page_title: Nicholas II of Russia
section_title: Execution
hierarchical_section_title: Nicholas II of Russia / Revolution / Execution
caption_attribution_description: العربية: نِقُولا الثاني قيصر روسيا مع أُسرته (من اليسار إلى اليمين): أولغا، مريم، نِقولا الثاني، ألكسندرا فيودورڤنا، أناستاسيا، ألكسي، وتاتيانا. التُقطت الصُورة في بلدة ليڤاديا، سنة 1913م، من قِبل أُستوديو ليڤيتسكي، بِالبلدة المذكورة. يُحتفظُ بِالصُورة الأصليَّة اليوم في متحف هيرميتاج، في مدينة بُطرسبرغ الروسيَّة. English: Nicholas II of Russia with the family (left to right): Olga, Maria, Nicholas II, Alexandra Fyodorovna, Anastasia, Alexei, and Tatiana. Livadiya, Crimea, 1913. Portrait by the Levitsky Studio, Livadiya. Today the original photograph is held at the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia. فارسی: نیکلای دوم روسیه با اعضای خانواده اش (از چپ به راست): اولگا, ماریا, نیکلای دوم, آلکساندرا فیودوروفنا, آناستازیا, الکسی, و تاتیانا. لیوادیا, 1913. پرتره توسط استودیوی لویتسکی, لیوادیا. امروزه تصویر اصلی در موزه هرمیتاژ در سنتپترزبورگ روسیه نگهداری می شود. Français&#160;: Nicolas II avec sa famille (de gauche à droite)&#160;: la Grande Duchesse de Russie Olga Nikolaevna, la Grande Duchesse de Russie Maria Nikolaevna, Nicolas II, Alexandra Fyodorovna (Alix de Hesse), la Grande Duchesse de Russie Anastasia Nikolaevna, Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarévitch de Russie, et la Grande Duchesse de Russie Tatiana Nikolaevna. Photo par Livadiya, 1913. Portrait par le Studio Levitsky, Livadiya. Aujourd'hui la photo est au Musée de l'Hermitage, Saint-Pétersbourg, Russie. Русский: Николай II с семьёй. Слева направо: Ольга, Мария, Николай, Александра, Анастасия, Алексей и Татьяна. Ливадия, 1913.Türkçe: II.Nikolay ailesiyle birlikte ( soldan sağa): Düşes Olga Nikolaevna, Düşes Maria Nikolaevna, Alexandra Fyodorovna, Düşes Anastasia Nikolaevna, Alexei Nikolaevich ve Düşes Tatiana Nikolaevna. Livadiya, 1913 yılında Levitsky Studio’da çekilen bu fotoğrafın orjinali bugün Hermitage Müzesi, St. Petersburg, Rusya’da bulunmaktadır.
context_page_description: Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov, known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer, was the last Emperor of All Russia, ruling from 1 November 1894 until being forced to abdicate on 15 March 1917. During his reign, the Russian Empire enacted reforms such as the introduction of civil liberties, literacy programs, state representation, construction of modern infrastructures, industrialization and rebuilding the military after its disastrous defeat in the Russo-Japanese war. In the Soviet Union, he was reviled by historians and state propaganda as a hardhearted tyrant who oppressed his own people while callously sending countless soldiers to their deaths. More recent assessments have characterized him as a well-intentioned but feeble-minded ruler unsuited to handle the modern challenges facing his empire.
  As Emperor, Nicholas gave support to the economic and political reforms promoted by top aides Sergei Witte and Pyotr Stolypin, but strong aristocratic opposition prevented these from becoming fully effective. He supported modernization based on foreign loans and close ties with France, but resisted giving the new parliament major roles.
context_section_description: There are several accounts of what happened and historians have not agreed on a solid, confirmed scope of events. According to the account of Bolshevik officer Yakov Yurovsky (the chief executioner), in the early hours of 17 July 1918, the royal family was awakened around 2:00 am, got dressed, and were led down into a half-basement room at the back of the Ipatiev house. The pretext for this move was the family's safety, i.e. that anti-Bolshevik forces were approaching Yekaterinburg, and the house might be fired upon.
  Present with Nicholas, Alexandra and their children were their doctor and three of their servants, who had voluntarily chosen to remain with the family: the Tsar's personal physician Eugene Botkin, his wife's maid Anna Demidova, and the family's chef, Ivan Kharitonov, and footman, Alexei Trupp. A firing squad had been assembled and was waiting in an adjoining room, composed of seven Communist soldiers from Central Europe, and three local Bolsheviks, all under the command of Yurovsky.
  Nicholas was carrying his son. When the family arrived in the basement, the former empress complained that there were no chairs for them to sit on. Yurovsky ordered two chairs brought in, and when the empress and the heir were seated, the executioners filed into the room. Yurovsky announced to them that the Ural Soviet of Workers' Deputies had decided to execute them. A stunned Nicholas asked, "What? What did you say?" and turned toward his family. Yurovsky quickly repeated the order and Nicholas said, according to Peter Ermakov, "You know not what you do."
  The executioners drew handguns and began shooting; Nicholas was the first to die. Yurovsky took credit afterwards for firing the first shot that killed the Tsar, but his protege – Grigory Nikulin – said years later that Mikhail Medvedev had fired the shot that killed Nicholas. "He fired the first shot. He killed the Tsar," he said in 1964 in a tape-recorded statement for the radio. Nicholas was shot several times in the chest (sometimes erroneously said to have been shot in his head, but his skull bore no bullet wounds when it was discovered later in 1991). Anastasia, Tatiana, Olga, and Maria survived the first hail of bullets; the sisters were wearing over 1.3 kilograms of diamonds and precious gems sewn into their clothing, which provided some initial protection from the bullets and bayonets. They were then stabbed with bayonets and finally shot at close range in their heads.
  An announcement from the Presidium of the Ural Regional Soviet of the Workers' and Peasants' Government emphasized that conspiracies had been exposed to free the ex-tsar, that counter-revolutionary forces were pressing in on Soviet Russian territory, and that the ex-tsar was guilty of unforgivable crimes against the nation.
  In view of the enemy's proximity to Yekaterinburg and the exposure by the Cheka of a serious White Guard plot with the goal of abducting the former Tsar and his family… In light of the approach of counterrevolutionary bands toward the Red capital of the Urals and the possibility of the crowned executioner escaping trial by the people (a plot among the White Guards to try to abduct him and his family was exposed and the compromising documents will be published), the Presidium of the Ural Regional Soviet, fulfilling the will of the Revolution, resolved to shoot the former Tsar, Nikolai Romanov, who is guilty of countless, bloody, violent acts against the Russian people.
  The bodies were driven to nearby woodland, searched and burned. The remains were soaked in acid and finally thrown down a disused mineshaft. On the following day, other members of the Romanov family including Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, the empress's sister, who were being held in a school at Alapayevsk, were taken to another mine shaft and thrown in alive, except for Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich who was shot when he tried to resist.
caption: Nicholas with his family (left to right): Olga, Maria, Nicholas II, Alexandra Fyodorovna, Anastasia, Alexei, and Tatiana. Livadia Palace, 1913.
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