Author: Paul Gilbert

NEW BOOK -The Real Tsaritsa’ by Lili Dehn

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

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English. Size: 8-1/2″ x 5-1/2″. 231 pages.

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NOTE: this book was originally published in 2021. This NEW 2026 edition features a beautiful sepia-colour cover and is available in a hard cover edition for the first time.

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Rumour was busy in her lifetime with amazing tales about the late Empress of Russia; how much or little truth lay behind such rumours was known only to her few closest friends, and one of the few was Lili Dehn (1888-1963).

Great-granddaughter of Prince Koutousoff, the famous defender of Moscow against Napoleon I, Lili Dehn was admitted, after her presentation at Court, into the home circle of the Tsaritsa, and a great friendship grew up between them. Her study of the Empress’s personality, habits, views, life as she led it, is intimate and illuminating.

Here is the truth about Rasputin, with new light on the legend of his alleged “power over” the Imperial Household, the inner reason for the scandalous reports circulated concerning him and the Empress, and a grim, enthralling account of his death and burial. Lili Dehn was the first person to whom the Empress came with the news of the Tsar’s abdication, and she witnessed his return after that supreme humiliation.

There are dramatic elements in the narrative of the early days of the 1917 Revolution; life at Tsarskoye Selo while the Tsar and his family were under house arrest in the Alexander Palace; and in the record of the writer’s own imprisonment and adventurous escape. The interest of the book is intensified by the letters written to Lili Dehn by the Tsaritsa from captivity in Tobolsk and Ekaterinburg. This revelation at first hand of the whole tragedy of the Empress, as a wife and a mother, and of all that led to the downfall of a great dynasty, makes a profoundly human appeal.

PHOTO: Lili Dehn with Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Crimea. 1913

Lili Dehn reflects on Russia’s much slandered Empress

“The first idea of writing this book occurred to me some time after my arrival in England. I had always known that the Empress had been grossly misrepresented in Russia, but I had not attached much importance to the fact, as I had seen the Revolutionary propaganda, and I fully realized the methods of the Revolutionaries in relation to the Imperial Family. I was, however, astonished and horrified to discover that the same ideas were current in the broad-minded and enlightened country which has afforded me and so many other fugitives such kindly sanctuary.

“If possible, I think the Empress has been more universally condemned in England than in Russia. I have scarcely heard her name mentioned without its being coupled with the degrading attributes of treachery, sensualism, hysteria, and religious mania. To one who knew her intimately and who loved her devotedly, such a state of things is unspeakably painful. I accidentally saw a film which was the grossest libel on her character and her personality, the mind of the producer having been apparently bent upon presenting the Empress as a combination of the chief forms of lurid wickedness which appeal to patrons of the cinema. I have also read novels about her which, whilst enraging me as mendacious chronicles, have considerably enlightened me as to the capacity for invention of which the human imagination is capable. More serious works have condemned the Empress in a courteous manner, but they have been none the less scathing in their judgment. Some writers, after the story of Ekaterinburg was authentically given to the world, have been more tolerant and more pitying in their censure, but it has been always censure. Therefore, in the face of such hatred and contempt for one at whose hands I have received nothing but kindness and love, I determined to write my impressions of the Empress as I knew her, both in the happy days and afterwards in those of war and unrest during the first dark weeks of the Revolution.

I reasoned, I trust with justice, that although the majority of people are always ready to believe the worst of anyone, there must be others who, in the spirit of fair play, would be willing to look on the reverse side of the picture. There must surely be friends and relations in England who would welcome facts which proved that the Empress had been true to her English upbringing and to the traditional right living of the descendants of Queen Victoria. English people seem to have forgotten, when the Empress was vilified on the screen and in cold type, that she was the daughter of Princess Alice, a name which is associated with all that is noblest and best in woman, a name which alone, one might have thought, would have pleaded for that of her daughter. But nothing protected her, not even the facts that her first cousin was King of England and that one of her sisters was married and living in this country. I knew the almost impossible task of rehabilitation which lay before me, but, as the task daily assumed greater proportions, love and pity for my beloved friend urged me to attempt.”

