Bust of Nikolai Sokolov installed in Ganina Yama

Photo © Y. Bakunovich

A bust of the investigator Nikolai Alekseevich Sokolov (1882-1924) was installed over the weekend, on the grounds of the Monastery of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers at Ganina Yama, situated near Ekaterinburg.

As you can see from the photographs, the pedestal is not yet finished. This is because the *grand opening is scheduled for 23rd November 2024, the day marking the 100th anniversary of Sokolov’s death. *I will be posting details and photos of the ceremony next month – PG.

Before the 1917 Revolution, Sokolov served as a lawyer, and investigator for important cases of the Omsk District Court. In February 1919, the Supreme Ruler Admiral Alexander Kolchak (1874-1920), appointed Sokolov with the task of investigating the murder of members of the Russian Imperial Family in Ekaterinburg and Alapaevsk.

Sokolov loved Russia and would not accept the changes brought about by the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. As a staunch Orthodox monarchist, he accepted his appointment with a deep sense of reverence and responsibility.

PHOTO: Nikolai Sokolov and General Mikhail Dieterichs searching for the remains of the Imperial Family near the Four Brothers Mine, near Ekaterinburg. 1919

In July 1919, Sokolov’s investigation was cut short after the return of Bolshevik forces, forcing him to evacuate Ekaterinburg to Harbin (China). He lived out the rest of his life in exile in France, where he died five years later. He is buried in the cemetery of Salbris, France.

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In 2001, the Monastery of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers was built around the Four Brothers Mine at Ganina Yama. It was here, in 1919, that Sokolov carried out his investigation, one in which he discovered evidence that the Tsar and his family had been murdered, and their killers efforts to hide their crime.

To this day, the Russian Orthodox Church still officially adheres to Sokolov’s theory that the bodies of the Imperial Family were completely destroyed at the Four Brothers Mine. A century later, we now know that this was not so.