MOSCOW, November 9. /TASS/. The exhibition "Nicholas II. Family and Throne" has opened at the Russian State Historical Museum in Moscow. The exhibition is dedicated to the 150th anniversary of birth and 100th anniversary of death of the last Russian Emperor.
For the first time the audience will see a large front portrait of Nicholas II painted by Lev Bakst in 1895, as well as rare photographs and memorabilia, a TASS correspondent reported.
"The exhibition we are opening today provides a glimpse in the life of the imperial family, practically starting from the birth of Nicholas II and until the terrible events of 1918. We give each visitor an opportunity to see a rather objective picture of the life of Nicholas II - around his family, as a statesman, during diplomatic meetings, in the midst of acute and most important events at the beginning of the 20th century. Every visitor will have a unique opportunity - to make their own impression about this complex person," director of the State Historical Museum Alexey Levykin said.
Senior research fellow at the department of fine arts and author of the exhibition Yevgeny Lukyanov admitted that this was the most difficult project in his life. "Maybe one of the reasons for that is in the personaluty of the hero. Understanding from the very beginning the controversial nature of his personality, the polarity of the press during the reign of Nicholas II, the abundance of historical and quasi-historical literature, we decided to make an exhibition not about an epoch, but about the person," he said.
At the exhibition, the audience will for the first time see a large front portrait of Nicholas II painted by Lev Bakst in Paris in 1895. The portrait was never exhibited before and was restored specially for the exhibition. "This is one of the exhibition's treasures. The second interesting thing, an artifact, is a curl of Tsarevich Alexey," Lukyanov said.
The exhibition will run until 15 April 2019.
Nicholas II abdicated the throne on 2 March 1917. Overnight to 17 July 1918, the Russian imperial family was executed at the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg.