Archaeologists believe that they have found the remains of more members of the Imperial Family
Saint Petersburg, Russia – A group of archaeologists believes that they have found the remains of members of the Russian Imperial Family who were executed by the bolcheviques and buried in common graves that were found accidently at the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg.
“Reliable sources have stated that the four Grand Dukes of the Romanov dynasty were killed in 1919 in this fortress. We believe that we have found the remains of Georgi Mikhailovich, Nikolai Mikhailovich, Dmitri Konstantinovich and Pavel Alexandrovich”, said Vladimir Kildiushevski, the responsible archaeologist for the excavations.
The remains of hundreds of other people shot by the communists had already been found at the same spot on other occasion.
Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich Romanov was the uncle of the last Russian Tsar, Nicholas III, killed in the Urals by the Bolsheviks in 1918 along with his family. The other three victims were his cousins, grandchildren of Tsar Nicholas I.
The four Grand Dukes were killed in 1919 in the Peter and Paul Fortress, at the heart of the old capital of the Russian Empire, but the exact location of their graves had never been found.
The Bolsheviks killed countless people in the fortress, situated in the banks of the Neva River. It is there that all the Tsars from Peter, The Great onwards are buried.
Almost a century later, the accidental discovery of the remains during the restoration works in 2007 inspired new excavations.
Archeologists found six common graves which date back to 1917-1919 with the remains of hundreds of people, including young people of about 16-years-old at the time of their deaths.
“All the victims were murdered with a single shot to the head and the bodies were piled in common graves,” explained Vladimir Kildiushevski.
“Some skulls have distinct marks, as if they had received a blow with the butt of a gun,” he added.
The archeologist showed some objects found among the remains: glasses, a golden cross, cigarette cases, notebooks, pieces of clothing, a hat and a well-preserved shoe.
“They threw the older people, the civilians, to some graves and the younger people, of about 20 and 30 who were cadets at military schools, to others,” told the archeologist.
The deaths occurred during the “Red Terror” period, trigged by the Cheka and the army during the civil war of 1918-1923.
During these years, thousands of “enemies” – nobility, bourgeoisie, employers, priests, strikers and peasants – were killed in Russia.
“We are exterminating the bourgeoisie as a social class. Do not search for evidence that a defendant has acted against the soviet power with actions or words. The question that must be done is to which social class they belong. This question will determine their fate. This is the meaning of the red terror”, Martin Latsis, one of the heads of the Cheka, wrote in 1918.
It was Latsis who decided the death of the four Romanovs executed in Petrograd (the name given to St. Petersburg between 1914 and 1924 before it was renamed Leningrad from 1924 to 1991).
“We are now trying to determine exactly who was killed here and we intend to continue with the investigations. It is very likely that there are more remains,” said Kildiushevski, adding that he was sorry that the excavations – which are being carried out by the St. Petersburg Museum of History – were suspended due to the lack of funding.
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