Synopses & Reviews
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.
Review
[I]mportant insights into the activities and contributions of this "black sheep" of the Romanov family....We can learn a great deal from Cockfield's reconstruction of Nikolai Mikhailovich's life and his immediate family.Slavic Review
Review
Cockfield has written the first monograph of the life of the grand duke in any language....The book well relates the life of Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich to the events of Russian history and the other members of the Romanov family.The Historian
Review
This is a well researched work, written with clarity and precision, which illuminates the life of one of the few Romanovs who forsook the wasteful lives of many of his family to engage in a productive career of scholarship and social justice. It will make all of us reconsider out views of the Romanovs as an unworthy burden on Russia.Warren Lerner Professor of History and of Slavic Languages and Literature Duke University
Synopsis
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.
About the Author
JAMIE H. COCKFIELD is the Willis Borders Glover Professor of History at Mercer University.
Table of Contents
Preface
Outsiders within the Family
A Young Grand Duke
Imperial Scholar
Pariah in the Family
The Grand Duke at War
Revolt in the Palaces
A Country of Savages
Stillborn Future
Imperial Legacy
Bibliography
Index