Today – 7th January – Orthodox Christians around the world
celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
Merry Christmas to my Orthodox friends!
Счастливого Рождества моим православным друзьям!
Срећан Божић мојим православним пријатељима!
Καλά Χριστούγεννα στους Ορθόδοξους φίλους μου!
PAUL GILBERT
7 January 2020
On 21st December 2023, a unique exhibit featuring four folding icons presented to members of the Family of Emperor Nicholas II, went on display at the Andrei Rublev Museum in Moscow.
According to Zhanna Belik, curator of the exhibition, “the icons, all of which are now in private collections, are being shown for the first time at the exhibition”.
“Each of the four folding icons is unique in its own way. They were personal gifts to members of the Imperial Family from organizations and donors from different walks of life. Gifts were given to the Imperial Family on special occasions throughout the year. For instance, on the occasion of the birth of children, their coming of age, the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanov, birthdays and namedays, etc.. To do this, it was necessary to submit a petition in advance, which was considered personally by the person to whom the gift was addressed,” Belik said.
CLICK on each IMAGE below to enlarge
According to Belik, the birth of Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich in 1904 is associated with the folding icon gifted to Emperor Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra Fedorovna, by the abbot and brethren of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra [in the town of Sergiyev Posad, near Moscow]. The artists and jewelers who created it were outstanding craftsmen of their time.
“The exhibition also presents a folding icon with images of saints St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Prince Alexander Nevsky and Mary Magdalene. The icon was presented to Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich [future Emperor Nicholas II] on his 18th birthday, by the guard of the Moscow Philistine Society. The folding icon was made in the workshop of Ivan Khlebnikov, a Supplier to the Imperial Court,” the curator said.
CLICK on each IMAGE below to enlarge
The curator noted that each of the four folding icons have the icon writer’s name on the back of each icon, the frames were made by jewelers – Suppliers of the Imperial Court. “At this time, jewelry art reached its apogee in Russian art, the work of jewelers of the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century are world-class works,” Belik said.
The exhibition also features a sewn icon from the collection of the Andrei Rublev Museum, also created on the occasion of the birth of the long-awaited heir, and presented to Nicholas and Alexandra.
The exhibition runs from 21st December 2023 to 11th February 2024.
© Paul Gilbert. 28 December 2023
On 9th December 2023, a new exhibition “Becoming a Romanov” opened in the Grand Palace at Tsaritsyno State Museum, near Moscow. The exhibit explores the upbringing and education of grand dukes and grand duchesses of the Russian Imperial Family.
The exposition includes more than 500 exhibits, including a globe owned by Emperor Paul I, notebooks of Alexander I, a report card of Alexander III, as well as diaries, letters, contour maps, sketchbooks, board games, tin soldiers, toy cannons and a 17th century silver rattle, which belonged to Peter the Great.
The Tsarskoye Selo State Museum presented more than 50 items for the exhibition, including children’s single-seater sleighs, the Guignol Theater, which was presented by Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna to her grandson Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich, a Kodak camera that belonged to the tutor of Emperor Nicholas II’s children, Pierre Gilliard, a baptismal set of Tsesarevich Alexei, portraits and uniforms of Grand Dukes, pieces of furniture, clocks, books and toys.
PHOTO: diary (1882) of Tsesarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich – future Tsar Nicholas II
PHOTO: regiment uniforms belonging to Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich
PHOTO: Pierre Gilliard’s Eastman Kodak Bulls Eye camera
PHOTO: the Guignol Theater, presented by Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna to her grandson Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich
Portrait of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich in the Classroom at Gatchina. Artist Kirill Vikentievich Lemokh (1841-1910). 1890s
The exhibition is a joint project of the Tsaritsyno State Museum, the State Archives of Russian Documents and materials from the collections of the State Historical Museum (Moscow), the Moscow Kremlin Museums, the State Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg), the State Museum of Russian History, the Russian State Library (St. Petersburg), the A.S. Pushkin State Museum (Moscow), the Scientific Research Museum at the Russian Academy of Arts, the A.E. Fersman Mineralogical Museum, the Russian Academy of Sciences, Ostankino Museum-Reserve, Kuskovo, Tsarskoye Selo State Museum, Pavlovsk State Museum and the Gatchina State Museum.The exhibition runs until 7th April 2024.
