Book collecting is a passion shared by many Romanovphiles. Old books in particular allow us a glimpse into life during the last years of Imperial Russia.

The Almanach de St-Petersbourg, Cour, monde et ville was published annually in 1910, 1911, 1912 and 1913-14. Each volume contained more than 400 pages.

The official part contains a list of persons, including members of the Russian Imperial family, including branches of the Oldenburg, Leuchtenberg, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, as well as members of the Imperial family living abroad.

Other lists include members of the State Council, officials of the State Chancellery, deputies of the State Duma, ministers and deputy ministers, members of the Senate, the Synod, as well as governors, mayors, provincial marshalls of the nobility, officers of the St. Petersburg City Council; list of Diplomatic Corps in the capital, including their wives and daughters. The Obituaries contain a list of people who died the previous year.

In the main section of the book are the addresses of those noted in the book (including members of the Russian Imperial family), details of their positions, relatives, wives and their maiden name, year of marriage, names and dates of birth, including sons and daughters. Listings in great detail of the noble families of Russia include the Princes Gagarin (15 families), Baron Korf (15 families) and Princes Golitsyn (30 families).

Also noted are the days and hours in which members of the nobility receive visitors, membership in aristocratic clubs of St. Petersburg (automotive, yachts, national and English clubs), plus their residential addresses during the summer months (including their estates in various Russian provinces, as well as abroad).

The publication includes other information, including table of ranks, titles and positions, etc.

Copies of the Almanach de St-Petersbourg are very rare. A copy of the 1913/14 edition recently sold for 4,000 Euros (more than $5,200 USD).

© Paul Gilbert @ Royal Russia. 25 January, 2012

The city of Saratov in southern Russia, is playing host to a new exhibition of photographs of Tsar Nicholas II.

Visitors to the exhibit will discover the private world of the last tsar of Russia and his family in a series of photographs from various archives in Russia. 

Many of the photographs will be familiar to Westerners, however, they are on display in Saratov for the first time and will be new to most visitors to the exhibit.

© Royal Russia. 24 January, 2012

The exhibit, In the Children's Rooms at the Alexander Palace has been extended until 30th April, 2012.

The exhibit which originally opened in June 2011 is set out in the former rooms of the children of Tsar Nicholas II on the second floor of the Alexander Palace.

The exhibit tells the story of the lives of the Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia, as well as the Tsarevich Alexei, and includes more than 200 items, many being exhibited for the first time.

© Tsarskoye Selo State Museum-Preserve. 23 January, 2012

Grand Duke Nicholas Michailovich was the eldest son of the Grand Duke Michael Nicholayevich and the Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna.

In 1909, after the death of his father, Nicholas inherited a vast fortune, including the estates of Grushevka and Borjomi in the Caucasus region of the empire.

The palace at Likani (Borjomi) was built between 1892-95 on the banks of the Kura River by Leonti Benois, and is situated about 160 km west of Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia.   

The grand dukes Likani Palace at Borjomi has survived to this day, where it is now serves as a summer residence for the President of Georgia.

© Paul Gilbert @ Royal Russia. 13 January, 2012

The highlight of the Finnish Railway Museum collections is the special train built for the Russian Emperor. The train was built for the Emperor's and Grand Duke's of Finland trips to Finland, an autonomic part of Russia at the time. The train consists of three wagons, Emperor's car, Empress's car and the lounge car. The three wagons are the only remaining Russian Imperial train cars in the world.

The decision to acquire imperial wagons was made in 1869, at the time of building of the railway line Riihimäki - St. Petersburg. The Emperor, Alexander the II, had already imperial wagons in other parts of the country and it was considered necessary to have such rolling stock for Finland also. The railway line connecting Finland to St. Petersburg was opened in 1870, but it was not until 1913 when the railway networks of the two countries were finally connected when the bridge over Neva-river was finished.

