Source A was written for an American newspaper. Judge Sergeyev (a supporter of the Provisional Government) gave most of the information used to write this source. This is the same in the other sources. Source A basically says that the Tsar, his family, doctor and two servants were shot in the Ipatiev house. This is similar to source B ‘I believe however, that the Tsar, the family doctor, two servants and the maid were shot in the Ipatiev House’. Source C agrees with sources A & B but adds how the bodies corpses were disposed of ‘On 17 July, under the cover of darkness, a lorry carried the corpses to the Four Brothers mine. The main purpose was to destroy the bodies’.
Source B was written by Sir Charles Eliot it was a report to the British Government. Britain was also against Bolsheviks so this report may also be unreliable. Most of the information used to write this source was taken from Judge Sergeyev. The writer of source B is unsure of where the Tsar and his family were shot but suggests that they escaped on a train to Ektainburg. Out of these three sources this is only one that indicates that they may have escaped.
Source C was written by Judge Sokolov the replacement for Judge Sergeyev after he was sacked. The writer is certain that the Tsar, his family were murdered in the basement with bayonets and revolvers and that more than thirty shots were fired. Based on Judge Sergeyev information he is sure that they were murdered in the Ipatiev House. The bodies were taken away lorry on the 17th July to the Four Brother Mine were they where chopped up and burned. The fatty matter was disposed of with sulphuric acid ‘it ran out of the corpses and mixed in with the soil’.
In conclusion, no source is absolutely certain about what really happened to the Romanov family. The three sources information has all been taken from Judge Sergeyev work who had reason to be biased and was sacked in January 1919. There is some indication of the murder weapon in sources A and B. Sources A and B say that the family were shot. Source C says the murder was carried out using bayonets and revolvers. Again all of the sources have been somewhat influenced by Judge Sergeyev.
- Source D must be reliable because it is an eyewitness account. Do you agree?
The notes from the interview of Pavel Medvedev (in charge of the men guarding the royal family). Pavel was being tortured so he and would be afraid that they may kill him if they found that he shot the Tsar. He would obviously want to hide the fact that the Tsar and his family might have escaped. The account that both Medvedev and his wife gave were different she says ‘My husband fired to’ this is not possible he says he was outside when he heard shots ‘He walked out and heard shots’. In light of this I think that there is sufficient evidence to say that this eye witness account is unreliable.
- Which of these sources is most useful to an historian studying the deaths of the Tsar and his family?
Source F is a photograph of the basement where the murders were supposed to have taken place. It shows a wall and floor that look as if it has been damaged by gunfire. You can also see a closed door. To a historian this photograph might be useless because this damage has not necessarily been caused by gunfire; it might just be the house rotting away. However the other sources show almost exactly the same thing therefore makes the source more reliable.
Source G is similar to source F it also shows the storeroom door in similar position, this is a painting and therefore it is possible for it to have been altered or it might be biased. This gives us more information than source F but is less reliable.
Source H, this is a diagram of the positions of the people in basement drawn from the information given by the witnessess Judge Sokolov interviewed. I believe that this diagram is the more useful because is gives names which you can match with their position in the basement on the diagram. Together all of these sources would be useful because they are similar, which also makes them reliable.
- Are you surprised by this source?
I was not surprised by the first part of the source ‘During the last days Ekaterinburg was seriously threatened by the threat of counter revolutionaries’. Many of the whites felt strongly about the royal family, since they were being held by the Ural (Bolsheviks). The Revolutionaries would do their best to oppose them. However remaining part of the source surprised me. It shows that the death of the Tsar and his family was pre-meditated. The after effects of this message could be devastating for the reds.
Evidence from other sources portrays that the death of Tsar and his family was carried out very quickly without much thought. In sources C & J there is evidence that bayonets were used as other attempts to kill the royal family failed. Further evidence is that Medevdev and his wife’s statement about what happened contradict each other. This quote from source J is further evidence of the murders being unorganised ‘the bodies were driven to a mine and the mine was blown up by grenades. However the mine did not collapse, and the next day the bodies were put back on the lorry’. Therefore it is surprising that the murder was pre meditated. It also casts doubt over the reliability of this message.
- How far does source J confirm what the other sources said about what happened to the Tsar and his family?
In source J there is evidence that the bodies had been moved by lorry ‘The Lorry became bogged in a swamp’. Pavel Medvedev (source D) also saw the corpses being loaded into a lorry ‘Corpses were taken out to the lorry’. This is similar to source B except instead of a lorry the bodies were moved on a train. Source B has already been proved to unreliable so this may not be the actual sequence of events, but it confirms that the bodies were moved. Source C is more reliable further proves the bodies were moved. The evidence in source J is that the bodies were found at a mine, therefore it is certain we can trust source C because it says that the bodies were moved to the ‘Four Brothers Mine’. However there is a difference in these sources, which is how the bodies were disposed.
More over, the number of victims found and the number of victims that were killed differs through the sources. Two of the imperial family’s five children were missing when archaeologists opened a shallow burial pit near Ekaterinburg. This account is completely dissimilar from source C. This source says that the Tsar and his family where shot and finished off with bayonets. Then the corpses were taken away by lorry buried and the rest disposed of with sulphuric acid. Source B suggests that the ‘surviving members of the royal family escaped on a train’ Source D an eye witness account is certain that the entire royal family were killed. An example from source D ‘walking into the room he saw al the members of the royal family lying on the floor’.
In conclusion, source J confirms that the bodies were definitely moved and it is possible that two of the royal family escaped. We can be sure that the Royal Family was dead on arrival. This is shown by sources F and H. Source F is photograph showing damage caused by gun fire, source G is a painting of the death of the Tsar based on the investigation carried out by the whites and source H is a diagram show the positions of people the basement according to witness interviewed by Judge Sokolov. The bodies in these sources were positively identified in source J, however there were two children missing. We cannot be certain as to whether all the royal family were killed.
