About Succession to the Imperial Throne of All Russia
About the Imperial Throne of the Orthodox Empire
Baptizing of Russia by Prince Vladimir, the adoption of Imperial Dignity by Ivan the Terrible, Assembly of the Land and Local Council in 1613, the anointing to the Imperial Throne of Peter I - that's the milestones of development of the Great Russia. It is quite natural that the patristic writings of ascetics of the Russian Land speak about the power of the All-Russian Imperial Throne and its deep sacred significance. Russia in its earthly incarnation always blocked the way to the Antichrist and continues rescuing world over and over again from destruction. Moscow is the third Rome and no fourth is given, and so the All-Russian Imperial Throne will exist until the end of times, because it is not just an institution of power, which can be canceled by a decree or by public will.
There may be only one throne on earth, as no Orthodox person can imagine two Tsars of the Universe, for the Christ is the only Tsar, it is also impossible the existence of two Orthodox emperors on earth. However, there are always those forces that seek to know something rightfully belonging to others. The attempt of the Vatican, running into a split, to stand at the head of all Christian churches and become higher than the orthodox king has also led to an attempt of Latins to form their Imperial Throne with their Emperor at its head. This phenomenon, known as papocaesarism, led to a series of ongoing wars around the world, with alternating phases of open armed conflict with the phases of ideological confrontation
The attack on Christianity was and is advanced not only by external forces. Inside Russia repeatedly originated sedition, and even among the Russian priesthood. Well-known is the fact that may archbishops loving their local episcopal thrones more than Christ stood with conspirators overthrew the monarchy in Russia, who supported in word and deed the February coup against the Lord’s Anointed.
As a Christian Sovereign, the Emperor is an external Bishop, Supreme protector and guardian of the dogmas of the Orthodox faith. Under the pretext of his absence, All-Russian Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church was convened in 1917 and restored the Patriarchate. Thus, realizing it or not, Council led their laity the way of Renovationism. Numerous claims from places and by participants of the Council itself concerning the need to resolve the question of “What to do with the oath of allegiance to the Emperor and the oath of allegiance taken at the Assembly of the Land and the Local Council in 1613?”, appeared to be unanswered.
It was deliberately forgotten that orthodox Basileus as in the Eastern Roman Empire, as in Russia had the highest sacred authority, and were the first in the hierarchy between the earthly kingdom and the kingdom of heaven. Emperors offered Patriarchs for approval, presided over the church councils, legitimized their decisions and not the other way round. Emperor is the Vicar of Christ on Earth, this axiom has never been questioned in the Orthodox tradition.
The fact that the Emperor is the high priest, and his Imperial power extends both to the state and church institutions, was enshrined in the Basic Laws of the Russian Empire (OGZRI).
64. The Emperor, being Christian Governor, the supreme defender and custodian of articles of the governing beliefs, and the guardian of orthodoxy and all good deals in the Holy Church. 1721, January 25 (3718) p. I, introduction. - In this sense, the Emperor, in the Act of Succession to the Imperial Throne, 1797, April 5 (17910) named as a Church Leader. – 1906 April 23, Collection of Laws, 603, Art. 24.
65. The autocratic power managed by Church acts by way of the Holy Governing Synod founded thereby, 1721, Januar 25 (3718), introduction and p. I, cl. 3; 1906 April 23, Collection of Laws, 603, Art. 24.
The retreat from the canons of orthodoxy turned into a tragedy for the Russian people. Thorny was also the path for the Orthodox clergy after the events in February and October 1917. Many confessors perished in the madness erupted then. Repentance and Prayer taken the country away from the razor’s edge, but it is still teetering on the brink. It’s hard to believe that a simple solution designed to end all fruitless experiments of liberal and socialist thinkers and practitioners over the Russian land, lies only in one plane – to call for the legitimate Emperor to our land and banish all this devilry of it.
Opponents of the Orthodox kingdom for many years systematically complicate the question of the All-Russian Imperial Throne. Many heralds of all stripes prove and justify the lack of a legitimate Heir; assure that all true heirs were either executed by the Bolsheviks, or abdicated from the Throne, lost the right under the law or committed crimes and betrayal incompatible with the royal dignity.
