Yakov Yurovsky
1878 – 1938 Russian Cheka officer who led the execution of the Romanovs
The Chekist who commanded the murder of the last tsar and his family.
- Religion
- Born to a Jewish family, he converted to Lutheranism in his youth and later became a militant atheist Bolshevik.
- Affiliations
- Bolshevik Party and Cheka; commandant of the Ipatiev House who directed the killing of the imperial family.
Yurovsky was the local Cheka officer put in charge of the house where the Romanovs were held in Yekaterinburg. On the night of 16 to 17 July 1918 he read the death sentence and directed the shooting of the family and their servants, then the disposal of the bodies. He held Soviet posts afterward and died in 1938.
Connections
- rival of Nicholas II — Commanded the squad that shot the tsar and his family.
- rival of Nicholas II — Yurovsky commanded the squad that executed him and his family.
- associate of Yakov Sverdlov — Carried out the execution the central leadership had sanctioned.
- associate of Yakov Sverdlov — The Romanov execution he sanctioned was carried out by Yurovsky.