The Fall
of the Russian Empire
and the Triumph
of the Bolsheviks

The multidimensional crisis caused by the war shook Russia to its core. This country of tsars would prove to have feet of clay. Defeat in war, the disintegration of its state structures, and widespread shortages led to a demoralization in the ranks of the army; and widespread discontent amongst both the workers and peasants. The reign of the Russian tsars ended in March 1917. In April, German intelligence (aiming at the further destabilization of a hostile Russia) sent Vladimir Lenin to Saint Petersburg, where he would become the leader of the most bellicose wing of the Bolshevik (Maximalist) Party. In November, the Bolsheviks sowed anarchy, instigated a revolution, and ultimately seized power in the country.

iA period of terror ensued.

The Last Tsar’s
Family

Although the Russian civil war claimed millions of victims, the tragic fate of the tsar’s family became a symbol of the dark times that would spread throughout Russia after Bolshevik revolution.

iAll members of the tsar’s family were brutally murdered in the basement of this house during the night of 16 to 17 July 1918.

After the execution, the bodies of the Romanov family and their servants were taken to a forest near the village of Koptyaki. The victims were undressed and their clothes burnt. Acid was poured over their faces to make identification harder. A number of the bodies were burnt. Then, the bodies were chopped up and thrown into a mine shaft. Exhumation of the remnants of the tsar’s family was carried out in 1989.

Nicholas II Romanov
Alexandra Feodorovna
Maria Romanova
Tatiana Romanova
Olga Romanova
Anastasia Romanova
Alexei Romanov
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