Would we be interested about the IF if events did not happen?

[rosieposie]

Just a thought that occurred during dinner,  yeah I think to much lol.

If the revolution did not occur be it 1905 or 1917,  WWI/WII etc.  The Russian Empire would still be around in 2013,  would we today be interested in the Imperial Family?    NAOTMAA died natural or accidental deaths.  OTMAA married on and had children of their own etc.   

Would the soap story of their lives be of interest? 

To me I think I would be,  I like history and I like the current royals of around the world.     

[Kassafrass]

I think it depends on how you look at it. Would I still want to know about them? Definitely! I'd love collecting photos of them and reading stories about them.

But had their lives not ended so tragically, would we even know of them? I doubt I would, or if I did, I would just glance at them in passing and in reference to someone else.

[Ally Kumari]

I would be. But the question is - would I know them - just like Kassy said. It is, in most cases I can speak for - the tragedy that initially draws interest - and only after people become curious as of what led the family to the basement of the Ipatiev house, who they were, what were their relations with others etc. At least this is how the journey was for me. But no doubt the Romanovs at the break of 19th and 20th century were fascinating people for anyone interested in history, even without the tragic occurences that happened to them.

[Olga Maria]

Also yes -
I'd still be interested of them like how I am interested with many princesses who lived thru the WWII, and like their aunts, grand aunts, grandmothers, etc who lived before them and reached older age.. They would seem to be more interesting had they lived longer I think so ^^ I would love a book about each of OTMA!

[edubs31]

Given the interest in royalty on the AP, the reason for this forum in the first place, I'd say that most of us on here would be interested in the IF regardless of the circumstances of their death. But naturally the world as a whole would care less. People want drama in their history, and the story of the IF delivers that. Were Nicholas simply a deposed king that lived out his remaining days in England while his children continued their own lives in relative obscurity it's hard to imagine the fascination with them would be the same.

But that's just one part of the conversation. The question you need to ask yourself is related to the "why", as in why was the IF killed, why were they were placed in that vulnerable position in the first place, and why did things play out in their rather idiosyncratic lives the way they did?

If you believe in simple cause & effect and the randomness of historical events (and our lives in general), then it's fair to think about the legacy of the IF being shaped largely by how they died rather than by how they lived. However if you believe in fate then it's easy to suggest that there was a purpose for them to be in that basement that night, and therefore they were destined to be remembered. Personally I lean more towards the latter, but I guess it all comes down to matters of faith.

[KarinK]

But had their lives not ended so tragically, would we even know of them? I doubt I would, or if I did, I would just glance at them in passing and in reference to someone else.

It would certainly be more difficult to find out more about them. If there had been no revolution, they might be like Victoria's non-ruling children and grandchildren: Edward VII is written about, so is Princess/Kaiserin Victoria, but the mother of Alexandra or the father of Marie of Romania are mostly discussed because of their connections. Their lives aren't studied in depth in the same way and from a purely financial point of view I imagine it would be more difficult for an author to convince a publisher that there would be a market for such a book: Victoria's Children is a safer bet than Alice of Hesse. For example, I have never seen a book about Kaiser Wilhelm's children but I'm glad to have the opportunity to anticipate the 2014 book about the four grand duchesses. If the Russian imperial family had been sent to exile in 1917, their lives would have been far happier but also far more obscure, especially those of the children. But the tragedy of the murder of a loving couple and all their young children undoubtedly attracts a great deal of casual interest and attention, which in some cases leads over time to a deeper interest in imperial Russia and familiarity with the lives of non-ruling Romanovs. I doubt I would ever have heard about the Ella biography if I hadn't read about Nicholas and Alexandra first.

In my opinion, a great deal of the imperial family's appeal lies in the exceptional availability of their letters and photos, which I believe to be due to both their own fate and the definitive end of the Russian monarchy. If they had lived or if their relatives had regained the throne shortly after 1918, I doubt it would be possible to get such an intimate look at their everyday lives from documents that are not just kept in collections that biographers can receive access to but free to be shared on the internet. Even today, while William and Kate may decide that a photo of Prince George taken in a family setting will be the first shown to the public or can find themselves caught sunbathing by the paparazzi, I don't think it's as intimate as the access to the Beinecke albums. Thousands of photographs taken by the imperial family themselves or their closest friends, showing the passing of time, their interests, their happy moments and the ones when they just didn't feel like smiling at the camera. Even more than the beautiful official photographs of the family, these photos make them feel so human that it becomes easier to relate to them as individuals and to become interested in the historical moment, the small picture and the big picture of the Russian revolution.

[edubs31]

Karin, I agree with basically everything you said...

