Marie arrived back in St. Petersburg mid-September and upon arrival began work with a nursing home of the St. Eugenia chapter of the Red Cross. Because her unit needed to acquire equipment, Marie took on a role under the same organization, the Red Cross. Marie also recognized her place for the long run not being on the front, so this choice made a good segue for her. She did not want to distract others on the front line, as she was aware she was doing so as her time had progressed when on the front.
She involved her self with this organization chapter and she arose to the head nurse. The more she worked, the more she was happy. Her education was through lectures, while her work had been in the bandaging-room, the city room dispensary, and attending to quite critically ill patients. This hospital, by mid-October, was large with 25 nurses, 5 doctors, 1 superintendent, 8 orderlies, and accommodations for up to 250 wounded which had increased later on. Marie took an assistant who was a Turkish veteran and experienced nurse.
At the time Marie departed, many were sad to see her go and thanked her with a dinner and with “white flowers tied with a large white ribbon.” (Page 187) “On the ribbon was written in gold letters: "‘To our beloved nurse, from her wounded officers.’” (Page 187) Marie was able to preserve her family name identity for most of the time until close to the end of her time there. Her name had been “nurse” to the patients. (Page 187)
Marie moved to a hospital in Pskov, two days after leaving the St. Petersburg hospital. “We were assigned to the Ecclesiastical School for Girls, occupying the lower floor only, while the school, in crowded quarters, continued its activities and tried not to intermix them with ours. I was given a small but cheerful room in the apartment of the directress of the school. I was to spend 2-1/2 years in that room.” (Page 187)
Marie took the work to heart and showed the personnel of her dedication. She helped bring the hospital into “a real-peace-time hospital,” by scrubbing floors and furniture. (Page 187) The town was far from the front and life was more steady and peaceful.
She encountered new challenges here. First, she had to learn to communicate well with those of different backgrounds than she with our “awkward(ness).” (Page 188) She knew the criticalness of establishing a relationship and communication balance. Here was directly managing 25 women. She took seriously her role of supporting and looking out for these women, and being a leader for them. This turn of fate provided her the opportunity to grow from what she had been trained as a child, which was “submission and obedience.” (Page 188) While she had been capable of receiving and acting on orders, now, she was giving orders to others. Her childhood training of “humility” and with the belief all others knew more than she, now she needed to learn how to handle authority over others.
Initially her approach was more sublime. Marie began to observe an “elderly assistant,” Nurse Zandina, who knew all the rules by heart. Marie’s description of Nurse Zandina continued. “She possessed inborn tact and life-long practice, and throughout all her term of service under me, she never placed me in an awkward position. A young, rare, even in those days, a simple peasant girl, very young and without education, she had gone to the Turkish War animated by the same sentiments that induced Russian women to take the veil. At that time there was no special training for nurses and all she knew she had learned by experience. She had never mastered the science of writing, and read very painstakingly, only in ecclesiastical books. … From morning till night she rustled through the building, always attending to some important business, always arranging something or giving orders.” (Page 188-189) Marie also noted the care and kindness Nurse Zandina showed each of the deceased with respect in demeanor and thought. There was a reverence for what the deceased individual had endured and was all alone. Over time, Marie began to learn where to place her energies, as Nurse Zandina was so capable , willing to and placed much energy into her work and success for others.
“All our doctors, with one exception, came from the same hospital in Moscow. They were men of thorough training, knew their business, worked in unity. The superintendent was, on the other hand, very young and quite inexperienced, with no idea whatsoever the way to manage a large hospital.” (Page 190) “The head doctor was invested with full powers and, although in his particular field extremely able, he did not know how to maintain discipline; his subordinates soon became slack, especially the orderlies.” (Page 191)
Marie’s role grew. She assisted and attended every surgery, to later doing the more simpler surgeries such as “extracting a bullet or amputating a finger.” (Page 181) Sometimes she needed to administer anesthesia to the patient herself which was chloroform - which did have a temporary effect on Marie.
In 1915, the war front became closer to Marie’s location and the number of wounded increased which increased the number of beds needed. Due to the length of time there, men had been out in the trenches and so it took up to 3 baths to fully clean these men along with a haircut and such. The torn, blood-laden clothing was burned.
The front was now only 150 miles away from Pskov. The supply trucks every several days carried wounded men who would enter her hospital. Marie saw men with wood with bandages, heavily blood stains clothing and bandages, along with lots of “pus” and “vermin.” (Page 191) There were trains that were connected to Pskov, but the trains were not often enough. The trains on special schedules would travel to St. Petersburg and to Tsarskoie-Selo.
At the war’s beginning, Pskov had set up for 20,000 beds. The town had become the hospital and many of the buildings became a part of this effort. Many misunderstandings had ensued between the military department and the Red Cross. “The Red Cross was an independent organization. It had large sums at its disposal and was able to equip its nursing homes in a manner that aroused the envy of those in the hospital of the military department, institutions run on very small subsidies inadequately equipped and of a personnel not only sufficient, but often inexperienced.” (page 192)
Due to the understanding that the military had much neglect and mismanagement in military hospitals, Marie took upon herself to research this. She saw the difficulty with finding a doctor on duty, the patients’ linens dirty, and the patients were “exhausted and weak.” (page 193) Marie sent for the head doctor and admonished him. He was a gynacologist. Distressed over the conditions at the military hospital, she wrote the Empress that the military hospital needed linens and bandaging supplies. Marie had thought she would garner the support from the Empress to make these so needed changes. The Empress’s response was asking her not to meddle in this and to stick with her duties.
