Posted on 12/07/2008 2:36:17 PM PST by SunkenCiv
Russia's Supreme Court has ruled that the last Tsar, Nicholas II, and his family were victims of political repression and should be rehabilitated... Nicholas, his wife Alexandra, their five children, doctor and three servants were shot dead by Bolshevik revolutionaries in July, 1918. Lower courts had previously refused to reclassify the killings, which had been categorised as simply murder... The Romanovs were shot by a firing squad without a trial, in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg. The Supreme Court "declared as groundless the repression of Tsar Nicholas II and his family and ordered their rehabilitation", the judge's decision said on Wednesday. The ruling overturned a decision by a Supreme Court panel in November 2007 not to rehabilitate the imperial family... Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, official attitudes to the royal family have changed dramatically. In 1998, their remains were reburied with great ceremony in St Petersburg... A spokesman for the Russian Orthodox Church, Georgy Ryabykh, said the decision "strengthens the rule of law, restores historical continuity and 1,000 years of state tradition".
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
I think it was Alexis and one of the daughters closest in age to Anastasia which they found in a seperate lime pit. The forensic story alone is fascinating.
The lefties did what they always do
The stories of the family's life in captivity, before their murder, are very touching. It's impossible that they would have borne hardship like that unless they really loved each other.
It was too horrible. All I can say at this point is may some greater good come from such unspeakable evil.
Good comes from the witness of virtuous lives, especially in conditions of suffering. The Romanovs’ faith stood up to the greatest trial.
The Riddle of the Romanovs - Constitutional Rights Foundation
I've read several books about the family and read some on the internet after I got on in about 1997 but hadn't seen anything further for years now.
I think the last I had was a recording of the tv special Rasputin I either made or was made for me on VHS. I must have watched your movie at some point, but don't remember now.
I've been interested in Russia and Russian history and literature for some time now, made a lame attempt to learn the language from tapes, but it was difficult and having no one to practice with, gave it up, best I can do now is sound out words like a first-grader from what I remember from memorizing the alphabet.
Couldn't have said it better. May God use this tragic saga as a witness and inspiration to many. I hope it isn't suppressed or revised again.
There was an elegance in those days that we have lost, their bearing, beautiful clothing, naturally they could well afford nothing but the best. There's not a hint of hautiness about any of them imo.
Rasputin did seem to have some kind of power from the dark side, but from the times and desperation of the poor mother, I can't find it in my heart to judge her harshly for it. Was it a mistake? Probably, but he may have prolonged the little tsarevitch's life from that one episode in particular, hard to know at this point. People weren't inclined so much to personal faith as we know it now; maybe they put too much of it in the clergy; such a different time and culture, I don't mean to fault them for that, just the way things were. They were faithful to the end when faith and hope were all they really had left; that's what really counts.
Those aren't glass dangles on the Grand Duchesses' dresses - they're diamonds. Nonetheless, even the poor in those days did what they could to look dignified and show self-respect. Russian peasants of the time would have one set of traditional clothes, maybe passed down in the family, to wear for feast days and weddings.
There's not a hint of haughtiness about any of them imo.
That family - not just the Romanovs, but the British, the Dutch, the Germans, the Danes, all related - were not especially gifted people. The best of them realized this, and served their countries to the best of the abilities with real humility, bolstered by faith that it was all ultimately in God's hands. We can see this ethic surviving in Queen Elizabeth II.
The episode of Rasputin is very colorful, of course - one of the few things every high school student remembers about Imperial Russia - but also terribly sad. I can't feel anything but sympathy for the poor parents who just wanted their son to live, and not to suffer.
No, DNA proved she wasn't Anastasia. National Geographic Channel had a special recently, "Finding Anastasia" and they found the remains of one of the daughters and Alexei (the bodies had been dismembered, sulphuric acid was poured on them to disfigure them, and the remains burned before burial). The DNA was tested using the remaining bones.
Every member of the family is now accounted for.
Thanks for posting. I find the Romanovs, and that whole era fascinating, and very tragic. It’s an age old human story, really; what lengths parents will go to save their precious child, like Alexei.
I pray they are at peace.
In regards to Russia’s involvement to WWI. I read a book on the Gallipoli “Epic Fail” Campaign. Gallipoli by Alan Moorehead. In reading history I love reading about cause and affect.
