In 1891, Yakov Yurovsky was thirteen years old. Through the window of the watch shop, he saw Crown Prince Nicholas who came to inspect, "Not tall, exquisite beard", Yurovs Kee still remembered clearly that the future Tsar was very handsome. When he appeared on the balcony, the sky was drizzling. Nicholas was dignified and solemn, looking like a statue from a distance.
Nicholas II when he was young
Nineteen years later, Yurovsky stood six feet away from the last tsar and executed his family, which made Yurovsky even more interested. Unexpectedly, exactly one hundred years later, the Soviet Union he fought for collapsed.
The publication of Yakov Yurovsky’s notes did not cause a great sensation in the historians. It was published in an inconspicuous Russian journal. In 1993, the newly disintegrated Soviet Union was in a precarious state. Various conspiracies In theory, decrypted files are endless, and no one cares about this little man's mental journey.
Yurovsky’s notes were written in 1922, the fourth year after the execution of the Tsar. He opened the story of an encounter with the Tsar when he was a teenager. “He was too clean and handsome.” But this made Yuro Fowski felt uncomfortable. At that time, the whole family was living in a seepage basement. When he was young, he liked to ask his parents various questions:
"Why the boss's children can live on our heads"
"Why are the Jewish rich?" You can ride to the synagogue, but the poor can’t"
His mother always comforted him over and over again:
"They are willing to give to the poor, and God has forgiven them"
"Peace is blessing"
When Yurovs After seeing Crown Prince Nicholas, Kee returned home and asked some more questions. His father was irritated and threw a fork in his face, but Yurovsky still couldn't figure it out. He wrote in his notes: " At that time, I thought, one day I have money and I must give it to the poor."
Yurovsky's dream seemed out of reach, and he continued to repair his clocks and watches for 14 years and lived a precarious life. In 1905, he met a group of revolutionaries and was soon put in prison. In 1917, Yurovsky finally ushered in the opportunity, when he was already forty years old.
Yakov Yurovsky
In July 1918, Yurovsky was appointed as the leader of the special operations team, responsible for taking care of the imprisoned Nicholas II family.
A few days before the execution of the czar, two people smoked outside the door. Yurovsky told the czar: " 1891, I was 13 years old, and you are completing the journey of far east. You are in Tomsk stopped, I have a small flag, waving it desperately, you beckon to the crowd, I am one of the little ants ".
Yurovsky never questioned the execution order. Neither his comrades-in-arms nor the workers of Yekaterinburg thought that there was no need to keep the tsar, and the people didn’t need to spend money to support them, but also sent people to do it. They stand guard.
However, before the execution order was issued, Yurovsky still followed the rules meticulously. He replaced a group of more disciplined comrades, dug a well for fire prevention, and appointed a professional machine gunner. When he discovered that the czar’s family had a large amount of diamonds and jewels, Yurovsky did not force them to hand them over. He registered the items one by one, put them in a box, put a seal on them, and gave them back to the czar.
The Czar in Captivity
Yurovsky even offended his superiors for the czar. The local monastery provided butter and eggs for the czar’s family. The superiors seized a large part of it, and Yurovsky required it to be Lots of things were handed over to the Tsar, which embarrassed the regional commander Avdeyev. However, Yurovsky quickly changed his mind. He only allowed milk to be sent in because he found Yekaterinburg. The people of China have a difficult life. The czar should be the same as everyone and cannot enjoy special treatment. When the czar’s chef asked him how this meat can make a meal, Yurovsky replied: "Don’t expect the same as before.Get used to your current life, you are now prisoners.”
Yurovsky asked the prisoners to get up before 10 in the morning. Queen Alexandra said she had never got up so early, Yurovsky said: "If you want to continue sleeping, I will come to your room to check at 10 o'clock." The queen said she would mind, Yurovsky said I didn't.
Empress Alex Sandra
Queen Alexandra's strength to her husband makes Yurovsky's memory still fresh, and Nicholas II does not seem to be as glamorous as in the photo, and is with his wife When speaking, his face is always drooping. When meeting the guards, he always greets politely: "Hello", but the other party only responds slightly, without the toe touch of the past: "May the emperor always be healthy! ".
Yurovsky's notes also expressed his confusion. The czar did not have a few good boots, one pair was still patched, and his daughters were not the legendary jewels, they were dressed plainly. , Would take the initiative to run into the kitchen to help with work, wash clothes and headscarves by himself, the Tsar’s youngest son was a little shy with hemophilia, blushing and lying on the bed all day long, " if you look at this family objectively, It can be said to be completely harmless ", Yurovsky wrote.
At about 2 pm on July 16, 1918, the superior sent someone to find Yurovsky and ordered the execution. Order, and especially told the emperor’s son to be killed, the person who handled the corpse will come to him that night, the action code "sweep the chimney", he will do it again when he comes.