Far as the photographs are concerned I totally agree that the incredible availability of so many of them helps the appeal of the IF. Obviously they are a very attractive/photogenic family, but I liked how you made the comparison with William and Kate. One of the things that makes the IF photos so great is not just the abundance of them, or even the impressive quality, but the window it offers into their lives and personalities. Photography was still something of a novelty back then and those being photographed didn't have to deal with the constant inundation of cameras the way famous (and even ordinary) people do today.

What I see in most of these photos of the IF, and particularly OTMAA, is natural emotion. Nothing contrived. It's not self aware and it's totally without pretension. Some of this certainly owes to the fact that these photos were intended for their private albums and not mass consumption, but it's much more than that.

Another thing that pulls people to the Romanov saga is simply the stark contrast of it all. I think people tend to identity with things better when they and clear and precise. Absence of ambiguity and a line drawn between 'good' and 'evil'. With OTMAA, for example, it's such a stark contrast between their lives and their innocence and the horrors of the war, revolution, and Soviet regime. It's black & white (or perhaps I should say 'red' and white). OTMAA = Good, Soviet = Bad. Easily understood by most. That and of course the martyrdom aspect of their deaths makes them more admirable figures. We love martyrs, it makes for a good story.

[historyfan]

Without reading any of the other replies, I'm going to say that the answer is a resounding YES.

Would we be interested in the same things, though? Such as, survivor stories, Anna Anderson/Anastasia, Rasputin, even Anna Vyrubova? No, of course not, because if the Empire had progressed as it should, those characters would never have gotten any stage time.

We would, however, have been interested in their role in shaping Russia and the world as it would be today, and anything else that makes any royal houses of the past interesting.

We would also have been interested in the marriages the Grand Duchesses would have made, and their descendants.

[Jen_94]

I think the answer is yes, for sure! Even if those events still did not happen, I think there would be people still interested to find out more about them and their lives i.e. people who are interested in Royals and history perhaps too in general.

[Rodney_G.]

I think we'd likely be almost  as interested in the IF as we are today if the dramatic events that shaped , and ultimately destroyed their lives hadn't happened. But would we have known about them , and been drawn to them in the first place, if their lives had proceded relatively uneventfully after the start of 1917, and all that it lead to for the IF? I think not. Their appeal, especially  OTMAA's is , unquestionable, and yes, very much enhanced by the plethora of the photos they  'star' in.

But what drew us to their story in the first place? Quite obviously, the Revolution and Ipatiev House, 7/17/1918. And, of course, the latter is the basis for the possibility, the potential , for the Anna Anderson phenomenon, in the 1920s , 1930s, and even 1960s with her trials  and related pub;icity, and several popular movie, play, and ultimately, book treatments. I'd be very surprised if a single IF enthusiast here would be here on this  Forum, much less feeling the depth of feeling that many of us have towards the martyred  IF, based solely on their  history prior to 1917. As noted , the German, British, former Austro-Hungarian royal families continued  in life after 1917/18. but without generating a massive and ongoing fascination and affection for them worldwide,as has been the case with the last Romanovs.

In any case, their dramatic and sad end is forms  a huge part of the moral appeal that they have for many of us. I know it does for me. It's an undeniable component of their attraction, their martyrdom, the loss of beauty and innocence, not to mention the end of an era, not only in Russia, but essentially in the whole European world of monarchy and privilege.

[TimM]

I have to admit it was the whole Anna Anderson thing that first got my attention.  Okay, she was a total fraud, but her story attracted a lot of attention and led people like me to find out about the real Anastasia and her family.

[edubs31]

Interesting thing too is that I think the tragedy, while obviously bringing a lot of extra attention to the IF, also turns some people away. It's such a sad thing that I think certain people would prefer focusing attention on someone/something historical that has a happier ending. So maybe you gain, say, 50% more people because their lives ended in tragedy, but lose 25% because of the sad end to their tale.

[DNAgenie]

If the revolution did not occur be it 1905 or 1917,  WWI/WII etc.  The Russian Empire would still be around in 2013,  would we today be interested in the Imperial Family?    NAOTMAA died natural or accidental deaths.  OTMAA married on and had children of their own etc.   

I think we would still be interested in the Imperial Family, but not nearly as obsessed as we are at present.  Instead, our interest would be on a par with interest in the British, or German, or Dutch, or ......, royal families, as expressed on this site in other pages.

But the Romanov story is one of grand tragedy, and that has to be a large part of its appeal.  Also, if they had not died, we are unlikely to have nearly as much access to their personal records.  It is likely that those would have remained private and unpublished. It is the fact of their deaths, and the records of their lives becoming public property, that allows us to become so familiar with the details.