Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna of Russia

Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna of Russia (Russian: Александра Петровна; June 2, 1838 – April 25, 1900) was a daughter of Duke Peter of Oldenburg and a great granddaughter of Emperor Paul I of Russia. She married Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia (1831-1891), the elder, and was the mother of Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia (1856-1929), the younger. After the break up of her marriage, she retired from court life and eventually became a nun. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 426 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1383 × 1947 pixel, file size: 1,015 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) sorce : Royalty Digest collection The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 426 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1383 × 1947 pixel, file size: 1,015 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) sorce : Royalty Digest collection The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in... June 2 is the 153rd day of the year (154th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... | Jöns Jakob Berzelius, discoverer of protein 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... April 25 is the 115th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (116th in leap years). ... Year 1900 (MCM) was an exceptional common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar, but a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. ... Paul I of Russia by Vladimir Borovikovsky Paul I of Russia (Russian: ; Pavel Petrovich) (October 1, 1754-March 23, 1801) was the Emperor of Russia between 1796 and 1801. ... Grand Duke Nicholas Nicolaievich of Russia Do not confuse with his son, Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia (1856-1929). ... Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich. ...

Early Life

Alexandra Petrovna was born on June 2, 1838, in St. Petersburg as Princess Alexandra Frederika Wilhelmina of Holstein-Gottorp. She was the eldest of the eight children of Duke Peter of Oldenburg and his wife Therese of Nassau. Alexandra grew up in Russia, where her family was closely related to the Romanov family. June 2 is the 153rd day of the year (154th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... | Jöns Jakob Berzelius, discoverer of protein 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and... Holstein-Gottorp or Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp was a duchy consisting of areas within Schleswig and Holstein, in present-day Denmark and Germany. ... The House of Oldenburg is a North German noble family and one of Europes most influential Royal Houses. ... // Nassau may mean the following: Place names: Nassau, Germany: a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, after which all the following are named: Nassau, Bahamas: the capital of the Bahamas Burg Nassau: Nassau Castle, ancestral seat of the House of Nassau Nassau (duchy): an extinct German duchy Hesse-Nassau: the Prussian province... The House of Romanov (Рома́нов, pronounced ) was the second and last imperial dynasty of Russia, which ruled the country for five generations from 1613 to 1761. ...

Duke Peter Georgievich of Oldenburg, Alexandra’s father, was the only surviving son of Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna, the fourth daughter of Tsar Paul I of Russia. Peter of Oldenburg followed a military career in the Imperial Russian Army and was also a scholar and philanthropist. Alexandra Petrovna grew up in the happy Oldenburg family. Peter Georgievich and his wife led an exemplary family life, and looked carefully after the education of their children. The family spent the winter months in Peterhof and moved for the summer to their other residence Kamenoi-Ostroff ^[1]. Alexandra’s education awoke in her an interest in medicine and in solving social problems of the poor. Paul I of Russia by Vladimir Borovikovsky Paul I of Russia (Russian: ; Pavel Petrovich) (October 1, 1754-March 23, 1801) was the Emperor of Russia between 1796 and 1801. ... A Red Army is a communist army. ... Peterhof: the Samson Fountain and Sea Channel Peterhof (Russian: , Petergof, originally Piterhof, Dutch for Peters Court) is a series of palaces and gardens, laid out on the orders of Peter the Great, and sometimes called the Russian Versailles. It is located about twenty kilometers west and six kilometers south...

