Month: July 2024

Obituary: Prince Michael of Greece (1939-2024)

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

PHOTO: Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark (1939-2024)

On 28th July 2024, Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark died in Athens, Greece, at the age of 85. He was the last surviving grandchild of King George I of Greece (1845-1913) with a lineage to the House of Bourbon through his mother’s side of the family and the last surviving great-grandchild of King Christian IX of Denmark (1818-1906). In addition, he was a first cousin of numerous royals, including King Charles III of Great Britain.

Prince Michael was born on 7th January 1939, in Rome to Prince Christopher of Greece and Denmark (1888-1940) and his second wife, Princess Françoise d’Orléans (1902-1953). His godparents were his two first cousins Queen Helen, Queen Mother of Romania (1896-1982) and King George II of Greece (1890-1947).

Sadly, he had a very traumatic childhood, his father died a year after his birth and his mother died in 1953. Before she passed away, Francoise d’Oreleans settled her son in Spanish Morocco, alongside her brother, the Orleanist claimant to the French throne, Henri of Orléans, (1908-1999) and his wife Princess Isabelle Murat and their family of 11 children. Prince Michael would live with his uncle Henri after the death of his mother, returning to Paris once the royal banishment laws had been overturned, and moving into the Manoir du Cœur Volant estate near Versailles.

Spending his young adulthood in Paris, he studied political science and then re-patriated to Greece for military duty, serving a term in the Hellenic Coast Guard, discharged with the rank of Sub-lieutenant.

Prince Michael inherited from his mother a half-interest in the domain of the Nouvion-en-Thiérache, once the seat of the Dukes of Guise, from whom the Bourbon-Orléans inherited the vast property, which included a grand château and a petit château, in Aisne. The Comte de Paris owned the other half of the Nouvion. He and Michael sold the grand château in 1980, while the petit château was sold in 1986.

Prince Michael grew up to become a  a renowned writer and historian under the pseudonym Michel De Grece. He penned several biographies about members of ruling dynasties, those about contemporaries often including accounts and anecdotes attributed to his royal relatives. 

He also authored novels about historical royalty, distinguished for meticulous detail. He was also the author of several richly illustrated pictorials, including The royal house of Greece (1988), Imperial Palaces of Russia (1992), Nicholas and Alexandra: The Family Albums (1992), and Jewels of the Tsars (2006).

His book on Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, was one of the first large format pictorials to be published on the last Tsar and his family. Featuring nearly 300 black and white photos from the State Archives of the Ryssuab Federaion (GARF), it remains a favourite among Romanophiles, and is highly sought after by collectors.

Michael married Marina Karella (born 17 July 1940) on 7th February 1965 in Athens. The marriage was held at the Royal Palace in Athens. This was a non-dynastic marriage, which obtained the legally required authorisation of King Constantine II (1940-2023) only after Michael renounced all rights of succession to the Greek throne for himself and his descendants. The couple had two daughters: Alexandra (b. 1968) and Olga (b. 1971).

Prince Michael died at a hospital in Athens, on 28th July 2024, at the age of 85. His funeral is to be held on 1st August 2024 at the Church of Saint Theodores in the First Cemetery of Athens, followed by burial in the Tatoi Royal Cemetery.

MEMORY ETERNAL

© Paul Gilbert. 31 July 2024

Fabergé items added to the funds of the Nicholas II museum in Kotelniki

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

Lyudmila Grosarchuk, curator of the museum Museum in Memory of
Emperor Nicholas II and his Family presents a valet bell by Carl Fabergé.
Photo © Olga Feldfebeleva

On 29th July 2024, the Museum in Memory of Emperor Nicholas II and his Family in Kotelniki (near Moscow), held a press conference, in which they presented a number of beautiful Fabergé items, which the museum recently added to their collection.

“Each item has its own unique story,” said Lyudmila Grosarchuk, curator of the museum. “While the famous jeweler Carl Fabergé is well known for his magnificent Imperial Easter Egg creations, he is less known for many household items for the Imperial Family. For example, a thermometer and a valet bell from his factory are now part of our collection. New additions also include several Fabergé photo frames. By the way, the Fabergé company still exists, it is located in France. And in our collection there are copies of his famous Imperial Easter Eggs[1], made at a modern factory in France,” she added.

Fabergé frames and thermometer.
Photo © Olga Feldfebeleva

Detail of a thermometer by Fabergé.
Photo © Olga Feldfebeleva

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna loved modern things that made life easier for her servants in the Imperial residences: the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo, the Lower Dacha in Peterhof, and Livadia Palace in Crimea. One of these items turned out to be a room thermometer.

“Thermometers were made by the famous jeweler and were located in almost every room of the Imperial Family’s private apartments in the Winter Palace. Another interesting new item in our collection is an electric valet bell, which was a rarity at the beginning of the 20th century, it served to call a personal attendant to the Tsar or Tsarina. The bell came to our museum in bad condition, however, it has now been restore it to working order,” said Lyudmila Grosarchuk.

Pocket gold watch by Fabergé.
Photo © Olga Feldfebeleva

The receiving end of the valet bell by Fabergé.
Photo © Olga Feldfebeleva

The museum also has two truly unique exhibits. The first is an altar cross with an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos of Akhtyrka, painted by Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, sister of Nicholas II. The second exhibit is directly related to the last Emperor. This is a gold watch (see photo above) that Nicholas II presented to the best handicraftsman at the All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition of 1896, held in Nizhny Novgorod. The Emperor was so impressed by the skill of the handicraftsman, so he awarded him with a personalized gold watch.

“The museum is actively looking for more rarities to add to their funds, as well as the scientific study by the museum to establish the authenticity of each object which is acquired for their collection. The museum’s growing collection is the merit of our trustee Viktor Semyonov, who wants to show visitors something interesting, expanding their knowledge of the Imperial Family and opening the pages of our history with new facts,” Lyudmila Grosarchuk concluded.

NOTES:

[1] The Fabergé Museum in St. Petersburg, currently holds 9 Imperial Easter Eggs, while the Armoury Museum in Moscow has 10 Imperial Easter Eggs in it’s collection.

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The Museum in Memory of Emperor Nicholas II and His Family

CLICK on the VIDEO above for a tour of the Museum in Memory of Emperor Nicholas II and his Family. Note the wonderful framed portraits of the Tsar hanging in the rooms of the museum. The VIDEO is in Russian only, however, do not allow that to stop you from enjoying what this unique museum has to offer visitors. Duration: 1 minute, 47 seconds.

The little-known Museum in Memory of Emperor Nicholas II and His Family was established in November 2023, in the Belaya (White) Dacha Estate, which is located the former village of Kotelniki, now part of the Moscow region. It is the latest in a several museums dedicated to the last Tsar and his family to be established in recent years in the Russian Federation.

