We arrived in Yetateringburg after 48 hours on the train from Irkutsk. This was a closed city under the Soviets because of the heavy machinerary and armament factories. It is where Tsar Nicholas and his family were killed in 1917. It is the 4th largest city in Russia, population 1.4 million.
Church of the Tsar Martyrs
Church of the Tsar Martyrs
We had a full day of sightseeing with a terrific guide who is doing a PhD on Soviet administration in East Germany. We went to a Church that was built in 2001 on the spot where the house stood where the Romanovs were killed. We then went to a monastery outside the city which is still being built on the spot where the bodies were placed in a mine shaft. There is incredible devotion to this family, they were canonised in 1996 by the Russian Orthodox Church. We had to wear head scarves and the women were provided with skirts to wear over our pants.
We then visited the spot where the bodies were eventually found.
We then visited a memorial to the 20 thousand people Stalin sent to the Gulags in 1937/38.
We also visited a stone museum with a great range of precious and semi precious stones.
Finally we visited the spot which marks the border between Asia and Europe. Here the guide produced a bottle of champagne and chocolates. London is still 4865 kms away.
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