Some key events in Russian history took place at a considerable distance from both capitals of the Russian Empire. The tragic end of more than three hundred years of the Romanov dynasty turned out to be connected with the Ural region. For most of her last generation, the path to the Urals was the last.
Unusual attraction
The place, located near the northwestern outskirts of Yekaterinburg and known as "Ganina Yama", is associated with one of the darkest pages in Russian history of the twentieth century. No one would ever have known the name of this unremarkable abandoned quarry if, by the will of circumstances, it had not been destined to become the grave of the last Russian Emperor and his family. Today this place has become one of the most significant city attractions. Many of those who first come to the capital of the Ural region are interested in where Ganina Yama is located, how to get to this remote place in the most rational way. As the years pass, public interest in the tragic events of almost a century ago only increases.
Not far from Yekaterinburg
Ganina Yama is a small abandoned quarryIsetsky mine, located four kilometers southeast of the village of Koptyaki. Once they tried to find gold here, but only iron ore was found. It was this mineral that was mined here for several years for the blast furnaces of the Verkh-Isetsky Metallurgical Plant. Here they burned charcoal for this. By the beginning of the twentieth century, iron ore reserves were exhausted, and the mine was abandoned. In July 1918, the Ganina Yama - a small pit about 20 by 30 meters in size - seemed to the members of the Ural Revolutionary Committee a suitable place to hide the traces of their crime.
In the Ipatiev House
On the night of July 16-17 in Yekaterinburg, in the basement of a house that previously belonged to the railway engineer Ipatiev, the former Russian Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov, the former Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and their five children - Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria were shot, Anastasia and the heir to the throne, Tsarevich Alexei. Together with them, four of those who voluntarily accompanied the royal family in exile in Tobolsk, and then in Yekaterinburg, were killed. Ganina Yama, a secluded and deserted place outside the city, was chosen as the place for burying the bodies and hiding the crime.
In Ganina Pit
The murderers of the royal family did everything in their power so that in the coming times no one would have the question: "Ganina Yama … How to get to her?" And a place forburial they chose exactly the one from which neither name nor mention should have remained in history. However, in modern terms, something clearly went wrong with them … It was not possible to hide the bodies of the dead and destroy the traces of the crime. The fact that Ganina Yama was not suitable for this purpose became clear only towards the end of the day on July 17, 1918. The abandoned mine could not hide the bodies of the dead from the prying eyes. The funeral team was unable to flood it with water or blow up its walls with grenades. In addition, some residents of the neighboring village of Koptyaki saw a car with corpses in the back. Therefore, it was decided to rebury the dead in a deeper mine in the area of the Moscow tract. To this end, the bodies were removed from the mine and re-loaded into the back of a truck.
On the Old Koptyakovskaya road
The criminals managed to drive four and a half kilometers from Ganina Yama. After that, the car was hopelessly stuck in a swamp at the beginning of the Old Koptyakovskaya road. It was this place that was destined to become the burial place of the last Russian Emperor and members of his family for several long decades. Resigned to the fact that it would not be possible to quickly and imperceptibly pull the truck out of the swamp, Yakov Yurovsky, a member of the Ural Collegium of the Cheka, gave the order to dig a grave right on the road. It was this burial that was made on the Old Koptyakovskaya road on the night of July 18, 1918. But the legend for many decades connected the burial of the remains of the royal family with the mine from which they had been extracted the day before. ATSoviet times, such interest in the place of concealment of the crime, to put it mildly, was not approved. But, despite this, pilgrims and just curious were drawn to him. They were constantly asking the locals: "Where is Ganina's pit? How can I get to it?" Mysterious and mysterious places around the world have a special attraction. Ganina Yama certainly belonged to them. Yekaterinburg was called Sverdlovsk in Soviet times, and many people who were not indifferent to the mysteries of Russian history were drawn to this city.
Sixty years later
The secret of the burial of Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov and members of his family was revealed only in the summer of 1979. The credit for this belongs mainly to two enthusiastic researchers - the writer Geliy Ryabov and the geologist Alexander Avdonin. It was they who managed to discover the burial place of the royal family under a layer of railway sleepers on Staraya Koptyakovskaya Road. But what to do with this find was completely incomprehensible. The researchers acted solely on their own initiative, and such actions could lead to the most unpleasant consequences for them. Without the sanction of the state, they had no right to engage in such research. And the Soviet authorities did not need such finds at all. The researchers had no choice but to pretend that they did not make any historical discoveries. At the same time, the pilgrims continued to follow the address known to them, mainly from oral legends - Ganina Yama, Yekaterinburg.
In the nineties and beyond
The situation changed radically at the end of the Soviet historical era. During this historical period, interest in the dark spots of national history ceased to be reprehensible. For many guests of the capital of the Ural region, the obligatory item of the stay program was: Ganina Yama, excursion. In the summer of 1991, the pilgrimage to the burial place of the royal family acquired a completely official status: a worship cross was installed on the site of the former mine. This was the first step in perpetuating the memory of the "royal great martyrs". Burial on the old Koptyakovskaya road ceased to be secret. The grave was opened, the remains were removed from it and, after a thorough genetic study, they were solemnly buried in the Cathedral of the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg. This is the traditional burial place of Russian Emperors and other dignitaries from the ruling Romanov dynasty.
Under the spiritual patronage of the Russian Orthodox Church
At present, pilgrims to Ganina Yama and ordinary tourists following on an excursion are not going to the wilderness to an abandoned mine, but to an Orthodox monastery in honor of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers. The installation of a commemorative worship cross on the site of an abandoned mine in 1991 was the first step towards its creation. Today, as many as seven Orthodox churches are located here and receive parishioners, according to the number of killed members of the royal family. In terms of its architectural style, the temple complex corresponds to traditional Russian wooden architecture, typical fornorthern provinces of the Russian Empire. The external design of the monastery is very restrained, without bright colors and unusual shapes. Those who go here on an excursion should not forget that this is a tragic landmark of Russian history - Ganina Yama. It is not customary to take a photo for memory against the background of architecture. People don't come here to have fun. The Orthodox monastery, in addition to prayerful works, conducts great educational activities aimed at perpetuating the memory of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers, whose ashes were once received by Ganina Yama. The website of the monastery contains detailed information about all areas of its activities. You can find it at www. ganinayama.ru/.
Ganina Yama, Yekaterinburg: how to get to the monastery
The easiest way to get to Ganina Yama is by car. To do this, you should make a left turn at the fourth kilometer of the Serov tract and then follow the directions of the established signs. In the absence of a car, the monastery complex can also be reached by train. To do this, you need to get off at the Shuvakish station and then follow on foot past the territory of the "Steel Industrial Company" along the fence to the left. This path will lead in the shortest possible way to the same Old Koptyakovskaya road, on which the events related to the death of the royal family unfolded. But the easiest way to get to the monastery of the Holy Royal Martyrs is by regular bus, which departs regularly from the Northern Bus StationYekaterinburg. It should be noted that on weekends and on the days of traditional Orthodox holidays, the number of people wishing to visit the monastery increases significantly. These days, additional rolling stock is on the line. Additional regular buses in the direction of the monastery depart from the stop on the tram ring at the Seven Keys.
