Category Archives: Russia

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Russia holds first imperial wedding in century

  October 1, 2021 at 4:28 pm by

Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia has tied the knot with his Italian bride Victoria Romanovna -formerly Nobile Rebecca Bettarini – in Saint Petersburg today. This makes it the first royal wedding to take place on Russian soil since the time of the Tsars, more than a century ago.The Russian Orthodox wedding ceremony took place at Saint Isaac’s Cathedral in Saint Petersburg. Among the hundreds of guests were King Simeon II and … Continue reading →

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Palace Profile: Livadia Palace

  November 5, 2017 at 3:30 am by

Location: Livadiya, Yalta Municipality, Autonomous Republic of Crimea Built: April 1910 – September 1911 Architect: Nikolay Petrovich Krasnov Commissioned By: Nicholas II of Russia Style: Italian Neo-Renaissance Rooms: 116 On The Palace Grounds: The Church of the Exaltation of the Cross Current Owner: State Budgetary Institution of the Republic of Crimea Current Use: Museum Fun Fact: Nicholas II is said to have spent four million roubles on the construction of the new Livadia Palace (he had the original larger and … Continue reading →

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Protests At Russian Movie Premiere

  October 25, 2017 at 8:18 am by

The Moscow police detained seven Russian orthodox activists last night at the premiere of a movie “Matilda” about the love affair between the last Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II, and the Polish-born ballerina Mathilde Kschessinska.  The controversial new film has premiered in Russia after months of protests, threats and violence. Last month a cinema that showed a preview of the movie was set in flames. Activists also set alight two … Continue reading →

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Putin Unveils Monument to Assassinated Grand Duke

  May 5, 2017 at 7:30 am by

A new monument commemorating Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia, who was assassinated in a bomb attack by Socialist-Revolutionary Ivan Kalyayev on February 17, 1905, was officially unveiled on Thursday by Russian President Vladimir Putin and consecrated by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia in the park near Nikolskaya Tower in the Kremlin. The President said the the memorial was “a symbol of the price we had to pay for hatred, division and hostility, and reminds us that we must … Continue reading →

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Poll: 68% of Surveyed Russians Do Not Want To Restore Monarchy

  March 25, 2017 at 12:21 am by

A telephone poll conducted earlier in March by the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion has shown that 68% of those surveyed do not want to restore the monarchy in Russia. 22% said they were not against a monarchy, but they did not have a solid idea of who would best for the position of Tsar – 13% preferred someone from the political or public sphere, while only 6% preferred a … Continue reading →

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On This Day: Tsar Nicholas II of Russia Abdicates

  March 15, 2017 at 3:00 am by

One century ago, the Tsar of All the Russians abdicated his throne after several days of protests and uprisings in the Russian capital, Petrograd. Tsar Nicholas II was in Mogilev, where the Russian Army’s staff headquarters were during the First World War, on March 10 when he was informed of the growing dissent in Petrograd. For a week, protests had grown rapidly throughout the city – 250,000 were now on strike, bringing Petrograd’s industrial … Continue reading →

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Palace Profile: Winter Palace

  February 5, 2017 at 2:00 am by

Location: Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation Built: 1754-1762 (exterior); 1838-1839 (interior, following the December 1837 fire) Architect: Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli Commissioned By: Empress Elizabeth Petrovna of Russia (fourth and current palace) Style: Baroque (exterior); Neoclassical (interior) Rooms: 1,500 On The Palace Grounds: Hermitage Museum, Hermitage Theatre, Grand Church of the Winter Palace, Palace Gardens Current Owner: The Russian Federation Current Use: State Hermitage Museum Fun Fact: Over its two and a half century history, the Palace’s exterior colour has changed several times … Continue reading →

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Prince Dimitri Romanovich Has Passed Away, Aged 90

  January 1, 2017 at 2:15 pm by

One of the claimants to the defunct Russian throne and head of the Romanov Family Association, Prince Dimitri Romanovich, passed away in a Danish hospital on December 31, his wife announced today. “Dimitri Romanovich died at hospital on the evening of December 31,” Princess Theodora told the Russian news agency TASS, adding he had been in admitted to hospital last week with serious ill health. The Prince was the younger son of … Continue reading →

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On This Day: Death Of A Greek-Born Russian Grand Duchess

  September 24, 2016 at 8:00 am by

125 years ago, the 21-year-old Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna of Russia passed away at the Ilyinskoe Estate, six days after giving birth to her second child, son Dmitri. The Grand Duchess – who was born a Princess of Greece and Denmark as the eldest daughter of George I of the Hellenes and his wife Olga Constantinovna of Russia – had fallen while climbing into a boat docked on the Moskva River, … Continue reading →

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Thessaloniki Receives New Statue of Queen Olga To Mark Greek-Russian Friendship

