Kiev | Nicholas II

Ukraine “abolishes” the Romanov Dynasty

The Ukrainian authorities have officially recognized the Romanov dynasty as a symbol of “Russian imperialism.” According to the current legislation, the authorities are obliged to carry out the so-called “decommunization” of all cultural heritage sites and geographical names associated with the Romanov dynasty.

During the 300+ year reign of the Romanov dynasty, there was a gradual inclusion of what are today, Ukrainian territories into the Russian state, and then the Russian Empire. The key event was the decision of the Pereyaslav Council in 1654, which consolidated the alliance of the Zaporozhye Army with the Russian Tsardom, after which Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky swore an oath of allegiance to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (1629-1676). Later, during the military conflicts with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Ottoman Empire, almost all the lands of modern day Ukraine gradually became part of the Russian Empire.

The decision of the Ukrainian authorities to “abolish” the Romanovs is perceived by many Ukrainians as an attempt to distort the historical past associated with the Russian Empire. The historical and cultural heritage of Ukraine was formed largely thanks to the Romanovs.

In addition to Tsars and Emperors, the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory[1] recognized a number of well-known statesmen and military figures of the Russian Empire, including writers, poets, composers and artists, as “symbols of Russian imperialism”.

The list include Field Marshall Mikhail Kutuzov (1745-1813), writer Ivan Bunin (1870-1953), author and poet Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), playwright Alexander Griboyedov (1795-1829), literary critic and publicist Vissarion Belinsky (1811-1884), composer Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857), writer Nikolai Karamzin (1766-1826) among others. Together they to have been declated symbols of “Russian imperialism.” The document also indicates the need to eliminate all objects associated with these historical figures.

The purge actually began in the summer of 2022, when monuments to the Romanovs were removed by local authorities or vandalized by Ukrainian nationalists. Below, are just three of the casualties:

In July 2022, vandals destroyed a bust-monument to Emperor Alexander III in the village of Pershotravneve, located in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine. The bust of the “Tsar-Peacemaker” was knocked from its pedestal to the ground, while the plaque, which included Putin’s name was also removed from the front of the pedestal. The bust-monument was erected in 2013 on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty and the 125th anniversary of the Borki Train Disaster in October 1888. On 29th October 1888, the Imperial Train carrying Tsar Alexander III and his family from Crimea to St Petersburg derailed at high speed at Borki.

The original monument to Empress Catherine II (1729-1796) was built in 1900. The monument was toppled by the Bolsheviks in 1920, but was restored in 2007, with the private funds of Ruslan Tarpan, an Odesa businessman and member of the Odesa City Council

In July 2022, the monument to the Empress Catherine II, became the object of vandalism, it was repeatedly doused with red paint, an executioner’s cap was put over the empress’s head, and a hangman’s noose was attached to the hand of the empress’s sculpture. The monument became surrounded by a seven-meter-high fence.

As part of “derussification” in Ukraine, the monument was dismantled on 28th December 2022.

On 3rd April 2023, Ukrainian nationalists hung a large black banner denouncing the Moscow Patriarchate, across the facade of the Chapel in Honour of the Miraculous Image of the Lord Jesus Christ in Odessa. In addition, the Odessa city council, ordered the removal of an icon depicting the Holy Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II (far right in photo above).

On 22nd August 2023, a life-sized brass image of Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II was removed from the doors of St. Nicholas Cathedral, situated at the *Pokrovsky [Holy Intercession] Convent in Kiev, Ukraine.

And where does this Russophobic attitude adopted by the Ukranian authorities end? Will they exhume the remains of Russian prime minister Pyotr Stolypin, who was assassinated in Kiev in 1911, and is now buried at the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. This seems feasible, especially given that Ukrane has already banned the Russian Orthodox Church[2].

Sadly, Ukraine’s actions mirror] that of the Bolsheviks in 1918, when Lenin ordered the removal of all symbols of Tsarist Russia, including the removal of all Tsarist symbols, such as double-headed eagles, the destruction of monuments, memorial plaques, the renaming of cities, towns, squares, buildings and street names.

Ukrainian school children will now learn the Soviet version of Romanov history, who poisoned the minds of both children and adults on the Romanovs for much of the 20th century. To this day, the myths and lies created and distributed by the Bolsheviks and later the Soviets continue to distort the legacy of Russia’s last tsar, who reigned from 1894 to 1917.

And can you imagine what would happen to Livadia, if Ukraine regains control of Crimea? For years, the second floor of the palace has been a museum dedicated to Nicholas II and his family, this would most certainly be closed. In addition, all the monuments to the Romanovs which have been installed throughout Crimea, would be destroyed. These include monuments of Emperors Nicholas II and Alexander III, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna and Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich.

