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Mr. Baranov himself smiles. “Of course we prefer to maintain the freedoms the Russian people were long denied. But it may surprise you to hear that we’re not alone in this desire. Leonid Ivanovich took us all by surprise when he announced that he’s the heir of the legendary Riurik line, but I think that almost as shocking was the existence of the more recently royal Romanov bloodline. They ruled Russia, nobly and well, for more than three hundred years. They were already moving us toward noted new freedoms when the Bolsheviks murdered their family.”
“I expected you to dislike Alexei Romanov as much as you dislike Leonid Ivanovich, to be honest,” the commentator says.
“Of course you did,” Mr. Baranov says. “But in fact, I’m pleased to announce that in spite of his heritage, in spite of the brutal and violent way in which his family was removed from the throne, he’s actually a supporter of United Russia, and we of him.”
The commentator looks surprised, but the sounds from the studio audience are wild. Shouts. Cheers. Yelling. Clapping. The reactions are all over the place, but they’re all passionate in their feelings.
“You may be even more shocked to hear that we see eye to eye on so many things that he’s agreed to be our party’s candidate for President, should the referendum for the monarchy fail to pass.”
The absolute chaos that breaks out shocks everyone, myself included. I think it’s probably indicative of what everyone in the country is feeling, however. No one would expect one of the displaced heirs to stand up for the usurping government, forgoing their supposed rights of noble blood to be dictated to by the whims of the populous.
The commentator touches his ear and nods. “Well, Mr. Baranov, you’ve shocked us all with that, but it appears you came very prepared. I understand that he’s actually here today, this Alexei Romanov, the lost heir of the last tsardom of Russia.”
“He did come, and he’d actually like to say a few words, if you’d welcome him on your show.”
No matter how many people were booing, shouting, jeering, and hissing, the second Alexei, dressed in a sweater that perfectly frames his broad shoulders and well-defined chest, saunters into view of the camera, no one does anything but cheer. It’s almost deafening, really.
I can’t blame them, either.
It’s strange, but for some reason his beauty seems even more untouchable when I see him on film. His skin is flawless. His jaw is strong and perfectly square. His eyes sparkle, their deep blue color almost accented by the lighting they chose. I’m sure we have Mr. Baranov’s team to thank for that one. And when he looks right at the camera and smiles?
He was made for this.
Although he was born in a time before selfies and videography as we now know it, his natural smile and easy-going confidence radiate when he takes his seat.
Leonid was commanding. He looked fearful and impressive.
Alexei is dreamy.
“Welcome, Your Majesty,” the commentator says.
“Please, call me Alex,” he says.
Again, the audience goes insane.
“You really are a surprise, in more ways than one,” the man says. “Especially since your namesake, your great grandmother’s brother, if I have that correct, was said to be sickly, weak, and in fact he had a severe blood condition, did he not?”
I expect Alexei to cringe, but he just shakes his head and smiles. “You know, I didn’t know him myself, so I can’t say whether any of that was true or just slander made up by the people who murdered him.”
Even the commentator laughs.
He has them laughing about a murder, one that hurt him badly.
“But I am delighted to be here today,” Alexei says. “I am so pleased to have this chance to introduce myself to the Russian people, and to share with them my reason for stepping forward.”
“Please do,” the commentator says.
“You see, the Russian government has actually been quite gracious since I did my DNA test and came forward. They’ve returned some of my family’s property and holdings, and I could easily have stayed out of the public view. Or I could be campaigning for the government to return to a tsardom. Certainly I’d have a compelling claim to bring against Leonid Ivanovich, whose family has not ruled in more than 400 years. But when I gave this some serious thought, even before United Russia reached out, I knew that what was best for the Russian people was to maintain the freedoms they suffered for so many years without.”
More cheers.
“My most important role in this pivotal moment in history may be convincing those of you who are tempted by the promises of greatness to bet on yourselves. You see, I happen to think the greatest Russia, the strongest Russia, and the most successful Russia will require the help and the voice of each and every Russian citizen to be achieved.”
The commentator asks him several more questions, and Alexei does better and better with each. At the end, the commentator asks him whether he’s nervous about the unreliability of his position as President. “You know that you’ll have to be re-elected every six years in order to retain the office.”
Alexei smiles. “That’s the best part of all of this. I may be a Romanov, but that’s not a guarantee that I’ll do an excellent job. And if I’m not serving them the way I should, the people have every right to kick me to the curb. Actually, I’ll vote to do that myself, if I can’t get the job done properly.”
In that moment, even I want to vote for him.
