#history russian movie

[jiabeewrites]

so this is what i've gathered from the memes and tumblr posts:

(please do not take this as 100% accurate. it's probably only like 78% accurate)

TITANIC II:

a few billionaires + a 19 year old + one other person(?) went into a "submarine" that wasn't actually a submarine

it was controlled by a VIDEO GAME CONTROLLER

and they were supposed to explore the titanic

and the submarine thingie didn't actually work and they KNEW THAT before getting on

and it imploded

and they all died

the only person anyone has sympathy for is the 19 year old bc he didn't wanna go on but wanted to make his dad happy

also celine dion is trending lmao

and fanfic is being written for the submarine (im slightly concerned)

oh and the company who made the submarine is called oceangate

this link. that's it, that's the addition.

oh yeah and @hkayakh said that a documentary is being made about this???

RUSSIA:

there's a coup

and there's basically a civil war

and the person in charge of the coup said that he's trying to topple russia's military leaders

and ukraine just took back some of their land

also the troops stopped for coffee before fighting

important addition by @chimp-prolly-not-typing-hamlet: the rogue battalion that rebelled against Putin is a private paramilitary organization called Wagner’s Group which has been linked to far-right extremism and neo-nazism

GREECE:

the greek coast guard capsized a boat full of hundreds of migrants, killing 80 with over 500 people still counted as missing, and the eu won't even investigate (according to @socialist-microwave-laser, please go check this post for more info)

so yeah fuck capitalism actually

THE STOCK MARKET???:

logitech is NOT suing oceangate, that was a fake post

EXTRA SHIT:

andrew tate is being charged for rape and human trafficking

and apparently elon musk challenged mark zuckerberg to a jiu jitsu cage fight

and andrew tate offered to coach elon musk

the season finale of helluva boss came out!!! (s1e8)

the season finale of helluva boss is coming out only right now because of some legal issues that vivsiepop + spindlehorse had. i think it had something to do with working with kesha and her label

FNAF TRAILER JUST DROPPED

yeah the world just decided to speedrun history today

(pls tell me if there's anything to add to this in the replies!!!)

[vintage-russia]

Still from the movie "Дочь купца Башкирова|Merchant Bashkirov's daughter" (1913)

[o-craven-canto]

-- The History of Louis Pasteur, 1936

[urfavoritedcwhore]

𝖒𝖞 𝖒𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖙<3

the goldfinch fics:

the russian boy series(not complete):

part one: https://www.tumblr.com/urfavoritedcwhore/757313040130703360/the-russian-boypart-one?source=share

part two: https://www.tumblr.com/urfavoritedcwhore/757397374398300160/the-russian-boypart-two?source=share

part three: https://www.tumblr.com/urfavoritedcwhore/758404629284470784/the-russian-boypart-three?source=share

part four: https://www.tumblr.com/urfavoritedcwhore/758647360552370176/the-russian-boypart-four?source=share

part five : https://www.tumblr.com/urfavoritedcwhore/758647986258690048/the-russian-boypart-five?source=share

part six: https://www.tumblr.com/urfavoritedcwhore/758729107941015552/the-russian-boypart-six?source=share

part seven: https://www.tumblr.com/urfavoritedcwhore/758849762276605952/the-russian-boypart-seven?source=share

part eight: https://www.tumblr.com/urfavoritedcwhore/758938909295116288/the-russian-boypart-eight?source=share

part nine: https://www.tumblr.com/urfavoritedcwhore/759120803236364288/the-russian-boypart-nine?source=share

part ten: https://www.tumblr.com/urfavoritedcwhore/759208726518513664/the-russian-boypart-ten?source=share

part eleven: https://www.tumblr.com/urfavoritedcwhore/759343339599527936/the-russian-boypart-eleven?source=share

part twelve: https://www.tumblr.com/urfavoritedcwhore/760025567064211456/the-russian-boypart-twelve?source=share

part thirteen: https://www.tumblr.com/urfavoritedcwhore/760481807401615360/the-russian-boypart-thirteen?source=share

part fourteen: https://www.tumblr.com/urfavoritedcwhore/760650261170733056/the-russian-boypart-fourteen?source=share

part fifteen: https://www.tumblr.com/urfavoritedcwhore/761030594275786752/the-russian-boypart-fifteen?source=share

part sixteen: https://www.tumblr.com/urfavoritedcwhore/761110155274387456/the-russian-boypart-sixteen

