House of Romanov

Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna was murdered by the Bolsheviks in a massacre of Romanovs in July 1918 at Yekaterinburg, Siberia. Her fate has been the subject of speculation and historical fiction.

The House of Romanov was the ruling family of Russia from 1613 to 1917. The first Romanov tsar was Michael I. His line ended with Empress Elizabeth, who died 1762. The succeeding Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp line was renamed as "Romanov" and is generally treated as a continuation of the dynasty. The last tsar was Nicholas II (1868-1918), who abdicated in 1917 at the start of the Russian Revolution.

Nicholas, his wife, and five children were killed at Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg, Siberia in July 1918 as the Bolsheviks hunted down the former imperial family.[1] Four princes were thrown down a mine shaft alive and then stoned to death.[2] After years of concealment and lies, investigator Nikolai Sokolov revealed the fate of the family in 1924.

## Contents

* 1 Tsars of Russia (1613-1917)
* 1.1 House of Romanov (1613-1762)
* 1.2 House of Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp (1762-1917)
* 2 Pretenders and heads of the House (1917-present)
* 3 Equal marriage dispute
* 3.1 Alternative scenarios
* 4 References

## Tsars of Russia (1613-1917)[edit]

The tsars used the slogans "Orthodoxy, autocracy, and nationality" and "Moscow, third Rome." In this context, Orthodoxy refers to the eastern European branch of Christianity. These slogans suggested that the Romanovs were a successor to the  Byzantine, or Greek, autocrats who ruled from Constantinople in medieval times.

### House of Romanov (1613-1762)[edit]

* Michael (r. 1613 - 1645), son of the patriarch of Moscow. He was chosen tsar by a Zemsky Sobor (assembly of the land).
* Alexis (r. 1645 - 1676)
* Feodor III (r. 1676 - 1682)
* Ivan V (r. 1682 - 1696)
* Peter I (r. 1682 - 1725), byname "Peter the Great." First tsar to be proclaimed emperor (1721). The succession law of 1722 provides that a tsar name his successor.
* Catherine I (r. 1725 - 1727, co-reigned from 1724 - 1725)
* Anna of Russia (r. 1730 - 1740)
* Ivan VI (r. 1740 - 1741)
* Elizabeth (r. 1741 - 1762)

### House of Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp (1762-1917)[edit]

* Peter III (r. 1762 - 1762), son of Anna, daughter of Peter I, and Charles Frederick, duke of Holstein-Gottorp.
* Catherine II (r. 1762 - 1796), wife of Peter III.
* Paul (r. 1796 - 1801). Issued the Pauline Law in 1797. This law provides for succession by primogeniture among "dynasts" recognized by the imperial court.
* Alexander I (r. 1801 - 1825) Victory over Napoleon in 1812 made Russia a European superpower.
* Nicholas I (r. 1825 - 1855) The Decemberist revolt in 1825 and the Crimean War of 1853-1856 created interest in reform.
* Alexander II (r. 1855 - 1881), the "tsar liberator" who emancipated the serfs in 1861.
* Alexander III (r. 1881 - 1894) Sergei Witte supervised railway construction and encouraged foreign investment, which led to an industrial revolution.
* Nicholas II (r. 1894 - 1917) The autocratic power of the tsar was limited by a parliament called the Duma, which was created in 1906. The country was defeated by Germany in World War I. The Russian Revolution ousted the tsar in 1917.

## Pretenders and heads of the House (1917-present)[edit]

The succession has been the subject of various disputes. But the Legitimist line is the most widely accepted and has the support of the patriarch of Moscow:[3]

v • d • e

Pretenders and heads of the House of Romanov since 1917

Vladimirovichi line
Legitimist|

• Tsar Nicholas II (1917-1918) (after abdication).

• Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich (1918–1938). Proclaimed "emperor" in 1924.
• Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich (1938–1992), son of Kirill.
• Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna (since 1992), daughter of Vladimir.

• Heir: Grand Duke George Mikhailovich, son of Maria.

Nikolaevichi → Mikhailovichi line
Romanov Family Association|

• Prince Nicholas Romanov (1992–2014), founder of RFA. Son of Prince Roman Petrovich and Countess Praskovia Dmitrievna Sheremeteva.

• Prince Dimitri Romanov (2014–2016), brother of Prince Nicholas.
• Prince Andrew Romanov (since 2016), son of Prince Andrei Alexandrovich.

• Heir: Prince Alexis, son of Andrew

Leiningen line|

• Prince Karl Emich of Leiningen (since 2013). Converted to Orthodoxy in 2013 to pursue claim.

