V.I.Lenin and the Romanovs in a revolutionary situation. Execution of the royal family: the last days of the last emperor

The text of the resolution of the Presidium of the Ural Regional Council of Workers, Peasants and Red Army Deputies, published a week after the execution, said: “In view of the fact that Czechoslovak gangs threaten the capital of the Red Urals, Yekaterinburg; in view of the fact that the crowned executioner can avoid the trial of the people (a White Guard conspiracy aimed at kidnapping the entire Romanov family has just been discovered), the Presidium of the regional committee, in fulfillment of the will of the people, decided: to shoot former Tsar Nicholas Romanov, guilty before the people of countless bloody crimes.”

The civil war gained momentum, and Yekaterinburg soon truly came under the control of the whites. The resolution did not report the execution of the entire family, but the members of the Urals Council were guided by the formula “You cannot leave them the banner.” According to the revolutionaries, any of the Romanovs freed by the Whites could subsequently be used for the project of restoring the monarchy in Russia.

If we look at the question more broadly, then Nikolai and Alexandra Romanov were considered by the masses as the main culprits of the troubles that occurred in the country at the beginning of the 20th century - the lost Russian-Japanese War, “Bloody Resurrection” and the subsequent first Russian revolution, “Rasputinism”, the First World War, low living standards, etc.

Contemporaries testify that among the workers of Yekaterinburg there were demands for reprisals against the Tsar, caused by rumors about attempts to escape by the Romanov family.

The execution of all the Romanovs, including children, is perceived as a terrible crime from a peacetime point of view. But in the conditions of the Civil War, both sides fought with increasing brutality, in which not only ideological opponents, but also members of their families were increasingly killed.

As for the execution of the entourage who accompanied the royal family, members of the Urals Council subsequently explained their actions as follows: they decided to share the fate of the Romanovs, so let them share it to the end.

Who made the decision to execute Nikolai Romanov and his family members?

The official decision to execute Nicholas II and his relatives was made on July 16, 1918 by the Presidium of the Ural Regional Council of Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Deputies.

This council was not exclusively Bolshevik and also consisted of anarchists and left Socialist Revolutionaries, who were even more radically disposed towards the family of the last emperor.

It is known that the top leadership of the Bolsheviks in Moscow was considering the issue of holding the trial of Nikolai Romanov in Moscow. However, the situation in the country sharply complicated, the Civil War began and the issue was postponed. The question of what to do with the rest of the family was not even discussed.

In the spring of 1918, rumors about the death of the Romanovs arose several times, but the Bolshevik government denied them. Lenin's directive, sent to Yekaterinburg, demanded the prevention of “any violence” against the royal family.

The highest Soviet leadership represented by Vladimir Lenin And Yakova Sverdlova The Ural comrades were confronted with a fact - the Romanovs were executed. During the Civil War, central control over the regions was often formal.

To date, there is no real evidence to suggest that the government of the RSFSR in Moscow gave the order for the execution of Nikolai Romanov and members of his family.

Why were the children of the last emperor executed?

In conditions of an acute political crisis and the Civil War, the four daughters and son of Nikolai Romanov were considered not as ordinary children, but as figures with the help of which the monarchy could be revived.

Based on known facts, we can say that such a view was not close to the Bolshevik government in Moscow, but the revolutionaries on the ground reasoned exactly like this. Therefore, the Romanov children shared the fate of their parents.

However, it cannot be said that the execution of the royal children is a cruelty that has no analogues in history.

After his election to the Russian throne founder of the Romanov dynasty Mikhail Fedorovich, in Moscow, a 3-year-old was hanged at the Serpukhov Gate Ivashka Vorenok, aka Tsarevich Ivan Dmitrievich, son of Marina Mnishek and False Dmitry II. The whole fault of the unfortunate child was that the opponents of Mikhail Romanov considered Ivan Dmitrievich as a contender for the throne. Supporters of the new dynasty solved the problem radically by strangling the baby.

At the end of 1741, as a result of a coup, she ascended the Russian throne. Elizaveta Petrovna, daughter Peter the Great. At the same time, she overthrew John VI, the infant emperor, who was not even one and a half years old at the time of the overthrow. The child was subjected to strict isolation, his images and even the public speaking of his name were prohibited. After spending his childhood in exile in Kholmogory, at the age of 16 he was imprisoned in solitary confinement in the Shlisselburg fortress. After spending his entire life in captivity, the former emperor was stabbed to death by guards at the age of 23 during a failed attempt to free him.

Is it true that the murder of Nikolai Romanov’s family was ritual in nature?

