Nicholas II

The Imperial Room in the Church on the Blood, Ekaterinburg

Posted on November 30, 2019 by Paul Gilbert

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On 20th June 2018, representatives of the media were granted a first look at the Imperial Room, in the Church on the Blood in Ekaterinburg. The altar of the Imperial Room is situated in the lower church sanctified in honor of the Holy Royal Martyrs. It was established on the site of the room located in the basement of the Ipatiev House, where Emperor Nicholas II, his family, and four retainers were all brutally murdered on the night of 16/17 July 1918. The decoration of the room received the blessing of the Metropolitan of Ekaterinburg and Verkhoturye Kirill to mark the centenary of this tragic event.

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The new design, the reconstruction of the altar, along with additional work in the Imperial Room, was carried out during the past year,the senior priest of the Church on Blood Achpriest Maxim Minailyo told journalists.

Father Maxim noted that the decoration of the Imperial Room was conducted by masters from Moscow and Belarus. Above the paintings worked talented Moscow icon painters led by Alexei Vronsky, and the mosaic was done by specialists of the mosaic workshop at the Holy Elizabethan Monastery of Minsk under the guidance of the icon painter Dmitry Kuntsevich. The work was supervised by nuns of the Novo-Tikhvin Convent in Ekaterinburg, known for their skill in restoring and decorating Orthodox churches.

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Representatives of the media saw a unique mosaic panel which occupies the central part of the altar depicting the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers and their faithful retainers who suffered with them: Emperor Nicholas Alexandrovich, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Tsesarevich Alexei, Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatyana, Maria, Anastasia, Saint Yevgeny Botkin, Alexey Trupp, Ivan Kharitonov and Anna Demidova.

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As the priest said, the mosaic reflects the position of the Royal Passion-Bearers at the time of their martyrdom. They stood with their backs to the east, facing west, as it is now depicted in the altar.

Above them rises the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God, which is the heavenly patroness of the House of Romanov.

On the western vault depicts the Sovereign Icon of the Mother of God, which was revealed on the very day when the Emperor was forced to abdicate the throne, and the saints glorified during the reign of Emperor Nicholas Alexandrovich: St. Theodosius of Chernigov, St. Seraphim of Sarov, St. Princess Anna Kashinskaya, St. Joasaph Belgorod, St. Hermogen of Moscow, St. Pitirim of Tambov, and St. John of Tobolsk.

The creation of the paintings and mosaics took almost a year to complete. The creation of mosaic works was a particularly complex project, as the iconography of all the members of the Imperial Family and their faithful retainers had to be intricately created.

The walls and the floor around the altar are lined with red onyx, which is very symbolic, because the red color on one side symbolizes the martyrs blood shed by the Imperial family, and on the other hand, red is the color of the royal scarlet, porphyry, regal color. This color depicts very well the feat of the Royal Passion-bearers, who in both imperial majesty and in humiliation showed rare piety and great spiritual heights.

On the right side of the throne in a special reliquary containing fragments of the Ipatiev House: a brick and a balustrade.

At the end of the media presentation, the senior priest of the church thanked the journalists for the meeting, noting the great importance of this holy place in the church.

– “We must understand that this is the main sacred place of our city. And this room is the holy of holies in this church,” the father pointed out. – “This place today inspires us to move on and create such unique architectural and religious monuments to which our children, visitors, pilgrims will be drawn, because creating such a diverse national architecture, we lay the foundation for future generations to be proud of our country, including our cultural, religious and architectural heritage.”

CONSECRATION

NOTE: This article was originally published on 20 December 2018 in my Royal Russia News blog – PG

On 12th December 2018, Metropolitan Kirill of Ekaterinburg and Verkhotursk performed the rite of Great Consecration of the renovated side-chapel in the name of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers of the Church on the Blood in Ekaterinburg. His Eminence was served by the hierarchs of the Ekaterinburg Metropolis: Bishop Method Kamensky and Alapaevsky, Bishop Evgeny of Nizhny Tagil and Nevyansky, and Bishop Serov and Krasnoturyinsky Alexy.

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At the end of the service, Metropolitan Kirill recalled in his archpastoral talk that the year 2018 – the Imperial or Royal Year – the year marking the 100th anniversary of the deaths and martyrdom of the Imperial family, was widely celebrated in the Ural city. He recalled that on the night 16/17 July, an estimated 100,000 people participated in the Divine Liturgy at the Church on the Blood and the subsequent cross procession, both of which were headed by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. According to the ruling bishop, it was truly a “nationwide prayer celebration.”

