June 1872, Moika River Embankment, Saint Petersburg, Russia.

That evening at 122 Moika River Embankment, in Saint Petersburg, twenty-two-year old Alexei Alexandrovich Romanov invited a few dozen of his closest friends to a small intimate garden party. This was an opportunity for Alexei, his wife Alexandra, and one-year-old baby Alexei, affectionately called Sasha, to celebrate the construction of their new palace. Enjoying the coolness of early evening and reprieve from ...