Below, are a selection of photographs which showcase some of the interiors of the museum, although the VIDEO above, shows them in greater detail, as well as the personal items and memorabiliar associated with Emperor Nicholas II and his family:

© Paul Gilbert. 30 July 2024

The abbess who came to the aid of the Imperial Family in Ekaterinbburg in 1918

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

Today – 29th July 2024 – marks the 90th anniversary of the death of Schema Magdalena (Dosmanova), the last abbess of the Novo-Tikhvinsky Convent[1] in Ekaterinburg before the October 1917 Revolution.

An early calling

Pelagia Stefanovna Dosmanova (future mother Magdalena) was born in 1847 into a merchant family in the city of Irbit, Perm province. In 1859, her pious parents brought their 12-year-old daughter to the Novo-Tikhvinsky Monastery[2] in Ekaterinburg.

For her first obedience, the young novice helped in the convent candle factory, then in the rector’s cells. Over the years, she was entrusted with more and more complex and responsible obediences, and Sister Pelagia performed every task with zeal. All the sisters loved her, sensing in her a special spiritual strength, which was combined with a soft, loving attitude towards every person.

In 1893, Pelagia Dosmanova was tonsured and became the nun Magdalena, and just two years later the sisters unanimously elected her abbess “in the conviction that she was of a pious life, of a meek disposition,” as they wrote in the act of election.

PHOTO: the Novo-Tikhvinsky Convent [Monastery] [2] in Ekaterinburg

Mother Magdalena

Having become abbess, Mother Magdalena worked tirelessly: she decorated the churches, equipped the cells of the sisters, ensuring that the monastery was in perfect order – she wanted the monastery to look like “paradise on earth”.

Matushka Magdalena taught the sisters to pray, and introduced them to reading books on which many generations of monastics were brought up from ancient times. She also took care of the spiritual needs of the faithful who lived near the monastery. Parents often came to visit the monastery, on one occasion a novice took them to the icon-painting workshop, Suddenly, unexpectedly for the parents, all the sisters who were there, as one, stood up and bowed low, with deep reverence. The parents were moved to tears.

Many girls came to the monastery to lead a monastic life under the wise guidance of Mother Magdalena. By 1917, the number of sisters had increased to almost a thousand.

During the First World War, Mother Magdalena, according to the commandment of the Lord, tried to ease the sorrows of her countrymen, the monastery donated money and valuables for the needs of Russia’s soldiers at the front; while an infirmary for wounded soldiers was arranged at the monastery.

PHOTO: Emperor Nicholas II and his family. 1913.

Comes to the aid of the Imperial Family in the Ipatiev House

In 1918, Ekaterinburg became a place of exile for many people who were deemed objectionable to the new Bolshevik order, which included bishops, priests and members of the Imperial Family. Mother Magdalena’s heart ached for every innocent prisoner.

From April to July, when Nicholas II and his family were kept under arrest in the Ipatiev House, the nuns of the Novo-Tikhvinsky Convent were praying for them, asking God to relieve their sufferings, and to give them the strength to bear everything with Christian humility.

The sisters’ help came not only through prayer but also through deeds. Often disregarding their own safety, they supported the Tsar and his family, by bringing various foods to them through the guards.

Matushka Magdalena gave her blessing to the sisters to carry food to the Ipatiev House for the imprisoned Emperor and his family: milk for Tsesarevich Alexei, cream, eggs, butter, bread, pastries, vegetables, and meat.

On 18th June 1918, a month before their murder, Empress Alexandra Feodorvna acknowledged the kindness shown them by the nuns, and made the following entry in her diary: “The kind nuns are now sending milk and eggs for Alexei and for us, as well as cream.”

The sisters carried food every day until the last day – 16th July – the eve of which the Imperial Family and their four faithful retainers were all shot to death in the basement of the Ipatiev House.

PHOTO: Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna

In May 1918, when the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna arrived in Ekaterinburg, she was placed under house arrest, along with other members of the Romanov family], and two faithful retainers. They were all held in the Atamanovskie Rooms Hotel [the building has survived to the present day].

The sisters petitioned the Bolsheviks for the Grand Duchess to be allowed to live in the monastery. However, their request was rejected. Two months later, they were sent to the city of Alapaevsk, where they too were murdered.

The sisters also came to the aid of Bishop Germogen (Dolganev) of Tobolsk, also imprisoned in a local jail. The nuns delivered dinner to Vladyka from the monastery, Mother Magdalena visited him, and one day, at her request, Vladyka was allowed to serve a mass in prison, at which many prisoners took communion.

Matushka Magdalena and the sisters of the the Novo-Tikhvinsky Convent performed a confessional feat, by openly helping the Imperial Family and other prisoners. Indeed, at that time people were afraid not only to help political prisoners, but even simply to express sympathy for them, knowing that their punishment could lead to imprisonment or execution.

PHOTO: Bolsheviks seize and confiscate valuables
from the Novo-Tikhvinsky Monastery, 1920s

“Monastery” on the Third Zagorodnaya

Sadly, the Novo-Tikhvinsky Monastery did not escape the fate suffered by most Orthodox churches and monasteries. In 1920, the monastery was closed, all the sisters were evicted. Over the gates of the monastery, the Bolsheviks hung a large banner: “Long live the World Communist Revolution!“. Mother Magdalene and the sisters looked at this slogan with heartache, often coming to pray at the walls of their native monastery. The monastery, which they had been landscaping for years, was now a pitiful sight, ravaged and defaced with communist inscriptions.

Mother Magdalena settled not far from the monastery, in a private house on Tretya Zagorodnaya Street (now Schmidt Street). Eighteen sisters came to live with her, while the others often came to her for prayer, advice and spiritual edification. During this mournful period, the virtues of Mother Magdalena and her spiritual experience acquired over many years were fully manifested. Having lost her pastoral position and her native monastery, she did not lose heart nor faith. Despite the hardships and persecutions under the Bolshevik and later the Soviet regimes, Matushka Magdalena remained true to her Orthodox faith.

In the house on Tretya Zagorodnaya, the sisters lived as they did in the monastery – every night they read the akathist in front of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God; during the day they worked, read the scriptures, and went to church together. Mother Magdalena combined prudent indulgence with moderate severity. She instructed the sisters to begin and end each day with the Jesus Prayer[3].

PORTRAIT: portrait of Schema Magdalena (Dosmanova). Artist unknown

Blessed Old Woman

The monastery had been closed for many years, yet despite this, new sisters still came to Mother Magdalena, who wanted to devote themselves to God.

In the 1920s, the Bolsheviks ordered the closure of churches and monasteries, and the arrest of priests, clergy, nuns and monks. The arrests carried out by the atheistic authorities did not bypass Mother Magdalena, but during interrogations she acted as a fool, which led the Chekists astray. She was arrested 8 times, and imprisoned for three months.

Three days before her death, Mother Magdalena predicted that she would die in three days. During the remaining three days of her life, she received daily communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. As Matushka Magdalena lay on her deathbed, many believers came to say goodbye to her. She blessed each of them with the icon of Christ the Redeemer, and the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

On 29th (O.S. 16th) July 1934, surrounded by her “children”, Mother Magdalena calmly surrendered her spirit to the Lord. Just before her death, she overshadowed everyone with the Tikhvin Icon and said: “I hand you over to the Mother of God …”.

PHOTO: Mother Magdalena’s final resting place, on the
grounds of the Novo-Tikhvinsky Convent in Ekaterinburg

Mother Magdalena was buried at the Ivanovo Cemetery, located in the city center of Ekaterinburg. A wooden cross was placed on the grave, and on the tablet the spiritual daughters wrote with reverence and love: “Pray to God for us, dear Matushka!”.

On 5th February 2021, Mother Magdalena’s earthly remains were exhumed from her grave in the Ivanovo Cemetery, and reburied in a new resting place at the Novo-Tikhvinsky Convent.

Memory Eternal! Вечная Память!

NOTES:

[1] The Novo-Tikhvinsy Convent is a community of female monastics. It was founded in the late 18th century, growing out of an alms-house at the cemetery church in Ekaterinburg. It is the home of the icon of the Tikhvin Mother of God. During the Tsarist period, the convent grew to consist of six churches, numerous cells, a hospital, and an almshouse. The dominant building on the monastery grounds is the cathedral dedicated to St. Alexander Nevsky.

[2] In English usage since about the 19th century the term “convent” almost invariably refers to a community of women, while “monastery” refers to a community of men. In historical usage they are often interchangeable.

[3] “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.

© Paul Gilbert. 29 July 2024

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The following NEW title was compiled and edited by independent researchers and Romanov historian Paul Gilbert was published in August 2024. 

This fascinating new study features 14 chapters on this tragic event, which include the memoirs of a British intelligence officer and journalist, and two First-English translations. In addition, 11 chapters were written by Paul Gilbert, based on new documents sourced from Russian archival and media sources over the past decade.

Please refer to the link provided for further details about the content of this new title . . .

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS TITLE

Tsar’s Days in Ekaterinburg 2024

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

On the night of 16/17 July 2024, on the eve of the Feast Day of the Holy Royal Martyrs[1], the Hierarchal Divine Liturgy was celebrated at the Church on the Blood in Ekaterinburg. This year marks the 106th anniversary of the murder of Emperor Nicholas II, his wife, their five children, and four faithful retainers.

Divine services were held in the Imperial Room[2], were led by the bishops who had arrived in the Ural capitol for Tsar’s Days: Bishop Roman of Rubtsovsk and Aleysk, and Bishop Leonty of Syzran and Shigon.

Concelebrating with the bishops were Archpriest Nikolai Tarantin, head of the protocol service of the Ekaterinburg Diocese, Archpriest Maxim Minyailo, chairman of the diocesan department for Church relations with society and the media, senior priest of the Church on the Blood, and Priest Daniel Ryabinin, head of the diocesan missionary department; Priest Pavel Starkov, head of the Youth Department, spiritual father of St. Simeon’s Orthodox Gymnasium (School); Rector of the Ekaterinburg Theological Seminary, Hieromonk Korniliy Zaitsev, Chief of Staff of the Synodal Diocese of the Ekaterinburg Diocese, Hieromonk Simeon (Seregin), and other clergymen of the Ekaterinburg Diocese.

Traditionally, the Divine Liturgy on the night of 16th July is celebrated with a large crowd of faithful – hundreds of believers prayed in the church.

The hymns of the service were sung by the choir of the Ekaterinburg Theological Seminary under the direction of Anastasia Mukhlynina, a graduate of the seminary’s choir director’s department.

Archpriest Sergiy Alexeev, a cleric of the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Ekaterinburg, addressed the faithful present with a sermon on the pre-communion verse.

Communion on this day was performed from five chalices – many pilgrims arrived in Ekaterinburg to pray at the main services of the Tsar’s Days and honour the memory of the Holy Royal Family.

At the end of the service, Metropolitan Evgeny of Ekaterinburg and Verkhoturye greeted the bishops, clergy and pilgrims who had arrived from across Russia and other countries for the Tsar’s Days.

Metropolitan Evgeny asked everyone to preserve the memory of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers and to imitate wisdom and strength in the love they showed. At 3:00 p.m., Little Vespers with an akathist to the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers was served in the Church-on-the-Blood, then at 4:30 p.m., the All-Night Vigil began on the square in front of the church, which was led by the Eminent Archpastors. The main service of the Tsar’s Days – the Divine Liturgy – began at midnight, followed by the Royal Cross Procession.

Procession of the Cross to Ganina Yama

In the early morning hours of 17th July 2024, the traditional Royal Cross Procession was held from the Church on the Blood in Ekaterinburg to the Monastery of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers at Ganina Yama – a 21 km.  [13 miles]  journey on foot[3]. The Cross Procession was preceded by a Divine Liturgy on the square in front of the church, which was headed by 13 bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church.

An estimated 45,000 faithful took part in this year’s Cross Procession, together with the head of the Ekaterinburg Metropolia, was led by Metropolitan Vikenty of Tashkent and Uzbekistan, head of the Central Asian Metropolitan District, and other archpastors.

Under the repentant Jesus Prayer: “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us!” – the multi-thousand column of believers, clergy and laity from across Russia – covered the distance in about four to five hours. Those who took part in the procession came from every corner of the Russian Federation – from Stavropol to Novosibirsk, from Astrakhan to Arkhangelsk, as well as abroad.

The procession was accompanied by 10 mobile aid groups of the Orthodox Mercy Service and volunteers of the Tsar’s Days.

In the Cross Procession, two Reliquaries were carried, the first Reliquary containing a part of the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos, which was donated to the Ekaterinburg Diocese, the second Reliquary containing the relics of 14 saints of the Ekaterinburg Metropolia: the Venerable Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, the Venerable Martyr nun Varvara (Barbara) Yakovleva, the Venerable Basilisk of Siberia, the Righteous Simeon of Verkhoturye, the Blessed Cosmas of Verkhoturye, the Venerable Elijah Chebotarev, the Hieromartyr Alexander Malinovsky, the Hieromartyr Arkady Gariaev, Hieromartyr Konstantin Bogoyavlensky, Hieromartyr Lev Ershov, Venerable Arefa Katargin, Hieromartyr Alexis Budrin, Venerable Confessor John (Chevroletin) and Hieromartyr Alexander Adrianov.

