Letters to Katya

8 August 1917. Tobolsk.
Dear Katia! I am writing to you on board the ship. We arrived safely on August 6. We have not moved yet, because the house is not ready for us. A lot of funny things have happened!…Everybody is in good health. The weather is chilly; it is raining now and then. Kind regards to everybody from us. Our letter certainly will not reach you soon. This is sad. Best wishes. I kiss you warmly.
[note: there is no signature but this is Anastasia's handwriting]

No. 18 14 November 1917 Tobolsk 6 p.m.
Katia, dear:
Hearty thanks for your letter. I am so sorry I have not written to you for such a long time. I have not received your pictures [postcards?] but hope that I will receive them some time. We have not had any significant changes in our life so far. We are still studying every day. We have already had very frosty days, and it was snowing a lot, but yesterday and today the snow started melting; it became wet and messy. We go for a walk twice a day. We found a new way to entertain ourselves: we bounce with all strength and then jump out into the snow (on the pile we have already prepared beforehand.) Some our falls are very funny, but nobody smashed up so far. We are also makingdiferent things from the snow. One day we invented [ a new game]: one of us runs with a sleigh, and the rest jump out of the sleigh while it is running. Everyone has to try hard to stay on one’s feet, but it is very difficult, because the sleigh is small, and the one who is pulling it cannot help swinging. So we fall down a lot. They built a storage shed here, and we carryied logs in there.This work kept us busy. That is the way we live here, not very exciting, right? – I am always happy to receive letters from you, sweetheart. I congratulate you on Christmas and on your name-day and wish that your life be nice and joyful. How is your Mother doing? Tell her that I kiss her warmly. Best regards to Maria Nikif[orovna] and [her] husband. We are thinking [of them? of you?] constantly… Have you received postcard #17? I received a postcard from Ver[a] Georg[ievna]. She wrote that you kissed me. Thank you. My sisters kiss you and congratulate you on the holiday. Please send our best and warmest regards to your dear brothers. How is Rimma doing; will she have her wedding soon? I am terribly sorry that my letter turned out to be so stupid and boring, but nothing interesting happens here, and then it does not go right and something funny does not happen every time. Best wishes, Katia, sweetheart. May our Lord be with you. I kiss you affectionately, and love you. A[nastasia]

No. 16 8 October 1917 Tobolsk 5:30 p.m.
Katia, my dearest, please pass this postcard and the picture on to A.K. How are you doing? It has been snowing since morning today, but it is not too chilly. We went for a walk today, as always; the road was terribly slippery. We keep doing the same things every day; but today is Sunday, and we do not have to study. The person who visits us is our only acquaintance here. A small boy, Tolia by name, is a son of the cleaning lady who works for us; well, we play with him.He is seven years old and he is gay and funny. He always plays and runs with us during our walks, and, while playing with him, we are often thinking of little Lionka. Ask your brother; he met him. My ”Jim” is fine, runs a lot, and […]. It wll be chilly soon, and he will not be able to go out. What are you doing? I want to see you all awfully badly! Do Vera and her sisters write to you? We have not heard from them for a long time. Forgive me for this terribly stupid letter; I start writing it, but it does not always work the way you wish… My sisters just came in, and it became very noisy. It is difficult to write. Pass our kind and affectionate regards on to your mother, [Vict?], ant to all the rest. My sisters kiss you. Regards to Vlad[imir]. When I look at the street through the window, I see everything covered with snow and feel so sad, because it is winter already, and I love summer and warmth… Well, Katia, dear, I have to finish [this letter]. I hug you tightly. I wish you all the best, Katia, my sweetheart […]. May the Lord be with you. A[nastasia]

No. 12 31 July 1917
Thank you so much, Katia, my darling, for letter no. 15; I was so happy to get it. My sister thanks you for the card and the rest thank you for your regards, and they also send you their warmest regards. How is your work in the kitchen and as a maid? I wish I could see how it looks. I am writing now while sitting on the window[-sill]. We have just had dinner, and now we all are busy with different things. It is warm now. These days the weather was hot; it is so nice. We still work in the garden every day. We have done a lot. Some days we do not have much work to do; then we sit and watch the other people working and eat sour yellow rowan-berries. I have to apologize for this disgusting and messy letter, I am sitting uncomfortably and cannot find the right place. The birds are flying, the air is quiet, and the weather is cozy. “Zubrovka [the cat] is running around my feet, and her kittens are sitting near me. “Jim” always attacks them, so I have to take him away. How are your Mama and brother doing? We think of you a lot and for a long time and often talk about you!… What else are you doing? We have been awfully bitten by mosquitoes and other similar nasty things! When is Vict[or] going to leave? How is everybody? Tell your brother that we often think of last year!!! Has Vera left for her place? How is Vlad. doing? Have you taken pictures with your amateur camera or not? If you have [a picture] even of that kind, I would like to have one. It turns out that the hospital will be established in the building from which you talked to me by phone; the one where you generally stayed, do you understand me? Well I hope they will not destroy it. – Well, Katia, sweetheart, my sisters are calling me; it is time to finish [this letter]. I wish you all the best. We all send our regards to you all. I kiss your Mama and you, my darling, many times. Warm regards to your brother. I remember you always and love you. A[nastasia]

No. 17 15 October. Tobolsk
My sweet Katia:
I am sending to you the view of the Governor’s House. This is the balcony where we sit often and for a long time. Our windows face the street, which is in the corner behind the trees. The windows on the balcony that are the closest to the street are the windows of our big living room. The weather is chilly now, but when the sun is shining it is again very nice and warm. My best regards to all of you. I wish you all-all the best, Katia, my sweetheart. I kiss and hug you. Yours, A[nastasia]

From the bottom of my heart I send my congratulations to you, dear Katia, and wish you to have life full of all nice and beautiful things. I hope you all are in good health. We are often thinking and talking of you; we had much fun and a nice time together. Olga has not received your letter yet; it probably got stuck somewhere. Poor K.G(?) seems to be having a hard time in Ts[arskoe] S[elo]. I kiss you affectionately. How are you brothers and Iuzin doing? We are missing you. May the Lord be with you, darling. Maria
Tobolsk. 14 November

No. 18 14 November 1917 Tobolsk 6 p.m.
Katia, dear:
Hearty thanks for your letter. I am so sorry I have not written to you for such a long time. I have not received your pictures [postcards?] but hope that I will receive them some time. We have not had any significant changes in our life so far. We are still studying every day. We have already had very frosty days, and it was snowing a lot, but yesterday and today the snow started melting; it became wet and messy. We go for a walk twice a day. We found a new way to entertain ourselves: we bounce with all strength and then jump out into the snow (on the pile we have already prepared beforehand.) Some our falls are very funny, but nobody smashed up so far. We are also makingdiferent things from the snow. One day we invented [ a new game]: one of us runs with a sleigh, and the rest jump out of the sleigh while it is running. Everyone has to try hard to stay on one’s feet, but it is very difficult, because the sleigh is small, and the one who is pulling it cannot help swinging. So we fall down a lot. They built a storage shed here, and we carryied logs in there.This work kept us busy. That is the way we live here, not very exciting, right? – I am always happy to receive letters from you, sweetheart. I congratulate you on Christmas and on your name-day and wish that your life be nice and joyful. How is your Mother doing? Tell her that I kiss her warmly. Best regards to Maria Nikif[orovna] and [her] husband. We are thinking [of them? of you?] constantly… Have you received postcard #17? I received a postcard from Ver[a] Georg[ievna]. She wrote that you kissed me. Thank you. My sisters kiss you and congratulate you on the holiday. Please send our best and warmest regards to your dear brothers. How is Rimma doing; will she have her wedding soon? I am terribly sorry that my letter turned out to be so stupid and boring, but nothing interesting happens here, and then it does not go right and something funny does not happen every time. Best wishes, Katia, sweetheart. May our Lord be with you. I kiss you affectionately, and love you. A[nastasia]

