Messages

1

The Final Chapter / Re: Why does the Russian Orthodox Church chooses not to believe....

« on: Today at 09:07:22 AM »

...continued....

It should be mentioned that my uncle discovered there not only the remnants of death, but also of life. He found the heirs beloved dog named Joy. It was running around next to that area where the human bodies were burned, or at least attempted to be burned. However, nothing else was found there.

 Basil (Rodzianko), the Bishop. My Fate. Memoirs / Comp. D.V. Glivinsky.  M: Sretensky monastery, 2015, 416 pp.   
 
Everything that was found there was moved away, yet another interesting connection with my family?with the help of the grandmother and grandfather of Peter Sarandinaki, a Russified Greek and my niece's husband. Peter Sarandinaki knew everything in great detail about his grandparents life. His grandfather was a general in the Kolchaks army. He was assigned to bring this makeshift shrine in a suitcase to Europe. They took it to Western Europe in a roundabout way, via China and other countries. Afterwards, this suitcase was hidden in the wall of a memorial chapel to Emperor Nicholas II in Brussels, on the commemoration day of Righteous Job the Long-suffering. The Emperor was born on that feast day, so he often spoke and wrote about it in his diary that, since this holy sufferer has been his patron saint, he will also bear a lot of sufferings.

Joy was taken to Buckingham Palace. My uncle arrived there upon the invitation of King George V who, as is well known, was the Emperors cousin and looked like him so much that people always confused him with his cousin, especially in youth. King George V and my uncle Pavel met privately; not even a valet was present. Thats where my uncle shared everything he knew about the death of the Imperial family and the dreadful discovery. Joy, handed over to the king, somehow assuaged his sorrow. This little dog brought joy to the Windsor Castle and was buried, when his time has come, in Windsor Park. Even in our days, one can find its soul-stirring gravesite, a symbol that all nature, including all creatures great and small, is united in the Kingdom of Heaven. The king did have the slightest chance to provide help to his close relatives. We should also keep in mind that Empress Alexandra Feodorovna was a favourite granddaughter of Queen Victoria; she loved this country (England) dearly and was loved in return.

The question arises: why didn't the Royal Family assist in taking the Imperial family to safety? They say that it was impossible for political reasons, the liberal Prime Minister Lloyd George was against it. They feared that it might negatively affect international relations between the two countries. It is possible, we don't know. But my uncle used to say that the king took the death of the Imperial family as a personal tragedy. Besides, even to this day, the Royal family still remembers it with overwhelming sadness, and we are aware of it.

Fr. Nicholas shared a lot of stories about the remarkable Imperial family he loved so dearly. He has provided insight into their life, the mutual love and deep faith that ruled this family, and how they were treated by their British relatives. Therefore, I do not judge anyone.

2

The Final Chapter / Re: Why does the Russian Orthodox Church chooses not to believe....

« on: Today at 09:06:27 AM »

Some information that may shed light on this thread:

https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2021/04/memorial-church-of-saint-job-in-brussels-a-candle-for-the-holy-royal-martyrs-of-russia

Discovered in 1920, the relics of the Royal Family were entrusted to Metropolitan Seraphim, Archpriest of the Western European Episcopate in the memorial church, which was then in the process of construction. The relics of the Holy Martyrs were sealed in a lead container and immured in a church wall. During the major works of restoration in 2012, the container with the relics was rediscovered, together with a hand-written document describing the identity of the relics. The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad declined to subject the discovery to further examination, leaving the relics unsealed but open for the worshippers to revere.

In 2010:
Legend had it that Sokolovs evidence ended up hidden inside a wall at the New Martyrs Russian Orthodox Church in Brussels. But Vladimir Solovyev, a criminal investigator in the Moscow prosecutors office who has worked on the Romanov case since 1991, searched the church and turned up nothing. The evidence, he said, vanished during the Second World War.