The Royal Cross Procession concluded with a moleben to the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers at the Monastery of the Holy Royal Martyrs at Ganina Yama.

The Most Reverend Archpastors, Bishop Evgeny and Bishop Vikenty, thanked the thousands of faithuful who took part in the Royal Cross Procession for their spiritual feat.

Divine Liturgies were celebrated in the seven churches of the monastery, the churches are dedicated to each of the seven members of the Imperial Family. As the day progresssed, more and more pilgrims arrived at the monastery for prayer and reflection.

Holy Royal Passion-Bearers, pray to God for us!
Святые Царственные страстотерпцы, молите Бога о нас!

NOTES:

[1] On 1st November 1981, the Imperial Family were canonized as new martyrs by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR).

On 20th August 2000, the the Imperial Family were canonized as passion-bearers by the Moscow Patriarchate.

Passion-bearers are people who face death with resignation, in a Christ-like manner, as distinguished from martyrs, the latter historically killed for their faith. Proponents cited the piety of the Tsar and his family and reports that the Tsarina and her eldest daughter Olga prayed and attempted to make the sign of the cross immediately before they died.

Despite their official designation as “passion-bearers” by the Moscow Patriarchate, they are nevertheless spoken of as “saints” in Orthodox publications, icons, and in popular veneration by the people.

[2] The Imperial Room is situated in the lower church sanctified in honor of the Holy Royal Martyrs. It was established on the site of the room located in the basement of the Ipatiev House, where Emperor Nicholas II, his family, and four retainers were all brutally murdered on the night of 16/17 July 1918.

[3] Once again, Porosenkov Log was not included in this year’s Cross Procession. Porosenkov Log is where the remains of the Imperial Family were exhumed in two separate graves in 1991 and 2007 respectively. Due to the fact that the Moscow Patriachate does not yet recognize the Ekaterinburg Remains as those of the Imperial Family. Their official recognition rests with the Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.

© Paul Gilbert. 25 July 2024

The myth that Nicholas II’s death was met with indifference by the Russian people

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

PHOTO: Revolutionaries burning the Tsar’s portrait in 1917. Artist: Ivan Alekseevich Vladimirov (1869-1947)

NOTE: this article was last updated on 24th July 2024 – PG

Contemporary historians have led us to believe that news of Nicholas II’s death was met with indifference among the Russian people. Rather than conduct their own research on the matter, they choose instead to rehash the popular Bolshevik version of events – this is in itself is not the sign of a good historian.

Recall that following the abdication of Nicholas II in February 1917 and the October 1917 Revolution, which resulted in a Bolshevok coup, it was clear that a return of the monarchy in Russia was hardly possible. But no one in Russia expected the brutal murder of the Tsar and his family. Earlier, the Bolsheviks had planned to hold an open trial of Nicholas II – in order to draw a symbolic line under the era of Tsarism in Russia. In particular, Trotsky advocated such a trial. Lenin, in turn, feared that the Romanovs were still loved by the people, and therefore the trial might not bring the fruits that the Bolsheviks would have wanted. Lenin considered that based on the events of the Civil War it would be more expedient to secretly kill the entire Imperial Family and remain silent about it as long as possible.

While the elation exhibited by the revolutionaries is indeed true, it did not reflect the heartfelt sentiments of millions of Orthodox Christians, monarchists and others in the former Russian Empire.

Patriarch Tikhon (1865-1925), openly defended the Imperial family, by condemning the Bolsheviks for committing regicide.

When the tragic news of the murder of the Tsar and his family came, the Patriarch immediately served a memorial service at a meeting of the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church; then served the funeral Liturgy, saying that no matter how how the Sovereign was judged by his enemies, his murder after he abdicated was an unjustified crime, and those who committed him should be branded as executioners.

During his sermon at the Kazan Cathedral in Moscow, Patriarch Tikhon said:

“… a terrible thing has happened: the former Tsar Nikolai Alexandrovich was shot, by decision of the Ural Regional Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies, and our highest government, the Executive Committee, not only approved it but deemed it as legitimate. But our Christian conscience, guided by the Word of God, cannot agree with this. We must, in obedience to the teaching of the Word of God, condemn this act, otherwise the Tsar’s blood will fall not just on those who committed it, but on all of us.

“We will not evaluate and judge the deeds of the former Sovereign: an impartial trial of him belongs to history, and now he faces the impartial judgment of God, but we know that he, abdicating the throne, did so with the good of Russia in mind and out of love for the Motherland. He could, after his abdication, have found security and a comparatively quiet life abroad, but he did not do so, choosing to stand with Russia. He did nothing to improve his situation, instead he meekly submitted to fate,

“… and suddenly he is sentenced to death somewhere in the depths of Russia, by a small handful of people, not for any guilt, but only for the fact that someone allegedly wanted to kidnap him [the Bolsheviks claimed that the Tsar’s family and supporters were attempting to rescue him]…

“Our conscience cannot be reconciled to this, and we must declare it loudly, as Christians, as sons of the church. Let them call us counter-revolutionaries for this, let them imprison us, let them shoot us. We are ready to endure this in the hope that the words of the Savior will be attributed to us: “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.”

PHOTO: Emperor Nicholas II with Archbishop (future Patriarch) Tikhon
at the Transfiguration Monastery. Yaroslavl, 21 May 1913

And others condemned the regicide . . .

Eugenie Fraser, born and raised in Russia writes about her years in Petrograd and news of the tsar’s death: “In August, filtered through from Siberia, came the news of the slaughter of the Royal family by the sadistic thugs of the Bolshevik party. Horror and revulsion touched every decent thinking citizen in the town. To execute the Tsar and his wife in this barbaric fashion was bad enough, but to butcher the four young girls and the helpless boy was the work of mindless criminals. In churches people went down on their knees and openly wept as they prayed for the souls of the Tsar and his family.”

“Even in all this turmoil and confusion, and even among those with little sympathy for the abdicated tsar, the brief five-line announcement in July 1918 of the execution of Nicholas II and his family in Ekaterinburg caused a terrible shock,” writes Serge Schmemann. He further notes “Prince Sergei Golitsyn recalled in his diary how people of all levels of society wept and prayed, and how he himself, as a nine year old boy, cried night after night in his pillow.”

Major-General Sir Alfred Knox further noted in his memoirs: “An old soldier . . . breathed into my ear that the Emperor was a good man, and fond of his people, but was surrounded by traitors.”

It is important to recall that it was in the summer of 1918, when Lenin unleashed the first Red Terror. People lived in fear of punishment from the thugs and criminals of the new order, for showing any sympathy for the murdered tsar. Many hid their framed portraits of the tsar, and kept their grief and monarchist sentiments to themselves.

