The fall of the Romanovs is a story of arrogance, incompetence, and strife—but you can't lay any of that at young Alexei Romanov's feet. The golden son of the Russian royal family, Alexei's ...

Both Mikhail, in 1613, and Alexei, in 1918, were abruptly awakened early one morning. Mikhail was awoken to become the first tsar of Russia, Alexei was awakened to die. Why? The Romanov dynasty ...