I am pleased to offer 4 Romanov titles on AMAZON in both PAPERBACK and EBOOK editions. These are books which I published in paperback editions about 20 years ago, and have been out of print for some time. I decided to repackage each with new covers, and updated with prefaces and introductions.
Please note that these titles are only available in eBook editions at the present time, paperback editions are in the works, and will be announced as they become available.
Prices for eBooks start at $9.99 USD, paperback editions start at $12.99 USD. Each title offers a FREE Look Inside feature.
NOTE: the book covers depicted below are the eBook editions! The book covers for the paperback editions are different. Please refer to the links provided below to view – PG
Rumour was busy in her lifetime with amazing tales about the late Empress of Russia; how much or little truth lay behind such rumours was known only to her few closest friends, and one of the few was Lili Dehn (1888-1963).
Great-granddaughter of Prince Koutousoff, the famous defender of Moscow against Napoleon I, Lili Dehn was admitted, after her presentation at Court, into the home circle of the Tsaritsa, and a great friendship grew up between them. Her study of the Empress’s personality, habits, views, life as she led it, is intimate and illuminating. Here is the truth about Rasputin, with new light on the legend of his power over the Royal Household, the inner reason for the scandalous reports circulated concerning him and the Empress, and a grim, enthralling account of his death and burial. Lili Dehn was the first person to whom the Empress came with the news of the Tsar’s abdication, and she witnessed his return after that supreme humiliation.
There are dramatic elements in the narrative of the early days of the Revolution; life at Tsarskoe Selo while the Tsar and his family were under arrest; and in the record of the writer’s own imprisonment and adventurous escape. The interest of the book is intensified by the often deeply pathetic letters written to Lili Dehn by the Tsaritsa from captivity. This revelation at first hand of the whole tragedy of the Empress, as a wife and a mother, and of all that led to the downfall of a great dynasty, makes a profoundly human appeal.
The daughter of Sir George Buchanan (1854-1924), British Ambassador at St. Petersburg in the First World War, lived among the Russian Imperial Court amid the fading glories of an age now past.
The stories which make up these six portraits are drawn from her own memories, stories of women whose lives were lived in the bright light that shines on royalty, many of whom she knew in their everyday existence.
In this gallery of portraits are included the Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna, wife of Emperor Alexander III and mother of Emperor Nicholas II; the Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna, the wife of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich; the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, the wife of the Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and sister of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna; the Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna, the wife of the Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich; the Grand Duchess Olga Nicholaievna, eldest daughter of Emperor Nicholas II; and finally, Princess Zenaide Yousoupoff, the mother of the infamous Prince Felix Yousoupoff.
In dealing with these ladies of the Russian Court, the author evokes all the mystery, fascination, splendour, and elegance of Tsarist Russia. Ms Buchanan writes with a charm and ease most fitting to the characters she describes.
LAST DAYS AT TSARSKOE SELO by Count Paul Benckendorff
Count Paul Benckendorff (1853-1921), belonged to the closest circle of Emperor Nicholas II. Following the collapse of the monarchy in 1917, Benkendorff and his wife shared the captivity of the Imperial Family at Tsarskoe Selo.
After the end of the First World War, he was accepted into court service: Adjutant General (1905). General of the Cavalry (1912). Ober-marshal of the Imperial Court. Benckendorff was also a Member of the State Council of the Russian Empire and the Imperial Yacht Club.
Benkendorff’s narrative provides a detailed eye-witness account of the Tsar’s abdication, his transfer to Tsarskoe Selo and his daily life in the Alexander Palace, where he was held under house arrest from February to August 1917.
Throughout his memoirs, Benckendorff characterizes Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna as courageous, gracious, and poised despite their obvious concern for their family.
Due to his age and poor health, Benckendorff was unable to follow the Emperor and his Imperial Family’s into exile to Tobolsk. One of the very few who were faithful, he parted with his Sovereign for the last time on 14th (O.S. 1st) August 1917.
This short biography was originally published in 1913, to coincide with the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. The author served as a major-general in the Tsar’s suite, and a professor of military art in the General Staff Academy in St. Petersburg.
Many contemporary historians claim that Nicholas II was not fit to rule the Russian Empire. Elchaninov, however, rebukes these claims based on first-hand experience.
The first chapters describe Russia’s last Tsar as a caring, devoted and loving husband and father. The remaining focus on his relationship with his government, the church, the army, the Russian people, and the policies which he pursued during the first 18 years of his reign.
Written before the First World War and the 1917 Revolution. Elchaninov writes in glowing patriotic language portraying Nicholas II as an indefatigable “Imperial worker” in the service of Russia’s best interests and the “Sovereign father” of the Russian people.
This new expanded edition features an introduction by independent researcher Paul Gilbert, and two detailed appendices: a chronology of events during the reign of Nicholas II (1894-1917); and 100 facts about Nicholas II and the many reforms he made during his reign.
On 13th August, the Russian media were invited to tour the recreated apartments of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress |Alexandra Feodorovna, located in the eastern wing of the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye. The palace welcomed its first visitors the following day, 14th August.
The first stage of the Alexander Palace restoration project is the result of the colossal work of hundreds of people, including designers, architects, restorers, museum workers and dozens of organizations.
The designers include “Studio 44 Architectural Bureau” (general design organization), “PSB“ ZhilStroy ”(general contractor organization); “Geoizolu” (deepening the basements), Tsarskoye Selo Amber Workshop (recreation of furniture sets); “Renaissance” workshops for the restoration of ancient monuments (production of fabric decoration); “Art-Corpus” (reconstruction of ceramics and coffered ceiling in the Moorish Bathroom); “Pallade” (reconstruction of the ceramic tile for the fireplace in the Mauve (Lilac) Boudoir), Stavros Decor company (reconstruction of wood trim and built-in furniture), “Restro” (reconstruction of a sofa in the Maple Drawing Room), “Studio NB. Yuzhakova “(mirrors, reconstruction of the stained glass frame, and restoration of chandeliers).
Large-scale works began in 2012, which included the three State Halls, situated in the central part of the palace. The Alexander Palace was closed to visitors in the autumn of 2015. The restoration was carried out mainly at the expense of funds allocated by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. Thirty-four percent of funding was allocated by the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum and charitable donations. According to the Director of the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum Olga Taratynova, that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, work on the Alexander Palace continued unabated. She further noted that the tab for the restoration and reconstruction project cost 2.2 billion rubles [$30 million USD].
