Tsar of Russia, lifetime rule over faith and people
Tsar of Russia exquisite court treasures
Mitre, Russia, Rostov, third quarter of the 18th century Silk brocade, gold, taffeta, silver, pearls, precious stones, weaving, embroidery, engraving, enamel, niello
Tsar of Russia converted the country to Christianity
All citizens of Kyiv were baptised into the Orthodox Church on the 1st of September 988, the date when the Tsar of Russia converted the country from paganism to Christianity.
The Mother of God, The Saviour and St John the Baptist Icons from a Deësis, Russia, Moscow, The Armoury Chamber, late 17th century, Egg tempera, Wood, gesso, linen cloth
The ruler of that time, Vladimir I, had determined that uniting the country under one faith would be to his political advantage.
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He considered Islam, but he felt their prohibition laws were too restrictive for freedom-loving Russians. Judaism was rejected, as it did not even help the Jews to their own land.
Tsar had 5 wives and 800 concubines
So, he chose Christianity. This was despite the fact that, until a political marriage required him to become Christian, he was a pagan worshiper with five wives and 800 concubines.
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From that point forward, the Tsar of Russia protected the Orthodox Church and “disadvantaged” other religions. In return, the Church supported and legitimised Russian rulers.
Pectoral cross of Tsar Peter the Great, Russia, Moscow, Kremlin Workshops, 1682-1689. Superimposed cross: Western Europe, second half of the 16th – early 17th centuries, Gold, diamonds, emeralds, casting, embossing, enamel, cutting. Photo courtesy of Hong Kong Heritage Museum
Important events like coronations, foreign diplomatic visits, and ceremonial military events included reminders that their ruler was there by divine right.
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In an expansive exhibition, Tsar of All Russia: Holiness and Splendour of Power, at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, the items on display present the wealth and power of the Romanov dynasty.
Romanov dynasty
It includes 170 artefacts that were originally stored in the treasure chambers of the Russian monarchs and are now in the collection of the Moscow Kremlin Museums.
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The Romanov dynasty, the Tsars of Russia from 1613 until the Russian Revolution, is remembered by their tragic end in 1917 and a fictional romanticised story of a young girl called Anastasia.
Ivan IV became Tsar of Russia at 16
What is not well known is that there was another beautiful Anastasia by the side of the man who became the very first Tsar of Russia.
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Ivan IV Vasilyevich became “Tsar of All Russia” at the age of sixteen. He became the Grand Prince of Moscow at the age of three upon the death of his father.
His mother was poisoned
He came from a line of rulers from the Rurik dynasty. His mother became regent but was poisoned when Ivan was eight.
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Until he came of age, the country was ruled by members of the old Russian aristocracy called the boyars.
This all changed in January 1547 when Ivan was crowned.
Diskos, Russia, Moscow, Kremlin Workshops, late 17th century, Silver, steel, casting, embossing, carving, niello, gilding
Two weeks later, he married Anastasia Romanovna, who was chosen from a pool of at least 500 eligible daughters of noble descent. All went well until she died thirteen years into their marriage.
Ivan the Terrible
He blamed the boyars and began a process of usurping their powers in the most brutal way possible. History remembers him as “Ivan the Terrible”. He ruled until his death in 1584.
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Ivan’s ruling legitimacy was reinforced with military power, wealth and a steadfast belief in the divine right of the ruler to unlimited power under God.
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He linked his rule to the Russian Orthodox Church and crowned himself Tsar of Russia, a title derived from the Latin Caesar, making it clear that his ambition was for Russia to become the successor to the Holy Roman Empire.
Staff of Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich. Russia, Moscow, Kremlin Workshops, before 1625
Silver, precious stones, wood. Casting, embossing, chasing, gilding
However, despite all this, his son Feodor I, who ruled as Tsar of Russia from 1584, was an ineffective, weak ruler who died in 1598 without an heir. This led to the end of his family’s Rurik dynasty and the descent of Russia into a period of tremendous political upheaval known as the Times of Trouble.
Portrait of Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich, unknown artist, Russia, mid-18th century. Oil on canvas.
Photo courtesy of Hong Kong Heritage Museum
In 1613, a new dynasty came into power with the election of sixteen-year-old Mikhail Fyodorovich by the Zemsky Sobor, an assembly of Russia’s feudal classes. He is better known as Michael Romanov [in English] and Michael I.
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Michael I was the first Tsar of Russia to reign from the House of Romanov. This imperial house rose to prominence with the marriage of Anastasia Romanovna, the first wife of Ivan the Terrible.
New Tsar of Russia Michael I
The accession of Michael I ended the Times of Trouble, and upon his death in 1645, he was succeeded by his son Alexis. The Romanov dynasty reigned until the abdication of Nicholas II in 1917.
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Elena Yu Gagarina, the General Director of the Moscow Kremlin Museums, stated the importance of the coronation ceremony for Michael I. “This ritual confirmed the sacral nature of the monarch’s absolute power, binding autocrat and subjects together in a chain of mutual, indissoluble obligations,” she says.
