Messages

1

The Imperial Family / Re: Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovitch, his family and life, Part II

« on: June 13, 2018, 08:58:42 PM »

June 13th

100th Anniversary of the murder of Michael and his secretary Nicholas Johnson. Michael was the first of the Romanovs to be killed but sadly it doesn't get as much attention as the murders of the Imperial family and those at Alapayevsk or the St Peter and Paul Fortress do

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Books about the Romanovs and Imperial Russia / Re: Upcoming Books 2018

« on: June 06, 2018, 11:20:03 PM »

According to Van Hoogstraten Eurohistory has a new book coming out written by Greg and Penny!

It's called "The Romanovs Adrift" and should be out in late July. It covers the lives of 80 members of the dynasty from 1913-1919 and includes over 300 images!

https://www.hoogstraten.nl/theshop/product_info.php?products_id=1040&osCsid=o4il0r31gokpnmd1qd3vhrke77
https://eurohistoryjournal.blogspot.com/2018/05/new-book-romanovs-adrift-russian.html

They also just published a book on Oleg Konstantinovich (K.R.'s son) "Death of a Romanov Prince" . It came out today in the U.S.
https://www.amazon.com/Death-Romanov-Prince-Terry-Boland/dp/0994583001/ref=sr_1_25?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1528345610&sr=1-25&keywords=eurohistory&dpID=51jPadar9WL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch
available at Van Hoogstraten on June 14th
https://www.hoogstraten.nl/theshop/product_info.php?cPath=21_22_42&products_id=1038

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Alexandra Feodorovna / Re: The British Queen Responsible for the Murder of Tsar Nicholas ll and His Family?

« on: February 26, 2018, 08:05:13 PM »

I must add to this
The Russian Revolution really shook up King George V he blamed it mainly on Alexandra not his friend Nicholas II

At this time 1917 England had a new PM David Lloyd George. To put it mildly he and King George V didn't get along very well during the WW I years.

As for Queen Mary nobody ever refered to her as the beloved Queen Mary. Being German didn't help in 1917 England where anti-German feeling were running high

In 1917 England there was a lot of anti-government feeling . People were accusing King George V of being disloyal ect. Hence the name change to Windsor.

Out of interest how well did George know Alexandra? Everybody knows the closeness between George and Nicholas, due to their mothers being sisters, and the holidays and Denmark. But we also know a lot of Alexandra visiting England, especially after her mother died. I don't know the years of George's traveling, as a school boy and as a naval officer, but surely they saw some of each other. And even then he would have heard family talking about her in person and correspondence. After all she almost became his sister-in-law!

So they weren't super close and being different genders makes it all different but still. I just find it odd that, as family, George couldn't absolve Alexandra just as he did Nicholas. Surely when he saw all the reports, facts and street gossip, from Ambassador Buchanan, George would know enough about Alexandra to say, "Oh poor Alicky. Somewhere along the way she lost her way, how terrible" just as he said "poor Nicky. He always had his heart in the right place and meant well." Instead he blames her for EVERYTHING, as if he believed every report and knew nothing about her.

When other family members talk you get almost the same tone as well. Sympathy and sadness for Nicholas and some sympathy but lots of scorn added in for her. I don't even think Marie Antoniette was that toxic among the foreign royals. 
 

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Alexandra Feodorovna / Re: The "suitability" of royal wives

« on: February 13, 2018, 08:12:01 PM »

Wasn't their main objection to Alexandra based on what they saw of her during her previous visits to Russia? Maybe it was people, and historians, writing in hindsight, after all the disasters, but it seems according to them she made a poor impression on the aristocracy and the Tsar and Tsarina during the 1889(?) visit. They found her pretty but cold, a disappointment compared to the lovely Ella who won everybody over the moment she arrived.

Many books and documentaries say during the visit she appeared very shy and quiet with those outside the family circle (sound familiar?), and kept everybody at arms length even when sharing the same room, and Maria Feodorovna, being the social butterfly she was, believed Alexandra's character was the antithesis of what a Russian Empress should be. The 1889 visit was basically a prologue, a preview of things to come and that the Tsar and Tsarina saw it or at least that's what they all claim.