All investigative teams that have ever worked on the case of the execution of the Romanov family came to the conclusion that it was not of a ritual nature. Information about certain signs and inscriptions at the execution site that have a symbolic meaning is a product of myth-making. This version became most widespread thanks to a book by a Nazi Helmut Schramm"Ritual murder among the Jews." Schramm himself included it in the book at the suggestion of Russian emigrants Mikhail Skaryatin And Grigory Schwartz-Bostunich. The latter not only collaborated with the Nazis, but made a brilliant career in the Third Reich, rising to the rank of SS Standartenführer.

Is it true that some members of Nicholas II's family escaped execution?

Today we can confidently say that both Nikolai and Alexandra and all their five children died in Yekaterinburg. In general, the overwhelming majority of members of the Romanov clan either died during the revolution and the Civil War or left the country. The rarest exception can be considered the great-great-great-granddaughter of Emperor Nicholas I, Natalya Androsova, who in the USSR became a circus performer and a master of sports in motorcycle racing.

To a certain extent, the members of the Urals Council achieved the goal they were striving for - the basis for the revival of the institution of monarchy in the country was completely and irrevocably destroyed.

Ekaterinburg. At the site of the execution of the royal family. Holy Quarter June 16th, 2016

Immediately behind, you can’t help but notice this tall temple and a number of other temple buildings. This is the "Holy Quarter". By the will of fate, three streets named after revolutionaries are limited. Let's head towards it.

On the way there is a monument to Saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom. Installed in 2012.

The Church on the Blood was built in 2000-2003. on the site where on the night of July 16 to July 17, 1918, the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II and his family were shot. There are photographs of them at the entrance to the temple.

In 1917, after the February Revolution and abdication, the former Russian Emperor Nicholas II and his family were exiled to Tobolsk by decision of the Provisional Government.

After the Bolsheviks came to power and the outbreak of the civil war, in April 1918, permission was received from the Presidium (All-Russian Central Executive Committee) of the fourth convocation to transfer the Romanovs to Yekaterinburg in order to take them from there to Moscow for the purpose of their trial.

In Yekaterinburg, a large stone mansion, confiscated from engineer Nikolai Ipatiev, was chosen as the place of imprisonment for Nicholas II and his family. On the night of July 17, 1918, in the basement of this house, Emperor Nicholas II, along with his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, children and close associates, were shot, and after that their bodies were taken to the abandoned Ganina Yama mine.

On September 22, 1977, on the recommendation of KGB Chairman Yu.V. Andropov and the instructions of B.N. Yeltsin's house, Ipatiev's, was destroyed. Later, Yeltsin would write in his memoirs: “...sooner or later we will all be ashamed of this barbarity. It will be a shame, but nothing can be corrected...”.

When designing, the plan of the future temple was superimposed on the plan of the demolished Ipatiev house in such a way as to create an analogue of the room where the Royal Family was shot. On the lower level of the temple a symbolic place for this execution was provided. In fact, the place where the royal family was executed is located outside the temple in the area of the roadway on Karl Liebknecht Street.

The temple is a five-domed structure with a height of 60 meters and a total area of 3000 m². The architecture of the building is designed in the Russian-Byzantine style. The vast majority of churches were built in this style during the reign of Nicholas II.

The cross in the center is part of a monument to the royal family going down to the basement before being shot.

Adjacent to the Church on the Blood is the temple in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker with the spiritual and educational center “Patriarchal Compound” and the museum of the royal family.

Behind them you can see the Church of the Ascension of the Lord (1782-1818).

And in front of it is the Kharitonov-Rastorguev estate of the early 19th century (architect Malakhov), which became the Palace of Pioneers in the Soviet years. Nowadays it is the City Palace of Children and Youth Creativity “Talentedness and Technology”.

What else is located in the surrounding area? This is the Gazprom tower, which was built in 1976 as the Tourist Hotel.

The former office of the now defunct Transaero airline.

Between them are buildings from the middle of the last century.

Residential building-monument from 1935. Built for railway workers. Very beautiful! Fizkulturnikov Street, on which the building is located, was gradually built up since the 1960s, and as a result, by 2010 it was completely lost. This residential building is the only building listed on a virtually non-existent street; the house is number 30.

Well, now we go to the Gazprom tower - an interesting street begins from there.

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

The execution of the Romanov royal family on the night of July 17, 1918 is one of the most important events of 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 in this case in order to assess 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. So he is the 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 are 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 transfer to Tsarskoe 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 the end of the 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 similarities in appearance.

When was the Romanov royal family executed?

Murder of Mikhail

After the 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. The official reaction of the USSR to this event was ambivalent:

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 Protocol No. 159 of the meeting of the Council of People's Commissars of 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 historical event has been preserved, 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 are a number of 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. The father had no legal right to refuse 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 gathered 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 terms 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 complete version of 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 Alexey 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, in contrast to the unfounded alternative version, there is one significant fact. 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 of the Russian Federation recognized the family of Nicholas 2 as victims of repression. Case is closed.

