This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/europe/7645776.stm
The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Russia's last tsar rehabilitated | Russia's last tsar rehabilitated |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Russia's Supreme Court has ruled that the last Tsar, Nicholas II, and his family were victims of political repression and should be rehabilitated. | Russia's Supreme Court has ruled that the last Tsar, Nicholas II, and his family were victims of political repression and should be rehabilitated. |
| The rehabilitation has long been demanded by the tsar's descendants. | The rehabilitation has long been demanded by the tsar's descendants. |
| Nicholas, his wife Alexandra, their five children, doctor and three servants were shot dead by Bolshevik revolutionaries in July, 1918. | Nicholas, his wife Alexandra, their five children, doctor and three servants were shot dead by Bolshevik revolutionaries in July, 1918. |
| Lower courts had previously refused to reclassify the killings, which had been categorised as simply murder. | Lower courts had previously refused to reclassify the killings, which had been categorised as simply murder. |
| The Romanov family have been canonised as saints by the Orthodox Church, which has enjoyed a post-Soviet revival. | The Romanov family have been canonised as saints by the Orthodox Church, which has enjoyed a post-Soviet revival. |
| For most of the last century, Tsar Nicholas II was officially reviled as a tyrant. To Russia's Soviet regime, he personified all they had tried to destroy in the revolution of 1917. | For most of the last century, Tsar Nicholas II was officially reviled as a tyrant. To Russia's Soviet regime, he personified all they had tried to destroy in the revolution of 1917. |
| Advertisement | Advertisement |
| Archive film of Tsar Nicholas II taken in 1916 | Archive film of Tsar Nicholas II taken in 1916 |
| The Romanovs were shot by a firing squad without a trial, in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg. | The Romanovs were shot by a firing squad without a trial, in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg. |
| The Supreme Court "declared as groundless the repression of Tsar Nicholas II and his family and ordered their rehabilitation", the judge's decision said on Wednesday. | The Supreme Court "declared as groundless the repression of Tsar Nicholas II and his family and ordered their rehabilitation", the judge's decision said on Wednesday. |
| The ruling overturned a decision by a Supreme Court panel in November 2007 not to rehabilitate the imperial family. | The ruling overturned a decision by a Supreme Court panel in November 2007 not to rehabilitate the imperial family. |
| The descendants' lawyer, German Lukyanov, argued that the lack of a trial was not sufficient grounds to reject the plea that they be considered victims of political repression.The tsar's autocratic rule gave way to civil war and Soviet power | |
| Coercion by state bodies, restricting the freedom and rights of citizens for class, religious or social reasons, constituted repression, he told the court. | Coercion by state bodies, restricting the freedom and rights of citizens for class, religious or social reasons, constituted repression, he told the court. |
| Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, official attitudes to the royal family have changed dramatically. In 1998, their remains were reburied with great ceremony in St Petersburg. | Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, official attitudes to the royal family have changed dramatically. In 1998, their remains were reburied with great ceremony in St Petersburg. |
| The BBC's James Rodgers in Moscow says the supreme court's decision is largely symbolic - but has been welcomed by monarchists and the tsar's descendants. | The BBC's James Rodgers in Moscow says the supreme court's decision is largely symbolic - but has been welcomed by monarchists and the tsar's descendants. |
| Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, a Romanov descendant who led the campaign to get the imperial family rehabilitated, "expressed her joy and satisfaction after the decision," her spokesman Alexander Zakatov told the AFP news agency. | |
| A spokesman for the Russian Orthodox Church, Georgy Ryabykh, said the decision "strengthens the rule of law, restores historical continuity and 1,000 years of state tradition". |