THE ROMANOVS DECLARED NEW MARTYRS

BIJELJINA, AUGUST 11 /SRNA/ - The Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church decided on August 12, 2000, to canonize the last Russian Emperor, Nicholas II Romanov, and his family as Holy New Martyrs.

In 1918, the Bolsheviks killed the Russian imperial family in Yekaterinburg - Emperor Nicholas, Empress Alexandra, their son and heir to the throne, Alexei, and their four daughters - Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia.

Emperor Nicholas, his wife and their five children were canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1981 and proclaimed Holy New Martyrs in 2000.

The locations of their burial sites were discovered in 1991 and 2007. Their remains were recovered from unmarked graves, and they were reburied in the Romanov family tomb at the St. Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

In July 1918, the Russian White Army, supported by Czech forces, was advancing towards Yekaterinburg. Fearing that the White forces might liberate Emperor Nicholas, the Bolsheviks decided to execute the imperial family.

Communist hardliner Yakov Yurovsky headed the local committee entrusted with deciding the fate of the last Russian emperor and his family.

A few days before the execution, Yurovsky replaced the guards who had been watching over the Romanovs since their arrival in Yekaterinburg. They were replaced by new men, prepared to execute the prisoners without question.

Shortly after midnight, the guards woke the imperial family on the pretext that they were not safe because gunfire could be heard in the streets. Emperor Nicholas, Empress Alexandra, their five children and their servants were taken to the basement, where they were shot.

Nicholas II Romanov was a great friend of the Serbs and entered the war in 1914 after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.