Wow, the responses to this simple question show that interest in the Romanovs and Russian history transcend all national, ethnic and religious borders.
Though, this question is always hard for me to answer. Short of quoting Wordsworth let's just say I was born in Ottawa, Canada, and lived in Massachusettes, Michigan, and California. My Mom was Irish/Catholic-Yankee/Anglican, and my Dad is from Lucknow, India. His family were former Sikhs who converted to Christianity in the 19th century. Okay, way more info than anyone wanted. Got it.
I got interested in Russian history in college. The Cold War was still pretty cold and I wanted to understand what it was all about. Being mostly Irish by temperment, that meant going back to the beginning, or thereabouts. Once into it, I loved the topic and regretted that there were only 2 courses available.