March | 2024 | Nicholas II

Nicholas II’s motorcars and the Imperial Garage in Mogilev, 1915-17

Posted on March 14, 2024 by Paul Gilbert

PHOTO: Emperor Nicholas II and Major-General V. Voeikov at the General Headquarters in Mogilev. 1915-1916. Several of the motorcars from the Imperial Garage can be seen in the background.

In the early 20th century, Emperor Nicholas II took a keen interest in the latest fad which was sweeping Europe: the motorcar. By the end of his reign in March 1917, he had amassed an impressive collection of 56 automobiles. None of the European monarchs could boast of such an impressive fleet of vehicles!

His Imperial Majesty’s Own Garage was created for the Emperor’s collection. Imperial Garages were built in Moscow, the Winter Palace (St. Petersburg), Tsarskoye Selo and Livadia. During the war years, an additional garage was built at Mogilev.

On 8th August 1915, the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces (Stavka) of the Russian Empire was transferred from Baranovichi to Mogilev. From August 1915 to March 1917, Emperor Nicholas II, served as Commander-in-Chief.

The Tsar travelled back and forth on the Imperial Train, from Tsarskoye Selo to Mogilev, where he settled in the Governor’s House, situated on Gubernatorskaya Square. He was often accompanied by his son Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich.

PHOTO: Nicholas II’s motorcars were transported to Mogilev by rail, a special carriage was hitched to the end of the Imperial Train, which featured a ramp to drive the cars on and off.

When Nicholas II moved to Mogilev, he brought with him some of his motorcars from the Imperial Garage in Tsarskoye Selo. According to Nicholas II’s personal security chief Major General Alexander Spiridovich, who often accompanied the Tsar on these trips, recalled:

“The last carriage of our train was the ingeniously invented by [Adolfe] Kegress. The garage car transported the imperial automobiles, and provided accommodation for the chauffeurs. The back wall of this carriage could fold up and down, the latter providing a gangway, along which the motorcars could drive on or off the carriaget. In appearance, this carriage was no different from the other carriagess of the Imperial Train.”

A special 20-meter-long Imperial Garage was installed near the Governor’s House, which could accommodate 4-5 vehicles, as well as a workshop, spare parts, gasoline and lubricants.

In addition to the triple phaeton, two Delaunay-Belleville 40/45 CV with a landole body and two limousines: a Roll-Royce 40/50 HP and a Renault 40 CV, were also parked in the garage. The latter vehicles were used by members of the Imperial Family and their retinue, when they visited Mogilev.

PHOTO: three of Nicholas II’s motorcars parked on Gubernatorskaya Square. On the right is Delaunay-Belleville triple-phaeton, on the left are two Delaunay-Belleville with a landole body.

PHOTO: Arrival of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna to the General Headquarters in Mogilev in the summer of 1916. The Tsarina preferred closed cars.In front is a Renault 40 CV limousine. Behind is a Rolls-Royce 40/50HP.

Nicholas II himself preferred to drive a Delaunay-Belleville 40/45 CV with a triple-phaeton body, a seven-seater car with three rows of seats, a convertible roof and a 45 horsepower engine. The engine provided speeds of up to 90 km per hour. In addition, unlike serial models, the imperial motorcars were equipped with double steering rods and a disc clutch instead of a conical one.

The horses in Mogilev were frightened by the noisey, speeding motorcars, so before each trip, agents of the security department and the police were posted along the entire route, and traffic along Dneprovsky Prospekt was temporarily halted.

For political reasons, Nicholas II preferred riding in open vehicles. The Tsar believed that he should be visible to the people, and although the guards repeatedly urged him to move around the city in a closed vehicle, Nicholas II, as a rule, drove in open ones.

In the city itself, the imperial motorcars had only one route: from Gubernatorskaya Square, to the military platform of the Mogilev railway station, where the Imperial Trains [there were 2] were parked. The main routes were along the Bobruisk and Orsha highways, on which, the Tsar often ordered the driver to stop, so that he could get out and go for a walk in the forest, which he so enjoyed. Nicholas II did not change this habit until his abdication, when he made his last motorcar ride on 27th February, 1917, which was when the first telegrams informing about the riots in Petrograd arrived at Stavka.

PHOTOl Emperor Nicholas II arrives at Mogilev

FURTHER READING:

Why did Nicholas II’s favourite motorcar sport a swastika?

