I admit it! When I taught the book Animal Farm to my students, I became quite interested in the Russian Revolution, the Romanov family, and of course, Rasputin. We also learned about Lenin, Stalin, and Trotsky and their rise and fall from power.
There was also the mystery of Anastasia and if she survived the brutal assassination of her family. Was she living in Europe? In the United States? Was the the sole survivor of a brutal attack?
This book traces the lives of the Romanov family from 1903 until their assassinations in 1918. We are given the history of Nicholas and his relationship with his father. We see how Nicholas and Alix (Alexandra) met and fell in love. We also see the excesses of the privileged and wealthy, and the sheer poverty of the poor.
Nicholas never had the proper training to be the Tzar. His father never took the time to teach him how to read military maps, or meet with leaders of other countries. Because of this, Nicholas had no idea what his subjects were subjected to on a daily basis. Mothers had no food for their children, people had less than an acre to farm and feed their families, and those who had jobs barely made enough to pay for the food that they ate. This caused many people to become disillusioned with the Tzar because they felt he didn't understand their needs.
This opened the door for a revolution, a Marxist leader named Lenin who believed in equal for all (except those who had been landowners, and they were either imprisoned or shot), and lives no better than what they were before.
As I read this book, I thought about the people of Russia. Since the fall of the Romanov family, there have been a series of heavy fisted leaders. Lenin died of a stroke at the age of 52, and that left the door open for Stalin, who was said to be responsible for more deaths than Hitler. Now they are led by Putin who has no care for human rights. He is a seemingly cold man, and I wonder how the people of Russia really are faring. Are their struggles still as great as they were in 1918?
What about us? What kind of leader will we choose? We need a leader who cares about human rights, who has experience working with world leaders, and understands diplomacy. Think about it. I certainly did as I read this book.