All of these slanderous and fringe science claims of “experts” from the socialists, liberals, some "Orthodox community" and "monarchists" are aimed at destroying the foundations of the revival of the Russian state tradition and the monarchical state. Even today, in the new phase they insist on the same ideological attitude of revolutionaries and conspirators of 1917! What can be said about the appeals to tolerate, accept and wait for a miracle of the phenomenon in the Assembly of the Land, because this road is clearly a dead-end! Inaction and silence betrayed God.
If you follow the commandments of the Assembly of the Land and the Local Council of 1613, the Laws of the Russian Empire of succession to the throne, then the Russian Imperial Throne originating from the Empire of the Romans, and by virtue of the fundamental bases of the Orthodox Russian State always has a rightful heir to the throne. The order of succession to the Imperial Throne is determined by law, therefore the Throne may not be vacant, and there is always a legitimate Emperor, who is also the Head of the Imperial House and the high priest of the Russian Orthodox Church.
About the Succession to the Imperial Throne after 1917
The Manifesto of Abdication of the Tsar Nicholas II was published in the newspapers of both capitals in March 1917. It stated that the Emperor abdicated in favor of his brother the Emperor - Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich. Currently there are many works about this Manifesto and conspiracy to overthrow the monarchy written by historians who rightly questioned the authenticity of the Manifesto itself, written in telegraphic form and signed by pencil, and its legal force, when the Emperor abdicated for himself, and for his son, the Crown Prince (czarevitch) Alexei Nikolaevich. Without a focus on the details of what happened, what important today is that the Manifesto did not reach the final goal set by the conspirators. According to their plan, all members of the Imperial Family, by signing voluntary abdication of the All-Russian Imperial Throne, should have thus terminate the oath taken publicly during the Assembly of the Land and the Local Council in 1613. According to the plan of the conspirators, the transition from monarchical to a republican form of government had to be legalized through the abdication of members of the Romanov dynasty and holding of the Constituent Assembly.
Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich was forced to sign a document (taken away under the threat of killing on March 3, 1917 by Kerensky and Co.) indicating that he will only accept power by decision of the Constituent Assembly. Nobody particularly worried then about the legality of such a decision and that there was no such mechanism according to the State Fundamental Laws of the Russian Empire under the conditions of a violent seizure of power.
The next in succession to the throne was the Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, who also received people demand him to sign the relevant document, but were only able to get a note of accession to the opinion of Mikhail Aleksandrovich, whereupon Kirill Vladimirovich managed to avoid further pressure, leaving St. Petersburg (Petrograd).
It’s hard to call this note a document, as there is no addressee (individual or entity), to whom/which this text is addressed. This puts in doubt the legal soundness of its contents.
Full text of the note is as follows: “Regarding our rights, in particular, of mine to Succession to the Throne, I, dearly loving my homeland, fully accede to the thoughts that are expressed in the act of abdication of the Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich. Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich". It allows to conclude that it’s not about the abdication from the Throne, but only about the wish to clarify, for the benefit of all, the opinion of the people, which should be announced during the Constituent Assembly.
After the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly (January 5, 1918) and the assassination of all the oldest members of the Romanov Dynasty on the birthright, the Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich had no obstacles for succession to the Imperial Throne.
Claims that after marrying without a proper approval Kirill has been deprived of all the rights by the Emperor Nicholas II, are absolutely unfounded. This issue was resolved by the Personal Decree of the Emperor.
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Personal Decree of the Emperor Nicholas II recognizing the marriage of the Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich and granting to the Spouse and the Posterity of the Grand Duke of rights belonging to Members of the Russian Imperial House, July 15, 1907
To the Governing Senate.
Deigning to concede the request of our Dearest Uncle of His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, mercifully rule to name the wife of His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna, with the title of Imperial Highness, and the Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna's daughter born from the marriage of Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich and betrothed during the Holy Baptism as Mary to recognize the Princess of the Imperial Blood, with the title of Highness belonging to the great-grandsons of the Emperor. The Governing Senate in pursuance hereof shall not avoid making proper orders implied.
