Alexander II: The Last Great Tsar [Paperback]

Edvard Radzinsky (Author), Antonina Bouis (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 14, 2006

Edvard Radzinsky is justly famous as both a biographer and a dramatist, and he brings both skills to bear in this vivid, page-turning, rich portrait of one of the greatest of all Romanovs. Alexander II was Russia's Lincoln -- he freed the serfs, promised a new, more liberal state for everyone, yet was brought down by a determined group of terrorist anarchists who tried to kill him six times before finally, fatefully, succeeding. His story proves the timeless lesson that in Russia, it is dangerous to start reforms, but even more dangerous to stop them. It also shows that the traps and dangers encountered in today's war on terrorists were there 150 years ago.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

It's difficult to reform Russia, as popular historian Radzinsky shows in this lively examination of the czar best known for emancipating the serfs in 1861. Viewed as the most liberal of Russia's 19th-century czars, Alexander II (1818–1881) came to power in 1856 with the idea of bringing Russia into the modern age. But as Radzinsky (The Last Tsar) shows, his liberal reforms brought him nothing but trouble. Alexander came under attack from the right for being too liberal, and the left for not going far enough. He also had to curtail his reforms when faced with the need to fight foreign enemies. Radzinsky focuses much of the latter half of the book on the rise of left-wing populist movements—the book covers in depth the intellectual currents that swirled around Russia during Alexander's reign. Some frustrated leftists eventually turned to violence. After many failed attempts to assassinate Alexander, they eventually succeeded in 1881. Some readers may think Radzinsky provides too much familial background before launching into the czar's life, but his well-translated, readable prose will win over most readers interested in European history, and those looking for a cautionary tale on what Russia could face in the future. (Oct. 18)
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Review

"Radzinsky tells Alexander's story with great flair, breathless pacing, and the novelist's eye for the telling detail and the revealing anecdote. Alexander II is a great read, vividly portraying the tsar and his splendorous court, and offering evocative sketches of the age's great writers, artists, and intellectuals who made his reign one of such rich cultural effervescence."

-- The Seattle Times

"Lively and brilliant, both epic and epigrammatic."

-- The New York Times Book Review

"This is [Radzinsky's] best so far: Alexander II: The Last Great Tsar is dramatic, entertaining, and authoritative. Mr. Radzinsky is as comfortable in the palaces of the Romanovs as he is in the conspiratorial attics of their assassins or the studies of great writers like Dostoevsky.... Mr. Radzinsky skillfully tells the story of the czar, of course, but also of the terrorists who begin to hunt him ruthlessly in ever more ambitious plots."

-- The Wall Street Journal

"An engagingly flamboyant, intimate portrait of the tsar who ruled the enormous empire at the pinnacle of its culture and splendor....[Radzinsky is] informative, witty, and unfailingly entertaining."

-- Minneapolis Star-Tribune

"A compelling account of one of Russia's most important figures, as well as a portrait of a critical, formative period in Russian history."

-- The Washington Post

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Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (November 14, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743284267
• ISBN-13: 978-0743284264
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #379,712 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Russian Biography, October 24, 2005

By 

John D. Cofield - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alexander II: The Last Great Tsar (Hardcover)

In Alexander II, as in his earlier biographies of Nicholas II, Rasputin, and Stalin, Edvard Radzinsky has written a biography of a Russian which only a Russian could write. His story of Alexander II's life and reign and its impact on Russia is filled with omens, fatalistic musings and asides, and wry commentaries on present day Russian life. At first this can be somewhat distracting if you are used to a more straightforward approach to biography, but as you read on you begin to grasp the rhythm and appreciate the literary style.

Alexander II was responsible for one of the longest periods of reform Tsarist Russia ever experienced. The 1860s and 1870s were a period of ferment and rapid change, as serfdom came to an end, censorship was relaxed, and Russians began to have wider contacts with the industrialized West. At the same time terrorism increased dramatically as many Russians demanded more change than the Tsar was willing to permit. Radzinsky does a good job of detailing the Tsar's vacillations as he made one move towards liberalism, then took two steps back towards reaction, then sidled back towards reform. Students of Russian history will recognize this as the same character flaw that doomed Alexander II's grandson Nicholas II. They will also realize that Radzinsky is also drawing parallels between the perestroika/glasnost period of 1985-1991 in the former Soviet Union and Alexander's 19th century reforms. (I was interested to see the word "glasnost" used by some of the Tsar's reformers.)

