Page 48 - All About History - Issue 58-17

Lenin pulls his
weight at the
1920 Subbotnik
L
T
NOT ALL OF THE ROMANOVS
WERE KILLED
It’s a common misconception that the entire Romanov family was
executed in Yekaterinburg but that isn’t the case. At the time the
family were executed, there were 65 members of the Romanov
dynasty still living —18diedduring the Revolution but the
remaining all found sanctuary overseas. Some of those left Russia
in 1919 aboard HMS Marlborough, which King GeorgeVofthe
United Kin her, Queen
Alexandra. Her sister, Maria
Fyodorovna, was the mother r HMS Marlborough
carried the surviving
ofthemurderedtsar.
Romanovs to safety
Dowager Empress Maria was
one ofthosewho boarded
HMS Marlboroughtosafety,
yet she refused to do so
until the ship had been
filled with injured soldiers
and any civilian who
wanted to flee the
approaching Bolsheviks. For
her eldest son, daughter-in-
law and grandchildren, the
Britishinterventionwas too
little, too late.

TRADITIONAL
STREET
SWEEPING

STILL MARKS
L
THE RUSSIAN
REVOLUTION i

In the months following
the October Revolution, a a
citizens were invited to
takepartinthevoluntary r
workdays known as
Subbotniks. These days,
which tookplace every
weekend, were opportunities for people to r , ,
clean up the streets and clear rubble leftafter ’
the uprisings. Although they were supposedly
optional,all were expected to pull their . .
weightandSubbotniksbecamearegular e e e
fixture in every Russiancalendar.Thefirst , , ,
Subbotnik was on 12 April 1919 and the o o
Bolshevikssoonused the occasion as a a
propaganda tool, issuing pictures showing
revolutionary leaders cleaning up the cities t t t t
for the people. In fact, Lenin viewed the
Subbotnik as the first real chapter in the , , ,
origin of communist Russia. The tradition a
continues to this day butnowtheSubbotniks , , i
are usually given a civic purpose, such as .
cleaning up a specific area, collecting and l l l l e
processing recyclables or carrying out other
voluntary work of public value.
Maria Rasputin ran away
from Russia to join the circus!