News Release Concerning the Official Visit of The Head of the Russian Imperial House H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna To Russia, 18-20 December 2004

On 18-20 December 2004, the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna made an official visit to Russia. Her Imperial Highness arrived in the Motherland for Feast Day of the Military Order of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

On 19 December, the grand duchess attended the Divine Liturgy served by Patriarch Aleksei II of Moscow and All Russia in the Cathedral of the Epiphany in the village of Elokhov, near Moscow. After the Liturgy, His Holiness and Her Imperial Highness greeted each other. The patriarch blessed the grand duchess and offered a blessing for Dowager Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna and to the Heir and Tsesarevich, Grand Duke Georgii Mikhailovich.

Afterward, the Head of the Russian Imperial House left for the Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia, where, after a moleben to St. Nicholas, She bestowed the documentation and devices of the Imperial Military Order of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker upon the newly appointed knights of the Order. The Knights’ Council of the Order of St. Nicholas then hosted a luncheon in honor of Her Imperial Highness.

On 20 December, the Head of the Russian Imperial House visited the State Historical Museum (GIM), where she met with the General Director of GIM, A. I. Shkurko, and toured the exhibit “Russia and the Caucasus” and “Women of the Court.” After the tour, the grand duchess bestowed the Order of St. Anna (second degree) on A. I. Shkurko for his services in the interest of Russian history and culture. That evening, Her Imperial Highness departed for Madrid. 

A.N. Zakatov
Personal secretary of the Imperial Family
Director of the Chancellery of H.I.H.