  September 10, 2016 at 2:59 pm by

A new statue of Greece’s former Queen Olga was unveiled today in the city of Thessaloniki, on the Vassilissis Olgas II Avenue. It is a gift to mark the friendship between Greece and Russia, the former Queen’s birth country, from the Pan-Russian Military-Historic Union. The Deputy Prime Minister of Russia and the Mayor of Thessaloniki were present for the unveiling. Queen Olga was born a Grand Duchess of Russia in 1851 as … Continue reading →

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Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna Unveils Statue in Occupied Crimea

  May 17, 2016 at 5:32 am by

Grand Duchess Vladimirovna of Russia, head of the Imperial Family, went to the Crimea this weekend to unveil a statue of Russia’s last Tsar in the city of Jevpatorija. She will stay in the area until May 20th to mark the 100 years that passed since the last visit of Tsar Nicholas II to the Crimea. The Grand Duchess was accompanied by her son, Grand Duke George Mikhailovich. The head … Continue reading →

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On This Day: The Ōtsu Incident

  May 11, 2016 at 3:26 am by

On this day 125 years ago in 1891 a failed assassination attempt was made on Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich of Russia -the future Tsar Nicholas II- during his visit to Japan. The Russian heir was invited to Japan to improve the relations between Japan and Russia which were under pressure as Russia’s militairy presence in the far East was growing rapidly. During the visit the Tsarevich tried to charm his hosts: … Continue reading →

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The Tsarist Easter Eggs

  March 27, 2016 at 6:00 am by

Today is Easter Sunday, and if we were either Empress Alexandra or the Dowager Empress Maria of Russia back in the early 20th century, we would be receiving an elaborate jewelled Easter egg from our husband or son, Tsar Nicholas II, to mark the holiday. The House of Fabergé was first commissioned to make an egg – the Hen Egg – in 1885 for Tsar Alexander III, who gave it to his wife Maria … Continue reading →

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Remains of Last Russian Tsar Exhumed For Further Testing

  September 24, 2015 at 5:50 am by

The remains of Russian’s last tsar, Nicholas II, and his wife Alexandra have been exhumed by Russian authorities for further testing, which is hoped will confirm the identities of the remains found in 2007 that are believed to be that of two of the couple’s children, Grand Duchess Maria and heir Tsarevich Alexei. The Investigative Committee took samples from the Tsar and Tsarina as the Russian Orthodox Church wanted further … Continue reading →

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Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna Visits Patrol Ship

  June 16, 2015 at 5:06 pm by

Russian Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, one of the claimants to the headship of the House of Romanov, today paid a visit to a patrol ship in Kaliningrad. View image | gettyimages.com The ‘Yaroslav the Wise’ patrol ship belongs to the Russian Navy and has been used in operational service in the Baltic Sea. Maria Vladimirovna, who met with sailors during her visit, was joined by a Russian Orthodox priest who blessed … Continue reading →

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Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich Reburied in Russia

  May 2, 2015 at 6:07 am by

The remains of Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia and his wife Anastasia were reburied in Russia on April 30. In a ceremony attended by Prince Dimitri Romanovich, the Chairman of the State Duma, the Mayor of Moscow and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, the Grand Duke and Duchess were reinterred at the Chapel of the Transfiguration of Our Lord at the Bratsk Military Cemetery in Moscow. It was apparently the wish of Grand … Continue reading →

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Final Home of Russian Grand Duchess Up For Sale

  November 26, 2014 at 9:02 am by

The last home of the youngest sister of Tsar Nicholas II has gone on the market in Canada. Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, daughter of Tsar Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna, lived out her final days on the second floor of a semi-detached unit in East Toronto. The unit, which was a beauty salon when the Grand Duchess lived there at the behest of Russian friends, is now a travel … Continue reading →

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Death of Prince Nicholas Romanovich, Claimant to Russian Throne

  September 15, 2014 at 8:54 pm by

One of the claimants to the defunct Russian throne, Prince Nicholas Romanovich, passed away today in Italy, at the age of 91. The Prince was the elder son of Prince Roman Petrovich of Russia, a second cousin of the last Tsar, Nicholas II. Nicholas Romanovich was a great-great-grandson of Tsar Nicholas I. As such, following the death of Grand Duke Vladimir Cyrillovich in 1992, Nicholas considered himself the Head of the … Continue reading →

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Letters Written by Nicholas II Sell For a Record Price

  December 17, 2012 at 11:52 am by

Letters by the last Russian Tsar written during World War I sold for a record $130,000 at a Swiss auction house. They were initially estimated to fetch in the region of $15,000 but a private Russian collector paid nearly ten times the price to acquire the historical documents. The letters were sold by Prince Nicholas Romanov, a second cousin of the late Tsar and one of the claimants of the … Continue reading →

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Historical Royal of November: Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine

  November 16, 2012 at 3:00 am by

November’s spotlighted royal is Her Grand Ducal Highness Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, who became Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna of Russia upon marriage in 1884. Princess Elisabeth was born on November 1st, 1864 in Hesse, the second child of the future Grand Duke Louis IV of Hesse and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom. She had an older sister, Princess Victoria, with five more siblings … Continue reading →

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