Resurrecting the Czar

A symphony colleague called my attention to an article in the latest issue of The Smithsonian (available online) on the continuing controversy over the remains of the Romanovs, as well as the monarchist movement in Russia. I find myself in the awkward position of being inclined to agree on the facts with the scientific establishment (which holds that the remains of all seven martyred members of the immediate Imperial Family have been definitively identified) despite sympathizing ideologically with Russian monarchists who, like the Russian Orthodox Church, tend to still be skeptical. I can see why in an age when our cause tends to be dismissed as foolish and irrelevant by the Powers That Be, after so many decades of Soviet lies, monarchists might be inclined to regard the pronouncements of any contemporary establishment with suspicion, but even a broken clock is right twice a day, and it does seem to me that these scientists know what they are talking about even if they are not Orthodox Christians or monarchists. I hope that one day the issue can finally be resolved so that all those interested in the Romanovs, whether scientifically or ideologically, can finally stop quarreling with each other, though that seems unlikely at present.

It is encouraging, however, to read about the efforts and activities of monarchists such as Georgy Fyodorov of the Russian Imperial Union and artist Xenia Vyshpolskaya who specializes in portraits of the tsars. They have not given up, and neither should their sympathizers abroad. Боже, Царя храни!