155 PAGES, ILLUSTRATED!

Each issue is further complimented with rare, vintage photographs from private collections and Russian archives.

Sovereign will be published bi-annually, offering Autumn and Spring editions!

FEATURES

- Full-Colour cover

- Large 8-1/2 x 11 inch format

- 155 pages of text and photos

- 6 Full-length articles

- Illustrated with 78 black and white photographs

FULL-LENGTH ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE

An Intoduction to Sovereign: The Life and Reign of Emperor Nicholas II
by Paul Gilbert

-Royal Russia Founder, Paul Gilbert introduces readers to this unique periodical dedicated to the life and reign of Emperor Nicholas II, and explores the negative interpretation of Russia's last emperor in the West.

60 Facts About the Last Russian Emperor Nicholas II and His Reign
First English Translation

- Emperor Nicholas II (1868-1918) ruled Russia for more than twenty-two years, from 01 November [O.S 20 October] 1894 to 15 March [O.S. 2 March] 1917. During his reign, Russia made great advances on both the world stage and within the Russian Empire. The following list explores 60 facts, noting some of the many accomplishments of the life and reign of Russia’s last sovereign.

The Reign of the Sovereign Emperor Nicholas Alexandrovich
by Major-General Andrei Georgievich Elchaninov

- This unprecedented authorized account of Emperor Nicholas II, by Major-General Andrei Georgievich Elchaninov (1868-1918) was released in early 1913, to coincide with the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. It was originally published in excerpts or installments in many major newspapers during and after the tercentenary events. The author, was a member of the emperor’s suite, and a professor of military art in the General Staff Academy in St. Petersburg.

The Tragedy of Nikolai II's Abdication
by Margarita Nelipa

- A military uprising occurred ninety-eight years ago in Petrograd and Pskov, which historians nowadays refer to as the February Revolution. Notwithstanding the War in Europe, factory workers and students began their rebellion through strike action on the streets of Petrograd in February 1917. Despite popular belief, the revolution was not caused by the lack of bread. Margarita Nelipa asserts that had it not been for the agitation by the State Duma, the lack of support by the imperial family and above all, the mutinous intervention by various military regiments in Petrograd and surrounding regions, the revolution would not have happened. Nelipa stresses that the emperor’s downfall came about following the strategic part played by the commanders-in-the-field, in recommending that Nikolai II stand down as their Supreme-Commander, as well as declaring their loss of confidence in him. She presents a concise day-to-day course of events that spells out how the military’s campaign helped bring about a change in the government. Given this scenario, Nelipa explains why the sovereign was unresponsive to the escalating rebellion and how the maneuverings by the president of the State Duma and several key ministers took advantage of the workers’ frustrations in order to firstly remove the emperor and lastly, abolish the monarchy. These days, questions arise as to whether Nikolai II’s abdication was lawful and what issues compelled the sovereign to sign away his and his heir’s monarchic rights. The last part of her discussion addresses the juridical aspects of that abdication.

An Impossible Dream Becomes a Reality: A.I. Spiridovitch and the Personal Security of Nicholas II
by Professor Jonathan Daly

- Alexandr Ivanovich Spiridovich (1873–1952) was one of the most remarkable gendarme officers of late Imperial Russia—in fact one of the most remarkable officials. He engineered the arrest of key political terrorists, penned nine volumes of history and reminiscences, and helped secure the physical safety of Nicholas II for a decade. Western scholars have paid fairly little attention to him, but his writings have often been used, for he is seen as a reliable commentator on the Russian revolutionary movements, Rasputin, the imperial family, and, of course, the late imperial security police. Yet in Russia he is now clearly recognized as a significant historical figure.

The History of the Novoromanov Archive: The Document Collection of the Last Russian Emperor and His Family in 1917-1919
First English Translation

- The history of the archives of Nicholas II and his family is one of the least explored areas of our archivistics. It was only in recent years that we have finally studied one of its pages — namely, the publication of the Romanovs' papers and documents that had begun almost immediately after the Royal family's murder. And still there isn't enough attention drawn to the fate of the Romanovs archives. Various publications either copy information from archive guides or quote inconsistent and unverifiable sources. In this article we will attempt to use the available sources to shed light on the history of the creation of the so-called Novoromanov archive: the collection of Royal documents dating 1917-1919. By this name the archivist literature understands the entire body of Romanovs' documents that had been amassed by the time of its 1929 transfer from the Central State Archive of the October Revolution to the newly created State Archive of the Feudal-Serfdom Era.

From Myth to Reality - The Romance of Tsesarvich Nicholas and Mathilde Kchessinska
by Coryne Hall

- The romance between the Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich and Mathilde Kschessinska is now one of the many legends of Imperial Russia. Their liaison has been the subject of films and books, including the prima ballerina's "heavily edited" and "extensively revised" memoirs published in English and French in the 1960s. For many years only Mathilde’s published account of the affair was known. Consequently, the relationship between Nicholas II and Kschessinska has become the stuff of legend. Coryne Hall sets the record straight, as she reconstructs some of the facts about this celebrated liaison.

PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTIONS IN THIS ISSUE

Sovereign Photo Collection No. 1
Emperor Nicholas II at Berezina and Bobruisk. 21 December, 1904

Sovereign Photo Collection No. 2
Residences of Emperor Nicholas II. Lower Dacha, Peterhof