Prompt Cast
The Grisly Fate of the Romanov Family: From House Arrest to Execution
TLDR The Romanov family, who ruled over the Russian Empire for over 300 years, met a tragic end when they were executed by a firing squad during the October Revolution. Their bodies were later discovered and identified, and the question of who would be the Tsar today if the Russian monarchy were to be restored remains unanswered.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
The Romanov family ruled over the Russian Empire for over 300 years until Tsar Nicholas II and his family were placed under house arrest and ultimately met a grisly fate, with their bodies being discovered and identified 80 years later.
02:34
Nicholas II's reign ended in 1917 with the revolution, and he and his family were placed under house arrest before being moved to Toboliska in Siberia, where they lived in confinement until the October Revolution brought the Communists into power and their privileges were removed.
04:45
Once the Communists took power and Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the Romanovs lost hope of being rescued and became political pawns, eventually being taken to Yetkaterinburg where they were held prisoner and executed by a firing squad.
06:49
The leader of the executioners, Yakov Yurovsky, informed the Tsar and his family that they were to be executed, and after shooting them, the survivors were stabbed and shot again before their bodies were disfigured and dumped in a shallow mine shaft.
08:57
The Soviets initially denied the death of the Czar and his family, but later blamed extremist groups, and while no direct documentation has been found, Leon Trotsky's diary entry implicates Lenin in the decision to execute them.
11:08
The bodies of the Romanov family were exhumed in 1991 and identified through DNA testing, and in 1998, the Tsar and his family were reinterred at the St. Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg; the remains of the two remaining children were discovered in 2007 and positively identified in 2008, and in 2015, the Russian Orthodox Church performed additional DNA testing to confirm their identities.
13:25
The question of who would be the Tsar today if the Russian monarchy were to be restored is a difficult one to answer, but the current claimants include Prince Carl E. Mik of Leningen and Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, both recognized by different factions.
