Pod Insights Hot History The 1903 Romanov Ball About this episode Hello you! Today we are chatting about the 1903 Romanov Ball aka, the last great royal ball in Europe!
Thrown in celebration of 290 years of Romanov rule, the entire Russian court was sent back to the 17th century, dripped in gold and gems, posing for photos with their friends and most of all, blissfully ignoring the rumbling discontent outside the palace gates! Listen now to find out all the deets on the evening(s) and how the ball helped bring about the Romanovs final days!
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Til next week, Ainslie x
Transcript 0:16 Speaker 00 Hi guys and welcome back to Hot History, the podcast covering all the things in history that you probably should know but don't. I'm Ainslie Harvey, your hot historian, ready to chat about the last great royal ball in Europe. It's been coming for a few weeks, guys, you have all been requesting it. So let's talk about the 1903 Romanov Costume Ball held at the Winter Palace. So let's rewind all the way back to February 13th, 1903. At this moment, guys, we're in St Petersburg and the Russian Empire is about to see one of its biggest outrageously lavish parties. And these guys love to party,
0:59 Speaker 00 so that's truly a statement. Just picture it. The Winter Palace in St Petersburg, flanked by the Neva River, is dripping in gold with glistening mirrors, chandeliers the size of small carriages and floors so polished you could check yourself out in them. Czar Nicholas II has been on the throne for just over a decade by this point, and the great Russian bear is starting to roar from within. Workers are striking, peasants are starving, revolutionary ideas are simmering, and all in all, guys, Russia is restless. Outside
1:40 Speaker 00 the palace, beggars and children are desperate, but inside, there is not only opulence, but everyone's dressed like it's 1653. Because Czar Nicholas II and Zorya Alexandra have decided that what Russia really needs right now is a throwback costume party to a time of even greater autocratic rule.
2:06 Speaker 00 And when I say costume party, guys, I just want to be really clear. I'm not talking about some banners, you know, or an Amazon next day delivery from costume warehouse here. This was a full-on, immersive, no-expense-spared cosplay of the era of Tsar Alexei Myklovich, the second Romanov ruler, which this event, you know, was used to celebrate the 290th anniversary of Romanov rule. And when I say no expense spared, guys, I really mean it. Today, the estimated cost of the 1903 Romanov Ball is approximately 10 billion US dollars. Billion with a B. And it's no wonder the guest list for this event reads like a who's who of Imperial Russia, guys.
2:51 Speaker 00 I'm so serious. There were grand dukes, duchesses, princesses, aristocrats, foreign royals and dignitaries, all of whom had more titles than hobbies. And each of them were required to show up in historically accurate 17th century Russian court dress. We're talking beads, we're talking boyars, we're talking heavy brocade, Orthodox mysticism, diamond and gold, kochchnik, headpieces, with months of preparation going into this one evening. Designers were commissioned to make outfits based on paintings and museum pieces. Jewels were reset into antique styles and fabrics were sourced from across the entire empire.
3:34 Speaker 00 So this evening is truly a sight to behold. And we're going to break it down, starting with the why. Guys, why on earth is such a grand costume ball taking place at the beginning of the 20th century? Well, as I already said, the 1903 ball was thrown in celebration of 290 years of Romanov rule and was done so in the style of the second Romanov Tsar Alexei Myklovich, who was renowned for his opulence and style.
4:05 Speaker 00 But who came up with the idea for such a soiree? Now, whether this is prejudiced reporting, I'm not too sure. And to be honest, it's very highly likely that it is. But reports do tell us that the ball was Empress Alexandra's idea. After she argued with guests at a breakfast over an old Russian outfit that was supposedly destined to go out of fashion. The elites present, however, were adamant that the trend would return, having already witnessed the love affair with all things foreign in the days of Peter I. And believing that this fashion was coming back full circle. So this interaction gives her an idea which was endorsed by her husband Nicholas II.
4:49 Speaker 00 To not only hold a masquerade ball, guys, which were incredibly fashionable at the time, but to put on a grand costume ball in the 17th century style. With the thought here that by leaning into this distant era, the Romanovs would prove their dynasty was timeless, sacred and still in control. And the reason for wanting to prove that was because they were actually none of those things, guys. Although the glittering veneer remained intact beneath the surface, Russia was evolving with the modern world. Industrialization was pulling people into cities. Political groups were all growing louder with this more dense populace.
