Sunday, February 9, 2014

Romanovs--The Museum of Russian Art


   The Russian Romanovs seems an unlikely subject for me to be interested in, and truthfully, I wasn't.  Much.  But yesterday I had an opportunity to see an exhibit at the Museum of Russian Art in Minneapolis and I decided to go for it.  I'm glad I did!  The docent tour was an hour and a half long, during which we moved 30 feet.  So many interesting stories, and there's nothing I like more than a story. 
No photos allowed.  That always irks me.  If I paid my money, I want some memories.  My brain doesn't store them as well as it used to (my theory--and I'm sticking to it-- is, it's getting full!), so I need photos to help me out. 
Here is the museum.  It's in an old, outgrown church that looks nothing like other churches in Minnesota.  I think it's called mission style. 


This is the marquee for the exhibit.  It says, "The Romanovs, Legacy of an Empire Lost," with a photo of the last Romanov czar and his family.
Yup, that's the family that was murdered, their bodies mysteriously lost for many years.  And several funny old ladies over the years have claimed to be the youngest daughter, Anastasia, still alive and ready to resume her rightful place in history.

(Photo from Wikipedia) 
Of interest to me were some items found in a cave in the forest where the Romanovs were secretly buried.  These include the false teeth of the doctor who was executed by the Bolsheviks along with the family.  A single earring belonging to Mrs. Romanov and a few other things were also found in the cave. Another moving display was some of the clothing of the beautiful young daughters on a manikin, including a handmade slip with initials sewn into the waistband.  That made the sadness so real to me, almost as if you could reach out and touch the girl who lost her life so tragically young.

 
 
I'll leave you with this beautiful window I spotted on the side of the museum.  I bet the amber and blue colors are gorgeous when lit up and glowing from the inside.
 
Thank you for reading my blog.  I enjoy reading your comments.

12 comments:

  1. Sounds like an interesting place to visit. Thanks for telling me about the samovar there.

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  2. That is an interesting exhibition, I would loved to visit too. I have read a lot about the Romanovs, a tragic story how it ended. Didn't know they had found some belongings of them in the graves.

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    1. Oops, the way I wrote that is unclear. They were buried in the woods where the cave is, not buried in the cave. The belongings were found in the cave.

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  3. I love these stories and pictures, especially since I will never travel to any of these interesting places. It's funny, I wanted to name my daughter Lynn, Anastasia. I love the name. My husband totally did not like the name!

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  4. The Romanov's family history is so very sad. Didn't they appeal to the English monarchs to save them and were refused? They were cousins, I think.

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    1. The czarina was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria and grew up in England.

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  5. Beautiful Museum!! the window looking wonderful, Indeed...

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  6. Russia and its history is great. However is not as friendly country as you can imagine. Normal pepole are very friendly and nice but the government in the past is and now is a different story It's worth visiting this beautiful country but a question is - is it Safe ?????? Personally I don't think so..

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    1. I have friends there now for the Olympics and I am concerned for them and other visitors as well. I think I would really like to see St Petersburg though. Maybe someday.

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  7. Too bad Minneapolis is a bit far or I would have loved to visit the museum. We traveled to St. Petersburg, Florida once because they had an exhibit on the Romanov, and another time to Cincinnati for another museum exhibit on them. Since last Christmas when we went to listen to the Russian choir I have been reading books on Russia – 5 so far this month. We did travel to St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2005 for a week. I took care of everything, without a travel agent, got the visas, the transportation and rented an apartment in St. Petersburg. It was a wonderful trip. I’d love to do it again. Frankly I was more scared walking in some parts of Brooklyn than in St. Petersburg. It did help that I took a year of Russian when I was in France – my father had many Russian friends who would visit us at home and they always were so very nice.

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  8. That must have been very interesting. What a sad end for this family ! I have read quite a lot about them.

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  9. I understand no flash photography but other photos should be okay. Don't they want you to encourage others to attend..as I am certain your photos would. Must be some fuddy duddies...:)

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