Dit boek is het resultaat van een lange, organische evolutie. Gefascineerd als de auteurs beiden zijn door de Romanov-dynastie en geïnteresseerd in het onderzoeken van unieke en opwindende aspecten van de geschiedenis, stuitten ze per ongeluk op de kroning van Nicolaas II als een mogelijk onderwerp. De ceremonie zelf vormde een integraal onderdeel van Greg Kings werk uit 2005 The Court of the Last Tsar: Pomp, Power, and Pageantry in the Reign of Nicholas II . Tijdens het onderzoeks- en schrijfproces ontdekte Janet Ashton een schat aan eerder verwaarloosde materialen over het onderwerp die hielpen de gebeurtenis tot leven te brengen: zoveel materiaal zelfs dat het onmogelijk was om meer dan een verleidelijke hint in één hoofdstuk op te nemen. De kroning was prachtig, weelderig en bijna surrealistisch. Dunne wierookwolken dreven omhoog door gouden zonnestralen, terwijl de "hoge, heldere stemmen van de jongens zich vermengden met de diepere basnoten van de mannen" sonore hymnen intoneerden terwijl Rusland onbewust de kroning van zijn laatste keizer vierde. Flikkerende vlammen van duizend votiefkaarsen schitterden over gewaden van zilverbrokaat, flitsten over vergulde iconen, fonkelden tegen diamanten en wierpen een blik op medailles. Deze bedwelmende optocht van geluiden en kleuren, geuren en sensaties liet toeschouwers "verdwaasd" achter. De kroning van Nicolaas II in de Kathedraal van de Hemelvaart in Moskou in mei 1896 was een zorgvuldig vervaardigd staaltje toneelkunst, bedoeld om de dicht opeengepakte gemeente te vervoeren naar een rijk van intense spirituele kracht, versmolten met een onverzettelijke autocratie. Het tafereel was niet zonder ironie: de keizerlijke pracht en religieuze rituelen van de Russisch-orthodoxe kerk vierden een monarch die nauwelijks een druppel Russisch bloed in zijn aderen droeg. Het boek bevat meer dan 220 prachtige afbeeldingen die 248 glanzende pagina's illustreren!
In 1913, the Romanovs celebrated three hundred years of sitting on the Russian Imperial throne. Great fanfare and hope accompanied the celebrations. A year later, Imperial Russia entered a “war to end all wars,” with the hope of “being back home for Christmas.” It was not to be. Instead, in February 1917, after years of administrative and military ineptitude and incompetence, the Russian people had enough of its government’s inefficacy and corruption. The consequences, as it turned out, changed the world. Tsar Nicholas II was overthrown; members of the Imperial Family faced persecution, arrest, financial instability, uncertainty, and worse. This is the compelling story of how the Romanovs dealt with glory, war, revolution, persecution, imprisonment, and escape!
Arturo E. Beéche, founder and publisher of The European Royal History Journal, thought of the idea for an anthology on Russia’s Grand Duchesses in 2004. Consequently, a companion book on the Russian Grand Dukes became imperative. The Grand Dukes: Sons & Grandsons of Russia’s Tsars Since Paul I examines the biographies of nearly forty men whose birth gave them the right to one of the world’s most prestigious positions. All sons of Russian tsars are covered in Volume I. The sons of collateral grand ducal branches are covered in Volume II. The biography of each of the Grand Dukes of Russia brings to life a deeply gripping human saga. These men were born into what then was one of the world’s most powerful ruling dynasties. They were not all saints; they were not all demons – they were men whose birth showered them with untold privilege. Some used their birthright for the common good; some did not. Yet, they all remain amazingly intriguing, complex, complicated and conflicted human beings. At birth they were showered with untold privilege, including a lump sum of money placed in trust for them. By the time these funds were made available to a Grand Duke, the interest alone made them amazingly wealthy. Added to this benefit, they derived salaries from their military appointments, investments, real estate and inheritance. Thus, the Grand Dukes were able to maintain a lifestyle only surpassed by today’s oligarchs and yesteryear’s robber barons. They were consummate spenders in paintings, art, architecture, jewels, all while acting as sponsors of talented writers, thinkers, poets, ballerinas, among many others. One was a playwright of considerable talent. Another played a role in working toward the liberation of the serfs. One was a leading admiral with a fondness for “fast women and slow ships.” Another Grand Duke lived a tortured existence as a closeted homosexual, yet became the father of nine children. Told in a two-volume set, this is their story.
Included in this unique work, the Second Volume in a two-volume series, are 18 biographies of Russian grand dukes. These were the junior lines of the Russian Imperial Family at the time of the Revolution in 1917: Vladimirovichi, Pavlovichi, Konstantinovichi, Nikolaevichi and Mikhailovichi. The book is illustrated with exquisite and rare photographs of these intriguing men, their families and descendants. It also includes several family trees. The chapters were authored by some of today’s most recognized authors and scholars on the Romanov Dynasty.
This excellent book authored by Galina Korneva and Tatiana Cheboksarova includes nearly 600 photos, an overwhelming majority among them collected from the main archives of Russia and several European countries. The moment captured by these original photos is able, often times, to tell the reader far more about the unique world of royalty and aristocracy than countless pages of text. The authors also relied on important information obtained from Russian and foreign periodicals, memoirs and scientific literature. The English-language version of this book was expanded with contributions by Arturo Beéche, founder and publisher of Eurohistory / The European Royal History Journal. He is an expert on European Royalty, as well as author of more than a dozen books about the various royal families that have shaped the continent’s history.
Prince Vladimir Paley, first cousin of the last tsar, was a poet among the Romanovs. The rules of the Imperial Family prevented him from being considered a member of the dynasty due to the unequal marriage of his parents. This circumstance could have saved his life. Instead, when he was requested by the Bolsheviks to denounce his father, Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia, young Prince Vladimir chose love, loyalty, honor, and affection. His only crime was being related to a dynasty of which he had not even been an official member. This is the compelling story of a young man, and a talented poet, who in different circumstances would have attained great heights.. Destiny, however, played a sad role in bringing a brutal and early death to a promising life.
Jorge F. Sáenz brings to life the previously unknown figure of Prince Vladimir Paley. In doing so, Mr. Sáenz adds to a long and distinguished list of historical studies he has written over the last thirty years. His books number well over a dozen, most of them focusing on various aspects of Costa Rica’s history and unique democratic traditions, that make the country a bastion of democracy in Latin America. His study of the life of Prince Vladimir Paley was first published as a biographical essay in Eurohistory — The European Royal History Journal. The success of this essay led to the story of Vladimir Paley becoming a full-on book. Mr. Sáenz is a career diplomat for Costa Rica, as well as a distinguished law professor at the University of Costa Rica. EUROHISTORY is pleased to announce the hardback publication of this rare and uniquely extraordinary work of royal biography! This book was first published in paperback nearly 20 years ago. The UPDATED and EXPANDED hardback edition contains more information than the original, as well as a new 24-page photo section different than the few images included in the original paperback edition!
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“The coffin was lowered into the grave. Soon there was a burial mound above. It was quickly covered with wreaths, flowers and crowned with a plain wooden cross. Prince Oleg’s promising life was finished.”
Death of a Romanov Prince volgt de korte levensreis van Prins Oleg Konstantinovich, een van de minder bekende leden van de machtige en bevoorrechte Russische keizerlijke familie. Hij was een getalenteerde jongeman met een intellectueel en artistiek genie. Oleg was de begaafde zoon van de getalenteerde Grootvorst Konstantin Konstantinovich, die schreef onder het pseudoniem KR. De Grootvorst was een vriend van Tsjaikovski, die zijn talrijke gedichten op muziek zette en literaire kringen voor zijn troepen oprichtte, Hamlet in het Russisch vertaalde en De koning der Joden schreef, een origineel toneelstuk dat hij en zijn zonen opvoerden. De lezer volgt Prins Oleg Konstantinovich, zijn familie en keizerlijke neven, terwijl zijn leven hem meeneemt via de luxe van de vier prachtige paleizen van de familie: Pavlovsk, in Tsarskoje Selo, het Marmeren Paleis in Sint-Petersburg, het Konstantine Paleis in Strelna; en het Ostashevo Landgoed nabij Moskou; evenals talrijke vakanties op de Krim. De jonge prins genoot van het meest liberale programma in literaire, wetenschappelijke en artistieke opleiding. Hij was de eerste Romanov die werd ingeschreven op een burgerschool en studeerde af aan het Keizerlijk Lyceum in Sint-Petersburg, waar hij in 1913 de Poesjkin-medaille won voor zijn academische prestaties. Op 21-jarige leeftijd stond prins Oleg Konstantinovich op het hoogtepunt van een briljante carrière en persoonlijke grootsheid toen de Eerste Wereldoorlog begon. Toen sloeg de tragedie toe.
Death of a Romanov Prince brengt de lezer naar de slagvelden van het Oostfront van de Eerste Wereldoorlog. Bloedige gevechten in Noord-Polen en de Mazurische Meren in Litouwen. Het was tijdens de gevechten daar dat Prins Oleg zijn troepen leidde in heldhaftige cavalerie-aanvallen tegen de Duitsers.
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