The Memories of a Russian Yesteryear - Volume IV: From the reign of Nicholas II (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781836543831)

First Edition: 6.14" x 9.21" Paperback, Black & White, Cream paper, Matt cover. 676 pages.

This volume contains two great public domain books from three authors; Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden - lady in waiting to the Empress Alexandra; Alexander Kerensky - Prime Minister; Pavel Bulygin - Investigative aide to Nikolai Sokolov. Two important historical works have been brought together with many additional footnotes, fillers and images for a deeper explanation of the times.

This is the best volume yet in the series, the word length is longer than hoped, but these works belong together as one account leads in to the next quite nicely. There are some contentions; Buxhoeveden's book is not the 'official' biography of the Empress, as sometimes claimed, but it is accurate and incontestable. One has to consider Kerensky's words as their meaning may have been sanitised to put him in a better light, as this work was translated by his second son Gleb, And finally, Bulygin's work was well received. Later, some of Bulygin's claims were disproved, which does not imply misleading information or any lacking of thoroughness, nor any padding out to fill pages, as he wrote about the things that were known about back then and available to him, when his book was published ten years after the murders of the royal family.

"His handling of the telling of the actual 'tragedy' is extremely well done . . . throughout one feels the singleness and the frankness of the die-hard." - The Border Watch newspaper, Southern Australia, 30 April 1935.

"This volume took an exorbitant time to prepare, considering it is the work of others. I visited the graves of Sophie Buxhoeveden in Brompton and Alexander Kerensky in Acton, to pay respects and to spruce them up a bit. As I read more in to these characters it became a project of love, taking about 12 months to complete, which I hope will come through to you in the pleasure of reading their first-hand accounts." - Tony Abbott

Book One: Having an established status and influence at Court as the Empress's lady in waiting and confidante, Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden placed herself under voluntary house arrest with the Empress and her family. Her account of what happened within the palace walls, at the palatial home that became their prison, is regarded as the definitive version of events seen from the eyes of the Empress.

Book Two Part 1: Alexander Kerensky describes the political turmoil that preceded the murders of the prisoners. He observed how they coped with their ordeal and their folly in rejecting foreign help that could have saved them. He gives his reasons why some five months later he chose to move them to Tobolsk in Siberia. He mentions the failed rescue attempts and the approaching need for the Bolsheviks to do away with them before the White Army arrived in Ekaterinburg. Kerensky's work is an essential component in understanding the decisions made by a fearful Provisional Government.

Book Two Part 2: Captain Pavel Bulygin also touches upon the failed rescue attempts, not least because he was involved in the planning. He assisted the investigator Nikolai Sokolov from 1919 to uncover the truth of what had befallen the prisoners, whose whereabouts was unaccounted for. Crucial details of the murders were uncovered by them both, leaving a definitive record of facts and evidence for posterity, more detailed than any other source. After the untimely death of Sokolov, Bulygin continued the research and his findings published in The Murder of the Romanovs. This is a detailed account of the tragic events surrounding the murders of the royal family and members of their household, written by one of the officially sanctioned investigators.