On 21st September 2023, a new exhibition ‘Imperial Visits to the Crimea: 1900, 1902, 1909‘ opened in the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selo.

NOTE: during their visits to Crimea, Nicholas II and his family stayed in the Small (Maly) Palace, until 1911, when the iconic white stone palace was constructed on the site of the Large (Bolshoi) Palace, by the Russian architect Nikolai Krasnov (1864-1939).

The Small Palace survived until the Great Patriotic War (1941-45). While there is no exact information about the destruction of the palace, some say it was the work of the Nazis, while others cite evidence from local eyewitnesses that it was the Soviets who set fire to the historic wooden palace – PG

PHOTO: early 20th century postcards depicting palaces along the Black Sea coast, including the wooden palaces at Livadia – the Large (Bolshoi) and Small (Maly) Palaces are depicted above the photo of the Rotunda at Oreanda (bottom)

The exhibit is a joint project of the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum and the Alupka Palace Museum (Crimea), which showcases photographs from the private albums of Emperor Nicholas II and his family, as well as imperial memorabilia from the Tsarskoe Selo collection.

The albums with photographs capturing Emperor Nicholas II and his family during their visits to the Crimea in 1900-1909 were made for the Romanovs by K.E. von Gan & Co., a famous photography atelier in the town of Tsarskoye Selo, who were licensed to photograph the imperial family.

Their photographer and cinematographer Alexander Karlovich Yagelsky (1861-1916) used a then-innovative approach by printing still frames from film reels and thus getting more real, ‘live’ photos instead of stiff, staged shots. 

The photographs on display show the Imperial Family in Livadia, Yalta, Oreanda and Sebastopol, visiting infirmaries, regimental celebrations, the ship Rostislav and cruiser Pamiat’ Merkuria (Memory of Mercury), meeting with veterans and sisters of mercy of the Crimean War, as well as walking around or playing ball and lawn tennis. 

“This is not just a series of photographs from beautifully designed albums with impeccable artistic taste. Before us are documents of the era that allow us to look into the past and see the people and events of the early 20th century through the eyes of the last Tsar and his family,” said Iraida Bott, Deputy Director for Research at the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum-Reserve.

An interactive touch table at the exhibition gives access to other over 130 digitized photos from the imperial albums.

Among the items of imperial memorabilia on display are Tsesarevich Alexei’s hat of a lower-rank officer from the imperial yacht Standart, Emperor Nicholas II’s jacket of a Naval Captain 1st rank, Empress Alexandra Fiodorovna’s dress, worn during their visits to Crimea in the early 20th century.

The exhibition runs until 20th November 2023.

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In 2013, the photographs from this exhibition were published in a large 240-page hardcover album – *Августейшие визиты в Крым. 1900, 1902, 1909 (Imperial Visits to Crimea. 1900, 1902, 1909). Only 1000 copies were printed.

*I regret that I do not know how to obtain copies, or where copies can be obtained. Current financial sanctions imposed on Russia by the West, it is impossible to order from Russian booksellers in the Russian Federation – PG

© Paul Gilbert. 27 September 2023