Reburial of the remains of Alexei and Maria

[Grace Angel]

I think they should have a funeral. It would be the most respectful and best thing to do. It's taken a long time to arrive at this point, 90 years after it happened, although it's been clear to sensible minds for many years there were never any survivors of that night.

 

[Warren]

I think they should have a funeral. It would be the most respectful and best thing to do.

Imperial Funeral
Quote from the Los Angeles Times link from the previous page:
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/mar/11/science/sci-romanov11

But the story is not quite over. The original nine bodies were buried in Russia, but not as royalty, Sarandinaki said.
In May, he and Coble will present the new results to officials of the Russian Orthodox Church.
"Hopefully, we will be able to convince the church [that these are the remains of the royal family], and at the end, the church will agree and finally give the family the decent and honorable burial they deserve," Sarandinaki said.

"Once the church accepts the remains, my duty will be done," he said.

 

[lucien]

The latest news on the burial of Alyosha and Maria:

Interfax-Religion

St. Petersburg, July 29, Interfax - The Association of the Romanov Family considers it untimely during the global economic crisis to spend money on reburying the remains of the children of Emperor Nicholas II of Russia - Crown Prince Alexey and Grand Princess Maria found recently outside Yekaterinburg in the so-called second burial site, Ivan Artsishevsky, a spokesman for the association, told journalists in St. Petersburg.

A bit of a very lame excuse,according to me.

 

[AnastasiaEvidence]

This is very sad news. I was hoping that the remains of Alexei and Maria were going to be burried soon. But, after the economic crisis ends, the bones will be burried. The Russian Gov't is more concerned about handling the economic crisis.

 

[lucien]

This is very sad news. I was hoping that the remains of Alexei and Maria were going to be burried soon. But, after the economic crisis ends, the bones will be burried. The Russian Gov't is more concerned about handling the economic crisis.

I fail,and refuse,to see how a hyped up crisis can get in the way of a funeral for pete's sake.
It is nonsense,over-sensitive to no avail poppycock.

 

[BeatrixFan]

Well, this is obviously going to cost a fair bit of money as a state event, if Russia honestly can't afford it then surely it's better to wait till they can re-bury with the dignity and ceremony the children deserve rather than bung 'em in with the rest one Sunday afternoon?

 

[Russophile]

Well, this is obviously going to cost a fair bit of money as a state event, if Russia honestly can't afford it then surely it's better to wait till they can re-bury with the dignity and ceremony the children deserve rather than bung 'em in with the rest one Sunday afternoon?

They'll bung them with the rest IMO. I think, again IMO, they are trying to sweep this under the rug as soon as possible.

 

[AnastasiaEvidence]

I fail,and refuse,to see how a hyped up crisis can get in the way of a funeral for pete's sake.
It is nonsense,over-sensitive to no avail poppycock.

But, the funeral will be very expensive.
In my opinion, I think it would be best to bury the remains of the children as soon as possible because the children deserve to have a proper burial along with the rest of the family. It's been over 90 years and it's time for them to give the children the resting place they've been waiting for 90 years. The economic crisis might take over four years to end, so that will still be a long time later.

 

[J Kendrick]

I fail,and refuse,to see how a hyped up crisis can get in the way of a funeral for pete's sake.
It is nonsense,over-sensitive to no avail poppycock.

Don't be surprised if you're all made to wait for another nine years... until the centenary date of July 17th in 2018.

JK

 

[Marsel]

I doubt such a long wait will be required. In all probability, the reburial will be organized long before 2013 - the 400 year anniversary of the House of Romanovs.

I believe it was thoughtful of the members of the Romanov Family Association to agree to wait (should it prove necessary) till the economic crisis was over. The reburial of the last 2 remaining members of the Imperial Family is important, but right now there are a lot of more important ways the money can be spent.

 

[Anna was Franziska]

Don't be surprised if you're all made to wait for another nine years... until the centenary date of July 17th in 2018.

JK

I don't think they'd do that because too many elderly family members are not going to make it that long.

 

[AnastasiaEvidence]

2018 definitely would be too long. I don't think they'll wait that long. Maybe they'll wait for the next four years probably in 2012 or 2013. The economic crisis in Russia might end before 2012.

