After the Romanovs: Russian Exiles in Paris from the Belle Époque Through Revolution and War

Helen Rappaport

Mar 2022 · Sold by St. Martin's Press

About this ebook

From Helen Rappaport, the New York Times bestselling author of The Romanov Sisters comes After the Romanovs, the story of the Russian aristocrats, artists, and intellectuals who sought freedom and refuge in the City of Light.

Paris has always been a city of cultural excellence, fine wine and food, and the latest fashions. But it has also been a place of refuge for those fleeing persecution, never more so than before and after the Russian Revolution and the fall of the Romanov dynasty. For years, Russian aristocrats had enjoyed all that Belle Époque Paris had to offer, spending lavishly when they visited. It was a place of artistic experimentation, such as Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. But the brutality of the Bolshevik takeover forced Russians of all types to flee their homeland, sometimes leaving with only the clothes on their backs.

Arriving in Paris, former princes could be seen driving taxicabs, while their wives who could sew worked for the fashion houses, their unique Russian style serving as inspiration for designers like Coco Chanel. Talented intellectuals, artists, poets, philosophers, and writers struggled in exile, eking out a living at menial jobs. Some, like Bunin, Chagall and Stravinsky, encountered great success in the same Paris that welcomed Americans like Fitzgerald and Hemingway. Political activists sought to overthrow the Bolshevik regime from afar, while double agents from both sides plotted espionage and assassination. Others became trapped in a cycle of poverty and their all-consuming homesickness for Russia, the homeland they had been forced to abandon.

This is their story.

Ratings and reviews

The Fall of an Empire. Before the revolution and the fall of the Romanov's you would find in Paris during the 1900's Grand Duke's and Duchesses, Prince and Princesses and Counts an Countesses of the Russian Empire in Paris having coffee at the Ritz. They called it Five O Clock Tea. They would be found shopping for Jewelry and fancy clothing. For 40 years Paris was a place for Russian Royalty to visit. One famous Russian on the Paris scene was Sergey Diaghilev. He dabbled in the arts. The Dance Company "The Ballets Russes (Ballet), the artistic group called "Mir Iskusstva"(World of Art), and even music and the Paris Opera House. After much trial and error his Ballet went on to International fame for the next sixteen years. It was said that Paris was the Cafe of Europe. The Parisian cafes served not only coffee, but as an important social club ,for literary and political discussion. a meeting place for travelers, writers and artists from across Europe. They served as a home for impoverished artists and political dissidents fleeing Tsar Russia. After the Revolution the Russian royalty immigrated to Paris. At one point it was estimated that there was around 100,000 Russian immigrants in Paris. In 1921 the young American writer Ernest Hemingway came to Paris as a correspondent for the Toronto Star Newspaper. He wrote to the Toronto Star Paris is full of Russians. The immigrated Russians were often forced to take low paying jobs such as washing cars , opening doors for customers or working on farms in the country. only a few were able to find jobs in their professional field. Help was needed for the struggling refugees. In 1934 Mother Maria founded a "Hospitality House" a homeless shelter and soup kitchen. It was always filled day and night with the poor unemployed Russian Immigrants. This book is the story of Paris at and the Russian's that loved the city and immigrated there to escape persecution in Russia. It was a good history of these times in history and very interesting to read. If you are a history buff you will enjoy reading this book. Thanks to Helen Rappaport for writing the book, to St. Martin's Press for publishing it and to NetGalley for making it available to me.

After the Romanovs: Russian Exiles in Paris from the Belle Époque Through Revolution and War written by Helen Rappaport is Historical Non Fiction. Helen Rappaport has written a history of Russian Aristocrats and others in Paris before and after the socialist takeover and how they lived and survived even in poverty and exile. This book is an interesting history of wealthy and poor Russians' enchanting love affair with Paris, France, and all things French. The author supplies a list of characters that play important roles in her book and a bibliography for more in depth study. Excellent reference book of European Historical Non Fiction. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I appreciate the opportunity and thank the author and publisher for allowing me to read, enjoy and review this book. 5 Stars

historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-setting, history-and-culture, nonfiction***** Russians in Paris before the Bolsheviks is a detailed account of the marvelous (from Nijinsky! the ballet! the music! to Singer of sewing machines), the overindulgent (excessive spending in food/jewelry/debauchery by the Russian aristocrats and the benefits to Paris. Then the Great War followed by Revolution and elimination of the tsar and immediate family forcing the rest into exile. Once again, the aristocracy returned to Paris, this time as poor exiles. Some were able to smuggle valuables with them to England, Finland, Japan, and the US, but they were a minority and the overarching hope of all was the great homesickness for Mother Russia. The info is comprehensive, but the writing is more like a Publish or Perish. I requested and received a free ebook copy from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

About the author

DR. HELEN RAPPAPORT is the New York Times bestselling author of several books, including A Magnificent Obsession, The Romanov Sisters and Caught in the Revolution. She studied Russian Special Studies at Leeds University and is a specialist in Imperial Russian and Victorian history and a frequent historical consultant on TV and radio. She lives in West Dorset.