Signed by the own signature of His Imperial Highness on the original: Nikolay |
Page 40 of the official Court calendar for 1916 states “His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, born in 1876, on the 30th of September”. This record indicated that the Russian Imperial Throne in the male line should be inherited by the Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich after Czarevitch Alexei Nikolayevich and Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich in the third line of succession to the throne.
On July 26/August 8, 1922 Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich undertook the burden of the Custodian of the All-Russian Imperial Throne, and on August 31 / September 13, 1924 quite legitimately accepted the title of the Emperor of All-Russia. Any private views on support or lack of support of these actions, including the opinion of the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, do not have legal significance, since Kirill Vladimirovich acted under the State Fundamental Laws of the Russian Empire, which is an absolute priority.
Attempts to discredit the Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich as a legitimate heir to the throne led to appearance of the historical forgery - the history of a Guards, who, during the February Revolution of March 1, 1917, appeared before the State Duma headed by the Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich wearing the allegedly "red bow" on his uniform symbolizing support for the coup. This fictional fact is presented as evidence of complicity of the cousin of Nicholas II in the treason.
This fake has been fabricated based on the memoirs of one of the organizers of the coup, the chairman of the State Duma Mikhail Rodzianko. Interpretation of events of March 1, 1917 was transformed with reprinting of the book:
Memories of M. Rodzianko "The State Duma and the Revolution of February 1917, published in 1922 in Berlin, in the multivolume "Archives of the Russian Revolution" do not contain any evidence of the events of March 1, 1917 in the Tauride Palace.
The commentary of the 1st Soviet edition of the Memoirs of M. Rodzyanko "The Collapse of the Empire" (Publisher "Priboy", 1927) stated the following: "Kirill Vladimirovich (born in 1876), the Grand Duke, a son of the Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, a cousin of Nicholas II; Rear Admiral, was a staff officer to the orders of the Supreme Commander, and then commanded the Guards. During the February revolution provided the most reliable members of his Guards at the disposal of the General Khabalov to suppress the revolutionary movement”.
Editions of the Memoirs of M. Rodzyanko in 1980-90th years of the 20th century provide contradictory and unreliable data about the actions of the Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, who was accused of not only bringing some Guards to the State Duma on March 1, 1917, but also of taking the oath of allegiance to the Provisional Government. The latter is impossible, since the Provisional Government was formed on March 2, 1917 and, accordingly, the Guards could not take the oath of allegiance to the Government, which did not yet exist.
Moreover, according to the memoirs of a number of witnesses of the events of March 1, 1917, in particular the General A.A. Mosolov, the Chief of Staff of the Ministry of the Imperial Court, Major-General of the Corps of Gendarmes A.I. Spiridovich and the Commandant of the Tauride Palace Lieutenant Colonel B.A. Engelhardt. Thus, the General A.I. Spiridovich noted in his memoirs: "Many people argued that the Grand Duke (Kirill) was decorated with a red bow. The officer of Pavlovsky School, en route to the State Duma met the Guards on a crossroad and gave it way, categorically stated to the author of these lines, that there was no bow. Pavlons as remarkable trooper noticed that the Grand Duke was not in the uniform - he had his sword under his coat”. Deputy Minister of the Imperial Court, General A. Mosolov reports the following: “The Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich led by the Guards commanded by him, went to the Duma, hoping to contribute to the establishment of order in the capital and save the dynasty at the critical moment. This attempt was not supported and remained ineffective”.
Therefore, all editions of the book of M.V. Rodzianko after his death in 1924 were arbitrarily supplemented and corrected. In addition, the original source cannot be initially considered objective, since the author was interested in discrediting the monarchical institutions and justifying his own actions.
