How Romanov died. Execution of the Romanov royal family

The main condition for the presence of immortality is death itself.

Stanislav Jerzy Lec

Execution royal family Romanovs on the night of July 17, 1918, this is one of major events the era of the civil war, the formation of Soviet power, as well as Russia’s exit from the First World War. The murder of Nicholas 2 and his family was largely predetermined by the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks. But in this story, not everything is as simple as it is usually said. In this article I will present all the facts that are known from this case to evaluate the events of those days.

Background of events

We should start with the fact that Nicholas 2 was not the last Russian emperor, as many believe today. He abdicated the throne (for himself and for his son Alexei) in favor of his brother, Mikhail Romanov. Here he is last emperor. This is important to remember; we will return to this fact later. Also, in most textbooks, the execution of the royal family is equated with the murder of the family of Nicholas 2. But these were not all Romanovs. To understand how many people we're talking about, I will give only data on the last Russian emperors:

• Nicholas 1 – 4 sons and 4 daughters.
• Alexander 2 – 6 sons and 2 daughters.
• Alexander 3 – 4 sons and 2 daughters.
• Nikolai 2 – son and 4 daughters.

That is, the family is very large, and anyone from the list above is a direct descendant of the imperial branch, and therefore a direct contender for the throne. But most of them also had children of their own...

Arrest of members of the royal family

Nicholas 2, having abdicated the throne, put forward fairly simple demands, the implementation of which was guaranteed by the Provisional Government. The requirements were the following:

• The emperor's safe move to Tsarskoye Selo to his family, where at that time Tsarevich Alexei was no longer there.
• The safety of the entire family during their stay in Tsarskoye Selo until Tsarevich Alexei’s complete recovery.
• Safety of the road to the northern ports of Russia, from where Nicholas 2 and his family must cross to England.
• After graduation Civil War The royal family will return to Russia and live in Livadia (Crimea).

These points are important to understand in order to see the intentions of Nicholas 2 and subsequently the Bolsheviks. The emperor abdicated the throne so that the current government would ensure his safe exit to England.

What is the role of the British government?

The provisional government of Russia, after receiving the demands of Nicholas 2, turned to England with the question of the latter’s consent to host the Russian monarch. A positive response was received. But here it is important to understand that the request itself was a formality. The fact is that at that time an investigation was underway against the royal family, during which time travel outside Russia was impossible. Therefore, England, by giving consent, did not risk anything at all. Something else is much more interesting. After the complete acquittal of Nicholas 2, the Provisional Government again makes a request to England, but this time more specific. This time the question was posed not abstractly, but concretely, because everything was ready for moving to the island. But then England refused.

Therefore, when today Western countries and people, shouting at every corner about innocent people killed, talk about the execution of Nicholas 2, this only causes a reaction of disgust at their hypocrisy. One word from the English government that they agree to accept Nicholas 2 and his family, and in principle there would be no execution. But they refused...

In the photo on the left is Nicholas 2, on the right is George 4, King of England. They were distant relatives and had obvious resemblance in appearance.

When was the Romanov royal family executed?

Murder of Mikhail

After October revolution Mikhail Romanov turned to the Bolsheviks with a request to remain in Russia as an ordinary citizen. This request was granted. But the last Russian emperor was not destined to live “in peace” for long. Already in March 1918 he was arrested. There is no reason for the arrest. Until now, not a single historian has been able to find a single historical document explaining the reason for the arrest of Mikhail Romanov.

After his arrest, on March 17 he was sent to Perm, where he lived for several months in a hotel. On the night of July 13, 1918, he was taken from the hotel and shot. This was the first victim of the Romanov family by the Bolsheviks. Official reaction The USSR was ambivalent about this event:

• It was announced to its citizens that Mikhail had shamefully fled Russia abroad. Thus, the authorities got rid of unnecessary questions, and, most importantly, received a legitimate reason to tighten the maintenance of the remaining members of the royal family.
• It was announced to foreign countries through the media that Mikhail was missing. They say he went out for a walk on the night of July 13 and did not return.

Execution of the family of Nicholas 2

The backstory here is very interesting. Immediately after the October Revolution, the Romanov royal family was arrested. The investigation did not reveal the guilt of Nikolai 2, so the charges were dropped. At the same time, it was impossible to let the family go to England (the British refused), and the Bolsheviks really didn’t want to send them to Crimea, because the “whites” were very close there. And throughout almost the entire Civil War, Crimea was under the control of the white movement, and all the Romanovs located on the peninsula escaped by moving to Europe. Therefore, they decided to send them to Tobolsk. The fact of the secrecy of the shipment is also noted in his diaries by Nikolai 2, who writes that they would be taken to ONE of the cities in the interior of the country.

Until March, the royal family lived in Tobolsk relatively calmly, but on March 24 an investigator arrived here, and on March 26 a reinforced detachment of Red Army soldiers arrived. In fact, from that time on, enhanced security measures began. The basis is the imaginary flight of Mikhail.

