Why are we so fascinated by the Romanovs?

[leushino]

Addendum:

There was a book commissioned by the Tsar (something like Pictures for the Tsar???) in which some of the plates were actually colored (an early tinting process). The images were from around the empire and may possibly have had something to do with the tercentenary celebrations. Anyway, I mention this particular book because of some of the haunting images in it. Those images that struck me deeply were not of the Romanovs but rather of some of the desperately poor of his vast empire. When I saw the little girls and boys without shoes... in clothing that was ill-fitting and obviously a hand-me-down of a hand-me-down of a ... it made a deep impression on me. Granted, I try not to attach emotions to such, but I had to wonder at the incredible disconnect of the Romanovs for the serfs... the poor working class in the cities living in cramped conditions... barely subsisting on meagre diets and suffering with lice and cold... while the Romanovs were able to travel to Livadia... to the Baltic... to their hunting lodge near Poland.

I'm not trying to denounce them although it may appear that way. I'm simply saying that we need to view them in the larger context and that was not a particularly pretty picture. It was NOT a Disneyland existance for most of the empire and as such, it could not have lasted much longer nor should it have. That's really all I want to say about them.

[Romanov_fan]

I think that as one person posted their personalities, all these combinations were interesting, and speak to us in a human way today, something we can relate to, almost like our own family, but so much better, because of who they were, and how they were-better than ordinary people.

[leushino]

..., and how they were-better than ordinary people.

I'm not sure I would necessarily agree with this statement. None of us really know how we would hold up under persecution... similar to the persecution the Romanovs endured during their incarceration. Thus, I don't think we can really say that they were better than any of us. Certainly they were flawed and that is readily apparent from the facts of history. As a result of those very flaws, the dynasty's destruction  (which would have ended anyway), was hastened and the empire fell into civil war and the spilling of the blood of the nation as brother killed brother. Much of this can be laid at the feet of Nicholas Romanov. Better than us? Not in my opinion. They were privileged... wealthy... removed from much of the suffering of those under them and embraced some of the bigotry of their day (anti-semitism). Better than us? I don't think so. But that's just my opinion. As for the children... they were children... hardly having time to make their mark on history other than coming to a barbaric end. Lord have mercy on their souls.

[Romanov_fan]

Well they were better than us, in that they lived lives more interesting and opportunities to impress the world, based on their lives, as we don't often have the chance, in our lives. They were very interestung in personality, and had more going for them than lots of people I think. Every thing, royalty, circumstances, money, looks, fascinating personalities the whole thing.Some people are interesting and they were again and again.

[Laura Mabee]

There was a book commissioned by the Tsar (something like Pictures for the Tsar???) in which some of the plates were actually colored (an early tinting process).

I have this book. I will scan some of it if people wish.

[Romanov_fan]

For me, the Romanovs inspire feelings of fascination, and sadness at the tragic end of their story, and pride that still, today, by people so far removed from the world of imperial Russia venerate them, and think highly of them. They make feel swept up in history, and even if I had lived back then I wouldn't want to know them because it was their place to inspire feelings of veneration, to appreciate them, but to realize that they are remote from us. The romanovs inspire in me feelings of perfection, that they had so many things going for them beyond the fact that they were royalty. They make me stand awe of who they were, and that they are still appreciated today in so many respects. I think we need to be realistic, that the Romanovs are not like our perspnal friends or something, but that they can stand for many things to us-icons, basically, of all that we are.

[JesseCairns]

Hi Laura ;
Yes--that would be ever so nice of you, if you would like to scan a wee bit of your copy of that tome.
i appreciate it, mon ami.

---jesse

[Laura_]

Certainly they were flawed and that is readily apparent from the facts of history. As a result of those very flaws, the dynasty's destruction  (which would have ended anyway), was hastened and the empire fell into civil war and the spilling of the blood of the nation as brother killed brother. Much of this can be laid at the feet of Nicholas Romanov. Better than us? Not in my opinion. They were privileged... wealthy... removed from much of the suffering of those under them and embraced some of the bigotry of their day (anti-semitism). Better than us? I don't think so. But that's just my opinion. As for the children... they were children... hardly having time to make their mark on history other than coming to a barbaric end. Lord have mercy on their souls.

yes i totally agree with this,maybe they were more important or more interesting but not better than any of us,there were many personalities far better and fascinating than they were,persons that made fewer mistakes,that helped humanity ...they had fallen only because of their multiple grave mistakes,errors,faults etc they were not doomed to death(as i read in many books)or anything like this,there's no one to be blamed for their failure and distruction  not even Fate or Destiny but them.they slowly doomed themselves day by day,hour by hour,minute by minute-their "death" was a slow and agonising process which had started long before their concrete death...this is my personal opinion but maybe i get too objective sometimes...

[M_Breheny]

Laura:
I am in agreement with you.  From our vantage point of knowing what the I.F.'s  future was to be, it is often painful to read the diary entries and letters of Nicholas and Alexandra.  The reader wants to shout, "No, don't do that!"  I love the Romanovs, but I do not think they were any better or worse than we are.  They were human.  And, yes, they made major errors.  (But not the children.)

