On the morning of August 14, 1917, the Romanov family saw the Alexander Palace for the last time. Soldiers, who were guarding the family and loyal to the new government, brought them to house arrest in Tobolsk, for safety reasons they told them. Alexandra, the tsar’s wife, in a letter to a friend wrote, “What shall the future bring to my poor children?” (2). After a weeks travel they reached Tobolsk which is located in Siberia and they were held by Red guards. Their life in Tobolsk was monotonous, however they did not live a miserable life, but the future did not look bright. In April 1918, they had to move once again, yet this time Nicholas, Alexandra, and Marie left alone. Nicholas’ son, Alexis, had to stand behind because of his illness and three of his daughters (Olga, Tatiana, and Anastasia) stayed to look after him. Nicholas was sent to the Urals, to a town called Yekaterinburg. They were imprisoned in a house belonging to Ipatiev. On May, 1918, the rest of the family was allowed to join their parents again. In two months time they would all be dead, because the entire royal family was shot to death by the Bolsheviks on July 17, 1918. “Though we know that the storm is coming nearer and nearer, our souls are at peace. Whatever happens will be through God’s will.” (2). This was from Alexandra’s last letter. The entire family was awaken in the middle of the night on July 17, 1918. The guards explained that there were some shooting in the town and it would be for their safety if they went downstairs. The tsar and his family got dressed and forty minutes later, Nicholas was carrying his sick son downstairs. Besides the family, a family doctor and three servants joined them. They were led to a small room in the basement. There were no chairs so Alexandra asked “May we not sit?” (2). Two chairs were brought and Alexandra and Nicholas, with Alexis in his arms, sat down. Moments later, Yakov Yurosky entered with twelve soldiers. Yurosky read from a piece of paper which said the family was to be executed. The tsar did not have much time to say anything before Yurosky had pulled out his pistol and shot the tsar in the head. The tsar’s last word was a surprising and horrified “What?” (2). Alexandra was killed instantly, however, bullets aimed at the daughters seemed to bounce off them. In Tobolsk the daughters had sewn jewels into their dresses and therefore acted like bulletproof vest. They had to be finished off by stabbing them to death. The massacre was complete and the entire Romanov family was slaughtered.
In an interview with Pavel Medvedev, these described events are supported. He was a Red Guard commander and this is the only eye-witness account from 1919. He said, “The sovereign walked ahead with their heir [Alexis]. In my presence there were no tears, no sobs, and no questions…the Empress sat down by the wall…behind her stood her three daughters. The Emperor was in the middle, net to the heir, and behind stood Dr Botkin…Eleven men walked into the room: Yurovsky, his assistant, the two from Cheka, and seven Latvians.” (3). Medvedev was then sent out from the room but heard shooting and returned and saw the following, “The blood was gushing…the heir was still alive- and moaning. Yurovsky walked over to him and shot him two or three times at point blank range…The scene made me vomit.” (3).
However, this raises lots of questions, for example, why was the children killed? Why did the Bolsheviks keep it a secret? What happened to the bodies? The tsar had, to a large extent, contributed to the assassinations. The tsar had to abdicate for a number of reasons and was detested by many. Even though he was disliked and possessed no power, Lenin still considered him a threat. He believed, if Nicholas was released he would have the ability to unite the White forces.
