It looks quite possible that the whole Bolshevik regime won't even survive.
And the one thing they don't want to happen is for the Romanovs to become a banner of their enemies.
Oh Christ, God, bless the food and drink of thy servants.
For holy art thou, always, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.
Amen.
Amen.
Cutlets again? It's cutlets every night.
Can't we have something else? Elbows down.
Just be grateful for what we have Girls.
- Is he drunk? - Sh.
There you are.
Mother, I don't have a fork.
Use your fingers.
- How dare you talk to us like that? - Lexi! Look, please, there's no need Come on.
Let's go.
Let's go.
It's alright - it's alright.
- Don't look at him like that.
Let's just get back to dinner.
Here, take mine.
Who'd like a game of Bezique tonight? - I'll play.
- Me too.
- Whose turn is it to win? - Not yours! "The friends of the Romanovs are no longer sleeping.
The hour so long awaited has come.
The Czechs are approaching Ekaterinburg and will force the Red Army to capitulate.
Be ready at all times for liberation.
" Signed, "Someone who's ready to die for you.
Officer of the Russian army.
" In the summer of 1918, the family begins to receive mysterious communications.
These are letters that assure them that they still have friends on the outside, so to speak, and that they need to wait for a signal and then attempt an escape.
They do not suspect that these letters are actually written by the Urals Bolsheviks in an attempt to lure the family out of the house.
They are trying to trick them into an escape in which they could be killed.
When the Romanovs left the Alexander Palace they managed to take their hidden cache of jewelry with them, as an insurance policy to live off if they went into exile and to pay for any escape that needed paying for.
So they need to hide the jewels.
From now on, you'll wear these under your clothes at all times.
Why? We need to be ready to leave at any moment.
- To go where? - Quick! Happy birthday! Thank you.
Within the house, things are getting lax.
Imagine, you've got these very pretty teenage girls and they've never really had contact with young men before.
What did you wish for? I'm not telling, or it might not come true.
Suddenly there are all these young Bolshevik guards flirting with them.
Maria.
Yes.
Particularly Maria.
Her eyes always known as "Maria's saucers".
Comrade Goloshchyokin.
Speaking.
Security at the house is compromised.
Some of the guards are getting too close to the girls.
How bad is it? If we don't do something soon, they will be the ones helping them escape.
Really? You need to come and see for yourself.
Stay where you are.
Turn everything upside down! - You can't do - You stay here! Nicky! When the Bolshevik leaders arrive to inspect, they are absolutely ruthless.
When I say everywhere, I mean everywhere! They are fanatical Marxists.
They hate Nicholas, they hate the Romanov family.
They regard them as criminals, bloodsuckers.
Give it back! Sh, don't.
Or what? What is this? An inspection.
Cooperate, and no one gets hurt.
Where is the fourth girl? Right, search the rooms! They believe in terror as a revolutionary weapon.
Check that room, down there.
Lord have mercy on our souls.
Lord have mercy on our souls.
Protect and guard us.
Protect and guard us.
Left, check all the rooms.
Protect and guard our souls from the hands of evil, oh Lord.
Lord have mercy on our souls.
Get out! I said get out! No.
Please, please, no, stop! Stop! No! No, no! By July 1918, the Ural Bolsheviks are getting more and more concerned about the imperial family, and how secure they are.
On the one hand, there's been a kind of breakdown of order within the house itself.
On the other hand, the war isn't going that well for the Reds.
In fact, the White Army is getting closer and closer to Ekaterinburg.
And so the very real threat that the imperial family might be rescued is ever more apparent.
Lenin agrees that if the Whites get close then he gives the permission for the Ural Bolsheviks to kill them all.
The action agreed upon cannot be put off.
Stop.
We cannot wait.
Stop.
Ifyour opinion differs then immediately notify.
Stop.
Yurovsky takes personal control.
He sacks all the lax guards, he tightens the schedule, and he brings in new, tougher, more hostile guards.
This does not bode well for the family.
Your new commander, Yakov Yurovsky.
From now on the rules will be strictly enforced.
No fraternizing with guards.
Comply and you will be safe.
Any attempt at escape will be severely punished.
What's going to happen to us? We'll get out of here.
And go where? I don't know.
We might have to leave Russia.
You told me, God chose me to be Czar.
He did.
So why has he let this happen? Maybe he's testing us.
Maybe it's all part of his plan.
One has to try to imagine the psychological pressure on a man who was convinced that he was anointed by God.
He knows he's failed in his role as God's representative on Earth, that he has brought about this crisis.
And now he has to worry about Alexei, his handicapped son, what will become of him.
This is the ultimate nightmare.
How does he protect him from the Bolsheviks? You wanted to see me.
Yes, I need to know what you're planning to do with us.
I'm waiting for instructions from the general committee.
I see.
How long is that going to take? My son is unwell.
We need to get him proper medical attention.
And my wife has asked to see a priest.
That is not up to me.
But you could report to the They are fully aware of the situation.
I have never met people like you.
I hope I never will again.
But, you and I have met.
In a manner of speaking.
1891 I was ten.
You were completing your Far East tour.
You stopped in Tomsk.
Beautiful day, perfect weather.
I was happy.
We all got the day off from school.
Please.
Thank you.
I remember I was with all my friends.
My family.
I had a little flag.
I was waving it.
Just one of the little ants you were nodding and waving at.
Of course.
You don't remember.
There were millions of us.
And one of you.
I know what you think of me.
I tried to be a good Czar.
Everything I did, I did for my country.
What did you do for the people? Russia is the people.
Did you ever realize that? Was there anything else? By this point, the Bolshevik government is in serious danger.
It has lost a great deal of Russia and an uprising has just occurred in Moscow.
Different armies are converging from every side on a shrinking Bolshevik heartland.
The White Forces are just 20 miles from Ekaterinburg.
It is a very serious possibility that they will take the city and liberate the Romanovs.
The Romanovs can actually hear guns at the front, booming away.
That's how close the war is getting.
And, of course, they don't realize that the closer the war gets, the more danger they're in.
Thank you.
This is a great comfort to us.
Of course.
I spoke to Comrade Lenin.
We have the go-ahead for our operations.
Good.
Here is good.
The trucks will come to the house.
Be ready to leave, 01:30 hours.
It's getting nearer.
What's going to happen to us, Nicky? Do you remember Livadia in the spring? And the cherry blossom? I'm going to take you back there.