I was thinking about those photo albums that Bob was talking about- in the archives of the Russian Federation.
It has been my opinion, for several years, that the archives of the Russian government should not be in possession of those photo albums. In reality, as with any family, those photo albums [the ones created by Nicky, Alix, and Otma], precious family heirlooms, should belong to the descendants of the family- particularly the descendants of Xenia Alexandrovna, or even to the Kulikovskys. As I have stated on another thread, family heirlooms should go to those who they will mean the most to- not the Russian government.
Plus, if the Romanovs themselves had their family albums returned to them, they would be much more accessible to researchers.