Subsequently, the family was transported to Yekaterinburg, where they settled in the Ipatiev house. On the night of July 17, 1918, the Romanov royal family was shot. Their servants were shot along with them. In total, the following died that day:

• Nikolay 2,
• His wife, Alexandra
• The emperor's children are Tsarevich Alexei, Maria, Tatiana and Anastasia.
• Family doctor – Botkin
• Maid – Demidova
• Personal chef – Kharitonov
• Lackey - Troupe.

In total, 10 people were shot. According to the official version, the corpses were thrown into a mine and filled with acid.

Who killed the family of Nicholas 2?

I have already said above that starting in March, the security of the royal family was significantly increased. After moving to Yekaterinburg it was already a full-fledged arrest. The family was settled in Ipatiev’s house, and a guard was presented to them, the head of the garrison of which was Avdeev. On July 4, almost the entire guard was replaced, as was its commander. Subsequently, it was these people who were accused of murdering the royal family:

• Yakov Yurovsky. He directed the execution.
• Grigory Nikulin. Yurovsky's assistant.
• Peter Ermakov. Chief of the Emperor's guard.
• Mikhail Medvedev-Kudrin. Representative of the Cheka.

These are the main people, but there were also ordinary performers. It is noteworthy that they all significantly survived this event. Most subsequently took part in the Second World War and received a USSR pension.

Massacre of the rest of the family

Beginning in March 1918, other members of the royal family were gathered in Alapaevsk (Perm province). In particular, the following are imprisoned here: Princess Elizaveta Feodorovna, princes John, Konstantin and Igor, as well as Vladimir Paley. The latter was the grandson of Alexander 2, but had a different surname. Subsequently, they were all transported to Vologda, where on July 19, 1918 they were thrown alive into a mine.

The latest events in the destruction of the Romanov dynastic family date back to January 19, 1919, when princes Nikolai and Georgiy Mikhailovich, Pavel Alexandrovich and Dmitry Konstantinovich were shot in the Peter and Paul Fortress.

Reaction to the murder of the Romanov imperial family

The murder of the family of Nicholas 2 had the greatest resonance, which is why it needs to be studied. There are many sources indicating that when Lenin was informed about the murder of Nicholas 2, he did not even seem to react to it. It is impossible to verify such judgments, but you can refer to archival documents. In particular, we are interested in Minutes No. 159 of the Council meeting People's Commissars dated July 18, 1918. The protocol is very short. We heard the question of the murder of Nicholas 2. We decided to take it into account. That's it, just take note. There are no other documents regarding this case! This is completely absurd. It's the 20th century, but not a single document regarding such an important document has been preserved. historical event, except for one note “Take note”...

However, the main response to murder is investigation. They started

Investigation into the murder of the family of Nicholas 2

The Bolshevik leadership, as expected, began an investigation into the murder of the family. The official investigation began on July 21. She carried out the investigation quite quickly, since Kolchak’s troops were approaching Yekaterinburg. The main conclusion of this official investigation is that there was no murder. Only Nicholas 2 was shot by the verdict of the Yekaterinburg Council. But there is whole line very weak points that still cast doubt on the veracity of the investigation:

• The investigation began a week later. In Russia, the former emperor is killed, and the authorities react to this a week later! Why was there this week of pause?
• Why conduct an investigation if the execution happened on the orders of the Soviets? In this case, on July 17, the Bolsheviks were supposed to report that “the execution of the Romanov royal family took place on the orders of the Yekaterinburg Council. Nikolai 2 was shot, but his family was not touched.”
• There are no supporting documents. Even today, all references to the decision of the Yekaterinburg Council are oral. Even in Stalin’s times, when millions were shot, documents remained that said “the decision of the troika and so on”...

On the 20th of July 1918, Kolchak’s army entered Yekaterinburg, and one of the first orders was to begin an investigation into the tragedy. Today everyone is talking about investigator Sokolov, but before him there were 2 more investigators with the names Nametkin and Sergeev. No one has officially seen their reports. And Sokolov’s report was published only in 1924. According to the investigator, the entire royal family was shot. By this time (back in 1921), the same data was announced by the Soviet leadership.

The order of destruction of the Romanov dynasty

In the story of the execution of the royal family, it is very important to follow the chronology, otherwise you can very easily get confused. And the chronology here is as follows - the dynasty was destroyed in the order of contenders for inheriting the throne.

Who was the first contender for the throne? That's right, Mikhail Romanov. I remind you once again - back in 1917, Nicholas 2 abdicated the throne for himself and for his son in favor of Mikhail. Therefore, he was the last emperor, and he was the first contender for the throne in the event of the restoration of the Empire. Mikhail Romanov was killed on July 13, 1918.

Who was next in line of succession? Nicholas 2 and his son, Tsarevich Alexei. The candidacy of Nicholas 2 is controversial; in the end, he abdicated power on his own. Although in his regard everyone could have played it the other way, because in those days almost all laws were violated. But Tsarevich Alexei was a clear contender. Father didn't have legal law give up the throne for his son. As a result, the entire family of Nicholas 2 was shot on July 17, 1918.

