May 04, 2021

The Tsar with the Dragon Tattoo


The Tsar with the Dragon Tattoo
Look at that sexy royal arm. Wikimedia Commons user Ras67

About three and a half years before taking the throne, a young and reckless Nicholas Alexandrovich Romanov (Nicholas II) got a dragon tattoo on his right arm from wrist to elbow, photos of which have recently resurfaced online. Historians suspect he got a dragon because he was born in the year of the dragon (1868).

He may also have gotten a dragon to follow in the footsteps of his cousin, Prince George of England and future king of England, who got a dragon tattoo in Japan ten years earlier.

Nicholas traveled the world in the armored cruiser Pamyat Azov in the spring of 1891, hoping to gain an understanding of the world's cultures for future use as tsar. Apart from visiting Greece, it was a voyage to the more "exotic" – for him – lands of Asia. He traveled with his other cousin, Prince George of Greece, Count of Corfu, whom he had probably voyaged to Greece to pick up. Both prince and tsarevich got inked together.

Nicholas wrote in his diary that the tattoo took seven hours, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. He claimed that his arm did not hurt at all.

One photograph from the Yale University Library collection shows Nicholas playing tennis with only his right sleeve rolled up to the elbow, seemingly to show off his tattoo. He did not mind displaying it among close family and friends.

It is ironic that Nicholas had a piece of Japan in his body since only ten years after he took the throne, he would end up in – and losing – a major war with Japan, the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905.

Two weeks after getting his tattoo, in the Japanese city of Otsu, Nicholas was attacked in a rickshaw by a saber-wielding policeman. The policeman hit the future tsar twice, once in the head. Prince George of Greece jumped to hit the attacker. The trip was cut short and Nicholas headed home after the shock. Perhaps it was an omen of things to come for Nicholas in Japan.

You Might Also Like

The Real Last Tsar
  • May 01, 2011

The Real Last Tsar

History tends to record Nicholas II as the last Tsar of all the Russias. Not to put too fine a point on it, but History is wrong. There was one more, and this is his fascinating story.
Putting Robots to Work on the Past
  • March 01, 2020

Putting Robots to Work on the Past

Ever wanted to take a stroll in nineteenth century Moscow? See how one Russian uses machine learning to make grainy old videos ever more realistic.
The Emperor Has No Clothes
  • November 03, 2020

The Emperor Has No Clothes

Unexpected nude photos of Nicholas II appeared online last week, causing quite a stir, despite being more than a century old.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955