PHOTO: “Transfer of the Romanov family to the Ural Soviet”. 1927. Artist Vladimir Nikolaevich Pchelin (1869-1941). From the Collection of the Sverdlovsk Regional Museum of Local Lore in Ekaterinburg.
On 30th April 2024, a Cross Procession along the “Path of Sorrows” honouring the memory of Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, and their daughter Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna was held in Ekaterinburg. The day marked the 106th anniversary of their arrival in the Ural capital from Tobolsk.
Every year on this day, the Ekaterinburg Diocese prayerfully celebrate the memory of the Holy Royal Martyrs. In churches, prayers are made to the Holy Imperial Family, and people also honour them by taking part in the Cross Procession along the “Ekaterinburg’s Path of Sorrow”, to the places associated with them on the day of their arrival in the Ural capital.
The clergy of the Ekaterinburg Diocese lead the Cross Procession along the “Ekaterinburg Cross Procession”, they are joined by Orthodox Christians, monarchists and other adherent’s to the last Tsar and his family. Together they prayfully walk the Path of Sorrows, walking in the footsteps of the Tsar, his family and their faithful servants, expressing their love and reverence for them.
The “Ekaterinburg Path of Sorrows” begin at the place where Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna disembarked from the train on 30th April 1918. Here, near the Shartash Railway Station (in 1918 – Yekaterinburg-II Station), a Memorial Cross and foundation stone were installed. A church in honour of the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God, one of the three miraculous icons that appeared during the reign of Nicholas II, will be constructed on this site.
The Cross Procession then proceeds along Vostochnaya Street, where the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Port Arthur” was erected at the intersection with Shevchenko Street. Here, according to the historical version, on 23rd May 1918, Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich, Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana and Anastasia Nikolaevna arrived by train, placed under arrest, and then taken to the Ipatiev’s House.
In 2008, a memorial stone was laid at the site, and in 2017, the construction of the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Port Arthur” was completed, the consecration of the church was performed by Metropolitan Kirill of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye.
Not far from the railway station, in Nevyansky Lane, stands the Church in Honour of the Reigning Icon of the Mother of God. It was consecrated in 2011 by Metropolitan Kirill of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye. In 1918, the Yekaterinburg-I Station was located here, and it was here on 30th April 1918, that the train carrying the Tsar, his family and their servants stood for several hours. An angry mob had gathered at the station, forcing the train to travel to the Yekaterinburg-II Station.
PHOTO: view if the mosaic panel depicting the Holy Royal Martyrs, situated in the Imperial Room, a side-chapel located in the Lower Church of the Church on the Blood
The Cross Procession along the Path of Sorrows ends at the Church on the Blood on Tsarskaya Street. The Memorial Church was constructed on the site of the Ipatiev House, demolished in 1977. It was here, in the early morning hours of 17tj July 1918, that the Imperial Family and four faithful servants met their violent deaths at the hands of a firing squad and their martyrdom. Situted in the Lower Church there is the “Tsar’s Room” aka as “The Imperial Room” – the altar of the side-chapel in honour of the Holy Royal Martyrs, which was erected on the site of the murder room, with the blessing of Metropolitan Kirill of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye for the Tsar’s Days 2018.
PHOTO: early 20th century view of the Novo-Tikhvin Convent Cemetery in Ekaterinburg
Among the many shameful acts committed by the Bolsheviks and later the Soviets, was the desecration and later destruction of the Novo-Tikhvin Convent Cemetery in Ekaterinburg during the 1920s and 1950s.
In the 1780s, an Orthodox churchyard was created in the south-western part of Ekaterinburg. During the 19th century it became part of the cemetery at the Novo-Tikhvin Convent. It consisted of a city cemetery (Green Grove), and a necropolis members of the nobility. The gravestones were works of stone-cutting and foundry art, thus making it the finest cemetery in the city at that time.
It is believed that the last burial in the Novo-Tikhvin Convent Cemetery took place in 1924. The local Soviet began to appropriate the land and began building on the grounds of the cemetery. In 1926 there was even talk about building the Sverdlovsk Zoo here! By 1929 nearly all the graves had been removed.
By 1930 the convent was closed. In 1932 the church archives, which included the burial records and other important information were ordered burned by the local Soviet. Bulldozers were used to demolish the last above ground grave stones and monuments in 1948-1950.
PHOTO: General Ilya Leonidovich Tatishchev (left) and Prince Vasili Alexandrovich Dolgorukov (right)
The local Soviet used some of the grave stone monuments to build foundations and roads, while iron and cast iron parts were used as scrap metal. The desecration of the cemetery did not stop there. Local military training units, which settled in the convent, dug a number of garbage pits, buried two large tanks for fuel and lubricants in the cemetery.
Most of the cemetery was transferred to the administration of the Ural Military District, who continued to build on the graves of those who died before the 1917 Revolution. The last house constructed on the cemetery, complete with a marble front staircase and a sauna was built for Soviet generals.
The convent was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church in the early 1990s. Restoration began and continues to this day. Excavations on the grounds of the Novo-Tikhvin Convent were carried out from 2002 to 2012, which resulted in the recovery of more than 400 graves (some were completely destroyed). Efforts were made to recover some of the graves, identify the remains, and rebury them in other cemeteries. Additional bodies have since been recovered, as recently as 2018.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, more than 100 monuments, busts and memorials have been installed in cities and towns across in Russia – six of which have been installed in Ekaterinburg. Recall that it was here, in the Ural capital, where the last Tsar and his family were held under house arrest and subsequently murdered.
Once a bastion of Bolshevism, Ekaterinburg has slowly shed its status as the “capital of atheism”. Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Urals has experienced a revival of faith, with Ekaterinburg as the center of Orthodox Russia in the region.
It is important to add, that Ekaterinburg has done more to honour Russia’s last Tsar and his family than any other city in Russia. It is home to the Church on the Blood [built on the site of the Ipatiev House, where the Imperial Family were murdered]; the Monastery of the Holy Royal Martyrs at Ganina Yama; the Romanov Memorial at Porosenkov Log; three museums and no less than six monuments, dedicated to the Imperial Family.
Church on the Blood, Ekaterinburg
The Church on the Blood in Ekaterinburg, was built in 2000-2003m on the site of the Ipatiev House, where the Imperial family and their faithful retainers were all brutally murdered by members of the Ural Soviet on 17th July 1918.
The monument to Emperor Nicholas II and his family, created by the sculptor Konstantin Vasilievich Grunberg was installed in 2003 on the grounds of the Church on the Blood in Ekaterinburg. The Tsar is depicted carrying the invalid Tsesarevich Alexei in his arms.
The staircase on the left represents the 23 steps the Imperial Family and their four faithful retainers descended to their death and martyrdom in the Ipatiev House in the early morning hours of 17th July 1918.
The door seen in the lower right is the entrance to the Lower Church, sanctified in honour of the Holy Royal Martyrs in the Church, where the Imperial Room – built on the site of the murder room.
Several years back, a bronze bust on a marble pedestal of Emperor Nicholas II was installed at the top of the staircase leading to the Museum of the Holy Royal Family in the Tsarsky Cultural and Educational Center, situated in the Patriarchal Compound of the Church on the Blood.
In July 2023, the bust was replaced with a similar bust of the Tsar’s son and heir Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich. The bust of the Emperor was moved to the new permanent exhibition The Romanovs in the Urals, located at the Poklevsky-Kozell House Museum of the Sverdlovsk Regional Museum of Local Lore in Ekaterinburg.
Monastery of the Holy Royal Martyrs, Ganina Yama
Ganina Yama is the site of the Four Brothers mine situated near the village of Koptyaki, 15 km north from Ekaterinburg. It was here that in the early morning hours of 17th July 1918 the bodies of Tsar Nicholas II, his family and four servants were secretly transported to Ganina Yama and thrown into a 9′ deep pit. The murderers returned the following day, exhumed the remains and reburied them in two unmarked graves at Porosenkov Log, which is situated 3.8 km away.
In 2001, the Russian Orthodox Church constructed the Monastery of the Holy Royal Martyrs at the site in 2001. Between 2008-2011, three monuments to the Holy Royal Martyrs were installed on the grounds of the monastery:
The bronze bust of Emperor Nicholas II was installed and consecrated on 19th (O.S. 6th) May 2008, the day marking the sovereign’s 90th birthday.
Bronze monument to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna was installed and consecrated in 2011.
Bronze monument of Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Tsesarevich Alexei, was installed and consecrated on the grounds of the Monastery of the Holy Royal Martyrs at Ganina Yama in 2011.
Sredneuralsk, Sverdlovsk Oblast
The Sredneuralsky Convent in Honour of the Icon of the Mother of God “The Conqueror of Bread”, is an Orthodox convent located on the outskirts of the city of Sredneuralsk, 15 km northwest of Ekaterinburg.
In 2014, the Trinity Church was consecrated in the monastery, which was built based on the ancient Russian architecture of the era of the formation of the Moscow kingdom. It is dedicated to the family of the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II. The basement of the Ipatiev House – where the Imperial Family were shot – was recreated in the lower part of the church. A large Poklonny cross dedicated to the Imperial Family, and a bust of Tsar Nicholas II were installed on the grounds of the monastery.
Ekaterinburg was founded on 18th November 1723, by decree of Emperor Peter I (1672-1725), but its ‘City Day is officially celebrated on the third Saturday of August (19th August in 2023). The name of the city was given in honor of Empress Catherine I (1684-1727), the second wife of Peter the Great.
In 1924 Ekaterinburg was renamed Sverdlovsk and lived with the Bolshevik name for 67 years, until 1991, when after the fall of the Soviet Union, the city returned to its historical name.
This historic anniversary will be marked throughout the year by a series of events and celebrations, plus the implementation of a number of significant construction projects dedicated to the founding of the Ural city, the center of the Sverdlovsk region and the Urals Federal District, the unofficial “capital of the Urals” and the fourth-largest city in Russia.
Preparations for the celebration began in 2017. It is estimated that the total amount of public and private funding for the celebrations and projects is 244 billion rubles [$4.4 billion USD].
Among the hundreds of events planned are the following Romanov themed events:
On 14th July 2023 a new permanent exhibition The Romanovs in the Urals opened at the Poklevsky-Kozell House Museum of the Sverdlovsk Regional Museum of Local Lore in Ekaterinburg
On 15th July 2023 a bust of Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich was installed and consecrated in the Tsarsky Center, located in the Patriarchal Compound, across from the Church on the Blood in Ekaterinburg
Tsar’s Days, marking the 105th anniversary of the death and martyrdom of Emperor Nicholas II and his family. On the night of 16/17 July, Divine Liturgy was performed at the Church on the Blood, and then lead the 21-km (13 miles) Cross Procession to the Monastery of the Holy Royal Martyrs at Ganina Yama. An estimated 40,000 people took part in this year’s event
On 11th August 2023, a pair of busts depicting Emperor Peter I and Empress Catherine I were unveiled on Historical Square in front of the Museum of Architecture and Design of the Ural State Academy of Arts
PHOTO: St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Novo-Tikhvinsky Convent, Ekaterinburg
“Ekaterinburg: my favourite Russian city”
People often ask me “Why Ekaterinburg?” as opposed to the former Imperial capital of St. Petersburg, especially given that “Ekaterinburg has such a dark history.”
Once a bastion of Bolshevism, Ekaterinburg has slowly shed its status as the “capital of atheism”. Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Urals has experienced a revival of faith, with Ekaterinburg as the center of Orthodox Russia in the region.
