Several attempts are known to have been made on the life of Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924). The most famous of them was committed on 30th August 1918, by the Socialist Revolutionary Party member Fanny Kaplan [her real name was Feiga Haimovna Roytblat, 1890-1918], as a result of which Lenin was seriously wounded.
It was on that day, that Lenin gave a speech to workers at the Hammer and Sickle, a Michelson arms factory in south Moscow. As he was leaving the building and before he entered his motorcar, Kaplan called out to him. When Lenin turned towards her, she fired three shots with a Browning pistol. One bullet passed through Lenin’s coat, the other two struck him: one passing through his neck, puncturing part of his left lung, and stopping near his right collarbone; the other lodging in his left shoulder.
Lenin was taken back to his living quarters at the Kremlin. He feared there might be other plotters planning to kill him and refused to leave the security of the Kremlin to seek medical attention. Doctors were brought in to treat him but were unable to remove the bullets outside of a hospital. Despite the severity of his injuries, Lenin survived. However, Lenin’s health never fully recovered from the attack and it is believed the shooting contributed to the strokes that incapacitated and eventually killed him in 1924.
PHOTO: Soviet painting depicting the assassination attempt (1927) Artist: Vladimir Nikolayevich Pchelin (1869-1941)
Kaplan was arrested by the Cheka, during interrogation, she made the following statement:
My name is Fanya Kaplan. Today I shot Lenin. I did it on my own. I will not say from whom I obtained my revolver. I will give no details. I had resolved to kill Lenin long ago. I consider him a traitor to the Revolution. I was exiled to Akatuy for participating in an assassination attempt against a Tsarist official in Kiev. I spent 11 years at hard labour. After the Revolution, I was freed. I favoured the Constituent Assembly and am still for it.
Kaplan was executed in the Alexander Garden, which stretch along all the length of the western Kremlin wall, between the building of the Moscow Manege and the Kremlin. The order was carried out by the commander of the Kremlin, the former Baltic sailor Pavel Dmitrievich Malkov (1887-1965) and a group of Latvian Bolsheviks, on 3rd September 1918 with a bullet to the back of the head. Her corpse was bundled into a barrel, and set alight. The order came from Yakov Sverdlov who, just six weeks before, had ordered the murders of the Tsar and his family.
PHOTO: Pensioner’s Stable Pavilion and Horse Cemetery at Tsarskoye Selo
The Tsarskoye Selo State Museum-Reserve has announced the completion of restoration work in the Pensioners’ Stable Pavilion and the adjacent 19th-century cemetery, where more than 120 horses of the Russian emperors are buried.
Guided tours (in Russian only) of the complex will be offered to visitors beginning 30th August, on weekends only. The route includes a talk on the history of the Pensioner’s Stable Pavilion, followed by a rour of the world’s first Imperial Horse cemetery and the nearby Imperial Farm [Note: restoration was completed in January of this year].
The restoration work has been ongoing since 2019 at the expense of the museum’s extra-budgetary funds. During this time, the general layout of the site was restored, the bases of the tombstones were restored and the gravestones were returned to their historical places. According to archival data, the museum staff established the names of the horses buried in each grave, and craftsmen recreated the lost plates with inscriptions.
In the building of the Pensioner’s Stable, façade and general construction work was carried out, utilities were laid and carpentry fillings were restored. The museum has begun work on the creation of a permanent exhibition dedicated to imperial horses, which is scheduled to open in the spring of 2026. Among the exhibits is a decorative harness for Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich’s favourite donkey, presented by King Victor Emmanuel III to Emperor Nicholas II, during the latter’s visit to Italy in October 1909.
The Pensioner’s Stable was built in 1827-1830 according to the project of the architect and landscape designer Adam Menelaws (1753-1831), to serve as a “retirement home” for horses that had left the service of their Imperial masters “due to old age and illness”.
The first burial dates back to 1834, the last to 1915. Horses of the emperors of the 19th century are buried in the adjacent cemetery, including animals from the stables of Emperors Alexander I, Nicholas I, Alexander II and Alexander III.
The horses belonging to Emperor Nicholas II, which are buried in the cemetery, include his gray gelding “Serko“, presented to Tsesarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich (future Emperor Nicholas II) in 1890. In 1901, Emperor Nicholas II’s favourite horse “Bluebell”, from 1875, died at the age of 30. After her death, Nicholas II issued an edict for “Bluebell” to be buried in the Imperial Horse Cemetery.
During the Great Patriotic War, the Pensioner’s Pavilion was slightly damaged, but in the following decades it fell into a terrible state of neglect and disrepair, as did the Imperial Horse Cemetery. The repair of individual slabs on the graves was carried out in the early 2000s with the financial support of the French writer and horse specialist Jean-Louis Gouraud [b.1943]. Restoration work was interrupted during the COVID pandemic. The museum has since carried out comprehensive restoration at its own expense.
PHOTO: Generals Nikolai Ivanov, Fyodor Keller and Huseyn Khan Nakhchivanski
The abdication of Nicholas II, continues to be shrouded in controversy, myths and lies. Modern day academically lazy historians continue to spread the century old myth that the Tsar was betrayed by all of his generals in the days leading up to his abdication. This is not true!