part seventeen: https://www.tumblr.com/urfavoritedcwhore/761479367298793472/the-russian-boypart-seventeen

part eighteen: https://www.tumblr.com/urfavoritedcwhore/763377380311072768/the-russian-boypart-eighteen

boris smut//fluff(not complete):

drug sex (smut): https://www.tumblr.com/urfavoritedcwhore/756403673390825472/drug-sexborisxfemreader?source=share

take care of her for me (smut): https://www.tumblr.com/urfavoritedcwhore/756765964470730752/take-care-of-her-for-meborisxtheoxfemreader?source=share

comforting her (fluff): https://www.tumblr.com/urfavoritedcwhore/760749916634202112/hii-sso-i-was-thinking-if-you-could-do-a?source=share

boris headcannons (smut&fluff): https://www.tumblr.com/urfavoritedcwhore/760909071157215232/book-boris-as-your-boyfriend-hcssome-sexual?source=share

say it (smut): https://www.tumblr.com/urfavoritedcwhore/761301483654414336/hey-queen-since-ur-reqs-are-open-could-you-write

coriolanus snow:

school project (smut): https://www.tumblr.com/urfavoritedcwhore/747709591519903744/school-projectsmut?source=share

henry winter(not complete):

dinner at the lake house (smut): https://www.tumblr.com/urfavoritedcwhore/761207230946246656/dinner-at-the-lake-househenry-winter-x

let me help you (fluff): https://www.tumblr.com/urfavoritedcwhore/763437874263752704/hi-lovely-i-come-bearing-a-henry-winter-request

phone sex (smut): https://www.tumblr.com/urfavoritedcwhore/763662845488644096/phone-sexhenry-winter-x-femreader

break (prelude to phone sex): https://www.tumblr.com/urfavoritedcwhore/764209892614668288/idea-for-henry-marchbanks-winter-fanfic-he-gets

this is my first time making a masterlist, so please tell me if you have any issues accessing the links! i will be adding all my new posts to this from now on<3

[the-last-tsar]

"It was shortly after her father's abortive wedding that the twelve-year-old Alix met Nicky for the first time as, a month later, she traveled to Russia for the wedding of her next eldest sister, Ella, to Grand Duke Sergei. After their first meeting, Nicky noted in his diary that he liked Alix very much; nevertheless, at that point he preferred her sister. Their interaction on this first visit consisted mainly of "romping" and "jumping about", along with all the other young cousins (Nicky and Alix, sharing a great-grandmother in Princess Wilhelmine of Baden, were second cousins). Yet despite the childishness of this family boisterousness, just a few days after the first meeting the sixteen-year-old Nicky was referring to "pretty little Alix" and asserting that they loved one another. In between jumping and romping, they told one another secrets, and Nicky was sad to see her leave. But as yet he was in no hurry to think seriously of a future wife, recording in his diary a few months latter, "The desire to get married lasted until luncheon, and then went away".

Alix and Nicky | Virginia Rounding

[i-identify-tanks-in-posts]

Hey balderonie. Catch.

I don't know why it's in black and white, but I know that this is one of the Red Dawn "T-72"s. It's actually a vismod based on the chassis of a US M8A1 tractor, which is in turn based on the Walker-Bulldog chassis. It's actually really impressive all the technical work that went into Red Dawn, and their attention to detail makes it one of my favorite movies to this day.

Below is the image from the movie in full color, as well as without the photobucket watermark.

100% confidence

[saisons-en-enfer]

Russian Ark (2002)

Dir. Alexander Sokurov

[period-drama-lover]

little baby girl lizzy ♥

[the-cricket-chirps]

Stenberg Brothers, Cafe Fanconi, 1927

[countlessofvoids]

Honestly I think Ragnar the Rock should've been a viking. I mean, he already has a viking name. But more importantly it would reduce the xenophobia vibes the franchise gives me

[fibula-rasa]

Christmas Films of a Century Past

(updated!)

For some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to watch somewhere 50-60 Christmas and Christmas-adjacent silent films from before 1920 to put together a playlist for you all. 

I chose these as a representative selection. My general criteria were:

Christmas should be central to the story

The plot should be novel to a modern viewer or something a modern viewer would be surprised to see so early on film 

The list on the whole should have a variety of settings and narrative structures

Here’s a direct link to the YouTube playlist, if you want to watch them all in one go. (They are all shorter than feature length!)

Two quick presentation notes: 

Some of the videos have music and some don’t, so you may want to check your volume level. 