The Empress did decide to some investigation herself into what Marie had expressed and the military hospitals’ conditions. The Empress decided to surprise Marie with a visit to Pskov. The Governor of Pskov had received a telegram in reference to this visit and he in turn connected with Marie. Marie was aware of necessary arrangement knowing of the Empress’s health conditions she had had. Marie knew she would have be carried up and down stairs in a chair and there were other necessary preparations which needed to be done.
Marie did go to the train station to greet the Empress which disappointed the Empress as she had hoped to surprise Marie. The Empress did not realize the preparations needed to be done prior to the Empress’ arrival. The Empress had come with her 2 daughters and Mme. Vryubova. The Ecclesiastical School personnel, pupils, and directress met with Empress first. Marie continued with the Empress to the 2 hospitals.
The while, same nurse attire made the patient’s confused that these were Tsaritas. The Empress visited with each patient and they spoke in depth. While Marie was not listening to all of the actual conversations, initially “her (the Empress’) words remained to them distant and inscrutable.” (Page 194) Marie had noticed that the Empress was speaking using good Russian syntax.
Marie had noted how when the Emperor responded to by others in public. He seemed to know how to connect with another and seemed taller than his actual physical structure. Marie spoke of the Emperor. “The expression of anxious expectation in their eyes would be replaced by one of rapt, contentment.” (Page 194-195) “His own eyes were grey and luminous. They radiated life and warmth and established in the person addressed an almost mystic sense of contact. I have often seen patients, after the Emperor had walked away from a bed, close their eyes as if to retain his image in complete and blissful beatitude.” (Page 195)
Following the hospital, they went to the Red Cross chapter. From there, the Empress et al had left Pskov. While Marie herself found herself needing to rest, she was surprised of the Empress’ stamina.
Marie spoke of the Empress and her changes over the years to follow. The Empress grew more and more confined and focused on her immediate family. Her son had developed a difficult disease. She would only be seen by the public on the few public occasions and ceremonies. With her seclusion, the Empress had intermediaries who were “often ignorant and sometimes unworthy.” (Page 196) Marie had noted of the Empress’ concerns which were not expressed for the feminine in her country, Russia, and that within the female royal family was more about what seemed more insignificant details. “Incidents, which trivial, express, I think, something of that increasing inner rigidity and that fading sense of proportion which in this unhappy mother, who chanced also to be Empress of all Russia, could not but sway the judgments of her husband, the Emperor; and through him send forth undercurrents of incalculable effect on history.” (Page 197)
Marie had noted how the Empress had responded to the war, similarly to Marie. Yet Marie also observed that the Empress’s focus as a mother and as a nurse, had really left the healthy young women in Russia and the feminine members of the royal family without a compassionate, strong woman leader. The female royal members had received what felt many restrictions.
Near the end of 1915 in early December, Marie went to visit with her father at Tsarskoie-Selo and her Aunt Ella in Moscow. Marie noticed the surprising growth in her Aunt Ella’s perspective. As her connections with a variety of people had increased, she seemed to have a much greater understanding of others. While her expansion evolved, her Aunt Ella seemed to continually work internally on the balancing of views.
“Seeking in orthodoxy to build her life and by orthodoxy to establish a religious order firmly founded upon ancient Russian precepts and customs, she still remained a foreigner in her psychology, and her attempt often näive and uncoordinated.” (Page 198) Marie saw her aunt had evolved and gave Marie an inner understanding versus just a glimpse of who Aunt Ella was inside.
The differences between the Empress and her sister, Aunt Ella, had differed. The Empress became more closed to the outside world, while Aunt Ella became more aware and in tune with the outside world. The spiritual growth between the sisters had come to differ greatly.
Marie, via her trip to St. Petersburg and Moscow, learned that the war was expected to continue and it would not be an easy victory. The news was often censored by the newspapers so those in Pskov were not aware.
“A wave of superficial nationalism had engulfed the capitals and was expressed, among other things, in the accusation of pro-Germanism against both the Empress Alexandra and my aunt the Grand Duchess Elizabeth. The rumors spread in this connexion were absurd in their stupidity and pettiness.” (Page 198)
Marie shared. “I learned moreover that Russian rule was being enforced in occupied Galacia in spite of the promises to the contrary, and that uniatism was being uprooted. Poland, uplifted by the manifesto the Grand Duke Nicholas, granting various liberties, was not losing confidence in the sincerity of Russia’s expressed intentions.” (Page 198-199) “And at home, that enthusiasm which had swept us all off our feet in the beginning of the war, even in spite of certain losses, had definitely begun to subside.” (Page 199)