Later in life Louis Mountbatten speaks of his memories of his Romanov family 

‘The Tsar was my father’s first cousin…and the Tsarina was my aunt on my mother’s side. Another aunt, Elizabeth, had married the Grand Duke Serge. So our Russian connections were very close. We used to see each other quite often either in Germany, or in Russia. I loved my Russian family and I loved Russia too.

These old family photograph albums bring back memories of all the happy times we had together in that almost unbelievable world before the Revolution. In this photo with my cousins I was just ten…my little cousin the Tsesarevich Alexei is in the carriage. He was heir to the Russian throne and was younger than me by about four years and in very poor health sometimes… he was a haemophiliac, which was a great worry to us all. 

…Olga, Marie, Anastasia and Tatiana were all very beautiful. I remember I had always secretly hoped to marry Marie… (Lord Louis laughs softly).

Russia was an autocracy at that time, the Tsar had absolute power and was answerable only to God. Yet anyone less like an autocrat than my uncle Nicky would be hard to imagine…he was a very, very kind-hearted simple charming man. But at the same time he was rather weak and indecisive. 

He was never happier than when he was outside playing with his children. I remember he would purchase us all chocolate-ices, and after, settle down with a long book to read quietly in peace

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The Russian Imperial Family, The Romanovs.

The Last Tsar Nicholas II (b. 1868 - d. 1918) and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna (b. 1872 - d. 1918) had five children, four daughters; Grand Duchesses Olga Nikolaevna (b. 1895 - d. 1918), Tatiana Nikolaevna (b. 1897 - d. 1918), Maria Nikolaevna (b. 1899 - d. 1918) and Anastasia Nikolaevna (b. 1901 - d. 1918). And one son, the hemophiliac child Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich (b. 1904 - d. 1918). 

They were a close-knit family, an informal and a loving group. Never truly separated, not even in death.

The last Grand Duchesses of Russia enjoying a day at a beach near St. Petersburg, Russia. Originally black-and-white photograph coloured by me. 

The church of St. Andrew on the Vuoksa River, Russia

Russian comedy is simply filled with tsarcasm

Map Posted on Twitter by Canada’s NATO Delegation with the caption “Geography can be tough. Here’s a guide for Russian soldiers who keep getting lost & ‘accidentally’ entering #Ukraine”

2014’s World Cup may be only just over, but the politics of the 2018 World Cup are already a subject of discussion. Over at The Daily Beast, Tunku Varadarajan suggests that a genuine way to punish Vladimir Putin for MH17 (and whatever else) would be to take the World Cup away from Russia. 

Not that the original choice to award Russia the 2018 slot (or Qatar the 2022) wasn’t already widely criticized based on allegations of kickbacks and vote-buying.

Photo via Getty.

Let's spread this like wildfire. Russian troops crossed the border the same week The Winter Games in Sochi ended. Peace didn't last when they hosted the Olympics, let's not give them the same chance with the World Cup.

Being a host country is a privilege, not a propaganda opportunity.

If you learn only one thing from history make sure it’s the fact that invading Russia is always a bad idea no matter how awesome you think you are.