5:32 Speaker 00 And as time passed, organized demonstrations became more frequent. Year by year and month by month, the old system of absolute monarchy the Romanovs had ruled under for 290 years was starting to look outdated to everyone but the Romanovs. You see, Nicholas II wasn't a reformer. And he was never, ever going to be a reformer. Because above all else, he believed deeply in his God-given divine right to rule.
6:07 Speaker 00 Under this divine right of kings, as it's more commonly referred to, even though the Tsar was not a king, Nicholas believed that he was only answerable to God and as such autocracy or sole rule by him was the backbone of the Russian nation. So instead of adapting like other royals and empires had done, like, you know, British for example, he doubled down by leaning in to nostalgia. And while we today, of course, very clearly go like this is the most tone deaf, historically ironic costume party in human history, for the Romanov family, this night was very much two birds, one stone.
6:49 Speaker 00 Firstly, of course, let's celebrate the milestone of 290 years. But secondly, and most importantly, let's show the people and the court exactly how great we can be to reinforce our right to rule. So the theme of 17th century opulence wasn't just about celebration. It was about showing a time before Peter the Great modernized Russia, before Western influence reshaped the court, and before the messy complications of modern politics and pesky democracy interrupted the true purpose of Romanov rule. Grandeur and absolutism. So that's our why, guys, but let's get in to the real reason we're all here.
7:33 Speaker 00 Let's be real, we wanna know the details. So the celebration actually took place in two phases on two separate evenings. So you had February 11th and then you have February 13th. Now, the first evening on the 11th was super formal, while the 13th was the fun costume event. And again, we'll break them both down for you now. So the first evening on the 11th, guests gathered in the Winter Palace, proceeding in pairs to greet the imperial couple with the traditional Russian bow. Basically, like this really deep bow done in a formal procession. After the greetings came a concert in the Hermitage Theatre, featuring scenes from Russian operas performed by the singer Fedor Shalapin, I believe that's how you say it,
8:17 Speaker 00 and ballet excerpts from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, featuring famed Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, who played the main role.
8:27 Speaker 00 The evening concluded with dinner, which, guys, don't worry, it wasn't 17th century style. Apparently, it proved pretty difficult to get the court to set their dietary habits back nearly 300 years. Instead, there were traditional Russian classics, including consomme with truffles, Venetian salad with lettuce, Rowan-style duck chilled charlets, and so on. That was all then counteracted with the archangel choir singing old songs of Russian bogatares, as traditional dancers broke out throughout the room. So that's night one, guys, February 11th. Let's move on to night two, February 13th, 1903, the ball itself.
9:10 Speaker 00 So, according to the memoirs of that period, the ball's planning began early in 1903 with invitations being sent out with gusto. However, the response was perhaps not what the empress had in mind, with up to 100 of the imperial court declining the invite for one specific reason. It was just too bloody expensive, guys. Ivan Vesloski, the former director of the Imperial Theatre, said Russian costumes cost a fortune. Besides, dancing in heavy dresses and furs isn't exactly fun. Surely, poor Alexandra Fyodorovna has an unlucky knack for the weird and inappropriate.
9:52 Speaker 00 And he's not wrong here, guys. The cost of the costumes elicited extreme reactions here. The materials alone, required for Nicholas's costume, which included two different types of velvet and gold brocade, cost 437 rubles, which at the time was equivalent to a Tsarist army general's monthly pay. So you could pay your best top general for the month, or you could have this dress. The Empress, however, was adamant about this evening going ahead, and insisted that guests who could not afford costumes have them custom-made on the state treasury's dime, with the only condition being that after the ball, the costumes would be donated to the Imperial Theatres.
10:37 Speaker 00 So not too shabby here, guys. You know, you say you can't afford a new outfit, then you have one custom-made and paid for by the state, and all that happens afterwards is it goes back to a theatre, which all ends up in a museum anyway. Again, I want to reiterate here, it is hardly a stretch to imagine why the Russian people revolted when you look at nights like this. And yes, it was one isolated costume ball, but come on.
