This second volume of Général Alexandre Spiridovitch’s memoirs covers the years 1906-1910. Chapter One opens with the family of Emperor Nicholas II celebrating Pascha in the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selo. Thanks to his keen eye for detail, Spiridovitch, who was present, paints a vivid portrait of this most blessed event.
Of particular interest to readers in this volume is Spiridovitch’s studies of Anna Vyrubova and Rasputin, the latter of whom was under constant surveillance.
An entire chapter is devoted to the events surrounding the assassination of Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin at the Kiev Opera House in 1911. Spiridovitch outlines the extensive preparations to safeguard both the prime minister, but more importantly, the Emperor and his family during their visit to the opera on that fateful night. He presents the most accurate account of the events, and the subsequent investigation, in which he was exonerated by both a special commission and the Emperor for any wrong doing in Stolypin’s assassination, which his conspirators accused him.
Readers are once again taken on voyages on board the Imperial yacht Standart to the Finnish fjords and Crimea, where Spiridovitch records his many personal thoughts and observations of his beloved Emperor, enjoying time with his wife and children.
Many of the 65 photographs in this book come from the private collection of the author himself who was an avid photographer. Paperback, 14x21.5cm. 442 pages, with 65 black & white photos