No. 14 20 September Tobolsk 1917 12:30 p.m.
Hearty thanks to you, my dear Katia, for you letter. I have not received no. 21 yet, but I hope it will reach me some time. Have you received my letter of 15 August? Well, how are you doing? We often talk and think of you!… I was not well, but I am better now. We have had wonderful weather all the time. It was 18 degrees [Centigrade] in the shade; and now it is snowing, chilly, and not nice at all. We walk every day. They fenced off a part of the street for our walks. We are sitting and warming ourselves in the sun. Chickens, ducklings, and turkeys are running around here. My brother is paying much attention to them. This is also a place to play the so-called tennis, without a net, of course. It is not too bad, but most of the time we spend searching for balls in the ditch and other similar places. Now we have started studying; that is how our days pass. We sit on the window[-sills] and entertain ourselves watching the public passing by. How is your Mama? Kiss her. We find great pleasure in thinking of this time last year; it was wonderful then!… We have just returned from our walk. The snow is still there but has already started melting.
21 September. This picture was taken as long ago as July, my hair has already grown fairly long. It is such a pleasure to have short hair. Well, Katia, sweetheart, I wanted to write you something but forgot what it was. I am writing to you through Ver. Georg[ievna]; that will be safer; you write directly to me. My kind and hearty regards to Vict[or] and all the rest. Pass my thanks on to Padalka? for remembering me and also pass on my regards to her [him?]. All our people send their regards to you. I wish you all the best. I kiss you many times, Katia, my darling. May the Lord be with you. A[nastsiia].
How are your sisters doing? My regards to them and to Vlad[imir]

My dear Katia,
I am writing this letter to you being certain that you will never get it. How are you and all yours doing? It is so sad to be unable to hear from you. We often, often think and talk of you… We are well, though two of us caught cold, but they are fine now. We are settled pretty cozily, though the place is not very spacious. The weather is changing constantly; now it is rainy and chilly; then the sum is warm. We sisters live all together. Have you received my letter of 31 July and the card that I wrote long ago? I did not give a number to the card, because it does not count. Write to me directly here, I will be looking forward to [your letter]! We can, so to say, see the mountains from our windows, but they are not too close. “Jim” is fine, and he stays with me all the time. Are you still working in the kitchen? What are your brother and A.K. doing? Are they in good health? Does Vera still live at your place? How are Iuzik, S. I., and Vlad. doing? We all send warmest and hearty regards. I kiss and hug your Mama; how is she doing? Have you heard from [my/ your?] sisters? While I am writing, my sisters are sitting nearby, sending their regards to you. One of them is reading, and the other is pouring something on the table. The sun is shining now, but I think a real autumn is coming… Ask Vict[or] whether he still remembers last fall? I am now remembering very much… everything good, of course!… - Well, Katia, sweetheart. I am so sorry that I have written such a boring letter; I apologize for that! I cannot write anything interesting… we spend our time monotonously. – I am sending a petal of a red poppy from our garden. Now it is time to finish [this letter]. I wish you all the best, my darling. I am with you in my thoughts. We all send our best regards to Vict[or] – I kiss and hug you. May the Lord be with you. A[nastasiia]

8 - 9 June 1917
My warmest thanks to dear Katia for her congratulations and her sweet letter. I am writing to you sitting on a window[-sill]. My sisters went for a walk with Papa; the weather is very good, and it is even hot for Tsarskoe [Selo]. The lilacs, unfortunately, are fading already. I am thinking of the past; it was this time of the year they brought your brother to our hospital; then we saw you more often.
We went for a walk in the morning and watered our kitchen garden. We have already eaten radish and [green] onion; it was such a pleasure, and they seemed extremely delicious. My brother runs around a lot and pumps water on everybody rocking in the hammock. Generally, we get wet all over, but get dried off pretty fast in the sun. Mama sits on the grass and works. In the meanwhile I do not work at all, because I feel too lazy to work in this heat. I am going to bed. Good night.
Good morning sweet Katia!. We have just gotten out of bed, but it is already hot outside. The trucks with popping engines fly by our windows. Anastasiia is sitting here in the room and writing something; she asks me to kiss and hug you.
I can imagine how your brother gives himself airs as he is an aide-de-camp now. We all send him our warm and hearty regards, and we often think of him. What are Iuzik and Serg[ei] Iv[anovich] doing? Will they be together with A. A. and others? While I am writing to you, Jimmy has nicely settled near me on the floor. Ortino? is also lying somewhere; he is dying from the heat. Olga’s cat has two kittens pretty enough to eat; one of them is red and the other is gray; I feel strong desire to hug them. Is your brother still living with N.V.? Your Mama is definitely very pleased to see her old acquaintances. You probably do not remember any of them. I thank your Mama with all my heart for her congratulations and for remembering me. I send her my warmest regards. It is such a pity that Rimma is arriving in Petrograd when you all are not here. We talk about you often and a lot and think of all you dear ones, and remember all these good things… My sisters send their warmest regards, and I kiss you. I wish you all the best, sweetie.
M[aria]
I have just had a history lesson with Olga. We were studying in the hallway, because it is too hot in the rooms. Do you continue to study with the boys? I forgot to thank you very much for the rose petals that smell wonderful. It is time to finish [this letter], we are going to have breakfast. I have received a letter from A. K. today, and was very happy. I responded to it with Vera.