NOTE: This article has been excerpted from my forthcoming book Nicholas II: A Century of Myths and Lies [publication date yet to be announced]

© Paul Gilbert. 24 July 2024

“There are still many conjectures surrounding the death of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna”

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

0300b

The Alapaevsk Martyrs painted in 1997 by the contemporary Russian artist Vera Glazunova

The above painting include: Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, Princes of the Imperial Blood Ioann, Konstantin and Igor Konstantinovich, Prince Vladimir Paley (son of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich), and two faithful servants: sister of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent Varvara Alekseevna (Yakovleva), and Fyodor Semyonovich (Mikhailovich) Remez, secretary of the Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich – PG

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WARNING: please be aware that this post includes graphic images of the dead bodies of the Alapaevsk victims, which some readers may find disturbing.

On this day – 18th July 1918 – Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna was murdered by the Bolsheviks in Alapaevsk. According to Russian historian and author Ludmila Kulikova, there are still many conjectures surrounding her death.

In 2019,  a new book titled «Крестный путь преподобномученицы Великой княгини Елисаветы Феодоровны на Алапаевскую Голгофу / The Way of the Cross of the Holy Martyr Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna to the Alapaevsk Golgotha» was published in Russia.

The Russian language book by Ludmila Kulikova, features 728 pages!, with photographs, and copies of original documents. It presents a new account of the life and death of the Grand Duchess, revealing many new details.

Kulikova challenges the findings presented by Lubov Miller in her book Grand Duchess Elizabeth of Russia: New Martyr of the Communist Yoke, published in 2009. The Russian author disputes Miller’s popular held belief, that the Grand Duchess and the other Alapaevsk victims were thrown into the mine alive. Kulikova also disputes Millers’ claims that the victims could be heard singing an Orthodox hymn from the mine shaft, that Elizabeth Feodorovna bandaged the head wound of Prince Ioann Konstantinovich in the dark, and more. According to Kulikova: “they are all myths!”

Kulikova points out that the findings of Lubov Miller are not confirmed by any documents of the original investigation and forensic medical examination. In order that readers can see for themselves, she decided to publish all the documents of the preliminary investigation on the murder of the Grand Duchess and members of the House of Romanov, which was conducted in 1918, by the investigator Nikolai Alekseevich Sokolov (1882-1924)..

There are a lot of documents in the file: protocols of the inspection of the mine, the bodies and personal items found, the results of the forensic medical examination, the interrogation of witnesses. These materials have not been published in full in Russia, only excerpts.

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Receipt signed by Grand Duchess Elizabeth and other members of the Imperial family
with regard to their transfer from Ekaterinburg to Alapaevsk, dated 19th May 1918

There was no singing of an Orthodox hymn from the mine

– With regard to the belief that after being pushed into the mine, the victims began to sing an Orthodox hymn, they are referring to the testimony of one of the witnesses, a local resident Alexander Samsonov. Samsonov brewed moonshine in the forest not far from Alapaevsk, but still far from the mine where the murder took place.

Acquaintances came to to warn him that he had been denounced for making moonshine (it was against the law). Samsonov hid the bottles and the still and returned home in the evening. The murder of the Alapaevsk martyrs was committed that night.

The version could also have come from the memories of one of the participants in the murder –  Vasily Ryabov (his memoirs were written later, but Kulikova gives an excerpt from them in my book). Ryabov tells how Elizabeth Feodorovna was first pushed into the mine, then Varvara, and suddenly everyone heard them floundering in the water, trying to save each other.

It was in these “memories” that he mentions the victims singing an Orthodox hymn “Save Lord, Your people” from the bottom of the mine. But none of this is supported by facts: the water was at the very bottom of the mine, but had been filled with debris. None of the bodies made it to the water. 

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The bodies of the Alapaevsk Martyrs were brought to the morgue in the
cemetery of the Church of St. Catherine. Alapaevsk. October 1918

Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna
Varvara (Yakovleva)
Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich
Fyodor Semyonovich (Mikhailovich) Remez

Prince Ioann Konstantinovich
Prince Igor Konstantinovich
Prince Konstantin Konstantinovich
Prince Vladimir Paley

First they were killed, then thrown into the mine

– After Alapaevsk was liberated from the Bolsheviks in September 1918 and occupied by the Siberian government troops, the search for the bodies of the members of the Imperial family began. The bodies were recovered and buried on 18th October, but the crypt was opened on 26th October, to exhume the bodies.

Materials of the forensic medical examination and autopsy show that all eight Alapaevsk martyrs were first inflicted with fatal blows, and then the bodies were thrown into the mine. The grenades the killers threw into the mine did not explode. More precisely, only one exploded, at the very top.

The conclusion of the examination and autopsy of the bodies was as follows: the death of seven of the *eight victims was due to blows with a blunt object on the head (one of them was also hit in the region of the heart) or as a result of falling into a mine. (* Only Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich showed a bullet hole in the crown of his head.)

The modern forensic experts to whom I passed the case file say that if these injuries were the result of falling into the mine, they would not be the same for all the victims.

The specialists with whom I spoke, consider the traces of injuries to be the result of a strong blow, and the murder weapon, presumably, could have been an ax with a wide blade and a short hatchet – exactly what they found in the mine. The killers most likely hit their victims with the side of the ax, resulting in cerebral edema and death.

Perhaps it was a method of murder that had already been repeatedly tested: the trauma left little (if any) chance of survival. 

Only one of the victims of the massacre was still alive after the blow – Fyodor Semyonovich Remez, secretary of the Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich. Fyodor Remez. Having gathered his last strength, he managed to crawl along the track which transported the coal to the engine room. This is where his body was found.

Perhaps, for a short time, a glimmer of life still glowed in Varvara Alekseevna Yakovleva,  judging by the fact that her fingers were “set in the formation of the blessing of the Cross”, as recorded in the file.

I believe that this was the fate of Remez and Varvara, because the killers treated the servants differently: they struck a blow, and pushed their bodies into the mine shaft. The main goal of the murderers was to kill the Romanovs.

The fact that Elizabeth Feodorovna was already dead when she fell into the mine is indicated by the position in which her body was found. Her body lay vertical, her arms folded over her body. If a living person falls down a depth of 15 metres (50 ft.), it would be impossible to fold ones arms so evenly.

It should also be noted that both hands of Elizabeth Feodorovna were tightly clenched, fingers bent, her nails sunk into the skin – this happens when a person is in severe pain.

In one hand, she clutched two laced bags containing some small items. Her head, eyes and nose were tied with a handkerchief folded in four layers. So, even if she remained alive in the mine, her position and the scarf on her face and head, from which she did not free herself, do not correspond to the version about bandaging the wounded grand duke.

All this speculation came about because Lubov Miller, who lived in Australia, came to Russia to work in the archives, but many archives were still closed at that time. The first edition of her book was published in 1988, therefore, she had no way of checking all the facts.

