In 1894, Olga's father died unexpectedly, leaving the 25-year-old and her mother troubled by the outstanding debts he left behind from living well beyond their means. Her mother, Anna Ivanovna, though very talented as a singer and pianist, was also forced to give up any hopes of pursuing a professional career in the arts and felt that Olga had to do the same. Her father, however, who was anxious to conform to the social conventions of his adopted country, made it very clear at an early age that Olga's aspirations in life should be confined to marrying well and becoming a house-wife. Olga showed considerable promise as a painter and was her own accompanist on the piano when she entertained friends and family at dinner parties. She attended a private school for girls, was fluent in French, German, and English, and took music and singing lessons after rigorous schooling days. Growing up in between her two brothers, Konstantin and Vladimir, Olga was pampered extensively. Two years after Olga was born, her family moved to Moscow, where they became accustomed to an upper-middle-class lifestyle. Around the time of Olga's birth, her father, Leonard, was in charge of a factory in a small town north-east of European Russia called Glazov. Though both of her parents were of German origin, her father wasted no time in claiming Russia as their family heritage. Olga Leonardovna Knipper was born on the 21 September 1868 in Glazov to Leonard and Anna Knipper.
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