Free the Romanov Prophecy (2004) by Steve Berry Page A

communism. We saw it years ago when Zyuganov challenged Yeltsin and nearly won. But a majority of Russians do not want a return to totalitarianism, and every poll says that. Still, that wouldn’t stop a populist from preying on difficult times and sweeping into office with false promises.
    “The second reason is more deeply set. The people simply believe the current form of government is incapable of solving the country’s problems. And quite frankly, I think they’re right. Look at crime. Each one of you, I’m sure, pays protection money to one or more
mafiya.
You have no choice. Either that or end up going home in a body bag.”
    He thought again of what happened yesterday, but he said nothing. Hayes had advised him to keep that to himself. The people in this room, he’d warned, were nervous enough without wondering whether their lawyers were now a target.
    “There is a pervasive belief that if you’re not stealing, you’re cheating yourself. Less than twenty percent of the population even bothers to pay taxes. There’s almost a total internal breakdown. It’s easy to see why people would believe anything is better than the current situation. But there’s also a certain nostalgia with regard to the tsar.”
    “It’s nuts,” one of the men voiced. “A damn king.”
    He understood how Americans viewed autocracy. But the combination of Tatar and Slav that melded into a modern Russian seemed to yearn for autocratic leadership, and it was that battle for supremacy that had kept Russian society sharp through the centuries.
    “The nostalgia is easy to understand,” he said. “Only in the past decade has the real story about Nicholas II and his family been told. All across Russia there’s a sentiment that what happened in July 1918 was wrong. Russians feel cheated by Soviet ideology, which passed the tsar off as the embodiment of evil.”
    “Okay, the tsar’s coming back—,” one of the men started.
    “Not exactly,” Lord said. “That’s a misconception the press doesn’t fully understand. That’s why Taylor thought this session would be beneficial.” He could see he had their full attention. “The
concept
of the tsar is coming back, but there are two questions that need to be answered. Who is to be tsar? And what is the extent of his power?”
    “Or her,” one of the women said.
    He shook his head. “No. Only he. Of that we’re sure. Since 1797 Russian law has decreed lineage would pass only through the male line. We assume that law will be maintained.”
    “Okay,” said another man, “answer the two questions.”
    “The first one is easy. The tsar will be whomever the seventeen representatives of the commission choose. Russians are keen on commissions. Most in the past have been nothing more than rubber stamps for the Soviet Central Committee, but this one will work entirely outside of the government, which isn’t all that hard at the moment since there’s barely any government left.
    “Candidates will be presented and their claims evaluated. The strongest contender at the moment is our candidate, Stefan Baklanov. He has a distinct Western philosophy, but his Romanov bloodline is direct. You’re paying us to make sure his claim is the one the commission eventually recognizes. Taylor is lobbying hard to make that happen. I’ve spent the past weeks in the Russian archives making sure there’s nothing that could affect that claim.”
    “Amazing they let you near anything,” a voice said.
    “Not really,” Lord said. “We’re not actually involved with the Tsarist Commission, though we have credentials that imply that. We’re here to look after
your
interests and to make sure Stefan Baklanov is selected. Just like back home, lobbying is an art form here, too.”
    A man in the back row stood. “Mr. Lord, we all have careers on the line. You understand the gravity of this? We’re talking about a possible reversion from a semi-democracy to an autocracy. That has got to have a