The intertitles for some of these films are not in English, so be sure you have captions turned on for English translations.

READ ON BELOW!

1. Santa Claus (1898) (UK)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Directed by George Albert Smith 

Short and sweet, this film sees children put to bed by their nanny on Christmas Eve and Santa Claus coming down the chimbley to fill their dutifully hung stockings. Director G.A. Smith used his own patented technique of double exposure to show Santa’s arrival without cutting away from the children’s room. Santa Claus might not pack the punch of a Méliès trick film, but it’s a fun novelty and is purportedly the first appearance of Santa Claus on film.

2. The Little Match Seller (1902) (UK)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Directed by James Williamson 

This one’s a quick but effective adaptation of the Hans Christian Anderson tragedy featuring impressively well-coordinated superimpositions.

3. The Christmas Angel (1904) (FR)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Directed by George Méliès for Star Film Company

The Christmas Angel follows an impoverished girl driven into the city to beg on a snowy winter night. First she’s chased away from a church by more seasoned beggars; then she’s thrown out of a poultry seller and harassed by police. On the verge of falling asleep in the snow, a rag-and-bone man rouses her and offers her help. Later, the girl passes out beside a road but is luckily spotted by a wealthy couple on a car ride. When they learn of her plight, they bring her home along with food and gifts. 

Though not as fantastical as some of Méliès’ more famous works, The Christmas Angel is still highly stylized (and stylish) and features special effects that are photographed beautifully. It’s also worth noting that the version of the film included here is the American cut. The original French cut, titled Détresse et Charité (Distress and Charity), did not include the sequence with the wealthy couple and instead ends with the girl dying in the snow. 

4. The Night Before Christmas (1905) (US)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Directed by Edwin S. Porter for Edison Manufacturing Company

This is the first time the poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas” was put on film. Loosely following the poem, we see Santa Claus prepare for his yearly trek while a middle-class family prepares for his visit. When Santa heads out, we are treated to an extended panning sequence with a fully painted backdrop for a mini Santa and his reindeer to glide across. When Santa arrives at the family home, he chaotically dumps presents and decorations around their living room and makes a large, decorated tree appear out of thin air. (Across many of the movies I watched to put this post together, this seems to be a favored scenario for the jolly fat man around this time—and it’s delightful.) The family then wakes to find their gifts and the film closes with Santa directly wishing us a Merry Christmas. 

5. A Little Girl Who Did Not Believe in Santa Claus (1907) (US)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Directed by J. Searle Dawley and Edwin S. Porter for Edison Manufacturing Company

Even at the risk of this list being too Edison heavy, I couldn’t leave this great short out. While walking with his mother, a rich little boy encounters a poor little girl alone in the cold. They take her home to play and warm up. When the boy learns that the girl doesn’t believe in Santa because apparently Santa doesn’t visit poor children, he hatches a scheme. On Christmas Eve, the boy holds a stake out near the fireplace and takes Santa hostage, tying him up and holding him at gunpoint. The boy then forces Santa to visit the girl—going so far as shimmying down the chimney himself to let Santa in the front door. When the girl wakes up to a beautifully decorated tree, new toys, and a full stocking, she can finally believe in Santa Claus. While I’m generally not so into stories about supposedly benevolent rich people, I do love the implications this story has on how Santa Claus works and I also find the means with which the boy gets his way hilarious.

6. Il Natale di Cretinetti / Foolshead’s Christmas (1909) (IT)

[& Come fu che l’ingordigia rovino il Natale di Cretinetti / How Greediness Spoilt Foolshead’s Christmas (1910) & Il Natale di Cretinetti (1911)]

[letterboxd | imdb]

Directed by Andre Deed for Itala Film

This entry is a three-for, which I hope you’ll excuse, but I couldn’t decide which Cretinetti Christmas to share! Cretinetti, the comedic persona of filmmaker Andre Deed, is an absolute agent of chaos. 

In the 1909 film, Cretinetti attempts to bring a tree home for a Christmas party. The destruction escalates wildly, culminating in an entire building falling to pieces. 

If you can believe it, the stakes are even higher in the 1910 film, when Cretinetti can’t resist sneaking out of bed on Christmas Eve to snack on the candy decorating the tree. When Santa sees what Cretinetti has done, he chides him and takes him back to his workshop—which is apparently in heaven. Destruction ensues. Cretinetti then proceeds to cause havoc for Saint Peter, annoying god so much that he calls the devil to come get Cretinetti. Cretinetti is then chased to hell where demons try to cook him alive. Thankfully, spoiler alert, it was all a bad dream and he wakes up on Christmas morning with a terrible stomach ache. 

