“Guests” in the diaries of the heir and Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich

Scientific article

doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2025-2-385–402

For citation

Sofjina, Marina V., Sofjin, Dmitry M. (2025), “Guests” in the diaries of the heir and Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, Herald of an Archivist, № 2, pp. 385–402, doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2025-2-385–402

Sofjina, Marina V., Perm State Institute of Culture, Perm, Russia

Sofjin, Dmitry M., Perm State National Research University, Perm, Russia

“Guests” in the diaries of the heir and Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich

Abstract

The article is devoted to the diaries of the representative of the House of Romanov, a major military, state and public figure, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich. The diaries of the Grand Duke are kept in the State Archive of the Russian Federation and, taking into account the name, status and importance of the author, as well as his family environment, are a particularly valuable historical source, but so far only partially published. The diaries of Mikhail Alexandrovich for the years when he was heir to the throne have not been published before, except for a few thematic fragments. The task of the study is to identify and characterize entries in the diaries of the heir and Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich made by other persons. It has been established that the most frequent “guest” in the Grand Duke's diaries when he was heir to the throne was his cousin and friend, Princess Victoria of Great Britain. She made her notes during a joint stay with the Grand Duke in Great Britain or at the home of common relatives in Denmark. One can repeatedly find notes made by Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, the wife of Mikhail Alexandrovich's brother, Emperor Nicholas II, which she left in her brother-in-law's diaries during the joint hunting trips of the crown prince and the imperial family to the western provinces of the Russian Empire. As a rule, the “guests” made entries in the diaries on behalf of Mikhail Alexandrovich himself, but they often made additions on their own behalf. Princess Victoria made especially many entries “in her own name”. She made all entries, both on behalf of the Grand Duke and her own, in English, while Empress Alexandra Feodorovna used Russian. The analysis of the “guest” entries in the diaries testifies to the close and trusting relationship between the Grand Duke and the British princess, and also helps to gain a deeper understanding of the personality traits and character of both Princess Victoria and the Russian Empress. Among other “guests” in Mikhail Alexandrovich's diaries is his younger sister, Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna.

Keywords

House of Romanoff, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, heir to the throne, diary, State Archive of the Russian Federation, Empress Alexandra Fedorovna, Princess Victoria of Great Britain, historical sources.

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About authors

Sofjina Marina V., PhD Historical Sciences, Perm State Institute of Culture, Department of Library and Documentary Information Technologies, associate professor, Perm State National Research University, Department of Interdisciplinary Historical Studies, research associate, Perm, Russia, 8-982-45-05-789, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Sofjin Dmitry M., PhD Historical Sciences, associate professor, Perm State National Research University, Department of Interdisciplinary Historical Studies, associate professor, Perm, Russia, 8-912-88-45-782, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Grant information

The research was supported by Russian Science Foundation grant No. 23-28-01342 “Diaries of the Successor and Grand Duke Mikhael Alexandrovich, 1899-1903”, https://rscf.ru/project/23-28-01342/

The article was received in the editorial office on 09.05.2024, recommended for publication on 20.03.2025