18th century Chandeliers returned to the Alexander Palace State Halls

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

PHOTO © Tsarskoye Selo State Museum-Reserve

The restoration of the interiors of the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selo continues . . . On 5th March 2025, three 18th century chandeliers were restored and returned to the palace’s beautiful ceremonial halls.

Recall that in 2012, “cosmetic repairs” were carried out in the Portrait Hall, the Semi-Circular Hall and the Marble (Billiard) Room. In June 2010, the State Halls, which are situated in the central part of the palace – between the east and west wings – were solemnly opened to visitors, as part of events marking the 300th anniversary of Tsarskoye Selo. However, despite the best efforts of curators, limited restoration funds, and dispersed collections, meant that the presentations were somewhat sparse and of varying quality. The State Halls were closed again in the Autumn of 2015 for additional restoration work, and reopened in 2021.

The three restored chandeliers were created according to a drawing by the famous Italian architect Giacomo Quarenghi (1744-1817), who constructed the Alexander Palace between 1792–96. The chandeliers were made of made of bronze, glass and crystal, and designed to hold 100 candles each. They are the largest and heaviest chandeliers in the museum’s collection and designed for such a large number of candles. Each chandelier stands 3.5 meters [11.5 ft.] high, and weighs more than 240 kilograms [530 lbs.]. The restoration work was carried out by specialists from the Yuzhakova Studio workshop in St. Petersburg.

PHOTOS © Tsarskoye Selo State Museum-Reserve

“In the process of work, the chandeliers were dismantled into parts and cleaned and polished. The restorers repaired bronze tears, cracks, caverns and filled in the areas of lost gilding. The missing parts were recreated according to existing analogues. If you look at these chandeliers, you will see that their crystal headdress is extremely rich and diverse – they are generously decorated with numerous garlands, pendants, obelisks of different sizes and faceted rosettes. The craftsmen also restored the chips and made up for the losses on the central bulb of ruby glass. Working with such a fragile material, especially in such a volume, requires the utmost delicacy and skill,” said Ekaterina Stadler, curator of the Museum Metal Collection.

The restorers also replaced the old electrical wiring, the final touch was the manufacture of milk glass tubes imitating candles.

Initially, the chandeliers were created for the St. George Hall of the Winter Palace, but they were not installed at the time. The initial order called for eight chandeliers, however, only three were made by the Johann Zech bronze foundry in St. Petersburg. At the time, the chandeliers were made to hold 50 candles each. After the death of Empress Catherine II, her son Emperor Paul I ordered the chandeliers to be installed in the halls of his new residence – the Mikhailovsky [aka Engineers] Castle in St. Petersburg. Following the death Emperor Paul, the chandeliers were returned to the Winter Palace.

PHOTOS © Tsarskoye Selo State Museum-Reserve

PHOTOS © Tsarskoye Selo State Museum-Reserve

The chandeliers were transferred to Tsarskoye Selo in 1830. Russia’s first Minister of the Imperial Court, Pyotr Mikhailovich Volkonsky (1776-1852), wrote: “His Majesty the Emperor [Nicholas I] deigned to repair the four large chandeliers that were in the Concert Hall of the Winter Palace, and then send three of them to Tsarskoye Selo to Lieutenant General Zakharzhevsky <… > where they should be hung in a large drawing room or a large hall.”

The compositional basis of the chandeliers is a massive openwork rim with a glass tray at the bottom and a central stem with ruby glass balusters. The entire structure is attached on chains converging to a socket with a bump topped with a “fountain” with pendants. The combination of gilded bronze and the glare of crystal, especially when candles were lit, created an unusually decorative visual effect.

PHOTOS © Tsarskoye Selo State Museum-Reserve

PHOTOS © Tsarskoye Selo State Museum-Reserve

The chandeliers were placed in three halls of the ceremonial enfilade of the New (Alexander) Palace – the Semicircular and Portrait Halls and the Marble Drawing Room. In 1848, by order of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, born Princess Charlotte of Prussia (1798-1860), 50 candle horns on two newly made thin hoops were added, bringing a total of 100 candles to each chandelier for better lighting. In the early 1900s – during the reign of Emperor Nicholas II – the chandeliers were electrified. During the Great Patriotic War [1941-45], the chandeliers were evacuated: one chandelier to Novosibirsk, two to Sarapul.