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And completing this year, the consecration of the renewed side-altar in the name of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers was performed in the Church on the Blood.

Metropolitan Kirill noted that a Divine Liturgy is performed once a week, on the night of Tuesday/Wednesday, in memory of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers, whose murder occurred on the night of Tuesday/Wednesday 16/17 July 1918. In addition, once a month, on the night of the 16/17, a night liturgy is also celebrated. Metropolitan Kirill reached out to Orthodox Christians asking them to attend the night service and pray to the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers.

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– “Here you have this feeling – a special reverence for the Royal Family and our martyrs, the new confessors of the Russian Church, one which will enter the soul, even if the soul is cold. All this love and achievement will melt away any callousness and any coldness. And the more we pray, the more we pay attention to the memory of the Holy Royal Martyrs, to their feat – the feat of meekness, humility, purity, the feat of absolute love for their God and for their homeland, until then our country will stand, and no evil power will be able to disturb her. Therefore, today we especially thank God for the feat of our Regal martyrs, our holy martyrs, all those who have defended our Homeland and our Church, and thanks to whom we today live on this earth,” Metropolitan Kirill said.

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The ruling bishop also thanked the senior priest of the Church on the Blood, Archpriest Maxim Minyaylo, for his work in this church, and also thanked Abbess Domnik (Korobeinikova) and the sisters of the Novo-Tikhvinsky Convent, who “very strongly and powerfully helped create this chapel.”

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The altar of the Imperial Room is situated in the lower church, sanctified in honor of the Holy Royal Martyrs. It was established on the site of the room located in the basement of the Ipatiev House, where Emperor Nicholas II, his family, and four retainers were all brutally murdered on the night of 16/17 July 1918. In the summer of 2018, with the blessing of Metropolitan Kirill of Ekaterinburg and Verkhoturye, the altar of the Imperial Chapel of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers – the so-called Royal Room – was redesigned and decorated for the Tsar’s Days held in Ekaterinburg. The interior of the room has completely changed: like the Cuvuclia in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.

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The central place is occupied by a unique mosaic panel. in the central part of the altar, depicting the Holy Royal Martyrs and their loyal subjects: Emperor Nicholas Alexandrovich, the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Tsesarevich Alexei, Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, St. Eugene Botkin, Alexei Trupp, Ivan Kharitonov and Anna Demidova. The mosaic reflects the position of the Royal Passion-Bearers at the time of their martyr’s death: standing with their backs to the east, facing west, as is now depicted in the altar.

“What if” the Ipatiev House was reconstructed?

Posted on November 29, 2019 by Paul Gilbert

A computer generated reconstruction of the Ipatiev House

On 26th November 2019, I published my article ‘Doomed to Resurrection: Is it Possible to Reconstruct the Ipatiev House?’

The article pertains to an interview with the head of the Department of Archives of the Sverdlovsk Region Alexander Alexandrovich Kapustin who in July 2018, proposed that the Ipatiev House (demolished in September 1977) should be reconstructed in Ekaterinburg.

Given that the Church on the Blood now stands on the site of the former ‘House of Special Purpose,’ Kapustins’ idea left a lot of people questioning both “Why reconstruct it?” and “Where to reconstruct it?”

The monument to Komsomol (Young Communists League) of the Urals dominates Komsomolskaya Square, the Church of the Ascension in the background

While I personally am NOT in favour of reconstructing the Ipatiev House, I do believe I can recommend the perfect location!

Situated at the top of Ascension Hill is Komsomolskaya Square. It is located between the Church of the Ascension and the Church on the Blood, which is situated on the opposite side of Karl Liebknecht Street.

During the Imperial Family’s captivity from April to July 1918, the windows on the upper floor of the ‘House of Special Purpose’ (the Ipatiev House) were painted white. Through a crack at the top of one window, it was possible for them to see the gilded spire of the Church of the Ascension.

The Church on the Blood is situated on the other side of Karl Liebknecht Street,
facing Komsomolskaya Square and the Komsomol monument

Before the Revolution, it was named Voznesenskaya (Ascension) Square after its location on Ascension Hill. In 1919, the old name was replaced by a new, rather sinister name – People’s Revenge Square. The name reflected the squares’ proximity to that of the Ipatiev House, of which its eastern façade faced the square, and the site of the regicide of 17th July 1918. In 1959, the square was renamed again as Komsomolskaya Square.

