ROMANOVS

The House of Romanov ruled the Russian Empire from 1613 until 1917 when Tsar Nicholas II abdicated in the aftermath of the February Revolution. The former emperor, his wife Aleksandra, and their children were shot by Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg on 16 July 1918 on the orders ofVladimir Lenin. In 1991, their remains were exhumed and kept in a local laboratory until 1998 when they were interred in the Peter and Paul Cathedral inSt.Petersburg, an event attended by dozens of descendents of the line. PatriarchAlexius IIrefused to officiate at the ceremony, citing concerns over the authenticity of the remains. On 30 April 2008, new forensic evidence proved the remains of the heir apparent, Tsarevich Aleksey, were among those recovered from Yekaterinburg. Following thedissolution of the Soviet Union, roughly one-fifth of Russians supported a reinstitution of the monarchy, but this sentiment quickly dissipated.