Recall that the first 13 interiors of the Alexander Palace – the personal apartments of Emperor Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna – opened to visitors in August 2021. In February 2023, work was completed in the Marble Hall with a slide. The restoration of the palace and its adaptation to modern use continues. In 2025, the Western wing of the palace is scheduled to open to the public.

© Paul Gilbert. 6 March 2025

The favourite tunes of Nicholas II and his Family – Part 3

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

This third video features another tune, which was apparently a favourite of Emperor Nicholas II and his Family. Click on the image above to listen to Осенний сон / Autumn Dream, a waltz. [Duration: 3 minutes, 27 seconds].

The music of the waltz “Autumn Dream” was written by the English pianist and composer Archibald Joyce (1873-1963) in 1908, who wrote a whole series of waltzes loved by listeners and even received the unspoken title of “King of Waltzes”.

In 1909, he came to Russia where he performed concerts, after which “Autumn Dream” immediately gained popularity. A few years later, records were released in huge editions, and “Autumn Dream”, along with other popular works by Joyce, began to be referred to as “old Russian waltzes”.

Several attempts were made to write lyrics to this music. The first to do this was Prince Feodor Nikolaevich Kasatkin-Rostovsky (1875-1940), who dedicated poems to Baroness Olga Nikolaevna Taube. But they did not receive recognition among the public. In the pre-war years, other poets tried to write lyrics to this opera, but the most popular was the version of Vasily Ivanovich Lebedev-Kumach (1898-1949).

NOTE: the translation is not perfect, but it will give you the gist of the lyrics – ENJOY!

The autumn wind blows off the leaves,
All nature is full of sadness.
Only hope does not die —
The heart knows: spring will come.

And sorrows, and bad weather —
Everything will pass like autumn rain.
There will be joy, there will be happiness,
And the warm sun will rise!

You have had enough of crying, maples, birches,
You can’t collect old leaves.
It’s enough to shed big tears for you,
The spring day will come again.

Soon the autumn of separation will pass,
The green leaf will grow again,
Dear hands will embrace us again,
There will be joy, love will come.

Set against the background of this opera are a number of images (some of which have been photoshopped) depicting Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna set against the autumn colours of the Alexander Park at Tsarskoye Selo. In addition are vintage newsreels and photos of the Imperial Family.

The vocals of this waltz is performed by the famous Russian soloist Irina Krutova, who perform Russian romances and classical music, accompanied by soloists of the State Academic Russian Concert Orchestra. The video was created by Irina Koroteeva (Moscow).

NOTE: Stay tuned for additional videos, featuring more favourite tunes of Nicholas II and his family.

More favourite tunes of Nicholas II and his family:

Part 2 – Я ехала домой / I was on my way home

Part 1 – Утро туманное (Misty Morning)

© Paul Gilbert. 4 March 2025

NEW BOOK – ‘Anya’: Anna Alexandrovna Tanyeva Vyrubova

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

*You can order this title from most AMAZON outlets worldwide,
Including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Australia.
*Note: prices are quoted in local currencies

CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE PAPERBACK EDITION @ $20.00 USD

Language: English. 204 pages. More than 70 black and white photos

This is the first English language study of Anna Alexandrovna Vyrubova (1884-1964), the famous lady-in-waiting to Russia’s last empress Alexandra Feodorovna, and devoted adherent of Grigorii Rasputin. She was known within the Imperial Family as “Anya”.

This new book features 7 chapters covering a wide variety of topics: the story of Anna’s life; a moral portrait of her memoirs – published in the 1920s and forgeries published – as a means to discredit her – during the Soviet years; Anna’s house in Tsarskoye Selo; a 1917 interview with Anna following her imprisonment; her life in exile in Finland and Sweden; the fate of her photo albums and efforts to have her canonized.