The opening ceremony was attended by Director of the Department of Museums and External Relations of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation Alexander Voronko, Vice Governor of St. Petersburg Boris Piotrovsky, and the Director of the Tsarskoye Selo Museum-Reserve Olga Taratynova.
The Alexander Palace is a significant architectural monument in Russian history, the last home of the last Russian emperor Nicholas II and his family, who lived here permanently from 1905 to 1917. Thus, at the beginning of the 20th century, the Alexander Palace became the center of state life in Russia.
Visitors will now have an opportunity to see 13 recreated interiors [30 colour photos + 2 videos]: the New Study of Nicholas II, Moorish Bathroom of Nicholas II, Working Study of Nicholas II, Reception Room of Nicholas II, the Valet’s Room, PLUS the Maple Drawing Room, Pallisander (Rosewood) Living Room, Mauve (Lilac) Boudoir, Alexandra’s Corner Reception Room, the Imperial Bedroom, the Small and Large Libraries and the Marble/Mountain Hall.
“For us, the opening of the first stage of the Alexander Palace is an epoch-making event. This place is associated with turning points in history, the fate of several generations of the Romanovs. In recent years, all our strengths, aspirations and dreams have been associated with the restoration of the palace. This is a project of incredible complexity and now, finally, we can breathe out a little – the first stage has been completed,” said Olga Taratynova.
The Western wing is scheduled for completion no earlier than 2024. After the completion of the work, the Alexander Palace will become a multifunctional museum complex, which will include exhibition halls, halls for temporary exhibitions, halls for research work and conferences, as well as a library and a children’s center. The basement floor will house a ticket booth, a museum shop, a café, a cloakroom, a tour desk, as well as technical and ancillary facilities.
CLICK on the above image to watch a VIDEO of the reconstructed interiors of the private apartments of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, situated in the eastern wing of the Alexander Palace
Restoration and reconstruction
Some of the interiors of Nicholas and Alexandra’s private apartments have miraculously retained their historical decoration, including both the New Study and Reception Room of Nicholas II, Alexandra’s Corner Reception Room, and the Large and Small Libraries. In preparation of the opening of the Alexander Palace, additional restoration work was carried out in these interiors.
The restorers relied on amateur photographs taken by Nicholas II and members of his family from the state archives, colour autochromes taken in 1917, as well as additional archival documents. During the restoration, all the original elements of the interior decoration have been preserved, including oak wall panels, wood-clad ceilings and ceramic tiles.
According to the samples of fabrics that are kept in the collections of the Tsarskoye Selo and Pavlovsk State Museum-Reserves, it was possible to recreate decorative fabrics. For instance, in the Imperial Bedroom, the walls, furniture, alcove are upholstered in chintz [printed multicoloured cotton fabric with a glazed finish, used especially for curtains and upholstery], it is also used for window and door draperies. The fabric of the Imperial Bedroom required almost 350 sq. meters of fabric. It took two years to recreate the fabric and draperies of this interior – from the preliminary design to the installation. The Mauve (Lilac) Boudoir is finished with silk. Curtains, including those in the Moorish Bathroom (batiste with appliqués), have been recreated from historical samples and photographs; The Working Study of Nicholas II (jacquard with images of hyacinths); in the Maple Drawing Room (jacquard with birds). Decoration of numerous interiors is replete with trimmings (braid, fringe, cords, lace).
Recreation of decorative elements
Furniture decoration: in total, more than 60 pieces of furniture – beech, walnut, rosewood, maple – will be presented in the Mauve (Lilac) Boudoir, Maple Drawing Room, Pallisander (Rosewood) Living Room, the Imperial Bedroom and the Working Study of Nicholas II (the furniture in this interior is under construction and has not yet been installed). The mezzanine in the Maple Drawing Room was recreated, as well as the wall panels in the Pallisander (Rosewood) Living Room and the Working Study of Nicholas II.
Fireplaces: in the Palisander (Rosewood) Living Room and Maple Drawing Room, the Working Study of Nicholas II and Mauve (Lilac) Boudoir, and the Moorish Bathroom of Nicholas II. The fireplace in the Reception Room of Nicholas II and two fireplaces in the Working Study of Nicholas II have been restored.
Carpets: the colour, pile height, density of the base structure were recreated on the basis of photographs and analogs – a total of almost 550 square meters. meters. Stitched New Zealand wool rug in the Maple living room measuring 182 sq. meter weighs 400 kg.
Discoveries
During dismantling work in the Moorish Bathroom of Nicholas II, craftsmen discovered the basin of the pool under the floor, and in it they found fragments of the original Metlakh ceramic on the walls. These tiles aided experts with the recreation of the original interior decoration of the Moorish Bathroom, with the aid of black-and-white photographs taken in the 1930s.
In 2019, during the clearing in the New Study of Nicholas II, the discovery of the original colour and a fragment of the stencil painting that framed the fireplace portal, made it possible to restore the historical colour of the walls. The discovery of the surviving samples of English tiles made it possible to recreate the lining of the fireplace inserts and fireplaces.
While recreating the stucco decoration of the Maple Drawing Room, the restorers discovered in the opening between the two mezzanines – from the Maple Drawing Room to the New Study of Nicholas II – a small fragment of the original decoration of the drawing room, which answered questions about the shade of pink and the nature of the stucco relief depicting roses.
Exhibition
Prior to the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War in 1941, the Alexander Palace housed more than 52.5 thousand items, of which more than 44.8 thousand items were lost during the war from 1941 to 1945. From the 7.7 thousand items which survived, a significant part of the items are currently in the collection of other museums in Russia. Among these were 5,615 items moved from the Alexander Palace to he Pavlovsk State Museum Reserve. Of these, nearly 200 pieces were originally from the Alexander Palaces’ three ceremonial halls: the Portrait, Semi-Circular and Marble Halls. These include 39 pieces of porcelain, 41 paintings, 73 decorative bronze pieces, and 28 pieces of furniture.’
More than 6 thousand items from the collections of the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum-Reserve will be displayed in the reconstructed interiors of the Alexander Palace. It is interesting to note that the Pavlovsk State Museum Reserve “temporarily loaned” nearly 200 items from its collection to the Alexander Palace [these items actually belong to the Alexander Palace]. The Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia in Moscow handed over the keys to the palace, which entered the museum collection from the assistant commandant of the palace immediately after the revolution.
