What got you interested in the Romanovs?

[Elisabeth]

Calling all new members... Please share with us your stories! There are so many of you now, and all of us oldies, moldies but goldies are so curious about your own personal history with the Romanovs! What got you interested in the imperial family? Was it a particular book, movie, or photograph? Was it a special teacher or friend? Or was it this fantastic Alexander Palace time machine? What got you hooked? Spill!!

[Nicholaievna]

I'd be happy to share my story, well I knew a little about the Bolshevik revolution in high school, and I think that my teacher mentioned the killing of the imperial family, but I didn't really think about it too much.
But now I am a college student, and taking Modern World Civilization, and one of our essays was on this Article called "Home At Last" about the Romanov burial, and immediately after reading it, I could not stop thinking about it. I went home and looked up all kinds of things, and came across this board. I still cannot stop reading the article. The quote "There lay the house of Romanov" really sticks out for me, I'll say more about it later, I've got to get ready for class.

[Val289]

I don't specifically remember being interested in the Romanovs in High School, or College.  While visiting my grandparents house about 6 years ago, I went to their local Barnes and Noble (at the time, we didn't have one close to where I lived).  I walked up to the top floor, and staring me right in the face was a display of Peter Kurth's Tsar.  For whatever reason, I picked up the book, sat down, and started looking at it.  I was just in awe of all of the beautiful photographs.  I looked at it for about an hour and I felt like I was in a completely different world.  My husband bought the book for me as my Christmas present.  So, that's how I got hooked, and I've been buying books, and researching them ever since!  There are so many wonderful people here on this board that have been interested in the Romanovs much longer than myself, and I appreciate everyone here for sharing their knowledge and viewpoints!

[Marijo]

     When I was in middle school I was bored with the usual subjects so I spent most of my time reading and going to the local library. One day for no particular reason I couldn't find anything new to read so I thought about this story I had heard about the Royal  Family of Russia, I knew that there was something there that interested me but it was nothing specific. I found a book about Imperial Russia and started to read and have not stopped yet. I find everything about the history endlessly facinating. So I inevitably become very interested in the Romanov family and here I am many years later and still indulging in my favorite passion.

[AGRBear]

Thanks Elisabeth for getting this thread up and going again and welcome newbies:  Nic, Val, Marie, and hopefully others .  

AGRBear

[Georgiy]

I've been interested pretty much as long as I can remember. When I was about 7 I read a picture book about Anastasia (I can't remember what it was called or anything, but it hinted that maybe she had survived). I remember two illustrations from it - one of the GDs descending a staircase in the palace, and one of a surviving Anastasia being spirited away in a cart, poking her head out from under some blankets or something.

I think probably the tragedy of violent death struck me, as at a similar age I ahd a strong interest in the Titanic disaster, and also in the destruction of Pompeii.

I probably found out more about the Romanovs over the following years through library books, but probably my interest being to grow by the time I was twelve, and that children not that much older than me at the time could have had such a horrible fate. Also looking at photos of them makes them seem less remote - not so much as historical figures, but as people who you could have got to know (though of course in reality there would be very little chance of any of us being anywhere near as close to the IF as we may feel we have become through seeing their private photos, reading their writings etc)
And over the years, I just read more about them, more albums of them were published, and my interest has never abated. So, I am quite glad there is a discussion group like this. These days with the internet, it is so much easier to find out more and more about the Romanovs and to be able to get books etc which would be almost impossible to come by (at least in NZ) otherwise.

[olga]

Georgi, did your interest in the Romanovi have a factor in your conversion to Orthodoxy? Or were you already Orthodox?

[Georgiy]

It made me aware of Orthodoxy, but I really knew nothing about the Orthodox Church until later.

[olga]

What made you choose the name Georgi?

[Georgiy]

It's the Russian version of my given name, and is also my Baptismal name (for St George the Great Martyr).

[Labuanbajo]

When I was just learning to read, my family bought an encyclopedia and in it I found a photograph of the Imperial family. The little boy (Alexei) looked a little like me and ever since I've been interested in the Romanovs. But I'm not under any delusions that I'm the lost heir!

[ferngully]

i get funny dreams reflecting something and i have to write them down in different forms, sometimes stories, sometimes plays, sometimes articles. the dream that started it off was when i was in the woods looking for something. i researched on what that might mean because it sounded like something i had thought of before. i remembered how fascinated i was by detective stories and remembered hearing about anna anderson, so i reseached and came up with the idea that i was one of the pathologists excavating the bones in my dreams. the rest is history
selina           xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[ferngully]

i forgot to mention the book that got my interest of unknown royalty. it was about a woman who had just died and her best friends grandchildren were trying to find out about her through a treasure hunt ending up in her sewing box. she was minor russian royalty fleeing from the reds and it was in the form of her as a child and the children as they were finding out more about her, it caught my imagination because a place like russia was unknown and exciting
selina          xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[ferngully]

i had to do an english exam once, part of it was about the romanovs and the theory that anastasia was missing and we had analyse it on context and style of the writing

[Holishka]

I was sick one day and my sister went to the bookstore to get me a book I wanted.She couldn't find the one I asked for so she got me a book about Anastasia (it was one of those fake diaries)I  t hought it looked boring so I tossed it aside. One day at school I had to read a book. I didn't have one so searched through my backpack and for some reason it was in there. I skimmed the pages and and after speed reading through the whole book I read the forward. It said how she and her family were led to the basement and killed. I was speachless and for a week or two I couldn't get her out of my head. It has been almost two years and I still can't beleive how much I know about them!!!
Im new by the way!