PHOTO: Lili Dehn (left), Anna Vyrubova (center) and Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna (right), having tea at Vyrobova’s house in Tsarskoye Selo .1907

Who was Lili Dehn?

Lili Dehn (born Yulia Alexandrovna Smolskaia; 1888–1963) was a Russian aristocrat, memoirist, and close personal friend of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna during the final years of the Russian Empire.

Lili was born on 9th August (O.S. 27th July) 1888, at the family estate in southern Russia, Revovka, the home of her ancestor General Mikhail Kutuzov, victor over Napoleon in the invasion of Russia in 1812. Her parents were Ismail Selim Bek Smolsky and Catherine Horvat. Both sides of her family had a long history in Russia. Her parents divorced when she was eleven and her mother later remarried. Her maternal grandmother then helped raise Lili.

Lili was educated by tutors at home and understood very little Russian as a child because her family spoke French. When she was a young girl, she loved listening to the popular stories of old Russia told by her maternal grandmother and her childhood nanny. Later she had an English governess. She loved her childhood estate, and every time she went to visit her uncle in Livadia, she took with her a bit of Revovka soil to remind him of home.

Lili married in 1907 in Yalta Carl Alexander “Joachimovitch” Akimovich von Dehn, a Russian naval officer whose family was from Tallinn, Estonia, Finland and Sweden. Dehn was an officer on the imperial yacht Standart and was a favourite of the imperial children. The Tsarina took an interest in Dehn’s new wife and became friends with her after the marriage.

The Tsarina was the godmother of the Dehns’ son, Alexander Léonid, born 9th August 1908 and nicknamed him “Titi”. Alexander was baptized according to the Lutheran rite, which was required by her husband’s family to maintain an inheritance. Alexandra remained troubled by the fact that her godson had a Lutheran baptism and insisted seven years later that the child be rebaptized in the Russian Orthodox Church. The Dehns granted her request.

Lili trained as a Red Cross nurse during World War I and treated wounded soldiers in a military hospital.

PHOTO: Lili Dehn in exile – year unknown

She was with the Imperial family at the outbreak of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and helped care for the Imperial children and the Tsarina’s friend, Anna Vyrubova, who was also Dehn’s distant cousin, during a measles epidemic. She witnessed the abdication of the Tsar and the imprisonment of the family by the new provisional government. Dehn left the palace and tried to persuade the provisional government to place the imperial family under house arrest in their own home because her son Alexander was dangerously ill.

Lili fled Russia aboard the ship SS Kherson with her mother and son via Turkey and Greece. They eventually reached England. The family first settled in England, where the von Dehns had two more children, Catherine, in December 1919, and Maria, in April 1923.

They later moved to her father’s estate, Hołowiesk near Bielsk Podlaski, in eastern Poland. Her husband died in 1932. After World War II broke out, Lili was forced to emigrate again and ended in Caracas, Venezuela, with her son Alexander and her daughter Maria. In 1958 she moved with Maria and her husband Kurt Happe to the United States and then to Rome

Lili Dehn died in Rome on 8th October 1963 at the age of 78. She was buried in the Testaccio Cemetery (grave No 820).

© Paul Gilbert. 4 August 2026

1st August 1914 – the beginning of the end of the great European monarchical Empires

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

On 1st August [O.S. 20 July] 1914, the Russian Empire entered the First World War, the Great War, which became one of the largest and most tragic events of the 20th century. It not only changed the political map of the world, but also marked the end of the centuries-old era of the great European monarchical Empires.

The reason for the outbreak of war was the murder in Sarajevo of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his wife Duchess Sofia, on 28th (15th O.S.) June 1914 by members of the Mlada Bosna organization led by Gavrilo Princip. It is noteworthy that the assassination took place on Vidov Day, a sorrowful date for the Serbian people associated with the defeat on Kosovo Polje in 1389.

