Books | Nicholas II

DAGMAR: Empress Marie Feodorovna and Her Family

Posted on March 14, 2024 by Paul Gilbert

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English. 204 pages, with notes and illustrations

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Little Mother of Russia: A Biography of Empress Marie Feodorovna by Coryne Hall. Since it’s publication in 1999, she has written a number of new articles about Empress Marie Feodorovna and her family based on new research.

These works are presented in DAGMAR, and include chapters on Tsar Alexander III’s Imperial Fishing Lodge in Finland; the friendship of French tutor Ferdinand Thormeyer and Alexander III’s family; Marie’s relationship with her sister the British queen Alexandra; Marie’s fate following the Russian Revolution; her years of exile in Denmark; her death in 1928, and her reburial in Russia in 2006.

In addition is a chapter about her son Emperor Nicholas II’s close relationship with the Kingdom of Denmark and his Danish relatives.

Finally, Coryne Hall provides a fascinating study of Daniah efforts to help members of the Russian Imperial Family in Bolshevik Russia.

Also by Coryne Hall – Nicholas II and the British Monarchs (published in 2023).

NEW BOOK – Tobolsk: Nicholas II and His Family Under House Arrest in Siberia

Posted on February 16, 2024 by Paul Gilbert

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English. Paperback. 246 pages with more than 80 Black & White photos

In August 1917, Russia’s last Tsar, his family and their retinue of faithful servants and retainers were exiled to Tobolsk in Siberia, where they were held under house arrest until April 1918.

The seven chapters in this book explore the eight months that the Imperial Family spent in captivity in the former mansion of the regional governor.

This book features the first Enlgish translations of Eugene Kobylinsky’s interrogation and Vasily Pankratov’s recollections, which provide twp very different eye witness accounts of the Tsar and his family.

In addition are chapters on the woman who photographed the Imperial Family in Tobolsk, the fate of the church where they worshipped, and the fate of both the Kornilov and Governor’s Houses.

This is the first book dedicated entirely to the Imperial Family’s stay in Tobolsk to be published in English.

NEW BOOK – Sovereign No. 12 (Winter 2024)

Posted on January 15, 2024 by Paul Gilbert

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English. Large format 8-1/2″ x 11-1/2″. 130 pages. 114 Black & White photos

I am pleased to offer the first issue of my popular magazine Sovereign: The Life and Reign of Emperor Nicholas II, to be published in 5 years! Sovereign No. 12 – the Winter 2024 issue is now available through AMAZON outlets around the world.

The No. 12 issue, features 17 articles, and richly illustrated with more than 100 photographs, English text. The following articles have been reproduced from my blog, and presented in a printed format for the very first time:

[1] How Boris Yeltsin justified the demolition of the Ipatiev House

[2] Doomed to Resurrection: Is it Possible to Resurrect the Ipatiev House?

[3] The Fate of Nikolai Nikolaevich Ipatiev (1869-1938)

[4] Then they repented of slandering the Tsar . . .

[5] The myth of Nicholas II’s indifference to the Khodynka tragedy

[6] Nicholas II’s Private Apartments In the Winter Palace

[7] Nicholas II, the Union of the Russian People and the Black Hundreds

[8] Imperial Railway Pavilion at Tsarskoye Selo is being restored

[9] The ghost of Anna Anderson continues to haunt us

[10] Nicholas’s national education Project for Russia

[11] The Russian Imperial Award System 1894-1917

[12] How the Orthodox Church supported The overthrow of the monarchy

[13] “There are still many conjectures surrounding the death of Grand Duchess R+Elizabeth”

[14] Lost and found: Romanov family photo album found in Siberia

[15] The Charity of the Holy Tsar Nicholas II

[16] Russia’s last Tsar through Serbian eye

[17] Russia after Putin: Would he restore the monarchy?

Founded in 2015, Sovereign is a unique publication, dedicated to clearing the name of Russia’s much slandered Tsar. Each issue features articles based on new research from Russian archival and media sources.

The opening of the Romanov archives in 1991, unearthed many previously unknown documents, letters and diaries, which shed new light on the life and reign of Nicholas II.

