OLGA

Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna Romanov
(1882 - 1960)
The last Grand Duchess of the Imperial Russian Empire.

She was born into a world of unimaginable wealth and privilege - raised in a 500 room palace in Russia (one of several palaces that her family owned).

She died in a tiny apartment, upstairs above a barber shop in Toronto, Canada.

 Gatchina Palace
where she was raised

the apartment in Toronto

where she died in 1960

Olga's parents were Emperor Alexander III and Empress Marie of Russia. When her father died in 1894, her brother Nicholas became (the last) Emperor of Russia.

Her maternal grandparents were the king and queen of Denmark, her uncle and aunt were King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom, another uncle was King George I of Greece.

Despite her astounding royal lineage, Olga was never impressed by it. She intensely disliked the restrictions of royal protocol and always yearned for a simple life.

 Grand Duchess Olga

In 1901, when she was nineteen years old, Olga married Duke Peter Alexandrovich of Oldenburg - a family friend - simply to escape life at the palace and her dominating mother.
The Duke was nearly fifteen years older than Olga, a heavy drinker, an addicted gambler, and a homosexual. They essentially led separate lives and the marriage was never consummated.

Olga and the Duke of Oldenburg
1901

 

 At a royal military review in 1903, Olga was introduced to Nikolai Kulikovsky, a nobleman and military man. They fell passionately in love. Olga's husband knew about the relationship but refused to give his wife a divorce.

It wasn't until 1916 that Olga's brother, Emperor Nicholas II,  finally granted an annulment of the Oldenburg marriage. A few weeks later, Olga and Kulikovsky were married in a simple, private ceremony. They eventually had two sons - Tikhon in 1917 and Guri in 1919.

Olga and Nikolai Kulikovsky

 marriage in November, 1916

During World War I Olga found great satisfaction working as an army nurse and assisting in operations. The increasing chaos of the ongoing revolution, however,  made Russia an extremely dangerous place for the Imperial family. 

Olga's brother Emperor Nicholas II was imprisoned and executed - along with his wife Alexandra and their five children. Olga's brother Grand Duke Michael was also executed.

In 1917 Olga and her husband Nikolai managed to flee to the far regions of the Crimea, where they were still under the threat of assassination. They initially stayed at the home of Olga's brother-in-law, but all were under house arrest and sentenced to death. They were saved when German soldiers invaded the territory and overtook the revolutionary guards.

Despite the extreme dangers, Olga and her husband decided to stay in Russia where they remained hidden on a farm in the Caucasus until 1920. They were forced to flee again when the Bolsheviks overtook the area. After taking refuge at the Danish Counsel in Novorssiysk, Olga and her family were eventually transported to Denmark, where she had relatives. Olga's sister Xenia and their mother the Dowager Empress Marie also escaped to Denmark.

 Olga, Nikolai, and their two sons

in the 1920s

In 1928 Olga and her husband purchased a dairy farm near Copenhagen, where they lived peacefully until World War II. Neutral Denmark was occupied by the Germans during the war, causing food shortages and many inconveniences.

After the war, Olga was threatened by the Soviet government because of her anti-communism sentiments and accused of helping Russian emigres in Denmark. Fearing that she would be forcibly returned to the Soviet Union, she and her husband and sons fled to the safety of Canada in 1948.
They lived on a small farm in Ontario where they finally found peace. 
Olga's husband Nikolai Kulikovsky died in 1958. 
Unable to maintain the upkeep of the farm, Olga relied on the help of friends. She died in a friend's tiny apartment in 1960.

The Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna Romanov never forgot Russia or her royal heritage, but she fully embraced her simple life and always insisted on being called Mrs. Kulikovsky. She left the grandeur of her life in Russia with little more than the clothes on her back, but never complained about the many indignities that she suffered. She was humble, kind, optimistic, and always kept her faith in God.

Olga's great passion throughout her life was art, and she began drawing and painting when she was a small child. Later, painting was her solace and obsession, which inevitably helped her get through difficult times. Her preferred medium was watercolors and her greatest inspiration was the beauty of nature. 
She often sold her paintings to supplement the family income and continued painting until her death at age 78.  

    Olga in Canada

 watercolor by Olga

Note:

My main objective in writing this post was to feature Olga's paintings - but (as usual) the post became MUCH too long.  I'll include some of her art in my next post.      Jon