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Messages - Sanochka

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31
The Russian Revolution / Re: Bigotry as cause of revolution
« on: September 24, 2018, 10:58:01 AM »
Interesting and thought-provoking post.  In answer to your last question, I don't believe the violence of the Revolution can be attributed to any one cause.  Anti-Semitism and pogroms against the Jews during the Romanovs' 300-year reign certainly couldn't have worked in their favor during the Revolution, and can't have but exacerbated the violence.  But that was only part of it, and a small part at that.  For reasons that are well-known, revolution in Russia was inevitable.  But there was no peacefully "sitting down at the table" to achieve that.  1905 and resulting creation of the Duma proved that.  But the regime was still so entrenched and enough Russians continued to support it and resist change that violence, unfortunately, was the only way.

32
Having Fun! / Re: Getting dressed
« on: September 07, 2018, 09:20:06 AM »
Great videos of Elizabethan and Edwardian dressing!  All that lacing and hooking must have taken forever - and to think they went through that at least once a day. 

33
Having Fun! / Re: Coloured Pictures XXXVII
« on: September 05, 2018, 11:19:01 PM »
Beautiful colorization, Ally.  And congratulations on getting your Masters degree!

34
Having Fun! / Re: Russian Music
« on: September 03, 2018, 11:59:14 AM »
All of this is beautiful without even hearing it.  I cannot wait to get home from work and follow up on these posts with sound turned on.

35
Having Fun! / Re: Getting dressed
« on: August 27, 2018, 02:18:10 PM »
Interesting video.  I've never seen anything like it before.  The number of items put on and buttoned and laced up is amazing.  Of course it would all have to be done over again in reverse at the end of each day.  No wonder rich women had maids to help them dress.

36
The saga of Anna Anderson has got to be one of the quirkiest chapters of the 20th century.  It's amazing how DNA testing put the claims to rest, and reduced what might have been an enduring mystery to a mere footnote of history.

37
I clicked on the link, Page, and found myself at a post I looked at a few years ago.  Still it was nice to go back and re-watch - until I looked up at the clock and was horrified at how much time had passed!


I can't get the video Sledge posted of the visit to Romania out of my head.  It's clarity and length make it the best I've seen.  Among the details that haunt me are Olga and Tatiana formally bowing in turn to the queen (evidencing training as they were growing up), and the cheerful expressions on Tatiana's face as she chats with those around her.  Best of all is the end, when everybody rises.  Marie makes a beeline right for the baby in Olga's lap and snatches him up, underscoring everthing we've ever read about her love of children.  It's as though she couldn't wait to get her hands on that baby.

38
I hadn't seen the YouTube video before.  It's amazing, both in quality and content.  The arrival of the Russian imperial family in Constanta would have been enough, but my jaw dropped when I saw the two families gathered together.  I've seen only the photo - a group of personages frozen forever in one split second of time, with Olga seated and holding the baby in her arms.  I could never gaze at the photo without wondering what everybody did in the seconds that followed.  Therefore, seeing actual footage of that gathering was doubly startling, and quite a pleasant surprise.  Thank you for posting.   

39
Tatiana Nicholaievna / Re: Tatiana Photographs III
« on: August 10, 2018, 11:55:29 PM »
Great candid shot!  BTW, is that an automobile parked in the background? 

40
I'm not 100% sure either that the recording is that of Nicholas II's parents, but am close enough to believe it until it's proven otherwise.  Years ago I read somewhere here that a recording of OTMA speaking was produced and given to Maria Feodorovna as a gift.  Some doubt was expressed about the recording surviving the revolution, but since then I have not given up hope that the recording will be found one day and made available.  Wouldn't it be wonderful to hear the Grand Duchesses' voices? 

41
Welcome, HessianPrincess!  Your first post has to be one of the most alluring and jaw-dropping that I have seen here.  I read - and listened - to it the day you posted.  Though I wanted to believe, I still had reservations as I listened to the recording, that is, until Paul Kulikovsky's post.  It is indescribably awesome to listen to voices that were familiar to Nicholas and Alexandra, and later to OTMAA.  The recording brings all of them to life like nothing else can.  Thank you so much for posting.
 

42
Those in leadership positions, whether they be president, prime minister, monarch, corporate head, etc., have always been the frequent topic of conversation.  People talk.  And as they talk, rumors arise.  The best way for any leader to combat rumors is to venture out and engage the people.  The present Queen Elizabeth and the British royal family are a perfect example.  But last tsar's reign was marked by the withdrawal and isolation of the imperial couple, and Alexandra's nearly complete absence from public life.  As Russia stumbled from one crisis to the next - from Khodinka Field to the Russo-Japanese War to the 1905 Revolution, and finally to the disaster of of WWI - Russians blamed Nicholas II, and vicious rumors about Alexandra and Rasputin's influence on her and her influence on the Tsar swirled unchecked.  She did nothing to combat those rumors save for complaining to her husband, her children, a handful of ladies in waiting, and a small circle of close friends about the unfairness of it all.  Thus, her immediate circle knew that she was truly a decent woman.  But Russia and the world had no way of knowing, and the Imperial Family died leaving legacy of baseless rumors.  Until the fall of the Soviet Union, that's all the world had.  Since then, Nicholas and Alexandra have been rehabilitated with rumors put to rest and the world looks more kindly on both.

43
Tatiana Nicholaievna / Re: Tatiana Photographs III
« on: July 03, 2018, 11:26:41 AM »
I never thought I'd live to see such a stunningly candid photo.

44
The Alexander Palace / Re: Exteriors of Alexander Palace
« on: May 14, 2018, 09:42:20 AM »
This is the first time I have ever seen an aerial view of the AP with Children's Island.  It is so nice to see it in relation to the palace.  Thank you so much for this delightful - and completely unexpected - surprise, Joanna.

45
Anastasia Nicholaievna / Re: Anastasia May Have had a Crush?
« on: May 10, 2018, 10:32:07 AM »
Agreed on the one hand.  But on the other, I don't see anything wrong with historical fiction if it is approached as such.  There's that "what if?" factor that makes them so enjoyable.  R. T. Stevens "The Summer Day Is Done" is just such an example.  GD Olga's discreet romance with Kirby - and her parents' handling of it - are entirely plausible.  But even though the relationship did not happen, the book is so well-written and provides such a fascinating window into Olga's personality that it cannot be dismissed entirely merely because it is fiction. 

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