Originally the Imperial train consisted of six wagons. However, train's dining car, kitchen unit car and the heating car did not survive to our days. The oldest cat of the train is the Emperor's car which was built in Germany in 1870. The interior of the car was decorated with luxury materials. The walls and the furniture of the reception area of the car were covered with dark green leather, the ceiling is decorated with silk. Wooden decorations are made of American walnut tree and the carpeting is of wool plush.

The Empresses' car and the lounge car were built in 1870's in the Finnish Railway's repair shop in Helsinki. The decoration of the Empresses' car is blue silk and the lounge car and it's furniture are decorated with red silk. The outside of all the three cars was painted dark blue and decorated with golded imperial emblems. The cars were later modified and improved in many parts like in the heating system, illumination and the toilets.

The Imperial cars survived mainly for two reasons. They were built by the Finnish Railways and kept from 1914 in Kaipiainen train shed instead of earlier storage site in St. Petersburg. If the train had been left in town, it would have most certainly been destroyed during the Russian revolution in 1917 like happened to all other imperial trains in Russia.

||| THE IMPERIAL TRAINS - NICHOLAS II |||

© Finnish Railway Museum. 13 January, 2012

Situated seventy miles from Orel, the estate of Brasovo had originally belonged to the Grand Duke George Alexandrovich, son of the Emperor Alexander III. He had purchased it in 1882 for 4.3 million roubles. It covered some 430 square miles. The estate passed to Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich upon the death of George in 1899.

It was here that Michael came to live with his wife, Natasha (nee Natalya Sergeyevna Wulfert) in 1911 after Emperor Nicholas II conceded that she could stay there. Thanks to her artistic taste, she succeeded in making an elegant dwelling as well as a comfortable home, thereby creating for Michael a place where he found comfort, peace and happiness.

The comforts of this country house are emphasized in these beautiful watercolours by S.J. Zhukovsky (1873-1944) in 1916.

Artist:  S.J. Zhukovsky. Orenburg Museum of Fine Arts

 Artist: S.J. Zhukovsky. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

© Paul Gilbert @ Royal Russia. 13 January, 2012

On 29 October [Old Style 17 October] 1888, the Imperial train carrying Emperor Alexander III and his family derailed at high speed near the town of Borki. The train was travelling from the Crimea to St. Petersburg when the accident occurred, killing and injuring dozens of people.

Alexander held the collapsed roof of the rail car on his shoulder while his family escaped to safety. The story of the miraculous escape resulted in a cathedral being built near the site, but was later destroyed by the Soviets.

In 1992, local residents embarked on an ambitious fundraising plan to rebuild the chapel. With the help of the Southern Railway, reconstruction on the chapel was completed in the summer of 2003.

Local residents and Orthodox faithful are optimistic that the Christ the Saviour Cathedral will be rebuilt on the site of the demolished church.

© Paul Gilbert @ Royal Russia. 12 January, 2012

Two rooms in the Agate Pavilion have been opened for visiting, the study and the library, where the empress liked to spend her free time.

18th century Russian craftsmen had an unrivalled experience in working with such materials as agate and jasper. Even the floor in the rooms is a work of art.

Children became the first visitors of the new exhibition.  A master-class was given to them by a professional stone-cutter.   

The rest of the rooms will be opened for visiting in 2013.

© TASS. 11 January, 2012

A monument to the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Emperor Nicholas II can be seen at Ganina Yama, a monastery situated near Ekaterinburg.

It is the only monument to the last empress to be found in modern-day Russia.

© Paul Gilbert @ Royal Russia. 10 January, 2012

A 1766 pattern rouble depicting the bust of Catherine II came under the hammer at a numismatic auction in New York for $936,000.

The rare coin, which was issued only in three copies, was bought by an anonymous Russian collector by phone.

Coins from the days of the Russian Empire have caused quite a stir within numismatic circles.  

A 1876 gold coin worth 25 roubles sold for $210,600 and a 1736 silver rouble with the portrait of Empress Anna Ioanovna was snapped up for nearly $94,000.

© TASS. 9 January, 2012