All Saints Church, Yekaterinburg, Russia, May 2013

 

L to R: Joe Bottomley, Gordon Ketelbey, Peter Forsythe, Rob Bottomley

The church above, the All Saints Church, in Yekaterinburg, Russia, was built on the site of the Ipatiev House, where the Bolsheviks murdered the Romanov family in 1918. 

The execution of Tsar Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, their five children, and several retainers took place in the basement of the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg on the night of July 16-17, 1918. The Ipatiev House, also known as the "House of Special Purpose," was where the imperial family was held captive by the Bolsheviks.

The All Saints Church, built later on the site of the Ipatiev House after its demolition in 1977, commemorates the Romanov family, who were canonized as martyrs by the Russian Orthodox Church. 

It's commonly referred to as the Church on the Blood or the Church on Blood in Honour of All Saints Resplendent in the Russian Land.

The above was taken on a road trip we made from Vladivostok in the far East of Russia, across Siberia to Moscow, by a Toyota Voxy we bought in Vladivostok and sold in Russia. We saw the grim centre of Russia, its belly. Riven by decay, empty villages, crumbling factories. People who were, at best, cool. While we were the extremely rare foreign visitors in some of those places. 

Maybe because it's the worst place in the world to live, according to some reports.

I should have made a separate blog, but didn't. Sad 'dat.... I did put some posts on the Xena blog, for some reason, starting here. 

It was a good trip. In that we made it to the end unscathed. But could've been scathed a few times along the way. 

All of us above were and are sailors over in the East, around Hong Kong and Thailand. The others also in Australia and the U.K. Gordie has just been over to Cowes for the Admirals Cup, representing Australia, with young Joe, above as a crew member.