One that caught my attention in this book was that Russia was heavily dependent on grain shipments from the US that came in through the Dardanelles, into the Black Sea. Turkey after a coup by the “Young Turks” so far had been sitting out the war. They were being wine and dined by both Germany and Britain for military contracts and aid. Germany saw how getting Turkey in on their side of the war would be a great diversion against Russia and Britain.
Germany had the contract to train and arm the Turkish Army and Britain had the contract to train and advise the Turkish Navy. Churchill, who then was First Lord of the Admiralty, seized two battleships that had just been laid down for the Turkish Navy. They had been meant to be the flagships of the newly reinvented Turkish Navy. But Britain decided they needed the ships more. This pissed the Young Turks off.
The German Ambassador to Turkey seized the moment and cabled back to Berlin who granted his request of offering a newly built battleship and a slightly old one to Turkey in exchange for alliance. The Turks readily agreed. The two ships were already in the Mediterranean and headed for the Dardanelles. With the British Mediterranean fleet hot on their heels. As soon as the two ships passed the Dardanelles straights. The German officer in charge of Turkish defenses closed the straights.
The effect was that all commercial traffic bunched up at the entrance. This was a huge amount of shipping traffic. Most of which was the grain barges making for Russian Black Sea port. After about a week the barges turned about and heading back to the US. This deprived Russia of badly needed grain.
The biggest reason for the overthrow of the Tsar was that the people were starving. These grain shipments was what was allowing Russia to feed its huge army and the populace at the same time. Without the shipments they couldn’t do both. Russia pleaded with Britain for help in opening the Dardanelles. So the Gallipoli Campaign was born, albeit reluctantly and poor planning on the British side. First was the failed Naval attempt. Then the combined Naval and Army full on invasion.
When it was apparent that Britain was not going to force the Dardanelles opened, Russia should of existed the war. But I think having the Tsar going to the front kept him from knowing the horrible conditions back home.
Wow that turned out long. LOL!
Anyways the importance of this court decision had to do with “relegitimatizing” House Romanov. It is the first step in any hope of Romanov restoration.
You must be referring to the official portrait posted. I don't see that well, but it does look like there are jewels on some. Some of their other nice dresses were like we had from that era, but their sport clothes seemed to have those horizontal stripes, nautical theme.
I sometimes wish women would go back to wearing pretty dresses like that (minus the jewels), but few would look so nice because they're fat or it's just different the way they carry themselves now. I guess that's why I like films from that era.
That family - not just the Romanovs, but the British, the Dutch, the Germans, the Danes, all related - were not especially gifted people.
I wasn't aware of that, guess I never expected much by way of intellectualism which seemed to be an exception from royals. The Romanov royal family of the last czar were better looking than many other European royals imo. I find Nicholas very handsome, his wife a little less so but very attractive; they sure had the genetic combination to produce beautiful children.
I don't have a good handle on what the peasants were like other than descriptions I've read from can't remember, Tolstoy?, frustrating to landowners because they tended to drink too much (probably the men moreso than the women) and hard to goad them into working, but I know some must have worked very hard and suffered greatly so it's not nice to generalize or stereotype.
Little Alexis probably wouldn't have lived too long even if his life had not been cut short in such a cruel manner. Hemophilia is still incurable, but there is more they can do to ease the pain of it, blood transfusions today that probably lengthen their life span from what it would be otherwise.
I had a paternal aunt who when very young was extremely pretty and had a royal bearing like that, just seemed to come naturally. And she was the daughter of a farmer, but then there is royal blood in her line or it just came naturally to her. Her grandfather was handsome, too. My father when young had a certain something about him, not movie-star handsome, but distinguished-looking. Most of the rest of them were unattractive to downright homely.
Heh, that was long. :’) Very interesting though. The tsarist regime had built its Trans-Siberian railway, which opened commerce to the Pacific, and completed it shortly before WWI. Getting grain via the Pacific probably couldn’t work I suppose, given the head-east infrastructure for US grain distribution.
Clearly everyone involved should have thought it through a bit better before embarking on the war itself. Avoiding WWI is perhaps the greatest “what-if” scenario of the 20th century. For example, I wonder if the overthrow of the tsar would even have been feasible had it not been for the necessity of buying and building so many small arms for the war itself.
Another of the goals of Bismarck’s treaty system had been to collaborate with Russia on the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire. Despite that covert history, Germany was also openly collaborating with Turkey on the construction of the proposed Berlin to Baghdad (to Basra) rail line, basically a commercial enterprise to broaden commerce between Germany and the Far East (and bypassing the Suez Canal, Gibraltar, English Channel, etc, and in the process, British shipping) while strengthening and modernizing the caliphate’s control over its territories.