During the February 1917 Revolution, while most all of Russia’s top military leaders agreed with the position of the chief of staff of the General Headquarters (Stavka) of the Russian Imperial Army, General Mikhail Alexeev, that Emperor Nicholas II must abdicate the throne. Among them, was the Tsar’s first cousin Grand Duke “Nikolasha” Nikolaevich (1856-1929).
A fact, which is often overlooked by today’s historians and authors, is that there were in fact three generals who remained loyal to their oath to the Emperor: Nikolai Iudovich Ivanov (1851-1919), Fyodor Arturovich Keller (1857-1918), and Huseyn Khan Nakhchivanski (1863-1919). All three generals had distinguished military careers and highly decorated with orders and medals for their service, duty and bravery.
It was during the February 1917 Revolution, that these generals offered the Tsar the services of their troops to suppress the revolution. And when the Tsar abdicated, and it was time to swear allegiance to the new Provisional Government, these same three generals defiantly refused.
Sadly, the lives of these generals ended tragically. None of them survived the Civil War, and yet they remained loyal to Emperor Nicholas II until the end of their days.
Memory Eternal! Вечная Память!
Nikolay Ivanov
The origin of Nikolai Iudovich Ivanov (1851-1919) origin remains a subject of debate, some sources say that he came from a noble family from the Kaluga Governorate, but other sources claim that he was the son of a cantonist[1]. Despite all of these sources, the origin of where Ivanov’s family came from, remains a mystery.
After graduating from the military gymnasium, Nikolai Ivanov continued his military education and became an artillery officer. He served in the 3rd Guards and Grenadier Artillery Brigade, he then participated in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, he commanded a corps and repeatedly showed personal bravery, for which he was awarded the Order of St. George 3rd and 4th Class and a Gold Sword for Bravery. In 1908, Ivanov received the highest rank of general of the branch of the armed forces (artillery) at that time.
During the First World War, Ivanov commanded the troops of the South-Western Front. Later at the end of 1915, he conducted a failed operation by the 11th Army against the enemy’s forces. And in March 1916, he was replaced by General Aleksei Brusilov as the commander-in-chief of the Southwestern Front. Ivanov he was then appointed a member of the State Council, and adjutant to Emperor Nicholas II.
On 27th February 1917, the Emperor received disturbing reports about the civil and social unrest in Petrograd, and that the garrison of the capital refused to obey their superiors. Ivanov was appointed commander of the Petrograd Military District with extraordinary powers and subordination of all ministers to him. The Georgievsky Battalion (aka Knights of St. George), were reinforced by two machine-gun companies, which were placed at his disposal. In addition, Ivanov was to be sent two cavalry and infantry regiments from the Northern and Western Fronts.
The Emperor instructed Ivanov and ordered him to go to Tsarskoye Selo to ensure the safety of the Empress and her children. Military units loyal to the Tsar sent from the Fronts were also supposed to arrive there. Ivanov was to take command of them all at Tsarskoye Selo and from there to march on Petrograd to quell the unrest.
Now it is known that the chief of staff of the General Headquarters (Stavka) of the Russian Imperial Army at Mogilev, General Mikhail Alexeev (1857-1918), and the commanders of the Fronts sabotaged the Emperor’s order on the allocation of troops.
After Ivanov learned about the Tsar’s abdication, he went back to the Headquarters at Mogilev, but was arrested and taken to Petrograd. By order of the Minister of Justice of the new Provisional Government Alexander Kerensky (1881-1970), Ivanov was released. In 1918, General Pyotr Krasnov (1869-1947) of the White Army, appointed Ivanov commander of the Special Southern Army, consisting of the Voronezh, Astrakhan and Saratov corps.
On 29thJanuary 1919, after a short but serious illness (from typhus), the former commander-in-chief of the Southern Army, General of Artillery Nikolai Iudovich Ivanov died in Odessa.
Fyodor Keller
Fyodor Arturovich Keller (1857-1918) came from a military family of Russified Germans, many members of which were generals. In 1877, he volunteered for the Russo-Turkish War and awarded the St. George’s Cross 1st and 2nd Class for bravery.
In 1906, Keller survived two attempts on his life by revolutionaries. In 1907, he was awarded the rank of Aide-de-Camp and in July of the same year, he was promoted to major general with enrollment in His Imperial Majesties Retinue.
In August 1914, while commanding the 10th Cavalry Division, he won a number of victories over the enemy, for which in 1916 Emperor Nicholas II awarded him a golden sword. In addition, for services in battle he was awarded the Order of St. George 3rd and 4th Classes.
The news of the abdication of the Emperor found Keller in the post of commander of the 3rd Cavalry Corps. On 6th March 1917, he sent a telegram to Nicholas II, in which he begged him not to leave the throne and offered his troops to suppress sedition. The telegram never reached the Emperor, having been intercepted by supporters of the Provisional Government.
Keller refused to take the oath of allegiance to the new Provisional Government, and was dismissed from his position on 15th March. He left for Kharkiv, where his family lived at that time.
Keller was not happy with the White movement, as it refused to put forward monarchist agenda. He moved to Kiev, where on 19th November 1918 he was appointed by the puppet pro-German “Hetman of Ukraine” Pavlo Skoropadskyi, to lead the armed forces formed from the Russian officers in Kiev, who were there to protect the city from Symon Petliura’s[2] followers.
