With the advent of new technologies, the history of a large country and a single event or person can be viewed from a different angle. Specialists-restorers do a tremendous amount of work every day to turn historical photographs from black-and-white and faded into color and high-quality ones.
Today we will look at new restored photographs of the royal family. Many of them are unique, since most of the photographs of the imperial family are still kept in the photo archives of England and the United States, and there are practically none of them in the public domain.
Emperor Nicholas II and Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich
Nikolai Nikolaevich Jr. devoted his entire life to military service. On the eve of the First World War, he was appointed by Nicholas the Supreme Commander of all land and sea forces.
All his life, awards and ranks rained down on the prince as if from a cornucopia. Nikolai Nikolaevich - received the nickname "Cunning" in the army for excessive ambition, a thirst for power.
Nicholas II on the platform of the station, to the right of the emperor - Colonel A.A. Mordvinov, January 30, 1916.
Still Tsarevich Nicholas, still Princess Alix, April 1894
Tsar Nicholas with his four daughters: Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia
Emperor with his son and army officers in 1915.
Alexey and Nikolai - Livadia Palace
Nicholas II with his daughter Tatyana and sister Olga Alexandrovna, as well as an officer on the deck of the Shtandart yacht
Tsar Nicholas and his family
Alexander III family photo, 1889.
Left to right: Prince Alfred of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha; Tsar Nicholas II; Ernst Ludwig; Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, Coburg 1897
Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna during a visit to Great Britain with King Edward VII and the future King George V. 1909 Barton Manor
Imperial family in Crimea.
Nikolai and Admiral Sablin talking to Alexandra aboard the imperial yacht Standart, 1912
Alexey with his parents in Headquarters
Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Alexei.
A family. Grand Duke Ernie, Tsarina Alexandra with Tsar Nicholas II, Princess Irene and Henry of Prussia, Princess Elizabeth and Grand Duke Sergei, Princess Victoria and Prince Louis of Battenberg.
Alix and children
One of the last and most famous family portraits of the imperial family, 1913
The Russian Imperial Family aboard the Polar Star, 1905. It seemed like a windy day!
Grand Duchesses of Russia with their English aunt Victoria.
Tsar Nicholas II with his second daughter in Germany
For the first time, Komsomolskaya Pravda publishes rare photographs of the emperor from his personal album, which has lain in the vaults of the Ural Museum for almost a century [KP exclusive]
Change text size: A A
A real relic was brought to Yekaterinburg to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty - a photo album that belonged to Nicholas II. It contains 210 rare photographs of the royal family, most of which have never been published before. Almost all the photos were taken by Nikolai Alexandrovich or his children.
The emperor was very fond of taking pictures and was addicted to this and his wife Alexandra Fedorovna, and children, - tells "KP" historian and employee of the Museum of the Patriarchal Metochion Milena Bratukhina. - There was even a photo workshop in one of the park pavilions in Tsarskoye Selo. Nikolai Aleksandrovich filmed mainly with American cameras, while the Empress ordered photographic equipment from Great Britain.
The photographs are dated 1913-1916. The album contains many shots of army life. Then the First World War was going on, and the tsar, together with his heir Alexei, often visited the troops. But the main value of this album is the cards of the daily life of the royal family. Among the pictures there is even a photo with an elephant. It turns out that the first zoo in Tsarskoye Selo Park in St. Petersburg appeared under Nicholas I. It closed in 1917. The children of Nicholas II often came with their parents to the Tsarskoye Selo Elephant House. The emperor wrote about this in his diary: “He brought an elephant with Alexei to our pond and had fun bathing him.”
The album from the 30s of the last century is in the Zlatoust Museum of Local Lore. For many years it was carefully stored in storerooms, and only a few knew about its existence. When the "royal" theme came out of the ban, the album was presented to the general public. But you can't look at it just like that - only a few people can touch the album. Once a day, only one page is turned over and immediately under glass: museum staff fear for the safety of photographs.
