Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, for a preview copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

There was a lot of interesting information and history to be gleaned. There was history of the opulence and cruelty in the reign of the Romanovs; there was history of the artistic communities in Paris; there was history of the American ex-pats in Paris; there was history of the economic and political situation in Europe. Yes, this book covered a lot and it also included specifics for various Russian emigres: what they ate, where they lived, potty arrangements, debauchery and sexual liaisons. It covered a LOT.

Readers wishing to know more about the above will find a wealth of information in this book.

Even before WWI and the Russian Revolution, aristocrats, dancers, musicians and artists found their way to Paris from the Russian empire. There were several grand dukes, uncles to Nicholas II, some notorious for misbehavior, but most all of them supportive of the arts. Ballet Russes with Sergey Diaghilev changed ballet with his association with now well- known musicians and artists, especially Vaslav Nijinsky, Igor Stravinsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov. Montparnasse became the heart of bohemian society, many Jewish peoples escaped from pogroms and settled in Marais and Paris became full of political rival groups. Many Russians returned to Russia for WW I, then fled in 1917-18 when the Bolsheviks prevailed. Some fled with jewelry and other valuables, but many arrived with nothing. Rappaport focuses on those who faced their new reality with hope and actually working like Grand Duchess Maria Pavlova, who used her embroidery and sewing skills to survive. She stuck to her own narrow class of aristocratic exiles but did help them survive with needlework jobs when she started working for Chanel, Between the years 1922-35, twenty-seven fashion houses were established in Paris by Russian emigres. Many males found work as taxi drivers or at Renault car factories. Rappaport also tells the stories of many writers and other emigres who just could not let go of the past and slowly faded away or committed suicide and there were divisions when one of the Grand Dukes claimed to be the new czar. At first France welcomed the emigres because they had lost so many men during the war and there were jobs, but then the Depression hit, and emigres of any nationality were not wanted. Rappaport says there are not many sources for information for the truly poor emigres who fled the Bolsheviks but there were many. However, one former aristocrat who particularly stands out is Elizaveta Pilenko who opened a House of Hospitality that was like a homeless shelter and soup kitchen for any in need of help and became known as Mother Mary Skobtsova. When France was invaded by the Nazis, she was sent to a prison camp and murdered. I have enjoyed other books by Ms. Rappaport and found this one easy to read and informative. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is only my second book of Helen Rappaport’s, not because I don’t care about her writing (I think she is an absolutely fabulous non fiction author), but because for a variety of personal reasons, I am no fan of the Romanov dynasty, But when I saw she had a new book out, and on the topic of Russian exiles in Paris (an area of history I honestly didn’t ever consider), both as an immigrant and a lover of Paris, I knew I had to check it out,

Without any spoilers, and really, those are kinda subjective to each reader,. I knew in some surface level that a whole lot of “white” Russians left the former empire following the March/ October Revolution but I just thought they were lots of aristocrats. Helen Rappaport dismantles that belief of mine and painstakingly illustrates just how wide the range of immigrants was in the wake of the Bolshevik take over. They were every day white color workers (doctors, lawyers, engineers), intellectuals, artists, and yes a whole lot of aristocrats and royals. They all sought freedom in Belle France though it also represented beauty, glamour, sophistication and bounty to others, What I found most interesting was learning about the almost absolute equity of how difficult their lives were once they got to France. Almost everyone escaped with no funds, and so many with no life skills ( aristocrats or military especially), they all starved, they all scraped, they all sold off everything of value, and in the end, most of them worked menial jobs to survive while dreaming of return to the Russia that no longer existed.

This is not a book glamorizing the opulence of their previous lives (only really referencing it in the beginning chapter), but the story of the Russian life after the opulence built on oppression of many, was taken away by the oppressed, and the former bountiful had to learn what real life was like, but in a new land.

This book was interesting for the most part but I also found parts of it very dry. History is so hard to really show what the time was like and keep it exciting. All in all this was a solid book just really was not what I was expecting. Generally my books that are history that I love are ones that have a lot of action.

