NOTE: All of the articles pertaining to Nicholas II and his family which were originally published in my Royal Russia News blog, have been moved to this Nicholas II blog. This article was originally published on 14 October 2018 in my Royal Russia News blog – PG

A new web site Tzar-family.com dedicated to the last Russian emperor and his family was officially launched on 14th October 2018 in the Ural city of Ekaterinburg. The new English site was prepared by the Ekaterinburg branch of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society

The site offers reliable information about the last Russian emperor and the era of his rule in English. It chronicles the lives of Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, and their five children – Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Tsesarevich Alexei.

The creators of the English version, including professional translators, historians, journalists and priests, note that the translation of materials into English was conceived a year ago when they launched the Russian language website of Tsarskaya-Semya.RF. The subsequent appeals about the need for such a site for an English speaking audience, many of whom took part in the Tsar’s Days in the year of the centenary marking the death of Nicholas II and his family, convinced the creators of the demand for reliable English language resources.

The great-great-grandson of Emperor Alexander III Paul Kulikovsky noted the relevance of truthful information about the sovereign Nicholas II and his family not only for Russian society, but also for foreign audiences, who lack reliable information about the latest Russian the emperor and the era of his rule.

“There is a great interest in the Nicholas II and his family outside of Russia, where the majority do not understand Russian, so the English version of the site will greatly help those who are looking for the truth about the Imperial Family,” said Kulikovsky.

“I also think that it will be very useful if, thanks to the site, English readers can learn more about Russia and, in particular, about the history of the reign of Emperor Nicholas II. Many, I believe, will be surprised at the achievements of Russia in the era of his rule. Perhaps this will change their perception of the Tsar, Russian history and Russia as a whole,” he added.

The first visitors to the portal, while operating in test mode, were citizens of Great Britain. The parishioners of a number of English Orthodox churches highly appreciated the new resource and are confident that it will be in demand by an English-speaking audience.

The creators of the site note that the portal Tzar-family.com , as well as earlier the site Tsarskaya-Sem.RF , will be updated with new information on a regular basis. The English site will continue to operate in a test mode up until Christmas. Working with foreign experts, articles will be updated, while additional documents will be translated and published.

The Russian language site Tsarskaya-Sem.RF , was created in October 2017 with the blessing of Metropolitan Kirill of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye. It receives about 30,000 unique user visits per month.

According to users, the project is interesting because of the diaries, documents and eyewitness accounts about the Imperial family. The visitor enters into a dialogue with each member of the family by reading their respective diary entries and letters. A special section of the site is dedicated to the achievements of Russia during the reign of the last Russian emperor.

The project is generously illustrated with photographs, creative works of members of the imperial family – materials provided by the Ekaterinburg Museum of the Imperial Family, public and private archives, Orthodox Internet resources. Since its opening, the site has been updated with new materials every week.

The main page of the site features a full-color image of all the members of the Imperial family. The “colorization” of the illustrations will continue with the support of specialists, in particular, the Moscow photo artist Olga Shirnina; the works of her historical photo-reconstruction “The Tsar’s Family in Color: the Image Disclosure” were recently exhibited in Ekaterinburg at the May Forum and in Tsar’s Days-2018.

Click HERE for the English version, and HERE for the Русская версия.

© Paul Gilbert. 2 December 2019