Publication: Provender: Home of the Exiles

By Margarita Twemlow

 

I have been assigned to investigate the Russian revolution and how the abdication of the last Tsar has seen his descendants come to be situated in the county of Kent. This is important to me because it is an issue I can relate to. I am half Russian myself and I was born in Moscow. My family moved to Kent when I was three years-old because my dad is English and started to work here. I have grown up in Kent and therefore display many true British values.

 

Researching into how the Tsars were treated has been interesting and partly disturbing, particularly because my own ancestors would have been affected by the poverty and destruction of the country.

The term ‘Tsar’ was used in Russia for a male emperor or monarch. Tsars were autocratic rulers, which meant that they governed the country themselves, without an elected government.

 

During the reign of Nicholas II, the poor people of Russia suffered from excessive cruelty, inflicted on them by the Russian army and Secret Police, in the name of Tsar. They lived in wretched poverty, induced by the rich landowners and the businessmen, by whom they were employed.

 

In 1905, the working class staged the first Russian revolution and the Tsar was forced to allow a government to rule Russia alongside him. The main party in this government was the Mensheviks. By 1917, the First World War had been raging for three years. Russia had been attacked by Germany in 1914 and the fighting had not only led to a vast loss of life among Russian soldiers but also to severe poverty back home in Russia. This caused the working class, led by the Bolshevik party, to stage a second revolution. They overthrew the Tsar and his government and the Bolsheviks seized control of the country.

 

Despite the death of Rasputin, the mad monk, who was killed by Prince Felix Yussopov and Grand Duke Dimitri, it was too late to prevent a revolution. The Tsar was forced to abdicate from power. He and his family were soon taken prisoners by the Bolsheviks. Britain and the USA sent troops to Russia to try to free the Tsar’s family, but it was too late. The Bolsheviks had taken them deep into Russia to the town of Oranienburg, in order to stop them being rescued.

 

Just before Nicholas and his family were seized, he sought salvation from his cousin, King George V. The King of England refused to help the last Tsar, in the worry that there would be a revolution in England, which would possibly see the same affects as there were in Russia.

 

While held prisoner in Oranienburg, the Bolsheviks executed the Tsar, his wife; the Tsarina, and their children. It is known that only four of the five of his children’s remains have been found. Their daughter Anastasia’s remains are yet to be found. There is also the story of Anastasia, which suggests that she may have escaped murder.

 

I managed to interview Olga Romanov, a Russian princess, who is a descendant of the last Tsar’s sister, Xenia. Over tea and cherry cakes, we discussed her family background and her own life growing up in England.

 

Xenia’s husband, the Grand Duke Alexander, founded the Russian Air Force. Xenia and her mother, Maria Dagmar of Denmark, escaped murder by coming to Kent on the HMS Marlborough, a ship sent from England. Dagmar’s sister, Queen Alexandra of England, sent the ship. She urged them to come and although Maria Dagmar wasn’t keen on the idea, she gave in and escaped before it was too late. For many years after the escape, Xenia was high on Stalin’s hit list!

 

This journey to Kent from Russia brought with it Russian royalty seeking refuge from the tyranny in their own country.

 

That situation would have been exactly the same as today’s refugees and asylum seekers, escaping from their own countries and asking to be accepted into Britain because they’re under threat of death. The significant difference is that Maria Dagmar and Xenia were relatives of Queen Alexandra who invited them to come over!

 

Olga is an insightful woman with a passion for horse riding and walking her dog. She has a son who is currently a pilot in the Air Force and a daughter who is living in Australia. “My father was Russian but my mother was half English and half Scottish,” Olga told me after a delightful tour of her beautiful home in Provender.

 

Upon my arrival, I presented Olga with some information booklets about the artefacts that can be found relating to her family, from the Russian Historical Museum in Red Square. My great aunt is a director there and has access to very informative material. She had sent my mum and I some of these booklets. We thought it relevant to give these to Olga as a thank-you gift for giving the interview.

 

Olga wasn’t expected to learn the Russian language or to grow up with typical values of those that a Russian girl of her age and time would have had. Perhaps this was the result of the family breaking off any ties they had with history itself, as the events of the Russian revolution are dark and painful. *

“At Provender, my family would be self sufficient. We grew our own crops and had acres of land with trees and plantations but now, I just don’t have the time.”

 

The house itself has no Russian design, but does have Russian artefacts, such as portraits. Currently, the house is about to be refurbished in order to restore the older wings of the property. Prior to now, the house has been open to arranged groups who have pre-booked tours but there is speculation about the house being open to the public once these restorations have been made. “The first and oldest wing of the house was thought to have been built in 1340 but it hasn’t been proved.” One of Provender’s previous residents was the botanist Sir Joseph Banks.

 

I also questioned how Olga was treated in Russia upon her occasional travels there. “I enjoy travelling there. The only time that I’m recognised as royal is when people hear of my family name. Over here I’m as normal as anyone and my friends don’t treat me any differently”.

 

Russia fell to an all-time low during the World Wars, but has seen a gradual improvement in government and ruling since Gorbachev introduced democracy. But the story was devastating to many and will always be a dark and controversial issue, as there are so many opinions about the revolutions.

 

LINKS

The Tsar’s family weren’t the only Russians to migrate as refugees to Britain during this period. A little earlier, in the late 1800’s, Russian Jews arrived in London’s East End to escape persecution. Read about them in ‘The Exodus,’ in the London section.