Aleksei Photos III

The photograph you describe on pg 162, has a mis-identificaton with respect to the other boys "dressed as sailors".  They are in fact part of the Standart crew, actual sailors in training, not "Alexei's companions dressed as sailors".  The Standart crew included young boys, and in fact the day that photograph was taken is described in Spiridovitch, who expressly mentions the young boys who were Standart crew coming ashore and allowed to play with the Heir.

The child in the Bulla photograph is much much much younger than the boys you point out in the 1913 photo  of Alexei.

Still there is no doubt whatsoever that the imperial photographers didn't do portraits of the IF exclusively. And after all the boy's face is completely different from the heir's. I am astounded that Bob Atchinson seems not to have noticed the shoes and dress which seem quite ordinary. There are enough photos of the real heir for comparison...
I am sorry for your archive, though.........

Concerning the two "mystery" photos of the Heir that have provoked controversy here as to suspicions of identification:   Surely Bulla would have made more that one copy of each.  It is difficult to believe that each photo shown here is the unique and only one (not that they HAVE been represented here as such) in existence.  Let's see if this showing will bring forth the existence of duplicates or near duplicates.  Perhaps someone with good standing and recent good contact could ask GARF's opinion?     AP

I agree with Bob A., the Bulla photos are Alexei.  Often boys faces change quite a bit after they turn 4 or 5 years old from how they looked at  2 or 3 years.  Boys  tend to loose their fat baby appearance, while the change with girls is  more gradual.

Also, I doubt that the Imperial court photographer would be taking a snap of some other boy wearing a "Standart" cap. It's most unlikely.

In the Bulla photo the heir appears to be sitting in a patch of springtime dandylions, possibly near the Lower Dacha.

I think it IS Alexei, but taken from a perspective we are not used to see him. The nose, the eyebrows and the mouth are just the same. And the cap in which you may read "Standart" in cyrillic alphabet is quite conclusive. There are photos in which childrens seems not to be themselves . I've said it before, but I have photos of me when I was a child that anyone could imagine - except my family, who already knows the fact - it is REALLY me...

RealAnastasia.

Unfortunatelly I´m not convinced either. In my eyes the child´s face is completely different. If it really is 1906 (and it can´t be anytime "further"), Alexei couldn´t have changed THAT much from 1906 photoshoot.

Mr. Atchison knows for sure more about the Imperial family than I do, but hey, we all do mistakes. It may prove I´m wrong of course, but until them I´m keeping my doubts.

Plus: the dress of the lady is definitely not in the style of 1905/6. The hat indicates the time around WWIst - so the child cannot possibly be the heir

[Mathematic, art and history in ♥]

Thanks for photo.  ;-) I think correct tittle/word is - 'Ego Velichestvo....'. and many books labeled  boys to be Aleskei, most often misidentified.

1) 1905 photo session was taken in October/November.

He had curly hair by then, and in 1906 photo session. If we say this photo session was taken in 1907, it seems to be contradiction to me. Since FA posted one of him  on Polar star is labeled as 1907. only if he had hair cut, so then no more curly hair ( I mean , a bit less).

I believe this is is 1907 also.


Russians labeled this one as August of 1907 on the Standart Yacht:


(Douglas may freely correct  if this is not correct)

Also, this was labeled -- 'St. Petersbourg, 1908' :



I believe this is not correct. Most likely 1907. But how, by 1907 his hair wasn't not curly?  I have always wanted to sort out - 1906, 1907 and 1908 photos of Heir Aleksei. Thanks in advance!

Does anyone now still think all nine photos are NOT the same child?? Sure looks like it to us, you decide for yourselves:

I´ve been doing such comparisms several times already. No, I don´t believe it´s Alexei Nikolaevich. Maybe if there exist more photos of this child, preferably with parents or sisters.... Especially the nose is differe.t Alexei never had a "piggy" nose.

Well, people will only see what they have already decided they want to see....   I sent this to four friends who don't know diddly about Russian History or Alexei, nor do they care,and they all said "of course its the same kid...."

This was taken on the Standart.  Nena you are correct.

 You can usually tell the Standart because the side wall on the main deck was solid.  The main deck of the Polar Star had open railings painted white.  Sometimes when the children were small the sailors on the Polar Star would install canvas over the open railings as a protection.

As I understand it, the Tsar insisted on a solid wall on the main deck of the Standart because he didn't want any of the small children falling overboard.  I agree.

Thank you Admin for posting that montage of photos of the darling heir.  Yes, they are all Aleksey. My guess is that photos 2 and 4 of the montage were taken on the same day?  The parting of his hair is identical in both photos.

 I have read that there was some superstitious reason for keeping little boys in long girl like curls and dresses.  It may have been Biblical and related to when all of the baby boys were ordered killed in Jesus' day.


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I´m sorry. I would love to belive it´s Alexei, but I simply can´t see it, and no, it´s not because I don´t want to. Also as Thomas pointed out the fashion the nurse is dressed alike is not from before 1910 AND nobody has identified the nurse at all yet... It is not Maria V. for sure.
The only thing that is puzzling is the Standart cap. Had he not have it, I wouldn´t even think about a possibility it´s Alexei.

Thank you Admin for posting that montage of photos of the darling heir.  Yes, they are all Aleksey. My guess is that photos 2 and 4 of the montage were taken the same day?

Yes, I think that the #2 and the #4 were taken exactly in the same day...in my opinion he is Alexei (just my opinion).

Does anyone now still think all nine photos are NOT the same child?? Sure looks like it to us, you decide for yourselves: