The Romanovs: The Final Chapter (1996) - Plot & Excerpts
Give strength, Just God, to us who need it,The persecutors to forgive,Our heavy, painful cross to carryAnd Thy great meekness to achieve.When we are plundered and insultedIn days of mutinous unrestWe turn for help to Thee, Christ-Savior,That we may stand the bitter test.Lord of the world, God of Creation,Give us Thy blessing through our prayerGive peace of heart to us, O Master,This hour of utmost dread to bear.And on the threshold of the graveBreathe power divine into our clayThat we, Thy children, may find strengthIn meekness for our foes to pray.This poem was given by a friend of Empress Alexandra sent to the Ipatiev House in Ekaterinburg, where the Imperial Family was imprisoned for 78 days before their cold blooded execution. It was especially dedicated to her two eldest daughters, Grand Duchess Olga and Grand Duchess Tatiana. A copy written by Tatiana′s own hands was found inserted into one of her books by the White Army as one of the remnants left by the Tsar and his family as they came in too late in saving them from the murderous hands of the Bolshevik revolutionaries.This prayer in its dramatic poetical form is a simplified exaltation of the spiritual strength of the Romanovs, taking place after the abdication of Nicholas II and the bleak confinement that soon followed that demeaned their rank and reputation in the eyes of the world, but in a more truthful sense, it is only their loss of human power and their ultimate gain of the Divine Order.The sublime nature of their sacrifice, the utmost graceful acceptance of humiliation and their fate surrendering submission to God have become their reverberating memoir in the history of Russia that even after the passage of many years of their heinous deaths, it has become symbolic of Russian salvation against a decadent regime that will soon topple at the dawn of their resurrection.The image of Tsar Nicholas II has become a permanent fixture in the pivotal point of Russian history as he as the last Tsar becomes a symbolic end to the Russian monarchy and his death, the birth of Bolshevik Communism that would lay claim all over the world. Yet, in the same manner, his resurrection from the ground where his slain body has long been buried in secrecy becomes the beginning of an end as the exhumation of his remains at the latter part of the 20th century becomes the signal of death for Communism, not just in Russia, but all over the world.The fatalistic demise of Tsarism in Russia is vividly detailed by Robert K. Massie in Nicholas and Alexandra, where he intertwines the passionate love story and tragic fall of Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra with the sudden and implacable rise of the Communist leader, Vladimir Ulyanov widely known as Lenin, whose intense yearning to gain power caused them both their mortal lives. In some ways, it is a sad account of realism prevalent in life in general that as sometimes the case, goodness becomes a willing victim of evil. It exudes predominantly in Massie′s sympathetic depiction of the Tsar as a gentle creature appearing as a figure of paragon for his wife and children, whose love for his country and family, has become the harbinger of doom in the reign of terror after his fall.It is through this lamentable end that Massie′s Last Chapter on The Romanovs begins...Their deaths had been clouded in mystery as the truth of what happened to them was kept as top secret by the propagandist Communist government to stabilize their hold to power. The lies upon lies issued by Soviet Russia as a cover up about their fate had diminished the small quantity of truth into a fallacy, generating myths and legends all throughout the 20th century, eventually producing impostors who claimed they were a Romanov survivor, the greatest of whom was Anna Anderson as the Grand Duchess Anastasia. She divided the Tsar′s loyal friends, Russian monarchists and the remaining Romanov family scattered all over the world to her true identity. Knowing the truth now, her convincing portrayal of Anastasia that made her famous seemed to be enveloped in mysticism inlaid in the true Russian tradition, which Massie himself was not able to uncover in the book as it remained an open question without an answer. This was inasmuch as Rasputin′s prophetic visions proclaimed to Empress Alexandra and his hypnotic medicinal power over the invalid Tsarevich Alexei, the Tsar′s only son that contributed to the fall of the Romanovs had remained missing pieces of the puzzle in the mystery.The discovery and eventual exhumation of their remains in the woods of Ekaterinburg, which took place at the latter part of the 20th century as Communism was starting to lose its grip in Russia, making more information available for investigators had produced another riddle instead of as a solution to the mystery. They did not find Anastasia′s body among the 9 bodies exhumed, making Anna Anderson′s claim even stronger, shattered only with the DNA analysis of her specimen after her death as she eventually became known as the greatest Romanov impostor. In Massie′s exhaustive historical account, her story was carefully put in between the initial scientific disputes over the identification of the Imperial Family′s remains rimmed with controversial findings among the world′s topnotch forensic experts and the emergence of DNA fingerprinting, which resulted into a courtroom debacle in a foremost display of manipulation as they all seemed to struggle in acquiring her last remaining sample after her death.Massie′s masterful journalistic narrative is a chilling account of the dynastic fall of the House of the Romanovs. It is suspenseful and intense in capturing their eventual end, serving not just an illumination of the truth behind the mystery surrounding their deaths, but a reflection of their enigmatic appeal that lies far beyond their own time as their martyrdom becomes a symbol of their own resurrection etched forever in the pages of history as the gentle figure of Tsar Nicholas II and his family are immortalized in Time. And I know that this is not The Final Chapter I am going to read about The Romanovs. ☾☯
