The Russian Nobility Association provided a grant to the Russian History Museum in Jordanville, NY for the exhibition Last Days of the Last Tsar. The special exhibition, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the tragic death of Nicholas II, his family, and loyal attendants, opened to the public on July 17, 2018 – exactly 100 years from the death of the imperial family.
On the night of July 17, 1918, Russia’s last tsar, Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, their five children, and four loyal attendants were led to the basement of the Ipatiev House in Ekaterinburg, Siberia. There they were brutally murdered by their Bolshevik captors. Last Days of the Last Tsar narrates the events leading up to this grim finale and portrays the family whose life and tragic fate have fascinated the world for a century. It is the first exhibition in North America dedicated exclusively to the final months of Nicholas II and his family.
The exhibition highlights the unique objects and documents collected by Nikolai Sokolov during the 1918-1919 investigation of the royal family’s murder. The Russian History Museum’s artefacts are supplemented by loans from a dozen U.S. collections, which range from splendid coronation gifts and luxurious objets d’art by Fabergé to modest personal effects found during Sokolov’s investigation. After being dispersed for a century, these objects are brought together, many of them displayed for the first time. The exhibition is also the first to publicly present recent findings of a DNA analysis conducted by the FBI that shed light upon the ongoing investigation into the identification of the remains of Nicholas II, his family, and their faithful attendants.
The exhibition is on view from July 17, 2018 to May 17, 2019.