© Paul Gilbert. 11 December 2023
NOTE: this article was originally posted on 6th July 2018, it has
Been updated with the video below on 6th December 2023 – PG
CLICK on the IMAGE above to watch the grand opening of the photo-exhibition.
Language: Russian. Duration: 2 minutes, 27 seconds
On 6th July 2018 a new exhibition Emperor Nicholas II. To the 150th Anniversary of his Birth, opened in the ROSPHOTO Museum and Exhibition Center in St. Petersburg.
The photo-exhibition is a joint project between the Russian State Archive of Cinema and Photo Documents, the State Archive of the Russian Federation (Moscow), the Russian State Archive of the Navy (St. Petersburg), and the Central State Archive of Film and Photo Documents (St. Petersburg).
The exposition presents 150 photographs and 30 minutes of vintage newsreels related to the life and public activities of Nicholas II. The exhibition ran from 6 July to 9 September 2018
PHOTOS © ROSPHOTO / Click on each image to enlarge
The Imperial Family were photographed by the best photographers of the Russian Empire. In addition, the Romanovs were photographed by the best foreign photographed when they travelled abroad. The exhibition presents family photos of the emperors Alexander III and Nicholas II, taken by outstanding Russian and foreign photographers of the day.
The greatest number of photographs which have been preserved to this day were taken by the co-owner of the photographic studio “K.E. von Gan and Co., the famous Russian photographer AK. Yagelsky, who was appointed “photographer of His Imperial Majesty.” He photographed Nicholas II not only at court, but also in his day-to-day life, on trips around the country, and during diplomatic visits. The exhibition features numerous other photographs of the K.E. Von Gan and Co. Studio marking the state activities and private life of the last Russian emperor.
PHOTOS © ROSPHOTO / Click on each image to enlarge
The project further presents photographic images taken by the famous photographer K.K. Bulla. In 1904, he received permission to photograph views of the capital and important celebrations. Bulla received certificate of permission from the General Staff of the War Department, “to make photographic surveys on maneuvers and exercises of the Guard troops and the St. Petersburg Military District”, as well as a special certificate from the Main Naval Staff permitting photography “during maneuvers, reviews, exercises, and all events relating to naval life.” The exhibition includes K.K. Bullas photos from various jubilee celebrations, military reviews, launching of the ships of the Russian Navy, all of which were attended by Nicholas II.
PHOTOS © ROSPHOTO / Click on each image to enlarge
A separate part of the exhibition features photographs taken by Nicholas II himself and his family members. The Emperor, along with Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, their five children, were all passionate amateur photographers. From 1896, when Nicholas II had his first camera, he hardly ever parted with it. Every year the emperor personally prepared family photo albums, placing and identifying each of them. The photos taken by the emperor and his family are sincere and warm; they were not intended for the general public, and therefore imbued with warm human feelings and true love that reigned in the family of the last Russian emperor.
The exhibition Emperor Nicholas II. To the 150th Anniversary of his Birth, ran from 6th July until 9th September 2018, at the ROSPHOTO Museum and Exhibition Center, which is situated at Bolshaya Morskaya Ulitsa 35, near St. Issac’s Cathedral.
© Paul Gilbert. 6 December 2023
On 8th October 2022, the Russian premiere of the ballet “Rasputin” took place at the Oktyabrsky Concert Hall in St. Petersburg. During the past year, it has been staged in numerous cities across Russia, including Moscow, Yaroslavl, Penza, Nizhny Novgorod, Volgograd, Ekaterinburg, Perm, Rostov-on-Don, Kazan, Ufa, Chelyabinsk, Tyumen, Tomsk, Novosibirsk, among other cities.
The ballet was created by free-lance choreographer Yuka Oishi. The dance drama explores the dark psychological depths of one of the most controversial figures in Russian history – Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin (1869-1916).
The world premiere of the ballet took place at the Palladium Theater in London, England in October 2019.
The role of Rasputin is performed by Sergei Vladimirovich Polunin (b. 1989). In addition, Xenia Ryzhova (Empress Alexandra), Alexei Lyubimov (Nicholas II), John Cook (Prince Felix Yusupov), and Platon Alekhine (Tsesarevich Alexei) among others. All costumes for the show were designed by the famous and scandalous fashion designer Ulyana Sergeenko.
CLICK on the IMAGE above to watch a short VIDEO clip of Sergei Polunin perform in the London premiere of “Rasputin” at The London Palladium on 15th October 2019. Duration: 6 minutes, 15 seconds
© Paul Gilbert. 9 October 2023
PHOTOS © Телеканал «Первый Тульский»
On 26th July 2023, three letters written by Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich to his grandmother Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna were presented at the Nicholas II. Family and Throne exhibition, which opened on 21st April 2023 at the Tula branch of the State Historical Museum. The letters will be on display until 15th August 2023.
Empress Maria Feodorovna, wife of Emperor Alexander III, mother of Emperor Nicholas II, had 15 grandchildren – many of whom grew up before her eyes. Many of her grandchildren’s letters to her have been preserved, including three letters dated 1911, 1914 and 1916 respectively from Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich (1904-1918).
In these charming letters, the heir to the throne congratulates his grandmother on Easter and Birthday, while briefly updating her on his health and plans. Each letter is written a few weeks before the holiday. Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna often visited her family in Denmark and her sister Queen Alexandra in England, so the letters often took weeks to reach her. Her grandson’s letters are quite short and affectingly signed “loving you Alexei”.
On 9th November 1911, 7-year-old Tsesarevich Alexei wrote to Maria Feodorovna from Livadia (above): “Dear Grandmother! I congratulate you on your birthday. I’ve already started learning. I read and write every day . . . “.
Also on display is a photograph of Alexei (above), taken in the Boassonnas and Eggler Studio in St. Petersburg in 1907, and a photograph of Empress Maria Feodorovna and her sister, Queen Alexandra of Great Britain, taken in 1908.
© Paul Gilbert. 29 July 2023
PHOTO: museum staff dressed in period costume were on hand to greet visitors to the grand opening of ‘The Romanovs in the Urals’ at the Poklevsky-Kozell House Museum
On 14th July 2023 a new permanent exhibition The Romanovs in the Urals opened at the Poklevsky-Kozell House Museum of the Sverdlovsk Regional Museum of Local Lore in Ekaterinburg.
The exhibition is timed to the 105th anniversary of the death and martyrdom of Emperor Nicholas II and his family in the Ural city on 17th July 1918, and the events marking the 300th anniversary of the founding of Ekaterinburg in 1723.
The exhibit was recently transferred from the Romanov Memorial Hall of the Museum of History and Archaeology of the Urals, and now occupies five newly renovated halls of the Poklevsky-Kozell House Museum, which is situated at Ulitsa Malysheva, 46. The museum previously hosted the exhibition The Tragedy of the Family … The Tragedy of the Motherland, which ran from 5th June to 23rd September 2018.
PHOTO: portraits of Peter the Great and Nicholas II are the centerpiece of the staircase leading to the exhibition
Finishing touches on the new exhibition space were carried out right up until the day before the grand opening. The newly renovated halls smelled of fresh paint, specialists fine tuned the multimedia equipment, caretakers brought shine to the display cases and windows, while researchers installed the last of the exhibits. Their activity aroused the curiosity of both museum workers and visitors, who peeked through the partially open door with the hope of get a glimpse of the Ural city’s latest exhibit.
Scientists, researchers, museum workers from across Russia, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, Perm, Tyumen, Tobolsk, Vologda, Voronezh, Ekaterinburg, and Alapaevsk gathered to discuss and help set up the exhibit which features hundreds of items.
PHOTO: VIP guests stop to admire a miniature copy of Zurab Tsereteli’s sculpture, “Night at the Ipatiev House”, located in the staircase leading to the exhibit
The idea to move the Romanov Memorial Hall was proposed by the Chairman of the Elisabeth-Sergius Educational Society Foundation (ESPO) Anna Vitalievna Gromova, who is a Candidate of Historical Sciences, and Senior Researcher at the Institute of World History of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Anna Gromova is recognized as one of the Russia’s most prominent adherents to keeping the memories of Emperor Nicholas II, his family, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, and other members of the Russian Imperial Family who were murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1918 and 1919. She is responsible for the founding and development of museums, exhibitions and conferences and is the mastermind behind the The Imperial Route.
