It should be noted that the yacht "Shtandart" was distinguished by a very high level of comfort, but at the same time, not at all to the detriment of comfort, she also had high seaworthiness and was rightly considered the best yacht of this class in the world of such vessels. In the book of the American writer Robert Mass “Nikolai and Alexandra” it is written about her as follows: “Wherever the Shtandart moored - in the Baltic or near the Crimean rocks - it was an example of maritime elegance. The size of a small cruiser and powered by a coal-fired steam engine, it was nevertheless designed as a sailing vessel. His huge bowsprit, decorated with a gold monogram on a black background, directed forward, like an arrow fired from a bow, as if continuing the nose of the clipper. Three slender, varnished masts and two white chimneys towered above the deck. White canvas awnings were stretched over the well-manicured decks, shading wicker tables and chairs from the sun. Below the upper deck were living rooms, salons, wardrooms, lined with mahogany, with parquet floors, crystal chandeliers, candelabra, velvet curtains. The premises intended for the royal family were draped with chintz. In addition to the ship's church and spacious cabins for the imperial retinue, the yacht had rooms for officers, mechanics, boiler operators, deck crew, barmen, footmen, maids and a whole platoon of sailors of the guard crew. In addition, there was enough space on the lower decks to accommodate a brass band and balalaika players."
Imperial yacht "Standart". On the roadstead of Yalta, 1898.
In the presence of the august persons on the "Standart" the yacht was always accompanied by an escort of 2-3 destroyers. Some of them may have stood close to the yacht, while others cruised leisurely on the horizon.
Imperial salon.
Cabinet of Nicholas II.
During the day, the yacht sailed slowly between the rocky islands, generously scattered by nature off the coast of Finland, periodically delving into the picturesque coastal bays, bordered along the coast by the trunks of tall ship pines. In the evening they dropped anchor in some secluded deserted bay, and in the morning the passengers of the Standart were already admiring its calm transparent water, the bottom with yellow sand and boulders of red granite overgrown with dense bushes.
Empress's salon.
Dining room for members of the imperial family.
The Empress, suffering from private ailments, rarely went ashore, and spent most of her time on deck. Since 1907 Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova became her maid of honor, and now, together with Aleksandra Fedorovna, she spent a lot of time on the Shtandart yacht and left interesting memories of this. When it was warm, the empress and the maid of honor basked in the sun in chairs on the deck, played music, wrote letters and admired the seascapes. In the evenings, when Nicholas II played billiards with his adjutants or smoked cigarettes stuffed with his own hand on the deck, Alexandra Fedorovna and Vyrubova were engaged in reading aloud to each other or sewing by the light of an electric lamp.
Bedroom of the heir-crown prince.
Lunch for the lower ranks.
In good weather, Nicholas II used to take long walks with his daughters through the Finnish forests that grew along the shores of the bays. At the same time, he often let go of the guards accompanying them and walked with them alone. The girls were busy collecting bouquets of flowers, wild berries, mushrooms, gray moss growing on the rocks and small pieces of quartz sparkling with magic sparks. Travelers full of impressions returned to the yacht for afternoon tea, which was served to them on the upper deck to the marches performed by the brass band, or to the virtuoso performance of a group of balalaika players included in the staff of the yacht.
Princess Olga and Tatiana aboard the Shtandart.
In the evenings, the imperial yacht turned into a real cradle. Her light swaying on the water lulled everyone. So, when the stewards began to set the table for dinner in the living room, there was very often simply no one to eat it: the whole imperial family was already sound asleep.
Tatiana in a sailor suit.
While aboard the Shtandart, Nicholas II continued to deal with state affairs, so that both ministers and officials of the secret police came to him on torpedo boats and boats for reports. The emperor set the schedule of his annual two-week vacation on board the yacht in such a way that he would work two days a week and rest five days a week. During this time of rest, neither ministers nor high-ranking officials of the secret police were allowed to board the yacht. But important reports, as well as various documents and the press, were delivered to Shtandart from St. Petersburg every day by courier boat.
The imperial family on board the yacht Shtandart.
In her memoirs, Vyrubova spoke in detail about what happened on the yacht "Standart" in her presence. For example, that while the emperor's daughters were still young, a special sailor-nanny (as they were called on the "Standart" - uncle) was responsible for each of them, who were engaged in making sure that the child entrusted to his care did not fall overboard.
Sablin N. P. - the author of memoirs about the service on the "Standart" in the society of the Grand Duchesses and officers of the yacht.
Then the Grand Duchesses grew up and received parental permission to swim in the sea on their own, but the "uncles" were not canceled. Just so as not to embarrass them during water procedures, they were on the shore nearby and, standing on some hill, watched them through binoculars.
Imperial yacht "Standart" in Revel Bay. King Edward VII and Emperor Nicholas II.
It is clear that the older the princesses became, the more this care weighed them down and they strove, like all children, to show that they were no longer "little". It happened that the princesses teased their uncles, and even arranged various tricks for them. However, Nicholas II never interfered with this relationship between his daughters and sailors-nannies. But every year all the uncles were given a personalized gold watch from the emperor for their difficult and very delicate work, that is, it was highly appreciated.
King Edward VII and Emperor Nicholas II aboard the Standart in 1908.
It happened, Vyrubova recalled, that the Shtandart dropped anchor in the waters of the possessions of both the Russian and Finnish nobility. And their owners could often meet the Russian emperor on the threshold of their house in the morning, who politely asked their permission to play on their tennis court. By the way, Nicholas II was an excellent tennis player, which was not noted by her alone.
The life of the imperial family on the yacht was easy and carefree. It was her own world, a world away from troubles and sorrows, a world in an ivory tower.