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Malshikov and his team at the mine where the Alapaevsk Martyrs bodies were thrown

Facts show that there was no monastic tonsure

– There is a version that Elizabeth Feodorovna also took monastic vows with the name Alexia – in honor of Saint Alexei of Moscow, whom she especially venerated.

There are no documents confirming the tonsure of the martyrs, but that is not the point, because the tonsure would be secret. Proof of this absence, Kulikova cites the following:

The materials of the investigation describe in detail all the clothes in which the Grand Duchess and sister Varvara wore at the time of their death. Everything! And nowhere is the obligatory part of the monastic vestment mentioned – the paraman, which is worn under the clothes mentioned. Neither on Elizabeth Feodorovna or Varvara Alekseevna.

Monks wear Paraman constantly as a sign of their accepted vows. The Alapaevsk prisoners lived in anticipation of death, so it is difficult to imagine that Elizabeth Feodorovna and Varvara Alekseevna, for some reason, removed them. Icons, crosses, a belt were found on the Alapaevsk martyrs, as well as small personal items, including documents and some money. But there was no paraman.

Of course, those who described the items removed from the murdered victims might not have known the correct term for this item – after all, the commission was secular, civil. But a description of some sort would have been noted in the documents anyway, along with the descriptions in which they note a cape (for Elizabeth Feodorovna ), and a hood (for Varvara Alekseevna) .

Based on this, it can be assumed that Elizabeth Feodorovna did not receive monastic tonsure. And it is wrong to call Varvara Alekseevna a *nun, she was a *sister. [*Nuns take solemn vows and are cloistered, that is, they reside, pray and work within the confines of a monastery. Sisters take simple vows and live a life governed by the particular mission, vision, and charism – PG.]

Kulikova notes that her book contains a rare photograph in which we see Varvara Alekseevna Yakovleva. This photograph is from the English archives, from the Collection of Princess Victoria. The photograph, taken in 1914, shows the Grand Duchess among the wounded soldiers in the hospital at the Martha-Mariinsky Convent. Next to her are two sisters, and one of whom is Varvara Alekseevna. Kulikova adds that she is completely different from the photos we have seen to date, which leads the author to suspect that perhaps we have been looking at photos of another person for the past century?

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The Holy Protection Cathedral on the grounds of the Marfo-Mariinski Convent in Moscow

Where did the Grand Duchess bequeath to be buried?

– Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna and sister Varvara were buried in the Church of Mary Magdalene at Gethsemane in Jerusalem. Many historians write that she bequeathed to be buried there. In fact, she mentioned this when in 1888 she visited Jerusalem with her husband and was at the consecration of the church, noting “how good it was here” and how she would “like to be buried here”. But let us not forget that she was then only 23 years old!

In her last spiritual will and testament, written in 1914, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna specifically expressed:

“I ask you to bury me in a crypt under the church I have now built in the name of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos in my possession on Bolshaya Ordynka in Moscow at my *convent of mercy. <…>

If I am tonsured, live in a skete and die there, then I will still be buried in my *convent in Moscow, at the place indicated above <…>. If I die abroad or outside Moscow, I ask you to put it in a coffin, close it completely, transport it to Moscow and bury (without opening the coffin) where I have indicated above.”

[The convent in Moscow which she is referring to in her last spiritual will and testament is of course the Marfo-Mariinsky (Martha and Mary) Convent, which has survived to this day – PG]

It is clear that in 1921, when the bodies of Elizabeth Feodorovna and Varvara Alekseevna were taken out of China, it was easier to transport them to the Holy Land than anywhere else: Jerusalem was under the British mandate, and Elizabeth Feodorovna ‘s sister , Princess Victoria, turned to the government with a request for assistance.

But even then Princess Victoria wrote to her brother Ernst: “I hope that I will find a crypt there under the church where they can stay until they can be taken to Moscow.”

This did not happen, but now times have changed. The Martha-Mariinsky Convent was revived, the tomb, which Elizabeth Feodorovna arranged for herself and painted by Pavel Korin, has been restored. We will pray that the testament of the Holy Martyr Elizabeth will be fulfilled and that she will finally return to her native home.

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Martyrs of Alapaevsk, painted in 2018 by contemporary Russian artist I. Tokarev

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About Ludmila Kulikova:

Lyudmila Kulikova is a member of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, and laureate of the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna Prize. She specializes in research of the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, and materials for the glorification of her fellow countryman.

She is currently writing a book about the life of Valentina Sergeevna Gordeeva (1863-1931), who originally served as a maid of honour at the Russian Court. After the arrest of the Grand Duchess in 1917, she became the abbess of the Marfo-Mariinski Convent until its closure in the first half of the 20th century. She died in 1931 in exile in Turkestan (Kyrgyzstan).

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NEW BOOK: Ella. Grand Duchess Elizabeth. Saint Elizabeth the New Martyr

ella-cover

CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE PAPERBACK EDITION @ $13.99 USD

English. 160 pages with 48 black & white photos

More than a century after her death and martyrdom, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna (1864-1918) remains of one of the most beloved and respected members of the Russian Imperial Family. Affectionately known as Ella, she became famous in Russian society for her dignified beauty and charm, and later for her piety and acts of charity among the poor.

This new book features 7 essays – including 2 researched and written by Paul Gilbert. Read about Ella’s Hessian family; her relationship with her British grandmother Queen Victoria and her sister Alexandra, the last Russian Empress; her life in Imperial Russia; her years a a nun and abbess of her own convent of mercy in Moscow; her arrest, imprisonment and brutal murder; her burial in the Holy Land; her canonization; and how she is commemorated today in post-Soviet Russia.

Learn about her marriage and often misunderstood relationship to Sergei, a Russian grand duke and son of Emperor Alexander II, who from 1891 and 1905 served as Moscow’s Governor-General. Learn why the couple had no children and rumours that Sergei was homosexual. After her husband’s assassination in 1905, Ella departed the Imperial Court and became a nun, founding the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent dedicated to helping the downtrodden of Moscow.

In 1918, Ella was arrested and subsequently murdered by the Bolsheviks near Alapaevsk. In 1981, she was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, and in 1992 by the Moscow Patriarchate.

© Paul Gilbert. 18 July 2024

Mobile exhibit dedicated to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna opens in Ekaterinburg

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

On 15th July 2024, a mobile exhibition dedicated to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna opened at the Tsarsky Cultural and Educational Center, which is situated in the Patriarchal Compound of the Church on the Blood in Ekaterinburg.

The exhibit titled “I feel like the mother of this country…” The Christian Feat of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearer Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, was organized by the Elizabeth-Sergius Educational Society Foundation (ESPO), in cooperation with the Institute of World History of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

For the first time, the exhibit gives a detailed story about the large-scale charitable activities of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, which include her participation in the establishment and work of the Guardianship of the Houses of Industry; the School of Nannies in Tsarskoye Selo; the development of medical institutions specializing in pediatric medicine, orthopedics, surgery and women’s health; as well as her feat of mercy during the First World War; her patronage of science, medicine; and the education of her children.

