The race to save the Romanovs : the truth behind the secret plans to rescue the Russian imperial family

The race to save the Romanovs The truth behind the secret plans to rescue the Russian imperial family

Helen Rappaport

Book - 2018

"Investigating the murder of the Russian Imperial Family, Helen Rappaport embarks on a quest to uncover the many international plots 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 one hundredth anniversary was largely ignored. In stark contrast, the centenary of the massacre of the Imperial Family will be a huge ceremony to be attended by the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. While the murder itself has received major attention, what has never been investigated in detail are the various plots behind the scenes to save the fa...mily--on the part of their royal relatives, other governments, and Russian monarchists loyal to the Tsar. Rappaport refutes the accusation that the fault lies entirely with King George V, as has been the traditional claim 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 United States, Russia, Spain and the United Kingdom, 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 With its up-to-the-minute research, The Race to Save the Romanovs is sure to replace outdated classics as the final word on the fate of the Romanovs"--

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Subjects
Nicholas > II, > Emperor of Russia, > 1868-1918 > Family > Assassination.
Nicholas > II, > Emperor of Russia, > 1868-1918 > Assassination.
Romanov, House of > History > 20th century.
Russia > History > Nicholas II, 1894-1917.
Biographies.
Genres
Biographies
Published
New York, N.Y. : St. Martin's Press [2018]
Language
English
Main Author
Helen Rappaport (author)
Edition
First U.S. edition
Item Description
"June 2018"--Title page verso.
Physical Description
xxviii, 372 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, map, genealogical table ; 25 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 305-363) and index.
ISBN
9781250151216
  • By way of a beginning
  • Happy families
  • 'Some catastrophe lurking in the dark'
  • 'Alicky is the cause of it all and Nicky has been weak'
  • 'Every day the king is becoming more concerned'
  • 'Port Romanoff by the Murmansk Railway'
  • 'I shall not be happy till they are safely out of Russia'
  • 'The smell of a Dumas novel'
  • 'Please don't mention my name!'
  • 'I would rather die in Russia than be saved by the Germans'
  • 'The baggage will be in utter danger at all times'
  • 'Await the whistle around midnight'
  • 'It is too horrible and heartless'
  • 'Those poor innocent children'
  • 'His Majesty would much prefer that nothing...be published'
  • Postscript : 'Nobody's fault'?
Review by Booklist Review

Rappaport approaches the Romanov massacre from an entirely new angle, exploring the various failed plots and schemes to save the doomed royal family. In retrospect, it seems unthinkable that Tsar Nicholas and his family, intimately related to numerous royal houses, were not rescued by or offered asylum in other European nations, but, in unraveling both domestic and international schemes, Rappaport outlines the historical, political, and social realities that made their liberation unlikely. Mired in confusion, complicated by tangled political alliances and enmities, hampered by poor communication systems, and overshadowed by the grim realities of WWI and the Russian Revolution, none of these plans came to fruition. The tragic fate of the Romanovs continues to confound and fascinate, and Rappaport, author of The Last Days of the Romanovs (2009) and The Romanov Sisters (2014), continues to mine their story for nonfiction gold, as she attempts to get at the truth of what really happened in 1917-1918. Timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the grim executions, this gripping chronicle will find a ready and eager audience.--Flanagan, Margaret Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

In this devastating, complex, and fast-moving narrative, everything from monarchical rivalries to sickness and bad weather play into the brutal demise of the Russian imperial family in 1918. Historian Rappaport (Caught in the Revolution) begins this gripping story in 1894 with the marriage of Nicholas Romanov, heir to the Russian throne, and Hessian Princess Alix, who, like her grandmother Queen Victoria, carried the potentially lethal hemophilia gene. Kaiser Wilhelm facilitated the doomed match, but in a couple of decades Russia and Germany were at war, and revolutionary fervor was rising in Petrograd. Rappaport rehashes some history from her previous books and gives salient new details on British procrastination and backpedaling in offering asylum to the imperial family after Nicholas's abdication in March 1917. She describes the confusion within the provisional government about what to do with the ex-czar and the misguided hope that Kaiser Wilhelm might make the family's safe exit from Russia a condition of the armistice ending Russia's involvement in WWI. Relying on fresh archival material, Rappaport dispels some mystery about secret Western rescue plans-that is to say, she clarifies that they were nonexistent. Regarding myriad Russian monarchist rescue plots, she admits that rumors and misinformation make unraveling the truth "an impossible task." This is a well-researched account of a colorful, suspenseful, and tragic series of events. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review

Best-selling author Rappaport (The Romanov Sisters) unravels the complicated relationships across Europe on the eve of World War I. The tragic fate of the Romanovs is well known, and many have questioned why they were not saved by relatives who were in power in other countries. Rappaport explains the intricacies that prevented the rescue of the tsar and his family. A mixture of Hanover family politics and fear that the revolution in Russia would catch on across the continent contributed to the difficulties in freeing the Romanovs. Sadly, as happened with the Habsburgs and Marie Antoinette, the tsarina was often blamed for the faults and mistakes of her husband, making her an equal target for the rage of the revolutionaries. The author does an excellent job of explaining complicated family dynamics, particularly teasing out how each person is related. She also portrays the heartbreak after each near miss at averting the tragic murder of the family. Verdict Recommend for anyone with an interest in Russian history, particularly during the time of empire. Rappaport's latest will also interest those seeking more insight into the complex relationships among European monarchs pre-World War I.-Sonnet Ireland, St. Tammany Parish P.L., Mandeville, LA © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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