#tsardom

[raechologyy]

People saying Nicholas II was a good Tsar makes me so mad....

He wasn't a good Tsar. He was neglectful and abused his people. He was an antisemite, and read anti-jewish propaganda to his children. He literally attended a ball THE NIGHT OF Bloody Sunday.

Not to say he didn't care about his people, but he was truly a neglectful Tsar who was a detriment to his Empire.

He was, however, a good man (with his faults) and a loving father. I will give people that, but it's so hard to agree he was a good Tsar.

He was born to be a family man, but doomed to be a neglectful Tsar.

[nicklloydnow]

“The Roman Empire was the enterprise of a city; England's was established to remedy the exiguity of an island; Germany sought to build hers in order not to smother in an overpopulated territory. An unparalleled phenomenon, Russia was to justify her projected expansion in the name of her vast spaces. "The moment I have enough, why not have too much?" Such is the implicit paradox of both her proclamations and her silences. By converting infinity into a political category, she would overturn the classical concept and the traditional contexts of imperialism and provoke throughout the world a hope too great not to degenerate into chaos.” - Emil Cioran, ‘History and Utopia’ (1960) [page 36]

[roehenstart]

Portrait of Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg, Grand Duchess of Russia. By Alexander Roslin.

[krasivaa]

Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna Romanova in captivity in Tsarskoe Selo, Russia, April 1917. 💔💘

[kaiserrreich]

Empress Alexandra of Russia, having her likeness modeled in clay, three years before the revolution of 1917.

Source & colorization credit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ColorizedHistory/comments/9h2q7x/empress_alexandra_of_russia_having_her_likeness/

[cawthedwal]

[dreamconsumer]

Tatiana Nikolaevna and Maria Nikolaevna.

[dekulakization]

History repeats itself.

[nickysfacts]

Russia traditionally was a very accepting place for LGBT individuals!

🏳️‍🌈🇷🇺🏳️‍🌈

[salomedebeaurepaire]

The impressive beauty of malachite furniture made in the 18th-19th century :

[ebert1f]

Awesome,you're finally back^^

no not really...

and who are you? 🧐

Inspection of the Black Sea Fleet in 1849

[roehenstart]

Portrait of Natalia Alexeievna of Russia (1755-1776), wife of Paul I of Russia. By Peter Falconet.

[krasivaa]

Tsar Nicholas II proudly looking at his smiling little son, Tsarevich Alexei, in fields, 1907. ✨❤

[kaiserrreich]

I have to share this fic... it's really good. Alexei II by Cribman // link

Summary: Instead of abdicating for his younger brother, Nicholas II is instead pressured to abdicate in favour of his underage and haemophiliac son, Alexei. With Russia in the midst of a revolution during a war against the brutal onslaught of the Central Powers. The new provisional government must work with the new Tsar and his regent to heal the fractured empire before more damage can be done. With their popularity damaged almost to the point beyond repair. The senior members of the House of Romanov must begin to embrace political reforms to survive the turbulence that is surely to come.

[dreamconsumer]

Olga and Anastasia Nikolaevna.

[justacynicalromantic]

And the fields turned white, and the fields turned white;

Even the glens...

Even the glens...

And the body hurt and so did the heart;

And even the head...

And even the head...

And no one will weep, and no one will weep

Over this pale body...

Over this Burlak body...

Neither his father will weep, nor his mother will weep, nor his borther, nor his sister;

And not even his wife...

Not even his wife...

Only his comrade will cry, and only his comrade will weep;

Only his comrade...

Only his comrade...

Oh my dearest brother, my dearest friend, please, forgive me -

Perhaps I will die...

Perhaps I will die...

Will you make for me, dearest brother, dearest friend,

A coffin of elm?

A coffin of elm...

Will you bury me, dearest brother, dearest friend,

In a cherry garden?

In a cherry garden...

In a small cherry garden, in white sand;

Under a rowan tree...

Under a rowan tree...

Let this tree grow big, big, slender and tall;

And with a wavy crown...

With a wavy crown...

Let its branches reach from the crown to the earth;

Full of leaves...

Full of leaves...

Let them cover my body, my pale Burlak body;

And even the head...

And even the head...

So neither the sun nor the raging winds

Blacken my body...

My pale Burlak body...

So that my body, my pale Burlak body,

Does not decay...

Does not decay...

(Ukrainian folk song "And The Fields Turned White" )

"Burlaks on Volga", picture by Ilya Repin.

In Russian Empire, Burlaks were either runaway serfs serving their sentences this way for running away, or serf, who were "lent" by their masters to earn some coin. The slave labour was about hauling large boats or barges.