Assistance in the creation of the exhibition was provided by the History of the Fatherland Foundation, State Archives of the Russian Federation (GARF), the Peter the Great Central Naval Museum, the State Hermitage Museum, the Russian Museum, the Gatchina State Museum-Reserve, the Russian National Library, the Livadia Palace Museum, the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. A.S. Pushkin, Novosibirsk State Art Museum, Rostov Regional Museum of Fine Arts, Memorial History and Art Museum-Reserve of V.D. Polenov, Research Museum of the Russian Academy of Arts, private gallery Galerie Christian Le Serbon (Paris), and the British Museum.
PHOTO: Empress Alexandra Feodorovna’s Corner Reception Room
Work carried out in the interiors
Corner Reception Room
It was in this room that Nicholas II received the ambassadors of foreign states. Here, in May 1902, French President Loubet, who was on an official visit to Russia, was received. He presented Alexandra Feodorovna with a large tapestry portrait of Marie-Antoinette with her children, based on the original portrait by Vigee-Lebrun (1787). During the Russo-Japanese War and the First World War, it was in this room, that the Empress received the leaders of the charitable organizations which she patronized. The family often arranged breakfasts and dinners here, gathered during home concerts, in which the stars of the St. Petersburg opera company, including Fyodor Chaliapin, often took part.
It was also in the Corner Reception Room, on 20th August 1915, the historic meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers was held, at which Nicholas II announced that he would assume command of the army and navy.
Works: artificial marble, parquet, moulding, recreation of furniture, curtains and window fillings recreated.
Maple Drawing Room
Its architectural design with its Art Nouveau style and forms stands out sharply against the background of the rest of the interiors. The main architectural accent is the spacious mezzanine, where the Empress painted and made handicrafts.
Here Alexandra Feodorovna received people close to her and trusted visitors. During the First World War, when Nicholas II was in the army, the empress heard reports from ministers here.
Works: mezzanine, furniture, carpet, decorative moulding, recreation of fireplaces.
Pallisander (Rosewood) Living Room
This interior was designed by Roman Melzer in 1896-1897. The architect chose rosewood as the main finishing material – expensive wood that was delivered from abroad. In the first years of their residency in the palace, Nicholas II and Alexandra Fedorovna often spent time in solitude in this particular room. Then the living room became a place for breakfast and dinner for the Imperial family.
The Empress kept things in this room which reminded her of her homeland – the Grand Duchy of Hesse, situated in southern Germany – landscapes, watercolours, and portraits. With the help of two telephones, the empress could use the local St. Petersburg network and communicate directly with the Headquarters in Mogilev, where Nicholas II spent a long time during the First World War. It was in this room that on 8th March 1917, General Lavr Georgiyevich Kornilov placed Alexandra Feodorovna and her children under house arrest at the Alexander Palace.
Works: the upholstery of the walls, curtains, carpets, as well as panels and a fireplace made of rosewood, decorated with a fabric insert and mirrors with a facet (special processing of edges and the outer edge of the glass), a stucco frieze were recreated according to historical samples.
Mauve (Lilac) Boudoir
During the more than two decades of Alexandra Feodorovna’s life in Russia, the Mauve (Lilac) Boudoir – her favourite room in the Alexander Palace – was never redesigned. The mauve silk was ordered from the Parisian firm of Charles Bourget. In this room, the emperor and empress, along with their children often drank coffee after breakfast and gathered for evening tea. Alexandra Feodorovna spent a lot of time here writing letters and reading.
According to the memoirs of contemporaries, the Empress usually sat in a chaise lounge, reclining on lace pillows. Behind her was a draft-proof glass screen, and a lace shawl covering her legs.
Works: the fabric upholstery of the walls, curtains, furniture, carpet, wood panels, a fireplace, a picturesque frieze were all recreated.
Imperial Bedroom
Entry to the Imperial Bedroom could be made through the Pallisander (Rosewood) Living Room and the Mauve (Lilac) Boudoir. To wake the emperor and empress each morning, one of the footmen knocked three times on the door of the Mauve (Lilac) Boudoir with a silver staff. By this time, Nicholas was usually already awake and already at work at his desk, while Alexandra often got up late, and if she was not feeling well, did not leave her private rooms.
From 1905, the Alexander Palace became the main imperial residence, and therefore the center of the country’s state life. The officials who arrived for an audience with the emperor first went to the Reception Room, where they were received by the adjutant wing, who was on duty.
Works: restoration of oak panels, parquet, fireplace, ceiling paneling and fabrics, upholstery of a built-in sofa, restoration of a chandelier.
Large and Small Libraries
According to the pre-war museum inventory, there were almost 19 thousand volumes in the library halls of the palace and 6 thousand volumes were in private rooms. The Large and Small Libraries today exhibit more than 5 thousand volumes.
Here the emperor received ministers every day, heard reports, and reviewed official documents. The interior consisted of a table, chairs, walnut cabinets and a large ottoman upholstered in the fashion of a Persian rug. Nicholas II rested on it when work dragged on until nightfall or when he returned to Tsarskoye Selo from St. Petersburg late and preferred not to disturb his family.
The study also contained the personal library of Nicholas II, which consisted of about 700 volumes of military, historical literature, books on state issues, fiction and periodicals. The decoration was destroyed during the Nazi occupation.
Works: reconstruction of curtains, fireplace, panels, built-in walnut furniture, carpets. It is assumed that the recreated ottoman, a desk with a desk, a lamp, and armchairs will also return to the interior.
PHOTO: Moorish Bathroom of Nicholas II
Moorish Bathroom
Built in the Moorish style, the emperor’s bathroom was decorated with a swimming pool with a capacity of about a thousand buckets of water. The pool was filled with water at the required temperature in a few minutes. On the platform facing the pool there was a fireplace surrounded with oriental style tiles. The pool and the entire bathroom were designed and supervised by the architect and engineer Nicholas de Rochefort. The decoration was lost during the Great Patriotic War.
Works: recreated fireplace, pool, partition, fabrics, carpet, curtains, horizontal bar, ceiling, and a picturesque frieze.
PHOTO: Valet’s Room
Valet’s Room
Under Nicholas II, the Cloakroom and Kamerdinerskaya, separated by partitions, were located here.
Works: due to the lack of iconographic material, it was decided to leave this interior in its current state; the walls were plastered and painted, and the historical modeling was preserved.
New Study of Nicholas II
The interior was designed in the Art Nouveau style. A wooden staircase leads to a mezzanine which connects to the Maple Drawing Room mezzanine. During the First World War, maps of military operations were laid out and fateful decisions were made in the New Study of Nicholas II.