Next in line were all the other princes, of whom there were quite a few. Most of them were collected in Alapaevsk and killed on July 1, 9, 1918. As they say, estimate the speed: 13, 17, 19. If we were talking about random unrelated murders, then such similarity would simply not exist. In less than 1 week, almost all the contenders for the throne were killed, and in order of succession, but history today considers these events in isolation from each other, and absolutely not paying attention to controversial areas.

Alternative versions of the tragedy

A key alternative version of this historical event is outlined in the book “The Murder That Never Happened” by Tom Mangold and Anthony Summers. It states the hypothesis that there was no execution. IN general outline the situation is as follows...

• The reasons for the events of those days should be sought in the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty between Russia and Germany. The argument is that despite the fact that the secrecy stamp on the documents had long been removed (it was 60 years old, that is, there should have been publication in 1978), there is not a single full version this document. Indirect confirmation of this is that the “executions” began precisely after the signing of the peace treaty.
• It is a well-known fact that the wife of Nicholas 2, Alexandra, was a relative of the German Kaiser Wilhelm 2. It is assumed that Wilhelm 2 introduced a clause into the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, according to which Russia undertakes to ensure the safe exit to Germany of Alexandra and her daughters.
• As a result, the Bolsheviks handed over the women to Germany, and left Nicholas 2 and his son Alexei as hostages. Subsequently, Tsarevich Alexei grew up into Alexei Kosygin.

Stalin gave a new twist to this version. It is a well-known fact that one of his favorites was Alexei Kosygin. There are no big reasons to believe this theory, but there is one detail. It is known that Stalin always called Kosygin nothing more than “prince.”

Canonization of the royal family

In 1981 the Russian Orthodox Church abroad canonized Nicholas 2 and his family as great martyrs. In 2000, this happened in Russia. Today, Nicholas 2 and his family are great martyrs and innocent victims, and therefore saints.

A few words about Ipatiev’s house

The Ipatiev House is the place where the family of Nicholas 2 was imprisoned. There is a very reasoned hypothesis that it was possible to escape from this house. Moreover, unlike the unfounded alternative version, there is one significant fact here. So, the general version is that there was an underground passage from the basement of Ipatiev’s house, which no one knew about, and which led to a factory located nearby. Evidence of this has already been provided in our days. Boris Yeltsin gave the order to demolish the house and build a church in its place. This was done, but one of the bulldozers during work fell into this very underground passage. There is no other evidence of the possible escape of the royal family, but the fact itself is interesting. At the very least, it leaves room for thought.

Today, the house has been demolished, and the Temple on the Blood was erected in its place.

Summarizing

In 2008, the Supreme Court Russian Federation recognized the family of Nicholas 2 as victims of repression. Case is closed.

Moscow. July 17.. in Yekaterinburg, the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II and all members of his family were shot. Almost a hundred years later, the tragedy has been studied far and wide by Russian and foreign researchers. Below are the 10 most important facts about what happened in July 1917 in the Ipatiev House.

1. The Romanov family and their retinue were placed in Yekaterinburg on April 30, in the house of retired military engineer N.N. Ipatieva. Doctor E. S. Botkin, chamberlain A. E. Trupp, the Empress's maid A. S. Demidova, cook I. M. Kharitonov and cook Leonid Sednev lived in the house with the royal family. Everyone except the cook was killed along with the Romanovs.

2. In June 1917, Nicholas II received several letters allegedly from a White Russian officer. The anonymous author of the letters told the Tsar that supporters of the crown intended to kidnap the prisoners of the Ipatiev House and asked Nicholas to provide assistance - to draw plans of the rooms, inform the sleep schedule of family members, etc. The Tsar, however, in his response stated: “We do not want and cannot escape. We can only be kidnapped by force, just as we were brought from Tobolsk by force. Therefore, do not count on any of our active help,” thereby refusing to assist the “kidnappers,” but not giving up the very idea of ​​being kidnapped.

It subsequently turned out that the letters were written by the Bolsheviks in order to test the royal family's readiness to escape. The author of the texts of the letters was P. Voikov.

3. Rumors about the murder of Nicholas II appeared back in June 1917 after the assassination of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich. The official version of the disappearance of Mikhail Alexandrovich was an escape; at the same time, the tsar was allegedly killed by a Red Army soldier who broke into the Ipatiev house.

4. Exact text of the verdict, which the Bolsheviks brought out and read to the Tsar and his family, is unknown. At approximately 2 o'clock in the morning from July 16 to July 17, the guards woke up doctor Botkin so that he would wake up royal family, ordered to get ready and go down to the basement. According to various sources, it took from half an hour to an hour to get ready. After the Romanovs and their servants came down, security officer Yankel Yurovsky informed them that they would be killed.

