The Other Grand Dukes

The Other Grand Dukes PDF

Author: Janet Ashton

Publisher:

Published: 2013-01-15

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 9780985460396

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"Examines the biographies of nearly forty men whose birth gave them the right to one of the world's most prestigious positions. All sons of Russian tsars are covered in Volume I. The sons of collateral grand ducal branches are covered in Volume II. The biography of each of the Grand Dukes of Russia brings to life a deeply gripping human saga. These men were born into what then was one of the world's most powerful ruling dynasties. They were not all saints; they were not all demons - they were men whose birth showered them with untold privilege. Some used their birthright for the common good; some did not. Yet, they all remain amazingly intriguing, complex, complicated and conflicted human beings. At birth they were showered with untold privilege, including a lump sum of money placed in trust for them. By the time these funds were made available to a Grand Duke, the interest alone made them amazingly wealthy. Added to this benefit, they derived salaries from their military appointments, investments, real estate and inheritance. Thus, the Grand Dukes were able to maintain a lifestyle only surpassed by today's oligarchs and yesteryear's robber barons. They were consummate spenders in paintings, art, architecture, jewels, all while acting as sponsors of talented writers, thinkers, poets, ballerinas, among many others. One was a playwright of considerable talent. Another played a role in working toward the liberation of the serfs. One was a leading admiral with a fondness for "fast women and slow ships." Another Grand Duke lived a tortured existence as a closeted homosexual, yet became the father of nine children"--Publisher's description.

Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich

Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich PDF

Author: Paul Robinson

Publisher: Northern Illinois University Press

Published: 2014-08-15

Total Pages: 447

ISBN-13: 1501757091

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Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Romanov (1856–1929) was a key figure in late Imperial Russia, and one of its foremost soldiers. At the outbreak of World War I, his cousin, Tsar Nicholas II, appointed him Supreme Commander of the Russian Army. From 1914 to 1915, and then again briefly in 1917, he was commander of the largest army in the world in the greatest war the world had ever seen. His appointment reflected the fact that he was perhaps the man the last Emperor of Russia trusted the most. At six foot six, the Grand Duke towered over those around him. His fierce temper was a matter of legend. However, as Robinson's vivid account shows, he had a more complex personality than either his supporters or detractors believed. In a career spanning fifty years, the Grand Duke played a vital role in transforming Russia's political system. In 1905, the Tsar assigned him the duty of coordinating defense and security planning for the entire Russian empire. When the Tsar asked him to assume the mantle of military dictator, the Grand Duke, instead of accepting, persuaded the Tsar to sign a manifesto promising political reforms. Less opportunely, he also had a role in introducing the Tsar and Tsarina to the infamous Rasputin. A few years after the revolution in 1917, the Grand Duke became de facto leader of the Russian émigré community. Despite his importance, the only other biography of the Grand Duke was written by one of his former generals in 1930, a year after his death, and it is only available in Russian. The result of research in the archives of seven countries, this groundbreaking biography—the first to appear in English—covers the Grand Duke's entire life, examining both his private life and his professional career. Paul Robinson's engaging account will be of great value to those interested in World War I and military history, Russian history, and biographies of notable figures.

Grand Dukes and Diamonds

Grand Dukes and Diamonds PDF

Author: Raleigh Trevelyan

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Published: 2012-03-13

Total Pages: 428

ISBN-13: 0571290302

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Based on unrestricted access to private papers, Grand Dukes and Diamonds charts the history of one of the most influential and extraordinary families of our time: the Wernhers of Luton Hoo. The family's fortune was made by Sir Julius Wernher, financier, mining magnate, and one of the creators of modern South Africa. Luton Hoo, a country house in Bedfordshire, became the site of Wernher's magnificent collection and was duly inherited by Sir Harold Wernher and his wife Lady Zia, daughter of Grand Duke Michael of Russia and a direct descendant of Pushkin. At Luton Hoo the couple displayed her priceless collection of Fabergé, and together they ran a racing stud at Newmarket. Three of their racehorses, Brown Jack, Meld and Charlottown, became legends in their time. Sir Harold also played a crucial role at D-Day, the story of which has its definitive telling within Raleigh Trevelyan's fascinating narrative.

