The Dark Story of the Winter Palace: The Luxury That Helped Destroy the Romanovs

The Dark Story of the Winter Palace: The Luxury That Helped Destroy the Romanovs Subscribe to the channel: @LostGrandeurUK The Winter Palace held as many as 1,500 rooms, 1,886 doors, 1,945 windows and 117 staircases, and its final cost in the 1760s ran to some 2.5 million rubles, paid in part from taxes on salt and drink. In 1903 the last great imperial ball filled it with a court dressed in the jewels of the 17th century. In January 1905 the army shot down unarmed marchers in the square outside, with official figures of 96 dead and 333 wounded and estimates running as high as 1,000. And in 1917, the "storming" that ended the dynasty was so nearly bloodless it looked more like a changing of the guard. How did the grandest house in Europe help destroy the family that built it? Subscribe to the channel: @lostgrandeuruk In this video, we talk about the rise and fall of the Winter Palace and the Romanovs who owned it, including Rastrelli's baroque masterpiece and its true cost, the 1837 fire and the 6,000 workers who rebuilt it in a year, the marriage of Nicholas II and Alexandra, the secret of Alexei's hemophilia and the rise of Rasputin, the empty palace and the move to Tsarskoye Selo, the Faberge eggs and the two Russias, Bloody Sunday and the Revolution of 1905, the war years and the palace turned military hospital, the abdication and the myth of the storming, the executions at Yekaterinburg in 1918, and the palace's afterlife as the State Hermitage. 🔔 Subscribe so you never miss a story of grandeur and ruin like this one. 💬 Comment where you're watching from and what you make of the palace that outlived the Romanovs. 📢 Share this on Facebook, Reddit or in your group chats, because you are the reason this channel exists. Chapters: 00:00 Opening 01:16 The Palace Built to Outshine the West. 08:54 A House With Rooms No One Could Count. 23:53 The Shy Bride and the Reluctant Tsar. 32:47 The Secret Sewn Into the Family. 40:20 The Empty Throne Room. 47:17 Jeweled Eggs and Hungry Streets. 54:21 The Sunday the People Came to the Gate. 1:01:11 The First Crack in the Gold. 1:14:53 The Night the Storming Was a Myth. 1:22:32 A Cellar Far From the Gold. 1:29:19 The Grandeur That Outlived Them. Sources: Winter Palace, Encyclopaedia Britannica: Winter Palace | Baroque Architecture, Hermitage Museum, & Map | Britannica Winter Palace, Wikipedia: Winter Palace Bloody Sunday 1905, Wikipedia: Bloody Sunday (1905) Bloody Sunday in St Petersburg, History Today: ‘Bloody Sunday’ in St Petersburg The fall of the Winter Palace, Russia Beyond: The fall of the Winter Palace: How the Bolsheviks took power 100 years ago Execution of the Romanov family, Wikipedia: Murder of the Romanov family 1903 ball in the Winter Palace, Wikipedia: 1903 ball in the Winter Palace DISCLAIMER: This video is based on real historical events and figures, drawn from the sources listed above alongside primary archives, biographies, court records, period press, and leading historical scholarship. While every video is heavily researched, occasional minor inaccuracies in dates, quotes, or specific details may occur — historical sources sometimes disagree, and interpretation is sometimes required where the historical record is silent. Any errors are unintentional. Note: We Use Public Domain Photos. Copyright & Fair Use Disclaimer: • We use images and content in accordance with YouTube’s Fair Use guidelines. • Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act states: “Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.” Thumbnail Disclaimer: Thumbnail images are satirical, digitally created graphics. Section 107 of the Copyright Act outlines the principles of fair use and identifies examples such as criticism, commentary, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research as categories potentially qualifying under fair use. Content Disclaimer: This video is created for entertainment purposes ONLY. Nothing presented should be interpreted as factual, verified, or evidentiary. The title and thumbnail may be exaggerated for entertainment value and should not be considered proof of any claims made within the video. All statements reflect opinion, speculation, or humorous analysis and are intended solely for entertainment and comedic interpretation. #documentary #history #vicotrianera #england #WinterPalace #Romanovs #NicholasII #RussianHistory #Hermitage #StPetersburg #ImperialRussia #BloodySunday #RussianRevolution #Tsarist #Rasputin #Yekaterinburg #Faberge #Alexandra #Anastasia #History #Documentary #LostGrandeur #Romanov #TsarNicholas