Princess Victoria Romanovna Awarded the Order of St Catherine

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HIH Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, head of the Russisn Imperial House, has been pleased to confer upon HSH Princess Victoria Romanovna the Order of Saint Catherine, First Class.

The order of Saint Catherine, created in 1714, is the earliest of the Russian imperial orders to be awarded exclusively to ladies.

This distinction makes Princess Victoria only the third living member of the Order as it is constituted today.

Baptism of HSH Princess Kira Leonida Georgievna in Moscow

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On July 13, 2025, the feast day of the Synaxis of the Glorious and All-Praised Twelve Apostles, Her Serene Highness Princess Kira Georgievna, granddaughter of the Head of the Russian Imperial House of Romanov, H.I.H. The Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, was baptized in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. She was born on June 2, 2025.

With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, the Holy Sacrament was performed by Archpriest Mikhail Ryazantsev, sacristan of the Cathedral.

His Eminence Metropolitan Jonathan (Eletskikh) also attended the service.

To the parents of Princess Kira Georgievna—H.I.H. The Heir, Tsesarevich, and Grand Duke George of Russia and his spouse, H.S.H. Princess Victoria Romanovna—a dimensional icon of the Holy Venerable St. Kira of Beroea was presented on behalf of all members of the Russian Imperial and Royal Orders by Igor Ivanovich Polenichenko, Knight of the Imperial Military Order of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, I Class, and by Victor Anatolievich Dvoyankov, Chair of the Knights’ Council of the Imperial Order of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Prince Vladimir. The icon was “written” in the Monuments and Art Center “Bethany,” under the direction of Nikita Vladimirovich Nuzhny. The President of the Heraldic Office of the City of Moscow, Colonel Oleg Vyacheslavovich Kuznetsov, also presented the members of the Imperial Family, their relatives, and Archpriest Mikhail Ryazantsev a commemorative plaque, made especially for the baptism of the Princess Kira Georgievna.

13 июля, в праздник Собора Славных и Всехвальных 12 Апостолов, в кафедральном соборном Храме Христа Спасителя состоялось крещение новорожденной Е.С. Светлейшей Княжны Киры Георгиевны - внучки Главы Российского Императорского Дома Романовых Е.И.В Государыни Великой Княгини Марии Владимировны, родившейся 2 июня 2025 года.

По благословению Святейшего Патриарха Московского и всея Руси Кирилла таинство совершил ключарь Храма Христа Спасителя протоиерей Михаил Рязанцев.

За Богослужением молился Высокопреосвященный Митрополит Ионафан (Елецких).

Кавалер Императорского Военного Ордена Святителя Николая Чудотворца I степени Игорь Иванович Поленяченко и председатель Кавалерской Думы Императорского Ордена Св. Равноапостольного Великого Князя Владимира Виктор Анатольевич Дворянков  от имени кавалеров всех Российских Императорских и Царских Орденов преподнесли родителям Благоверной Княжны Киры Георгиевны - Е.И.В. Государю Наследнику Цесаревичу и Великому Князю Георгию Михайловичу и Е.С. Светлейшей Княгине Виктории Романовне – мерную икону святой Преподобной Киры Берийской

Герольдмейстер Москвы полковник Олег Вячеславович Кузнецов подарил членам Императорской Семьи, их родным и протоиерею Михаилу Рязанцеву памятный знак, специально изготовленный ко дню крещения Благоверной Княжны Киры Георгиевны.

MEMORY ETERNAL! Major-General Alexander Valentinovich Kirilin

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2023-07-01 MEMORY ETERNAL! Major-General Alexander Valentinovich Kirilin, Chairman of the Knights’ Council of the Imperial Military Order of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (1953-2025).

The Chancellery of the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. The Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, is deeply saddened to note the death on June 30, 2025, of Major-General Alexander Valentinovich Kirilin, Actual State Councilor of the Russian Federation 2nd class; Assistant to the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation; Dean of the Faculty of History, Special Historical Disciplines, and Military Memorial Activities of the Russian State Social University (RSSU); Candidate (PhD) of Historical Sciences; member of the Imperial Orders of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, 1st Class, St. Anna 1st Class, St. Vladimir 2nd Class, the White Eagle, and St. Alexander Nevsky; Chairman of the Knights’ Council of the Imperial Military Order of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker; member of the Council of the Military Nobility of Russia; and member of the Knights’ Council of the Imperial Order of St. Vladimir. He was 72 years old.