Barmy of Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich. Russia, Moscow, Kremlin Workshops, 1629-1645, Fabrics: Italy, 17th century. Satin, gold, and silk threads, weaving, embroidery
One of the exhibition’s most significant artefacts is a barmy of Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich (Michael I). A barmy is a jewelled regalia collar embroidered with images of saints.
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This, along with the golden crown known as the Cap of Monomakh, a staff and an orb, became the symbols of Russian ruling power.
Crown of the ‘Grand Set’ of Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich Artist: Fyodor Solntsev, Russia, Moscow, 1834-1835. Watercolour, whitening and Indian ink on paper, Distemper painting
The alignment of the tsars to the Orthodox Church was more than symbolic, but symbolism was put to effective use.
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The leading symbol of the Russian Church, and by association, the rulers of Russia, was the Russian Orthodox cross.
Plate, Russia, Moscow, Kremlin Workshop, late 17th century. Silver, steel, casting, embossing, carving, niello, gilding
An example of this can be seen in the seventeenth-century Altar Cross made of silver, precious stones and wood and in the late seventeenth-century silver Plate. Each shows the three horizontal crossbeams that make the Russian Orthodox cross distinct.
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The top beam has the initials INRI, meaning ‘Jesus, King of the Jews’, the middle beam is where the convict’s hands are fixed, and the bottom represents the footstool.
Russian Orthodox Cross
The footstool is tilted up on Christ’s right, pointing towards the repentant thief who is going to heaven, and downwards to the left towards the condemned criminal going to hell. Ivan the Terrible standardised this design and had it mounted on Russian church domes to distinguish it from crosses in other countries. In Russia, the upward-facing footstool of outdoor crosses always points north.
Altar Cross, Russia, Moscow, second half of the 17th century. Halo of Christ: 19th century. Silver, precious stones, stones, wood. Embossing, carving, enamel chasing, gilding
During this time, the Russian Orthodox cross was also part of the double-headed eagle coat of arms of Russia.
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In some versions, such as the above-mentioned Alter Cross and Plate, the skull and crossbones are visible beneath the feet of Christ.
Bowl carved with gilded images of double-headed eagles and inscribed ‘Tsar Peter the Great’, Russian, Moscow, Kremlin Workshops. Last quarter of the 17th century, Silver, embossing, niello, carving, gilding
This is a reference to Calvary, where Jesus was crucified, which in Latin means ‘the place of the skull’. It is also a reference to Adam, with some devotees believing the bones of Adam and Eve were buried there.
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Ivan Saltanov’s painting, The Worship of the Cross icon, depicts the relationship among empires, the Church, and the state. In the painting, the Byzantine Emperor Constantine the Great and his mother, Helena, are depicted as crowned saints with golden halos.
The Worship of the Cross icon, Ivan Saltanov, Russia, Moscow, 1677-1678, Canvas, gesso, wood, Tempera, oil, coloured varnishes. Photo courtesy of Hong Kong Heritage Museum
Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich and his first wife, Maria Miloslavskaya, are also shown crowned, but the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Nikon, kneels below them all.
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The relationship between patriarch and tsar is epitomised by his blessing of Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich in 1654 just before war was initiated against Poland to annex modern-day Ukraine.
Equestrian Portrait of Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich, Unknown artist, Russia, Moscow, second half of the 1670s – first half of the 1680s, Oil on canvas, Photo courtesy of Hong Kong Heritage Museum
In the display piece, Pendant in the Shape of an Eagle, the gold-embossed jewel with precious stones presents the double-headed eagle with two crowns coat of arms as the effective symbol for Russian tsars.
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The double heads, facing two directions simultaneously, emphasise that the empire united both East and West under its wings.
Pendant in the Shape of an Eagle (front and back) Russia, Moscow, Kremlin Workshops, Late 17th century, Gold, precious stones, Embossing, enamel
It was the state symbol of the late Byzantine Empire, and so aided the claim that Moscow was the last stronghold of the Orthodox Church and successor to the fallen Roman Empire. Over time, the imagery changed, with a third crown appearing between the heads.
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In 1654, St George slaying the dragon was added to the eagle’s breast, and later the talons were depicted holding an orb and sceptre, symbols of absolute monarchy.
Formal Kaftan with double-headed eagle and St George slaying the dragon coat of arms 17th century
Tsar of All Russia Holiness and Splendour of Power provides an extraordinary glimpse of Imperial Russian treasures.
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It is a unique opportunity to explore Russian history through artefacts that reflect the rise and fall of the Romanov dynasty from the 16th to the early 18th centuries.
Casket, Russia, second half of the 17th century, Silver, Carving, embossing, gilding
The showcase of imperial grandeur presents a distinct period of Russian history when the interplay between politics and religion was forged by tsars at the pinnacle of their power and authority.
Text Martin Wray / Photos Cammy Yiu & Martin Wray