On 23rd (O.S. 10th) July, Austria-Hungary presented Serbia with an ultimatum, and a few days later declared war on the Balkan kingdom. Russia, fulfilling its allied duty and speaking out in defense of Orthodox Serbia, began a general mobilization. In response, on 1st (O.S. August (O.S. 19th July), the German Empire declared war on the Russian Empire. Following this, the largest powers of Europe, and then dozens of other nations, were involved in the armed confrontation.

The war engulfed 38 countries. About 74 million people were mobilized into the ranks of the armed forces, more than 10 million of whom died or died of wounds. In the Russian Empire, contemporaries called this conflict the Great War, the Second Patriotic War or the Great Patriotic War, emphasizing its national character and significance for the fate of the Fatherland.

The Russian Imperial Army performed its duty with honor, showing courage and dedication on the battlefields. However, the revolutionary events of February and October 1917 led to the collapse of the monarchy and historical Russian statehood. After the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks, the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty was concluded with Germany and its allies, which meant Russia’s withdrawal from the war on the most difficult terms. This decision entailed huge territorial losses, became one of the reasons for the Civil War and marked the end of the Russian Empire.

On 11th November 1918, the First World War ended. The Entente states celebrated the victory, but Russia, which suffered colossal human sacrifices and made a huge contribution to the fight against the Central Powers, was no longer among the victorious powers.

One of the most tragic results of the Great War was the disappearance of four great Empires at once – Russian, German, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman. Their fall meant not just a change of state borders, but the end of an entire historical epoch that for centuries determined the political, cultural and spiritual image of Europe. Instead of the long-awaited lasting peace, the continent received new contradictions, revolutions and upheavals, which two decades later led humanity to an even more terrible catastrophe – World War II.

© Paul Gilbert. 1 August 2026

New monument to Nicholas II unveiled in Zarechny

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

PHOTO: monument to Nicholas II, set against the
backdrop of the Church of Seraphim of Sarov

On Thursday, 30th July 2026, a new bust-monument to Emperor Nicholas II was unveiled and consecrated on the grounds of the the Church of Seraphim of Sarov, in the Russian town of Zarechny.

It is interesting to note that during the Soviet years, Zarechny was renamed Penza-19. From 1962 to 1992, it was a closed town[1] in the Penza Oblast (District), located 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) east of the city of Penza.

Prominent guests at the unveiling ceremony included Boris Korchevnikov, General Director of the Spas TV channel and TV presenter Pavel Astakhov.

The act of consecration of the monument to Nicholas II, was performed by the rector of the Church of St. Seraphim of Sarov, Father Viktor Storozhev.

Following the unveiling and consecration, he thanked the initiators of the project and philanthropists who donated the monument to the city. He expressed the hope that the newly landscaped park-square, which now surrounds the church will become a place where people will come and reflect on the life and reign of Russia’s much slandered Tsar.

PHOTO: the act of consecration of the monument to Nicholas II was performed
by Father Viktor Storozhev, at the Church of Seraphim of Sarov

The installation of the monment in Zarechny is the 10th monument of Russia’s last Tsar, to be installed in Russia this year. Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, more than 125 monuments, busts and memorial plaques have been installed in 46 regions of the Russian Federation.

NOTES:

[1] A closed city or town is a settlement where travel or residency is restricted. In the Soviet Union, closed cities were quarantined for research and military purposes.

© Paul Gilbert. 30 July 2026

Masha and Gosha “No shows . . . again” at ‘Tsar’s Days’ in Ekaterinburg

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

PHOTO: Princess Maria Vladimirovna and Prince George Mikhailovich

Once again, neither the self-anointed “Head” of the Romanov dynasty Princess Maria “Masha” Vladimirovna, nor her son Prince George “Gosha” Mikhailovich, attended this year’s Tsar’s Days in Ekaterinburg. The last time they attended this event, marking the death and martyrdom of Russia’s last Tsar and his family, was in 2018.

Why is there attendance important?

Given that Masha, who believes that she is the “Head” of the Russian Imperial Family and the rightful claimant to the throne, and Gosha is the “heir apparent”, one would think that one or both would be present, as a “sense of duty” or even repentence for their ancestor, Traitor Grand Duke Kirill Vlaidmirovich’s act of treason against Nicholas II? But, no!

