From the Book - First edition
Introductory chapter: The Time of Troubles and the rise of the Romanovs
Ivan V and Peter I (1682-1696): one autocrat too many
Peter I (1696-1725): the eccentricities of an emperor
Catherine I (1725-1727): the peasant empress
Anna (1730-1740): "a bored estate mistress"
Elizabeth (1741-1762): the empress of pretense
Peter III (1762): "nature made him a mere poltroon"
Catherine II (1762-1796): "prey to this mad passion!"
Paul (1796-1801): "he detests his nation"
Alexander I (1801-1825): Napoleon's conqueror
Nicholas I (1825-1855): "a condescending Jupiter"
Alexander II (1855-1881): "a crowned semi-ruin"
Alexander III (1881-1894): "a colossus of unwavering autocracy"
Nicholas II (1894-1917): "an absolute child"
Nicholas II (1894-1917): "gliding down a precipice"
Nicholas II (1894-1917): a bloody end
Concluding chapter: Aftermath
