In the midst of the Russian Revolutionthe imperial family was killed by the Bolsheviksa horrific execution that ended a 300-year dynasty.
In July 1918Czar Nicholas II of Russiahis wife Alexandratheir five children OlgaTatianaMariaAnastasiaand Alexeiand their servants were brutally murdered by the revolutionary Bolsheviks at the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg. A gruesome incidentthe execution of the imperial Romanov family and their associates would change Russian history forever.
For yearswidespread resentment had been growing in the Russian Empire over the Romanov dynasty’s powerwhich had gone nearly unchecked for about three centuries. Nicholas II’s fatherAlexander IIIhad been an especially strict leader and thought his son would follow in his footsteps. In realityNicholas II had no interest in ruling an empirebut he begrudgingly accepted his role and soon became the subject of public contempt.
But Nicholas II never expected to find himself in the midst of a historical event like the Russian Revolutionwhich would lead to the overthrow of the Romanov family’s power andeventuallytheir bloody deaths.
This is the shocking true story of the execution of the Romanov family — and the decades-long cover-up in Russia that followed.
The Rise And Fall Of The Romanov Family
Wikimedia CommonsCzar Nicholas IIhis wife Alexandraand their five children.
Ever since 1613the Romanov dynasty had ruled Russia. Originally founded by Mikhail Fyodorovich Romanovhis descendants would reign over the empire for a little over three centuries. But by the time Nicholas II took the throne in 1896many cracks had begun to form in the family’s power.
According to HISTORYNicholas II’s fatherAlexander IIIdid a poor job in preparing his son to rule an empireaside from encouraging him to rule with an iron fist. Since Nicholas II had no desire to reignthis opened the doors for a series of poor decisionssuch as his involvement in the Russo-Japanese War from 1904 to 1905which ended in Russia’s defeat.
Meanwhilethe Russian people had grown resentful of the power that the Romanovs held. They also became suspicious about the imperial family’s fascination with Grigori Rasputina mystic and “mad monk.” EerilyRasputin allegedly predicted the gruesome execution of the Romanovs shortly before his own brutal murder at the hands of a group of Russian noblemen in 1916.
And as Russia struggled mightily during World War Ithe restlessness in the country only grew. By early 1917the Russian Revolution had begun. Everyone from soldiers to ordinary workers joined the protest against the imperial family until Nicholas II was finally forced to abdicate the throne.
But this didn’t calm the unrest. Efforts to create a provisional government to replace the Romanov family didn’t make much of a difference either. Meanwhileaccording to Britannicathe revolutionary Bolsheviks became notably popular in Russia after the February Revolution.
A wing of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers’ Partythe Bolsheviks were led by Vladimir Lenina communist revolutionary who was inspired by the German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels and hoped to bring major changes to Russia. There were other competing ideologies in the countrybut Lenin’s simple promise of “peacelandbread” was appealing to ordinary people who felt pummeled by warpovertyand famine.
And by the October Revolution of 1917the Bolsheviks had taken power in the country. But while many people were supportive of the new governmentothers refused to acknowledge itwhich led to further unrest andeventuallycivil war.
In the midst of all this chaosthe Romanov family — Nicholas IIhis wifeand his children — were all taken prisoner by the Bolsheviks.
The Imprisonment Of The Imperial Family
Wikimedia CommonsThe imprisonment of the Romanov family started out as a gilded house arrestbut their situation soon deteriorated.
Starting in late 1917the Romanov family was essentially placed on house arrest by their Bolshevik captors. But Nicholas IIhis wife Alexandraand their five children OlgaTatianaMariaAnastasiaand Alexei wouldn’t stay in the same house for long. Their captors moved them from place to placeas the family fervently hoped to be rescued by their dwindling supporters.
At one pointbefore the Bolsheviks had fully taken over the countrythe provisional government had attempted to send the family to safety in Englandas King George V happened to be a first cousin of Nicholas II.
But according to the British LibraryGeorge V decided not to welcome the Romanov family due to the unstable political situation in England at the time and his fear that the arrival of his cousin might cause additional unrest.
Stillthe Romanov family didn’t give up on being savedand they certainly didn’t expect to fall victim to a brutal execution. Even as the conditions of their lives in captivity became more restricted — many of their servants were dismissedthey were denied butter and coffeeand the homes where they were being held became less and less luxurious — they remained convinced that help was on the way almost until the very end.
Meanwhilethe Bolsheviks became increasingly concerned about anti-Bolshevik forces in the countrysome of whom hoped to free the Romanov family from imprisonment. These forces always seemed to know exactly where the Romanovs were being heldand the last thing that Bolshevik leaders wanted was a chance of the imperial family being restored to power.
Sothe family’s Bolshevik captors moved the Romanovs to what would be their final destinationa fortified mansion called Ipatiev Housefor their execution. Chillinglythe Bolsheviks called it the “House of Special Purpose.”