Works: restored fireplaces, parquet, ceiling, stairs to the mezzanine; the found samples were used to recreate the wall paintings (the discovered fragments were preserved), the curtains and partly furniture were recreated.
PHOTO: watercolour of the Alexander Palace as it looked in 1831
Historical reference
In 1792, the Alexander Palace was built by the Italian architect Giacomo Quarenghi by order of Empress Catherine II. The palace was a wedding gift for her beloved grandson – Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich (future Emperor Alexander I) with Grand Duchess Elizabeth Alekseevna.
The private apartments of Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna were placed in the eastern wing of the Alexander Palace. Alterations were carried out from 1894 under the leadership of Alexander Vidov and Alexander Bach. After the death of Vidov, he was replaced by Silvio Danini, who, in turn, was replaced by Roman Melzer.
From 1905, the palace became the permanent residence of Emperor Nicholas II, who was born here in 1868. It was here that the Emperor spent the last 12 years of his reign. It was from the Alexander Palace on 1st August 1917, that the Imperial family were sent into exile to Tobolsk in Siberia.
In 1918, the Alexander Palace was opened to visitors as a state museum. Later, a recreation center for NKVD employees was located in the west wing of the palace. An orphanage was opened in the former rooms of the Nicholas II’s children on the second floor of the east wing.
During the Nazi occupation of the city of Pushkin [Tsarskoye Selo], the German headquarters and the Gestapo were located in the Alexander Palace, in the basements there was a prison. The square in front of the palace was turned into a cemetery for SS officers.
After the war, the palace was mothballed and in 1946 transferred to the USSR Academy of Sciences for keeping the collections of the Institute of Russian Literature. The building was being prepared for a large-scale exhibition dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the famous Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. As a result, restoration work on the palace began in 1947-1949: it was planned to restore the preserved interiors of Quarenghi and the surviving fragments of the decoration of the late 19th – early 20th centuries. During the work, many elements of the decoration of the Maple Drawing Room and the Pallisander (Rosewood) Living Room, as well as the Moorish Bathroom, were destroyed.
In 1951, the palace was transferred to the Naval Department, and the palace collection, which was part of the evacuated items in the Central Depository of Museum Collections of Suburban Palaces-Museums, were transferred to the Pavlovsk Palace State Museum.
The palace was transferred into the jurisdiction of the Tsarskoye Selo Museum-Reserve in October 2009. In June 2010, during the celebration of the 300th anniversary of Tsarskoye Selo, three State Halls of the Central were solemnly opened after restoration.
Dear Reader: If you enjoy my articles and updated on the history and restoration of the Alexander Palace, then please help support my research by making a donation in US or Canadian dollars to my project The Truth About Nicholas II – please note that donations can be made by GoFundMe, PayPal, credit card, personal check or money order.
Your donation helps support my work in a number of ways, including research, the cost of translations from Russian media and archival sources, the maintenance of my news blog: Nicholas II. Emperor. Tsar. Saint., the organization of conferences and other events. Thank you for your consideration – PG
PHOTO: The eastern wing of the Alexander Palace, Tsarskoye Selo
After an extensive restoration project which began in the autumn of 2015, the private apartments of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna opened today in the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selo.
The Russian media were invited for a press tour of thirteen reconstructed interiors located in the eastern wing of the palace. The Alexander Palace will welcome its first visitors tomorrow – 14th August.
Visitors will now have an opportunity to see the New Study of Nicholas II, Moorish Bathroom of Nicholas II, Working Study of Nicholas II, Reception Room of Nicholas II, the Valet’s Room, PLUS the Maple Drawing Room, Pallisander (Rosewood) Living Room, Mauve (Lilac) Boudoir, Alexandra’s Corner Reception Room, the Imperial Bedroom, the Small and Large Libraries and the Marble/Mountain Hall.
The Western wing is scheduled for completion no earlier than 2024. After the completion of the work, the Alexander Palace will become a multifunctional museum complex, which will include exhibition halls, halls for temporary exhibitions, halls for research work and conferences, as well as a library and a children’s center. The basement floor will house a ticket booth, a museum shop, a café, a cloakroom, a tour desk, as well as technical and ancillary facilities.
PHOTO: Director of the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum-Reserve Olga Taratynova cuts the ribbon
PHOTO: Director of the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum-Reserve Olga Taratynova, holds a press conference in the Maple Drawing Room
***
While reviewing the photos of the recreated interiors of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna, one cannot help but notice that some interiors are decorated more than others. It is important to remember that thousands of items from the Alexander Palace were destroyed or stolen in the decades that followed the 1917 Revolution. Thousands more were moved to other locations, where they remain to this day. This article examines the fate of the Alexander Palace collection, researched from Russian archival sources.
NOTE: the photos below are courtesy of various Russian media sourcesand the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum Reserve
PHOTO: Working Study of Nicholas II
PHOTO: Working Study of Nicholas II
PHOTO: Reception Room of Nicholas II
PHOTO: New Study of Nicholas II
PHOTO: New Study of Nicholas II
PHOTO: New Study of Nicholas II
PHOTO: New Study of Nicholas II
PHOTO: Moorish Bathroom of Nicholas II
PHOTO: Moorish Bathroom of Nicholas II
PHOTO: elaborate carved detail of the door leading into the Large Library
PHOTO: the Large Library
PHOTO: the Large Library
PHOTO: the Large Library
PHOTO: Empress Alexandra’s Corner Reception Room
PHOTO: Empress Alexandra’s Corner Reception Room
PHOTO: Maple Drawing Room
PHOTO: Maple Drawing Room
PHOTO: Maple Drawing Room
PHOTO: Pallisander (Rosewood) Living Room
PHOTO: Pallisander (Rosewood) Living Room
PHOTO: Pallisander (Rosewood) Living Room
PHOTO: Mauve (Lilac) Boudoir
PHOTO: Mauve (Lilac) Boudoir
PHOTO: The Imperial Bedroom
PHOTO: The Imperial Bedroom
***
VIDEOS
Click on any of the 2 images below to see some of the more intricate details of the reconstructed interiors of the private apartments of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna, located in the eastern wing of the Alexander Palace.
NOTE: the commentary in these videos is in Russian only, however, do not allow that to deter you from watching them.