A new generation of Russian historians now have the tools to reassess the popular negative myths and lies which have existed about Nicholas II for more than a century now. Thanks to their efforts, Nicholas II has undergone nothing short of a renaissance in modern-day Russia. Their findings are published in Sovereign.

Why did Sovereign cease publication in 2019?

Many former readers of Sovereign will be delighted to learn of the revival of this once popular publication, which from 2015 to 2019, was published semi-annually. But, why did it cease publication in 2019?

Between 2015 and 2019, a total of 11 issues were published[2]. The last issue, No. 11, was published in February 2019, and the series was cancelled later that year.

Many readers could not understand, why I cancelled Sovereign. I did not cancel the series because it was unpopular, on the contrary, I was forced to cancel the series due to the rising costs of printing this product here in Canada, in addition to Canada Post’s outrageous foreign shipping rates. For example, the rate to ship a single copy of Sovereign to the United States was $12, while the rate to UK, Europe, and other countries was a whopping $22! The postal rates have increased even more since!

Now, thanks to my publishing venture with AMAZON, I can resume publication, and make it available worldwide through AMAZON, while taking advantage of their much more affordable printing and postage rates. For example, I have reduced the retail price from $25 to $20 – a savings of $5 per issue.

The importance of Sovereign for historical accuracy

It is important to note, that the revival of Sovereign, is an integral tool in my personal mission to help clear the name of Russia’s much slandered Tsar. Not only is the publication of this unique periodical, a project which is near and dear to my heart and soul, Sovereign will continue to be a valuable resource for Western historians and researchers, and to those who share an interest in the life and reign of Russia’s last Tsar.

NOTE:

[21 The No. 13 issue of Sovereign is scheduled for publication in Summer 2024.

[2] The only remaining copies of back issues of SOVEREIGN, Nos. 1 to 11, can still be purchased from Amazon.com (United States) and Booksellers van Hoogstraten (The Hague, Netherlands).

“Nicholas II is the most slandered personality in the history of Russia” – Metropolitan Tikhon

Posted on December 14, 2023 by Paul Gilbert

PHOTO: Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Simferopol and Crimea, reading from his new book “Гибель империи. Российский урок” – “The Death of the Empire. The Russian Lesson“

On 7th December 2023, *Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Simferopol and Crimea, held a press conference in Moscow, to promote his new book *“Гибель империи. Российский урок” – “The Death of the Empire. The Russian Lesson“, from which he read aloud excerpts.

Reading from his book, Tikhon’s said: “Our wonderful publicist Ivan Solonevich said that Russia was ruined by gossip. He is absolutely right, it was in the salons of St. Petersburg society in which false testimonies were being made of Russia’s last tsar. Nicholas II, is perhaps the most slandered personality in the history of Russia. Such slander that was spewed at him, from the West and from Japan, from the East, and from inside Russia, was unthinkable.”

In particular, the Russian nobility of that time, Metropolitan Tikhon said, “refused to conform to the rules of decency, and instead spread malicious gossip, in an effort “to despise the sovereign and his entire family.”

At the same time, he noted: “before the revolution, Russia was a prosperous country, the achievements were enormous. Thus, in terms of GDP, the Russian Empire was among the leading countries in the world, and in terms of industrial growth rates, it was in first place. By 1913, Russia was harvesting more grain than Canada, Argentina, and the United States combined. In the first 15 years of the reign of Nicholas II, many educational institutions were created in the history of the country.”

“Yes, the Soviet Union did a lot, but it inherited much of it from the economics and industrial achievements made during the reign of Nicholas II. An incomparable gigantic legacy fell on the heads of the Bolsheviks. <… >The potential that was already laid down from that pre-revolutionary time worked for many, many years,” the bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church said.

Tikhon notes that his new book, using the events of 1917, reveals the mechanisms that were used to fan the flames of revolution in Russia, the mistakes its government and society made during the ensuing 70+ years, and the Soviet Union’s eventual collapse in 1991. Research for the publication is based on nearly 300 scientific works and archival documents.

*NOTE: this title is only available in Russian. I regret. that I do not know how to obtain copies, or if we will ever see an English edition published – PG

***

* Tikhon is one of two Bishops in the Moscow Patriarchate, who believe that the Ekaterinburg Remains are those of Emperor Nicholas II, his family and their four retainers. It is no longer a question of “IF” but “WHEN” the Bishops Council will convene to bring closure to this issue.

