruining any illusions of happiness that Olga might still have been clinging to. On their wedding night, he left in the evening to go gambling, then stayed out all night. Olga, meanwhile, spent the night sobbing alone in her room. These would not be the last tears she’d shed over this marriage.
16. He Stole From Her
Olga quickly discovered that her totally-uninterested husband wasn't just a fan of gambling, he was downright addicted. More than that, his marriage only fuelled his addiction—literally. By marrying Olga, Duke Peter got access to a lot more money. Which he promptly lost at the gambling table.
But their worst marital problem? That only became more and more clear with time.
17. They Were Missing Something
Between Duke Peter's preference for men and his addiction to the card tables, there wasn't much room for Olga anywhere. She began carrying around a "shameful" secret. She and the Duke never, ever slept together, and thus never consummated their union.
Yet even though they had no honeymoon phase to speak of, their real honeymoon was a nightmare.
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18. She Honeymooned In Style
Shortly after the wedding, the newlyweds went on vacation to Biarritz, a popular vacation spot among European aristocrats known at the time for its salt baths, night life, and, of course, the brand new casino that had just opened. Let’s just hope that while Peter was off gambling, Olga was relaxing at the spa—she needed it. Especially when she returned to her hotel one fateful night.
19. Her Honeymoon Ended Badly
The Duke and Grand Duchess came back to their hotel one night after a day of, presumably, gambling and salt bathing, to find that their hotel was on fire. Fortunately only Olga's odious husband seems to have lost anything of real value, and neither of them was hurt. But her good luck ran out on returning home.
Olga was about to lose something even her money couldn’t buy.
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20. Her Wedding Gifts Were Jaw-Droppingly Extravagant
It’s sometimes hard to feel sorry for Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna at this point in her life. Vacationing in Biarritz? Check. Private yacht ride to Italy afterward? Check. A 200-room mansion in the middle of St Petersburg as a wedding gift from her brother?
Still, even the mansion could not console her: When she got home, she was absolutely wretched, and wanted to see her husband as little as possible. The situation went from tense to tragic.
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21. She Avoided Her Husband
In the end, Olga's mansion was barely big enough for the two of them. She made sure that 198 of those many rooms stood between her bedroom and her husband’s, and they slept at opposite ends of the mansion. She also set up an art studio on her side, where she tried to drown her sorrows in paint.
The toll of her empty life began to show.
22. She Was Majorly Depressed
In the first years of her marriage, Olga became extremely depressed. Like all depression, it was rough. But, unlike all depression, it caused something utterly bizarre to happen. In the midst of this emotional state, all of her hair fell out.
For two years, she had to wear a wig while her hair grew back. So, in search of a distraction, she plunged right into a new passion.
23. She Distracted Herself
Deeply unhappy in her marriage, Olga threw herself into hobbies. While living in her mother-in-law’s palace, Ramon, she built a home, named Olgino, next door, and proceeded to open a hospital, fund a school, and generally try to help whoever she could—she even did some basic medical training at the hospital.
Her training would later come in handy in a way she could never have imagined.
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24. She Hunted Wolves, NBD
Two years into her marriage, Olga and her husband shared basically nothing together, especially not their marriage bed. They did have one eyebrow-raising pastime together, though. They liked to go wolf hunting. Still, her union was all but a sham, and she rebelled in a huge way.
25. She Fell In Love With A Commoner
Olga had always been fond of her brother Michael, but now she had a reason to be eternally grateful: he introduced her to the handsome Nikolai Kulikovsky. Olga was smitten from the moment she saw Kulikovsky in a military parade, and begged her brother Michael to seat them beside each other at lunch.
And the sparks definitely flew, because after that lunch Olga acted fast—or tried to.
26. Her Husband Denied Her
Olga had only known Kulikovsky for days, but she knew a good man when she saw one. She was in love, and there was only one thing to do. She went to her husband to request a divorce, expecting he’d give it to her—he clearly was not into their marriage either.
But he was into her money, and he said no. When she tried to reason with him, he said he’d reconsider—in seven years. Furious, Olga tried another tack.
27. Her Brother Betrayed Her
When Duke Peter said no, Olga wasn't ready to give up on possibly her one chance for happiness. So instead, she went to her brother Nicholas, now the actual Tsar of Russia. She begged him to allow her to divorce the Duke and marry her love...and got heartbreak back.
Nicholas also said no, believing marriage was for life and, besides that, that Kulikovsky wasn't royal enough for his sister. Still, Olga did not give up. She had another plan, and this one was reckless.
