Novel 4

Novel: The Bolshevik Revolution and Russian Civil War

Author: Rex A. Wade

This book is set up very much like a text book, it takes a pure Historical view of what happened. Which makes it difficult to read. I keep referencing the two of the other books that I have read. The interesting point though is that every book that I have read so far has provided a different aspect to the Romanov issue. The first book (The Last Days of the Romanov's: Tragedy at Ekaterinburg) looked purely at what happened to the last Imperial family and relayed the situation from how the captives were feeling. The second book that I read (The Last Days of the Romanov's) looked at not only the last Imperial families life but the lives of all of the Romanov's; the Grand Dukes, the Princes/Princess's of the Blood, the regular Princes and Princess's, and all of the Romanov's married across Europe. The book I am currently reading (Trotsky: A Biography) immediately starts off from the Jewish perspective, which at the time was the extremely poor working class. After looking through my last book I find it pretty repetitive of most of the fact's that I have already learned. I think that this book with just be one that I can reference just in case I don't understand something I have read in the other three books.

The Fashion, The Inventions, Ekaterinburg, and the Books

Presented above are pictures representing the fashion, inventions, parts of the city Ekaterinburg (as well as inside views of the Ipatiev House where the Romanov's were murdered), and the first edition books I am using for my research.

Novel 3

Novel: Trotsky A Biography

Author: Robert Service

The history behind the Romanov family is so, odd. The families bloodline starting with Peter the Great, had trickled down to been spread across most if not all of the European Royal families. As my father and I were discussing I think that this is a reason for Nicholas II complacency when it came to his fate. It is shown through even the recent(relative to Nicholas II) Romanov's that unless one was passionate about something, say war tactics or political hubbub, they were complacent to the view of those surrounding them. The political views that Nicholas should have been interested in were inevitable his downfall. The next book I am reading is the biography of one of the most influential political activist of the Revolutions, Trotsky. I hope that by reading this I will get an insight on what the political minds of this time were actually thinking.

Area's In and Out of Ekaterinburg

After close to 4 hours of research I unfortunately could not find a map of Ekaterinburg (which in present day is called Yekaterinburg) Russia in the 1910's. So not being able to find a map of my decade I decided to search for a map of present day and input key historical parts, this didn't seem to work either. After translating various names of streets, historical sites, and suburb names I realized that most if not all of the names of streets and sites were changes after the various revolutions. So what I do have is a list of the various areas in Ekaterinburg that hold a historical importance during the 1910's.

Located in Ekaterinburg

Ipatiev House, "House of Special Purpose" : The final containment facility for the Romanov's. The special purpose it was so called for was the actual slaughter on the member's of the family, their trusted cook, and doctor.

The Novo-Tikhvinsky convent: The nuns who lived here came to the Ipatiev House to leave gifts of cream, eggs, and other food for the Romanov family. The unfortune part though was that most if not all of the food given were eaten by the internal gaurd, or which ever head was in charge at the time.

The Koptyaki Forest: The first burial site of the dead Romanov family.

The Amerikanskaya Hotel: The meeting place for the Ural Regional Soviet as well as the Cheka.

"The Soviet Factories": There were several factories that the Ural Regional Soviet enlisted young men to become part of the Cheka or the internal/external guard around the Ipatiev House.

Outside Ekaterinburg

Petrograd: The city is actually St. Petersburg, but was renamed by Lenin and his 'revolutions'.

The Govenor's house in Tobolsk: This was the second facility of 'house arrest' for the family, and the one they enjoyed the most. They were able to spend outside working with each other which was said to have given them the most happiness.

Alexander Palace, Tsarskoe Selo: The first containment facility of the Romanov family 'house arrest'.

