snorky

Has anyone attended this event? Also has anyone traveled with Mir corp or exeter international for this trip? Thank you

Marc_David_Miller

I've been to both Yusupov Palace for New Years (famous as the murder site of Rasputin) and to Catherine's Palace in St. Petersburg. In which palace is it being held, and who is the sponsoring organization (not tour operator)? The Mariinsky Opera and St Petersburg Philharmonia are both very worthy organizations for such support. The balls that support the arts are in general more interesting events in Russia as many Russians attend, rather than being filled with tourists.

I organized tours for both events in previous years, but didn't have enough demand this time around.

snorky

Gee i feel like an idiot. I don't know where it's being held for sure or who's sponsoring it. We have been looking at the mir corp for 2007-2008. Thank for your reply. Would like more info about it.Thanks

Marc_David_Miller

Both Mir and Exeter are good agencies, but there are many groups offering a "Tsar's Ball". They should be able to answer your questions as to the location and the beneficiary. The quality of the event is largely determined by who will be attending-if the group is a major Russian charity, then it will be a wonderful experience, and you will meet many prominent people. If it is just the travel company that rented the palace for the night, then it will be fun, but could also be somewhat pretentious (how many times have you dressed up in black tie for a for-profit event in the US?). And if it is for a charity group, see if the sponsoring organization has a US affiliate, which could mean a tax deduction for you (White Nights Foundation and the American Friends of the Hermitage, for instance).

nytraveler

How can they have a Tsar's Ball? Have they managed to dredge up a pack of Romanovs and overthrow the government of Russia?

(I actually have an acquaintance who is a Hungarian count - and he was offered his family's lands back once the Russians were thrown out - if he was willing to BUY IT. Since it was his grandfather who had been the last count and my friend had been born and raised in Sweden and lived in the US for more than 20 years [and isn't a multimillionaire] he declined. He actually doesn;t even let people know about the count business - but his wife loves it.)

Marc_David_Miller

Usually a few Romanovs attend (and many former nobility). There's also a Russian Nobility Ball in New York that has been around for years (my godfather and his wife, both from ancient princely families, run it); Houston had its first such Russian Nobility Ball two weeks ago, with many attendees from the former royalty, nobility and New Russians.

katya_NY

Kind of an aside, apologies to the OP-

There are definitely Romanovs around still!
I had a Romanov as a professor- strangely for a class titled "The Rise of Soviet Civilization". If memory serves he would have been a duke in the imperial court. He was a visiting prof. and I only was able to take the one class with him- it was fascinating to hear his perspective.


More on the subject- my friends have been begging for years for us to come to Russia for the New Year. Because of my limited time off from school, we have never been able to. I hope that someone will report on the events if they attend!

snorky

Thanks so much for the info. Sorry so slow on reply but have been out of town for a week. Thanks again