Why are we so fascinated by the Romanovs?

[Nastya]

In my Opinion, I think the reasons we are so fascinated by the Romanovs is because of the way they were murdered, them being such a loving family even in times of chaos, how beautiful and handsome they were, the fact that they were Royalty, the mystery of what actually happened that horrible night and wanting to know more about the unknown.

[Russian_Duchess_#5]

Many people are just "in love" with one member of the IF.
Just like Nastya said, they were all very handsome people, who were role models.

Sofi

[GrandDuchess_Bella]

Though the mystery plays a big part, I think we love them because of who they were. None of them were the same. They all had different, fascinating personalities. They were not the perfect family and I think we like it that way. We like to seek knowledge about the views they shared and what each and every one of them were like. Was that silly???

[speanroc]

Though the mystery plays a big part, I think we love them because of who they were. None of them were the same. They all had different, fascinating personalities. They were not the perfect family and I think we like it that way. We like to seek knowledge about the views they shared and what each and every one of them were like. Was that silly???

eloquently put.........

[Tania]

I could not have state it better as a response. I borrow your words, only to echo them as a strong response to the initial question. Thank you.

Tatiana

As RealAnastasia stated so well :

"I'm fascinated by their devotion, true devotion to their religion in a worl who started to see religion as a superflous, bothering thing . I'm fascinated by the girls (OTMA) innocence, comparing them with other girls having their same age, by the sweet honesty you may read in their beatiful faces. I'm fascinated by the love that NAOTMAA had to each other, by the true love between Nicholas and Alexandra, a thing not at all common in a world where couples lives together (yes, I'm including our own era) but have lots of lovers or divorces in no time. And I'm also admire them for they remained together until the end...A religious family dying facing with couraje their athesit murderers".

[Romanov_fan]

They are role models, and one reason we look up to them is that we know they can be role models, and we do not have to have too many explanations like yes, but... they did that or whatever. They made some mistakes, but no more than anybody else. They made no more mistakes than we make, in our daily lives. So they fascinate us for all the reasons I listed in my last post, and all the excellant reasons that others have pointed out. They are the perfect combination of many qualities, and it is a winning combination, because we all on this board are fascinated with them... if we were not, why would we be here?

[AlexieNichole]

I first became interested, not necessarily fascinated with the Romanov and the Imperial Family after the cartoon version of Anastasia came out.  Very much the mystery of all of it is very interesting.  So many books on the topic all a little bit different as to the possible ending and who may or may not have lived

It's very easy to get caught up in intrigue of it all and reading all these posts on this and other boards makes it even more fascinating.

Also my mom's paternal family is of Russian heritage (prior to the Revolution).  My great grandfather came over from what is now the Ukraine, at the age of 21 in 1913 prior to the Revolution of 1917

It's very hard for us to trace that side of our family and when we do surname searches it does state nobility or blue blood lines involved, but nothing specific really

[RomanovFan318]

I think I first became fascinated by them back in ther ninth grade. I had a world history teacher whose favorite  topic was Russian history and she told us a lot about the Romanovs especially the sad story of poor little Alexei and about how the family was taken prisoner and then brutally murdered.  As a history buff I wanted to learn more and so I checked Nicholas and Alexandra out of the school library and my obsession started soon after. It's not just the fact that their story had such a tragic ending that fascinated me but the lives that they lived and their different personalities. True, the were royalty living in a different world than I live in but  they were very human and shared some of the same problems as ordinary people.  And I agree that the photographs make them seem so much more real. Sometimes I cannot help but feel sad when I look at pictures of them and remember what happened  on that night back in 1918.

[JesseCairns]

Hi ;

I am Maj. Jesse Carnes--the new kid on the block.
I have been researching the Romanov family [the lastruling family, that is] for about 3 weeks.

Specifically, WHY do we find the Romanov's so fascinating?
Many of you said some intriguing and interesting things
that had credibility.   It is indeed a bit larger than life.

I am responding mostly to Holly in this case.  So, my wee opinion just let me say that they had a presence of being
TOUCHABLE, REAL, Truly Human, Humorous as opposed to our stereotypes of stiffshirted Royals.  Lastly, each family member had a distinct personality, and for about 95% of the time it was admirable qualities.   When I met a person who knocked my socks off--who impressed me so much that I was almost beside myself, I would oft wonder :  Would i like to be that person's BEST friend . . .  or if it were
possible, would I rather be THEM?  

