Who remained from the Romanov family? “Surviving Romanovs”: who they really were

The Church is trying to involve conspiracy theorists in the investigation of the “royal affair”

The daughters and wife of Nicholas II, Alexandra Feodorovna, were not shot and lived to old age, the body of the emperor himself was dissolved in acid and thrown into the river, and the burial in Porosenkovo ​​Log, where the remains of the royal family were found, was actually a fake, created on Stalin’s orders. The Russian Orthodox Church is ready to seriously consider all these versions so as not to recognize the authenticity of the remains of the Romanovs.

Royal prisoners: Olga, Alexey, Anastasia and Tatyana Romanov. Tsarskoe Selo, Alexander Park, May 1917.

There is one less mystery in the “royal affair”: the results of the exhumation of Alexander III allow us to unequivocally state that there had been no penetration into the emperor’s crypt before. Earlier, representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church expressed concern that the royal tombs were opened during the years of Soviet power and the ashes were in “inappropriate condition.”

If this version were confirmed, the Patriarchate would have reason to question the belonging of the discovered remains to Alexander III and, moreover, to raise the question of the exhumation of the remaining Romanovs buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

In this case, the finale of the case of the death of Nicholas II and his family would be lost in the vast distance.

However, to consider that the ending is near would in any case be overly optimistic. Indeed, among the studies that should establish the identity of the “Ekaterinburg remains”, the Patriarchate considers the most important not the work of geneticists, but historical expertise.

Meanwhile, familiarity with the arguments of historians, invested with the trust of the church authorities, makes one doubt that this matter will ever be put to rest.

Change of milestones

Currently, a historical examination within the framework of the “tsar’s case” resumed on September 23 is being carried out by a team of specialists, historians and archivists, under the leadership of the director of the State Archive of the Russian Federation Sergei Mironenko. According to Mironenko himself, the work will be completed in late January - early February.

Meanwhile, the position of the director of the State Archive is well known. It is reflected, in particular, in the historical information compiled last summer on behalf of the government working group on issues related to the research and reburial of the remains of Tsarevich Alexei and Grand Duchess Maria Romanov.

Academician Veniamin Alekseev, Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Yegoryevsk, Chairman of the Synodal Information Department of the Moscow Patriarchate Vladimir Legoida at a press conference dedicated to the problem of establishing the authenticity of the “Ekaterinburg remains”. Photo: mskagency

In addition to Mironenko, the certificate was signed by the head of the Federal Archival Agency Andrei Artizov, the director of the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences Yuri Petrov, the head of the registration and archival funds department of the FSB Khristoforov, and historians Pihoya and Pchelov.

“An analysis of archival sources, combined with data obtained during previous investigative actions, confirms the conclusion that the remains currently stored in the State Archives of the Russian Federation do indeed belong to the children of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II - Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich and Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna,” states in this document. “For all the years of work, no other documentary materials were found that could refute the conclusions made by the investigation and the government commission.”

It is unlikely that the position of Mironenko and his colleagues will change. However, the composition of the expert group itself may undergo changes. The examination was appointed by the former head of the investigation, Vladimir Solovyov, senior investigator-criminologist of the Main Directorate of Forensics of the Investigative Committee. However, at the end of November this year. He headed the investigation team acting. the head of this unit, Major General of Justice Igor Krasnov.

The press service of the Investigative Committee only reports about the reasons for the castling that it was done for the purpose of a complete and objective investigation. However, according to MK information, these decisions were preceded by a conversation between the patriarch and the chairman of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin. According to MK sources, it was the primate who insisted on reformatting the investigation.

According to this version, the main target of the lobbying attack was Solovyov, who “has long been an eyesore for the church” and whom the Russian Orthodox Church seeks to “take out of the game.” And this goal has been achieved. Formally, Soloviev remains part of the investigative team, but is actually removed from the case. Moreover, according to available information, the leadership of the TFR is ready to meet the church halfway on the issue of the research appointed by Solovyov and replace a number of experts. Moreover, the most significant changes await historical examination.

This information is confirmed by recent public statements by Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Yegoryevsk, a member of the recently established special commission of the Patriarchate to study the results of research on the “Ekaterinburg remains.” “The composition of the expert group is being determined,” the bishop said, discussing the prospects for historical expertise. “There are different opinions on this matter... In any case, we would really like all the specialists who have studied this issue over these 25 years to participate.” At the same time, Tikhon emphasizes, the church intends to participate in the selection of experts and involve specialists whom it trusts in the work.

Food for thought

Of all the historians who have worked on the topic of royal remains, the one who seems to enjoy the greatest trust from the church is RAS Academician Veniamin Alekseev. By the way, in 1993–1998. Alekseev was a member of the government commission to study issues related to the research and reburial of the remains of the Russian Emperor Nicholas II and members of his family.

Veniamin Vasilyevich expressed doubts about the belonging of the “Ekaterinburg remains” to the royal family even then, 20 years ago. And since then they have only gotten stronger. Alekseev shared his thoughts explaining “some circumstances of the study of the problem associated with determining the authenticity of the remains of the royal family” in a letter addressed to the patriarch (at the disposal of MK).

According to our sources, Kirill took the academician’s arguments very seriously. It is known that the information contained in the message was brought to the attention of the leadership of the Investigative Committee. Apparently, by the way, the letter played an important role in Solovyov’s removal: the academician complains in it that the investigator not only did not listen to his arguments, but allegedly rejected the very need for historical expertise.

So, what are the “circumstances” that, in the academician’s opinion, cannot be ignored? Firstly, Alekseev considers it necessary to familiarize himself with the materials of the trial initiated by the notorious Anna Anderson, who demanded official recognition of her as Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanova. The documents are kept in the Danish Royal Archives.

According to the academician, Russian researchers tried to get acquainted with these funds back in the early 1990s, but then they were refused, citing the fact that the documents were marked as strictly secret. Alekseev suggests trying again: “Perhaps now, after more than twenty years, working with these funds has become possible.”

The academician also cites the testimony of the waitress Ekaterina Tomilova, who brought lunches to the prisoners of the “special purpose house” - she was interrogated in November 1918 by the “White Guard investigation”.

“One day after the announcement in the newspaper about the execution of the former Sovereign, I was given lunch for the royal family... and I again took it to the Ipatiev House,” the waitress recalled. “But I didn’t see the former Tsar, the doctor and the third man, I only saw the Tsar’s daughters.”

Further, with reference to information contained in the archive of Kolchak investigator Nikolai Sokolov, it is reported that in 1918 - even after July 17, when, according to the conclusions of the investigation, the Romanovs were executed - between diplomats of the Kaiser's Germany and the Bolshevik leadership, which was represented by Chicherin, Joffe and Radek , negotiations were held to “protect the life of the royal family.” “It’s not entirely clear how they ended,” Alekseev comments on this information. “We have to understand the archives of the Russian Federation.”

Operation Cross and other adventures

Other facts are also presented that, according to the academician, contradict the official version.

“In the archives of the FSB for the Sverdlovsk region, I discovered a directive from L. Beria’s deputy B. Kabulov, dated March 1946, which set the task of returning to the problem of the death of the royal family, but I was not allowed to get acquainted with the results of the implementation of this directive,” Alekseev complains. However, he immediately offers an explanation for the riddle.

This, according to the academician, is the version put forward by the late professor of the Diplomatic Academy Vladlen Sirotkin, whom Alekseev certifies as a well-informed specialist.

The version is this: when in 1946 the Americans raised the question of the heir to the Romanov jewelry, Anastasia (Anna Anderson), Stalin responded by ordering the construction of a falsified “grave” for the executed royal family, thereby closing the question of the Grand Duchess. The operation, codenamed “Cross,” was allegedly supervised by the leader’s closest associate, Vyacheslav Molotov.

And in 1970, Alekseev claims, Glavlit (the main censorship body of the USSR) issued instructions in connection with Lenin’s anniversary that prohibited mentioning in the open press the fact that the corpse of Nicholas II was dissolved in acid and the solution was poured into the Iset River. The academician refers to the stories of people who allegedly saw the instructions. “Despite all efforts,” he did not find the document itself.