The 1911 film returns to localized chaos. Cretinetti has a run-in with a mail carrier and his Christmas packages get mixed up with one of the carrier’s parcels. The parcel contains three bottles of ether which then begin to emit gasses in the middle of the family Christmas party. 

I wasn’t familiar with Cretinetti before reviewing films for this list, but I’m definitely going to seek out more of Deed’s movies. Each of these films had well-executed chaotic slapstick; over-the-top in all the right ways.

7. Making Christmas Crackers (1910) (UK)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Produced by Cricks & Martin Films for Clarke, Nickolls, & Coombs Confectionery

To start, if you’re not sure what a Christmas cracker is, it’s a colorfully decorated paper tube that makes a cracking noise as you pull it open. Inside the tube is a paper hat, a joke, and/or a small toy. It’s a traditional part of UK Christmas celebrations.

This short starts as a documentary of the workers at Clarke, Nickolls, & Coombs constructing the crackers. It’s a fun thought that as early as 1910, people were interested in watching how mass-produced consumer goods were made. It’s also fun to see these skilled workers ply their trade so deftly (even though wages and working conditions were likely less than ideal). The film ends with a family celebrating around a Christmas tree topped with a functional giant cracker.

8. A Christmas Carol (1910) (US)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Directed by J. Searle Dawley for Edison Films Manufacturing Company

There are so so so many film adaptations of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol made before 1920 that it was hard to choose which one to include on this list. In the end I chose this 1910 version for its economy of storytelling, fluid use of special effects, and for Marc McDermott’s great performance as Scrooge.

9. Broncho Billy’s Christmas Dinner (1911) (US)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Directed by Gilbert M. Anderson (Broncho Billy) for The Essanay Film Manufacturing Company

Gilbert M. Anderson was an incredibly prolific and popular filmmaker and star of early American film, particularly in his role as Broncho Billy. As was typical for Anderson, he’s pulling triple duty on Broncho Billy’s Christmas Dinner as the star, director, and producer. The film features a simple and heartwarming story. 

On Christmas, Billy comes across a young woman in peril as her horses got startled and are now pulling her cart along wildly. Billy manages to wrangle the horses and in gratitude she invites him to Christmas dinner at her parents’ home. Unfortunately, her father happens to be the sheriff. But, all is well, as it turns out that Broncho Billy’s been given a pardon and the sheriff welcomes him to the table gladly. 

The enduring appeal of outlaws or criminals getting into the Christmas spirit is fascinating to me and it’s cool to see such an early instance of the story!

10. Le Noel de la princesse / The Little Princess’s XMas Gift (1911) (FR)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Produced by Société Générale des Cinématographes Éclipse

In all honesty, this is the least Christmassy (but also probably most christian-y) of all the films I included here, but its style and novelty stood out. The sets, costuming, and production design are lush. It might also be one of the weirdest Christmas stories I’ve even encountered.

After Lord Othberg passes away, the conniving Otto plans to assassinate the baby prince in order to inherit the lordship himself. He poisons the baby, but the princess prays for her baby brother to come back to life as her Christmas gift. An angel appears to her and they summon Jesus, who resurrects her baby brother. Of course, they then place the revivified baby in the castle’s nativity scene, to the joy of all but Otto.

11. Ida’s Christmas (1912) (US)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Directed by Van Dyke Brooke for Vitagraph Company of America

With a more classic Christmassy story, Ida’s Christmas tells us of a family who are facing hard times. Ida (played by a very small Dolores Costello) has her eyes on a pricey doll. Meanwhile, her mother seeks out employment with a wealthy family. The matriarch of the wealthy family overhears Ida’s wish and decides to buy the doll for her as a surprise. Later, Ida is distraught to find that the doll has been purchased but comes across a wallet that someone has dropped. She considers taking the money, but chases down the owner instead. The old man gives her some reward money for returning the wallet. Ida rushes to see if she can buy the doll, but has second thoughts when she thinks about how much her family could use the money. She arrives home with the money just in time for a Santa-esque old man to show up bearing packages and an assurance that the wealthy family has work for her father. The film ends with the family celebrating an unexpectedly Merry Christmas. 

It’s a sweet story that hits so many beats of what we now consider traditional Christmas tales.