Regardless of the private assessments of the events 1917, the acquisition of a new Emperor occurs immediately after the death of the previous Emperor by virtue of Article 53 of the State Fundamental Laws of the Russian Empire. Therefore, the Emperor Alexander III became the new monarch of the Russian Empire not in May 1883, the day of the coronation, but on March 1, 1881, on the day of the death of his father Emperor Alexander II.
53. After the death of the Emperor, his Heir shall ascend the Throne by virtue of law on succession vesting this right into him. Ascension to the Throne of the Emperor shall be deemed to occur from the day of the death of his predecessor. 1825 December 12 (1); see also all preceding manifestos on ascension to the Throne; 1855 February 18 (29043); 1881 March 1 (1); 1906 April 23, Collection of Laws, 603, Art. 24.
Having ascended the Russian Imperial Throne, the Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich thwarted the very possibility in the future to rely on documents drawn up by the conspirators in 1917, and re-convene a new Constituent Assembly with the agenda of the Russian state structure. The Romanov Dynasty continued the monarch service.
About the Emperor, the Head of the Imperial House
and the Imperial Throne
(According to the State Fundamental Laws of the Russian Empire)
Succession to the Russian Imperial Throne in accordance with the will of the Emperor Pavel I was ordered by the Act of Succession to the Throne dated April 5, 1797, which has been publicly read by the Emperor in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin. The Act of Succession to the Throne became a separate chapter in the State Fundamental Laws of the Russian Empire of April 23, 1906, from which it followed: Imperial All-Russian Throne may only be taken by a person (in the order of succession), originating from the Russian Imperial House, or is a legitimate descendant from a marriage of equal genus, professes the Orthodox faith, proclaims a manifesto about the succession to the Imperial Throne, and undertakes to keep the laws on succession to the Imperial Throne unchanged.
All provisions on succession to the Throne, the Reigning Emperor, the Head of the Imperial House were extremely clear, excluding discretionary interpretation.
The most important articles of the law:
- The Emperor of All Russia Throne is simultaneously the Head of the Russian Imperial House.
21. His Majesty the Emperor, as a Head of the Imperial House, also owns, according to the Imperial Family Act, resolutions on the apanage property. They also determine the constitution of the institutions and organizations under control of the Ministry of the Imperial House, just as their management procedure. Ib., Art. 21.
219. The Reigning Emperor must be in any case honored by the Head of the Imperial Family and will be at all times the guardian and the protector of the same. 1797 April 5 (17906) § 23; 1886 July 2 (3851) act, Article 94; 1906 April 23, Collection of Laws, 603, Art. 24.
220. Every Member of the Imperial House undertakes before the Reigning as a Head of House and the Autocrat, to honor, obey, respect and subordinate. 1797 April 5 (17906) § 22, 71; 1886 July 2 (3851) act, Article 95; 1906 April 23, Collection of Laws, 603, Art. 25.
- Imperial Throne may not be usurped through elections and shall always have its legitimate heir by virtue of law on succession thereto.
53. After the death of the Emperor, his Heir shall ascend the Throne by virtue of law on succession vesting this right into him. Ascension to the Throne of the Emperor shall be deemed to occur from the day of the death of his predecessor. 1825 December 12 (1); see also all preceding manifestos on ascension to the Throne; 1855 February 18 (29043); 1881 March 1 (1); 1906 April 23, Collection of Laws, 603, Art. 24.
- A heir to the Imperial Throne may only practice the Orthodox faith.
63. The Emperor of the All-Russia Throne may not have any faith, except the Orthodox (Art. 62). 1727 May 7 (5070); 1741 November 28 (8476); 1797 April 5 (17910); 1841 Apr 24, Выс. утв. заключ. Св. Синода; 1906 April 23, Collection of Laws, 603, Art. 24.
- A heir to the Imperial Throne may only be born in marriage between a member of the Imperial Family and a person with the corresponding dignity.
36. Children born in marriage between a person from the Imperial Family and a person not having the relevant dignity, i.e. not belonging to any reigning or possessory house, have no right of succession to the Throne. 1820 March 20 (28208); 1906 April 23, Collection of Laws, 603, Art. 24.
