Looking East

Over the years, countless historians, politicians and Slavophiles have asserted that the key to understanding Russia is in realizing that it is as much an Asian nation as a European one. In fact, some argue it is the Asian artifacts impressed on Russian history that make the country such a challenge for Western analysts.

Perhaps.

Yet the fact is that most Russians live in the European part of Russia, and most of the country’s economic activity takes place in the West. Of course, geographically, most of the country is east of the Urals. As well, most of its historical colonization was eastward, most of its current borders touch Asian nations, and most all of its valued natural resources are in Siberia.

So perhaps it is not surprising, in this Asian Century, that Russia should be turning its face increasingly east in search of economic opportunity and global security. Clearly President Putin seems to think that Russia gets more respect from East than West. “The West,” Putin once said, “treats us like we just came down from the trees.”

But let’s not open that can just now.

Through a mysterious confluence of circumstances (there are no coincidences, after all), three of the four longer features in this issue focus on “Russia in Asia.” From the strange incident of Russian colonists in Hawaii, to the tea road from China to Moscow, to an illustrious Russian cartoonist in Shanghai, this issue considers some of the many ways Russia has interacted with its eastern neighbors.

Meanwhile, on our cover, we commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Romanov Dynasty. On February 14, 1613, Mikhail Fyodorovich Romanov (and his mother) received emissaries of the Zemsky Sobor, which had unanimously elected him to become Russia’s next tsar, in hopes of ending the Time of Troubles. Both Mikhail (then just 16) and his mother wavered. They had not sought the throne and it was, needless to say, a rather daunting mantel. The life expectancy of tsars (and pretend tsars) was rather low at that point in history, and the Romanovs had little reason to trust themselves to Fate. After all, they had not so long ago been cast into exile by then Tsar Boris Godunov.

Of course, Mikhail finally accepted and he and his mother traveled on to Moscow, arriving sometime in spring. Mikhail was officially crowned tsar on July 11, 1613 (all dates old style).

We have published many stories on the Romanovs over the past 17 years, and so we elected not to fill this issue with some type of historic overview or summary of the 304 years of Romanov rule. Rather, we let those stories speak for themselves and encourage you to seek them out in our back issues (searchable online). We do, however, present a few short pieces in this issue on the Romanovs – one that considers them at the height of their popularity, another that considers a Romanov (by marriage: Catherine) under fire, and yet another that looks at some of the family members’ oft-overlooked secrets.

Personally, I am of the opinion that monarchs are just ordinary people with extraordinary wardrobes (and only sometimes powers to match). Perhaps that is why kings, tsars, dukes and duchesses are such a fascinating subject. Because all humans, even those alleged to have divine rights, share a tendency to err. Only in the case of royalty it is often on a grander scale.

In any case, it all makes for interesting stories, which is what we are all about.

Enjoy the issue.