Semyon Semyonovich Fabritskii: "The Most Precious Memories of My Life..."
Part 3: Continued Annotated excerpts from "Memoirs of the Fligel-Adjutant to Nicholas II."
PART III
In June 1906, Fabritskii was aboard Polar Star for another memorable voyage:
“We sailed to Norway for the coronation of the Norwegian King (1), having on board Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich, Adjutant-General Maksimovich (2), and General Dashkov (3), the head of the Grand Duke’s affairs, and His Highness’s Adjutant Colonel Mordvinov (4). The journey lasted only 10 days.
“In August, for the first time after a two-year interval, Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna left on the yacht for Copenhagen, as had been done annually since the reign of Emperor Alexander III. On the eve of the departure day, palace servants arrived on the yacht and brought the luggage of Her Majesty and Her retinue. In the morning, on the day of departure, Her Majesty arrived at Kronstadt on the yacht Alexandria, accompanied by the Sovereign and Empress. After moving to Polar Star, the Sovereign and Empress, having said goodbye to the August Mother, departed back to Alexandria yacht, and Polar Star put out to sea.
“Her Majesty was accompanied by Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich, Maid-of-Honor Countess Heiden (5), and Adjutant Colonel Mordvinov. Prince Shervashidze (6), who was attached to the Empress, could not endure sea voyages and he went abroad over land.
“The sea was pleasant, and on the third day we entered the Norwegian skerries, heading first to the city of Christiania [Oslo] to visit the young King of Norway. On the road we met the English royal yacht Victoria and Albert (7), which came with the English Queen Alexandra (8). After standing for two days, both yachts moved to Copenhagen, where they took their usual places opposite the Talboden pier....Her Majesty felt a cold, which is why she lived for twenty-eight days on the yacht, hosting relatives and making only necessary visits.
“The highest visits began at 10 o'clock in the morning and ended at about 11 o'clock in the evening, and usually one of the August Relatives, as well as all the officers of the yacht, were invited to breakfast and dinner. In the evening, Her Majesty usually invited all to tea, after which she would go to her cabin to go to bed. In early November, the yacht returned to St. Petersburg.”
In August 1907 Fabritskii was in Copenhagen with the Dowager Empress when startling news arrived:
“At this time, the Sovereign Emperor and his Family were making their usual journey to the skerries on Standart. Before many days had passed in Copenhagen, one morning a local Danish newspaper arrived, which reported that, according to a cable from St. Petersburg, Standart had run aground in the Finnish skerries.(9)
On the same day, I had the good fortune to have breakfast with Her Majesty. She confirmed this sad news to me, adding that everything went well and the Sovereign and his Family switched to the Alexandria, and Standart would be removed from the rocks and repaired. It became clear that Polar Star, which was almost the same type of yacht as Standart, must immediately go to the skerries in order to take on the distinguished company who, in fact, could not be accommodated comfortably aboard the small wheeled yacht Alexandria, which was built to make short voyages between Peterhof and Petersburg.
“For several days we stood under steam, waiting for a call, and finally we received Her Majesty's order to go to the Gulf of Finland and put Polar Star at His Majesty's disposal. The next day, in the morning, we approached the entrance to the Gulf of Finland, and sent a radio to the Fligel-Adjutant of His Majesty informing him of this. He replied with an order to proceed to Gange and anchor there. A few days later, Alexandria arrived, escorted by the messenger ship Asia and a detachment of destroyers.
“The Sovereign, the Empress with the Family and retinue switched to Polar Star, and a few hours later they brought Standart in tow on its way to be repaired. The Sovereign's retinue consisted of the Minister of the Court, Adjutant-General Baron Freedericksz; Grand Marshal of the Imperial Court Adjutant-General Count Benckendorff; Fligel-Adjutant General Nilov; Major General Orlov's (10) retinue; Adjutant Drenteln; and several officials of the Camping Office. The duties of the retinue Maid-of-Honor were performed by Anna Vyrubova.
“Upon the reception of the High Masters, the yacht immediately took off and moved to another skerry, the so-called Bay of Standart, located between Tranzund and Kotka (11). The islands surrounding it were sparsely populated, which made it possible for the Highest Persons to calmly go ashore for walking and hunting without requiring too much protection. The yacht was accompanied by four destroyers of the Ukraine class; two additional destroyers; and the messenger ship Asia, on which the coast guard lived.