188. The person of the Imperial Family who entered into marriage with a person not having the relevant dignity, i.e. not belonging to any reigning or possessory house, may not notify neither the latter, nor the descendants of this marriage, which is possible, of rights belonging to Members of the Imperial Family. 1820 March 20 (28208); 1885 July 2 (3851), Art. 63; 1906 Apr 23, Collection of Laws, 603, Art. 25.
Note. From now on none of the Members of the Imperial Family may enter into marriage with a person not having the relevant dignity, i.e. not belonging to any reigning or possessory house. 1889 March 23, in the name of the Ministry of the Imperial House; (1890 December 19, Highest approved the report of the Chief Commander of codification department under the State Council ); 1906 April 23, Collection of Laws, 603, Art. 25.
- A heir to the Imperial Throne may renounce his right of succession thereto.
37. When the above rules are in effect on the procedure for succession to the Throne, a person entitled to the same, shall be free to abdicate from this right due to circumstances when it will not create obstacles for further succession to the Throne. 1825 December 12 (1) annex III; 1906 April 23, Collection of Laws, 603, Art. 24
- The right of succession in case of renunciation of the Imperial Throne shall be lost irreversibly.
38. Such abdication, as promulgated and reduced to an act, shall be deemed thereafter irreversible. 1825 December 12 (1); 1906 April 23, Collection of Laws, 603, Art. 24.
- Ascension to the Imperial Throne shall be announced through issuing of an Imperial Manifesto.
54. The Manifesto on ascension to the Throne also notifies of the legitimate Heir to the Throne, provided that the person being legitimate heir, exists. The same manifestos; 1906 April 23, Collection of Laws, 603, Art. 24.
- Upon ascending the Imperial Throne, the obligation to keep the laws on succession to the Imperial Throne unchanged shall be assumed.
39. The Emperor or the Empress being heirs to the Throne, upon ascension to the same and anointing, undertake to scrupulously respect the above laws on succession to the Throne. 1797 April 5 (17910); 1906 April 23, Collection of Laws, 603, Art. 24.
- On succession to the Imperial Throne in case of extinction of the line of the Emperor’s senior son and transmission of the right of succession to the line of the Emperor’s second son and further – by male line:
29. Upon extinction of the male generation, the heritage shall pass to the family of the second son of the Emperor and to his male generation; upon extinction of the second male generation, the heritage shall pass to the family of the third son, and so on. Ib.
- On succession to the Imperial Throne in case of extinction of the male generation of the reigning Imperial House and transmission of the right of succession to the female generation of members of the Imperial Family:
30. Upon extinction of the last male line of the Emperor’s sons, the heritage shall remain in the same family, but in the male line of the last reigning, as in the closest to the Throne, and in the same shall follow the same order, preferring the male over the female; but at the same time the female from which the right directly came shall never lose the right. Ib.
35. When the heritage comes to such female line, which is reigning already on the second Throne, then the heir shall have the right to choose the faith and the Throne, and to abdicate together with the Heir from the other faith and the Throne, if such Throne is connected with the law; when there will be no denial of faith, then the heir will be the person being the closest by order. Ib.
- On amendments to the laws of the Russian Empire:
86. No new law may follow without approval of the State Council and the State Duma and acquire power without approval of His Majesty the Emperor. Ib. Art. 44.
