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2014 Book Review #61: Alexander II
Title: Alexander II: The Last Great Tsar
Author: Edvard Radzinsky and Antonia Bouis
Genre: Biography
Thingummies: 4
Synopsis: Alexander II of Russia freed the serfs, and then tried to roll back reforms, resulting in one assassination attempt after another. Tragedy on the level of Empire.
Thoughts: It's a peculiarity of the Russian monarchy that I can simultaneously be horrified by and feel sorry for them. Radzinksy, writing after the fall of the Soviet Union, manages to balance the revolutionaries and the royal family so that we sympathize and condemn both sides at once, leaving us shaking our heads at the tragedy.
Russia has had some of the most screwed up politics anywhere for pretty much most of its existence. As Radzinsky points out repeatedly, in Imperial Russia, literally everyone is a slave to the Emperor. It's still a lot better to be a rich, noble slave than a serf, though.
It's clear that over the last few (incredibly dysfunctional) monarchs, Russia had become aware that they were riding a tiger. Lording over serfs was a bad place to be, politically, but how to get off without getting eaten? The best the Romanovs managed was to delay the perhaps inevitable.
But Alexander II tries. He tries so hard at first. And it goes so badly. Letting a little freedom results in the murders of his officials by revolting students. So he smashes down on them.
Meanwhile, you can't help but sympathize with would-be revolutionaries facing an incredibly corrupt, dehumanizing, horrific systems of repression. But their conclusion that any amount of death and horror is justified in the name of revolution...hindsight only makes it even more clear what the natural progression will be of setting aside morality.
So everyone does horrible things. And it ends terribly for everyone. Thus pushing off the revolution for two more generations, so everyone can do even more horrible things.
Author: Edvard Radzinsky and Antonia Bouis
Genre: Biography
Thingummies: 4
Synopsis: Alexander II of Russia freed the serfs, and then tried to roll back reforms, resulting in one assassination attempt after another. Tragedy on the level of Empire.
Thoughts: It's a peculiarity of the Russian monarchy that I can simultaneously be horrified by and feel sorry for them. Radzinksy, writing after the fall of the Soviet Union, manages to balance the revolutionaries and the royal family so that we sympathize and condemn both sides at once, leaving us shaking our heads at the tragedy.
Russia has had some of the most screwed up politics anywhere for pretty much most of its existence. As Radzinsky points out repeatedly, in Imperial Russia, literally everyone is a slave to the Emperor. It's still a lot better to be a rich, noble slave than a serf, though.
It's clear that over the last few (incredibly dysfunctional) monarchs, Russia had become aware that they were riding a tiger. Lording over serfs was a bad place to be, politically, but how to get off without getting eaten? The best the Romanovs managed was to delay the perhaps inevitable.
But Alexander II tries. He tries so hard at first. And it goes so badly. Letting a little freedom results in the murders of his officials by revolting students. So he smashes down on them.
Meanwhile, you can't help but sympathize with would-be revolutionaries facing an incredibly corrupt, dehumanizing, horrific systems of repression. But their conclusion that any amount of death and horror is justified in the name of revolution...hindsight only makes it even more clear what the natural progression will be of setting aside morality.
So everyone does horrible things. And it ends terribly for everyone. Thus pushing off the revolution for two more generations, so everyone can do even more horrible things.