Topic: Sergei Alexandrovich
Russia’s new culture minister, Vladimir Medinsky has proposed the changing the name of two streets in Moscow in honour of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and his wife, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna.
Speaking at the opening of the exhibition Russia in the Holy Land, which marks the 130th anniversary of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society in Moscow, he said that the names of the Romanov family members “should replace the names of terrorists and murderers.”
Medinsky believes that changing the names of these streets will help educate the citizens of Moscow about two members of the Romanov dynasty, each of whom made a major contribution to the history of the city and its inhabitants.
Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich - the son of Emperor Alexander II, from 1891 was the military governor-general of Moscow. He headed the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, was the honorary chairman of the Russian Historical Museum, and a trustee of the Moscow Theological Academy. He was assassinated by terrorists on February 17, 1905. His remains were exhumed in 1995 and reburied in a vault of the Novospassky Monastery in Moscow.
After his murder, his wife, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna (born Princess Elizabeth of Hesse, she was the eldest sister to the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna) then departed the Imperial Court. She was renowned during her lifetime for her missionary, educational and charitable work. The Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy which she created with her own funds continues to this day to assist the needy. In 1918 she was arrested and murdered by the Bolsheviks. In 1981 Elizabeth was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and in 1992 by the Moscow Patriarchate.
Vladimir Medinsky, viewed by his opponents as an “odd monarchist” created headlines earlier this week when he proposed that the body of Vladimir Lenin be removed from the mausoleum on Red Square and given a proper burial.
© Paul Gilbert @ Royal Russia. 14 June, 2012
Updated: Thursday, 14 June 2012 8:23 AM EDT
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