Contrary to popular myths, members of high society vacationed quite modestly. Despite their privileged status, they lived in Spartan conditions and did not host noisy parties. For example, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov, son of Alexander II, preferred to spend time at the Ilyinskoye estate in the Moscow region. According to the memories of his niece Maria, the house was small and built of oak, and its furnishings were far from luxurious. Baroness Buxgevden claimed that the prince and his wife led a simple rural life. Sergei Alexandrovich usually got up at 7 a.m., inspected the estate, had breakfast, read newspapers, and went into the woods for mushrooms and berries. His wife, Elizabeth Feodorovna, spent time in the gazebo, painting or embroidering until lunch. Their meals were simple: fish jelly, salads, chicken soup, and fried chickens. For tea, they served pancakes, sandwiches with cheese, and peaches with rice. The couple's leisure activities were active: they played badminton, tennis, and hide-and-seek, and on hot days, they swam in the river. They also visited neighbors, including Felix Yusupov. After October 1917, the estate was nationalized and turned into a sanatorium, but simple workers could not rest there for long. In the 1940s, dachas for party leadership were built in Ilyinskoye, and access was closed to most. It is said that in the 1960s, Putin's grandfather worked there as a cook.