Nicholas And Alexandra: The Last Tsar And Tsarina.

This elegantly illustrated and beautifully produced publication is a catalogue of a Royal Museum of Scotland exhibition that opens in July of 2005 and promises to be “one of the finest cultural events of the year” in Great Britain. It details the public and private lives of the last of the ill-fated Russian royal family, the Romanovs. The curators selected pieces from the extraordinary collections in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg with its state and personal possessions. These items belonging to Nicholas II, the last Emperor and Czar of Russia, and Czarina Alexandra include rare Fabergé jewelry, medals they displayed in ceremonies, their military uniforms, treasured photographs, porcelain items ranging from ornate clocks to tableware embedded with gold, silver and precious gems, toys their children played with, clothing they wore, great paintings that hung in royal residences, as well as icons and books from the family libraries. When viewed from our perspective, the lavishness of these objects and their lifestyle followed by the bleak events of the Russian Revolution serve as a potent history lesson. Chapters on the St. Petersburg palaces, Nicholas’ coronation and on Russia during his reign make for engaging reading.