This Day in History, July 17, 1918

Tsar Nicholas and family, four years before they were murdered.

July 17, 1918. Russian Tsar Nicholas II and his immediate family were murdered at the Ipatieve House in Ekaterinburg, Russia.

Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Duke of Finland and titular King of Poland. He ruled from 1894 until his abdication in March 1917, following the February Revolution.

The Bolsheviks killed Nicholas II, his wife, his son, four daugthers, the family medical doctor, the footman, the maidservant to the Empress and the family cook. Nichlas II and his wife the Empress Alexandra and their children were canonized as martyrs within groups tied to the Russian Orthodox Church. Alexandra was the granddaughter of Britain’s Queen Victoria.

Rumors persisted for years that the young daugther Anastasia had escaped the murders. DNA testing of remains found in 2008 confirmed that the remains were that of the Tsarevich Alexei and one of his sisters. Remains of all four of the daughters are now accounted for.

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