Messages

1

The Alexander Palace / Re: Hidden room and basement passages Discovered in the AP.

« on: September 24, 2017, 04:33:31 PM »

Andrei Beanov has this pictures and plan of the tunnel on Pinterest.

https://www.pinterest.com/abeanov/romanovs-russia/

2

The Alexander Palace / Re: Where were the guards situated in the Palace during captivity?

« on: September 24, 2017, 04:21:30 PM »

As you probably know the guards inside the palace had to be as quiet as possible - especially when walking around in the private wing.  They had small carpets to stand on.  Your shoes could not even squeak.  I think they were supposed to withdraw from the corridor in the private wing at night.  There was a problem with the floors in the palace all of the older rooms (like Alexandra' bedroom - had wood floors because it was built as a summer palace.  That's why you could hear the girl's pianos on the second floor and lots of creaking when people were walking around. up there.

3

The Alexander Palace / Re: Alexander Palace Restoration

« on: September 24, 2017, 04:12:08 PM »

I think 2020 is optimistic. They also have to do Catherine's rooms in the Catherine Palace.  It is shocking how little money they need to do the restoration of the AP.  Lots of people want to help but the world situation is such a mess and send big sums money to Russia is almost impossible. I cannot understand why they ripped out the basement.  That was a major decision made in Moscow. I don't think it was Tsarskoe Selo.  That was a big engineering project, big bucks were and are being spent on it. In my opinion the people running Tsarskoe Selo are the SMART and best in the world - they love the palace, I wish they were given the power to make all the decisions themselves.  It must be very frustrating for them.  It is incredibly hard for them to run everything on a day to day basis AND restore the AP. They keep being given more buildings! We should do everything we can to support them.  There isn't much we can do right now in the west. Let's hope and pray we stay out of a war.

4

The Alexander Palace / Re: The Mauve Room (Photos)

« on: September 24, 2017, 04:00:12 PM »

Nick Nicholson tole me it is possible to find fabric like the walls and curtains or very close to it.  The color was very popular at one time and similar material was used elsewhere at the time - even in the USA.  The hard thing is getting the color right.  The description of the color is very exact.

5

The Final Chapter / Re: The Jewels

« on: September 24, 2017, 03:52:15 PM »

Soloviev told me he assumed the jewels that were stripped from the bodies were still being kept in the files of the KGB somewhere.

6

The Final Chapter / Re: Forced Abdication of Nicholas II? Fact or Myth ?

« on: September 24, 2017, 03:48:31 PM »

Dehn made errors in her book in her descriptions of the Alexander Palace.  I am not sure if the translation was the problem.  She must have known the rooms very well.

7

The Final Chapter / Re: Ipatiev House destruction pictures

« on: September 24, 2017, 03:44:04 PM »

Many years ago in Yekaterinburg Avdonin showed me the plans for the Ipatiev replacement church.  I preferred the partial reconstruction of the house design, too.  It was not Avdonin's decision.  I imagine who ever paid for it decided. Money was the big issue in the mid 90's.  I have not been back to Yekaterinburg since 1997 and I have never visited the the church.  I have never been a fan of the architecture - it looks 1970's Soviet to me.

8

The Final Chapter / Re: INVESTIGATION OF THE ROMANOV REMAINS HAS BEEN REOPENED

« on: September 24, 2017, 03:37:28 PM »

Around 1990 I was in St. Petersburg with Suzanne Massie, she went to see Kyril (the Current Patriarch) He was a bishop then, Kostroma?  I don't remember. After that visit we were having dinner and she told me "Bob, I have bad news for you that will upset you.  I spoke with Kyril about the canonization of the Romanovs as you asked.  He told me he would NEVER canonize them in very forceful terms.  He blames them for what happened to Russia."  She said that I should not be surprised because he grew up during the communist era and other prelates from that period held similar views. I believe Kyril is the only thing standing in the way of the remains being recognized by the Russian Church.

9

The Imperial Family / Icons of the Feodovorski Mother of God

« on: October 02, 2012, 01:20:24 PM »

I'll post a bunch of them as I have time.  I have a lot.

Bob

10

The Imperial Family / New Icon of Nicholas, Alexandra and Aleksey

« on: October 02, 2012, 12:57:48 PM »

I just had a copy of this ikon painted - since I already had one of the four Grand Duchesses painted last month I only did Nicholas, Alexandra and Aleksey.  It's 20 inches tall. I'll attach the original as well.

11

The Alexander Palace / Re: Rare Color Photos of the AP Interiors from 1914 RETURN to the Palace!

« on: August 29, 2012, 11:21:11 AM »

I received a copy of the original book on the slides that Dr. Iraida Bott from the Alexander Palace sent to me last week.  The slide of the Maple Room is amazing.  With the permission of the museums of Tsarskoye Selo we'll be posting some of the slides of the Alexander Palace in the book along with English translations.  The slides of the rooms of Catherine the Great in the Catherine Palace are also amazing!

12

Olga Nicholaievna / New Icon of the Grand Duchesses

« on: August 29, 2012, 11:09:08 AM »

Does anyone know where the original of this icon came from?  I had my friend Zefir paint me a copy.  He made a few changes to the original for me.  I added the Virgin of the Sign (the specific icon they were given in Pskov a few months before the Revolution)  and angels to the top, as well as added the engraved border.  Someone told me they saw this ikon in Yekaterinburg.  I found the image I used to copy this on the web.  It seems to have been around for a while, but I never saw it until a month or so ago. - Bob

13

The Alexander Palace / Re: Rare Color Photos of the AP Interiors from 1914 RETURN to the Palace!

« on: August 03, 2012, 10:46:05 AM »

Mike:

That was a very thoughtful posting.  Thank you.

Bob

14

The Alexander Palace / Re: Rare Color Photos of the AP Interiors from 1914 RETURN to the Palace!

« on: August 03, 2012, 10:31:03 AM »

Christine Martin and I will be working on the Friends together....  As I wrote earlier we don't know if it will be called Friends of the Alexander Palace or Tsarskoye Selo Friends Society.  We are waiting for the museums to decide.

15

The Alexander Palace / Re: Rare Color Photos of the AP Interiors from 1914 RETURN to the Palace!

« on: August 02, 2012, 10:58:28 PM »

Mike Pyles been invited to Tsarskoye Selo so they can thank him in person.  When that happens we will be sure to get photographs of the event.