I never really considered myself interested in Russian history in general but the title was intriguing and I received this as an ARC.
Totally worth it.
While dense with information, the author manages to flow naturally between topics and figures. (Each chapter is dedicated to one subject, like authors or artists and various renowned figures are discussed within each). It would have been easy to stick with the behaviors or opinions of one or two individuals at a time and the author is careful to stick with the subjects rather than overload the reader with trivia.
I rate this 5 stars for being both incredibly informative while being readable to a previously uninterested layperson. Given the meticulous bibliography and references, I am hardly the target audience and I genuinely enjoyed the book.

After the Romanvs by Helen Rappaport is a thoroughly detailed book well written book on the after lives of the fallen russian families. The rich mainly that were able to escape the downfall etc. The intricate plots woven around emigre with footnotes to back up and help the reader to understand in detail the relationship. A lot of the stories yank at your emotions due to how sad and tragically well known these stories are. It feels as if so many questions are answered including movements and plots.

Great chance for an exciting read! Don't forget March 08 2022!

I was given this ARC by net galley in exchange for an Honest review. Amazing book.

In the Omar Sharif Dr. Zhivago, there is a scene where the doctor and his family are camped on railroad tracks waiting for a rumoured train that will take them from the horror show formerly known as Moscow. The good doctor and his good family have suffered the ire of the Bolsheviks and must flee. Home, friends, neighborhoods, schools, their entire life, gone; the only thing left is themselves. It is a frightening scene. It is a heartbreaking one, too.

And it is an encapsulation of this entire book: what happens to people when the new Soviet regime takes over? Everything everyone believed and counted on is now regarded as crime, so, your choices are: denounce everything you used to believe in, join the new regime, fight the new regime, or flee. Helen Rappaport focuses on those who fled to Paris, already a favored Russian destination long before Lenin raised his self-righteous head.

She does an excellent job setting the stage by describing the Belle Epoque, Russian style, and, after reading about some of the Russian antics, you can well understand the storming of Winter Palaces. Some of those Russian princes deserved a date with the guillotine. But not all of them. Not everyone.

Her description of the Bolshevik takeover and what they did to the former ruling class and their supporters is Zhivago at the train tracks. But that’s nothing compared to the exile across Russia in unseaworthy ships and frozen wastelands and refugee status in Constantinople…oh good Lord. It’s an untold story made starkly clear, and it is unpleasant, to understate things.

This book suffers from the same problem of any Russian book- more characters than you can safely carry around in a backpack and it is easy to lose track of who is who and where they are, especially if you, like me, are not that familiar with Russian names or relationships. A list of those would be nice. And where’s Trotsky?

Once everybody has found their way to Paris, life among the exiles becomes an ‘Oh well!” kind of existence. Maybe that’s the Russian psyche, I don’t know, but my sympathies lie with the hapless White Russian generals who still hold that forlorn hope of winning it all back. They come across as somewhat clown-like and I suppose that’s true; they still believed in a chivalry and class structure that they helped destroy during WW1. They simply don’t understand how ruthless a Bolshevik can be, and that makes them vulnerable.

Those with a schadenfreude bent will take some pleasure at the exiles’ sufferings. After all, what an oppressive exploitive society that richly deserved everything that happened to it.

But no one should be forced onto winter laden train tracks in fear of their lives. No one.

After the Romanovs by Helen Rappaport was a compelling read and I enjoyed every page. I have always been fascinated with the Romanov dynasty and the Russian Revolution, but I didn't know that many Russian exiles who moved to Paris during and after the Revolution. Rappaport pulled back the curtain on a place and time in history that greatly impacted WWI and WW@ and still resonates today. Highly recommend!!

It isn’t as compelling as some of the other books in her Last Romanovs/Russian Revolution series, but it is not without its charms. It’s a moving story in itself, people trying to move on and make new lives for themselves after a massive calamity has shaken everything they knew to the core.

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!