I have sad news. Anastasia is dead. Long dead. She died back in 1918 in a basement with her family. I am now convinced of this. Despite all the movies and claimants, she did not survive and escape. Meaning there is no hidden princess out there in the world. No unassuming person about to be uncovered and lavished with luxuries. Even more crushing, the probability that I am in fact a hidden princess is greatly diminished. My ten year old self is devastated. In fifth grade, we had to script and act out an interview with a historical figure. I chose, of course, to be Anastasia. And lucky for you, I found that script hidden away in a closet. While you read this excerpt from my make-believe talk show called “Talk-It-Out”, you have to picture me sitting in front of the class dressed in my costume: a frilly, pastel nightgown that my grandparents gave all us granddaughters for Christmas accented with some strands of fake pearls. [I kept my grammatical errors in tact for your further amusement.]Host: While in a Germany nursing home[…]you gave no identity and wouldn’t show your face. Why?Anna: Hmmm. I think I was safe in Germany for nobody knew I Russian. If I had given identity and shown my face. They would have known I was Anastasia, I was in the royal family of Russia. There would have been media, titles, and would I get back to Russia when I was in their country, their land and why go back to Russia for someone else was ruling it now. And I would have the title “Woman from Russia Royal Family in Germany” and that is a degrace. For I had no family. They were dead.[Fast-forwarding here]Anna: [...]First I was thought to be my sister, Tatiana. Then Anastasia. Then they knew. (pause) they knew I was Anastasia.Host: Then they knew your secret?Anna: Yes, (looks down).Reading this script makes me simultaneously cringe and smile. The drama! And now having read Massie’s book, I realize my interview was written about Anna Anderson, a pretender who Massie convincingly shows was not in fact Anastasia. Opps.I normally don’t do summaries, but let me offer a few clarifications about the book’s contents so you won’t be caught off guard like I was. It is not about how the Romanovs came to be murdered. There is nothing about the Tsar’s political missteps or such. (1) It starts out with a chilling and succinct description of the execution itself and moves forward. (2) And a surprisingly large chunk of the book is devoted to the forensic science of the case: analysis of the bones, in-fighting between experts, DNA testing, the ole match-the-skull-to-the-picture game, and so forth. Massie held my hands through the technical issues here (although I was confused by the names of the fifty million people involved). (3) Then there are smaller sections about the Anastasia wannabes and the surviving family members. (4) It concluded by recounting the Romanov’s last days before that fateful night they were murdered. This set-up felt odd while I was reading. Yet, by the end, I could appreciate how he chose to structure the book: starting with a bang, delving into the science, shifting direction to the living again, and zooming back into the personal story for some last minute poignancy. It was cleverly done. Unless you are really interested in Russian history (specifically the Anastasia myth) and/or forensic science, this isn’t the book for you. And to save you the hassle, I will share three of the most interesting bits I took away:(1) Nightmare jobsI will never complain about my job again. It could be so much worse. One Russian soldier was ordered to retrieve the bodies from their first hideaway: at night, in the remote woods, down an abandoned mine shaft, that was flooded. He just couldn’t catch a break. I get goose bumps imagining him wading in that frigid water up to his chest while several bloated corpses floated around, bumping into his arm. Ahh!Or there are also the college students charged with maceration, meaning boiling the meat off human bones. They literally watch body parts swim around in a vat of boiling water until the flesh falls off and the bone expert can start his analysis. According to the expert, "Yes, it's a very distasteful task, but I can only recall one or two students who have been unable to handle it." Yeah, that would be me too.(2) Did Hollywood screw up?All the movies and books nowadays focus on Anastasia. It is true that the remains of one sister were not found with the main cache of remains. But experts disagree which sister is missing. Most think it is Anastasia. But some think it is, for example, Marie. (3) More more moreI was shocked to learn the intent to which the Romanovs were murdered during that tumultuous time in Russian history. Beyond the Tsar’s immediate family (which included Anastasia), there were at least twelve other Romanovs killed in cold blood. Let’s wrap up this review. If you are still interested after my precautions about content, by all means, read it. It is worth the effort. I enjoyed Massie’s style and would be open to reading another of his books about Russia, although preferably one with less science and more history.