The murder of Nicholas, his son Alexei Nikolaevich (1904 – 1918), and his brother Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich (1878 – 1918) left Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich (1876 - 1938) as next in line.[4] Many monarchists disliked Kirill or viewed him as a traitor. They refused to treat him as head of the house until Sokolov's report was published. When Kirill died in October 1938, the five most senior Romanovs signed a statement accepting his son Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich (1917 – 1992) as head of the house.[5]

## Equal marriage dispute[edit]

If a dynast marries a spouse of "unequal" rank, the marriage is morganatic, according to the succession law:

“  |  Children born of a marriage between a person of the Imperial Family and a person not of corresponding dignity, that is not belonging to any royal or sovereign house, have no right of succession to the Throne.[6] |  ”

|
|

In 1948, Vladimir married Princess Leonida Bagration-Mukhransky in Lausanne. The House of Bagration is one of the world's oldest families, ruling Georgia from 813 to 1801.[7] Russia and Georgia concluded a treaty affirming the royal status of the house in 1783.[8]

In 1969, Vladimir issued a proclamation which stated that his daughter Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna (b. 23 Dec. 1953) would succeed when he died as all other male dynasts had contracted morganatic marriages. The other senior Romanovs protested, arguing that their marriages had equal standing with Vladimir's.[9]

In 1979, those who felt slighted by Vladimir's proclamation formed the Romanov Family Association. This association included most of the surviving Romanovs, aside from Vladimir and Maria. As the Bagrations had been incorporated into the Russian nobility, Vladimir's own marriage was unequal, the association argued. The association called for the dynasty's rules on equal marriage to be revised.[9]

By the time he died in 1992, Vladimir had outlived every other male dynast. Maria could claim the right to succeed as the only child of the last male dynast. Unlike the Romanovs of 1938, those of 1992 were sharply divided.[10]

### Alternative scenarios[edit]

If Vladimir's marriage is treated as morganatic, then he was succeeded by Princess Vera Konstantinovna (1906–2001) in 1992 and by Princess Catherine Ivanovna (1915-2007) in 2001. Catherine died in 2007, which, in this scenario, would leave the head of the house position vacant.

Since 2016, the Romanov Family Association has backed the claim of Andrew Andreevich Romanov (b. 21 Jan 1923), a great-great-grandson of Nicholas I. He is a naturalized American citizen and a children's author living in California.

## References[edit]

1. ↑ "See inside Ipatiev House where the Russian Royals were executed," nine.com.au, Jul 19, 2017.
2. ↑ Opfell, p. 75.
3. ↑ Horan, Brien, "The Russian Imperial Succession," The Russian Legitimist, 1997 to 2012.
"But most monarchist and monarchist historians consider Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, who lives in Spain and France, to be the legitimate head of the house," Opfell, Olga S., Royalty Who Wait: The 21 Heads of Formerly Regnant Houses of Europe, 2001, p. 71.
"Maria Vladimirovna is the most widely acknowledged pretender to the throne of Russia." Pruitt, Sarah, "The Romanov Family Tree: Real Descendants and Wannabes," History.com, March 29, 2019.
Patriarch Kirill I recognizes Maria as head of the house: "Your Eminences! Maria Vladimirovna, Head of the Imperial House! Dear Fathers! Brothers and Sisters!" ("The Head of the House of Romanoff visits St. Petersburg, Valaam, and the Island of Kizhi," July 11-16, 2013).
4. ↑ Archbishop Anthony of Los Angeles, Ed., (R.O.C.O.R.), "Succession to the Russian Imperial Throne". This article gives the Romanov Court Calendar for 1917. The top four males on the calendar are Nicholas, Alexei, Mikhail and Kirill.
5. ↑ These were Grand Duke Boris, Grand Duke Andrew, Grand Duke Dmitry, Prince Vsevelod, and Prince Gavriel. See Horan.
6. ↑ Article 36, The Fundamental Laws of the Russian Empire, 1906.
7. ↑ The Japanese Imperial House is the only ruling house that is older than the Bagrations.
8. ↑ "Treaty of Georgievsk," Russia-Georgia, 1783, ‘Her Imperial Majesty [Catherine II], graciously accept in supreme power and protection over the Kingdoms of Kartli and Kakheti, promises in Her name and in the name of Her Heirs… to preserve forever on the Throne of the Kingdoms of Kartli and Kakhety [Georgia] the Serene Tsar Irakly, son of Theimouraz, and his Heirs and Descendants.’ Quoted by Brien Horan in "The Russian Imperial Succession."
"Decree of the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duke Wladimir Kirillovich, on the Recognition of the Royal Rank of the House of Bagration," 22 November/5 December 1946.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Massie, Robert K., The Romanovs: The Final Chapter, 1995, p. 282.
Despite the succession law's absolute male preference, both sexes may succeed. "Both sexes have the right of succession to the Throne; but this right belongs by preference to the male sex according to the principle of primogeniture; with the extinction of the last male issue, succession to the Throne passes to the female issue by right of substitution." Article 27, The Fundamental Laws of the Russian Empire (1906).
10. ↑ With the succession in dispute, Almanach de Gotha does not recognize the claims of any current member of the House. It describes Vladimir as, "the last Head of the Imperial House of Russia." (James, John. Almanach de Gotha, 2016.)