Skoropadskyi needed the support of Russian monarchists, but Keller understood the appointment as the beginning of his own dictatorship. Keller instituted a five-member Council of the State Defense, composed entirely of the monarchist politicians, and stated that he served one Russian state. Skoropadskyi dismissed Keller on 26th November for “overstepping his authorities”.
Sadly, the events which unfolded in Kiev turned out to be fatal for Keller. When Petliura’s followers entered the city, Keller was in hiding in the St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery. He had categorically rejected the Germans’ proposal to hide in their units, changing the Russian uniform for the German one.
Finally, on 21st (O.S. 8th) December 1918, Petliura’s followers captured and shot Keller along with two of his adjutants (December 21, 1918). His golden sword was presented to Petliura.
Keller’s body was buried under a false name in the Holy Intercession Monastery in Kiev. His grave has not been preserved, his body never found.
Huseyn Khan Nakhchivanski
Huseyn Khan of Nakhichevan (1863-1919) came from a family of hereditary khans of Nakhichevan, who took Russian citizenship in 1828. From this family came a number of Muslim generals, which was rare in the Russian Imperial Army. After graduating from the Corps of Pages with honours, Huseyn Khan regularly participated in the solemn receptions of foreign monarchs in St. Petersburg.
During the Russo-Japanese War, Huseyn Khan served as commander of the 2nd Dagestan Volunteer Cavalry Regiment. During the war the regiment distinguished itself, and Huseyn Khan himself received seven decorations. On 27th January 1907, he was decorated with the Order of St George 4th Class and the Golden Saint George Sword for launching a successful cavalry onslaught to save an encircled Russian infantry unit.
At the very beginning of the First World War, Huseyn Khan was appointed commander of the Combined Cavalry Corps and participated in the offensive against East Prussia. From 19th October 1914 he was commander of the 2nd cavalry corps and on 22nd October 1914, he was decorated with the Order of St George 3rd Class, which was presented to him personally by Emperor Nicholas II. In June 1915, he was appointed General-Adjutant of His Imperial Majesty and became the only Muslim to hold that position.
The news of the February 1917 Revolution found Huseyn Khan as the commander of the reserve Guards Cavalry Corps. On 3rd March 1917, he sent a telegram to General Alexeev at Mogilev, in which he expressed his readiness to die for the Tsar. His telegram, like Keller’s was not handed over by Alexeev to the Emperor.
Huseyn Khan refused to swear allegiance to the Provisional Government. As a result, Huseyn Khan was officially dismissed from the army on 16th April. His chief of staff, Major General Baron Alexander Wienen, shot himself.
Huseyn Khan returned to Petrograd, where he lived with his family. He was one of the few Azeri figures who did not support the newly formed Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, remaining a staunch Russian monarchist.
Following the October 1917 Revolution and the assassination of the head of Petrograd Cheka, Moisei Uritsky (1873-1918) in August 1918, Nakhchivanski together with some other prominent citizens of Petrograd was taken hostage by the Bolsheviks. He was held in the Shpalernaya Prison along with the Grand Dukes Paul Alexandrovich, Nicholas Mikhailovich, George Mikhailovich and Dmitry Konstantinovich. Also in the same prison was Prince Gabriel Constantinovich, who used to serve under the command of Huseyn Khan and who later managed to escape, and who mentioned in his memoir that he met Huseyn Khan during their walks in the prison yard.
The Grand Dukes were executed in the Peter and Paul Fortress on 29th January 1919. It is presumed by a number of Russian historians that Huseyn Khan was executed together with the Grand Dukes. However, the exact circumstances of his death and his burial place still remain unknown.
NOTES:
[1] A cantonist refers to Jewish boys conscripted into military service in the Russian Empire, particularly during the reign of Emperor Nicholas I (1825-1855). They were educated in special cantonist schools, where they were subjected to harsh conditions and pressure to adopt Christianity. The system began in 1827, and by 1857, it was abolished due to public and international criticism, highlighting the inhumane treatment of these young conscripts.
[2] Symon Vasyliovych Petliura (1879-1926) was a Ukrainian politician and journalist. He served as the Supreme Commander of the Ukrainian People’s Army (UNA) and led the Ukrainian People’s Republic during the Ukrainian War of Independence, a part of the wider Russian Civil War.
I am committed to clearing the name of Russia’s much slandered Tsar. In exchange for this 18-page booklet, please consider making a small $5 or $10 donation in aid of my research. These donations are of great assistance in helping me offset the cost of obtaining and translating documents from Russian archival sources, which are often paid for out of my own pocket. It is these documents which help present new facts and information on the life and reign of Nicholas II. In addition, my research continues to debunking many of the myths and lies which exist more than a century after his death and martyrdom.
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VIDEO: Vintage newsreel of the Great Pilgrimage of Emperor Nicholas II to Moscow, on May 24-27, 1913. In this video you will hear a unique audio recording of Orthodox hymns for the Transfiguration of the Lord, performed by the Moscow Chudov Choir in 1908. Duration: 3 minutes, 5 seconds
The Iberian or Resurrection Gate is the only remaining gate of the Kitai-gorod[1] in Moscow. It connects the north-western end of Red Square with Manege Square and gives its name to nearby Voskresenskaya Square [Resurrection Square, renamed Revolution Square in 1918].