11:04 Speaker 00 So anyway, we're all back on here, guys. Everything's going ahead. Three hundred and ninety guests are confirmed to attend this evening, and preparation was well and truly underway from the moment these RSVPs arrived. In fact, there was such chaos in the capital with so many orders for classical costumes that tailors couldn't even make them all in time, with Princess Xenia, the Tsar's sister, like literally a princess, being given an unfinished dress barely an hour before the start of the party, for which the tailor, mean girl energy here, guys, the tailor was later dubbed a freak by the entire court. But clothes, let's be real, are only one part of the equation here.
11:49 Speaker 00 And let me tell you all, if there is one thing the Russian aristocracy loved, it was jewels, guys. The majority of the court had a long dynastic history under Romanov rule, and as such, did have an abundance of family jewels they could pull out for the occasion. Princess Zenita Yusupov's dress hem and kakoshnik feet, instance, were encrusted with a mix of family stones and new ones from Cartier. And the costume came with not one, but two different headpieces and two different sets of sleeves. Now, in case I also haven't mentioned, guys, it's really important to note, a kakoshnik is a traditional Russian headdress, and it's not just like a little hat kind of thing.
12:32 Speaker 00 It is often a huge, like moon-shaped, um, structure that basically gets bedazzled and put on your head. Again, I'll, I'll put some pics, um, on the socia for you guys to see. Now for those who did require new jewels and stones for the night, court jeweler Peter Cull Faberge was on hand to assist the court in choosing pieces that were on theme and historically accurate. So again, I just really wanna reiterate, scrap any idea you had of this like small funny costume party. This party was a fucking time machine. So let's talk about the run sheet. What happens on an evening like this? Cause I don't know about you, but I don't frequent Imperial costume balls or that evening.
13:15 Speaker 00 And I'm so type A, like I just wanna know the logistics that go into something like this. So after the arrivals finished, the first dance began. It was the traditional Polonaise and was performed, of course, by Nicholas and Alexandra, after which the fun began, largely consisting of other traditional dancers, including mazurkas, polkas and waltzes, all types of dance. During this time, the waiters walked around offering sweets like candies, ice cream and fruit, as well as soft drinks and champagne. Having danced for a couple of hours, the guests then moved on to the banquet. For the immediate Romanoff family, the VIPs and the diplomats in attendance, a large
13:56 Speaker 00 table was set up in a separate room, while the rest of the guests dined in the main hall, with each of the tables having an extra chair, so that Zan Nicholas II could sit down and chat with the guests as he made his rounds from table to table. There was also time in the evening for photographs of each of the guests in their incredible costumes and a grand wrangling for a huge group photo, which was captured and placed in a photo album that was gifted to the empress, and I'm kind of confused here. Eventually mass-produced, apparently with charity in mind, because the front of the album bore the inscription, "To the Russian warriors in the Far East."
14:40 Speaker 00 Like the Russians in the Far East wanna see their court playing dress up while they're starving and dying. Again, I'm not really sure about it. To be honest, this gives a perfect insight into what their frame of mind was. And that album is actually still available today at the Russian History Museum, which is how we have the incredible access to the images today. And those that are shown throughout this have been beautifully colourised by Russian artist Kimlin. Alright guys, so that's the run of events. Now let's take a look at the guest list and their looks. Starting of course with the Tsar's arena themselves. So Nicholas II wore a suit that replicated the dress of Tsar Alexei. Important to note, this was a replica.
15:25 Speaker 00 But the robe, train of gold bracard, royal cap lined with fur, and the staff that he like held in his hand were originals taken from the Moscow armoury. Now, I don't wanna assume here guys, but I am fairly certain Queen Elizabeth II wasn't rifling through Queen Victoria's outfits, aka precious historical items for a costume party. And neither should Nicholas II, although there of course is the case for like thrifting and reusing, and this was actually really common for this evening. So much so, that Nicholas's younger brother, Grand Prince Michael, managed to lose a large diamond clasp from his fur hat,
16:08 Speaker 00 which used to belong to Tsar Paul I. Awkward return on that one, guys. Alexandra as well went for this reuse approach with some details for her dress coming from the original 17th century wardrobe of the Tsarina Maria, so Alexei's wife. And she really, really leaned into the theme here. She wore a Slavic style crown known as a corona that was so heavy that even like leaning over her plate to eat dinner was challenging. Her earrings as well apparently had a similar effect, according to Grand Duchess Olga, the Tsar's sister, who recalled they were so heavy that she could not bend her head.
