The Last Tsar

Twenty sovereigns of the Romanov dynasty reigned for 304 years, from 1613 until tsardom’s destruction by the Revolution in 1917. Their ascent started in the reign of Ivan the Terrible and ended in the time of Rasputin. Romantic chroniclers of the tragedy of the last tsar like to suggest that the family was cursed, but the Romanovs were actually the most spectacularly successful empire-builders since the Mongols. The Russian empire, it is estimated, grew by fifty-five square miles (142 square kilometres) per day after the Romanovs came to the throne in 1613, or 20,000 square miles a year. By the late nineteenth century, they ruled one sixth of the earth’s surface – and they were still expanding. Empire-building was in a Romanov’s blood. Blog dedicated to the House of Romanov, that ruled upon Russia from 1613 till 1917. Sometimes you will see some members of the Hessian Grand Ducal Family here. Remember: you can talk to me whenever you want, my name is Ayla.