Evening star., 1920-06-27
DIARY Of CzAR|NA
TELLS Of LAST DAYS
UNDER OLD ORDER
Empress, a Prisoner, Stands
! Long Before House Ras-
4 putin Occupied.
By ISAAC DON LEVINE.
ARTICLE Ill.

feet of hundreds of thousands of men
and women whom he had sent into
exile. Yet such a terrible day of
punishment came to the Gar of All
the Russias. The portion of the
czarinas diary published today lifts
for the first time the curtain con-
cealing one of the most dramatic
scenes in the life of Russian
autocracy. There is revealed stretch
of western Siberia in April. '9lS. 1t
is cold The wind blows across the
Irish river. and over a trail of deep
mud winding among snow-coVered
plains On this trail several low car
riages pulled by weary animals can
be discerned. They are carrying the
former Emperor and Empress of Rus
sia to the nearest railroad station
and thence where? This question the
former rulers of the vastest empire
in the world asked. but were left
wondering.
After a night in a peasants hut the
royal prisoners are awakened at
o'clock in the morning. An hour later
they were walking on plankS across
the swampy beach to reach the ferry
that took them to the other side of
the river. Then follows several hours
of further travelling until the village
Pokrovskoye is reached. Here horses
are changed. And here terrible
food of memories engulfs the cZarina.
RaSputin was born and lived. Heaven
willed it that the czar and the czarlna
in exile should pass through the
isolated settlement whence came the
evil genius of their reign. One would
have expected the cZarina to pour out
her bitterness against RaSputin. but
in spite of all the disenchantment
brought to the Romanoffs by the rev.
olution. Rasputin is still "the friend
TO the czarina, While changing
D~l Ch
long before our friends house so
the ex-empress writes in her diary
saw his family and friends looking
out of the window
The Diary Resumed.
April 1926. Friday.
tourney by carriage.
Marie in a tarantaSS. Nicholas with
CommiSSar YakovleV. Cold. gray and
windy, crossed the Irish after chang
ing horses at S. and at u stopped in
village and took tea with our cold
provisions. Road perfectly atrocious.
frozen ground. mud, snow, water up
TO the horses stomachs fearfully
change the poles, on which body of
tarantass rests, slipped. and we had
TO climb over into another carriage
box. Changed five times horses and
The others change carriages every
time. At got to Yevlevo, where we
spent the night in house where was
the village shop before We slept
three in one room. we on our beds,
Marie on the floor on her mattress.
Niuta in the sitting room where we
eat of our provisions and our luggage
Is stored. Valia and Eugene Sergeie- |
witch tBotkin) in one room. our men |
in another. all on the floor. Got to |
bed at 10. dead tired and aches all |
over. One does not tell US where we |
are going from Triumen: some i'm |
agine MOSCOW; the little ones are to |
follow US soon as river free and Baby |
we'll BY turn each carriage lost a |
wheel or something else smashed.
Luggage always late Heartaches, |
enlarged. wrote to the children |
through our first driver.
Before Rasputin's House.
april 1927, Saturday.
Got up at 4. had tea, packed up !
crossed the river at 5 on foot on |
planks and then on a ferry. Waited |
ages before arriving off. 7:15 (com- |
missar idgeting, running about. tele- |
graphing). Lovely weather. road afro |
cious. Changed horses again about six !
times, and our horsemen oftener, as |
both days the same men. About twelve |
got to Pokrovskoye. changed horses, |
stood long before our friends house, |
saw his family and friends looking |
out of the window.
AT the village Bark took tea and |
our provisions in a nice peasants |
house. Leaving the village, suddenly |
saw Sideyev in the street, Changed |
our carriage once. Again all sorts of
incidents. but less than yesterday. |
Stopped in village school, drank tea
with our soldiers. Eugene Sergeie-
witch (Botkin) lay down, as awful
pain in kidneys. When darkness set
in one tied up the bells of our three
horse team. Lovely sunset and moon.
Drove along at wild rate. Approach
ing Tiumen a squadron on horseback
formed a chain around US and accom-
panied us far as the station, crossed
the river on a movable bridge, then
5 versts through the dark town. At
midnight got into the train. Wrote
to the children in the morning.
En- Route to Ekaterinburg.
April 1928, Sunday.
I'm the train going east.
"4:3o left Tiumen. scarcely slept.
Glorious sunny weather Nicholas and
] in one compartment, door into Ma
rie's and Niuta's. next door Valia and
Eugene Sergeievitch, then our men,
then of our rifles. To the other side
the . commissars and their aids and
dressing room. A tip, one brought the
others soup and warm dish, other
wise we live on our tea and proVl-
sjons we brought from Tobolsk.
80 Dined like that with tea. Sideyev
cooked them outlets. Station NaZival-
skaya. Marie and Niuta got out once
or twice to walk little. Wrote to the
children
Omsk Soviet Objects.
April 1929. Monday.
In the train going west.
"e:l5 Lovely sunshine, did not
reach Omsk and back again.
II. Again Station Nazivalskaya-
Food was brought for the others, l
had some coffee Station Misianskya,
,ha otbers got out for walk. Soon
after they walked again. as the axle
of one of the carriages got on fire
and had to be hooked Off Sideyev
prepared us nice supper again.
Wrote our 5th letter to the children.
Nicholas read to me the gospels for
us pass Omsk and feared one wished
TO take US to Japan.) Feel heart
much enlarged.
In Their New Prison.
April 1870. Tuesday.
I'm train n-Ekaterinburg.
s8:4O. Ekaterinburg. Stood ages
and moved up and down with the
train whilst one and Commlssars
Yakovlev and Guzakov spoke with
the soviet of here. At were told to
get out OF the train. Yakovlev had to
give US over to the Ural regional
soviet. Their chief took us three in
an open motor. a truck with soldiers
armed to their teeth followed us;
Drove through bystreets till reached
a small house. around which high
wooden palings have been placed.
Our soldiers not allowed to accom-
pany US Here a new guard and
officer and other civilians looked
let in. Got our lunch at 4:30 (ration)
from an hotel, cabbage soup and
dish, we three, Niuta, Eugene Ser
geievitch and our two men eat to-