How the album ended up in Zlatoust is a mystery, says Nadezhda Prikhodko, director of the museum in Zlatoust. - Everyone knows that the royal family spent the last days of their lives in Yekaterinburg, which is 300 kilometers from our city. There is a version that the director of the Museum of the Revolution, comrade Chevardin, brought the relic from Yekaterinburg. The museum was located in the house of the engineer Ipatiev, and it was there that the most august persons lived before their death. In 1933, Chevardin was transferred to Zlatoust, and he may have brought the album with him to save it from destruction. According to the second version of the photograph, a revolutionary nicknamed Kasyan, aka Chudinov Dmitry Mikhailovich, was transported by one of those who escorted the royal family from Tobolsk to Yekaterinburg. He lived in Zlatoust. And after the terrible massacre of the Romanovs, he appropriated some of their things, it is possible that this album, including.
For the provided photos, "KP" thanks the Zlatoust Museum of Local Lore and the Yekaterinburg diocese.
1914 The royal family traditionally went on a summer trip to the Black Sea on the Shtandart yacht. But photographs: Grand Duchesses Tatiana, Maria Olga, (left - right) and Anastasia (center). Girls from childhood are accustomed to this yacht. When they grew up, their parents let them bathe on their own. The Grand Duchesses loved to fool around on deck, chatting with officers and courtiers.
1914 Peterhof. The emperor poses on the shore. Most likely, this shot was taken by one of his children.
1916 Nicholas II and his youngest daughter Anastasia are resting in the city garden of Mogilev (during the First World War there was the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander). The Grand Duchess is 15 years old. And don't let this shot shock you - at that time smoking was not something immoral. In 1915, Anastasia, when the tsar was at Headquarters, and she was in St. Petersburg, wrote to her father: "I am sitting with your old cigarette, which you once gave me, and it is very tasty." Of course, the Grand Duchesses did not smoke in public. And this photo is more of a joke.
1916 Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich in one of the parks in Tsarskoye Selo. In the hands of the heir to the throne, his beloved black spaniel Joy (translated from English - "joy"). The dog was with Alexei until the end of his days. The boy took him into exile with him. The dog outlived its owner - after his death, the spaniel was sent to London to Buckingham Palace. Please note: the shadow of the author of the picture, the king, is visible in the photo.
1916 The emperor plays with his son on the banks of the Dnieper. They arrived in Mogilev together on October 1, 1915. The king believed that this trip would benefit the future heir to the throne - instead of the usual classes with a teacher within four walls, Alexei could see the life of ordinary boys.
1914 Royal Village. The Tsarevich, together with the children of his teacher, are playing war games. Alexei spent his entire childhood with them. The boys played together, drew, made snowmen and went canoeing.
1914 Royal Village. Nicholas II and his son are boating in a local pond. Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatyana and Maria are waiting for them on the shore. Nicholas II devoted a lot of time to his children, especially to his only heir.
Nicholas II is an ambiguous personality, historians speak very negatively about his rule of Russia, most people who know and analyze history are inclined to the version that the last All-Russian Emperor had little interest in politics, did not keep up with the times, hindered the development of the country, was not a far-sighted ruler, did not he was able to catch the jet in time, did not keep his nose in the wind, and even when everything practically flew into hell, discontent was already whipped up not only from the bottom, but also from the top were indignant, even then Nicholas II could not draw any correct conclusions. He did not believe that his removal from government was real; in fact, he was doomed to become the last autocrat in Russia. But Nicholas II was a great family man. He would like to be, for example, the Grand Duke, and not the emperor, not to delve into politics. Five children are no joke, their upbringing requires a lot of attention and effort. Nicholas II loved his wife for many years, missed her in separation, did not lose his physical and mental attraction to her even after many years of marriage.
I have collected many photographs of Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra Feodorovna (born Princess Victoria Alice Elena Louise Beatrice of Hesse-Darmstadt, daughter of Ludwig IV), their children: daughters Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, son Alexei.