According to various recollections, he said:

“Nikolai Alexandrovich, your relatives tried to save you, but they didn’t have to. And we are forced to shoot you ourselves.”(based on materials from investigator N. Sokolov)

“Nikolai Alexandrovich! The attempts of your like-minded people to save you were not crowned with success! And now, in a difficult time for Soviet republic... - Yakov Mikhailovich raises his voice and chops the air with his hand: - ... we have been entrusted with the mission of ending the house of the Romanovs."(according to the memoirs of M. Medvedev (Kudrin))

"Your friends are advancing on Yekaterinburg, and therefore you are sentenced to death"(according to the recollections of Yurovsky’s assistant G. Nikulin.)

Yurovsky himself later said that he did not remember the exact words he said. “...I immediately, as far as I remember, told Nikolai something like the following: that his royal relatives and friends both in the country and abroad tried to free him, and that the Council of Workers’ Deputies decided to shoot them.”

5. Emperor Nicholas, having heard the verdict, asked again:"Oh my God, what is this?" According to other sources, he only managed to say: “What?”

6. Three Latvians refused to carry out the sentence and left the basement shortly before the Romanovs went down there. The weapons of the refuseniks were distributed among those who remained. According to the recollections of the participants themselves, 8 people took part in the execution. “In fact, there were 8 of us performers: Yurovsky, Nikulin, Mikhail Medvedev, four Pavel Medvedev, five Petr Ermakov, but I’m not sure that Ivan Kabanov is six. And I don’t remember the names of two more,” G writes in his memoirs .Nikulin.

7. It is still unknown whether the execution of the royal family was sanctioned by the highest authority. According to the official version, the decision to “execute” was made by the executive committee of the Ural Regional Council, while the central Soviet leadership learned about what happened only after. By the beginning of the 90s. A version was formed according to which the Ural authorities could not make such a decision without a directive from the Kremlin and agreed to take responsibility for the unauthorized execution in order to provide the central government with a political alibi.

The fact that the Ural Regional Council was not a judicial or other body that had the authority to pass a sentence, execution of the Romanovs for a long time was not considered as political repression, but as a murder, which prevented the posthumous rehabilitation of the royal family.

8. After the execution, the bodies of the dead were taken out of town and burned, pre-watering with sulfuric acid to render the remains unrecognizable. Authorization for allocation large quantity sulfuric acid was issued by the Commissioner of Supply of the Urals P. Voikov.

9. Information about the murder of the royal family became known to society several years later; Initially, the Soviet authorities reported that only Nicholas II was killed, Alexander Fedorovna and her children were allegedly transported to safe place to Perm. The truth about the fate of the entire royal family was reported in the article “The Last Days of the Last Tsar” by P. M. Bykov.

The Kremlin acknowledged the fact of the execution of all members of the royal family when the results of N. Sokolov’s investigation became known in the West in 1925.

10. Remains of five members imperial family and four of their servants were found in July 1991. not far from Yekaterinburg under the embankment of the Old Koptyakovskaya road. On July 17, 1998, the remains of members of the imperial family were buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. In July 2007, the remains of Tsarevich Alexei and Grand Duchess Maria.

Nicholas II is the last Russian emperor. He took the Russian throne at the age of 27. In addition to the Russian crown, the emperor also inherited a huge country, torn apart by contradictions and all kinds of conflicts. A difficult reign awaited him. The second half of Nikolai Alexandrovich’s life took a very difficult and long-suffering turn, the result of which was the execution of the Romanov family, which, in turn, meant the end of their reign.

Dear Nicky

Niki (that was the name of Nicholas at home) was born in 1868 in Tsarskoe Selo. In honor of his birth, 101 gun salvos were fired in the northern capital. At the christening, the future emperor was presented with the highest Russian awards. His mother, Maria Fedorovna, instilled in her children religiosity, modesty, courtesy, and good manners from early childhood. In addition, she did not allow Nicky to forget for a minute that he was the future monarch.

Nikolai Alexandrovich sufficiently heeded her demands, having learned the lessons of education perfectly. The future emperor was always distinguished by tact, modesty and good manners. He was surrounded by love from his relatives. They called him "sweet Nicky."

Military career

At a young age, the Tsarevich began to notice a great desire for military affairs. Nikolai eagerly took part in all parades and shows, and in camp gatherings. He strictly observed the military regulations. It is curious that his military career began at... 5 years old! Soon the crown prince received the rank of second lieutenant, and a year later he was appointed ataman in the Cossack troops.

At the age of 16, the Tsarevich took the oath of “allegiance to the Fatherland and the Throne.” Served in and rose to the rank of colonel. This rank was the last in his military career, since, as emperor, Nicholas II believed that he did not have “any quiet or quiet right” to independently assign military ranks.

Accession to the throne

Nikolai Alexandrovich took the Russian throne at the age of 27. In addition to the Russian crown, the emperor also inherited a huge country, torn apart by contradictions and all kinds of conflicts.

Emperor's Coronation

It took place in the Assumption Cathedral (in Moscow). During gala event When Nicholas approached the altar, the chain of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called flew off his right shoulder and fell to the floor. Everyone present at the ceremony at that moment unanimously perceived this as a bad omen.