“The next day, after anchoring, the usual life of exploring the skerries began. The Fligel-Adjutant to His Majesty always came out early in the morning to the flag. The Sovereign Emperor went on deck at about half-past eight in the morning, and at about 9 o'clock Her Majesty and the Most August Children came out. Before breakfast, His Majesty was usually engaged in business; Her Majesty read or wrote letters, and the Grand Duchesses rode small boats or did needlework and reading. The Heir Tsesarevich, accompanied by his dyadka Derevenko, walked around the deck, talked with sailors and officers, or played with the cabin boys, who usually numbered from six to eight on the yacht.
“Usually all the officers of the yacht were invited to luncheon. Customarily we all entered the dining room at 12:55 and stood freely at the entrance. By this time, the Suite was also gathering. Exactly at the appointed time, the door of the Emperor's cabin opened and his family came out, after which the Sovereign invited everyone to take zakuski [hors d'oeuvres] from the side table. So that his guests would not be shy to drink and eat, His Majesty would have a glass of vodka and partake of zakuski. During this time, Her Majesty sat a little apart, surrounded by her children, and usually talked with the Minister of the Court or Count Benckendorff.
“Having given enough time for everyone to enjoy zakuski, the Sovereign moved to the dining table and sat down at the head of the table, having the Empress on his right hand, and on the left one of the Grand Duchesses, usually Anastasia Nikolaievna, as the youngest. On the right side of the Empress, one of the senior ranks of the Suite or fleet was seated in turn by order of the Grand Marshal, distributing the rest of those invited by seniority among the Grand Duchesses and then around the table.
“Soup with meat pastries was immediately served, and the first course was usually eaten in silence. Well-trained court footmen, mostly very elderly people and with the help of efficient sailors assigned to them, quickly cleared the plates and at the same time served the next course. Luncheon was a five course meal, followed by coffee. During luncheon, a special footman poured wine, usually of three varieties: Madeira after the soup, and red or white wine with the second course if desired. Cognac was served with the coffee.
“Usually luncheon lasted no more than forty minutes, and after the sweet course the Sovereign lit a cigarette and invariably said loudly, “Gentlemen, you may smoke if you wish.” After this, footmen brought in candles and ashtrays.
“At the signal of the Sovereign, everyone stood up, bowed their thanks to Their Majesties, and those near Her Majesty were honored to kiss Her hand, and then the Highest Persons went out on deck with their retinue, and the officers dispersed on business.
“A few minutes after going on deck, an order was usually received for the steam launches or other boats to be delivered to the yacht, and the Highest Persons with their retinue moved to some island for a walk, a game of tennis, etc.
“By 5 o'clock everyone returned and tea was served, to which only the highest members of the retinue were invited. It lasted from thirty to forty minutes; after tea, everyone went about their business, and His Majesty went to the office to work.
“At 8 o'clock dinner began in exactly the same order as luncheon, but commanders and officers from the escorting guard ships were usually invited to it, keeping to a strict protocol. Dinner lasted forty-five to fifty minutes and differed from luncheon only by the addition of a sixth course.
“Both at luncheon and dinner, His Majesty, between courses, often asked a question to those present, and sometimes a more or less general conversation began. Her Majesty usually spoke quietly with her neighbor and the Sovereign, and at the same time spoke almost always in Russian.
“After dinner, everyone went out on deck, where random groups were formed, and Their Majesties took the opportunity to talk for a few minutes with the officers invited to the table from other ships before releasing them to their own ships.
“At about 10 o'clock evening tea was served, to which only the closest persons of the retinue were invited. It did not last long, after which Their Majesties went to their quarters, and the day ended.
“In the evening, sometimes some persons of the retinue made parties to play cards in their day cabin. The Emperor never played any card games, but he was quite understanding to those members of the retinue who did. Personally, the Sovereign explained to me that his dislike of cards was due to the fact that he had often seen his August Father Emperor Alexander III, who was very fond of cards, constantly play with his closest members of the retinue. On these occasions, people forgot themselves and, notwithstanding the presence of the Sovereign, allowed themselves unacceptable antics and expressions. This left an indelible impression on the Sovereign for life and discouraged him from even getting acquainted with card games.
“Subsequently, during the skerry voyages, the Sovereign gradually got involved with and fell in love with the game of dominoes, but he never played, and did not allow others to play, for money.”
Fabritskii recalled an unpleasant incident from this same voyage. The captain informed the Emperor that the crew of Polar Star was ready to carry out naval exercises:
“'How is it possible to carry out naval exercises on Polar Star when it is forbidden to do so on Standart?'
