The last emperor and empress of Russia, Nicholas and Alexandra, left history with a contradictory legacy. Impregnably obstinate and seemingly blind to many of their empire’s ills, they seldom met a political problem with a viable solution. And yet theirs was a love story that would captivate Hollywood and historians alike. They were devoted to each other and their children, and to an idea of the Russian people imploding under pressure from capitalist exploitation and, in the end, the catastrophe of modern war. If they had fled into comfortable exile, their reputation might have faded. Instead, they ended tragically, murdered in cold blood along with their children by the Bolsheviks. Their story continues to fascinate readers.
British historian Helen Rappaport reexamines the family’s demise in The Race to Save the Romanovs (St. Martin’s Press). The subject has been gone over countless times since the Romanov murders of 1918, yet new puzzle pieces have surfaced through the gradual opening of once-secret archives and the digitalization of newspaper files, making research as easy as a mouse click if you know what to look for and how to understand what you find.
The central question behind their murder is why—after Nicholas abdicated the throne—didn’t the Romanovs flee Russia ahead of the impending catastrophe? What Rappaport convincingly finds isn’t a straight answer but a patchwork of responses, beginning with love: Nicholas and Alexandra couldn’t bear the thought of leaving without each other and their children (it would have been easier had Nicholas slipped out of the country with his family following later). Compounding their emotions was Nicholas’ habit of dithering and Alexandra’s incorrigibly stubborn short-sightedness when speed was of the essence.
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The democratic socialist Provisional Government that took custody of Russia and its former rulers wanted the Romanovs out while the Bolsheviks, rising in power, were determined to execute them and quickly closed off escape routes. As for foreign intervention, the problem came down to politics. Although they were related to all the kings of Europe, Nicholas and Alexandra were controversial symbols of autocracy at a time when revolutions were brewing everywhere. George V, Nicholas’ beloved cousin, wanted to take them in but the British government hedged and finally made it clear that they would not be welcome. With nowhere to run, the Romanovs were carted off to a distant provincial town and—even as various groups plotted their rescue—slaughtered.
Despite Rappaport’s diligent digging, mystery remains over many aspects of the Romanovs’ final year and the various conspiracies to rescue them. She has written an eminently readable assessment from available sources, presenting her findings with an eye to defining all key personalities in short order. Nicholas, for example, depressed by the catastrophes to which he was a party, simply let power drop from his hands.