Tsar inspection front
especially Rovsky began arranging the executioner,He distributed the revolver to everyone. As far as who shot each person, two people refused to shoot at the women. Yurovsky did not embarrass them.
Next is waiting. I thought that the "chimney sweep" would appear at night. At 10, 11, and 12, Yurovsky became more and more uneasy. He worried that if he waited any longer, more people would refuse. Carry out the order, because everyone knows that they are going to be "king-slayers."
At one o'clock in the morning, the "chimney sweep" arrived. At half past one, Yurovsky knocked on the door of the Tsar's doctor and told him that riots broke out in the city and everyone must move immediately. Half an hour later, the Tsar was holding his little son. Alexei, the others took various things and followed Yurovsky into the basement. Empress Alexandra asked for a chair for himself, and Tsar asked for a chair for his son. He stood by himself. Yurovsky agreed.
After everyone was in place, Yurovsky asked them to stand up. He took out the sentencing document. The following is the original text of Yurovsky’s notes:
"I read the document, Ural The Committee of Workers, Peasants and Soldiers passed a resolution and sentenced you to death. The czar didn’t seem to hear clearly. He turned his head, I repeated it, and then ordered to fire. I fired the first shot. The czar fell to the ground and the execution lasted a long time. I originally hoped that the wooden wall would not ricochet, but it still happened. Sparks shot all over the scene. Everyone's arranged targets were messed up. I ordered a timeout to no avail. Everyone was firing indiscriminately. I finally stopped them. , Found that many people are still alive"
"Doctor Potkin propped on the ground with his right elbow, we used a revolver to get him, Alexey, Tatiana, Anastasia, Orr Good, Demidova is still alive. Yelmak tried to use a bayonet to deal with them, but couldn’t get in. Everyone had jewels and diamonds hidden in their clothes. I had to raise the pistol again, one by one. Make up the gun".
The basement of the execution
The execution lasted more than half an hour,At about four in the morning, the corpses of the czar’s family were transported to an abandoned mine. Yurovsky continued to write:
"The czar’s resting place is unfortunate, but there is nothing to do. We threw them into the mine. The water in the mine was about 0.7 meters deep. I arranged a guard and then went to the city to report the matter to my superiors.”
However, the superiors did not allow this. Yurovsky had to reprocess the corpses. Two young men went into the mine, stood in the black muddy water, tied the corpses one by one to the rope and dragged them up. It was July. Weather.
The corpses of the czar’s family were transported to the depths of the forest. Here, Yurovsky processed them. First, a corpse was used to test the burning speed. The corpse burned faster than expected. They burned and buried However, the fire was not finished by daybreak. Seeing that the nearby farmers were about to get up, they had to throw the remaining corpses into the pit, pour them with sulfuric acid and bury them.
Those who participated in the execution
The funeral of Nicholas II's family was over. Yurovsky obtained permission in advance to kill any unrelated witness. However, the news was leaked out soon. Four months later, his two brothers were discovered by the White Guards, and a whole regiment surrounded the block. The 白卫军 officer called them "king-slayers" and forced them to hand over the whereabouts of the tsar's relics. The two brothers were imprisoned. In prison, however, the White Guards did not kill them. They were released 8 months later. Yurovsky explained that the Red Army was approaching too fast and they had no time to do it.
Yurovsky's mother was also arrested by the White Guards. They scolded her: "Sow, give birth to such a son." This 70-year-old man who is committed to benevolent and indisputable in the world was stripped and left. Underwear, but she did not betray her son, and even said: "That is my son, I must support him." However, Yurovsky also had to admit that the White Guard did not kill his mother and released her a year later.
In the last paragraph of the notes, even if Yurovsky repeatedly emphasized the correctness and justice of this action, he can still see his inner anxiety. For example, he said that the execution of the tsar was humane and appropriate. It was informed in advance that there were legal procedures, and at the same time it was said that it was under pressure from Yekaterinburg workers to do so,As a last resort.
He denounced the czar's crazy slaughter of the people, but at the same time admitted that his mother and brother were released.
Yurovsky left Cheka three years later and became the director of the gold department of the Soviet treasury. This note was written during his tenure. Yurovsky has a clean and honest style, just like his childhood ideals. It has always insisted that everyone is equal, and has left a good reputation in combating financial corruption and corruption. It may also offend too many people. In 1928, he was transferred to the director of the Industrial Museum. In 1938, he died of peptic ulcer at the age of 60.
His offspring were not so lucky. In 1938, his daughter was arrested and detained until 1946. In 1952, his eldest son was arrested again. Two of his grandsons fell from the roof and died. The other two died in the fire.
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