Free And the Rest Is History by Marlene Wagman-Geller

fatal mistake in hiding Alexei’s illness; they did so in the belief that the next tsar should display no weakness. Ironically, this plan had the opposite effect, as the populace, had they been privy to the truth, would probably have been empathetic to the family’s pain. The Romanovs became increasingly the subjects of innuendo.
    Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo in 1914. Nicholas, as part of an alliance, brought his country into World War I, and, as commander of the army reluctantly left his family to be at the front with his troops. He took with him a metal pocket case with his wife’s portrait. Unfortunately, Nicholas was as bad a leader as he was as loving a husband and father. The ill-equipped Russian soldiers suffered devastating casualties, and the mismanaged government resulted in widespread hunger; the country was on the verge of revolt.
    To make matters worse, Nicholas had placed the reins of government with his wife, who was viewed with extreme suspicion, as she was German and the first cousin of Kaiser Wilhelm II, and she relied heavily upon Rasputin.
    In 1916, to help stem the tide of horror sweeping across their country, Russian nobles murdered Rasputin; because of his prodigious strength the killing necessitated poison, gunshots, clubbing, and drowning. In fairy tales, the demise of the evil sorcerer meant the salvation of the prince and princess; not so with the reign of the Romanovs. The only effect of the assassination was to drive Alexandra into despair over Alexei’s fate. She believed that without her holy man, her son would succumb to his hemophilia
    In 1917, besieged on all sides, Tsar Nicholas was forced to abdicate, and the Romanovs were transformed from absolute monarchs to virtual prisoners. They were removed to the Urals, where the family, who had always lived as gods, were subject to endless indignities. The guards rifled through their belongings, food and heat were rationed, and the sentries scrawled lewd drawings to offend the four daughters. Further compounding their anguish, Alexei suffered an accident and became unable to walk. The only source of comfort was the fact that the close-knit family was allowed to remain together and their hope that the royal heads of Europe, their relatives, would come to their rescue.
    On July 16 at ten thirty p.m., the Romanovs retired to their rooms; Yakov Yurovsky, the Bolshevik in command, on orders from Lenin, awakened them at midnight and told them to dress quickly. Nicholas came down the stairs first, carrying Alexei. In the basement, he sat with his arm around Alexandra, Alexei on his lap. As they waited, men carrying revolvers entered. Yurovsky stated, “Your relations have tried to save you. They have failed, and we must now shoot you.”
    Nicholas began to rise from his chair to protect his wife. He had just time to say, “What?” before Yurovsky shot him in the head. Alexandra began to raise her hand to make the sign of the cross before she too was killed. The OTMA huddled together for the last time. The sisters survived the first hail of bullets, as they had sewn priceless jewels into their clothes; it took countless rounds of ammunition before they met their excruciating end. Alexei, who had always been protected by the phalanx of his family, perished clutching his father’s coat.
    Although their love had destroyed their family and brought ruination to their empire, perhaps the words that Alexandra had written in Nicholas’s diary on her wedding night could serve as their epilogue: “At last united, bound for life and when this life is ended, we meet again in the other world and remain together for eternity. Yours, yours, Alexandra.”
    Postscript
    The Romanov bodies were thrown down a disused mine shaft. In 1979, the remains of Nicholas, Alexandra, and three of the daughters were discovered. They were interred in Saint Petersburg, with great ceremony, on the eightieth anniversary of