From the same source - “stories of veterans of various services in Yekaterinburg” - Alekseev became aware of the existence of “the history of the Ural Cheka, which presents a completely different version of the disappearance of the royal family than the one that appears officially.” However, the academician laments, he was unable to obtain access to the relevant archival funds.

Complaints that many documents concerning the fate of the Romanovs are still classified can be called the leitmotif of Alekseev’s letter. Among the undoubtedly existing, but inaccessible documents, according to the academician, is the “official report on the execution of the royal family,” compiled by the perpetrators immediately after the execution.

“In all likelihood, this important document should be looked for in the FSB archive,” Alekseev believes. The ending of the message, however, is quite optimistic: “I hope that the receipt of new materials, combined with my previous developments, will allow me to get closer to the truth.”

At a recent press conference (in addition to Alekseev, it was attended by Bishop Tikhon and Vladimir Legoyda, chairman of the Synodal Information Department of the Moscow Patriarchate), the academician added a couple more “circumstances” listed in the letter. With reference to his foreign colleagues, Alekseev said that the former German Chancellor Wilhelm II, as the godfather of Olga Nikolaevna (daughter of Nicholas II), provided her with a pension until his death in 1941.

Another fact that, as the academician puts it, makes one wonder is that in 2007, during excavations that, according to investigators, discovered the remains of Tsarevich Alexei and Grand Duchess Maria, coins from 1930 were found next to the charred bones. How could they end up in a burial dating back to 1918? “There is still no answer to this question,” the academician states sadly.

Savior on Spilled Blood

However, Veniamin Vasilyevich is somewhat disingenuous: from what he wrote and said, a very definite version emerges. It includes two main theses.

Firstly, both burials discovered in Porosenkovo ​​Log - both the “main” one, excavated in 1991, and the second, discovered in 2007 - are fakes, the fruit of a deliberate falsification carried out by the Soviet authorities several decades after the revolutionary events ( apparently in 1946). Secondly, most of the royal family (namely the female part) survived and were sent abroad.

Alekseev prudently formats his thoughts in the form of questions that, they say, need to be dealt with. However, the direction of the questions and the passion with which they are articulated leave no doubt about which interpretation of events the academician adheres to.

The collection “Who are you, Mrs. Tchaikovskaya?”, published last year, provides quite clear information on this matter.

The publication was prepared by the team of the Institute of History and Archeology of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the project manager is Academician Alekseev, who headed the institute from 1988 to 2013.

The book contains documents (mainly letters) from the personal archive of Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich, who recognized “Mrs. Tchaikovskaya,” aka Anna Anderson, as Grand Duchess Anastasia, who miraculously escaped from Bolshevik dungeons.

Anna Anderson, aka Anastasia Tchaikovskaya, aka Franziska Shantskovskaya, is the most famous of the impostors. She pretended to be Grand Duchess Anastasia.

For reference: the vast majority of Andrei Vladimirovich’s relatives who survived the revolution held a different point of view. In 1928, the so-called “Romanov Declaration” was published, in which members of the imperial house disowned any relationship with Anderson, calling her an impostor.

No less fortunate, according to Alekseev’s sources, was the fate of Anastasia’s mother and sisters. In the preface to the collection, the academician reproduces the version of the French historian Marc Ferro: in the summer of 1918, the female part of the family was transferred to the Germans; after the transfer, Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna was under the protection of the Vatican and later died in; Grand Duchess Maria married “one of the former Ukrainian princes”; Empress Alexandra Feodorovna was granted asylum in Poland - she lived with her daughter Tatiana in the Lviv convent.

“Then how should we feel about the decision of the government commission to identify the alleged remains to rebury all family members in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg?” - asks Alekseev. And he certainly knows the answer to this question. This can be considered the statement of Mark Ferro cited by him, which the academician fully shares: “The reflection of a historian can be more reliable than DNA analysis.”

Marga Bodts, the most famous of the false Olgas.

Of course, it would be an exaggeration to say that the Russian Orthodox Church is ready to subscribe to every word of the academician. However, the approving attitude towards Alekseev’s “search for truth” is visible, as they say, with the naked eye.

“We are convinced: the questions that he (Alekseev - A.K.) poses are serious questions, and they cannot be ignored,” says Vladimir Legoida, chairman of the synodal information department of the Moscow Patriarchate. - We cannot reduce everything only to genetic testing. Historical, anthropological examination is also extremely important... We consider it obligatory to take into account all existing versions.”

But if this is how the question stands, then the “royal affair” has very little chance of ending in the foreseeable future. The number of “existing versions” is such that checking them can take indefinitely.

Attack of the Clones

“There are many versions of the life of Princess Anastasia - should all these versions also be studied by the investigation? - politician and theologian Viktor Aksyuchits, in 1997–1998 an adviser to Boris Nemtsov, who headed the government commission for the study and reburial of the remains of Nicholas II and members of his family, sarcastically comments on the statements of the academician and his patrons. - On the day of the burial of the remains, a woman stood up on the stage of the Yermolova Theater during a performance and declared that she was Princess Anastasia. Why then not study this version too?!”

Grand Duchess Anastasia

The holy truth: Anna Anderson, to put it mildly, was far from alone. At least 34 women are known to have called themselves Grand Duchess Anastasia.

There are even more “clones” of the Tsarevich - 81. History also knows 53 self-proclaimed Marys, 33 Tatianas and 28 Olgas.

In addition, two foreign citizens pretended to be the emperor's daughters, Alexandra and Irina, who never existed. The latter was allegedly born after the revolution, in Tobolsk exile, and was transported abroad with the consent of the Soviet government.

There are at least 230 impostors in total. This list is not complete: it includes only more or less famous characters. And it's far from closed.

Michelle Anshe. She pretended to be Grand Duchess Tatyana Nikolaevna, who “miraculously escaped execution.”

“Since the story around the burial of the Tsarevich began, I receive 2-3 letters every week from people who declare themselves descendants of Nicholas II, from his “grandsons”, “great-grandchildren” and so on,” said a representative of the Association of Romanov Family Members in Russia Ivan Artsishevsky. “There are also those who pretend to be collateral descendants of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.”

“We are not ruling out any versions now,” Vladimir Legoyda says promisingly. If we take the words of the church administrator literally (well, how could it be otherwise?), then we need to deal with each of these “heirs to the throne.” True, there is one significant obstacle on the path to the “search for truth” - the decision of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church, held in August 2000.

The Council “determined” to glorify Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra and their five children - Alexei, Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia - as “passion-bearers in the host of Russian new martyrs and confessors.”

The corresponding act, “Acts of the Council,” speaks as an undoubted fact about the “martyrdom” of all seven “in Yekaterinburg on the night of July 4 (17), 1918.” It turns out that the authors of alternative versions question not only the version of the investigation, but also the legality of the canonization of most members of the royal family. Or even all the Romanovs.

Saints and Sinners

So, for example, according to one of the “miraculously escaped crown princes Alekseev,” aka Polish intelligence officer and defector Mikhail Golenevsky, there was no execution at all. And the commandant of the “special purpose house” Yakov Yurovsky is not the executioner of the Romanovs, but a savior: thanks to him, the royal family managed to safely leave Yekaterinburg, cross the country, and then the Polish border. First, the Romanovs allegedly settled in Warsaw, then moved to Poznan.

Mikhail Golenevsky. He declared himself Tsarevich Alexei.

According to the same source, Alexandra Fedorovna died in 1925, after which the family split: Anastasia moved to, Olga and Tatyana - to, and Alexey and Maria remained with their father.

According to the “Tsarevich,” the former emperor shaved off his beard and mustache, thereby completely changing his appearance. And he did not sit idle: he headed the secret “All-Russian imperial anti-Bolshevik organization,” in which, of course, his son was also a member. It was precisely the desire to harm the communists that allegedly brought the grown-up Alyosha, whom prudent parents renamed Mikhail Golenevsky, to the military intelligence of already socialist Poland.

The harm, by the way, unlike this whole fantastic story, was quite real: having fled to the West in 1960, Golenevsky shared a lot of different secrets with his new owners. Including information about Soviet and Polish agents working in the West. And then he suddenly declared himself Tsarevich Alexei. For what purpose?