Dominating the square is the enormous monument to Komsomol (Young Communists League) of the Urals built during the Soviet years. The monument stands defiantly, almost mockingly at the Church on the Blood situated on the opposite side of the street.

Young Communists gather on Komsomolskaya Square

Each year, beneath the shadows of the Churches of the Ascension and the Spilled Blood, young Communists continue to hold rallies on the square.

It is my understanding that the reconstruction of the Ipatiev House as a multi-functional museum has the support of the Ekaterinburg Eparchy, so “IF” the project ever gets the green light, I cannot think of a better location.

As noted above, I do not support the idea of reconstructing the House of Special Purpose in Ekaterinburg. As one reader aptly noted on my Facebook page, “the Ipatiev House to me was rebuilt. It was rebuilt as a church. A place of reflection to bring light into the darkness that fell there.”

The Jewel Album of Tsar Nicholas II

Posted on November 29, 2019 by Paul Gilbert

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Between 1889 and 1913 Nicholas II, Grand Duke, Tsesarevich and Emperor of Russia, painted his jewellery in a small album as a private record of his collection. His watercolours of more than 300 items – some of which were created by jewellers such as Fabergé and Cartier – give a realistic picture of what the tsar was wearing as jewellery. His handwritten notes also comprise dates and names of those who presented him with each item, a record of the small circle of those who were near to him.

The drawings of his personal jewellery were made by him not to record valuables such as precious stones or gold but as a personal record of family souvenirs with memorable dates. The album is an encyclopedia of men’s fashion ornaments of the turn of the century full of crowned monograms and symbols as well as surprisingly modern jewellery designs.

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The jewel album of Tsar Nicholas II was re-discovered in the 1990s in the archives of the Moscow Kremlin Museum. It consisted of 82 pages and a total of 305 watercolour drawings of his personal collection of men’s jewellery. The date of receipt of gifts from loved ones connected with holidays and memorable events were noted by Nicholas II in his own handwriting: his birthday, name day, days of engagement and wedding, the day of the coronation, birth, christening, and on major Christian holidays, such as Easter and Christmas.

In 1997, the publishing firm Ermitage issued a facsimile of the album, entitled The Jewel Album of Nicholas II and a Collection Private Photographs of the Russian Imperial Family. It was published in a high quality cloth-bound edition with 216 pages, enclosed in a handsome green-board slipcase. The accompanying text on the jewellery was written by Alexander von Solodkoff, an authority on Russian and Fabergé art. It is supplemented with an article on the history of the album by Irina A. Bogatskaya, curator of the Moscow Kremlin Museum Archives.

In addition to the more than 300 watercolours of Nicholas II’s jewellery, the book also includes 95 illustrations from the original, unpublished private photographs of the Russian Imperial Family. This rare collection offers an authentic glimpse of their private life with evocative scenes of private visits, fashion and interiors of the time. The material was discovered by von Solodkoff in the archive of Hemmelmark, formerly the home of Princess Irene of Prussia, sister of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.

Alexander von Solodkoff has studied the history and art of Russia specializing in goldsmith work and jewellery. Among his publications are books such as Russian Gold and Silver (1981), Fabergé (1988) and numerous articles in exhibition catalogues and art historical publications. He served as director of Ermitage Ltd. London.

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The facsimile edition (pictured above) was distributed through Christie’s of London in the late 1990s, and sold out very quickly. This beautiful book is now long out of print, however, second-hand copies which sell for hundreds of dollars, continue to be highly sought after by Romanov enthusiasts and lovers of Imperial Russian history.

‘The Last Romanovs – Archival and Museum Discoveries in Great Britain and Russia’

Posted on November 28, 2019 by Paul Gilbert

120 pages, richly illustrated. Price: £25 + postage – order details below

NOTE: All of the articles pertaining to Nicholas II and his family which were originally published in my Royal Russia News blog, have been moved to this Nicholas II blog. This article was originally published on 13 April 2019 in my Royal Russia News blog – PG

The Grand Duchess Elizabeth Romanov Society (UK) have published a high quality book The Last Romanovs – Archival and Museum Discoveries in Great Britain and Russia.

