Press ReleaseOn the Visit to Moscow of the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna

On December 16-20, 2011, the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna, visited Moscow. The grand duchess arrived in Russia in order to take part in the celebration of the 10-th anniversary of the revival of the Imperial Military Order of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

On December 16, the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna, arrived in Moscow from Madrid. Her Imperial Highness was met at the airport by Major-General A. V. Kirilin, chairman of the Knights’ Council of the Order of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and Head of the Ministry of Defense’s Office for Eternal Memory of Those Who Gave Their Lives in Service to Their Country; by Colonel O. V. Kuznetsov, the chief of the Ministry of Defense’s Office for Military Heraldry and Insignia and Master of Heraldy of the Armed Forces; and by members of H.I.H.’s Chancellery.

In the morning of December 17, Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna met with the Knights’ Council of the Order of St. Nicholas and signed the decrees appointing new members of the Order and elevating others to higher classes of the Order, as well as the diplomas given to each awardee. Then Her Imperial Highness received a report from Attorney G. Iu. Luk’ianov, the Head of the Legal Office of H.I.H.’s Chancellery, and from S. V. Dumin, the Chancellery’s Master of Heraldry. That evening, the Head of the Russian Imperial House arrived at the Cultural Center of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, where a reception was held in honor of the 10-th anniversary of the refounding of the Imperial Military Order of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The reception was hosted by the Knights’ Council of the Order and by the organization “Military Nobility of Russia,” which is made up of knights of the Order. The grand duchess presented the devices of the Order of St. Vladimir, second class, with swords, to Major-General A. V. Kirilin, the Chairman of the Knights’ Council of the Order of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, and to Colonel-General V. L. Manilov, the Chairman of the organization “Military Nobility of Russia,” and a knight of the Order of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, first class. The grand duchess also bestowed the Imperial Military Order of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, first class, on Marshall of the Artillery V. M. Mikhalkin, and on General of the Army N. F. Grachev, and awarded the Imperial Orders of St. Anna, St. Nicholas, and St. Vladimir on numerous other generals and high-ranking officers and veterans of Russia’s armed forces.

After the reception and dinner, the grand duchess took a walking tour of Red Square, stop to chat with fellow countrymen whom she met along the way and offering them her best wishes on the coming holidays.

On December 18, the Head of the Russian Imperial House, Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna, visited the Lefortovo barracks, where the 154th Command Regiment is stationed—the only unit of the Moscow garrison of the Armed Forced of the Russian Federation which is assigned with performing a range of ceremonial duties. The battalion’s honor guard participates in the most important ceremonies involving government leaders, both inside and outside the country, such as formal arrivals and departures of the heads of foreign governments, of government and military delegations during their official visits to Russia, the placement of wreaths at the Eternal Flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Kremlin’s walls, and many other functions and occasions. The unit also takes part in military parades in Moscow. Her Imperial Highness was met by the commander of the regiment, Colonel M. N. Baryshev, who led the Head of the Russian Imperial House on a tour of the regiment’s chapel of St. DmitriiDonskoi and regimental barracks. He also showed the grand duchess a display of the regiment’s parade dress uniform of the honor guard. There then followed the ceremony of presenting Imperial medals and awards to the officers and soldiers of the regiment.

On the evening of December 18, 2011, in the hotel “National,” the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna, met with A.M. Anisimov, the designer and manufacturer of “Alexander’s Collection,” a brand of handcrafted specialty rugs. The grand duchess received a progress report on of the project entitled “The Romanovs: A Great Dynasty,” which enjoys the sponsorship of Her Imperial Highness and celebrates the 400-th anniversary of the end of the Time of Troubles.The grand duchess also met with the composer A. S. Shelkovnikov, who arrived from the city of Prokol’evsk in the Kemerovsk region, and who presented to Her Imperial Highness the score of his composition “Nocturne Royal,” which is dedicated to the Russian Imperial House. Shelkovnikov’s wife played the piece on the piano for the grand duchess.

The grand duchess also met with Sergei Anatol’evichGavrilov, a deputy in the State Duma of the Russian Federation. At the beginning of their meeting, Her Imperial Highness congratulated Sergei Anatol’evich on his election to the Sixth Session of the State Duma and wished him success in his legislative work. A wide range of issues were raised in the course of their lengthy conversation, including assistance to the Russian Orthodox Church; the preservation of Russia’s centuries-old historical traditions; the fostering of patriotism among Russia’s youth; the strengthening of religious, ethnic, and civil peace in Russia; and the development of processes of integration of the peoples and cultures across the vast expanse of the former Russian Emprie.

After the conclusion of the meeting between the Head of the Russian Imperial House and Duma Deputy S. A. Gavrilov, the newly-elected chair of the Presidium of the Russian Inter-regional Monarchist Movement, Sergei MikhailovichChesnokov, was introducted to the grand duchess. At that same time, the grand duchess heard a report from K. K. Nemirovich-Danchenko, a member of H.I.H.’s Chancellery. During the conversations that ensued, S. A. Gavrilov expressed to the grand duchess his readiness to work together with the Chancellery and with other traditionalist organizations to arrange for an appropriate and fitting celebration of the 400-year-anniversary of the end of the Time of Troubles, the restoration of the Russian state, and the all-national election to the throne of the House of Romanoff.

At the end of the day, Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna heard a report from A. B. Kravchenko, a member of H.I.H.’s Chancellery overseeing its philanthropic activities. The report pertained to the registration and activities of a separate non-profit organization called the “Imperial Society of the House of Romanoff,” which works to bring about programs for the comprehensive reintegration of traditional values and institutions in Russian civil society.