According to one version, the defector simply lost his mind. According to another, more plausible one (Golenevsky didn’t really look like a psycho), the impostor intended to gain access to the royal family’s accounts in Western banks, which he allegedly learned about through contacts with the KGB. However, nothing came of this venture.

The same not at all disinterested motivation can be traced in the actions of most of the other “miraculously escaped Romanovs.” Including the most famous of them - Anna Anderson (aka Anastasia Tchaikovskaya, aka Franziska Shantskovskaya). It is known that she was keenly interested in the royal family’s deposits in European banks, but they refused to talk to her on this topic. Actually, after this Anderson began a lawsuit regarding recognition of her as the heiress of the Romanov fortune. The litigation lasted intermittently for almost 40 years - from 1938 to 1977 - and ultimately ended in the defeat of the impostor.

Maria Seslava

The real Anastasia’s aunt, Nicholas II’s sister, Olga Aleksandrovna Romanova, spoke about the efforts of her false niece and her energetic “friends”: “I am convinced that all this was started by unscrupulous people who hoped to warm their hands by getting at least a share of the fabulous non-existent wealth of the Romanov family "

Let us clarify that the efforts of the impostors were not completely pointless: the royal family actually had foreign bank accounts, and, judging by some indirect evidence, there was some money in them. But there is no consensus among historians about the size of this fortune, as well as about who ultimately got it (and whether anyone got it at all).

In short, the “luckily escaped Romanovs” are much more like crooks a la the great schemer Ostap Bender than like righteous people and passion-bearers. “The son of a Turkish subject,” I remember, also earned his living for some time in a similar way - he pretended to be the son of Lieutenant Schmidt. By the way, the false children of Colonel Romanov - this was exactly the military rank the emperor had - also often “violated the convention” and exposed each other. It is known, for example, that the same Mikhail Golenevsky, having met his “sister” Eugenia Smith, one of the false Anastasias, publicly disgraced her, calling her a fraud.

Obviously, by declaring the validity of “all versions,” the Russian Orthodox Church risks suffering significantly greater reputational damage than if it agrees with the investigation’s version. The latter, at least in no point, does not contradict the decision to canonize the royal family.

Show your documents

How fair are Alekseev’s reproaches against the investigation and the government commission for neglecting historical expertise and inattention to archival sources?

“Academician Alekseev was a member of the government commission for five years,” answers Viktor Aksyuchits. - In this capacity, he could request any documents from any departments and archives. That is, he could conduct any historical research himself and answer all the questions that he asks to this day. Where are his applications and where are the official refusals to him in this regard?” As for the historical examination, it, according to Aksyuchits, was very authoritative and more than thorough.

For reference: in February 1994, the commission decided to create a special group of historians and archivists to identify and study documents revealing the circumstances of the regicide. It was headed by Academician-Secretary of the Department of Historical Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences Ivan Kovalchenko.

The search was conducted in a variety of Russian archival funds, including the archives of the President and the FSB. As a result, the group came to the conclusion that the discovered documents were sufficient to draw an unambiguous conclusion: the entire royal family, as well as Doctor Botkin and servants, were killed on the night of July 16-17, 1918, and their remains were buried on the Old Koptyakovskaya Road .

“Many of the acquired documents have been published,” says Victor Aksyuchits. - But Alekseev needs his “facts” and “versions” to be considered as part of the investigation. At the same time, he does not provide any real documentary evidence, but lists a number of myths and gossip, which are always in abundance, especially in such a case.”

A similar position is held by specialists related to the historical examination ordered by the investigation, whom the MK observer asked to comment on Alekseev’s latest statements.

However, in fairness it must be said that in a number of cases his alternative version is based on very real facts. It's all about their interpretation. We are talking, for example, about an order signed by Bogdan Kobulov, dated March 1946, which mentions the topic of the death of the royal family. According to experts, such a document may indeed take place. But they give him a much more prosaic explanation than “Operation Cross.”

The fact is that in March 1946, Kobulov was appointed deputy head of the Main Directorate of Soviet Property Abroad. His competence included the issue of the return of material assets that belonged to the USSR, to which the Soviet authorities also included the property of members of the Russian imperial house. It is likely that Kobulov raised the question of finding the royal inheritance with the competent authorities.

The fact of negotiations between Soviet and German diplomats, the subject of which was the fate of the royal family, can also be considered quite reliable. But it does not follow from this that the Romanovs were saved, or even that they intended to be saved.

According to MK sources, on the part of the Bolsheviks this was nothing more than a game, creating the appearance that the Romanovs - at least the female part of the family - were still alive. The Bolsheviks were afraid of angering Emperor Wilhelm II, who had a fairly close family relationship with the Romanovs: he was a cousin of both Nicholas and Alexandra Feodorovna. After the Kaiser's Germany was defeated in the war, there was no longer any need for pretense and negotiations were immediately abandoned.

Who are you coming?

The testimony of waitress Ekaterina Tomilova, who claimed that she fed the female part of the family dinners after July 17, 1918, is also not news to experts.

It is quite possible that the witness was simply confused about the dates: after the transition of Soviet Russia from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar, this was a very common occurrence. Adding to the confusion, the territories recaptured by the Whites were reverting to the Julian calendar.

But it cannot be ruled out that Tomilova deliberately misled the “white investigation”. After all, the fact that in addition to Nicholas II, his wife and children were also shot was carefully hidden by the Bolsheviks. By the way, the “whites” did not fall for this bait. Investigator Nikolai Sokolov, who was investigating the death of the royal family on behalf of Admiral Kolchak, came to exactly the same conclusion as the modern investigation: all the prisoners of the “special purpose house” died.

And finally, the last, seemingly “deadly” argument is the coins of the 1930s and later periods, discovered next to the remains of Alexei and Maria.

Yes, several coins were actually found in Porosenkovo ​​Log that did not correspond to the estimated time of burial. As well as a lot of other not ancient objects - cans, bottles, knives... But there is nothing strange here, experts assure: this was a favorite place for picnics among local residents. In addition, all these “artifacts” were located at a considerable distance from the burial and practically on the surface of the earth. In the excavation itself, at the depth at which the charred remains of the Tsarevich and the Grand Duchess rested, there was nothing like that.

In a word, there are no uninflated sensations in the arguments of Academician Alekseev and other adherents of “alternative versions” yet. And there is reason to suspect that new historical research will not change this picture much. Not to mention genetic.

But why then all this fuss? The motives of historians - both professionals and amateurs - who challenge the boring, tired "officialdom" are not so difficult to understand. Actually, this is the only way to make a name in this, perhaps, the most subjective of sciences. Some swim against the tide out of sheer, so to speak, love of art, but some also make good money from it.

It is much more difficult to understand the driving motives of the church, which today is the de facto main moderator of the “royal cause.”

It is no secret that a significant part of the hierarchy considers non-recognition of the royal remains a lesser sin than admitting that the church made a mistake. However, some time ago it seemed that the Russian Orthodox Church agreed to an “honorable surrender.” That is, I am ready to reconsider my previous position provided that: a) the ceremony of reburial of the remains of Alexei and Maria, originally scheduled for October 18 of the outgoing year, will be postponed; b) additional research will be carried out, in which this time representatives of the Patriarchate will take part. This would allow the church to save face and, no less important, would give it time to prepare its flock accordingly and reassure the Orthodox public.

The conditions have been met, however, recent events make us suspect that the plan is still somewhat different, and not at all “capitulatory”. Which one? “You can’t help but twist your head here, the church, the people of God, will never recognize these false powers as genuine,” says Konstantin Dushenov, director of the analytical information agency “Orthodox Rus'”. Dushenov can hardly be classified as an insider, but one gets the full impression that on the tongue of this public figure is what is on the minds of many church hierarchs. I would like to believe - not for everyone.

DESCENDANTS OF THE ROMANOVS,

"Dynastic" disputes within the modern monarchical movement in Russia are formally based on different interpretations of a number of historical facts from the point of view of their compliance with the legislation of the Russian Empire.

The law on succession to the throne was first issued in Russia by Emperor Paul I in 1797 (before that, either the eldest son of the previous sovereign or the person named by him as heir in the will was considered the legal heir to the throne).

With some additions (introduced, in particular, in 1820), the law of 1797 was in force until the fall of the monarchy in 1917.

