Welcome to the first episode of our show! We kick things off by sharing fun facts about ourselves, saying mean things about Andrew Lloyd Webber, and discussing the lead-up to the Russian Revolution.
Listen on Buzzsprout here!
Our story begins with the House of Romanov, a dynasty which had ruled in Russia since 1613. After a brief synopsis of The Man In The Iron Mask, we sketch a quick portrait of the dangerous political climate by 1894: a class system that was being rapidly left behind by the rest of the world, a deep divide between the monarchy and the Russian people, and a new Tsar and Tsarina with an unshakeable faith in absolute power and none of the skills required to hold on to it.
By 1904, 10 years and four daughters into Nicholas’ reign, Alexandra had at last given birth to the male heir Russia had been waiting for since their marriage. However, joy quickly turned into horror as persistent bleeding revealed that their son had hemophilia, a blood clotting disorder inherited from Alexandra’s grandmother.
At the time, hemophilia was incurable and always fatal. Periods of wellness and seeming health could turn in an instant to unstoppable bleeding, internal hemorrhage, and terrible pain. The trauma of watching their son suffer, coupled with the pressure of hiding his condition from their country, made Alix and Nicky desperate for a cure. Enter Rasputin.
Rasputin was a villager from Siberia who had followed a winding path to monk-ness involving a forced pilgrimage, a very long beard, and a religious sect called the Khlysty (link below) to create the persona of what we’ve dubbed a “mystical, sexual hermit”.
He also seemed to have healing abilities that helped Alexei during his bleeding episodes, making him absolutely indispensable to the desperate Nicky and Alix. Unfortunately, the Russian people had no idea of the circumstances. What they saw was an heir who was barely there, an out-of-touch Tsar who was leading them in an ill-advised war with Japan, and a Tsarina who kept inappropriate company with a deviant mystery monk. The monarchy was living on borrowed time.
L-R: Olga, Maria, Nicholas, Alexandra, Anastasia, Alexei, and Tatiana.
The beginning of the end came with the assassination of Rasputin in December of 1916. It was a morbid affair (and a story for another podcast) that foreshadowed what was soon to come for Russia itself. By February, discontent had escalated and boiled over in the February Revolution. Riots took place in bread lines, troops deserted, and the capital was in a state of anarchy. Nicholas was forced to abdicate on a train 400 miles from St. Petersburg. Alexandra was trapped in the Alexander Palace, abandoned by the palace guard and caring for her children, who were sick with the measles.
After Nicholas returned home, the family was placed under house arrest at the Alexander Palace by the new Provisional Government. Their captivity was overseen by Alexander Kerensky, who attempted to make arrangements for their departure from the country. Eventually, though, these leaders were overthrown by the Bolshevik Party, and life became much more difficult for the Romanovs. They were transported further and further away from the capital, and were eventually moved to a small town in the Ural Mountains called Ekaterinburg.
There, they were confined to the Ipatiev House, the former residence of a wealthy merchant that was now being referred to ominously as “The House of Special Purpose”. From this remote location, all trace of them was lost.
We’ll be back soon to pick up the thread of the Romanov family with the story of Anna Anderson, a woman with a mysterious past and a tale to tell.
Resources:
To see pictures of the family, Rasputin, and locations mentioned in this episode, head over to our “Anna or Anastasia” board on Pinterest! You can also check out book, article, and media recommends in our Library or Den.
Learn about the Khlysty sect in this wiki article. It is debated to what extent these practices influenced Rasputin’s teachings.
To try the tea we drank while recording this episode, follow this link! There are a few different varieties, but we chose “Anastasia”.