Photo of Alexander palace-1921

Recently I was reading a book on W.W I. and there was a chapter on Russia post revolution, In 1921 there was another horrific food famine in the country. To help the population survive the american public provided donations to buy food under the President Hoovers administration, anyway they must have got permission fron Lenin to use the Alexander Palace  to organise the food relief there,the caption under the photo states that every day 2000 children were fed there,the photo shows the front of the Palace surrounded by hundreds of children, apparently Lenin turned a blind eye on the war between capitalisam and communisn to let the americans provide food relief throughout Russia to save many lives. Anyone know where to find more information and photos during this period,more photos of the Alexander Palace might be there,Regards Stephen

Hi Stephan,

Do you recall which book the photograph was in or can you post it on the site.

Thanks,

I will get back to you regarding the title and authors,the book is based on a TV documentary series -  8 episodes- BBC  1997 0r 1998, narrated by the british actress Judy Dench,her lastest movie role is James Bond's boss.The photo covers 2 pages in the book and unable to email it to you, any suggestions. Thanks, Stephen

Good day rgy9w.  The book is 1914-1918 - The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century by Jay Winter and Blaine Baggett, BBC BOOKS 1996. The photo of the Alexander Palace is page 358, the photo is from the Hoover Institution Library and Archives Web site, I am hoping to find more photos in their Russian Pictorial Section. Regards Stephen      

I just obtained several volumes of the Illustrated London News from the period of 1920-22. There was a good deal of coverage of the Russian situation in them, including these 2 photos of rooms from the AP in 1921

The captions identify the rooms as the Winter Palace. Are they mistaken?

Grandduchessella & Sarushka,

It is pretty clear from previous photos which have been posted that these are from the Winter Palace rooms of N & A not the AP.  They are great photos though, and hopefully GDella will post more of them.

However, I think they should be posted in the "Private rooms of the Winter Palace" thread
http://forum.alexanderpalace.org/index.php/topic,1462.0.html

BobG

Yes, that's correct. I had it in my head for some reason they were from the AP--probably because I was thinking about posting them on the Forum--and just didn't check carefully enough when I was posting. I'm putting them on the link Bob provided.

Вот агенство РИА выставила на продажу фото
Here agency of RIA has exposed on sale of a photo

http://pushkin-history.info/fotoalbom-old-1-/7077.html

Детская колония имени товарища Луначарского.
Children's colony of a name of comrade Lunacharsky.

http://visualrian.ru/images/item/75837
http://visualrian.ru/images/item/75851
http://visualrian.ru/images/item/75835

Here is what Lukomsky wrote in 1922 on the subject. He was the Palace Architect at the outbreak of the Revolution, and in charge of the AP and Winter Palaces during the Civil War period.

All of the museums and all of the palaces went under the administration of the Commissar for Public Education, Lunatcharsky, the woman, who was president of the childrens' camps,  took over the buildings and gardens for her orphans.  After which, a fight was bitterly engaged, and which was obviously not equal.  Mrs. Lunatcharsky easily won and made profit of it by moving in to the palace with dozens of wretched little degenerates which they initially put unto part of the second floor of the Great Palace and who later, when it was realized that it was hygienically inconvenient and unsafe for the patients themselves, they sent them elsewhere.