The legitimate heir to the throne must satisfy several rules, one of which is descent from an “equal marriage”, included in the Succession Act in 1820 on the Austrian model.

In this case, the heir to the throne must be or become Orthodox (currently, of the possible foreign contenders for the legacy of the House of Romanov, only Serbian, Bulgarian, Romanian and Greek princes are Orthodox; German, Spanish and English - naturally, are Catholics or Protestants).

Princess Sophia of Greece had rights to the Russian throne before her conversion to Catholicism and marriage to Juan Carlos of Spain; her rights passed to her and Juan Carlos's children and grandchildren - theoretically, they could receive the Russian throne, subject to conversion to Orthodoxy and renunciation of rights to the Spanish crown.

Monarchists who support strict adherence to the Law of Succession to the Throne are called legitimists.

Unlike legitimists, conciliar monarchists - supporters of the election of a tsar at the All-Russian Zemstvo Council - believe that conditions in the country have changed so much that it is no longer possible to strictly follow all imperial laws.

In their opinion, it is necessary to return to a tradition more ancient than post-Petrine legislation - namely, the Zemsky Sobor, which can decide which of the laws of the Russian Empire (including legislation related to issues of succession to the throne) must be observed at all costs, and which ones can be ignored or corrected.

The most radical individuals even allow the choice of a new dynasty (suggested options: -

the offspring of Rurik, the grandson of Stalin, the grandson of Marshal Zhukov), but the majority still recognizes the Council Oath of 1613 to the House of Romanov and is inclined to exclude, first of all, the rule of descent from equal marriage (as “alien to Russian tradition” and - most importantly - undermining the rights of all or almost all possible non-foreign applicants), as well as to the consideration at the Zemsky Sobor of the preferable rights and human qualities of the descendants of the Romanov family, including descendants from unequal marriages.

Among the possible candidates, Tikhon and Guriy of Kulikovsky (sons of Nicholas II’s sister Olga) were most often called “conciliators” in former times. However, Tikhon Kulikovsky died on April 8, 1993, and even earlier, in the 80s, his brother Gury died.

ROMANOVA Maria Vladimirovna, Grand Duchess, head of the Imperial House of Romanov, locum tenens of the Russian throne

Great-great-granddaughter of Alexander II. Her father, Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich (1917-1992) - the son of Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich (1876-1938) and cousin of Nicholas II - headed the Russian imperial house for 54 years and was considered by legitimist monarchists as the locum tenens of the throne. Grandfather - Kirill Vladimirovich - in 1922 declared himself locum tenens to the throne, and in 1924 accepted the title of Emperor of All Russia ("Kirill I"). In 1905, Kirill Vladimirovich, against the will of Nicholas II, married his cousin Princess Victoria-Melita (1878-1936), who in her first marriage was married (in 1894-1903) to Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt - native brother of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Nicholas II. After a divorce (due to the “unnatural inclinations of the Duke,” which were not known before the marriage), Victoria-Melita married Cyril in 1905. The marriage of Kirill and Victoria was not recognized by Nicholas at first and was legalized by a royal decree only in 1907, after the birth of their first daughter, Maria.

Maria Vladimirovna's mother - Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna (1914), née Princess Bagrationi-Mukhrani, belongs to the Georgian royal house, was married to Vladimir Kirillovich for her second marriage (her first husband was an American businessman of Scottish origin, Sumner Moore Kirby, who participated in the French Resistance and died in German concentration camp in 1945).

Maria Vladimirovna grew up in France and studied at Oxford. On December 23, 1969, the day she came of age, the head of the imperial house, Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich, published an “Appeal” in which he declared her guardian of the throne. At this moment, seven male members of the dynasty remained alive (aged from 55 to 73 years), who had the right to inherit the throne in the event of the death of Vladimir Kirillovich, but, as stated in the “Appeal,” all of them “are in morganatic marriages and .. ... it can hardly be assumed that any of Them, taking into account Their age, will be able to enter into a new equal marriage, much less have offspring who would have the right of succession to the throne.” Accordingly, it was announced that after their death the inheritance would pass to Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna.

In 1976, she married Franz Wilhelm of Hohenzollern, Prince of Prussia (son of Prince Charles Franz Joseph of Prussia, grandson of Prince Joachim and, accordingly, great-grandson of German Emperor Wilhelm II). The wedding took place after the prince adopted Orthodoxy; At a wedding in a Madrid Orthodox church, Franz Wilhelm was proclaimed “Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich.”

After the death in 1989 of the last of the princes of the imperial blood - Prince Vasily Alexandrovich - Maria Vladimirovna was officially proclaimed heir to the throne. In 1992, when Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich died, she headed the Imperial House of Romanov. Legitimist monarchists, citing the Law of Succession to the Throne, view Maria Vladimirovna as the locum tenens of the Russian throne and de jure empress, and her son George as the only legitimate heir to the throne.

Opponents of the Kirill branch of the Romanovs question the rights of Mary and her son to the Russian throne, citing the fact that Grand Duke Kirill was married to his cousin, who was also divorced (that is, his marriage was illegal according to the canons of the Orthodox Church), and They also deny the equality of the marriage of Vladimir Kirilovich with Grand Duchess Leonida (who, in their opinion, either lost her royal status as a result of her first unequal marriage, or did not have it from the very beginning, since the Bagration-Mukhrani family ceased to be a ruling house after the inclusion of Georgia into the Russian Empire). However, the international monarchical “public” (represented by European monarchs and representatives of the ruling houses that have lost their thrones) recognizes only the Kirillovich branch as the real Romanovs.

Maria Vladimirovna lives in Saint-Briac (France), speaks Russian well. In 1986, she divorced her husband (Bishop Anthony of Los Angeles, who married them, divorced the couple); After the divorce, Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich returned to Lutheranism and began to have the same title as Franz Wilhelm, Prince of Prussia.

ROMANOV Georgy Mikhailovich, Grand Duke of Russia, Prince of Prussia (George, Prince of Prussia Romanov), heir to the Russian throne.

On his father's side, he is a direct descendant (great-great-grandson) of the German Emperor Wilhelm II. Great-great-great-grandson of Emperor Alexander II. Through the great-grandmother of the English Princess Victoria-Melita (or Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna) - a direct descendant of the English Queen Victoria.

He studied at primary school in Saint-Briac (France), then at the College of St. Stanislas in Paris. Since 1988 he has lived in Madrid, where he attended an English school for children of diplomats.

Georgy's native language is French, he is fluent in Spanish and English, and speaks Russian somewhat less well.

He first came to Russia at the end of April 1992, accompanying his family to St. Petersburg with the coffin with the body of his grandfather, Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich. He visited Russia for the second time in May-June 1992 to participate in the transfer of his grandfather’s body from the Alexander Nevsky Lavra to the Grand Ducal tomb of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, and then visited Moscow.

Maria Vladimirovna has repeatedly stated that George’s education will be continued in Russia. At the end of 1996 - beginning of 1997, there were reports in the media that Georgy would return to his homeland in 1997, but this did not happen.

Doubts about the right to the throne are the same as about his mother.

Opponents of the Kirillovichs call Grand Duke George “Georg Hohenzollern”, and also, jokingly, “Tsarevich Gosha” (and his followers, respectively, “Gauschists”).

ROMANOV Andrey Andreevich

Great-great-grandson of Tsar Nicholas I in the male junior line, descendant of Alexander III in the female junior line, son of Prince Andrei Alexandrovich Romanov (1897-1981) from a morganatic marriage with Elizaveta Fabritsievna Ruffo, daughter of Duke Don Fabrizio Ruffo and Princess Natalia Alexandrovna Meshcherskaya, grandson of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich (1866-1933) and Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna (daughter of Alexander III, sister of Nicholas II), younger brother of Mikhail Andreevich Romanov, cousin of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov.

Married for the third time to Inez Storer. His first marriage was to Elena Konstantinovna Durneva, his second to Kathleen Norris. He has three sons: the eldest Alexey (1953) - from his first marriage, the younger ones Peter (1961) and Andrey (1963) - from his second.

From the point of view of legitimists, he has no legal rights to the throne, since he comes from an unequal marriage. From the point of view of conciliar monarchists, he can be considered by the Zemsky Sobor as a candidate for the throne, since he descends from Nicholas I in the male line.

ROMANOV Dmitry Romanovich

Great-great-grandson of Tsar Nicholas I in the male younger line, great-grandson of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Sr. (1831-1891), grandson of Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich (1864-1931) and Montenegrin Princess Militsa, son of Roman Petrovich Romanov (1896-1978) and Countess Praskovya Sheremeteva .

In 1936, he moved with his parents to Italy, where the queen was Elena, the sister of Militsa of Montenegro, who was, accordingly, his father’s aunt. Shortly before the liberation of Rome by the Allies, he went into hiding, as the Germans decided to arrest all the relatives of the Italian king. After the referendum in Italy on the monarchy, he followed the abdicated Italian king and his wife to Egypt. He worked at the Ford automobile plant in Alexandria as a mechanic and car salesman. After the overthrow of King Farouk and the beginning of the persecution of Europeans, he left Egypt and returned to Italy. Worked as secretary to the chief of a shipping company.

In 1953, I visited Russia for the first time as a tourist. While on vacation in Denmark, he met his future first wife, a year later he married her and moved to Copenhagen, where he worked as a bank employee for more than 30 years.

Since 1973, he has been a member of the Association of Members of the House of Romanov, since 1989 headed by his older brother, Prince Nikolai Romanovich Romanov.

In June 1992, he became one of the founders and chairman of the Romanov Foundation for Russia. In 1993-1995 came to Russia five times. In July 1998, he attended the funeral of the remains of Nicholas II and his family in St. Petersburg.

An opponent of the restoration of the monarchy, he believes that in Russia “there should be a democratically elected president.”

From the point of view of legitimists, he has no legal rights to the throne, since his father comes from an unequal marriage.

Collects orders and medals. He wrote and published several books in English about awards - Montenegrin, Bulgarian and Greek. He is working on a book about Serbian and Yugoslav awards, and dreams of writing a book about old Russian and Soviet ones, as well as about awards from post-Soviet Russia.

Married for his second marriage to the Danish translator Dorrit Reventrow. He married her in July 1993 in the cathedral in Kostroma, in which Mikhail Romanov was crowned king. Have no children.

ROMANOV Mikhail Andreevich

Great-great-grandson of Tsar Nicholas I on the male junior line, descendant of Alexander III on the female junior line, son of Prince Andrei Alexandrovich Romanov. Lives in Australia.

In 1953 he married Esther Blanche, the following year he divorced her and married Elizabeth Shirley. (Both marriages, naturally, are unequal). Have no children. Has a younger brother - Andrei Andreevich (1923).

The publicist of the conciliar camp, Leonid Bolotin, defended the hypothetical rights of Mikhail Andreevich (as well as Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov - see below) to the throne, interpreting the mention in the “Prophecy of Daniel” of the future king named Mikhail as a prediction specifically about Russia. At the same time, from the point of view of the majority of conciliar monarchists, who are almost all very partial to the “Jewish question,” the rights of Mikhail Andreevich (as well as Andrei Andreevich and Mikhail Fedorovich) are apparently doubtful, since their great-grandmother, the mother of Grand Duke Alexander the Great Princess Olga Feodorovna, Princess of Baden, had family ties with representatives of the dynasty of Jewish financiers from Karlsruhe (according to Count Sergei Witte, expressed in his memoirs, it was because of this that Olga Feodorovna’s children - Nikolai, Mikhail, George, Alexander and Sergei - were disliked Emperor Alexander III, no stranger to anti-Semitism).

[2009 note: died September 2008]

ROMANOV Mikhail Fedorovich

Great-great-grandson of Tsar Nicholas I on the male junior line and Alexander III on the female line, great-grandson of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, grandson of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich and Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna (daughter of Alexander III, sister of Nicholas II), son of Grand Duke Fyodor Alexandrovich (1898-1968 ) and Irina Pavlovna (1903), daughter of Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich from a morganatic marriage with Olga Valerianovna Paley.

Lives in Paris.

In 1958 he married Helga Stauffenberger. Son Mikhail (1959), granddaughter Tatyana (1986).

ROMANOV Nikita Nikitich

Great-great-grandson of Tsar Nicholas I in the male younger line, great-grandson of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich (1832-1909), grandson of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich (1866-1933), son of Nikita Alexandrovich Romanov (1900-1974) and Countess Maria Illarionovna Vorontsova-Dashkova (1903) . Lives in New York.

Vice-chairman of the Association of Members of the House of Romanov, created in 1979 (chairman - Prince Nikolai Romanovich Romanov). He visited Russia several times, visited Crimea on the estate of his grandfather Ai-Todor. In July 1998, he attended the funeral of the remains of Nicholas II and his family in St. Petersburg. There is a younger brother, Alexander Nikitich Romanov (1929), also living in the USA.

Married to Janet (in Orthodoxy - Anna Mikhailovna) Schonwald (1933), has a son Fyodor (1974).

Does not comply with the law on succession to the throne (comes from a unequal marriage, is in a unequal marriage).

ROMANOV Nikolay Romanovich

Great-great-grandson of Tsar Nicholas I in the younger male line, great-grandson of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Sr. (1831-1891), a participant in the liberation of Bulgaria. Grandson of Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich (1864-1931) and Montenegrin Princess Militsa (daughter of Montenegrin King Nicholas I), son of Roman Petrovich Romanov (1896-1978) from a morganatic marriage with Countess Praskovya Dmitrievna Sheremetyeva (1901-1980). Great-nephew of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Jr. (1856-1929), commander-in-chief of the Russian army during the First World War, conspirator and pretender to the throne.

In 1936, he moved with his parents from France to Italy. In 1941, he refused Mussolini's offer to take the throne of the King of Montenegro.

After the referendum in Italy on the monarchy, following the abdication of the Italian king and Queen Helena, the family moved to Egypt, and when King Farouk was overthrown, they returned to Italy.

Watercolor artist.

He lived in Rougemont (Switzerland), then moved to Rome (after marrying the Florentine Countess Sveva della Garaldesca and taking Italian citizenship in 1993).

In 1989, after the death of Grand Duke Vasily Alexandrovich, chairman of the “Union (Association) of Members of the House of Romanov,” he headed this association, whose members do not recognize the rights to the throne of Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, and her son Georgy Mikhailovich is considered to belong to the House of Hohenzollern, not the Romanovs. He initiated the congress of Romanov men in June 1992 in Paris. At the congress, the Russia Assistance Fund was created, headed by his brother Dmitry.

After the death (April 8, 1993) Tikhon Kulikovsky was considered by Russian opponents of the Kirillov branch as “the senior in the House of Romanov,” but he undermined his authority in this environment with his republican and Yeltsinist statements. He called himself a supporter of Yeltsin. He advocates a presidential republic, believes that “Russia should have borders more or less similar to the borders of the Soviet Union, the former Russian Empire,” and “a form of organization reminiscent of the United States,” that “it is necessary to create a truly federal republic with a strong central government, but with strictly limited powers." In an interview with the Parisian magazine Point de Vu in 1992, he expressed confidence that “the monarchy in Russia cannot be restored.”

It does not comply with the law on succession to the throne, since it comes from a unequal marriage and is in a unequal marriage.

In July 1998, he attended the funeral of the remains of Nicholas II and his family in St. Petersburg.

Nikolai Romanovich has three daughters: Natalya (1952), Elizaveta (1956), Tatyana (1961). All of them are married to Italians, the two eldest daughters have a son and a daughter.

ROMANOV-ILINSKY (Romanovsky-Ilyinsky) Pavel Dmitrievich (Paul R. Ilyinsky)

Great-grandson of Tsar Alexander II, grandson of his fifth son - Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich (killed in the Peter and Paul Fortress in 1919) - and Alexandra of Greece, son of Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich (1891-1942). Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich was one of the murderers of Grigory Rasputin, in the USA he married an American woman, Anna (Audrey) Emery (1904-1971), who converted to Orthodoxy, daughter of John Emery, who bore him a son, Paul (Paul). (They divorced in 1937, Anna was then married for the second time to Prince Dmitry Georgadze.) Dmitry Pavlovich died in Switzerland.

Paul Romanow-Ilinski is a retired US Marine Colonel. A member of the city council of Palm Beach, Florida, he was at one time mayor of that city.

