Lot Essay
Ekaterina Schneider (1856-1918), of Baltic descent, was hired as a teacher of Russian for Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna (1864-1918), sister of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (1872-1918), for whom she later served as a teacher after her engagement to Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich (1868-1918). Schneider eventually grew close to the Empress and her family, who affectionately called her “Trina.” After the Empress no longer required a teacher, Schneider was given the position of gof-lektrissa and lived with the family at the Winter Palace and the Alexander Palace. Following the abdication of the Nicholas II, Schneider voluntarily followed the family to Yekaterinburg and was later killed during the Red Terror.