Show Posts

1

Films and TV shows about the Romanovs and Imperial Russia / CBS Radio Mystery Theater: Courtyard of Death about Rasputin

« on: December 07, 2015, 06:13:08 PM »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9666U9WiXU

It's a 50 minute radio show from the 70s, complete with sound affects and voice acting. I haven't listen to this one yet but apparently it isn't very accurate. For instance, it refers to Aleksey as being their only child.

Even if this one isn't too great, the others are pretty entertaining!

2

Tatiana Nicholaievna / Tatiana's Frenchie Ortipo - intentionally bred?

« on: April 18, 2015, 12:13:42 PM »

I was watching Animal Planet's "Dogs 101" the other day and a segment about Frenchies came on. The show mentioned that like many purebred dogs, Frenchies have a number of complications and health problems. One of these was that Frenchies cannot breed on their own (their back legs and hips are apparently too weak and narrow). It's also not uncommon for a female to need a c-section for the same reason.

The book "The Romanov Sisters" mentions that Ortipo had a litter of pups and that the IF did not keep them. So my question is: Was there anything written anywhere about intentionally breeding Ortipo? It seems odd that they would since they didn't even keep any pups, but it also seems unlikely Ortipo could become pregnant without human help.

I did think of the possibility that these issues didn't exist for bulldogs 100 years ago, but pictures of Ortipo show us that she looked very much like modern bulldogs.

3

Tsarevich Alexei Nicholaievich / Cauterization of Aleksey's nose

« on: May 19, 2013, 09:23:55 PM »

The details of the fact that doctors cauterized Aleksey's nose twice after his dangerous nosebleed sort of confuse me. How was this done? I know today it's done with silver nitrate with the application of lidocaine beforehand for pain, but in 1915? And they didn't have microscopes so tiny to see the insides of your nose, probably, so did they do it blindly?

I know a lot of the answers will probably be speculation, but is there anything written in more detail about it?

4

Having Fun! / 30 Day Romanov Challenge

« on: May 17, 2013, 11:47:50 PM »

I'm sure many people have seen this on Tumblr, but I think it would be fun to do here as well. We're a bit behind Tumblr now, but that's okay.

Day 1: Favourite Grand Duchess or Princess

My answer is Olga Nicholaievna. She seems to have been the most complex one.

5

The Final Chapter / Why was Leonid Sednev sent away?

« on: April 25, 2013, 12:33:10 AM »

Doubtful the executioners had any reservations about killing him; it's likely they wanted one less body to worry about. So why were none of the other servants sent away instead?

6

Films and TV shows about the Romanovs and Imperial Russia / Anastasia musical in the works

« on: August 02, 2012, 04:52:42 AM »

http://www.therotoscopers.com/news/2012/6/15/anastasia-musical-heading-to-broadway-angela-lansbury-to-rep.html

It's based on the 1997 cartoon. Angela Lansbury will reprise her role as Dowager Empress Marie. I'm a far bigger fan of the real Anastasia than any fictional version of her (I'm sure it's the same for everyone else here!), but this should be interesting.

7

Tsarevich Alexei Nicholaievich / "I am not afraid of death, but I am afraid of what they will do to us here."

« on: November 02, 2011, 01:04:09 PM »

This quote is attributed to Aleksey while he was in Ekaterinburg, and lately I've been a little suspicious of it. It was in "Nicholas and Alexandra" by Massie, but where did he get it?

We know Nicholas, Alexandra, and Olga were nervous about what the revolutionaries were going to do, even if they might not have really believed they were in danger of being killed. Maria and Anastasia didn't seem to be concerned, so why would Aleksey be? What's more, Aleksey was very ill for the last couple months of his life. Why would anyone let him know anything worrying, since he was in a struggle for his health?

8

Rasputin / Why is "Rasputin" treated like a real name now?

« on: July 05, 2011, 03:44:50 PM »

Unless I'm mistaken, wasn't Rasputin a name given to Father Grigori by his enemies because it means "desolate"? His actual name was Grigori Yefimovich Novy. It seems that most people think it was his last name. I was even surprised to be playing a game and a surname I could give my Russian character was "Rasputin".

9

Romanov and Imperial Russia Links / Has Livadia.org been updated?

« on: May 11, 2011, 02:53:39 AM »

I believe it has! Some photos has captions now that didn't before. Maybe I'll get my hopes up that Anastasia and Aleksey's sections will be finished. That would be nice, I've always loved that site! Who runs it? Was it Lanie?

10

Films and TV shows about the Romanovs and Imperial Russia / "House" series

« on: February 27, 2011, 09:23:22 PM »

Not really about the Romanovs, but very interesting for a history buff.

The premise of the show is that for several weeks, people volunteer to be told how to dress and act according to a time period. Some drama is invented sometimes for plot. It's really amusing to see people react to how life was, especially when the women have an initial meltdown because they don't have the freedoms the men do. It happens nearly every time.

Here is a list of Houses they've done:
Frontier House
The 1900 House
Manor House
Colonial House
The 1940s House
Regency House Party
Texas Ranch House

I really wish they'd continue the series with more Houses, locations, and time periods.

11

Having Fun! / Russia - Europe or Asia?

« on: February 04, 2011, 03:43:20 PM »

I've been confused over this my entire life, it seems. Russia, or at least western Russia, is considered Eurasian and its influences are European. But I was taught in school that there are 7 continents, Europe and Asia included, but not Eurasia, since that's more of a region. On some maps, it has the entire country of Russia as Asian, but European maps sometimes include Russia, sometimes not. I was never taught that parts of Russia could be European, and didn't consider it until I began getting interested in the Romanovs. Maybe it's another American educational failure. Can anyone shed some more light?

12

Olga Nicholaievna / What did Olga think about Irina's marriage/pregnancy?

« on: September 09, 2010, 02:12:13 AM »

Olga and Irina Alexandrovna were very close in age, and I know from personal experience how strange it is to have friends or relatives about your age marry and have children.

But did Olga ever express any feelings toward the news?

13

Having Fun! / Romanov Trivia

« on: June 07, 2010, 11:44:56 PM »

Let's see if we can learn any new information! Feel free to correct and discuss.

-Alexandra was a vegetarian.
-Alexandra's actual first name was Victoria, but was called Alix.
-Alexandra received a degree from a college. (Read from another thread on Alix's board. I can't remember if she earned it or if it was honorary.)
-Maria liked taking photos the most out of OTMA.
-Olga wasn't a confident swimmer. Once she slipped in the tub and panicked!
-Olga loved to discuss poetry with Gleb Botkin, and often sent their favorites to each other in the mail.
-Olga might have seen a ghost. She was telling her nanny she saw a lady in a blue dress in her room. The nanny laughed it off, but later Olga pointed to a photo of a woman who had died and claimed it was the woman she saw.

14

Having Fun! / Royals who were really in love

« on: January 24, 2010, 08:06:28 PM »

This could be an interesting thread, especially with Valentine's day coming up. Royal matches were almost always arranged by other people, so which matches were good? Which couples really were in love?

Nicholas and Alexandra, obviously! Others?

15

Olga Nicholaievna / Olga a flapper?

« on: January 21, 2010, 12:55:13 AM »

According to Wikipedia:

Quote

Court official A. A. Mossolov wrote that Olga was already seventeen, but still "she had the ways of a flapper", referring to her rough manners and liking for exuberant play.

And Wikipedia's definition of flapper: