The brutal murder of the entire Romanov family was the culmination of deep discontent across the Russian Empire with the persistently autocratic rule of Tsar Nicholas II (reign 1894-1917). Following the disaster of the First World War (1914-18) and the tsar's abdication in 1917Bolshevik revolutionaries took power. The new Soviet Russia was immediately split by a raging civil warand as royalist sympathisers neared Ekaterinaburg (Yekaterinburg)where the Tsarhis wifeand their five children were being heldthe Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924) ordered their execution. On 17 July 1918all seven royals were shot and their bodies were then secretly buried. DNA testing has confirmed the remains of all seven members of the Imperial family.

An Unpopular Tsar

Tsar Nicholas II had reigned as the absolute ruler of the Russian Empire since 1894. Economic problemssocietal changesand a significant growth in the populationwhich resulted in land shortagesall combined to inspire certain groups to demand reforms. The tsar barely escaped being toppled by the Russian Revolution of 1905. The massacre of unarmed protestorsknown as Bloody Sunday in 1905kicked off a series of state-wide strikes and protests that yearwhich were supported by all classes of Russian society. The tsar's half-hearted attempts at political reforms with a new representative parliamenthis choice of reactionary ministersand the lack of significant success concerning the Stolypin Reformsthat is socialeconomicand land reforms instituted by the prime minister Pyotr Stolypin (1862-1911)meant that revolutionary sentiments continued to bubble under the surface of Russia's autocratic rule. Assassinationsincluding that of Stolypin in 1911and activism by Communist groups like the Mensheviks and Bolshevikskept the idea of change at the forefront of Russian politics. Another source of criticism towards Nicholas II was the mysterious role of the self-proclaimed holy man Grigori Rasputin (1869-1916) and the question of just how much influence this Siberian peasant had on the royal family.

Although the Russian peasantry still widely respected the sanctity of the tsar's roleRussia's entry into the First World War (1914-18) was disastrous for Nicholas II and proved to be the last straw for the revolutionaries. Once againas had been the case following the humiliating defeat in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-5)Nicholas was exposed as an incompetent war leadereven if he himself had been reluctant to enter this particular conflict. Nicholas' decision to take over as commander-in-chief of the armed forces in September 1915 meant that he became closely associated with Russia's military failures. These failures included calamitous defeats on the battlefielddisastrous logistical incompetenceand the deaths of over 2 million Russian soldiers. WWI also caused further woes for the Russian agricultural sector and economy in general.

The ultimate result of all of this strife was the Russian Revolution of 1917 (actually two revolutions)which began with bread riots in Petrograd (Saint Petersburg) in March 1917 and which quickly escalated when troops of the Petrograd garrison joined the rioters. The revolution and the lack of support for the tsar amongst the political elite forced Nicholas to abdicate on 2 March; he also abdicated in the name of his son and heirAlexei. Still not quite grasping that the Romanovs were about to disappear from historyNicholas chose his brother to succeed himGrand Duke Michael Alexandrovich (1878-1918)who reigned for just one day as Tsar Michael IIalthough he was never officially confirmed as such. The Bolsheviks ensured that the Russian monarchy was effectively abolished.

Nicholas was advised to flee the country for his own safetybut he refusedstating"I'd never leave Russia. I love her too much" (Montefiore629). Nicholas entertained the idearather naivelyof living a quiet life of retirement in Crimea (where his mother was) or Kostromawhich had historical ties with the Romanovs.

House Arrest in Tsarskoye Selo

The ex-tsar was obliged to relocate to the Tsarskoye Selo palace south of St. Petersburg. The family consisted of Nicholashis wife Alexandra Fyodorovna (1872-1918)their four daughtersOlga (born 1895)Tatiana (born 1897)Maria (born 1899)and Anastasia (born 1901)and their son Alexei (born 1904). The Romanovs were virtually imprisoned by the Provisional Governmentwhich had been established on 11 March. At firstthe confinement was bearable; Nicholas ruefully remarked"for have I not been a prisoner all my life?" (Montefiore631). A proposal to the British ambassador that the ex-tsar and his family would be best-served by Britain hosting them – King George V (reign 1910-1936) was Nicholas' cousin – was passed on to the British prime minister and kingbut the plan was ultimately rejectedlargely due to George V's concerns that the ex-tsar's presence might stir up revolutionary thoughts in the minds of British workers. In any caseit is unlikely the Bolsheviks would have allowed the ex-tsar to live in a country where he might easily gain funds to launch a comeback. Meanwhilethe Romanovs whiled away their time under house arrest by planting vegetables and sunbathingthe seemingly idyllic summer only blighted by a wave of measles amongst the children.

On 1 Augustthe royal family was moved to Tobolsk in Siberia. After the five-day train journeythe Romanovstheir dogsand 39 retainers were housed in the modest governor's mansion in Tobolsk. Ironicallythis mansionwhich had a constant guard of soldierswas called "Freedom House". Confined to the mansion's gardenthe Romanovs passed the time playing dominoes and beziquewatching curious passers-byand writing letters. Alexandra wrote in one letter"All the past is a dream. One keeps only tears and grateful memories. One by one all earthly things slip away" (Montefiore634).

