The Romanovs

Yekaterinburg is known as the city where the last Russian tsar, Nicholas II and his family were killed by the Bolsheviks in 1918. There is a beautiful cathedral built close to the site where this horrible deed took place so many years ago. This is a brief history lesson about the Romanov's and the memorial that stands in remembrance today. Nicholas, became Tsar of Russia upon his father's sudden death at age 49 (due to kidney disease). Unready to inherit the throne, Nicholas is reported to have said, "I am not ready, I do not want it. I am not a Czar (Tsar)." Though he was an intelligent and kind-hearted man, he lacked any preparation to rule, and unfortunately, he continued his father's harsh polices.

Nicholas' Tsarina, the loving German princess Alexandra Fyodorovna, was also a liability. Like the Czar, she was not a ruler. When the Czar took control of the army in the front lines during World War I, he left his wife in charge of Russia because he only trusted her. She was indecisive, did not trust other peoples advice, and she was not intuitive in the ways of politics. The fact that she was from Germany also lessened her popularity.

Nicholas and Alexandra had four beautiful daughters, Olga, Tatyana, Marie, and Anastasia. They were also blessed with a son, Tsesarevich Alexis. Alexandra Fyodorovna had inherited a mutation gene from her grandmother, Queen Victoria,which caused hemophilia in her son.

A Russian Orthodox Priest arrives and walks the stairs to the cathedral.

During the night of March 2, 1917 Tsar Nicholas abdicated the throne. He and his family were placed in a kind of house arrest. They were kept in confinement at a couple of locations before being transported to Yekaterinburg on April 17, 1918. They were kept in a private home in the heart of Yekaterinburg. On the night of 16/17 of July, 1918, the royal family was awakened around 2 a.m. and told to dress, then they were led down to a half basement room at the back of the Ipatiev house (the home of military engineer Nikolay Ipatiev) and were told that it was for their safety as anti-Bolshevik forces were approaching. Present with Nicholas, Alexandra and their children were their doctor, and three of their servants, who had voluntarily chosen to remain with the family. A firing squad had been assembled and was waiting in the adjoining room. Nicholas was carrying his son; when the family arrived in the basement, the former empress complained that there were no chairs for them to sit on. When the chairs were brought in and they were seated, the executioners filed in. It was announced that they had been condemned to death by the Ural Soviet of Worker's Deputies -- the executioners drew revolvers and the shooting began. In 1991 the bodies of Nicholas II and his wife, along with three of their five children and four of their servants, were exhumed. Because two bodies were not present, many people believed that two Romanov children escaped the killings. In 1998 their remains were reburied in St. Petersburg, along with several of their loyal servants who died with them, in a special chapel called the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

On August 23, 2007, a Russian archaeologist announced the discovery of two burned, partial skeletons at a bonfire site near Yekaterinburg. The bones were found using metal detectors and metal rods as probes. On April 30, 2008, Russian forensic scientists announced that DNA testing proves that the remains belong to the Tsarevich Alexei and to one of his sisters.

The Russian Orthodox Church inside Russia rejected the family's classification as martyrs because they were not killed because of their religious faith. Despite the original opposition, the Russian Orthodox Church inside Russia ultimately recognised the family as "Passion Bearers", or people who met their deaths with "Christian humility".

Yekaterinburg's "Church on the Blood" is built on the spot where the last Tsar and his family were killed.