Russia’s
royal family will return home when the state awards it the status of a historic
institution, one of its representatives said yesterday.
The descendants of Tsar Nicolas II have been visiting Moscow
since 1991 to take part in cultural, charitable and non-political activities,
said Alexandre Zapatov, head of the imperial house’s chancellery, Russian news
agencies reported.
“But for the imperial house to come back as a historic
institution, a decision by the state is required,” he added.
Zapatov was speaking on behalf of Grand Duchess Maria
Vladimirovna, who lives in Madrid
and claims to be the heiress to Nicolas II, who died after the 1917 Russian
revolution.
“It isn’t a question tied to inheritance or a political
decision,” he said.
“It isn’t a question of restoring the monarchy or returning
its possessions. It is a question of the recognition of the imperial house as a
historic institution by our secular republican state,” he added.
Zapatov said the Russian state could “show respect to a
historic institution ... which reigned the country for more than 300 years and
extended its territory and laid the foundations of its wealth”.
In October last year the Russian Supreme Court rehabilitated
Nicolas II and his family, judging them victims of Bolshevik political
repression.
The ruling had been long awaited and was hailed by the
descendants of the last tsar and the Russian Orthodox church.
The Romanovs ruled Russia
from 1613 to 1917 and the family’s descendants are scattered around the world
with members living in Britain,
Denmark, France,
Italy, Spain
and the US.
While the Grand Duchess tells interviewers she is ready to
resume the throne, her claim is contested by other Romanov family members.