The City That Became Their Trap

Name: The City That Became Their Trap
Genre: Documentary

As White forces close on Ekaterinburg, the captive Romanovs become a prize the Bolsheviks cannot risk losing.

This episode needs All Access, from $4.99 a week.

Transcript

The Red Army-held city was soon expected to be overrun by anticommunists.
In 1917, Nicholas II abdicated; his brother declined the throne. More than 300 years of Romanov rule were over.
Nicholas and Alexandra entered captivity with Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei.
Four loyal staff members were held with the imperial family.
In spring 1918, the family was evacuated from Tobolsk to Ekaterinburg.
He steps down into cold air beside a guarded door.
Members of the Ural Soviet held the family captive in Ekaterinburg.
Only the previous year, a photograph showed them working at Tsarskoe Selo.
Power can vanish quickly; family is what remains inside a locked room.
The Red Army held Ekaterinburg, while anticommunist forces were expected to overrun it.
Bolshevik leaders in the Kremlin decided to kill the Romanovs rather than risk capture during evacuation.
The Library of Congress says Bolshevik leaders in the Kremlin made that decision—to kill the family.
Their former tutor, Sidney Gibbes, had served the family since 1908.
I would be happy to stay in Tobolsk forever.
Kolchak's White Army would enter Ekaterinburg within days of the family's deaths.
Yet no written evidence identifies who ordered the Romanov murders.

With the White Army nearing Ekaterinburg, the decision was made that the Romanovs could not be allowed to leave alive.

All Access is $4.99 a week, $14.99 a month or $39.99 a year. The annual plan starts with three days free.

Renews until you cancel. Terms · Privacy