Lord have mercy!

NOTES:

[1] The Ukrainian Institute of National Memory is a central executive body operating under the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. It was established on 31st May 2006 to restore and preserve the national memory of the Ukrainian people.

[2] Kiev is considered the birthplace of the Russian Orthodox Church, as it was the site of the Christianization of Kievan Rus’ in 988, during the reign of Vladimir the Great (958-1015). This event marked the introduction of Byzantine Christianity to the Eastern Slavic lands, leading to the establishment of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The death of Pyotr Stolypin at Kiev, 18th September 1911

Posted on September 18 by Paul Gilbert

PHOTO: Emperor Nicholas II and Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin (right) in Kiev. This photo was taken the day before an assassination attempt was made on Stolypin’s life in Kiev on O.S. 30th August 1911

During the reign of Emperor Nicholas II (1894-1917), politicians and police officers were murdered as a result of widespread revolutionary violence by leftist revolutionaries. There are no exact statistics on the number of politicians and police officers killed during Nicholas II’s reign, however, it can be argued that hundreds or even thousands of people were killed during this period due to the political violence that spilled over into the revolutionary movement.

One of the most tragic human losses occurred on 18th [O.S. 5th September] September 1911 – when Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin died, following injuries sustained during an attempted assassination in Kiev four days earlier.

Stolypin was a prominent and widely respected Russian politician. He was the third Prime Minister of Russia, and Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Empire from 1906 until his assassination in 1911.

Known as the greatest reformer of Russian society and economy, he initiated reforms that caused unprecedented growth of the Russian state.

“Give the state 20 years of internal and external peace, and you will not recognize today’s Russia,” he said. In an interview with one of the newspapers, Stolypin described the ongoing reforms, the main goal of which, according to him, was to create a class of small landowners, which was supposed to lead to the prosperity of the country.

Sadly, Stolypin’s reforms were complicated by the fact that they were not fully implemented due to the tragic death of Stolypin in 1911, the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the February 1917 and October 1917 revolutions, and then the Civil War. Stolypin himself assumed that all the reforms he conceived would be carried out in a comprehensive manner (and not only in terms of agrarian reform) and would give the maximum effect in the long term (according to Stolypin, “twenty years of internal and external peace” were required

PHOTO: early 20th century painting depicting Dmitry Bogrov
shooting Stolypin at the Kiev Opera House. Artisting unknown

PHOTO: “Stolypin was standing. He slowly turned his face towards us and, with his left hand, made the sign of the cross in the air.” – letter from Nicholas II to his mother

In the autumn of 1911, Stolypin traveled to Kiev despite police warnings that an assassination plot was afoot as there had already been 10 attempts on his life! On 14th September [O.S. 1st September] 1911, there was a performance of Rimsky-Korsakov’s “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” at the Kiev Opera House in the presence of the Tsar and his two eldest daughters, the Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana Nikolaevna.

The theatre was occupied by 90 men posted as interior guards. According to Alexander Spiridovich – the head of Nicholas II’s secret personal guard – after the second act “Stolypin was standing in front of the ramp separating the parterre from the orchestra, his back to the stage. On his right were the Minister of the Imperial Court Count Vladimir Fredericks (1838-1927) and the Minister of War Vladimir Sukhomlinov[1] (1848-1926).” His personal bodyguard had stepped out to smoke.

Stolypin was shot twice, once in the arm and once in the chest, by Dmitry Bogrov, a leftist revolutionary. Bogrov ran to one of the entrances and was apprehended. Stolypin rose from his chair, removed his gloves and unbuttoned his jacket, exposing a blood-soaked waistcoat. He never lost consciousness, but his condition deteriorated. He died four days later.

There is a myth that the Tsar and his daughters witnessed the assassination attempt, however, this is not true. In a letter to his mother, Nicholas describes the chain of events on that fateful night:

“ . . . During the second interval we had just left the box as it was so hot, when we heard two sounds as if something had been dropped . . . I ran back into the box to look. To the right I saw a group of officers and other people. They seemed to be dragging someone along: women were shrieking, and directly in front of me in the stalls Stolypin was standing. He slowly turned his face towards us and, with his left hand, made the sign of the cross in the air. Only then did I notice that he was very pale and that his right hand and uniform were bloodstained. He slowly sank into his chair and began to unbutton his tunic . . .

“Olga and Tatiana came back into the box and saw what had happened . . . Then the theatre filled up again, the national anthem was sung, and I left with the girls at eleven. You can imagine with what emotions! Alix knew nothing about it till I told her. She took the news rather calmly. Tatiana was very much upset, she cried a lot and they both slept badly.”