White Crow

White Crow PDF

Author: Jamie H. Cockfield

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2002-07-30

Total Pages: 327

ISBN-13: 0313012660

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Based on material from the newly opened Russian archives, this is the first biography of Nicholas Mikhailovich Romanov (1859-1919), the only intellectual in the Russian Imperial Family. This unique study provides insight into the last six decades of tsarist Russia through the experiences of the odd ball member of the clan. An historian and a biologist, the Grand Duke made major contributions in both these fields. A political liberal, he fought tirelessly for reform from within the system. His reformist views made him a pariah within his own family, and contemporary recognition of his accomplishments came more from abroad than at home. Entering the military, as all Romanovs did, the Grand Duke eventually became hostile toward it and was in fact the only family member ever to formally leave military service. He received honorary doctorates from the Universities of Berlin and Moscow and even won election to the French Academy—one of only two Russians to do so. As the political situation in Russia worsened, he urged the tsar to implement reforms, and he even participated in discussions of a palace coup. Exiled to Vologda after the Communist seizure of power, he was later imprisoned by the police and shot in January 1919.

We, the Romanovs

We, the Romanovs PDF

Author: Grand Duke Alexander 'sandro' Mikhailovich

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2016-09-03

Total Pages: 416

ISBN-13: 9781537382586

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Grand Duke Sandro Mikhailovich lazing in the grass with Nicky Romanov in May 1883 ... Within twenty-five years, the Romanovs, the most powerful, the most vicious and arguably the most bizarre imperial family of modern times will have ceased to rule Russia through a mixture of haplessness, indolence and fatalism. Sandro was a crucial witness to the collapse of his family. He was the cousin, brother-in-law and close friend of the last tsar, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. He was with Nicky when thousands of Russian peasants died at Khodynka Field during Nicky's coronation; he was with Nicky in the lead-up to the disastrous Russo-Japanese War; he was with Nicky during the failed revolution of 1905-6; he was with Nicky when the Russian Duma was established in an attempt to ward off future revolutions; he was with Nicky as Russia moved determinedly toward a military showdown with Germany; he was with Nicky fighting the German army of the Eastern Front during the First World War; he was with Nicky when he abdicated in favour of his brother, Michael, who refused the throne. This is a riveting first-hand account of the final days of the Russian Empire and of what it was like to be a member of the Russian Imperial Family at that time. And to our great good fortune, while Sandro may have been no Stolypin, he was a keen observer and an excellent writer. Anyone intrigued by the last days of the Romanovs as the ruling family of Russia should read this book.

Alexis in America

Alexis in America PDF

Author: Lee A. Farrow

Publisher: LSU Press

Published: 2014-12-15

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 0807158399

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In the autumn of 1871, Alexis Romanov, the fourth son of Tsar Alexander II of Russia, set sail from his homeland for an extended journey through the United States and Canada. A major milestone in U.S.-Russia relations, the tour also served Duke Alexis's family by helping to extricate him from an unsuitable romantic entanglement with the daughter of a poet. Alexis in America recounts the duke's progress through the major American cities, detailing his meetings with celebrated figures such as Samuel Morse and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and describing the national self-reflection that his presence spurred in the American people. The first Russian royal ever to visit the United States, Alexis received a tour through post-Civil War America that emphasized the nation's cultural unity. While the enthusiastic American media breathlessly reported every detail of his itinerary and entourage, Alexis visited Niagara Falls, participated in a bison hunt with Buffalo Bill Cody, and attended the Krewe of Rex's first Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans. As word of the royal visitor spread, the public flocked to train depots and events across the nation to catch a glimpse of the grand duke. Some speculated that Russia and America were considering a formal alliance, while others surmised that he had come to the United States to find a bride. The tour was not without incident: many city officials balked at spending public funds on Alexis's reception, and there were rumors of an assassination plot by Polish nationals in New York City. More broadly, the visit highlighted problems on the national level, such as political corruption and persistent racism, as well as the emerging cultural and political power of ethnic minorities and the continuing sectionalism between the North and the South. Lee Farrow joins her examination of these cultural underpinnings to a lively narrative of the grand duke's tour, creating an engaging record of a unique moment in international relations.

Once a Grand Duke

Once a Grand Duke PDF

Author: Grand Duke Alexander of Russia

Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing

Published: 2017-06-28

Total Pages: 315

ISBN-13: 1787205525

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Alexander lived in Paris when he wrote his memoirs, Once a Grand Duke, which were first published in 1932. It is a rich source of dynastical and court life in Imperial Russia’s last half century, and Alexander also describes time spent as guest of the future Abyssinian Emperor Ras Tafari. “The history of the last fifty turbulent years of the Russian Empire provides only a background, but is not the subject of this book. “In compiling this record of a grand duke’s progress I relied on memory only, all my letters, diaries and other documents having been partly burned by me and partly confiscated by the revolutionaries during the years of 1917 and 1918 in the Crimea.”—Alexander, Grand Duke of Russia, Foreword

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