A Meeting was held between the Chancellery of the House of Romanoff and the leaders and representatives of several national Legitimist Organizations and of regional Committees for the Celebration of the 400th Anniversary of the Ending of the Time of Troubles and the Ascension to the Throne of the House of Romanoff

On October 24, 2012, a meeting was held in Moscow between H.I.H.’s Chancellery and the leaders and representatives of legitimist organizations and regional Committees for the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the ending of the Time of Troubles and the ascension to the throne of the House of Romanoff.

At the meeting, which was chaired by the Director of H.I.H.’s Chancellery, A. N. Zakatov, there were in attendance the following members of the Chancellery: the Head of the Office for Church Relations of H.I.H.’s Chancellery, A. Iu. Korolev-Pereleshin; the Master of Heraldry in H.I.H.’s Chancellery, S. V. Dumin; the Coordinator for the preparations for the celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the ending of the Time of Troubles and the ascension of the House of Romanoff and an advisor to the Chancellery, K. K. Nemirovich-Danchenko; and the advisor in the Chancellery for charities and philanthropic activities, A. B. Kravchenko. Representatives from the following organizations were also present: the Chairman of the Russian Nobility Association, Prince G. G. Gagarin; the Director of the organization “For Faith and Fatherland,” K. R. Kasimovskii; the spiritual father of the organization “For Faith and Fatherland,” Hieromonk Nikon (Levachev-Belavenets); the head of the Voronezh branch of the organization “For Faith and Fatherland,” S. Sobolev; the Chairman of the Presidium of the Russian Inter-regional Monarchist Educational Movement, S. M. Chesnokov; the Chairman of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, S. Iu. Zhitenev; a member of the Supreme Council of the Russian Imperial Union-Order and the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Tsarskii Vestnik, A. Iu. Chukhonkin; and the following heads of the Committees for the Celebration of the 400th Anniversary: A. V. Staroverov (from the Moscow Province), I. B. Grigor’ev (from the Nizhnii Novgorod Province), V. I. Omel’chenko (from the Voronezh Province), V. A. Iarkin and his assistant, V. E. Zudov (from the Riazan’ Province).

In his opening remarks, the Director of H.I.H.’s Chancellery, A. N. Zakatov, noted that most of the various projects currently being undertaken to prepare for the celebration of the anniversary of the House of Romanoff are described on the official site of the Russian Imperial House, on the page entitled “400th Anniversary of the Ending of the Time of Troubles” (available here, in Russian: http://www.imperialhouse.ru/rus/extra/vin3/3061.html). He emphasized that, in all these endeavors, it is vitally important to remember the words in Her Imperial Highness’s Address of March 1, 2012:

• While it in no way diminishes the symbolic, political, religious, and social significance of this anniversary, I believe that the civic and educational potential of this celebration must be identified and especially emphasized.
• Commemorations, speeches and parades, academic conferences, and public appearances—none of this will touch the hearts of people today and of future generations if we cannot explain the significance of the events of the Time of Troubles and their connection to the lives of later generations. It is necessary to exploit the potential inherent in our history for instilling patriotism in our young people. The publishing of books, the making of films, the distribution of information on the Internet, the creation and funding of prizes and scholarships named in honor of prominent figures of the period to support students, teachers, and scholars—these ways of commemorating the great sons and daughters of the Motherland are now more timely than the erection of bronze and marble statues.
• Many in this country still live in necessity, and instead of feeling exuberance, they may feel ambivalence at seeing extravagant celebrations when their own needs are going ignored. Of course, the celebration of significant national historic events and the resolution of society’s ills need not be incompatible because, without deference to the achievements of our ancestors, it is impossible either to preserve our nation’s dignity or ensure the lives and welfare of the people. But there must always be a balance between the two, and that balance must reflect the actual conditions of our daily lives. And, as we can see from the way charity functioned historically in the Russian Empire, celebration and commemoration of national achievements are perfectly compatible with tackling the nation’s social problems.
• I call upon all who are willing and able to make donations to cover the costs of a fitting celebration of the 400th anniversary of the end of the Time of Troubles, and for the celebration of other anniversaries. The majority of these funds will be used to help the poor, orphans, the sick, the disabled, the aged, and the homeless. The Holy Ascetics, monarchs, hierarchs, heroes and military leaders, whose names have been taken by various charities as a way of honoring their contributions to the nation—they will all rejoice far more in the Kingdom of Heaven if we erect monuments in their honor not only on the streets and squares of our cities, but first and foremost in the hearts of the people.

A. N. Zakatov encouraged all in attendance to participate actively in the preparations for this historic anniversary, reminding everyone of one of the excellent mottos of the Russian Imperial Union-Order: “If you want something done right, do it yourself”!

The Director of H.I.H.’s Chancellery also reminded all those gathered that a new website, dedicated to the preparation for the 400th anniversary of the ending of the Time of Troubles, was recently created by the advisor to the Chancellery, K. K. Nemirovich-Danchenko (available here, in Russian: http://www.imperial-sovetnik.ru/). A. N. Zakatov stressed how important it is that all organizations and committees take the opportunity to send to the webpage notices about their activities so there will be the broadest possible dissemination on the Internet and in the media of this information on the official webpage of the Russian Imperial House and other webpages affiliated with it.

A.N. Zakatov also said a few words about the newspaper Tsarskii Vestnik. “This newspaper is not merely the publication of a single organization or party. Its editors strive—and in large measure succeed—to make it a publication of the entire monarchist movement. Tsarskii Vestnik, which is published out of Samara, is circulated all over Russia. The newspaper has undoubtedly become far more than a regional newspaper and has become a genuinely national informational outlet. We should endeavor to help its editors by supplying them with news stories and other content, as well as encouraging subscriptions to it across Russia so that its circulation numbers will continue to increase.”

The Director of H.I.H.’s Chancellery concluded by noting that the RIU-O’s webpage, “Legitimist,” continues to publish content that contradicts the position of the Russian Imperial House and that sometimes is even highly provocative. He reminded everyone that the Statements issued by H.I.H.’s Chancellery on January 14, 2012 (available here, in English: http://www.imperialhouse.ru/eng/allnews/news/2012/3006.html) and January 18, 2012 (available here, in English: http://www.imperialhouse.ru/eng/allnews/news/2012/3009.html) remain in force, and that all monarchist organizations, and their news outlets, are required to observe in every respect the principles laid out in these Statements.

The meeting also included a progress report by K. K. Nemirovich-Danchenko on the preparations for the celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the ending of the Time of Troubles and the ascension of the House of Romanoff. In this report, he listed the several regions of the county where preparations for this anniversary are actively under way, including: Kostroma, Ekaterinburg, Voronezh, Nizhnii Novgorod, Volgograd, Kaluga, the Moscow Province (oblast’), the Tiumen Province, the Vladimir Province, the Perm Region (krai), Arkhangelsk, Astrakhan, Riazan, and Ingushetia.

The leaders of the legitimist organizations in attendance also reported on their role in the preparations for the 400th anniversary of the ending the Time of Troubles, and the representatives of the regional Committees likewise reported on their preparations for events in their localities. The meeting provided the opportunity for a lively and productive exchange of ideas and opinions, and proved to be a very friendly and convivial discussion of the activities of the legitimist movement and of the issues facing them.