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| Postcards of the Past |
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| The Russian Royal Family |
| The last Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II, came to the throne in October 1894, before the widespread production of postcards. Thus the postcards that we have are only of him and his family, as none were produced before his reign. Nicholas abdicated in 1917 under pressure from the revolutionaries in Russia, and in 1918 he, his wife Alexandra, their son Alexei and their four daughters Olga, Maria, Tatiana and Anastasia, were executed near Ekaterinburg. Their bodies were buried in a pit and burned. Some of the postcards which will shortly appear here were produced by Russian emigres in France to commemorate their ruler. Others were printed whilst the Tsar was still in power. |
| Much has been written about the Russian Revolution and the fate of Nicholas - search the internet for more information. |
| The postcard on the left shows Nicholas and Alexandra's son, Alexei, their fifth child. This poor lad suffered from haemophilia, a disease which in those days could not be treated, and as a result spent much of his life in intense pain. Doctors could not help and only the monk Rasputin seemed to be able to bring about any relief. This enabled Rasputin to have an ever increasing influence over first Alexandra and then Nicholas - so much influence that finally a group of Russian noblemen, led by Felix Yusupov, decided to kill him. The story of the assassination is fascinating - see our book recommendations. The Tsarevich's illness was kept secret from the Russian people. |
| No date for this postcard, but at the time of their execution, Olga was 23 and Tatiana 21. |
| May we recommend..... "A Lifelong Passion - Nicholas and Alexandra - Their Own Story" by Andrei Maylunas and Sergei Mironenko. Extracts from the private letters and diaries of Nicholas and Alexandra reveal their intimate relationship and show just how detached they were from the life of their people. An excellent read ! |
| May we also recommend...."Nicholas and Alexandra" by Robert K Massie. Although this book was written in the 1960s, it is still regarded as the definitive account of the events leading to the end of the Romanov dynasty and the Russian Revolution. |
| For many years there were rumours that one of the Tsar's children, the Grand Duchess Anastasia, had managed to escape assassination and was alive and well. Several women claimed to be her, the most notorious being Anna Anderson, and whilst remaining members of the Romanovs did not believe she was Anastasia, many people did, even though police investigations showed otherwise. On her death in 1984, DNA tests showed that she was not a Romanov, and subsequent investigations and DNA tests by the Russian Government have proved conclusively that Anastasia perished with her family. |
| Prince Edward (later Edward VIII), the Czar, the Czarevitch and the Prince of Wales (later George V). Note the physical resemblance between the Czar and the Prince of Wales - they were first cousins. |
| Nicholas was very close to his cousin, King George V of Great Britain. After Nicholas's abdication, it was hoped that he and his family would be able to find asylum in England, and approaches were made to the British Government by Kerensky and the Provisional Russian Government. However, the revolutionaries in Russia did not want the Romanovs to leave the country and perhaps organise a counter revolution, and for a while there was a stand-off between the two sides. Meanwhile, although The British Government at first agreed, many in the UK were opposed to offering the Tsar asylum, and King George, realising that to receive the Tsar might cause him serious unpopularity, reluctantly suggested to the Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, that Britain should not welcome the Russian royals. The British offer was withdrawn - "His Majesty's Government does not insist on its former offer of hospitality to the Imperial family". |
| Olga and Tatiana. |
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| The postcard on the left shows Livadia Palace which is situated in Livadia, near Yalta. The Imperial family used to spend their summers there. Built at the Tsar's request, the palace formally opened in September 1911. The Yalta Conference was held here in 1945. Since then the building has housed a museum, and is sometimes used for international conferences. |
| Ekaterinburg - the River Iset. |
View Russian Royal Family - Historic Sites in a larger map
| Follow this link for an excellent website about Tsarskoe Selo. |