From: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/resurrecting-the-czar-64545030/

April 27th 2021:
Memorial Church of Saint Job in Brussels  a Candle for the Holy Royal Martyrs of Russia

https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2021/04/memorial-church-of-saint-job-in-brussels-a-candle-for-the-holy-royal-martyrs-of-russia

Discovered in 1920, the relics of the Royal Family were entrusted to Metropolitan Seraphim, Archpriest of the Western European Episcopate in the memorial church, which was then in the process of construction. The relics of the Holy Martyrs were sealed in a lead container and immured in a church wall. During the major works of restoration in 2012, the container with the relics was rediscovered, together with a hand-written document describing the identity of the relics. The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad declined to subject the discovery to further examination, leaving the relics unsealed but open for the worshippers to revere.


In 2022:  https://orthochristian.com/147245.html

See below for information found in the link above.

About the Imperial Family
Bishop Basil (Rodzianko)
The Sretensky Мonastery publishing house published a book of memoirs by Bishop Basil (Rodzianko) called My Fate and compiled video transcriptions from 1997 1999. The majority of them is being published for the first time.
Vladyka Basil speaks about his family, childhood, and the tragic events of the last century in Russia and the fates of the people deprived of their Motherland. From the Vladykas memoirs, one can study the history of the Russian Orthodox Church in the twentieth century and the history of the Russian Church Abroad. Bishop Basil met with practically every well-known hierarch of the time, the devout servants of God and the leaders of the Church. One of the chapters of the book is devoted to the memories of Fr. Nicholas (Gibbes) who converted to Orthodoxy and was tonsured a monk with the name of Nicholas, in memory of His Majesty the Emperor.
   
I learned from Fr. Nicholas (Gibbes) about the secrets of the Imperial children?s room and his attitude toward this family.
He became a tutor to His Majesty's children purely by accident. Someone recommended him, they liked him, and his candidacy was approved. He unintentionally became a member of their family.
He was so attracted to Orthodoxy, which he learned about while tutoring the children of the Emperor and the Empress, that after the revolution, when the Imperial family had to travel to Tobolsk deep in Siberia, he went there with them and shared the hardships that befell the family. Later on, he followed them to Ekaterinburg. But, since those who transported the family knew the fate that awaited them, as a foreign citizen he was separated from them. He lived to see the tragic day made known to the world and took it very hard. All of this led him to become a monk. Together with the Kolchak army retreating by way of Siberia, he ended up in Harbin, a quintessential Russian town in Manchuria. This was because of its location on the Chinese Eastern Railway, which employed many Russian nationals, which helped to Russianize the town even before the revolution. It was where he met Vladyka Nestor (Anisimov), a missionary to Kamchatka, and later to China. Vladyka Nestor founded the Russian Orthodox House of Mercy in Harbin. That?s where Sidney Gibbes was received into the Orthodox Church and tonsured a monk, adopting the name Nicholas in memory of His Majesty the Emperor Nicholas II. He served there as a priest right up to the beginning of the Second World War. For a number of reasons, he had to return to his homeland, and was back in London in 1938. He served in a Russian Orthodox church there conducting services in English, for the English speakers. He was later assigned to an Anglican Church building right in the middle of London.
I became closely acquainted with Fr. Nicholas and learned from him a lot of details unknown to others. He told me what happened after he had found out about the tragic death of the Imperial family. No one knew how they died or were the bodies of the slain where buried. This only became known after the investigator Sokolov arrived to Ekaterinburg. Colonel Pavel Pavlovich Rodzianko, my uncle and my fathers cousin, also arrived there with the Kolchak army. He, along with Sokolov and Sidney Gibbes (the future Fr. Nicholas) who joined them, launched an investigation. They descended into the mine that they assumed was the burial place of the members of the Imperial family. They inspected Ganina Yama, but found nothing but a few things. Thats where, Fr. Nicholas told me, he found nails, the large ones, at the bottom of the mine. He immediately identified these nails. They were kept in the heirs pocket. When he, the tutor, and his charge would play a game of skittles or something like that, they'd usually set these nails out and then throw a ball. Once he discovered these nails, it became clear to him that the boy was killed and his body lay here. They collected the nails and other items they had found in a special suitcase. Pieces of burnt bones were already stored inside it. They also discovered the traces of two large fires and obvious attempts to burn the human remains. As we know, the investigator Sokolov held that all bodies were burned there, but they had no sufficient evidence to prove it. Fr. Nicholas never learned about the final results of the investigation.
...more in next post...