PHOTO: the original cast iron fireplace, salvaged from the dining room of the Ipatiev House before its demolition in September 1977
PHOTO: revolvers used by the regicides – including Peter Ermakov’s – to murder the Imperial Family in the Ipatiev House on 17th July 1918
Upon entering the Poklevsky-Kozell House Museum, visitors ascend a newly renovated grand staircase, where they are greeted at the top by portraits of Peter the Great and Emperor Nicholas II. Recall that Ekaterinburg was founded on 18th November 1723 and named after Peter the Great’s wife, who after his death became Empress Catherine I, Yekaterina being the Russian form of her name. Underneath the portraits is a miniature copy of Zurab Tsereteli’s sculpture, “Night at the Ipatiev House” – the original is on display at the Zurab Tsereteli Museum in Moscow.
The five halls are decorated in the colours of the flag of the Imperial House of Romanov – black, gold, white. Each hall is decorated with unique exhibits and multimedia technologies, which together help to tell the story of the history of the dynasty in the Urals.
In the Golden Hall, are portraits from the era of the chairman of the State Council of the Russian Empire Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich (1832-1909). The highly respected grand duke also served as the Honourary President of the Siberian-Ural Scientific and Industrial Exhibition in 1887, organized on the initiative of the Ural Society of Natural History Lovers (UOLE). When the members of the UOLE created a museum (from which the regional local history traces its history), his son Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich (1859-1909), a famous Russian historian, became its patron. At the turn of the 20th century, six additional members of Russian Imperial House were made honourary members of the UOLE.
PHOTO: VIP guests stop to admire an icon of the Holy Royal Martyrs, painted by the nuns of the Novo-Tikhvin Convent in Ekaterinburg
PHOTO: multimedia display which depicts the Holy Royal Martyrs, in whch they are depicted as saints, Nicholas II is holding a cross
The “black” halls of the exhibit take on a more sombre ambiance, with displays telling visitors about the house arrest and subsequent murders of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich and Nicholas Johnson at Perm on 13th June 1918; Emperor Nicholas II, his family and four faithful retainers at Ekaterinburg on 17th July 1918; and Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna along with and other members of the Russian Imperial Family and their faithful retainers at Alapaevsk on 18th July 1918.
Some of the more interesting items on display include the ribbon of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, which belonged to Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich and left behind in the Governor’s Mansion in Tobolsk, when the four children joined their parents and sister in Ekaterinburg in May 1918.
A number of pistols and revolvers are also on display, including the Mauser of the regicide Pyotr [Peter] Ermakov, who, according to him, shot and killed Nicholas II.
The sombre ambiance of this hall is offset by the bright and soothing icon of the Holy Royal Martyrs, painted by the nuns of the Novo-Tikhvin Convent in Ekaterinburg.
PHOTO: display about the murders of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich and Nicholas Johnson at Perm on 13th June 1918
PHOTO: display about the members of the Imperial Family – including Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna – at Alapaevsk on 18th July 1918
The Romanovs in the Urals also contains many elements of décor, decoration and fittings salvaged from the Ipatiev House before its demolition in September 1977, notably the cast iron fireplace from the dining room, and the iron grille from the window of the murder room.
Aside from the items from the Ipatiev House, are many additional exhibits of interest, including a scale model of the Ipatiev House; the reconstructed model of Nicholas II’s head by Russian forensic expert Dr. Sergei Nikitin.
The exposition further explores the history of the investigation of the murder case of the last of the Romanovs in the Urals, which lasted more than 100 years.
© Paul Gilbert. 16 July 2023
On 19th May 2023, a new exhibition “OTMA and Alexei. The Children of the Last Russian Emperor” opened in the Manege of the Small Hermitage, in the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.
The exhibition was originally planned to be held in the Hermitage Amsterdam, however, it was cancelled due to EU sanctions against Russia.
The exhibition spans the period from 1895 to 1914 – that is to say, exploring their days of untroubled childhood and youth, unaffected as yet by the First World War and the revolution that followed.
The Emperor’s daughters, Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia, born at two-year intervals, were very friendly with each other and signed their letters to their parents with the initial letter of each of their names. Hence the abbreviation OTMA. The youngest child and only boy – Alexei, Tsesarevich and heir to the throne – was the favourite of the entire family.
The exhibition showcases more than 270 items, including a unique group of personal belongings and costumes from the stocks of the Hermitage: from baby jackets to formal court dresses, as well as toys and items that the imperial family used in their everyday life. Of particular interest is the clothing of Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolayevich, who from an early age wore uniforms of the regiments of which he was the ceremonial patron. Many items on display at this exhibition are being shown for the first time after the completion of lengthy restoration that has brought these historically significant pieces back to life.
As Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky, General Director of the State Hermitage, stated: “The tragic end of this happy family, which everyone knows, makes each everyday object emotionally charged and the whole exhibition a dreadful omen.”
Much attention is devoted in the exhibition to telling about the children’s family upbringing and education. Artistic and documentary artefacts – personal possessions, toys, books, favourite games that shaped the individual nature of each sibling – present details of the children’s daily life. It would, however, be difficult to reveal their characters using just the “world of objects”. Archive documents and photographs serve as accompanying illustrations and include many of the items on display.
Besides exhibits from the stocks of the State Hermitage, the display also includes items on loan from the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum-Preserve and the State Archive of the Russian Federation (GARF) in Moscow.
The exhibition curators are Yulia Valeryevna Plotnikova, leading researcher in the State Hermitage’s Department of the History of Russian Culture, and Yulia Vadimovna Sharovskaya, head of the Fine Art Sector in that department.
The exhibition “OTMA and Alexei. The Children of the Last Russian Emperor” is included in the price of all tickets to the State Hermitage Museum. The exhibition runs until 10th September 2023.
The exhibition is arranged along chronological and thematic lines. The first part shows the early childhood of the Grand Duchesses, including items of infants’ and children’s clothing – baby jackets, blouses, chemises, and some pieces of knitwear made by Empress Alexandra Feodorovna herself among them. Here visitors will find little lace-trimmed cambric frocks with coloured silk underskirts that the girls wore in early childhood; white piqué overcoats with wide turn-down collars and broad-brimmed hats made of unstiffened cambric. The display also contains accessories – footwear, fans and umbrellas. The rarer articles from the wardrobe of the grown-up Grand Duchesses have marks making it possible to tell who exactly wore them, since the Empress liked to dress her daughters identically not only as young children, but at a more advanced age as well.
Items in the exhibition that seem to have come off the pages of the fashion magazines of the day give an idea of how girls were clothed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There were, however, certain articles that set the children of the imperial family apart from others of the same age belonging to even well-to-do families. These include the Grand Duchesses’ formal court dresses: from the childish ones sewn in 1904 for the baptism of the heir to the throne, to those for the teenage girls and young ladies made in Olga Bulbenkova’s famous atelier, and also Tsesarevich Alexei’s uniforms. Immediately after his birth, the heir to the throne was “enrolled in the military” and appointed ceremonial patron of several Guards regiments, having the corresponding uniforms made for him. As he grew older, Alexei took part in parades and reviews along with his father. All the Grand Duchesses were also patrons of regiments. Olga, Tatiana and Maria even had special unforms sewn for them.
Photographs and watercolours show the imperial family’s favourite places: their primary residence – the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selo; the palace at Livadia in the Crimea for the spring and autumn seasons, and also their “second home” – the imperial yacht Shtandart. Voyages on that ship were a treat to which the children eagerly looked forward, bringing some variety to their heavily regulated lives. The girls were dressed in sailor costumes and the Tsesarevich in naval unform, from which only two sailor’s caps have survived. The family spent the summer months at the Lower Dacha in Peterhof, which no longer exists. The exhibition includes two pieces of furniture made at Friedrich Melzer’s factory in Saint Petersburg – one for the drawing-room of the Lower Dacha, the other for the Grand Duchesses’ schoolroom at the Alexander Palace.
Separate attention is paid in the display to Tsesarevich Alexei. The long-awaited heir to the throne was dearly loved by his parents and sisters. The children spent much time playing and doing other activities together. Despite his serious illness – haemophilia, in his rare moments of good health, the Tsesarevich strove to live a normal life, which included both schoolwork and amusements. In order to recreate the everyday world of the heir to the throne more precisely, the State Hermitage and the State Archive have provided from their collections a boy’s military uniform, toys, letters, drawings, exercise books and a timetable of lessons.