What do You think about The Romanovs: The Final Chapter (1996)?
It took me a little longer than I had planned to get to this book. I wanted to read it soon after I finished "The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra" by Helen Rappaport. There was much about what happened to the Romanov family that I had learned from the former book, but still it was interesting to read. There have been many years and people and results of political affairs that had finally given us the answers and allowed historians to close the chapter on the final Tsar and family. Because of the fall of the Soviet Union, archives have been accessible to historians. Massie has done his usual scholarly work. I think is that it's a miracle any of the original research and testing was done. There were so many people involved from the original event and so many egos involved. All the discussion regarding DNA testing is not very interesting or readable to me. And Massie goes into much detail about the various impostors who have claimed to be members of the family. That part wasn't as interesting to me, but may be to some.
—Judy
Written in 1995, at the time of publication, only nine of the eleven bodies of the Romanov family and their servants were found. In 2007, the bodies of young Alexei and his sister Maria were discovered.Massie is the author of the classic, well-documented and meticulously researched book Nicholas and Alexandra. Obviously, still interested in the fate of Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra and their five children, Massie, tenaciously pursued the details surrounding the discovery of the remains in a wooded, secluded area of Ekaterinburg.The plan to kill the Romanovs was hastily pulled together. Hours before the murders, some of the appointed guards could not follow through when they learned that women and children would be killed.The execution and disposal of the bodies was macabrely gruesome. On July 17, 1918 the Romanovs, their dog, the family doctor and three servants were ushered into the basement of House of Special Purpose.They went quietly, assuming that they were moved because the approaching white army might save them. Sadly, eight days later, the White army broke through, too late to rescue them from horrific, violent death ordered by the Bolsheviks.While Russian bureaucracy still denies a direct link to Lenin in orchestrating the killings, most likely Lenin did indeed pull the strings that orchestrated the murders.Masse's book follows the trail of the discovery of the nine bodies through DNA testing, giving comprehensive detail regarding the location and state of the bodies.Clearly, the Romanovs were shot, mutilated, burned and doused with sulfuric acid. The disposal of the bodies was as botched as the killing, originally buried in shallow graves, the bodies were burned and then re buried.While Masse's book plods along with gruesome details, and some chapters seem redundant, I recommend this book for those interested in the fate of The Romanovs and the political treachery of the Russian communist government.
—Linda Lipko
In July 1991, nine skeletons were exhumed from a shallow mass grave near Ekaterinburg, Siberia, a few miles from the infamous cellar room where the last tsar and his family had been murdered seventy-three years before. But were these the bones of the Romanovs? And if these were their remains, where were the bones of the two younger Romanovs supposedly murdered with the rest of the family? Was Anna Anderson, celebrated for more than sixty years in newspapers, books, and film, really Grand Duchess Anastasia? The Romanovs provides the answers, describing in suspenseful detail the dramatic efforts to discover the truth. Pulitzer Prize winner Robert K. Massie presents a colorful panorama of contemporary characters, illuminating the major scientific dispute between Russian experts and a team of Americans, whose findings, along with those of DNA scientists from Russia, America, and Great Britain, all contributed to solving one of the great mysteries of the twentieth century. I thought that I would enjoy this book more than I did. The beginning of the book caught my attention however the remainder of the book just seemed like scientist arguing over their findings on which body belonged to which person. A good book for anyone that is interested in the scientific debate between the best ways to give appropriate age, sex, and weight of cadavers but not really the best for someone just interested in learning more about the Romanovs.
—Amanda Long