The gate adjoins the ornate building of the old Moscow Duma [City Hall] to the east and the State Historical Museum to the west.
The first stone gate leading to Red Square was erected in 1535, when the Kitai-gorod wall was being reconstructed in brick. When the structure was rebuilt in 1680, the double passage was surmounted with two-storey chambers crowned by two octagonal hipped roofs similar to the Kremlin towers. An Icon of the Resurrection was placed on the gate facing towards Red Square, from which the gate derives its name.
The Iverskaya Chapel
Since 1669, the wooden chapel in front of the gate (facing away from Red Square) has housed a replica of the miracle-working icon of Panaghia Portaitissa (“keeper of the gate”), the prototype of which is preserved in the Georgian Iveron Monastery on Mount Athos. Hence, the name Iversky (Iberian) that stuck both to the chapel and the gate. In 1781, the Nikolo-Perervinsky Monastery constructed a new brick chapel on the spot. The star-splattered cupola of the structure was topped with a statue of an angel bearing a cross.
According to a popular custom, everyone heading for Red Square or the Kremlin visited the chapel to pay homage at the shrine, before entering through the gate. Beggars and outlaws would pray there next to the highest persons, including the Tsar himself. It was here that the rebel Emelyan Pugachev asked the Russian people for forgiveness a few hours before his execution. The tiny ever-overcrowded chapel, with candles burning day and night, figures in works by Leo Tolstoy, Ivan Bunin, Marina Tsvetayeva, and H.G. Wells, to name only a few.
PHOTO: the Iverskaya Chapel. c. 1890s
Nicholas II, like his father preferred Moscow to St. Petersburg. According to French historian Marc Ferro: “Nicholas II preferred Moscow to St. Petersburg because the old city embodied the past, whereas St. Petersburg represented modernity, the Enlightenment and atheism.”
Three of the most notable visits to the Chapel were made on 26th (O.S. 14th) May 1896, on his way to his Coronation; on 25th-26th August 1912 during the celebrations dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Borodino; and in May 1913 for celebrations marking the Romanov Tercentennary (1913).
On 5th April 1900, Nicholas wrote to his mother about reaching a landmark in his private spiritual life. A letter to his mother, reveals his strong religious feeling:
“What a joy it is to us, dear Mama, to prepare for Holy Communion here in the Kremlin, with all its various churches and chapels . . . This feeling is now much stronger than it was in 1896, which is only natural. I am so calm and happy now, and everything here makes for prayer and peace of spirit . . . “.
During his reign, Nicholas made numerous visits to the former Russian capital, where he always stopped to pray at the Iverskaya Chapel before crossing Red Square into the Kremlin, where he took up residence in the Grand Kremlin Palace. Moscow’s fervent greeting to their Tsar on each of his visits confirmed his feeling for the city.
Three of the most notable visits to the Iverskaya Chapel were made on 26th (O.S. 14th) May 1896, on his way to his Coronation; on 25th-26th August 1912 during the celebrations dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Borodino; and in May 1913 for celebrations marking the Romanov Tercentennary (1913).
PHOTO: Emperor Nicholas II along with members of his family arrive at the Iverskaya Chapel in Moscow, 1912. Note the curious people watching from the windows of the State Historical Museum in the background. The Tsar is accompanied by his daughters the Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia (all wearing white hats), and his son Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich, as well as the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna (wearing a nuns’ habit).
In the above photo, Emperor Nicholas II, Empresses Alexandra Feodorovna and Maria Feodorovna are walking towards the Iverskaya Chapel of the Iberian Mother of God before the crowning of Russia’s last Tsar in the Assumption (Dormition) Cathedral in the Kremlin on 26th (O.S. 14th) May 1896.
The photos below depict Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and their children visiting the Iverskaya Chapel to pray in 1912 and 1913:
PHOTO: Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich (being carried by the Cossack Alexei Petrovich Pilipenko (1887-1972) leaving the Iverskaya Chapel in Moscow
***
In 1929 the Iverskaya Chapel was demolished, and in 1931 the Resurrection Gate was demolished by order of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in order to make room for heavy military vehicles driving through Red Square during military parades. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, both structures were rebuilt under Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov’s[2] leadership, on the site between 1994 and 1995. A new icon of the Iveron Theotokos was painted on Mount Athos to replace the original.
On 4th November 1994, Patriarch Alexi II (1929-2008) consecrated the foundation of both the Iverskaya Chapel and the Resurrection Gate. The Iverskaya Chapel reopened to worshippers on 25th October 1995. Every day, every two hours from eight o’clock in the morning to eight in the evening, prayers are performed in the chapel with the reading of the akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos.
PHOTO: view of the Resurrection Gate in 1931, the Iverskaya Chapel was demolished in 1929
PHOTO: a stunning view of the Iverskaya Chapel and Resurrection Gate – the latter of which leads into Red Square, reconstructed between 1994-95.