No. 20
28 November 1917 Tobolsk
How are you doing, Katia, my darling? I am writing to you along with my sister. It is frosty here now, but the sun is shining every day, and it is getting a little warmer. We have been thinking of you particularly these days. Have you received my letters? Nina wrote to us that she had seen Serg. Georg. and others. – We live the same way. We occupy ourselves with photography a little, when we have spare time, and it is not too bad. Have you spent your holidays well? How is Vict[or] doing; has he recovered completely? Pass my best regards on to him. I am writing to you in the afternoon, and we will go for a walk now. Today it is 16 degrees below zero. We are still swinging, but without jumping into the snow. Sometimes we sit on the small roof where we used to sit in the summer. In general, we do not have much snow. My warmest regards to your Mama, your brothers, and to M. N. All the best to you Katia, darling. “Jim” and Ortino are send their regards to you. I kiss you many times. Yours, A[nastasiia]

14 December 1917
We send you our hearty congratulations on the holidays and New Year. May the Lord give you all the best!… The scenery [on the face of the postcard] presents a view we saw during one of the strolls we made while we were still living on board ship. The weather is very cold but there is not much snow. We often talk about you all!…How are your people doing? We have settled pretty cosy – all four of us together [in one room]. I have to finish [the letter] now. Once again I am sending my best wishes to you. [No signature but is Anastasia's handwritting]
I also send my hearty wishes to have all happy things. O[lga]
We study a lot, read [books], go for a walk twice a day. Time is passing very quickly. Thank you for the postcard from N.V. I wish you all the best. T[atiana]
I hope that [your] shoulder does not hurt any more and you feel well. Warm regards. I wish you all the best in the new year. May the Lord protect you. M[aria]

No. 8 1917. 4 July 6 p.m.
Thank you very much, Katia, my sweetheart, for your letter no. 9 of 15 June. It hurts and saddens me so much that letters nos. 7 and 8 have been lost, and I never received them. I always look forward to your letters. They take an awfully long time to get here. Often, very often we think of you all and miss you. It is so sad that all your people have left!… What are you doing now? Hearty thanks to Vlad[imir] and Zhenia for their regards; pass my regards on to them too. We are all fine, in good health. We continue working in the garden. The weather is not hot these days, but kind of strange and stuffy. – I guess that it was quite a sight when you were running after your hat; I wish I could have seen it!… I will be waiting for your picture. Were the pictures taken of you alone or with somebody else? What are Iuzik and his friends are going to do now? I am sorry that you will not be together! Pass on somehow our regards to all of them and wish them all the best from us. I believe that the best idea is to send me letters through Sidor., as they most likely will reach us this way, right? I will also use this way for my letters. How is your Mama doing? Kiss her many times for me. I often think how we saw each other in the hospital, and how both of you visited us. “Jim” is in good health, and he is very nice. Our hammocks in the room and in the garden are wonderful and we continue swinging in them. We also have a small swing in the room, which we ourselves fixed on the gymnastic rings. And the rest is the same. – I am writing now after a walk. We have already had tea, and now I have some free time. Later I will have more lessons; they are not exactly real [lessons], because in the daytime we have reading. Are you still studying with the boys? Do you get letters from Ver. Georg. Malts.? She is living here now. The hospitals were closed; it is such a pity, right? Well, she is going to work somewhere. Vera has probably covered most of the news, although nothing special had happened here. I will wait for your two letters anyway, they might reach us sometime. How are your brother and other people doing? Are you still roller-skating? Do you still remember Magyar or there is anybody else, huh?!… Pass on my congratulations to Alek. A. on his birthday, though you will probably get this boring letter too late, well, anyway. We often hear the bells of the good cathedral and feel so sad, but it is always nice to remember the good times, right? Now I have to finish [this letter]. I have to read and do my homework, though I do not have too much [work]. My sisters have just come and kiss you. My brother sends his regards. I send my warmest regards to your brother. Well, I wish you all the best, my dear Katia. I will be waiting to hear from you. May the Lord be with you. I kiss you many times, and also your Mama. Yours, A[nastasiia]
My sisters and I send our warmest regards to everybody.
I apologize for this stupid letter, but I am […] today.

No. 4
30 May 1917
Hearty and great thanks to you, my dear Katia, for letter no. 5. I was just going to ask you to put numbers on your letters, and you have already done this; this is remarkable!. The rose is good enough to eat!… - How are you all? We think of you all so often. These days the weather is very warm; it makes our walks very pleasant. We do not have much work with our kitchen garden now; it needs only to be watered; so Papa cuts and saws dead trees, and we sometimes help him too; but we mostly sit, watch, and warm ourselves in the sun. The trees fall down with much noise, and this is fun. My “Jim” is in a good health, and always goes with us for walks. Even now, while I am writing to you, he is sitting here scratching my legs. Nothing special happens here. What are your brothers and the rest [of the family] doing? Did you have your pictures taken? I continue taking pictures, though not many. In the evenings we usually sit all together while Papa is reading aloud. We all still live in the same room (the Red Room), where you saw us; it is better here. We are all here, the windows are open and lilacs smell wonderful. Yesterday we were thinking of Victor specifically, of the time when he was still recovering from his wound. How are our wounded men doing, such as Boiarko(?) and others. We would like to get some news from them; pass our regards on to them. I am going for a walk now and will finish [this letter] later. Just came back from a walk; we worked again and cut trees. Well, sweet Katia, I have to finish [this letter] now. My warmest regards to Shurik [Alexander] and all the rest. May the Lord be with you. I kiss you many-many times and love you. A[nastasia]
My sisters kiss you and send their regards to everybody and to your Mama.

12 July 1917
Thank you profusely, my dear Katia, for your letter. I am always glad to hear from you. How is the weather over there now? Is it not too hot? Please excuse my ugly handwriting, but my finger hurts. While playing with my brother today, I jumped to the ferry, and pinched my finger in the wheel. It helped that the ferry was not moving too fast, and I managed to pull out my finger immediately. What is exciting with you? A. A. has probably already returned from Tiflis; I am sending my warmest regards to him. How is your Naida [probably, the cat] doing? Our kittens have already grown up, but they still look very nice. While I am writing, Jim is running around. The petals of your rose smell so good, the whole letter became permeated with its smell. Has Vera been to see you? Olga is sitting opposite me and writing to somebody; she is asking me to pass her regards on you. – I always think of you all, and I send you my hearty regards, and to your Mama too. I kiss you many times,
M[aria]

No 21 5 December 1917 Tobolsk
Thank you so much, Katia, darling for your letter no. 30. When you get my letter, write what numbers you have received; it is interesting to know what letters have reached you. I am so sorry that I have not received your picture, and also the two last letters. Have you gotten settled in the city OK? We all thank you very much for your congratulations. You probably will receive this letter right before Christmas, so I wish you merry Christmas and wish that you spend the holidays well, and I wish the same also to all yours. If you write to Nat.. […] Serb., tell her […] that we send her our kind regards. Liudmila wrote that she saw your sisters, and that Rimma was going to marry, and after that she would have a surgery. – We have returned from a walk; it is 19 degrees below zero now, but almost every day the sun [is shining]. Our piglets have grown very much, and we sometimes let them walk in our small garden. We are sitting now all together, pretty cozy… What is Iuzik doing? On Christmas we will be especially thinking of the past […] How much fun we had… I would like to write and to tell you a lot, but it is so sad that everything is being read!… All the best to you, my good Katia. Our hearty and kind regards to your dear brothers, and to your Mama too. How is A. K. doing? My sisters kiss you. Well, I hug you strongly
[Note: several words at the end of the letter are illegible. This is Anastasia’s handwriting.]

