The Romanovs: Ruling Russia 1613-1917

by Lindsey Hughes

For 300 years the history of Russia was inextricably linked to one the Romanovs. Claiming a divine right to reign and tracing the family lineage back to Peter the Great, they were Russia's second and last imperial dynasty and, for better or worse, as Lindsey Hughes demonstrates, shaped the country's history for three centuries until their downfall and murder in 1918. 17th century Russia was riddled with chaos, internal disorder, rioting, and a constant threat of foreign invasion. During the rule of Peter the great, Russia was transformed into an empire by his introduction of trade with Europe and aggressive military campaigns. Through the impact of Peter the Great, followed by the continuing influences of Michael, Ivan, Catherine II, Nicholas I and Alexander III, the Romanovs undoubtedly shaped the politics, society, art and philosophy of their times and lead to the establishment of Russia as one of the great world powers. But when the Romanovs gathered to celebrate their tercentenary in 1913, dark clouds were gathering. The infamous mystic Rasputin had prophesized their demise and his unpopular influence on the Tsar was growing. The strain of the First World War had spread unrest throughout Russia. On July 17th, 1918 three hundred and four years of the Romanov dynasty ended when, probably under Lenin's orders, Tsar Nicholas II, his wife and five children were brutally murdered by a Bolshevik execution squad bringing the Romanov dynasty to a final and bitter end. This brilliant and original new work, comprised of vivid and powerful portraits of the entire Romanov family, illustrates exactly what and how the family contributed to the creation of Russia. By bringing the characters of the Tsars and their family to life, Lindsey Hughes offers an insightful addition to our knowledge of an epic and fascinating history.

Genres: History, Russia, Russian History, Nonfiction, Biography, Romanovs, Royalty

336 pages, Paperback

First published June 20, 2008

About the author

Professor of History at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (part of University College London) from 1997.

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

When one thinks of the Romanovs, as Hughes points out, one thinks of people being shot. We, those of us who are not historians of Russia, tend to see Peter the Great and Catherine the Great as separate from the Romanovs even though they are both part of the dynasty. In fact, considering how many different houses that the British royal throne went though in the same time period, Russia was very consistent.
This book is more of any overview. Each chapter deals with one or three Tsars, though the fall of the dynasty dominates the last two chapters. The first chapter deals with rise to power of the dynasty. In many cases, Hughes focuses on the lesser known Tsars and fleshed them out for the layman. While Peter the Great and Catharine the Great get detailed chapter they are not presented at the cost of those other Tsars. Though general, Hughes goes into depth with some political background. In many ways the book is a good starting place for gaining knowledge about the Tsar, and not a specialize study.
What is interesting is how like, in some ways – censorship in particular – certain Tsars were like to the Stalin state that would eventually follow them.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent history of the 300 years that the Romanovs ruled Russia.

The author does a good job helping us follow the sometimes convoluted and confusing relationships (tracking given names versus the later given "orthodox names" can be challenging).

It was interesting to see the social threads that continued into the 21st century.

The last section, on Nicholas and Alexandria was a bit thin on analysis and information on the revolution. Sadly, the author, Lindsey Hughes, was ill and would pass away the day after she finished the book.

A recommended read.

[Zosi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Provides an academic overview of the 300 years of the Romanov dynasty. I read this as a refresher on especially the earlier tsars who aren’t often talked about in Romanov biographies and it was pretty much what I expected. I do wish the book had been a little bit longer because it was much more of an overview of people and policies than it was a deep dive. However, Hughes is able to identify connections and ideological patterns between relatives across the centuries and provides a balanced analysis of their successes and failings, making this worth a read for enthusiasts on the subject. I would not recommend this to casual readers who don’t know much about the subject because it’s a bit more dense and academic that doesn’t easily make for light reading.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book along with the History Channel's "Russia; Land of the Tsars" which I read/watched back-to-back. Each is an in-depth look at 300 years of Tsars and Romanov rule of Russia and the people's view of the Russian Revolution in 1917 which ended it all. Quite interresting and enjoyable.

[Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was everything Hughes (the author) said it would be, but I found myself wanting more information. It was too much to cover in too short a book. I would still recommend though, as it gives a nice high level overview of the Romanov family.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Packing 300 years of history into 248 pages is no small task, but the author (while battling cancer) did an admirable job. The book is readable for someone who has little to no previous knowledge of the dynasty. Simultaneously, I felt like I needed to write out a timeline to keep the massive amount of information straight. Overall, a very good introduction to a history that is lesser known.

[Lea Miil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seda võiksid lugeda kõik ajaloo huvilised. Võimas lugemine.

[Hippiemouse420 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this, but there were times when I wished for more detail. I suppose that's inevitable in a history of such breadth. Hughes could have gone off to explore a million different avenues, and this book would have been a gajillion pages. I do really wish there had been a lot more photographs/illustrations/maps, etc. (The lack of maps was really frustrating). The bottom line is, I discovered a ton more people I'd like to learn about, and perhaps that's the point.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first non-fiction novel I read as part of my 2014 new year's resolution. I found this quite laborious to read (especially the early years where it was all dates and (respectfully) meaningless names). There were however some memorable stories about individuals.
Personally, I found the chapters surrounding the last tsar Nicholas II (Anastasia's father) the most interesting.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Appreciated Hughes research and having this info all in one place. As a dilettante, I found the juicy history of these Romanovs reported in an inexplicably dry manner. I did enjoy the author's generous take on Nicholas II and Alexandra. On the plus side, no academic jargon to slice my way through!

[Peg - The History Shelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent primer on the Romanov dynasty, from its beginnings with Michael Romanov in the seventeenth century. For a quick overview, this is the book for you. Well-written and exceptionally footnoted. I felt the chapters on Alexander III and Nicholas II were all-too brief compared to the other tsars, however, overall a worthy addition to the field of Russian history.

[Jennifer]

History

[Tim Schultz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic overview of the history of Imperial Russia.

[Chris Lira · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this to be not very engaging. Historical books *can* be excellent, engrossing reads, but this wasn't one of them.

[Ribatul Islam]

i'm not a history geeks. but after started reading this i am feeling interested.