Tragedy on Khodynka Field

The execution of the Romanov family is perceived differently by everyone today. Many believe that the beginning of the “royal persecution” began precisely in holidays on the occasion of the coronation of the emperor, when one of the most terrible stampedes in history occurred on the Khodynka field. More than half a thousand (!) people died and were injured in it! Later, significant sums were paid from the imperial treasury to the families of the victims. Despite Khodynka tragedy, the planned ball took place in the evening of the same day.

This event caused many people to speak of Nicholas II as a heartless and cruel tsar.

Nicholas II's mistake

The emperor understood that something urgently needed to be changed in government. Historians say this is why he declared war on Japan. It was 1904. Nikolai Alexandrovich seriously hoped to win quickly, thereby stirring up patriotism among Russians. This became his fatal mistake... Russia was forced to suffer a shameful defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, losing such lands as Southern and Far Sakhalin, as well as the Port Arthur fortress.

Family

Shortly before the execution of the Romanov family, Emperor Nicholas II got married to his only beloved - German princess Alice of Hesse (Alexandra Fedorovna). The wedding ceremony took place in 1894 in the Winter Palace. Throughout his life, Nikolai and his wife remained in a warm, tender and touching relationship. Only death separated them. They died together. But more on that later.

Right during the Russo-Japanese War, the heir to the throne, Tsarevich Alexei, was born into the emperor’s family. This is the first boy; before that, Nikolai had four girls! In honor of this, a salvo of 300 guns was fired. But doctors soon determined that the boy was suffering from an incurable disease - hemophilia (incoagulability of blood). In other words, the crown prince could bleed even from a cut on his finger and die.

"Bloody Sunday" and the First World War

After the shameful defeat in the war, unrest and protests began to arise throughout the country. The people demanded the overthrow of the monarchy. Dissatisfaction with Nicholas II grew every hour. On Sunday afternoon, January 9, 1905, crowds of people came to demand that their complaints about the terrible and hard life be accepted. At this time, the emperor and his family were not in Winter. They were vacationing in Tsarskoye Selo. The troops stationed in St. Petersburg, without the order of the emperor, opened fire on the civilian population. Everyone died: women, old people and children... Along with them, the people’s faith in their king was killed forever! On that “Bloody Sunday,” 130 people were shot and several hundred were wounded.

The emperor was very shocked by the tragedy that happened. Now nothing and no one could calm public discontent with the entire royal family. Unrest and rallies began throughout Russia. In addition, Russia entered the First World War, which Germany declared on it. The fact is that in 1914 hostilities began between Serbia and Austria-Hungary, and Russia decided to protect the small Slavic state, for which she was challenged “to a duel” by Germany. The country was simply fading away before our eyes, everything was going to hell. Nikolai did not yet know that the price for all this would be the execution of the Romanov royal family!

Abdication

The First World War dragged on for long years. The army and the country were extremely dissatisfied with such a vile tsarist regime. Among the people in the northern capital, imperial power has actually lost its power. A Provisional Government was created (in Petrograd), which included the Tsar’s enemies - Guchkov, Kerensky and Milyukov. The Tsar was told about everything that was happening in the country in general and in the capital in particular, after which Nicholas II decided to abdicate his throne.

October Revolution and the execution of the Romanov family

On the day when Nikolai Alexandrovich officially abdicated the throne, his entire family was arrested. The provisional government assured his wife that all this was being done for their own safety, promising to send them abroad. After some time, the former emperor himself was arrested. He and his family were brought to Tsarskoe Selo under guard. Then they were sent to Siberia to the city of Tobolsk in order to finally stop any attempt to restore tsarist power. The entire royal family lived there until October 1917...

It was then that the Provisional Government fell, and after the October Revolution, the life of the royal family deteriorated sharply. They were transported to Yekaterinburg and kept in harsh conditions. The Bolsheviks, who came to power, wanted to arrange a show trial of the royal family, but they were afraid that it would again warm up the feelings of the people, and they themselves would be defeated. After the regional council in Yekaterinburg, a positive decision was made on the topic of execution of the imperial family. The Urals Executive Committee granted the request for execution. There is less than a day left before it disappears from the face of the earth. last family Romanovs.

The execution (there is no photo for obvious reasons) took place at night. Nikolai and his family were lifted out of bed, saying that they were transporting them to another place. A Bolshevik named Yurovsky quickly said that White Army wants to free the former emperor, so the Council of Soldiers' and Workers' Deputies decided to immediately execute the entire royal family in order to put an end to the Romanovs once and for all. Nicholas II did not have time to understand anything, when random shooting immediately rang out at him and his family. Thus ended the earthly journey of the last Russian emperor and his family.

It would seem difficult to find new evidence of the terrible events that occurred on the night of July 16-17, 1918. Even people far from the ideas of monarchism remember that this night became fatal for the Romanov royal family. That night, Nicholas II, who abdicated the throne, the former Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and their children - 14-year-old Alexei, Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia - were shot.