This English language publication is an illustrated collection of contributions to the British-Russian Symposium, held in Windsor in June 2017 and organised by the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Romanov Society. The articles cover various aspects of the lives of the last members of the Imperial House of Romanov and also present new information about documents and exhibits from various collections in Russia and the United Kingdom.

The book (edited by Dr Maria Harwood) was released by the prestigious British publishing house PINDAR PRESS. The Foreword has been written by the President of the Romanov Family Association Princess Olga Andreevna, and Introduction by the Chairman of the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Romanov Society (UK) Dr. Maria Harwood.

Below, is a list of the articles and their respective authors:

PART I – CORONATIONS

The Decoration of the Kremlin as a Sacred Space for the Last Coronation in 1896: Tradition and Innovation
by Dr. Inessa Slyunkova

Rare Photographs of the Romanovs’ Russia During the Time of the Coronation, 1856
by Stephen Patterson

PART II – THE ROMANOVS AND THE BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY

The Romanovs at Osbourne
by Michael Hunter

The Rescue of the Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna from the Crimea
by Coryne Hall

The Letters of Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, Duchess of Edinburgh and of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, in the National Archives of Romania in Bucharest
by Charlotte Zeepvat

PART III – BIOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH

The Art Collection of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna: New Discoveries
by Dmitry Grishin

New Documents for the Biography of Grand Duchess Elizabeth: Police Reports 1909-1917
by Olga Kopylova

The Question of Giving the Title of Deaconess to the Sisters of Saints Martha and Mary Convent: Discoveries in St. Petersburg’s Archives
by Priest Andrei Posternak and Elena Kozlovseva

Journey to the East of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna (Letters to Princess S.N. Golitsyna, 1888)
by Olga Trofimova

The Collection of the ‘Tsar Nicholas II Museum’ in Belgrade Within the State Historical Museum, Moscow
by Nikolai Misko and Marina Falaleeva

Father Nicholas Gibbes: Teacher to the Royal Children and Orthodox Monk. The Romanov Collection and the Issue of Creating a Romanov Museum in Oxford
by Archpriest Stephen Platt

During the past three years, the work of the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Romanov Society has included pilgrimages to Russia by Orthodox Christians, holding historical exhibitions and educational events in the UK – including the Nicholas II Conference held in Colchester, England on 27th October 2018 – as well as the unveiling of the memorial Cross to the Holy Royal Passion-bearers and Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, on the Isle of Wight near the Palace of Queen Victoria.

This English language title is a large soft-cover (9½” x 12″), with 120 pages, richly illustrated with more than 140 colour and black & white photographs and illustrations. Price: £25 + postage.

For information on how to order your copy, please contact Mr David Gilchrist at the following email djgilx@btinternet.com

Click HERE for more information about the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Romanov Society (UK)

World Monument Fund Reports on the Alexander Palace

Posted on November 28, 2019 by Paul Gilbert

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The Alexander Palace

Designed by the Italian architect Giacomo Quarenghi and completed in 1796, Alexander Palace housed three generations of Russian monarchs before it was abandoned by the Imperial family in the months preceding the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. Built on the order of Catherine the Great as a gift to her grandson Alexander I, the palace is in Tsarskoye Selo, a 1,500-acre imperial estate near St. Petersburg. The building was later used as a summer residence by Alexander’s brother, Nicolas I, and then by his nephew, Tsar Nicolas II. In 1917, the Imperial family was expelled from the palace by order of Alexander Kerensky, head of the provisional government. Nicholas II and his family were murdered by the Bolshevik regime one year later. From then until World War II the palace remained uninhabited; it functioned as a museum until occupying German forces converted the building into their military headquarters. Alexander Palace later served as a naval command base and research station, until the mid-1990s when we assisted with efforts to convert the palace into a museum.

Parts of Alexander Palace had fallen into serious disrepair by 1994 when it garnered local interest as a potential museum. We provided funds toward assessments and planning for public access to a suite of rooms to be used as museum space. Shortly after its inclusion on the 1996 World Monuments Watch, the palace was added to the list of institutions operated by the Museum-Preserve of Tsarskoe Selo, which agreed to manage the upkeep of the property and its tourist facilities. In September 1996, we helped with emergency renovations to the roof over the Nicholas II wing of the palace, comprising approximately one-third of the building’s total roof structure. Alexander Palace is now an exhibition space dedicated to the final years of Tsarist Russia, and houses a collection of Nicholas II’s personal effects and historical documents.

