CZAR’S WEALTH AND THE CLAIMANTS

Hokitika Guardian, 4 May 1928, Page 4

CZAR’S WEALTH AND THE CLAIMANTS

(1 ly DR. EDOUARD IUBOFFA (A Reading Authority on Russia.) ‘Your .Majesty need have no fear i.t ■ver coming lo suffer the stings of povtrtv. Kina ii'ia lly you arc rolvcndv itself. With oil" hand you could buy lilt l;lia American mull i-midionair "S ■Uu-kfelluw alii! Morrovn and still bare aiflic i eii i i r tall. Inisincs-. noib Haron Kol liscliild."

It was in 1 hose s miev. hut flippant ernis that the Imperial Treasurer a 1 HIH r." orle.l lo Xi Indus 11 on his iiiaucial | -ition. TI:. 1 je t displeased the CV.ar. Lot the statement was true. The Kmpcrnr ues the riches! man in lie world: hi- e-latcs in European e.ud Asiatic Russia alone yielded enormous revenues. estimated by reliable authorties at f!e ,C 0 amiually, while a further £2.9tn,t)()d was derived iroin it her sources. It is dillicult to estimate the capital value of ibis income

because of the varying circumstances in which it is obtained. The Roma noil's have been always acquisitive. Not only were they richly endowed with lands, mines, and Firsts, hut they accumulated steadily, •ver since the time of Peter the (treat, marvellous collections of valuable jewels ami objets (Part. The Russian popular view was that the Imperial Family possessed pe ks ol I lie lincst diamonds and bushels ol pearls, to say iioihnig ol countless stores of rubies, emeralds and sapphir•s. .Much of this treasure came from confiscated church properly. To-day, .lie bulk of hath Crown and private jewels has been eonficateil by the Bolsheviks. and sonic of them are in the Kremlin in what is known as the 'Jewel Fluid of the Soviet Republics."

In view nf a possible claimant to the Czar’s fortune, in the person nf the mysterious invalid who declares herself to he the Grand Dtnhess Anastasia, the ( zar’s ynungest daughter, much interest is attached lo the alleged deposits and investments ol the CV.ar in foreign hanks atnl commercial tindcrla k ings. There are authorities who assert • hat all these moneys were withdrawn luring the war. and there are others who stale with equal vehemence that large sums are still outstanding to the Czar or his heirs. There is ;i certain amount of probability about the latter contention, in view of the fact that withdrawal in war time would have leen extremely difficult. Rut it is lianl to estimate the value >f these deposits, although the Bolsheviks in their early days, ignorantly confusing private and Government accounts, spoke of as much as £200,JOO.OOO

In the meantime the legend of a fabulous I'nrtuiiq, together with the mysterious circumstances under which the whole Royal family met its death, !ms attracted a number of pretenders. I he “ Gawtte ” goes on to sav: "The whole Royal family met its death, has attracted a number of pretenders. There are in Russia alone six wouldbe. C'zarewitehes, to say nothing of a number .of “miraculously saved” Grand Duchesses. It is interesting to note that according to Soviet writers nearly every prison in Russia can boast of me or two of these pretenders, and

that the peasantry receive them as saints. They spare neither money nor food to make them comfortable in return for a promise of remembrance and for a blessing.