After the execution on the night of July 16-17, 1918, the bodies of members of the royal family and their associates (11 people in total) were loaded into a car and sent towards Verkh-Isetsk to the abandoned mines of Ganina Yama. At first they unsuccessfully tried to burn the victims, and then they threw them into a mine shaft and covered them with branches.

Discovery of remains

However, the next day almost the entire Verkh-Isetsk knew about what had happened. Moreover, according to a member of Medvedev’s firing squad, “the icy water of the mine not only completely washed away the blood, but also froze the bodies so much that they looked as if they were alive.” The conspiracy clearly failed.

It was decided to promptly rebury the remains. The area was cordoned off, but the truck, having driven only a few kilometers, got stuck in the swampy area of Porosenkova Log. Without inventing anything, they buried one part of the bodies directly under the road, and the other a little to the side, after first filling them with sulfuric acid. Sleepers were placed on top for safety.

It is interesting that the forensic investigator N. Sokolov, sent by Kolchak in 1919 to search for the burial place, found this place, but never thought of lifting the sleepers. In the area of Ganina Yama, he managed to find only a severed female finger. Nevertheless, the investigator’s conclusion was unequivocal: “This is all that remains of the August Family. The Bolsheviks destroyed everything else with fire and sulfuric acid.”

Nine years later, perhaps, it was Vladimir Mayakovsky who visited Porosenkov Log, as can be judged by his poem “The Emperor”: “Here a cedar has been touched with an ax, there are notches under the root of the bark, at the root there is a road under the cedar, and in it the emperor is buried.”

It is known that the poet, shortly before his trip to Sverdlovsk, met in Warsaw with one of the organizers of the execution of the royal family, Pyotr Voikov, who could show him the exact place.

Ural historians found the remains in Porosenkovo Log in 1978, but permission for excavations was received only in 1991. There were 9 bodies in the burial. During the investigation, some of the remains were recognized as “royal”: according to experts, only Alexei and Maria were missing. However, many experts were confused by the results of the examination, and therefore no one was in a hurry to agree with the conclusions. The House of Romanovs and the Russian Orthodox Church refused to recognize the remains as authentic.

Alexei and Maria were discovered only in 2007, guided by a document drawn up from the words of the commandant of the “House of Special Purpose” Yakov Yurovsky. “Yurovsky’s note” initially did not inspire much confidence, however, the location of the second burial was indicated correctly.

Falsifications and myths

Immediately after the execution, representatives of the new government tried to convince the West that members of the imperial family, or at least the children, were alive and in a safe place. People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs G.V. Chicherin in April 1922 at the Genoa Conference, when asked by one of the correspondents about the fate of the Grand Duchesses, vaguely answered: “The fate of the Tsar’s daughters is not known to me. I read in the newspapers that they are in America.”

However, P.L. Voikov informally stated more specifically: “the world will never know what we did to the royal family.” But later, after the materials of Sokolov’s investigation were published in the West, the Soviet authorities recognized the fact of the execution of the imperial family.

Falsifications and speculation around the execution of the Romanovs contributed to the spread of persistent myths, among which the myth of ritual murder and the severed head of Nicholas II, which was in the special storage facility of the NKVD, was popular. Later, stories about the “miraculous rescue” of the Tsar’s children, Alexei and Anastasia, were added to the myths. But all this remained myths.

Investigation and examinations

In 1993, the investigation into the discovery of the remains was entrusted to the investigator of the General Prosecutor's Office, Vladimir Solovyov. Given the importance of the case, in addition to traditional ballistic and macroscopic examinations, additional genetic studies were carried out jointly with English and American scientists.

For these purposes, blood was taken from some Romanov relatives living in England and Greece. The results showed that the probability of the remains belonging to members of the royal family was 98.5 percent.
The investigation considered this insufficient. Solovyov managed to obtain permission to exhume the remains of the Tsar’s brother, George. Scientists confirmed the “absolute positional similarity of mt-DNA” of both remains, which revealed a rare genetic mutation inherent in the Romanovs - heteroplasmy.

However, after the discovery of the supposed remains of Alexei and Maria in 2007, new research and examinations were required. The scientists’ work was greatly facilitated by Alexy II, who, before burying the first group of royal remains in the tomb of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, asked investigators to remove bone particles. “Science is developing, it is possible that they will be needed in the future,” these were the words of the Patriarch.

To remove the doubts of skeptics, the head of the laboratory of molecular genetics at the University of Massachusetts, Evgeniy Rogaev (whom representatives of the House of Romanov insisted on), the chief geneticist of the US Army, Michael Cobble (who returned the names of the victims of September 11), as well as an employee of the Institute of Forensic Medicine from Austria, Walter, were invited for new examinations. Parson.

Comparing the remains from the two burials, experts once again double-checked the previously obtained data and also conducted new research - the previous results were confirmed. Moreover, the “blood-spattered shirt” of Nicholas II (the Otsu incident), discovered in the Hermitage collections, fell into the hands of scientists. And again the answer is positive: the genotypes of the king “on blood” and “on bones” coincided.

