Herstory: Russian Rulers

Russian Ruling Women

Catherine II (a.k.a Catherine the Great)

Catherine was the most renowned and longest ruling Russian female ruler (Empress Regnant).  She came to power when her husband, Peter III was assassinated.  During her reign, Russia was revitalized after the Seven Years' War, growing larger and stronger and eventually becoming of the world's most powerful nations.  She created the role of peacekeeper for Russia as the international mediator of disputes that may eventually lead to war, a role that was later taken over by Great Britain.  She developed a reputation as a patron of the arts, literature, and education.  She wrote a manual on how to educate children as well as writing comedies, other fiction, and her own memoirs.  She fervently believed that a good education could change the hearts and minds of the Russian people and foster in them a sense of civic responsibility.  She inherited rule during serfdom, but created a system for serfs to file complaints against the nobles they worked for, giving them a legitimate bureaucratic status.

The Romanovs: Alexandra, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, & Anastasia

Alexandra Feodorovna

Alexandra was the wife of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, making her the Tsarina.  She was married relatively late for her position because she had refused an earlier proposal from a man she did not love, which was unheard of at the time.  Her grandmother, Queen Victoria, often said how proud she was that Alexandra stood up for something when many others would not have the courage to do so.  She struggled to attain the approval of the Russian people, partly because she was German-born and there was a strong anti-foreign sentiment during that time.  Additionally, she came across as haughty and cold to her subjects, but those close to her reported that it was only because she was so shy and nervous in front of the Russian people.  She gave birth to 4 daughters and then a son.  When it was discovered that her son, Alexei, had hemophilia (a blood clotting disease that made even a simple fall potentially fatal), she devoted all her time and energy to his care.  She became a nurse during World War I, treating sick and wounded soldiers.

Olga Nikolaevna Romanova

Olga was the eldest child of Alexandra and Nicholas.  She was known for having a compassionate heart and a strong desire to help others.  As a nurse during World War I, she helped treat wounded soldiers for the Red Cross.  She loved to read and truly enjoyed her schoolwork.  According to one of her tutors, she had a "quick brain," sound reasoning abilities, lots of initiative, independence, and a quick wit.  In a letter she wrote during her captivity in Tobolsk she wrote, "...remember that the evil which is now in the world will become yet more powerful, and that it is not evil which conquers evil, but only love..."  When she was twenty, she took a sizable portion of her enormous wealth and began to respond independently to requests for charity.  While out driving one day, she came across a child on crutches.  After learning that the child was sick and the parents couldn't afford his treatment, she set aside an allowance to pay for the child's medical bills.

Tatiana Nikolaevna Romanova

Tatiana was the second child born to Alexandra and Nicholas.  During her lifetime, she was better known by the people than her sisters due to her service heading Red Cross Committees during World War I.  Like her sister, she served as a nurse for 3 years during the War until her family were arrested during the Russian Revolution.  Tatiana was known for her natural leadership ability and her practicality.  Whenever the children wanted a favor from their parents, she was sent to seek it.  She was more reserved and well-balanced than her older sister, Olga.  Her tutors said that she was generally less talented than Olga, but worked hard and showed great dedication to finishing projects.  She was a favorite of her mother because of the kind attentions Tatiana paid to the often sickly Tsarina.

Maria Nikolaevna Romanova

Maria was the third child of Alexandra and Nicholas.  Since she was too young to become a nurse like her mother and two older sisters during World War I, she spent her time visiting with sick and wounded soldiers.    She went out of her way to learn about the lives of the soldiers she visited with.  She had an ardent desire to marry and have children one day, a wish that she would never have a chance to see fulfilled.  Maria was the sweetest-natured of her sisters and was often teased for being the "stepsister" because she hardly ever got in trouble like the rest of them did.  She was incredibly close to her "Papa" and would often try to escape her nurses to seek him out.  Once, when she got into trouble and her mother wanted to punish her, Tsar Nicholas said of his angelic daughter, "I was always afraid of the wings growing.  I am glad to see she is only a human child."  Maria had a talent for drawing and was surprisingly strong, often demonstrating how she could lift her tutors off the floor.  Even during the family's captivity, she befriended guards and talked to them about their families and wives.

Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova

Anastasia was the fourth and final daughter of Alexandra and Nicholas.  She is, by far, the most famous of the Romanovs due to her alleged escape from the execution of the rest of her family.  She was to believed to have escaped because her remains and the remains of her little brother, Alexei, were not discovered with the remains of the rest of the family.  Several women claimed to be the escaped princess and several movies have been made based on the mythology of Anastasia (including a Disney movie of the same name).  However, in 2008, Russian scientists and archaeologists discovered the remains of Anastasia and Alexei and matched them with the rest of the family.  During her life, she was known as a "shvibzik" which means "imp" in Russian "for in naughtiness she was a true genius."  She was the most mischievous, vivacious, and energetic of the children.  However, her nurses and tutors also reported that she was one of the most charming children they had ever met.  She was also too young to be a nurse during the War, so she visited the soldiers with her sister, Maria, playing checkers with them and telling jokes.  Even during their captivity, she found ways to have fun and lift the spirits of her family members by performing plays and comic mimes for them. ADSENSE HERE