Novel 2

Novel: The Flight of the Romanov's

Author(s): John Curtis Perry and Constantine V. Pleshakov

After reading the first of the four novels I am starting to realize that the death of the last Imperial Family of Russia was not how I thought it was. There were so many political parties that had some say in what happened to this one family. Whether or not the German's wanted the family for collateral or the US to not attack, so many events were involved over the fate of this family. During all of the political uproar the Imperial family was left in the Ipatiev house in Ekaterinburg left essentially to sit and wait for their fate. The next novel I am planning to read, The Flight of the Romanov's, addresses the Romanov family history. With this history I hope that I will have a better understanding as to how Nicholas the II could have lost the contact to his people, especially concerning the crucial years surrounding his abdication in the 1910's, that was so crucial for Tsar. The neat part about this book that will be very interesting, is that it is written from first hand accounts from relatives of the royal family that were able to escape either from Ekaterinburg or Petrograd. The sources that make up this book also include oral history's, experts on Russian history, and the written accounts from some of the key players within the Bolshevik ranks.

1910 к 1919 Русские сроки (Russian timeline)

(click on map to enlarge)

Above is a picture of a timeline spanning from 1910 to 1919 in Russia. The dates listed above can be found with explanation's below. The different colored circles represents events and happenings that can be found in the four books mentioned within my proposal.

1911: Russia exported 13.7 million tons of grain while some 30 million of its peasants suffered from famine.

1914: Aug 1, Germany declared war on Russia at the onset of World War I.

Yellow Circle: The Bolshevik Revolution and Russian Civil War. (Continues through the rest of the decade)

1914: Aug 31, Germany defeated Russia at the battle at Tannenberg. Some 30,000 Russians died.

1915: Aug 23, Czar Nicolaas II took control of the Russian Army.

1916 :Mar 18, On the Eastern Front, the Russians countered the Verdun assault with an attack at Lake Naroch. The Russians lost 100,000 men and the Germans lost 20,000

1917: Mar 8-12, Russia’s democratic February revolution took place in Russia. The "February Revolution" began with rioting and strikes in the Russian army garrison at Petrograd.

Red Circle: The Flight of the Romanov's (Continues through the rest of the decade)

1917: Mar 16, Nicholas II, Czar of Russia, abdicated in favor of his brother Michael. He was forced to sign a document of abdication after being brought down by political unrest and widespread starvation stemming from Russia’s staggering losses in WWI. The czar, his wife Alexandra, their four daughters and son Alexis, heir to the throne, were held prisoner by the Bolsheviks for several months at Tsarskoye Selo palace near Petrograd. In August 1917, the family was transported to distant Siberia to prevent any attempt to restore them to the throne.

1917: Jun 16, The 1st Congress of Soviets convened in Russia.

1917: Oct 8, Leon Trotsky was named chairman of Petrograd Soviet

1917: Dec 6, Former Czar Nicholas II and family were made prisoners by the Bolsheviks in Tobolsk.

1918: Jan 28, Leon Trotsky became leader of the Russian Communists.

Green Circle: Trotsky: A Biography (Continues through Communistic Russia)

Orange Circle: The Last Days of the Romanovs: Tragedy at Ekaterinburg. (Detailed account of the few reaming months of the Imperial Family)

1918: Jul 17, Russian Tsar, Nicholas II, was executed at Ekaterinburg by the Bolsheviks under orders from Lenin. The Czar, his wife, three children and four servants were executed by a 12-man firing squad in the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg.The family mass grave was discovered by a former KGB agent in 1979 in the Urals and only 9 bodies were found.

1918: Sep 11, US troops landed in Russia to fight the Bolsheviks.

Novel 1

Novel: The Last Days of the Romanovs: Tragedy at Ekaterinburg
Author: Helen Rappaport

This novel is a recount that has been composed from numerous documented resources of the last fourteen days of the Romanov imperial family before they were brutally killed by the Bolshevik Revolution. Both sides of the tragedy are played upon, the Tsar's family life in those last days as well as the political uprising which was taking place in Ekaterinburg(where the imperial family was murdered). This book is written almost as if it were a cutting edge documentary. Somehow the knowledge comes across and is retained but it is not presented in a dull manner. I am only about two chapter's into this novel and already am having some difficulty. Not with the material, or politics but instead with the language. All of the names are of coarse in Russian, a language that I am in no way familiar with, so trying to pronounce the names in my head as I am reading has been a challenge. To remedy this problem I hope that the documentary I will soon watch will enlighten the Russian language a little bit for myself.