The Lost Fortune of the Tsars - Softcover

William Clarke

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1857974050 ISBN 13: 9781857974058

Publisher: Orion, 1995

Synopsis

The search for wealth of the deceased Romanov rulers.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

After the Bolshevik murder of Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra and other members of the Russian royal family in 1918, what became of the Romanov jewels, Faberge eggs, yachts, money, gold and investments? Separating rumor from fact, Clarke, former financial editor of the London Times, provides solid answers in an inquiry that reads like a good detective mystery. Tapping Moscow's recently opened State Archives, he documents how the Bolsheviks seized much of the royalist wealth, some of which was later sold to bolster the Soviet regime's finances. Clarke has uncovered new evidence of former tsarist bank accounts in London, Paris and New York City, as well as details of Soviet sales of Romanov jewels in London's diamond district in a secret attempt to subsidize the London Daily Herald in the early 1920s. Anna Anderson, the woman who claimed to be Anastasia, the tsar's youngest daughter, possessed accurate information on tsarist money. Since the recent exhumation of the massacred Romanov family left two of the 11 bodies unaccounted for, Clarke believes that Anderson's claim cannot be dismissed outright even though, in his estimate, her own testimony undermines her veracity. Photos.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

Certain historical controversies continue to fascinate both historian and student of history alike, one of which is the fate of the imperial family of Russia. Were Tsar Nicholas II and his wife and all his children executed by the Bolsheviks in 1918, leaving no survivors? And, as a corollary, what happened to his incredible wealth? Clarke, a British writer with considerable financial expertise, addresses these questions in a significant report based on his own extensive investigation. He unfolds a broad canvas to paint a lush picture of the imperial family and its opulent setting in the final days of the Romanov dynasty's glory, before war and revolution brought the Russian ancien re{‚}gime to a thunderous collapse. Revelation after revelation comes to the fore as Clarke marshals the latest in forensic and banking evidence to tell the complete story of the family's fate and that of its fortune: which of the bank accounts and jewels belonged to the family and which to the state, what happened to the cash and the rocks, and who among the last tsar's immediate family cannot be certified dead, an issue that leaves the matter of claimants to what remains of the family wealth a murky one. Brad Hooper

About this edition

• Publisher: Orion
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 1857974050
• ISBN 13: 9781857974058
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 320