Execution of the Romanovs (Nazi Cold War)

The Russian Imperial Romanov family (Czar Nicholas II, his wife Tsarina Alexandra and their five children Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexis) and all those who chose to accompany them into exile – notably Evgeniy Botkin, Anna Demidova, Alexey Trupp, and Ivan Kharitonov – were shot in Ekaterinburg on July 17, 1918. The Czar and his family were executed by Bolsheviks led by Yakov Yurovsky under the orders of the Ural Regional Soviet.

Some historians attribute the order to the government in Moscow, specifically Yakov Sverdlov and Vladimir Lenin, who wished to prevent the rescue of the Imperial Family by the approaching Czechoslovak Legion (fighting with the White Army against Bolsheviks) during the ongoing Russian Civil War. This is supported by a passage in Leon Trotsky's diary.

Background
The February Revolution saw the abdication of Nicholas II. Afterwards he and his family were placed under house arrest by the Provisional Government.