Irina Tabakov & the Unintentional Treasure

The Lost Ballerina of the Last Tsar

By: Cora Buckles, Violet Millhouse Gardener

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

West Coast, USA, late 1980s: Irina was named after her great-aunt, a Russian woman whom everyone said was eccentric, but that was okay, because her aunt was also a bit mysterious. At least, Irina thought so growing up. They were quite close then, but she hadn't seen Auntie in years, what with college and career and faulty romances taking up Irina's time. All those excuses echoed hollow now with the terrible news that her beloved great-aunt died . . . weeks ago . . . alone. She feels guilty. So, when the summons came from a law firm to come pick through the remnants of the grand lady's life, Irina had to go. What she finds there in all the clutter are cherished remnants of an enchanted life: Her great-aunt was a Prima Ballerina in Imperial Russia before the First World War. When the Soviet Revolution came in 1917, her great-aunt escaped the wrath of the Bolsheviks, but what else came away with her? One person's trinkets might be Imperial treasures, which explains why, after all this time, someone sinister might still be looking for those things kept secret all this time. Inspired by the true story of an Imperial Prima Ballerina and the young man, perhaps her lover, who would become the last Tsar of Russia.