NOTES:
[1] The Kitay-gorod was a cultural and historical area, built during the 16th and 17th centuries within the central part of Moscow. During the 1920s and 1930s Stalin ordered Kitay-gorod to be demolished. This wanton act of destruction included 10 chapels, the Cathedral of the Nikolo-Greek Monastery, and two monastery bell towers. The last pre-war victim of Kitay-gorod was the *Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan, demolished in 1936, which stood on the corner of Nikolskaya Street and the Red Square. *Reconstructed between 1990-1993.
[2] Yuri Mikhailovich Luzhkov (1936-2019) was a Russian politician who served as the Mayor of Moscow from 1992 to 2010. Under Luzhkov’s leadership, the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan, the Resurrection Gate and Iverskaya Chapel were all rebuilt, as well as the construction of Catherine II’s unfinished palace in Tsaritsyno and the reconstruction of the Kolomenskoye Palace of Tsar Alexis (demolished as early as the 18th century).
On this day – 20th August 2000 – after eight years of debate, and at times threatening to split the Russian Orthodox Church, the Council of Bishops unanimously approved the canonization of Emperor Nicholas II and his family as passion-bearers[1]. The rite of canonization took place in Moscow’s newly reconstructed Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.
Patriarch Alexei II of Moscow and All Russia (1929-2008), and nearly 150 bishops debated, once and for all, the issue of the Tsar’s spiritual life and qualifications for sainthood. Supporters of this action had long insisted that Nicholas II was anointed by God[2] and was incapable of stopping the communist takeover of Russia. Those who opposed the Tsar’s canonization insisted that he was weak, indulged in excesses and had little concern for the suffering of his people.
“In the last Orthodox monarch of Russia and in the members of his Family we see people who sincerely sought to live by the commandments of the Gospel. In the suffering endured in captivity by the Imperial Family with humbleness, patience and meekness, in their martyrs’ death during the night of 17th (O.S. 4th) July 1918, the evil-defeating light of the faith of Christ was revealed,” the Bishop’s Council concluded.
The Moscow Patriarchate canonized the family as passion-bearers: 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 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.
The term “passion-bearer” is used in relation to those Russian saints who, “imitating Christ, endured with patience physical, moral suffering and death at the hands of political opponents. In the history of the Russian Church, such passion-bearers were the holy noble princes Boris and Gleb (1015), Igor of Chernigov (+ 1147), Andrei Bogolyubsky (+ 1174), Mikhail of Tverskoy (+ 1318), Tsarevich Dimitri (+ 1591). All of them, by their feat of passion-bearers, showed a high example of Christian morality and patience.
Despite their official designation as “passion-bearers” by the August 2000 Council, Nicholas II and his family are referred to as “martyrs” in Church publications, icons, and in popular veneration by the people.
The four faithful retainers who had been killed along with the Imperial family were also canonized as new martyrs by the ROCOR in 1981 The canonized servants were Dr. Eugene Botkin, court physician; Alexei Trupp, footman; Ivan Kharitonov, cook; and Anna Demidova, Alexandra’s maid. Also canonized were two servants killed in September 1918, lady in waiting Anastasia Hendrikova and tutor Catherine Adolphovna Schneider. All were canonized as victims of oppression by the Bolsheviks.
On 3rd February 2016, the Bishop’s Council of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) canonized Dr. Botkin as a righteous passion bearer. They did not canonize the servants, two of whom were not Russian Orthodox: Trupp was Roman Catholic, and Schneider was Lutheran.
Since the late 20th century, believers have attributed healing from illnesses or conversion to the Orthodox Church to their prayers to Maria and Alexei, as well as to the rest of the family.
On 20th August 2025 – the day marking the 25th anniversary of the canonization of the Holy Tsar’s Family, a moleben[3] was performed at the Church on the Blood (Ekaterinburg), built on the site of the Ipatiev House, where Nicholas II and his family were murdered on 17th July 1918.
NOTES:
[1] Emperor Nicholas II and his family were canonized as “new martyrs” by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) in 1981. The term “new martyrs” refers to those who were killed for their faith in the 20th century, especially during the persecution of Christians in the Soviet era.
[2] “As God’s Anointed, Nicholas II could not be displaced during his lifetime. Since the will of God was nowhere manifest, neither in the naming of his brother Grand Duke Michael to the throne, nor in the Tsar’s signing of the instrument of abdication, his status as Tsar remained inviolate and unassailable.”
by Evgeni Vernigora. ‘A Personal Reflection on the Abdication of the Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II’ Published in ‘Orthodox Life,’ 13th June 2018
[3] a liturgical service of supplication or thanksgiving
This book is not only for Orthodox and non-Orthodox persons, but for any one who shares an interest in the life, death, and martyrdom of the Holy Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II.
An illustrated Introduction by independent researcher Paul Gilbert explores the piety of Nicholas II, and his devotion to the Russian Orthodox Church, which reached its fullest development and power, during his 22-year reign.
This book further examines the trials and tribulations the Tsar endured, which later led to his canonization by the Russian Orthodox Church.
Paperback edition, with 134 pages + 23 black & white photographs
BONES OF CONTENTION: The Russian Orthodox Church & the Ekaterinburg Remains
Originally published in 2020, this NEW REVISED & EXPANDED EDITION features an additional 40 pages, new chapters and 90 black and white photos.