Results

The results of the investigation into the execution of the royal family refuted some previously existing assumptions. For example, according to experts, “under the conditions in which the destruction of corpses was carried out, it was impossible to completely destroy the remains using sulfuric acid and flammable materials.”

This fact excludes Ganina Yama as a final burial site.
True, historian Vadim Viner finds a serious gap in the conclusions of the investigation. He believes that some finds belonging to a later time were not taken into account, in particular coins from the 30s. But as the facts show, information about the burial place very quickly “leaked” to the masses, and therefore the burial ground could be repeatedly opened in search of possible valuables.

Another revelation is offered by the historian S.A. Belyaev, who believes that “they could have buried the family of an Ekaterinburg merchant with imperial honors,” although without providing convincing arguments.
However, the conclusions of the investigation, which was carried out with unprecedented rigor using the latest methods, with the participation of independent experts, are clear: all 11 remains clearly correlate with each of those shot in Ipatiev’s house. Common sense and logic dictate that it is impossible to duplicate such physical and genetic correspondences by chance.
In December 2010, the final conference dedicated to the latest results of the examinations was held in Yekaterinburg. The reports were made by 4 groups of geneticists working independently in different countries. Opponents of the official version could also present their views, but according to eyewitnesses, “after listening to the reports, they left the hall without saying a word.”
The Russian Orthodox Church still does not recognize the authenticity of the “Ekaterinburg remains,” but many representatives of the House of Romanov, judging by their statements in the press, accepted the final results of the investigation.

(TO THE 94TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SHOOTING)

94 years have passed since the execution of members of the royal family of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II, but the Russian press still continues to repeat the old lies about the participants in the historical event. The time has long come to establish the number and names of those who were directly involved in the execution of members of the royal family and service personnel. Below are the main research materials taken from the chapter “Pure Russian Murder” (Two Hundred Years of Protracted Pogrom, Vol. 3, Book 2, 2009). Based on a critical analysis of historical evidence - the diaries of Nicholas II and the courtiers, A. Kerensky, investigator N. Sokolov, archival materials collected in the books of E. Radzinsky “Nicholas II”, M. Kasvinov “Twenty-three steps down” and other authors - to the attention readers are offered a completely new version of the circumstances of the murder of the royal family and the composition of its direct perpetrators. This version refutes yet another blood libel by Russian nationalists, who have come up with absurd versions of Jewish participation in the murder of the Tsar and his relatives.

In one of his messages to the mythical conspirators, who were allegedly preparing the release of members of the royal family, Nicholas II wrote: “The room is occupied by the commandant and his assistants, who are currently making up the internal security. There are 13 of them, armed with guns, revolvers, and bombs. Opposite our windows on the other side of the street there is a guard in a small house. It consists of 50 people." The composition of the guards is very impressive, but the inquisitive Nikolai does not mention either Latvians or Magyars, because they weren't there. Why bring Latvians and Magyars to Yekaterinburg if the guard of 63 Red Army soldiers was already recruited “from the Zlokazov workers brought by Avdeev,” that is, those who worked at the factory of the manufacturer Zlokazov. A. D. Avdeev, who was for more than three months the commandant of the house in Tobolsk and Yekaterinburg, was replaced by Yurovsky on July 4, 1918, that is, 12 days before the execution. What would Russian nationalists come up with if Avdeev had turned out to be the commandant of the house on July 16? They would have turned him into the insignificant person he really was, or they would have tried not to mention his existence at all. In fact, Avdeev was replaced by Yurovsky because he was involved in systematic drunkenness.

WHO WAS THE SENIOR OF THE IPATEV HOUSE

On the same day, July 4, 1918, an entry appeared in the tsar’s diary: “During lunch, Beloborodov and others came and announced that instead of Avdeev, the one we took for a doctor, Yurovsky, was being appointed.” Before dealing with the number of direct killers, it is equally important to determine the name of the person who was senior boss in the House of Special Purpose. From the tsar’s diary entry, one can clarify who the former emperor considered the eldest: “For a long time they could not arrange their things, because commissioner, commandant and guard officer everyone did not have time to begin examining the chests. And then the inspection was similar to customs, so strict, right down to the last bottle of Alex’s first aid kit.” From this seemingly innocent entry it follows that the tsar quite reasonably considered Commissar Ermakov to be the main authority in the house, and therefore put him in first place. Commissioner P. Ermakov, really, was the most senior military commander, to which 63 armed Red Army soldiers were subordinate. His deputy was the head of the guard service M. Medvedev, who daily and in shifts placed each of the guards at the place of duty. Ermakov was previously subordinate to Commandant Ageev, who was responsible for organizing the life of members of the royal family. It was Ermakov who received orders from the Ural Regional Executive Committee and, just before the execution, together with M. Medvedev, brought the Council Resolution on the execution to Ipatiev’s house. The commandant mentioned by the tsar is Avdeev.