No. 19 21 November 1917 Tobolsk
I thank you so much Katia, my darling, for your letter. Have you received the postcards with the view of our house? I am starting to write this letter to you for the third time, because it either turns out messy, or very stupid. We have just returned from our walk. The weather is changing constantly here: today [the snow] is melting; yesterday ther was a heavy frost. Of course we have not played tennis for a long time. We swing, walk, and saw logs. Inside the house we read and study. Well, what are you doing? How is Al. Kon. feeling? How are your brothers? Pass on our hearty and kind regards to them, and to your Mama too. “Jim” is fine; he is very nice, and he entertains many people here with his appearance. How is Marusia doing, and where is she? Does Elen[a] Nik[olaevna] write to you? We have not heard from her for a long time. Liudmila wrote that she had not had any news from you or from Victor. – My sisters kiss you, and my brother sends his regards. Well, Katia, sweetheart, I wish you all the best. May the Lord be with you. Pass our regards on those who had sent their regards to us. This letter turned out very stupid; such a pity. Yours, A[nastasia]

No. 6
11 June T[sarskoe] S[elo] 1917
Hearty thanks for letter no. 6. My sweet Kaita, it seems to me that I have received all your letters so far; but they take too long to get here, and you have not received mine yet. The Ivan-da-Maria* (that is the name of the flower) is very nice. Well, how are you all doing? I always look forward to receiving your letters. Tell A. K. that we received his letter for which we are awfully grateful to him, and we will send a response to him with Vera, and to you, too. How is your Mama doing? Kiss her many times and tell her that I often think about our telephone conversations last year. Where is [your] sister, who came with [your] brother from Poltava? Have you taken pictures of all of you? I would like to have your pictures. Is Victor very busy, as Vera wrote that he was appointed an aide-de-camp now? I am so sorry that I write so boring letters, and ask so many questions, but I want to know even more about you all. Are Ser[ei] Iv[anovich] Iuzik and others with you or not? Is there other news from over there? We are have wonderful hot weather these days. It is so unlike Ts[arskoe] S[elo], isn’t it? […] We are sitting on window[-sills], reading and writing letters[…]. We will have to go for a walk soon, and then we will write, of course. During our walks and in general a lot of comic things happen, and I would like to describe them all to you; you would laugh a lot and for a long time, especially over the yesterday’s staff…. But unfortunately, I either cannot write about many issues! – you understand me, don’t you, darling?
Well, we have come back from our walk. We feel warm, as we were working hard. We were sawing, cutting, and carrying logs. We have two dead trees sawn. We also stopped by the kitchen garden. We already have onions, lettuce, and also […]. We water the beds and, of course, spill water on our feet; and Alex[ei] pours water from the pump on us; so you can imagine our appearance. But everything dries up fast as we sit in the sun. Nothing special happened today. - Your letters always smell wonderful and remind me of you. We have received a letter from Elena Nik[olaevna] from Erzerum, where she works now; she writes that it is nice there. She often rides a horse there and so on. – I wanted to write you something, or ask you something, but I forgot what it was. Of course, as soon as I mail the letter, I will remember; it always happens like that. – For my birthday I was given a pair of earrings, and my ears were pierced; this is, so to say, small news. – When you write to Rimma, or Kisa – kiss them for me. Do they write to you? My sisters have just come. I hope his letter will reach you soon. How is Vladimir? Is he still with you? Please pass on my best regards and greetings to everybody. Also pass on a lot of those to your brother. Well Katia, sweetheart, I have to finish my boring letter. I wish you all the best. May the Lord be with you. I kiss you many times and hug you in my thoughts. And I love you. Yours,
A[nastasia]
Today during our stroll my right cheek was bitten and it has swollen.
[* a combination of the most popular Russian male and female names symbolizing a typical Russian couple and also the name of the flower (heart’s ease).]

T[sarskoe] S[elo] 1917. 5 June
Sweet Katia, one more time, thank you for your letter. Bad weather set in again and it has been raining lately; it is boring for us, but helpful for wheat and other stuff. I always think of you all. You and your Mom are certainly lost without Vitia and Gr[igorii?]. Pass on my regards to them when you write [to them]. I kiss you many times. T[atiana]

No. 11 25 July 1917 10 a.m. T[sarskoe] S[elo]
Hearty thanks, Katia, my dear, for letter no. 14. I cannot understand why you do not receive my letters; I also have not received many of your letters; I have not had nos 9, 11, 12, and 13. It is so silly! I always look forward to hearing from you!… How are you all doing? My hand healed long ago. These last few days the weather has been damp, but we still go for a walk every day. Everything is growing nicely in our kitchen garden. Vera has probably told you a lot of stories about everything here. I will be waiting for her to bring your pictures. Have you had the pictures taken by an amateur or by a real professional? I wish I could see Victor wearing his aiguillettes; he must look funny! How are your brother and all the others? Tell A. K. that we were thinking of him a lot today; you know why. And in general we often, often think and talk of you all. My Jim is in good health now, but once at night or in the daytime he almost choked, because he had caught cold and had difficulty breathing, but he has already recovered, and now he is running around as usual. Do you remember the hospital last year? Kiss your Mama for me. Well, Katia, sweetheart, excuse me for my stupid letter. I am writing it in the morning between lessons. My sisters are also here, they send their regards to you and to all yours, and so do I. I still hope to receive your letters that are missing. Pass on my gratitude to Ivan Andreevich for his regards and forward my regards to him. All the best, Katia, my sweet one. May the Lord protect you. I kiss you many times. Love, your A[nastasia]

No. 11 12 July 1917
Thank you so much, Katia, my dear, for your letter of June 23. I think it is letter no. 8, but I have not received no. 7 yet. It is a pity, but maybe it will reach me some time. I am also very glad when I receive letters from you!… My cheek healed long ago without any consequences. A huge fly bit me; we have plenty of them this year; they are nuisances. We have just come back from a walk. We are still working in the garden. We have cut a lot [of dead trees]. The lime is blossoming now and smells wonderful. The weather today is chilly, like in autumn. How is your brother? Does his arm still hurt or is it absolutely fine? This time last year we were in Mog[ilev]; it was so nice there! And the last time we were there in November! We constantly think and talk about you all. Has Vera handed over our letters? I am looking forward to seeing your pictures!… Have you made many new acquaintances? All our people send you their regards; and I am sending [my regards] to all our wounded men. Well, Katia, my sweetheart, I am so sorry to write these boring things; we have some interesting [things], but I cannot [write about them]; you surely understand this, don’t you? I kiss your Mama many times. Have you ever met Taia Rav[.?] in the hospital 36[?] near you, remember? Best regards to everybody and to Vct[or]. I kiss you many times, sweetheart. May the Lord protect you. Yours, A[nastasiia]