Radzinsky also covers the "Russian Renaissance", as Alexander II's early reign was known, with good descriptions of the careers of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, among many others. The Tsar's private life, including his early love for his wife Marie of Hesse-Darmstadt and his later affair/marriage with Princess Catherine Yurievskaya, is also well covered, as is Alexander's sometimes troubled relationships with his six sons and one daughter. Finally, Radzinsky does an excellent job describing the Tsar's assassination and the intricate plots and attempts that led up to it, with a nice summation of the successes and failures of the reign and their impact on future Russian history.

This is an excellent read which not only illuminates a period of Russian history which is often overlooked, but also helps the reader grasp something of the Russian character.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Perils Of Half-Hearted Liberalism, January 15, 2007

By 

F. Chloupek (Cleveland, OH) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Alexander II: The Last Great Tsar (Hardcover)

Radzinsky paints a compelling portrait of Alexander II, who he terms as Russia's Last Great Tsar, and, implicitly, the last figure with a chance to prevent the Russian Revolution to come.

Radzinsky deals with Alexander's formative years, as the tsarevich under the conservative Nicholas I. Russia in its final years seemed to be the epitome as thesis begets antithesis as reformists tsars were followed by conservative ones.

One of Alexander's first actions after being crowned was to free the Russian serfs. Unfortunately, in what was to become a theme of his reign, he attempted to chart a middle course, and the serfs were "freed" but not given full control over the land that they owned, he started political liberalization, than drew back from it.

Unwilling to either crack down on rebellion fully, or eliminate the conservative elements, Russia began to build up steam internally as the anarchists began to organize. The Liberalizing element, seeing little hope from the regime, was faced with either accomadting to the current path or to go into violent plotting against the regime.

After Alexander's first round of reforms, he shifted into idle. It is at the point that Radzinsky deviates from his following of the tsar, and dives into the story of the plotters and revolutionaries that would ultimately commit regicide. This deviation may seem like a distraction, but it shows the complete inertia of St. Petersburg as to what was actually going on in the country.

As he entered his late 50's Alexander prepared a second round of reforms, including a constitution. However, at this point the radicals were gaining strength and preparing their plots. The reforms would be aborted by the tsar's death before they could be put in place.

Alexander III, would prove to be the conservative opposite of his father and hold down the boiling pot that was Russia until it finally erupted under Nicholas II.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Drama, Romance, Heroism, Betrayal -- What More Could Be Asked?, November 4, 2006

By 

Reader from Washington, DC/New York "Reader" (Washington, DC/New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Alexander II: The Last Great Tsar (Hardcover)

I have been an avid consumer of Russian history books since I was a small child. (My father taught Russian history). I had always admired Emperor Alexander II, who freed the peasants from centuries-old enslavement, and tried to steer Russia on a moderate course. I had always wondered why this handsome, kindly, romantic and very able ruler never got a good modern biography like Russia's other two great rulers, Peter the Great, and Catherine the Great.

Edvard Radzinsky's book definitely meets the need for a readable, dramatic account of Alexander II's life. It reads like a historical novel, filled with drama and intrigue.

But it is the true story of a hero who was eventually murdered -- just as he was preparing Russsia's first constitution -- and who may have been betrayed to his death through an odd alliance between his opponents on the extreme left and the extreme right, neither of whom wanted Alexander to create a moderate, constitutional government.

I had not known that Alexander's court also feared that he would replace the heir to the throne -- his very conservative, reactionary oldest son, Grand Duke Alexander, with his much younger half-brother, Gregory, Alexander's son by a mistress that he had recently married.

It is a valuable cautionary tale for anyone seeking to create major societal change -- or anyone seeking an absorbing, eventful story as fascinating as any of the novels of Tolstoy or Dostoevsky that were written during Alexander's reign.