PHOTO: portrait of Emperor Nicholas II by an unknown contemporary Russian artist
Russia’s last Emperor and Tsar Nicholas II, his family, the Romanov dynasty and the history of Imperial Russia, continue to be the subject of books, magazines and journals, exhibitions and documentaries. In addition, the continue to generate headlines in the media.
The following 5 articles were published by American and British media services, in October, November and December 2024. Click on the title [highlighted in red] below and follow the link to read each respective article:
Keith Hamm reviews a new study about Russia’s last Tsar by UC Santa Barbara emeritus professor of history Tsuyoshi Hasegawa on the abdication of Russia’s last tsar Nicholas II and the fall of the Romanov dynasty. *Note: this review is for information purposes only – PG
Maria Toblova writes about the amazing life of the Nicholas II’s youngest sister Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna (1882–1960), who escaped Bolshevik Russia, and lived in exile in both Denmark and Canada, where she died in November 1960.
All the nobility of the Russian Empire, including the Tsar’s family, liked to spend their holidays on the southern coast of the Crimean peninsula. Many prominent families built summer residences there. The link above explores the most luxurious ones that have survived to this day.
Source: Gateway to Russia (formerly Russia Beyond)
Tsar Nicholas II, Russia’s last Emperor, is considered one of the most widely discussed and controversial people of the twentieth century. But what trustworthy and accurately describes his character are the diaries he carefully kept since he was fourteen. What kind of person was the Tsar? What inspired and comforted him? This article explores the personal details that are usually omitted in most history books.
Cambridge Research Professor and author Dominic Lieven writes about the route taken to high governmental office by members of the Russian ruling elite under Nicholas II. Specifically, it looks at the career patterns of the 215 men appointed to the State Council of the Russian Empire in the first twenty years of Nicholas II’s reign.
Source: Cahiers du Monde Russe. Vol. 25, No. 4, Oct. – Dec., 1984
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PHOTO: the Emperor’s Study in Livadia Palace, as it looks today
According to Natella Sheremeteva, one of the founders of the Foundation for the Preservation of Historical Cultural Heritage, the Study of Emperor Nicholas II in the Livadia Palace, Crimea will be recreated in 2025.
“The Foundation’s projects will provide close cooperation with Crimean museums. The expositions of the Crimean palace-museums should be improved and replenished with antiques from private collections. Assistance in this will be provided by the Foundation . . . One of the immediate priorities is to assist the Livadia Palace in recreating the Study of Emperor Nicholas II”, she said during a cultural event held in Yalta over the weekend.
Sheremeteva, who is also curator of the Antique Art Gallery, added: “We have been operating for more than 20 years. We are quite well known and respected in St. Petersburg. This year, a decision was made to relocate to Yalta, our services are needed here more.”
“In 2025 we will begin to recreate the historic interior of the Study of Emperor Nicholas II in the Livadia Palace,” said Sheremeteva.
In turn, Alexander Balinchenko, Director of the Alupka Palace and Park Museum, who was present at the event, thanked the Foundation for the Preservation of Historical Cultural Heritage, for its philanthropic activities and wished fruitful cooperation: “This is a very important event for all of us!”
It is not clear if the furniture will be recreated for the Emperor’s Study, as was done with the New Study and Working Study of Nicholas II in the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selo. It is important to note that the desk which is currently on display in this interior is not the original, it is merely a replacement. The cost to recreate furniture for this interior would be costly, and only possible with the financial assistance of a large Russian corporation of wealthy oligarch.
PHOTO: the Emperor’s Study in Livadia Palace, as it looks today
In 1913, the unique carpet – seen on above photo – was gifted by Ahmad Shah Qajar Shah of Persia to the family of Emperor Nicholas II on the occasion of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. After the Revolution, the carpet among other items came into the possession of *Baron Eduard von Falz-Fein.
After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, von Falz-Fein dedicated a significant part of his life to the return of historical and cultural monuments to Russia, including the priceless carpet, which he gifted to Livadia Palace, where it remains on display to this day. It is one of the few original items from the Study of Emperor Nicholas II to have survived to the present day.