Member of the US Republican Party.

Member of the Association of the House of Romanov, headed by Nikolai Romanov. He did not claim the throne, but considered himself (after the death of Vladimir Kirillovich) the head of the House of Romanov.

He was married for his second marriage to an American woman, Angelica Kaufman, who converted to Orthodoxy. His first marriage was to an American, Mary Evelyn Prince.

Does not comply with the law on succession to the throne: comes from a unequal marriage, is in a unequal marriage.

Children Dmitry (1954), Mikhail (1960), Paula (1956), Anna (1959). Has seven grandchildren.

[Died after 2000. Sons Dmitry Romanovsky-Ilyinsky and Mikhail Romanovsky-Ilyinsky recognize the rights to the throne of Maria Vladimirovna and her son George; in turn, Maria recognizes their right to be called princes (NB: but not Grand Dukes), and also recognizes Dmitry Romanovsky-Ilyinsky as “the senior male representative of the Romanov FAMILY (that is, all male and female descendants of Members of the DYNASTY, regardless of the marriages of the above-mentioned persons) ")].

LEININGEN Emich-Cyril, seventh Prince of Leiningen

Born 1926

Son of Friedrich-Karl, sixth Prince of Leiningen, and Grand Duchess Maria Kirillovna Romanova (daughter of Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, who proclaimed himself “Emperor Kirill I” in 1924). His father, a German naval officer, died of starvation in Soviet captivity in a camp near Saransk in August 1946; his mother died of a heart attack on October 27, 1951 in Madrid.

As a child he was a member of the Hitler Youth.

He has two younger brothers - Karl-Vladimir (1928) and Friedrich-Wilhelm (1938) and three sisters - Kira-Melita (1930), Margarita (1932) and Matilda (1936). He is related to the Bulgarian and Greek royal houses, as well as to the younger branch of the Serbian Karageorgievic dynasty.

According to the “Kirillov” interpretation of the Law on Succession to the Throne, he is first in the “queue” for the Russian throne after Grand Duke Georgiy Mikhailovich. In the event of the childless death of George (and, accordingly, the suppression of the senior Kirillovich line), Emich-Kirill Leiningen or his sons will inherit the rights to the throne - subject to conversion to Orthodoxy.

KENT Michael (Michael, Prince of Kent)

Born in 1942

Great-great-great-grandson of Nicholas I, cousin of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain. Grandson of the English King George V, youngest son of George, Duke of Kent, Prince of Great Britain (1902-1942) and Princess Marina (1906-1968), daughter of the Greek Prince Nicholas (1872-1938) and Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna (1882-1957), sister Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich.

Through his grandfather Nicholas of Greece, the son of Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna (1851-1926), he is the great-great-grandson of the second son of Russian Emperor Nicholas I, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich Romanov (1827-1892). Through his grandmother Elena Vladimirovna, he is the great-great-grandson of the Russian Emperor Alexander II. Accordingly, he is a second cousin of Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna.

The elder brother is Duke Edward of Kent, the sister is Princess Alexandra.

He graduated from a military school, where he learned Russian and became a military translator. Served at the military intelligence headquarters. He retired with the rank of major. Tried unsuccessfully to start a business. Then he made two television films - about Queen Victoria and her wife Albert and about Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra.

Mason. According to some sources, the head of the Grand Lodge of the East.

After 1992, he visited Russia several times.

In the English succession to the throne, he initially occupied 8th place (his father George, Duke of Kent, was the younger brother of Kings Edward VIII and George VI), but, having married a Catholic, he lost his rights to the British throne - according to the law of 1701 (Wife - previously divorced Austrian Baroness Maria Christina von Reibnitz.Her father was a member of the Nazi Party in 1933 and rose to the rank of SS Sturmbannführer.)

Theoretically, he retains the rights to the Russian throne - subject to conversion to Orthodoxy. His marriage, however, is unequal and the descendants of this marriage (if any) cannot inherit the throne.

In Frederick Forsyth's novel "The Icon" (1997), he appears as a candidate for the throne (and then the tsar), invited to Russia to save it from dictatorship.

VOLKOV Maxim (Max)

Descendant of Nicholas I through his grandson Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich Romanov (brother of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich Romanov, better known as the poet "K.R") and his (Grand Duke Nikolai) daughter Olga Pavlovna Sumarokova-Elston (surname and patronymic - after her stepfather) .

He worked as a guide at the Tretyakov Gallery.

He has no rights to the throne, since the marriage of Grand Duke Nicholas Konstantinovich was morganatic.

For 10 centuries, the domestic and foreign policies of the Russian state were determined by representatives of the ruling dynasties. As you know, the greatest prosperity of the state was under the rule of the Romanov dynasty, descendants of an old noble family. Its ancestor is considered to be Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla, whose father, Glanda-Kambila Divonovich, baptized Ivan, came to Russia in the last quarter of the 13th century from Lithuania.

The youngest of the 5 sons of Andrei Ivanovich, Fyodor Koshka, left numerous offspring, which include such surnames as the Koshkins-Zakharyins, Yakovlevs, Lyatskys, Bezzubtsevs and Sheremetyevs. In the sixth generation from Andrei Kobyla in the Koshkin-Zakharyin family there was the boyar Roman Yuryevich, from whom the boyar family, and subsequently the Romanov tsars, originated. This dynasty ruled in Russia for three hundred years.

Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov (1613 - 1645)

The beginning of the reign of the Romanov dynasty can be considered February 21, 1613, when the Zemsky Sobor took place, at which the Moscow nobles, supported by the townspeople, proposed electing 16-year-old Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov as sovereign of all Rus'. The proposal was accepted unanimously, and on July 11, 1613, in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin, Mikhail was crowned king.

The beginning of his reign was not easy, because the central government still did not control a significant part of the state. In those days, robber Cossack detachments of Zarutsky, Balovy and Lisovsky were walking around Russia, ruining the state already exhausted by the war with Sweden and Poland.

Thus, the newly elected king was faced with two important tasks: first, ending hostilities with his neighbors, and second, pacifying his subjects. He was able to cope with this only after 2 years. 1615 - all free Cossack groups were completely destroyed, and in 1617 the war with Sweden ended with the conclusion of the Stolbovo Peace. According to this agreement, the Moscow state lost access to the Baltic Sea, but peace and tranquility were restored in Russia. It was possible to begin to lead the country out of a deep crisis. And here Mikhail’s government had to make a lot of efforts to restore the devastated country.

At first, the authorities took up the development of industry, for which foreign industrialists - ore miners, gunsmiths, foundry workers - were invited to Russia on preferential terms. Then the turn came to the army - it was obvious that for the prosperity and security of the state it was necessary to develop military affairs, in connection with this, in 1642, transformations began in the armed forces.

Foreign officers trained Russian military men in military affairs, “regiments of a foreign system” appeared in the country, which was the first step towards the creation of a regular army. These transformations turned out to be the last in the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich - 2 years later the tsar died at the age of 49 from “water sickness” and was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin.

Alexey Mikhailovich, nickname Quiet (1645-1676)

His eldest son Alexei, who, according to contemporaries, was one of the most educated people of his time, became king. He himself wrote and edited many decrees and was the first of the Russian tsars to begin signing them personally (others signed decrees for Mikhail, for example, his father Filaret). Meek and pious, Alexey earned the people's love and the nickname Quiet.

In the first years of his reign, Alexei Mikhailovich took little part in government affairs. The state was ruled by the Tsar's educator, boyar Boris Morozov, and the Tsar's father-in-law, Ilya Miloslavsky. Morozov's policy, which was aimed at increasing tax oppression, as well as Miloslavsky's lawlessness and abuses, caused popular indignation.

1648, June - an uprising broke out in the capital, followed by uprisings in southern Russian cities and in Siberia. The result of this rebellion was the removal of Morozov and Miloslavsky from power. 1649 - Alexei Mikhailovich had the opportunity to take over the rule of the country. On his personal instructions, they compiled a set of laws - the Council Code, which satisfied the basic wishes of the townspeople and nobles.