It is important to add, that Ekaterinburg has done more to honour Nicholas II and his family than any other city in Russia. Thanks to my visits to Ekaterinburg in 2012, 2016 and 2018, it is a city which I have grown to admire and love.
Articles about Paul Gilbert and his admiration for Ekaterinburg, published in Russian media:
PHOTO: On the eve of the 300th anniversary of Ekaterinburg, the city plans to erect a statue – by the Russian sculptor Fedor Petrov – dedicated to the patron saint of the city – St. Catherine.
“The last capital of the Russian Empire”
“On a spiritual level, Ekaterinburg is the last capital of the Russian Empire, because the residence of the Sovereign was always considered the capital in Russia. Peter the Great never officially transferred the capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg, but since he lived there, it was the capital,” says Russian historian Peter Multatuli.
He noted that in 1918, for 78 days, Emperor Nicholas II and his family lived in Ekaterinburg, and that is why the Ural capital can be considered the last capital of the Russian Empire. [It is important to note that many historians – myself included – firmly believe that the Tsar’s signing of the instrument of abdication, his status as Tsar remained inviolate and unassailable – PG]
“Petrograd and Moscow to one degree or another welcomed his overthrow, and they bear a greater responsibility in this than any other Russian city. No matter what anyone says, it was Ekaterinburg that served as the last Imperial residence, which, according to God’s special plan, became the Royal Golgotha,” added Multatuli.
According to him, in the near future, Ekaterinburg will play a great role in the history of Russia, because “the city named after St. Catherine and becoming the Royal Golgotha will be the city of Russian resurrection.”
***
TSAR’S DAYS Journey to Ekaterinburg by Paul Gilbert
Read all about my journey to Ekaterinburg – my 3rd visit to the Urals – in July 2018, to take part in the events marking the 100th anniversary of the deaths and martyrdom of Nicholas II and his family.
“On 17th July 1998, independent researcher and writer Paul Gilbert travelled to St. Petersburg, for the interment of Emperor Nicholas II and his family. Twenty years later to the day, he journeyed to Ekaterinburg, to take part in the events marking the 100th anniversary of the Tsar’s death and martyrdom.
“In his own words and photographs, the author shares his experiences and impressions of this historic event, which include visits to the Church on the Blood, Ganina Yama, Porosenkov Log, the Patriarchal Liturgy, exhibitions, and much more.
“In addition are 24 illustrated news articles about events leading up to Tsar’s Days in the Urals, from 1st to 31st July 2018.
“Gilbert’s solemn journey to the Urals allowed him to experience history in the making, and to honour the memory of the Holy Royal Martyrs, a century after their death and martyrdom.”
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Hardcover and Paperback editions. 152 pages + Richly illustrated with nearly 200 COLOUR PHOTOS, 65 of which were taken by the author
On the night of 16/17 July 2023 – the eve marking the 105th anniversary of the death and martyrdom of Emperor Nicholas II and his family – some 40,000 faithful attended a Divine Liturgy and Cross Procession in Ekaterinburg.
Defying Western sanctions, a number of foreigners also attended this years events, including the Italian opera singer and singing teacher Elvis Fanton, who said he felt compelled to come to Ekaterinburg after having a dream about Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich. Fanton is a regular visitor to the Ural capital, where he has performed in concerts dedicated to the only son and heir of Russia’s last Tsar.
PHOTO: Orthodox Christians venerate an icon of the Holy Tsar Martyr Nicholas II on the square in front of the Church on the Blood in Ekaterinburg
PHOTO: Orthodox Christians gather on the square outside the Church on the Blood holding yellow flags depicting the double-headed eagle of the Russian Empire
PHOTO: Orthodox Christians carrying icons, banners and flags
PHOTO: 40,000 faithful gathered for the Divine Liturgy on the square in front of the Church on the Blood for the Divine Liturgy in Ekaterinburg
PHOTO: this year’s outdoor Divine Liturgy was performed by 12 Orthodox bishops
Prior to the outdoor service, a Divine Liturgy in honour of Emperor Nicholas II and his family was performed in the Imperial Room,[1] situated in the Lower Church of the Church on Spilled Blood. Twelve bishops took part, including Metropolitan Vincent of Tashkent and Uzbekistan, Head of the Central Asian Metropolitan District, Representative of the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Metropolitan Niphon of Philippopolis, Metropolitan Kirill of Kazan and Tatarstan, Metropolitan Eugene of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye, Metropolitan Alexy of Chelyabinsk and Miass, Bishop Anthony of Moravichi, Bishop Theodosius of Isilkul and Russo-Polyansky, Bishop Theodosius of Nizhny Tagil and Nevyansk, Bishop Methodius of Kamensk and Kamyshlov, Bishop Vladimir of Shadrinsky and Dalmatovsky, Bishop Vincent of Zlatoust and Satka, Bishop Leonid of Argentina and South America.
The outdoor Divine Liturgy began at 11:30 pm on the square in front of the Church on the Blood, also led by 12 bishops. In addition, representatives of the local Orthodox Churches — Antioch, Serbian, Czech, American — also prayed, some of the prayers were performed in several languages. Abbots and abbesses, monastics, who came to honour the memory of the Holy Royal Martyrs from various monasteries, prayed during the service.
It is sad to note that not a single descendant of the Romanov Dynasty attended this year’s Divine Liturgy, including Princess Maria Vladimirovna nor her son Prince George Mikhailovich-Hohenzollern, the latter of which lives in Moscow with his wife and son.
VIDEO: click on the above image to watch the Cross Procession from the Church on the Blood in Ekaterinburg to the Monastery of the Holy Royal Martyrs at Ganina Yama on 17th July 2023. Duration:
Cross Procession to Ganina Yama
At 3:00 am, tens of thousands of people—including clergy and laity from all over the Russian Federation and beyond began the 21km [13 miles] Cross Procession – headed by Metropolitan Yevgeny of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye and other archpastors – from the Church on the Blood to the Monastery of the Holy Royal Martyrs at Ganina Yama[2].
