Celebrations dedicated to the 400th Anniversary of the Romanovs

In 2013, Russia celebrates the 400th Anniversary of the Romanovs. Several concerts, exhibitions, celebrations and conferences will take place throughout the year in the cities marked by the life of the Dynasty, especially in Moscow, St.Petersburg, Kostroma, Ekaterinburg, Rostov-on-Don and others.

Who are the Romanovs and where did they come from?

Photo: ITAR-TASS Agency

The Romanov Dynasty was the second and last imperial dynasty to rule over Russia, reigning from 1613 until the 1917. Descendants of Andrey Ivanovich Kobyla (Kambila), a Muscovite boyar who lived during the reign of the grand prince of Moscow Ivan I Kalita (reigned 1328–41), the Romanovs acquired their name from Roman Yurev (d. 1543), whose daughter Anastasiya Romanovna Zakharina-Yureva was the first wife of Ivan IV the Terrible (reigned as tsar 1547–84). Her brother Nikita’s children took the surname Romanov in honour of their grandfather. After Fyodor I (the last ruler of the Rurik dynasty) died in 1598, Russia endured 15 chaotic years. After the fall of the Godunov dynasty in June 1605, a cousin of the last legitimate Tsar, Filaret Romanov was valued by several impostors who attempted to claim the Rurik legacy and throne during the Time of Troubles. Filaret's 16-year-old son Mikhail Romanov, then living at the Ipatiev Monastery of Kostroma, finally accepted the throne, and on the 21^st of February 1613 he was unanimously elected Tsar of Russia by the National assembly. The new dynasty came to power.

We invite you to visit two exhibitions dedicated to the 400^th Anniversary of the Romanovs opened in Moscow and St.Petersburg.

The exposition opened at the Russian Museum includes about 150 paintings, sculptures, graphic works, applied arts works and coins from the collection of the Russian Museum that are connected with the theme of foundation of the new dynasty. Among these works are the monumental canvas “The Election of Mikhail Romanov as Tsar” (1799) created by G.Ugryumov for the St. Michael's Castle; graphic works devoted to this event; paintings and sculpture portraits of members of Emperor's family by L.Karavak, G.Odolsky, F.Shubin, S.Torelli, S.Shchukin, G.Dow, M.Antokolsky and other artists of the 18th - beginning of 20th centuries. Also on display at the exhibition is working on-line catalogue which gives the viewers an opportunity to acquaint with the Album of Drawings, created by the artists during the Sacred Coronation in 1896.

The exhibition runs until 15 July 2013 at the Engineers Castle (St. Michael's Castle) in St. Petersburg.

Another big exhibition, also dedicated to the 400^th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty, has opened at the State Historical Museum in Moscow. The exhibition "The Romanovs. Beginning of a Dynasty" brings together more than 300 relics from museums all over the world that depict the time of the enthronement of the first Romanov.

The exhibition which consists of two sections - "Time of Troubles. Birth of a New Dynasty" and "The First Romanovs: a Portrait on the Background of the Century" - gathered monuments of the epoch of the birth of the royal family.

In the first section you can see the ceremonial flag of the Polish King Sigismund III, a facsimile of the famous 15-meter Stockholm scroll (painting, which depicts a triumphal entry of wedding convoy of Polish King Sigismund III Vasa and his bride - Austrian Archduchess Constance into Krakow, December 4, 1605) and the icon "Our Lady of St. Theodore" which, according to a legend, the nun Martha blessed his son Michael to the kingdom.

The second section presents memorial items, clothing, palace furniture, correspondence of the royal family and royal gifts to churches and monasteries.

The exhibition runs till June 30.