CLICK on the IMAGE above to watch VIDEO (in Russian ONLY). Duration: 13 minutes

The Tobolsk Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve have created a 13-minute video tour of the Museum of the Family of Emperor Nicholas II.

NOTE: this video is in Russian only, there is no English version. If you do not speak Russian, please do not allow this to deter you from watching this video. For those of you who will never have an opportunity to visit Tobolsk, this video is the next best thing, as it affords a virtual tour of the interiors of this very important museum, one which reflects the final years of Nicholas II and his family – PG

This virtual tour of the museum is presented in Russian by historian and writer Peter Valentinovich Multatuli, who was born in Leningrad on 17 November 1969. Multatuli is considered by many as Russia’s leading authority on the life and reign of Emperor Nicholas II.

He is the great-grandson of Ivan Mikhailovich Kharitonov (1872-1918), who served as the Head Cook of the Imperial family. He followed the tsar and his family into exile, and was murdered along with them in the Ipatiev House on 17th July 1918.

Multatuli takes viewers on a virtual tour of the former Governor’s House in Tobolsk, where Nicholas II, his family and entourage of those who followed the Imperial family into exile lived under house arrest from August 1917 to April 1918. Each room features unique exhibits from their daily life complemented with Multatuli’s vast knowledge of Russia last emperor and tsar.

NOTE: the large white circle located in the upper left hand corner of the video has 4 arrows, which allow you to move the camera to view the entire room and their respective displays – PG

The Museum of the Family of Emperor Nicholas II opened on 26th April 2018, in the former Governor’s Mansion in Tobolsk

PHOTO: Peter Multatuli in the Museum of the Family of Emperor Nicholas II, Tobolsk

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Emperor Nicholas II and his family arrived in Tobolsk on 19th August (O.S. 6th August) 1917.

Upon arrival the Imperial family had to live for several days on the steamer Rus, waiting for the renovation of the “House of Freedom” – the former governor’s mansion – to be completed. They moved into the house on 24th August (O.S. 11th August).

Within a few days of their moving in, part of the square in front of the house was fenced off with a tall wooden fence, allowing for the family to take in fresh air and exercise. Some of the guards and those who accompanied the Imperial family into exile from Tsarskoye Selo were settled in the Kornilov house on the opposite side of the street.

In the beginning, the Imperial family were allowed to walk to the nearby Church of the Annunciation for worship, however, this was halted due to “concerns for their safety”. Despite this, the security regime in Tobolsk was more relaxed than in Tsarskoye Selo, allowing the family to lead a fairly calm life.

The Imperial family were housed in the former governor’s house until April, 1918, when they were transferred to Ekaterinburg, and subsequently murdered by the Ural Soviet on 17th July 1918.

© Paul Gilbert. 11 November 2020