An important national heritage site (1995)

One of the few Tsarist residences left relatively intact following World War II, Alexander Palace provides a window into Imperial life during pre-communist Russia. For its historical value as the setting of Nicholas II’s final years, and for its artistic merits as a much-celebrated work of sumptuously decorated neoclassical architecture, the palace is an important national heritage site.

NOTE: the following three reports, published in 1995, 1996 and 1997 respectively, although now dated, still provide readers with some interesting facts on the history of the Alexander Palace, and the challenges presented with it’s restoration – PG

CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE TO DOWNLOAD AND REVIEW REPORT

Alexander Palace: Restoration and Adaptive Re-Use as a Museum (1995 – 112 pages)

Describes an investigation into the prospect of adapting the 18th century Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo near St. Petersburg for use as a house museum interpreting the history and life of the last Romanovs, the last imperial dynasty to rule over Russia. The neoclassical palace was designed by Giacomo Quarenghi and built between 1792 and 1796, a gift from Catherine the Great to her eldest grandson Alexander before he acceded to the throne. Following the Bolshevik Revolution and the execution of Nicholas II and his family the palace was used as a museum, until World War II, when it was damaged during the German occupation. In 1995-1996, World Monuments Fund conducted three missions to the palace. The first mission, described in this report, had an exploratory and fact-finding character and took place over five days in February 1995. During this mission the potential for repairing the structure, restoring its interiors, and returning to it original furnishings from the collections of Russian museums was studied. Two subsequent missions are described in separate reports.

CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE TO DOWNLOAD AND REVIEW REPORT

Alexander Palace: Groundwork for Restoration and Museum Adaptation (1996 – 47 pages)

This report provides a bilingual summary of the research later compiled into the report entitled “The Alexander Palace: Preliminary Assessment Report for Restoration and Adaptive Re-Use,” published by World Monuments Fund in 1997.Designed by Giacomo Quarenghi and built between 1792 and 1796, this neoclassical palace near St. Petersburg was a gift from Catherine the Great to her eldest grandson Alexander before he ascended to the throne. Alexander I, Nicholas I and Nicholas II all spent their summers living in the palace.

Following the Bolshevik Revolution and the execution of Nicholas II along with his family, the palace was converted into a museum, which it remained until World War II, when it was damaged during the German occupation. From the end of the war until 1995, the building served as administrative offices for the Russian Navy. Over the first half of 1995, a team from the World Monuments Fund conducted three missions to the palace, evaluating the potential for repairing the structure, restoring its interiors, and returning its original furnishings then in the collections of three different Russian museums. During the course of these missions, the World Monuments Fund established the scope of work necessary to convert the palace into a historic house museum focused on the life of Nicholas II and his family and secured funding for the site through American Express as part of the inaugural World Monuments Fund Watch List. This grant provided for emergency repairs to the roof over the southeast wing of the palace.

CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE TO DOWNLOAD AND REVIEW REPORT

Alexander Palace: Preliminary Assessment Report for Restoration and Adaptive Re-Use (1997 – 85 pages)

Designed by Giacomo Quarenghi and built between 1792 and 1796, this neoclassical palace near St. Petersburg was a gift from Catherine the Great to her eldest grandson Alexander before he ascended to the throne. Alexander I, Nicholas I and Nicholas II all spent their summers living in the palace. Following the Bolshevik Revolution and the execution of Nicholas II along with his family, the palace was converted into a museum, which it remained until World War II, when it was damaged during the German occupation. From the end of the war until 1995, the building served as administrative offices for the Russian Navy. Over the first half of 1995, a team from the World Monuments Fund conducted three missions to the palace, evaluating the potential for repairing the structure, restoring its interiors, and returning its original furnishings then in the collections of three different Russian museums. During the course of these missions, World Monuments Fund established the scope of work necessary to convert the palace into a historic house museum focused on the life of Nicholas II and his family and secured funding for the site through American Express as part of the inaugural World Monuments Fund Watch List. This grant provided for emergency repairs to the roof over the southeast wing of the palace.

New photos of the Mauve (Lilac) Boudoir of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna

Posted on November 26, 2019 by Paul Gilbert

Photo © Tsarskoye Selo State Museum Reserve

The Tsarskoye Selo State Museum Reserve have released these new photos of the progress of recreating the Mauve (Lilac) Boudoir of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna in the Alexander Palace.

