American forces occupied Vladivostok soon after the Cold War turned hot, but Soviets sabotaged stretches of the Trans-Siberian Railway.
“Cold War Turned Colder”
Frosty resolves create potentially chilly circumstances.
Tag: Russia
“Long Live the Tsar”
The Tsar was alive. His wife and children were alive. The story about their deaths in Yekaterinburg was fabricated by those hoping to liberate – rather than liquidate – the imperial family.
This month marks the 102-year anniversary of the February Revolution (New Style March 8 – 16, 1917). The events that transpired over the course of those nine days forever changed Russia, opening the door for the October Revolution and the creation of the Soviet Union.
The abdication of Tsar Nicholas II was one of the most pivotal moments of the Russian Revolution (which includes the February and October Revolutions). His subsequent assassination by the hands of the Bolsheviks was perhaps even more significant. The simultaneous murder of his wife and children proved to be one of the darker moments of this zealous movement, creating generations of folklore and myth.
Anastasia, the youngest daughter of the Tsar, allegedly survived the tragic end of her immediate family. Although modern research has mostly undone such legends, there were certain factions present in Russia that desired to save the Tsar and his family. On the other hand, the survival of any member of that family may have undermined the sweeping reforms that divided and overwhelmed Russia in the years to come.
“Long Live the Tsar” is a short story that I wrote in April and May of 2017 – a century after the relative lull between the February and October Revolutions of 1917. The action of this piece unfolds in early 1918 in a timeline that sees the Tsar and his family liberated and whisked away by the Whites at the last minute. However, salvation awaited only beyond the scope of the Russian Civil War (1917 – 1922) and only a gambit along the Trans – Siberian Railway offered a true means of escape.
“Long Live the Tsar” originally appeared with Slick Lit Magazine in May of 2017.
To read “Long Live the Tsar”, click on the image below.
Long Live the Tsar – by Joshua Scully
The Tsar was alive.
His wife and children were alive.
The story about their deaths in Yekaterinburg was fabricated by those hoping to liberate – rather than liquidate – the imperial family. Rescued by sympathizers from the basement of the Ipatiev House on a warm July night, the Romanovs were secretly handed over to the Czechoslovak Legion.
The Whites desperately desired to save Tsar Nicholas II. Following the abdication, the imperial family sought asylum as far as possible from fermenting revolution in the fatherland. The Whites allowed the murky tale of their execution to spread and assured the Romanovs that arrangements were in place for a comfortable exile.
The Czechoslovaks controlled the Trans – Siberian Railway and whisked the imperial family toward the east coast of Russia. Reports of a lone, antiquated locomotive leading a string of dilapidated passenger coaches over the Siberian plain reached Red leadership a few weeks…
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