On 16 July 1918 the Russian Imperial family (Czar Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, their son Alexi and their four daughters Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia) along with members of their entourage were shot and bayoneted to death in Yekaterinburg, Russia. The order to kill them came from the Ural Regional Soviet. Their bodies would be stripped, mutilated to prevent identification, and buried. This ended the 300-year-old Romanov dynasty and left mysteries to be answered about who was really buried and whether at least one Romanov had managed to escape.

Russia towards the end of the 19^th century was inching towards modernity. It was primarily an agrarian country and was seen as backward to Europe that had embraced the industrial age. Britain, France, and Germany had been transformed, becoming very powerful in the process. The United States as well was not far behind either. Russia’s industrial age was beginning but they still had to rely on foreign sources to supply their military with needed arms and ships. As many in the middle class (and upper class as well) got access to more education (by attending schools in other countries or in Russia), they began to seek change to move Russia towards a constitutional system instead of an absolute monarchy that ruled Russia. And since more people were moving to the cities to work in factories, trying to solve the social problems that were emerging as well.

Czar Alexander II had begun a movement towards liberal reforms. He freed the serfs in 1861, reformed the judicial systems, having local judges elected, eliminated corporal punishment and promoted more self-government. He also eliminated some privileges for the nobility, promoted universal education, and promoted university education. However, after an attempted assassination in 1866, he pulled back and appointed more conservative ministers. In foreign policy he was mostly a pacifist but supported the United States and not the Confederacy during the American Civil War (he even sent warships to New York and San Francisco to discourage any taking of those cities). He sold Alaska to the U.S. since it was remote and didn’t want it to become a British colony. After the Franco-Prussian War of 1871 (which saw Louis Napoleon fall), he joined with Germany and Austria to help bring stability to Europe. However, he did fight against the Ottoman Empire (which freed Bulgaria, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia) and expanded Russia eastward. He faced a major challenge in Poland where in 1863 there was an uprising. It was put down but stripped Poland of its constitution and incorporated it directly into Russia.

He would be assassinated on 13 March 1881 ending liberal reform in Russia. His son, Alexander III, would take over and institute a more authoritarian government from that time on. He set out to undo his father’s liberal policies. The local governments were altered and peasant communes came under the control of landowners appointed by him, which took away power from both the peasants and nobility. He also instituted “Russification” where in all its territories only Russia would be taught and Eastern Orthodox the only religion. This resulted in the closure of German, Polish, and Swedish cultural and religious institutions. Antisemitism also was promoted by Alexander III and the May Laws of 1882 reflected this. These laws strictly limited where Jews might live, restricted occupations, forbade them from buying property, and conducting business on Sundays. The practical effect on this was to encourage open antisemitism resulting in pogroms all over western Russia. Jews then had no choice by migrating to Western Europe or the United States.

He became a target for assassination as well, but the plot was discovered by the Okhrana. Five of the conspirators were captured and hung in May 1887. One of those executed was Aleksandr Ulyanov, the older brother of Vladimir Ulyanov who later became known as Lenin. The death of his older brother was one of the chief reasons he sought to bring down the Romanov dynasty later.

Alexander’s son Nicholas (full name Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov) on 6 May 1868. He was the eldest son, so he was destined to become emperor one day. Yet Alexander was not sure he was ready for that role and thus didn’t bring him into the government. Nicholas agreed and was free to travel and see the world as a young man. Alexander III thought he had enough time to see his son ready to assume the role of emperor. Unfortunately, that would not be the case. In 1894 his health would deteriorate and would die on 1 November 1894. He had been counselled previously to bring Nicholas into the government, perhaps even heading up an agency, but Alexander thought his son was soft and unready. And when he died, Nicholas officially became Nicholas II the new emperor of Russia. He would quickly marry Alexandra (already his fiancée) and soon have children. But he was totally unprepared for the role he had ascended to.

Nicholas II kept most of the policies of his father in place. He also put the gold standard back in place, funded the All-Russia exhibition of 1896 and in 1902 saw the completion of the Trans-Siberian Railway. Believing himself to put in power by the will of God, he saw himself in a manner few truly understood. He assumed people knew and accepted this. He believed that trying to impose constitutional principles limiting his power was wrong. And this led to growing resentment and conflicts in a Russia that was changing and wanted more political freedom. His ties to the Russian Orthodox Church caused concern and he put pressure on them to accede to his will at times (notably the canonization of Seraphim of Sarov). It caused fissures between him and the church, and with the people as well. Worst was yet to come.

The Russia-Japanese War of 1904-1905 would show the weakness of Russia. Russia had expanded in the Far East and sought control of both Manchuria and Korea. Nicholas strongly opposed Japanese control there and made it clear it would mean war if Japan tried to take Korea. The Japanese attacked Port Arthur in February 1904 where the Russian Pacific Fleet was located. They attacked without a formal declaration of war. Due to long supply lines, it proved difficult to supply Port Arthur which held out for nine months before surrendering. Meanwhile Russia dispatched a fleet from the Baltic to take on the Japanese Navy. However, after the nine-month voyage, they were defeated at the Battle of Tsushima in 1905. Calls for seeking peace were being made both inside Russia and from outside.

Many could see that the war was lost, and that Tsar Nicholas had to sue for peace or face a terrible defeat. Nicholas believed they could win but after the defeat of his navy, he accepted American mediation. This ultimately resulted in the Treaty of Portsmouth which ended the war. It had lasting repercussions for him. Nicholas firmly believed Russia could win the war against the Japanese, who he thought were inferior. Nor did his close advisors tell him the true strength of the Japanese. Despite disaster after disaster in the war, he seemed unfazed and believed in Russian superiority. Forced finally to admit defeat with the treaty, he ordered his treaty negotiator Count Witte to not agree to any indemnity payments or territory loss. He also wanted it known that he would resume war if the Japanese conditions were unacceptable. Ultimately Witte would cede southern Sakhalin to Japan, disobeying his emperor, to have the agreement signed.

The war resulted in the Russian Revolution of 1905 which ended only when Nicholas was forced by the dire circumstances of his country to create a representative assembly-Duma-and promise of constitutional reforms.  However, he would retract these concessions, repeatedly dissolve the Duma, and this resulted in more unrest determined to unseat him. Various revolutionary groups like the Bolsheviks found easy recruits as Nicholas seemed bound and determined to keep in charge. In 1914, he would lead his country until another disastrous war-World War I. He decided to support Serbia when Austria threatened to invade in retaliation for a Serbian nationalist assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. He was also allied at that point with both Britain and France. His country though was scarcely prepared for war. Germany proved to have better troops, material, and supplies. As the defeats mounted, soldiers became weary, and wartime rationing had created a terrible morale situation, the dam was ready to burst.

In March 1917 revolution broke out in Petrograd (renamed from St. Petersburg) and Nicholas II was forced to abdicate the throne. A provisional government took over but stayed in the war. In November the Bolsheviks seized power, negotiated a peace deal with Germany and Austria, and became the first Communist state in history. Civil war broke out in June 1918 and at one point the anti-Bolshevik forces were near Yekaterinburg. The local authorities were told to prevent them from being rescued and why they decided to execute them. According to accounts, the family was ordered to get dressed to go down to a cellar in the house. There they sat in a way to suggest a photograph was to be taken to show they were still there. Then quite suddenly men armed with guns burst in and killed everyone in the room. After that they were stripped, mutilated, and buried.

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Stranger than Fiction: The Curious Cases of Romanov Survivors

Over the years there have been people to claim they were Anastasia, Alexei and other members of the presumed dead Romanov family. The most well-known of them was Anna Anderson who claimed to be Anastasia Romanov. In 1920, she was institutionalized in a Berlin hospital after a suicide attempt. She refused to reveal her identity and went by the name Fräulein Unbekannt (German for Miss Unknown). She then changed it to Tschaikovsky and after that Anderson. In 1922 she claimed to be a Russian grand duchess and got some public notice. Now while the immediate family had been killed by the Communists, there were a lot of Romanovs still alive, and some had known Anastasia as a young girl like her tutor Pierre Gilliard. Gilliard and others considered her an imposter, but some were convinced she might be Anastasia. In 1927 Tsarina’s brother, Ernest Louis (Grand Duke of Hesse), conducted a private investigation and learned she was Franziska Schanzkowska. She had been a Polish factory worker with a history of mental illness. German courts, after lengthy lawsuits brought over her claim, determined she could not prove she was Anastasia. This ended any legal claim, but it lingered in public for a long time.

If you ever watched the movie Miracle on 34^th Street (1947) there is a reference to another Romanov imposter. It comes in the scene where they are discussing whether Kris is fit or not for the job. The doctor who knows Kris says he is of no harm despite his insistence he is Kris Kringle. He compares him to a well-known restaurant owner-a name he cannot remember-who believes he is a member of the Russian royal family-operates a restaurant and is quite normal. He was referring to Michael Romanoff, who claimed to be a nephew of the Tsar. He was Harry F. Gerguson and born in Lithuania. He claimed to be various people during his life but his claim to be Tsar’s nephew certainly got him attention. It was disproved but he opened Romanoff’s, a restaurant in Hollywood that was popular and ran from 1941-1962. He died from a heart attack in 1971.

When remains were found in a forest outside Yekaterinburg, they were subjected to DNA testing to determine who they were. They positively identified the remains as belonging to Tsar Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra, three of their daughters, the ladies’ maids to the Tsarina, the family doctor, cook, and footman. Missing were the son Alexei (age 13) and Anastasia. The two missing bodies would continue to fuel speculation of their survival until 2007.  It was announced in August 2007 two burned and partial skeletons were found at a bonfire site near Yekaterinburg. The bones were from a boy aged 10-13 and a female between 18-23 years old. Also found were metal strips from a wooden box, nails, bullets, and shards from a container that held sulfuric acid.

Preliminary testing was done in 2008 and showed that the remains were of Alexei and one of his sisters. At the end of April 2008, Russian forensic scientists confirmed that DNA testing confirmed that the remains belonged to Alexei and one of his sisters. This ended any doubt as to whether any Romanovs survived. Anna Anderson, who died 1984 and was cremated, was determined not to be related to the Romanovs through Mitochondrial DNA using hair strands and hospital samples. The Russian Orthodox Church was very cautious about accepting the DNA results. So in 2015 the remains of Tsar Nicholas and Tsarina Alexandra were exhumed and once again tested. It confirmed they were in fact the bones of the couple. Most Russians today believe the murders were wrong and not justified at all. Not surprisingly the Communists believe otherwise.

Sources

“Romanov Family Executed, Ending a 300-year Imperial Dynasty | July 16, 1918 |.” HISTORY. Last modified July 10, 2025. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/July-16/romanov-family-executed.

Blakemore, Erin. “Why Czar Nicholas II and the Romanovs Were Murdered | HISTORY.” HISTORY. Last modified May 28, 2025. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://www.history.com/articles/romanov-family-murder-execution-reasons.

Katz, Brigit. “DNA Analysis Confirms Authenticity of Romanovs’ Remains.” Smithsonian Magazine, July 17, 2018. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dna-analysis-confirms-authenticity-remains-attributed-romanovs-180969674/.

Lucchesi, Emilie Le Beau. “How Scientists Identified the Remains of the Romanovs: DNA Analysis Was the Key to Unraveling the Mystery of What Happened to Russia’s Fallen Royal Family.” Discover. Last modified April 15, 2022. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://www.discovermagazine.com/how-scientists-identified-the-remains-of-the-romanovs-43547.

Sommerlad, Joe. “Tsar Nicholas II’s Murder 100 Years on: The Terrible Fate of Russia’s Imperial Family | the Independent.” The Independent, July 17, 2018. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/tsar-nicholas-execution-romanovs-russian-revolution-centenary-bolsheviks-murder-assassination-a8450546.html.

Suggested Reading

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“The Last Days of Tsar Nicholas?: Pavel Mikhailovich Bykov?: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming?: Internet Archive.” Internet Archive. Last modified July 18, 2018. https://archive.org/details/LastDaysTsar.

“The Romanov Regicide – Testimony of Iakov Iurovsky?: Iurovsky, Iakov M. (1878–1938)?: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming?: Internet Archive.” Internet Archive. Last modified 2026. https://archive.org/details/26-iurovsky-romanovregicide/page/n13/mode/2up.

Massie, Robert K. The Romanovs: The Final Chapter. Random House Trade Paperbacks, 1996.

Radzinsky, Edvard. The Last Tsar: The Life and Death of Nicholas II. Anchor, 1993.