The opening ceremony of the exhibition in Ekaterinburg was attended by Deputy Governor of the Sverdlovsk Region Pavel Krekov, Chairman of the Elizabeth-Sergius Educational Society Foundation (ESPO) Anna Gromova and Metropolitan of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye Evgeny.

The travelling exhibition was created in 2022, the year marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. For the past two years, the exhibition has been presented in cities and towns across Russia.

In an interview with journalists, Anna Gromova, Head of the ESPO Foundation, said that while the exhibition had been traveling around Russia, that it arouses great interest, since the theme of the exhibition reveals unknown facets of the charitable and selfless activities of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Pavel Krekov, Deputy Governor of the Sverdlovsk Region, emphasized the extreme relevance of the exhibition, especially during this years Tsar’s Days events in the Ural capital.

Already on the first day of its work, the exhibition of the ESPO Foundation “I Feel Like the Mother of This Country…” The Christian Feat of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearer Empress Alexandra Feodorovna” was met with great interest by the residents and visitors, who arrived in the Ural capital for Tsar’s Days. Specialists of the ESPO Foundation have prepared a leaflet and a guide to the exhibition.

© Paul Gilbert. 18 July 2024

Furniture from the Imperial Yacht ‘Polar Star’ gifted to State Hermitage Museum

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

PHOTO: Model of the Imperial Yachts Polar Star «Полярная звезда»
From the Collection of the Central Naval Museum, St. Petersburg

On 29th June 2024, an exhibition of furniture from Emperor Alexander III’s yacht Polar Star «Полярная звезда» opened in the Gothic Library of Emperor Nicholas II situated in the Winter Palace (State Hermitage Museum) in St. Petersburg. The pieces have been donated to the Hermitage by Mikhail Yuryevich Karisalov, a Russian industrialist, art patron and hereditary collector.

The set is made up of ten items: two tables, an armchair, two low cupboards, a dressing mirror, a cartonniere (filing cabinet), two doors and a mirror from a cupboard. They were all made at Nikolai Feodorovich Svirsky’s (1851-after 1915) factory to designs by the architect Nikolai Vasilyevich Nabokov (1838-after 1907) -who also designed the furniture for the Gothic Library.

Svirsky’s factory specialized in producing pieces decorated with marquetry using “our own method”. The distinctive feature of the craftsmen’s signature was extremely intricate, literally jeweller-like, detail work in the inlaid designs, making it possible to convey the subtlest nuances of colour.

In 1889 Svirsky put his creations on show at the 1889 Paris Exposition, where he was awarded the Grand Prix and a gold medal. In 1894 the Svirsky Factory was granted the honorary title of Supplier to the Imperial Court, and two years later his products were awarded a gold medal at the All-Russian exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod.

The manufacture of the furnishings for all the cabins aboard the Imperial Yacht Polar Star that was built for the Imperial amily’s long-distant voyages would be one of Svirsky’s most significant commissions. The correspondent of the Pravitelstvenny Vestnik (Government Messenger] newspaper wrote: “Regarding the interior finishing of the yacht, it must be said that this is something wholly exceptional and perfect in its elegance; there is not gaudy, eye-catching splendour here, but there is artistic splendour… On the right, from the Imperial Dining-Room, a door leads into Her Majesty the Empress’s [Maria Feodorovna] boudoir; there the walls and furniture are upholstered with English waxed cretonne; the cupboard, toilet table, writing desk and doors are covered with superb inlay work…”

PHOTO: 10 pieces of furniture from the Imperial Yacht Polar Star, on display in the Gothic Library of Emperor Nicholas II in the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

The exhibition includes two items that the journalist mentioned – the Empress’s “toilet table” and a low cupboard inlaid with Maria Feodorovna’s monogram МФ (MF).

Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna are known to have sailed all around Europe on the Polar Star. On arrival in different countries, they would happily show off the exquisite interiors of their floating home. Following the death of A;exander III in 1894, the Polar Star became the personal yacht of the Dowager Empress, which she used for her visits to Denmark and Great Britain.

After the October Revolution, the yacht became the headquarters of the Bolsheviks’ Central Committee of the Baltic Fleet (Tsentrobalt), then in the 1930s it was refitted to serve as a floating base for submarines. Later, a cable was run from the yacht, which was moored on the Neva River in front of the Hermitage, to provide electricity to the museum halls. Click HERE to learn about the fate of the Imperial Yacht Polar Star.

For the Hermitage, the items of furniture from the Polar Star are of especial value – from artistic, historical and memorial points of view. After the temporary exhibition in the Gothic Library, the set will find a place within the display devoted to the Art Nouveau era in the General Staff Building, where a separate room showcasing Svirsky’s works will be go on permanent display.

The exhibition curator is Natalia Yuryevna Guseva, Candidate of Art Studies, Deputy Head of the State Hermitage’s Department of the History of Russian Culture, keeper of the Russian furniture collection.

© State Hermitage Museum / Paul Gilbert. 15 July 2024

The last divine service for the Imperial Family in Ekaterinburg

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

On this day – 14th July (O.S. 1st July) 1918 – Archpriest Ioann Storozhev performed the last divine service for the Imperial Family in Ekaterinburg.

In October 1918 – three months after the death and martyrdom of Emperor Nicholas II and his family, Fr. John Storozhev, recalled the devine service he performed in the Ipatiev House on 14th July (O.S. 1st July) :

“… Taking up our [Fr. John Storozhev and Deacon Vasily Buimirov] places, the deacon and I began the reader’s service [similar to a liturgy, but much shorter since it does not include the Eucharist]. At a certain moment in the service, it is required to read the prayer “With the Saints Give Rest”. For some reason, on this particular occasion, the deacon, instead of reading, sang the prayer, and I, too, began to sing, somewhat disconcerted by this departure from the customary practice. But we had scarcely begun when I heard the members of the Romanov family, standing behind us, fell to their knees, and here I suddenly felt the sublime spiritual comfort that comes from shared prayer.

“This experience was even stronger when, at the end of the service, I read a prayer to the Mother of God, which, in highly poetic and moving words, expressed the plea of the afflicted person to be supported in his sorrows and receive the strength to bear his cross worthily.

“In addition, the deacon recited the Ectenia [often called by the better known English word litany], and I sang. Two of the grand duchesses sang along with me, and sometimes Nicholas Aleksandrovich sang in a low bass (for instance, he sang the “Our Father” and some other things). The service was uplifting and good, and the family prayed fervently.