PHOTO: Dmitry Grigoryevich Bogrov (1887-1911)

Bogrov was hanged 10 days after the assassination. On his own request, Stolypin was buried in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra (see photo below) on 22nd [O.S. 9th September] September 1911.

PHOTO: The grave of Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra

PHOTO: On 27th December 2012, a monument to Pyotr Stolypin was unveiled in Moscow, near the Russian White House, officially known as the House of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Memory Eternal! Вечная Память!

NOTES:

[1] Sukhomlinov was ousted as Minister of War amid allegations of failure to provide the Imperial Russian Army with necessary armaments and munitions for World War I and accused of responsibility for Russia’s defeats in the early Eastern Front. Sukhomlinov was tried for high treason, corruption, and abuse of power in a high-profile case that damaged the reputation of Russia’s fragile Imperial government. According to some historians, the Sukhomlinov scandal may have done more harm to the Romanov monarchy than the lurid scandals associated with Rasputin.

Sukhomlinov lived the remainder of his life in extreme poverty in Berlin, where he was found dead from exposure to cold on a park bench one morning on 2nd February 1926. Sukhomlinov was buried at the Berlin-Tegel Russian Orthodox Cemetery.

Life-sized brass image of Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II removed from Kiev cathedral

Posted on September 2, 2023 by Paul Gilbert

On 22nd August 2023, a life-sized brass image of Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II was removed from the doors of St. Nicholas Cathedral, situated at the *Pokrovsky [Holy Intercession] Convent in Kiev, Ukraine.

*The convent was founded in 1889 and developed in the last decade of the 19th century by the Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna (1838–1900), the estranged wife and later widow of Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich, Sr. (1831-1891). The laying of the St. Nicholas Cathedral took place on 21st August (O.S.) 1896. The first stone in the foundation of the cathedral was laid by Emperor Nicholas II. Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna died on 25th (O.S. 12th) April 1891, and was buried in the convent, according to her wishes.

PHOTO: a beautiful autumn view of St. Nicholas Cathedral, situated at the Pokrovsky [Holy Intercession] Convent in Kiev, Ukraine

On 15th August, Ukrainian People’s Deputy Rostislav Pavlenko published a post on social media, in which he pointed out that “despite the war with the Russian Federation, an image of the last Russian tsar can be seen on the doors of the Kiev convent”. Pavlenko was responding to complaints from local residents, who demanded the removal of the image.

He then filed a deputy appeal to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), regarding “the inadmissibility of the image of Nicholas II the bloody on the doors of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Kiev”. Two weeks later, the SBU, in response to the deputy’s appeal, reported that on 22nd August, at the direction of the administrator of the Kiev Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the doors with the image of the Russian tsar were dismantled. Pavelenko personally went to the convent to confirm that the doors of St. Nicholas Cathedral with the image of Nicholas II was no longer in place.

PHOTOS: before (above) and after (below) views of the life-sized brass image of Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II, depicted on the doors leading into St. Nicholas Cathedral

***

On 3rd April 2023, Ukrainian nationalists hung a large black banner denouncing the Moscow Patriarchate, across the facade of the Chapel in Honour of the Miraculous Image of the Lord Jesus Christ in Odessa. In addition, two icons including one depicting the Holy Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II were dismantled.

In July 2022 Ukrainian nationalists destroyed a bust-monument to Emperor Alexander III in the village of Pershotravneve, located in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine. The bust of the “Tsar-Peacemaker” was knocked to the ground, while the plaque, which included Putin’s name was also removed from the front of the pedestal.

The bust-monument was erected in 2013 on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty and the 125th anniversary of the BorkiTrain Disaster on 29th October 1888, when the Imperial Train carrying Alexander III and his family from Crimea to St Petersburg derailed at high speed at Borki.

Consecration of monument to Alexander II in the presence of Emperor Nicholas II in Kiev 1911

Posted on August 29, 2019 by Paul Gilbert

VIDEO: The consecration of monument to Alexander II in the presence of Emperor Nicholas II, Kiev 30th August 1911. Duration: 11 minutes, 17 seconds. Music.

In 1911, a monument to Emperor Alexander II by the sculptor Ettore Ximenes and architect Hippolyte Nikolaev, was established in Kiev. The monument was established in connection with the 50th anniversary of the abolition of serfdom and was the largest monument to Alexander II in the Russian Empire.

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Photo: Emperor Nicholas II, Metropolitan of Kiev, members of the imperial family including Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and her five children, and Crown Prince Boris of Bulgaria

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Photo: Members of the Clergy, Emperor Nicholas II, Grand Duchesses Olga (left) and Tatiana (right), Minister of the Imperial Court Count V. B. Frederiks (second right), and Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich (far right)

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Photo: Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Grand Duchesses, members of the Clergy at the tomb of Iskra and Kochubey, in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra

Description

The monument to Alexander II was located in the central part of Kiev, on Tsarskaya Square at the entrance to the Merchants Garden.

