A masterful and forensic study of the last year of Nicholas II's reign, from a world-leading scholar of Russian history.
'Outstanding . . . essential reading' - Simon Sebag Montefiore, The Mail on Sunday
In March 1917, Nicholas II, the last Tsar of All the Russias, abdicated and the dynasty that had ruled an empire for three hundred years was forced from power by revolution. Robert Service examines the last year of Nicholas's reign and the months between that momentous abdication and his death, with his family, in Ekaterinburg in July 1918.
Drawing on the Tsar's own diaries and other hitherto unexamined contemporary records, Service reveals a man who was almost entirely out of his depth, perhaps even willfully so. A vivid portrait, The Last of the Tsars is simultaneously a compelling account of the social, economic and political foment in Russia in the aftermath of Alexander Kerensky's February Revolution, the Bolshevik seizure of power in October 1917 and the beginnings of Lenin's Soviet republic.
Authoritative, engaging and meticulously researched, this is a superb work of historical biography.
'A timely and important book . . . he brings to it rare clarity and common sense. His book is a fast-paced account of the last sixteen months of the tsar's life; brief, sharp, but laced with well-judged feeling for the dramas of the time' - Catherine Merridale, The Observer
Discover more fascinating Russian Revolution titles from Robert Service: Spies and Commissars and Blood on the Snow.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
Brilliant, original and compelling -- Saul David * Evening Standard * The best book yet on Nicholas after his abdication -- Dominic Lieven * Financial Times * A myth-busting account of the final months of the ruler's life, from abdication to execution * Guardian * Detailed and painstakingly researched -- Peter Conradi * Sunday Times * A clear-eyed portrait of Nicholas and his limitations . . . an essential corrective * TLS * Outstanding . . . essential reading -- Simon Sebag Montefiore, <i>The Mail on Sunday</i> A timely and important book . . . he brings to it rare clarity and common sense. His book is a fast-paced account of the last sixteen months of the tsar's life; brief, sharp, but laced with well-judged feeling for the dramas of the time -- Catherine Merridale, <i>The Observer</i>
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Interest Age: From 18 years
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978-1-4472-9311-8 (9781447293118)
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Schweitzer Klassifikation
Robert Service is a Fellow of the British Academy and of St Antony's College, Oxford. He has written several books, including the highly acclaimed Lenin: A Biography, Blood on the Snow, Stalin: A Biography and The Last of the Tsars, as well as many other books on Russia's past and present. Trotsky: A Biography was awarded the Duff Cooper Prize. Married with four children, he lives in London.
