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Have there been any effort, polls, referendum in Europe (especially Eastern ex-communist countries) to restore deposed monarchies, like in Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, etc.? Most Monarchies were deposed of because of communist regimes, Nazi occupation or military dictatorships rather than the will of the people (correct me if I am wrong).

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On a partly related note, it was once thought that Karel Schwarzenberg current Minister of Foreign Affairs and head of the House of Schwarzenberg could become elected president of the Czech Republic. It did not happen, and in any case Schwarzenberg is committed to democracy with solid credentials. –  Drux Dec 25 '12 at 8:12
A surprising related development in the first round of Czech presidential elections is reported here ... –  Drux Jan 12 '13 at 21:43
Seeing from the point of view of Constitutional Law, I do believe that a constitutional monarchy is much better than a greatly corrupt republic as we see in Brazil, for instance. Afterwards, Russia has an old tradition in Monarchy. This is a more solid institution and merely ceremonial, it does not involve the modifications and changes of state affairs. I do believe in monarchy from a legal point of view, not from a romantic one. –  user3067 Oct 26 '13 at 15:22

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Well, in 1946 the Italians voted to abolish the kingdom and create the republic, basically because the monarchy was tainted by association with Mussolini. Italy's monarchy was a stronger one (in my estimation) than the East European ones but still it couldn't weather the storm.

I have the impression that in Eastern Europe the real prestige of the monarchies was not very high, the people did not resent them so badly as to oppose them as long as they were in power but on the other hand few cared deeply enough for them to work for their restoration. This might have had a lot to do with the monarchies being mostly young and created by foreign powers. You seem to assume otherwise in the question - do you have sources for this assumption?

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My impression is that many countries tried to restore back in many ways of life before the communist rule (language, religion, arts, national identity). The monarchies were of that past and they were deposed by the communists so that they would have served as an icon of restoration. After all, they all assume ceremonial parts. –  The Byzantine Dec 23 '12 at 22:03

There are a bunch of monarchists in modern Russia. Some are "theoretical" monarchists, some want to bring back Romanovs, some want Putin to be the Tzar.

  • Monarchist party in Russia launched

  • Wikipedia List of monarchist organizations - Russia

  • An article on monarchists in Russia:

    At various times, politicians from across the political spectrum have endorsed constitutional monarchy for Russia, including the former Union of Rightist Forces co-Chairman Boris Nemtsov, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia head Vladimir Zhirinovsky, and St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matvienko [ DVK note: For those who don't know Russian politics, these are fairly high level figures in russian politics ]

    ... Many intellectuals and cultural icons have also jumped on the monarchy bandwagon. Two of Russia's most popular filmmakers, Nikita Mikhalkov and Stanislav Govorukhin, have paraded their monarchist colors. Stanislav Belkovsky, the founder of the National Strategy Institute, said in February 2005: "I believe that the restoration of the monarchy, either formally or informally, is the only choice for Russia, since it is the only way to restore the sanctity of the supreme power."

    ... A September poll by the All-Russia Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM) indicated that 19 percent of Russians agreed with restoring the monarchy, but only if an acceptable candidate can be found. Support is higher in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

The article contains some further info and analysis as well.

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Of course, the people who want Russia to have a Tzar would be the first in line to object to lumping Russia with "Europe", Eastern or otherwise :) –  DVK Dec 23 '12 at 22:43
Actually, having a constitutional monarchy on the British model would be the best thing to ever happen to Russia since 1917. Pipe dreams, of course. –  Felix Goldberg Dec 23 '12 at 23:18
@FelixGoldberg - right, because Russia has a rich tradition of constitutional monarchy.... –  DVK Dec 24 '12 at 0:26
@DVK completely unbased statement. Russian monarchy was always German-oriented at least since Peter I, this very much undermined its prestige during WWI because the monarchists often advocated friendship with Germany. Besides this, any political force in Russia associates it with Europe, including the Communists. They very much distinguish between Europe in political and cultural sense and the EU institutions. –  Anixx Dec 24 '12 at 4:38
@Anixx: Remember how Pushkin once said that the only European in Russia is its government (the English syntax of my translation is garbled as I tried to hew closely to the original)? That's one example for you :) Alexander Bloc is another. I do not take a stand on this, just point out some examples... –  Felix Goldberg Dec 24 '12 at 11:09

Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was Tsar of Bulgaria from 1943 to 1946. 2001, Simeon resumed the role of leader of the nation upon taking office as Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria from July 2001 until August 2005.

But there were no plans of a restoration of the Bulgarian monarchy.

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