Nicholas and Alexandra

36 “That cunning conspirator”: Rodzianko, 33–4. Censorship fails: ibid., 8, 31. Unprintable stories: Almedingen, 124.

37 ‘I am simply stifling”: Pares, 152. “This disgusting affair”: Kokovtsov, 294, 303–4. The Imperial couple fails to understand: Mosolov, 176–7.

38 “She wept bitterly”: Kokovtsov, 295–6. “The Emperor is so pure of heart”: Rodzianko, 38.

39 Rodzianko’s interview: ibid., 40–1. “Have you read Stolypin’s report?”: ibid., 46.

40 “Who is it, Sabler?”: ibid., 53. Livadia: ibid., 59. “The Emperor is a saint”: Pares, 149.

41 “Remember, Vladimir Nicolaievich”: Kokovtsov, 78.

42 “God grant that the new Duma”: ibid., 192. “Tell us the truth”: ibid., 12.

43 “At first I enjoyed Her Majesty’s favor”: ibid., 454.

44 Nicholas’s letter to Kokovtsov: ibid., 418.

45 “I am like an old fur coat”: ibid., 439.

46 “I know you are an honorable man”: ibid., 470.

47 General Beletsky: Pares, 151.

CHAPTER 18 THE ROMANOV DYNASTY

 1 “A war with Austria would be a splendid little thing”: Wolfe, II, 306.

 2 “I was so happy then”: Vyrubova, 98.

 3 “Sure enough, it was Rasputin”: Rodzianko, 76–7.

 4 “The orchestra was a mass of uniforms”: Vyrubova, 99.

 5 Alexandra’s gowns and jewels: ibid., 99; Almedingen, 130.

 6 “She felt so ill”: Buxhoeveden, 175. The Maryinsky appearance: Meriel Buchanan, 35–7.

 7 Faberge egg: Bainbridge, 72.

 8 Peasants waded into the water: Vyrubova, 100. “Wherever we went”: Vorres, 130.

 9 Moscow: Vyrubova, 101. “The Tsarevich was carried”: Kokovtsov, 361–2.

10 “Nobody seeing those enthusiastic crowds”: Vorres, 130.

11 “The Tsar’s journey”: Kokovtsov, 360.

12 “And why did you separate me from my wife?”: Fennell, 193.

13 “Ladies and gentlemen … sleeping with their boots on”: Vorres, 47.

14 Idle arithmetic: Paleologue, I, 325.

15 “It is certainly the last generation”: Vorres, 114–15.

16 Divorce within the Imperial family: N to MF, 165; Vorres, 116.

17 “I had a rather stern talk”: N to MF, 164–5,

18 Michael and Alexander III: Witte, 40–1. “Floppy”: Vorres, 83.

19 Automobile accident: ibid., 93.

20 “Dina”: ibid., 80, 89.

21 “Three weeks ago Misha wrote”: N to MF, 213.

22 Michael’s mistress: Paleologue, II, 172.

23 “I saw a slender young woman”: ibid., 171.

24 Michael’s marriage: Vorres, 118.

25 “He broke his word”: Vyrubova, 96.

26 “A terrible blow”: N to MF, 253.

27 “What revolts me more than anything else”: ibid., 284.

28 Winter, 1913–1914: Meriel Buchanan, 71; Almedingen, 132. Nijinsky: Almedingen, 132.

29 Olga and Tatiana: Meriel Buchanan, 71. The train to Tsarskoe Selo: Buxhoeveden, 181.

30 Lena Goldfields: Kerensky, Crucifixion, 135–6.

31 “No one could oust us from the courts”: ibid., 135. “The government commission sat in one house”: ibid., 137.

32 “Strenuous political organizing”: ibid., 181. “In those days”: ibid., 193.

33 “The Tsarist Cheka”: ibid., 194.

CHAPTER 19 THE LONG SUMMER OF 1914

 1 Red Rock: Gilliard, 92.

 2 Visit to Rumania: Buxhoeveden, 181–3.

 3 “Tell me the truth, Monsieur”: Gilliard, 94.

 4 “I think with terror”: Sazonov, 110.

 5 Marie only a schoolgirl: Vyrubova, 89.

 6 “Never have I seen happier faces”: Buchanan, I, 188.

 7 Beatty: Bruce Lockhart, 88–90.

 8 Austria-Hungary: Mansergh, 116–20.

 9 “The Archduke was an energetic man”: ibid., 216.

10 The Black Hand: Balfour, 344.

11 “Serbia’s declaration of war”: Mansergh, 219. Crush “the Serbian viper”: ibid., 132. “The Monarchy with unflinching hand”: ibid., 219. “The bloody deed”: ibid., 219. “Serbia must be eliminated”: Pares, 182.

12 Alexis hurt aboard the Standart: Gilliard, 97.

13 Whispers that Rasputin was stabbed: ibid., 97.

14 “I have killed the anti-Christ”: Rasputin, 21; Paleologue, I, 78–9.

15 “In him Russia possesses a reliable and true friend”: Mansergh, 170.

16 “M. Poincare differs from many of his countrymen”: ibid., 170. “I like him very much”: Sazonov, 270.

17 “Nicholas II in the uniform of an admiral”: Paleologue, I, 12–13.

18 “I shall long remember the dazzling display of jewels”: ibid., 14.

19 “A blazing sun lit up the vast plain”: ibid., 21–2.

20 “It had indeed a kind of terrifying grandeur”: ibid., 24–5. “It was a splendid night”: ibid., 27–8.

21 The Austrian ultimatum: Mansergh, 345.

22 “The Austrian demands are such”: Pares, 181.

23 “C’est la guerre Europeenne”: Mansergh, 225; Florinsky, 1315.

24 “As long as there remains the faintest hope”: Sazonov, 178.

25 Izvolsky and the Strait: Kokovtsov, 215; Sazonov, 32. “Russia could speak as in the past”: Mansergh, 124. Izvolsky a dandy: ibid., 122.

26 The Bosnian annexation: ibid., 122–37.

27 “Brazen impudence”: N to MF, 234.

28 “We expect a precise answer”: Mansergh, 133. “Of course we are not going to fight”: N to MF, 236. “German action … has simply been brutal”: ibid., 230–40.

29 “In the recent history of Russia”: Mansergh, 134. The Kiev military district: Pares, History, 471.

30 “This is my war! My war!”: Alexander, 259; Florinsky, 1299; Mansergh, 136.

31 “Listen to me, Nekliudov”: Mansergh, 196.

32 Sazonov plays for time: Sazonov, 153, 177.

33 “If His Majesty, the Emperor Franz Joseph”: Mansergh, 205. “Now or never”: Sazonov, 160; Pares, 182. The Austrian Ambassador’s message: Sazonov, 156.

34 “Good old Lichnowsky”: ibid., 165.

35 “This phantasm of a state”: Mansergh, 204.