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Russia Remembers its Last Royals
Once in while we take time to remember our dear ones who have part with us to the underworld. For Russian it is a sad day for them as the Russian Orthodox churches hold services to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the murder of their last royal family.
Processions were held in Moscow as well as the site of the killings - the city of Yekaterinburg near the Ural Mountains.
Officials have re-affirmed that DNA tests on bone and teeth fragments discovered in a shallow grave a year ago belong to two of the children of former Russian Tsar Nicholas II.
Crown Prince Alexei and Grand Duchess Maria were killed along with their parents and sisters by Bolsheviks on the morning of July 17 1918, but the whereabouts of their remains was until recently a mystery.
The Tsar was forced to abdicate in March 1917 following the Russian Revolution, and was held captive until his execution in a basement in Yekaterinburg one year later.
Remains identified as those of Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, and three of their daughters were discovered in 1991.
They were buried in a symbolic but controversial funeral in 1998 and the family was canonised as saints by the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000.
As celebrations take place senior investigator, Vladimir Solovyov again confirmed: "The remains that were found belong to Alexei and Maria. We can say that with certainty."
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at 20:26 on July 16th, 2008
flight737, I like this story. It's good stuff. Though the Royals may not have been the kindest to their subjects, they are still part of Russian History, before Communism snuffed them out of past history