That combined with the Tsar and Tsarina aiming far higher. They wanted more prestige (Margaret of Prussia) or potential political benefits (Helene of Orleans). A princess from a mere German Dutchy wasn't good enough for the heir to the Russian throne (never mind the fact that Alexander's own mother came from that Dutchy, although his anti-German feeling was coloring his thoughts by that time). They had bigger things in mind and Alexandra of Hesse-Darmstadt wasn't considered to fit the criteria even if her grandmother was Queen Victoria.

If the 1889 visit did play a huge part in their objections to Alexandra then I'm willing to believe that if Alexandra had Ella's personality there would have been no strong objections by Alexander and Maria. The only thing prolonging it would have been the question of religion.

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The Imperial Family / Re: Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovitch

« on: January 24, 2018, 05:11:44 PM »

He does look quite remarkably like Sergei Alexandrovich!

I wonder whether Sergei was godfather to Sergei Belevsky.

Ann

I've always found the physical appearance of Alexander II and Maria Alexandrovna's sons to be interesting. You had the ones that were big and stocky (Alexander III, Alexei and Vladimir) and then the others who were tall and thin (Nicholas, Sergei and Paul). There was no in between, they were either one or the other.

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Films and TV shows about the Romanovs and Imperial Russia / Netflix orders big budget docuseries “The Last Czars”

« on: November 22, 2017, 12:33:58 AM »

It's expected sometime in 2018 according to the articles!

https://documentarynews.com/netflix-order-big-budget-docuseries-the-last-czars/
http://deadline.com/2017/11/jane-root-netflix-nutopia-czars-1202203997/
https://russkiymir.ru/en/news/233403/

The six-part docuseries will follow the fall of the Russian Imperial Romanov family, headed by Tsar Nicholas II, who were killed in 1918 following the February Revolution.
The series will be a mix of documentary and reconstruction.

High-budget series titled The Last Czars will consist of six series about the monarch family, his relations with wife and children and fall of the Russian Imperial Romanov dynasty.

Something new to look forward to.

7

The Danish Royal Family / Re: Series on Danish Royal Family

« on: November 09, 2017, 01:44:12 AM »

I would personally say this is the best royal documentary out there. I absolutely LOVE it

It was actually released on DVD in 2003 with choice optional Danish, English, or Norwegian audio although unfortunately not in region 1. I was extremely lucky to receive a copy two years ago from the maker of the documentary herself (a long story!). She gave it to me absolutely free of all charge (they weren't allowed to sell it because they lost the distribution rights when the copyright on the film material expired) as a gift and shipped it from Denmark to the United States. Luckiest moment of my life so far!

The companion book, which I also have, is great too

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The Habsburgs / Re: Crown Prince Rudolph--controversies, affairs & his death, Part II

« on: October 29, 2017, 11:35:41 PM »

A reminder for people in the United States that Greg and Penny's book on Rudolf and the Mayerling tragedy, "Twilight of Empire: The Tragedy at Mayerling and the End of the Habsburgs" will be available on November 14th on amazon!

I'm beyond excited. The libraries in my neck of the woods have nothing on Rudolf or Mayerling. So all information I get on the subject is due to online research or the brief chapters/mentions in books about the last century of the empire. The most information I got from a library book was from Brigette Hamann's bio. on his mother.

It will be wonderful to read on the subject on sources up to date! 

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Books about the Romanovs and Imperial Russia / Re: Just a Few Thoughts on King & Wilson's FOTR

« on: October 27, 2017, 09:35:12 PM »

I'm not so sure about the great powers coming to Russia's defense if the Romanovs came close to falling in 1905. Nicholas was not popular even in 1905. Why would they come to save someone they considered a bloody tyrant? The reaction would probably would have been similar to the one in 1917. All of them, except France, had reason to welcome it.

Franz Joseph had his chance to help Russia between 1853-1856 in the Crimean war and totally gave her the middle finger. And back then Russia was ruled by the same man who saved his butt in 1848, Nicholas I. He decided to ally himself with Britain and France instead in the conflict although with his incompetence he alienated them as well. By 1905 relations were hardly anything friendly, especially with Russia looking at the Balkans. They would have seen it as a welcomed event. Russia completely out of Balkan affairs and no mightly Russia for their Slav subjects to look at for protection. No Romanovs in 1914 probably means no Russia caring about the fate of Serbia. Therefore Austria-Hungary is free to crush Serbia and and all the Balkans.