The fate of Nicholas II’s favourite motorcar

Exhibition dedicated to the 115th anniversary of His Imperial Majesty’s Own Garage opens in Moscow

NEW 4-volume set of books celebrates Emperor Nicholas II’s motorcar collection

DAGMAR: Empress Marie Feodorovna and Her Family

Posted on March 14, 2024 by Paul Gilbert

*This title is available from AMAZON in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia,
France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and Japan

CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE HARD COVER EDITION @ $25.00 USD

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English. 204 pages, with notes and illustrations

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Little Mother of Russia: A Biography of Empress Marie Feodorovna by Coryne Hall. Since it’s publication in 1999, she has written a number of new articles about Empress Marie Feodorovna and her family based on new research.

These works are presented in DAGMAR, and include chapters on Tsar Alexander III’s Imperial Fishing Lodge in Finland; the friendship of French tutor Ferdinand Thormeyer and Alexander III’s family; Marie’s relationship with her sister the British queen Alexandra; Marie’s fate following the Russian Revolution; her years of exile in Denmark; her death in 1928, and her reburial in Russia in 2006.

In addition is a chapter about her son Emperor Nicholas II’s close relationship with the Kingdom of Denmark and his Danish relatives.

Finally, Coryne Hall provides a fascinating study of Daniah efforts to help members of the Russian Imperial Family in Bolshevik Russia.

Also by Coryne Hall – Nicholas II and the British Monarchs (published in 2023).

‘The Tsar’s Family. Ascent’ exhibition opens in Novocherkassk

Posted on March 13, 2024 by Paul Gilbert

On 10th March 2024, The Tsar’s Family. Ascent exhibition, opened in the Ascension Military All-Cossack Patriarchal Cathedral in Novocherkassk, situated in the Rostov district. The cathedral serves as the main church of the Don Cossacks.

The exhibition explores the life, service and spiritual path of Emperor Nicholas II and his family.

On display, are more than 100 photographs, 23 reproductions of famous paintings and portraits, archival documents, military banners from various regiments of the Russian Imperial Army and more.

The project was organized by the press secretary of the Mogilev diocese, Ilya Sidorovich. Exhibits were collected from the funds of the State Archives of the Russian Federation (GARF), the Russian State of Film and Photo Archive (RGAKFD), museums and private collections in Moscow, Tsarskoye Selo, and Mogilev. exhibition

PHOTOS: the exhibition was attended by the Governor of the Rostov Region

The rector of the Ascension Cathedral, Archpriest Georgy Smorkalov, noted that it was no coincidence that Novocherkassk was selected to host the exhibition. Emperor Nicholas II visited Novocherkassk on several occasions and visited the Cathedral Church of the Don Army. It is interesting to note, that one of the few lifetime portraits of Emperor Nicholas II – not held in any museum fund – today, hangs in the “Royal Chambers” of the cathedral.

The travelling exhibition is currently touring Russia and Belarus, and has been held in a number of cities, including Mogilev, where from 1915 to 1917, served as the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, under Emperor Nicholas II.

The grand opening of the exhibition was attended by the Governor of the Rostov Region, Vasily Golubev, the Minister of Culture of the region Anna Dmitrieva, and local government other officials.

The Tsar’s Family. Ascent exhibition runs until 5th May 2024.

Miraculous Icon of Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II brought to Tashkent

Posted on March 12, 2024 by Paul Gilbert

PHOTO: Metropolitan Vikenty of Tashkent and Uzbekistan solemnly carries the miraculous myrrh-streaming icon of Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II, around the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos in Tashkent

On 10th March 2024, Metropolitan Vikenty of Tashkent and Uzbekistan, celebrated a Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos in Tashkent. An All-Night Vigil was served the night before. Prior to the beginning of the Divine Liturgy, Metropolitan Vikenty solemnly carried the miraculous myrrh-streaming icon of Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II under the vaults of the cathedral, after which the Godenov Cross was reinstalled in the cathedral.

Upon completion of the Divine Liturgy, Metropolitan Vikenty congratulated the faithful on Sunday, reminding everyone that this week before Great Lent is called the Sunday of the Last Judgment.

PHOTO: Metropolitan Vikenty of Tashkent and Uzbekistan

In his sermon, His Eminence the Archpastor also expressed his gratitude to the custodian of the miraculous image of Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II, Alexander Chernavsky, for the opportunity for the Orthodox faithful of Uzbekistan to venerate this famous shrine.

It was noted that the myrrh-streaming icon will also be brought to the churches of the Tashkent deanery.