VIDEO DURATION: 3 minutes, 32 seconds. Russian
VIDEO DURATION: 2 minutes, 36 seconds. Russian
***
RESTORATION OF THE CENTRAL and WESTERN WING
PHOTOS: the central and western wing of the Alexander Palace remain closed due to the next stage of restoration. The western wing is expected to open to visitors no earlier than 2024
The Western wing is scheduled for completion no earlier than 2024. After the completion of the work, the Alexander Palace will become a multifunctional museum complex, which will include exhibition halls, halls for temporary exhibitions, halls for research work and conferences, as well as a library and a children’s center. The basement floor will house a ticket booth, a museum shop, a café, a cloakroom, a tour desk, as well as technical and ancillary facilities.
Dear Reader: If you enjoy my articles and updated on the history and restoration of the Alexander Palace, then please help support my research by making a donation in US or Canadian dollars to my project The Truth About Nicholas II – please note that donations can be made by GoFundMe, PayPal, credit card, personal check or money order.
Your donation helps support my work in a number of ways, including research, the cost of translations from Russian media and archival sources, the maintenance of my news blog: Nicholas II. Emperor. Tsar. Saint., the organization of conferences and other events. Thank you for your consideration – PG
PHOTO: George Mikhailovich with his fiancé Rebecca Bettarini
I am publishing the following English translation of an article by Anatoly Dmitrievich Stepanov, editor-in-chief of Русская Народная Линия [Russian People’s Line], chairman of the Russian Assembly, and supplemented it with my own additional comments.
For those of us, who honour the memory of Emperor Nicholas II, under no pretext can we admit to the throne those whose ancestors belonged to parties involved in the 1917 revolution in one way or another. Nor can we admit those whose ancestors betrayed Nicholas II. Nor can we ignore those whose ancestors openly supported the Nazis. Thus, without any reservations, the right to the succession to the throne of the Kirillovich branch should be excluded.
In addition, if the monarchy is ever to be restored in 21st century Russia, it is up to the citizens of Russia to make that decision, no one else.[1]
I do not support the Legitimists and their support of these usurpers. I truly regret the day I ever supported any of them and their agenda – PG
A wedding is scheduled for 1st October in St. Isaac’s Cathedral in St. Petersburg. The lavish, no expenses spared wedding will no doubt be a media frenzy for the very unpopular descendants of Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, and nothing short of a three ring circus!
It recently came to my attention that following the couples announcement of their nuptials back in January of this year, Maria Vladimirovna[3] and her son George Mikhailovich hired the services of a public relations firm in Moscow to not only help promote the event but also to make them more “appealing” to the Russian public”. As a result, George and his fiancé are in the Russian media almost daily, from televised interviews to glossy magazine photo shoots.
The upcoming wedding was presented to the whole world, as the “event of the century”, of which “Russia has not seen the likes of for more than a hundred years”. The wedding was even cynically compared with the marriage of Emperor Nicholas Alexandrovich and Princess Alix of Hesse [Empress Alexandra Feodorovna], which took place on 27th (O.S. 14th) November 1894.
The bride to be Rebecca Bettarini, who, after joining the Orthodox Church, received the name Victoria Romanovna. Rebecca is the daughter of an Italian diplomat, whom the mother of George Mikhailovich, Princess Maria Vladimirovna, awarded an order giving his daughter the right to call herself a noblewoman.
The false “nobility” of Bettarini was created by Maria Vladimirovna herself, who has no right to do so. Maria actively, and completely illegally distributes orders[4], medals and even titles of the Russian Empire. While many orders and awards of the Russian Empire have been officially restored in the modern Russian Federation, an ordinary civilian, and not a representative of the state, distributes the same order in appearance and name to her supporters on behalf of the “Imperial House”!
PHOTO: Princess Maria Vladimirovna
According to Anatoly Dmitrievich Stepanov[5], the marriage of Prince George Mikhailovich, who turned 40 this year (his bride is 39), is a significant event, which is not restricted to high society gossip. For the Russian monarchist movement, it has, one might say, epochal significance, an event which means the end of Legitimism.
Even if Rebecca Bettarini became a Russian noblewoman through Maria Vladimirovna’s simple manipulations, this wedding means only one thing – Prince George Mikhailovich Romanov is entering into a morganatic marriage![6]
In any other case, it would not really matter. The act of Emperor Paul I, according to which the order of succession to the throne was carried out in Russia, and one of the points of which was the requirement for a potential heir to the throne to marry an equal wife, was adopted at the end of the 18th century (in 1797) and was clearly outdated already in the 20th century, when monarchies in Europe began to crumble, and Europe itself turned its back on Christianity.
However, for the descendants of Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, who declared himself emperor in exile in 1924, adherence to this principle was one of the main conditions justifying their right to inherit the Russian throne. Kirill Vladimirovich’s supporters called themselves Legitimists, i.e. fulfilling the norm of Paul Petrovich’s act of succession to the throne.
Prince Vladimir Kirillovich[7] married Leonida Georgievna,[7] although she was divorced (her first husband was the American banker Sumner Kirby, for whom this was his third marriage), but also representative of the Royal House of Bagration-Mukhransky. Princess Maria Vladimirovna married Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia[8], who converted to Orthodoxy and became Mikhail Pavlovich. Although there is a lot of gossip around this short-term marriage, it was considered by Legitimists as equal. But now, George Mikhailovich is about to enter into a morganatic marriage.
It is interesting to note, that for decades, members of the Romanov family who entered into morganatic marriages in exile, were shunned by Grand Duke Kirill, his son Vladimir and to this day Maria Vladimirovna. This family statute, however, was amended by Maria herself, so that her own son could enter into a morganatic marriage.
“This is a blow to the very foundations of Legitimism”, says Stepanov. “I remember hearing from one of the respected clergymen that the Kirillovichs should be respected for the fact that they voluntarily assumed a kind of penance not to enter into morganatic marriages, and this is a serious restriction in modern times. This is true. The restriction is serious not only in modern times. Already at the beginning of the twentieth century, morganatic marriages of the sovereign’s brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, and his uncle, Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich, became a problem for the autocracy, which dealt a serious blow to the prestige of the monarchy.
Thus, Prince George Mikhailovich’s morganatic marriage thus buries Legitimism. And along with it and the special status and special rights of the so-called “Russian Imperial House”, which can now be headed, in theory, by any of the living descendants of the Romanovs, and not just representatives of the Kirillovich branch.
In discussions between Legitimist-Monarchists and Conciliarist-Monarchists, the first ones appealed precisely to the Act of Emperor Paul Petrovich, as an authoritative document on the issue of succession to the throne, and refused to listen to arguments that this act ceased to operate together with the disappearance of the Russian Empire. Now their leader, Prince George Mikhailovich, deprives them of this argument.
