The Last Tsar

The Last Tsar – The Life and Death of Nicholas II by Edvard Radzinsky

First of all, if you’re looking for a book about “history” – i.e. the history of Russia during Nicholas II’s tempestuous reign, this probably is not the best choice of a book. This book was written by a Russian author who, I believe, has the assumption that his audience already is familiar with the events that led to the tsar’s exile, and eventual execution.

Instead, this book portrays a very personal account of the man’s life inside the palace walls. I seem to recall that about 25-40% of this book is actual correspondence and diary entries of Nicholas and his wife Alexandra (‘Alix’). It’s quite obvious that the royals led an extremely sheltered existence and were oblivious to most of the pains and necessary remedies for their country. The book makes us believe that the tsar really does mean well, but to reform such a mess as early 20^th century Russia requires a very strong leader which, sadly, he is anything but.  Alix seems to not care much. Her main compulsion is producing an heir to the throne.  After four daughters, she finally produces a male heir, who is soon diagnosed with hemophilia.  Because of his fragile condition (which must be hidden from the public), she consorts with the odd mystic Rasputin with uncanny regularity.   I only mention this because this seems to be one of the main narratives of the story.  Again, the book is much more “personal”.

On that note, it should be pointed out that the last half of the book details the family’s exile to Siberia, and eventual execution – in very meticulous detail.  We read diary entry after diary entry during the family’s captivity, along with all of the turbulent post 1917 events that lead to the ultimate tragedy.

In fact, the author interviews and does extensive research in order to uncover all of the details and retell them as truthfully as possible.  If one thinks about it, one realizes that whenever such a tragedy happens, speculation and rumors are abundant in terms of the exact detail (think about the assassination of JFK).

I’m not sure if I’ve ever read any other book by a Russian author, but the style here seems a bit disjointed.  Edvard Radzinsky seems to bounce around a lot during his narrative, and flow isn’t as seamless as I would have liked it to be. Since so much of the story is told within diary entries, it was a bit difficult to transition back to first person narrative many times.

I enjoyed the book, but if you’re looking for a more detailed perspective of the causes and effects of the Russian Revolution – I would recommend looking elsewhere.  A good suggestion from me would be “The People’s Tragedy” by Orlando Figes.