The characters of all five children can be grasped from a unique set of materials – personal diaries, family letters, schoolwork and exercise books. The two eldest siblings, Olga and Tatiana, studied well, were diligent and neat, reading extensively. Grand Duchess Maria was very fond of drawing but fell short of her elder sisters when it came to learning. The youngest, Anastasia, had the nickname Shvybzik (perhaps “little imp”) and was the most playful and lively. She disliked learning but was very good in comic roles in the family’s amateur dramatics and took a leading part in games. Tsesarevich Alexei was a very bright youngster, but his lessons were often interrupted due to the illness that affected him throughout his life.
The sisters shared their parents’ love of photography. Each of them had her own Kodak camera that was enthusiastically used to take many pictures of themselves, their family and friends, hundreds of them then being pasted into albums. Two of those albums, embellished with the Grand Duchesses’ own drawings, feature in the display.
***
EXHIBITION CATALOGUE
A richly illustrated Russian language catalogue has been prepared for the exhibition (State Hermitage Publishing House, 2023), which includes an introduction by Mikhail Piotrovsky, General Director of the State Hermitage Museum. The authors of the articles are Y.V. Plotnikova, A.V. Sabenina (State Archives of the Russian Federation), M.P. Filiptseva (Tsarskoye Selo State Museum).
NOTE: this post is for information purposes only. I regret that I do not know how to obtain copies, or if any of these titles will ever be translated to English – PG
PHOTO: cover of the Russian language exhibition catalogue
© State Hermitage Museum. 20 May 2023
A new exhibition OTMA and Alexei. The Children of the Last Russian Emperor will open next month at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.
The exhibition which will open on 19th May [Nicholas II’s birthday] in the Manege of the Small Hermitage is a joint project of the State Hermitage Museum, the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum and the State Archives of the Russian Federation (GARF).
The exhibition will cover the period from the birth of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna’s first child Olga in 1895 to August 1914, and the Imperial Family’s house arrest in the Alexander Palace and their subsequent exile to Siberia.
Among the more than 300 exhibits, are Court dresses and other accessories worn by the Grand Duchesses from the State Hermitage Museum’s Costume Collection, as well as toys and other personal items of the Imperial Children from the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum.
Of particular interest to visitors will be the military uniforms of Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich, who from childhood wore the uniforms of the regiments under his patronage. Many of these uniforms will be displayed for the first time following the completion of their restoration.
A richly illustrated Russian language catalogue has been prepared for the exhibition (State Hermitage Publishing House, 2023), which includes an introduction by Mikhail Piotrovsky, General Director of the State Hermitage Museum. The authors of the articles are Y.V. Plotnikova, A.V. Sabenina (State Archives of the Russian Federation), M.P. Filiptseva (Tsarskoye Selo State Museum).
“This is a very touching exhibition”, said Mikhail Piotrovsky, general director of the museum. Piotrovsky noted that the exhibition was originally planned to premiere at the Hermitage Amsterdam (Netherlands), however, the exhibit has been cancelled, due to current EU sanctions on Russia.
OTMA was an acronym used by the four daughters – Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia – of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, as a group nickname for themselves, built from the first letter of each girl’s name in the order of their births. It was with this acronym that they signed their letters to their parents. Alexei’s initial is an addition made in the late 20th century.
The Children of the Last Russian Emperor. OTMA and Alexei exhibition will run from 19th May 2023 to 10th September 2023 at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.
Click HERE to read about other exhibitions dedicated to OTMAA
© Paul Gilbert. 28 April 2023
On Friday 21st April, a new exhibition “Nicholas II. Family and Throne”, opened in the Tula branch of the State Historical Museum.
The exhibit marks the 155th anniversary of the birth of Emperor Nicholas II on 19th May [O.S. 6th May] 1868 and the105th anniversary of the death and martyrdom [17th July 1918].
The exhibition will give visitors an opportunity to “look” at the life of the Russian ruler and his family through the impartial lens of the camera. The exposition is emphatically documentary: rare photographs from the collection of the State Historical Museum which depict the private life of the Russian monarch.
PHOTOS: the director of the State Historical Museum (Moscow) and curator of the exhibition Evgeny Lukyanov discusses watercolours (above) and photographs (below) depicting the Coronation of Emperor Nicholas II in Moscow, May 1896
The Emperor and members of his family were all avid photographers: they all had cameras and took pictures of each other, family events and their relatives. The Emperor was almost always accompanied by professional Court photographers who photographed the Emperor almost every day of his reign (among the most notable being “K. E. von Hahn and Co.” and its owner, and the Court photographer A. K. Yagelsky). The museum’s collection contains more than 750 photographs from the life of Nicholas II. A number of photographs come from the Tsar’s favourite residences: the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selo, the Lower Dacha at Peterhof, and Livadia Palace in Crimea, depicting the private world of the Imperial Family.