PHOTO: the miraculous myrrh-streaming icon of Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II

Livadia hosts new exhibition dedicated to the Romanovs in Crimea

Posted on March 3, 2024 by Paul Gilbert

On 24th February 2024, the exhibition There was life in the Crimea…, opened in the Exhibition Hall of Livadia Palace, situated near Yalta on the southern coast of Crimea. The exhibit is part of The Romanovs in Crimea, which is on permanent display on the second floor of the palace.

The exhibition showcases items from the collection of Livadia Palace Museum, and explores the pastimes and private lives of Emperor Nicholas II and his family, during their stays at Livadia during the first decade of the 20th century.

The Tsar and his family were very fond of their southern coastal estate, especially during the warm summer months. It was only on one occasion, that the Imperial Family were forced to extend their stay. During their visit to Crimea in 1900, the Sovereign fell ill with typhoid, forcing the Imperial Family to extend their stay until Christmas. This period is documented in the exhibition with copies of watercolours from the album “Livadia. 1900-1901” by the court painter Mihály Zichy (1827-1906). The watercolours, in the form of collages, depict episodes of the life of the Imperial Family during their stay in Crimea.

Among them are collages depicting the Imperial Family on the Imperial Yacht “Shtandart“; the meeting of Nicholas II with his his cousin Prince George of Greece; the reception of the Turkish envoy; the Tsar during his illness in 1900; the reception of deputies of the Taurida province; the Tsar’s meeting with the Knights of St. George; equestrian riding; playing board games, etc.

It is interesting to note, that in 2015, a number of these watercolours were reproduced in a handsome Russian language album, “Царское имение Ливадия в акварелях и фотодокументах [The Tsar’s Livadia Estate in Watercolors and Photographic Documents] by Lyudmila Aleksandrovna Tikhonova.

Also on display at the exhibition, are sheet music of classical works and phonograph records, which were fashionable at the beginning of the 20th century. The Tsar and his family often listened to these records in the palace’s Music Room. On other occasions, the Empress and her daughters would play pieces from the sheet music on the piano.

The last time that Nicholas II and his family visited the old wooden palaces at Livadia, was in the autumn of 1909. The exhibition features an interecting collection of photographs of this visit.

The old wooden Grand Palace was demolished in 1910, to make way for a new Italian Neo-Renaissance style stone palace, which would serve as the residence of Nicholas II and his family during their visits to Crimea. The Imperial family visited their new white palace in the fall of 1911 and 1913 and in the spring of 1912 and 1914.

Family Disloyalty: Nicholas II and the Vladimirovichi

Posted on March 1, 2024 by Paul Gilbert

PHOTO: Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich,
Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna and Emperor Nicholas II

During the final years of his reign, Emperor Nicholas II was more than aware that the various branches of his family were creating a politically dangerous situation by their open hostility towards him. Among them were his cousin Grand Duke Nicholas “Nikolasha” Nikolaevich (1856-1929) and uncle Grand Duke Nicholas “Bimbo” Mikhailovich (1859-1919), however, it was the hostility which simmered from the Vladimirovich branch of the family which posed the greatest threat to him.

The Vladimirovichi are inextricably linked to the many myths and lies which have been allowed to germinate for more than a century, and continue to overshadow the life and reign of Russia’s much slandered Tsar to this day. Some members of the Vladimirovichi were, devoid of principle. They embodied the “treason, cowardice and deceit” that Nicholas II recorded in his diary, following his abdication in March 1917.

Over the past few years, I have been researching new documents from Russian archival and media sourcesl for my forthcoming book ‘Kirill: Traitor to the Tsar’, which is now scheduled for publication in 2025. Watch for my ads in both Majesty and Russian Life magazines!

Below, is a short summary of just some of the issues which I will discuss in my book:

In part one, The Vladimirovichi: Uncle Vladimir and Aunt Miechen, I discuss the often hostile relationship between Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich and his wife Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna towards Emperor Nicholas II. During the last years of Vladimir’s life, the rift between his family and that of Nicholas II widened.

Vladimir’s German born wife, Maria Pavlovna (née Duchess Marie Alexandrine Elisabeth Eleonore of Mecklenburg-Schwerin), a vile opportunist with an over inflated ego, carried the family’s anti-Nicholas agenda to the end of her days. She was known in the family as “Miechen” or “Maria Pavlovna the Elder,” and was well known for her acid tongue and spiteful demeanour. The power hungry Maria Pavlovna had an open rivalry with her sister-in-law the Empress Maria Feodorovna (wife of Emperor Alexander III) as well as Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (wife of Emperor Nicholas II), the latter of which Maria Pavlovna was notorious for plotting against and spreading malicious gossip. She was also very crafty. Maria remained Lutheran throughout most of her marriage, but converted to Orthodoxy in April 1908, believing it would give her son Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich a better chance at claiming the throne.

