OTE: Martha von Ungern-Sternberg
| Martha I Nikolayevna | |
|---|---|
| Princess of Manchuria | |
| {{{image}}} | |
| Full name | Marta I Nikolayevna Barclay de Tolly-Weymarn |
| Birth name | Marta I Nikolayevna von Ungern-Sternberg |
| Russian name: | Марта Николаевна Барклай де Толли-Веймарн |
| German name: | Martha Elizabeth Furstin zu Barclay de Tolly |
| Born | December 1, 1921 |
| Birthplace | Harbin, China Kharbin, Russian Empire |
| Died | November 1, 1988 |
| Place of death | Yekaterinburg, Russian Empire |
| Buried | Ungern-Sternberg Winter Palace Kharbin, Russian Empire |
| Consort | Prince Theodore I Nikolayevich of Courland |
| Royal House | Ungern-Sternberg |
| Father | Baron Nikolai "Roman" von Ungern-Sternberg |
| Mother | Princess Elena Pavlovna von Ungern-Sternberg |
| Children | Prince Thomas I Fyodorovich Princess Marta II Fyodorovna Princess Alina Fyodorovna |
| Religious beliefs | Russian Orthodox |
Martha I Nikolayevna Barclay de Tolly-Weymarn (Russian: Марта I Романовна Барклай де Толли-Веймарн, born December 1, 1921 - November 1, 1988), or Martha I Nikolayevna, Princess of Manchuria; or Princess Ungern, was a Russian noblewomen, ballerina and theater director. The eldest child of Baron Nikolai Maximilien "Roman" von Ungern-Sternberg, and Princess Helena I Pavlovna,
Having lived her childhood in France and the West, Martha von Ungern-Sternberg and Georgy von Ungern-Sternberg both eventually migrated back to Russia in 1933. While in France, Martha was very-involved in the arts, and acted as a "cultural ambassador" of Russian culture and heritage to the French people. Additionally, because she and Georgy were also fluent in Chinese and English, gave them many opportunities.
Biography[]
Martha was born to Baron Nikolai "Roman" von Ungern-Sternberg, and Princess Elena Pavlovna von Ungern-Sternberg (originally "Princess Ji") in 1921 in Harbin, China, today the Russian city of Kharbin.
She is of Baltic German and Manchu descent, although speak neither German or Manchu, with her father being of Baltic German and Estonian roots, and her mother being of Manchu descent. Although Baron Ungern had for some time, proclaimed to be "King of Mongolia", before being defeated by Red forces, and after the defeat of the Reds - the White Russian refusal to restore him as the Bogd Khan of Mongolia.
Nonetheless, Martha retained ties to both Chinese and Mongolian peoples, eventually picking up the ability to speak both languages in addition to Russian and English. Due to the mental state of her father, General Boris Rezhukin, Baron Roman's former colleague within the Asiatic Division, requested Russian agents to separate both Martha, and soon newly-born Georgy from Roman.
However, she, along with her older brother Georgy, were smuggled and separated from their father by Boris Rezhukin, and cared of by a more affluent White emigre family, the Batischev family, posthumously crowned as barons and baronesses for their role in caring for Georgy and Martha.
With Russia still recovering from the ruins of war, and China just having fought a civil war, both countries were not fit for raising the two, something with General Rezhukin saw. General Rezhukin and Baron Wrangel both contacted emigres in France, to be caretakers of the two. They were able to get ahold of a French-Russian emigre family, known as the Batischevs. In 1930, as the economic situation calmed down in Russia, both eventually returned to Russia, to finish their education in Saint Petersburg.
Becoming fluent in not only Russian, Chinese and English, but also French made the two very well sought-after, and their descent from the Bloody Baron, only made them even more popular.
Little did either know, that Baron Ungern had one more son with Princess Elena, before the two ultimately divorced and perished, in a topic still a controversial mystery in modern-day Russia.
Military career[]
In 1943, Martha joined the Imperial Army, as a medic, and part of the medical battalions. She experienced the Manchuria Offensive, where she re-united with her brothers, and the three re-visited their childhood home in Kharbin, to find it ransacked. It now the Ungern-Sternberg Winter Palace of Manchuria.
Becoming a Princess[]
Martha divorced her German partner, Baron Ludwig von Waltz and became a Russian Orthodox, in the same cathedral that her parents had been married in. As she would become a princess, it would be her royal duty to marry a prince.
Like both Prince George I and Prince Boris I, Princess Martha did not want her princess image to "go to waste", and wanted to become a fully-contributing member to Russian society.
Marriage to Prince Theodore I Nikolayevich[]
Princess Martha ended up getting married to Prince Theodore I Nikolayevich of Courland - from the House of Barclay de Tolly, the son of Prince Nicholas I Loginovich and Princess Sonya I Karlovna. The latter also became Russian Orthodox, and the two ended up settling in Manchuria.
The marriage between Princess Martha and Prince Theodore would begin the Russian Orthodox faction of the nominally Lutheran and German-speaking House of Barclay de Tolly.
Personal life[]
Princess Martha I loved the arts, and was known for embracing the eloquent lifestyle of being a princess and was quite-known in the West. She often took trips to the West, and gave guest lectures to Russian communities outside Russia. However, she also did become very faithful to the Russian Orthodox Church, having connected with the Orthodox church long-before even living in Russia. She however also respected the Lutheran faith, knowing of its significance with the Baltics Germans, her husband having been born a Lutheran, as well as her father.
She spoke many languages, in addition to Russian, she also spoke fluent Chinese, French, German and English. After the Russo-Chinese conflict ended, Princess Martha visited Christian communities in China.