Echo of Moscow: Representatives of the Russian Imperial House given a Report on the Closing of the Investigation into the Authenticity of the Ekaterinburg Remains.
October 27, 2011
The transfer of three volumes worth of findings did not resemble a festive ceremony, but its significance was enormous both for the investigative authorities that had completed the report based on a 16-year investigation of the identification of the Ekaterinburg remains, and for the representatives of the Russian Imperial House. The main question—whether the remains found in 1991 and 2007 belong to the Imperial family and their servants—has different answers. The Investigative Committee of Russia (ICR) is “categorically” certain of their authenticity. The descendants of the Romanoffs have doubts. The Romanoffs’ representatives carefully point out that they are not casting doubt on the scientific work that has been done, but merely on the temporary nature of scientific research in general, which compels them not to treat the current findings as conclusive just because the scientific community today says so. And, to put it succinctly, the position of the Romanoffs will rely not on the results of scientific studies, however convincing they may seem to be, but on the opinions of the Russian Orthodox Church. This was the view expressed by the Director of the Chancellery of the House of Romanov, Alexander Zakatov.
As a result, those who are on the side of the experts are somewhat befuddled. Those who conducted the criminal investigation have called for the formation of a governmental commission which would include representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church (an idea that has been proposed before) in order to remove any and all final doubts and contradictions about the matter. This is an especially timely suggestion since it has become quite hard to reject the scientific findings in the case: the investigations were conducted by several groups in several countries using some of the most advanced technologies available, some not yet available to forensic criminology. And, as an aside, the lead investigator, Vladimir Solov’ev, lamented the fact that, for all their time and know-how, researchers in the case were not paid one cent from the state.
The materials in the case which were handed over to Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirova, may one day be published. In any event, it will take months to go through the three volumes of materials, and the Romanoffs may also receive the materials from the criminal investigations in the Imperial family’s deaths. Which is to say that the remains of those buried in Ss. Peter and Paul Fortress will not yet be officially recognized as the Imperial family, and the remains found in 2007, which purport to be Tsarevich Aleksei and Grand Duchess Maria, will not be buried any time soon.
Representatives of the House of Romanoff consider it necessary to find a place for the temporary interment of the remains of Aleksei and Maria.
The original story appeared at http://echo.msk.ru/news/824713-echo.html