The Last of the Romanovs: Russia on the Eve of Revolution

This year marks the 130th anniversary of the enthronement of Nikolai II of Russia, the last Tsar in the Romanov dynasty, and the 120th anniversary of the birth of his only son Alexei, the would-be tsar who was ill with hemophilia and later brutally murdered by the Bolsheviks.

In this lecture, we’ll take a sweeping look at Russia at the time of the last of the Romanovs and on the eve of the Bolshevik revolution, from the royal family down to peasants, who still constituted the majority of the Russian population despite rapid industrialization and urbanization. The lecture, taught by Asya Pereltsvaig, PhD, will be richly illustrated not only by photographic images but by rare documentary footage of the Romanov family and historical events of that period.

Pereltsvaig received a degree in English and history from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a PhD in Linguistics from McGill University. She taught at Yale, Cornell and Stanford universities and has been teaching in lifelong education programs since 2010. Her expertise is in language, culture and history, and the relationship between them. She has published five scholarly books with Cambridge University Press and is a popular instructor for several lifelong learning institutes around the country. 

The Fifty and Better (FAB) program was designed for people ages 50 and older, seeking intellectual stimulation through university-level courses — without the pressure of grades — for the sake of learning and social engagement.

Register

Register by Tuesday, May 12, at 3 p.m.