Point Reyes Light - November 1, 2001

Tsar’s grandnephew visits place where kin escaped

By Janine Warner

Some 82 years after his parents and grandmother escaped the Bolsheviks, Andrew Romanoff, a longtime Inverness resident and grand-nephew of the last Tsar of Russia, visited the place where his family lived under house arrest until 1919.

"I always wanted to go back there, to touch the roots and see the place," Romanoff said after his trip last month.

Romanoff dedicates most of his time to his artwork, spending his days in his home in First Valley when he’s not traveling. He has been back to Russia several times in past years.

This most recent trip took Romanoff to Crimea Peninsula – now part of Ukraine – on the Black Sea, where his parents and many other members of the royal family were kept under house arrest until the Germans arrived at the end of World War I.

Romanoff’s great uncle, Tsar Nicolas II was executed by the Bolsheviks in 1918, although his sister Xenia – Andrew’s grandmother – her family, and other relatives were sent far to the south.

Burial in St. Petersburg

Three years ago, Romanoff returned to St. Petersburg for his great-uncle’s formal funeral after his and his immediate family’s remains were recovered and finally given a Christian burial. Attending the ceremony were Boris Yeltsin, other heads of state, and many Romanoff descendants.

But until his recent trip, Romanoff had never been to the place where the rest of his family was kept during the start of the Communist Revolution. He returned with a book, Close of a Dynasty, which chronicles Russian history and includes a list of all of the royal family who embarked on the English warship Marlborough at Yalta, Crimea, in April, 1919.

The Germans discovered the surviving royals in the Crimea near the end of World War I, Romanoff explained. The German officer in charge sent word to King George V of England "to tell him that they had found his cousins."

Family ties

That family connection saved their lives. King George and Tsar Nicholas both descended from Queen Victoria (and looked quite a bit alike). Historians still debate whether the English king did enough to save Nicholas from the Bolsheviks. But for sure the King wasted no time whisking his surviving kin back to Windsor at the end of the war.

When the Marlborough arrived, Romanoff said, "my grandmother, the empress, said she wouldn’t go unless her entire retinue was allowed to come with her. So all of her servants and ladies in waiting went on this British battleship and were saved."

Romanoff has enjoyed visiting Russia and learning more about his family’s history. His travels are now influencing his artwork, which he describes as "small pieces that depict moments in life."

Art exhibit set

The images are shrink art. Romanoff draws them in ink on the smooth side of thick, specially-designed plastic sheets. He adds color, using prisma color and crayons, to the rough side. The sheets are then heated until they shrink to about 1/3 of their size.

Romanoff’s images have an almost cartoonish quality and depict people in a variety of environments, often inspired by the many places he has visited over the years.

The Sofia Jewelry store in Mill Valley will host an exhibit of his work in November. A reception with the artist will be held from 6 to 8 p.m., Nov. 6, at 80 Throckmorton Ave. in Mill Valley.

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