Photo © Tsarskoye Selo State Museum Reserve

Photo © Tsarskoye Selo State Museum Reserve

Photo © Tsarskoye Selo State Museum Reserve

Over the two decades of Alexandra Fedorovna’s life in Russia, the Mauve or Lilac Boudoir – her favorite room in the Alexander Palace, created by Roman Meltzer – has never been redesigned, despite the change in artistic fashion at the turn of the century. To decorate the interior, silk – mauve with a pattern of interwoven vertical threads – was ordered from the Parisian company Charles Bourget. The wood panels at the bottom of the walls and the furniture designed by Meltzer in imitation of the Rococo style were painted in two colors resembling ivory. Many furnishings, a corner sofa, half cabinets are built-in and connected with wall panels. Here the emperor and the empress with their children often drank coffee after breakfast, gathered for evening tea, and it was in this room where Alexandra Feodorovna spent many hours working and reading.

Works in the Mauve (Lilac) Boudoir: according to historical patterns, fabric upholstery of walls, curtains, built-in furniture, carpet, wood panels, fireplace, picturesque frieze were recreated.

Doomed to Resurrection: Is it Possible to Reconstruct the Ipatiev House?

Posted on November 26, 2019 by Paul Gilbert

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PHOTO: The Ipatiev House, also known as the House of Special Purpose was built 130 years ago

In July 2018, Russia will mark the 100th anniversary of the deaths and martyrdom of the last Russian Imperial family. On the possibility of restoring the Ipatiev House, where the Holy Royal Martyrs ended their earthly journey, AiF-Ural journalist Alexei Smirnov sat down with the head of the Department of Archives of the Sverdlovsk Region Alexander Alexandrovich Kapustin.

Alexei Smirnov: Alexander Alexandrovich, do you remember what the Ipatiev House looked like before it was demolished in 1977?

Alexander Kapustin: Yes, I remember it. From 1972 to 1977 I studied at the Ural State University and visited the Ipatiev House on a number of occasions. The first time I went alone, then I went returned several times with some of my fellow students. I remember walking up the steps to the entrance. We did not get into the “execution room”, it was boarded up. Some organization was working in the mansion at that time, the staff showed little interest in us. I did not feel any “aura” around the house, for me it was an old historic building, typical of Sverdlovsk at the time. Although, like any person interested in history, I knew perfectly well that the tsar and his family had been shot here. Of course, I did not know everything, I was only 17 years old at the time. I can not say that my visits found me shaking inside me. Do not forget that we studied at the Soviet school, so we were taught the official Soviet version of the events. We were taught that Nicholas Romanov was the not the best tsar, however, today the evidence held in our archives, proves that the Soviet version was wrong.

Alexei Smirnov: The decision to demolish the mansion was made in Moscow, was this a mistake?

Alexander Kapustin: It was a political mistake by the authorities. But Yuri Andropov, who headed the KGB at the time, was right in one thing: the Ipatiev House was steadily becoming a place of pilgrimage for those who wished to honour the memory of the imperial family.

Alexei Smirnov: Could Yeltsin disobey Andropov?

Alexander Kapustin: Yeltsin was a member of the party, the first secretary of the regional committee. He carried out the order, one which he simply could not disobey. And it was not just an order, it was the decision of the Central Committee. Another question, did Yeltsin realize the consequences of his actions? It is quite possible that he did not. Therefore we have no right to make any claims against him.

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PHOTO: Boris Yeltsin was ordered to demolish the Ipatiev House in September 1977

Alexei Smirnov: Is it possible to reconstruct the Ipatiev House according to surviving documents? And whether it is necessary to do this?

Alexander Kapustin: I think that there would be no technical problems with a reconstruction. We know what it looked externally, we can determine its dimensions, the height of the ceilings, etc. Preserved drawings, numerous photographs – inside and out, will greatly benefit such a project.

NOTE: In the archives of the Sverdlovsk region, more than two dozen documents concerning the Ipatiev House have survived, as well as an extensive photo-fund. Up until 1977, the building was photographed extensively. A lot of the pre-revolutionary images have also been preserved. The earliest document in the archive is a list of owners dating from 1916, including Nikolai Nikolaevich Ipatiev. In 1929, Uralstroikontrol made a detailed plan of the mansion, which is kept in the archives in a separate file.