In addition, the government of Alexei Mikhailovich encouraged the development of industry, supported Russian merchants, protecting them from competition from foreign traders. Customs and new trade regulations were adopted, which contributed to the development of domestic and foreign trade. Also, during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, the Moscow state expanded its borders not only to the southwest, but also to the south and east - Russian explorers explored Eastern Siberia.

Feodor III Alekseevich (1676 - 1682)

1675 - Alexei Mikhailovich declared his son Fyodor heir to the throne. 1676, January 30 - Alexei died at the age of 47 and was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin. Fyodor Alekseevich became the sovereign of all Rus' and on June 18, 1676 he was crowned king in the Assumption Cathedral. Tsar Fedor reigned for only six years, he was extremely unindependent, power ended up in the hands of his maternal relatives - the Miloslavsky boyars.

The most important event of the reign of Fyodor Alekseevich was the destruction of localism in 1682, which provided the opportunity for promotion to not very noble, but educated and enterprising people. In the last days of the reign of Fyodor Alekseevich, a project was drawn up to establish a Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy and a theological school for 30 people in Moscow. Fyodor Alekseevich died on April 27, 1682 at the age of 22, without making any order regarding the succession to the throne.

Ivan V (1682-1696)

After the death of Tsar Fyodor, ten-year-old Pyotr Alekseevich, at the suggestion of Patriarch Joachim and at the insistence of the Naryshkins (his mother was from this family), was proclaimed tsar, bypassing his older brother Tsarevich Ivan. But on May 23 of the same year, at the request of the Miloslavsky boyars, he was approved by the Zemsky Sobor as the “second tsar,” and Ivan as the “first.” And only in 1696, after the death of Ivan Alekseevich, Peter became the sole tsar.

Peter I Alekseevich, nickname the Great (1682 - 1725)

Both emperors pledged to be allies in the conduct of hostilities. However, in 1810, relations between Russia and France began to take on an openly hostile character. And in the summer of 1812, war began between the powers. The Russian army, having expelled the invaders from Moscow, completed the liberation of Europe with a triumphal entry into Paris in 1814. The successfully ended wars with Turkey and Sweden strengthened the country's international position. During the reign of Alexander I, Georgia, Finland, Bessarabia, and Azerbaijan became part of the Russian Empire. 1825 - During a trip to Taganrog, Emperor Alexander I caught a severe cold and died on November 19.

Emperor Nicholas I (1825-1855)

After Alexander's death, Russia lived without an emperor for almost a month. On December 14, 1825, an oath was announced to his younger brother Nikolai Pavlovich. That same day, an attempted coup took place, which was later called the Decembrist uprising. The day of December 14 made an indelible impression on Nicholas I, and this was reflected in the nature of his entire reign, during which absolutism reached its highest rise, expenses for officials and the army absorbed almost all state funds. During the years, the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire was compiled - a code of all legislative acts that existed in 1835.

1826 - the Secret Committee was established, dealing with the peasant issue; in 1830, a general law on estates was developed, in which a number of improvements were designed for the peasants. About 9,000 rural schools were established for the primary education of peasant children.

1854 - the Crimean War began, ending in the defeat of Russia: according to the Paris Treaty of 1856, the Black Sea was declared neutral, and Russia was able to regain the right to have a fleet there only in 1871. It was the defeat in this war that decided the fate of Nicholas I. Not wanting to admit the error of his views and beliefs, which led the state not only to military defeat, but also to the collapse of the entire system of state power, the emperor is believed to have deliberately taken poison on February 18, 1855.

Alexander II the Liberator (1855-1881)

The next from the Romanov dynasty came to power - Alexander Nikolaevich, the eldest son of Nicholas I and Alexandra Fedorovna.

It should be noted that I was able to somewhat stabilize the situation both within the state and on the external borders. Firstly, under Alexander II, serfdom was abolished in Russia, for which the emperor was nicknamed the Liberator. 1874 - a decree was issued on universal conscription, which abolished conscription. At this time, higher educational institutions for women were created, three universities were founded - Novorossiysk, Warsaw and Tomsk.

Alexander II was able to finally conquer the Caucasus in 1864. According to the Argun Treaty with China, the Amur Territory was annexed to Russia, and according to the Beijing Treaty, the Ussuri Territory was annexed. 1864 - Russian troops began a campaign in Central Asia, during which the Turkestan region and Fergana region were captured. Russian rule extended all the way to the peaks of the Tien Shan and the foot of the Himalayan range. Russia also had possessions in the United States.

However, in 1867, Russia sold Alaska and the Aleutian Islands to America. The most important event in Russian foreign policy during the reign of Alexander II was the Russian-Turkish War of 1877–1878, which ended in the victory of the Russian army, which resulted in the declaration of independence of Serbia, Romania and Montenegro.

Russia received part of Bessarabia, seized in 1856 (except for the islands of the Danube Delta) and a monetary indemnity of 302.5 million rubles. In the Caucasus, Ardahan, Kars and Batum with their surroundings were annexed to Russia. The Emperor could have done a lot more for Russia, but on March 1, 1881, his life was tragically cut short by a bomb from Narodnaya Volya terrorists, and the next representative of the Romanov dynasty, his son Alexander III, ascended the throne. Difficult times have come for the Russian people.

Alexander III the Peacemaker (1881-1894)

During the reign of Alexander III, administrative arbitrariness increased significantly. In order to develop new lands, a massive resettlement of peasants to Siberia began. The government took care of improving the living conditions of workers - the work of minors and women was limited.

In foreign policy at this time, there was a deterioration in Russian-German relations and a rapprochement between Russia and France took place, which ended with the conclusion of the Franco-Russian alliance. Emperor Alexander III died in the fall of 1894 from kidney disease, aggravated by bruises received during a train accident near Kharkov and constant excessive consumption of alcohol. And power passed to his eldest son Nicholas, the last Russian emperor from the Romanov dynasty.

Emperor Nicholas II (1894-1917)

The entire reign of Nicholas II passed in an atmosphere of growing revolutionary movement. At the beginning of 1905, a revolution broke out in Russia, marking the beginning of reforms: 1905, October 17 - the Manifesto was published, which established the foundations of civil freedom: personal integrity, freedom of speech, assembly and unions. The State Duma was established (1906), without whose approval not a single law could enter into force.

Agrarian reform was carried out according to the project of P.A. Stolshin. In the field of foreign policy, Nicholas II took some steps to stabilize international relations. Despite the fact that Nicholas was more democratic than his father, popular discontent with the autocrat grew rapidly. At the beginning of March 1917, the Chairman of the State Duma M.V. Rodzianko told Nicholas II that the preservation of autocracy was possible only if the throne was transferred to Tsarevich Alexei.

But, given the poor health of his son Alexei, Nicholas abdicated the throne in favor of his brother Mikhail Alexandrovich. Mikhail Alexandrovich, in turn, abdicated in favor of the people. The republican era has begun in Russia.

From March 9 to August 14, 1917, the former emperor and members of his family were kept under arrest in Tsarskoe Selo, then they were transported to Tobolsk. On April 30, 1918, the prisoners were brought to Yekaterinburg, where on the night of July 17, 1918, by order of the new revolutionary government, the former emperor, his wife, children and the doctor and servants who remained with them were shot by security officers. Thus ended the reign of the last dynasty in Russian history.

The website of the Association of Members of the Romanov Family (www.rdnevnik.ru and the Cyrillic domain domromanov.rf), created in preparation for the 400th anniversary of the House of Romanov (to be celebrated in 2013), began operation. The site will collect materials about the history of the dynasty and modern life of the Romanov family. Ivan ARTSISHEVSKY, representative in Russia of the Association of Members of the Romanov Family, spoke about how the Romanovs live now.

- ANDvan Sergeevich, how did you become a representative of the Romanov family in Russia?
— In 1998, we met and became acquainted with Prince Nikolai Romanovich, the great-great-grandson of Emperor Nicholas I. He often came with his brother Dimitri Romanovich (precisely Dimitri - that was his name since childhood) and turned to me with requests to help organize their stay in Russia. And when the transfer of the remains of Emperor Nicholas II, his family members and servants from Yekaterinburg to St. Petersburg became a reality, I, as the head of the reburial working group, was actively involved in receiving and accommodating all members of the Association and maintaining contacts with them. Since, due to my biography, I perfectly understood both the feelings with which they came to Russia and the extent of their isolation from real life in our country, which had recently ceased to be the Soviet Union, we developed a very open, trusting relationship. This was even expressed in the fact that when Nikolai Romanovich was asked to speak to students or schoolchildren, he could ask me to write him “six points” - the topics of the speech, since at that time he did not have a very good idea of ​​what might be interesting to modern youth. But the older Romanovs have no problems with expressing their thoughts - they speak Russian perfectly.

