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Tatiana had a French Bullgod named Ortino, given to her as a gift by Dmitri Malama. He slept with Tatiana at the foot of her bed and ran all through the palace. It is said that in a letter to her mother, Ortino has died and Dmitri gives her another one, Ortino II. This is the one that we hear about, and see in the pictures.
Tatiana holding Ortino with Anastasia on her left.
Tatiana to Alexandra
30th September 1914
Mama darling of mine,
Forgive me about the little dog. To say the truth, when he asked should I like to have it, he gave it to me, I at once said yes. You remeber, I always want to have one, and only afterwards when we came home I thought suddenly that you might not like me having one. But I was so pleased at the I idea that I forgot about everything. Please, darling angel, forgive me.
Tell Papa about it, I hope he won't have anything against it. Good night, beloved mother. God bless and keep you.
1000 kisses from your devoted daughter and loving
Tatiana
This is the first time Tatiana mentions Ortino in a letter to her mother.
"During her time working as a nurse, Tatiana befriended a young wounded soldier named Dmitri Malama. He often spoke to Tatiana about his favorite French bulldog named Roja, and his favorite horse which he had named Ortino. Tatiana commented to him in passing that she, too, wished she could have a dog like Malama’s. As a gift to his friend, Malama gave Tatiana a little French bulldog whom she named Ortino to please the handsome young soldier."
Taken from Eugiene Greece's book about Alexei.
(Greece 133).
Tatiana's Diary, October 12th 1914
"Anya brought me from Malama a small French Bulldog (Ortino), It is a very cute little thing - I am so happy."
Left: Dmitri Malama, who gave Ortino to Tatiana
Tatiana also had a collection of Ortino's carved out of semi-precious stones with blue sapphire and gold collar. Some of them are Faberge. They have dispersed all over the world because of the Revolution, including one in the Cleveland Museum and another in the Kremlin Museum in Moscow.
Ortino and Vaska (Olga's Cat) would chase each other, knocking over priceless items and papers, but because they were family favourites, they were not scolded or told off. Instead they provided entertainment and amusement to the family.
It seems like the family loved French Bulldogs, as they got another one, described in Anastasia's journal on the 30th November 1914; ""Now we've got another charming French (Bull) puppy, Bille. She is so sweet. She is so charming when she plays with (Tsarevitch) Aleksey's dog. They are quite mad and race across the floor so fast they tumble into walls and furniture. We cannot stop laughing at them."
Most of Tatiana's diary entries after 1914 included a little something about the progress or a story about Ortino, showing how much she truly loved her. Some of her letters describe Ortino snoring at her feet and diary entries some times even describe his occassional "accident".
In letters to her father, Tatiana writes: "My doggy Ortino was running about the room and playing during the teatime. It is so funny and sweet", and "We are sitting in Mother's room after dinner. Olga and Mother are playing 'Colorito' and Ortino is running about the room like a mad dog"
Anastasia complained about Ortino's snoring in her journal, writing; "When we are asleep at night, all of us sisters are kept awake by Ortino, Tatiana's French Bulldog, who snores. We have tried everything, but nothing works!"
Tatiana did try to get Ortino to sleep with the other dogs, but nothing worked, but she did not mind.
Even in the difficult times of 1917, Tatiana insisted of Ortino coming with her to Ekaterinburg, where Piere Gillard wrote; "...Tatiana Nicolaievna came last, carrying her little dog and struggling to drag a heavy brown valise. It was raining and I saw her feet sink into the mud at every step..."
Two months after that incident, the Imperial Family were murdered. It seems as though on the same night Ortino was killed as written in 'The Fate of the Romanov's'. The quote underneath the one from FOTR is Kudrin's Testimony, which states that it was Jemmy (Anastasia's dog) that was killed that night. Some historian's believe he may have misidentified the dog, as there is strong evidence to suggest this.
"As they passed (Kudrin and Goloshchokin) the secondary staircase, the two men saw Ortino, Tatiana's French Bulldog, whimpering at the top. The dog rushed down the staircase in search of his mistress. A nearby soldier grabbed a bayonet, ompaled the quivering body, then heaved it into the rear of the Fiat. 'A dog's death to dogs!' Goloshchokin commented."
(Fate of the Romanovs, 313)
Kudrin's testimony from 1963 says only:
"He bent over the tsar.
'The end of the Romanov Dynasty, right?! Yes...'
The Red Guard brought out Anastasia's lap dog on a bayonet. When we passed the door to the upstairs, we heard a long pitous wail in the leaves. It was the last salute to the Emperor of all Russia. The dog's corpse was thrown beside the tsar.
'Dogs die a dog's death,' said Goloshchyokin contemptuously."
In the 90's the remains of the Imperial Family were found, and that of what was described as a 'small terrier type dog,' which is assumed to be Ortino. Her remains were taken with those of the family and interred in the family crypt in Moscow. Even in death, Tatiana and Ortino have not been seperated.
