A Moscow court decided on Wednesday that documents linked to the murder of Russia's last tsar must be handed to a remaining member of his dynasty to help unlock the mystery of his final hours.
Romanov descendants are still trying to understand the circumstances under which Nicholas II and his family were shot at close range in the middle of the night on July 17, 1918, after Bolsheviks seized power across the fallen empire.
An investigation into the murder has been opened and closed at least three times at the behest of Maria Vladimirovna, a descendant of the Romanov clan, who claims the title of grand duchess.
The Investigative Committee, responsible for the probe into the deaths, has yet to decide whether to hand the 800-plus pages of documents that justify the last investigation's closure over to the family or to appeal the case, Interfax said.
(Reuters)
