The Death of Romanovs : from Myth to Reality

Borovec, Mirna. (2018). The Death of Romanovs : from Myth to Reality. Diploma Thesis. Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Department of East Slavic Languages and Literature > Chair of Russian Literature
Department of History. [mentor Ograjšek Gorenjak, Ida and Čelić, Željka].

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Abstract

The Russian Imperial Romanov family was executed by Bolsheviks in the night of 16/17 July 1918 in the cellar of Ipatiev's House in Ekaterinburg. Their execution opened many issues and initiated controversy. It symbolized not only the decline of Romanov dynasty, but also the fall of the empire. The thesis analyses the causes and consequences of the death of the Russian imperial family. Sources were studied and the main works of Soviet, contemporary Russian and Western historiography were compared. Some sources have been kept secret for years because of the intriguing issue of the Emperor's grave, which the Soviet government didn't want to reveal and that became available only decades later, in the face of the fall of the Soviet Union. The thesis has two main goals that are closely related. The first is a review of the fate of Romanovs. Historical background is important to understand what caused the execution of Imperial family. Under the different influences, Soviet and contemporary historians have a disagreeing views on the Nicholas II's era, the revolutions in 1917 and the rise of the Bolshevik regime, that led to the Romanov's execution. Sources are studied, as well as the thoughts of prominent Russian and Western historians. They provided answers to the questions about the place and time of murder, the number of killed, the main organizers of death penalty and executors. One of the major problems is the issue of the disappearance of their mortal remains, leading to another main goal. The second goal is to show the construction of mythology about the Romanovs, as the main consequence of their death. Myth is differently percieved in the West and in Russia. In the West, the myth of the surviving Romanovs has prevailed. The paper studies the factors that have influenced its emergence. Russian orthodox groups prevailed the myth of Nicholas II as a holy emperor. In Russian Orthodox Church, the Emperor's family is canonized in the rank of the „passion bearers“. The thesis tries to explain what the Romanovs represent in contemporary Russian society. There are few movie adaptations about life and death of Romanovs, presented at the end of thesis, that also helped with spreading the myth about Romanovs.

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