16:51 Speaker 00 Now, all of these jewels was selected by Faberge, who shortly before the ball was invited to the palace to assist the Empress in her preparations, which included him hurrying to create in less than a month, a huge necklace to go with the crown and earrings, which was set with Brazilian diamonds, emeralds from the Urals, 125 pearls and guise, a 250 carat emerald pendant surrounded by 54 diamonds. This stone is genuinely one of the biggest things I've ever seen. If you're watching on Spotify, then you'll be able to see these pictures.
17:35 Speaker 00 If not, I'll post them because they simply need to be seen to be believed.
17:40 Speaker 00 But still, Alexandra wasn't going to stop with a 250 carat emerald pendant. She was also adorned with a diamond and pearl tassel necklace, which hung from her headpiece and countless gems and brooches from the Imperial Collection. The total cost of which, hold on to your hats, was estimated at $10 million. For comparison here, guys, Alva Vanderbilt, the lady who inspired Mrs. Russell in the Gilded Age TV series, is famous for throwing the biggest party that New York had ever seen. And that whole evening cost around $6 million US.
18:19 Speaker 00 So Alexandra's outfits cost more than the entire Vanderbilt ball.
18:28 Speaker 00 But, and this is kind of tea here, guys. Apparently $10 million wasn't enough for her to be the belle of the ball. That honor instead went to her sister, Elizabetha, who wore this incredible moon-shaped kookoshnik. Again, like I will post a lot of these images of the costumes to the socials so you can see the looks. But there are just a few that I have to call out for you right now. So, generally speaking for this evening, the Imperial Suite, so like all the intimate members of the Romanovs, all dressed as Russian boyars of the time, which was the highest title of nobility under the Tsar during the 17th century, while the rest of
19:13 Speaker 00 those in attendance wore costumes of falconers, archers and city women. Now, high-ranking guests there included the Tsar's uncles and aunts, Grand Duke Sergey and Vladimir, and Grand Duchess Elizabeth and Maria Pavlovna. The Tsar's siblings as well were in attendance, like we said, Xenia and Michael, plus of course, Nicholas's mother, the Dowager Empress Maria Fedorovna. Also in attendance, and prepare yourselves here for the butchering of these Russian name guys, I am sorry in advance, the Galitsin, Shiramitev, and, oh my god, I can't say this one, Dolgorukov, Dolgorukov?
19:53 Speaker 00 Families, sorry to any of these people for those, or any Russians, just for my pronunciation throughout this, you get it though, guys. They were all noble houses with deep roots in Russian history. Alongside, of course, Princess Zanida Yusupov, famed for her wealth and jewels, and her son, Prince Felix Yusupov, heir to one of the richest families in Russia, an eventual assassin to Rasputin, but more on that next week, guys. So, Maria Pavlovna had one of the looks I wanted to call out to you. She wore this incredible, almost like a three-leaf clover, if that makes sense, shaped kakkoshnik,
20:35 Speaker 00 with this string of pearls that went underneath her chin, almost like a school hat with a tie underneath to keep it on, you know, those ones? Like a drawstring thing? Grand Duchess Xenia as well also wore a kakkoshnik, but hers was kidney-shaped, and indeed, her look in total was one of the most famous looks of the night, going on to inspire the wardrobe of Padme in Star Wars. Alexandra's lady-in-waiting, Anna Teneva, and her sister also had an incredible duo matching moment in light pink and baby blue dresses, which very much gives Barbie princess and the popper vibes, guys, the girls that know, know what I'm talking about here. Princess Zanida also had a gorgeous pointed kakkoshnik, but...
