PHOTO: Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Simferopol and Crimea, reading from his new book “Гибель империи. Российский урок” – “The Death of the Empire. The Russian Lesson“

On 7th December 2023, *Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Simferopol and Crimea, held a press conference in Moscow, to promote his new book *“Гибель империи. Российский урок” – “The Death of the Empire. The Russian Lesson“, from which he read aloud excerpts.

Reading from his book, Tikhon’s said: “Our wonderful publicist Ivan Solonevich said that Russia was ruined by gossip. He is absolutely right, it was in the salons of St. Petersburg society in which false testimonies were being made of Russia’s last tsar. Nicholas II, is perhaps the most slandered personality in the history of Russia. Such slander that was spewed at him, from the West and from Japan, from the East, and from inside Russia, was unthinkable.”

In particular, the Russian nobility of that time, Metropolitan Tikhon said, “refused to conform to the rules of decency, and instead spread malicious gossip, in an effort “to despise the sovereign and his entire family.”

At the same time, he noted: “before the revolution, Russia was a prosperous country, the achievements were enormous. Thus, in terms of GDP, the Russian Empire was among the leading countries in the world, and in terms of industrial growth rates, it was in first place. By 1913, Russia was harvesting more grain than Canada, Argentina, and the United States combined. In the first 15 years of the reign of Nicholas II, many educational institutions were created in the history of the country.”

“Yes, the Soviet Union did a lot, but it inherited much of it from the economics and industrial achievements made during the reign of Nicholas II. An incomparable gigantic legacy fell on the heads of the Bolsheviks. <… >The potential that was already laid down from that pre-revolutionary time worked for many, many years,” the bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church said.

Tikhon notes that his new book, using the events of 1917, reveals the mechanisms that were used to fan the flames of revolution in Russia, the mistakes its government and society made during the ensuing 70+ years, and the Soviet Union’s eventual collapse in 1991. Research for the publication is based on nearly 300 scientific works and archival documents.

*NOTE: this title is only available in Russian. I regret. that I do not know how to obtain copies, or if we will ever see an English edition published – PG

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* Tikhon is one of two Bishops in the Moscow Patriarchate, who believe that the Ekaterinburg Remains are those of Emperor Nicholas II, his family and their four retainers. It is no longer a question of “IF” but “WHEN” the Bishops Council will convene to bring closure to this issue.

© Paul Gilbert. 14 December 2023