NEW BOOK – Romanov Relations. Volume III

Posted on December 7, 2023 by Paul Gilbert

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English. 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″ format. 214 pages. Illustrated

Romanov Relations is a popular multi-volume set of books, each volume offering a collection of both new and out-of-print articles, about the Romanov emperors, empresses, grand dukes and grand duchesses, as well as their descendants.

Volume Three features the following 4 chapters:

(1) The Romanovs in the Caucasus by Marie Tegulle

The bulk of this article focuses on the life and death of Grand Duke George Alexandrovich (1871-1899), the younger brother of Emperor Nicholas II, who – due to health reasons – was forced to live in the Caucasus region of the Russian Empire. He died at the age of 28, at Abbas-Tumani.

(2) Grand Duke Nicholas Alexandrovich: Life and Death of the Tsesarevich (1843-1865) by Emmanuel Fricero

This article (written in 1951) explores the life and death of the eldest son and heir to Emperor Alexander II and Empress Maria Feodorovna. Nicknamed “Nixa”, he was engaged to Princess Dagmar of Denmark (future Empress Maria Feodorovna). During a tour of southern Europe in 1865, he contracted cerebro-spinal meningitis. His health rapidly deteriorated, and he was sent to southern France, where he died on 24th April 1865, at the Villa Bermond in Nice.

(3) Emperor Paul I: Neither Demon nor Saint by Andrew M. Cooperman

For most of the three hundred years since his assassination, Emperor Paul I has either been demonized or canonized by historians. In truth, Paul I was neither demon nor saint, but rather a remarkable man who lived and reigned during an important time in Russia’s history.

(4) The Fate of the Romanovs: The Survivors by Professor Kent Sole and Paul Gilbert

The fate of Russia’s last Imperial Family is well known throughout the world. But what ever became of the other members of the Imperial House of Russia after the Empire was swallowed up by the Bolshevik Revolution? This examination explores the fate of the 53 members of the Russian Imperial Family, who were still alive when Nicholas II abdicated in March 1917.

Romanov Relations will be enjoyed by readers who have an interest in the Romanovs and their legacy, as well as providing a useful reference to writers and historians as they continue to unravel the mysteries and dispel many of the popular held myths surrounding the Romanov dynasty.

NOTE: Romanov Relations Volume I and Volume II are still in print, and available from my Romanov Bookshop.

NEW BOOK – Tsar Nicholas II by Alexei G. Elchaninov

Posted on November 13, 2023 by Paul Gilbert

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English. 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″ format. 194 pages with 25 photos

This authorized account of Emperor Nicholas II by Major-General Andrei Georgievich Elchaninov (1868-1918), is an unprecedented biography of a living tsar. It was originally published in 1913, to coincide with the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. The author served as a professor of military art in the General Staff Academy in St. Petersburg, he later served in the suite of Tsar Nicholas II.

Nicholas II reviewed and corrected the proofs himself in January 1913. He made changes to the text, and requested the removal of sentences describing the Tsesarevich Alexei’s illness.

Elchaninov gathered considerable material for the twelve chapters about Nicholas II’s personal life based on observations and impressions. The first chapters describe Russia’s last Tsar as a caring, devoted and loving husband and father. The remaining chapters focus on his relationship with his government, the church, the army, the Russian people, and the policies which he pursued during the first 18 years of his reign.

Written before the First World War and the 1917 Revolution. Elchaninov writes in glowing patriotic language portraying Nicholas II as an indefatigable “Imperial worker” in the service of Russia’s best interests and the “Sovereign father” of the Russian people.

In addition to Elchaninov’s biography on the Tsar, this new edition features an expanded introduction by independent researcher Paul Gilbert, 25 black and white photographs, and three comprehensive appendices: a chronology of events during the reign of Nicholas II (1894-1917); 100 facts about Nicholas II and the many reforms he made during his reign, and a bibliography of more than 100 English language books written over the past century on Russia’s last Tsar.

This book is an excellent resource tool for any one interested in Russia’s last Tsar!