Vyrubova died in exile on 20th July 1964, at the age of 80. She was buried in the Orthodox section of Hietaniemi cemetery in Helsinki.

This volume features more than 70 black and white photographs, including images of her siblings, Anna in her wedding dress and rare photos of her life in exile in Finland.

***

MEMORIES OF THE RUSSIAN COURT

The return of an old favourite . . . the first English language edition of ‘Memories of the Russian Court’ was published in 1923. This new edition is available in hard cover, paperback and eBook/Kindle editions. This popular classic is available in hard cover for the first time in more than 30 years! . . . . .

CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS ABOUT THIS TITLE

© Paul Gilbert. 1 March 2025

Nicholas II’s porcelain project presented in St. Petersburg

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

Earlier this week, a new exhibition opened in St. Petersburg, featuring items from the Imperial Porcelain Factory. The exhibition was organized by the Russian State Historical Archive (RGIA) in St. Petersburg and the Imperial Porcelain Factory [established in 1744].

The highlight of the exhibition is a unique porcelain series “Peoples of Russia”, which represents the peoples of the former Russian Empire. The series was and remains the largest project in the history of the Imperial Porcelain Factory, created by the personal order of Emperor Nicholas II.

In addition, are more than 200 archival documents dedicated to the history of the Imperial Porcelain Factory and the author of the “Peoples of Russia” series, sculptor Pavel Pavlovich Kamensky (1858-1922). The documents include Kamensky’s personal files, letters, and documents on the procedure for making the porcelain series. Many of these documents are exhibited for the first time.

The “Peoples of Russia” series of porcelain figurines was created between 1907-1917 by order of Emperor Nicholas II. The series was created to mark the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Romanov Dynasty in 1913. The series represents the 73 nationalities of the Russian Empire, according to the results of the first General Population Census of 1897.

Kamensky managed to create over 150 figures, depicted in their respective national costumes. The sculptor relied on a wide range of historical, ethnographic and anthropological materials from the collections of the Kunstkamera and the Museum of Alexander III [State Russian Museum].  He was assisted by a team of molders and painters – Anatoly Lukin, Pavel Shmakov, Ivan Zotov, Andrei Dietrich, Lyudmila Midina and others.

Nicholas II personally evaluated the new statuettes of the series. Every year before the Christmas holiday from 1907 to 1914, several new figures were brought to the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selo, and shown to the Emperor.

The majority of the original “Peoples of Russia” figurines are today in Collection the Porcelain Museum of the State Hermitage in St. Petersburg. In addition, there are 47 figurines in the collection of the Russian Museum of Ethnography in St. Petersburg.

Copies of these beautiful figurines are still manufactured at the Imperial Porcelain Factory in St. Petersburg, and available to purchase by collectors.

© Paul Gilbert. 28 February 2025

Rasputin’s alleged will hidden in KGB archives for 80 years

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

PHOTO: Rasputin holding a framed photo of the Imperial Family. Artist unknown.

DISCLAIMER: for the record, I do not support any of the conspiracy theories related to the Imperial Family and those close to them. During the past week, the subject of this post was discussed in the Russian media, and I thought that it would be of interest to some readers. Upon reading the article, you are free to draw your own conclusions – PG

At the end of the 20th century, reports appeared in the Russian press that the will of Grigorii Rasputin, had been discovered in the archives of the First Chief Directorate of the KGB of the USSR in Moscow.

Rasputin’s alleged will contained mysterious prophecies about the future of Russia and the world. The eleven-page document was kept secret for 80 years, as were the personal documents of Russia’s last Imperial Family. Recall that it was Stalin who had these documents sealed, they were even forbidden to Soviet historians, with the exception of course, for propaganda purposes. The archives were only unsealed in the 1990s, after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Grigorii Yefimovich Rasputin (1869-1916), was assassinated on 30th December [O.S. 17th] 1916, by a group of conservative nobles led by Prince Felix Yusupov (1887-1967), and whose death still attracts the attention of historians.

According to the memoirs of Aron Samuilovich Simanovich[1] (1872-1944), who became the strannik’s[2] personal secretary, Rasputin predicted his own demise and the future of Russia. Simanovich claims that shortly before his death, Rasputin summoned the lawyer Aronson to draw up a will, in which he described the fate awaiting the Imperial Family. Simanovich, finding himself in emigration, in 1921 published the text of the will, which according to him, was read by Nicholas II only after the death of Rasputin.

Rasputin predicted that he would meet a violent death before January 1917 and if he was killed by the nobles, then war would break out in Russia, and the Russian nobility would suffer greatly. This warning is especially relevant, because Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich (1891-1942), a cousin of Nicholas II, participated in the conspiracy.

In the 1990s, information appeared in the Western press that an American historian David Norwalk found the full text of the will in the KGB archives in Moscow. In his will, Rasputin further predicted not only the 1917 Revolution, but also the collapse of the Soviet system. Vasily Vedeneev, author of the book «100 великих тайн России ХХ века» (100 Great Secrets of Russia of the Twentieth Century), confirmed that the document had been sealed by Soviet authorities. The will spoke of the emergence of a “new empire” – the Soviet Union and its future collapse. Rasputin also predicted the war with Germany resulting in a victory for Russia.

Many believe question the authenticity of Norwalk’s claim, and with good reason. His discovery appeared in the dubious American tabloid Weekly World News, known for renowned for its outlandish cover stories and for spreading fake news. Some sources claimed that Rasputin’s will did not exist, lost or destroyed. In his notes, Grigorii Rasputin wrote more about his role in history and the fight against secular power, than about global catastrophes.

FURTHER READING:

The prophesies of Grigory Rasputin

NOTES:

[1] In emigration, Simanovich wrote the book «Распутин и евреи. Воспоминания личного секретаря Григория Распутина» (Rasputin and the Jews. Memoirs of Grigory Rasputin’s Personal Secretary), in which he writes about his relationship with Rasputin. It was first published in 1921 in Russian. Following the 1917 Revolution, Simanovich fled the Bolsheviks, first to the United States and then France. During the German occupation of France, he was interned in a camp for stateless persons, then deported to Auschwitz, where he died on 31st July 1944.

[2] Rasputin is often described as a monk, however, this is incorrect. He was a strannik (wanderer or pilgrim), though he held no official position in the Russian Orthodox Church. 

© Paul Gilbert. 27 February 2025

Louis Mountbatten on his Romanov relatives

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (born Prince Louis of Battenberg (1900-1979), reflects on his Romanov relatives . . . [Note: Emperor Nicholas II was his maternal uncle through marriage and paternal second cousin]: 

“The Tsar was my father’s first cousin…and the Tsarina was my aunt on my mother’s side. Another aunt, Elizabeth, had married the Grand Duke Serge. So our Russian connections were very close. We used to see each other quite often either in Germany, or in Russia. I loved my Russian family and I loved Russia too.

These old family photograph albums bring back memories of all the happy times we had together in that almost unbelievable world before the Revolution. In this photo with my cousins I was just ten…my little cousin the Tsesarevich Alexei is in the carriage. He was heir to the Russian throne and was younger than me by about four years and in very poor health sometimes… he was a haemophiliac, which was a great worry to us all.

…Olga, Marie, Anastasia and Tatiana were all very beautiful. I remember I had always secretly hoped to marry Marie.

Russia was an autocracy at that time, the Tsar had absolute power and was answerable only to God. Yet anyone less like an autocrat than my uncle Nicky would be hard to imagine…he was a very, very kind-hearted simple charming man. But at the same time he was rather weak and indecisive.

He was never happier than when he was outside playing with his children. I remember he would purchase us all chocolate-ices, and after, settle down with a long book to read quietly in peace

And now, all that was finished. All the happy memories were things of the past…

My uncle had lost his throne – he, my aunt, and all my cousins were under arrest. We were shocked and dismayed but we didn’t dream of the terrible things which were yet to come… I don’t think anyone could of.