 

[Marsel]

I hoped some new information about the reburial would be made yesterday, on 105th anniversary of Tsarevich Alexei's birth. However, even though some Russian news agencies did highlight the birthday, no new data about the reburial was made available.
We might be braced for a long wait, perhaps till 2013.

 

[rylt11]

Wasn't Dagmar, from Denmark, returned to Russia recently to be buried next to her husband?

Couldn't the remaining children have been buried at the same time with their family?

 

[Dierna23]

Wasn't Dagmar, from Denmark, returned to Russia recently to be buried next to her husband?

Couldn't the remaining children have been buried at the same time with their family?

Dagmars remains were returned to Saint Petersburg in 2005 in accordance with her wish to be interred next to her late husband, yes. And on 28 September 2006 her remains were interred next to her husband Alexander III in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

I hope, Maria and Alexei will have their own funeral quite soon.

 

[Anna was Franziska]

Prince Nicholas Romanov urges burial of 2007 remains

Relative urges burial of last tsar's children

Relative urges burial of last tsar's children

November 12, 2009

MOSCOW - A relative of the murdered Russian royal family has called for the remains of two of the last tsar's children to be buried, the Izvestia newspaper reported on Thursday.
Nicholas Romanov, who heads a group of royal family members called the Romanov Family Association, criticized the delay in burying the remains of Grand Duchess Maria and Tsarevich Alexei, found in 2007.
"Among the problems that deeply worry me and all the Romanovs in our association, is the burial of the heir Alexei and Grand Duchess Maria," Romanov said in a statement published in the Izvestia daily.
"It's terrible that their remains are being stored somewhere," he said.
The bones of the two children, killed by Bolshevik agents in 1918 along with their father Tsar Nicholas II and the rest of his immediate family, are kept in a refrigerator in the city of Yekaterinburg, said prosecutor Vladimir Solovyov.


(note to mods: I tried not to repost the whole article, but it is necessary to post as much as possible because these links go down in a few months and the information is lost)

 

[J Kendrick]

From Today's Interfax/Religion
16 June 2010

Russian Church urges not to hurry confirming identification of Crown Prince Alexey and Grand Princess Mary's probable remnants

Moscow, June 16, Interfax - The Russian Orthodox Church urges not to hurry to officially confirm identification of remnants found in 2007 not far from Yekaterinburg, which, according to investigators, belong to Nicholas II's children.

"I believe that nothing makes us hurry today. Funerals will tempt us to think that we can draw a line under the affair. However, it's not true," head of the Synodal Department for Church and Society Relations Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin told Interfax-Religion on Wednesday.

Commenting on the recent statement made by the Senior Criminalist of the Forensic Science Office at the Russian Prosecutor's Investigative Committee Vladimir Solovyov that the remains found in 2007 indeed belonged to Crown Prince Alexey and Grand Princess Mary, Fr. Vsevolod urged "to seriously compare all scientists' divergent positions" on the question.

Besides, the Moscow Patriarchate official believes it necessary to compare "results of the investigation held under Kolchak to the current investigation and still the most important is to name those who are guilty."


See: Interfax-Religion

 

[pamela18335]

From Today's Interfax/Religion, 16 June 2010
Besides, the Moscow Patriarchate official believes it necessary to compare "results of the investigation held under Kolchak to the current investigation and still the most important is to name those who are guilty."
See: Interfax-Religion

This leaves me rather perplexed: Why is it "most important" to name the guilty parties than to acknowledge the identity of the remnants and provide a proper Orthodox burial?

 

[lady of hay]

I thought that the remains had already been identified using DNA from the remaining Ronanovs. I don't see any reason why it is important to name the guilty parties when we all know who they were, and after 90 years they are not likely to be brought to justice. This seems like delaying tactics to me

 

[Russophile]

It seems to me that Maria Vladimirovna and the church do not believe the DNA findings. And it wouldn't surprise me if those findings were wrong seeing as this whole situation looks like it is trying hard to be swept under the rug.