Wouldn’t you say though that building the Trans-Siberian railway was more about projecting European Russia to the Pacific Russia then the other away around? Also was there even an established port at the time to rival the old well used and built up year round Black Sea ports? Would of been easier to go through the Baltic, being protected by the British fleet Embargo of Germany, but then there was no year round port there either. Also the TS being new, I don’t think they could of had enough capacity to shipped the needed grain. Russia’s Army I believe was well over 1 million men. Plus moving the grain from the Black Sea to the Austrian and German front would of been quicker.
Another poster stated that the last several Tsars were inadequate. I would have to dispute that. Alexander II and Alexander III both proved very capable and were great liberalizing reformers. Granted AIII’s education was lacking, that was more due to the fact that his brother Nicholas was the heir apparent. Upon Nicholas’s sudden death Alexander, as a grown man, had to jump start his education to the level expected of a Tsar.
While Bismarck supported Russia against the Ottoman Empire, he did stab them in the back at the Berlin Peace Conference of 1878. The Russians had expended huge amounts of money, men and material in their drive for Constantinople. They would of invaded if not for the posturing and maneuvering of Disraeli. The end result of the Treaty of Berlin was Russia ended up with a new Southern border mid way through Bulgaria. They needed more than that in hope of recouping the money. Instead it would take many more years to do so and I believe this double crossing by Germany and Austria soured the Russian-Prussian alliance which would affect Russia’s attitude in 1914.
With both the Crimean War (1853-1856) and the last Russian-Ottoman War I think the Russian Treasury was hurting pretty bad. Even so AII, AIII and NII continued reforming the government and military. I think what did them in was that WWI was such a huge drain on Russia that with NII at the front instead of in St. Petersburg, he was unable to exit the war when necessary and unable to suppress any Marxist revolution. Marxist agitators and been trying all over Europe to ferment rebellion. To survive a nation would have to rapidly enact progressive reform while also cracking down on Marxist assembling and agitation. AII, AIII and NII had been liberalizing Russia, but as some things change many stay the same, that was not fast enough for the “free thinkers”. AII was assassinated by leftist. Of course the Marxist came from the ranks of the educated class. So if NII had been able to continue reform and suppress rebellion he would of survived. But WWI was just to big of sucking hole.
Maybe your gr gr grandfather would tell you to leave for Russia now. I was poking around the net, and that was one of the odd places suggested for people who feel they might want to leave the country didn't seem so much because of the economy but other things. There is inflation around Moscow (and Siberia, too, I think), but you can buy a house, granted probably not like ours, in one of the smaller villages for $1,000 to $5,000. I have no idea what life would be like there, think restrictive in some ways but freer than ours in other ways.
Did you ever find out what happened to him?
Sure enough. Who knows if the Schlieffen Plan could ever have worked in the days before armor, but transferring troops from the West to the East to shore up the Russian front pretty well ended any chance of success.
Russia paid a steep price for its service to the West, suffering 70 years of communist rule.
It makes sense this government would restore the Romanovs now that Russia is in effect being ruled by Vladimir I.
The Schlieffen Plan had to be altered before even a shot was fired, because the manpower required was more than Germany could mobilize and train without tipping off everyone. Not long ago I read about the finding of documentation that the plan had actually had a formal existence — apparently there was a school of alleged thought that said that there never was such a plan. Imagine!
The Germans (and the Austrians) achieved battlefield supremacy through superior firepower (along with better training, better leadership, better command structure, and a coherent plan). When they were under attack by massively superior numbers, they merely staged orderly retreats, let the allies “pay for the same real estate twice” (line from the movie “Patton” I’ve often wanted to use), let the allies have undefendable ground and force them to assault easily defendable spots, let them punch themselves out, then shifted resources, and wiped the battlefield clear of them. The BEF had wrecked itself by the time the US entered the war, and until 1917, the German casualty figures never approached those of the allies.
The French actually figured out the problem after a couple of years (the British never did, and apparently keep peddling their wartime propaganda in their schools and histories of the war), and sent people from their most successful units to assist in training the US army. Thanks, France. Of course, they made up for it by selling us really lousy guns, but we shoulda/coulda used the Browning. ;’)
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