The Corps des Pages was both a military and a Court institution which prepared young men to serve the Tsar and his family at Court. Many would also go on to serve in the military or enter into the diplomatic or civil service of the Russian Empire. The chief among the Pages of the Chamber was ipso facto the Page of the Chamber of the Tsar. The Tsarina and each member of the Imperial Household had a Page of the Chamber assigned to them, as did all the Grand Dukes and Grand Duchesses. As a rule, Pages of the Chamber and Pages were invited to participate in many Imperial Court events.

These memoirs provide eyewitness accounts of their education and training at the Vorontsov Palace in St. Petersburg. From here, these young men went on to serve the Russian Imperial family. Their recollections of the elegance of the Russian Court as well as many, new intimate details of members of the Romanov dynasty from Emperor Paul I to Nicholas II, their consorts, grand dukes and grand duchesses, provide us with a rare glimpse into their private world.

The memoirs also tell of the sadness and heartache felt as the First World War swept them, their country and the Romanov dynasty into history. Some lived to tell of the destruction brought on by war and the revolution and reflect on a world lost forever.

Originally published in Paris during the 1950s and 1960s, this is the first English edition of these memoirs. A fascinating collection of 28 memoirs offer a rare glimpse into the private world of the Corps des Pages and the day to day lives of the Russian Imperial family. Such eye witness accounts are of immense historical significance and offer a window to Russia’s glorious Imperial past.