12. Рождество обитателей леса / The Insect’s Christmas (1913) (RU)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Directed by Władysław Starewicz for Khanzhonkov

Fair warning, if you thought The Princess’s XMas Gift was odd, you might need to ready yourself for this one. Stop-motion virtuoso Władysław Starewicz (Ladislas Starevich) spins a tale about a tiny ornament of Santa/Ded Moroz coming to life on Christmas and going out into the wild to bring Christmas joy to creatures small and smaller, including a frog and a ladybug. Starewicz’s animation is as impeccable as ever and the short is imaginative and quirky.

Honorable Mention:

Dance of the Seasons (1900)

Christmas Dream (1900)

Christmas Eve (1913)

A Christmas Carol (1914)

Snow White (1916)

A Winter Straw Ride (1906)

[shtoproishoditemae]

It's Ivan the Terrible's birthday yay 👍

[vintage-russia]

Still from the movie "Dying swan" (1916)

[gemsofgreece]

Man of God: A review

After three years since its release (time flies 😳) I decided to finally watch Man of God and see for myself what all the praise and all the criticism were about. For those who don’t know, Man of God is a Greek - Russian movie about the life of Saint Nektarios of Aegina island.

The information around the reception of the movie has been jarring with most believers speaking of a rare masterpiece while most atheists spoke of one of the most terrible movies full of propaganda they had ever seen etc

Much to my dismay, this was another reminder that in this country atheists / agnostics are not any more reliable than fiercely religious people.

The truth of course is somewhere in between. The film is decent, in no way a masterpiece and in no way the worst movie you will ever see. It can actually keep your attention well until the end. But you must KNOW why you watch it. Atheists complaining for the money they wasted on it, on a movie that was very obviously about a man supposed to have reached sainthood and be venerated as such, I am sorry but it is their problem if they could not figure out they would not be interested in the content.

I could even recommend watching this movie but only if you know why you watch it and only after I will briefly give you its pros and cons.

Pros:

The acting is pretty good. Some people criticised it, however the problem they saw and perhaps misinterpreted as bad acting was different and I will mention it promptly. In any case, the acting is good, the casting is mostly good, Ares Servetalis is generally well chosen as the main character. I also enjoyed Loulis, Karabeti and a very theatrical Stankoglou in their short roles. Mickey Rourke is the international star who makes a very short cameo here and he is also good.

This film is particularly good for the images and insight into Christian Orthodoxy it provides. There is complete accuracy regarding the vestments, the way both a solemn and true but also a deceitful priest typically act, the way the Synod, Ecclesiastical schools, the monasteries operate and so on. From this perspective, it was interesting to watch.

The make up is great. Saint Nektarios starts as a man in his early 40s and we see all the stages as he ages and his health deteriorates significantly very accurately. This is actually where Servetalis’ acting shines the most, too.

The cinematography is nice, it has pretty imagery from rural Greece and a few nice settings in religious buildings. It is nowhere near the level of views Greece can naturally and even religiously offer but it was overall aesthetically pleasing.

Despite its several flaws, the film was able to move me and cause me (suitable) discomfort in certain parts.

Cons:

This movie would be unanimously considered a lot better, had it not been for the frankly crazy idea to be filmed in English. So, you have a Greek movie with Greek actors playing Greek characters in a Greek setting in 19th-20th century Greece speaking English to each other. Even worse is the choice to sprinkle with a little Greek here and there, for example priests speak in English but chant in Greek, Nektarios visits a Greek woman and speaks to her in English but then immediately afterwards speaks to the maid in Greek (???what the hell), a drunken man sings in Greek and then addresses the priest in English. It’s frankly lunatic and I can’t believe how everyone - director, producers, screenwriters, actors - thought that just because the movie would have an international release, this was a justifiable decision.

Like I said, some people accused the movie of bad acting. Here’s the problem: the actors tried their best and mostly were very good, however they gave so much emphasis on the struggle to pronounce English as well as possible (it is a known fact that Greek speakers struggle with the English accents), that this was making their dialogues slow and very cautious which was obviously making dialogue heavy scenes seem very unnatural. It does not help at all that the protagonist has clearly one of the weakest English accents in the cast. Servetalis is furthermore naturally very soft spoken but while it is beautiful in Greek, in his weak English it just sounds weird. Heads up for Loulis though - his English was freaking amazing in my humble opinion. And in general, if you knew how much Greek speakers often struggle with English accents, you’d understand that most of the actors really outdid themselves. Hence, the acting is good.