On December 19, on the Feast Day of St. Nicholas of Myra in Lycia, the Wonderworker, the grand duchess attended the Divine Liturgy in the Church of St. Nicholas of the Three Mountains, which was officiated by Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, the chairman of the Synodal Office for Church and Society Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. After the Liturgy, the holy icon of St. Nicholas, “written” by the iconographer N. Nuzhyi, was blessed. In accord with the wishes of the Head of the Russian Imperial House, this icon will be presented as a gift of the Knights’ Council of the Order of St. Nicholas to the Russian Orthodox Church in Bari, where the holy relics of the Heavenly Protector of the Order are kept. After the conclusion of the services, several new knights were invested into the Imperial Orders of St. Anna and St. Nicholas: General of the Army M. A. Moiseev was awarded the Order of St. Anna, first class, and many other generals, officers, and veterans of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, as well as other figures in science, culture, and medicine (press HERE for the details on these investitures on the official website for the Order of St. Anna). The director of the “Sophia” icon workshop, A. N. Shumikhin, presented the grand duchess with an icon of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearer Nicholas II, in whose memory the Order of St. Nicholas had been created in 1929 by the Emperor-in-Exile Kirill I Wladimirovich (Nicholas II’s first cousin). Later, a luncheon was hosted at the church school, located on the grounds of the Church of St. Nicholas, in honor of the Feast Day of St. Nicholas, which is also the Feast Day of the Order of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

In the afternoon, the Head of the Russian Imperial House met with the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan, Z. R. Valeeva, and with the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Tatarstan in St. Petersburg, Sh. K. Akhmetshin. During the meeting, a number of topics were discussed, including religious, ethnic, and civil accord in Russia, the reestablishment of Orthodox (on the island of Sviiazhsk) and Muslim (in the city Bulgar) holy places on the territory of the Republic of Tatarstan, the celebrations of the 400-th anniversary of the end of the Time of Troubles, and the expansion of the exhibition and publishing project “Tatars in the Service of Russia.” The grand duchess was presented at that time with a beautifully published book on the history of Tatar families and their service to Russia.

Her Imperial Highness also met with Igor Lobortas, the owner and found of the jewelry firm “Lobortas” (of Kiev, Ukraine), and with A. Petrakova, the director of the gallery “Vernissage” (of Almaty, Kazakhstan). Igor Lobortas reported in detail on the unveiling of a memorial plaque in Kiev dedicated to the famous Russian Imperial jeweler, Fabergé (a project that enjoyed the support of Her Imperial Highness, Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna). A. Petrakova presented Her Imperial Highness with an icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, inlaid with mother of pearl. The ensuing conversation touched on the many cultural initiatives sponsored by the House of Romanoff that seek to promote closer relations between the peoples of the former Russian Empire and USSR.

That evening, the Head of the Russian Imperial House visited the Moscow House of Nationalities. The grand duchess was greeted by its director, N. P. Komarov, and by his deputy directors, V. A. Novikov and A. N. Ponomar’. The grand duchess familiarized herself with the history of the estate of Prince A. B. Kurakin on New Basmannaia Street, where the Moscow House of Nationalities is located. There then followed a ceremony of installation of new knights into the Orders of St. Anna and St. Nicholas (among those invested with these Orders were the director of the House of Nationalities, N. P. Komarov; the dean of the History Faculty of Moscow State University, Academician S. P. Karpov; the minister of the Moscow city government and the chair of the Committee of the Cultural Legacy of Moscow, A. V. Kibovskii; and other military, governmental, and public figures). Afterward, a dinner in honor of Her Imperial Highness was hosted by the Moscow House of Nationalities.

On December 20, the Head of the Russian Imperial House arrived at the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, where she met with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, ViacheslavMikhailovichLebedev. Also present at this meeting were the General Director of the Legal Department of Supreme Court, A. V. Gusev; the Director of H.I.H.’s Chancellery, A. N. Zakatov; the Chairman of the Knights’ Council of the Imperial Miltary Order of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, G. Iu. Luk’ianov; and the Head of Office for Security of H.I.H.’s Chancellery M. Iu.Shakhov.Chief Justice Lebedev described for the grand duchess the activities of the Supreme Court in its last session beginning in February of this year (see http://www.imperialhouse.ru/rus/allnews/news/2011/2544.html). The Head of the House of Romanoff and the Chief Justice exchanged views and opinions on the foundations of the rule of law and civil society in the Russian Federation.

On returning to the hotel “National,” Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna met with V. I. Strzhalkovskii, the General Director of “Noril’sk Nickel”; with the Chairman of the All-Russian non-commercial organization “The Association of Lawyers of Russia” and patron, A. L. Khazin (an active participant in the restoration of the “cradle” of the Russian Tsarist and Imperial Romanoff Dynasty, the Holy Trinity-Ipatiev Monastery in Kostroma, and until recently, a member of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation for the Kostroma District); with A. V. Bugaevskii, a well-known Church and public figure and prominent writer and hagiographer; with Prince G. G. Gagarin, the Chairman of the Russian Nobility Association, with A. Iu. Korolev-Perepeshin, the Vice-Chairman of the Russian Nobility Association; and with the historian and writier S. Iu. Rybas (who, along with other prominent figures in science and culture, were awarded the Order of St. Anna, third class). A. L. Khazin, A. V. Bugaevskii, and S. Iu. Rybas presented the grand duchess with copies of their books. After a farewell diner, given in Her honor by the Knights’ Council of the Order of St. Nicholas, the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna, departed for Madrid.

A.N. Zakatov
Director of H.I.H.’s Chancellery

Published in a slightly abbreviated form as: A. N. Zakatov, “Imperotorskii orden,” Tribuna 2011, 8-17 December (№48 (10392)).

Seehttp://www.tribuna.ru/news/society/The_Imperial_Order/