3

The Final Chapter / Re: GD Michael : Search Foundation update ?

« on: Today at 08:48:52 AM »

https://tsarnicholas.org/2024/09/28/search-for-grand-duke-mikhail-alexandrovichs-remains-resumes-near-perm/

God willing he is found.

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The Final Chapter / Re: GD Michael : Search Foundation update ?

« on: Today at 08:44:53 AM »

Search for Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich's remains resumes near Perm. On 18th September 2024, Russian media sources reported that the search for the remains of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich and his secretary Nikolai Johnson have resumed near Perm, where they were both murdered by the Bolsheviks on 13th June 1918.28 Sept 2024

5

Research Russian Roots / Re: A little help please!

« on: August 12, 2024, 06:18:41 AM »

With AI assistance on working a few things out - possibly....
The information and connections you?ve provided add intriguing layers to your family's history and the broader historical context of the Romanovs. Here's a summary of the key points and connections based on the information you?ve shared:

    Suitcase and Relics: Your father?s story about the suitcase filled with Russian soil and documents, and its loss to the German high command, aligns with the dramatic and often tragic history of many ?migr?s and Russian nobles during and after World War II. This suitcase could indeed be linked to significant historical artifacts or relics related to the Romanovs.

    Usovo Estate: The estate?s history, including its connection to Lavrentiy Usa and its later ownership by the Romanovs, reinforces the significance of your surname in the context of Russian nobility and the Romanovs.

    Sokolov's Evidence and the Suitcase: The reference to evidence hidden in a wall at the New Martyrs Russian Orthodox Church in Brussels, and the mention of Sokolov?s investigation, adds an interesting twist. The suitcase found by Fr. Nicholas (Gibbes) and the subsequent hiding of these items could indeed be connected to the suitcase your father mentioned. This connection is bolstered by the fact that the relics of the Romanov family were rediscovered in the wall of the Memorial Church in Brussels during restoration work in 2012.

    Historical Context: The loss of the suitcase and your father?s involvement with it could tie into the broader context of the Romanovs? tragic fate and the efforts to preserve their memory. The fact that the suitcase was taken by the Germans might have been a significant event, considering the historical context of World War II and the complex movements of people and valuables during that time.

    Church and Relics: The discovery of the relics in 2021 at the Memorial Church of Saint Job in Brussels, and the subsequent decision to leave them unexamined, could indeed be related to the earlier discovery you mentioned. This might explain the reluctance of the Russian Orthodox Church to accept the DNA evidence of the Romanovs, as they might already have had significant evidence that influenced their stance.

Next Steps:

    Contact Religious Authorities: As you plan to contact religious authorities connected with the information, it might be helpful to provide them with all the details you have about the suitcase, the Romanov relics, and your father's connection to these events. They might be able to provide more information or verify the historical connections.

    Investigate Further: Consider reaching out to historians or researchers specializing in Russian nobility, the Romanovs, or World War II history. They might have additional insights or access to archival materials that could shed more light on your family?s connections.

    Explore Archives: Investigate archives, both in Russia and Europe, that might hold records related to the Romanovs, the Usovo estate, and World War II. This could provide more concrete evidence or lead you to additional sources of information.

This is a complex and fascinating historical puzzle. Your family?s story is deeply intertwined with significant historical events, and continued research could reveal more about these connections.

6

Research Russian Roots / Re: A little help please!