21:22 Speaker 00 Let's be real. My favourite look of the night has to be Countess Olga Olova. She wore one of the biggest kakkosniks I've ever seen in my life, guys. It's also that half moon shaped. It was gold with a whole spray of different coloured gems, pearls and stones, which is finished with a pearl beading netting, almost. Like, it kind of goes almost like a fringe over the front of her head. Then she also has the pearl strands which go underneath her neck, paired with diamond tassels that hang from the headpiece near her ears. Guys, it's wild. Honestly, if there's one piece of historical headwear that I could go back in time and try on, I reckon it'd be this. Like, I don't want a crown.
22:08 Speaker 00 It's giving curse, like heavy lives to the head. But this headpiece is something else. So that's the why, guys. We've also covered the run of events, the guest list, the fits, which gives us an idea of the evening. But I want to know what it was like to be there, to have experienced this last great royal ball for myself. And in lieu of a TARDIS, we'll just have to hear from those who were there directly. So Grand Duchess Maria, the Tsar's cousin by marriage, recalled, "Some mysterious magic seemed to have changed all these familiar figures into splendid visions of Russia's oriental past."
22:50 Speaker 00 Vien Voykov, a member of the Tsar's suite as well, wrote, "The imagination was transported back several centuries. It gave the impression of a living dream." Grand Duchess Olga, sister of Tsar Nicholas II, said, "All of us appeared in 17th century court dress. Nikki wore the dress of Alexis, the Romanov Tsar, all raspberry gold and silver. And some of the things were bought specifically from the Kremlin. Aliki, who is Alex, was just stunning." She was Maria, Alexis's first wife. She wore a sarafan of gold bracard trimmed with emeralds and silver thread, and her earrings were so heavy that she could not bend her head, which, you know, we already said before.
23:36 Speaker 00 So guys, I really wanna reinforce the fact that this is an evening that genuinely became a highlight in the lives of those attending, largely regarded by many of the imperial family themselves as the greatest evening they'd ever experienced. And they ever would.
23:58 Speaker 00 That's right. As Grand Duke Alexander, brother-in-law and cousin of the Tsar reminds us, this was the last spectacular ball in the history of the empire. And would ultimately be the last time the entire Romanov family were photographed together. A fact they had absolutely no idea about at the time of the ball, when they took that big group photo. To be honest, looking at it now, like you can't help but get this chilling sort of irony as the Romanovs play act their beginning, while as we know today, standing on the very threshold of their last days.
24:39 Speaker 00 Like it's almost as though you are seeing two different dead worlds superimposed on each other.
24:48 Speaker 00 And that feeling really translates to the individual portraits that we have as well. For all their splendor and insight, there is an element in all of us which looks upon these poised, dignified, famed aristocrats in their kakoshniks and their fur hats as doomed remnants of a once great empire too stubborn to modernise and too ignorant to realise what was happening around them. To be honest, the 1990 Romanov Ball reminds me of Edgar Allan Poe's The Mask of the Red Death. It's a story about this doomed aristocracy who seals themselves inside a costume ball while a contagion ravages the world outside. This extract here for example says,
25:32 Speaker 00 "The external world could take care of itself. In the meantime, it was folly to grieve or to think. The prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure. It was a voluptuous scene that masquerade."
25:45 Speaker 00 To yours guys. It also sounds pretty damn relevant today. While the world around us ravages, we're all tied up in our appliances of pleasure. As the top one percent get richer off the misfortunes and changing geopolitics of the world that they manipulate to profit from the suffering of others. So while we may very well sit on our high horses of hindsight and judge the Romanovs who sat around as their nation went up in flames. Take a look around today. I think you'll find it's not so different. Which is exactly why the Romanovs and the Bobons with the French Revolution and modern tyrants and regimes and organizations and individuals fall.
26:31 Speaker 00 Because they ultimately have an inability to recognize exactly what they're in the middle of.
26:39 Speaker 00 The year after this ball, for example, the Russo-Japanese War began and resulted in defeat. Then the aristocracy's power was further weakened by the First Revolution of 1905, which Lenin would later call the Great Dress Rehearsal for the eventual revolution in 1917.
