The Romanov Dynasty and Youth Movements in the Russian Empire and Emigration of the "First Wave"

Abstract

The subject of the study is the influence of the Romanov family on the formation, development and ideology of Russian extracurricular organizations in the first half of the XX century. The author also examines in detail such aspects of the topic as the symbolic significance of the Romanovs' membership in children's associations and the role of the institution of patronage of organizations in preserving imperial traditions in the emigration of the "first wave". The connection of the Grand Dukes with the youth movements of the Union of Musketeers and the Order of Crusaders, which were active in the second half of the 1920s - early 1930s in Harbin and in the exclusion zone of the Chinese–Eastern Railway, is also considered. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the broad formulation of the question: 5 organizations have been considered for 3 decades. As a result of the conducted research, it is concluded that the ruling dynasty had a great influence on the emergence of children's and youth organizations in the Russian Empire. Their creation began with the initiative of Nicholas II in 1908 . Subsequently, for many decades, members of the Romanov family were patrons and participants of various Russian children's movements. Many of these movements, in turn, have made monarchism an important component of their ideology. In addition to Nicholas II, before the revolution, the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna provided assistance in the development of the scout movement, the heir to the throne was an honorary scout, and his second cousin Georgy Konstantinovich was no longer an honorary, but a real scout of the Tsarskoye Selo detachment.