We had very little news of the family after the Bolsheviks took over. We all hoped they would be safe but we feared the worse. It was a very long time before we heard of all the details…which were quite….horrible… They were all shot together. Alexei and one of his sisters did not die immediately…Even their doctor and their helpers were murdered with them. Soon after, my aunt Elizabeth who had loved children and orphans and nursing people back to health so much, was also murdered by being flung down a mineshaft and buried alive.

These sad deeds cast a shadow over the whole of our family, for a very, very long time…”

FURTHER READING

Lord Louis Mountbatten’s letter regarding Anna Anderson + PHOTOS

© Paul Gilbert. 21 February 2025

Reconstruction of the Imperial Pavilion in Tsarskoye Selo

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

PHOTO: historical look of the Imperial Railway Pavilion at Tsarskoye Selo

The Imperial Railway Pavilion in Tsarskoye Selo was built according to the project of the architect Vladimir Aleksandrovich Pokrovsky (1871-1931). It was constructed in the Neo-Russian style, beloved by Nicholas II. The station became the main terminus for the Imperial Train.

The building was located on the third branch of the Imperial Railway, which connected the Vitebsky Railway Station in St. Petersburg with Tsarskoye Selo. This special branch was built for the purpose of transporting the Emperor, members of the Imperial Family, government ministers and foreign delegations to and from the capital. During the First World War, the Imperial Train transported Nicholas II to the headquarters of the Russian Imperial Army, in Mogilev.

Many historians note that it was from the Imperial Railway Station at Tsarskoye Selo, that the Imperial Family departed for their last journey to Tobolsk in August 1917. This is incorrect. The Imperial Family were sent into exile from the Alexandrovskaya Station – Tsarskoye Selo’s third railway station on 14th (O.S. 1st) August 1917.

PHOTO: contemporary map showing the location of the Imperial Train Station and it’s proximity to the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo.

On 25th January 1911, the original wooden pavilion was lost as a result of a fire, only the platform and part of the canopy survived. On the site of the lost pavilion, a new stone building, according to Pokrovsky’s plan was erected in 1912. A special road – which has survived to this day – was laid through the Fermsky [Farm] Park leading to the Alexander Palace. 

The architectural style of the Imperial Pavilion – asymmetry, window design, “checkerboard” roof with steep slopes, tented porch) makes it akin to the buildings of the nearby Feodorovsky Gorodok [Town], the Feodorovsky Sovereign Cathedral, the Sovereign Military Chamber and the barracks of His Imperial Majesty’s Own Convoy. Together, they formed an architectural ensemble in which motifs of ancient Russian architecture were widely used. The original red-brick façade was plastered and painted white by order of the Emperor. It was decorated with relief white-stone double-headed eagles above the arches and on the façade walls, ornamental carvings are made at the portals, figured columns are made on the outer corners of the porch. 

The main part of the building included three halls: in the center there was a square vestibule with a front porch, the halls on the sides of the vestibule were intended for the Emperor and his retinue: on the south side was the Tsar’s Hall, on the north – the Retinue’s Hall. A metal canopy above the platforms and tracks, adjacent to the eastern façade of the pavilion, served to receive trains. A ramp was added to the main entrance, allowing motorcars and carriages to drive directly under the arched opening of the front porch.

The paintings on the walls and ceilings in the halls are made in the tempera-glue technique on plaster. Polychrome ornamental painting is a stylized borrowing of elements of the pictorial décor of the interior design of the palace of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (1629-1676) in Kolomenskoye, near Moscow. The unique painting, which has partially survived to this day, is an integral part of Pokrovsky’s design. The vaults of the inner chambers were painted by the artist Mikhail Ivanovich Kurilko (1880-1969).

During the First World War of 1914-1917, the Imperial Railway Station served to transport wounded Russian soldiers to the hospital set up in Feodorovsky Gorodok.