Move to Ekaterinaburg

Following the secondBolshevik RevolutionSoviet Russia was established on 7 Novemberwith the Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin at its head. Lenin negotiated a ceasefire with Germany in December 1917 and formally withdrew Russia from WWI with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsksigned on 3 March 1918. At the end of Aprilthe Romanov family was moved to a new residence at Ekaterinaburga Bolshevik stronghold. Here at Ipatev Housethe mansion of a local merchantthe royal family was subjected to food rationing and limited time for walking in the gardenbut they remained together until the end. To keep out prying eyesthe house was fenced off and its windows whitewashed. As Alexandra wrote in her last letter"I have come here knowing quite well that I shan't escape with my life…Though the storm is coming nearer and nearerour souls are at peace." (Montefiore636).

Almost immediately after seizing powerLenin and his fellow Bolsheviks became embroiled in a long and bloody civil war. The Russian Civil War (1917-22) involved several competing groupsnotably the Bolsheviks (Reds)the Whites (dominated by conservative elements of the army and with support from Russia's disappointed allies in WWI)and various separatist movements involving states who wanted to break free from the Russian Empire and who had the support of the Central Powers (GermanyAustria-Hungaryand the Ottoman Empire). With the civil war going badly for themthe Bolsheviks were determined that Nicholas II did not become a rallying point for the opposition. Significantlythe ex-tsar was now directly addressed as ‘Citizen Romanov'and the Bolshevik code name for his family was ‘the Baggage'. The matter came to a head when a pro-White Czech force took over Simbirsk and advanced towards Ekaterinaburg. Lenin gave his approval for local Bolsheviks at Ekaterinaburg to execute the tsar and his family on 16 July 1918. Lenin stated that the plan to execute the entire family was "simplicity to the point of genius" and justified the murder with his belief that "revolution is meaningless without firing squads" (Montefiore636). Lenin was not alone in his viewsand several unofficial plots by local Bolsheviks to murder the Romanovs had already been thwarted. At the same timea plan by royalists to spirit away the royal family to the safety of a foreign country was also foiled. Lenin's final decision was not endorsed by all Bolsheviksthough. One notable voice of opposition was that of Leon Trotsky (1879-1940)who had wanted to put the tsar on trial in order to publicly expose his inadequacies and demonstrate why nothing short of a revolution was deemed necessary.

Death in the Cellar

Yakov Yurovskya Bolshevik commissar and member of the ChekaLenin's secret policewas the man charged with carrying out the murder of the royal family. Yurovsky had no qualms over his dreadful missiononce stating: "It was left to me the son of a worker to settle the Revolution's score with the Imperial House for centuries of suffering" (Montefiore643). In the early hours of 17 Julythe Romanovs and some of their servants were called from their beds and assembled in the mansion's cellar. Yurovsky and ten or eleven armed men entered the room. Yurovsky asked all to stand and read out a short statement: "In view of the fact that your relatives continue their offensive against Soviet Russiathe Presidium of the Urals Regional Council has decided to sentence you to death" (Montefiore4). Nicholas responded with "Lord oh my God!what is this?" (ibid) and asked Yurovsky to repeat the statementwhich he did. Yurovsky then shot the uncomprehending ex-monarch in the chestand the other men also fired at himlargely ignoring the rest of the prisoners. Yurovsky then ordered the men to fire on the other Romanovs and servantsbut by now the cellar was filled with smoke. A door was opened to clear the airand the firing continuedas did bloody work using bayonets. The Romanovs had secretly sewn the family jewels into their clothing. Corsetsunderwearbeltshatsand thick seams of any kind hid away a large number of gemstonesa feat of retailoring the family had code-named ‘arranging the medicines'. The jewels sewn into their clothing partially protected the ex-tsar's children from the initial volleysand so they had to be shot at point-blank range. The botched bout of butchery took fully ten minutes before silence finally reigned in the cellar. Even two of the family dogs were killed (a third escaped to eventually live a life of ease in England's Windsor Castle).

The bodies were relieved of valuables such as ringswatchesand 17 lbs (7.7 kg) of jewels. It was noted that the four daughters each wore an amulet around their neckswhich contained a picture of the hated Rasputin and the words of one of his prayers. The bodies were stripped and thrown into a disused mine shaftbut when this was discovered to be not very deepthe bodies were recovered and treated with gasoline and acid; the remains were then buried in the nearby forest. Other more distant relations of the Tsar were rounded up and executed; Michael Alexandrovich had already been shot. The Romanov dynastywhich had ruled Russia since 1613was at an end. The Bolsheviks officially announced that the ex-tsar had been killed before ‘Czechoslovak gangs' seized Ekaterinaburg. It was reported that the rest of the imperial family had been evacuated. Lenin made sure that he was not directly implicated in the murderand the official line was that the Urals Soviet had acted independentlya point most historians consider impossible.

There were persistent rumours that Anastasiathe tsar's youngest daughterhad survived the execution. In 1993DNA testing of the grave site (kept on record by the USSR's secret policethe KGB) confirmed that here lay the remains of NicholasAlexandraOlgaTatianaand Maria. The problem was that Anastasia and Alexei were missing. The tsar and his family were reinterred in the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral of Saint Petersburg. In 2000Nicholas IIhis wifeand five children were all made saints by the Russian Orthodox Church. In 2007a second burial sitenot far from the main sitewas discovered to contain what were possibly the remains of the two missing children. Closure finally came in 2015 when DNA testing revealed the human remains at the second site included those of Anastasia and Alexei. These newly identified remains were then added to the Romanov family tomb in the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral.