Russian Court rules Czar as victim of Soviet repression

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Supreme Court ordered on Wednesday that Tsar Nicholas II be recognised as a victim of Soviet repression, a symbolic victory for monarchists who said it would help draw a line under Russia's blood-stained past.

The last Tsar, his wife and five children were killed by a Bolshevik revolutionary firing squad in 1918, but unlike many of the tens of millions of others who suffered Soviet persecution, they have never been officially recognised as victims.

Last year the Supreme Court ruled that a legal technicality prevented the royal family from being granted the status of victims of repression: they had never been accused of any crime, so it was impossible to rescind the accusation.

But on Wednesday the Supreme Court, hearing an appeal lodged by a lawyer acting for descendants of Russia's Romanov imperial line, overturned its previous ruling, said Pavel Odintsov, a spokesman for the court.

"The presidium of the Supreme Court determined that ... (Tsar Nicholas and his family) be recognised as groundlessly repressed and that they are to be rehabilitated," said Odintsov. "This decision is final."

A representative of Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, a descendant of the royal family who styles herself as the heir to the imperial throne, said he telephoned her at her home in Madrid to tell her of the court's decision.

"This is first and foremost a symbolic decision," Alexander Zakatov, head of the chancellery of Russia's self-styled Imperial House, told Reuters.

"It was very important for our society that the crime committed 90 years ago was condemned, and that unfair accusations against the Tsar and members of his family, that they were enemies of the people ... should be removed."

"We have achieved victory," said Zakatov. "The law has been carried out and now we can draw a line under this with great satisfaction and happiness."

He said Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna would soon be sent an official document recognising the Tsar and his family as victims of Soviet repression.

She planned to place the document alongside other historical artifacts in the imperial archive in Madrid, Zakatov said.

.__. Wow. I never knew that Russia Court could be THAT stupid now...

There's ENOUGH evidence that the Czar and his family oppressed the normal peasents horridly and THIS bullcrap comes out now?! And since WHEN was the toll "tens of millions"?! NO WAI. JUST NO WAI. That's even more than Russia's entire population.

What the hell? This obviously has to be some kind of SICK joke.

if you don't know in russia ther is a realy LARGE nummbers of monarchist's, and the have a lot of power

This makes me want to vomit.

While I am disgusted by this ruling, I can't say I'm really surprised.

Fair enough. You can then label the peasants and workers before the Russian Revolution(s) as victims of Tsarist oppression, surely?

Yes, the Bolsheviks were victims of Czarist oppression, he was just getting a taste of his own medicine.

i hate monrchism like hell, he should died millions times, but his famaly were brutal killed by the bolsheviks with him, his wife and children...

revolution wrote:

Yes, the Bolsheviks were victims of Czarist oppression, he was just getting a taste of his own medicine.

Along with his family, you mean? His children were such assholes.

Stos wrote:

revolution wrote:

Yes, the Bolsheviks were victims of Czarist oppression, he was just getting a taste of his own medicine.

Along with his family, you mean? His children were such assholes.

his family were brutaly killed and his children which were 6 years or so too, but i know for the save of the revolution all monarchist must died

RedSoviet wrote:

Stos wrote:

revolution wrote:

Yes, the Bolsheviks were victims of Czarist oppression, he was just getting a taste of his own medicine.

Along with his family, you mean? His children were such assholes.

his family were brutaly killed and his children which were 6 years or so too, but i know for the save of the revolution all monarchist must died

I wasn't aware being shot was considered brutal.

Zeronos wrote:

RedSoviet wrote:

Stos wrote:

revolution wrote:

Yes, the Bolsheviks were victims of Czarist oppression, he was just getting a taste of his own medicine.

Along with his family, you mean? His children were such assholes.

his family were brutaly killed and his children which were 6 years or so too, but i know for the save of the revolution all monarchist must died

I wasn't aware being shot was considered brutal.

i think its brutal when you kill little childs...

Same amount of pain though either way. And in theory, the kids would have died more quickly.

best thing is to send czar to holland like the german emperoer.... huzzah

I'm against killing children so I think it would have been better to just re-educate most of the family like what was done with the emperor of China. On the other hand, the killing of the entire Royal Family may well have been a necessary political weapon in the Russian Civil War.

oligarch wrote:

I'm against killing children so I think it would have been better to just re-educate most of the family like what was done with the emperor of China. On the other hand, the killing of the entire Royal Family may well have been a necessary political weapon in the Russian Civil War.

This. If the White Armies weren't such a threat, they could have and should have reeducated the Romanovs. However, they couldn't give the White Armies a symbol to rally around.

The White Army included the Socialist Revolutionaries, remember? The guys who killed Tsarist officials? Crud, the SR were the most supported party. If the Tsarists rally around the Tsar, the SRs are going to be pissed off.

Stos wrote:

The White Army included the Socialist Revolutionaries, remember? The guys who killed Tsarist officials? Crud, the SR were the most supported party. If the Tsarists rally around the Tsar, the SRs are going to be pissed off.

I thought the SR's had the Blue Army. Anyway, the SR's fall under the same category as the Tsar since they were repressed after they tried to assassinate Lenin but I doubt a Russian court would make such a ruling.

wow

I've been out of the world so long that I forgot about the Bolsheviks.

but its all good now.