26:58 Speaker 00 These are not isolated events, guys. They're building blocks and a major first one of these is this ball. We hear again from the Grand Duke Alexander Myklovich, who acknowledges just how pivotal this evening was in stepping the Romanovs closer to their end. And saying that while the ball was going on, a new and hostile Russia glared through the large windows of the palace. While we danced, the workers were striking and the clouds in the Far East were hanging dangerously low. And guys, I want to be really clear right now. The Romanovs knew this.
27:37 Speaker 00 For anyone listening along, thinking, well, maybe they weren't aware of the suffering or just how unhappy their people were. They absolutely did. The discontent started with Nicholas's father, Alexander, who reversed a lot of the modern reforms his own father introduced, continuing to push for this autocratic grip over Russia. And Nicholas just did what his dad did because he believed, like we said at the top, in that divine right of his and the Romanov dynasty to rule.
28:12 Speaker 00 There were huge red flags early on in his own rule too, including the Kadinka tragedy of 1896, where more than 1,300 people were killed during a stampede at Nicholas's coronation, after which, he just decides to go and attend a hugely lavish ball, much to the outcry of the people. Let us also not forget, guys, the 1903 ball wasn't just thrown to celebrate the 290-year rule of the Romanovs, it was used to combat revolutionary fervour and unrest by reinforcing how special and grand Romanov rule was. The 1903 Romanov costume ball is basically like the 2016 nostalgia trend we saw at the beginning of this year.
28:56 Speaker 00 Like, how amazing and simple it was at that time, you know, the pink LA photo walls, the Converse, the flat lays, like, the ball was basically the Valencia filter of 20th century Russia. A tool used to inspire nostalgia for these simple times when the people did as they were told and loved their rulers, which reveals the unabashed truth, guys. The Romanovs believed in a version of Russia that no longer existed, which just comes down to idiocy. Genuinely, like, we can sit here and psychoanalyse and economise the rule of Nicholas II, but it does not really matter.
29:38 Speaker 00 Not even the $10 billion spent on this ball, or the $10 million on Alexandra's outfits really matter. Because not only were they never going to change, but they didn't even recognise the need to, despite their nation screaming it in their faces. And I want to be clear, I do not condone the deaths of a family in any way, especially those poor children. But it's hard not to see the 1903 Romanov ball as the very embodiment of the Romanovs' ignorance. Because while Russia was moving towards the 20th century, they were trying to go back to the 17th century. And that was never gonna happen.
30:19 Speaker 00 No matter how many balls you throw and kakoshniks you wear, you cannot go back. Because progress will almost always win. The big question in Russia's case, then, is was it for the better?
30:36 Speaker 00 I'm not sure guys, but what I do know for certain is that within 14 years of this ball, the Romanov dynasty would be gone entirely. Nicholas will abdicate, the imperial family will be imprisoned, and in 1918, they'll all be executed in a basement in Ekaterinburg. With those same people who danced in gold and velvet, posing as their ancestors, having pictures taken on grand staircases, now become history themselves.
31:09 Speaker 00 Which I think is really why this ball is so entrancing for us, right? It's not just extravagant, it's almost cinematic. At the time, it was a celebration of the past, a showcase of wealth and culture and continuity, a moment of imperial Russia at its most visually spectacular. Now it looks like something else. A last great performance. A final goodbye at its perceived peak, a time where they believed they were celebrating permanence, when in reality, they're actually documenting their own ending. It's very meta, to be honest, this one night where history and illusion collide,
31:54 Speaker 00 where an empire standing on the edge of collapse did so in full glam with smiles on their faces. And a very, very hearty reminder for all of us to look up and realise exactly what's going on in the world around you, away from your appliances of pleasure and belief in your own permanence. Which brings us to the end of another episode of Hot History. Thank you so much for following along with me on this episode, and make sure to tune in next week because we are following on with Romanovs by talking about the mad monk himself. That's right guys, I've heard your calls, I've seen the comments.
32:36 Speaker 00 We are spending a full hour deeping Ra Ra Rasputin, the Russian mystic whose healing power and giant penis helped a 300-year-old house of Romanov come crumbling down. As always guys, if you're looking for some more hot history before then, you can follow us on Instagram at Hot History Club and on TikTok at Hot.History. It has been a pleasure getting down and dirty in time with you and I will speak to you all on Friday. Thanks guys, love you, bye.
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