As to your other question: if to restore, for what purpose? When the idea of ‌‌”reconstruction” of the house arose, it created a lot of excitement and discussion. The problem is that we look at those events through the eyes of people of the 21st century, and this is not always entirely correct. Try to look at them through the eyes of people of that time. It should not be forgotten that on 2nd March 1917, that the tsar abdicated from the throne. The Bolsheviks shot not the emperor, but “Citizen Romanov”! And how did Russian society react to this? The event passed almost unnoticed. And already on 3rd March 1917, the church swore an oath of allegiance to the provisional government! Yes, he was a royal martyr, he died a martyr. But at that time, atrocities were occurring throughout Russia. It is pointless to demand that everyone worship the tsar, just as it is pointless that everyone worship Lenin. Society is divided.

The point is also that the figure of Nicholas II overshadowed many other worthy people in the public eye, including members of the Romanov dynasty. Why, for example, are we not interested in the life and fate of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, whom I have great respect for? He was a man, independent in his decisions. He fell in love with a married woman and, due to the then conventionalities, was forced to leave Russia. They had a morganatic marriage. He was expelled from the country, but on the eve of World War I he returned, went to the Front, and commanded the Caucasian Division. Under his authority, Muslim volunteers showed great courage in defending Russia against her enemies. He proposed laws which were adopted after the February Revolution, abandoned the throne, was exiled to Perm, where in 1918 he died tragically.

Alexei Smirnov: If you restore the Ipatiev House, where would it be built?

Alexander Kapustin: Well, for example, near the Church on the Blood, where there is a lot of land, and certainly enough space. But what most people to not know, is that the foundation of the Ipatiev House is actually buried under the road. Therefore, we are not talking so much about reconstruction as that of a new construction.

Alexei Smirnov: Who could undertake the reconstruction of the Ipatiev House? Sponsors? The Russian Orthodox Church? The city? What would be exhibited?

Alexander Kapustin: I think that those wishing to reconstruct the building will eventually be found, and it does not matter who it is. Personally, I see it as an object of history, culture and architecture. We already have many places of worship for the Romanov family. For the majority of people, the Ipatiev House is associated only with the murder of the tsar and his family. But the mansion had a long history before this terrible tragedy. A new Ipatiev House would house an exhibition hall, a library with a reading room, a cultural and educational complex. In addition, another beautiful mansion to the landscape of Ekaterinburg would not hurt. The house, really, was very beautiful, I really liked it.

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PHOTO: The Church on the Blood and the Patriarchal Compound in Ekaterinburg

Alexei Smirnov: But you understand that if the house is restored, it will automatically become a place of pilgrimage?”

Alexander Kapustin: Looking at who and for what purpose it will be restored. And there is nothing wrong with the pilgrims. They do not harm the house. And the capital of the Urals will receive an additional tourist facility. As with other historic buildings in the city, each house has its own history, it’s own individuality. The Ipatiev House is no exception, it is unique in terms of architecture and is already an important part of our history.

Alexei Smirnov: Recently an unfinished TV tower was demolished in Yekaterinburg …

Alexander Kapustin: I would not make any parallels here. The tower was a monument of mismanagement and irresponsibility. At one time, the authorities did not have enough funds for its completion and security. Yes, some people were angered by its demolition, but if it had collapsed, the consequences could have been terrible. I think that the dismantling of the tower was justified and logical, this is my point of view. Governor Evgeny Kuyvashev repeatedly tried to offer something, contests were held, but no one was willing to undertake the completion of the structure.

Alexei Smirnov: If a person or company comes forward, is the state archive ready to provide documentation on the Ipatiev House?

Alexander Kapustin: Of course! We are ready to cooperate with any organization, political party, the Russian Orthodox Church. Come, make copies of the documents, work, build!

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PHOTO: Head of the Department of Archives of the Sverdlovsk Region Alexander Kapustin

Alexander Alexandrovich Kapustin. Born 13 May 1955 in Nizhny Tagil. He graduated from the Faculty of History of the Ural State University. Initially, he worked as a school teacher, and then taught at a university. He is a Candidate of Historical Sciences (1986), and Head of the Department of Archives of the Sverdlovsk Region, since 1990.

Yakov Yurovskys’ ashes remain hidden from vandals in Moscow

Posted on November 23, 2019 by Paul Gilbert

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Situated on the grounds of the New Donskoy Cemetery in Moscow is a small church, above the entrance is the inscription ‘Christ is Risen’. In 1927, it was a crematorium and columbarium, the latter of which remains intact to this day.