PHOTOS: for decades, the Imperial Railway Pavilion at Tsarskoye Selo
has been left in a shocking state of neglect and disrepair 

In 1918, the station was renamed the Uritsky Pavilion [after Moisey Solomonovich Uritsky (1873-1918), a prominent Bolshevik and chairman of the Petrograd Extraordinary Commission]. Initially, it was used as a dormitory for workers of the Track Repair Mechanical Plant. The Tsarist emblems were removed from the tent above the wing, the ceremonial halls were divided by makeshift walls, the porch was adapted for use as a kitchen. The Imperial Pavilion’s furniture, lamps, objects of decorative and applied art were all lost. The hundred-meter landing stage was dismantled in the 1930s.

In the summer of 2023, work began on on the restoration of the Imperial Railway Pavilion to it’s historic original, under the direction of  the Tsarskoye Selo Station Foundation. Below are the artist concepts of what the Imperial Railway Pavilion will look like following it’s restoration:

© 2024 First Design Institute

© 2024 First Design Institute

© 2024 First Design Institute

© 2024 First Design Institute

© 2024 First Design Institute

Aside from being a museum, there are plans to use the restored Imperial Pavilion for other purposes, including a Wedding Palace. In addition, the façade of the building, it’s rich interiors and painted vaults will be offered as an ideal place for celebrations and photo shoots.

FURTHER READING:

This author has been closely following the progress of this project since August 2023. Below are my articles which provide details on the restoration of this historic building, among others on the Imperial Train of the last Russian Emperor . . . .

Imperial Railway Pavilion in Tsarskoye Selo is being restored – features 13 photos of the initial restoration work

Update on the restoration of the Imperial Railway Pavilion at Tsarskoye Selo

Artist concept of Imperial Railway Pavilion restoration project at Tsarskoye Selo – features VIDEO

The sad state of the Imperial Railway Pavilion at Tsarskoye Selo – features 20 photos!

Imperial Railway Pavilions during the reign of Nicholas II

The fate of Nicholas II’s Imperial Train – features 8 historic photos

© Paul Gilbert. 19 February 2025

The hidden wealth of the Bolshevik devil Yakov Sverdlov

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

Note: the book titles mentioned in this article are translated from Russian – PG

Since the death of Yakov “Yankel” Sverdlov on 16th March 1919, the Russian revolutionary and Soviet politician has remained one of the most popular topics for debate among Russian historians. Yakov Mikhailovich Sverdlov (1885-1919) was a Bolshevik party administrator and chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee.

Sverdlov, nicknamed “the Black Devil”, played a major role in the murders of Tsar Nicholas II and his family on 17th July 1918. According to Yuri Slezkine in his book The Jewish Century: “Early in the Civil War, in June 1918, Lenin ordered the killing of Nicholas II and his family. Among the men entrusted with carrying out the orders were Sverdlov, Filipp Goloshchyokin and Yakov Yurovsky“.

Sixteen years after Sverdlov’s death [he died on 16thth March 1919, age 33 of the Spanish flu, and was buried in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis], Kremlin employees discovered a fireproof safe that once stood in Sverdlov’s office. Genrikh Grigoryevich Yagoda (1891-1938), a Soviet secret police official who served as director of the NKVD, the Soviet Union’s security and intelligence agency, reported its contents to Stalin in an internal memo.

The Sverdlovs’ legacy

Klavdia [Claudia] Novgorodtseva (1876-1960), a Bolshevik activist and the second wife of Yakov Sverdlov, claimed that after the murder of one of the founders of the Communist Party of Germany, Karl Liebknecht, her son Andrei Yakovlevich Sverdlov (1911-1969) asked his father: “how will the bourgeoisie deal with me?” However, Sverdlov assured his son that such an outcome should not be feared. “When I die, I will leave you an inheritance greater than anything in the world. I will leave you the untarnished honour and name of a revolutionary,” Yakov said to Andrei. At least, this is the story described by Valery Shambarov in his book “Sverdlov“. As it turned out, the Sverdlov’s possessed a large amount of wealth.

