The last Romanov Tsar (Nicholas II) and Tsaritsa (Alexandra) need no introductions - the tragic and brutal murders of Russia's Imperial family is known to most people. However, in this book, Robert Massie attempts to uncover the true natures of Nicholas and Alexandra, their fateful marriage, the secret illness of their only heir (Alexis) and the calamitous effect it had on a dynasty that had ruled Russia for over 300 years.Massie is one of those rare authors who can transform meticulous research into a story that is rich with atmosphere, precise historical details and yet manages to keep a pace that rivals a best selling novel. Even though the author is sympathetic to the Imperial family, this should not be misconstrued as bias - the author's main triumph is his ability to remain objective, and use the available facts to illustrate all the different factors that culminated in their ultimate downfall.
As you read the book, you cannot help but feel the sense of doom in the last few years of the Autocracy as it begins to teeter from the rumblings of a revolution after - the unrelenting death toll of an ongoing war; a pseudo government that was completely mismanaged by a Tsar/Tsaritsa under the destructive influence of a charlatan (Rasputin); and dire warnings, which went unheeded, from the other members of the Imperial family who tried to pursuade Nicholas to create a constitutional monarchy.
Would the history of Russia be any different if any of these elements were changed? We will never know the answer, but we do know that even though Nicholas / Alexandra made mistakes during their rule, they acted out of the irrational fear that is typical of parents with a sick child. Inspite of all their short comings, the author tries to reveal a portrait of an intimate and loving family, who were unfortunate enough to pay the ultimate price for the political insensitivity of their patriarch.
I cannot bring myself to end this post on a negative comment, when in fact I was so moved by the personal story of Nicholas and Alexandra. I'm going to quote Winston Churchill who perfectly described Nicholas, the man, a decade after the Tsar's death....
"...He had made many mistakes, what ruler has not? He was neither a great captain, nor a great prince. He was only a true, simple man of average ability, of merciful disposition, upheld in all his daily life by his faith in God. But the brunt of supreme decisions centered upon him... His was the function of a compass needle. War or no war? Advance or retreat? Democratise or hold firm? These were the battlefields of Nicholas II. Why should he reap no honour for them? The devoted onset of the Russian armies that saved Paris in 1914; the mastered agony of munitionless retreat;... the Russian entry upon the campaign of 1917, unconquered, stronger than ever; has he no share in these? Inspite of errors vast and terrible, the regime he personified, over which he presided, to which his personal character gave the vital spark, had at this moment won the war for Russia."
