Alexander Palace used for Orphanage

[Forum Admin]

yes, they obviously are. However, the children's rooms were stripped bare in 1918, and the contents given away at that time. Long before the 1932 orphanage.

[hikaru]

No. Not so fast
Contents of children rooms were moved completely only  in 1931 - they have got an special order to clear the rooms.
Obviously, some things - especially manuals and books were taken before. But room were as they were.
Before complete deconstruction in 1931 two paintures -
Mr. Neprintsev and Mr. Yar -Kravchenko made famouse
picture.

[Forum Admin]

With Bob's ok, here is one paragraph written by Lukomsky in 1922, a full ten years before you say this took place:

"By contrast, the second floor rooms, once occupied by the Tsarevich Alexei and the Grand Duchesses, were completely emptied of their contents, despite the resistance from our commission.  Study books annotated by the Tsarevich or by his teachers, toys, clothes, knick-knacks, were scrupulously catalogued and described during 1918.   The least little painting, the most modest photograph adorning the walls was placed on the plans and noted in the catalogues which bore the same name as the rooms.   It thus became an authentic souvenir and official document which would permit scholars of the future to reconstruct the decor.  But how to get the men in Moscow to admit that these very same  things they called of sentimental value, these relics,  would also be of historical interest? Everything was distributed to the voracious and starving  servants by Lunatcharsky's orders declaring "it was necessary to throw these dogs a bone.""

[hikaru]

But there is a series of the picture made in 1931- you could see them in the catalogue " Toys of Tsar Children".
I know that photo albums etc were taken those times.

[Forum Admin]

Yet, Lukomsky clearly stated in 1922 that "the second floor rooms, once occupied by the Tsarevich Alexei and the Grand Duchesses, were completely emptied of their contents, despite the resistance from our commission. ...   Everything was distributed to the voracious and starving  servants by Lunatcharsky's orders..." in 1918.

[ChristineM]

I recall Vera Mikhailovna telling me there was orphanage in the Alexander Palace.   I believe it was in the Children's Rooms.   Vera Mikhailovna was bound to know.   Her father had gone from being the Imperial Children's 'Uncle Misha' who kept the home fires burning, to the Soviet Commandant of the Alexander Palace.  

One more point.   The Children's Rooms were obviously part of the museum post 1918 - the soviet watercolour artists painstakingly painted the red carpet.   This can be seen most clearly in the depiction of the Grand Duchess's Schoolroom.

It must be possible to ascertain the date these pictures were painted.   The artists, under order, worked in great haste to complete a visual record of the rooms.   This can be witnessed in some of the illustrations where it is obvious the watercolours remain unfinished.

tsaria

[Sarushka]

It must be possible to ascertain the date these pictures were painted.  

This watercolor looks as if it's signed and dated "Neprintsev 1931." Does that fit? (I'm squinting at it, so please feel free to correct me!)

[aussiechick12]

Wow, thanks for all that information, it's really good to know!

Emma

[hikaru]

an Extract from the article of L.V. Bordovskaya:
" In 1918 AP was opened for visitors as museum. Before it , there was a long difficult fight in order to open the palace as museum, including all rooms , children suites as well. Those days children room had a menace to be closed as "the rooms without art's value". From this part of the palace, after making a item's list in September 1918, began to take out books (manuals) and some furniture ( for various orphanage).
They continued to pass to various orphanages books, manuals and furniture during 1920ies. In 1931, it was decided to close children rooms completely. It was also decided to give all remained things from these rooms to various places.
Museum staff was failed to conserve these rooms. So they ordered to 2 painters to make 12 watercolors. "

[ChristineM]

Larisa Victorovna should know - she is Deputy Director of Tsarskoe Selo Museums.

There seems to be confusion which can be understood.   This was a period of total confusion in every day life as well as in the life of a former palace.   Orphaned/homeless children were gathered from all over Russia and brought to 'Detskoe Selo' where not only the imperial palaces, but mansions which formerly belonged to the nobility, were used to house those poor, helpless victims of war and revolution.

Having said that, I am surprised - given Larisa Victorovna's account - that the watercolours are so complete.   One would have thought if the distribution of the contents of the Children's Rooms continued throughout the 20's, there would have been little left in the rooms for the artists to depict.  

Most importantly, this account does not explain the artists' including  red carpet runners which wound a path through the palace rooms visited by tourists to protect the floors.   This seems to indicate tourists did continue to visit the Children's Rooms.  

This indicates the Lukhomsky account is secure.   Vera Mikhailovna probably referred to the rooms in the right wing of the Alexander Palace as the rooms used to house orphans.

tsaria

[hikaru]

Let 's go in another way:
I have guidebooks of Alexandr Palace of 1927, 1935, 1936 and 1939. Let's try to compare:
In the 2 guidebooks of 1927 , there is a quite complete explanation of children suites and with it contents only with 1 note, that the beds were replaced by other one, because original beds were taken to Tobolysk. In the Heir's room , there is his travel bed, which he took with him when he went to his father's place during the war.
So, it means that in 1927 , the rooms were the part of the museum. And visitors could see them easily.
1935- no reference of the children room . End of palace excursion is the new cabinet of Nicholas II
1936 - no reference of the children room. But there is a
detailed plan of Main Floor with remarks that all right wing with entrance,a few central part and one central entrance  ( on the left) are not for museum use.
So we could presume , that one entrance was used for orphanage.
1939- Only Main floor of Central Part of the Palace and its left wing, when Romanov family lived are using as Museum now . Several Resort Insitutes (Neskolyko Domov Otdykha) now are located in other rooms.
In Alexandr Palace, There is also a big memorial exhibition dedicated to the fight of Red Army with Yudenich Army near Detskoe Selo.

[hikaru]

Dear Natasha, where did you read or hear that they stopped to use it because of bad electricity and heating?

It is a quite intresting.
If the electricity or heating was bad. Why NKVD used it as rest home or sanatorium?

I have found in our internet that a orphanage "Yuny Communar" from leningrad region was evacuated in the beginning of the war (together with 2 another orphanage homes from Petersburg) to the big village "UNI" near Vyatka (or Kirov).
Maybe it is not this orphanage, I do not know.

[Natasha]

Those were just gueses that i figured. It said it was unfit to house the orphans so i just guessed that those were the causes. I mean it was kind of neglected after the Royal Family was murdered? Forgive me i don't know much about the time lines about the palace after the family died except for the fact that soldiers used it.  :-/  I was also curious to know if the statement about the palace (alexander) was fact or crap. But know i know it was mainly the Catherine Palace. Thank you for your help!  

[BobAtchison]

The rooms were emptied when they were turned over to the "orphange".  Things were stolen, things were sold, things turned up in other rooms and the homes of Bolshevik officials.  I saw a list made my the museum workers showing the inventory numbers of everything that was taken and where it went.

There were even brave accounts showing the pieces that were stolen by officials and their names.  This report was in the files of the NKVD.  I was told the authors were shot.

Kuchumov told me how they found things from the Children's Rooms all over the place and the joy they felt when they came back like lost children.

[pastpalacelife]

I have read that the Alexander Palace was used as a museum to Pushkin in 1949, I think.  You can see in the photos  the columns that are in the parade rooms and the arches as well.  I believe I got them from the SPB site, but I don't know how to post them here.  There is also a picture that says it is showing museum workers restoring furniture in the AP for the Pushkin museum.  Does anyone have any pic's or info to post?