Part 2: Chapter 18 Summary and Analysis

"In 1913, the gilded world of the European aristocracy seemed at its zenith. In fact, fashionable society, like the rest of mankind, stood one step from the abyss. Within five years, three European empires would be defeated, three emperors would die or flee into exile and the ancient dynasties of Hapsburg, Hohenzollern and Romanov would crumble. Twenty million men, aristocrats and commoners alike, would perish" (Chapter 18, pg. 235). They should have seen the signs of danger in 1913 but they continued their lavish lifestyles while the poor suffered. It was also the eve of the First World War and age of industrialization. The contrasts were greatest in Russia.

The year 1913 was the year of the Russian tercentenary marking three hundred years of the monarchy. The Tsar and others hoped the festivities would restore faith in the monarchy and quell some of the...