The Romanov Family - source based work.

from the book published by Judge Sokolov. This source states that when Sergeyev handed the case of the deaths investigation to judge Sokolov said that he believes that not all of the Romanov family had been killed in the Ipatiev house. Sergeyev believes that the killings did not take place on the upper floor but took place in the basement. The Murder was carried out by revolvers and bayonets. Sergeyev believes that on the 17th of July a lorry took the bodies to a mine. The main purpose of this was to destroy the bodies. Sergeyev says that bodies were chopped into pieces and burned with acid of petrol and sulphuric acid. In source A Sergeyev believes that not all of the Tsar’s were killed in the Ipatiev house and in source C Sergeyev says that “he had no doubt about the fact that the entire Romanov family had been massacred in the Ipatiev house”. Both of the sources C and B agree that revolvers were used to kill the Tsar’s. Source’s A and B are similar to C. The sources A and B are influenced by Sergeyev whereas source C is Sergeyev’s book which he published in 1924. Sources A and B do not refer to anything to do with chopping up the bodies and burning them with petrol and acid. In source C it does not say anything about the surviving members and that they left on a train from Ekaterinburg and this is not mentioned in source A and C. Source C does not differ much from sources A and B but it gives more detail in what Sergeyev believed happened.  

3). In source D, Pavel Medvedev says that the emperor walked ahead with his son then came his daughters. They were led into the corner room next to the storeroom. He says that the empress stood behind Tsar and behind her stood three of her daughters. The maid stood by the storeroom door with the other daughter. Medvedev was told to go into the street and see if he could hear the shots being fired, when he came back in he saw Tsar’s family lying on the floor and eleven men then took the bodies out to a lorry. This source can not be relied on as this source is the notes of the whites and the whites probably tortured him. Pavel must have been lying due to his life being threatened by the whites. In source E Pavel’s wife says that Pavel and Tsar’s family were led downstairs and a paper was read out to them it said “the revolution is dying and so shall you”. That was the letter read out to them. Pavel’s wife said that “My husband fired too”. Pavel’s wife says that “Medvedev stupidly told one other guard that he had emptied two or three bullets into Tsar, this established his guilt”. This quotation is taken from source E. Source D does not have to be reliable just because it is an eye witness account because Pavel Medvedev could have been under pressure by the whites. Pavel has no reason to lie to his wife which means he is more likely to be telling the truth to this wife and source D could be a lie due to the whites influencing him.

4.  Source F is a photo which shows the bloodstains of Tsar’s family on the walls of the basement. Source G is a painting based on the investigation of the whites and

source H is a diagram based on the information of judge Sokolov got from the witness he interviewed. I would use source G because it is a painting by the whites who are the opposition of the Bolsheviks and the painting is the information the whites gathered in their investigation. Source G fits the description of source D. Source F is the bloodshed marks which fits the positions described in source D. Source G also fits the positions described in source D which is the positions of Tsar’s and the guards.  

5. Source I is a message from the district soviet of the Ural to the Bolsheviks in Petrograd in 1918 on the 20th of July. Its is basically a letter from the whites to the Bolsheviks saying that in Ekaterinburg people are being influenced by Tsar and the counter revolutionary groups and the people are starting to turn against the Bolsheviks so the Bolsheviks decided to kill Tsar. I am not really surprised by this source because it was the Bolsheviks plan to get rid of Tsar and remove Tsar from power. There was danger in Ekaterinburg of people turning against the Bolsheviks so they decided to kill Tsar.  

6. Source J is from a British newspaper. This source says that two of the imperial family’s children were missing when the archaeologists opened a burial pit near Ekaterinburg. Source J talks about DNA tests identifying Nicholas Tsar, his wife and three of their daughters. Source A does not entirely agree with this statement because in source A it says that Tsar, the family doctor, two servants and the            

maid were shot in the Ipatiev house. None of the sources mentioned anything about a burial pit near Ekaterinburg. Marks on the skeletons show that the girls, protected by jewels sown into their underclothes were finished off by the bayonets. Some of the sources do talk about the use of bayonets and source J agrees with the use of bayonets. The bodies were driven to a mine and the mine was then blown up. Source C agrees with the fact that the bodies were driven to a mine but does not say anything about the mine being blown up with the use of grenades. Source J says that the mine did not collapse and the next day the bodies were put back on a lorry and then the lorry was bogged down in swamp and the remains were buried right there. None of the sources agree or mention the information provided above except from source J. Source J does not by far agree with the information that the other sources have given. Source J slightly hints at information given in the other sources but source J is a detailed account of what was found after the death of Tsar and his family and what could have happened with the bodies.