Certainly Wilhelm would have loved to save the Russian monarchy. He would have the opportunity to proclaimed himself the savior of European peace and then try to force them away from France and into a new alliance with them as a repayment. But I doubt the German generals and politicians would have shared his enthusiasm. Remember his countless attempts to get Nicholas into signing a peace treaty with Germany, a dream pursued only by him and not anybody else in Germany. Russia being aligned with France made Russia no ally. They probably would have welcomed it and then grab more land afterwards. With Russia out of the way it gave them the opportunity to focus solely on France. They were after all already thinking of war by that time to start with.

Judging on how the British reacted after Nicholas's abdication in 1917 I highly doubt they would come in Russia's defense at any level in 1905. In fact they would have been even more thrilled in 1905 then they were 12 years later. Not to mention their open support for the Japanese against Russia in the Russo-Japanese war as well as recovering from the long Boer war. Remember the outrage in the press and parliament after the completion of the triple entente. They wanted no part in being allied with Russia so why would they then come to its rescue if it fell into trouble? Sending men to defend the autocratic Romanovs would have never been accepted. Queen Alexandra couldn't get help for brother Willy in Greece, a country the British considered their sphere, so how could she get them to help Russia, their longtime nemesis? The only reason she succeeded in getting a ship to her sister is because by then NAOTMAA were already murdered and the danger became real, not theoretical. Their response to the Russian revolution and the fall of the Romanovs was to jump at central Asia and stage a coup in Persia and finally make it their sphere alone without Russia involved. 

Only France would have reason. They need Russia to keep Germany in check. They too were preparing for war against Germany by then, as revenge for 1871. They needed the second front (all that sacrificed Russian blood as Olga Alexandrovna bitterly commented decades later) to save themselves. They had too much money invested in the country for it to become a passive player in European affairs.

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Nicholas II / Re: Re: Photos of Nicholas II #5

« on: September 23, 2017, 08:09:31 PM »

It was actually in late 1900.

Alexandra would never marry again I think. And neither she nor Michael loved wach other. Neither would have gone through something like this. But perhaps Mikhail would have secured a hand of Baby Bee? If he overcame the opposition from the church as she was his first cousin... I cannot imagine Maria Alexandrovna not pushing for this match if her daughter could be the Empress of Russia.

It didn't seem to stand in the way of Krill and Victoria. And of course after putting his foot down Nicholas quickly submitted when the Vladimir clan threw their hissy fit and life went on. They got all the perks of being members of the imperial family you never would have known they were in disgrace for a period of time. If Michael was Tsar he would have done as he pleased and the church would have to get over it just as they did when Nicholas pushed the canonization of Seraphim despite their objections.

And if I recall correctly Kirll and Victoria got married in Maria Alexandrovna's private chapel so she supported it, despite being a devote Orthodox and knowing the social scandal it would cause. She clearly didn't care a bit of it because not only did she let them marry in her chapel but also let them live with her while they were in exile. She was also just as furious over the initial sentence Nicholas gave them as her brother and his wife were. She probably wasn't ultra strict when it came to the rules of the church. I have no doubt she would have been thrilled to be mother of the Empress of Russia.

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Nicholas II / Re: Re: Photos of Nicholas II #5

« on: September 23, 2017, 08:06:30 PM »

It was actually in late 1900.

Alexandra would never marry again I think. And neither she nor Michael loved wach other. Neither would have gone through something like this. But perhaps Mikhail would have secured a hand of Baby Bee? If he overcame the opposition from the church as she was his first cousin... I cannot imagine Maria Alexandrovna not pushing for this match if her daughter could be the Empress of Russia.

It didn't seem to stand in the way of Krill and Victoria. And of course after putting his foot down Nicholas quickly submitted when the Vladimir clan threw their hissy fit and life went on. They got all the perks of being members of the imperial family you never would have known they were in disgrace for a period of time.

And if I recall correctly they got married in Maria Alexandrovna's private chapel so she supported it, despite being a devote Orthodox and knowing the social scandal it would cause. She clearly didn't care a bit of it because not only did she let them marry in her chapel but also let them live with her while they were in exile. She was also just as furious over the initial sentence Nicholas gave them as her brother and his wife were. She probably wasn't ultra strict when it came to the rules of the church. I have no doubt she would have been thrilled to be mother of the Empress of Russia.