The column of faithful pilgrims covered the route on foot – part of which was in the rain in about 5 hours. Together in unison, they chanted the prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us!”. They were accompanied by ten mobile groups from the Orthodox Charity Service and Tsar’s Days volunteers.
Upon arrival at the monastery at Ganina Yama, a moleben was served at the “heart” of the monastery—the mineshaft where the Imperial family’s remains were thrown after they had been brutally murdered by the Bolsheviks.
PHOTO: tens of thousands of people took part in the 21km Cross Procession from the Church on the Blood in Ekaterinburg to the Monastery of the Holy Royal Martyrs at Ganina Yama
PHOTO: the Cross Procession winded its way through the streets of the Ural capital in the early morning hours of 17th July
PHOTO: it took about 5 hours for the column of faithful to arrive at the Monastery of the Holy Royal Martyrs at Ganina Yama
PHOTO: Together in unison, they chanted the prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us!”
PHOTO: Metropolitan Yevgeny of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye (center) and other archpastors arrived at the Monastery of the Holy Royal Martyrs at Ganina Yama
His Eminence Evgeny[3] thanked all those who participated, and said a few words about the Imperial Family and their memory.:
“I wish that you would tell your close ones about this, so that in future years even more of you would come, and thus testify to our love for the Imperial family and our desire to receive their blessing upon our world, upon our unity, upon the sanctity of family life, and for peace and prosperity in our Russian land.”
“A lot of churches are dedicated to the Imperial Family. Over the past 30 years, hundreds of churches have been erected in Russia in the name of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers[4]. And in every place where their temple stands, there are a lot of people. If we saw today all those who revere the Imperial family, then, it is possible, that their numbers would be more than the population of the whole of Ekaterinburg,” the metropolitan added.
PHOTO: pilgrims gather around the “heart” of the monastery—the mineshaft where the Imperial family’s remains were thrown after they had been brutally murdered by the Bolsheviks
PHOTO: a large wooden Orthodox cross marks the location of the now collapsed mineshaft where the Imperial Family’s remains were first disposed of by the regicides
PHOTO: a simple icon depicting the Holy Royal Martyrs mounted on the large wooden cross
“Ekaterinburg is connected with the Imperial Family, because it was from here that they ascended to the Heavenly abodes, and therefore the people honour them. I think our city stands thanks to the prayers of a whole family of righteous saints, the holy Royal Family,” His Eminence Metropolitan Evgeny of Ekaterinburg said.
“Tsar’s Days are a special phenomenon in the history of our Church, our country, because Tsar’s Days are our repentance before the Holy Royal Family, before the Holy Tsar-Martyr,” added Dr. Peter Multatuli, who has been researching and writing about the life and reign of Russia’s last Tsar since the early 1990s.
“What is repentance? Repentance is a change, we must radically change our view, our attitude towards the Sovereign-Emperor and his family, who were murdered by the Bolsheviks. For me, the procession is my moral duty,” Multatuli said, adding that his great-grandfather Ivan Mikhailovich Kharitonov (1872-1918), the senior chef of the Imperial Family, was killed together with the Holy Royal Martyrs, “which, of course, makes these days also a family affair for me.”
Holy Royal Martyrs, pray to God for us! 🙏 Святы Царственные мученики, молите Бога о нас! 🙏 ☦️
NOTES:
[1] The altar of the Imperial Room is situated in the Lower Church sanctified in honour of the Holy Royal Martyrs. It was established on the site of the room located in the basement of the Ipatiev House, where Emperor Nicholas II, his family, and four retainers were all brutally murdered in the early morning hours of 17th July 1918.
There is some dispute about whether this sanctuary stands in the spot of the murder room. It is believed that it was not possible to build on the exact spot due to construction issues, and that the actual spot of the murder room lies outside the church along its wall.
As one of my Russian Orthodox friends correctly pointed out: “Whether it is in the exact spot or not to me is irrelevant as when you are in that room, you are spiritually in the exact place it happened”.
[2] Once again, Porosenkov Log was not included in this year’s Cross Procession.
Porosenkov Log is where the remains of the Imperial family were unearthed in two separate graves in 1991 and 2007 respectively. Due to the fact that the Moscow Patriachate does not yet recognize the Ekaterinburg Remains as those of the Imperial Family. Their official recognition rests with the Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.
[3] Metropolitan Yevgeny of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye (born Alexei Sergeyevich Kulberg; born 25th September 1972, Moscow). From 9th October 2017 to 15th October 2018, he served as abbot of the Monastery of the Holy Royal Martyrs at Ganina Yama. On 8th December 2020, by the decision of the Holy Synod, he was elected Bishop of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye. On December 25, 2020, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia elevated Bishop Eugene of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye to the rank of Metropolitan.
[4] On 1st November 1981, Emperor Nicholas II and his family were canonized as new martyrs by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR). On 20th August 2000, after much debate, they were canonized as passion bearers by the Moscow Patriarchate
The Moscow Patriarchate canonized the family as passion bearers: people who face death with resignation, in a Christ-like manner, as distinguished from martyrs, the latter historically killed for their faith. Proponents cited the piety of the family and reports that the Tsarina and her eldest daughter Olga prayed and attempted to make the sign of the cross immediately before they died.
The term “passion-bearer” is used in relation to those Russian saints who, “imitating Christ, endured with patience physical, moral suffering and death at the hands of political opponents. In the history of the Russian Church, such passion-bearers were the holy noble princes Boris and Gleb (1015), Igor of Chernigov (+ 1147), Andrei Bogolyubsky (+ 1174), Mikhail of Tverskoy (+ 1318), Tsarevich Dimitri (+ 1591). All of them, by their feat of passion-bearers, showed a high example of Christian morality and patience.