The pacing and the script of the movie are just bad. The movie starts without giving the main character’s background at all and without giving any insight into how the animosity against him was developed amongst the other bishops of Alexandria. Then it’s mostly dialogue heavy and it’s through the dialogues that we explore the main character and so many people may feel they remain emotionally detached from him. In fact, Servetalis also interprets the character in a somewhat detached, suppressed, “hovering above the ground” way and although I totally understand this approach, it is not assisted with that poor script and the out of place English to make the audience feel connected to him more. The English script is also very unnatural, most of the responses are like “Yes, I will” and “No, I do not” as if we are back to English A1 Class.

I already said the settings were okay, however there was room for improvement. I hoped a Russian director would not follow the same typical preference of Greek directors for narrow frames and a lot of close ups but apparently not. Neither the rich Church funding this nor even Russia could help with the budget and finally get a Greek movie with big sets and wide camera shots?! lol 🥲 I will open a champagne the day we get such a movie.

There are some goofs, i.e Nektarios ages so much and everyone else remains in the same age XD

Regarding the Propaganda claim:

I suppose this came only by biased atheists because, no, there is actually no propaganda in the film. It is a Christian movie made for Christian and Christian-tolerant audiences, who either accept or are open to the established belief that Nektarios had performed miracles in his lifetime. And in fact, the reference to his miracles is surprisingly fleeting for a movie that is funded by the Church. It’s just one small scene and then one very short mention and that’s all. There is also nothing else that would make this movie eligible for propaganda accusations - Nektarios is firm in his faith of course and especially in his Jesus-like selflessness, other people around him express doubt or prefer pure reason. Some are good people and question religion. Some are evil people and question religion. But most importantly, many are priests and are straightforwardly portrayed as foul deceivers, traitors, liars etc. Not only do I not see propaganda in this but I was personally impressed by the Church’s admission of what kind of people often infest it (of course it helps that all these people lived 1-2 centuries ago lol). Of course, the movie does accept that he performed miracles and thus was holy. But it is a Christian movie about an established venerated Christian saint… right? If for example I watched a movie made about a religious figure by the believers of this - any - religion, should I not expect that the figure would be presented as admirable or even holy? I hope you get my point. If you know what you are watching and why you are watching it, there is no case you will find anything problematic in it.

Anyway, these were my thoughts regarding the movie. The general score it gets in IMDb, produced as the median from the extremely high and low ratings of believers and atheists respectively, is fairly accurate and what I feel would be my personal score as well: 7.

So if you are a Christian or a Christian Orthodox and considered watching this (all these three years before I came around to watch it 😅), sure go ahead!

Saint Nektarios of Aegina island

Scene from the movie

[pattern-53-enfield]

Russian war movies are great sometimes.

[the-last-tsar]

"Catherine II played a decisive role in the choice of future tsarinas, introducing compatriot women in the court. And so, with one exception (Alexander III's wife, who would be Danish), they would all be of German origin. The princesses were selected very young, between fourteen and sixteen years old, still shy and malleable. The ceromonies obeyed a very strict etiquette, starting with the solemn entrance of the future Grand Duchess, until her wedding. The court carriages were waiting for the young lady at the station. On the way to the Winter Palace, where the great dignitaries would be presented to her, she could admire the living barrier of the imperial Guard outlined to her passage. On horseback, the emperor escorted the golden carriage with the imperial crown on top, pulled by eight gray horses. The Grand Dukes followed on horseback, and the Grand Duchesses, in other luxurious carriages. The next stage was a kind of guided tour by the imperial palaces of St. Petersburg and the surrounding area, which was an opportunity for the young foreigner to learn the history of the country. Another important stage of this training consisted of inculcating the culture of the country of adoption, to allow a complete integration. (something Catherine II had achieved to perfection). The future Grand Duchesses were to learn Russian and convert to Orthodoxy. It didn't take long for them to lose all contact with their home country. Thus, stripped of their Germanness, they could become authentic Slavs. The wedding ceremonial remained unchanged until the reign of Nicholas II. After the festivities ended, the young wife found herself closed in the rigid world of the Russian monarchy. They had to give up their personal tastes and erase their personality. Becoming another guardian of secular traditions, she was to become an idol of the nation."

The Tsarinas - The Women who Made Russia | Vladimir Fedorovski.

(Loose translation)