They can’t blame the Russian-Ukraine war as an excuse. Masha has travelled back and forth from her home in Madrid to Moscow on numerous occasions since 2018, and even more so in recent years, to visit her son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren.

For example, on 8th July 2025, Masha flew from her home in Madrid, Spain to Moscow, for the christening of her granddaughter. On 15th July, she returned to Madrid. On 30th November 2025, she returned again to Moscow, where she stayed until 7th December.

During her visits to Russia, there was no pomp or ceremony, no adoring fans to welcome her, no paparazzi recording her every word and movement. Why, because both she and Gosha are irrelevant to most Russians.

Gosha has even less of an excuse not to attend the memorial services on 16/17 July, as he lives in Moscow.

In November 2025, Gosha and his wife “Vicky” travelled to Venice, Italy to attend he annual Order of Malta gala event of the Biennale di Venezia. Prior to that, the couple were in Rome, France and Spain – the latter, presumably to visit “Mama Masha” who lives in Madrid.

If Gosha can travel back and forth to Europe for leisure purposes, then surely he can make an effort to be in the Ural capital once a year to honour the memory of Russia’s last Tsar and his family.

“Self-anointed” fake titles

Since the death of her father Prince Vladimir Kirillovich in 1991, Masha has claimed the fake titles of Empress de jure and Grand Duchessm as wekk as the Head of the Russian Imperial Family. She is neither. Her claim as “Head” of the Russian Imperial Family, is disputed by EVERY living Romanov descendant!

Masha cannot be “Empress” for many reasons. First, and most importantly, with the death of Emperor Nicholas II on 17th July 1918, both the Russian Imperial House and the titles of “grand dukes” and “grand duchesses” of Russia ceased to exist.”

The LAST Grand Duchess of Russia was Emperor Nicholas II’s younger sister, Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, who died in November 1960. The LAST Grand Duke of Russia was Masha’s grandfather’s brother Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich, who died inOctober 1956.

Are they worthy of wearing a crown?

The answer is quite simple: NO! Neither Masha or Gosha are popular with the Russian people. In 2021, to help improve the image of Gosha as a future monarch, they hired the services of a public relations firm. It failed to impress the Russian people. Sure, they continue to gain media attention, take for instance Masha’s “wedding of the year” was nothing short of a circus!

The idea of restoring monarchy in post-Soviet Russia is not popular with most Russians, especially given that the contender is a citizen of a country [Spain – part of the EU] which considers Russia an enemy.

In the summer of 2019, a poll conducted by REGNUM of some 35,000 Russian citizens showed that only 28% supported the idea of restoring the monarchy, more than half (52%) of which would NOT support placing a “Romanov” on the throne!

The latter is supported by the abbot of the Archangel Michael Monastery of the Alexander Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, Father Afanasy Selichev, who said: “If we carefully read the latest edition of the laws on succession to the throne, it becomes absolutely clear that the current Romanovs have no right to occupy the Russian throne.”

Why does Masha live in Spain?

It is interesting to note, that Gosha, is currently the ONLY Romanov living in Russia. He moved to Moscow in 2019, where he currently lives and works. He lives in a luxurious apartment in the exclusive and expensive Arbat district, not far from the Italian Embassy. Gosha lives with his wife “Princess Vicky” and their 2 children: Alexander and Kira.

On 18th May 2014, the author this article, visited the Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, New York. It was here that I met Russel Martin, a prominent American mouthpiece for Maria Vladimirovna, who acts as both translator and International Communications Advisor to the so-called “Chancellery of Her Imperial Highness”. I poised the question to him directly: “Why does Maria not live in Russia?” His reply was that, she was “waiting to be officially recognized by the current administration of the Russian Federation, as “Empress of Russia”‘. Despite Masha’s cordial relationship with Vladimir Putin, the President is hardly likely to share power, on any level, with a 72-year-old Spanish woman!

***

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 who 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.