Despite their official designation as “passion-bearers” by the August 2000 Council, Nicholas II and his family are referred to as “martyrs” in Church publications, icons, and in popular veneration by the people.
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PHOTO:Pyotr Ermakov, Mikhail Medvedev-Kudrin, Pavel Medvedev, Yakov Yurovsky and Grigory Nikulin
The murders of Emperor Nicholas II, his family and four faithful retainers in Ekaterinburg on 17th July 1918, remains one of the darkest pages in 20th century Russian history. To this day, historians and investigators are not entirely sure of all those who participated in the regicide, only the names of some of them are known – those who admitted that they were a participant in the regicide, or those of whom were identified by witnesses. The fate of many of these regicides also ended tragically, their lives being overtaken by disease or an equally violent death.
It is known that the direct leader of the liquidation of the Imperial family was Yankel Khaimovich, better known as Yakov Yurovsky. He lived until 1938 and died of a duodenal ulcer. In Soviet times, they said that his son was not responsible for his father’s crime, but the apple didn’t fall far from the tree in the Yurovsky family. The eldest son Alexander, ended up in the Butyrka prison in 1952, but was released a year later. The daughter Rimma was also arrested in March 1938. She served a sentence in the Karaganda forced labour camp until 1946. Yurovsky’s grandchildren were not spared either, dying under mysterious circumstances. Two died after falling from a roof, while the other two were burned to death in a fire. It is worth recalling that the blood of Tsar Nicholas II was spilled by Yurovsky. He himself recalled: “I fired the first shot and killed Nikolai on the spot.”
The leading Russian playwright and historian Edvard Radzinsky was most intrigued by the idea that there was photographic evidence of the murdered remains of the Imperial family.
“Yurovsky was a professional photographer,” he says. “He confiscated a camera from the Tsarina. It was impossible for him to take pictures immediately after the execution — he was a little bit crazy, they continued to be alive, they continued to kill them. But afterwards, he had three days. He had an opportunity to take a camera to the grave. It is impossible for a man who likes pictures not to take such pictures.”
Could there be any truth to his idea, or did Radzinsky give birth to yet another Romanov conspiracy theory? Radzinsky is a playwright, and perhaps his creative imagination got the better of him, but who knows? Yurovsky had already proven what he was capable of, so anything was possible! There is also the possibility that Yurovsky took such photos to take with him when he left for Moscow after the murders, as evidence to Lenin and Sverdlov that the regicide had been carried out?
“IF” such photographs ever existed, we can surely assume that they would have been destroyed. Lenin was both crafty and careful not to leave a paper trail that would implicate him in dubious affairs – murder being one of them.
The personality of Pyotr Ermakov was no less significant in the murders of the Imperial family. According to his own recollections, it was he who killed the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, the cook Ivan Kharitonov and the doctor Evgeny Botkin. He often boasted of his crime, without feeling any sense of remorse: “I shot the Tsarina who was seated only six feet away, I could not miss. My bullet hit her right in the mouth, two seconds later she was dead. Then I shot Dr. Botkin. He threw up his hands and half turned away. The bullet hit him in the neck. He fell backwards. Yurovsky’s shot knocked the Tsesarevich to the floor, where he lay and groaned. The cook Kharitonov was huddled over in the corner. I shot him first in the torso and then in the head. The footman Troupe also fell, I don’t know who shot him … ” Ermakov died of cancer on 22nd May 1952.
Since the 1990s, Ermakov’s grave in the Ivanovo Cemetery in Ekaterinburg. has been repeatedly vandalized by local monarchists, who regularly douse his gravestone with red paint.
The red paint symbolizes the blood which this evil man spilled, and his involvement in the brutal murder of Nicholas II and his family on 17th July 1918.
In 1951, at a reception, which gathered all the local Party elite in Sverdlovsk, Peter Ermakov approached Soviet Red Army General Georgy Zhukov and held out his hand. Frowning in disgust Zhukov looked Ermakov in the eye, and muttered, “I do not shake the hands of murderers.”
He left a testimony regarding another regicide: “Stepan Vaganov dealt with the grand duchesses: they lay dying in a heap on the floor and groaned … Vaganov continued to shoot at Olga and Tatiana … I don’t think any of us shot the maid Demidova. She sank to the floor, shielding herself with pillows. Vaganov, later pierced her throat with his bayonet … ” Death found Vaganov in the same ill-fated year of 1918. When Kolchak’s army took Ekaterinburg, Vaganov did not escape, instead he hid in a basement, where he was found by relatives of those killed during the raids. They did not stand on ceremony for long – they killed him on the spot. Perhaps in vain, because he could have given interesting testimony, having fallen into the hands of the investigators who were engaged in clarifying the fate of the Imperial family. But the fact remains: Vaganov did not die of natural causes.
Pavel Medvedev turned out to be not just a murderer, but also a thief. He recalled: “Walking around the rooms, I found six 10-ruble credit tickets under the book Закон Божий (God’s Law), in one of them, and appropriated this money for myself. I also took some silver rings and some other knickknacks.” Medvedev, unlike Ermakov, fell into the hands of Kolchak’s troops. He fled from Ekaterinburg, but, was captured, and he was charged with “murder by prior conspiracy with other persons and the seizure of the property of the former Emperor Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, the heir to Alexei Nikolaevich and Grand Duchesses Olga, Maria , Tatyana, Anastasia, as well as the physician Dr. Botkin, the maid Anna Demidova, the cook Kharitonov and the footman Troupe. “In 1919, Medvedev died in prison from typhus, however, his widow claimed that he was killed by White Guards.
