The Romanovs

The Russian monarchy makes for some good reading and I doubt that I am alone in this belief. The New Yorker had a fairly lengthy article about the upcoming burial of the dead czar and his family. Its been almost two decades since they found the remains and only a few years since they determined that it was in fact Nicholas II and his family. Of course the burial hasnít stopped any of the impostors from coming forward stating that they are in fact descendants of the czar. There are two members of the family missing from the group that is to be buried and its these two missing bodies that leaves the door open for speculation and people continue to take advantage of it.

For some reason the one detail about the execution of the family that always stays with me is of the bullets ricocheting off of the women. It seems that they had jewels sewn into the lining of their corsets and this acted like a crude bulletproof vest. I know that being shot isnít funny, but its an interesting visual. If anything bulletproof underwear sounds like a straight line to me. Then again I think that Woody Allen trying to break the lock on a chastity belt with a spear in one of his movies is funny.

Everyone in America seems to love royalty even though we haven't had a king since we broke from England centuries ago. The death of Princess Diana clearly showed the effect that these people have on the American people. America doesn't limit itself to worshipping British royalty though. A few decades back people loved Grace Kelly and her marriage into the royal family of Monaco.

The Romanovs seem more important to me than the current British royal family. Diana died in a car accident, Nicholas and his family were killed in a revolution. Its not the same thing. Russia fell under the rule of communism for decades. The Windsor clan is still alive and Britain is still a free country. The only common element that I can see is the technical term of royalty.

Russia as a country has always fascinated me. Maybe its the sheer size of the country and its elaborate history that appeals to me. Its always portrayed as a romantic country that has continually fallen down on hard times. One has to remember that this is coming from someone who has memorized dialogue from Doctor Zhivago after seeing it at least a dozen times. So maybe my mental portrait of Russia is a bit skewed.