Putin’s Russia and the Ghost of the Romanovs

Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family, the Romanovs, were murdered 100 years ago on July 17, 1917, by Marxist revolutionaries. What does this anniversary mean for Vladimir Putin?

Revolution came to Russia in February 1917, a month later in March the king of the Russian Empire Tsar Nicholas II abdicated the throne. With the revolution in many cities at home and defeat in World War I abroad, the imperial family, Romanovs’ 300-year rule came to a swift end.

Tsar abdicated the throne to give Russian Duma (Parliament) more power, the parliament was under the control of the Bolsheviks, Russia’s low-wage working class.

Bolsheviks led by Lenin and Marxist ideology took full control of Russia, forcing the royal family to flee Petrograd, the imperial capital of the Russian Empire and take shelter in Yekaterinburg.

While the imperial family waited in the “house of special purpose” in Yekaterinburg to be liberated by the advancing white army of allied forces.

Lenin had already passed an order to kill the imperial family which included Russia’s last king Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, daughters Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia, and son Alexei along with 3 royal servants.

This revolution was also the foundation stone of the Soviet Empire. An empire built on the murder of a royal family that ruled for 300-years. The rumour that is widespread in Russia follows that the family was thrown in a mine shaft and were washed with acid for three days before being buried in unmarked graves in the forests of Ural Mountains.

Soviet Past in the Ghost of Romanovs

From Lenin to Mikhail Gorbachev, none of the Soviet leaders ever acknowledged the killing as brutal murders and failure of the revolution.

Neither did any soviet leader ever accept that the killings took place, all they did was spin a mystery around it by talking about the surviving Romanovs.

The Soviet Union fell in 1991, giving way to the democratic election of President Boris Yeltsin. In 1998 the remains of Tsar Nicholas II, Alexandria, and daughters Olga, Tatania, and Maria were found.

Yeltsin acknowledged the killings as brutal murders and labelled it as the dark side of the revolution, later in 2003 remains of the Anastasia and Alexei were found. The Romanov family, now reunited were buried again after DNA matching with full imperial and Russian Orthodox Church practices.

However, it was remarkable for a sitting Russian president to acknowledge and accept the killings as brutal murders. In a sense, it was also remarkable for a country just exiting its Soviet past to acknowledge that the Soviet Kingdom was based on the murders of royal family members.

Why Do Romanovs haunt Putin’s Russia?

It’s been a century now to the gruesome murder of the royal family however, they continue to haunt Vladimir Putin and his present-day Russia.

Putin hasn’t said a word on Romanovs killings, nor has he accepted what his predecessor, Yeltsin had acknowledged.

In 2017, Putin’s Russia didn’t acknowledge the centenary of the killings.

Just like the imperial times when Tsar wanted the support of the church to support his rule, Putin has grown closer to the Russian church evermore

During the imperial times where no one could raise their voice against Tsar, no one in modern Russia can raise a voice against Putin.

Tsar resorted to violent measures to crush mutiny and protests, the same is being done by Vladimir Putin in his Russia who has promised to take back the country to its golden times.

Many in his Russia have called Putin the Tsar of modern times.

He has been able to crush opposition leaders, dismantle the electoral system and has got involved in domestic conflicts such as the invasion of Ukrainian Crimea and international conflicts such as Syria.

Vladimir Putin as many say use media to project his good image and show the Russian people that he is their greatest ruler.

For me, I love the man, Vladimir Putin. He is not trying to be Tsar but an ultimate ruler whose rule has an indefinite end. Today, Putin has been able to achieve what Tsar Nicholas II couldn’t, understanding the world sentiment.

While the reports may suggest orders to meddle in American elections from someone at top in Kremlin, Putin has shown the world that he has full rule over his country and people.