The Race to Save the Romanovs
The Truth Behind the Secret Plans to Rescue the Russian Imperial Family
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4.0 • 30 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
In this international bestseller investigating the murder of the Russian Imperial Family, Helen Rappaport embarks on a quest to uncover the various plots and plans 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 anniversary was largely ignored. In stark contrast, the centenary of the massacre of the Imperial Family was commemorated in 2018 by a huge ceremony attended by the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church.
While the murders themselves have received major attention, what has never been investigated in detail are the various plots and plans behind the scenes to save the family—on the part of their royal relatives, other governments, and Russian monarchists loyal to the Tsar. Rappaport refutes the claim that the fault lies entirely with King George V, as has been the traditional view 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 US, Russia, Spain and the UK, 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 With its up-to-the-minute research, The Race to Save the Romanovs is sure to replace outdated classics as the final word on the fate of the Romanovs.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
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.
Customer Reviews
The Race to Save the Romanovs
What a delightful read, well written by an author who is obviously a subject matter expert!
The Race To Save The Romavos
I had to put this well written, detailed book down several times because I got so mad the royals of Europe for their pure selfishness. I will never see the British royals the same. The author gives vivid detail, and she explains how she received the information. A terrific book for the arm chair historian, thank you for your work.