Alexandra Feodorovna with Tsarevich Alexei.
Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna and British Princess Victoria aboard the yacht Shtandart in Revel.
Head of the Chancellery of the Ministry of the Imperial Court A. A. Mosolov, in his notes “At the Court of the Last Russian Emperor,” published in 1993, wrote: “The Empress herself became sociable and cheerful as soon as she stepped on the deck of the Standart. The Empress took part in the children's games and talked to the officers for a long time. These officers obviously occupied a very privileged position. Some of them were invited every day to the highest table. The sovereign and his family often accepted an invitation from their side to tea in the wardroom … The junior officers of the "Standart" little by little joined the games of the grand duchesses. As they grew up, the games quietly turned into a whole series of flirting - of course, quite harmless. I do not use the word "flirting" in the vulgar sense that is now given to him; - the officers of the "Standart" were best compared to the pages or knights of the Middle Ages. Many times these young people rushed past me in a stream, and I never heard a single word that could cause criticism. In any case, these officers were wonderfully well-trained …"
Tsarevich Alexei and his uncle Andrei Derevenko.
And Vyrubova recalls how "… passing by the door of Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich, I saw the Empress Mother sitting on his bed: she was carefully peeling an apple for him, and they chatted merrily."
The Tsar-Emperor and his wife on board the yacht Shtandart.
In any case, the emperor, once on his yacht, tried to spend as much time with his children as possible. Moreover, the large size of the yacht turned it into an excellent playground. Young princesses, for example, skated on her deck on roller skates!
Princess Anastasia plays with kittens …
Princess Maria and Tatiana playing with kittens, 1908
But it cannot be said that the "Shtandart" was just a kind of floating house for the royal family. The yacht was very often used to participate in various diplomatic and representative events. At that time in Europe there was no such emperor, king or president who at least once would not have been on this ship, did not step on its sparkling clean deck and did not admire its decor, brave crew and interior.
Maria, Olga, Anastasia and Tatiana … They do not yet know what fate awaits them in the future …
"We have arrived on business." The Minister of the Imperial Court, Baron V. B. Fredericks and Chairman of the Council of Ministers P. A. Stolypin on the deck of the yacht Shtandart. Finland, 1910
In 1909, Nicholas II made his last visit to England on board the Standard, during which King Edward VII staged a parade of the Royal Navy in honor of his crowned guest. Both sovereigns were aboard the royal yacht Victoria and Albert, which sailed between three lines of battleships and dreadnoughts. At the same time, flags were lowered on the British warships in front of the yacht, the ships saluted with cannon shots, and the orchestras on the decks played the hymns "God Save the Tsar!" And "God Save the King!" King Edward VII and Emperor Nicholas in the uniform of an English admiral stood side by side on deck and saluted, while thousands of British sailors shouted loud "hurray" at them.
Nicholas II inspects the dreadnought battleships of the Black Sea Fleet.
As for Nicholas II and Kaiser Wilhelm, the last time they met was in June 1912, and again on board the yacht Shtandart. Then both "Standard" and the yacht of Emperor Wilhelm - "Hohenzollern", anchored side by side in the port of Revel (now Tallinn). On June 30, 1912, Nikolai wrote in a letter to his mother: “Emperor Wilhelm stayed for three days, and everything went quite well. He was extremely cheerful and friendly … gave good gifts to the children and gave Alexei a lot of board games … On the last morning he invited all the officers of the "Standart" to his yacht for a snack with champagne. This reception lasted an hour and a half, after which he told me that our officers had drunk 60 bottles of his champagne."
Photo of Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich of Russia with sailors, 1908
It is interesting that his white and gold yacht "Hohenzollern" had a displacement of 4000 tons and therefore was much smaller than the "Standard", and the Kaiser could not hide his envy, looking at this beautiful ship. “He said, - wrote Nicholas II to his mother, - that he would be happy to receive her as a gift …”. But … no matter how much he hinted to Nikolai how good it would be, he did not heed his hints, and as a result, Shtandart remained with him.
Engine room of the yacht "Standart".
One of the voyages in the skerries ended in an accident. Here is her description, made by Robert Massey in 1907, that is, immediately after the incident: “The yacht went out into the open sea in a narrow strait. The passengers sat on the deck. Suddenly, with a deafening crash, the yacht hit the underwater rock. Dishes overturned, chairs fell, musicians fell on the deck. The water rushed into the hold, the Shtandart tilted and began to sink. Sirens howled, sailors began to lower boats into the water. At that moment, the three-year-old crown prince was gone, and both parents were simply distraught with grief. It turned out that the sailor-nanny Derevenko, when the Shtandart hit the rock, grabbed Alexei in his arms and carried him to the bow of the yacht, believing quite correctly that from this part of the ship it would be easier for him to save the heir if the yacht was completely destroyed.
Nicholas II was all the time at the rails, watching the launch of the boats. He often looked at his watch, calculating how many inches per minute the Standard was sinking into the water. He estimated that 20 minutes remained. However, thanks to her sealed bulkheads, the yacht did not sink. And it was later renovated."
"The yacht" Shtandart "is the" egg "of Faberge.
Nicholas II's sister Olga recalled that while the Standard was being repaired, sailors from the yacht were often invited to the Mariinsky Theater to play the roles of slaves and warriors, for example, in the opera Aida. “It was funny to see these tall men standing awkwardly on stage wearing helmets and sandals and showing off their hairy hairy legs. Despite the director's frantic signals, they gawked at the royal box, smiling broadly and cheerfully at us."
"The yacht" Shtandart "is the" egg "of Faberge. Close-up.
In Soviet times, a minelayer "Marty" was made from the yacht "Standart", but this is a completely different story …
