October 09, 2021

A Rare Royal Romanov Wedding


A Rare Royal Romanov Wedding
The last Romanov wedding in St. Petersburg before last week. Public domain Hermitage painting

Grand Duke George Mikhailovich Romanov – yes, there are still Romanovs alive – married an Italian woman in St. Petersburg on Friday, October 1, 2021. Rebecca Virginia Bettarini was baptized in the Russian Orthodox Church last year and took on the new name Victoria Romanovna Bettarini, with the patronymic "Romanovna" strangely suggesting that her father's name is Roman.

The couple wed in St. Isaac's Cathedral in the center of St. Petersburg. It was a traditional church wedding, not a quick ZAGS affair – though they actually did register their marriage in Moscow prior to the big shindig.

There were about 1,500 guests, many of whom belong to the royal families of Europe. Romanov appears in many lines of succession: for example, he is 140th in line to the British throne. Man, a lot of people would have to die...

The royal rings were made by Fabergé. Their nuptial outfits will be donated to the Russian Museum.

The distantly-related-to-Tsar-Nicholas-II groom was born in Spain to Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna Romanova and Prussian Prince Franz Wilhelm of Hohenzollern. Maria Vladimirovna was the granddaughter of Nicholas II's first cousin, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich. The groom, now 40 years old, grew up in Spain and France. Unsurprisingly, the groom only visited Russia for the first time in 1992 – after the Soviets, who assassinated the Nicholas II Romanov family, lost power in 1991.

Romanov has worked in the European Parliament and the European Commission. Bettarini is the daughter of the Italian ambassador to Belgium, and the couple met while Romanov was working in Parliament.

The couple resides in Moscow, though they probably have properties all over the place. They are now on a honeymoon to see the furthest reaches of Russia by train. We assume they are not traveling platzkart.

You Might Also Like

The Tsar with the Dragon Tattoo
  • May 04, 2021

The Tsar with the Dragon Tattoo

Something you probably did not know about the last Romanov: before he ascended the throne, he got a huge dragon tattoo in Japan.
The Emperor Has No Clothes
  • November 03, 2020

The Emperor Has No Clothes

Unexpected nude photos of Nicholas II appeared online last week, causing quite a stir, despite being more than a century old.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955