No. 22 10 December 1917 Tobolsk 6 p.m. Sunday
Thank you, Katia, darling for your letter no. 31 that I have just received. I am so glad that you have received my postcard, because now you can imagine the view of, so to say, our house. Well, how are you doing? I hope you are not in a blue mood any more? Do you remember Mak? Naz?? He used to call this “You are not in spirits today.” I think this is a very proper term. We went to mass today in the morning; we are always happy when we are allowed to go to church. In the afternoon we went for a walk, as usual. It is about 10 degrees below zero, and we were swinging, as we do every day (It might look strange to you, but this is also an entertainment, because we either turn over, or something funny happens. Little […] visited us (I have already written to you about him). Well, we drove him in a sleigh, or rather he was lying on the road, as we were turning the sleigh over all the time. Oddly enough, but he did not cry. It is boring now, because it is getting dark earlier, and we have to go home earlier. But soon the days will grew longer, and it will be so nice!. It was chilly yesterday, so Maria and I had races. We were running around our garden and through the gardens into the kitchen.; after that we surely felt very warm. We have a wonderful red cat in the kitchen who has already eaten a lot of rats and mice. – While I am writing to you, my brother is playing with Kolia (son of our doctor V. N. Derevenko). He came because he [visits] his family, and on designated days he is allowed to come to see us. They both are very glad, and they are playing with might and main – My sisters are also here; they are writing. We do not have enough space for everybody, so one of us is writing while sitting on the sofa and holding the paper on her lap. It is pretty chilly in the room, so our hands do not write properly. Well, Katia, sweetheart, how are Vict[or] and A. K doing? Pass on our kind and warm regards to everybody who has sent them to us. Is Victor still painting or does he not have time for painting? Tell him I have one of his paintings here. He painted Petr Iv[anovich ] then; he probably remembers!. My brother asks me to tell you that he sends his warmest regards to you and that he remembers our tea that you attended. My sisters greet you, your Mama, and your brothers; I also send my warmest regards. All the best to you, Katia, sweetheart. We constantly think of you all. May the Lord be with you. I kiss you many, many times. Yours, A[nastasia]

28 November 1917
Tobolsk
I have just received your letter of 14 October; thank you very much for it, sweet Katia. We are always so happy to have any news about all of you.
We miss you and think of you always. Pass on our best regards [to all yours]. We are fine so far, thank God. We live quietly and monotonously; the time passes fast. These days the sun is shining, and it is frosty: 16 degrees below zero [Centigrade]. There is not much snow, so we have not proceeded substantially with the ice-mound that we started to build. We walk in the morning and in the afternoon, saw logs, and so on. Hug my goddaughter for me. And where is [my?] godson Panfil? Pass on my regards to him and to all those who remember [me]. All the best to you, my sweet Katia.
Olga
Pass on to your brother our best wishes and also to A. K.

No. 9 10 July 1917 10 a.m.
Katia, dear,
I am so thankful to you for your letter no.10 and for the rose that is good enough to eat. How is your leg; does it still hurt? Poor you. I am awfully sorry for poor Rimma; how is she? Now many people have appendicitis; suddenly everybody has it. How is Vict[or] and all the rest? Have they already gone? I am writing to you between lessons. The weather is a little chilly, and it seems that it will be raining soon. – We have had our heads completely shaven, because after our sickness our hair has been thinning terribly; now it is much more pleasant. We had our pictures taken, and if everything goes well, we will send them to you. – What are you doing now? Do you ever see Iuzik or any one of his friends? Pass on our warmest regards to him. I am sorry for my bad writing, but my hand does not work. Well, Katia, sweetheart, what else is going on over there? I want to learn a lot about you. My sisters kiss you, and my brother sends his regards. I received yesterday the letter from Cleopatra that she wrote as long ago as July 21. It is awful how long it takes to get letters. How is your Mama? Kiss her many times. I wish you all the best, dear Katia. Pass on our warmest regards to your brother and wish him all the best. I kiss and hug you. May the Lord be with you. Yours, A[nastaia].

No. 7 26 June 1917 T[sarskoe] S[elo]
Dear Katia,
I am sending this letter to you with Vera, and this time you will most likely get it. Well, how are all of you doing? I have not gotten anything from you for a long time, and I always look forward to your letters. Pass on all these pictures, as designated, to A.K., Vct[or], N. A., Iuzik, and P. G. Erg. Our pictures were taken in May and recently; they are not very good, but we do not have any others so far. It is awfully chilly, and I have difficulty writing, as I cannot move my hand. A poisonous fly bit my hand recently and it got swollen, but it is already fine. We have plenty of flies that bother us awfully. We continue working; we cut and saw dead trees. Our kitchen garden is flourishing. It has been raining a lot lately, so we did not have much work to do. Does Marusia write to you? She is here with her husband. Where is your girl-friend who visited you in our hospital? My sisters are now sitting on the window[-sill] and they are laughing an awful lot. I forgot to write to you that Olga’s cat “Zubrovka” (the one from Mogilev, remember?) that, well, she has two small kittens, but she has had them for a while already. They have already grown, and run around the house an awful lot. Do you have any news? How is the wife of Ivan Andr[eevich] doing? Pass on my regards to her. Are Mikh. Al. and Yevg. Mikh. with you? We think of you often, a lot, and for a long time. Well, now I have to finish this letter, my sweet Katia. Everybody sends regards. I wish you all the best. I kiss you many times. A[nastasia]. Write to me!

25 June 1917 A.A.
Hearty thanks for your nice letter that made me so happy. We also remember everything, and we are constantly talking about that time. Our whole day is strictly scheduled, so the time is passing quickly. – Do you remember August 24 on board the “Dneper” and July 11?!… - We go for walks every day, water our kitchen-garden, and usually pour water on ourselves, because it is so hot, and my brother also pumps water on us! – How is your family doing? I am sitting on a window[-sill] and writing to you. – I am going to classes now – not much fun!. But this is the reason why I have to stop writing. I wish you all-all the best. May the Lord be with you. We remember you always. A[nastasia]
I am sending my most hearty wishes and regards. O[lga]
I remember you and I think of you often. My best regards. M[aria]
I wish you the best, I am sending my hearty regards. T[atiana]

20 July 1917
My sincere thanks to you, sweet Katia, your Mama, and your brother for your congratulations and your letter; it is so long and interesting. It reached us very fast; you wrote it on 11 [July], and I already received it yesterday. I am so thankful for remembering us and for your congratulations, and to Vl[adimir?] also. Papa, Mama, and we send our hearty regards; we often talk and think of you all, darlings. I am writing this letter sitting at the window; Anastasia is sitting on it [window-sill], reading and eating red currants. We went to the garden in the afternoon; the weather is stuffy today and it is raining from time to time. We stopped by our kitchen garden and stuffed ourselves with radishes, onions, and peas. Has Vera been to see you? I could not understand, what is Naida: a cat or a dog? All our pets are fine. Ortino? had eczema on his head, but he is fine now. Jimmy is spinning around under my chair. The cats are running around the rooms and climb up everything. Well, what are you doing? Do you see our acquaintances often? How well have you played the role of a maid? I am so sorry I did not see you at that moment. We still sleep in the room where we had tea with you; we spend almost the whole day there. I am done for now. Warmest regards to your Mama and brother. I wish all the best to you, sweetheart.
M[aria]
I am awfully sorry, Katia, sweetheart, that you have not received my letters; I still write to you, of course, though I do not get anything, but I am looking forward to your letters… Best regards to all yours. I kiss and hug you.
A[nastasia]