This family was very fond of being photographed, and the shots turned out to be very beautiful, spiritual, bright. Look at the attractive faces of the children of the last Russian emperor. These girls did not know marriage, never kissed lovers and could not know the joys and sorrows of love. And they died a martyr's death. Even though they weren't at fault. In those days, many died. But this family was the most famous, the most high-ranking, and its death still does not give anyone peace, a black page in the history of Russia, the brutal murder of the royal family. The fate was prepared for these beauties as follows: girls were born in turbulent times. Many people dream of being born in a palace, with a golden spoon in their mouth: to be princesses, princes, kings, queens, kings and queens. But how often did the life of blue-blooded people turn out to be difficult? They were incited, killed, hounded, strangled, and very often their own people, close to the monarchs, destroyed and occupied the vacated throne, alluring with its limitless possibilities.
Alexander II was blown up by a Narodnaya Volya, Paul II was killed by conspirators, Peter III died under mysterious circumstances, Ivan VI was also destroyed, the list of these unfortunates can be continued for a very long time. Yes, and those who were not killed did not live long by today's standards, either they get sick, or they undermine their health while ruling the country. And after all, it was not only in Russia that such a high mortality rate of monarchs was, there are countries where the reigning personalities were even more dangerous. But all the same, everyone always rushed so zealously to the throne, and pushed their children there at any cost. I wanted, though not for long, but to live well, beautifully, to go down in history, to take advantage of all the benefits, to be in luxury, to be able to order slaves, decide the fate of people and rule the country.
But Nicholas II never longed to be emperor, but he understood that being the ruler of the Russian Empire was his duty, his destiny, especially since he was a fatalist in everything.
Today we will not talk about politics, we will just look at the photos.
In this photo you see Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, so the couple dressed up for a costume ball.
In this photo, Nicholas II is still very young, his mustache is just breaking through.
Nicholas II in childhood.
In this photo, Nicholas II with the long-awaited heir Alexei.
Nicholas II with his mother Maria Feodorovna.
In this photo, Nicholas II with his parents, sisters and brothers.
The future wife of Nicholas II, then Princess Victoria Alice Helena Louise Beatrice of Hesse-Darmstadt.
In the photographic heritage of the Romanovs, especially many pictures are associated with the family of Nicholas II. The Imperial family was portrayed by many famous photographers. There are studio shootings of the outstanding masters of Russian photography G. Denier, S. L. Levitsky, A. Pasetti, C. Bergamasco. During their stay abroad, the royal family was photographed by famous foreign photographers: in Denmark - L. Danielson, M. Steen, G. Gansen, in Poland - L. Kovalsky, in Germany - O. Skovranek, F. Telgman and others. When the Romanovs visited the cities of the Russian Empire, shooting was entrusted to the best urban photographers: F. Orlov in Yalta, M. Mazur in Sevastopol, V. Barkanov in Tiflis, A. M. Ivanitsky in Kharkov, etc.
Emperor Nicholas II. 1900s
Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna with their daughters Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatyana. 1898
The largest collection of photographs of the last Russian emperor and his family was left by the K. E. von Hahn and Co. ". The atelier was opened in Tsarskoe Selo in 1887. It was owned by the wife of an assistant senior mechanical engineer Kazimir-Ludwig Evgenievna Yakobson, nee Gan. In 1891, Alexander Karlovich Yagelsky became a co-owner of the atelier, who since 1897 receives the exclusive right to photograph Emperor Nicholas II and his family. in Finnish skerries, in Livadia, hunting in the estates of Spala and Belovezh.These pictures rarely reached the public and made up the imperial family's own photo archive.In 1911, A.K. Yagelsky received the honorary title of Photographer of His Majesty's Court.
Parade of troops of the Moscow garrison. Moscow, 1903
Yagelsky was also the only one who was allowed to film the royal family. From 1900 until his death in October 1916, he was the personal cameraman of Emperor Nicholas II and left a very significant film archive.
