‘Isle and Empires’ by Stephan Roman

The new paperback edition of  Isle and Empires by Stephan Roman (Medina Publishing, 2022) is now available in our online shop and in the Heritage Centre. In this updated edition of the book the author asserts that ‘It is important that we understand the history of the British relationship with Romanov Russia if we are to make sense of what is happening today’.

The book explores the relationship between the British and Russian Empires and the fascinating and unexpected role that the Isle of Wight played in this story. While Cowes was the favourite haunt of the Romanov family, it was to Ventnor that Russian and other Eastern European political radicals, writers and poets were attracted, and of particular local interest is Part IV: Wight Russians – Radical Russia in Ventnor on the Isle of Wight which describes how over several years they created a Russian summer colony here, where liberal views were freely explored and debated.

Stephan Roman will be leading our Local History walk during Ventnor Fringe this year:  Ventnor: Cradle of the Russian Revolution, and will be the speaker at our Society Monthly Meeting on Friday 29 July 2022.

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