According to Boris Bazhanov, the author of the book “I Was Stalin’s Secretary“, in 1919, when Soviet power was hanging by a thread, the so-called “Politburo diamond fund” wasconfiscated. This fund was supposed to ensure the continued financial support of the revolutionaries in the event of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Claudia Novgorodtseva was appointed the keeper of the “diamond fund”. Even after the death of Yakov Sverdlov, his wife continued to keep precious stones at home in a desk drawer. Andrei Sverdlov once told Bazhanov about this. But Sverdlov Jr., then still a teenager, was sure that the diamonds he saw were fake.

PHOTO: Yakov Sverdlov’s wife Claudia Novgorodtseva, and images
of some of the jewelry found in the “diamond fund of the Politburo”

Forgotten safe

As it turned out later, Andrei Sverdlov was wrong. Despite the fact that the “diamond fund of the Politburo” has remained one of the many mysteries of 20th century Russian history. Many historians do not doubt that it really existed, and that Yakov and Claudia Sverdlov were directly involved. One of the proofs of this statement is the contents of the fireproof safe, which was once in the office of Yakov Mikhailovich. According to Yevgeny Guslyarov, the author of the publication “Lenin in Life“, in 1919, when Sverdlov died, the safe could not be opened: the key was somehow lost. For 16 long years, the safe was gathering dust in one of the Kremlin warehouses.

In 1935, during the next inventory, the mysterious cabinet aroused keen interest among the Kremlin employees. This time, specialists were called in to open the safe. The wealth of Yakov Sverdlov is known today thanks to the surviving note of the People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs Genrikh Yagoda addressed to Joseph Stalin dated 27th July 1935. The text of it was published in a book by Nikolai Zenkovich “Leaders and Associates“. According to the note, “gold coins of tsarist mintage in the amount of 108,525 rubles, 705 pieces of jewelry, credit notes for 750 thousand rubles, as well as blank forms of tsarist-era passports and several passports under various names (including the name of Sverdlov himself)” were found in Sverdlov’s safe.

The Origin of Wealth

In the event of a collapse of the Bolshevik state, it is clear that Yakov Sverdlov and his relatives might need passports to escape. As mentioned above, in 1919 the position of the Soviet government was not yet stable. There is also no need to guess about the purpose of coins and jewelry, but their origin still raises more questions than answers. According to one version, the jewelry and other valuables belonged to members of the Russian nobility, as well as the Imperial Family, who were murdered on 17th July 1918, by the Bolsheviks in Ekaterinburg. Some of these jewels were appropriated by Yakov Sverdlov. In the “Collection of Documents Relating to the Murder of Emperor Nicholas II and His Family” there is information that the regicides Yakov Yurovsky and Grigory Petrovich Nikulin came to Moscow with a report on the liquidation of the Romanovs to Lenin and Sverdlov. They brought with them not only documents and letters, but the Imperial Family jewels, which included a bag of diamonds.

Author Alexander Sever writes in his book “How to Defeat Corruption“, that the jewelry could have been confiscated by Yakov Sverdlov from the relatives of those who ended up in the dungeons of the Cheka. In addition, there is information which claims that the jewels were bribes made to Sverdlov by members of the Cheka. According to Sever, further adds, that it is also possible that Yakov Mikhailovich received the valuables legally, but he did not return them to the State. Be that as it may, he never had a chance to use all this wealth.

FURTHER READING:

The Bolshevik sale of the Romanov jewels + PHOTOS

The fate of the regicides who murdered Nicholas II and his family + PHOTOS

95 years ago, Ekaterinburg was renamed Sverdlovsk

New revelations on Lenin’s order to murder the Tsar

Russian sculptor proposes removal of monuments to Bolsheviks in Ekaterinburg

© Paul Gilbert. 12 February 2025

NEW BOOK: Memories of the Russian Court

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

*You can order this title from most AMAZON outlets worldwide,
Including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Australia.
*Note: prices are quoted in local currencies

CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE HARD COVER EDITION @ $25.00 USD

CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE PAPERBACK EDITION @ $20.00 USD

CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE eBOOK/KINDLE EDITION @ $15.00 USD

Language: English. 312 pagess

The return of an old favourite . . . the first English language edition of this book was published in 1923. This new edition is available in hard cover, paperback and eBook/Kindle editions. This popular classic is available in hard cover for the first time in more than 30 years!