In May 2022, the Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, will convene in Moscow during which they will review the findings of the Investigative Commission and deliver their verdict on the authenticity of the Ekaterinburg Remains.
This is the first English language title to explore the position the highly contentious issue of the Russian Orthodox Church’s position on the Ekaterinburg remains. The author’s research for this book is based exclusively on documents from the office of the Moscow Patriarchate, as well as Russian media and archival sources.
Paperback edition. 206 pages. + 90 black & white photographs
MOST PIOUS TSAR Icons, Frescoes and Holy Images of Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II
In 1938, Russia’s last tsar Nicholas II was canonized by the Serbian Orthodox Church. On 1st November 1981, he was canonized as a new martyr by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR). On 20th August 2000, after 8 years of study, he was canonized as a passion bearer by the Moscow Patriarchate, although the people had already been venerating him as a saint for a long time, and this canonization was simply a confirmation of a fact that already existed by itself.
Since these historic dates, icons of Russia’s last Tsar have been installed in Orthodox churches across Russia and around the world. In addition home icons have been mass produced and sold for veneration by Orthodox Christians.
This book will not only appeal to Orthodox and non-Orthodox persons, but for any one who shares an interest in icons and iconography. This book also includes a Prayer and Akathist to the Holy Martyred Tsar. The highlight of this book, however, are the 130+ colour photographs of icons, frescoes and holy images depicting the Holy Royal Martyr Nicholas II.
English. Large 7″ x 10″ format. 162 pages with 132 photos in FULL COLOUR!
The first Moscow church in honour of the Tsar-Passion-Bearer Nicholas II is now being built in the capital’s Annino district, said Vladimir Resin, deputy of the State Duma of Russia, Patriarchal Adviser and curator of the Program for the Construction of New Churches in Moscow.
Vladimir Resin clarified that there are currently 22 churches and chapels in Russia, dedicated to the Tsar-Passion-Bearer, however, this will be the first such church to be constructed in Moscow. These do not include churches and chapels dedicated to the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers, which have been constructed across the Russian Federation, following the Imperial Family’s canonization by the Moscow Patriarchate in August 2000.
“Thanks to the support of His Holiness the Patriarch, donations from parishioners and a targeted patriarchal subsidy, we are confidently moving forward. I note that the project of this large church for 800 people was developed in the style of Russian Art Nouveau. The area of the prayer hall without an altar and a solea is over 400 square meters,” said the Patriarchal Adviser.
Artist concept of church in honour of the Tsar-Passion-Bearer Nicholas II, Moscow
The church complex is being built according to the project of the architect Fyodor Ivanovich Afuksenidi (b. 1961, Krasnaya Polyana), the author of more than 50 Orthodox churches and chapels, who died in 2019. For the creation of churches, he was awarded the Order of Sergius of Radonezh III Degree.
It is noted that thanks to the manufacturer, 20 tons of reinforcement bars were delivered to the construction site in June, and on June 7, the parish youth began to inscribe the names of the donors on the brick walls of the future church.
“By the end of the year, the builders intend to erect the frame of the building along with the installation of drums under the domes. The entire complex is expected to be complete in 2028,” added Vladimir Resin.
On this day – 17th August (O.S. 4th) August 1917 – the Imperial Family arrived in Tyumen, following a three day journey by train, their final destination was Tobolsk. Tyumen is situated just east of the Ural mountains.
Nicholas wrote in his diary: “We advanced unbelievably slowly, in order to reach Tyumen late at night. There the train went right up to the jetty, so that we were able to get straight onto the steamer.
“Ours is called ‘Rus’! They started loading our things, which took all night. God only knows when poor Alexei got to bed again? The bustle and noise went on all through the night and prevented me from getting to sleep. We left Tyumen at about 6 o’clock.”
Today, there is a small museum dedicated to the Imperial Family in a building, formerly owned by a shipping magnate in Tyumen. While their stay was brief, their presence in Tyumen is of no less importance to the story of their lives in exile.
PHOTO: the steamer ‘Rus’
History of the Tsar’s Pier
Before the 1917 Revolution, the board of the West Siberian Shipping Company was located in the building on the embankment in Tyumen. It was founded by a merchant and entrepreneur, an honourary citizen of Tyumen, the philanthropist Ivan Ivanovich Ignatov (1833-1914). Skillfully attracting private investors, Ignatov turned the enterprise into a major center of shipbuilding and river transportation.
In addition, he built the first local power plant in the city, illuminating the streets and embankment of the city. He laid a railway track along the Tura to the pier opposite the building of the shipping company.
More than a century later, the house was bought by another highly respected Tyumen resident V. Savchenko. With the help of city residents, the Tsar’s Pier is today a museum dedicated to the memory of Nicholas II and his family.
Why the Tsar’s Pier?
Local historians studied a lot of historical and archival documents and discovered that in August 1917, on the embankment opposite the building of the shipping company, the family and retinue of Emperor Nicholas II. Nicholas II spent the last night in Tyumen in the building of the shipping company.
In honour of this historic event, a memorial was laid. The pier was named ‘Tsarskaya Pier / Царская пристань’.
