#princess of russia

[lunastar92]

Hand drawn animation will always be superior!

It's just beautiful and I miss it!

ANASTASIA (1997)

[vintage-russia]

Russian fairytale "The Frog Princess" (1914)

[empress-alexandra]

Princess Alix of Hesse (Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia) dressed for costume dress ball, 1892.

[teatimeatwinterpalace]

Princess Alice with her second daugther, Elizabeth, later Grand Duchess of Russia, 1864-1865.

Darmstadt, November 7, 1864 | The little daughter was but a momentary disappointment to us, which we have quite got over. We console ourselves with the idea that the little pair will look pretty together.

November 20, 1864 | Louis's mother is to be godmother, because it is customary here to ask someone of the name the child is to receive to stand on the occasion. We liked Elizabeth on account of St. Elisabeth being the ancestress of the Hessian as well as the Saxon House.

November 26, 1864 | I am very well and very careful; all people say I look better, and have more colour than I have had for long, and, indeed, I feel strong and well, and by fat Baby does perfectly, and is a great darling.

November 29, 1864 | I ought to mention the christening. My mother-in-law held Baby all the time, and it screamed a great deal. Victoria stood with us and was very good, only kneeling down and tumbling over the footstool every two minutes, and she kept whispering to me, 'Go to Uncle's.' I thought so much of the christening last year, when Victoria behaved much better than her larger dark sister. Ella measured twenty-three and a half inches a fortnight ago, and she had not grown then.

Kranichstein, July 10, 1865 | Ella already says, since some time, 'Papa' and 'Mama' and calls herself, and crawls, and is very forward and merry - such a contrast to Victoria, who is so pale and fair, and now thin, for Ella's eyes are so dark blue, and her hair of such a rich brown, that you would never take the little things for sisters. They are very fond of each other, and so dear together, that they give us much peasure. I would not change them for boys, if I could; this little pair of sisters is so nice, and they can be such friends to each other.

[love-promethea]

[7pleiades7]

Portrait of Empress Maria Alexandrovna (1857),(detail), by Franz Xaver Winterhalter (German, 1805–1873), oil on canvas, 120 × 95 cm, The State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg

[thehessiansisters]

Painting of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia by François Flameng, 1894.

[adini-nikolaevna]

“We never saw Natusya at all.  She died on 10th May... and she died in Mama's arms  Mama was the first to know that our dear little sister had passed away.  She was born on the 10th of March, she was christened on the 10th of April, and she died on the 10th of May: always the 10th.”

- Prince Oleg Konstantinovich of Russia on the death of his baby sister, Princess Natalia Konstantinovna.

[foreverinthepagesofhistoryy]

❧ ♔ ~ Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia & Princess Margaretha of Sweden’s corespondence ~ ♔ ☙

❧ “Dear Marie, Thank you very much for your card. How are you all? We are all well. On the card you see our country house. Much love from your loving Margaretha. Please write soon.” - Margaretha to Maria, Feb 24th 1914

❧ “Dear Marie, I wish you a very happy Xmas and new year from your loving cousin Margaretha” - Margaretha to Maria, Jan 1st 1915

❧ “Darling Marie, Thank you so very much for your card! Here is a new foto of my brother. Much love fr. your loving cousin. Margaretha. PS Write very soon!!!” - Margaretha to Maria, March 14th 1914

❧ “Dear Marie, I thank you so very much for your kind letter. Now we are here in the country and have a lovely time. Where are you? I have put up my hair too and you did it so much earlier. Much love to you all from us. Many kisses from your loving cousin Margaretha. Please write soon.” - Margaretha to Maria, June 4th 1915

❧ “Darling Marie, I hope you all are well. You must have a very nice time in Livadia and I quite understand you are sorry to leave it. Do write a card I would be very glad. 1000 kisses from your loving cousin Margaretha.” Margaretha to Maria, undated

Source: Diaries and Letters of Maria Nikolaevna Romanova by Helen Azar

[ciderbird]

teenage Alexander and his struggles

+ bonus Alexcheev! (teen idle by Marina and the Diamonds is playing softly in the background)

[usssnarfblat]

Did Anastasia deserve to die for her family's crimes against Fieval's family?

I've always found it interesting that "Anastasia" and "An American Tail" were made by the same guy...

