Take a look at the exhibition about Jelena Karađorđević Romanov (1885 — 1918), a Serbian princess who was unjustly neglected by historical sources. Her fate leaves us breathless with tragedy, while the nobility and the unusual personality of the princess justify the epithet of Elena Petrovna, the favourite princess.
Through the prism of her life, the exhibition will present the history of the Russian and Serbian people at the turn of centuries (1885 – 1918) marked by great historical upheavals – Balkan Wars, World War I, February and October Revolution and the tragic suffering of the Romanov royal family, which changed Jelena’s life irrevocably, making her a princess without a homeland and family.
The exhibition will be implemented on the occasion of the centenary of the tragic suffering of the Romanov royal family, in cooperation with the Russian Academy of Sciences (Department of History), the Russian Aviation Institute and the Association for the Preservation of Historical Heritage ‘Magistra’.
Jelena Karađorđević (21 October 1844 — 16 October 1962) was the eldest daughter of Serbian King Peter I Karađorđević and Montenegrin Princess Zorka, and after marrying Russian Prince Ioann Konstantinovich Romanov she became the Grand Duchess of the Russian Romanov royal family. The will of fate was for Jelena to become the mother of the last Romanov born on the soil of tsarist Russia, after centuries of rule of this tsarist lineage.
The woman who captivated with her spirit and warmth, she faced suffering throughout her life, from the premature loss of her mother, through growing up in the diaspora, to the tragic loss of her husband who was executed after the October Revolution with the rest of the Romanov family on 18 July 1918. Grief for her lost husband and short family happiness will make her never want to create a home again, and the princess will live a modest and lonely life with her children in the diaspora until her death.
The exhibition follows the life of Jelena Karađorđević Romanov from her birth in Cetinje in 1884 until her departure from Russia after the tragic execution of her husband Ioann Konstantinovich Romanov and the entire Romanov family in Alapayevsk on 17 and 18 July 1918, during the exile of the royal family to Siberia. The life of the great woman was followed by great and irreparable tragedies, and the history of both nations to which she belonged and which she endlessly loved and helped in the time of suffering, is told in exhibited photographs and texts that accompany them. The exhibition was first presented at the Rumenka Cultural Centre in May 2019, on the occasion of the opening of the ‘Russian Corner’ project, which presented the Russian library and the project of 3 years of free learning of the Russian language. All this was implemented as a donation from the Russian Humanitarian Mission to the Rumenka Cultural Centre.
Due to the pandemic, we implemented the exhibition in virtual form for the visitors. Take a look, read, we hope you will enjoy it!
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