[Romanov_fan]

Yes they made mistakes, but why on we on the forum? There are many royals less interesting than them. We are on the forum because they were royalty, and because they were fascinating, and they had many things we coudn't have. Interesting, worth discussing people, are flawed and make mistakes, and it is boring to be perfect. I don't think anyone who is perfect can ever be debated too much on a forum. I suppose people took what I said about ''better'' too literally.Maybe I should have said more interesting, dynamic whatever, something along those lines. We can look up to the Romanovs.

[JCWilhelm]

Dear Jesse:

It isn't clear whether you wanted to limit the scope of this thread to the family of Nicholas II or whether you wanted to include the entire Romanov dynasty (which spans over 300 years). Please advise. Thanks.

Jim Wilhelm
Albuquerque, NM USA

[Eddie_uk]

I personally find their behaviour in the end very admirable. But what else could you expect from people with such class and breeding as well as being descended from the likes of Queen Victoria!!!

[leushino]

Yes they made mistakes, but why on we on the forum?

I can't answer for you or anyone else but myself. I'm not a dreamer nor am I an idolizer. I don't romanticize about past figures. I'm interested in history and in my own heritage. As I've mentioned in other threads, my father was born in Russia and baptized in the Dneiper River. His family holdings were seized by the bloody Bolsheviks and many family members who refused to flee the country were slaughtered. My own dad was able to emigrate to Canada and never really spoke about the past after that. I made a sort of pilgramage to Russia some years back to discover things for myself and low and behold, I discovered the Orthodox Church... my Faith.

Now... I'm speaking quite personally here so please forgive me. I'm a history buff... that is, I enjoy learning things relating particularly to my past. I'm on this forum to learn about the Romanovs as well as the history surrounding the time of Nicholas' execution. I do not view this family with rose-colored lenses. I see them as people... ordinary people... caught up in the events of the day. They had clay feet and were just as capable of making mistakes as anyone else. Someone mentioned how well they behaved themselves during that final eighteen months and I would agree BUT I would not conclude that this behavior translates somehow into them being icons of good behavior nor passion-bearers. They looked for an opportunity to escape but such was never realized. They behaved as best they could under the circumstances and I'm convinced that given the same set of circumstances many of us would behave in the exact same way. After all... what choice would we have? If we resisted we would be further humiliated and perhaps hasten our death and as far as the Romanovs were concered, I'm convinced they believed they would ultimately be freed ... that is... perhaps until the end. Even then I'm not certain they believed they would be executed.

In my opinion, the Romanovs are not paragons of virtue. Nicholas' actions brought about the deaths of untold thousands of men and women. His anti-semitism was a disgrace, the times and culture notwithstanding. His wife's behaviors speak for themselves. The children were just that... children. They did not have the opportunity to make their mark and the little we know of them is a mixed bag. They had their problems just like the rest of us. The interesting phenomenon is... some of us have this "need" to make idols out of those we admire. With the Romanovs  we have these attractive children who lead glamorous lives and thus it iis only natural that some would idolize them. And there is certainly nothing wrong with that AS LONG AS we bear in mind that our idolization of this family is not necessarily based in reality. After all, it's fun for some to dream and imagine what it must have been like to be one of the Romanov children.

That's a bit of a long ramble. I'm not trying to criticize anyone here for his or her views regarding the Romanovs. As I mentioned, the ties I have to Russia may color my views. The Romanovs are not heroes to me. They represent a part of my heritage and I want to learn as much about that as I can. Please forgive me if my words are offensive to you.

[Romanov_fan]

Yes, we are all on the forum for different reasons, and any good reason ( such as yours is) is to be respected. My own might be different, and that creates diversity of ideas,thoughts, and the like, and that's great. I have no personal connection to it, as I might have said before, and for those who do, well, it is different. I was just pointing out my thoughts about why the Romanovs fascinate us, my thoughts, and other things could certainly have more truth than what I write, and I am willing to admit that. I just want peace to post my thoughts and debate a bit, if we just post what we think, and no one challenges us it is not much of forum. Anyway,I think they were good people, who compared to some that others look up to, were paragons. And they made mistakes but they have many factors to them, that make them interesting, for various reasons, and so we are on today, writing about the Romanovs. This not a question that has one answer.

[Naslednik Norvezhskiy]

In fact, there is no evidence whatsoever that the Imperial Family was anything but cooperative with their jailers during their entire captivity. At least for part of the time the were held, it was for their protection because the IF were pariahs both in Russia and in the rest of the world - they truly needed protection.

I would even go so far as to say that without the ghastly murder, they would still be pariahs today and we would not have this forum or the APTM website - all of this grew out of the horrible martyrdom the Family endured.

Yes, they'd probably be viewed as the exiled Iranian IF is today: Yes, they were ousted by a horrible regime, but you don't really feel sorry for them, looking at how they ruled.