However, Russian nationalists created a version that the eldest in Ipatiev’s house was Commandant Yurovsky, but they never mentioned Avdeev’s name in this role. Radzinsky is clearly inventing that the implementation of the Resolution is entrusted to the commandant of the House of Special Purpose. It is impossible to imagine that the execution was entrusted to a photographer and watchmaker by profession, who for 12 days only became familiar with the situation in the house. Commissioner Pyotr Ermakov, under whose command all the armed riflemen were, could not transfer his powers to watchmaker Yurovsky, who accidentally found himself in the role of commandant. Ermakov was senior in position and responsibilities in the house when Avdeev played the role of commandant; he remained senior when this role passed to Yurovsky. It means that only Ermakov, and no one else, could direct the execution of the royal family and give the command. That evening, it was Ermakov who gathered the riflemen, together with Medvedev, placed them in their places, ordered Yurovsky to read the text of the Urals Council Resolution and gave the command “Fire!” as soon as Yurovsky completed reading the Resolution for the first time. This is exactly what Ermakov himself told the pioneers about this event and wrote in his “Memoirs”. Strengthening the role of Yurovsky is the main nonsense invention of Sokolov and Radzinsky, which is still widely circulated among evil but illiterate Russian anti-Semites. None of the military will transfer command of soldiers to a civilian in the presence of their immediate superior.

Historian M. Kasvinov reports that the decision of the Ural Council to execute the royal family was conveyed to Yurovsky by two Special Representatives at half past twelve on July 16, that is, half an hour before the execution. Radzinsky names the names of the Commissioners: this is the head of the security of the House of Special Purpose P. Ermakov and member of the board of the Ural Cheka, former sailor, M. Mikhailov-Kudrin, chief of the guard service. Both Commissioners of the Ural Regional Council take personal part in the execution of the royal family.

NAMES OF THE SHOOTERS

The next most important issue is to clarify the number and names of the firing squad in order to eliminate any fantasies on this topic. According to the version of investigator Sokolov, supported by Radzinsky, 12 people took part in the execution, including six to seven foreigners, that is, five Latvians, Magyars and a Lutheran. Chekista Petra Ermakova, originally from the Verkh-Isetsky plant, Radzinsky calls “one of the most sinister participants in the Ipatiev Night.” Ermakov himself, who “by agreement belonged to the tsar,” confirmed: “I fired a shot at him point-blank, he fell immediately...”. The Sverdlovsk Regional Museum of the Revolution contains an act: “On December 10, 1927, they accepted from comrade P.Z. Ermakov a revolver 161474 of the Mauser system, with which, according to P.Z. Ermakov, the Tsar was shot.” For twenty years, Ermakov spoke in detail about his role in lectures about how he personally killed the Tsar. On August 3, 1932, Ermakov published his biography, in which he said without undue modesty: “On July 16, 1918... I carried out the decree - The tsar himself, as well as his family, were shot by me. And I personally burned the corpses myself.” In 1947, the same Ermakov completed “Memoirs” and, along with his biography, submitted it to the Sverdlovsk party activist. In Ermakov’s book there is the following phrase: “I honorably fulfilled my duty to the people and the country, took part in the execution of the entire reigning family. I took Nikolai himself, Alexandra, my daughter, Alexei, because I had a Mauser and could work with it. The rest had revolvers.” Enough uh that confession of Ermakov, in order to forever forget all the falsifiers’ versions about the participation of Jews. I recommend that all anti-Semites read and re-read Pyotr Ermakov’s “Memoirs” before going to bed and after waking up, and it would be useful for Solzhenitsyn and Radzinsky to memorize the text of this book as “Our Father.”

The son of security officer M. Medvedev stated from his father’s words: “The Tsar was killed by his father. And immediately, as soon as Yurovsky repeated the last words, his father was already waiting for them and was ready and immediately fired. And he killed the king. He made his shot faster than anyone else... Only he had a Browning. According to Radzinsky, the real name of the professional revolutionary and one of the Tsar’s killers is Mikhail Medvedev was Kudrin. At first, this son stated that Ermakov killed the king, and a little later - his father. So figure out where the truth is.

Another “chief of security” of the Ipatiev House participated in the murder of the royal family on a voluntary basis. Pavel Medvedev, “a non-commissioned officer of the tsarist army, a participant in the battles during the defeat of Dukhovshchina,” captured by the White Guards in Yekaterinburg, who allegedly told Sokolov that “he himself fired 2-3 bullets at the sovereign and at other people whom they shot.” P. Medvedev is the third participant who claimed that he personally killed the Tsar. In fact, P. Medvedev was not the head of security; investigator Sokolov did not interrogate him, because even before Sokolov’s “work” began, he managed to “die” in prison. Another killer took part in the execution - A. Strekotin. On the night of the execution, Alexander Strekotin “was appointed as a machine gunner on the ground floor. The machine gun stood on the window. This post is very close to the hallway and that room.” As Strekotin himself wrote. Pavel Medvedev approached him and “silently handed me the revolver.” “Why do I need him?” — I asked Medvedev. “There will be an execution soon,” he told me and quickly left.” Strekotin is clearly being modest and concealing his real participation in the execution, although he is constantly in the basement with a revolver in his hands. When the arrested were brought in, the taciturn Strekotin said that “he followed them, leaving his post, they and I stopped at the door of the room.” From these words it follows that A. Strekotin, in whose hands there was a revolver, also participated in the execution of the family, since watching the execution through the only door in the basement room, which was closed at the time of the execution, it was physically impossible.“It was no longer possible to shoot with the doors open; shots could be heard on the street,” reports A. Lavrin, quoting Strekotin. “Ermakov took my rifle with a bayonet and killed everyone who was alive.” From this phrase it follows that the execution in the basement took place with the door closed. This is a very important detail.

“The rest of the princesses and servants went Pavel Medvedev, the head of security, and another security officer - Alexey Kabanov and six Latvians from the Cheka." These words belong to the dreamer Radzinsky, who mentions nameless Latvians and Magyars taken from the dossier of investigator Sokolov, but for some reason forgets to name them. Later, Radzinsky, “according to legend,” deciphered the name of the Hungarian - Imre Nagy, the future leader of the Hungarian revolution of 1956, although without Latvians and Magyars, six volunteers had already been recruited to shoot six adult family members, a cook and servants (Nicholas, Alexandra, Grand Duchesses Anastasia, Tatiana , Olga, Maria, Tsarevich Alexei, Doctor Botkin, cook Kharitonov, footman Trupp, housekeeper Demidova).

According to bibliographic data, Imre Nagy, Born in 1896, participated in the First World War as part of the Austro-Hungarian army. He was captured by Russians and was kept in a camp near the village of Verkhneudinsk until March 1918, then he joined the Red Army and fought on Lake Baikal. There is a lot of autobiographical information about Imre Nadi on the Internet, but none of them mentions participation in the murder of the royal family.

WERE THERE LATTIANS?

The nameless Latvians are mentioned only in the investigative documents of Sokolov, who clearly included mentions of them in the testimony of those whom he interrogated. None of the security officers who wrote their memoirs or biographies voluntarily - Ermakov, the son of M. Medvedev, G. Nikulin - mention the Latvians and Hungarians. There are no Latvians in the photographs of the participants in the execution, which Radzinsky cites in the book. This means that the mythical Latvians and Magyars were invented by investigator Sokolov and later turned invisible by Radzinsky. According to the testimony of A. Lavrin and Strekotin, the case mentions Latvians who allegedly appear at the last moment before the execution of “a group of people unknown to me, about six or seven people.” After these words, Radzinsky adds: “So, the team of Latvians - the executioners (that was them) is already waiting. That room is already ready, already empty, all the things have already been taken out of it.” Radzinsky is clearly fantasizing, because the basement was prepared in advance for execution - its walls were lined with planks to the full height. It is this circumstance that explains the reason why the execution took place four days later after the decision of the Ural Regional Council. Let me quote another phrase from M. Medvedev’s son, related to the legend “about the Latvian riflemen”: “They often met in our apartment. All former regicides, moved to Moscow"

. Naturally, no one remembered the Latvians, who were not in Moscow.

It remains to explain how all the executioners, along with the victims, were housed in a small room during the murder of members of the royal family. Radzinsky claims that 12 executioners stood in the opening of an open double door in three rows. In an opening one and a half meters wide, no more than two or three armed shooters could fit. I propose to conduct an experiment and arrange 12 armed people in three or four rows to make sure that at the very first shot, the third row should shoot in the back of the head of those standing in the first row. The Red Army soldiers standing in the second row could only shoot directly, between the heads of those standing in the first row. Family members and household members were only partially located opposite the door, and most of them were in the middle of the room, away from the doorway, which in the photograph is located in the left corner of the room. Therefore, we can definitely say that there were no more than six real killers, all of them were inside the room with the doors closed, and Radzinsky tells tales about Latvians in order to dilute the Russian riflemen with them. In reality, all six killers lined up along the wall in one row inside the room and shot point-blank from a distance of two and a half to three meters. This number of armed people is quite enough to within two to three seconds

shoot 11 unarmed people. It is necessary to pay special attention to the size of the basement and the fact that the only door of the room in which the execution took place was closed during the action. M. Kasvinov reports the dimensions of the basement - 6 by 5 meters

Radzinsky repeatedly emphasized that the execution was carried out after a truck drove up to the House of Special Purpose, the engine of which was deliberately not turned off in order to muffle the sounds of shots and not disturb the sleep of the city residents. In this truck, half an hour before the execution, both representatives of the Urals Council arrived at Ipatiev’s house. This means that the execution could only be carried out behind closed doors. To reduce the noise from gunfire and enhance the sound insulation of the walls, the previously mentioned plank cladding was created. With the door closed, all the executioners, along with the victims, were only inside the room. Radzinsky's version that 12 shooters fired through an open door is no longer valid. The mentioned participant in the execution, A. Strekotin, reported in his memoirs in 1947 about his actions when it was discovered that several women were wounded: “It was no longer possible to shoot at them, since all the doors inside the building were open, then Comrade Ermakov, seeing that I was holding a rifle with a bayonet in my hands, suggested that I finish off those who were still alive.”

From Kasvinov’s book it follows that the corner basement under the very ceiling there was one narrow barred window, facing the courtyard. In G. Smirnov’s book “Question Marks over the Graves” (1996) there is a photograph of the courtyard facade of Ipatiev’s house, which shows a window in the basement almost at ground level. It was impossible to see anything through this window. According to the fantasy of Sokolov and Radzinsky, the guards Kleshchev and Deryabin were at the basement window and told the investigator that they allegedly watched the execution: “Deryabin sees through the window part of the figure and mainly Yurovsky’s hand.” The same Deryabin stated: “The Latvians stood nearby and right in the door, behind them stood Medvedev (Pashka).” This phrase was clearly composed by Sokolov, naively assuming that no one would recognize the location of the windows in the Ipatiev House. Even if Deryabin, who supposedly saw something through the glass, had sprawled on the ground, he still would not have been able to notice anything. He might as well have seen the leg of Goloshchekin, who had never been in the house. This means that the testimony of Deryabin and Kleshchev is an absolute lie.

THE ROLE OF YUROVSKY

From the testimonies interrogated by investigators Sergeev and Sokolov and from the above memories of the surviving participants, it follows that Yurovsky did not participate in the execution of members of the royal family. At the time of the execution, he was to the right of the front door, a meter from the Tsarevich and Tsarina sitting on chairs, and also between those who shot. In his hands he held the Resolution of the Urals Council and did not even have time to repeat the text at Nikolai’s request, when a volley rang out on Ermakov’s order. Strekotin, who himself participated in the execution, writes: “Yurovsky stood in front of the Tsar, holding his right hand in his trouser pocket, and in his left - a small piece of paper... Then he read the verdict. But didn't have time to finish the last words, as the king asked loudly... And Yurovsky read it a second time.” In fact, Yurovsky was not armed, his participation in the execution was not envisaged. “And immediately after the last words of the verdict were pronounced, shots rang out... The Urals did not want to give the Romanovs into the hands of the counter-revolution, not only alive, but also dead,” Kasvinov noted.

Radzinsky writes that Yurovsky allegedly confessed to Medvedev-Kudrin: “Oh, you didn’t let me finish reading - you started shooting!” This phrase is key, proving that Yurovsky did not shoot and did not even try to refute Ermakov’s stories, “avoided direct clashes with Ermakov,” who “fired a shot at him (Nikolai) at point-blank range, he fell immediately” - these words are taken from Radzinsky’s book. After the execution was completed, Yurovsky allegedly personally examined the corpses and found one bullet wound in Nikolai’s body. But there could not have been a second, much less a third and fourth, when shot at point-blank range from a short distance.

COMPOSITION OF THE SHOOTING TEAM

Exactly dimensions of the basement room and doorway, located in the left corner, they clearly confirm that there could be no question of placing twelve executioners in the doors, which were closed. In other words, Neither Latvians, nor Magyars, nor Lutheran Yurovsky took part in the execution, and only Russian shooters, led by their boss Ermakov, took part: Pyotr Ermakov, Grigory Nikulin, Mikhail Medvedev-Kudrin, Alexey Kabanov, Pavel Medvedev and Alexander Strekotin, who barely fit along the wall inside the room. All names are taken from the books of Radzinsky and Kasvinov.

According to Kasvinov’s information, all security officers who fell into the hands of the whites and were even remotely related to the execution of the royal family were tortured and shot by the whites on the spot. Among them, everyone who was interrogated by investigator Sergeev, a breeder Yakimov, security guards Letemin, F. Proskuryakov and Stolov(were drunk, slept all night in the bathhouse), guards Kleshchev and Deryabin, P. Samokhvalov, S. Zagoruiko, Yakimov, and others (who were on duty on the street and could not see what was happening in the house with the doors closed and through windows that did not exist in the basement) - did not participate in the execution and could not tell anything. Only Letemin testified from the words of machine gunner A. Strekotin. The White Guards shot all the former guards of the house who fell into their hands, as well as two drivers - P. Samokhvalova and S. Zagoruiko only because they transported the Tsar and his entourage after arriving in Yekaterinburg from the railway station to the Ipatiev House. Among the named persons there is no P. Medvedev, the only witness who participated in the execution, but did not testify to investigator Sergeev only because, according to some information, he died in prison from the plague. A very mysterious death of 31-year-old Medvedev!

Radzinsky claims that the illiterate Strekotin, who testified to investigator Sokolov, prepared his “Memoirs” for the anniversary of the execution of the royal family in 1928, which were published 62 years later in the magazine “Ogonyok” by Radzinsky himself. Strekotin could not write anything in 1928, because all the people who fell into the hands of the whites were shot. According to Radzinsky, this “oral story by Strekotin was the basis of the White Guard investigation of Sokolov,” which, in fact, was another fiction.

Sergey Lyukhanov, a Zlokazovsky worker, the driver of a truck standing in the yard during the execution, on which the corpses of those executed were transported outside the city for two days, was another one of the accomplices in the murder. His strange behavior after the night of the execution and until the end of his life is proof of this. Soon after this event, Lyukhanov’s wife left her husband and cursed him. Lyukhanov constantly changed his place of residence, was hiding from people. He hid so much that he was even afraid to receive his old-age pension, and he lived until he was eighty. This is how people who have committed a crime behave and are afraid of exposure. Radzinsky suggests that Lyukhanov allegedly saw how the Red Army soldiers “pulled two half-shot men from a truck” when he was transporting corpses for burial to the mines, and was afraid of responsibility for their shortage. Radzinsky does not insist on this assumption, but it does not stand up to criticism. For some reason, the Red Army soldiers, who allegedly stole two corpses from the truck, which were later missing, were not afraid of what they had done, and the driver Lyukhanov died of fear until the end of his days. Most likely, this Lyukhanov either personally finished off the “corpses” that had come to life in the back, or participated in the robbery of the bodies of already dead princesses. It was this kind of crime that could cause the driver a mortal fear that haunted him all his life. Security Guard Letemin It seems that he did not personally participate in the execution, but he was honored to steal a red spaniel named Joy that belonged to the royal family, the prince’s diary, “the reliquaries with incorruptible relics from Alexei’s bed and the image that he wore...”. He paid with his life for the royal puppy. “Many royal things were found in Ekaterinburg apartments. They found the Empress's black silk umbrella, and a white linen umbrella, and her purple dress, and even a pencil - the same one with her initials, which she used to write in her diary, and the princesses' silver rings. The valet Chemodumov walked through the apartments like a bloodhound.” “Andrei Strekotin, as he himself said, took jewelry from them (from the executed). But Yurovsky immediately took them away.” “When removing the corpses, some of our comrades began to remove various things that were with the corpses, such as watches, rings, bracelets, cigarette cases and other things. This was reported to comrade. Yurovsky. Comrade Yurovsky stopped us and offered to voluntarily hand over various things taken from the corpses. Some passed in full, some passed partly, and some didn’t pass anything at all...” Yurovsky: “Under the threat of execution, everything stolen was returned (gold watch, cigarette case with diamonds, etc.).” From the above phrases only one conclusion follows: As soon as the killers finished their job, they began looting. If not for the intervention of “Comrade Yurovsky,” the unfortunate victims would have been stripped naked by Russian marauders and robbed.

BURYING CORDS

When the truck with the corpses left the city, it was met by an outpost of Red Army soldiers. “Meanwhile... they began to load the corpses onto carriages. Now they started emptying their pockets - and then they had to threaten with shooting...”“Yurovsky guesses a savage trick: they hope that he is tired and will leave, they want to be left alone with the corpses, they long to look into the “special corsets,” Radzinsky clearly comes up with, as if he himself were among the Red Army soldiers. Radzinsky composes a version that, in addition to Ermakov, Yurovsky also took part in the burial of the corpses. Apparently this is another one of his fantasies.

Commissioner P. Ermakov, before the murder of members of the royal family, suggested that the Russian participants “rape the grand duchesses.” When a truck with corpses passed the Verkh-Isetsky plant, they met “a whole camp - 25 horsemen, in carriages. These were workers (members of the executive committee of the council), which Ermakov prepared. The first thing they shouted was: “Why did you bring them to us dead?” A bloody, drunken crowd was waiting for the Grand Duchesses promised by Ermakov... And so they were not allowed to take part in a just cause - to decide the girls, the child and the Tsar-Father. And they were sad." The prosecutor of the Kazan Judicial Chamber N. Mirolyubov, in a report to the Minister of Justice of the Kolchak government, reported some of the names of the dissatisfied “rapists”. Among them are “military commissar Ermakov and prominent members of the Bolshevik party, Alexander Kostousov, Vasily Levatnykh, Nikolai Partin, Sergei Krivtsov.”