30 April 1917 T[sarskoe] S[elo]
A lot of thanks for your letter my sweetheart angel Katia. On April 16 I received your letters and the same day responded to both of you. I am always so happy to hear from you. Did you have a good time with Magyar?! - Olga and Maria have already recovered and joined us for walks. Recently we all together started to dig our own kitchen garden. This is a very pleasant thing. The weather is wonderful today, and it is very warm; so we have worked for a long time. We arranged it in front of our house. Please pass on all these cards [postcards? pictures?] as designated to V. – A. K. - A. A. – S. I. – N. V. – Well, how are you? What are you doing? - We are all now sitting together and writing in the same Red Room, where we still live, as we do not want to move to our bedroom. Now we have a new thing in our rooms – a swing and a hammock are hanging there; we arranged everything by ourselves, and it turned out well. We secured the rope of the swings onto the gymnastic rings between the doorway. We swing so nicely that the screws probably won’t last long. Now, my darling Katia, I have to finish [this letter]. Are you going to stay at the same place or are you leaving for some other place? I will be happy to hear from you.
I wish you all the best.
I kiss many times both you and your Mom. My best regards to the rest.
Yours, A[nastasiia]

20 May 1917 T[sarskoe] S[elo]
My hearty and profuse thanks for your letter of May 5, Katia, my darling; we received it lately. It is so sad that it takes so long to get a letter. We are all well now. In the morning and after tea we have lessons, but at home. Papa, Mama, Olga and others, and also Iza and Nastenka [are present? give lessons?]. During the reading lessons we sit on the window[-sills], as these days wonderful weather has finally come here. Every day we work in the kitchen-garden during the daytime. We have already planted a lot; the total number of beds is sixty so far, but we are going to plant more. As now we do not have to work that much, we often just lie and warm ourselves in the sun. We have taken a lot of pictures, and we even processed the film ourselves; of course we were helped; it worked out pretty well. So we are busy the whole day doing something. – I wish I could see how you study together with Vladimir and Iurii! – How are you all doing? I am always so happy when you write [to me], and I keep waiting for [your letters]. My Jim is in good health; he is very nice and always goes for walks with us; he makes an awful racket. I am so sorry for your Bul [dog]. I have not forgotten about the pictures, and I will send them to you as soon as I get them. Do you remember how nice it was that summer, when we met with you in the hospital and so on. Where is Marusia M[…] now. You wrote that you had plenty of roses there; they must look awfully wonderful! How is your Mom doing? Kiss her. What else are you doing? Have you received any letters through Iuzik? Vera and her sisters write us pretty often. [People] from the hospital also [write us]. Unfortunately it will be closed soon, and everybody will go away, to my great sorrow. Elena Nikolaevna went away long ago, but we have not heard from her; so we do not know what she is doing. We have just came back from a walk; it is wonderfully warm [outside]. We were sitting and lying on the grass while the sun warmed us. We somehow did not do much work, but rather [spent time] rocking in the hammocks. We had a lot of fun when Alex[ei]’s tutor started rocking so fast that the hammock cold not take any more, and he fell down through it. Generally many funny things happen; I wish I could tell you a lot!… We are thinking of everybody a lot; now while I am writing this letter, my sisters are sitting next to me in the room and are drinking tea, and Maria is sitting on a window[-sill] and writing letters; they all talk a lot, and make writing difficult. They kiss you many times. Are you still roller-skating? Do you feel cozy living with your Mom? In a new place? I am sending you a sprig of lilac from our garden; let it remind you of northern spring that is much worse than yours.
Well, Katia, sweetheart, I have to finish it is time to get dressed.
Huge regards to everybody from us! May the Lord be with you. I kiss you as deeply as I love you. Your A[nastasiia]
Some soldiers are riding by, and I am thinking of the last year. – My brother has just entered, and I could not recognize him at once, because he has had his hair shaven. He sends his kind regards to you.

Tobolsk 26 January 1918
I received your letter yesterday, my dear Katia, and I am very grateful for it. How awfully long it took you to receive our letters, but it is nice that they finally reached you, though late. Have you received our letters of January 19? We are always so glad when your letters are delivered. Are you and your Mama still working, or have you found a servant? You probably had a merry New Year’s party with the people who invited you. I think the names you got were not extremely beautiful [probably during fortune telling]. We always think of you, but we think of you especially much during these holidays. Recently we had hard frost, and it was cold inside the house; it was 7 degrees in our bedroom, and in the living-room it was only 6 degrees. The logs were damp, so they could not warm up the house at al; they just smoked. They have already brought new, dry logs. Papa saws them for small stoves. We are still sliding down ice mound; when he frost was hard we had to run into the kitchen full to warm ourselves a little. The kitchen is full of cockroaches. I am sending a picture of the room where the four of us live. Olga’s bed is in the corner. I am pasting it [the picture to the letter] so that curious people do not take it out. – all our people send their thanks for you regards and send theirs o you…. All the best to you, your Mama, and your brothers. I kiss you, sweetheart, many times, and often think of you. May the Lord protect you. M[aria]
[…] kisses you

No. 25 19 january 1918 Tobolsk 3 p.m.
Katia, my darling:
Many thanks once more for your pictures. It is such a pleasure to have them all. I think you all look wonderful in them. I would have sent you our pictures, but I am sure that they will reach somebody who does not need them at all. My sister and I wrote today letters to you through P[ankratov]*, but this letter I am sending directly to you, bypassing him; so I put the same number [on this letter]. It is so sad that Al. I? has never received any letter; it is such a pity; I just cannot understand, why?… So we think it would be better to write the address of A.S.Demidova, the Governor’s House on the envelopes; maybe they will reach us safer, I hope!. We often think of you all dear… Vera wrote to us that poor Al. Konst. is constantly sick. What is wrong with him, and how did he get so sick? How are Iuzik, Serg. Iv., and the rest of them? If you can, please pass on our warm and kind regards to them. Has Nik. Il[ich] already come, and have you seen him? I always want to know a lot about you, but do not ask questions because other people [the strangers?] do not need to know about it… Are you still walking along the main street? … How is Nina doing? How do you spend your time? Tell Vict[or] that I was very glad to see how beautifully he wears his service-cap; it is just good enough to eat! Don’t you know where Shakh-Naz. is? Many thanks to Taran for his regards, but I cannot remember where we might have seen him and who he is; but anyway, pass on our regards to him, too. If anything is not clear enough for Ir., would it be too much trouble for you to read this letter [to her]? Today I kindly got up, as I have been lying about for several days. Well, you already know this from no. 25. I wonder which letter will reach you first […]? Do not express your gratitude for this letter; just answer my questions; then I will know that you have received it. – Do you often see Evg. Mikh. and Nik. Vas. ? – You ask whether we received those pictures that had been taken at the market. – We received them; those where you and Vera are standing and two other pictures depicting Evg, D. At the same time, we got a letter from Al. K. and a postcard from N. V. and A. A. There were no letters from you nor any postcard from B[…?]. In general, I have not received many of your letters, including the one where you describe your stay in a camp, remember? I have not received letters nos. 21, 23, 24, 26, 28, 29 – all these letters that you wrote to this address; it is so sad that I have not received them!. – Do you often see Evg. D’s nieces? The weather is pretty cold and it is also quite “wintery” in the rooms. – Our Christmas tree is still standing; it has not started losing its needles yet; it is so nice. Don’t think that the letters addressed to A.S. Demid[ova] arrive in a different way. They are examined the way our letters are, but we believe that the letters to her are of a less interest to these people [who examine the letters]. Well, Katia, my good Katia, I forgot what I wanted to write. A lot of different things are sitting in my mind at once, and I have to think of what I am going to write, so that there is [not] too much; otherwise there will be many unnecessary things. – Have you received my letter no. 24? I hope you have. Now everybody is getting ready to go for a walk, and I do not know what they are doing right now. When I had to stay in bed they came back from their walks and told me everything that had happened in the street and other things. Now it is 20 degrees below zero and the wonderful bright sun [is shining]. What is Garia[?] doing? Does his shoulder still hurt? Pass on to him my kindest regards and tell him I am so touched that he writes to me, and so on, you understand?…Our warmest and best regards to your other brothers. Tell [them] that we think and talk of them awfully often, a lot, and for a long time and, of course, all good things. What is your Vlad[imir] doing? My regards to him. If you can, please pass on our kindest regards to A.K. Well, they all went out, and I am here with Mama, and, of course, with my little Jim. It was 2 degrees below zero recently, such a change in the weather. – We also have not received any letters from Ver[a] Georg[ievna]; I do not know why. I am always so glad to get letters from you; I look forward to them. It is so funny that they use very big sledges to deliver mail; and the sledges always have bells. It reminds me of Shrove-tide. It is also very funny to see how the peasants are dressed; they all wear fur coats that are called goose (gus?) here, and crimson valenki [felt boots]; they look good enough to eat. This and many other funny things I cannot explain properly. Now I am finishing this letter, Katia, my darling. I kiss you many times, and our Mama too, and we all send the warmest regards to Victor. My sisters kiss you. I wish you al the best, my sweet one. May Christ protect all our dear ones. I kiss and love you.
[Note: *Pankratov was a Commissar from the Provisional Government in Tobolsk, assigned to be a censor of the Royal family's correspondence.]

