This is a book about love, life and death set in Russia, during Czar Nicholas the II’s reign. It commences at the end of the 19th century with his father’s burial and his subsequent inheritance of the Crown – with absolute power. His reign is underpinned by the strong love between him and his wife Alexandra and overshadowed by the presence of Rasputin. But his unwise decisions lead to chaos, including the Khadynka Tragedy, Bloody Sunday, 1905 revolution and the Czar’s abdication. His family is imprisoned, first in Tobolsk and then in Ekaterinburg, and the story concludes with the communists obtaining power and executing the entire royal family. Become entangled in the tales of love, hate, conflict, sex, treachery, and murder between the characters. Dive into a horrifying historical moment from one hundred years ago and experience for yourself life at a crucial turning point in Russia’s bloody history.

A “magnificent and intimate” (Harper’s) modern classic of Russian history, the spellbinding story of the love that ended an empire—from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Peter the Great, The Romanovs, and Catherine the Great “A moving, rich book . . . [This] revealing, densely documented account of the last Romanovs focuses not on the great events . . . but on the royal family and their evil nemesis. . . . The tale is so bizarre, no melodrama is equal to it.”—Newsweek In this commanding book, New York Times bestselling author Robert K. Massie sweeps readers back to the extraordinary world of the Russian empire to tell the story of the Romanovs’ lives: Nicholas’s political naïveté, Alexandra’s obsession with the corrupt mystic Rasputin, and little Alexis’s brave struggle with hemophilia. Against a lavish backdrop of luxury and intrigue, Massie unfolds a powerful drama of passion and history—the story of a doomed empire and the death-marked royals who watched it crumble.

"The acclaimed author of Young Stalin and Jerusalem gives readers an accessible, lively account--based in part on new archival material--of the extraordinary men and women who ruled Russia for three centuries."--NoveList.

In this international bestseller investigating the murder of the Russian Imperial Family, Helen Rappaport embarks on a quest to uncover the various plots and plans to save them, why they failed, and who was responsible. The murder of the Romanov family in July 1918 horrified the world, and its aftershocks still reverberate today. In Putin's autocratic Russia, the Revolution itself is considered a crime, and its anniversary was largely ignored. In stark contrast, the centenary of the massacre of the Imperial Family was commemorated in 2018 by a huge ceremony attended by the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. While the murders themselves have received major attention, what has never been investigated in detail are the various plots and plans behind the scenes to save the family—on the part of their royal relatives, other governments, and Russian monarchists loyal to the Tsar. Rappaport refutes the claim that the fault lies entirely with King George V, as has been the traditional view for the last century. The responsibility for failing the Romanovs must be equally shared. The question of asylum for the Tsar and his family was an extremely complicated issue that presented enormous political, logistical and geographical challenges at a time when Europe was still at war. Like a modern day detective, Helen Rappaport draws on new and never-before-seen sources from archives in the US, Russia, Spain and the UK, creating a powerful account of near misses and close calls with a heartbreaking conclusion. With its up-to-the-minute research, The Race to Save the Romanovs is sure to replace outdated classics as the final word on the fate of the Romanovs.

On the centenary of the death of Rasputin comes a definitive biography that will dramatically change our understanding of this fascinating figure A hundred years after his murder, Rasputin continues to excite the popular imagination as the personification of evil. Numerous biographies, novels, and films recount his mysterious rise to power as Nicholas and Alexandra's confidant and the guardian of the sickly heir to the Russian throne. His debauchery and sinister political influence are the stuff of legend, and the downfall of the Romanov dynasty was laid at his feet. But as the prizewinning historian Douglas Smith shows, the true story of Rasputin's life and death has remained shrouded in myth. A major new work that combines probing scholarship and powerful storytelling, Rasputin separates fact from fiction to reveal the real life of one of history's most alluring figures. Drawing on a wealth of forgotten documents from archives in seven countries, Smith presents Rasputin in all his complexity--man of God, voice of peace, loyal subject, adulterer, drunkard. Rasputin is not just a definitive biography of an extraordinary and legendary man but a fascinating portrait of the twilight of imperial Russia as it lurched toward catastrophe.

Alexander III called Victoria ‘a pampered, sentimental, selfish old woman,’ while to her he was a sovereign whom she could not regard as a gentleman. But the Queen's son and two of her granddaughters married Romanovs.

Tsarist Russia teeters on the brink of revolution while it engages in a war against the Germans and Austrians. The Bolsheviks simmer and seethe as the Russian Army concentrates on the invaders rather than the revolutionists within. The wealthy Milanov children are at the center of the storm, and the changing winds of time and politics will push them apart. Both siblings grew up on top of horses, as many in the privileged class did, but their skill and mounts are beyond comparison. Catrina's horse, Mouka, is an extension of herself, the embodiment of her fiery spirit. And her brother, Joseph, shares the same close bond with his golden stallion, Majesty. When war and pride divide the siblings, Catrina selflessly offers a trade, one horse for the other, and tearfully says goodbye to both brother and equestrian friend. But her indomitable will smolders within her, burning with hope for a reunion with her beloved brother after he goes off to fight the Huns. Soon, more than heartache is threatening the Milanov family as the Bolshevik Revolution boils over Russia. Fleeing for her life, Catrina once more relies on her fierce spirit to bluff and charm her way out of one situation after another, finally securing passage to America, land of opportunity. More than one harrowing escapade bonds rider and horse, but just as freedom and safety seem within sight, Majesty is suddenly missing. Tired, poor, huddled, and homeless, Catrina steps onto American soil without family or a single familiar face, not even her lone, remaining friend, Majesty.

"Nicholas and Alexandra exchanged nearly 1,700 letters and telegrams from April 28, 1914 to March 7, 1917. All of the letters and most of the telegrams are in English, with a considerable use (in descending order) of Russian, French and German words, expressions and phrases. ... The letters and telegrams are published here in the order in which they were written. ... The importance of the Nicky-Sunny correspondence is clear. Sir Bernard Pares thought these letters to be the 'most important historical source for the subjects with which they deal, and the main subject of them is the governance of the Russian Empire.'"--Introduction.