Douglas Smith (2) (1962–)

Ровно сто лет назад была расстреляна царская семья. Читая книгу Дугласа Смита, можно посчитать, что Николаю II еще повезло. «Последние дни» русской аристократии растянулись на десятилетия, но история дворянства (почти 2 млн. человек на конец XIX века) была одним из многочисленных «белых пятен» в истории CCCР, о ней нельзя было говорить, и по этой причине она не существовала, словно была стерта и исчезла. «Бывшие люди», пожалуй, первая в мире книга, посвященная исследованию судеб российских дворян после революции. Уточним, что в основном речь в ней идет о трех больших фамилиях – Голицыных, Трубецких и Шереметевых, однако в силу их размера, знатности, влиятельности и богатства экс-князья и графы в наибольшей мере ощутили прелести контакта с ненавидящим их режимом. Выжили единицы, и, пожалуй, стоило сразу бежать, но существовал узнаваемый нюанс. С началом Первой мировой войны многие дворяне перевели капиталы из заграницы в Россию в знак готовности поддержать хозяйство страны в военное время. Вывод капитала из страны считался непатриотичным. К началу революции лишь очень немногие дворяне располагали заграничными капиталами, на которые могли рассчитывать.… (mehr)

At 680 pages of text I found this book very thorough. Indeed Robert Massie calls the book the best he has read on the subject. Smith deftly hacks through the many layers, viewpoints and motivations of contemporary falsehoods about Rasputin's character, background, purported scandals, and effect on Tsar Nicholas and his wife Alexandra. He also richly illustrates the hysteria and malice that afflicted the duma, the press and the church hierarchy and eventually the narod. Reading this book during the ongoing manifestation of the Trump delusion syndrome was doubly unsettling.

The author does an excellent job, in my opinion, of describing and explaining Rasputin's womanizing and drinking. The reader is going to react to this information from their own personal experiences. By not sensationalizing Rasputin's private behavior Smith focuses on what is most important and retains coherent control of the narrative.

The author appears to believe that the tsarina's faith in Rasputin brought on revolution and totalitarianism. Perhaps it would have been getting off-topic but I would have welcomed a brief weighing of other factors such as the defeats of World War I, the infiltration of Lenin into the country, and the effect of the 1905 revolution. The author seems to take the ironic-heroic view of history but perhaps that is inevitable in all but the driest biography.

The author mentions that British internal security agents surveilled a Russian (not in Britain) at the request of the Okhrana. I wish the author had explained the relationship between the two agencies especially since one of the rumors swirling around Rasputin's assassination concerned British involvement (a rumor the author lays to rest).

Ultimately this is a sympathetic portrait of Rasputin. The author does not speculate on what might have happened if the tsar had defied his wife and run Rasputin off into obscurity. Perhaps by not doing that the author creates a more compelling story that engages the reader's imagination. Certainly as I read I found myself imploring the actors to calm down and think more rationally about the deeper meaning of Rasputin's message and, perhaps more importantly, the consequences of accepting it.… (mehr)

Solid book recounting how the American Relief Administration provided aid to Russia in the 1921-1923 period during the Great Volga famine. The author points out that the incident is often overlooked, and the author is right. One major positive in the book is a wealth of photographs, taken from the ARA's own archives. Also, I think, a fair book, in that ARA's horns and well as its haloes are shown. The Russians come across particularly badly in this account (which, in this day, surprises me), with numerous attempts to manipulate and obstruct the process. Not a book to be popular in Moscow, these days. Recommended.… (mehr)