The Death of the Romanovs

The deaths of the last Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II, and his family in 1918 have captured the hearts and imaginations of the world.

Nearing the end of World War I with a civil uprising from the Bolsheviks imminent in Russia, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated the throne on behalf of himself and his heir, son Alexei, in February 1917. The Romanov family were all placed under house arrest from this point at Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo. Once the Bolsheviks gained majority control of Russia, the family were moved to Ipatiev House, at Yekaterinburg.

Whilst still alive, the Romanovs were considered a major threat the "reds", the Bolshevik army, as many still believed Nicholas to be the legitimate ruler of Russia. The "whites", the army who believed in the Tsar's supremacy, were fighting to restore Nicholas to the throne. If Nicholas and his royal family escaped, his followers would have had someone to lead them and rally loyalists to his cause.

In July of 1918, Ekateringburg was under threat from the advancing Whites. The Reds knew that the area would fall to the better manned and better equipped White Army and that the Romanovs would be liberated. By the time the Whites reached Ekateringburg, however, the Imperial Family had disappeared.

The orders had been made by Yakov Yurovsky to members of the Bolshevik secret police to execute the Tsar and his family. On the night of July 17^th, 1918, the family was awoken and told there was trouble in Ekateringburg and that they were to be moved. The whole family, including Nicholas, his wife the Tsarina Alexandra, their daughters, the Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia, their son the Tsarevitch Alexei, along with a small circle of servants, were led to the basement. Awaiting them was Yurovsky leading members of the heavily armed execution squad.

Without hesitation, Yurvsky informed the Romanovs that they were to be executed. Nicholas had only time enough to utter "what" and turn to his family before he was struck with a bullet to the head and several to the chest. The death squad then opened fire on the rest of the family. Some of the bullets ricocheted off the bodies of the Grand Duchesses, it was later discovered that they had sewn diamonds and jewels into their corsets for safe keeping which acted as a kind of armour. The death squad continued firing into their bodies and eventually resorted to stabbing the women to death with their bayonets.

The bodies of the now deceased Imperial Family were unceremoniously dumped in the back of a truck which immediately set out for the planned burial place, some abandoned coal mine shafts near Ekaterinburg. Guards who had been placed at the burial site had been promised live prisoners to shoot for their own entertainment and enjoyment. Disgruntled at finding the prisoners were already dead, the guards proceeded to strip the bodies of their clothing, stealing valuables and abusing the bodies of the dead women. The bodies were then tossed down the mine, followed by grenades, in an attempt to destroy evidence of the terrible deed from the advancing White Army.

However, Yurovsky did not believe this initial site secure enough and decided the bodies needed to be moved to a more secret location. At this point, the bodies of Alexei and one of his sisters, either Maria or Anastasia, were separated from the others and burned and buried in a different locale, in an attempt to thwart the Whites from identifying the grave as containing the Family. Acid and gasoline were used to destroy the remaining bodies.

The grave site remained hidden until it was finally excavated in 1991, in the woods outside of Yekaterinburg. The grave had actually been discovered a decade earlier but had been kept hidden by its discoverers from the Communists who still ruled Russia at the time.

The grave, however, contained only nine of the expected eleven sets of remains. DNA and skeletal analysis verified that Alexei and either Maria or Anastasia were missing, giving new credence to the many rumours which had circulated that they had in fact escaped.

Over the years, many impostors had come forward claiming to be part of the Imperial Family, surviving and escaping the Bolshevik executions. The most recognised of these was Anna Anderson who spent a lifetime trying to prove that she was Anastasia, gaining widespread support and recognition. On her death, however, DNA testing was able to prove that she could not be in any way related to the late Tsar Nicholas.

The final two bodies were not discovered until 2007, when a Russian archaeologist announced the discovery of two charred skeletons at a bonfire site not far from the original grave. DNA testing confirms that these were the two missing Romanov children.

Still, some people aren't convinced, firmly believing that not all of the Imperial Family were slaughtered in that basement almost a century ago.