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28. She Was In A Love Triangle
Olga's husband was a very bad match for her, but he did help her implement a steamy solution to their divorce problem. Duke Peter made Kulikovsky his aide-de-camp and, under these pretenses, let him move into their royal household so Olga could have, um, "access" to him whenever she wanted.
This plan did not go as smoothly as they might have hoped.
29. She Inspired Scandalous Rumors
Olga's illicit romance was not meant to be public knowledge. But it most definitely was. Society went to town stoking gossip about the nature of their relationship. The rumors, however, didn’t bother Olga. With her lover close by, she couldn’t help finally being happy.
She soon had energy for other things—and turned her attention to some now infamous young girls.
30. She Doted On Her Romanov Nieces
For some time, Olga lived close to her brother Nicholas and his large family. She was the ultimate fun aunt, taking her nieces to parties and social events every weekend in the winter—no parents allowed. She was particularly close to her youngest niece, Anastasia, who was her god-daughter and whom she dubbed "Shvipsik" or "little one".
In fact, Olga was so intimate with the Romanov imperial family, she had a front-row seat to the nightmares that were coming.
31. Her Family Had A Weak Spot
Although Olga had a close relationship with the Romanov girls, she also doted on their brother, her nephew Alexei, who was unwell with hemophilia. And Olga was right to dote: Alexei's mother, the Tsarina Alexandra, was mad with worry over her child and kept devising more and more desperate ways to cure him.
Indeed, in her quest to heal Alexei, Alexandra was often gone from court, and Olga had to fill in for her. Olga probably enjoyed being the center of attention at long last, but she certainly did not enjoy the next development.
32. She Came Face To Face With Danger
Soon, a strange man—a commoner no less—became a close confidant of the Tsarina: the mystic Grigori Rasputin. While Rasputin had a large following and the Tsarina believed he had healing powers that would help her son, Olga wasn't so taken in.
Although she never spoke out publicly against him, privately she worried for her family. But, Rasputin’s tricks soon looked like child's play.
33. She Lived Through The First Russian Revolution
Rasputin wasn't the only thing wrong with Russia, and by 1905 the horrible living conditions in the country sparked unrest. Olga found this out first hand. While she was staying in St Petersburg's Winter Palace, revolutionaries fired at the building, sending glass showering down around her, though she escaped unscathed.
Both the bullets fired and Olga’s survival of them were a portent of things to come.
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34. Her Loved Ones Fell Around Her
For the next seven years, uprisings and mutinies took hold all over Russia. Olga's uncle was assassinated; a prime minister whom she supported was also assassinated. All this and she’s still in a fake marriage—it had been 11 years. One day, it hit a breaking point.
35. She Had A Nervous Breakdown
In 1912, Olga was touring around England with her mother. You'd think that getting out of the dumpster fire that was Russia at the time would help soothe her, but the exact opposite happened. While on the trip, Olga suffered a serious mental breakdown.
And some pretty major world events were about to happen. They would not help her precarious state of mind.
36. She Came Under Enemy Fire
Soon enough, WWI had reached Russia. Trying to rally herself, Olga used her medical knowledge to work as a nurse, tending to patients on the battlefield. Until one day her healing turned to horror. She had gone right to the front to tend to men, and came under heavy fire as a result.
She luckily survived the attack, uninjured. Upon hearing of her bravery, a Finnish General awarded her the highest military decoration in the Russian Federation. But a better reward was coming.
37. She Finally Got What She Wanted
With the conflict raging all around and life seeming so precious, Olga's brother Tsar Nicholas finally gave into her deepest desire: He annulled her marriage to Duke Peter and she was free to marry her beloved Kulikovsky, who had waited 13 long years to marry his bride.
Tragically, the celebrations and merriment were about to come to an abrupt end.
38. She Lost Her Status In One Day
Five months after her wedding, the Grand Duchess was dealt a devastating blow. The Russian people wanted change. They staged a revolution in early 1917...and this was even bigger than before. The rising tide of change and unrest forced Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate the throne just weeks later, bringing an end to centuries of the rule of the Romanov dynasty.
Now Olga was in immediate and serious danger.
39. She Had To Run For Her Life
After abdication, the Tsar and his immediate family were put under house arrest—and Olga had to make a terrible decision to save herself. She and her new husband fled Russia to Crimea along with a smattering of other relatives, taking a special train to do so.
They didn’t quite get the freedom they were after, though.