The Execution Of The Romanov Family
Wikimedia CommonsThe aftermath of the execution of the Romanov familyin the basement of the Ipatiev House.
Led by Yakov Yurovskya group of Bolshevik captors methodically planned out the execution of the Romanov family in advance. And in July 1918they decided the time was right to murder the imperial family.
An excruciating ordeal that lasted from the night of July 16th to the morning of July 17ththe imperial family was awakened from their sleep and told that they were making yet another move. But before they leftthey were ordered to take a photograph in the basement of Ipatiev Housesupposedly to stop rumors that they had escaped the clutches of the Bolsheviks.
Nicholas IIhis wife Alexandratheir five children OlgaTatianaMariaAnastasiaand Alexeiand their last remaining servants obeyed their captors’ commands and lined up for the photo. According to HISTORYit was only at the last moment that the Romanov family was told about their execution.
Without warningYakov Yurovsky and his armed men stormed in and informed Nicholas II that he had been sentenced to death. The disgraced czar was reportedly stunned: “What? What?” But there was nowhere for him to run as the gunfire beganand the Bolsheviks soon began shooting at not only Nicholas II but the rest of his terrified family members and servants.
To the Bolsheviks’ dismaynot all of the victims died immediately after being shotand the armed men soon turned to bayonetsknivesthe butts of their gunsand brute force to finish killing off the children. It took about 20 minutes for all of them to die. The youngest of the Romanov childrenAlexeiwas just 13 years old at the time. Young Alexei also suffered from the bleeding disorder hemophilia throughout his short lifemeaning that his death may have been particularly agonizing.
As chaotic as the execution of the Romanov family wasthe burials were even more frenzied. After Yurovsky and his comrades stripped the dead bodies of all their clothing and jewelrythey covered the corpses in acid and attempted to bury them in a nearby mine. But they were unable to dig a grave that was deep enough to conceal the bodiesso they searched for another location to hide themabusing the corpses all the while.
Finallythey found a new gravesite that they found to be suitable. To confuse anyone who happened upon the remainsthey decided to bury two of the children separatelyburning the corpses and smashing their bones.
The Aftermath Of The Romanov Family’s Murder
Wikimedia CommonsThe final resting place of most of the Romanov family’s remains in the St. Catherine Chapel.
After the execution of the Romanov familythe Bolsheviks freely admitted to the people of Russia that Nicholas II had been killed. The party’s newspaper justified the execution by saying that the czar was “the personification of the barbarian landownerof this ignoramusdimwitand bloodthirsty savage.”
Howeverthey kept the murders of the czar’s wife and children a secretfalsely claiming that they were being “cared for” in a secret location. Some people bought the official storyand others did not. But for many remaining relatives of the Romanovstheir friendsand their supporterstheir days were numberedas the Bolsheviks would go on a murderous rampage over the next few monthskilling dozens of Romanov associates.
As the Soviet Union took shapeany remaining Romanov supporters kept their feelings about the imperial family secret to survive. Stillrumors persisted about what really happened to Nicholas II’s loved ones.
For decadesthe Soviet Union kept the full story of the Romanov execution hidden. It was only after the communist regime fell that the truth began to come to light. In 1991the remains of most of the Romanov family were dug up and officially identified using DNA samplesaccording to The Guardian.
It was later revealed that Yurovsky’s son had helped geologist Alexander Avdonin uncover the remains back in the 1970sbut it was far too risky then for anyone to request a formal investigation. Meanwhilethe missing remains of two of the children — 19-year-old Maria and 13-year-old Alexei — sparked rumors that they had somehow escaped the Romanov execution.
But in 2007an amateur historian named Sergei Plotnikov uncovered their bone fragments. And it was soon confirmed that they had met the same brutal fate as their family. As Plotnikov put it: “It was clear they didn’t die peacefully.” Years lateradditional DNA tests further confirmed the findings.
And in recent yearsthe public has learned vivid details of just how horrific the deaths werethanks to historians like Helen Rappaportwho published The Last Days of the Romanovs: Tragedy at Ekaterinburg in 2008 and The Race to Save the Romanovs: The Truth Behind the Secret Plans to Rescue the Russian Imperial Family in 2018. Texts like these have revealed many of the intimate and tragic details about the Romanovs’ final moments.
The remains of Nicholas IIAlexandraOlgaTatianaand Anastasia have been laid to rest in the St. Catherine Chapel at St. Petersburg’s St. Peter and Paul Cathedral. But curiouslythe remains of Maria and Alexei have yet to join the remains of the rest of their relatives — even with multiple confirmations of their authenticity — and they remain in a Russian state archive to this day.
After reading about the execution of the Romanov familygo inside the historic Russian Revolution in pictures. Thenlearn about the excruciating death of Grigori Rasputinthe mystic who charmed the Romanovs.