“The captain of the yacht replied that he could not possibly know the reason why it was impossible to do exercises on Standart, but that on the ship entrusted to him, it was not only possible but also very desirable, at least when the Imperial guests were ashore....As soon as this conversation ended, the Sovereign came on deck and greeted the officers and crew present on deck. Having reported the morning report, the flag captain reported to the Sovereign the request of the yacht commander to conduct exercises and, again, the yacht commander and I, standing a few steps from the flag captain, clearly heard how His Majesty questioned Adjutant-General Nilov as follows: 'Why, Konstantin Dmitrievich, can boat exercises be carried out on Polar Star yacht, but not on Standart?' To this, the flag-captain could only answer, 'Because, Your Imperial Majesty, this is Polar Star, not Standart.' Obviously, the Sovereign understood the meaning of what was said, smiled and said, 'Her Majesty will soon come out and then I will give you an answer regarding boating exercises.'
“At 9 o'clock Her Majesty came on deck, and the Sovereign, after talking with her, ordered the exercises to begin at once.
“As soon as the words of the command, 'Non-commissioned officers to the hatches, all up to rowboats,' everyone rushed to their positions and shouted orders, forgetting completely about the presence of the Highest Persons on the yacht and, obeying the well-established routine, ran to her boats, which within one or two minutes were already being lowered from the side of the vessel.
“Thus, the first part of the training went well. Boating exercises were carried out on signals from the yacht. The boats went either under oars or under sails, bending around the yacht, beautifully heeling from full sails. At 11 o'clock the Sovereign ordered the exercises finished. At a signal, the boats returned to the side of the yacht and approached their hoists. At my command, all the boats were raised to their places in an instant, and two minutes later silence and calm reigned again, and the boats hung in their places, as if no one had ever launched them.
“The whole maneuver of descent and recovery, as well as the boat exercise itself, went so smoothly, people worked so clearly and without unnecessary haste and fuss, that the impression turned out to be excellent, and since then both the Higher Persons and the retinue impatiently awaited the start of the boat exercise every day. Her Majesty took pictures from various maneuvers and then presented them with a handwritten note to whom the picture was intended.
“The voyage went on monotonously, almost exactly according to the schedule I have given above. The weather, despite being early autumn, was excellent and without rain, which made it possible for the Highest Persons to go ashore every day for walks and hunts. The latter were very modest, but the Sovereign enjoyed them, as he was accustomed to the usual hunts, where the beast and bird were driven out, as if on purpose, toward his gun. Here, he had to show artful skill which, as a lover of sports His Majesty held dear, rather than shooting at animals beaten in his direction.
“Ten days after the start of the voyage, I was deeply touched by the grace of Their Majesties, who suddenly began to address me, calling me by my name and patronymic. This was a sure sign of mercy, since it was customary to address everyone by simply calling them by their last names. I cannot fail to mention here two incidents that describe well the character of Their Majesties.
“Knowing well the character of our sailors and the need to constantly cheer them up, I sometimes (for the sake of laughter) walked up to those distinguished by slowness and laziness and either swatted them on the back of their head or kicked them, which usually caused an explosion of laughter....Obviously, this was noticed by the Sovereign, because somehow unexpectedly His Majesty, coming up to me and speaking, suddenly said, 'Semyon Semyonovich, you're not a decent commander.' Very embarrassed, I sincerely answered the Sovereign, 'Yes, Your Majesty, I am a sinner, but I do it not out of malice, but to encourage lazy people and I never allow myself to treat a worthy sailor like that.' The Sovereign answered me. 'I myself noticed that you are doing this good-naturedly and cheerfully, and that this even causes the approval of the entire team. Well, perhaps you are right.'
“Another time, early in the morning, at 6 o'clock, I got angry with some sailor who was on the boat standing on port side and hit the handrail with my fist and cursed him with the most indecent expressions. After five minutes, this incident was forgotten by me. After breakfast, Her Majesty began to talk to me about something else, as she often did, and then suddenly said, 'I didn’t know you had so much anger.' Surprised, I in turn said, 'Your Majesty, when could you see me angry?' And suddenly Her Majesty answered, 'This morning, when you stood on the left gangway and were angry with someone. I heard your voice and looked out and saw you angry.' All this was said with a gracious smile, not with reproach. My embarrassment had no end
“Here, by the way, it should be mentioned that Her Majesty, out of a sense of delicacy towards Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna, did not occupy her cabin-bedroom, but slept in a cabin on the port side, formerly used by Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna.(12)
“The end of September was approaching, and nothing disturbed our safe voyage. Personally, of course, I was most worried about the service on the yacht and the order on it, but everything went well, if not exemplary. Already they began to talk about returning to St. Petersburg, but Their Majesties themselves delayed leaving the quiet, comfortable waters.
