At the Court of the Last Tsar

General Alexander Mossolov, born in 1861, was head of the Court Chancellery from 1900 to 1916, and then Minister Plenipotentiary at Bucharest. His memoirs, published in 1935, are an invaluable source of information about Nicholas II, Alexandra the, imperial family and their court during those sixteen years. He was impressed by the Tsar's positive qualities as a faithful, loving husband and father; timid, courteous, even-tempered, thoughtful and affable towards all around him, with 'an ingrained dislike of argument', and with a touching concern for the fate of the wounded in wartime. The Tsarina was very shy, devoid of social skills and with no appetite for 'society talk', yet an efficient organizer, particularly with regard to the installation of hospital trains, convalescent homes, and hospitals, and her ability to gather round her persons of ability and energy. Less fortunate was her meddling with affairs of state, and the disastrous influence of the 'holy man' Rasputin. His pen portraits of Count Freedericksz, Minister of the Court, the Tsar's aunt Marie Pavlovna, Grand Duchess Vladimir, and foreign royalty such as the German Emperor William II, and King Edward VII of England, are equally perceptive. The book is a kindly testimonial to the sovereign whose reign and life ended in tragedy, but remained to the end a conscientious and well-intentioned man.