In specific :  OTMA's bond of friendship amonst one another [despite differences] was heart-warming.  The Czar's EASY disposition and oft humorous reaction to his kid's anctics was also inspiring.  Anastasia's wicked and lightning-speed sense of humour was simply hysterical and in itself worthy.
Alexsi's sickness and pain did one thing for him :  it SOFTENED and humbled him and made him a compassionate and meek person [meek = self-controlled, as opposed to arrogant and self-aggrandizing].   The entire Imperial family also suffered with Alexsi and were softened into KINDER and more Compassionate persons.   This quality even made the Czarina's ill-fated spiritual-attachment to Rasputin almost completely overlook-able.  

Add to this,  the family did not ROLL in their wealth.  They were FRUGAL as far as Royals go and the Empress helped thousands of starving and needy people out of her own
means.   Alexsi and OTMA were also compassionate and had a felt desire to help the masses of Russians in need, and there were many, no doubt.

They rose above their own suffereings.   Let me illustrate :
the SUN in the sky will harden clay into pottery, whereas it will also soften and MELT wax.   One person faces difficulties and becomes bitter and hardened, whereas the same difficulties will cause another person to RISE above their pains, only to be transformed into a kind, humble, giving and caring person,

So, as a result, the Imperial family were kind, compassionate, often hysterically funny, and low-profile-and-humble.   Yes, one is helplessly drawn to them and we do wish that they were still with us, but without Alexsi's sicknesses or their tragic end.  Just my wee opinion.  Their lives, hopes and dreams were noble, timeless and everlasting---just like their  spirits.  We ALWAYS want to draw close to such Folks, do we not?

[Lanie]

They were normal human beings. They were not perfect, saintly people.  They were not this perfect family that loved each other--that's all a myth.  They were human beings and I think that--including their many many shortcomings, especially N&A's as parents--make them more interesting.  Of course I didn't really realize this until I was well into reading about them, probably 8 or 9 years into it.  I'd always bought the "perfect family myth"...and now that I know it's a total facade they're more interesting with all their foibles and problems.

[Shvibzik]

I think we are so facinated with this family because we know so much about them.  I'm not saying that past royals we didn't know as much, but these people lived in recent times and there are so many documents on their lives.  And besides, tragedy seems to be a very popular topic in this world today, and to read about a family who is famed to be so "perfect", and then to read about a seemingly "unfair end" (which I'm not saying it isn't), it seems to facinate the human race.  And you can't forget the "mystery" of Anastasia and Alexei.  Their lives are almost like a soap opera in some ways.  

But if we didn't have so many resources to research their lives, then they would probably be much less popular.

That's my opinion.

[JesseCairns]

hi ---Maj. Jesse Carnes here.
It this proposed THREAD is passe, please direct me to the
old thread, as i cannot find it.

I wanted to say that I have learned about 50 time the amount of information about the Romanov family--in the last 4 weeks--than all of my years of research combined.

I said ALL of that to say this :  It has had a deep emotional impact upon me.  In fact, it has brought me to tears several times.    I was once a boy scout and then learned that Alexei was Russia's 1st Boy Scout.   That REALLY got to me.   Reading the children's letters to their parents created moments filled with pathos and emotions as well.    

Add to this, at the present time, I know a Russian family who live in St Petersburg Russia.  The dad is a computer geek  [and a SUPER one at that].  His wife is a piano professor and their son Sasha is a young teen harpist.    
In the process of researching, I saw a link from the St Petersburg site (which mentioned Alexei being Russia's 1st Boy Scout) that directed the readers to Sasha's musical site.   Caught off guard, I was emotionally beside myself.   Now, I REALLY want to go to Russia, and become a part of that culture [even though I am Scottish, ethnically].  

Point:  the past 4 weeks of Romanov research have really DRAWN ME into a world of innocence, gaiety, love, commitment, feisty humour, as well as pathos, sadness, and ultimately tragedy so great that  it is easy to have images on one's mind of their whole existance from the 1894 marriage, to the birth of the girls to Alexie's 1904 birth, their Standardt trips, Crimea vacations, and sitting around Ts-S pasting  snapshots into photo albums, the entire house reeling in vicarious pain listening to Alexei scream in pain, etc etc.

