The tragic tale of the murder of Tsar Nicholas II and his family in 1918 as a result of the Russian Revolution has captured imaginations, become the impetus for the publication of books and the prolongation of films, and resulted in dishonorable claimants to more than common of the victims’ identities. However, while the possibility of one or more of the family members having survived the execution in Ekaterinburg is a romantic fantasy, the reality of the Romanov legacy remains.

In 1991, the bodies of the Romanovs were exhumed from their hidden grave in the woods near Ekaterinburg. In 1998, the bodies were interred in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. In the year 2000, the Russian Orthodox church canonized Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, and his five children. Most recently, the self-proclaimed heir to the Russian throne, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, has asked for a reopening of the investigation into the murder of Tsar Nicholas II and his family. Though DNA testing has been conducted on the remains that were found, the Russian Orthodox Church maintains uncertainty over the identity of the bodies.

Though the monarchy ceased to exist in Russia following Nicholas II’s abdication, great number of those of royal blood who survived the 1917 Revolution built lives elsewhere in Europe and the United States and raised families to carry on their individual legacies. Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna is the daughter of Grand Duke Vladimir Cyrillovich of Russia, who was Head of the Russian Imperial Family until his death in 1992. When Grand Duke Vladimir died, her claim as Head of the Imperial family was challenged by another Nicholas, a Prince by title and head of the Romanov Family Association. Both claim to be the successors to the Russian throne.

Regardless, peasants and princes alike can visit the tombs of Russian royalty at the Saints Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg. Russian rulers since the time of Peter the Great have been buried in its cathedral, and even Grand Duke Vladimir Cyrillovich was laid to rest here in respect to his lineage.

• Peter and Paul Cathedral

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Peter and Paul Cathedral photo credit: iStockphoto/Korabel

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