Tatiana Botkina facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tatiana Botkina
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Tatiana Botkina at Tobolsk in 1918
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| Born |
Tatiana Evgenievna Botkina
1898 |
| Died | 1986 (aged 87–88) |
| Spouse(s) | Konstantin Melnik (divorced) |
| Parent(s) | Eugene Botkin Olga Botkina |
Tatiana Evgenievna Botkina-Melnik (1898–1986) was the daughter of Dr. Eugene Botkin. Her father was the personal doctor for the Russian royal family. He was sadly killed with Tsar Nicholas II and his family by a group called the Bolsheviks on July 17, 1918.
Later in her life, Tatiana and her brother Gleb Botkin strongly believed that a woman named Anna Anderson was actually Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia. Anastasia was one of the Tsar's daughters, and many thought she had died with her family.
Contents
Growing Up: Tatiana's Early Life
Tatiana was the third child and only daughter of Dr. Botkin and his wife Olga. Her parents separated in 1910. Dr. Botkin kept custody of the children after the separation. Tatiana's older brother, Dmitri, sadly died while fighting in World War I.
Tatiana later remembered that she and her siblings were not super close friends with the royal children. However, they did know them quite well. They first met the imperial children in 1911. After that, they sometimes played together when the royal family was on vacation in the Crimea. Tatiana also chatted with the younger grand duchesses during World War I. At that time, Tatiana worked as a Red Cross nurse at a hospital. This hospital was located in the Catherine Palace.
Life During the Revolution
Tatiana and her brother went with their father when the Romanov family was sent away. This happened after the Russian Revolution of 1917. When the royal family was moved from Tobolsk to Ekaterinburg, the Botkin children were not allowed to go with their father.
Tatiana asked Nikolai Rodionov, a commander, for permission to join her father in Ekaterinburg. He told her, "Why would a nice girl like you want to spend your life in prison, or even be shot?" Tatiana insisted that the royal family would not be in prison. Rodionov then told her they would probably be shot instead. He said he would let them go as far as the Ekaterinburg station. But they would be arrested and sent back to Tobolsk. This was because he would not let them live in Ekaterinburg. In the end, Tatiana and her brother decided to stay in Tobolsk.
When Tatiana heard the final report about the Tsar and his family, she was very sad. The report said that the Tsar, his family, and their servants had all been killed. Her only comfort was knowing that her father had died trying to protect the Tsar.
Starting a New Life: Exile in France
In the fall of 1918, Tatiana married Konstantin Melnik. He was an officer whom she had known earlier. They managed to escape from Russia by traveling through Vladivostok. Eventually, they settled in Rives, France. This town was near Grenoble. They raised their children there.
Tatiana later divorced her husband. She then moved closer to Paris, where she lived for the rest of her life.
Believing in Anna Anderson
Tatiana was first asked to visit Anna Anderson in 1926. She had heard about Anna's story from a relative, Sergei Botkin. Tatiana became convinced that Anna was truly Grand Duchess Anastasia. This happened after Anna described something that Tatiana said only she and the youngest grand duchess could have known.
Anna seemed to remember that Tatiana's father, Dr. Eugene Botkin, had personally taken care of Anastasia. This was when the grand duchess was sick with measles in the spring of 1917. Tatiana remembered this in 1929. She said, "Only once then, it happened that my father tended the Grand Duchesses alone and performed nurses' duties for them." She added, "This fact has never been published anywhere, and apart from my father I alone knew anything about it."
Tatiana supported Anna Anderson for the next sixty years. Like her brother Gleb, she also wrote her own memories. These books were about her friendship with the imperial family and her time in Russia.