My mom got us "An American Tail" as kids, since we were Jewish, and a Disney-like movie with Jewish characters was a one-of-a-kind thing. ("The Prince of Egypt" was still a few years away. Yes, I'm that old.) More to the point, my dad's side of the family is largely Russian Jews, who immigrated in the early 1920s, for exactly the same reasons as the Mouskewitz. Being a child of this background and very literally obsessed with cats, I had mixed feelings about the movie.

When "Anastasia" came out a few years later, Mom didn't let that history stop us from enjoying the new princess movie, but she didn't shelter us from it either. We regarded it like we did the real history behind any sugar-coated princess movie. She even got us some history books about the real Romanov family, and we were fascinated by the subject.

Still, it's an odd elephant in the room, watching "Anastasia" and knowing that her granddad was the one who sent those Cossack cats after Fievel's village, and her dad himself continued doing it to the Jewish mice who didn't leave.

"Go, Pompom, Kibble and Fluff-Baron! Kill those Jew mice, and I'll give you extra catnip treats tonight!"

Don Bluth presents both the Romannov family and their victims with equal sympathy, even opening both movies with the family celebrating a holiday, with the kid heroes getting a plot-specific present, before being viciously attacked.

"Wow Grandmama! Fieval and Tanya could use this as a merry-go-round!"

*Cough* "Yes uh, about those Jewish mice Sweetie..."

Bluth's portrayal of the Romanov family is not entirely inaccurate. By all accounts, Nicholas II was a deeply loving father who both doted on his children, but raised them not to be spoiled. Despite being royalty, the princesses shared bedrooms and did charity work at hospitals.

It's a baffling irony that Nicholas was nevertheless was a tyrant, and not remotely just to his Jewish subjects. When I was about twelve, Mom got me the Dear America book A Coal Miner's Bride, about the Catholic Polish immigrants who also fled the oppression of the Russian Tzar. (Anastasia's family conquered part of Poland in the 1800s, banning the Pols from speaking their own language and drafting their sons into the Tzar's dick-measuring contest wars.) Anyway, that's what my mom's side of the family was fleeing when they immigrated. Yes, my family has double reason to hate the Romanovs.

So, I personally don't have a lot of sympathy for Nicholas II. But the horrors his poor wife and children endured in their final moments never fails to get the reaction from me.

The rationalization for the murder of the children and queen was that it was the only way to ensure that the monarchy never returned. But I assume most modern-thinking people would say that the ends do not justify the means in this case.

That said, millions of families like Anetka's and Fievel's suffered as bad or worse than the Romanovs, because of the Romanovs, and no one remembers them because they didn't wear tiaras. This no doubt was another factor that killed sympathy for the Romanov children. But they were still children.

The question today is, if we can feel for a family that was literal royalty, despite their father being an undeniable tyrant against our own families...can we also feel for Palestinian and Israeli families, during a conflict that is vastly more complicated than Imperial Russia?

Or do they need to be cute mice and glittery princesses to get our attention?

[gerrydefault]

babygirl coded 🎀

[vintage-russia]

Illustration for the Russian fairy tale "The Princess Frog" (1930)

Ivan Bilibin (1876-1942)

[empress-alexandra]

Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia, 1890s.

[teatimeatwinterpalace]

Princesses Elizabeth and Victoria of Hesse, 1878.

'As Elizabeth and the other grew into adolescence and traveled around the courts of Europe, they became notorious for their riotous daredevilry. At first it was Victoria, as the eldest, who led the children's wild horseplay and ruled them all "with a rod of iron". She was becoming a tomboy, reveling in physical games and competition. She loved to tell and hear heroic stories, Arthurian and Homeric legends. Elizabeth, on the other hand, preferred "nice little girl stories" and the dolls and girlish things that Victoria loathed. She was more feminine and becoming prettier than her elder sister, though less practical or clever. But as she grew she began to rebel against Victoria's iron rule. One day Victoria gave in and agreed to share her authority with Elizabeth. Underneath her docile front Elizabeth had gained a character at least as strong as her sister's and tougher than those of the younger ones.' Elizabeth : Grand Duchess of Russia by Hugo Mager.

[everythingroyalty]

First cousins Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom (1868-1935) and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (1872-1918) having a laugh together at a family photo session at Bernstorff Palace in Denmark in 1899 ✨