- the Emperor of the Russian Empire is assigned the title of the Imperial Majesty:
59. “The full title of His Majesty the Emperor is as follows:
“By the Grace of God, We, NN, Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia, Moscow, Kiev, Vladimir, Novgorod; Tsar of Kazan, Tsar of Astrakhan, Tsar of Poland, Tsar of Siberia, Tsar of Chersonese Taurian, Tsar of Georgia; Lord of Pskov and Grand Prince of Smolensk, Lithuania, Volhynia, Podolia, Finland; Prince of Estland, Livland, Courland, Semigalia, Samogitia, Belostok, Karelia, Tver, Yugorsky land, Perm, Vyatka, Bolgar and others; Lord and Grand Prince of Nizhny Nogorod, Chernigov, Ryazan, Polotsk, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Belozersk, Udorsky land, Obdorsk, Kondia, Vitebsk, Mstislav, and all of the northern countries Master; and Lord of Iberia, Kartli, and Kabardia lands and Armenian provinces; Circassian and Mountainous Princes and their Hereditary Lord and Owner; Lord of Turkestan; Norwegian Heir; Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, Stormarn, Dithmarschen, and Oldenburg, and others, and others, and others.” 1721 November 11 (3850); 1815 June 6 (25875); 1825 December 23 (13) Art. I; 1828 March 25 (1897); 1829 September 2 (3128); 1857 April 11 (31720) § 13; 1882 November 3 (1159); (1883 October 19, Выс. утв. докл. Главноупр. Код. Отд. при Гос. Сов.); 1906 April 23, Collection of Laws, 603, Art. 24.
About the Succession to the Imperial Throne after 1992
About Maria Vladimirovna and her right of succession to the All-Russia Imperial Throne
After the death of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor Kirill Vladimirovich in 1938, his son Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich legally inherited the All-Russian Imperial Throne. He was Orthodox, the legitimacy of his birth and the ensuing rights raised no doubt.
After the death of the Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich in 1992, a legal conflict appeared in the Russian succession to the throne due to the presence of two documents signed by him.
In 1946, the Act has been signed recognizing the royal dignity of the House of Bagratuni and recognizing the seniority of the Duke Georgy Aleksandrovich Bagration-Mukhransky in the House, whose daughter married Vladimir Kirillovich in 1948. Then in 1969 the Act was signed, vesting Maria Vladimirovna, the daughter of Vladimir Kirillovich, with the custody of the Imperial Throne.
The Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich knew that his marriage with nйe Duchess Leonida Georgievna Bagration-Mukhranskaya was considered by many people as unequal (morganatic), and not without reasons feared that in the event of his death, all rights to the throne may go to the family of his older sister the Grand Duchess Maria Kirillovna, the Duchess Leyningenskaya or go to the Duke of the Imperial Blood Vasili Alexandrovich (Emperor Alexander III's grandson by maternal line)
Therefore, after the death of the Pince Vasili Alexandrovich of Russia in 1989, the Act of 1969 was not repealed, allowing Maria Vladimirovna, on the death of her father in 1992, pursuant to his will as a Head of the Imperial House, to state the following in her Easter appeal: “I hereby declare that in full accordance with the will of my Father, and being deeply aware of the sacred duty imposed on me, I assume by way of succession, according to the supreme right to inheritance of the Head of the Russian Imperial House, all rights and duties belonging to me by virtue of the State Fundamental Laws of the Russian Empire and the Statute of the Imperial Family. ... I solemnly declare that I will do this not only seeking to ascend the forefathers Throne, but following the sense of responsibility before God and my people, by which sense I have always been guided”. This text of the Easter appeal implies that Maria Vladimirovna, following the will of her father, becomes the Head of the Imperial House without the proclamation of a Manifesto on Ascension to the Imperial Throne.
By 1992, Russia did not have much information and professional publications on issues of Succession to the Throne. The collapse of the USSR occurred recently, an active struggle for power was in progress, various political organizations pursuing ideologies, other than communism, began to form. Information on the status of the Imperial House was rather received from abroad and originated mainly from the environment of Maria Vladimirovna. In 1992 there were no living male members of the Romanov dynasty, born before 1917. Just as there were no order older sisters of Vladimir Kirillovich - Maria Kirillovna and Kira Kirillovna (by a strange coincidence, they both died of a heart attack while visiting their brother: thus, Maria Kirillovna in 1951 in Madrid, and Kira Kirillovna in 1967 in Saint-Briac).
Then in 1992, many people upholding monarchist views perceived Maria Vladimirovna as a successor to the Imperial All-Russian Throne. This view was supported by a variety of brochures of the series “Imperial Standard” and genealogical research of S.V. Dumin, which confirmed her right as a Heir to the Russian Throne, and the status of the family of Bagration-Muhranskiy - as a Reigning House of Georgia.