No. 24 Tobolsk. 1918
9 - 11 January
Katia, dear:
My great thanks for your letter of December 14. But you put no. 32 [on it] for the second time; you probably got confused, or why then?… Tell Nina for me that I am very grateful for the rose and that I am very touched. How is her health? O[lga] received your letter and wrote to you long ago. Very many letters get lost, to my great sorrow. Did Nik[olai] Il[ich?] visited you alone or with his [family?]. Pass on my profuse thanks to your Mama and to Vict[or] for their congratulations; and to the rest too. It is very strange, but we have not got even a single line from Elen[a] Nik[olaevna?] since we came here, so we do not know where she is now. Are you getting letters from Ver[a] Geor[gievna]? – It is awful even to think of how long we have not seen you! Well Katia , sweetheart, I would rather not think about it; otherwise I feel awfully miserable!… How do you, sweetie, spend your time? We have already started studying. A terrible wind has been blowing these last few days; it was almost a snow storm (Do you remember the song “the snow storm is storming along the street”? I keep thinking of it for some reason.) Today the weather is much quieter and better, but it is still winter. I have to stop writing now, so I will not finish [this letter] today.
Hi Katia, darling, I am finishing this latter on January 11. – Pass on this postcard to Vict[or], and ask him to forward it to Petrenko[?] I was awfully glad to hear from him. My Jim is sitting here and sending you his regards. Today is a year that he has been my “sweet pug”. We lead the same life in spite of an incredible amount of talking we do every day. Dreadfully weak and dull the talks are! Iza came here after surgery, but they did not admit her here, and she even had to move to a small apartment from Kor[…]‘s house. Poor thing, she made such a trip in vain! That is it, and other similar clever things! Well, you probably are not very much interested in all this, huh? My brother sends his regards to you. The weather is better today, and it is snowing lightly. We were building our ice mound in the afternoon. … My sisters send their regards; they are here now, writing letters; one of them is playing the piano; this is the rule: each of us has to play the piano an hour a day, the way we do our homework. It is not very warm in our room; it is not more that 12 or 9 degrees [Centigrade]. Have your sisters come? Our warmest and kindest regards to all yours from all of us. How is Iuzik doing? I am so much interested in whether this letter will ever reach you; I hope it will. My warmest regards to Vict[or]; I kiss your Mama. I wish you many good things. I am sorry that I have written such a silly and boring letter. I cannot and do not have enough skill to do it differently. I kiss, hug, and love you. Yours, A[nastasia]
If God allows, we will see each other some time, and it will be possible to tell you a lot of things, both sad and funny, and in general, how we live; I will not write about it of course….

No. 25 19 January 1918 Tobolsk 11:45 a.m.
Thank you so much Katia, darling for your letter No. 33 and pictures. I was awfully glad to get them. I have not responded to you recently because I was lying sick with German measles; it was not fun at all, of course, as everybody else had recovered, and I was alone [in bed]. Well, just then I got your letter and pictures; I think they turned out well. I could not recognize, who is standing next to you and Evg. D’s niece. Were the pictures taken recently, or not? Had Evg. D’s nieces visited Tsarsk[oe Selo], as their faces look very familiar to me. - How are you doing? I got up today and started writing his letter to you; it is so boring to stay in bed and wait until I’m able to go out for the first time. I hope my stupid German measles will not reach you. If you could only have seen my face; it was remarkable how it looks like, with red spots and other filth. I am sitting terribly uncomfortable on two chairs, and in addition Jim has settled himself near me. I am not sitting on the window[-sills] now, because chilly air is blowing from there, but I will certainly do this later. The lessons are held in the same room, but I will not have any today, as I am sick…We staged a little play with our combined efforts; it was not ad, and we had fun. Thus the time passes faster, as rehearsals take quite a bit of time. Tell this to Vict[or] – and also that another play, the one he knows, was much better and funnier!… Well, the lesson is over; they all go for a walk and I, poor servant of God, have to stay home. It is pretty cold today, 19 degrees below zero [Centigrade], but they write from Tsarsk[oe Selo] that there it is much colder and there is a lot of snow; we do not have much of it… How is your Mama doing? Kiss her for me. My warmest regards to your brothers. Pass on our best regards to Vict[or] too. I wish you all the best, Katia, sweetheart… May the Lord protect you. I hug you with all my might. Your A[nastasia].
I am so sorry for this boring letter!

