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Before The Killings: Rare Photographs Of Russia's Last Royal Family

After Tsar Nicholas II and his family were executed by Bolshevik revolutionaries early on the morning of July 17, 1918, a collection of the royal family's personal photographs was smuggled out of Russia. The albums offer a haunting glimpse into the life of a family destined for tragedy.

(All photos courtesy of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.)

(Originally published on March 13, 2017)
Nicholas II and three of the grand duchesses floating in one of the canals of Tsarskoe Selo, near St. Petersburg.
26 Nicholas II and three of the grand duchesses floating in one of the canals of Tsarskoe Selo, near St. Petersburg.
In the months after the 1917 Revolution, Grand Duchess Tatiana helping to dig a vegetable garden while being held in captivity by revolutionaries. 
27 In the months after the 1917 Revolution, Grand Duchess Tatiana helping to dig a vegetable garden while being held in captivity by revolutionaries. 
Tsar Nicholas II and his son Aleksei sawing wood while in captivity. They were killed a few months later. The diary of a senior Soviet leader recalls that Vladimir Lenin made the decision to have the Romanovs executed, after concluding "we shouldn't leave the [anti-Bolshevik forces] a living emblem to rally around, especially under the present difficult circumstances."
28 Tsar Nicholas II and his son Aleksei sawing wood while in captivity. They were killed a few months later. The diary of a senior Soviet leader recalls that Vladimir Lenin made the decision to have the Romanovs executed, after concluding "we shouldn't leave the [anti-Bolshevik forces] a living emblem to rally around, especially under the present difficult circumstances."
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Amos Chapple

Amos Chapple is a New Zealand-born photographer and picture researcher with a particular interest in the former U.S.S.R.

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