Their fate was shared by the doctor E.S. Botkin, the maid A. Demidov, the cook Kharitonov and the footman. But from time to time there are witnesses who, after for long years silence reveals new details of the murder of the royal family.

Many books have been written about the execution of the Romanov royal family. To this day, discussions continue about whether the murder of the Romanovs was pre-planned and whether it was part of Lenin’s plans. And in our time there are people who believe that at least the children of Nicholas II were able to escape from the basement of the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg.

The accusation of murdering the Romanov royal family was an excellent trump card against the Bolsheviks, giving grounds to accuse them of inhumanity. Is this why most of the documents and evidence that tell about the last days of the Romanovs appeared and continue to appear precisely in Western countries? But some researchers believe that the crime for which Bolshevik Russia was accused was not committed at all...

From the very beginning, there were many secrets in the investigation into the circumstances of the execution of the Romanovs. Two investigators were working on it relatively quickly. The first investigation began a week after the alleged murder. The investigator came to the conclusion that the emperor was in fact executed on the night of July 16-17, but the lives of the former queen, her son and four daughters were spared. At the beginning of 1919, a new investigation was carried out. It was headed by Nikolai Sokolov. Was he able to find indisputable evidence that the entire Romanov family was killed in Yekaterinburg? Hard to say…

While inspecting the mine where the bodies of the royal family were dumped, he found several things that for some reason did not catch the eye of his predecessor: a miniature pin, which the prince used as a fishing hook, gems, which were sewn into the belts of the Grand Duchesses, and the skeleton of a tiny dog, probably the favorite of Princess Tatiana. If we remember the circumstances of the death of the royal family, it is difficult to imagine that the corpse of the dog was also transported from place to place in order to hide... Sokolov did not find human remains, except for several fragments of bones and the severed finger of a middle-aged woman, presumably the empress.

1919 - Sokolov fled abroad, to Europe. But the results of his investigation were published only in 1924. Quite a long time, especially considering the many emigrants who were interested in the fate of the Romanovs. According to Sokolov, all the Romanovs were killed on that fateful night. True, he was not the first to suggest that the empress and her children could not escape. Back in 1921, this version was published by the Chairman of the Yekaterinburg Council Pavel Bykov. It would seem that one could forget about hopes that any of the Romanovs survived. But both in Europe and in Russia, numerous impostors and pretenders constantly appeared who declared themselves children of the emperor. So, there were still doubts?

The first argument of supporters of revising the version of the death of the entire Romanov family was the announcement of the Bolsheviks about the execution of Nicholas II, which was made on July 19. It said that only the tsar was executed, and Alexandra Feodorovna and her children were sent to a safe place. The second is that at that time it was more profitable for the Bolsheviks to exchange Alexandra Feodorovna for political prisoners held in German captivity. There were rumors about negotiations on this topic. Sir Charles Eliot, the British consul in Siberia, visited Yekaterinburg shortly after the death of the emperor. He met with the first investigator in the Romanov case, after which he informed his superiors that, in his opinion, the former Tsarina and her children left Yekaterinburg by train on July 17.

Almost at the same time, Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse, Alexandra's brother, allegedly informed his second sister, the Marchioness of Milford Haven, that Alexandra was safe. Of course, he could simply console his sister, who could not help but hear rumors about the reprisal against the Romanovs. If Alexandra and her children had actually been exchanged for political prisoners (Germany would have willingly taken this step to save its princess), all the newspapers of both the Old and New Worlds would have trumpeted about it. This would mean that the dynasty, linked by blood ties to many of the oldest monarchies in Europe, was not interrupted. But no articles followed, so the version that the entire royal family was killed was recognized as official.

In the early 1970s, English journalists Anthony Summers and Tom Menschld familiarized themselves with the official documents of the Sokolov investigation. And they found many inaccuracies and shortcomings in them that cast doubt on this version. Firstly, an encrypted telegram about the execution of the entire royal family, sent to Moscow on July 17, appeared in the case only in January 1919, after the dismissal of the first investigator. Secondly, the bodies have still not been found. And judging the death of the empress by a single fragment of her body - a severed finger - was not entirely correct.

1988 - seemingly irrefutable evidence of the death of the emperor, his wife and children appeared. Former investigator of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, screenwriter Geliy Ryabov, received a secret report from the son of Yakov Yurovsky (one of the main participants in the execution). It contained detailed information about where the remains of members of the royal family were hidden. Ryabov began searching. He was able to discover greenish-black bones with burn marks left by the acid. 1988 - He published a report on his discovery. 1991, July - Russian professional archaeologists arrived at the place where the remains, presumably belonging to the Romanovs, were found.

9 skeletons were recovered from the ground. 4 of them belonged to Nicholas's servants and their family doctor. Another 5 - to the king, his wife and children. It was not easy to determine the identity of the remains. First, the skulls were compared with surviving photographs of members of the imperial family. One of them was identified as the emperor's skull. Was later held comparative analysis DNA fingerprints. For this, the blood of a person who was related to the deceased was needed. The blood sample was provided by Britain's Prince Philip. His own grandmother maternal line was the sister of the empress's grandmother.

