The Last Tsar

The definitive history of the self-destruction of the autocratic Romanov dynasty.

“Filled with revelations and fresh insights and rich with observations.” —The Wall Street Journal

In 1917, Imperial Russia faced a series of overlapping crises, from war to social unrest, that culminated in Tsar Nicholas II’s dramatic fall from power. Though Nicholas’s life is often described as tragic, a trove of new archival discoveries confirms that it was not fate that doomed the monarchy, but the tsar’s own poor leadership, blinkered faith in autocracy, and resistance to reform. The Last Tsar untangles the struggles between the era’s captivating personalities: the increasingly isolated Nicholas and Alexandra and the factions of scheming nobles, ruthless legislators, and pragmatic generals who sought to stabilize the restive Russian Empire either with the tsar or without him.

Definitive and engrossing, The Last Tsar uncovers how Nicholas II stumbled into revolution, taking his family, the Romanov dynasty, and the whole Russian Empire down with him.

• “The capstone to a brilliant career, Tsuyoshi Hasegawa’s The Last Tsar is certain to become the definitive work on the chaotic, earth-shattering demise of the Romanov destiny. No historian before has dissected these tumultuous days with such clarity, precision, and insight.”
  Douglas Smith, author of Rasputin
• “The Last Tsar is a terrific account of the February 1917 Revolution in Russia that knocks down many of the pillars of our usual interpretations. Elegantly written and magisterially researched.”
  Robert Service, author of A History of Modern Russia
• “Hasegawa, whose previous works enriched our knowledge of what happened on the streets and in the corridors of power during that fateful year of 1917, has produced here an intimate and highly absorbing account of Russia’s last hereditary autocrat. It is likely to be the definitive one for many years to come. From the cult surrounding Rasputin to the tense minute-by-minute plotting of the generals, Duma politicians, aristocrats, and the Tsar himself, The Last Tsar brilliantly conveys the messy reality of imperial power coming apart at the seams.”
  Lewis Siegelbaum, emeritus professor, Michigan State University
• “Hasegawa’s masterful book is like a slow-motion picture of Russia approaching the edge. Yet only the weakness, inaction and stupidity of the last Tsar, as well as the stunning recklessness of the Russian elites, pushed the empire into the breach. A chilling lesson on how the ineptness of one man, and the opportunism of many, can pull down not only an outdated regime, but the entire temple of state, law, and civil society.”
  Vladislav Zubok, author of Collapse