 

[Sonjapearl]

I agree with Russophile. I wonder why Russia wouldn't released video or photos of the remains, as they did with the rest of the family. It sounds like the finding of the two missing children was all made up.

 

[Russophile]

It's just weird and doesn't seem to add up which raises hackles. For so long nobody has gotten the straight story at this late in the game it seems ridiculous that there is still mystery surrounding the whole thing. Lay it all bare and have finish it. What was done, was done and let it go.

 

[Carminha Stalker]

I´ve always been fascinated by the Romanovs. And their tragic ending is something that never is forgotten, I hope with all my heart that the remains of these two children will be buried with dignity and honour, besides their family. Economic crisis or not.

 

[kell]

Tsar
Tsar’s children could face common grave

by Tom Washington at 21/02/2011 18:28

The remains of Grand Duchess Maria and Tsaryevich Alexei arrived in Moscow on Monday morning.
They were two of the children of Nikolai II, the last tsar of Russia, and the identity of their corpses was only confirmed in 2007.
The imperial bodies’ final resting place depends on an order from the Kremlin, after the surviving head of the House of Romanov wrote to President Medvedev from Switzerland, asking a government commission to determine their ultimate destination, Moskovsky Komsomolets reported.

http://en.rian.ru/papers/20110221/162700243.html Royal remains return to Moscow
The remains of Grand Duchess Maria and Tsarevich Alexis, the children of Russia’s last tsar executed by the Bolsheviks in 1918, arrived in Moscow this morning. For the last three years they have been stored in a forensic center in Yekaterinburg. It is still unclear where their final resting place will be.
The President of the Romanov Family Association, Prince Nicholas Romanov, who lives in Switzerland, has asked Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to establish a government commission to oversee the burial of the royal remains.
In 1998, the remains of Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna, their three daughters Tatiana, Olga and Anastasia, and their servants, all executed by the Bolsheviks in the early hours

 

[pgm1952]

It is very sad that politics of church (both in Russia and abroad) and state have to interfere in what should be the final chapter of such a horrible crime. They were two children, victims of the Revolution, who deserve a dignified burrial alongside their parents, siblings, and retainers. Modern science has proven almost irrevocably that the remains are that of Alexei and Marie. Anything else is red tape and nonsense!

 

[charlottestreasures]

I cannot understand why it would not be just logical to bury
them with their Family.

 

[AristoCat]

Why don't the Romanovs just pay for it themselves and organize the burial proceedings? Then the Russian government won't be burdened with the expense and there need not be a delay, just making things more undignified and leaving the remains exposed?

 

[J Kendrick]

Okay... So which side of the family is this? Nicholas and Dimitry or Maria Vladimirovna? ... and does it yet have the support of the Church?

This latest article does not mention any names... but I'm assuming here that it's probably not Marie... ;-)

From Today's Interfax
13 October 2011, 17:37

Romanovs want commission formed to rebury remains of Crown Prince Alexey and Princess Maria
See: http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=8799

St. Petersburg, October 13, Interfax - Representatives of the Romanov family have asked the Russian authorities to set up a governmental commission to arrange and conduct a ceremony to rebury the remains of Crown Prince Alexey and Princess Maria, the children of Russia's last emperor Nicholas II.

In an address, which was announced at a conference in St. Petersburg, members of the royal family expressed hope that the remains would be buried in St. Catherine's Chapel of St. Petersburg's Peter and Paul Cathedral.

The authenticity of these remains was confirmed at the highest level, they said.
"The fact that the Russian Orthodox Church has canonized the family of Emperor Nicholas II and worships them as holy royal martyrs makes this issue particularly acute," they said.

"The remains of the new royal martyrs must finally be laid to rest in this Orthodox cathedral," according to the address, which will be forwarded to the Russian authorities in the near future.

On July 29, 2007, the remains of two other people were found during archeological excavations 70 kilometers south of the first burial site. Numerous tests have concluded that they belong to Crown Prince Alexey Romanov and his sister Maria. The remains have not been buried yet.

 

[kell]

Russia demands Christian burial for royal family — RT

 

[BeatrixFan]

Of course they must be buried with the rest of the family.