“Such beautiful faces…”

Such beautiful faces,
And how pale, so hopelessly,
The Heir, the Empress,
And the four Grand Princesses…
Georgiy Ivanov, 1949

A hundred years ago today, a murder was committed that would have enormous consequences for the whole world. Emperor Nicholas II of Russia and his wife and children, Empress Alexandra, Tsarevich Alexei, and Grand Princesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia, along with a handful of dedicated servants, were shot to death in the basement of the Ipatiev house in Ekaterinburg. This pious, remarkable family became heavenly intercessors for their native Russia, and indeed for all of us Orthodox Christians who honor their holy memory.

We present these rare photographs of the Royal Family dated between 1917 and 1915, from six family albums that were taken out of Russia by the Empress’s lady-in-waiting, Anna Vyrobova. In 1937, these albums were sold to student of Yale University Robert Bruster, who in turn gifted them to his alma mater in 1951. Since that time, they have been preserved in Yale’s Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Not long ago this “Romanov” archive was scanned and archived for public access.

Prepared by Anton Pospelov