The exposition dedicated to the Imperial Family is located on the second floor. The exhibition presents: portraits, photographs, books, as well as household and interior items of the time. This room was named in honour of Olga Kulikovsky-Romanov (1926-2020), the widow of Tikhon Kulikovsky (1917-1993), the eldest son of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna (1882-1960) – youngest sister of Nicholas II.
River Tyumen
Pre-revolutionary Tyumen and its environs were an important center of shipbuilding and a transshipment point, where food, building supplies, and agricultural goods were loaded and unloaded around the clock.
The permanent exhibition of the Tsar’s Pier Museum also features exhibits dedicated to these industries.
Visitors can familiarize themselves with the statutory document of the West Siberian Shipping Company Partnership, signed by Emperor Nicholas II. Archival photographs of pre-revolutionary Tyumen and its citizens, models of ships, shipping maps and much more are presented.
PHOTO: the chapel, located in the building of the Tsar’s Pier Museum
Some of the museum exhibits are located in the courtyard of the museum and on the embankment. These include ancient massive anchors raised from the bottom of the Tura.
In addition, are two memorial crosses dedicated to Russia’s last Tsar and his family, including one installed by the Cossacks – see photo located at the end of this post.
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*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
The documentary-film is timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the glorification of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II and his family as Royal Passion-Bearers by the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church on 14th (O.S. 1st) August 2000.
PHOTO: it was “standing room only” at the Nizhni Novgorod premiere
The event was attended by Archimandrite Tikhon (Zatekin), the scriptwriter and director of the film Irina Vdovina-Sudina, Doctor of Historical Sciences and leading specialist of the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History Lyudmila Lykova, participant in the search for the remains of Tsesarevich Alexei and Grand Duchess Maria in 2007 Leonid Vokhmyakov, participant in the search for the remains of the Imperial Family in 1979 Gennady Vasiliev, retired Senior investigator of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation Vladimir Solovyov, who headed the investigation into the “Ekaterinburg Remains”, Olga Ryabova, the widow of screenwriter Geliy Ryabov (1932-2015), who led an expedition in 1979 to search for the remains of the Imperial Family, among other guests.
Before the screening, Irina Vdovina-Sudina addressed the audience: “We have all gathered today for the premiere of this documentary-film. Our apologies, we did not expect that there would be more spectators than seats in the hall. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the glorification of Nicholas II and his family, and the creation of the film is timed to coincide with this date. I did not immediately want to take on such a complex topic, which causes so many contradictory opinions, but having immersed myself in it, I began to embrace it wholeheartedly. The film is not only about the mystery of finding the Ekaterinburg remains, it is also about mistakes, redemption and repentance.”
PHOTO: Irina Vdovina-Sudina addressed the audience
The film explores how for many decades Archimandrite Tikhon (Zatekin) collected information about the fate of the Imperial Family’s remains, following their execution on the night of 16-17 July, 1918. As a youth, Nikolai Zatekin (the secular name of Archimandrite Tikhon) worked with a team of plasterers in Moscow’s St. Daniel’s Monastery. It was during a conversation with a colleague, that the subject of the fate of the remains of the Tsar and his family piqued the interest of Zatekin for the first time. After moving to Sverdlovsk (renamed Ekaterinburg in 1991), he began to collect materials about the history of the family of the last Russian emperor.
PHOTO: Archimandrite Tikhon (Zatekin)
In 1985, Zatekin met the film director and writer Geliy Ryabov (1932-2015). Recall that in 1979, it was Ryabov along with geologist and local historian Alexander Avdonin, who discovered the burial place of the remains of the Imperial Family on the Old Koptyaki Road, near Sverdlovsk [Ekaterinburg]. This event was preceded by a long and painstaking collection of information, on the basis of which the researchers concluded that the remains of the Imperial Family, contrary to the widespread version, were not destroyed, but transferred from mine No7 at Ganina Yama and buried in the forest on the territory of the Porosenkov Log tract.
The remains were exhumed from the ground only in 1991. In 2007, another excavation was carried out at Porosenkov Log, a result of which the remains of Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich and Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna were found and identified. This find became a counterargument for those who were against the recognition of the remains as those of Nicholas II and his family. More than once in disputes, opponents pointed out that 11 people were murdered in the Ipatiev House, and the remains of nine were found in Porosenkov Log by Geliy Ryabov and Alexander Avdonin. The second grave, containing the two additional remains settled the argument,at least for some.
PHOTO: following the end of the documentary-film, retired senior investigator of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation Vladimir Solovyov, took part in a question and answer period
After a series of studies and examinations were carried out, the remains of 9 people were buried on 18th July 1998, in the St. Catherine Chapel of the SS Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. The remains of Alexei and Maria were transferred to the Lower Church of the Transfiguration Cathedral of the Novospassky Monastery in Moscow in December 2015, and remain there until the present – pending the decision by the Council of Bishops.
In 2015, the Investigative Committee of Russia resumed the investigation into the death of the Romanovs. During the investigation, the remains found near Ekaterinburg in 1991 were re-examined.