Alexander Valentinovich Kirilin was born on July 4, 1953, in Moscow. He graduated from the Kiev Higher Technical Armor Institute (1974), the Frunze Military Academy (1982), and the Military Academy of the General Staff (1994). He held command and staff positions in the Moscow Military District, the Soviet Forces in Germany Command, and the Central Asian, Turkestan and Far Eastern Military Districts. He also served as the First Deputy Commander of the 5th Combined Forces Army of the Far Eastern Military District.

In 1998, he was appointed the Commander of the Military Memorial Center of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (from 2008, the Department of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for the Perpetuation of the Memory of Those who Gave Their Lives Defending the Fatherland). Beginning in 2012, he headed the Department of Affairs of the Central Electoral Commission of the Russian Federation.

He was a member of the Central Council of the Russian Military Historical Society, of the Presidium of the International Skobelev Committee, a full member of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, a member of the Heraldic Council of the Patriarchal Awards Commission, of the Board of the Russian Society of Historians and Archivists, the Presidium of the Association of Historians of the Second World War, the Union of Journalists of the Russian Federation, and a number of other civic organizations. He was known to be one of the most authoritative Russian specialists in the field of military history and phaleristics. He was the recipient of many national, Church, institutional, regional, and foreign awards.

Major-General Kirilin was present at the very beginning of the revival of the Imperial Military Order of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in 2001. He headed its Knights’ Council from the moment of its establishment on December 20, 2001, to the present. He took an ongoing part in the activities of the Russian Imperial House of Romanoff, providing organizational support and advice on the reintegration of the Imperial Family into the public life of modern Russia, arranging official visits to Russia, and hosting and organizing scholarly, patriotic, and memorial events attended and supported by the Imperial House. For all the members of the Chancellery of the Imperial House, Major-General Kirilin was not only a colleague in their public and scholarly service to the dynasty, he was a true friend.

The Russian Imperial House recognized and valued enormously the service of Major-General Kirilin to the nation. In addition to the Imperial Orders of St. Nicholas 1st Class, St. Anna 1st Class, St. Vladimir 2nd Class, the White Eagle, and St. Alexander Nevsky, the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. The Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, had awarded Alexander Valentinovich Kirilin the Imperial Monogram 1st Class (in gold), the Imperial Portrait Award, the Imperial Hereditary Medals “Anniversary of the National Triumph, 1613-2013,” and “The 400th Anniversary of the House of Romanov Commemorative Medal,” as well as a number of other Imperial Medals.

Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, her son and heir, Tsesarevich and Grand Duke George of Russia, and his spouse, Princess Victoria Romanovna, extend their deepest condolences to his wife, Alla Victorovna, his sons, and to all his family, friends, and colleagues.

Grant, O Lord, eternal rest and salvation to the soul of Thy servant Alexander in Thy Kingdom. Memory Eternal!

Announcement on the Birth of Princess Kira-Léonida Georgievna

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BY THE GRACE OF GOD

WE

THE GRAND DUCHESS MARIA OF RUSSIA

HEAD OF THE RUSSIAN IMPERIAL HOUSE

are pleased to announce that

on June 2, 2025, Our daughter-in-law, Her Serene Highness Princess Victoria Romanovna, the spouse of Our son and heir, His Imperial Highness The Tsesarevich and Grand Duke George of Russia, was delivered of a daughter, Our granddaughter, who has been given the name Kira in honour the Holy Venerable St. Kira of Beroea (in Macedonia).

Welcoming this new addition to Our Family as a sign of God’s grace, granted us for Our consolation, we ask all Our countrymen to offer fervent prayers to the Almighty for the health and well-being of the newborn. In accordance with Our current Family Law and the Family Act of September 14/27, 2020, Our granddaughter shall be called Her Serene Highness Princess Kira Georgievna.

Issued in Madrid, this second day of June in the year of our Lord 2025, in the thirty-fourth year of Our succession to the rights and duties of Our August Ancestors - the Emperors of Russia.

[The original is signed in Her Imperial Highness’s Own hand:]

MARIA