EUROPEAN HISTORY / BIOGRAPHY

NICHOLAS II

The Interrupted Transition

Connecting the end of the Romanov dynasty to the beginning of Russia's democratic movement, Carrère d'Encausse suggests that we understand history through the lens of current events, as events have seemingly gone full circle.

This biography of Nicholas II includes a close, critical examination of his early years growing up in the imperial court, constantly in the shadow of his father, Alexander III. The author also provides background on the Romanov dynasty as a whole, which was well into its second century at the time of Nicholas II. It was his allegiance to the past, the author argues, that formed the czar's inability to adjust to the demands of a changing Russia.

In Nicholas II, Carrère d'Encausse uses her expertise to draw a sensitive portrait of a doomed ruler whose mistakes should not be forgotten—lest history repeat itself.

"Half a dozen biographies of Nicholas have been published since 1992 and Hélène Carrère d'Encausse's study of this doomed ruler may well be the best of them.… The translation is first rate as it renders what undoubtedly was sophisticated prose into an equally elegant English version. Hélène Carrère d'Encausse is to be congratulated for a fine, well-balanced study of Nicholas II that should profe of interest both to scholarsand students of the period as well as the intersted layman.
—Russian History/Histoire Russe

"It is Hélène Carrère d'Encausse's contention, advanced with the elegance and skill one expects from a distinguished French Academician, that Nicholas had his own concept of what was required; moreover, that it may have been better suited to Russian realities, and to the people's outlook, than the institutional checks on the autocratic power loudly advocated by liberals and others."
—Times Literary Supplement

"The lucid and elegant prose, uncommon in academic publications, and provocative views, make Hélène Carrère d'Encausse's study of Nicholas II a most readable and highly recommended book."
—Oleh W. Gerus, Canadian Journal of History

Hélène Carrère d'Encausse is a leading French authority on Russian and Slavic history. She is the second woman to be admitted to the French Academy in its 350 years of existence. She is also the author of The Russian Syndrome, Big Brother, and The Great Challenge.