The Romanovs: Their Empire, Their Books.
The Political, Religious, Cultural, and Social Life of Russia's Imperial House

Cases 1 & 2: Personages and Palaces

The libraries of twenty-six individual members of the Romanov dynasty, as well as volumes bearing the markings of nine imperial palaces, are represented in the collections of The New York Public Library. However, the majority of the books, manuscripts, watercolors, and original photographs selected for this exhibit were primarily the property of five Romanovs: Alexander II, Alexander III, Nicholas II (and his immediate family), and the Grand Dukes Vladimir Aleksandrovich and Konstantin Konstantinovich, the brother and cousin, respectively, of Alexander III.

Emperor Alexander II enacted some of the most sweeping social and administrative reforms since those of his illustrious ancestor Peter I. Despite social reforms such as the liberation of the serfs, and a loosening of censorship, an opposition – first among the elite circles but rapidly broadening its appeal and support – gave rise to revolutionary movements seeking further reforms, at a faster pace. He was assassinated in 1881 as he returned from a military parade.

Alexander III, shaken by the assassination of his father, reaffirmed the principles of autocracy, putting a brake on many of the liberalizing reforms of the previous three decades, and embarked on a policy of rapid industrialization, ushering in a period of economic expansion in the 1890s. While these policies had a positive impact on Russia's international stature, they also rapidly created a large, disaffected urban workforce. Meanwhile, as the Russian empire pressed against its Far Eastern borders, confrontation with the empire of Japan became more imminent. Alexander III's death at age forty-nine left his twenty-six-year-old son Nicholas to cope with the tremendous strains placed upon Russian state and society on the eve of the new century.

The reign of Russia's last emperor, Nicholas II, began as tragically as it ended, when some 1,500 of his subjects were crushed to death at an open-air bestowal of souvenirs the day of the coronation. As emperor, Nicholas attempted to continue the conservative governmental policies and the emphasis on religious orthodoxy of his father, rebuffing attempts by even moderate reformers to move Russia toward a constitutional monarchy. Autocratic rule, however, could no longer contain the demands for representative government or cope with the vast social problems attendant on industrial growth, and the Revolution of 1905, following the humiliating defeat of Russia's military by the Japanese, forced Nicholas to agree to concessions.

The revolutionary ferment of 1917, following two years of costly military defeats, brought the reign of the Romanovs to an end. Nicholas II and his family were sent into internal exile, and eventually killed in July 1918 on Lenin's orders.

An emperor's brothers and nephews – given the title of grand duke – always occupied high military and governmental positions. Two grand dukes – Vladimir Aleksandrovich and Konstantin Konstantinovich – played important roles in Russia's social, cultural, and intellectual life, and items from their libraries are well represented in the exhibit.

Next Section: Case 3: Empire