« on: August 02, 2024, 10:06:13 PM »

So far DNA matches with:
Susannah Jane Usov has a DNA match with Tage Andresen, Rafał Andrzej Łaszkiewicz, Ingrid Keon (Matckars), Ari Markus Linikko, <private> Weicicoskie, Arkooliya Mazheika, <private> Strickler, Lasse Antero Myyry, Kimberly Ann Phillips, Eija Turunen, Sharon Marshall, Kathleen Harding, Aaron Watson, Aira Lilja Maria Hynninen Ravandoni, William Madison Gray, Candy Steffen, Peteri Kauko, Mirva Saari, Chris Ellerker, Lorraine Ethel Jones, <private> Karhunen (Johansson), Jaana Marita Avula, <private> and Petri Olavi K?rh?? less
  Susannah Jane Usov has a DNA match with Oona Lii Casalegno, Dorenda A Stotler, Margaret Stewart Mitchell, Alex Drozd, <private> (Соколов), <private> Weicicoskie, Ira Vihre?lehto, Marti Ann Boyd, chris spaulding, Kimberly Ann Phillips, Janet Sunman, Kathleen Harding, Aaron Watson, <private> Ekola, Galina Mikhailovna Anisimova, Peteri Kauko, Judith Karen Lundquist, Ulla Maija Jutila, <private> Hanhim?ki (Korkeam?ki), Erkki Lehtom?ki, Heather Yvonne (Viki) Simpson, Kim Andre Nerland, <private> Groskinsky and <private>? less
  Susannah Jane Usov has a DNA match with Donna McCurley, Андрей Анатольевич Husu, Ilkka Ylermi Latvakoski, Ira Vihre?lehto, George Austin Stewart, Marti Ann Boyd, Lasse Antero Myyry, Alexander Goremykin, Aira Lilja Maria Hynninen Ravandoni, Per G Olsson, <private> Olsson Uv, Martha Dalessandro, Chris Ellerker, Susan Rodgers Brashier, <private> Hanhim?ki (Korkeam?ki), Lauri Antero Lehtom?ki, Matis Rodin, Andrei Валерьевич Maltcev, Lorraine Ethel Jones, Vicki Walton Godfrey, <private> Karhunen (Johansson), Jaana Marita Avula, Petri Olavi K?rh? and Scotti Woolery-Price? less
  Susannah Jane Usov has a DNA match with Nadya Kulikova, Katja Monika Lassila-Hyypi?, Wilma Leskinen, Margaret Stewart Mitchell, <private> Svensson (Lundh), <private> (Соколов), Ainis Valcis, Meri-Tuuli Laitila, <private> Strazdas, Douglas Charles Kirks, Kenneth Roberts, Arkooliya Mazheika, James Kimbrell, Kathleen Louise Ellis, Per G Olsson, Weldon Brown, <private> Покудин, <private> Olsson Uv, William Van Craven, Judith Karen Lundquist, Erkki Lehtom?ki, <private> Groskinsky, Andrei Валерьевич Maltcev and Scotti Woolery-Price? less
  Susannah Jane Usov has a DNA match with Naida Wilson Singleton, Dorenda A Stotler, <private> Niemi (Siltanen), <private> Dorodnov, DIANE JEANNIE WOOD, Ilkka Ylermi Latvakoski, Ainis Valcis, Meri-Tuuli Laitila, Ari Markus Linikko, chris spaulding, Amy Jenkins, <private> Chirkova (Dubovik) (Дубовик), Alexander Goremykin, Stephanie Hudman Thalman, <private> Ekola, Vernon DuBar, Thomas Christopher Atkins, Olle Grantun, <private> Łaszkiewicz (Paul), Heather Yvonne (Viki) Simpson, Jennifer Goodwin, MK Sizemore, Vicki Walton Godfrey and Laura Susan HONEYBOURNE? less
  Susannah Jane Usov has a DNA match with Daniel Marshall, Judy Kurki-Coleman, Meredith Rincon, Matti Juhani Kovanen, M H, Rex Johnson, Katja Monika Lassila-Hyypi?, Quinn Stilwell, DIANE JEANNIE WOOD, Pieter Willem Erasmus, Kliff Moon, <private> Strazdas, Борис Васильевич Павлюков, Douglas Charles Kirks, Kenneth Roberts, George Austin Stewart, <private> Strickler, Janet Sunman, Ove W?hlberg, <private> Chirkova (Dubovik) (Дубовик), Eija Turunen, Sharon Marshall, <private> Kauppi and <private> Hakkarainen? less
  Susannah Jane Usov has a DNA match with VARVARA KISELEVA, Jenni Niemi, Tage Andresen, <private> Latvakoski (Ahonen), Kliff Moon, James Kimbrell, Kathleen Louise Ellis, Ove W?hlberg, <private> Kauppi, <private> Hakkarainen, Stephanie Hudman Thalman, Vernon DuBar, <private> Покудин, William Madison Gray, Thomas Christopher Atkins, Martha Dalessandro, Candy Steffen, William Van Craven, Galina Mikhailovna Anisimova, Mirva Saari, Ulla Maija Jutila, Susan Rodgers Brashier, Lauri Antero Lehtom?ki and Matis Rodin? less
  Susannah Jane Usov has a DNA match with Борис Васильевич Павлюков, Amy Jenkins, <private> Imel?inen, Olle Grantun, <private> Łaszkiewicz (Paul), Jennifer Goodwin and Laura Susan HONEYBOURNE? less
  Susannah Jane Usov has a DNA match with Tommi Ala-Helle, Daniel Marshall, Judy Kurki-Coleman, Naida Wilson Singleton, Meredith Rincon, Donna McCurley, Oona Lii Casalegno, VARVARA KISELEVA, Nadya Kulikova, Matti Juhani Kovanen, M H, Андрей Анатольевич Husu, Rex Johnson, Jenni Niemi, <private> Niemi (Siltanen), Quinn Stilwell, Wilma Leskinen, Rafał Andrzej Łaszkiewicz, Ingrid Keon (Matckars), <private> Dorodnov, <private> Svensson (Lundh), <private> Latvakoski (Ahonen), Alex Drozd and Pieter Willem Erasmus? less