This situation continued until 2013, when new works devoted to the problems of the Russian succession to the throne were published.
About the de jure absence and de facto loss of rights of Maria Vladimirovna Romanova and her son Georgiy Mikhailovich to the Imperial All-Russian Throne
Absence of rights under Articles 38, 39 and 54
of the State Fundamental Laws of the Russian Empire (SFLRE)
Easter appeal in 1992, informing about the acceptance by Maria Vladimirovna of the title of the Head of the Imperial House, is difficult to equate to the Imperial Manifesto on Accession to the All-Russia Imperial Throne (in accordance with Article 54 of SFLRE). Upon ascension to the Throne, a commitment is also to be undertaken to keep the laws on succession to the Imperial Throne unchanged (Article 39 of SFLRE), but this was not done. It implies that Maria Vladimirovna inherited the Imperial House, and not the Throne. Despite the fact that she neither had any legitimate rights to this succession, as being born in a morganatic marriage.
Since 2013, a series of interviews began to be issued, in which Maria Vladimirovna and her son Georgy repeatedly declared their waiver of any political or property claims, desiring only to preserve their status of the descendants of the Romanov dynasty, ready to engage in revival of the charity and support of historical and cultural processes in the states formed on the territory of the former Russian Empire.
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February 2013. Answer of the Head of the House of Romanov to the question of the journalist Elena Novikova (Spain). “In have no political claims, I do not ask for recovery of any property, and do not expect for any privileges or benefits”.
June 2013. Answers of His Imperial Majesty Sovereign Successor Czarevitch and the Grand Duke Georgiy Mikhaylovich to the questions of the “Direct Investments” magazine. “We have no political or property claims, but consider it fair for the modern state to determine the legal status of the dynasty, as it happened in most countries, including former communist ones”.
October 2013. The Head of the Russian Imperial House – the Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna is cited in “ROYALS” magazine: “Many people erroneously believe that the Head of the Imperial House is a “pretender to the throne”. In fact, this is not the case. The Imperial House is a historical institution keeping a whole range of the traditional spiritual values, including, of course, the idea of the monarchy. All our activities have humanitarian and non-political nature”.
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Therefore, Maria Vladimirovna and Georgy Mikhaylovich took the path towards renunciation from servicing the ideals of the Russian monarchy, and even from hypothetical rights to the Throne (Article 38 of SFLRE).
Absence of right under Article 86
of the State Fundamental Laws of the Russian Empire
The Act on Custody of the Throne of 1969, signed by the Grand Duke Vladimir Kirollovich amended the articles of the Law related to the order of succession to the Throne and has been void in the legal sense by virtue of Article 86 of SFLRE, as any amendment to the Law is only valid if approved by the State Council and the State Duma.
Absence of right under Articles 36 and 188
of the State Fundamental Laws of the Russian Empire
In 2013 the survey conducted by the Professor V.A. Zakharov has been published regarding the marriage of the Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich and the Duchess Leonida Georgievna Bagration-Mukhanskaya, which implied that this marriage was not a marriage of equal genus (morganatic), and, therefore, the posterity born in this marriage has no right of succession to the Russian Imperial Throne or titles widely used by them (Article 36 and Article 188).
On November 22/December 5, 1946 the Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich signed the Act recognizing the Imperial dignity of the House of Bagratids, and declared seniority of the Duke Georgiy Aleksandrovich Bagration-Mukhranskiy in this House (whose daughter, nee Leonida Georgievna Bagration-Mukhranskaya married Vladimir Kirillovich in 1948).
Unlawfulness of this act by the Head of the House of Romanov is evidenced by the following:
1. This act relies on the “fact of independence of Georgia from 1918 to 1921”. This status of Georgia, however, is not prescribed by the laws of the Russian Empire. Besides, Georgia was a republic in this period.
2. This act declares genealogic seniority of the Dukes Bagration-Mukhranskiy in relation to the other branches of the Bagration family. However, descendants of the latest kings of the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti (Georgia) existed yet in 1946, and still exist.
3. Descendants of the latest kings of the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti (Georgia) were assigned titles in the Russian Empire by the their Highnesses the Georgian Kings, which fact has been indicative of the loss of their status of a reigning house, but retained the status of a sovereign house. However, the Dukes Bagration-Mukhranskiy never belong to this branch, and had the title of Excellences, making them an ordinary aristocratic family in Russian. Even inside the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti, the family of the Dukes Bagration-Mukhranskiy did not possess a sovereign status, which fact is evidenced by the signature of the Duke Ivan Bagration-Mukhranskiy under the Treaty of Georgievsk of 1783.
4. The title “King of Georgia” integrally belonged to the All-Russia Emperor (Article 59), which followed the title of the “King of Chersonesus”, and from 1801 the Russian state coat of arms included also the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Georgia. That is why the reigning Emperor should initially renounce his rights to the Throne of the Kingdom of Georgia, which was not done either before or after 1917.
5. According to Article 86 of SFLRE, no new law may be passed without approval of the State Council and the State Duma of the Russian Empire and proper registration with the Governing Senate. That is why such Acts declaring the Imperial dignity are impossible without proper procedure.
6. After the fall of the Russian monarchy in 1917 the titled Emperors or Heads of the Imperial House of Romanov did not possess any rights of the entities under the international law and were unable to grant the status of a sovereign or reigning House to any noble-birth family in Russia, including the family of the Dukes Bagration-Mukhranskiy.
About the true and natural Emperor
The descendants of the Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich did not have the right to inherit the throne de jure, and in 2013 lost it o de facto, after the adoption of the Holy Orthodoxy by the Prince Karl-Emich of Leiningen and the publishing of his Manifesto about the perception of the dignity of the Heir to the Russian Throne. Accordance with Articles 30 and 35 of the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire, the right to the Imperial All-Russian Throne passed to the next line, namely to the descendants of the eldest daughter of the Emperor Kirill Vladimirovich - Grand Duchess Maria Kirillovna of Russia, Princess of Leiningen and directly to her senior grandson on birthright the Prince Karl-Emich of Leiningen.
Equal marriage of the Grand Duchess Maria Kirillovna and parents of the Prince Karl-Emich of Leiningen raise no doubt. The Princes of Leiningen were the sovereign house of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation from 1779 and the mother of the Prince Karl-Emich of Leiningen belonged to the Oldenburg Grand Ducal House - one of the sovereign houses in Germany and co-founder of II German Empire (1871-1918).
The year 2013, as it used to be with the year 1613, became fatal for the House of Romanov. The Prince Karl-Emich, having familiarized with the materials of research on the inheritance of the All-Russian Imperial Throne, and in accordance with the requirements of the State Fundamental Laws of the Russian Empire, took the necessary action to ascend the Imperial Throne.
June 1, 2013. Prince Karl-Emich of Leiningen and his wife Princess Isabella of Leiningen took the Holy Orthodoxy (Article 63 of SFLRE).
October 5, 2013. Prince Karl-Emich of Leiningen declares on taking the name Nikolay and the patronymic Kirillovich.
October 5, 2013. Prince Nicholai Kirillovich issues the Manifesto on acceptance of the title the Prince of the Imperial Blood of Russia (Article 147 of SFLRE).
October 5, 2013. The Manifesto of Prince Nikolai Kirillovich, Prince of Leiningen is issued on acceptance of the dignity of a Heir of the Imperial All-Russian Throne and the commitment to keep unchanged the Laws of the Russian Empire (Article 39 of SFLRE).
Recognition or recognition of the legitimacy of certain actions performed on behalf of the Russian Imperial House in the period from 1992 to 2013 solely belongs to the jurisdiction of the legitimate Heir of the All-Russian Imperial Throne (de jure Emperor).
* SFLRE - State Fundamental Laws of the Russian Empire
Order of succession to the throne after Nicholas II, according to the laws of the Russian Empire
Fund “Imperial Heritage”
Moscow, March 12, 2018.