The result of the analysis showed a complete DNA match between the four skeletons, which gave grounds to officially recognize them as the remains of Alexandra and her three daughters. The bodies of the crown prince and Anastasia were not found. Two hypotheses were put forward about this: either two descendants of the Romanov family still managed to survive, or their bodies were burned. It looks like Sokolov was right after all, and his report turned out to be not a provocation, but real lighting facts...

1998 - the remains of the Romanov family were transported with honors to St. Petersburg and buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral. True, there were immediately skeptics who were sure that the cathedral contained the remains of completely different people.

2006 – another DNA analysis was carried out. This time we compared samples of skeletons found in the Urals with fragments of relics Grand Duchess Elizaveta Fedorovna. A series of studies was carried out by Doctor of Sciences, employee of the Institute of General Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences L. Zhivotovsky. His American colleagues helped him. The results of this analysis were a complete surprise: the DNA of Elizabeth and the would-be empress did not match. The first thought that came to the researchers’ minds was that the relics stored in the cathedral actually belonged not to Elizabeth, but to someone else. However, this version had to be excluded: Elizabeth’s body was discovered in a mine near Alapaevsk in the fall of 1918, she was identified by people who were closely acquainted with her, including the confessor of the Grand Duchess, Father Seraphim.

This priest subsequently accompanied the coffin with the body of his spiritual daughter to Jerusalem and would not allow any substitution. This meant that, as a last resort, one body no longer belonged to members of the Romanov family. Later, doubts arose about the identity of the remaining remains. On the skull, which had previously been identified as the emperor's skull, there was no callus, which could not disappear even so many years after death. This mark appeared on the skull of Nicholas II after the assassination attempt on him in Japan. Yurovsky's protocol stated that the tsar was killed at point-blank range, with the executioner shooting in the head. Even taking into account the imperfection of the weapon, there would certainly have been at least one bullet hole left in the skull. However, it does not have both inlet and outlet holes.

It is possible that the 1993 reports were fraudulent. Need to discover the remains of the royal family? Please, here they are. Carry out an examination to prove their authenticity? Here is the result of the examination! In the 1990s, there were all conditions for myth-making. It is not for nothing that the Russian Orthodox Church was so cautious, not wanting to recognize the discovered bones and count the emperor and his family among the martyrs...

Conversations began again that the Romanovs were not killed, but hidden in order to be used in some kind of political game in the future. Could Nikolai live in the Soviet Union under a false name with his family? On the one hand, this option cannot be excluded. The country is huge, there are many corners in it where no one would recognize Nicholas. The Romanov family could have been placed in some kind of shelter, where they would have been completely isolated from contact with the outside world, and therefore not dangerous.

On the other hand, even if the remains discovered near Yekaterinburg are the result of falsification, this does not mean at all that the execution did not take place. They have been able to destroy the bodies of dead enemies and scatter their ashes since time immemorial. To burn a human body, you need 300–400 kg of wood - in India every day thousands of dead are buried using the burning method. So, really, the killers, who had an unlimited supply of firewood and a fair amount of acid, could not hide all traces? Relatively not so long ago, in the fall of 2010, during work in the vicinity of the Old Koptyakovskaya road in the Sverdlovsk region. discovered places where the killers hid jugs of acid. If there was no execution, where did they come from in the Ural wilderness?

Attempts to reconstruct the events that preceded the execution were made repeatedly. As you know, after the abdication, the royal family was settled in the Alexander Palace, in August they were transported to Tobolsk, and later to Yekaterinburg, to the notorious Ipatiev House.

Aviation engineer Pyotr Duz was sent to Sverdlovsk in the fall of 1941. One of his duties in the rear was the publication of textbooks and manuals to supply the country's military universities. While getting acquainted with the property of the publishing house, Duz ended up in the Ipatiev House, in which several nuns and two elderly female archivists then lived. While inspecting the premises, Duz, accompanied by one of the women, went down to the basement and drew attention to strange grooves on the ceiling, which ended in deep recesses...

As part of his work, Peter often visited the Ipatiev House. Apparently, the elderly employees felt confidence in him, because one evening they showed him a small closet, in which there was hanging right on the wall, on rusty nails. white glove, ladies' fan, ring, several buttons different sizes... On the chair lay a small Bible on French and a couple of books in antique bindings. According to one of the women, all these things once belonged to members of the royal family.

She also spoke about the last days of the Romanovs’ life, which, according to her, were unbearable. The security officers who guarded the prisoners behaved incredibly rudely. All the windows in the house were boarded up. The security officers explained that these measures were taken for security purposes, but Duzya’s interlocutor was convinced that this was one of a thousand ways to humiliate the “former”. It should be noted that the security officers had reasons for concern. According to the archivist’s recollections, the Ipatiev House was besieged every morning (!) by local residents and monks who tried to convey notes to the Tsar and his relatives and offered to help with household chores.

Of course, this does not justify the behavior of the security officers, but any intelligence officer entrusted with the protection of an important person is simply obliged to limit his contacts with outside world. But the behavior of the guards was not limited to “not allowing sympathizers” to the members of the Romanov family. Many of their antics were simply outrageous. They took particular pleasure in shocking Nikolai's daughters. They wrote obscene words on the fence and the toilet located in the yard, and tried to watch for girls in the dark corridors. No one has mentioned such details yet. That’s why Duz listened carefully to his interlocutor’s story. ABOUT last minutes She also told a lot about the life of the imperial family.

The Romanovs were ordered to go down to the basement. The emperor asked to bring a chair for his wife. Then one of the guards left the room, and Yurovsky took out a revolver and began to line everyone up in one line. Most versions say that the executioners fired in volleys. But the inhabitants of the Ipatiev house recalled that the shots were chaotic.

Nikolai was killed immediately. But his wife and the princesses were destined for a more difficult death. The fact is that diamonds were sewn into their corsets. In some places they were located in several layers. The bullets ricocheted off this layer and went into the ceiling. The execution dragged on. When the Grand Duchesses were already lying on the floor, they were considered dead. But when they began to lift one of them to load the body into the car, the princess groaned and moved. Therefore, the security officers began to finish off her and her sisters with bayonets.

After the execution, no one was allowed into the Ipatiev House for several days - apparently, attempts to destroy the bodies took a lot of time. A week later, the security officers allowed several nuns to enter the house - the premises needed to be restored to order. Among them was the interlocutor Duzya. According to him, she recalled with horror the picture that opened in the basement of the Ipatiev House. There were many bullet holes on the walls, and the floor and walls in the room where the execution took place were covered in blood.

Subsequently, experts from the Main state center Forensic and forensic examinations of the Russian Ministry of Defense restored the picture of the execution to the minute and to the millimeter. Using a computer, relying on the testimony of Grigory Nikulin and Anatoly Yakimov, they established where and at what moment the executioners and their victims were. Computer reconstruction showed that the Empress and the Grand Duchesses tried to shield Nicholas from the bullets.

Ballistic examination established many details: what weapons were used to kill the members of the imperial family, and approximately how many shots were fired. The security officers needed to pull the trigger at least 30 times...

Every year the chances of discovering the real remains of the Romanov royal family (if we recognize the Yekaterinburg skeletons as fakes) are dwindling. This means that the hope of ever finding an exact answer to the questions is fading: who died in the basement of the Ipatiev House, whether any of the Romanovs managed to escape, and what kind of life further fate heirs to the Russian throne...

Exactly one hundred years have passed since the death of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II and his family. In 1918, on the night of July 16-17, the royal family was shot. We talk about life in exile and the death of the Romanovs, disputes about the authenticity of their remains, the version of the “ritual” murder and why the Russian Orthodox Church canonized the royal family.

CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

What happened to Nicholas II and his family before their death?

After abdicating the throne, Nicholas II turned from a tsar into a prisoner. The last milestones in the life of the royal family are house arrest in Tsarskoe Selo, exile in Tobolsk, imprisonment in Yekaterinburg, writes TASS. The Romanovs were subjected to many humiliations: the guard soldiers were often rude, they imposed restrictions on everyday life, and prisoners’ correspondence was viewed.

While living in Tsarskoe Selo, Alexander Kerensky forbade Nicholas and Alexandra from sleeping together: the spouses were allowed to see each other only at the table and speak to each other exclusively in Russian. True, this measure did not last long.

In Ipatiev’s house, Nicholas II wrote in his diary that he was only allowed to walk for an hour a day. When asked to explain the reason, they answered: “To make it look like a prison regime.”

Where, how and who killed the royal family?

The royal family and their entourage were shot in Yekaterinburg in the basement of the house of mining engineer Nikolai Ipatiev, RIA Novosti reports. Together with Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, their children - Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, Tsarevich Alexei, as well as physician Evgeny Botkin, valet Alexei Trupp, room girl Anna Demidova and cook Ivan Kharitonov died.

The commandant of the House was assigned to organize the execution special purpose Yakov Yurovsky. After the execution, all the bodies were transferred to a truck and taken out of Ipatiev’s house.

Why was the royal family canonized?

In 1998, in response to a request from the Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, the senior prosecutor-criminologist of the Main Investigation Department of the General Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation, who led the investigation, Vladimir Solovyov, replied that “the circumstances of the death of the family indicate that the actions of those involved in the direct execution of the sentence (choice of the place of execution, team, murder weapons, burial places, manipulations with corpses) were determined by random circumstances,” quotes “” refers to the assumption that doubles of the royal family could have been shot in Ipatiev’s house. In a publication by Meduza, Ksenia Luchenko refutes this version:

This is out of the question. On January 23, 1998, the Prosecutor General's Office presented the government commission led by Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov with a detailed report on the results of the study into the circumstances of the death of the royal family and people from its circle.<…>And the general conclusion was clear: everyone died, the remains were correctly identified.