Execution of the Romanov family — 1918 murder of Nicholas II of Russia and his family
The killing of the Romanov family ended three centuries of Romanov rule in Russia and became a defining act of early Bolshevik governance.
Key Facts
- Date of execution
- Night of 16–17 July 1918
- Victims
- Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra, 5 children, 4 staff
- Ordered by
- Ural Regional Soviet under Yakov Yurovsky
- Remains reinterred
- 1998, Peter and Paul Cathedral, Saint Petersburg
- Second grave discovered
- 2007, confirmed Alexei and a sister by DNA analysis
- Burial site discovered
- 1979 by amateur detective Alexander Avdonin
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following the February Revolution of 1917, the Romanov family was imprisoned and relocated multiple times—first to the Alexander Palace, then to Tobolsk, and finally to Yekaterinburg. As the Russian Civil War intensified and the Czechoslovak Legion approached, Bolshevik authorities feared a royalist rescue that could restore the monarchy or provide a rallying point for White forces.
On the night of 16–17 July 1918, Bolshevik executioners led by Yakov Yurovsky shot and stabbed to death Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, their five children, and four members of their entourage in a basement room in Yekaterinburg. The bodies were subsequently transported to the Koptyaki forest, where they were mutilated with grenades and acid and buried to prevent identification.
The Soviet government initially concealed the full scope of the killings for eight years, fueling rumors of survivors and inspiring numerous impostors. The burial site was discovered in 1979 but not publicly acknowledged until 1989. In 1998 the remains were given a state funeral, and in 2008 the Russian government officially rehabilitated the Romanovs as victims of political repression, though no one was ever prosecuted.