PHOTO: Archpriest Ioann Vladimirovich Storozhev (1878-1927)

“The Tsar was clad in a khaki tunic and trousers with tall boots. On his chest he wore a St. George’s Cross. He had no shoulder boards [epaulettes]. He impressed me with his firm gait, his calmness. and especially his manner of looking steadfastly and firmly into one’s eyes. I didn’t notice any fatigue or traces of low spirits in him. It seemed to me that he had barely visible gray hair in his beard. His beard had been longer and wider when I saw him the first time. It seemed to me now to be trimmed.

“After the service, everyone approached the cross and the deacon handed prosphora [a small loaf of leavened bread used in Orthodox liturgies] to Nicholas Alexandrovich and Alexandra Feodorovna. Upon departing, I walked very close to the former grand duchesses, and heard a whispered “Thank you”. I don’t think it was just my imagination

“The deacon and I were silent until we reached the Art School building, and here, suddenly, he said to me: “You know, father, something’s changed there. Something’s happened”. His words struck a chord with me, and I stopped and asked why he he had gotten that impression. “Well, they were all different somehow. And also nobody sang.” And I have to say that, truly, this service of 14/1 July was the only one at which none of the Romanov’s sang with us (and the deacon had been present at all five services at the Ipatiev House).”

Source: The Last Sacred Service Observed by the Imperial Family in Yekaterinburg. The Testimony of Archpriest Ioann Vladimirovich Storozhev. First English translation published in Regicide in Ekaterinburg, compiled and edited by Paul Gilbert.

© Paul Gilbert. 14 July 2024

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The following NEW title was compiled and edited by independent researchers and Romanov historian Paul Gilbert was published in August 2024. 

This fascinating new study features 14 chapters on this tragic event, which include the memoirs of a British intelligence officer and journalist, and two First-English translations. In addition, 11 chapters were written by Paul Gilbert, based on new documents sourced from Russian archival and media sources over the past decade.

Please refer to the link provided for further details about the content of this new title . . .

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS TITLE

Prince Ivan Ratiev: the man who saved the Imperial Regalia in 1917

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

PHOTO: Prince Ivan Dmitrievich Ratiev (1868-1958)

Prince Ivan Dmitrievich Ratiev (1868-1958) was a Georgian prince and a prominent officer of the Imperial Russian Army. He later served as a high-ranking official at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg.

Ratiev was born in Oryol on 17th July 1868, into a branch of the Georgian princely house of Ratishvili, which had emigrated to the Russian Empire in 1724. He graduated from the Oryol Cadet Corps and then from the Nicholas Cavalry College. In 1890 he joined the 44th Nizhegorod Dragoon Regiment, deployed in Georgia. 

In 1896, he married Ekaterina Irakliyevna, née Princess Gruzinskaya (1872–1917), a great-granddaughter of King Heraclius II of Georgia (1720-1798) and a lady-in-waiting of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (1872-1918). The couple had two children: Dmitri (1899-1926), and Olga (1902-1987).

PHOTO: Prince Ivan Dmitrievich Ratiev with his wife
Ekaterina and their two children Dmitri and Olga

Ratiev retired from army service due to a trauma sustained in a horse race at Tbilisi in 1907. He then studied at Academy of Fine Arts in Paris and, after his return to Russia, worked for the Ministry of the Imperial Court in St. Petersburg. He was assigned to an army cavalry unit of the Winter Palace with the rank of rittmeister [riding master]. By the Imperial Order of 6th December 1913, he was made a lieutenant-colonel of the Imperial Guard cavalry and an acting Police Master of the Winter Palace. Promoted to the rank of colonel in 1916, Prince Ratiev was appointed as a deputy commandant of the Winter Palace in April 1917, two months after the February Revolution overthrew the tsar Nicholas I

It was during the storming of the Winter Palace in October 1917, for which Ratiev is best known. Thanks to his heroic efforts, he managed to save the Imperial Regalia[1] from being looted or destroyed by revolutionary thugs.

On 7th November (O.S. 25th October) 1917, Ratiev did not flee his post like so many others during these turbulent time, instead he ordered his guards to transfer the Imperial Regalia to safer parts of the Palace. The prince sent his 16-year-old son Dmitri and two of his most trusted grenadiers to guard the secret depository, which, among other precious objects, which included the Russian Imperial Crown adorned with 4936 diamonds, the Orb and the Sceptre incorporating the Orlov diamond.

Upon confronting the revolutionaries, Ratiev negotiated with the Bolshevik leader Vladimir Alexandrovich Antonov-Ovseenko (1883-1938), who oversaw the armed assault of the Palace, which led to successful negotiations to preserve the Imperial Regalia.

PHOTO: The Imperial Regalia: crowns, orb, and sceptre laid out in preparation for the historic crowning of Russia’s last tsar Nicholas II in Moscow on 27th May (O.S. 14th May) 1896

The Soviet leadership publicly expressed their gratitude to Prince Ratiev in the 5th November 1917 edition of Izvestia[2] for his “self-sacrificing efforts to protect and preserve the people’s treasures” and appointed him the chief commandant of the Winter Palace and of all state museums and palaces in the Petrograd district.

In March 1919, Ratiev escorted the “golden echelon”, a train carrying Russia’s gold reserve, following the transfer of the Russian government from Petrograd to Moscow. During the journey, however, Ratiev was pressured into surrendering the train and even being fired upon at Tver. Ratiev retired from the state service shortly thereafter and worked as a translator for various organizations of Moscow for several years. 

His subsequent life was marred by the loss of his wife and son, the latter who drowned while swimming in the Moscow River. In March 1924, Ivan Ratiev, his daughter Olga and sister Sophia were arrested on charges of belonging to a “counter-revolutionary monarchist organization.”

Initially, Ratiev was sentenced to five years in the Gulag, however, due to his service in 1917, the sentence was commuted to exile to Ekaterinburg, where the family spent 3 years.

In 1931, Ratiev moved to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, where he lived as a “state pensioner”. He died on 28th April 1958, at the age of 89.

NOTES:

[1] Before the 1917 Revolution, the Imperial Regalia, which included the Imperial Crown, orb and sceptre, were stored in the Diamond Chamber of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. In May 1896. the Imperial Regalia were transported by train and under heavy guard to Moscow, for the Holy Coronation of Emperor Nicholas II. During the First World War, the Imperial Regalia was moved to Moscow and stored in the Armory Chamber of the Kremlin. In 1922, the Soviet Diamond Fund was established. Today, the Imperial Regalia is stored in the Diamond Fund vault (opened in 1967).

[2] Izvestia (“The News”) is a daily broadsheet newspaper founded in February 1917, Izvestia, which covered foreign relations, was the organ of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, disseminating official state propaganda. It is now described as a “national newspaper” of Russia.

© Paul Gilbert. 11 July 2024