No. 27 Tobolsk. 1918
7/20 February
How do you do, Katia, darling:
Please pass on this card to A. A. I am sorry that I wrote such a stupid letter last time, but I had to give it away as soon as possible; well, I wrote that nonsense. – How are you doing? We saw each other last year exactly this time. We often think of you, our dear ones! The weather has been wonderful recently; the sun is shining brightly, and it is even warming everything up a little; it is so nice. We cannot complain of the weather, as the sun is shining almost every day. We are still sliding down our ice mound. These days we are sitting throughout the whole day on the roof of our little, so to say hothouse, as it is very warm and not windy there. Our studies continue as always. I have processed our pictures today; they are not bad. Are you now taking pictures by yourself, or not? – It seems that we do not have anything special here – You have probably already heard about the cuts [in our staff]; they have fired almost everybody; well, people are leaving us of course. So far young people are coming here, but nobody knows if any other new people will come. It is disgusting, what is going on everywhere. They do not allow us to go to church any more, so we have masses and night services at home; this is of course not the same. – I am writing this letter sitting on a trunk in the corridor; it is warm and cozy here; everybody is passing by. M[aria] has just passed by, her eye is getting better, but it is still black, and a small bump is still there. Our Christmas tree is still in the living-room and almost do not lose its needles. We took off everything from it, though there was almost nothing there; we had just tinsel and candles. – How is Iuzik doing? - Have you seen Nik[olai] Iliich or has he never come? Have you heard from your sisters? I always look forward to your letters, sweetheart; we are very happy when they are delivered. So far we have not received any of your letters for a long time. The Sidorovs wrote that Viachesl[av] Dmitr[ievich] got a new appointment, but we could not understand what kind of appointment, and where he got it. What is he really doing? – I am finishing [this letter] for now.
8/21 [February]. I am going on with my letter. I am sending this picture to you and I hope they will not take it away. M[aria] took it from the roof of our greenhouse, where we often sit. The ice-mound is not high, is it? This is the house where [servants? soldiers? – unclear] live; to the left there are warehouses and shops. O[lga] is standing on the ice-mound. – You cannot see much. – Here are the logs that Papa and we saw [to warm up] bathroom, and other rooms. We do not do anything particular in our “huge garden’ or in the space that was fenced off. We had great time today sliding down the mound, then we were just wandering around as we do not have much to do, and this is boring. Well, we go out, take a walk and so on… We are still sitting on the window[-sills], this is so nice! Probably soon we will be able to sit on the balcony, though not, it will not happen too soon here. The evening is wonderful now and a very […]; it is 7 degrees below zero. I feel there is nothing else that I can write to you; though I would have told you a lot […]. Maybe the God will allow us sometimes…My kind and warm regards to your brothers. How is your Mama doing? Kiss her warmly. We have not received any letters from Ver[a] Georg[ievna] for a long time; have you got any? Where are Papasha(?) and An. M.; we have not heard from them for a long time. Well, Katia, darling, I am finishing this letter now. I wish you all the best. I will wait for news from you; probably the post office there does not work properly, and I do not receive your letters, right? I kiss, hug, and love you. A[nastasia]

No. 27 Tobolsk. 1918
7/20 February
How do you do, Katia, darling:
Please pass on this card to A. A. I am sorry that I wrote such a stupid letter last time, but I had to give it away as soon as possible; well, I wrote that nonsense. – How are you doing? We saw each other last year exactly this time. We often think of you, our dear ones! The weather has been wonderful recently; the sun is shining brightly, and it is even warming everything up a little; it is so nice. We cannot complain of the weather, as the sun is shining almost every day. We are still sliding down our ice mound. These days we are sitting throughout the whole day on the roof of our little, so to say hothouse, as it is very warm and not windy there. Our studies continue as always. I have processed our pictures today; they are not bad. Are you now taking pictures by yourself, or not? – It seems that we do not have anything special here – You have probably already heard about the cuts [in our staff]; they have fired almost everybody; well, people are leaving us of course. So far young people are coming here, but nobody knows if any other new people will come. It is disgusting, what is going on everywhere. They do not allow us to go to church any more, so we have masses and night services at home; this is of course not the same. – I am writing this letter sitting on a trunk in the corridor; it is warm and cozy here; everybody is passing by. M[aria] has just passed by, her eye is getting better, but it is still black, and a small bump is still there. Our Christmas tree is still in the living-room and almost do not lose its needles. We took off everything from it, though there was almost nothing there; we had just tinsel and candles. – How is Iuzik doing? - Have you seen Nik[olai] Iliich or has he never come? Have you heard from your sisters? I always look forward to your letters, sweetheart; we are very happy when they are delivered. So far we have not received any of your letters for a long time. The Sidorovs wrote that Viachesl[av] Dmitr[ievich] got a new appointment, but we could not understand what kind of appointment, and where he got it. What is he really doing? – I am finishing [this letter] for now.
8/21 [February]. I am going on with my letter. I am sending this picture to you and I hope they will not take it away. M[aria] took it from the roof of our greenhouse, where we often sit. The ice-mound is not high, is it? This is the house where [servants? soldiers? – unclear] live; to the left there are warehouses and shops. O[lga] is standing on the ice-mound. – You cannot see much. – Here are the logs that Papa and we saw [to warm up] bathroom, and other rooms. We do not do anything particular in our “huge garden’ or in the space that was fenced off. We had great time today sliding down the mound, then we were just wandering around as we do not have much to do, and this is boring. Well, we go out, take a walk and so on… We are still sitting on the window[-sills], this is so nice! Probably soon we will be able to sit on the balcony, though not, it will not happen too soon here. The evening is wonderful now and a very […]; it is 7 degrees below zero. I feel there is nothing else that I can write to you; though I would have told you a lot […]. Maybe the God will allow us sometimes…My kind and warm regards to your brothers. How is your Mama doing? Kiss her warmly. We have not received any letters from Ver[a] Georg[ievna] for a long time; have you got any? Where are Papasha(?) and An. M.; we have not heard from them for a long time. Well, Katia, darling, I am finishing this letter now. I wish you all the best. I will wait for news from you; probably the post office there does not work properly, and I do not receive your letters, right? I kiss, hug, and love you. A[nastasia]

Tobolsk 19 January 1918
I thank you Katia, sweetheart, your Mama, and Vitia with all my heart for your congratulations. I did not write earlier, because I had mumps. Now we have already gotten over it and go out into the garden. We have built a small ice mound in the yard and we are skiing and sleighing down it. We watered it by ourselves, and it is not very smooth, so we more often than not slide down not on our sleighs but next to them. - Do Vera and [her/your?] sisters write to you? We sometimes get letters from them. In general, the mail is delivered pretty well. It was awfully nice to see your pictures; Victor looks great wearing his “french” with shoulder-strips (epaulets?). Nobody wears them here now, as they started tearing them off in the city. It makes people look terrible, like some kind of a convict. They take off even the cockades. I am wring to you sitting on the window[-sill], the sun is warming everything up. The weather is very good here; we do not have hard frosts, and the sun shines almost every day; the sun is much warmer here than in T[sarskoe] S[elo]. Have you heard from you sisters; has Rimma had surgery? I hope you spent the holidays well. We were missing you all this first Christmas without you. My warmest regards to your Mama and all of you. M[aria]

 [11 January 1918]
Sweet Katia:
Thank you for your card and congratulations. May the Lord give you all the best in a new year. Have Victor and Gr[igorii] received the card that was sent in care of N.V’s mother, to her institution? I am no sure that she is still there, but I hope that they will forward it to her if she is not there. We constantly think and talk of you all. Please pass on to everybody our most hearty regards.
Ortino is in good health, but she is getting terribly lazy; she spends the whole day lying at the stove or on the sofas. She does not like to go for a walk. Well, I wish you all the best, sweet Katia. May best regards to Vitia and your Mama. Does Marusia M. ever write to you? Tatiana