But even here Nicholas, still behaving with what Hasegawa describes as “an amazing degree of indifference”, blundered: in the interests of family unity, he refused to nominate his son as his ...

A few years later, Nicholas appointed Rasputin and allowed him to stay in his palace. According to Britannica, Rasputin was also known as a homeless wizard, who could mysteriously heal people. Hearing ...

In 1913, the Romanovs—led by Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra—celebrated the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanov. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below 1913 ...

Nicholas II was, as Mr. Hasegawa puts it, ... the peasant faith healer first invited to court in 1905 to tend to the royal family’s only son, the hemophiliac heir Alexei.

In his newly released book, “The Last Tsar: the Abdication of Nicholas II and the End of the Romanovs” (Basic Books), author Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, an emeritus professor of history at UC Santa Barbara, ...