*Baron Eduard Oleg Alexandrowitsch von Falz-Fein (14 September 1912 – 17 November 2018) was born in Imperial Russia, and fled with his parent to Germany in 1918. He lived for most of his life in Liechtenstein, where he became a successful athlete, businessman and philanthropist. It is interesting to note that Falz-Fein funded much of the research on the identification of the Romanov family remains. He died in Vaduz on 17 November 2018, at the age of 106!
History of the Studay of Emperor Nicholas II in Livadia Palace
One of the most beautiful interiors of the Livadia Palace was the Emperor’s Study, which was located on the second floor. In 1911, Nicholas II wrote in his diary: “I am delighted with my upper study.”
Despite his abscence from the northern capital, the Emperor faithfully carried out his duties during his stays in Crimea. Couriers arrived by train from St. Petersburg, with “piles of papers and documents”, which were delivered to the imperial residence at Livadia. Nicholas II diligently read the documents, often writing notes and signed them in his Study daily. He regularly met with officials (ambassadors, political and state figures), whom Nicholas II received, always in uniform.
PHOTOS: the Study of Emperor Nicholas II in Livadia Palace as it looked in 1912-1914
The furniture and the wall panels with shelves in the Emperor’s Study were made by the craftsmen of the F.F. Tarasov Furniture Factory in St. Petersburg and the K.V. Zibrecht Factory in Moscow.
The furniture was made from ash wood with baitsovka in a dark greenish-brown tone. They were complemented with green Moroccan leather chairs and armchairs, embossed with the image of the iris flower in the Art Nouveau style.
The furniture was composed in such a way that the natural light, which flooded the spacious interior, gave the impression that the Emperor’s Study was divided into two parts – a working part, a business one, facing the windows of the bay window, and a corner part, in which Nicholas would relax while smoking a cigarette in front of a massive fireplace made of gray-green diorite.
While the original wall panels and fireplace have survived, none of the furniture – including the Emperor’s desk – has not survived to the present day. On 30th April, 1918, German troops entered Livadia and immediately began to plunder the palace. Any remaining items of furniture and decoration were transferred to other museums. Livadia Palace then became a sanitorium. In 1993 the Livadia Palace received the status of a museum.
On 23 December 2024, a new exhibition dedicated to the merciful service of members of the Russian Imperial Family during the Great War (1914-1918), opened at the Kazan Monastery in Kaluga.
The mobile exhibition features 24 poster-stands which present unique photographs and interesting facts which acquaint visitors with the story of the great love, compassion and self-sacrifice of the family and relatives of Emperor Nicholas II, for the Russian people during the First World War.
During the First World War, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, her daughters, the Emperor’s sister Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna and many others became ordinary nurses. Some went to hospitals at the front line, while others attended to wounded Russian soldiers at Tsarskoye Selo and Petrograd, together they worked on an equal basis with other nurses.
Visitors to the exhibition can learn about the work of the Russian Red Cross, the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IOPS), and the “Olginsky”[1] and Tatianinsky”[1] Committees. The central part of the exhibition is dedicated to Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, whose 160th birthday was celebrated in 2024.
The exhibition was organized by the Elizabeth-Sergius Educational Society Foundation (ESPO) in Moscow. Preserving historical memory of the Russian Imperial Family is the most important task of the Foundation and especially with the younger generation. Schoolchildren and students of the Kaluga region will be invited to the exhibition, “because it is important to teach them from childhood and adolescence about the history of Russia and the life of the last Tsar, his family and relatives”.
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.
*As I have noted in previous posts, I support any initiative – big or small – to help keep the memory of Nicholas II and his family alive in 21st century Russia – PG
NOTES:
[1] To help the civilian population affected during the First World War, Emperor Nicholas II established the Supreme Council chaired by Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. The Empress created committees to help refugees and families whose breadwinners are called to war. She assigned responsibility for the work in these committees to her two eldest daughters: Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana Nikolaevna. The “Tatianinsky” and “Olginsky” committees had branches in many cities throughout the Russian Empire and were very popular.
On 26th December 2024, a new monument to Emperor Nicholas II and his family was installed and consecrated on the grounds of the Church of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers in the Russian city of Dno, situated 114 km from Pskov. In addition, a museum dedicated to the Imperial Family was officially opened and consecrated.
A Divine Liturgy was conducted in the new Church of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers (constructed in 2023) by Metropolitan Matthew of Pskov and Porkhov.
