According to FOTR, Avdeyev's first deputy commandant of the Ipatiev house, Konstantin Ukraintsev, was familiar to the imperial family:
"During the imperial family's annual holidays at Livadia, Ukraintsev had served as a beater for Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich on hunts, and also played with the emperor's sister Grand Duchess Olga."
What exactly is a "beater"? It sounds rather like a job the ASPCA would not approve of....