The Fall of the Romanovs: Political Dreams and Personal Struggles in a Time of Revolution

Annals of Communism

by Mark D. Steinberg, Vladimir M. Khrustalev

"All around me is treachery, cowardice, and deceit!"―diary of Nicholas II, on the day he abdicated

"Behave with dignity; do not allow the former tsar and his family to be insulted or treated rudely."―Commissar Vasily Pankratov's instructions to the guard, September 1917

"The bullets...ricocheted off [the jewels in the daughters' corsets] and jumped around the room like hail."―Yakov Yurovsky, commissar in charge of the execution of the tsar and his family

The compelling and poignant story of the arrest, captivity, and execution of the last tsar of Russia and his family during the revolution of 1917-1918 has been recounted―and romanticized―for decades. Now a new book explores the full range of events and reveals the thoughts, perceptions, and judgments of the individuals involved―Nicholas and Alexandra, their children, and the men who guarded and eventually killed them.

This deeply moving book is based on documents and photographs from recently opened Russian archives and from Western collections. The documents, which appear for the first time in English (the language in which some of them were originally written), include correspondence between Nicholas and Alexandra during the February 1917 revolution; portions of their diaries; minutes of government meetings, telegrams, and other official papers concerning the arrest, confinement, and execution of the Romanovs; letters written by the captive tsar and his family to friends and relatives; appeals from Russian citizens concerning the fate of the Romanovs; and testimonies by the revolutionaries who guarded and executed them.

Mark D. Steinberg sets the stage for this dramatic saga of revolution in a text that provides engrossing narrative and sensitive exploration of ideas and values and that draws on the whole range of archival and published documents. He and Vladimir M. Khrustalëv also provide notes identifying people and explaining terms. Together, the text and documents challenge the conventional image of Nicholas as weak and witless and of Alexandra as either the preoccupied mother of a hemophiliac heir or as the treasonous "German empress." Instead they tell an ironic tale of individuals whose fatalistic spirituality and unbending faith in an archaic political culture allowed them to fall victim to revolutionaries whose political dreams had yet to be proven false.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Russia, Biography, Russian History, Historical

498 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

A specialist on the cultural, intellectual, and social history of Russia and the Soviet Union in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Mark D. Steinberg is professor of history at the University of Illinois.

Reviews

[Zosi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little bit outdated but very interesting to see copies of the original documents, although extremely dry and heavy reading. I think I’ve read all the books I can find on the last Imperial Family now; I’ve gotten to the point where it’s hard to find new information and besides that it’s a very sad story, with lots of innocent bloodshed. Time to take a break for a while, I think.

[Tara Feifarek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally! After 2 years I can finally say I finished this book! It was always meant as a leisurely read between other books and to help pass the time in those rare instances I was actually able to take a lunch break at work.

I can say I really love the writing format chosen for this book and the perspective provided. We’ve all heard of the Romanovs and their family execution in history books but this particular piece shares a unique insight into the family members’ personal letters and diary entries. You see Nicholas the Bloody as a devoted father and husband, a well-rounded and educated man, and a leader genuinely concerned with the well-being of Russia, but he is stuck in the ploy of politics.

My favorite thing about this book is how the authors provide you with a narrative of events, either the capture, imprisonment, or even the execution of the imperial family so that you can clearly understand the string of events. And then they dive into the letters, correspondences, and personal accounts of the events from often more than one person’s perspective.

[Vigee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peerless. Anyone interested in the last Romanovs should read this.

[Rosie Beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

The well known but heartbreaking story of the last Czar of Russia and his family. A picture is drawn about a charming family, well isolated from the people they rule. His son's hemophilia causes his wife, Alix (who inherited the gene from Gran Queen Victoria) to turn to Rasputin, a mystic healer. When the family realizes their only hope to live is to escape, his cousin, King George turns them away and their fate is sealed.

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book and all the information it held, but sometimes it was really hard to read. It contains documents and letters and archives from 1917-1918. Sometimes I would get confused had to reread things. I didn't like the format it was written in, but it's a great interesting read.

[Linda Lipko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended for those, who like me, are obsessed with Russian history.

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

A straightforward document-driven history of the end of the last Russian dynasty, with useful commentary by well informed modern historians.