© Paul Gilbert. 29 July 2026

150th anniversary of the birth of Charles Sydney Gibbes

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

PHOTO: poster for the exhibition dedicated to Gibbes at Ganina Yama

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Charles Sydney Gibbes (1876-1963), the tutor to the children of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.

On 15th July 2026, an exhibition dedicated to the English tutor, opened at the Museum and Exhibition Center – located in the Church of the Reigning Mother of God – of the Monastery of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers in Ganina Yama.

The opening of the exhibition “From Throne to Throne“, was attended by Bishop Meliton of Nizhny Tagil and Nevyansk. Vasily Vladimirovich Zapariy, Ph.D. in History, Senior Researcher at the Institute of History and Archaeology of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and lecturer at the Ural Federal University, gave a presentation on the photography in Tsarist Russia. Also taking part in the event was Viktor Vladimirovich Leonidov, historian and researcher of Russian emigration.

Tutor to the Tsar’s children

Charles Sydney Gibbes was born (he was one of 11 children) in Rotherham, Yorkshire, England on 19th January 1876. In 1901 he went to St Petersburg, Russia, as tutor to the children of the Shidlovsky family. In 1908, he gained the attention of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, who invited Gibbes to improve the accents of the Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana; and subsequently Maria and Anastasia. In 1913 he became tutor to Tsesarevich Alexei. The August children fell in love with their tutor, referred to him in the formal and respectful Russian style as “Sydney Ivanovich”.

Gibbes’ career as court tutor continued until the February Revolution of 1917. Following the Tsar;s abdication, the Imperial family were held under house arrest in the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo. Gibbes was in St Petersburg at the time, and immediately after returning to Tsarskoye Selo was forbidden from seeing the Imperial Family. He was only allowed to recover his possessions after the Imperial Family had been sent into exile to Tobolsk in Siberia.

Gibbes voluntarily followed the Tsar and his family, arriving in Tobolsk in October 1917 shortly before the Provisional Government fell to the Bolsheviks. In exile, he continued to give lessons to the Tsar’s children, and also staged amateur plays in order to somehow brighten the day to days of the prisoners, during the long Siberian winter.

In the Spring of 1918, when the Imperial Family were transferred to Ekaternburg, it would be the last time Gibbes saw the the Tsar and his August pupils. The family were imprisoned in the Ipatiev House, and forced to live under appalling conditions. Gibbes was forbidden to visit the Imperial Family. The news of the murder of the Imperial Family shook the Englishman to the core.

Click on the image to watch a short VIDEO about the life of Charles Sydney Gibbes.

Language: *Russian. Duration: 2 minutes, 28 seconds

For English (or other language) subtitles – click on the
Closed Captioning [CC] button, then click on Google Translate

Return to England

In July 1928, Gibbes left Russia and returned to England. In April 1934, he was received into the Orthodox church in Harbin, China. Gibbes took the baptismal name of Alexei in honour of the former Tsesarevich. He was tonsured a monk on 15th December, ordained deacon on 19th December and priest on 23rd December, taking the name Nicholas in honour of the former Tsar. In March 1935 he became an Abbot. He returned to England in 1937 and was established in a parish in London.

Gibbes remained selflessly devoted to the Imperial Family even years after their death: all his life he revered the sovereign as a saint and believed that in eternity they were destined to meet again.

Gibbes died at St Pancras Hospital, London, on 24 March 1963. His open coffin was displayed in the cellar (or crypt) of Saint Nicholas House before his funeral. He is buried in Headington cemetery, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.

Russia honours Charles Sydney Gibbes

In 2025, a new Russian-language documentary-film entitled The Tsesarevich’s Mentor. The Story of Sydney Gibbes, was released.

The film tells the story of Englishman Charles Sydney Gibbes (1876-1963), a Cambridge graduate who arrived in Russia in 1901. Gibbes lived and worked in St. Petersburg, and from 1908 he served as an English teacher for the children of Emperor Nicholas II – first for the Grand Duchesses, and later for Tsesarevich Alexei.

On 16th July 2026, a *full-length article appeared in one Russian-language media outlet. Gibbes life is examined by a Eussian, who introduces the English tutor’s life at the Imperial Court during the early 20th century to a new generation of Russians.

