Living Banner Relates the Story of:
Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia: Michael II
Somewhere in the woods outside Perm, Russia–the gateway to Siberia–is the unmarked grave of the last Emperor of Imperial Russia:
Mikhail Aleksandrovich Romanov
Михаи́л Александрович Рома́нов
December 4, 1878 — June 13, 1918
Until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Grand Duke Michael’s importance during the last years of Imperial Russia was suppressed by the Soviets. Since then, the countless documents and diaries continuing to be recovered from the State Archives of the Russian Federation (GARF) have prompted many contemporary historians to acknowledge Michael as the last Russian emperor.
When I learned Lenin decided to eliminate significant opposition to his communist cause by selecting Michael as the first Romanov to be murdered, I realized how important Michael had become, and I had to share his forgotten story. Lenin saw the new, popular Tsar as a living banner for the people to rally around.
Present Day Recognition–100 Years After His Murder
Grand Duke Michael’s accomplishments are gaining recognition during modern times and he is being honored posthumously.
A monument of Michael was unveiled in August 2016 in the city of Orel where he served as Commander of the 17th Hussars (51st Dragoon) of the Chernigov Regiment from 1909 – 1911. (Orel is on the Oka River, approximately 360 kilometers south-southwest of Moscow.)
A memorial plaque dedicated to Grand Duke Michael was erected in June 2011 at the former hotel in Perm where he was under house arrest until he was kidnapped and murdered. (Perm is on the banks of the Kama River in the European part of Russia near the Ural Mountains.)
The Moscow Times article on July 10, 2013: Last Russian Tsar Was Michael, Not Nicholas
United Kingdom’s Daily Mail on June 8, 2018: The hunt for Russia’s ‘tsar for a day’ and his faithful British manservant. Excavations begin in search for Michael Alexandrovitch Romanov executed by secret police in 1918 alongside his loyal friend, Nicholas Johnson.