The sculptural composition was made by Moscow sculptor Vladimir Gennadievich Ivanov [b. 1983], and took one year to complete. According to him, the bronze monument weighs three and a half tons, and stands almost four and a half meters [almost 15 feet] in height. Each of the seven members of the Imperial Family is depicted holding a cross.
Recall that the Dno railway station became the penultimate point of the Imperial Train, which was transporting the Tsar to Petrograd on 14th (O.S. 1st) March 1917. From here, Nicholas II was forced to Pskov, where the following day, he signed his abdication from the throne. As Bishop Matthew noted during the opening of the museum in the basement of the church, “these events became a turning point in the history of the country”.
Recall that earlier this month a mural of the pre-war railway station at Dno was recreated on the building of the museum and exhibition center in Dno. The mural was created In memory of Emperor Nicholas II’s historic stop at Dno in March 1917, the day before he abdicated the throne.
I have published nearly 50 titles to date through AMAZON – featuring one of the largest selections of books on Nicholas II, the Romanov dynasty and the history of Imperial Russia.
Please CLICK on the BANNER or LINK above to review my current selection of titles in hardcover, paperback and ebook editions. Listings provide a full description for each title, pricing and a Look inside feature.
A photograph album belonging to the Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna (1895-1918) from the collection of the State Archives of the Russian Federation (Moscow) is currently on display at the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library in St. Petersburg.
The photographs are dated 1907-1908. The cover of the album is decorated with the Imperial Crown, and in the upper right corner is Olga’s monogram O. N.
In total, the album contains 294 photographs, of the Romanov family during the early 20th century. The pictures depict the day to day life of the Imperial Family: Olga and her siblings playing games, picnics, snowball fights and walks in the Alexander Park at Tsarskoye Selo, sailing on the Imperial Yacht Shtandart, New Year’s celebrations, and the Romanov family at home.
It also depicts photos of the Imperial Family: Empress Alexandra Feodorovna at Tsarskoye Selo with her children, with maids of honour, Emperor Nicholas II with his family and entourage.
Olga was the eldest daughter of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. She was the favorite of her father, and was considered the most gifted of the August children. Olga had a philosophical mind, loved to read and wrote poetry. According to Anna Vyrubova, Olga was ‘extremely pretty, with brilliant blue eyes and a lovely complexion, and resembled her father in the fineness of her features, especially in her delicate, slightly tipped nose’.
All the photos in the album are cheerful and serene. During the First World War, Grand Duchesses Olga and her sister Tatiana, together with their mother, completed Red Cross training, passed an exam, and swapped their Imperial dress for nurses uniforms and began to help wounded soldiers in a special hospital set up not far from the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selo.
Next year, will mark the 130th anniversary of the birth of the Grand Duchess, on 16th (O.S. 3rd) November 2025.
The Tsarskoye Selo State Museum continue to recreate items lost from the Alexander Palace during the Second World War . . . the latest additions are a table and chair, recreated for the Working Study of Emperor Nicholas II.
The two pieces of furniture were recreated from a vintage 1917 photograph by the Tsarskoye Selo Restoration Workshop. The items can be seen at the end of the Ottoman sofa in the Tsar’s Working Study – see photo at the bottom of this post.
Recall that the Alexander Palace closed in the Autumn of 2015 for an extensive restoration, which saw the reconstruction of the Private Apartments of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, situated in the Eastern Wing of the palace. Work on the project took 6 years to complete. The Alexander Palace reopened it’s doors to visitors in August 2021.
PHOTO: The Working Study of Emperor Nicholas II in the Alexander Palace
The Working Study of Emperor Nicholas II was decorated in 1896-1897 in the English Style by Roman Meltzer (1860-1943) and furniture master Karl Grinberg. It was in this room that the Emperor read papers, including numerous correspondence, received foreign ministers and dignitaries and listened to reports from his ministers, who travelled from St. Petersburg.
PHOTO: contemporary icon depicting the Holy Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II and Saint Nicholas of Myra – aka Nicholas the Wonderworker (born 270- died 343 A.D.)
Today – 19th (O.S. 6th) December – the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the name day of Emperor Nicholas II. The Tsar’s patron saint is Saint Nicholas of Myra – aka Nicholas the Wonderworker (born 270- died 343 A.D.).