The monument consisted of three pedestals. On the central tower stood a bronze statue of the emperor. He was depicted in full height in a uniform and a mantle thrown over his shoulders, in his right hand he held the Manifesto on the abolition of serfdom, his other hand resting on the arm of his throne. Around the monument on the lower pedestal was a bas-relief depicting peasants – representatives of the peoples of the empire in national costumes, among which stood out the figure of a woman in traditional Russian costume symbolizing Russia.

The central pedestal was decorated with the emblem of the Russian Empire – a two-headed eagle – and the inscription: “The South-Western Territory is grateful to the Tsar-Liberator. 1911″. In front of the flank pedestals, sculptural compositions of Mercy and Justice were installed. All three pedestals were united by a wide pediment with bas-reliefs depicting individual moments of the emperor’s life and work. The pedestal was made of pink granite, the steps of grey granite. Imperial bronze crowns were installed on the side ledges of the steps

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Photo: Participants at the opening ceremony of the monument before the parade

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Photo: The mayor of Kiev brings the traditional bread and salt to Emperor Nicholas II

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Photo: A moleben is performed at the monument to Emperor Alexander II

Consecration

A visit to Kiev by Emperor Nicholas II with his family and members of the Imperial Court was scheduled for August 1911. The delegations prepared a special program of events during their stay in Kiev, including solemn prayers, theatre visits, troop reviews, a walk along the Dnieper to Chernigov among other events. The main event of the program and the main purpose of the tsar’s visit to Kiev was the opening of the monument to Alexander II on Tsarskaya Square.

The construction of the monument to Alexander II was completed. Triumphal arches were built. The streets and the facades of buildings were richly decorated with flags, wreaths and buntings. Troops of the Russian Imperial Army arrived in the city to participate in manoeuvres.

Nicholas II arrived to open the monument to his grandfather in late August 1911. The ceremony itself took place on 12th September (O.S. 30th August) 1911), the day of memory of the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky, in whose honour his emperor grandfather Alexander Nikolaevich was named. The monument was opened in the presence of Emperor Nicholas II and members of his family, Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin , Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod Vladimir Sabler , chief of the gendarmes Kurlov, Minister of Education Kasso, son and heir of Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria, government and Court officials, representatives of the Austro-Swedish and Swiss consulates. During the festivities, citizens received postcards with photographic reproductions of the monument.

Sadly, the celebration on the occasion of the unveiling of the monument in Kiev was overshadowed by the assassination of Prime Minister Peter Stolypin, whom the terrorist Social Revolutionary Dmitry Bogrov shot dead on 14 (O.S 1 September 1911.

Work on the improvement of the monument continued after its opening. In particular, in July 1914, elegant bronze grates were installed, decorated with state emblems, and a parterre lawn was built around the monument. The monument was illuminated by four lamps.

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Photo: Emperor Nicholas II and members of the City Duma at the monument to Emperor Alexander II

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Photo: Priests and Emperor Nicholas II at the monument to Emperor Alexander II

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Photo: Emperor Nicholas II greets Crown Prince Boris Of Bulgaria at the monument to Emperor Alexander II

Destruction by the Soviets

The monument as part of the city’s history was a short one, ending nine years after its consecration. In April 1919, the Bolshevik city newspaper raised the question of liquidating the monument to Alexander II by 14 (O.S. 1 May), but the plan failed, and the monument was covered with a large black drape. The tsar’s figure was removed from the pedestal in November 1920, while all the metal parts were dismantled and sent to the Arsenal smelting plant.

The preserved pedestal of the monument has long been used by the Bolsheviks as a propaganda tool. In particular, in place of the tsar, an eight-meter figure of a Red Army soldier made of plywood in a Budenovka coat, overcoat and a rifle in his hands was installed. This work was called the “Monument to the Red Army – Defender of the Masses.” There were plans to replace the Monument to the Red Army, and replace it with a monument to the October Revolution on this site, however, the project never came to fruition.

In 1932, the city authorities decided to dismantle the pedestal, which had previously been designed as a decoration for the entrance of the Proletarian Garden. At the end of the 1930s, a cascade of fountains was built here and a statue of Joseph Stalin was installed. After the liberation of Kiev from Nazi troops, the statue of Joseph Stalin was restored; while the square itself was renamed in honour of Stalin (on the eve of his 65th birthday in December 1944). But this lasted only until the decisions of the XX Congress of the CPSU in 1956. Since that time, no monuments stood in the park. Now where the monument to Alexander II stood, the entrance to Khreshchaty Park is located, there are pedestrian sidewalks, a small amount of green space, an entrance to the underpass, advertising signs.