PHOTO: aerial view of the Livadia Palace and Park, Crimea

The Director of the Livadia Palace Museum Larysa Kovalchuk recently announced plans for a large-scale restoration of the Livadia Palace and Park.

“Today we have three main tasks: the renovation of the park, restoration of the palace and the redevelopment of existing exhibition space”, said the museum’s director.

“Each direction is a separate epic with its own challenges and discoveries. The renovation of the 37 hectare [91 acres] Livadia Park is a project which will involve at least five years of work. The situation with landslides is very difficult, and will require some serious engineering investments,” she added.

“In addition, more than 60 small architectural forms – gazebos, fountains, retaining walls – need to be restored. Sadly, some fountains are completely lost, but there are historic photos in our archives that will allow us to recreate them.”

Re-exposition will prove to be is the most challenging project. In 2025, an all-Russian competition for a new concept was announced. Fourteen firms from all over the country presented their projects, divided into two lots: the re-exposition of the existing historic interiors and the creation of a new museum site like New Chersonesos – situated near Sevastopol.

PHOTO: Director of the Livadia Palace Museum Larysa Kovalchuk,
standing in the Italian Courtyard of the Livadia Palace

“We are still more in favour of the museum remaining a memorial museum. After considering all the proposals, a competent panel of experts with the participation of the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation and representatives of leading Russian museums came to a consensus: the Livadia Palace should remain a historic memorial museum,” Kovalchuk firmly declares.

Here are some statistics: the number of visitors’ to Livadia Palace increased from 260,000 in 2023 to 385,000 in 2025, with 49% who are interested in the Yalta Conference, and 51% are interested in the Romanovs in Livadia.

“These statistics are very interesting,” said the director – “they clearly indicated that both the Yalta Conference (February 1945) and the Romanovs in Crimea are what interest visitors to the Livadia Palace the most. Therefore, we will not change that, but let’s delve further into both,” she added.

The plan for the restoration of the interiors has been worked out in detail. The museum wants to recreate the original interiors of the palace so that future generations can see how the last Russian Tsar and his family lived, during their stays in Crimea from 1911 to 1914.

Recall that Nicholas II and his family visited Livadia in the autumn of 1911 and 1913 and in the spring of 1912 and 1914, where they took up residence for several months at a time.

PHOTO: Emperor Nichiolas II’s Study at Livadia Palace. as it looks today

The story of the return of furniture and other items to Livadia is interesting, one which reads like a detective novel.

After the 1917 Revolution, the Imperial residences were all nationalized, the furniture in the Livadia Palace was considered “of no use”, it was then “written off” and sold through commission stores. Livadia Palace officials believe that even today, some residents of Yalta may have pieces of furniture from the palace in their homes.

It is interesting to note, that the Maly [Small] Palace at Livadia survived until the Great Patriotic War (1941-45), it was looted and destroyed by the Nazis, following their retreat from Crimea.

The museum issued an appeal through the media offering to buyback items which belonged to Nicholas II and members of his family from the Livadia Palace. The call did not go unanswered . . .

A pair of vases were recently returnd to Livadia Palace. They had been in the possession of a Yalta family, who from generation to generation, the vases were passed down. As it turned out, the vases came from from Empress Alexandra’s Boudoir at Livadia. The museum staff began to look for confirmation of this and discovered a photo of the boudoir, where the vases are in their places. After 95 years, they have now been returned to their historic place.

Another exhibit a kitchen cabinet from the Small Dining Room marked “Grand Palace, Livadia”, has also been returned, discovered in a local warehouse.

The Livadia Palace is currently preparing an exhibit for the 130th anniversary of the Holy Coronation of Emperor Nicholas II, the 170th anniversary of the Coronation of Emperor Alexander II and the 115th anniversary of the completion of the construction of the palace.

FURTHER READING

Nicholas II’s study in Livadia Palace to be recreated + PHOTOS

Livadia Palace marks 100th anniversary as a museum + PHOTOS

Act of historical justice: restored bust of Nicholas II returned to Livadia + PHOTOS

FDR wanted to buy Livadia Palace in final days of WWII + PHOTOS

© Paul Gilbert. 14 April 2026