I think maybe the best thing to do is to just encourage family members to do a DNA test via myFTDNA, engage the services of an experienced geneologist and create the family tree. Little by little we will get there.

I havent had the time these past years to do what needed to get done. Busy bringing up 4 children. Things are a bit easier now.
I miss my Father so much, but time is easing things.

Thank you.

7

Russian Noble Families / Re: Shuvalov Family 1920-1940's near Estonia-Finland

« on: August 02, 2024, 08:44:14 AM »

Thank you EmHarms! 

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Russian Noble Families / Shuvalov Family 1920-1940's near Estonia-Finland

« on: July 27, 2024, 06:56:28 PM »

This is a call out to the Shuvalov family:

Many years ago, in my 20's (I am now 59) - Emailing was quite new back then, I contacted a member of the Shuvalov family via email under my married surname "Link", and gave salutation and thanks to them for sheltering my father after he had skated across the ice from the Tsarskoe Selo area in Winter.

My late father also informed me that they were also sheltering a ballerina as well. I gave the Shuvalov family my late Fathers name and address.

In my email I requested that they contact the oldest living member of their family and to please ask them if they remembered my late Father and to give them our deepest thanks for what they did for him.

My father never knew that I had done this for him.

Some 6 months later my Father recieved an unexpected visitor at his front door from a lovely russian lady who was visiting Australia at the time and quickly handed him a catalogued book from his grandfathers estate library, and left after a quick discussion. He rang me and the joy in his voice was so wonderful and heartwarming, it meant the world to him.

I would like to discuss further with the Shuvalov family, if they are able to - and in a position to do so, as this would help our family here in Australia greatly to piece together my Fathers journey and his life of which we know so little about.

Sabrat'sya vmeste - eta nachalo, ostatsa vmeste - eta pragres, rabotat' vmeste - eta uspekh.

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Research Russian Roots / Re: Is here anybody who often uses genealogical sites like MyHeritage, Ancestors etc

« on: July 27, 2024, 10:20:53 AM »

Update: I just redid my DNA results transfer from Ancestry to FTDNA and then relinked it to to Genie and hey presto.....finally!

How strange that it did not do this all those years ago. So I remove dit and redid it and now I have heaps of relatives and work to do to pull it together and show my neice and my children. Hooray! About time!

10

Research Russian Roots / Re: A little help please!

« on: July 27, 2024, 10:15:30 AM »

So far the closest relative connected via the male line is someone called :

Kirk Gilbert 39cM shared DNA and longest block also 39cM

and then

Mrs Tirena May Cox Haplogroup mtDNA:U5a1h shared DNA 40cM, longest block 32cM.

