who got next?

this morning i got home from seminary ready to get out and finish the roof of the treehouse. as it was only 7:30 when i got home, it was much too cold for me. but, somewhere around 36 degrees, i pulled out our big faux-fur throw, and stretched out on the couch.

"reds" was on hbo-something and i quickly decided to watch. i've never seen it. i know, it was released in 1981, and won some academy awards, but i had never taken the opportunity. actually, i've since learned that it won 3 "oscars" and is the most recent film to be nominated in all four individual acting categories. the cast is amazing: warren beatty, diane keaton, jack nicholson, gene hackman, paul sorvino, maureen stapelton, edward herrman, m emmet walsh, george plimpton, and an uncredited john ratzenberger. it is the "true" story of two american journalists (jack reed and louise bryant) who go to russia during the revolution of the late 1910's. they meet lenin, trotsky and kerensky. like many others in the profession, they grew tired of reporting the news, and desired to BE the news. they became so involved in the revolution that they were two of the original members of the communist party in the united states, and jack reed was actually buried by the kremlin wall with "full revolutionary honors." whatever that means.

the movie was advertised as being a love story. this is truly an important aspect of the film; but, i enjoyed watching it, nonetheless.

curiously, no real mention of tsar nicholas II was made. obviously he was indirectly involved in the movie's plot, but i guess this romanticized version of history would like to deflect attention away from the fact that these "heroic workers" slaughtered women and children along with the tsar. not so lovely , in retrospect - and i haven't even mentioned the millions stalin murdered in the name of communist mother russia.

over the past few months, i have read quite a few books dealing with russia. ( it is fascinating to me, as i know so little about this country. as a child and youth i was taught by my country that i should hate these people because they were godless heathens and they had "the bomb.") most of my recent reading has concerned the romanov family or the russia created by the abdication of the last romanov tsar - nicholas II. i already knew a bit about nicholas and alexandra; but, i have recently learned much that has begun to flesh out my knowledge of this famous couple.

nicholas was an inept, despotic, detached ruler. he had little interest in the welfare of his people, and was deluded into thinking they would continue to adore him based solely on the facts of his heritage. he was wrong. for over three hundred years the romanovs ruled 1/6th of the planet. the people finally tired of tyranny, and decided to change their world.

i have often said that history is better fiction than actual fiction, and the story of the end of the russian monarchy makes a good case for my theory. here are some good plot points: the end of a 300 year monarchy (that's much longer than the duration of the u.s. as a nation); the miraculous healings performed by a drunk, filthy, peasant, sexual deviant of a "holy man" like rasputin; his prophecy of his murder and its indication of the fate of the whole empire; the fatal congenital affliction of the heir to the throne; religious fanaticism; the abdication of the throne; the imprisonment and brutal murder of the royal family and their most loyal attendants; the misplacement of two of the corpses and the persistent stories of survival; and the utter cruelty and failure of the new government.

another part of the story i find fascinating is the custom of closed marriage by the monarchies of europe. obviously, nicholas was of a royal lineage. his mother was the daughter of the king of denmark. it should be apparent that his father was the tsar of all russia. but, alexandra's family ties were equally imposing. she was the grand-daughter of queen victoria, the neice of king edward VII. she counted as cousins king george V, king george VI, and queen elizabeth II who now rules great britain. king juan carlos was a distant cousin, and kaiser wilhelm was a first cousin. there were uncounted dukes, earls, princes, and kings (along with their female counterparts.) some of these people can be seen in the above photo. i don't know why this fascinates me so, but it does. the photo was taken at the wedding of alexandra's sister on the same weekend that nicholas and alexandra became engaged. this gathering is almost like the '82 tarheels.

i am grateful that these brave people have finally thrown off the chains of the communist dictators. lenin, trotsky, stalin, kruschev et al. took a beautiful culture and turned it into a bleak, dark, paranoid wasteland. as for me, i look forward to learning more about the frozen history of russia. it is wonderful to find a new focus at the bookstore. as always, i will be in the history section- it's just that a whole new geography has been opened to me. lucky me.