“The flag-captain of His Majesty somehow conveyed to the commander of the yacht that, in view of the imminent end of the voyage, the Supreme Review of the yacht should be expected and that he would warn about this in advance. A few days after that, quite unexpectedly in the afternoon after luncheon, it began to rain, which is why the next shore run was postponed. At about 3 o'clock, the foreman of the bow command deck ran up to me on the upper deck and reported that the Minister of the Imperial Navy, Admiral Birilev, was passing the yacht and ordered that this be kept secret, as he wanted to inspect the ship alone. Fulfilling such an order, I did not go downstairs and soon even forgot about it, when suddenly there was the loud voice of the Admiral coming out to the quarterdeck: 'Your Majesty, just went around the yacht including the holds. She is really in order. And everything is clean. Downright amazing.' Then he continued to speak, coming close to the Sovereign who, turning to me, looked affectionately and smiled. Obviously, the report about what he had seen while going around the yacht continued.
“A few days later, the Highest review of the yacht took place, ending with the Sovereign's heartfelt gratitude to the commander, me and the entire crew. Then the Sovereign expressed a desire to visit the yacht's wardroom with the Empress in the evening, which meant, according to tradition, the imminent end of the voyage.
“On the appointed evening, the Sovereign and Empress, with all the persons of the retinue, went down to the wardroom at about half-past ten, where tea was served. The Highest Guests sat down nearby, placing the commander on their right hand, and me on the left. The retinue took their places at random. The Sovereign shared memories of former voyages in the reign of Emperor Alexander III, when he and his entire family had gone to Copenhagen each autumn. He compared the conveniences of the new Standart, and the Sovereign found Polar Star in many respects more convenient, at least in the dining room, since it was impossible to hold a big reception on Standart due to lack of space. At about half-past eleven the Empress said goodbye and retired along with Anna Vyrubova.
“Then they asked the Sovereign's permission to serve champagne in order to drink to the health of the August Host. Many toasts and wishes were made. They drank to the health of all the persons of the retinue separately, which is why they had to pour wine into glasses all the time, except for the glass of the Sovereign, who drank in small sips. When, it seemed, all the topics for toasts were exhausted, the flag-captain asked the Sovereign's permission to make one last toast. Having received gracious permission, the flag-captain began to talk about the brilliant condition of the yacht and about the colossal difference between the present and previous orders and service on it, which His Majesty himself was personally convinced of. Admiral Nilov ended his toast by offering to drink to my health and further fruitful service, since the yacht owed its exemplary order to me entirely. Overwhelmed, I stood before the Sovereign, who, in gracious expressions, confirmed everything said by the admiral. I involuntarily thought about the position of the commander of the yacht, who had already been in his post for eight years.
“A few days after that, the yacht weighed anchor and moved to the Kronstadt road stead, where by this time the Alexandria yacht had arrived from Peterhof. After the reception of the command, the Sovereign invited all the officers of the yacht to his cabin, where Her Majesty personally presented each with a pair of cuff links, as a memory of a pleasant joint voyage, and then the leave began.
“The officers and the team were put in front ranks. The Sovereign and the Empress went out on the upper deck and began to go around the front of the officers, starting from the left flank, shaking hands with everyone and uttering words of gratitude. Coming up to me on the extreme right flank, the Sovereign looked at me with his bewitching, radiant gaze and said, 'I am amazed at what I saw. I firmly believe that wherever you are in charge, there will be the same exemplary service and order. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.' Then the Sovereign addressed the crew with a few affectionate words, thanking them for their service and order on the yacht, and said goodbye. 'We are happy to obey, Your Imperial Majesty!' they shouted, and loud, incessant cheers erupted from the yacht’s crew. Alexandria weighed anchor, taking away Their Majesties.
“Thus ended the voyage through the skerries of Their Majesties on Polar Star.”
On December 4, 1907, Fabritskii was surprised to receive an order that he leave Polar Star and report to Tsarskoye Selo to participate in a parade:
“I left St. Petersburg by a special train to Tsarskoye Selo on the morning of December 6. Arriving at the station, I met with the Adjutant of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich, Captain of the 2nd Rank Veselkin (13), who congratulated me on my forthcoming appointment as Fligel Adjutant (14). Two months had passed since the end of sailing in the skerries, and during this time it never occurred to me that the Sovereign would show me such favor....The usual parade took place without incident and ended. The sovereign stood in the middle of the parade ground and, in complete silence, was talking about something with the Commander-in-Chief of the troops of the St. Petersburg Military District Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaievich (15). Suddenly, the clear voice of the Sovereign was heard: 'Captain-Lieutenant Fabritskii!'....Having heard the call of the Sovereign, I was so confused that I could not leave my place, and only with someone's helpful hands was pushed out of the general group of officers. As soon as I was in front of the Sovereign, the latter, looking at me with his soul-piercing gaze, said, 'For your outstanding service, I appoint you a Fligel-Adjutant.'