Legitimism is dying. Will this lead to changes in the monarchist movement in Russia? Regardless, the Legitimist movement will no doubt do what they have always done since 1917, and that is to rewrite the laws of succession in a way that will both solidify and justify Maria and George’s agenda.
NOTES:
[1] In the summer of 2019, a poll conducted by REGNUM of some 35,000 Russian citizens showed that only 28% supported the idea of restoring the monarchy, more than half (52%) of which would NOT support placing a Romanov on the throne!
[2] George Mikhailovich is a Prince, not a Grand Duke. Many self-proclaimed monarchists recognize George as a Hohenzollern, NOT a Romanov! The last grand duke of Russia was Andrei Vladimirovich, who died in 1956. Nor is George Mikhailovich Tsesarevich. The last Tsesarevich of Russia was Nicholas II’s son Alexei Nikolaevich, who was murdered on 17th July 1917, in Ekaterinburg.
[3] Maria Vladimirovna is a Princess, not a Grand Duchess. The last grand duchess of Russia was Nicholas II’s younger sister Olga Alexandrovna, who died on 24th November 1960, in Toronto, Canada
[4] When a person is nominated for an Order, he or she is presented with a Gramota – the actual document signed by Maria Vladimirovna investing you into the respective Order. The actual Orders, however, are not handed out freely, one must pay for them, the more prestigious the Order, the more one pays. In addition, recipients are also offered lapel pins, even coat-of-arms – all at an additional cost!
[5] Anatoly Dmitrievich Stepanov, editor-in-chief of Russian Narodnaya Liniya, chairman of the Russian Assembly
[6] Morganatic marriage, legally valid marriage between a male member of a sovereign, princely, or noble house and a woman of lesser birth or rank
PHOTO: Nicholas II with wounded soldiers at a military hospital near the front in World War I. Artist: Pavel Viktorovich Ryzhenko (1970-2014)
During the 1920s, the Bolsheviks boasted of how they had improved healthcare in Russia after the overthrow of Nicholas II, however, this is just one more lie which the new order utilized in their campaign to discredit the reforms of Russia’s last Tsar. And to this day, Nicholas II’s detractors continue to claim that the Russian people “suffered” and that the Tsar did “nothing” to help them.
During the reign of Nicholas II, the population of the Russian Empire increased from 122 million in 1894 to 182 million in 1914 – an increase of 62 million! Given such a staggering increase in the country’s population, Nicholas II’s health care reforms were nothing short of impressive.
After Nicholas II ascended the throne in 1894, healthcare reform in the Russian Empire became the subject of special concern for the new Emperor. It was during his reign that the development of medicine and healthcare accelerated throughout the Russian Empire.
On 11th January 1897, Nicholas II approved a Special Commission on measures to prevent and combat plague, chaired by Duke Alexander Frederick Constantin of Oldenburg [1] whom the Tsar allowed to use the premises of the Emperor Alexander I Fort at Kronstadt for experimental anti-plague purposes. In October 1897, Oldenburg traveled to Turkestan to take emergency measures to prevent the plague from entering the Empire, for which he received “His Imperial Majesty’s deepest gratitude for the labours incurred” for his efforts to spare European Russia and the rest of Europe from plague penetrating their borders.
PHOTO: preparation of anti-bacterial plague drugs in the Plague Control Laboratory of the Emperor Alexander I Fort at Kronstadt
One of the main reasons for the spread of disease, was of course poor sanitation. As a result, in August 1908, Nicholas II advised the Minister of Internal Affairs to pay “serious attention to the dismal state of sanitation in Russia. It is necessary at all costs to achieve its improvement”. The Emperor emphasized the need to be able to “prevent epidemics, not just fight them”. He demanded that the case of streamlining the sanitary-medical organization in Russia be urgently developed and submitted for legislative consideration.
Various commissions were established during Nicholas II’s reign to prevent the occurrence of highly infectious diseases. In March 1912, the Emperor approved the Interdepartmental Commission for the revision of medical and sanitary legislation, writing in the margins of the Journal of the Council of Ministers: “This is to be done at an accelerated pace.” The head of the commission was appointed the chairman of the Medical Council of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, honorary life surgeon academician Georgy Ermolaevich Rein (1854-1942). In the spring of 1912, the commission presented its project for the transformation of the central and local authorities of medical and sanitary affairs. After reviewing it, Nicholas II noted: “Submit to the Council of Ministers. Continue to conduct business at an accelerated rate. “
Nicholas II supported the introduction of a territorial system of medical districts within the Russian Empire, a system not found anywhere else in the world at the time. This system was later adopted by the Bolsheviks, who appropriated its authorship. In the course of the health care reform in the Russian Empire, a three-tier structure of medical assistance to the population was formed: a medical department, a county hospital, and a provincial hospital. Treatment in these health facilities was free of charge.
The opening of new hospitals and medical institutions developed at a rapid pace. The number of hospitals increased from 2,100 in 1890 to 8,110 in 1912 and 8,461 in 1916 +170 psychiatric hospitals. The number of hospital beds increased from 70,614 in 1890 to 227,868 in 1916. The number of doctors also increased from 13,000 in 1890 to 22,772 doctors in 1914 and 29,000 in 1916.
In addition, there were 5,306 medical districts and paramedic points. By 1914 there were 28,500 medical assistants, 14,194 midwives, 4,113 dentists, 13,357 pharmacies. In 1913, 8,600 students studied at 17 medical universities.
In 1901, 49 million people received medical care in Russia, three years later, in 1904 – 57 million, in 1907 – 69 million, in 1910 – 86 million and in 1913 – 98 million. These efforts led to a significant decrease in overall mortality. In the period 1906-1911 there were 29.4 deaths per thousand inhabitants, 26 deaths per thousand in 1911, and 25 per thousand in 1912.
Mortality from smallpox decreased 2.5 times, from typhus decreased 2 times, from acute childhood diseases decreased 1.4 times. In the period from 1891 to 1895 – 587 thousand people died on average from acute infectious diseases, and steadily decreased during the period from 1911 to 1914 to 372 thousand people.
On 19th March 1899, Russia’s first ambulance station was opened in St. Petersburg.
