The Tragedy of the Romanovs, the Monastery and the Real Graves

Here is a brief history of the Romanovs, the Russian Monarchy until the revolution, and the tragedy that befell them.

In 1916, then Emperor Nicholas the Second was persuaded to abdicate for the good of the state; the family were then imprisoned in the royal residence in St. Petersburg before being moved to various other cities, eventually ending up in Yekaterinburg, in a house belonging to a rich merchant named Ipatyev. A large fence was built around the house, and they were guarded along with four servants. The family were treated terribly, particularly because of their involvement with Rasputin, the healing monk. What people didn't know was that their son had haemophilia and they employed Rasputin to help him. Nicholas was nicknamed the "Blood Drinker" and there were various rumours that his wife had been seen with Rasputin, all completely untrue. There were several attempts made to save the royal family, including a plea to Great Britain (the wife of Nicholas was a grand-daughter of Queen Victoria) but nothing succeeded; British politicians voted against helping the family. On July 16th, shortly before midnight, the family were told to go down to the basement as their guards had told them that the White army were coming. There the guards, Bolshevik hired Latvians (to prevent last minute nationalist feelings get in the way), murdered Nicholas followed by the rest of his family (Alexandra his wife, his four daughters, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and his son, Alexis) and their four servants. The family were shot to start with but because of all the jewels in their clothing, the bullets did not often penetrate. The room was apparently thick with smoke from the guns, but the guards could still hear whimpering from the children. The guards were told to keep the noise down so they then unsuccessfully used their bayonets, then eventually shot them in the head. Their execution was judged necessary as keeping them alive was deemed too dangerous; it was thought that the people may rally around the family and the monarchy would be re-established. 

In an attempt to hide the crime, the Bolsheviks drove the bodies into a nearby mining forest so they could drop them into a mineshaft. They removed and burnt their clothes, then used acid to disfigure and conceal their identities. The clothes were then burned and the bodies thrown into mine number 7. Things did not go to plan as the water from the mine was still frozen underneath; they got other Bolsheviks to guard the area while they tried to decide where to take them. The bodies were put back into the truck and the idea was to take them to another place away from the city. As they were driving, the truck got stuck in mud, it was about 3km away from the original site; they decided to dump them there and then. They took two of the bodies, chopped them up and tried to burn them,  but it was useless as the temperature of the fire was not hot enough to dissolve the bones. They dug a grave where they had tried to burn them. The other 9 bodies were dumped in the mud and a makeshift bridge put over the top. The Bolsheviks even drove over it to make it look like it was supposed to be there.

The Mine

It was only when the White army entered the city, and searched the house, that they realised something had happened to the royal family; there was blood and bullet holes in the basement. An investigation was launched but it was not until the following January that they found the mineshaft and remnants of jewellery and trinkets worn by the family in the ashes. Assuming that these ashes were also the ashes of the family, the official report said this was their final resting place. It took a long time for the church and state to recognise this place but the monastery was subsequently built; It is now considered sacred ground as the family were canonised by the church in August, 2000. As such, women must cover there heads and wear a skirt, which is kindly provided at the entrance. The monastery is very beautiful and the location in the forest very peaceful. 

As I mentioned previously, the Bolsheviks decided to move the bodies to another place; this was our next stop. It was only when the KGB files were opened that further clues as to the whereabouts of the burial site were uncovered; this was not until 1991 (over 70 years later!). Apparently a local man discovered them 20 years earlier but was so afraid of the secret police that he reburied the remains and kept quiet until a more politically safe moment arose. The church has not yet recognised this area as the final resting place of the Romanovs; they are still in the process of testing DNA and have refused to acknowledge its authenticity so far. The tomb of Nicholas's father and also DNA taken from other living relations, including Prince Philip, has been gathered for comparison. The grave with the nine bodies has been confirmed as the Romanovs and their servants, but people are still waiting on confirmation that the grave with 2 bodies is that of the son, Alexis and his sister, Maria. This grave was not found until much later but as it is only metres away from the main site so it seems almost certain.

Local historians, with help from local donations, have erected a memorial on the site of both graves. It feels much more real and unspoiled. We feel very lucky to have seen it like this; our guide was telling us that they think it will be next year, 100 years since the murders, that the church will also recognise this as a sacred place. 

9 planks of wood representing the 9 bodies; it is made to look like the bridge they were hidden under

The Graves of Alexis and Maria

After a slightly somber end to our tour, Konstantin drove us back to the city and took us to lunch...

On a side note, while we were at the monastery, Konstantin was telling us about a new film that was supposed to be premiered the day before; it was called Matilda and was about Nicholas's real love before his marriage, a ballerina! A lot of people say this is complete rubbish but a film was made anyway. It was to be premiered in the main cinema in Yekaterinburg but a religious fanatic drove his car into the front of the cinema, set it on fire and whatever materials were in it, exploded! Luckily no-one was hurt. This happened on the morning we arrived!