*Note: the FULL Russian languarge article will be translated and published in English in SOVEREIGN No. 18 Winter 2027, which will be published in December 2026, and available from AMAZON.

In August 1917, Gibbes voluntarily followed the Imperial Family into exile to Tobolsk. And after their tragic death

FURTHER READING

Romanov archives of Charles Sydney Gibbes + PHOTOS

Charles Sydney Gibbes (1876-1963) + PHOTOS and VIDEO

© Paul Gilbert. 28 July 2026

Tsar’s Days in Ekaterinburg – 16/17 July 2026

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

More than 44,000 pilgrims took part in this years’ Tsars Days in Ekaterinburg, marking the 108th anniversary of the death and martyrdom of Emperor Nicholas II, along with his family and their four faithful servants. The event culminated on the night of 16/17 July, with a nighttime Divine Liturgy at the Church on the Blood followed by a Cross Procession to the Monastery of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers at Ganina Yama.

Divine Liturgy

The Divine Liturgy was celebrated by 20 archpastors, led by His Eminence Metropolitan Vikenty of Tashkent and Uzbekistan, with bishops from throughout Russia, and the representatives of the Antiochian and Serbian Patriarchates in Moscow.

The hierarchs were assisted by local and visiting clergy, including representatives of the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia and the Orthodox Church in America.

Prayers were offered in multiple languages, including Slavonic, Georgian, English, Arabic, Greek, and Serbian, with pilgrims present from Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Serbia, Australia, New Zealand, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Belarus, and Ukraine, among other countries.

The Holy Gifts were distributed from more than 100 chalices.

During the service, Metropolitan Vikentiy conveyed a congratulatory message from Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’ to Metropolitan Evgeniy on his name day. Metropolitan Niphon likewise conveyed greetings on behalf of the Antiochian, Serbian, and American Churches, recalling the historical ties between Emperor Nicholas II and the Church of Antioch.

Procession of the Cross

Following the Diving Liturgy, the Cross Procession began at about 2:30 am local time. The Procession was led by Metropolitan Vikenty and other hierarchs. To the penitential Jesus Prayer “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us!”, thousands of believers – clergy and laity, walked on foot fromHoly the Church on the Blood to the Monastery of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers at Ganina Yama. The 21-km (13-mile) journey took four hours.

Mobastery of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers

The Cross Procession concluded with a service at shaft No. 7, built on the site where the bodies of the Royal Martyrs were initially discarded by the regicides. They were exhumbed the following day, and moved, and reburied in two sepearate graves, in what is to what is today known as Porosenkov Log.

Metropolitan Vikenty thanked participants for their spiritual effort and also offered congratulations to the local hierarch His Eminence Metropolitan Evgeny of Ekaterinburg on his name day, the commemoration of the physician-martyr Evgeny Botkin. In his remarks, Metropolitan Evgeny noted that portraits of the Tsar and his Family and St. Evgeny had been decorated with white and red flowers by the monastery brethren, symbolizing purity and the shedding of blood in preserving that purity.

A moleben [a liturgical service of supplication or thanksgiving] with the reading of the Akathist to the Holy Royal Martyrs was held throughout the day at the monastery’s large Orthodox memorial cross.

The commemorations marked the anniversary of the deaths of Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, and their children—Tsesarevich Alexei and Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia—along with loyal servants Aloisy Trupp, Anna Demidova, Evgeny Botkin, and Ivan Kharitonov, who were all brually murdered on the night of 16/17 July 1918, in the basement of the Ipatiev House, where the Church on the Blood now stands.

Tsar’s Days and Porosenkov Log

Recall that the first Cross Procession in memory of the Holy Royal Martyrs, headed by Metropolitan of Ekaterinburg and Verkhoturye Kirill, took place in 2002, in which more than 2 thousand pilgrims and about 100 clerics participated. It has been held annually in the Ural capital ever since.

