Nicholas and Alexandra - DEATH and DIAMONDS

In this image of the Ipatiev House—which the Bolsheviks called the "House of Special Purpose"—we see the location of the Tsar's living quarters. We also see the location of a cellar, on the lower level of the home, where the Romanov family and four of their helpers were executed on July 16, 1918.

According to Yurovsky's eyewitness account, Alexei, three of his sisters, Dr. Botkin and Alexandra's personal maid, Alexandra Demidova, survived the first wave of bullets.

This surprised the commandant because they had aimed for the heart.

It was even more surprising when the second attack still did not kill Anastasia and two of her sisters. Instead, bullets were bouncing all over the room.

It was also surprising that the bullets from the pistols ricocheted off something and jumped about the room like hail. When they tried to finish off one of the girls with bayonets, the bayonet could not pierce the corset. Thanks to all of this, the entire procedure, including "verification" (feeling the pulse, etc.), took around 20 minutes.

Only later, when the men were trying to dispose of the bodies, did anyone realize why it had been so hard to kill Anastasia and her sisters.

When one of the girls was being undressed, it was noticed that the bullets had torn the corset in places, and diamonds could be seen in the holes. The eyes of those all around began burning brightly.

Believing the executioners could also be thieves, Yurovsky dismissed most of the group. Undressing the bodies continued.

Alexandra Fedorovna was wearing a whole pearl belt made of several strands and sewn into cloth. Around each girl's neck, it turned out, was a portrait of Rasputin with the text of his prayer sewn into the amulets. The diamonds were instantly removed. They (things made of diamonds, that is) amounted to about eighteen pounds. These were buried in the cellar of one of the little houses at the Alapaevsk factory; in 1919 they were dug up and brought to Moscow.

Now that the Romanovs and their assistants were dead, the executioners had to work fast to dispose of the bodies. Daylight would soon be upon them.

Once again, they had to deviate from Yurovsky's plan.