This book is not for me. I read for pleasure and this book is too much like a school book. I will not be finishing it. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy for my honest review.

This is a thorough look at the Romanovs, but I found it to be a cumbersome read. It is well researched and carefully written, but that is also what it feels like - like a paper written for a college course. It impedes the flow of the book. If you are looking for a detailed history book then this is the book for you, but if you are looking to learn and enjoy along the way you may want to try a different place to start. Thanks to NetGalley for the early read.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. I love soaking up anything and everything that involves history. I highly recommend this book.

After the Romanovs by Helen Rappaport is a great book, very informative and heart breaking especially what happened.

What a fascinating story! The contrast between the pre-Revolutionary and post-Revolutionary experience of Russians in Paris was illuminating and stunning in its stark contrasts. I found the individual stories as fascinating as the overarching descriptions of the period and the political upheaval that ensued. It was a very interesting book about a very interesting time and the evolution of contemporary Russia is, I think, definitely traceable to some of the attitudes and experiences going back to the Revolution...

3 stars
Not at all what I expected. I do feel there is a audience for this book. It is not for me. Thanks for the ARC of this book.

I have always been fascinated by the Romanovs; the entire dynasty. So when I was given the chance to read this book, I grabbed it. It isn’t about JUST the Romanov family, it’s about the history of Russians living in Paris starting in the late 1800’s. At first, just the very wealthy, royalty and nobility in the main, were able to spend vacations or “The Season” in Paris. Later, around 1900 came the immigrants who voluntarily or involuntarily fled to Paris. This included not just political exiles but poets, writers, artists, ballet dancers and others. This included religious and economic exiles such as members of the Ashkenazi Jewish community from the area of eastern Russia where they were allowed to live, known as “The Pale.”

The author discusses groups by chapters but also interconnects the various groups as she goes deeper into the narrative. The first chapter is about Russian nobility flocking to Paris to indulge their desire for luxury, starting in the 1800s. Their spending was on par with that of current Russian oligarchs.

Author Helen Rappaport introduces dancers and others associated with them such as Diaghilev and Stravinsky. Diaghilev was the founder of the famous Ballets Russe dance troupe. Stravinsky became world famous while working with the Ballets Russe in Paris prior to WWI. The author includes a lot of detail about the premieres of the Stravinsky ballets in Paris: “The Firebird,” “The Rite of Spring,” and “Parade.” The premieres were rocky, especially that for “The Rite of Spring,” but they made Stravinsky legendary.

The discussion really hits its stride when talking about the very poor immigrants that came to Paris, most of whom were starving and living in appalling conditions. This group cut across classifications but included artists, writers, poets, and others. The famous painter Marc Chagall, born into a Lithuanian Jewish Hasidic family in the Russian Empire, lived in Paris for a time until WWI, when he returned home to marry. He left Russia again for Paris in 1923.

There is detail on the exertions of the extended Romanov family to flee Russia, with many failures ending in their murders. At a certain point, Lenin must’ve known his enemy was broken, but instead he went for revenge. Revenge against anyone carrying the DNA of the Romanovs. Why? I don’t think the poverty of the peasant and working classes is a good answer for this.

The book goes on to detail how Russians as a group lived as emigres in Paris. How did they? Rather poorly, although the French Government graciously did help some. The rest really scratched to pay their way as their valuables did not command even a fraction of pre-WWI sales prices. Grand Duke Alexander’s (“Sandro”) numismatic collection sold for only 5% of its pre-war value, and a few belongings were all that most of the refugees could smuggle out.

On the other hand, as an example of a more successful outcome, the story of Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovna and his sister Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna is followed. Dmitri had an affair with Coco Chanel which led to Maria being employed as a seamstress and embroiderer in Chanel’s workshop. That was great for Maria’s survival but she soon discovered that the French workers became jealous and cold toward her, afraid that other Russians would take their jobs. This was a common experience for Russian emigres. Maria worked 12-14 hours per day producing embroidered sweaters, blouses, and tunics for Chanel’s 1922 collection. Dmitri went on to become a spokesman for champagne when Chanel began a long-term relationship with the Duke of Westminster. Neither did particularly well for themselves but managed better than most Russians.