Parishioners attending liturgies performed in the Orthodox Church, are unaware that behind the false walls are the ashes of Russia’s most notorious murderer: Yakov Mikhailovich Yurovsky (1878-1938).

Yakov Mikhailovich (real name Yangel Khaimovich) Yurovsky was born on 19th (O.S. 7th) June 1878 in Kainsk of the Tomsk province into a large Jewish working family, the eighth of ten children. He was best known as the chief executioner of Emperor Nicholas II, his family, and four retainers on the night of 16/17 July 1918.

The regicide who died on 2nd August 1938, of perforation of a duodenal ulcer was cremated in the Don Crematorium in Moscow. His ashes were placed in an urn and placed behind a wall, in one of the cells of the columbarium. An urn containing the ashes of Yurovsky’s wife Maria Yakovlevna Yurovskaya were later placed next to those of her husband. Today, it is impossible to guess that the two urns contain their remains, as all the inscriptions and identification marks are draped with fabric.

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PHOTO: Restored church at the New Donskoy Cemetery in Moscow

The Don Crematorium was the first crematorium built in Moscow and until 1947 the only mass crematorium operating in the USSR. It was constructed in 1926 in the unfinished church of St. Seraphim of Sarov in the New Donskoy Cemetery. Opened in 1927, more than 150 old Bolsheviks were cremated here. The crematorium was closed in 1992, whereupon it was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC).

In 1998, Divine Liturgies resumed after the reconstruction of the building. In autumn 2011, the Russian Orthodox Church decided to regain the territory of the columbarium of the Don Crematorium and reconstruct it.

A baptismal font now stands in place of the crematorium oven. Everywhere there are icons, children’s drawings of the Workshop of Father Seraphim, a Christmas nativity scene. God’s grace! The church staff are ashamed of being under the same roof with the columbarium, and shudder when people come to inquire of the whereabouts of the niche containing Yurovsky’s urn.

You reap what you sow . . .

According to local Moscow journalist Felix Grozdanov, “workers in a private conversation admitted that they are strictly forbidden to show this place. It is not for nothing that it was stored in a special columbarium – entrance there for a long time was allowed by passes only to family relatives or important persons. It is forbidden to show this place during excursions which are regularly held here.”

The shroud of secrecy intensified after a number of acts of vandalism were carried out by monarchists seeking revenge for Yurovsky’s role in the murder of Russia’s last tsar and his family. “They came and spat on the glass of Yurovsky’s cell, where his urn was placed. They even tried to smash the glass,” one cemetery worked noted.

Virtual Tour of the Museum of the Family of Emperor Nicholas II in Tobolsk

Posted on November 23, 2019 by Paul Gilbert

CLICK on the ticket for a virtual tour of the Museum of the Family of Emperor Nicholas II

The Museum of the Family of Emperor Nicholas II opened on 26th April 2018 in the Siberian city of Tobolsk.

The museum is the first museum in Russia, dedicated entirely to the family of Emperor Nicholas II. The museum is housed in the former governor’s house, where the Imperial family lived from 6th August, 1917 to 13th April, 1918. The mansion became a prison for the Imperial family before the Bolsheviks sent everyone to them all to their deaths in Ekaterinburg.

CLICK on the ticket above to take a virtual tour of the Museum of the Family of Emperor Nicholas II in Tobolsk

NOTE: it may take a few minutes to download. Simply follow the arrows into the former Governor’s Mansion, and tour the rooms and their contents. As you enter the house, make a left to follow the arrow up the stairs to the upper floor, where the exhibition rooms are located – ENJOY!

Photos from the ‘The Children’s World of the Family of Emperor Nicholas II’ Exhibition

Posted on November 22, 2019 by Paul Gilbert

OTMAA: the children of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna

The exhibition The Children’s World of the Family of Emperor Nicholas II. OTMA and Alexei opened in the Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve in Moscow on 13th November 2019. This unique exhibit is a joint project of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the State Archive of the Russian Federation (GARF) and the Kolomenskoye State Museum Reserve in Moscow, which showcases the personal items – costumes, accessories, toys – that belonged to the children of Emperor Nicholas II. It is supplemented with exhibits from the collections of the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum Reserve, the Peterhof State Museum Reserve, and the Pereslavl Museum. The exhibition runs until 16th February 2020.

The following photos from the exhibition are courtesy of Dinara Gracheva and Православие.Ru