NICHOLAS IPATIEV, OWNER OF THE HOUSE OF SPECIAL PURPOSE
July 9, 2016
Nicholas Ipatiev was the owner of the infamous mansion which was renamed “The House of Special Purpose” by the Bolsheviks and was the home were the Romanov family was imprisoned and then murdered on July 17, 1918. He was ousted from the house where he also kept his offices- which later served as the death […]
LAST DAYS IN ‘THE HOUSE OF SPECIAL PURPOSE’
July 6, 2016
In the sweltering July of 1918, the Romanov family was sealed into the white-outed viewless ‘House of Special Purpose’- to await their murders. The days crawled by, airless and dull- the clock ticking toward their execution. Does this photograph of the back garden show the grand duchesses lined up at the bath-house?- The shadowy figures […]
MARIE NICHOLAEVNA’S LAST BIRTHDAY
June 25, 2016
In the House of Special Purpose, June 25, 1918, Marie Nicholaevna Romanovna would celebrate her last birthday. In less than a month, she was executed with her family. I am obsessed with the entire Romanov family but I was first drawn especially to Marie- as she had experiences quite different from her sisters- Marie alone […]
REMEMBERING ANASTASIA
June 19, 2016
No one can forget the Tsar and Tsarina’s youngest daughter, Anastasia, “Shvybz” (the imp) to her family- the playful girl who became the source of so much legend- her survival was a myth and all the purported “Anastasia” returns- including Anna Anderson- were false. Some doubt even lingers today- not of her survival- but of […]
TATIANA’S BIRTHDAY (N. S: June 10, O.S. Date May 29)
June 10, 2016
“The second bright happy day in our family: at 10.40 in the morning the Lord blessed us with a daughter – Tatiana. Poor Alix suffered all night without shutting her eyes for a moment, and at 8 o’clock went downstairs to Amama’s bedroom. Thank God this time it all went quickly and safely, and I […]
FATEFUL STRING OF BIRTHDAYS IN THE IPATIEV MANSION
June 9, 2016
The spring/summer cluster of Romanov birthdays began its fateful progression in the Ipatiev Mansion with Nicholas on May 06, 1918 when he reached the birthday he never thought he would attain: his 50th. His huge burly father Alexander III had died unexpectedly of kidney failure at 49…Nicholas, pessimistic, expected to die young also- Alexandra, his […]
EASTER IN THE IPATIEV MANSION
April 29, 2016
“Christ is Risen!” Marie wrote. It would be the only Easter celebrated in separation. Marie, Nicolas and Alexandra survived the hazardous journey across Siberia and crossed the frozen Tobol River. They made most of the journey in the rough tarantass carts- “I feel my soul shaken out of me,” Alexandra said. Marie tried to […]
March 15 2017 Nicholas II abdicates
March 15, 2016
The Ides of March- the fateful day decried by Julius Caesar who also lost his empire and his life. Nichols II was cornered in the Imperial train and his own Uncle, the towering Duke Nikolasha (Big Nicky) ordered him to sign away- to save Russia. Nicholas II was bitter but signed while writing privately- “All […]
ALEXEI – HIS SHORT LIFE
March 9, 2016
Alexei Nicholaevitch Romanov, the last Tsarevitch/Tsar for a few hours on March 15, 1917 In film depictions of the execution, sometimes Alexei was shown as a little boy- the reality was he was handsome, almost a grown man who would have been 14 in two weeks, He was tall and handsome, with gray/blue eyes. He […]
THE THREE ROMANOV SISTERS – BEFORE and AFTER
March 2, 2016
Of course they were four sisters- but one usually held the camera. There are therefore thousands of pictures of three Romanov sisters in various combinations. It seems to me that Marie or Anastasia often held the black box camera though they all took turns. Reviewing the albums, I am struck by the before and after- […]