d her the status of an apprentice nurse, Nelka
made arrangements to go to Russia. This was not an easy undertaking.
Nelka had few connections in Russia; her knowledge of the language
was limited, her knowledge as a nurse likewise limited, and it took a
great deal of determination to carry her plan through.

The war at the moment was coming to an end with the defeat of Russia
and a revolutionary movement was afoot. The front thousands of miles
away made transportation of the wounded lengthy and difficult, and,
long after the hostilities had come to an end, a steady stream of
wounded continued to arrive in the capital.

It was a trying and difficult time for Nelka. She was deeply upset
by the tragic events of the lost war and the grumblings of the
revolution.

She got in touch with some friends in Russia to help make necessary
arrangements. A friend of her mother's, Mr. Pletnioff, made all
preliminary arrangements to have her accepted in the Kaufman
community of sisters under the leadership of Baroness Ixkull, a very
cultivated and capable person.

Also the Bakhmeteffs were at that time in St. Petersburg and they too
helped make arrangements. Despite the fact that Nelka was then 26
years old, she did not feel that she should travel alone and was
trying to find someone who was going to Russia from Paris. A friend
who was to go had to put off her trip and so recommended Nelka to a
friend of hers, a Madame Sivers, with whom she went and with whom
later she became quite a friend.

When she arrived she went at first to stay with Mr. and Mrs.
Bakhmeteff.

Early in 1905 she wrote from St. Petersburg, upon her arrival:

"Yesterday already I saw Madame Hitrovo, Veta, Rurik and Veta's son"
(my grandmother, my mother and my uncle).

This was the first time that I saw Nelka. The Bakhmeteffs gave a
luncheon at the Hotel de France where they were staying to meet
Nelka. As it was a family affair with no outsiders, my mother took
me along. I was then about seven years old. A child of seven is not
generally impressed by a grown up person, but Nelka made a tremendous
impression on me when I first saw her: an impression which never left
me throughout life. From that day on she meant something to me, and
that something grew and grew in my feelings for her with time and
years.

The Russian Red Cross had a number of sister "Communities" who were
managed by ladies of the Russian society. The one Nelka joined was
the Kaufman communi