PHOTO: Paul Gilbert standing at the entrance to the Romanov Memorial in July 2018

On 10th March 2025, the head of the Ekaterinburg based Romanov Memorial Charitable Foundation Ilya Korovin, issued a press release expressing concern that the grave of Nicholas II, his family and four faithful retainers at Porosenkov Log is now under threat of development by the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC).

According to Kovovin, the Russian Orthodox Church will soon recognize the Ekaterinburg remains as those of the Imperial Family, and that such an announcement may very well threaten the Romanov Memorial at Porosenkov Log.

“If the Bishop’s Council of the ROC agree with the authenticity of the remains, then a serious question will arise about the fate of the Romanov Memorial,” said Kovovin. “This area has been preserved in its original form since 1918. It is the only place associated with Russia’s last Tsar in Ekaterinburg, which has survived to this day unchanged,” he added.

PHOTO: an Orthodox cross marks the place where Nicholas II, Alexandra Feodorovna, three of their children: Olga, Tatiana, Anastasia and their four faithful retainers were reburied by the regicides in July 1918. The remains of Alexei and Maria were buried in a second grave nearby.

Recall that it was at Porosenkov Log that the regicides buried the remains of the Imperial Family the day after they attempted to destroy their bodies at the Four Brothers Mine at Ganina Yama, situated 3.8 km [2.4 miles] down the road. The remains were initially discovered in June 1979 by Geliy Trofimovich Ryabov (1932-2015) and Alexander Nikolaevich Avdonin (born 1932). On 16th July 1999, the Romanov Memorial was opened on the site of the graves.

The land in and around the Romanov Memorial has been the subject of debate between Korovin and the ROC since 2021, after the Ekaterinburg Diocese requested the transfer of the land by the Sverdlovsk Region. The illegal drilling of wells was subsequently carried out, despite the fact that Porosenkov Log was recognized as an object of cultural heritage in 2014. 

In September 2024, the Department of State Protection of Cultural Heritage Sites (UGOOKN) excluded the Romanov Memorial from the list of protected monuments, which raises concerns for Torovin, who is now challenging the decision in court.

It is no longer a question of “if” but “when” the ROC recognizes the Ekaterinburg remains as those of the Imperial Family [the decision rests with the Bishops Council of the Russian Orthodox Church]. The church’s interest in the land in and around the Romanov Memorial may confirm their plans to construct another monastery – similar to that at Ganina Yama – or memorial church to glorify the Holy Royal Martyrs at Porosenkov Log. The Ekaterinburg Diocese has refused to comment on any possible development.

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FURTHER READING:

ROC preparing to build memorial church at Porosenkov Log by Paul Gilbert 4th March 2023

The fate of Porosenkov Log and Ganina Yama by Paul Gilbert, 14th February 2022

104 years on, Orthodox Church still split over murdered tsar’s remains by Paul Gilbert 6th April 2021

Will the Bishops Council’s decision on the Ekaterinburg Remains cause a schism within the ROC? by Paul Gilbert, 20th September 2021

30th anniversary of the exhumation of the remains of Nicholas II and his family by Paul Gilbert, 7th July 2021

Bones of Contention: The Russian Orthodox Church and the Ekaterinburg Remains by Paul Gilbert, 23rd November 2021

© Paul Gilbert. 14 March 2025