Russia: Revolution and Civil War 1917-1921 was published in 2022, followed now by Rasputin and the Downfall of the Romanovs. Still, the provisional government struggled for control and did not help its cause by continuing Russia’s involvement in the deeply unpopular first World War. “The empress from that point on was convinced he was a saint, that it was the word of God speaking through Rasputin,” Beevor explains. It is a central moment in the whole book.”The outbreak of the first World War accelerated the end of the Romanov dynasty. Without Rasputin, there would be no Stalin – and so on to the present day with another autocrat, Vladimir Putin, in charge.

Source: The Irish Times April 05, 2026 14:02 UTC