Rope pull. Finnish skerries, 1911
Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia. Tsarskoye Selo, 1903
The famous reportage photographer K. K. Bulla took a lot of pictures of Nicholas II. In 1904, he received permission to film "views of the capital, as well as celebrations in the Highest Presence." From the General Staff of the Military Ministry, Bulla had a certificate of permission "to make photographic surveys during maneuvers and exercises of the troops of the guards and the St. ships and in general all events relating to marine life.
The heir Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich. 1911
Many personal albums with photographs were left by the Romanovs themselves - the Emperor, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, all the children, including the heir, were passionate amateur photographers. Since Nicholas II got his first camera in 1896, he has never parted with it. Some of the albums were filled in by the emperor himself, personally gluing and signing photographs. Each member of the family had personal photo albums, usually annual or two or three years together.
Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna in costumes of Russian tsars of the 17th century. 1903
Another category of the photographic heritage of the Romanovs is the photo albums of their close associates, those who, on duty, were with the emperor and his family on trips around the country and abroad, and especially during their holidays. The Romanovs themselves, their personal photographer A.K. Yagelsky and the emperor’s associates took the greatest number of family photographs precisely on vacation, when members of the august family were left to their own devices and were less bound by the conventions of court etiquette. This close circle, which had the opportunity to take informal photographs of the family of Nicholas II, included large court officials, members of the emperor’s retinue, maids of honor, ladies of state, officers of the imperial yacht Shtandart and whole line other people.
Royal hunting in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Seated: Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich (2nd from left), Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (3rd from left), Emperor Nicholas II (4th from left), Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich (6th from left). Standing: Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Jr. (1st from left), Duke Albert of Saxe-Altenburg (2nd from left), head of the court youth department A. A. Grunwald (3rd from left), Baron V. B. Frederiks (7th from left), etc. Belovezh, 1897
The fate of the photographic heritage of the Romanov family in Soviet Russia is rather confused and bears the imprint of the tragic fate of its owners. After the execution, documents and photographs of the Romanovs' house were repeatedly transferred from archive to archive. The photographic heritage is still insufficiently studied. We do not even know the approximate number of photographic objects in the state storages of the Russian Federation; it is also not known what heritage has been preserved in the CIS countries and abroad.
Nicholas II in his office, 1900
From July 6 to September 9, 2018, the ROSPHOTO State Museum and Exhibition Center will host an anniversary exhibition dedicated to Emperor Nicholas II. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of the last Russian emperor.
The Imperial family was photographed by the best photographers of the Russian Empire. On trips abroad, the Romanovs certainly ordered photographic portraits from famous foreign masters. The exhibition presents studio portraits of the families of Alexander III and Nicholas II, which occupy a special place in the work of their authors, outstanding domestic and foreign photographers.
The unique component of the exhibition is the photographs taken by Nicholas II and members of his family. The emperor himself, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, all the children, including the heir, were passionate amateur photographers.
Based on materials provided by ROSPHOTODespite the fact that the royal family in Russia was an example to follow, many rulers hid terrible secrets from the people. Behind the shoulders of each king and queen were sins, which the admirers of the royal family try not to talk about. This post will tell us about these terrible secrets.
Mikhail Fedorovich (from 1613 to 1645)
The first of the Romanovs was crowned king at the age of 16, and at that time he could hardly read. The following year, by his decree, the three-year-old son of Marina Mnishek was hanged in Moscow - allegedly the grandson and heir of Ivan the Terrible, to whom individual cities managed to swear allegiance. This was after the heavy Troubles, and the fear of new possible impostors forced the competitor to be eliminated publicly.
Alexei Mikhailovich (1645-1676)
The father of the future Emperor Peter the Great was a religious maniac, sometimes he prayed for six hours in a row and cracked down on those who missed church services: without asking about the reasons, he ordered them to be thrown into an icy river.
