Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening depending on when you are reading this blog post. Today I am exploring a documentary on the Tsarinas of Russia. This is one we will see how it will go it could be about the last few Tsarinas of Russia or it could be about just the one. The run time for this episode is 51:07 and is called The Splendor and Misery of the Last Tsarinas.
The Russian Empresses were mainly German women who found selves in the splendor of the Russian court. The story begins with Princess Charlotte. Charlotte was the daughter of Queen Louise of Prussia. She was engaged to Grand Duke Nicholas and would eventually rule Russia at his side. Maria von Prussen follows the story of Charlotte, her ancestor to discover Charlotte’s life and why Prussians were married into the family. The story begins with a trip to the Winter Palace. It was here that the Tsars and Tsarinas resided. Princess Charlotte would have arrived in a whole new world when she arrived in St. Petersburg. It would have taken her seventeen days by carriage to arrive in St. Petersburg. Her final stop in Prussia before arriving in St. Petersburg was a border town. It was here that Grand Duke Nicholas would have met Princess Charlotte. From the beginning, it was clear that this was a love match. Why would a Russian prince marry a German princess? One historian talks about how the German states were a dating service and when a Russian prince needed to marry, he was sent there on a tour. The German princesses were protestants and more open to converting to Orthodoxy in comparison to Catholic princesses. Maria tours the site of the border; nothing remains of the obelisks that marked this border. It was here that Charlotte would have crossed into Russia and her letters at the time not that Nicholas’ presence helped her. Charlotte was arriving in a country that was a bundle of contradictions. Beneath the glamour of the Russian court was in large part a poor and very rural country that still had serfs tied to the land. Poverty and discontent lay just beneath the surface. I find Maria’s curiosity about her ancestor very endearing. As her tour and exploration continue, Maria arrives in St. Petersburg and learns about Princess Charlotte’s arrival. It would have been a nerve-wracking experience for Princess Charlotte, let alone any German Princess. On day four of her arrival she would have converted to Russian Orthodox and would have traded the name of Charlotte for Alexandra. She was going to embark on a life in Russia as a Grand Duchess and eventually rule Russia. It was here, that there was a discussion on the German princess who married into the Russian Court. It was interesting to hear those minor German princesses were chosen to marry because it did not interrupt the balance in Europe. After this short little detour, Charlotte and Nicholas’ roles were going to change. Tsar Alexander I had decided to abdicate and retire from political life. The pair were shocked by this decision. Nicholas was not ready, and everyone thought Constantine the middle brother would have succeeded Alexander. This would be a fatal error. Maria then takes in a historic ball with Russian aristocrats. The Russian aristocrats are trying to rediscover their roots and host these balls. Charlotte was a lovely carefree woman who was a hit with Russian society. She threw herself into family life and society, she did not dabble in politics. She adored her husband Nicholas. One historian says that she was the perfect wife for Nicholas. However, things change for Charlotte and Nicholas when Alexander suddenly dies before realizing his plans. The nobles pledged their loyalty to a very reluctant Constantine. In the power vacuum military officers rose up to change the system. What would Nicholas do to put down this rebellion and claim the crown? How does Charlotte adjust to her life as Tsarina? Tune into the rest of this episode to learn more about this Tsarina. Over all this was an interesting documentary and I really appreciated Maria’s exploration. This would something I would use for research purposes and not for showing in a classroom.
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The purpose of this blog is to share information on what can be used in a classroom, private school, or home school setting as well as serve as a portfolio of my personal and professional work. The reviews are my opinions and should be treated as such. I just want to provide a tool for teachers to select documentaries for their classrooms. |