The Romanovs Revisited: The Reimagining of the Romanovs within “Russia My History” History Parks

Abstract

This article analyzes theRomanov exhibit at the Rossiia-Moia istoria (Russia My History) history parks. Using existing work on the development and curation of these history parks, I explore the rehabilitated view of the Romanov past that this exhibit presents. I do so by examining the narratives and imagery used in the exhibit and exploring what the rehabilitation of the Romanov dynasty demonstrates regarding Russia's view of its past and how the Romanovs are being brought back into the fold of Russian cultural and collective memory. I demonstrate how the exhibit presents narratives that give more prominent roles to historical figures who have been overlooked in cultural memory, while also using deliberate imagery and narrative techniques to foster senses of irredentism and loss that coincide with contemporary domestic and foreign policy of the Russian government. This article primarily focuses on Peter I, Nicholas I, Alexander III, and Nicholas II to identify what relation they have to the present and how their narratives are being propagated within the exhibit.