Nicholas & Alexandra by Robert K. Massie

I killed two birds with this book, both continuing to explore World War I and studying Russian history at the same time.  Because the book was written by Massie, the author of Peter the Great, one of my earliest historical reads (which I later re-read), I knew I would love this account, and I was not disappointed.

I learned that Nicholas was not a cruel despot, but a mild Tsar in the context of most other Russian leaders.  His faults were mostly an under-appreciation for the unhappiness of the Russian people and too great of a respect for Russian autocracy.  Although a relatively mild leader, he could not envision Russia under any other leadership until it was too late.

I learned about their son the heir, Alexis, who suffered from hemophilia.  The untreatable condition caused horrendous pain for the boy whenever he bruised. 

Enter the Russian mystic Rasputin, who somehow provided the only means of relief for the boy.  Because he appeared to ease Alexis' suffering, Alexandra fell under his spell, slowly believing everything Rasputin told him.  While Nicholas was away to the west, leading the Russians in battle against Germany, Alexandra took the reigns of government, entrusting Rasputin with every key decision.  As a result of their atrocious leadership the Russian government collapsed.

The combined effect of mass casualties from the War (including deaths in the millions) and the collapse of the government and economy from Alexandra/Rasputin's poor leadership, the doors were opened to revolution from the millions of suffering Russians.

Enter Lenin, the Bolsheviks, and the rest is history.

Following Nicholas' abdication in March of 1917, the Romanov family was sequestered away to Siberia and later murdered en masse.  They didn't deserve such treatment.  They died not because they themselves were ruthlessly autocratic (again, they weren't, as compared to many of their ancestors). 

They were murdered because they clung to the aristocracy without recognizing that their people wanted change.  The same call to freedom that sprouted in the west (the U.S., France, England among others) was yearned for in Russia, as it still is today.