Imperial Legend: The Mysterious Disappearance of Tsar Alexander I

One of Russia's greatest emperors, beloved of his subjects for his many liberalizing works domestically and for his victory over the great Napoleon Bonaparte, Alexander I presumably died in 1825, at the age of 48. Ever since then, rumors have swirled that the young and vigorous Czar, who carried within him a terrible secret, really staged his death to expiate that sin, and spent the next forty years as a starets, one of those holy men who in the nineteenth century wandered through Russia doing good works. The starets, brilliant and uncommonly erudite, was one Feodor Kuzmich. The author, who has spent over 20 years researching the legend, makes a compelling case that the great Alexander and the humble starets were one and the same.