eBook PRELUDE TO THE REVOLUTION: THE MURDER OF RASPUTIN ePub

Ronald C. Moe, the author of Prelude to the Revolution: The Murder of Rasputin, was for more than 25 years my colleague at the Congressional Research Service of the U.S. Library of Congress, where he was a recognized expert on U.S. executive branch organization and operations. It was no surprise, therefore, that when I entered his office I might find him immersed in some ponderous government report such as that of the Commission on the Organization of the Government for the Conduct of Foreign Policy. On those same occasions, however, I was equally likely to observe a pile of books on pre-revolutionary imperial Russia during the first years of the 20th century.

It was out of respect for my former colleague as well as because of my own passing interest in the subject that I opened Dr. Moe’s book, but I did so, I admit, with some question about what I was getting myself into. It comprises perhaps 550 pages of text—relatively small print filling large pages; even so, I was pleasantly surprised at how readable the book is. It does require the reader’s attention, but the investment is well worth the effort because the book is highly informative and probably authoritative in two different respects. (I say “probably” because I’m not knowledgeable enough to make such a judgment myself.)

As its title suggests, Prelude to the Revolution is an insightful analytical history of the factors that led to the decay and ultimate disintegration of the imperial Russian empire. The author discusses the personalities of the principal participants in this process, especially the Emperor and the Empress, but also the economic, social and military forces that influenced it. On this score, I found his arguments to be interesting and persuasive but, as I’ve said, I’m hardly a scholar of the subject.

Not surprisingly, the book’s sub-title, “The Murder of Rasputin,” identifies an equally important theme of the book. Strikingly, the sub-title appears in larger print than the title on both the book’s cover and the spine. This may have been the publisher’s way of trying to sell copies by emphasizing the murder theme, but it also could reflect the author’s ambivalence about the relative importance of the two dimensions of his research. In any case, he provides a detailed presentation and analysis of what we know and what we don’t know about the death of Rasputin. There are many unanswered questions that probably never can be answered. I think, though, that Moe presents the available information carefully and dispassionately; he assesses the various theories that other authors have presented while offering his own conclusions about who did what and why. Others may disagree with his position but few would argue that he treats those of others unfairly.

This book obviously was a labor of love. Moe didn’t write it to build his case for academic tenure or promotion or to advance his career in any other way. In the preface, he explains how his interest in Russian history could be traced back to a high school course in world history and how it continued throughout his adult life. He and his wife “traveled many times to Russia and visited most of the sites described in this book.” “As the years passed,” however, he “realized that this book would be a retirement project. And so it has been.” I’m sure it must have been immensely satisfying to him to have been able finally to devote his full attention to it. The result will be sure to satisfy any reader with an interest in Russia and an appreciation of careful research.

If I have any quibble about the book, it is that it could have benefited from a more careful and demanding editor. First, too often little glitches appear in the text which, even though of minimal importance individually, do become a bit distracting collectively. The author and his text deserved better. And second, Moe seems to have been reluctant to exclude anything that he found interesting or important about the events and individuals involved in the complex story he tells. His editor might have persuaded him that some things could be eliminated in order to produce a text that would have been a bit more accessible to more readers. But perhaps not; this was, after all, a labor of love.

I was a graduate student with Ron at Columbia University in the 1960s. Over the years when we would occasionally chat he would mention the Czar and Russia. It was only after he passed away that I learned about this book. It is a well-researched and documented study of this period of history that shows the fine application of the political research protocols that we learned. Thank you Ron.

For almost 100 years, the enigmatic Russian "holy man," Grigory Rasputin, has been the source material for dozens of histories, novels, movies, and television documentaries. Legends have swirled around this debauched monk, only to be trumped by more fanciful myths. In Prelude to the Revolution: The Death of Rasputin, Dr. Ronald Moe has written what I believe future historians will judge to be the final word on the mystery. A lifelong interest in the subject, facilitated by his many years in research at the Library of Congress, Dr. Moe has written with exhaustive inquiry and a powerfully argued analysis of what really happened in those fateful and final days of the Romanov dynasty.

Many different pressures existed upon the tsar and tsarina in the days leading up to the end. The German invasion in 1914 not only threw the nation into a bloody war, but also caused the overtaxed Nicholas to leave his throne in Petrograd to lead the Russian armies at the front. Inner turmoil and incompetence in the Duma and the bureaucracy led to ineffective and weak central government. The Bolsheviks and other revolutionary movements were afoot. But at the focal point of the collapse of the monarchy were the rumors swirling throughout the nation of the "Dark Forces" thought to be centered in the person of Rasputin. The tsarina, Alexandra, and many of her court were captivated by this peasant's apparent supernatural healing powers, by which he had inserted himself into the inner circle of power.

Ironically, the murder of Rasputin that precipitated the royal family's doom was committed by royalists who intended to save the monarchy by their actions. Beginning with the days leading up to the Russian entrance into World War I, Moe takes us through the turbulent events in Russia that changed the world in which we now live. Brilliantly written, and thoroughly documented, Dr. Moe has given us a profound look into one of the most misunderstood sagas in the 20th Century. I highly recommend the book for students of history like myself, and professional historians as well.

Robert C. Beasley, Asheville, North Carolina
Adjunct Professor of Church History and Biblical Theology, Reformed International Theological Seminary, Donets'k, Ukraine.