Martin attended "The Imperial House of Romanov: 400 Years of Service to Russia" conference. It was organized by the Russian Nobility Association and the Russian social organization "For Faith and Fatherland" at the Alexander Solzhenitsyn Foundation. The Grand Duchess attended the opening session of the conference and awarded Martin the new commemorative medal, "The Anniversary of the Ending of the Time of Troubles, 1613-2013."

"I was quite surprised to be given this medal and to have it pinned on me personally by Her Imperial Highness. I am deeply grateful to her," Martin said.

He also received copies of a book he translated titled By the Grace of God: The 400th Anniversary of the Ending of the Time of Troubles, The Reestablishment of the Russian State, and the Ascension of the House of Romanov (1613-2013).

"It was a great honor to work on the book, especially because the Grand Duchess is now presenting it as a gift to important figures in society and government that she meets during her tours of Russia and other places in connection with the 400th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty, which is being celebrated this year," Martin said.

Martin attended the official church celebration of the 400th anniversary of the House of Romanov, a patriarchal service held in the Dormiton Cathedral in the Kremlin, served not only by Patriarch Krill I of Moscow and all of Russia, but also by six other metropolitans and archbishops and more than two dozen priests and deacons.

"It was a majestic service - easily the most amazing church service I've ever attended - and made even more meaningful by the fact that the patriarch read off the names of all the tsars and emperors of the House of Romanov, offering prayers for the repose of their souls," Martin said.

That same afternoon, Martin presented a paper in Russian during the plenary session of the conference "Four Centuries of the House of Romanov, A Global Social-Cultural Perspective: A Historical, Documentary, and Biographical Discussion." The conference was held at the Russian State University of the Humanities (RGGU) in Moscow. Martin's paper examined the customs and practices of commemoration of the dead by the Romanov family before and after they became tsars in 1613.

"The evidence I examined, all from archives in Moscow and St. Petersburg, reveals how the dynasty was able to use remembrance of ancestors as a means for strengthening and solidifying their legitimacy as the new royal dynasty in Russia," Martin said.

After the plenary session concluded, Martin was interviewed for Voice of Russia, and then attended the first-ever presentation by the Grand Duchess of the new Romanov Prize at the Russian National Library. The prize is given to leading figures of Russian art and culture. Martin was also able to speak with the Grand Duchess about on-going projects he is working on for the Russian Imperial House and for its official website. Martin was previously awarded the Imperial Order of St. Anna, second class, by the Grand Duchess for his work on behalf of the House of Romanov.

While in Russia, Martin also spent the week conducting research for his upcoming book at the Russian State Archives of Ancient Acts. The book will examine the laws of succession from 1613 to the present.

Martin, who has been with Westminster since 1996, earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a master's degree and Ph.D. from Harvard University.

He appeared on A&E Biography in a broadcast on Ivan the Terrible as an expert on the controversial ruler.  He is the co-founder of the Muscovite Biographical Database, a Russian-American computerized register based in Moscow of early modern Russian notables.  The Neville Island, Pa., native is not only fluent in Russian, but also reads Old Church Slavonic/Russian, French, German, Latin, and Polish.

© Westminster College Communications Office. 05 April, 2013

H.I.H. Grand Duke Georgii pays his respects at the coffin of King Zog I of Albania at Tirana on November 17th, 2012 

H.I.H. the Heir, Tsesarevich, and Grand Duke Georgii of Russia, at the behest of his most august mother, the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, who was at that time on an official visit to Russia, attended the reburial of the remains of King Zog I of Albania in the capital city of Tirana. The King had been previously been buried in Paris. His Imperial Highness was accompanied by Cyrille Boulay, an advisor on international relations to the Head of Russian Imperial House.

The coffin bearing King Zog I’s body was placed in the Presidential Palace, where official, ambassadors, foreign guests, and ordinary citizens of Albania were afforded the opportunity to pay their last respects. Around noon, a procession on foot accompanying the King’s coffin set out from the Presidential Palace to the Royal Mausoleum, led by the grandson of the late King—the present Head of the Royal House of Albania, Prince Leka II, his fiancée Elia Zaharia, and several other members of the Albanian Royal Family. Among those in the procession were the Head of the Montenegrin Royal House, H.R.H. Prince Nicholas; H.I.H., the Heir, Tsesarevich, and Grand Duke Georgii of Russia; the son-in-law of the King Michael of Romania, H.R.H. Prince Radu; and numerous foreign diplomats. The President of Albania, Bujar Nishani, and the President of Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga, both spoke at the royal burial site. Afterward there was a memorial meal; and that evening, there was a formal reception in the Presidential Palace in memory of King Zog I.

King Zog I (1895-1961) ruled Albania from 1928. He had numerous accomplishments in the domestic and foreign policy of the young nation, but in 1939 was forced to flee his country because of the invasion of the Italian fascists. After the Second World War, a totalitarian, atheistic communist regime was established in Albania under Enver Hoxha, and in 1967 Albania was declared the “first fully atheistic country” in the world.

King Zog I died in Paris and was buried there. He was succeeded as King (in exile) by Leka I (1939-2011), his son from his marriage with Queen Geraldine (born the Hungarian Countess Géraldine Apponyi de Nagyappony). In 1976, King Leka I attended the marriage in Madrid of the parents of H.I.H. the Heir, Tsesarevich, and Grand Duke Georgii of Russia—H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria of Russia and H.I.H. Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich (Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia). The present Head of the Royal House of Albania is the son of King Leka I and his wife, Queen Susan, H.R.H. Prince Leka II (born in 1982).

© Russian Imperial House. 23 December, 2012

Russian Monarchists have registered their own political party seeking the revival of the Russian Empire, but the head of the Romanov Imperial House is opposed saying that it would add strife to the society.

Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna Romanov believes “a monarch must unite people” while the establishment of such a party only leads to disintegration, Romanovs’ attorney German Lukyanov was quoted as saying by Russian news portal Lifenews.

The time for a monarchist regime in the country has not come yet and a revival of the empire is currently impossible, he said.

“No parties can help in this full-time job since a monarch can come to the throne only by the will of one’s people and God,” Lukyanov stated.

However, the head of the party, former MP Anton Bakov, stated that the Grand Duchess’ opinion will not stop the party in its desire to restore the Great Russian Empire.

If Maria Vladimirovna does not want the Romanov Dynasty to come back to power in Russia, there are other descendants and representatives of the Tsar’s family “who will surely” support us, he told Life News.

On Wednesday, the Russian Ministry of Justice reported on its website that the Monarchist party was officially registered on June 25 this year.

Its chairman, 46-year-old millionaire Bakov is known for having founded a virtual state – the Russian Empire – located on a coral atoll called Suvorov near the Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean. According to its website,  those willing to become nationals of the state, may apply for a passport via e-mail for the price of just 1000 roubles (about $US 31).

© Russia Today. 19 July, 2012

The House of Romanov has studied the Russian Investigative Committee's statement on the criminal probe into the murder of Russian Tsar Nicholas II, and his family said that the central question - whether the Yekaterinburg remains were authentic - has not been answered.

In October 2011, following a series of forensic tests the Russian Investigative Committee referred a copy of the statement on completion of the criminal probe into the imperial family's murder to the House of Romanov, which spent several months studying it.

"There is nothing new in this statement that was kept under wraps for so long. We did not find anything that would change our opinion concerning the authenticity of the Yekaterinburg remains," the House of Romanov spokesman Alexander Zakatov told Interfax on Tuesday.

||| CLICK HERE TO READ ARTICLE IN ROYAL RUSSIA NEWS |||

© Interfax. 27 March, 2012

The Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich, and the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Alexey II in the presence of the Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna and Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad (now His Holiness Kirill I) . St. Petersburg, November 6, 1991

This week marks the 20th anniversary of the return of the Russian Imperial House to Russia.

Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich and his wife, Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna visited Russia between 5-11 November, 1991 at the invitiation of Mayor Anatoly Sobchak. The visit coincided with the renaming of the city of Leningrad to its original historic name of St. Petersburg.

An exhibit marking the grand duke's historic 1991 visit to Russia opened today at the Moscow Compatriot House. More than 40 photographs depict the course of the visit, from the moment the Imperial couple arrived at Pulkovo airport, their visit to Peterhof, the Mariinsky Theatre, churches in St. Petersburg, and a meeting with Patriarch Alexey II (1929-2008) and Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad (the present Patriarch Kirill I), who at the time headed the department of external church relations.

© Royal Russia. 7 November, 2011