More than 30,000 churches and cathedrals across Russia have held religious services as Russia is celebrating Orthodox Christmas. The Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Kirill, has delivered the Christmas Eve Mass in the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow.

© Russia Today. 7 January, 2011

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The first new Romanov titles to be released in 2012 is Alix and Nicky: The Passion of the Last Tsar and Tsarina by Virginia Rounding.

The book is a penetrating and deeply personal study that gives profound psychological insight into their marriage and how it shaped the events that engulfed them.

Virginia Rounding is a translator and writer who lives in Londong, England. She studied Russian at the University of London.

© Royal Russia. 6 January, 2012

The Tsarskoe Selo Palace Museum Complex have announced plans to retore the historic White Tower.

Situated not far from the Alexander Palace, the 19th-century building in the Neo-Gothic style resembles a medieval knights castle. It was damaged during the Second World War.

Restoration will recreate the facade and brickwork, cast iron fences, and balconies. Work is expected to be completed in May 2012, and will be used to host exhibitions.

© Paul Gilbert @ Royal Russia. 5 January, 2012

Rare church vestments and utensils will be on display at an exhibition which is to open at the State Museum-Reserve Pavlovsk in St.Petersburg on Saturday.

The opening is timed to coincide with Orthodox Christmas which is traditionally celebrated on January 7.

The exhibition features items from the St. Paul and Peter Cathedral located on the territory of the Pavlovsk Palace.

© TASS. 4 January, 2012

Two unique rooms, - the Agate Room and the Library, are now open to visitors following their restoration at the Tsarskoe Selo 18th century memorial estate near St. Petersburg.

The Agate rooms are the only rooms of Empress Catherine the Great at Tsarskoe Selo that have retained their original decoration to this day. They are unique in terms of design and unparalleled anywhere in the world.

The restoration of the Agate Room got under way earlier this year. Restoration was simultaneously under way in the Library, which now looks the way it did in the 18th century. Restoration on other rooms in the Agate Pavilion will continue through 2013.

© TASS. 3 January, 2012

A porcelain cat that was once belonged to the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna has returned to the Alexander Palace.

The object was presented to the Empress as a Christmas gift in 1903, however, it disappeared after the 1917 Revolution. It was recently purchased at an auction in Moscow by the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum-Preserve.

The colour-glazed, almost life-size figure was produced in 1903, along with 3 other similar works by the St. Petersburg Imperial Porcelain Manufactory. They were sculpted by Ivan Zotov to the design of August Heinrich Timus, the manufacturers sculpture workshop manager who created a series of animal figures in the early 1900s.

The cat will once again join the growing porcelain collection of the Alexander Palace.

© Tsarskoye Selo State Museum-Preserve. 2 January, 2012

Royal Russia is running advertisements in the January 2012 issues of the following magazines: Royalty Digest (Europe), Majesty (Great Britain), and Russian Life (United States). It is our hope and wish that these ads will draw new Romanovphiles and Russophiles from all over the world to our web site, and help keep the memories of old Russia alive!

© Royal Russia. 1 January, 2012

The Russian Imperial Union Order (RIUO) has prepared a video of the visit of HIH the Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna's visit to the United States in 2010.

© Russian Imperial Union Order. 16 December, 2011

A monument to Emperor Alexander III was erected in the Siberian city of Irkutsk marking the end of construction on the Trans-Siberian Railroad. This monument was originally unveiled on 30 August, 1908. The sides of the monument were decorated with bronze sculptural portraits of historic figures who left their mark on the history of Siberia, as well as the tsar's edict on the construction of the Trans-Siberian, the coat of arms of Siberia and Irkutsk. In 1920, the statue was removed from its pedestal by the Bolsheviks. In 2003, the statue was reinstated marking the centenary of the historic rail line that connected the vast Russian empire.

© Royal Russia. 15 December, 2011

A pair of gold cufflinks decorated with photos of the Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich at different ages (about 1888 and 1898) were sold this week at a Geneva auction for 66,000 CHF (Swiss Francs).

The unique set of cufflinks, decorated with diamonds and peridot, were from the collection of Ferdinand Thormeyer, Swiss tutor to the children of Emperor Alexander III.

On his return to Switzerland, Thormeyer took with him many gifts and photographs of the Russian Imperial family.

© Paul Gilbert @ Royal Russia. 14 December, 2011