The Head of the House of Romanoff sends a Response to the Chairman of the Karaite Spiritual Administration, David Hadji Tiriyaki
On August 11, 2014, the Chairman of the Karaite Spiritual Administration (in Crimea), Hadji David Tiriyaki, sent a letter to the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. The Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, requesting her moral support for the construction of a fountain in memory of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearer Emperor Nicholas II and his family.
In part, the letter reads:
“On May 16, 1916, Their Imperial Majesties, Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, and their august children—the Heir and Tsesarevich Aleksei Nikolaevich, and the Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia—visited the main Karaite temple, the Karaite Kenassa, in Yevpatoria.
“As an expression of the loyalty of the Karaites of Crimea, it was decided by the General Assembly of the Kenassa to memorialize the visit of the Imperial couple with the construction of a marble fountain with the names of their most august visitors inscribed on it. On the petition sent to the Emperor requesting permission to build the fountain, the Emperor wrote in his own hand ‘I have read this with pleasure and approve.’
“However, subsequent events in the history of Russia did not permit the plan to go forward.1
“The Spiritual Board of the Karaites requests your gracious permission for the devoted members of our community to resume the project and build the memorial fountain so that it may be completed by the time of the approaching anniversary of the visit of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna to the Yevpatoria Kenassa.
“The resumption of this project will be a significant event in the life of the Karaites and of the residents of Yevpatoria, and will become a worthy continuation of the traditions of our ancestors and their descendants, who will immortalize the memory of this Imperial visit.”
In answer to this letter, Her Imperial Highness sent the following response on August 27, 2014:
From the Head of the Russian Imperial House
To the Chairman of the Karaite Spiritual Administration, Hadji David Tiriyaki
Dear David Zakharovich,
Thank you for your letter, which was deeply moving. Our House has always had enormous interest in the spiritual and cultural life of the Karaite people. Like my Imperial ancestors, I greatly value the good relations we have with the Karaite community, whose contributions to the strengthening of the feelings of friendship among the peoples of Crimea and, in general, to the preservation of our multinational culture, have been tremendously significant.
I welcome your initiative to resume this project, which was originally approved by the Holy Royal Passion-Bearer Emperor Nicholas II, to construct a memorial fountain in honour of the visit of the Imperial Family to the Karaite Kenassa in Yevpatoria on May 16, 1916. I wish to express my gratitude to all those taking part in this noble endeavour and I wish you every success and God’s help in this project, which will have an important symbolic significance to the entire nation.
I send you and all the members of the Karaite community my best wishes for your health and prosperity.
My son and Heir, the Grand Duke George of Russia, sends his greetings to all of you as well.
Assuring you, dear David Zakharovich, of my sincere favour, I remain
H.I.H. The Grand Duchess Maria of Russia
Madrid, August 14/27, 2014
1In 1917, on the very eve of the Revolution, the spiritual leader of the Karaites—Gahan Hadji Saraya Khan Shapshal—showed himself to be the very model of loyalty to the Emperor and tried to warn him of the impending betrayal of Russia by its guileful allies in the Entente and their supporters in Russia.
