Romanovs: Autocrats of All the Russias

Includes section of black & white photographs. "For three centuries -- beginning with the accession of Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov in 1613 -- the Romanov Dynasty ruled Russia. At its height in the mid-nineteenth century, the empire of the Romanovs comprised more than one sixth of the earth's surface. Its reign ended with the execution of Nicholas II and Alexandra in the early 20th century. Noted Russian scholar W. Bruce Lincoln has brilliantly portrayed the achievement, significance and high drama of the Dynasty as no previous book has done. His use of rare archival materials has allowed him to present a portrait of the Romanovs based on their own writings and those of the men and women who knew them." CONTENTS: Preface; Acknowledgments; A Note on Russian Names and Dates; Prologue; MUSCOVITE BEGINNINGS (1613-1689): Tsars and Tsarinas; In the Eye of the Storm; The Politics of Muscovy; THE RISE OF AN EMPIRE (1689-1796): Eighteenth-Century Emperors and Empresses; An Imperial City in the Making; From Debauchery to Philosophy; Imperial Aspirations; EMPIRE TRIUMPHANT (1796-1894): The Imperial Dynasty; The New Faces of St. Petersburg; From Golden Age to Iron Age; The Colossus of the North; THE LAST EMPEROR (1894-1917): Nicky and Sunny: The Last Romanovs; The Approach of Disaster; Days of War and Revolution; The Last Days of the Romanovs; Notes and References; Works Cited; Index.