In 2018, the year marking the 100th anniversary of the death and martyrdom of the Imperial Family, more than 100, 000 people from across Russia and around the world attended the historic event, including the author of this article, who travelled from Canada to take part.

Once again, Porosenkov Log will 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. Sources: Orthodox Christianity and Ekaterinburg Diocese. 22 July 2026

Cross Procession to Russia’s greatest monument to Nicholas II held near Moscow

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

PHOTO: on 15th July 2026, a moleben was served for Nicholas II, near the Church of the Annunciation of the Holy Mother of God, n the village of Taininskoye

On 15th July 2026, a Cross Procession was held in the village of Taininskoye (Mytishchi district). situated 19 km northeast of Moscow. The village is home to Russia’s greatest monument to Emperor Nicholas II – by the Russian sculptor Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Klykov (1938-2006).

A Divine Liturgy was performed in the beautiful 17th-century Church of the Annunciation of the Holy Mother of God [built in 1675-1677]. From there, some 500 pilgrims walked to the nearby monument to Emperor Nicholas II.

PHOTO: View of the Church of the Annunciation of the Holy Mother of God [built in 1675-1677], in the village of Taininskoye [Mytishchi district]

The Orthodox faithful gathered at the monument, where a moleben [a liturgical service of supplication or thanksgiving] was served to the Holy Passion-Bearer The service was performed by Priest Victor Seleznev, who serves as chairman of the Department for Organized Orthodox Recreation, Pilgrimage and Tourism of the Sergiev Posad Diocese.

From there, the pilgrims set off on a 5-day Cross Procession, on foot to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra – a distance of nearly 100 km. [62 miles] This year, they were joined by Cossacks of the Central Cossack Army. The event has been held annually since 2017, one which has the blessing of Bishop Kirill of Sergiev Posad and Dmitrov with the support of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IOPS).

Recall that since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, more than 100 monuments, busts and memorial plaques have been installed in 36 regions across Russia. As of 16th July, there have been 9 monuments installed in cities and towns across the Russian Federation this year alone.

***

PHOTO: Cross Procession at the monument to Nicholas II in Taininskoye (2024)

PHOTO: Cross Procession at the monument to Nicholas II in Taininskoye (2025)

FURTHER READING

Taininskoye: the site of Russia’s greatest monument to Nicholas II + PHOTOS and VIDEO

© Paul Gilbert. 20 July 2026

Moscow court orders Communist Party to repent for Tsar’s murder

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

PHOTO: Portrait of Holy Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II. Artist: Elena Borisov 

In an unprecedented move, a Moscow court has ruled that the Communist Party has been barred from taking part in elections until such time as they repent for the murder of Russia’s last Tsar and his family in 1918.

According to Russian media sources, the Basmanny Court are fully satisfied the claim of the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party Leonid Slutsky against the Communist Party of the Russian Federation to restore historical justice in relation to Emperor Nicholas II and his family.

“In 1918, the Bolsheviks shot our Tsar and members of his family. Modern-day communists refuse to repent for this atrocity, so they do not have the right to be represented in the Duma [Parliament],” Slutsky said.

According to the court’s decision, the Communist Party will not be able to participate in elections at any level until it publicly apologizes for the shooting of the Imperial Family in the Ipatiev House in Ekaterinburg on 17th July 1918.

“Each candidate for deputy is obliged to sign a statement condemning the murder of Nicholas Romanov and members of his family before registering with the CEC (Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation). Refusal to sign this statement is the basis for non-admission to the elections,” a court document says.

The leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Gennady Zyuganov, called the decision of the Basmanny Court “White Guard propaganda” and promised to appeal it to a higher court.

Let us all hope and pray that the higher court upholds the ruling of the Basmanny Court.

***

During a 2019 interview, Bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church and former Metropolitan of Volgograd and Kamyshin German (Timofeev), spoke of repentence:

“The problem of repentance for the murder of Tsar Nicholas II is very complex and painful. The most important and necessary is the repentance of the highest authorities of Russia in Moscow. They must remove the remains of Lenin – the main conspirator in the destruction of Russia; remove the red stars from the towers of the Kremlin; remove the names of those who shot the Tsar, thousands of clergymen and innocent Russians from the names of cities, towns and streets. Without these measures, it is impossible for our people to receive God’s forgiveness for the killing of the Tsar.”