Marriage

Alexandra’s parents arranged a splendid marriage for her. On October 25, 1855, she was engaged to Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaievich, the third son of Tsar Nicholas I and her cousin once removed. Alexandra, who had been raised in the Lutheran church, converted to the Orthodox faith on January 7, 1856, and was styled as: HIH Alexandra Petrovna Grand Duchess of Russia. The wedding took place on February 6, 1856, in Peterhof. Her first son was born nine months later in their ground floor apartment of the Winter Palace. ^[2] In December 1861, the couple moved to their newly built Nicholas Palace on Annunciation Square where, in 1864, Alexandra gave birth to a second son and last child. By then her marriage had started to fall apart. October 25 is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1855 (MDCCCLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Grand Duke Nicholas Nicolaievich of Russia Do not confuse with his son, Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia (1856-1929). ... Nicholas I (Russian: Николай I Павлович, Nikolai I Pavlovich), July 6 (June 25, Old Style), 1796–March 2 (18 February Old Style), 1855), was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. ... The Lutheran movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity by the original definition. ... Peterhof: the Samson Fountain and Sea Channel Peterhof (Russian: , Petergof, originally Piterhof, Dutch for Peters Court) is a series of palaces and gardens, laid out on the orders of Peter the Great, and sometimes called the Russian Versailles. It is located about twenty kilometers west and six kilometers south... Located between the Palace Embankment and the Palace Square, the Winter Palace (Russian: Зимний Дворец) in Saint Petersburg, Russia was built between 1754 and 1762 as the winter residence of the Russian tsars. ... Nicholas Palace in 1861. ...

Alexandra was plain and unsophisticated. She liked simplicity and preferred to dress modestly, avoiding public life. She dedicated her time to religion and to her consuming interest in medicine. She was also a gifted painter.^[3]. Alexandra was not beautiful but her sincerity and pleasant manners made her win many sympathies. She was well liked by her two sisters-in-law Maria Alexandrovna and Alexandra Iosifovna. At first, her husband took her ideas seriously and financed a hospital in the city where Alexandra’s theories could be developed and put into practice and poor patients received care without charge. Sometimes she nursed them herself. Marie of Hesse Princess Maximilienne Wilhelmine Marie of Hesse and the Rhine (8 August 1824-8 June 1880) was a princess of Grand Ducal Hesse and, as Marie Alexandrovna, Empress consort of Alexander II of Russia. ... Alexandra Iosifovna, born Princess Alexandra Friederike Henriette of Saxe-Altenburg, (1830-1911) married Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich Romanov of Russia, second son of Nicholas I of Russia in September 1848. ...

By the late 1860’s, their marriage was in trouble. The couple had found out that they had little in common. Lacking in looks and social graces, she preferred to stay away from court functions. This annoyed her husband, who also complained of her plainness and the modesty of her dress. Converted to the Russian Orthodox church when she married, she became extremely pious. Alexandra was a serious woman whose passions were religion and medicine.

The couple’s palace in St. Petersburg was so large that they did not have to see each other. They appeared together only in official ceremonies. Eventually Nicholas Nikolaevich developed a permanent relationship with Catherine Chislova, a dancer from the Krasnoye Selo Theater. The Grand Duke did not attempt to hide his affair. In 1868, Catherine Chislova gave birth to the first of the couple’s five illegitimate children. Catherine Chislova Catherine Chislova (September 21, 1846 - December 13, 1889) was a Russian ballerina. ...

According to some sources, Alexandra Petrovna retaliated against her husband's infidelity by taking a lover and, in 1868, giving birth to an illegitimate son. However, no sound information has surfaced to corroborate these claims. The story of the illegitimate child seems unlikely.^[4].

By 1870, nothing was left of her marriage except the bitterness.^{[5] [6]} Resentment was the only response she could offer to her husband's unfaithfulness. Alexandra spent longer and longer periods in Kiev while her husband divided his time between his children with Alexandra and his second family. When the Grand Duke arranged a change of class into the gentry for his mistress and the couple’s illegitimate children, Alexandra Petrovna appealed to Alexander II to intervene, but she found her brother-in-law less than sympathetic. “ You see, “ he bluntly told her, “ your husband is in the prime of his life, and he needs a woman with whom he can be in love. And look at yourself! See even how you dress! No man would be attracted” ^[7] After this encounter, however, Alexander did advise the Grand Duke to be more discreet. Map of Ukraine with Kiev highlighted Coordinates: Country Ukraine Oblast Kiev City Municipality Raion Municipality Government  - Mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi Elevation 179 m (587. ... Alexander (Aleksandr) II Nikolaevich (Russian: Александр II Николаевич) (born 29 April 1818 in Moscow; died 13 March 1881 in St. ...

