Slideshow images from The Family Romanov : The Winter Palace, Rasputin with the Romanovs, Olga, Tatiana, and a friend in Crimea, “Some of Moscow’s poorest citizens outside a shared house”, Alexandra at Alexei’s bedside (photo insert between pages 132-133). Only Rasputin was able to stop Alexei’s bleeding, even today historians do not know how he did that. Of course, the strangeness of Rasputin, who was often behind the Tsar’s poor political decisions, makes the story even more interesting. Each member of this historic family is brought to life as the unique, mischievous, and loving human beings they each were. The Tsar and Tsarina were deeply in love and delighted in their children. In sharing the Romanov’s story, Fleming’s is a family tale. With the hopes of the monarchy set on this one, sick, little boy, this family lived in perpetual fear and worry. The child was remarkably quiet and even merry but it was a dreadful thing to to live through such anxiety” (p.54). Fleming (2014) quotes the Tsar’s diary account, “A hemorrhage began this morning without the slightest cause…It lasted until evening. They had four daughters before finally being given the little Tsarevich Alexei who was afflicted with hemophilia. The need to provide an heir also weighed on the Tsar and Tsarina. Additionally, he believed his choices and circumstances were directly from God. Raised in a bubble of wealth and educated to believe in the divine right of rulers, Nicholas often misunderstood the plight and starvation of his people. This provides a strong context in understanding Tsar Nicholas II’s constant series of fatal choices as a ruler. In The Family Romanov readers are offered an introduction to Russian history and Romanov rule. Quite possibly one of the most captivating of history’s mysteries, the story of the last reigning Romanovs is filled with drama, tragedy, and intrigue.
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