The treachery and deceit which emanated from the Vladimir Palace in St Petersburg, where Maria Pavlovna held her own rival Court, was not restricted to the senior grand ducal couple, but also to their eldest son and his wife Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich and Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna.

In part two, Kirill and Ducky , I discuss Kirill entering into an incestuous marriage his paternal first cousin [forbidden by the Russian Orthodox Church], Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1905, both defying Nicholas II by not obtaining his consent prior, but also the consent of King Edward VII. However, it was Kirill’s traitorous act during the February Revolution of 1917, in which he is most famous for. It was in Petrograd, that Kirill marched to the Tauride Palace at the head of the Garde Equipage (Marine Guard) to swear allegiance to the new Provisional Government, wearing a red band on his uniform. He then authorized the flying of a red flag over his palace on Glinka Street in Petrograd. In 1924, Kirill pompously proclaimed himself “emperor-in-exile”. I also discuss Kirill and Ducky’s alleged Nazi affiliations during their years in exile, and Kirill’s infidelity.

It is ironic that following the 1917 Revolution, ALL the members of the Vladimirovich branch of the family managed to get out of Russia, with the exception of Grand Duke Vladimir who had died in 1909

My study will feature excerpts from letters by Nicholas II, his mother Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna, Queen Marie of Roumania among others, as well as letters and excerpts from Russian sources, translated and published for the first time.

Why is this story relevant?

During the Nicholas II Conference, held in Colchester, England on 27th October 2018, I announced that I would be committing myself to researching and writing about the life and reign of Nicholas II. In addition, I announced my personal mission to clear the name of Russia’s much slandered Emperor. As part of the latter, I believe that a comprehensive study of the relationship between the Vladimirovich branch of the Imperial Family and Nicholas II, was an important historical issue which had to be addressed.

As a result, I severed all ties with Maria Vladimirovna and her son George Mikhailovich, as well as the Russian Legitimist cause. My main reason being that my conscious would no longer allow me to support or promote the activities of this branch of the Imperial Family.

Many monarchists (myself included) and those faithful to the memory of Nicholas II, believe that Maria Pavlovna’s malicious gossip and intrigues against Nicholas II, and her son Kirill’s act of treason in 1917, should eliminate the Vladimir branch of the Russian Imperial Family from any further consideration.

In 2011, I interviewed Maria asking her the following two questions on Nicholas II:

“For nearly a century, the last Emperor of Russia, Nicholas II, has been maligned and slandered by Western historians and biographers. In your opinion, how have these historians and authors been mistaken about Nicholas II?”

and secondly . . .

“In your view, why is the rehabilitation of the Tsar-Martyr Emperor Nicholas II by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation so important for a proper understanding of Russian history?”

Her responses were indeed admirable, however, her refusal to acknowledge the open hostility and treachery of her ancestors towards Nicholas II, in which she remains defensive.

On 2nd September 2020, Maria Vladimirovna, stated the following on her web site:

“She [Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna] was critical of some aspects of the official political course, but she always retained her loyalty and love for Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. She was subjected to slanderous persecution by the court intriguers, who sought to sow discord within the Imperial Family.”

Maria Vladimirovna’s attempt to whitewash the truth about her power hungry great-grandmother and her traitorous grandfather, eluding that she was the victim of “slanderous persecution” is utter nonsense! One cannot sweep history under the rug. Maria and her supporters do not want her ancestors exposed for what they are: traitors! Maria might just gain some respect, if she simply spoke honestly, and admitted that her grandfather and great-grandmother were a rotten pair.

In addition, I like many others, believe that the Russian Imperial House ended with the death of Nicholas II, on 17th July 1918. The “Russian Imperial House” – as it exists today – consists of no more than four people: a woman who is Russian only because Yeltsin gave her family Russian passports, she failed Russian at Oxford University, and currently lives in Spain; her son, is a Hohenzollern prince and nothing more. Their claim to the now defunct Russian throne is disputed by many Russians.

Below, is the cover of my forthcoming book Kirill: Traitor to the Tsar, now scheduled for publication in 2025 . . . more than 200 pages, it will be available in hard cover, paperback and ebook editions! Watch for my ads in both Majesty and Russian Life magazines!

Nicholas II

Emperor Tsar Saint

Month: March 2024