The Romanovs celebrated their dynasty’s tricentennial in 1913 – just five years before communists gunned down Nicholas II and his family in the basement of a house in Yekaterinburg. Under Romanov rule, which began in 1613 with Mikhail Romanov, Russia grew to become the biggest land empire in the world. These czars’ talents and foibles have long fascinated historians, the public and artists; a new Amazon series tells eight fictionalized stories of people who believe they are Romanov descendants. (Amazon chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos owns The Washington Post.) But some of what people think they know about the dynasty doesn’t stand up to historical scrutiny.
Washington Post: Five myths about the Romanovs
Visitors speak in front of the huge portraits of Russia's monarchs from the Romanov dynasty at the exhibition "My History. The Romanovs", in Moscow's Manege Exhibition Hall, on Nov. 14, 2013.
