100 years after the execution of the Romanov family, #Romanovs100 dedicated to the Empire’s last reigning royals came to a close. We look at the top 10 videos produced using 4,000 rare photographs the Romanovs took themselves.

Over the course of 100 days this extensive photo archive was distributed across four social media platforms: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. RT’s in-house production team filmed unique videos to add volume to the static images of the royal family’s daily lives.

LULLABY

COLORIZATION CONTEST

#Romanovs100 teamed up with Brazilian artist Marina Amaral and held an open contest in which anyone could take part by choosing one (or more) of the three suggested images and posting it online under the #Romanovs100 hashtag. Marina later chose the winners that will receive her new book as well as a copy of #1917LIVE.

KOSTROMA

A year-long country-wide celebration marked the tercentenary of the Romanov Dynasty in 1913 with a symbolic Volga River tour tracing the first Romanov Tsar’s route at the center of events.

SISTERS OF MERCY

Alexandra Feodorovna took after her mother, meaning charity was a very important part of her life. It was essential for the Empress that her daughters also took part, helping in hospitals she established during WWI.

RIP

On the eve of July 17, 2018, marking exactly 100 years since the family’s execution, #Romanovs100 published a video across all its active platforms to commemorate the 11 people – the seven Romanovs and four of their staff – murdered by Bolsheviks.

ANASTASIA COLORIZATION

Nicholas II’s youngest daughter, Anastasia, tried her hand at adding color to their vast black-and-white photo collection with watercolors. One hundred years later, #Romanovs100 asked Marina Amaral to finish what the grand duchess had started and here’s what happened:

BEFORE THE EXILE

Before being moved into exile in Tobolsk, the family was held captive in their home near St. Petersburg, Alexander Palace. This is what life under guard looked like for them:

KING EDWARD VII

The first ever visit to Russia by a British monarch, King Edward VII, was popular with YouTube users. They only met at sea though, staying on the Imperial Yacht. The first time a British monarch would set foot on Russian soil would happen decades later, during Queen Elizabeth II’s visit in 1994.

LIVADIA

A second video in the re-enactment series became a favorite with the project’s Facebook audience. It circles around the family’s life in their gorgeous Crimean palace of Livadia. They loved spending time in Crimea where they felt less restrained by court obligations.

RASPUTIN

The project's top viewed video so far is about the enigmatic – and terrifying in his power over the Imperial couple – Grigory Rasputin. The self-proclaimed holy man was a figure so controversial, he was eventually murdered by a group of noble conspirators who feared his influence over the Emperor and Empress.

#Romanovs100 comes from the creators of #1917LIVE and tells the story of the lives of Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, their five children and entourage through the lenses of their own cameras: they were all early adopters of photography and left a legacy of over 4,000 images behind. While the project’s social media phase came to a halt on the date of the execution, the team promises more Romanov-related content ahead including a full original soundtrack release in autumn.