Peter I (1682-1725)
Many terrible scenes are described in history, when Peter showed himself to be violent, inhumanly cruel and inadequate to the point of madness. Here are just some of the facts. Shooting executions. 26-year-old Peter himself cut off heads in front of a huge crowd and forced each of his retinue to take up an ax (unless the foreigners refused, justifying themselves by the fact that they were afraid to incur the hatred of the Russians). Mass executions actually turned into a grand show: the crowd was poured free vodka and it roared with delight, expressing devotion and love to the dashing sovereign. In a drunken stupor, the king immediately invited everyone who wanted to be the executioners, and many agreed.
Lifetime portrait of 44-year-old Peter, artist Antoine Pen:
"Morning of the Streltsy Execution", Vasily Surikov:
Death of Tsarevich Alexei. Acutely in conflict with his eldest son, Peter forced him to abdicate and began to zealously investigate his misdeeds, for which he specially created the Secret Chancellery. 28-year-old Aleksey was sentenced to death for treason and, after the verdict, he was tortured in prison: in the presence of his father, he received 25 lashes with a whip. According to some reports, he died from this. And Peter the next day feasted noisily, with an orchestra and fireworks, on the occasion of the anniversary of the Battle of Poltava.
"Peter I interrogates Tsarevich Alexei in Peterhof", Nikolai Ge:
"Maria Hamilton before her execution", Pavel Svedomsky:
Execution of a mistress. The next year, Peter sent his former mistress, one of the most beautiful ladies-in-waiting at court, Maria Hamilton (Gamontova), to the chopping block, having learned that she twice provoked miscarriages and strangled the third baby. Although at that time she was already living with another, the king, apparently, suspected that the children could be from him, and was furious at such "murder". At the execution, he behaved strangely: he raised the severed head of Mary, kissed it and calmly began to lecture the people on anatomy, showing the organs affected by the ax, after which he again kissed the dead lips, threw his head into the mud and left.
Anna Ioannovna (1730-1740)
The niece of Peter I, like himself, was a big hunter for entertainment with the participation of dwarfs and "fools" - court jesters. If many of them really were distinguished by their wit, then the inventions of the Empress herself, which led her into stormy fun, were rather obscene. Once, for example, one of her favorites, the Italian violinist Pietro Miro, nicknamed Pedrillo (Petrillo, Petrushka), laughed off an attempt to ridicule his ugly wife, saying that his “goat” was pregnant and would soon bring “kids”. It immediately occurred to Anna Ioannovna to put him to bed with a real goat, dressed for laughs in a peignoir, and to force the whole yard to bring them presents. Pedrillo, who pleased his mistress, enriched himself by several thousand rubles on that day alone. “Jesters at the court of Empress Anna Ioannovna”, Valery Jacobi (Pedrillo on the left, depicted with a violin, in the center of the picture in a yellow caftan jumps the famous jester Balakirev above all):
The Empress generally adored all sorts of obscenities, especially gossip and stories of a pornographic nature. Knowing this, specially selected girls were sent to the court, capable of conducting such conversations and inventing more and more stories with juicy details.
Elizaveta Petrovna (1741-1762)
The daughter of Peter I from childhood was known as a beauty and only did what she had fun, but she took care of her own appearance, remaining almost uneducated. She never read, and even in adulthood she did not know that Great Britain is an island. Most of all, Elizabeth was occupied with masquerades and especially the so-called "metamorphoses", where all the ladies had to appear in men's clothes, and men in women's. Moreover, the empress was convinced that her court rivals had ugly legs and that in men's leggings everyone except her made themselves a laughing stock. One of her successful rivals, the lady of state Natalya Lopukhina, who was considered a beauty, Elizabeth “mercifully” saved from the death penalty, instead ordering her to be whipped, her tongue torn out and exiled to Siberia. Officially, Lopukhina was arrested and tortured in the case of a political conspiracy, but unofficially it was the empress's revenge for repulsed cavaliers and ridicule in her youth.