FURTHER READING

Then they repented of slandering the Tsar … + PHOTOS

Russian court fines local communist for slandering Nicholas II

© Paul Gilbert. 18 July 2026

5-storey mural depicting Nicholas II will appear in Ekaterinburg

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

An announcement was made during this years Tsar’s Days in Ekaterinburg, that a mural depicting the image of Emperor Nicholas II will appear on a building in the center of the city. The mural is the the work of artist Sergey Khramov, who created another mural depicting Prince Mikhail of Tver – already adorns one of the streets of Tver.

The artist has already prepared his sketch of the wall mural for the Ural capital. The Tsar is depicted in full length against the background of images that tell about some of the many achievements of the Emperor, during his 22-year reign, from 1894 to 1917.

After viewing the mural of Prince Mikhail of Tver, Metropolitan Evgeny of Yekaterinburg invited the artist to create a mural depicting the Holy Tsar Passion-Bearer Nicholas II.

The size of the mural will be 7 meters [23 ft.] wide and 16 meters [52 ft.] tall. The 5-storey mural will apparently cover the entire side of the building. At the time of this writing, the author of this articule regrets that he does not know the exact building the mural will appear . . . stay turned for more details on this exciting new project.

FURTHER READING

What is Tsar’s Days + PHOTOS

“Ekaterinburg is my favorite Russian city” – Paul Gilbert + PHOTOS

© Paul Gilbert. 18 July 2026

Russia’s 3rd equestrian monument of Nicholas II unveiled in in the Chelyabinsk region

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

On 16th July 2026, a new equestrian monument of Emperor Nicholas II was unveiled and consecrated on the grounds of the Cathedral of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in the Ural city of Verkhneuralsk. The city is located on the left bank of the Ural River, 230 km south of Chelyabinsk and 450 km south of Ekaterinburg.

This is the 9th monument to Russia’s last Tsar installed in 2026, and Russia’s 3td equestrian monument of Nicholas II – the other 2 are located in Kulebaki and Moscow.

The monument is in memory of Tsesarevich Grand Duke Nicholas Alexandrovich [future Emperor Nicholas II] visit to Verkhneuralsk on 3-4 August (O.S. 22-23 July) 1891, during a trip across the Russian Empire following his Eastern Journey (1890-91).

It was at Verkhneuralsk, that 135 years ago the inhabitants of the Ural city met the future emperor. Tired from his long journey across the Russian Empire from Vladivostock, the Tsesarevich modestly ate his supper and retired, and in the morning the whole city turned out to get a glimpse of him. After a parade of local Cossacks, Nicholas Alexandrovich said: “Your regiment is excellent, excellent – thank you!”

In honour of this visit, the northern side-chapel was built in the name of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos. It was built on benevolent donations in memory of the miraculous salvation of Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich, following an assassination attempt on his life in Otsu, Japan. The altar was consecrated on 18th November 1897.

In 2025, the Cathedral of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker marked it’s 150th anniversary. It is the only church in the city that survived the turbulent 20th century under the Bolsheviks and later Soviets, and still retained its grandeur.

The monument is the work of the South Ural sculptor Anna Shumakova. She is a native of Emanzhelinsk, has been engaged in sculpture for 25 years. Her works are installed in symbolic places in different cities of Russia, in recent years she has been working on the creation of compositions of warriors-defenders.

“The composition is dynamic and symbolic: the young Tsesarevich frozen in a tense, restrained pose, and his horse seems to be keenly listening to the road,” the Verkhneuralsk administration notes.

The weight of the life-size bronze sculpture featuring the Tsar on horseback is 3 tons, not including the pedestal.

The sculptor has paid particular attention to historical accuracy. On the uniform of the Tsesarevich, are details of the highest state awards, including the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called and the Imperial Order of St. Prince Vladimir of the 4th degree.

© Paul Gilbert. 17 July 2026