The exhibit focuses on two topics: “Nicholas II as the head of the Russian Empire” and “Nicholas II as the head of the Imperial Family”.
The first – official – section shows photographs depicting the Emperor during meetings with foreign heads of state (King Edward VII of Great Britain, Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany, French Presidents Felix Faure and Armand Falier); celebrations on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of St. Petersburg and the 100th anniversary of the Patriotic War of 1812; parades, reviews and regimental holidays; consecration of churches and monuments; as well as during the Russo-Japanese War and the First World War. A significant place is given to the display of two major dynastic events – the coronation of Emperor Nicholas II (1896) and the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanov (1913).
The second – family – section of the exhibition presents photographs related to the personal life of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. The central place is given to the August children – Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Tsesarevich Alexei. Of particular note in this section, are unique photographs depicting the stay of Emperor Nicholas II and his family in Livadia in 1911, 1912 and 1913 respectively.
In addition to the hundreds of photographs, are portraits of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna, watercolours depicting episodes from the life of the Imperial Family, drawings of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, unique historical documents, including autographs of the last Romanovs, are all on display.
The exhibition also includes uniforms worn by Nicholas II and his son Tsesarevich Alexei, as well as precious orders presented to Nicholas II from the collection of the State Historical Museum in Moscow. “These precious orders from European and Asian countries, stored in the collection of the numismatics department of the museum, rarely leave the walls of the fund,” said Director Alexey Levykin.
The exhibition presents Russian Orders awarded to Nicholas II[1], in addition to those given by Great Britain, Prussia, France, Austria-Hungary, Japan, Thailand and other European and Asian countries[2]. Many orders are being exhibited for the first time.
“The orders were made of silver and gold and decorated with precious stones. Each exhibit outstanding craftsmanship, utilizing various jewelry techniques: gold embroidery, filigree, various types of enameling, engraving, and casting,” he added.
PHOTOS: memorial hall (above) to Emperor Nicholas II and his family. On display in the foreground is a reliquary frame with a portrait of Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich and a lock of his hair (below).
The last hall of the exhibition resembles a basement or crypt, where there are seven stelae each depicting photographic portraits of Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, and their five children, who were murdered in the Ipatiev House in Ekaterinburg on the night of 16/17 July 1918. In the center of this miniature memorial hall is a unique item – a reliquary frame with a portrait of Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich and a lock of his hair.
The exhibition is supplemented by excerpts from the diary of Emperor Nicholas II and quotes from contemporaries who knew the Emperor and his family closely: Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, the Swiss tutor Pierre Gilliard, Prince Felix Yusupov, French Ambassador to Russia Maurice Paléologue, Chief Hofmeisterina of the Imperial Court E.A. Naryshkina, Head of the Chancellery of the Ministry of the Imperial Court A.A. Mosolov, Minister of Foreign Affairs S.D. Sazonov, maid of honour of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna Anna Vyrubova.
The director of the Tula branch of the State Historical Museum notes: “Understanding all the inconsistency and ambiguity of the personality of Emperor Nicholas II, we do not presume to judge his role and place in the history of our country, but provide such an opportunity for visitors to the exhibition, who will be able to “look” at the life of the Russian monarch and his family through the lens of a camera. We hope that the exposition in the branch of the Historical Museum in Tula will be a worthy occasion to honour the memory of the last Russian sovereign, who was martyred more than a century ago.”
The State Historical Museum in Moscow, opened the first regional branch in Tula at the end of September 2020 as part of the celebration marking the 500th anniversary of the Tula Kremlin.
The “Nicholas II. Family and Throne” Exhibition runs until 11th September 2023 at the Tula branch of the State Historical Museum. A Russian-language illustrated catalogue has been prepared for the exhibition.
NOTES:
[1] Nicholas II was the recipient of 7 national honours
[2] Nicholas II was the recipient of 51 foreign honours from 35 countries, duchies, etc
© Paul Gilbert. 22 April 2023
Nicholas II 
You must be logged in to post a comment.