Upon his birth on 19th (O.S. 6th) May 1896, the future Emperor and Tsar of Russia received the traditional Romanov name – “Nikolai” (Nicholas). His name can be attributed to “naming a male after an uncle” (a custom which dates from the Rurik dynasty), in which Nicholas was named in memory of his father’s elder brother and mother’s fiancé, Tsesarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich (1843-1865), who died at the age of 21. The names, patronymics, and namesake saints of the Tsesareviches themselves (Nicholas of Myra) and their fathers (Alexander Nevsky) coincided. The Holy Tsar-martyr Nicholas II’s name day is marked on 6th December according to the Old Style Julian calendar, the day on which St. Nicholas the Wonderworker died.
Nicholas the Wonderworker was a Christian saint, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia (Byzantium). He is revered as a miracle worker, considered the patron saint of sailors, merchants and children.
A patron saint is a person who has special meaning, and is often represented in pictures, icons, or statues. Most Orthodox Christians have a patron saint, and they usually receive this saint on the day of their baptism.
Russians celebrate name days separately from birthdays. Celebrations range from the gifting of cards and flowers to full-blown celebrations similar to birthday parties. Such a celebration begins with attendance at the divine services marking that day (in the Russian tradition, the All-Night Vigil and Divine Liturgy), and usually with a festive party thereafter. The Russian Imperial Family followed the tradition of giving name day gifts.
Before the October Revolution of 1917, Russians regarded name days as important as, or more important than, the celebration of birthdays, based on the rationale that one’s baptism is the event by which people become “born anew” in Christ.
Nicholas II took particular joy in celebrating his name day, and recorded his memories in his diary . . .
From the diary of Emperor Nicholas II of 19th (O.S. 6th) December 1915:
“Sunday. It was strange and pleasant to spend my name day at home! We attended mass. The whole family arrived for breakfast; We sat in the small library at three tables. Then we went to Alexei and sat with him…”
From the diary of Emperor Nicholas II of 19th (O.S. 6th) December 1916:
“We got up early and in the morning the congratulations began. Walking back from the church, I greeted the units that celebrate their holidays today. The report, under Shuvaev, was short. A lot of people were eating breakfast. I received gifts from Alix and the children…”
From the diary of Emperor Nicholas II of 19th (O.S. 6th) December 1917:
“My name day was spent calmly and not following the example of previous years. A moleben [prayer service] was served at 12 o’clock. The soldiers of the 4th regiment in the garden, who were on guard, all congratulated me, and I congratulated them on their regimental holiday. I received three pies and sent one of them to the guard.” [The Imperial Family were living under house arrest in Tobolsk at the time, it would be Nicholas’s last name day – Ed.]
A famous Moscow atelier has recreated an iconic shirt initiated by Emperor Nicholas II in 1913. The shirt designed by Levelsuit, feature the Imperial Russian Coat-of-Arms embroidered on the left pocket. The white shirt is almost identical to the one worn by the Tsar in early 20th century photographs.
In 1913, on the initiative of Emperor Nicholas II, a sports uniform for the Russian Imperial Army was created. The idea was thoroughly researched, in which designs were developed for different sports: gymnastics, fencing, athletics, yachting, cross-country skiing and tennis.
PHOTO: Emperor Nicholas II (with his daughter Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna), wearing the shirt during a tennis match at Livadia, in the Spring of 1914
It was the imperial uniform for tennis players that served as the prototype for Levelsuit’s new shirt.
This consisted of a white tennis shirt made of thin linen, soft cuffs and small, flat mother-of-pearl buttons. In the middle of the chest there is a slit with a bow fold and three pleats on the sides. The embroidered coat of arms was similar to that of yachtsmen’s shirts, on the left side of the chest. The shirt was worn with white flannel or cloth trousers, and a tricolor belt. The uniform turned out to be so comfortable and stylish, that it was regularly worn by the Emperor himself, who was an excellent and enthusiastic tennis player.
Levelsuit’s new design is almost an exact copy of the shirt worn by the Imperial Tennis Team and by the Tsar. The shirts, which are available in white or black, are currently only available in Russia.
Unfortunately, for those of us in the West, it is currently not possible to order one of these shirts, due to the economic sanctions against the Russian Federation. Both MasterCard and Visa have suspended operations in Russia, making it impossible to order any goods online for the foreseeable future.
