The October Revolution:

The Russian royal family massacre

By Premasara Epasinghe

The Russian Revolution (1917) resulted in founding of a Republic, which consisted of an area 17,075,000 sq. km. Or 6,592,800 sq. miles. The Russian Federation is the largest country. About 25 percent of Russia lies in Europe, west of Urals. The ethnic groups consist, approximately Russians 82 percent. Tartar four percent, Ukranian three percent, Chuvash one percent and more than 100 other nationalities.

The Russian revolution was a logical result of the discontent and the strong revolutionary movement resulted from the hardships caused by the World War I. This led Tsar Nicholas II, to abdicate in March. He was replaced by a short-lived provisional government. Then, the Bolsheviks led by Lenin seized power in St. Petersburg. A civil war broke out between the Bolsheviks Red versus Bolsheviks Whites. From the spring of 1918, the Bolsheviks imprisoned Tsar and his family in the Ipatiev House, in Ekaterinburg.

Brutally killed

By mid July, the Czechs White Army were trying to free Tsar. Bolsheviks feared that the Tsar would be rescued. In the early hours of July 17, 1918, Tsar, his wife, the children and servants were awakened from their sleep, taken to the ground floor and brutally killed.

The Russian royal family was guarded by soldiers and one member of the squad Pavel Medvedev, describes how on July 16 between 7 and 8 p.m., commandant Yurovsky, a powerful figure in the Ekaterinburg Extraordinary Commission for combating Counter Revolution, who headed the execution squad ordered them to shoot the Isar family, its doctor and the servants.

The Russian revolution was also called Bolshevik Revolution or October Revolution.

There are two distinctly separate phases. The first in 1917, when Tsar Nicholas II, abdicated and the Government took control over Russia. The second was in October, when Bolsheviks seized power and overthrew the provisional government.

Commandant Yurovsky was a powerful figure in the Ekaterinburg Extraordinary Commission for combatting the Counter Revolution. He was the key figure who headed the execution squad. Yakov Mikhailovich Yurovsky was born in 1878 in Tosmak.

The injustice caused in the country drove Yurovsky to join the Bokheviks. He considered the Emperor and his family as “Blood sucking parasites,” feeding on the lives of the poor.

Tsar Nicholas II

Tsar Nicholas II, was born in 1868, the eldest son of Tsar Alexander III. He married Princess Alexendra of Hesse, Darmstadt, a German Dutchy. They had four daughters and a son.

He was very rich. Russian industrial workers, worked under trying conditions for 11 hours a day and 10 hours on Saturday.

The trade unions were angry with the Russian authorities and the monarchy. Moreover, Princess Alexandra was also a strong autocrat. She pressurised her husband to reject political reforms. Further, her persistent friendship with the controversial priest – Rasputin, abhorred by the Russian public also helped in the monarchy's downfall.

Tsar, Tsaritsa, their four daughters, the maid, the doctor, the cook and the valets were taken out from the room.

Tsar carried the heir in her arms. Yurovsky, his assistant and two others accompanied them. They did not weep or cry. The Emperor and Empress sat in front. Behind them stood the daughters.

Doctor Botkin and the main Anna Demidova stood next. Yurovsky ordered to shoot all of them.

The execution took place. The blood ran in streams. Only the heir was alive and moaned a little. Yurovsky went up fired two or three shots. Then, the heir was stilled. The day before the execution the Tsar kitchen boy Leonid Sedniev, moved to the house next door and saved his life.