(Continued from page 6)

It will come as a shock to Russia's feuding monarchists to discover that the last Tsar's son survived the murder of the Romanovs and died fifty-nine years later in Vancouver.  It will be an even bigger surprise when they realize Alexei has two sons and grandchildren living in central Canada, which means that the Royal Romanov line still exists!  Just how did the world's most famous haemophiliac survive a hail of assassins' bullets in the early morning hours of July 17, 1918?  The two-part answer to that question is amazingly simple.

First, the execution squad commander aimed his revolver at the right ear of the Crown Prince of Russia and squeezed the trigger twice... but he was NEVER shot!  The impression that he had been killed was purposely created as part of Lenin's revolutionary campaign of disinformation.  Even Alexei himself never entirely understood how and why it happened.  He was only weeks short of his fourteenth birthday at the time of the execution and there was no need for the perpetrators to tell him their purpose.

As teenage heir to Russia's throne, Alexei was a useful pawn to keep hidden away just in case he was needed before the final outcome of the Revolution was secured two years later.  The Russians have always been good at the game of chess and they know only too well that a pawn on the seventh rank is only a pawn... but as soon as it reaches the eighth rank it can be elevated to become the most dangerous piece on the board.

The second answer to the question of Alexei's survival is the one that I will deal with first.  It has escaped the experts for more than three-quarters of a century because, until now, there has been no need to question or explain it.


©  J. Kendrick 1997                                                                                                                                              (Continued on page 8)