Book Review The Last Tsar

He began his married life in the shadow of his father’s funeral, filled with a gamut of emotions: sadness for his loss and happiness for finally marrying the girl he had dreamt of for many years. Although he would have preferred to live a family life, out of the public eye, the hand of fate would not permit him to abdicate. It forced him to become Emperor and Autocrat of all Russia, the nation that encompassed one sixth of the world’s land mass at the turn of the nineteenth century.

The he in this instance is Tsar Nicholas the II, the last and doomed ruler of the Romanov dynasty.

Was Nicholas an effective ruler? Hardly. There is a saying in Russian, “Nee riba, nee myeso” which translated means “not fish and not meat,” something nebulous. I’d agree that this would describe Nicholas as the Emperor of Russia: ill suited for the task at hand because of his sensitive nature. He fell prey to the influence of others, including his Mama, his wife Alexandra and her machinations, politicians, advisors and most importantly the wide web of Rasputin and other supernatural personas -- the holy men and znakhars -- those who know. Unfortunately, Nicholas’ nature did not prove to be an asset nor his strong suit: his father, Alexander the Third had been the flame, and he turned out to be the moth attracted to the flame.

In the bestseller, “The Last Tsar, The Life and Death of Nicholas II” by Edvard Radzinsky, translated by Marion Schwartz, the author tells the sad tale of the last royal family of Russia. It is a fascinating and intimate portrait of the lives of the Imperial family that brings some truth to light by utilizing personal diaries, correspondence and snippets of conversations. Nicholas himself kept a diary for thirty-six years and the author’s access to the actual documents in archive were the basis for much of the book.

Radzinsky paints an engrossing portrait of the Romanov’s lives: Nicholas, Alexandra, their four daughters and heir to the Russian throne, the hemophiliac Alexei. The reader can appreciate how the dreaded disease of hemophilia played a role in Russian history as did the hypnotic healer Grigory Rasputin. Indeed, Rasputin exploited Alexandra’s hysteria and his web of influence helped ruin the old Russia forever. There were many other contributing factors as well: civil unrest and wars.

Interestingly, Nicholas, sometimes referred to as “The Bloody,” was spared from death thrice: once in a train crash, once in Japan when he was almost stabbed to death and once from the dreaded disease typhus. Nicholas’ his luck, however, ran out and although he celebrated the three hundred year rule of the Romanov family in 1913, soon after, he would abdicate. The last stage of his life would not be glamorous. Nicholas was exiled to Siberia with his family to be brutally murdered by the new regime in the basement of the Ipatiev house.

Included in the book are numerous photographs and an extensive bibliography. Reader, decide for yourself. Was Nicholas a martyr or a fool or a man who only wanted a simple family life? The RO church decided he and his family were saints, and canonized them in 2000.

I’ve read this former best-selling book numerous times, and every time I reread it, I still enjoy the engrossing tale. It’s more than a historical account: it’s punctuated with a decidedly human element that brings the voices from the past to life.

I recommend it, and it was worth the money I spent on it.

“The Last Tsar” is available on Amazon.com