Yekaterinburg Russia

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Yekaterinburg Russia! Shrouded in mystery in so many ways for so many years. Birthplace of the Russian Federation's first President, Boris Yeltsin. Site of the Gary Power's U2 plane incident. Renowned as the location of the murder of the last Russian Tsar and his family (including Anastasia). Heart of the Soviet military machine. They all hold their secrets in this, Russia's fifth largest city. And if you're like me, you've never heard of it before!

Yekaterinburg was founded in 1723 as Peter the Great pushed into the Ural Mountains to exploit the natural wealth of this rich region of Russia. Yekaterinburg was named for two Yekaterinas - his wife, Empress Catherine I - the famed Saint Catherine, the Russian orthodox church's patron saint of mining! No need to say that Peter was particularly interested in the area's mineral wealth!

For me, this was the place to add another milestone photograph to my collection! A short distance out of the city, lies one of the gentlest regions of the Ural Mountains. Here, at the obligatory monument, I stood with one foot in Asia, the other in Europe! The champagne corks popped! Whoopee!

On a more serious note, the city has a deeply moving monument to the Soviet Union's Afghan War. Long before the current struggles in that region, the Soviet Union had its own Vietnam War experience as they carried out what seemed to many to be an ill advised, unpopular war that they had no chance to win as they supported the Afghan Marxist regime against the Islamic Mujahideen Resistance. The statement made by the immense statue as the soldier, with machine gun pointing to the heavens, sits in utter defeat, is incredibly powerful.

And, a brief historical note.

During the Bolshevik revolution, Tsar Nicolas and his family were imprisoned here by the Bolsheviks as the tides of the revolt rose and fell. On July 16, 1918, the Tsar, his wife Alexandra, their four daughters and their son were shot and bayoneted to death by the Bolsheviks as the loyalist White Russian Army approached the city. The site of their murder is now the site of the magnificent Church of the Holy Blood.

The bodies were then carried to the Four Brothers Mine, 40 kilometers outside the city, where the corpses were dismembered, doused with gasoline, burned and tossed down the mine shaft along with a few sticks of dynamite. According to the Russian Orthodox church, the story ends here. They built the magnificent Monastery of the Holy Martyrs on the tranquil, wooded site and the pilgrimages began.

However, according to the latest research, the bodies were carried on from the Four Brothers Mine as the White Russian loyalists approached ever closer. Perhaps in an effort to move the bodies away before the city fell to the loyalists and thus to keep secret the murders that would enrage so many who currently held no strong loyalties to Bolshevik or White Russian. However, the wooden carts that the bodies were on became mired in the swampy land. The bodies were then quickly buried beneath wooden railroad pallets. Well, all but the youngest two - of whom no remains were found. We were fortunate to meet the research team who made that 1991 find, there in the woods where those remains were found. They were out for a peaceful Sunday afternoon, some vodka and some time reminiscing about their excavation. As our guide, Ivan, an astute graduate student, spoke with the men who first found this site, they told him of their latest findings. From 2007. A short distance away. Deeper in the woods. Where they found the charred remains of tiny bone fragments, whittled to slivers. In 2008 the DNA test results were returned confirming that these were indeed the remains of the two youngest children, Anastasia and Alexis. Even though language was quite a barrier, it was very intense to meet these men and to see the impact their find has had on their lives - that they kept on searching for 15 years after their first find - and that they still come out on the weekends to share vodka and memories!

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Photos

Asia and Europe
Two Continents - two feet!

Black Rose
Afghanistan War Monument

Church of the Blood
On the site of the murder of the last Tsar and his family.

Ganina Yama
Site of the Romanovs final resting spot - according to the church.

Monastery of the Holy Martyrs
At Ganina Yama

Romanov Remains in the Woods
Final rest, according to the latest research.

The Research Team
On the weekends, nearly 2 decades after their discovery, still they come together.

Comments

[Travel to India]

Russia and its history
Hi there, Greetings of the day Yekaterinburg is very much rich in minerals till date.If I am right your blog is very closely concerning to the great revolution of Russia and great history of Russia. Thanks for such a great contribution. Travel to India · Travel in India

[John]

Great trip ! Russian language in ekaterinburg