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40. Her Life Was Hanging By A Thread
Local forces in Crimea acted swiftly when the royals arrived, and they also placed Olga and her companions under house arrest in one of the royal estates. The various branches of the House of Romanov were now all under the thumb of the revolutionaries and isolated from each other. But there was one more twist.
41. She Gave Birth In Her Gilded Prison
When Olga fled Russia, she had more than one good reason to do so—she was actually pregnant at the time. She had a boy, Tikhon, while still under control of the revolutionaries, and her days of early motherhood must have been spent wondering what the future held. That answer was bone-chilling.
42. She Was Thrust Into Enemy Territory
Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna now heard troubling news: A council condemned the entire Romanov family living in Crimea to death, including her baby son. Except fate wasn't done with her yet. Suddenly, the political climate shifted again, and German forces took over Crimea.
This presented an opportunity Olga had to grab with both hands.
43. They Ran Away
Over the next short while, Crimea changed hands several times, and the execution charges hanging over Olga and her family's heads got lost in the shuffle. During all the kerfuffle, any surviving members of the Romanov family were allowed to escape the country.
The thing is, there weren’t actually that many of them left.
44. She Received Terrible News
At some point during her imprisonment, Olga got a gut-wrenchiing message: Her brother Tsar Nicholas II had been killed. There was no official word on what happened to his wife and children, Olga's beloved nieces, but the family assumed the worst. Because never has a family been so ruthlessly hunted down.
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45. She Lost A Lot Of Relatives
The years 1917 to 1920 were not good ones for the Romanovs. As one historian notes, “Of the 53 Romanovs who were alive in 1917, it’s estimated that only 35 remained alive by 1920”. But while Russian soil was flowing with the blood of her family, Olga made a very risky decision.
46. She Clung To Her Past
After all this, Olga refused to leave her beloved country, despite the great danger to her and her family. Despite, also, the fact she was pregnant for a second time. While staying in an ally's farmhouse, she had her second son, Guri...and then quickly came to a heartbreaking realization.
47. She (Briefly) Experienced Squalor
Although she longed to stay in Russia, the birth of another vulnerable baby seems to have snapped Olga out of that fantasy. Her country was simply too dangerous for a Romanov to raise a family in. She had her husband fled again, ending up first in a refugee camp, where they shared three rooms with 11 others.
Even when this Cinderella phase stopped, there was no fairy-tale ending.
48. She Moved Back In With Her Mom
Eventually, Olga, her husband, and her two boys landed with her mother in Denmark. Yes, after all that, Olga had ended up with the woman she had tried to escape through marriage all those years ago. Unfortunately, her mother hadn't changed.
She was cross, disliked Olga's two boys (too loud), and hated Olga's "common" husband Kulikovsky so much that she rarely allowed him to even be in the same room as her. Ogla must have wanted a way out again...and she found a very disturbing one.
49. She Never Got Over The Loss
Although the Grand Duchess was generally a practical person, she experienced deep grief at the loss of her favorite niece, Anastasia...though she always hoped that all was not lost. After all, Anastasia’s remains had never been found. So in 1925, when a woman claiming to be the Princess Anastasia surfaced in Berlin, Olga had to find out for herself.
50. She Went To Berlin To Visit A Long Lost Niece
Upon meeting her beloved "Anastasia," Olga realized something was horribly, horribly wrong. This woman, going by the name Anna Anderson, looked nothing like her dear niece. To add insult to injury, Anderson only knew German, where Anastasia had been fluent in both English and French.
She came to a tragic conclusion.
51. Her Hope Died
It wasn't just that Olga knew Anna Anderson was an impostor from the moment she laid eyes on her, it was that she now finally had to admit that Anastasia wasn't coming back. As she said later, "I had left Denmark with something of a hope in my heart. I left Berlin with all hope extinguished".
One more tragic twist of fate was in store for her.
52. She Had To Flee Her Home Again
As WWII heated up and then resolved, Olga's life hit a boiling point too. In the wake of the conflict, the Soviets suddenly controlled a Danish island , and they had no love lost for the sister of their former Tsar. Olga began to worry one last time about assassination and kidnapping...and she made one last big upheaval.
The family fled to Ontario, Canada, where they lived in Toronto, then the more remote Halton County. No matter where she went, though, Olga couldn't outrun tragedy.
53. She Fell Far
The last years of Olga's life were ones of quiet desperation. Her husband was nearly fully paralyzed by the end, and passed in 1958, though not before Olga had sold her remaining jewels to keep them afloat. In 1960, she had to move in with friends in a humble Toronto apartment above a beauty salon, where she passed that November at the age of 78.
