Official documents about Ipatiev house demolition in 1975.

[Nicola De Valeron]

I don't know whether these documents were published here on this forum or not, at least I didn't find it. Anyway, here are the official documents from the Bukovsky Soviet Archive about the Ipatiev house demolition. Documents and my translations into English.

1.


"Resolution of the Central Committee of CPSU, №.........                   Secret.
 August 4, 1975                                                                          Copy № 2.

 July 26, 1975
 № 2004-A
  
                                Central Committee of the CPSU  
              About demolition of the Ipatiev house in the city of Sverdlovsk.
                          

   The various propaganda campaigns around the Romanov family periodically instigated
by anti-Soviet circles in the west, and the former house of merchant Ipatiev in Sverdlovsk
is often referred in this context.
   The Ipatiev house continues to stand in the center of the city. Educational centre of
the regional management of culture is placed in it. This house does not represent the
architectural and other values, only a small part of citizens and tourists is showing interest
in it. Recently foreign .......... began to visit Sverdlovsk. In the future the circle of foreigners
could expand, and the house of Ipatiev become the object of their serious attention.
    In this case it is expedient to entrust the Sverdlovsk Regional Committee of the CPSU to
resolve the issue of the House demolition in order of planned city reconstruction.

                                                                 Chairman of the KGB
                                                                                Andropov."


2.

                                                                                                   "Secret.
                                                                                                    Project.
                          

               Resolution of the CPSU Central Committee about demolition of Ipatiev
                                       house in the city of Sverdlovsk.

    I. Endorse the KGB offer under the Council of Ministers of the USSR stated in the note
number 2004-A on July 26, 1975.
    II. Instruct the Sverdlovsk Regional Committee of the CPSU to resolve the issue of the
Ipatiev mansion demolition in order of planned city reconstruction.

                                      Secretary of the Central Committee  
                                                           With the resolution .......
                                                           Manyuhin 4.08.75
                                      Deputy Head of Office - Lieutenant Colonel
                                                            (Kotov)"


*Documents are taken from the Bukovsky archive, which were compiled when Bukovsky returned to Russia temporarily after 1991 and worked in the early Yeltsin times as a member of the Commission for the declassification of Soviet archives. During these times he copied hundreds of important soviet official documents and ater it made a free web version of it's archive. Here is the link to archive itself (Eng, Rus). http://psi.ece.jhu.edu/~kaplan/IRUSS/BUK/GBARC/buk.html

[TimM]

Sure took them long enough to do it, the house was not demolished until 1977.

[Nicola De Valeron]

Yes, rather long. But it was a common practice for any soviet apparat of all levels. Even if it was the decision from very high structures, like the Central Apparat of the KGB. Moreover, that serous decision about the Ipatiev house demolition was taken during the seventies, maybe the most bureaucratically tangled and complicated times in USSR.

All in all, we can only guess about why the time delay occured, because ironically all the documents of Politburo, KGB and so on are now again closed;). Like back to the "sweet" seventies again.

[TimM]

All in all, we can only guess about why the time delay occured, because ironically all the documents of Politburo, KGB and so on are now again closed;). Like back to the "sweet" seventies again.

Hmmmm, I wonder why.  Putin used to work for the KGB.  Was he afraid some deep dark secret might come out and ruin his political career?

[Nicola De Valeron]

All in all, we can only guess about why the time delay occured, because ironically all the documents of Politburo, KGB and so on are now again closed;). Like back to the "sweet" seventies again.

Hmmmm, I wonder why.  Putin used to work for the KGB.  Was he afraid some deep dark secret might come out and ruin his political career?

As far as I know, these archives (Politburo, KGB and so on..) were closed not during the Putin's rulership, but already during the Yeltsin times. I think, that the problem itself is not only in KGB or something else, there are another big amount of "sensitive" subjects in them. Mainly about the end of Soviet Union, USSR and the "brotherhood help" from the European/American left-wing establishment, which was against the fall of the USSR as a working example of socialism, deep "friendship contacts and cooperation" between them, and so on... I think that the opening of these archives today are not a desirable action for all concerned parties. It may ruin (as you said) not only Putin's career;).

KGB factor is also rather important, but not the main in this case.

[TimM]

That could be true, if the files contain info on powerful people in both Russia and the West.  If the files fell into the wrong hands, someone could use them for blackmail purposes (pay me twenty million, or this juicy stuff ends up on CNN).

[susana]

I must have missed something in the above messages. The house was destroyed in 1977 on Communist orders; Boris Yeltsin who was the Sverdlovsk (Ekaterinburg) Commissar gave the actual orders to demolish the house. Items were removed and are housed in another museum near the morgue, I think. The photos of the demolition are actually painful to see--wish it were still there but to be on the site is a pretty heady experience.

I hope I've added to this discussion--thanks for taking the time to read this.

[TimM]

Boris Yeltsin who was the Sverdlovsk (Ekaterinburg) Commissar gave the actual orders to demolish the house.

That was one of history's great ironies that it fell to Boris Yeltsin to order the house destroyed.   Of course, back then, no one, not even Yeltsin, could know the key part in the role he would play in the end of the Soviet Union.  

[Nicola De Valeron]

Boris Yeltsin who was the Sverdlovsk (Ekaterinburg) Commissar gave the actual orders to demolish the house.

That was one of history's great ironies that it fell to Boris Yeltsin to order the house destroyed.   Of course, back then, no one, not even Yeltsin, could know the key part in the role he would play in the end of the Soviet Union.  

Tim, totally agree.

I can only add that Yeltsin in 1977 and Yeltsin in 1991 are absolutely different people by nature. From simple communist/apparatus functionary of the middle-ranked level to one of the greatest national leaders of Russia with 57% votes on the first free Presidential elections.

[lilianna]

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[TimM]

Did any of you know that the first Romanov Tsar, Michael, was living in a monastery before he became Tsar in 1613.  The name of that monastery was Ipatiev!

Twilight Zone theme starts to play.

[Lady Nikolaievna]

Oh, I didn't know that Tim   Very interesting... ironic and sad too

Nice picture, lilianna

[Constantinople]

That irony was quite well known and its meaniing was not lost on Nicholas and his family.  The real question is was this intentional by the local communist committee

[LisaDavidson]

I doubt it ever crossed their little Commie minds.

[Robert_Hall]

LIsa, you know the proper term is Communist.