The story of Dmitri and Maria is illustrative of many of this volume’s stories of Russian refugees; the men were handsome but lost in their tragedy, the women became ingenious and successful entrepreneurs, at least for a time. Between 1922 and 1935, 27 fashion houses were thus established by Russian immigrants. But fashion wasn’t the only area that the Russians conquered. Many of the men, particularly those out of the military, drove cabs, acted as doormen, and waiters. They were noted and sought out for their manners and good behavior.

And the stories of struggle, tragedy, and survival after great tragedy continue from there.

This is really a well-written book that clearly took a lot of time to research. There is tremendous detail about how Russian immigrants in general fared, as well as about the jobs that they were allowed to perform. France was well-regulated and training and licensure were expensive; immigrants could not do everything. This was probably the first great wave of refugees in Europe in the 20th Century. It’s interesting to compare the Russian immigrant crisis with more recent immigrant crises.

I have to point out a sentence at about 40% of the galley, that a man named Rubakhan “…still kept the Russian festivals and an icon burning in the corner….” I don’t think so. I’m sure he had candles burning in front of the icon.

This book explores artists known and unknown to me. Many are grand names that I have heard or seen referenced: Pavlova, Diaghilev, Stravinsky, Chagall, Nabokov. Finally I understand a little bit more about what drove their art and the general Russian melancholia of the early 20th Century. Suicide, alcoholism, and drug dependency were rife amongst the destitute population. I can understand why.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, author Helen Rappaport, and NetGalley for allowing me to read the eGalley of this book prior to publication. I have received nothing for my review which contains only my own, original opinions. I am posting this review to NetGalley, Goodreads, and my Twitter and Facebook accounts at this time. Upon publication of the book, I will also post to Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Coming into this with limited knowledge of Russian-Franco ties during the period, I feel like I learned a lot! While France wasn't home to Russian exiles, it was familiar and the author does a good job of showing that. I loved how this work painted a picture of a truly multinational city.

After the Romanovs is a fascinating look into the flight of "White Russians" (those of the privileged class and intelligentsia) into different parts of Europe, especially Paris. The author's extensive research is mind-boggling, because she covers the lives of both the aristocrats as well as poets and artists.

Even though was a non-fiction, informative historical piece of work, it was also entertaining. I kept Googling the different characters to learn more about them. It was a challenge keeping up with all those Russian names though!

A fantastic read for anyone interested in Russian history.

A fabulous but heartbreaking history of displaced peoples from Russia mostly to Paris but also Berlin and then to the United States during WWII. Imagine that the world is your oyster, that you have unbelievable power and prestige and then the next day that your whole world comes crashing down and you find that your assets are gone, and you must drive a taxi or haul coal just to survive and eat.

That you must travel almost 3,000 km to a foreign land that while opening its doors to you and your people - speaks a foreign language and has completely different customs and laws. Eventually, even this country turns against you and your people because you have taken over so many jobs, at below-market wages, that locally born citizens find it challenging to find employment.

Through the hardship, sorrows, and longing for your homeland more than a few happy stories can be found. Russian women had a large impact on the Paris fashion scene with their intricate and delicate sewing and fashion designs.

This book was so very well written it is sure to keep your interest. Chock full of references and research that could keep you reading about the impact of Russians in France for years if you were so inclined.

I highly recommend that you pick this book up and learn more about these displaced people - it will open your eyes, mind, and should open your heart by putting modern-day movements of those economically and socially displaced from their homes in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Africa towards Europe and the West; and the impact of people from Central and South America towards America and Canada.

Thank you to the author Helen Rappaport, the publisher St. Martin's Press; and to Net Galley for the advance copy in return for my honest opinion. I have not received any compensation nor interference in the posting of my review which remains my truthful thoughts on this book.