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Research Russian Roots / Re: A little help please!

« on: July 27, 2024, 09:00:08 AM »

  Update: I downloaded my Raw Data DNA myself from Ancestry into Family Tree DNA and then relinked it to Genie and I now have a lot of relatives coming up! Names I am unfamiliar with but heaps of european names!

Bingo! I am on the home stretch now!

If at first you do not succees, try, try and try again!

12

Research Russian Roots / Re: Russian desendants! Why not move back to Russia? Let's do it!

« on: July 27, 2024, 08:00:27 AM »

Thank you!

13

Rulers Prior to Nicholas II / Re: Emperor Alexander I vs Fedor Kuzmitch - a mystery

« on: July 27, 2024, 07:39:12 AM »

Funny thing, my partner and I just returned from a long road trip to Canberra from Bellingen. We went the long way as we saw some friends along the way, to my astonishment we travelled through a wee country town called Cathcart. My interest picqued upon seeing this name and did a little digging: Well - we discovered a little Town called Cathcart...!

https://en.wikipedia.org/.../Cathcart,_New_South_Wales...and even more interesting the local indigenous people called the area: Togranong.

Prior to European settlement, the Ngarigo Aboriginal people were known to inhabit the lands around Cathcart. Their name for the area was Togranong....
sounds similar to a russian area called Taganrog....Taganrog (Russian: Таганрог, IPA: [təɡɐnˈrok]) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. It is in the Black Sea region. Population: 245,120 (2021 Census);[13] 257,681 (2010 Russian census);[8] 281,947 (2002 Census);[14] 291,622 (1989 Soviet census).[15]

Lord Cathcart links to Alexander 1st of Russia. Taganrog Bay is near the Sea of Asov. Lord Cathcart is discussed in this book as having had a ship in Tagranog Bay, Sea of Asov at the time of Tsar Alexander 1st death - further research into his heirs have revealed a non communication about this ship and any ships records as well. This is discussed in the book mentioned previously:

Imperial Legend: The Mysterious Disappearance of Tsar Alexander I Paperback ? February 8, 2013
by Alexis S. Troubetzkoy (Author)

Eerie!

Footnote: I wonder what was the state of the Treasury at Tsar Alexanders Death? Anything missing?...

14

Research Russian Roots / Re: A little help please!

« on: July 27, 2024, 05:58:43 AM »

Hi,
Susannah,the information of your father's family is here: https://www.geni.com/people/%D0%9C%D0%B8%D1%85%D0%B0%D0%B8%D0%BB-%D0%94%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87-%D0%A3%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B2/5498065493840116276
 
Best regards

Marina Thankyou again - I went into this and to me it all looked correct, matched up with the photo my father had given me of his family - but then when I updated it in Genie and then shared with my elder brother he got really angry and told me it wasn't true. That althoug Dad had given me this information he had told my elder brother it wasnt actually our family tree  - that it was incorrect. So also - no DNA matches are showing up either with this Russian Family...although that could be because no one in Russia of that family are on either Genie or Ancestry. I also paid a geneologist overseas (RUSGEN) to assist just before COVID-19 hit and he also told me that the only DNA links were way way back.He was also planning to go to the Arolsen Archives' reading room. His name was: Kirill Chashchin Member, Association of Professional Genealogists.

15

Research Russian Roots / Re: Is here anybody who often uses genealogical sites like MyHeritage, Ancestors etc

« on: July 27, 2024, 05:24:55 AM »

I havent had any luck at all with Genie or Ancestry in relation to finding any DNA matches. The only ones that come up show 1% matching DNA. So this is way back and even then, no one replies: Dimitri Cass: Unassigned 32 cM | < 1% shared DNA

Dad was supposed to have been interned at Camp 701 by the Germans, according to my elder brother. But I cannot find any list with the surname Usov there.

My elder brother who is now 77 becomes very concerned and literally quite aggressive when I try to do research and then share it with other family members.

Its all very sad to be honest.

Maybe in time and in better circumstances truth will prevail.