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THE LAST TSAR

Tsuyoshi Hasegawa

The Abdication of Nicholas II and the Fall of the Romanovs

The definitive story behind the self-destruction of the autocratic Romanov dynasty, by the world's foremost expert.

When Tsar Nicholas II fell from power in 1917, Imperial Russia faced a series of overlapping crises, from war to social unrest. Though Nicholas's life is often described as tragic, it was not fate that doomed the Romanovs - it was poor leadership and a blinkered faith in autocracy. Based on a trove of new archival discoveries, The Last Tsar narrates how Nicholas's resistance to reform doomed the monarchy. Encompassing the captivating personalities of the era - the bumbling Nicholas, his spiteful wife Alexandra, the family's faith healer Rasputin - it untangles the dramatic struggle by Russia's aristocratic, military, and legislative elite to reform the monarchy. By rejecting compromise, Nicholas undermined his supporters at crucial moments. His blunders cleared the way for all-out civil war and the eventual rise of the Soviet Union. Definitive and engrossing, The Last Tsar uncovers how Nicholas II stumbled into revolution, taking his family, the Romanov dynasty, and the whole Russian Empire down with him. Tsuyoshi Hasegawa is professor emeritus in history at the University of California at Santa Barbara. The award-winning author of many books on Russian history, World War II, and the Cold War, he lives in Santa Barbara, California.

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Book Published 2024-12-03 by Basic Books

Comments

The Last Tsar is an impressive, often brilliant book. The detail is mind-boggling and the skill with which political convolutions are unravelled is admirable. Read more...

One Way Ticket to Pskov The Last Tsar: The Abdication of Nicholas II and the Fall of the Romanovs Read more...

The Last Tsar is a terrific account of the February 1917 Revolution in Russia that knocks down many of the pillars of our usual interpretations. Elegantly written and magisterially researched.

UK: Basic Books UK, Chinese (Simplified): Zhejiang People's Publishing House, Russian: Alpina

Hasegawa, whose previous works enriched our knowledge of what happened on the streets and in the corridors of power during that fateful year of 1917, has produced here an intimate and highly absorbing account of Russia's last hereditary autocrat. It is likely to be the definitive one for many years to come. From the cult surrounding Rasputin to the tense minute-by-minute plotting of the generals, Duma politicians, aristocrats, and the Tsar himself, The Last Tsar brilliantly conveys the messy reality of imperial power coming apart at the seams.

Tsuyoshi Hasegawa's The Last Tsar offers compelling new perspective on Romanov dynasty collapse.

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Hasegawa suspensefully recounts scenes of Nicholas. [His] analysis of alternative outcomes to the unfolding tragedy makes for compelling 'what-ifs' and provocative history.

Hasegawa's masterful book is like a slow-motion picture of Russia approaching the edge. Yet only the weakness, inaction and stupidity of the last Tsar, as well as the stunning recklessness of the Russian elites, pushed the empire into the breach. A chilling lesson on how the ineptness of one man, and the opportunism of many, can pull down not only an outdated regime, but the entire temple of state, law, and civil society.

Compelling . A scholarly tour de force.

The capstone to a brilliant career, Tsuyoshi Hasegawa's The Last Tsar is certain to become the definitive work on the chaotic, earth-shattering demise of the Romanov destiny. No historian before has dissected these tumultuous days with such clarity, precision, and insight.

Royal slush On The Last Tsar: The Abdication of Nicholas II and the Fall of the Romanovs by Tsuyoshi Hasegawa. Hasegawa argues persuasively that the outcome [of the Romanovs] was far from a foregone conclusion. The real story was 'full of choices, roads not taken, and ill-fated decisions. Read more...

From Nicholas II to Trump I? REVIEW: 'The Last Tsar: The Abdication of Nicholas II and the Fall of the Romanovs' by Tsuyoshi Hasegawa Hasegawa has produced a credible, well-sourced, and readable retelling of a dramatic and consequential period in history. Read more...