— When did the Romanovs first come to Russia?
— Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich was the first to come to Russia. At the beginning of his work as mayor of Leningrad, Anatoly Sobchak went to Paris, where he was introduced to Vladimir Kirillovich, the son of Nicholas II’s cousin. When Anatoly Alexandrovich returned, his first phrase was: “I saw the emperor, the real Romanov!” I want to invite him here.” So in 1991, at the invitation of the mayor of Leningrad, Vladimir Kirillovich, together with his wife Leonida Georgievna, came to Russia to rename our city to St. Petersburg. There was a lot of excitement in connection with this visit - the experience had not yet been gained, and financing was difficult (we even had to look for sponsors), and no one knew how Prince Romanov himself would behave.

— It was still the Soviet Union...
— Yes, that’s why there were many subtleties: it was important to present all this ideologically correctly. That is, there was no “God Save the Tsar!”, of course. Our goal was to neatly connect different historical eras.

— What impression did your visit to Russia make on him?
— To be honest, the impression is very strong. We probably cannot even imagine the full extent of his shock when he saw with his own eyes what his parents had been telling him about for decades. We traveled around St. Petersburg, and he was happy to see this city with his own eyes. For the longest time he stood at the window of the office of his grandfather, brother of Emperor Alexander III (Palace of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, now the House of Scientists), and looked at the Peter and Paul Cathedral. We stood next to him, afraid to move. Who among us could have known then that six months later he would be buried in this cathedral.

— How did he perceive modern Russia?
“He was here only five days and experienced an enormous moral shock, and he was already 74 years old... Therefore, it is difficult for me to say what he thought about modern Russia. But the fact that he did not understand at all what life was like in the Soviet Union, and could not imagine empty store shelves, is a fact. The Romanovs lived their whole lives in a different reality and, of course, often do not understand modern Russia. Although they know the history of the Fatherland perfectly.

— When people talk about the descendants of the Romanovs, they name two societies: the Society of Members of the Romanov Family and the Imperial House of Romanov. Where did this division come from?
— You probably mean the Association of Members of the Romanov Family? Yes, it exists - it is a public organization registered in Switzerland and uniting all the descendants of the Romanovs. And the Russian Imperial House is an organization that includes two people who consider themselves the empress and the crown prince of some ephemeral throne of Russia. Therefore, it is difficult to call it a division. They are all Romanovs, and all are in morganatic marriages. If we delve deeper into the study of the “Institution on the Imperial Family,” then we will understand why the legitimacy of the Russian Imperial House is untenable. In short, the heirs to the throne after Emperor Nicholas II were: Tsarevich Alexei, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich and Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich. But in 1906, Kirill Vladimirovich married his divorced cousin, Princess Victoria Melita, who was also a Lutheran. After the wedding, Nicholas II ordered Kirill to be expelled from Russia, deprived of his right to the throne, and his children to be given the surname Romanovsky. True, in 1910 Nikolai nevertheless recognized the marriage and allowed his brother to return. But there was no talk of returning the right to the throne.

— So, Kirill could not claim the throne?
- Yes, I couldn’t. The year 1917 comes, and Kirill Vladimirovich takes the side of the February Revolution, and according to the evidence of those years, he wears a red bow and brings his guards crew to guard the Tauride Palace, where the State Duma was located. After the abdication of Emperor Nicholas II (for himself and for his son), Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich abdicated: until the decision of the Constituent Assembly. And Kirill Vladimirovich also joined Mikhail’s refusal before the decision of the Constituent Assembly. In 1917, after the arrest of Nicholas II and his family, Kirill managed to escape to Finland, then he and his family moved to Paris. Later, Empress Maria Feodorovna, the mother of Emperor Nicholas II, and Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Jr., grandson of Nicholas I, leave Russia. And when in 1924 Kirill writes them a letter, where he openly expresses his desire to become the Russian emperor, and asks for their blessing on This step, instead of a blessing, he received a sharp refusal. Despite this, Kirill Vladimirovich publishes a manifesto in which he proclaims himself the All-Russian Emperor Kirill I.

- Was it legal?
- No, because back in 1906 he violated the law on succession to the throne. Soon, the son of Kirill Vladimirovich, Vladimir Kirillovich, is growing up, who, following the example of his father, considers himself the head of the Russian Imperial House. And he himself again violates the law on succession to the throne when in 1948 he entered into a civil marriage with Leonida Georgievna Kirby (née Bagration-Mukhranskaya). The fact is that Leonida Georgievna was not only a divorced woman, but she had a child from her first marriage. After the death of Kirill Vladimirovich, Vladimir Kirillovich took the title of head of the Imperial House. Vladimir Kirillovich proclaims his daughter, Maria Vladimirovna, the only heir.

—Can a woman inherit the right to the throne?
- No, if you follow the laws established by Paul I. Moreover, Maria Vladimirovna married Franz Wilhelm of Prussia, a German prince. According to Roman law, the wife receives the surname and title of her husband: that is, after marriage, Maria Romanova becomes Maria Hohenzollern (née Romanova). This is evidenced by the “Gothic Almanac” (a genealogical collection of the titled nobility). This directory is published under the patronage of the Spanish king - I think you can trust it.

- Why then does Maria Vladimirovna call herself the head of the House of Romanov?
— The House of Romanov is a family; there are more than 20 people who are direct descendants of the Russian emperors and more than 100 people who are members of their families. The head of the family now is Prince Nikolai Romanovich, the great-great-grandson of Emperor Nicholas I. As for Maria Vladimirovna, the Association of Members of the Romanov Family considers her a member, but not the head of the Imperial House. She is also not a Grand Duchess, since the last Grand Duchess of the Imperial family was the sister of the murdered Tsar Nicholas II, Olga Alexandrovna, who died in Canada in 1960. All living members of the Romanov family bear the titles of princes and princesses.

—What is the Imperial House?
— As I already said, these are two people: Maria Vladimirovna and her son Georgy Hohenzollern.

- And what does the head of the house do?
— He comes on visits to Russia, visits exhibitions, churches, educational institutions, which, in fact, is what many Romanovs do. But, in addition, she distributes orders, medals and titles of nobility - although only reigning monarchs have this privilege. And when deputies of the State Duma or the chairman of the Central Election Commission become the object of the award, this, in my opinion, causes skepticism and surprise in society.

— Do the Romanovs themselves feel like descendants of the emperor?
- You know, it’s very easy to communicate with them, they don’t have false mannerisms. And they probably feel like descendants, because they have the same grandparents as you and I.

— Monarchs of other states recognize the descendants of the Romanovs as the imperial family?
- Yes, of course, and this is confirmed by the Gothic Almanac. For example, Dimitri Romanovich visits the Danish queen. And in August, when Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev was in Denmark, the Danish Queen Margrethe II instructed Dmitry Romanovich to be the main escort of our president.

— Is the House of Romanov a political phenomenon or a cultural one?
- Nostalgic. Although attempts to link politics here do not stop. Various people call me claiming to be connected with the Romanovs. Today a man called who claimed that he was the illegitimate son of Grand Duchess Maria, and that he had documents that confirmed this. Nikolai Romanovich gets very angry when this happens, and does not deal with such things at all. So I have to work with it.

— Do any of the Romanovs want to return to Russia?
— So far, only Maria Vladimirovna has voiced her desire to return to Russia, but only as the head of the Russian Imperial House of Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna. With the receipt of a special status, by analogy with the Russian Orthodox Church. Of course, this never occurs to any of the other Romanovs. They are glad to have the opportunity to come to Russia, they conduct charity programs here, some of the Romanovs try various partnership projects with Russia, but they never interfere in politics. There is no talk of a return yet. But who knows, maybe in the future such ideas will appear, because some representatives of the younger generation of Romanovs seriously study the Russian language and regularly come to our country .

Anastasia Dmitrieva