In Search of the Romanovs: A Family’s Quest to Solve One of History’s Most Brutal Crimes

Posted on October 31, 2023 by Paul Gilbert

On 1st July 2024, a new book by the President and founder of the SEARCH Foundation Peter Sarandinaki will be published. Sarandinaki is best known as one of the participants who discovered the remains of Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich and Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna in 2007. He has spent many years searching for the remains of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich and his secretary Nikolai Johnson.

His new book In Search of the Romanovs: A Family’s Quest to Solve One of History’s Most Brutal Crimes will no doubt become one of the most highly anticipated books for Romanovophiles to be published in many years!

***

In 1918 a famed general of the Russian White Army battled through the Red Army to save Emperor Nicholas II—but he arrived too late. The Romanovs had already been murdered.

In this thrilling true-life detective story, we follow Anna, the general’s courageous young daughter, who fled across the continent and boarded a ship with her husband to escape the bloodshed. Beneath her bunk was a box, and in this box lay grisly evidence of what had become of Russia’s royal family, the Romanovs. Generations later, Anna’s grandson Peter Sarandinaki set out to finish his great-grandfather’s mission to find the Romanovs’ remains, enlisting searchers and scientists to finally piece together the answers to some of history’s most perplexing questions: What really happened to Tsar Nicholas, Empress Alexandra, and their children? And what about the tsar’s brother, Michael, who simply disappeared?

Set against the disparate backdrops of the Russian Revolution and the twenty-first century’s leading DNA laboratories, In Search of the Romanovs weaves together historical records, forensic science, and the diaries, recollections, and experiences of Sarandinaki’s own family. Follow Sarandinaki as he fits together the final fragments of the mystery: a piece of topaz jewelry, a blood-stained shirt once worn by Tsar Nicholas II, the fabled Solokov box, and his team finding clandestine initials carved into a tree. A riveting and deeply personal story, In Search of the Romanovs reveals hidden truths in the legends about the murder and disappearance of Russia’s most famous royal family.

NEW BOOK: Most Pious Tsar

Posted on September 8, 2023 by Paul Gilbert

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English. Large 7″ x 10″ format. 162 pages with 132 photos in FULL COLOUR

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 features more than 130 of these icons in full colour.

Inside, are a series of articles, plus an introduction, in which the author explains iconography, Nicholas II as a martyr or passion bearer, the veneration of icons, intercession, miracles, non-canonical icons, frescoes, and more.

This book also includes a Prayer and Akathist to the Holy Martyred Tsar.

This book will not only appeal to Orthodox and non-Orthodox persons, but for any one who shares an interest in icons and iconography, as well as adherants to the Holy Royal Martyr Nicholas II.

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

Posted on August 21, 2023 by Paul Gilbert

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English. 160 pages with 48 black & white photos

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

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

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

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

NEW BOOK: A Day in the Life of Russia’s Last Tsar

Posted on July 14, 2023 by Paul Gilbert

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English. 242 pages with 225 black & white photos

Aside from his many duties as God’s anointed Emperor and Tsar of All the Russia’s, Nicholas II took on many other roles from one day to the next: a dutiful husband and loving father, a devoted son and brother, a friend, a sportsman, a diplomat, an ambassador, a dedicated military leader, a devout Orthodox Christian, among others.

This richly illustrated pictorial explores the day-to-day duties of Russia’s last monarch. It is divided into six sections: the Tsar and His Family; Sports, Leisure and Holidays; the Tsar and the Church; the Tsar and Russia; the War Years; and the Tsar Under House Arrest. Each section features full-size historic images which reflect his day to day duties and activities. In total, this unique album includes more than 200 photographs from the author’s private collection.

The publication of this album is timed to coincide with the 155th anniversary of the birth of Emperor Nicholas II on 19th May [O.S. 6th May] 1868 and the 105th anniversary of the death and martyrdom [17th July 1918].

About the author

Paul Gilbert is a British born researcher and writer, specializing in the study of the life and reign of Emperor Nicholas II.

He has travelled extensively in Russia since 1986, visiting archives and historic sites associated with Russia’s last Tsar.

In 1998, he attended the Tsar’s funeral in St. Petersburg, and in 2018, he took part in the events marking the 100th anniversary of his death and martyrdom in Ekaterinburg.