Due to her privileged position at the Court of the last Russian Tsar, and her close association to the Imperial Family, Anna Vyrubova’s memoirs are a must read for those who share a special interest in Emperor Nicholas II and his family.

From the summer of 1905 on, Anna Vyrubova centered her life on the Empress Alexandra and became a part of the Tsar’s family. In order to be closer to the family, Anna moved into a summer home at Tsarskoye Selo, a short walk from the Alexander Palace, her telephone was connected directly to the palace switchboard.

Her memories provide a rare look into the private world of the Imperial Family, sharing many intimate details and personal impressions of the Russian Imperial Court. Anna shared their holidays, and sailed with them on the Imperial Yacht ‘Standart‘ to the Finnish islands and Livadia in Crimea.

PHOTO: in happier times . . . Anna enjoying a cup of tea/coffee with
the Imperial Family, outside the Tennis House at Livadia, Crimea. 1914

Anna also tells about her relationship with Grigorii Rasputin, her arrest and imprisonment in the notorious Trubetskoy Bastion Prison, situated in the Peter and Paul Fortress in Petrograd, her interrogation and subsequent escape from certain death by the Bolsheviks.

In 1920 Anna fled to Finland with her mother and lived quietly in Vyborg. There she wrote these remarkable memoirs which offer a unique eyewitness testimony of the life and character of Empress Alexandra, Emperor Nicholas II and their five children. Vyrubova describes a diverse array of incidents in the life of the Imperial family which collectively attest to the sincere and loving nature of the often misunderstood Empress.

Anna took vows as a Russian Orthodox nun but was permitted to live in a private home because of her physical disabilities. She died in 1964 at the age of 80, in Helsinki, where her grave is located in the Orthodox section of Hietaniemi cemetery.

© Paul Gilbert. 11 February 2025

First General Census of the Population of the Russian Empire (1897)

Posted on by Paul Gilbert

On this day – 10th February (O.S. 28th January) 1897 – the First General Census of the Population of the Russian Empire took place.

Emperor Nicholas II took part in the First General Census of the Population of the Russian Empire (1897). He personally filled in the form, under name he wrote “Nicholas II Alexandrovich Romanov”. In the column “Occupation, position or trade” he wrote “Master of the Russian land.”

This important historical document [seen in the photo above], has been preserved to this day in a velvet cover. It is now in the funds of the State Archive of the Russian Federation (GARF) in Moscow.

Enumerators and organizers of the first general population census of the Russian Empire in 1897, who volunteered their time were awarded this bronze medal (29 mm). It was established on 3rd December (O.S. 21st November) 1896 by decree of Emperor Nicholas II.

The obverse of the medal [above] depicts the monogram of Nicholas II crowned with the Russian Imperial Crown in the center. Around the monogram there is a laurel wreath of two branches. Between the laurel wreath and the border, from the edge of the medal is an inscription along the circumference: “FIRST GENERAL CENSUS OF THE POPULATION”.

On the reverse side [seen above] there is a horizontal inscription in five lines:

ЗА ТРУДЫ
ПО ПЕРВОЙ ВСЕОБЩЕЙ
ПЕРЕПИСИ
НАСЕЛЕНІЯ
1897

FOR WORK
ACCORDING TO THE FIRST GENERAL
CENSUS
POPULATION
1897

The medal had to be worn on the chest. The ribbon of the medal is white-blue-red, in the colours of the flag of the Russian Empire.

The Minister of Internal Affairs, Ivan Logginovich Goremykin (1839-1917), was given the authority to determine the right of individuals to wear the medal. The awardees were issued a certificate for the right to wear the medal.

© Paul Gilbert. 10 February 2025