“In 2022, a meeting of the Holy Synod was held, where representatives of the state commission, which had studied the remains since 2015, and members of the church commission headed by Metropolitan Varsonofy of St. Petersburg and Ladoga. The conclusions of the first investigation confirmed, that the found remains belonged to Emperor Nicholas II and his family. It was decided to submit the issue of the remains to the Council of Bishops for approval,” said Archimandrite Tikhon (Zatekin).
Following the documentary-film’s premiere, the audience were invited to ask questions to the panel of experts who participated in the making of the film, including Vladimir Solovyov, Lyudmila Lykova, Olga Ryabova and Archimandrite Tikhon (Zatekin). The latter, then took the time to sign copies of his book Романовы: убийство, поиск, обретение [Romanovs: murder, search, acquisition]
PHOTO: Larissa Kovalchuk and Anna Sadrieva at Livadia Palace
On 11th August 2025, Livadia Palace hosted a meeting between the new Director of the Livadia Palace Larissa Kovalchuk and the President of the Nicholas II Foundation, who also serves as the Director of the Museum of Emperor Nicholas II in Moscow, Anna Alexandrovna Sadrieva. Together, the two parties agreed on mutual cooperation and discussed plans for future joint exhibitions.
The Emperor Nicholas II Foundation was created on 21st May 2021, to support the Museum of Emperor Nicholas II (Moscow), as well as other initiatives to help restore and disseminate the historical truth about Russia’s much slandered Tsar. During the last 4 years, the Foundation have hosted dozens of events, offered hundreds of museum tours, while expanding their collection with new acquisitions.
The Museum of Emperor Nicholas II (includes VIDEO) is based on the unique collection of the famous Russian art historian Alexander Vasilyevich Renzhin, which was formed over the course of 35 years and contains more than 3.000 authentic objects dating from 1868 to 1918, including personal items which belonged to Emperor Nicholas II and members of his family.
Livadia was a favorite vacation spot for the Imperial Family, overlooking the Black Sea on the southern coast of Crimea. Here, among the dense greenery of the centuries-old park, in addition to other buildings of the former estate, the New Grand Imperial Palace, made under the direction of the architect Nikolai Petrovich Krasnov (1864-1939) for the last Russian Tsar, stands out.
Emperor Nicholas II spent about 4 million gold rubles on the palace. The palace contains 116 rooms, with interiors furnished in different styles. In November 1911 Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna celebrated her 16th birthday at Livadia. The Imperial family visited Livadia in the fall of 1911 and 1913 and in the spring of 1912 and 1914, often spending months at a time.
In 1922, the former Imperial Residence was opened to the public as a museum, however, it closed 5 years later due to a lack of visitors. On 30th April, 1918, German troops entered Livadia and immediately began to plunder the palace. After the end of World War II, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945), the 32nd President of the United States, expressed an interest in buying Livadia Palace. In July 2022, Livadia Palace marked its 100th anniversary as a museum. Sadly, nearly all of the palace’s former furnishings were lost.
The beginning of discussions and cooperation between the two large museums dedicated to the life and reign of Emperor Nicholas II, and the everyday life of his family, is a step towards joint educational projects and exhibitions that will help immerse visitors in Imperial Russian history during the late 19th to early 20 centuries.
With an artist’s eye and a surgeon’s precision, Olga Shirnina — who works under the name Color By Klimbim — uses Photoshop to breathe new life into black-and-white photos from Russian history.
Olga Shirnina — who works under the name Color By Klimbim
Olga Shirnina was born in Schwerin (former DDR). She studied at Moscow State Pedagogic Institute of Foreign Languages, where she received a Ph.D. in Germanisctic. Following her studies, she has worked as a professor of German at Moscow State Pedagogic Institute of Foreign Languages and that of Alma-Ata.
Having a special love for arts, she started working as a picture colourist, producing her first work in 2011. Continuing, she published a website and a Facebook page with her colourings, which led her in receiving some significant commissions.
She colorizes photos purely “for pleasure.” The most thrilling part of the coloring process, says Shirnina, is “when suddenly the person looks back at you as if he’s alive.”
Shirnina says it takes her around one full day to colorize a photo, though she’ll usually wait another day before publishing in order to see things with “a fresh eye.”
Olga is fascinated by Russian history, which she finds full of dramatic, cataclysmic events, which not only had an impact on the history of the country, but also on the rest of the world. According to her, “Sometimes a picture can say more than many words are able to, and it gives me great pleasure to add to people’s knowledge and learning about Russia, through my work in colourings”. She also finds it interesting to work with colours, achieving different effects or copying the manner of great painters of the past.
Olga has contributed to the The Romanov Royal Martyrs Project by undertaking the colourization of all the pictures of the project. In addition to her artwork, she has been able to locate most of the Russian archival material used for the project and has undertaken the transcription work of many handwritten manuscripts.
Olga Shirnina’s colourized photos are also featured in my interview The Conspiracy Against Nicholas II, which aired on YouTube in August 2018. My seven-minute interview was one of a special six-part video series commemorating the Romanovs Martyrdom Centennial in 2018, prepared by the Monastery of St John the Forerunner Mesa Potamos in Cyprus.
To date she has colourized dozens of black-and-white photos of members of the last Russian Imperial Family, all of which are exceptional in their own right. It is Shirnina’s collection of colourized photographs of Emperor Nicholas II, which are my personal favourites:
Nicholas II 
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