PHOTO: Philip Goloshchekin
It was no coincidence that Sergei Broido ended up in the Ipatiev House, but he also took part in the murder of the Imperial family by order. Mikhail Medvedev-Kudrin, who also took part in the murders, recalled: “It is known that Broido, along with Ermakov and Goloschekin, arrived in a car at the Ipatiev House on the eve of the murder. It is believed that due to a lack of men to carry out the execution, he was recruited at the last minute by order of Yurovsky.” On 8th March 1937, Broido was first convicted under Article 58 of the RSFSR Criminal Code, for being a Trotskyist, and subsequently shot.
The youngest regicide was Viktor Netrebin. At the time of the crime, he was only 17 years old. Netrebin disappeared in 1935. The Latvian Jan Cemles also disappeared.
But there were also those who organized the murders of the Imperial family and their retainers. Among them was Shaya Itsikovich, known as Philip Goloshchekin, who is known to be one of the organizers. It was he who came up with the idea of execution, even travelling to Moscow to discuss his plans with Lenin and Sverdlov. Goloshchekin was not present himself during the murders, but he took part in the removal and destruction of the remains. On 15th October 1939, Goloshchekin was arrested for sympathizing with the Trotskyists. Another fact from his biography is particularly noteworthy. After his arrest, and during interrogation the People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs Nikolai Yezhov, claimed that he had a homosexual relationship with Goloshchekin. On 28th October 1941, Goloshchekin was shot near Samara. A colleague and another organizer of the execution of the Imperial family, Yakov Sverdlov, described Goloshchekin as follows: “I stayed with Goloshchekin for several days, things are bad with him. He has become neurasthenic and becomes a misanthrope.” An interesting fact is that Sverdlov did not die of natural causes. According to the official version, he died of the Spanish flu, which raged after the First World War, but there is a second version, according to which the workers beat Sverdlov in Oryol and he died from the injuries he sustained.
Pyotr Voikov was also an organizer and participant in the murder of Nicholas II and his family. Diplomat-defector Grigory Besedovsky, who knew Voikov personally, recalled: “As commandant of the Ipatiev House, the execution of the decree was entrusted to Yurovsky. During the execution, Voikov was supposed to be present, as a delegate to the regional party committee. He, as a scientist and chemist, was instructed to develop a plan for the complete destruction of the bodies. Voikov was also instructed to read the decree on the execution to the Imperial family, with a motivation that consisted of several lines, and learned this decree by heart in order to read it out as solemnly as possible, believing that thereby he would go down in history as one of the main participants in this tragedy”. Voikov was killed in Warsaw in June 1927 by the Russian émigré Boris Koverda. During interrogation, Koverda stated about the motives of his act: “I avenged Russia, for millions of people.” Boris Koverda spent 10 years in Polish prisons and was granted amnesty. After his release in 1937, he lived another 50 years and died in Washington at the age of 79.
Not only did these men committed regicide, they also helped to drown Russia in blood. Today, streets, squares and even metro stations of Russia’s cities are named after some of them. Is this right? No! These men will forever, have their names inscribed in the history of Russia, not as scientists or engineers, but as murderers.
Holy Royal Martyrs, pray to God for us! Святы Царственные мученики, молите Бога о нас!
PHOTO: museum staff dressed in period costume were on hand to greet visitors to the grand opening of ‘The Romanovs in the Urals’ at the Poklevsky-Kozell House Museum
On 14th July 2023 a new permanent exhibition The Romanovs in the Urals opened at the Poklevsky-Kozell House Museum of the Sverdlovsk Regional Museum of Local Lore in Ekaterinburg.
The exhibition is timed to the 105th anniversary of the death and martyrdom of Emperor Nicholas II and his family in the Ural city on 17th July 1918, and the events marking the 300th anniversary of the founding of Ekaterinburg in 1723.
The exhibit was recently transferred from the Romanov Memorial Hallof the Museum of History and Archaeology of the Urals, and now occupies five newly renovated halls of the Poklevsky-Kozell House Museum, which is situated at Ulitsa Malysheva, 46. The museum previously hosted the exhibition The Tragedy of the Family … The Tragedy of the Motherland, which ran from 5th June to 23rd September 2018.
PHOTO: portraits of Peter the Great and Nicholas II are the centerpiece of the staircase leading to the exhibition
Finishing touches on the new exhibition space were carried out right up until the day before the grand opening. The newly renovated halls smelled of fresh paint, specialists fine tuned the multimedia equipment, caretakers brought shine to the display cases and windows, while researchers installed the last of the exhibits. Their activity aroused the curiosity of both museum workers and visitors, who peeked through the partially open door with the hope of get a glimpse of the Ural city’s latest exhibit.
Scientists, researchers, museum workers from across Russia, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, Perm, Tyumen, Tobolsk, Vologda, Voronezh, Ekaterinburg, and Alapaevsk gathered to discuss and help set up the exhibit which features hundreds of items.
PHOTO: VIP guests stop to admire a miniature copy of Zurab Tsereteli’s sculpture, “Night at the Ipatiev House”, located in the staircase leading to the exhibit
The idea to move the Romanov Memorial Hall was proposed by the Chairman of the Elisabeth-Sergius Educational Society Foundation (ESPO) Anna Vitalievna Gromova, who is a Candidate of Historical Sciences, and Senior Researcher at the Institute of World History of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Anna Gromova is recognized as one of the Russia’s most prominent adherents to keeping the memories of Emperor Nicholas II, his family, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, and other members of the Russian Imperial Family who were murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1918 and 1919. She is responsible for the founding and development of museums, exhibitions and conferences and is the mastermind behind the The Imperial Route.