PHOTO: Maria Romanova during a ceremony of cancelling postcards, held in the Russian Academy of Arts, St. Petersburg on 7th December
NOTE: text highlighted in red below, are links to other articles – PG
It is wonderful to celebrate and honour one’s ancestors, however, when a person memorializes a man, who betrayed Russia’s last Tsar, and even supported his arrest, is surely reason enough to ask “WHY?!”.
On 7th December 2024, Masha took part in a ceremony of canceling postcards[2], with Russian postage stamps, which took place at the Russian Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg. The event marked the 100th anniversary of her traitor grandfather Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich awarding himself the title of “Emperor in Exile”. Up until his death in 1938, Kirill created a make-believe kingdom from which he reigned over the Russian diaspora in Europe. Both he and his wife “Ducky” – and later their son Vladimir – supported Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.
Masha is once again visiting Russia (her third or fourth visit since the outbreak of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine), on yet another of her attention seeking tours. Her appearances garnered little interest by either the Russian media or the public.
PHOTO: postcard depicting Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich
The ceremony was prepared by the Cavalier Duma of the Imperial Order of St. Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles. The ceremony was attended by Director of the Russian Academy of Arts Alexei Yuryevich Mudrov. Following the cancellation ceremony, Mr. Mudrov presented Masha with a medal marking the 180th anniversary of the birth of the famous Russian artist Ilya Efimovich Repin (1844-1930). In the afternoon, a ceremonial dinner was given in Maria’s honour by the Chevalier Duma of the Imperial Order of St. Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles.
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PHOTO: George Hohenzollern posing with a bust of his traitor great-grandfather Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich in the the Smolensk Zosimova Pustyn Monastery
On 14th March 2023, a new bust of Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich was unveiled at the Alexandrovsky district of the Vladimir region, in the presence of the grand dukes great-grandson George Hohenzollern. A prayer service and blessing of the bust, was performed by Hieromonk Nikon (Belyavenets), Abbot of the Smolensk Zosimova Pustyn Monastery.
Given Kirill’s lack of a moral compass, perhaps an exorcism should have been performed?
The bust was then transferred to St. Petersburg, where it was installed in the Vladimir Palace, situated on the on the Palace Embankment, opposite the Peter and Paul Fortress. Since the revolution, the former residence of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich (1847-1909) and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna (1854-1920), has housed the prestigious House of Scientists.
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, who betrayed Tsar 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!
Any person who supports this branch of the Romanov dynasty, dishonours the memory of the murdered Holy Tsar Martyr Nicholas II.
NOTES:
[1] Maria is not and never has been a ruling monarch, and never had or has any authority to hand out titles or awards. Despite this, she actively, and completely illegally distributes orders, medals and even titles of the Russian Empire. While many orders and awards of the Russian Empire have been officially restored in the post-Soviet Russian Federation, an ordinary civilian. i.e. Maria Romanova, and not a representative of the state, distributes the same order in appearance and name to her supporters on behalf of the “Russian Imperial House“.
[2] The ceremony of canceling postcards involves addressing the envelope to the “Postmaster” with the full name and address of the post office that offers the cancel. The cancelled envelope or cover is then received by return mail1. Pictorial cancels are available from respective post offices across Canada2. Some of the best copies of duplex cancels appear on post cards3. Cancels are used to prevent the reuse of stamps.
Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich is the subject of my forthcoming book ‘Kirill: Traitor to the Tsar!‘, the first comprehensive study to examine the relationship between Grand Duke Kirill and his first cousin Tsar Nicholas II. My research for this book is based primarily on documents and letters retrieved from Russian archival and media sources, many of which will be new to the English reader.
My book is scheduled for publication in late 2025. Watch for my ads in both Majesty and Russian Life magazines!
PHOTO: Emperor Nicholas II on the deck of the Imperial Russian Navy cruiser “Россия / Russia“. 15th Jamuary 1915. Standing to the Emperor’s right is the commander of the Baltic Fleet, Nikolai Ottovich von Essen (1860-1915).
The Chief of Staff of the Guards Troops and Petersburg Military District Lieutenant General Baron A.P. von den Brinken (1859 – 1917) wrote about Nicholas II’s affection for the navy and sailors: “The Tsar, always so kind and gentle, at anyone’s attempt to say something negative against the navy becomes literally furious, thumps his fist on the table, and stops listening”.
Formally established in 1696 under Emperor Peter I (1672-1725), the Imperial Russian Navy served as the navy of the Russian Empire until 1917. It was expanded in the second half of the 18th century and by the early part of the 19th century, it reached its peak strength, behind only the British and French fleets in terms of size.
The navy then went into a period of decline in the first half of the 19th century, due to Russia’s slow technical and economic development. It had a revival in the latter part of the century during the reign of Emperor Nicholas II (1894-1917), but lost most of its Pacific Fleet along with the Baltic Fleet, both of which were sent to the Far East and subsequently destroyed in the disastrous conflict of 1904. The second phase of Nicholas II’s military life was marked by his participation in the reorganization of the navy after the catastrophic Russo-Japanese War.
The Imperial Russian Navy had mixed experiences during the First World War, with Germany generally gaining the upper hand in the Baltic Sea, while Russia established its absolute dominance on the Black Sea. The February Revolution of 1917 marked the end of the Imperial Russian Navy; its officers had mostly aligned with the Tsar, and the sailors split to fight on either side. The surviving ships were taken over by the Soviet Navy when it was established in 1918.
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VIDEO: vintage newsreels of Nicholas II and the Imperial Russian Navy Duration: 12 minutes with music
The above video presents a collection of vintage newsreels from the Russian State Documentary Film & Photo Archive at Krasnogorsk (RGAKFD), which show Emperor Nicholas II with the Imperial Russian Navy as he reviews the squadrons, talks to the Russian sailors, officers and admirals, and participates in the other naval events.
During the reign of Emperor Nicholas II the Imperial Russian Navy continued to expand in the later part of the 19th century, regaining its position as the third largest fleet in the world after Britain and France. The expansion was notably accelerated under Nicholas II who had been influenced by the American naval theoretician Alfred Thayer Mahan. Russian industry, although growing in capacity, was not able to meet the demands of the burgeoning Imperial Navy and some ships were ordered from Britain, France, Germany, USA, and Denmark. French naval architects in particular had a considerable influence on Russian designs.
At the end of the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, Russia had fallen from being the third greatest naval power to sixth place. It was then that the focus of Russian naval activities shifted back from the Far East to the Baltic. The task of the Baltic Fleet was to defend the Baltic Sea and St Petersburg from Imperial Germany.
On 19th March 1906, by decree of Emperor Nicholas II, the Maritime General Staff was organized with the Main Naval Staff, which assumed the functions of the operational body of the Imperial Navy. At first, attention was directed to the creation of mine-laying and a submarine fleet. In the same year, a new program for naval shipbuilding, the Russian Armed Forces Development and Reform Program, known as the “Small Shipbuilding Program”, which was approved by Emperor Nicholas II on 6th June 1907, began to be developed and actively discussed, but later the amount of appropriations was reduced, and the program itself was renamed the “Distribution of Allocations for Shipbuilding” (before 1911 it was planned to finish the ships already started for the Baltic Fleet – 4 battleships and 3 submarines, as well as a new naval base, and for the Black Sea Fleet – 14 destroyers and 3 submarines) and was partially approved by the State Duma in the spring of 1908.
VIDEO: ships of the Russian Imperial Fleet 1894-1917 Duration: 3 minutes with music
The Bosnian Crisis in 1909 again raised the issue of the expansion of the fleet and new battleships , cruisers, and destroyers were ordered for the Baltic Fleet. It is worth noting that, on the personal orders of Emperor Nicholas II, new battleships were laid, which had previously rejected by the State Duma.
A worsening of relations with Turkey meant that new ships including the Imperatritsa Mariya-class battleships were also ordered for the Black Sea Fleet. The total Russian naval expenditure from 1906-1913 was $519 million, in fifth place behind Britain, Germany, the United States and France.
