After the end of the war the Alexander Palace was the primary depot for all items returning from various palaces around the Soviet Union. This was because the Alexander Palace was the least damaged of the palaces. At first the museum workers, including Kuchumov, worked under the belief that the Alexander Palace was going to be restored as it was before the war. Restoration began on the personal rooms of Nicholas and Alexandra, the exterior and the Formal Rooms of the palace.
This was a daunting task as Kuchumov saw the wrecked condition of Mauve Room with the tattered frieze of Alexandrov hanging from the walls. Of course the condition of these rooms was nothing in comparison to the burnt-out hulks of the Catherine and Pavlovsk Palaces which were virtually lost.
The restoration proceeded until and order came down that the rooms of Imperial wing were to be destroyed and turned into a museum of the poet Pushkin in preparation for a huge international conference to be held to commemorate him. In place of the rooms of the Romanovs plain exhibition halls were to be created.
Kuchumov begged and pleaded to save the palace interiors but he lost. The fact that Nicholas's New Study and Reception room survived is an accident. There was not enough time to destroy them before the Pushkin celebrations took place. Immediately afterwards the plans for the Pushkin museum were shelved and the building was turned over to the Baltic Fleet.
I want everyone to know that in the late 80's and early 90's, when we were fighting to get the palace reopened, there were ex Soviet bureaucrats who hated Nicholas and Alexandra - the whole 'Romanov' legacy who were determined to see the remaining rooms of Nicholas gutted and the palace restored in the style of Nicholas I.
Can you believe this? It's true and I believe that the only thing that stopped it was our protest against this barbaric act. I am not entirely convinced that the Maple Room and the rest of the Imperial wing will be restored as it was in '39 because I have seen the level of hatred for Nicholas and Alexandra, particularly among old Communists. I think everyone understands the popularity of Nicholas and Alexandra now and this is less likely to happen, but you would be surprised to learn that there are some who publicly express support for the restoration of the rooms and then privately work against it.
Now there is a legitimate debate to be made about the restoration of the right-hand wing and certainly one to made about the support areas of the palace - such as the tunnel that ran from the kitchen to the basement of the palace and the service rooms on that floor. I plan to put up the WMF report on the palace site so that people can read those recommendations.
The rooms of the Alexander Palace have not been fully understood until recently and - in large part - the website can be thanked for that. Even now visitors confuse the Mauve Room and the Bedroom, and the luxury of the rooms is impossible to comprehend - the fabulous silk fabrics that covered the walls, the plush carpet, etc. The sorry, deplorable state of the rooms is creating a huge PR disaster for the palace. Visitors to the palace spread the word on what a disappointment the rooms are these days and it gets around fast.
It is not the fault of the museum people who truly love the palace and are doing all they can with no money and little attention from the powers that be. They are the worthy successors of Kuchumov and I know he would be proud of their valiant efforts.
The fact that embarrassingly cheap movie props and flimsy thin curtains destroy any effective presentation of the New Study to the public, it could be said it is better than no New Study being open at all.
I could go on and on but I will run out of allowed characters soon so that I need to draw these ramblings to a close. I intend to use my new blog in the Palace site to try and get out the word on what needs to be done. In this I am following my promise to Kuchumov that the Imperial Rooms will be restored exactly as they were in 1917.