PHOTO: revolvers used by the regicides – including Peter Ermakov’s – to murder the Imperial Family in the Ipatiev House on 17th July 1918
Upon entering the Poklevsky-Kozell House Museum, visitors ascend a newly renovated grand staircase, where they are greeted at the top by portraits of Peter the Great and Emperor Nicholas II. Recall that Ekaterinburg was founded on 18th November 1723 and named after Peter the Great’s wife, who after his death became Empress Catherine I, Yekaterina being the Russian form of her name. Underneath the portraits is a miniature copy of Zurab Tsereteli’s sculpture, “Night at the Ipatiev House” – the original is on display at the Zurab Tsereteli Museum in Moscow.
The five halls are decorated in the colours of the flag of the Imperial House of Romanov – black, gold, white. Each hall is decorated with unique exhibits and multimedia technologies, which together help to tell the story of the history of the dynasty in the Urals.
In the Golden Hall, are portraits from the era of the chairman of the State Council of the Russian Empire Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich (1832-1909). The highly respected grand duke also served as the Honourary President of the Siberian-Ural Scientific and Industrial Exhibition in 1887, organized on the initiative of the Ural Society of Natural History Lovers (UOLE). When the members of the UOLE created a museum (from which the regional local history traces its history), his son Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich (1859-1909), a famous Russian historian, became its patron. At the turn of the 20th century, six additional members of Russian Imperial House were made honourary members of the UOLE.
PHOTO: VIP guests stop to admire an icon of the Holy Royal Martyrs, painted by the nuns of the Novo-Tikhvin Convent in Ekaterinburg
PHOTO: multimedia display which depicts the Holy Royal Martyrs, in whch they are depicted as saints, Nicholas II is holding a cross
The “black” halls of the exhibit take on a more sombre ambiance, with displays telling visitors about the house arrest and subsequent murders of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich and Nicholas Johnson at Perm on 13th June 1918; Emperor Nicholas II, his family and four faithful retainers at Ekaterinburg on 17th July 1918; and Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna along with and other members of the Russian Imperial Family and their faithful retainers at Alapaevsk on 18th July 1918.
Some of the more interesting items on display include the ribbon of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, which belonged to Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich and left behind in the Governor’s Mansion in Tobolsk, when the four children joined their parents and sister in Ekaterinburg in May 1918.
A number of pistols and revolvers are also on display, including the Mauser of the regicide Pyotr [Peter] Ermakov, who, according to him, shot and killed Nicholas II.
The sombre ambiance of this hall is offset by the bright and soothing icon of the Holy Royal Martyrs, painted by the nuns of the Novo-Tikhvin Convent in Ekaterinburg.
PHOTO: display about the murders of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich and Nicholas Johnson at Perm on 13th June 1918
PHOTO: display about the members of the Imperial Family – including Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna – at Alapaevsk on 18th July 1918
The Romanovs in the Urals also contains many elements of décor, decoration and fittings salvaged from the Ipatiev House before its demolition in September 1977, notably the cast iron fireplace from the dining room, and the iron grille from the window of the murder room.
Aside from the items from the Ipatiev House, are many additional exhibits of interest, including a scale model of the Ipatiev House; the reconstructed model of Nicholas II’s head by Russian forensic expert Dr. Sergei Nikitin.
The exposition further explores the history of the investigation of the murder case of the last of the Romanovs in the Urals, which lasted more than 100 years.
On 15th July 2023 a bust of Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich was installed and consecrated in the Tsarsky Center, located in the Patriarchal Compound, across from the Church on the Blood in Ekaterinburg.
The bust was installed on a pedestal at the top of the main staircase in the Patriarchal Compound. It is one of numerous events being held in the Ural city this week, marking the 105th anniversary of the death and martyrdom of the Imperial Family on 17th July.
The unveiling ceremony was attended by Metropolitan Evgeny of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye and Chairman of the Elisabeth-Sergius Educational Society Foundation (ESPO) Anna Vitalievna Gromova.
For many years, this spot was occupied by a bust of Emperor Nicholas II, which has now been moved to the the Museum of the Holy Royal Family, located on the second floor of the Patriarchal Compound.
PHOTO: view of the Romanov Memorial Hall in the Museum of History and Archaeology of the Urals, a branch of the Sverdlovsk Regional Museum of Local Lore in Ekaterinburg
In the days leading up to this years Tsar’s Days events the Romanov Memorial Hall – which is currently located in the Museum of History and Archaeology of the Urals – will be moved to the Sverdlovsk Regional Museum of Local Lore in Ekaterinburg.
On 14th July 2023, the museum will present a new permanent exhibition “The House of the Romanovs and the Urals” dedicated to the stay of Emperor Nicholas II and his family during their house arrest in the Ural city from April to July 1918.
According to the head of the public relations department of the museum Tatyana Mosunova, items from the museum’s funds, one way or another connected with the Imperial Family, will be exhibited. Among them is a unique sculpture of Alexander III by Kasli Foundries, the last time this figure was exhibited was more than a hundred years ago.
PHOTO: the former Poklevsky-Kozell mansion will be the new venue for the Romanov Memorial Hallin Ekaterinburg
According to Mosunova, the exhibition will be transferred to the 19th century Poklevsky-Kozell mansion on Malyshev Street. Local historians will help in creating an exhibition space, an agreement with the Ural State University based on the consultations of experts from the Museum of History and Archaeology of the Urals.
The General Director of the museum Alexander Emelyanov explained that the new exhibition will be extensive and will occupy five halls. The museum believes that the organization of the permanent exhibition will help both locals and visitors to the city to have a better understanding of the final days of Russia’s last Imperial Family in the Ural capital.
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My Visit to the Romanov Memorial Hall in June 2016
PHOTO: a miniature copy of Zurab Tsereteli’s sculpture, “Night at the Ipatiev House” greets visitors to the Romanov Memorial Hall
Situated at Ulitsa Lenina 69/10 is the Museum of History and Archaeology of the Urals, a branch of the Sverdlovsk Regional Museum. From the street, the museum resembles one of the hideous buildings from the Soviet era – but if you blink, you may miss it! Admission is 200 rubles, an additional fee is charged if you want to take photographs. One must climb a steep circular staircase to reach the Romanov Memorial Hall on the 4th floor. The ascent is definitely worth it!
