The Romanovs make the Lannisters look like the Bennett sisters. Simon Sebag Montefiore does his best to avoid speculation and sensationalism, but not even his sober outlook and academic restraint can quench the glorious madness that was the Romanov rule. THE MAYHEM. People are not only shot or beheaded, as one would expect, but imaginatively tortured, broken on the wheel, impaled in the bottom, cut into sections, stomped to pulp, doused in vodka and set on fire. Cut into sections. That requires dedication. On a good day you only get your tongue ripped out. Then there are the courtly intrigues and sexual shenanigans. The corridors of the Winter Palace are teeming with mistresses, assassins and false Dimitris. Nitroglycerin is stored under pillows. Heirs have fits and conveniently fall on their daggers. Brides-to-be are poisoned so often you'd think that they'd wise up and look for husbands elsewhere. A skillfully written account and engaging portrait of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna (1882-1960), younger sister of Tsar Nicholas II. Olga Alexandrovna’s life was no less dramatic than that of her brother, Nicholas II. Daughter, granddaughter, and sister to Russian emperors, Olga – a woman devoid of vanity and imbued with a strong faith – lived a life that could never be replicated. Immersed in the splendors of the Russian court, Olga also suffered through the Russian Revolution, and ultimately left Russia for a life of exile in Denmark and Canada. The Last Grand Duchess is Olga’s memoirs as told to Ian Vorres whose deft presentation of her story is to be applauded. Published in 1965, The Last Grand Duchess not only delves into Olga’s life but that of her family and other historical figures and brings a unique insight into the last Romanovs and Tsar Nicholas II in particular. In telling story he looks at each Tsar/Tsarina, I found a lot of interesting facts that I didn’t know. For instance, when Michael I was chosen as the first Romanov Tsar – he didn’t want anything to do with it. He hid in a closet in hopes the messengers wouldn’t find him and it took his mother to convince him that it was his duty to accept the crown.

It is clear that the consolidation of power is enormous: someone owning more than 300.000 serfs under Catherine (daughter of Peter the Great). Or Elisavetta having 15.000 dresses at her death, and her losing 4.000 dresses in a fire in a palace.Also interesting is how Poesjkin (grandson of Hannibal mentioned above) his wife ends up being courted by the Tzar and he dying in a duel with a Frenchman. It's kind of easy to see how the Bolshevik came to the decision that the tsar had to go. During the first part of the book, I kept thinking that it made sense that they would have to take out the family as well. Can't leave anyone alive that the White Army (tsarists fighting against the Bolshevik rule) might be able to claim as Tsar. Plus, Nicholas brought all this on himself and his family. This was all his fault. But as the family huddled in their prison, it got harder to read about the final days. In the end, I can't really get behind the killing of the rest of the family and their servants. Alexander his sons Nicolas and Konstatin fighting to not be emperor after his death is also interesting, the burden of ruling seems to become much larger after the excess under Peter and Catherine.

The facts in this book were mind blowing. I loved reading the letters throughout the book, whether they were from the actual Romanov family and friends but from the actual people as well. The things that they went through were heart breaking. I get that Nicholas was put into a terrible position and everyone knew that he would be a terrible leader. EVERYONE KNEW and they still went with him becoming the next Tsar. I also felt bad for Alexandra because I mean, these two were put into a terrible position with little to none experience or education for them to even do a remotely decent job at being rulers in Russia.

5. The Romanovs: The Final Chapter by Robert K. Massie

While the book does indeed provide facts of interest I feel the author all too often sensationalizes, emphasizes the bad over the good and has excessive details on the sexual behavior of not only of the Romanovs but also every darn person mentioned. I really don't need to know the size of Rasputin's penis. Seriously, given the amount of details pertaining to sex, a more appropriate title might be: The Sex Lives of the Romanovs and Their Compatriots 1613-1918. I am kind of joking but there is also a message to be taken note of. The mix of historical facts and the pronounced emphasis on sex is just plain weird. In any case a prospective reader should be warned. The sex is not graphic, but excessive and unnecessary. The imperial family was sent to live under house arrest in Siberia. In April and May 1918, members of the Romanov family were relocated to Ipatiev House—a merchant’s house in Yekaterinburg. The Romanov family is now introduced as the last imperial dynasty to be the rulers of Russia. Their rule started in 1613 and ruled for a tenure of three centuries. In these three centuries, 18 Romanovs were honored to be the rulers of the throne.

Alexandra was unwell, so she asked for a chair to have a seat. Tsar Nicholas II also asked for one but not for himself but for his only son, who was just 13 at that time. They were supplied the chairs, and they had to wait there. Then a group of 11 or 12 armed men entered the cellar. What took place next was something no one had ever imagined.

3. The Romanovs: 1613-1918 by Simon Sebag Montefiore

Putinism blended Romanov authoritarianism, Orthodox sanctity, Russian nationalism, crony capitalism, Soviet bureaucracy and the fixtures of democracy, elections and parliaments. If there was an ideology, it was bitterness towards and contempt for America; nostalgia for the Soviet Union and the Romanov empire, but its spirit was a cult of authority and the entitlement to get rich in state service. The Slavophile mission of the Orthodox nation, superior to the West, and exceptional in its character, has replaced that of Marxist internationalism. While the Orthodox Patriarch Kyril has called Putin a ‘miracle of God’ for Russia, the president himself sees ‘the Russian people as the core of a unique civilization’. Peter the Great and Stalin are both treated as triumphant Russian rulers. Today’s Russia is the heir of both, a fusion of imperial Stalinism and twenty-first-century digital authoritarianism. Putin rules by the Romanov compact: autocracy and the rule of a tiny clique in return for the delivery of prosperity at home and glory abroad. The novel is hugely romantic. His ease with the setting and historical characters is masterly. The book maintains a tense pace. Uniquely terrifying. Heartrending. Engrossing. " The Scotsman The Romanovs were high-ranking aristocrats in Russia during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In 1613, Mikhail Romanov became the first Romanov czar of Russia, following a fifteen-year period of political upheaval after the fall of Russia’s medieval Rurik dynasty. He took the name Michael I.