The Tsar's Bathroom

One of Nicholas II’s private chambers, the Bathroom was designed in Oriental style and was sometimes called Moorish. A huge, tiled swimming tub, designed by the engineer Nikolai de Rochefort, could hold up to 7 000 pails of water. The bath was partitioned off with a carved maple screen divider. The walls had mat lining at the top and oak paneling at the bottom. There was a fireplace encrusted with Arab-ornamented tiles, a large icon-stand with icons, crosses and Easter eggs, a collection of cigarette cases and weapons on display by the window. Pistols, yataghans (Turkish curved single edge bladed swords), hunting knives and cavalry swords hung on a wall, Tula Arms Factory rifles rested on a stand. An excellent marksman, the Emperor thought of himself as a military man – the first professional soldier of his empire.
Neither finish nor furnishings of the Tsar’s Bathroom have survived.