Review: Rasputin: The Downfall of the Romanovs by Antony Beevor

Rasputin: The Downfall of the Romanovs

by Antony Beevor

Release Date: April 14, 2026

2026 Viking

Ebook ARC; 371 Pages

ISBN: 979-8217061181

ASIN: B0FHJY48KC

Audiobook: B0FKQBN7DG

Genre: Non-Fiction / Historical / Biography

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

2 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

When Russia's Dowager Empress was pregnant with the future Tsar, she dreamed that a peasant would one day kill her son. The idea terrified her, and for the rest of her days she 'lived under the pressure of the prophecy'.

Rasputin had no official position. A barely literate moujhik from Siberia, he had no forces at his command. He was a devoted monarchist, not a revolutionary. And yet, through his uncanny seduction of the imperial household, he contributed more than any other individual to the collapse of the greatest autocracy in the world. 'This man was unique', observed one writer. 'Like a character out of a novel, he lived in legend, he died in legend, and his memory is cloaked in legend.' 

 

My Thoughts

Rasputin: The Downfall of the Romanovs is one of those books I was looking forward to reading as I have had a lifelong fascination with Russia, all of the emperors, the politics, and the downfall of the Romanovs. However, what I was particularly looking forward to was this author's thoughts and viewpoints with regards to Rasputin, especially having read and loved Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege and The Fall of Berlin 1945, both more objective pieces of writing that allowed you to think and grasp the situations as they unfolded.  This one did not do that, implying the fall of the Russian empire had to do with one woman, as if all the other issues with Nicholas, the war, the political system, the plight of the peasants, the peasant revolt, the war with Japan, etc... had little value in what happened and this turned me off completely.

 

You can't have a biography about such a man and not invest time and effort into the political situation that existed, but I don't feel the author did either of those things justice. Maybe because the political situation was quite complex and goes back much further than Nicholas and Alexandra and you need a really good understanding of the people, the politics, the social structure, and so on in order to really understand why Alexandra reacted the way she did.  And believe me, I am in no way excusing her actions as the two of them together were a force of destruction, both being selfish, dysfunctional as well as incompetent. Face it, Nicholas made some really poor decisions, but the whole upper class was a lesson in dysfunctional at the time, and to throw them into a war for which they were completely unprepared would have thrown everything into chaos and allowed those who were waiting for a moment to strike to do so.  Who wouldn't? Do I feel sorry for how they met their ends? Of course, but I also understand why they died. War is a brutal time for everyone and a lot of people were suffering under Nicholas and Alexandra's rule so when you are desperate for change, you do what you must.  This is what the author failed to show in this book, placing the large part of the blame solely on Rasputin and Alexandra's shoulders when the issues are far more complex than that.  The cracks were already there, the people just broke them open.

 

Rasputin is certainly one of those people whom people should have been leery of as here comes this peasant, is invited to court, is invited to the inner circle of the most powerful people of the last autocratic society left, whispers in people's ears and they listen him, and Nicholas and Alexandra not only use him to look after their sickly child, but begin seeking his counsel for matters of state and other political policies. This man had really weird sexual relationships with other women, but Alexandra has no problem leaving him alone with your imperial princesses and doesn't wonder what he may be up to?  Don't forget, the Tsarina was German, so no wonder people thought Rasputin may be a spy. Who knows? And there is so much more. So much more that was convoluted and not explained in this book, something that was disappointing.  But what is clearly done? The woman is blamed for everything.  Does Alexandra deserve the roasting? Absolutely. Does Rasputin deserve the roasting? Yes. But that is such a simplistic view it is almost laughable.

 

Verdict

Rasputin: The Downfall of the Romanovs is one of those books in which I was really disappointed having really enjoyed this author's previous works. I felt this was convoluted and a bit messy, and while there were some interesting facts about Rasputin woven throughout the book, there was nothing really new. And I know this author knows his history and has done a lot of research about the time period so it was disappointing the work wasn't more detailed as it felt choppy as if the author couldn't get a grasp as to why the fall of the empire should fall squarely on Rasputin and Alexandra's shoulders. And I think if you try to simplify such a complex subject, or try to eliminate other factors involved, you get exactly that, a piece of work that is simple and somewhat boring.  Will I read more of this author's works? Yes, definitely as I have read four of his non-fiction books, not including this one, and really enjoyed the amount of research and thought that went into them and hope future ones will continue to have the same great content. This one, I can't recommend.