It truly is a LARGER-THAN-LIFE story . . .  it brings tears to my eyes as I write this.    That's all I wanted to say :  that for me, it has produced a WAVE and FLOOD of emotions.
I just CAN'T get over how SAD it was at the end.  If anyone wants to discuss this in private  [email me] then my email address is shown.   If this topic is a wee bit too maudlin for good taste, then I ask the forgiveness of the Discussion Borard's directors.   I had to at least say what I did, even if this  is as far as this thread goes.

--Jesse

[Georgiy]

I for one, don't recall this as having been a topic before. It is a good one, because we have such a diverse community here, and everyone has their own unique emotional reaction to the Romanov story. I myself draw great spiritual strength from the Imperial Martyrs. From an historical point of view it is an amazing and endlessly fascinating story. I think there is a part in most people that cries out "No, it shouldn't end that way" which is I think a good part of the emotional attraction to the Romanovs. Certainly I think we can learn a lot about strength during times of adversity through them.

[Marialana]

I've been fascinated by the Romanovs since I was 12, and for the past 18 years they have "lived" with me in one form or another. As a consequence, I've had a wide range of emotions towards them over time.
When I first discovered them through a junior high history class presentation of "Nicholas & Alexandra" I was overwhelmed and saddened by their fate. I had to, just had to, find out everything I could about these people and what led them from the halls of Tsarskoe Selo to Ekaterinburg.
Over the years my feelings have alternated towards both Nicholas & Alexandra. There have been times when I've been supremely frustrated with her steadfast loyalty to Rasputin, and with Nicholas'  seeming inability to make a hard & fast decision and stick to his guns. But at other times, the vast majority of other times as a matter of fact, I feel great empathy with Alexandra. I feel as though I understand her as much as possible  from a historical perspective, and I feel no malice at all towards her because I feel like I understand her motives and desires based on her life, background, and what she was faced with as the most misunderstood woman in Russia (In my opinion, of course).
As a whole, the entire family has meant a great deal to me over the years. I see in their lives and closeness a great happiness & humanity, as their story has for me been an anchor in my life when at other times all else seemed to be fleeting. On the other hand, their story is one of almost unbearable tragedy. I have cried many a tear while reading N & A's correspondence, or looking at pictures of the children as they happily played upon the Standart or shoveled snow with their father. Not Nicholas II, mighty Tsar of Russia, but simply their father. The tragedy of 5 young lives cut so short angers, saddens, and sickens me all at once. The way in which they faced their imprisonment, and all of their lives crosses, serves as an important lesson for me in how to conduct oneself with pride, fortitude, and humanity in the face of the sheerest evil. There is, in my opinion, much to be learned from each one of them.
So, to sum up, I guess you could say that the Romanovs stir up an entire cauldron of emotions for me. Some are contradictory, some confusing, but I would have to say that the one emotion that always come to mind when I think of their family is Love.

[leushino]

I've also been fascinated but solely for the historical truth. My father was born in Russia so in 1990 I decided to take a little pilgrimmage so to speak and discovered my Orthodox Faith. We toured the palaces in Moscow, Yalta, and St Petersburg as well as visited a number of monasteries. It was all very interesting for me... to actually stand at the exact place in the Kremlin church where the Tsar stood during Divine Liturgy.

That said, I try not to become either too emotional about these things nor to allow fantasy to overcome my sense of reality. The Romanovs were certainly flawed and the dynasty should definitely have come to an end, albeit in a bloodless and civil manner. I truly bemoan the fact that the provisional government failed to retain its hold on power with the resultant bloody civil war and the even bloodier years of communism. Much of this I lay at the feet of Nicholas Romanov... certainly one of the more ineffectual leaders of the last century.

It seems to me that it is relatively easy to become engrossed in both the myriad of photographs that present themselves to us and the reams of pages written about them so that we fool ourselves into thinking that we are somehow a part of their lives. We aren't... and furthermore... we couldn't have been even if we were able to transport ourselves back to those days. They would not have given us any notice since the majority (if not the entirety) of this forum is ordinary folk. A nod... a wave of the hand... and little more could be expected from these people. But since we can command them to enter our presence with the click of a mouse... it's easy to deceive ourselves into thinking we might have had some sort of relationship with them. This would and could never be possible. They're simply people who lived interesting lives and whose failures brought about cataclysmic events in Russia and throughout the world.