Natalya Fedorovna Lopukhina, engraving by Lavrenty Seryakov:
Finally, Elizabeth doomed to a terrible existence the legitimate heir to the throne, appointed before her death by Anna Ioannovna. Emperor Ivan VI was only a year and a half old when Peter's daughter staged a coup and secretly ordered him to be thrown into prison, forever separating him from his parents and protecting him from human contact. The “famous prisoner,” as he was called after the strictest ban on mentioning his name, was stabbed to death by guards at the age of 23, already under Catherine II.
Catherine II (1762-1796)
33-year-old Catherine overthrew and arrested her own husband and second cousin Peter III, with whom relations did not work out from the very beginning. They were married when she was 16 and he was 17. According to one version, he was infantile almost to the point of dementia and avoided marital duty for 9 years, allegedly not knowing what to do in bed with a woman. According to another version (and Catherine admitted this in biographical notes), he did not love her and did not make attempts to get closer. At the same time, he openly made mistresses and even planned to marry one, but died under unclear circumstances 10 days after the deposition.
Coronation portrait of Emperor Peter III, Lucas Conrad Pfanzelt:
Meanwhile, the unfortunate marriage made Catherine herself the greatest mistress on the Russian throne. She gave birth to her first child, the future Emperor Paul I, only in the 10th year after the wedding, which gave rise to rumors that he was not from Peter, although he looked like him. From different lovers, the empress had two more children, and she gave birth to one in complete secrecy from her husband - in order to distract the emperor and take him away from the palace, her faithful valet set fire to her own house.
Modern painting "The Triumph of Catherine", Vasily Nesterenko (on the right hand of the Empress, her famous favorite, Prince Grigory Potemkin)
The “lecherous empress” brought her last favorite at the age of 60: it was the 21-year-old nobleman Platon Zubov, whom she enriched inexpressibly and who, five years after her death, participated in the murder of her son Paul I.
Platon Aleksandrovich Zubov, artist Ivan Eggink:
Alexander I (1801-1825)
The 23-year-old grandson of Catherine came to power as a result of a conspiracy against his own father: he was convinced that if Paul was not overthrown, he would destroy the empire. At the same time, Alexander did not allow the murder, but the performers - officers flushed with champagne - decided otherwise: in the middle of the night they struck the emperor with a powerful blow to the temple with a golden snuffbox and strangled him with a scarf. Alexander, having learned about the death of his father, sobbed, and then one of the main conspirators said in French: “Enough childishness, go reign!”
Alexander II (1855-1881)
Having ascended the throne, Alexander, who had previously lived in a happy marriage with many children, began to have favorites, from whom, according to rumors, he had illegitimate children. And at the age of 48, he began to secretly meet with the 18-year-old Princess Katya Dolgorukova, who years later became his second wife.
Their extensive erotic correspondence has been preserved - perhaps the most frank on behalf of the head of state: “Waiting for our meeting, I am again trembling all over. I represent your pearl in the shell"; “We possessed each other the way you wanted. But I must confess to you: I will not rest until I see your charms again ... "
Nicholas II (1894-1917)
The most terrible secret was and remains the death of the family of the last Russian emperor. For many years after the execution in the basement without trial, the Soviet authorities lied to the whole world that only Nikolai was killed, and his wife, four daughters and son were alive and well and "transported to a safe place where nothing threatens them." This gave rise to popular rumors about the allegedly surviving princesses and Tsarevich Alexei and contributed to the emergence of a huge army of impostor adventurers. In 2015, at the insistence of the Church, the investigation into the death of the royal family began "from scratch." A new genetic examination has confirmed the authenticity of the remains of Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and the three Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatyana and Anastasia, found near Yekaterinburg in 1991 and buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
Reconstructed from the remains of the faces of Nicholas II and Princess Anastasia:
Then they began to compare them with the genetic materials of Alexei and Maria, found in 2007. The timing of their burial depends on the readiness of the Church to recognize the remains.
