The Family Romanov begins with a lavish ball held by Tsar Nicholas II on February 12, 1903 at St. Petersburg’s Winter Palace—a celebration so elaborate that flowers are imported from the south of France, and monarchs wear a million rubles’ worth of jewels. The text quickly contrasts this extravagance with Russia’s “dismal,” impoverished villages (6) and the working class’s struggle to survive in both country and city. As Fleming, the author, will continue to do throughout the book, factual descriptions of Russian history are interspersed with quotes from primary sources, including members of the Russian nobility, journalists, and ordinary citizens.

Fleming explains that while Tsar Nicholas II and his wife are typically social recluses, on this occasion, they’ve organized a huge costume ball to celebrate the 200th anniversary of St. Petersburg’s establishment as the capital of Russia. The guests, all members of Russia’s 870 noble families—the bélaya kost, or “white bone” (1)—arrive in 17th-century costumes, but none outshine their royal hosts. Nicholas, a short, “unassuming man” who is nonetheless “the richest monarch in the world” (3), carries the real staff of 17th-century tsar Alexei the Mild, while Empress Alexandra wears a gown inlaid with thousands of diamonds and pearls, with pearl earrings “so heavy it was hard for her to hold up her head” (4).