Table of contents:
- The program for the implementation of the "Romanov" jewelry of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)
- Boxes of the "former" Queen Maria Feodorovna
- Poles - the best diamonds, British - emeralds, Dutch - natural pearls
- "Diamond Fund of the USSR". Realization of masterpieces of Russian jewelry art by weight
Video: Crime against the nation: How the Bolsheviks sold tsarist treasures to the West in bulk and in bulk
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
The jewelry fund of pre-revolutionary Russia was famous throughout Europe. And not only by its scale, but also by the high artistic value of the products. Therefore, the sale of masterpieces of art, undertaken by the Bolsheviks who came to power in 1917, became a real tragedy for the state. It was a real blasphemy to sell national treasures by weight, at a price per kilogram. And that was not the worst thing about the situation.
The program for the implementation of the "Romanov" jewelry of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)
The new government explained the active realization of cultural property by the need to obtain currency. It was extremely important for the formation of the economy of the young state. However, first of all, the funds were required for the implementation of political tasks - the financing of revolutionary activities in other countries.
Works of art went abroad in various ways, including smuggling. Cases have been documented when diamonds and gold were found in the luggage of representatives of the Comintern at customs. Among these couriers was the famous American socialist journalist John Reed. The scandal associated with his detention was hushed up only thanks to the personal intervention of Ulyanov-Lenin.
For the centralized accounting and control of the sale of rarities in 1920, "Gokhran" (State treasury of valuables) was created. The lion's share of the collected treasures were jewelry of the Romanov dynasty and the Armory. In addition, valuables belonging to the Orthodox Church and confiscated from private individuals fell into the storehouse.
The famine of 1921 forced the Soviet government to raise funds for the purchase of bread. In addition, within a year it was necessary to pay Poland an amount of 30 million gold rubles. To address these issues, the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) developed a program for the implementation of "Romanov" values. Initially, it was supposed to pawn unique things, but later a resolution was adopted to sell them. At European auctions, exhibits from the royal collection began to appear regularly, which was only replenished for almost two centuries, since even Peter I, by his decree of 1719, forbade the sale, donation and exchange of crown jewels.
Boxes of the "former" Queen Maria Feodorovna
To establish the sale of values, it was necessary to organize their sorting and evaluation. This was entrusted to a special commission, which included leading experts and jewelers of the time. In March 1922, an inventory was made of the contents of five chests belonging to the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna.
Even experienced specialists were amazed at what they saw. The personal jewelry of the “former queen” turned out to be truly unsurpassed works of art. Among them - a diamond necklace with a sapphire, diamond pendants, girandoli earrings.
It was noticeable that things were collected in a hurry: they were wrapped in tissue paper, the inventory or any other accompanying documents were missing. According to the commission's estimates, the total cost of the jewelry was almost 500 million gold rubles.
Experts stated that if only stones are sold (in order to avoid troubles due to the sale of crown jewels), then over 160 million can be raised. The inspection was carried out in a short time, the inventories were not compiled, and the treasures "migrated" to the Gokhran building.
Poles - the best diamonds, British - emeralds, Dutch - natural pearls
Sorting and appraisal of the royal treasures continued until mid-May. The task of the commission under the leadership of Georgy Bazilevich included not only studying the imperial jewelry heritage, but also preparing it for implementation. In the course of the work, the "Romanov" treasures were divided into 3 groups - taking into account the value of gems and their selection, decoration of rarities and their historical significance.
In the report of G. Bazilevich, the special authorized Council of People's Commissars for the registration and concentration of valuables, it was indicated that the first category (inviolable fund) included items of high artistic and historical value - in the amount of more than 650 million rubles. Among them were the coronation regalia, decorated with exquisite diamonds and pearls, with a total value of 375 million. Products of the second category were valued at more than 7 million rubles, and the third (individual stones, pearls, etc.) at 285 thousand.
Contrary to the recommendation of experts not to rush to sell jewelry masterpieces, the Soviet government began to sell them. Gokhranovskie treasures began to appear on the foreign market. In 1922, unique emeralds were sold in London. They were positioned as mined in the Urals. A year later, selected pearls were taken to Amsterdam. They also decided to pay off the debt to Poland with jewelry. In Bazilevich's secret memo to Trotsky, it was pointed out that the bulk of the goods selected for this purpose were the best "Romanov" diamonds.
"Diamond Fund of the USSR". Realization of masterpieces of Russian jewelry art by weight
A real crime against their people is the massive sale of jewelry by the Bolsheviks, as they say, by weight. In 1925-1926, illustrated catalogs "The Diamond Fund of the USSR" appeared in Europe. After that, the "leakage" of jewelry from the country became rapid. For example, the enterprising English antiquarian Norman Weiss bought diamond jewelry with a total weight of 9 kilograms for 50 thousand pounds sterling, which he resold to Christie's Auction House with great profit.
Russia has lost such masterpieces of jewelry art as the wedding crown of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, the diamond diadem “Russian Beauty”, the diadem “Russian Field” with a unique yellow diamond, and many products of the House of Faberge.
There is no exact record of jewelry pieces exported abroad after the revolution. However, historians and art historians suggest that about 80% of the values of the Russian Empire have left the country.
You can admire what is left in the selection jewelry from the Diamond Fund of the Moscow Kremlin.
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