OLGA, born November 3, 1895.  The oldest Grand Duchess was admired for her remarkably kind heart and empathy for people with troubles.  She sacrificed her own small allowance to support people in need.  Not wanting to draw any attention to herself, she insisted these charitable acts be done without any fanfare.  Until she was in her late teens her small allowance made id difficult for her to help in a substantial way.  After she came into part of her personal fortune did she expand her giving to as much as she could. 

The empress found her oldest daughter hard to discipline; she was stubborn and strong willed.  Intellectually, she was the most intelligent of her siblings, but she lost interest in further development.  Olga was aware of the danger her family was in a s the revolution approached.  This knowledge took its toll on her emotionally and she became jittery and nervous.  This condition was worsened by overwork during the World War I as a surgical nurse.  Olga, joined by her mother and sister Tatiana, assisted in difficult operations and the nursing of wounded soldiers.  the work was hard and no allowances were made for her position or tender age.  She saw men suffer and die in horrible agony form battlefield wounds.  the experience radically changed her and she lost whatever carefree spirit she had left.  She became more moody, irritable, withdrawn, and eventually, suffered a nervous breakdown. 

At the time of the revolution, Olga could feel the mood of the country and she knew her parents were hated.  Reading the press and talking with her friends, she was shocked at the negative public image of her family; the cartoons people had made of her mother and father baffled her.  She could not comprehend how people could believe the lies people were saying about her dear parents.  Olga felt much bitterness and resentment towards Russia for tearing her family apart. 

TATIANA, born May 29, 1897.  Tatiana had sense of compassion that allowed her to recognize people's initial unease about being around a Tsar's daughter and made a pint of putting people at ease in her presence.  Having friends was very important to her and she eagerly sought them out.  However, people found it almost impossible to forget who she was and Tatiana had difficulty building satisfying friendships.  It never helped that the secret police followed them around constantly, hiding in bushes and even chasing people away.  Tatiana was closest to Alexandra and was usually the one chosen to ask for difficult favors from their mother.  Her tact and gentle persuasiveness usually worked.  More so than her sisters, Tatiana understood her mother's personality and preferences; it was obvious she enjoyed being in their mother's company more than the others. 
 
During the war, she become a nurse like her mother and sister.  Her uncomplaining, cheerful disposition and stunning beauty made Tatiana exceedingly popular among staff and patients.  Smiling and naturally affectionate, but without undo familiarity, she was approachable but unmistakably a princess.  Tatiana was adored by many of the officers she took care of during her wartime hospital work.  The imprisonment at the Impatiev house in the spring of 1917 till her death was tough on Tatiana.  She became sick and withdrawn.  However, Tatiana was extremely religious and she was an inspiration to the rest ot the family in captivity. 
 
MARIA, born June 14, 1899.  Maria was bold, unafraid of meeting new people, and easy to speak with.  Maria's personality developed slowly and she was treated as a child longer than she should have been.  When she was sixteen, people remarked how she had the habits, attitude, childish speech, and gangliness of a much younger girl.  As a student, she was fairly accomplished, though she was indifferent to education in general, tending toward idleness and daydreaming.  She was the most affable of the girls and loved nothing better than talking to common people.  Maria struggled for acceptance within her family and she was constantly the subject of criticism. 

ANASTASIA, born June 5, 1901.  Anastasia was extremely intelligent, but prone to be lazy and inattentive.  Her teachers found she learned much faster than her sisters.  On the other hand she was easily bored and had trouble focusing on her lessons.  She was the family clown, freely dispensing her own kind of dead pan, sarcastic humor at the expense of others.  The whole family would crack up at her jokes.  Nobody was safe from her smart tongue and brutal observations of others' mistakes.  She had a cutting wit and knew it, and it became her chief way of attaining attention.