Ganina Yama

Ganina Yama (Russian: Ганина Яма, "Ganina's Pit") was a 9' deep pitMassie, Robert K., The Romanovs: The Final Chapter. Random House, New York (1995) in the Four Brothers mine near the village of Koptyaki, 15 km north from Yekaterinbur.
On the night of 17 July 1918 the bodies of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family (who had been murdered at the Ipatiev House) were secretly transported to Ganina Yama and thrown into the pit.A week later, the White Army drove the Bolsheviks from the area and launched an investigation into the fate of the royal family. An extensive report Sokolov, Nikolai A. Ubiistvo Tsarskoi Sem’i. Terra, Moscow (Reprinted 1996) concluded that the royal family's remains had been cremated at the mine, since evidence of fire was found and charred bones, but no bodies. But the Bolsheviks, realizing that the burial site was no longer a secret, had returned to the site the night after the first burial to relocate the bodies to another area. The secret Bolshevik report on the execution and burial did not give the location of the second burial site, but the description provided clues.Yakov Yurovsky's account of the execution and burial of the Imperial Family The second burial site, a field known as Pig's Meadow (Russian: Поросёнков лог, Porosyonkov Log) four and a half miles from Ganina Yama, was discovered in the late 1970s through clandestine research but kept secret until the political climate changed in 1989.http://www.searchfoundationinc.org/Chronology.html SEARCH Foundation, Inc.
In 1995, the remains found at Pig's Meadow were identified as Romanovs using DNA from living descendants of the Nicholas and Alexandra's parents. The Pig's Meadow burial pit is marked by a cross and simple landscaping of the burial pit. A second, smaller pit was located in 2007 containing the remains of two Romanov children missing from the larger grave. Further excavation is planned for the summer of 2009.New excavations planned for Romanov family burial site Novosti, October 27, 2008 The Russian Orthodox Church, relying on the pro-monarchist White Army's report in preference to any Bolshevik or government-supplied information, and doubting the DNA identification, declared the Ganina Yama site holy ground. (Romanov family descendants likewise have doubts about the DNA identification.) The royal family and their retinue had been canonized in 1981 by the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad. The grounds were therefore dedicated to honor the family's humility during capture and their status as political martyrs.
With financial assistance from the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company, the Church constructed the Monastery of the Holy Tsarist Passion-Bearers at the site in 2001. A tall cross marks the edge of the mine shaft, visible as a depression in the ground.Seven chapels were later constructed at the site, one for each member of the royal family. Each chapel is dedicated to a particular saint or relic. On the anniversary of the murder, a night-long service is held at the Church of All Saints (Church on the Blood) on the site of the Ipatiev House. At daybreak, a procession walks four hours to Ganina Yama for another ceremony. The former mine pit is covered with lily plants for the ceremony.Rappaport, Helen. The Last Days of the Romanovs. St. Martin's Press (2009)
==References==
*The Monastery complex in the name of Saint Regal Martyrs Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company website.]
*Rappaport, Helen. The Last Days of the Romanovs. St. Martin's Press (2009)
*Reynolds, Maura. A Tale of Two Royal Gravesites Los Angeles Times, June 18, 2002
*SEARCH Foundation, Inc. Organization to search for the remains of the two missing Romanov children.
*Zolotov, Andrei. Russia's Royal Bones of Contention, The St. Petersburg Times
nl:Klooster van de heilige koninklijke martelaren
Category:Russian Orthodox monasteries
Category:Monasteries in Russia