From 1909, active preparation and discussion of a new shipbuilding program took place. The “Ten Year Shipbuilding Program (1910-1920)” – the so-called “Great Shipbuilding Program”, which in its final version envisaged the construction for the Baltic Fleet: 8 battleships, 4-linear cruisers, 18 destroyers and 12 submarines; for the Black Sea Fleet – 9 Novik type destroyers and 6 submarines; ships for the Pacific Fleet, as well as the rearmament and modernization of several battleships – Tri Sviatitelia, Dvenadsat Apostolov, and Georgii Pobedonosets. The program was approved on 25th March 1910, by Emperor Nicholas II, but was not reviewed by the State Duma until 1911.
PHOTO: the white and blue ensign or Andreyevsky flag, and the red, blue and white naval jack of the Imperial Russian Navy
The re-armament program included a significant element of foreign participation with several ships (including the cruiser Rurik) and machinery ordered from foreign firms. After the outbreak of World War I, ships and equipment being built in Germany were confiscated. Equipment from Britain was slow in reaching Russia or was diverted to the Western Allies’ own war effort.
By March 1918, the Russian Revolution and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk made the Germans masters of the Baltic Sea and German fleets transferred troops to support newly independent Finland and to occupy much of Russia, halting only when defeated in the West. The Russians evacuated the Baltic Fleet from Helsinki and Reval to Kronstadt during the Ice Campaign of the Baltic Fleet in March 1918.
The Black Sea was the domain of the Russians and the Ottoman Empire but it was here that the Imperial Russian Navy established its absolute dominance. It possessed a large fleet based in Sevastopol and it was led by two skilled commanders: Admiral Eberhart (1856-1919) and Admiral Kolchak (1874-1920) (who took over in 1916).
PHOTO: Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich and Admiral S.O. Makarov watch the newly constructed battleship Oslyabya, during maneuvers on the Baltic Sea, 1899
After Admiral Kolchak took command (August 1916), the Imperial Russian fleet mined the exit from the Bosporus, preventing nearly all Ottoman ships from entering the Black Sea. Later that year, the naval approaches to Varna were also mined. The greatest loss suffered by the Russian Black Sea fleet was the destruction of the modern dreadnought Imperatritsa Mariya, which blew up in port on 7th October 1916, just one year after it was commissioned. The sinking of the Imperatritsa Mariya was never fully explained; it could have been sabotage or a terrible accident.
The Revolution and subsequent Civil War devastated the Russian Navy. Only the Baltic fleet based at Petrograd remained largely intact, although it was attacked by the British Royal Navy in 1919. Foreign Interventionists occupied the Pacific, Black Sea and Arctic coasts. Most of the surviving Black Sea Fleet warships, with crews loyal to the White Russian movement, became part of Wrangel’s fleet under the control of commander Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel (1878-1928) and after evacuating White forces and civilians from the Crimea were eventually interned in Bizerta, Tunisia. Russian sailors fought on both sides in this bloody conflict. The sailors of the Baltic fleet rebelled against harsh treatment by the Soviet authorities in the Kronstadt Rebellion of 1921.
The surviving ships formed the core of the Soviet Navy on its 1918 establishment, though the remnants of Wrangel’s fleet never returned to Russia.
PHOTO: View of the “Боярин / Boyarin” a second-rank protected cruiser built for the Imperial Russian Navy by Burmeister & Wain in Copenhagen, Denmark. Laundced in 1901, the hull featured a magnificent double-headed eagle bearing the monogram of Emperor Nicholas II. She served in the Russian Pacific Fleet and was sunk by a Russian naval mine near the entrance to Port Arthur, Manchuria, just after the start of the Russo-Japanese War.
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FURTHER READING
One of my many interests is the Russian Imperial Navy, during the reign of Nicholas II. In 2013, Uniform Press published an excellent book ‘The Imperial Russian Navy 1890s-1916’ by Vladimir Krestjaninov. I highly recommend this title to any one else who shares an interest in this subject.
“Russia has only two true allies,” said Emperor Alexander III, “its army and navy.”
This unique look at the Russian Imperial Navy in photographs from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, features 430 black and white images from archives, museums and private collections. It explores how the Russian Navy’s construction and activities were shaped largely by the interests, opinions and policies of Russia’s last tsar Nicholas II.
It includes a foreword by the author, and chapters such as ‘The Imperial Family and the Navy,’ and eleven other topics. It is interesting to note that the Imperial yachts were under the administration of the Naval Guards Corps.
Large soft cover format with 262 pages. Published by Uniform Press in 2013
Nicholas II 
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