Part 2: Chapter 13 Summary and Analysis

The Romanovs spent every spring in the Crimea and every June they cruised through the Finnish fjords. In August, they went hunting in Poland, returning to the Crimea in September and to the Tsarskoe Selo in November. They followed the same pattern every year and traveled on the royal train with its blue cars. Because of the danger of revolutionaries, there were two identical royal trains and traveled a few miles apart. Travel on the train was hot and stuffy so the train would stop wherever there was a cool spot or water for the travelers to wade in.

The royal yacht, the Standart, was always accompanied by naval torpedo boats. The Tsar, who only worked two days a week when they were cruising, had a stream of boats going to and from the Standart with information and officials...