PHOTO: the first ambulance station was opened in St. Petersburg on March 19, 1899
Under Nicholas II, Russian scientific medicine received world recognition, which could not have developed without state support. For the first time, Russian medical scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize: physiologist Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (1904) and microbiologist Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov (1908). Russian medical science carried out pioneering studies of the structure of the brain, and the origins of such fields of medicine as forensic psychiatry, gynecology and hygiene. At the beginning of the 20th century. more than 150 general and specialized scientific medical journals were published in Russia.
Despite the advancements in health care in the Russian Empire, serious health problems remained. For instance, at the beginning of the 20th century Russia experienced a high mortality rate from common widespread infections: plague, smallpox, cholera, typhoid. It was not until the 1940s and the invention of antibiotics did things improve.
Infant mortality under Nicholas II steadily declined. The downward trend in mortality (both children and adults) began before the revolution. According to statistics, the death rate during the reign of Nicholas II per 1000 people had been steadily decreasing.
PHOTO: Medical examination of children in a children’s clinic, St. Petersburg. 1903
Emperor Nicholas II also made efforts to fight against drunkenness. Both the Tsar and Russian society, considered the situation with drunkenness in Russia depressing. Russian historian and journalist Sergei Sergeiivich Oldenburg (1888-1940) wrote that in 1913, “The Tsar, during his trip to the Russian provinces, saw bright manifestations of gifted creativity and labour; but next to this, with deep sorrow, one saw sad pictures of national weakness, family poverty and abandoned households – the inevitable consequences of a drunken life.”
In 1913, the year marking the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanov, Emperor Nicholas II stated that he “came to the firm conviction that the welfare of the treasury should not be made dependent on the ruin of my loyal subjects.”
From 1914, schools of the Ministry of Public Education have been instructed to teach high school students a course in hygiene with the obligatory reporting of information about the dangers of alcohol. In March 1914, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church decided to establish a national day of sobriety on 29th August[2], the day of the Beheading of John the Baptist. This holiday was held annually and collected donations for the fight against drunkenness.
By 1913, there were about 1,800 temperance societies in Russia with a total number of members of more than half a million.
As a result of this important decision of Nicholas II, serious changes took place in the country, affecting both the private life of people and their health, and the economy of Russia. The Emperor noted: “Sobriety is the basis of the well-being of the people.”
On 11th August 1908, Emperor Nicholas II initiated the creation of a unified state health care system. In July 1914, a few days before the outbreak of World War I, a bill to create the Ministry of Health was introduced to the Council of Ministers. On 1st September 1916, the Chairman of the Medical Council of the Russian Empire, Honorary Life Surgeon, Academician Georgy Ermolaevich Rein (1854-1942), who held these duties until 27th February 1917. Thus, Georgy Ermolaevich became the first and last Minister of Health of the Russian Empire.
PHOTO: in 1897, the Women’s Medical Institute (the first medical institute of this kind in Russia) opened in St. Petersburg
NOTES:
[1] Father-in-law of Nicholas II’s younger sister Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna (1882-1960), who was married to his only son Duke Peter Alexandrovich (1868-1924), from August 1901 to October 1916.
[2] A national Day of Sobriety was revived in 21st century Russia, today an unofficial Russian holiday instituted by the Russian Orthodox Church. The date of 11th September (O.S. 29th August) was chosen because on this day Orthodox Christians celebrate the Beheading of the Holy and Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John. On this day, the faithful are expected to observe a strict fast, which includes abstinence from alcohol.
The Tsarskoye Selo State Museum have at long last announced that after a large-scale restoration, the personal apartments of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna in the Alexander Palace will open to visitors on Saturday 14th August 2021.
The opening day on 14th (O.S. 1st) August, marks the 104th anniversary since the Imperial Family left the palace for the last time and sent into exile to Tobolsk and later Ekaterinburg.
Restoration work in the Alexander Palace actually began in 2012, however, it was not until August 2015 that it has been closed to visitors, for additional restoration and the reconstruction of the historic interiors of the private apartments of the Imperial Family.
As of 14th August, visitors can see the New Study of Nicholas II, Moorish Bathroom of Nicholas II, Working Study of Nicholas II, Reception Room of Nicholas II, the Valet’s Room, PLUS the Maple Drawing Room, Pallisander (Rosewood) Living Room, Mauve (Lilac) Boudoir, Alexandra’s Corner Reception Room, the Imperial Bedroom, the Small and Large Libraries and the Marble/Mountain Hall.
In addition, the State Halls located in the central part of the Alexander Palace will also be available to visit: the Portrait Hall, the Semi-Circular Hall and the Marlbe/Billiard Hall.
The Western wing is scheduled for completion no earlier than 2024. After the completion of the work, the Alexander Palace will become a multifunctional museum complex, which will include exhibition halls, halls for temporary exhibitions, halls for research work and conferences, as well as a library and a children’s center. The basement floor will house a ticket booth, a museum shop, a café, a cloakroom, a tour desk, as well as technical and ancillary facilities.
Dear Reader: If you enjoy my articles and updated on the history and restoration of the Alexander Palace, then please help support my research by making a donation in US or Canadian dollars to my project The Truth About Nicholas II – please note that donations can be made by GoFundMe, PayPal, credit card, personal check or money order.
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PHOTO: Grand Duke George, Grand Duchess Xenia, Grand Duke Mikhail and Grand Duke Nicholas Alexandrovich [future Emperor Nicholas II] playing ice hockey on the skating rink of the Anichkov Palace, St. Petersburg. 1880s.
Emperor Nicholas II, was perhaps the most avid sportsman of all Russian tsars. He took up cycling at an early age, and, and from the 1890s developed a great passion for lawn tennis. In addition, he enjoyed hiking, swimming, shooting, and all kinds of physical activity, from long walks in the park with his dogs, chopping wood and shovelling snow.
In his youth, Nicholas also enjoyed ice skating and hockey. He learned how to skate during his family’s residency at Gatchina, where the garden would be flooded during the winter months, whereby the children of Emperor Alexander III would ice skate.
When the garden of the Anichkov Palace – the residence of Alexander III in St. Petersburg – was expanded, ice mountains and a skating rink were arranged in the garden. The August children: Nicholas, George, Xenia, Mikhail and later Olga, gathered here with invited friends, the Emperor often taking part in their games on the frozen ice.
Nicholas knew how to skate, but he was not a big fan, he preferred ice hockey. He even played hockey without skates, but in boots, with bent sticks [see photos], chasing a rubber ball.
