Research Catalog
Alexander II : the last great tsar
- Title
- Alexander II : the last great tsar / Edvard Radzinsky ; translated by Antonina W. Boius.
- Author
- Publication
- New York : Free Press, [2005], ©2005.
- Supplementary Content
- Publisher description
Available Online
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| Status | Format | Access | Call Number | Item Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Text | Request in advance | DK220 .R33 2005 | Off-site |
Details
- Description
- xvi, 462 pages : illustrations; 24 cm
- Summary
- Profiles the Romanov Dynasty tsar as one of Russia's most forward-thinking rulers, documenting his efforts to redefine history by bringing freedom to his country, and describing the series of assassination attempts that eventually ended his life.
- "Alexander II was Russia's Lincoln, and the greatest reformer tsar since Peter the Great. He was also one of the most contradictory, and fascinating, of history's supreme leaders. He freed the serfs, yet launched vicious wars. He engaged in the sexual exploits of a royal Don Juan, yet fell profoundly in love. He ruled during the "Russian Renaissance" of Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Turgenev - yet his Russia became the birthplace of modern terrorism. His story could be that of one of Russia's greatest novels, yet it is true. It is also crucially important today." "It is a tale that runs on parallel tracks. Alexander freed 23 million Russian slaves, reformed the justice system and the army, and very nearly became the father of Russia's first constitution and the man who led that nation into a new era of western-style liberalism. Yet it was during this feverish time that modern nihilism first arose. On the sidelines of Alexander's state dramas, a group of radical, disaffected young people first experimented with dynamite, and first began to use terrorism. Fueled by the writings of a few intellectuals and zealots, they built bombs, dug tunnels, and planned ambushes. They made no less than six unsuccessful attempts on Alexander's life. Finally, the parallel tracks joined, when a small cell of terrorists, living next door to Dostoevsky, built the fatal bomb that ended the life of the last great Tsar. It stopped Russian reform in its tracks." "Edvard Radzinsky, delving deep into the archives, raises intriguing questions about the connections between Dostoevsky and the young terrorists, about the hidden romances of the Romanovs, and about the palace conspiracies that may have linked hard-line aristocrats with their nemesis, the young nihilists."--BOOK JACKET.
- Subjects
- Genre/Form
- Biographies.
- Biography.
- History.
- Bibliography (note)
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 429-439) and index.
- Contents
- Introduction \Prelude PART I: GRAND DUKE \The Harsh Fate of Heritage -- Heir to the Throne -- His Father's Empire -- How to Bring Up a Caesar \ PART II: EMPEROR \The Great Time -- An Awakened Russia -- Anni Horibiles -- Love \ PART III: UNDERGROUND RUSSIA \The Birth of Terror -- The Lonely Palace Cliff -- A Hollywood Story -- Unprecedented in History -- War on Terror -- The Mysterious and Great EC \ PART IV: THE RETURN OF THE TSAR LIBERATOR \Fox Tail and Wolf Jaw -- Death of the Tsar -- Postlude -- \Selected Bibliography -- Index.
- ISBN
- 9780743273329
- 074327332X
- 9780743284264
- 0743284267
- LCCN
- 2005049413
- 9780743273329
- OCLC
- ocm60373732
- 60373732
- SCSB-14091056
- Owning Institutions
- Columbia University Libraries