“Touched by such high favor, excited, I involuntarily began to cry and could not even express my feelings of gratitude, limiting myself only to mumbling some fragmentary words. The Sovereign held out his hand, shook mine strongly...and left the parade ground for the Palace for breakfast. The flag-captain, Admiral Nilov, approached me and congratulated me, inviting me to follow him in order to go to the palace together. On the way, we stopped at his office, where I put on the golden aiguillettes and new epaulets he had prepared for me, and I entered the palace hall dressed in uniform as an Adjutant. The hall was already full of guests. They were only waiting for the Highest exit. Finding the tables laid for the officers of the crew, I was struck by the coldness of the reception given to me by my colleagues, of whom very few congratulated me on the Highest favor.”
Annotated Notes to Part III
1. King Haakon VII (1872-1957), reigned 1905-1957. Born Prince Carl of Denmark, he was offered the Norwegian Crown in 1905. He and his wife Queen Maud, youngest daughter of the then Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) whom he had married at Buckingham Palace in 1896, were crowned on June 22 at Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim. It was the last such coronation in the country, although the Norwegian monarchy survives.
2. Konstantin Maksimovich (1849-1919), Adjutant-General in the Imperial Suite.
3. Dmitri Dashkov (1853-1917?), Adjutant to Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich, 1897-1909.
4. Anatole Mordvinov (1870-1940), Adjutant to Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich 1904-1913, Fligel-Adjutant to Nicholas II from 1913.
5. Countess Olga Heiden (1890-1973), Maid-of-honor to Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna.
6. Prince George Shervashidze (1845-1918), Court Chamberlain from 1898, Grand Marshal of the Court of Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna from 1898.
7. Victoria and Albert served as the British Royal Yacht between 1855-1901, and was the second of three yachts to bear the name.
8. Queen Alexandra of Great Britain (1844-1925), born Princess Alix of Denmark, daughter of the future King Christian IX. In 1863 she married Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales (and future King Edward VII). Sister to Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna and King George I of the Hellenes; mother of King George V (1865-1936, reigned 1910-1936), and Queen Maud of Denmark (1869-1938).
9. On August 29, 1907 Standart ran aground on an uncharted rock while sailing in the Finnish skerries as tea was being served at five in the afternoon. The ship took an immediate starboard list and the Imperial Family evacuated to adjacent ships of the escort. It took several days to make a temporary patch in her hull and float her off the rocks.
10. Prince Vladimir Orlov, (1869-1927), Adjutant to Nicholas II 1901, and Assistant Minister of the Imperial Court; he was one of Nicholas II's closest advisers but in 1915, after the Empress turned on him over Orlov's repeated warnings about Rasputin, Orlov was dismissed from his court post and sent to the Caucasus to serve as Adjutant to Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaievich, who had also recently been removed from Supreme Command.
11. Kotka is a small Finnish port town on the Baltic. It was the closest settlement to Langinkoski, a fishing lodge Alexander III had built a few miles along the coast on an inlet.
12 Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna (1875-1960), eldest daughter of Emperor Alexander III and Marie Feodorovna; in 1894 married Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich; her seven children included Princess Irina, who in 1914 married Prince Felix Yusupov, one of the future assassins of Gregory Rasputin. She left Russia with her mother Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna aboard the British warship HMS Marlborough and settled in England.
13. Michael Veselkin (1871-1919), Adjutant to the Minister of the Imperial Navy, Fligel-Adjutant to Nicholas II. Executed by the Bolsheviks.
14. Fabritskii was appointed Fligel-Adjutant to Nicholas II on December 6, 1907 and raised to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander.
15. Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaievich (1856–1929), grandson of Emperor Nicholas I, Adjutant-General from 1894, Commander of the St. Petersburg Military District 1905-1914, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces, 1914-1915. Relieved of his post 1915 when Nicholas II assumed Supreme Command. The Grand Duke was sent to the Caucasus to serve as Governor-General there. He left Russia with other members of the Romanov Family aboard the British warship HMS Marlborough in 1919.