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Messages - edubs31

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31
Having Fun! / Re: Coloured Pictures XXXVII
« on: August 17, 2017, 10:02:21 PM »
Both lovely!

32
Looks like I was the last person to comment on this topic last year and I'll be the first one to do so this years...

113-years ago today the last Tsarevich of Russia was born! Honoring his memory and legacy on this August 12th!

33
Having Fun! / Re: I got a new cat: Tatiana!
« on: July 13, 2017, 03:25:18 PM »
She's fine...at least for the time being. Not much they can do about it other than some basic dietary treatments but it's really not an issue for the forseeable future.

34
Having Fun! / Re: I got a new cat: Tatiana!
« on: July 12, 2017, 12:32:05 PM »
How is Tatiana doing these days Tim?

My wife took our two fur balls into the vet yesterday. They recommended one of those "calming collars" for Teddy who is a ball of stress. He's wearing it now without much fuss. My calico Sophia has a murmur that they want to pay some extra attention too (she sounds like a motorboat when she purrs). Nothing problematic for the time being as she's not yet four-years old but they do recommend an EKG at some point.

Otherwise a clean bill of health.

35
That's lovely Ally and, of course, spot on accurate. Thanks for sharing and many blessings to sweet Marie Nikolaevna on this the anniversary of her birth!

36
Lovely Ally!

A more beautiful young lady there never was. 120-years on and counting...

37
Having Fun! / Re: Operation Rod of Iron: AU fic
« on: May 08, 2017, 01:46:35 PM »
Sounds pretty good. Post some more scenes if you're up for sharing them.

The fateful year & turning point for Kolchak and the White Army. I believe he was executed exactly one-year after this scene of yours.

In my writings - much of which is posted on here - one thing I tried to watch out for as things progressed was the use of adverbs like "really". I'm not really certain, but some of these phrases sound too modern and folksy to me and likely would not have been used by Russians in the early-20th century (at least not in any official capacity).

38
Tatiana Nicholaievna / Re: Tatiana with Maria pictures
« on: April 24, 2017, 11:52:59 AM »
About March-April of 1914



Those pre-war 1914 photos are just timeless. Formal and informal alike. Something about how OTMA looked in this brief period that stands out above others to me. Perhaps it was simply fated that way. End of a certain innocence and a world that they would never quite recapture once the war began.

39
The Myth and Legends of Survivors / Re: Offers of Asylum - How Many?
« on: April 10, 2017, 02:04:14 PM »
FOUND IT!

When the Tsarina’s sister Victoria–the Marchioness of Milford Haven–heard that the Tsar had left for Ekaterinburg, she wrote a letter to Arthur Balfour, then Foreign Secretary, asking if it would be possible for at least three of the Tsar’s children to be brought to England and placed in her custody. ‘I quite realize that the boy is a political asset which no party in Russia would allow to be taken out of its hands, but the girls (except perhaps the eldest) can be of no value or importance,’ she said. ‘I and my husband would willingly keep them here in quiet obscurity.’ She received a reply that the difficulties in the way of such a proposal were ‘almost insuperable.’


From Princess Marina, Her Life and Times, by Stella King.

Good find Ally!

The thought of being separated from the rest of their family would probably have been met with outrage and dismay from TMA. Of course they may have had no choice in the matter but I find it difficult to believe they would have found the offer acceptable if they'd been given the option to leave Russia.

I wonder if such an offer had reached the decision makers prior to the family being separated in Tobolsk if some type of negotiation could have been worked out. Perhaps an arrangement to have exiled all four daughters while keeping Alexei (as the former-Heir) with his parents in captivity. Surely this still would have been met with some opposition but I could definitely imagine a scenario where Nicholas & Alexandra would have acquiesced in deference to the long term safety of their politically insignificant daughters.

40
Maria Nicholaievna / Re: Maria photos III
« on: April 10, 2017, 01:44:56 PM »
Wow Ally...fantastic! You're spoiling us here.

41
I'm with you Ally and I'd like to know what breed of dog this is. Lovely photos too I might add particularly the one of AN which is a little clearer. 1915 or '16 I'm assuming?

42
Maria Nicholaievna / Re: Maria photos III
« on: April 03, 2017, 04:50:22 PM »


I have no idea what they are doing, what that pole is for, how Maria hasn't learned how to fly yet laying on that swing(?) but one thing is for sure; the Imp has been defeated by the Amicable Angel. Anastasia has perished, crushed by her older sister Maria.

OTMA meant Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Alexei all along! I have cracked the Romanov case! Historians gather forth! :D

Haha, that's great GDSophie! Thanks for the cute anecdote :-)

And it turns out this particular photo is new to me...so thanks for that as well.

43
The Russian Revolution / Re: 100 Years Later
« on: March 29, 2017, 11:22:28 AM »
Quote
the Russians might get fed up with Putin one day and it looks like many of them are. Who knows they might have a revolution.

Ironic if this were to happen this year, the 100th Anniversary of the last revolution.

Hope things turn out better this time.

Don't hold your breath gentlemen. Are there any true warning signs to suggest a coup is possible or about to happen here?

Russians didn't revolt and overthrow the government during the nearly 70-year reign of the Soviet Union...despite the horrid conditions many of them were living in. Why would they be anymore likely to do with Putin in control?

Fear, intimidation and confusion (and dare I say "Fake News") are very powerful tools, especially when the one in question has plenty of supporters and has developed quite a cult of personality.

44
The Russian Revolution / Re: 100 Years Later
« on: March 27, 2017, 10:42:37 AM »
It would certainly have been interesting to see what the future of Russia might have been had the Provisional Government held onto power...or had the Whites won the Civil War that followed.

It seems unlikely to me that the unrest could have been quelled so long as Russia remained in the war, and Kerensky and company we're dedicated to supporting the allied cause. Therefore it seems likely to me that legitimate leadership could never have been established unless a bloody revolution had placed them at the head of government...such as it did for Lenin and, ultimately, Stalin.

Given the constant state of confusion and identity crisis Russia has suffered from over the decades - be it as a Monarchy, a Communist state, a quasi-Democratic republic, or whatever the hell we consider it to be under Tsar Putin at present - I'm betting revolution and upheaval was, sadly, Russia's destiny...it was just a matter of when.

45
Forum Announcements / Re: Forum Members Not Heard From in a Long While
« on: March 13, 2017, 11:20:38 PM »
Hear hear!

I'm no veteran of this forum but I have been one of the most active posters over the past 5 1/2 years or so and have had the privilege to interact with a number of wonderful & wise individuals on the AP. We should all be grateful for the Time Machine and it's accompanying forum. Last I checked there are no paid subscriptions needed for the AP nor is it the unvetted mess that social media pages often are.

Something else I like to point out from time to time is while actual posts may only be a fraction of what they were several years ago if you look at the number of page views it remains consistently high. In some ways one could argue this reflects the success of what is ostensibly a forum for research and historiography. Visitors come to the site and view the thousands of topic threats touching on every subject imaginable. Instead of needing to post dozens of questions they are able to find most of what they're looking for and interested in just by reading.

The same person 10-12 years ago might not have had such an easy time of it. This at a time when some mystery still remained. With each passing year more books are written, articles posted, and information presented. Perhaps there is simply less to discuss nowadays as so much information - thanks in a large part to the AP - has become so readily available. This and the aforementioned rise of social media platforms becoming more popular (especially for young people) than traditional online forums.

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