Last years

Sister Anastasia, formerly Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna

In 1880, Alexandra left St Petersburg for good to start a new life in Kiev. Initially, she lived at the Mariyinsky Palace in Kiev, but retired later to a convent. However, she refused to grant her husband the divorce he would have wanted. Grand Duke Nicholas Nicolaievich hoped to survive his wife as had been the case of his brother Alexander II who once a widower married his lover. Alexandra although not in good health, outlived both her husband and her husband’s mistress.^[8]. Catherine Chislova died in 1889 and Grand Duke Nicholas survived her lover for only two years. When he died in the Crimea in 1891, Alexandra Petrovna refused to attend the funeral. Even then, she did not forgive him. She also refused to pay homage to the death when the funeral catafalque, taking his body for burial in the St Peter and St Paul Cathedral in St Petersburg, came by train via Kiev on its route from the south ^[9]. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 272 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (404 × 890 pixel, file size: 48 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Sister Anastasia, the former Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna source : Jacques Ferrand Collection. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 272 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (404 × 890 pixel, file size: 48 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Sister Anastasia, the former Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna source : Jacques Ferrand Collection. ... Map of Ukraine with Kiev highlighted Coordinates: Country Ukraine Oblast Kiev City Municipality Raion Municipality Government  - Mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi Elevation 179 m (587. ... Elevated front view, 2003 Mariyinsky Palace (Ukrainian: , Mariyinskyi palats) in Kiev is a picturesque Baroque palace on the hilly bank of the Dnieper River. ... Catherine Chislova Catherine Chislova (September 21, 1846 - December 13, 1889) was a Russian ballerina. ... The Peter and Paul Cathedral is located inside the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. ...

Alexandra became a nun taking holy orders on November 3, 1889 in Kiev, while her husband was still alive. She founded a convent of nursing nuns with its own hospitals, asylums and dispensary, and settle to the work, which had always been her priority. She remained close to her sons, who had taken her side in the family break up. She was in the Crimea in 1898 when her daughter in law, Grand Duchess Militsa, gave birth to twins daughters, one of which died shortly after birth. Alexandra took her granddaughter’s remains with her and buried the coffin in the convent cemetery in Kiev. ^[10]. Afflicted with stomach cancer, Alexandra Petrovna died at Kievo Pechersky Monastery in Kiev on April 25, 1900 , when she was 61. November 3 is the 307th day of the year (308th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 58 days remaining. ... Year 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Motto: Процветание в единстве - Prosperity in unity Anthem: Нивы и горы твои волшебны, Родина - Your fields and mounts are wonderful, Motherland Location of Crimea (red) on the map of Ukraine. ... Stomach cancer (also called gastric cancer) can develop in any part of the stomach and may spread throughout the stomach and to other organs; particularly the esophagus and the small intestine. ... Map of Ukraine with Kiev highlighted Coordinates: Country Ukraine Oblast Kiev City Municipality Raion Municipality Government  - Mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi Elevation 179 m (587. ... April 25 is the 115th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (116th in leap years). ... Year 1900 (MCM) was an exceptional common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar, but a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. ...

Children

Alexandra Petrovna was survived by her two sons:

• Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia the Younger (1856–1929)
• Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia (1864–1931)

Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich. ... Grand Duke Peter (Pyotr) Nikolaevich of Russia (January 10, 1864 – January 17, 1931) was the second son of Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia (1831-1891) and Princess Alexandra of Oldenburg (1838-1900). ...

Notes

Bibliography

• Belyakova, Zoia, The Romanov Legacy : The Palaces of St. Petersburg, Hazar Publishing, 1994, ISBN 1874371274.
• King, Greg & Penny Wilson Gilded Prism, Eurohistory, 2006, ISBN
• McIntosh, David, The Russian Oldenburgs, in Royalty History Digest.
• Zeepvat, Charlotte, Patriots and just Men, in Royalty History Digest.
• Zeepvat, Charlotte, Djulber, in Royalty History Digest.