Czar Nicholas II tried to go peacefully when he abdicated the throne. But the Romanovs had always lived by the sword, and, in July 1918, Nicholas’ entire family died violent deaths.

The Court of the Last Tsar: Pomp, Power and Pageantry in the Reign of Nicholas II Greg King, . . Wiley, $35 (559pp) ISBN 978-0-471-72763-7 ...

Nicholas II's other sister, Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, fled to Denmark in 1920 and, still fearing Stalin's reach, emigrated with her whole family to Canada in 1948.

New evidence that Nicholas II approved of the anti-Jewish pogroms committed during his reign was published today by the “Isvestia”, the official organ of the Soviet government.