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Nicholas II / Re: Re: Photos of Nicholas II #5

« on: September 22, 2017, 05:06:25 PM »

He's practically drowning in that bathrobe. 

He came very close to death. Another one of those "what ifs" of history if Nicholas had died and Michael became Tsar

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Rulers Prior to Nicholas II / Re: Emperor Alexander and Princess Ekaterina Dolgoroukaya

« on: September 17, 2017, 07:22:34 PM »

Lol, one could think this description was written by Norwegians! I thought the Swedes were a bit more fussy about the finer titular nuances.

The portrait strikes me as almost indecently private. She looks fluttered and like she just has thrown on a crumpled dress after a romp in bed with her old lover. Shockingly morganatic indeed!

Her ankle appears to be on full display on a soft stool cushion as well!!!!

according to the description below:

s Sergei Makovsky recalled, at the beginning of summer of 1880, the young Imperial couple retired to the Livadia Palace in the Crimea. Work immediately began on three portraits: that of the emperor, of his young wife, and of their children: George, Olga and Catherine. The atmosphere in which these works were created was the warmest. Sergei Makovsky recalls: "In the Livadia atmosphere, he (the emperor – E.N.) impressed everyone by his simplicity and cordiality. As the portraits of his wife, son and daughters were being painted, he attended all the sessions, gave cautious advice, joked, affectionately scolded the naughty Gogu, and as a parting gift gave his father (K.E. Makovsky-E.N) candy and flowers to his "beautiful wife" (Yu.P. Makovsky-EN) ".

Empress Maria Alexandrovna died on June 3, 1880!!!!! I knew his behavior after her death was disgusting but still the more you hear about it the more upset one gets. And Alexander had the nerve to be upset with the rest of his family and their behavior, ugh

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Tsarskoe Selo Palaces / Re: Ropsha Palace

« on: October 29, 2016, 05:06:01 PM »

Russian oil giant Rosneft to restore Romanov palace near St. Petersburg

http://rbth.com/arts/2016/10/27/russian-oil-giant-rosneft-to-restore-romanov-palace-near-st-petersburg_642707

The Ropsha Palace, an 18th-century residence near St. Petersburg built by order of Peter the Great, is to be rented to the state-owned Rosneft oil corporation for 99 years.

Making the announcement on Oct. 25, Russian Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky said that the company will restore the palace, which is in a state of disrepair, and will create access for tourists to the estate after restoration.

How exciting. I hope it comes to fruition

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Alexandra Feodorovna / Re: Her Accent

« on: October 06, 2016, 08:40:17 PM »

Albert, Prince Consort was a German.  He spoke German as his first language.  After his marriage to Queen Victoria he requested that behind closed doors the family should speak German in his presents.  Therefore, all of his children spoke German and I believe Alexandra, also, spoke German with her own father before she lived with Queen Victoria.

Because of Hitler and the Nazi take over of Germany,  the British wanted to cover over their own German blood and changed themselves into the House of Winsor.  Remember,  they had been des. of the old German farmer Georgie I of Hanover who never spoke English.  History books have downplayed how German Queen Victoria was. 

This old bear is old enough to remember that universities and high school taught German for those who were going into the field of medicine.   French and ballet were taught to the girls who had social status.  In Austria the upper class spoke Italian....  The British laughed at our American English while Americans vowed never to bow to anyone. 

AGRBear
 

Actually Victoria spoke German with her mother and governess long before Albert entered the scene. So it was the language she grew up with behind closed doors as a child and naturally continued to be after her marriage to Albert. It was the common language they shared together. They had German pet names and Victoria liked to say if it were not for her position she would be no happier then to be his little German Fräulein. She needed no requests from Albert when it came to things German, she was enthusiastic about it all on her own.

Also the family changed their name to Windsor during WW1 LONG before Hitler entered the scene. Anti-German feeling was running high and many with German sounding last names had their lives ruined even if they had considered themselves British and not German for generations. It was a sore point for the King who was sensitive about the issue. The Battenbergs (I believe Louis(?) lost his position in the navy because of the German surname despite years of honorable service) changed their name to Mountbatten the same time the royal family changed theirs on orders by the King.