Sovereign’s Military Chamber

The Tsesarevich’s Mentor. The Story of Charles Sydney Gibbes

On 29th May 2025, the premiere of a new Russian-language documentary-film entitled The Tsesarevich’s Mentor. The Story of Sydney Gibbes, will be shown in the Courtyard of the Sovereign Military Chamber, situated near the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selo.

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.

In August 1917, Gibbes voluntarily followed the Imperial Family into exile to Tobolsk. And after their tragic death in July 1918, he left Russia and returned to England, where he converted to Orthodoxy several years later. Gibbes was later ordained a priest, becoming Father Nikolai, and founded an Orthodox parish in Oxford, which still exists today.

PHOTO: Charles Sydney Gibbes and Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich (circa 1914-16)

The documentary-film The Tsesarevich’s Mentor. The Story of Charles Sydney Gibbes was filmed by Studio First A with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. Director-producer Anna Chernakova, animation director Alexander Brunkovsky, script by Alexander Adabashyan and Yuri Bryers, composer Yuri Bryers.

The film uses documentary materials from Russian and British archival sources, with additional film segments filmed in the UK.

On a personal note, a documentary about Charles Sydney Gibbes is long overdue, and while I commend and support this Russian-language documentary about his life and service to the Imperial Family, it also begs the question . . . WHY has there never been a British-made documentary about Gibbes? – PG

Nicholas II’s uniforms on display in Tula

Posted on August 21, 2024 by Paul Gilbert

On 21st August 2024, a new exhibition The Forgotten War opened in Tula. The exhibition is dedicated to the 110th anniversary of the beginning of the First World War. The venue for the exhibit is the Tula branch of the State Historical Museum,

The exhibition is a joint project of the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum in Pushkin and the State Historical Museum in Moscow, showcasing about 200 items from the collections of the two museums.

Of particular interest to visitors will be uniforms and portraits of Emperor Nicholas II and his son Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich, on loan from the Sovereign’s Military [aka Military] Chamber in Tsarskoye Selo. Among the uniforms of Nicholas II is the Tsar’s cherkeska and beshmet of His Imperial Majesty’s Own Escort and pelisse of His Majestey’s Life-Guards Hussar Regiment. Other items on display include WWI vintage news reels, weapons, documents, photographs, awards and a tactile model of the Military Chamber.

The exhibition is divided into four sections: The War Image, The History of the Sovereign’s Military Chamber, The Imperial Family during WWI, and The St George’s Chevaliers Portraits.

The exhibition is designed to draw attention to the preservation of the historical memory of the military conflict, which for Russia has long been the “Forgotten War”. Recall that during the Soviet years, Russia’s contribution and sacrifices made during the First World War were neither discussed or commemorated. In destroying the tsars, the Bolshevik revolutionaries denounced the Great War as “imperialist”, thus robbing it of its potential for a popular legacy. It was not until 1st August 2013 that Russia marked Russian Soldiers’ World War I Remembrance Day for the first time.

The collections of the Sovereign’s Military Chamber – which includes the State Historical Museum on the First World War – are both part of the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum. The Sovereign’s Military Chamber was founded in May 1913.

Following the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, it was decided to create a war museum, which included a gallery of portraits of the Knights of St. George among other exhibits. Some of the museum’s employees were sent to the Front. Subsequently, they returned with “trophies” which were added to the museum’s funds. Additional items were transferred from other museums and private collections, as well as items donated by the families of those who particpated in the Great War.

The dedicated employees of the Sovereign’s Military Chamber and the Historical Museum carefully preserved their collections even during the Soviet years. It is thanks to their efforts that this priceless collection of Russian World War One artifacts has been preserved to the present day.

The exhibition The Forgotten War. The Military Chamber and the Historical Museum: Keepers of Memory runs until 21st October 2024, at the Historical Museum, which is housed in the the former mansion (above photo) of the merchant Belolipetsky family in Tula, located 193 kilometers (120 mi) south of Moscow.

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PHOTO: the Sovereign’s Military Chamber – which includes the State Historical Museum on the First World War – are both part of the Tsarskoye Selo Museum

PHOTO: Emperor Nicholas II’s uniforms on display in the Sovereign’s Military [aka Military] Chamber in Tsarskoye Selo. The uniforms were previously on display in the Alexander Palace, before the private apartments of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna were recreated in the eastern wing of the palace between 2015 and 2021.