A miniature copy of Zurab Tsereteli’s sculpture, “Night at the Ipatiev House” greets visitors at the entrance to the hall.
The Romanov Memorial Hall was opened in 2006. The exposition tells of the Romanov dynasty during the reign of Emperor Nicholas II (1894-1917), the tragic events of 17 July 1918 and secret burial of the remains of the royal family.
This is a very interesting museum, as it contains personal items of Nicholas II, his family and their retainers, discovered in the Ipatiev House by the White Army. It also contains many elements of decor, decoration and fittings salvaged from the Ipatiev House before its demolition in September 1977, notably the cast iron fireplace from the dining room, and the iron grille from the window of the murder room.
PHOTO: scale model of the Ipatiev House -renamed House of Special Purpose by the Bolsheviks – on permanent display in the ‘Romanov Memorial Hall’
Aside from the items from the Ipatiev House, are many additional exhibits of interest, including a scale model of the Ipatiev House; the reconstructed model of Nicholas II’s head by Russian forensic expert Dr. Sergei Nikitin; the Mauser pistol which belonged to the murderer Pyotr Ermakov; a portrait of Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel (the future Queen of Denmark), maternal grandmother of Nicholas II, which formerly hung in the study of Emperor Alexander III in the Anichkov Palace in St. Petersburg.
The exposition further explores the history of the investigation of the murder case of the last of the Romanovs in the Urals, which lasted more than 100 years.
It is interesting to note that the hundreds of exhibits on display in the glass display cases in the Romanov Memorial Hall include descriptions in both Russian and English – a rarity in Russian museums.
A small adjacent room contains a photo exhibit dedicated to Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich and his secretary Brian Johnston. Efforts to locate their remains near Perm are ongoing by the S.E.A.R.C.H. Foundation.
Klimenty Grigorievich Nagorny (left). and Ivan Dmitriyevich Sednev (right)
Today – 28th June 2023 – marks the 105th anniversary of the death and martyrdom of two faithful servants to Emperor Nicholas II and his family – Klimenty Grigorievich Nagorny and Ivan Dmitriyevich Sednev.
Klimenty Nagorny and Ivan Sednev selflessly served the Tsar’s children. Nagorny in particular, lay the great responsibility of protecting the Tsesarevich, even the slightest injury could put the heir to the Russian throne in danger, due to his hemophilia. Alexei was very fond of Nagorny, who in turn showed complete devotion to the Tsesarevich, faithfully sharing with him all the joys and sorrows.
Nagorny and Tsesarevich Alexei in Tsarskoe Selo, 1907
Klimenty Nagorny and Ivan Sednev voluntarily stayed with the Tsar’s family during their house arrest in Tsarskoe Selo, and then followed them to Tobolsk, where Nagorny shared a room with the Tsesarevich, serving him day and night. Together with the Imperial family, Nagorny also attended all the divine services, and the only member of the family’s retinue who was a member of the choir organized by the Empress: he sang and read for the Imperial family during services held in the house church.
In the spring of 1918 Nagorny and Sednev once again, voluntarily followed the Imperial family to Ekaterinburg. They spent only a few days in the Ipatiev House, and then were separated from the Imperial prisoners. They were arrested and imprisoned, their sole crime had been their inability to hide their indignation on seeing the Bolshevik commissaries seize the little gold chain from which the holy images hung over the sick bed of the Tsesarevich.
On 28th June 1918, they were shot in the back by the Bolsheviks, in a small wooded area behind the Yekaterinburg-2 railway station (modern name – Shartash). Nagorny and Sednev were “killed for betraying the cause of the revolution” – as indicated in the resolution on their execution. The murderers left their bodies unburied.
When Ekaterinburg was occupied by the Whites, the the half-decayed bodies of Nagorny and Sednev, were found and solemnly buried near the Church of All the Afflicted (demolished). Witnesses at the funeral recall that the graves of the former sailors of the Imperial Yacht Standart were strewn with white flowers. Their graves were not preserved – they were destroyed when the Soviet authorities built a city park on the site of the cemetery.
Both Nagorny and Sednev were canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) on 14 November 1981, and both rehabilitated by the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation on 16 October 2009. They have yet to be canonized by the Moscow Patriarchate.
Memory Eternal! Вечная Память!
Sednev and Alexei Nikolaevich, in the Finnish skerries, 1914
Nagorny, Klementy Grigorovich(1887—1918) – from 1909, he served on the Imperial yacht Standart and appointed as a footman to the imperial children. He received the Court title Garderobshik (wardrobe keeper) in 1909 and accompanied the Imperial family on every tour. In November 1913, he was appointed assistant dyadka to guard the Imperial children. He travelled with the Tsesarevich Alexei to Mogilev during 1914-16. After the Tsar’s abdication, he lived under detention with the Imperial family in Tsarskoe Selo, Tobolsk and Ekaterinburg.
Sednev, Ivan Dmitrievich (1881—1918) – was recruited into the Russian Imperial Navy in 1911, where he began as a machinist on the Imperial Yacht Polyarnaya Zvezda (Polar Star) then transferred onto the Imperial yacht Standart. By invitation he became a Lakei (liveried footman) to the Grand Duchesses, and subsequently to the Tsesarevich. Ivan lived under detention with the Imperial family in Tsarskoe Selo, Tobolsk and Ekaterinburg.
On 13th June 2022, a new monument (seen in above photo) to four faithful servants – including Nagorny and Sednev – of Emperor Nicholas II, was installed and consecrated on the grounds of Novo-Tikhvin Convent in Ekaterinburg.
Nicholas II 
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