The Order That Was Never Found

Transcript

1. 01

   The Romanovs were identified, but no written evidence names who ordered the murders.

2. 02

   Early July 17th, 1918, the family and four staff were executed.

3. 03

   Kolchak's White Army entered Ekaterinburg days after the Romanovs' deaths.

4. 04

   By July 30th, 1918, Kolchak ordered a murder probe.

5. 05

   February 6th, 1919, Kolchak gave Nikolai Sokolov the case.

6. 06

   Kolchak took forensic materials from the original investigators for ineptness.

7. 07

   Sokolov questioned servants, doctors, tutors, guards, soldiers, local eyewitnesses.

8. 08

   His findings filled eight volumes and dozens of photographs.

9. 09

   In 1991, a mass grave near Yekaterinburg yielded nine skeletal sets.

10. 10

    Nuclear DNA testing verified the 1991 remains were one family.

11. 11

    But the first grave still lacked Alexei and one younger daughter. The missing remains were believed to have been incinerated.

12. 12

    Three amateur Russian archaeologists found 44 bone fragments and teeth. The site lay about 230 feet, or 70 meters, away.

13. 13

    Mitochondrial DNA and autosomal short tandem repeat tests identified Alexei.

14. 14

    Testing identified the second-grave remains as Alexei and one of his sisters.

15. 15

    The missing sister's identity was disputed between Maria and Anastasia.

16. 16

    Re-analysis confirmed initial DNA testing and brought finality to the mystery.

17. 17

    The surviving record includes testimony from people who knew the family.

18. 18

    Tutor Sidney Gibbes taught them from 1908 until their evacuation.

19. 19

    Their evacuation was from Tobolsk to Ekaterinburg in spring 1918.

20. 20

    Opened archives hold correspondence, diary passages, minutes, telegrams, revolutionary testimony.

21. 21

    Archives preserve the investigation, with final authorization unresolved.

22. 22

    The missing authorization suspends responsibility between two names.

23. 23

    The question remains suspended between Yakov Sverdlov and Vladimir Lenin… who ordered the murders?

Sources

• Nicholas and Alexandra (February 5, 1996) - Library of Congress Information Bulletinloc.govsecondary
• The identification of the Romanovs: Can we (finally) put the controversies to rest? - PMCpmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.govsecondary
• Mystery Solved: The Identification of the Two Missing Romanov Children Using DNA Analysis - PMCpmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.govsecondary
• Mitochondrial DNA sequence heteroplasmy in the Grand Duke of Russia Georgij Romanov establishes the authenticity of the remains of Tsar Nicholas II - Penn Statepure.psu.edusecondary
• Mystery solved: the identification of the two missing Romanov children using DNA analysis - PubMedpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govsecondary
• The Fall of the Romanovs: Political Dreams and Personal Struggles in a Time of Revolution - Illinois Expertsexperts.illinois.edusecondary