Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia Her Imperial Highness Marie was born on 26 June, 1899, at the palace of Peterhof. In the family she was either called "Marie," "Masha" or "Mashka". She is remembered to have said that all she wanted in her future was to marry a soldier and have twenty children.hen she grew older, Marie acquired a habit of developing fleeting crushes on handsome young men from her father's dashing regiments, and the matter was one of constant gentle teasing and concern in the family. She was an excellent flirt, playing billiards for long hours with officers, old and young, and of course making eyes at the dashing officers of the family's favorite yacht, the Standard. But flirtations were not always frivolous fun. Maria and Anastasia was considered too young to become nurses, but they sponsored a hospital in Feodorovsky Gorodock near Tsarskoje Selo. The two sisters would pay visits to the hospital to comfort the wounded. During the war Maria developed a serious platonic attachment with an officer named Nicholas "Kolya" Dmitrievich Demekov. Nothing was done to discourage the young girl. She used to be standing on her mother's balcony so she could be seen from the road where he sometimes walked. Nothing serious happend between them, but Maria was smitten. When Demekov was on duty, Maria used to speak to him through an open window. When writing to her father she used to sign her letter as "Mrs Demekov", to tease him. In captivity, Maria passed the time by attempting to befriend members of the Ipatiev House Guard. She showed them pictures from her photo albums and talked with them about their families and her own hopes for a new life in England if she was released. One of the guards, Ivan Skorokhodov, smuggled in a birthday cake to celebrate Maria's 19th birthday in 1918. Later, Maria slipped away from the group with Ivan Skorokhodov for a private moment and they were discovered when two of his superiors conducted a surprise inspection of the house. Appearance Maria was chubby as a child and not as elegant as her older sisters. And she behaved more like a boy than a girl. And on top of everything she was clumsy. But in her teens Maria Maria developed into a great beauty. Her most striking feature was her large blue eyes and known in the family as "Maria's Saucers". Like her grandfather, Alexander III she had an amazing strength and could raise her teachers in her arms. Personality Maria was extroverted and social, never afraid to meet new people. She knew everyone in and around the palaces - memorized their birthdays and questioned them about their family. Like her father she was charming and easy to speak with. No to wonder she became very flirty in her teens. Maria´s greatest wish was to marry and have children. If she ever saw a baby - she picked it up and covered it with kisses. She once stated that she wanted to marry a Russian soldier and have 20 children. Interests She was not a devoted student and spent most of her time in the classroom daydreaming. She painted and sketched very well but did not take it seriously. Her pet was a mouse that lived in the wall of her bedroom. Back