Rare Last Photos Of The Romanovs

Captivity at Tsarskoe Selo

The Romanov’s house arrest started at the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoe Selo. Nicholas II, no longer a monarch and addressed by sentries as Nicholas Romanov, was reunited with his family there while they were held by the Provisional Government and confined to their quarters. The photograph above shows Olga, Alexei, Anastasia, and Tatiana sitting on the ground while being held captive. Anastasia is holding Tatiana’s beloved French bulldog, Ortipo, on her lap. The photograph was taken in May 1917, a couple of months after the Romanov children were reunited with their father and Alexandra was reunited with her husband on March 22, 1917.

Alexei and Tsar Nicholas II Sawing Wood

This photograph of Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich and Tsar Nicholas II is from the Beinecke Library’s collection of Romanov family photographs and was likely taken by Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevena. The photograph was taken sometime in the winter of 1917-1918, while the Romanov family was being held captive at Tobolsk. At this time, the family’s conditions were far less comfortable than their initial house arrest, as the Bolsheviks had come to power in October 1917. Alexei and his father are seen sawing wood since they were no longer permitted to have their ten devoted servants by their side. The family was also placed on soldier’s rations during this time.