Volodymyr Hutsenko
Acting director
The Livadia Palace, one of the best sights of history and architecture of the South Coast of the Crimea, was built in 1911 for the family of the last Russian emperor Nicholas ІІ. The author of the project and the head of construction works was the famous Yalta architect M. Krasnov who was conferred the rank of the academician of architecture for the construction of the palace and the line of other buildings on the South Coast of the Crimea. The building is executed mainly in the style of the Italian Renaissance including the elements of the modernist style, Arabic and gothic architecture.
The Palace, located on the territory of the former tsar’s estate "Livadia", acquired by the emperor Alexander ІІ in 1861, became a recreation place for the three generations of the Russian emperors for many years. Alongside with the Palace there is the Khrestovozdvyzhenska Church, created upon the project of the architect I. Monigetti with the application of the elements of the eastern architecture.
The Livadia Palace was one of the most favourite recreation places of the emperor’s family. That was the place where Nicholas ІІ dreamed to live after his abdication.
After the revolution in 1925 there was created in Livadia the first in the world resort for countrymen. In 1931 it was turned into the climatic medical complex named after Stalin for rest and medical treatment of workers.
In February, 1945 in the main halls of the Livadia Palace there was conducted the Crimean (Yalta) Conference is of leaders of the three allied states of Anti-Hitler coalition - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain, the decisions of which greatly influenced the forming of the world order, that lasted almost for 50 post-war years.
After the conducting of the Yalta conference in Livadia there was a governmental summer residence there, existed for 8 years.
From February 9, 1953 pursuant to the decision of the Council of Ministers of the USSR the Livadia resort was commissioned to the VCSPS.
In 1974 in the main halls of the palace there was opened the display "The Crimean Conference of leaders of the three allied states - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain", and the Palace started working as a Show-room of the VCSPS "Livadia sanatorium". The line of apartments of the ground and the first floors was used for the exhibitions of the works of the Russian and soviet artists and conducting of personal exhibitions.
In November, 1993 the palace received the status of the state museum in the system of the Ministry of Culture of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. In July, 1994 there was opened the museum exposition "The Romanovs in Livadia" in the former personal rooms of the tsar’s family. The department of artistic exhibitions was created the same year in October.
In 1998 and 2004 under the auspices of the memorial F. Roosevelt Library in the USA and the W. Churchill Fund there were opened at the Palace the memorial library-cabinets of
F. Roosevelt and W. Churchill.
The research personnel of the palace-museum conducts great research work upon the themes: "History of Livadia", "History of the Crimean (Yalta) Conference of 1945 of leaders of the three allied states of the anti-Hitler coalition - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain", "Artistic works in the funds and exhibitions of the Livadia Palace-Museum".
Except for the work over the perfection of the basic displays of the palace for the period from 1993 till 2007 there were created and displayed over 100 temporal exhibitions from the funds of the Livadia Museum, the National archives in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and also other museums and private collections of the Crimea, Ukraine and Russia. Among the exhibitions of painting there are personal exhibitions of the famous Crimean artists: Y. Basov,
V. Tsvetkova, Y. Scheglova, V. Tolochko.
More than ten collections of materials of scientific conferences, conducted in the Palace with the participation of representatives of the research personnel, catalogues of works of the famous Crimean artists became the result of the publishing activity of the museum.
The personnel of the Palace-museum have established creative relationships with many scientific, educational, museum centres of the Crimea, Ukraine and Russia.
During the recent years the Livadia Palace has received the wide popularity as a place for conducting of international scientific conferences, at which the famous scientists of Ukraine and Russia perform speeches, international forums with the participation of the leaders of different states.
The palace often becomes the place of conducting of cultural events. There perform the participants of the international music contest "Zirky Planety" (Stars of the Planet), contests of vocal art soloists "Emperor’s Parlour", as well as concert programs "New Names", final evening performances of the cinema and television forum "Together in the Third Millennium" take place there.
In September, 2001 the personnel of the museum were awarded the diploma of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine for considerable contribution in the preparation and conducting of great international actions and in connection with the 90th anniversary of the day of construction of the Livadia Palace.
In November, 2003 the Livadia Palace-Museum was declared Gratitude of the Council of Ministers of the Crimean AR for considerable achievements in the development of the museum science, popularization of the national historical heritage, organization and conducting of international political and cultural events.
In 2005 the personnel of the Livadia Palace-Museum occupied the 1st place in the Republican show-contest of museums of all levels for the best highlighting of events of the Great Patriotic War, patriotic education of young people and was awarded the Certificate of the Ministry of Culture of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
The international scientific conference "The South-shore house of the Romanovs and the question of saving of the cultural and historical heritage of Livadia", dedicated to the 95th anniversary of completion of building of the Palace, which united the representatives of the museums, research and educational establishments of Ukraine and Russia, wide public circles became the original review of achievements of the personnel of the museum in September, 2006.
Receiving guests and tourists from many cities and countries of the world, the Livadia Palace-Museum is legally considered one of the most popular places in Ukraine. In 2006 it was visited by over 400 thousand sightseers.

98655 Livadia, Yalta, Autonomous Republic of Crimea
tel.: +38 (0654) 31-00-98, 31-55-79
fax: +38 (0654) 31-55-79
e-mail: ldm@.yalta.ua
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