Tailor Made Holidays in Russia: In the News

Mystery of Russian Tsar revealed: 01-05-2008

The identities of bones discovered in a forest in Russia have been revealed as those of Crown Prince Alexei and his sister the Grand Duchess Maria.

Official DNA tests have revealed that the mysterious bones belonged to the members of the last Russian royal family who were executed by the Bolsheviks.

Their parents - Tsar Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra - were buried in 1991 in the imperial resting place in St Petersburg.

The tests are still awaiting confirmation but represent a major historical find in Russian history.

Tsar Nicholas was the last royal ruler in Russia when he abdicated the throne in 1917 leading to the shooting of his family in 1918 after a period of detention.

"It was 99.9 percent clear they had all been killed; now with these shards, it's 100 percent. Those who regret this news will be those who liked the royal pretender myth," Nadia Kizenko, a Russian scholar at the University at Albany, State University of New York told the Associated Press.

When visiting Russia you should definitely try to visit the Winter Palace in St Petersburg which was home to the Russian Tsars during the winter months.