During his first years as Emperor, Nicholas Alexandrovich managed to find time to visit the skating rink at the Anichkov Palace, where his mother Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna was living at the time. During the winter of 1894–1895, when the 26-year-old Tsar was overwhelmed with his duties as Emperor and Autocrat. In addition, his young wife Empress Alexandra Feodorovna demanded attention. Nevertheless, during the winter of 1895, Nicholas managed to enjoy the skating rink at the Anichkov Palace on three separate occasions: 13th and 20th January and 8th February respectively.
PHOTO: Grand Duke Nicholas Alexandrovich [future Emperor Nicholas II] with members of his family playing ice hockey on the skating rink of the Anichkov Palace, St. Petersburg; his father Emperor Alexander III is seated on the far right. Late 1880s-early 1890s.
Nicholas II was delighted when he discovered that his beloved Alix also knew how to skate, especially since his 23-year-old wife constantly complained of pain in her legs. The tsar wrote: “We skated, Alix is very good on them.” Due to health issues, Alexandra Feodorovna was forced to hang up her ice skates.
In January 1896, Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodrovna settled down in the new apartments prepared for them in the Winter Palace. As a loving son, the Emperor and his wife went daily to tea at the Anichkov Palace to see his mother, where he often took the opportunity to skate for a couple of hours on the rink with old friends.
On 4th January 1896, Nicholas II wrote in his diary: “Went to breakfast in Anichkov. We walked in the garden and played as before on the rink; Xenia and Sandro were skating.” Nicholas II often visited the skating rink that winter. In January 1896 he visited the rink 13 times. Even in bad weather Nicholas skated regardless: “There was a blizzard on the rink, so you could hardly see the balls”; “A strong wind was blowing, preventing the balls from flying”; “The fog was very thick, so it was difficult to play on the rink because the balls were not visible.”
However, life took its toll. The Emperor matured, his family grew rapidly. Political problems grew, and by the early 1900s, his winter skating rinks, which he enjoyed so much moved into the realm of dreams past.
PHOTO: Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna were present at the canonization of Seraphim of Sarov (1754-1833) on 1 August (O.S. 19 July) 1903
On 1st August, Russian Orthodox Christians celebrate the canonization of Seraphim of Sarov (1754-1833), one of the most revered saints in the Russian Orthodox Church.
During his reign, the pious Emperor Nicholas II sanctioned the canonization of more saints than any previous sovereign. Among those glorified during his reign were: St. Theodosius of Chernigov (glorified in 1896), St. Isidore of Yuriev (1897), St. Euphrosyne of Polotsk (1909), St. Anna of Kashin (1910), St. Joasaph of Belgorod (1911), St. Hermogenes of Moscow (1913), St. Pitirim of Tambov (1914), St. John (Maximovich) of Tobolsk (1916) and St. Paul of Tobolsk (1917).
At the end of January (O.S.) 1903, the Most Holy Synod, having received approval from Emperor Nicholas II, announced Seraphim’s forthcoming glorification. In early July 1903, his relics were transferred from their original burial place to the Church of Saints Zosimus and Sabbatius in Sarov.
A beautiful marble shrine was arranged by Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna – “a luxurious work of art in the Russian style of Moscow,” said Metropolitan Veniamin (Fedchenkov). In addition, the August couple provided a new cypress coffin to receive the relics. The rug which covered the tomb was embroidered by the Empress’s own hands.
The solemn canonization festivities took place in Sarov on 1st August (O.S. 19th July) 1903 and were attended by Emperor Nicholas II, his wife Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, his mother Empress Maria Feodorovna, and numerous grand dukes and grand duchesses of the Imperial Family. More than 100,000 faithful from across the Russian Empire arrived in Sarov to take part in the Cross Procession.
The events at Sarov marked a momentous occasion in the life of Nicholas II. It was during this visit that the Emperor received a letter written by the saint some 70 years earlier. Shortly before his death in 1833, the saint had written this letter, sealed it with five wax seals and addressed it “to the fourth sovereign who will arrive in Sarov, and as yet is not known”.
PHOTO: wall painting depicting Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna with Blessed Parasceva Fool-for-Christ, in the Church of Our Lady of Kazan of the Diveyevo Monastery
He then gave it to Elena Motovilova, whose husband is now well-known for recording his conversation with the saint about the acquisition of the Holy Spirit. She kept that letter for seventy years and gave it to the Tsar at the glorification ceremony.
Although the Sovereign never revealed the letter’s contents, it is believed that it was a prophecy of the bloodshed that would engulf Russia in less than fifteen years. According to the recollections of eyewitnesses, after reading the letter the Emperor wept bitterly.
Seraphim of Sarov correctly predicted the inevitable death of the Emperor and his family. He said that after him there will be no more tsars in Russia. But he noted that Nicholas II would be elevated higher than all the tsars, apparently anticipating the canonization of the Imperial family.[1] The saint also predicted future trials for Russia: the plundering of monasteries and church property, the tragic death of a large number of people, troubled times and rebirth after.
Furthermore, on the return trip from Sarov, the Imperial Family visited St. Seraphim’s Diveyevo Convent where Blessed Parasceva Fool-for-Christ [2] spoke to them for several hours; it is said that she foretold to them their own martyrdom as well as that of Holy Russia.
Following the Bolshevik Revolution, as part of their persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Bolsheviks confiscated many relics of saints, including St. Seraphim. The fate of the letter remains unknown.
In 1991, St. Seraphim’s relics were rediscovered after being hidden in a Soviet anti-religious museum for seventy years. This caused a sensation in post-Soviet Russia and throughout the Orthodox world. A crucession (religious procession) escorted the relics, to her final resting place, near the altar of the Trinity Cathedral of the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery. [3]
PHOTO: Icon of Saint Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II holding an icon of Saint Seraphim of Sarov
NOTES:
[1] On 1st November 1981, Emperor Nicholas II and his family were canonized as new martyrs by the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCOR), however, it was not until 20th August 2000, that they were canonized as passion bearers by the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church.
[2] Praskovya Semyonovna Dybina was born in 1795. The famous nun confessor died on 5th October (O.S. 22nd September) 1915, at the age of 120.
On 31st July 2004, Blessed Paraskeva was numbered among the locally revered saints of the Nizhny Novgorod diocese, and on 6th October of the same year, the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church established her church-wide veneration. The holy relics were uncovered on 20th September 2004 and now rest in the Church of Our Lady of Kazan of the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery. Her memory is celebrated on 5th October (O.S. 22nd) September.
[3] The Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery is situated 12 km from Sarov, and 185 km from the city of Nizhny Novgorod.
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