In St. Petersburg, experts opened the tomb of Emperor Alexander III

In the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg, experts opened the sarcophagus of the Russian emperor Alexander III and took samples of his remains for genetic research. This was reported by Interfax with reference to a source familiar with the situation.

According to preliminary data obtained during the work, the emperor’s tomb was not opened earlier.

Preparations for the opening of the sarcophagus lasted several weeks. The autopsy itself began on Tuesday. Access to the Peter and Paul Cathedral is closed.

DNA samples of Alexander III will be used to prove the authenticity of the remains of the last Russian emperor Nicholas II and his children.

In July, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, at the request of the Russian Orthodox Church, ordered to create an interdepartmental group for the study and burial of the remains of the children of Nicholas II - Tsarevich Alexei and Grand Duke Maria. Now these remains are in the State Archive of Russia.

In September, it was reported that the remains of Alexei and Maria Romanovs were supposed to be buried on October 18 in the Catherine’s aisle of the St. Petersburg Peter and Paul Cathedral. However, the ceremony was postponed until the final results of the investigation were obtained.

On September 23, the TFR resumed the investigation in the case of the execution of Nicholas II and his family and retinue. As part of the investigation in the Peter and Paul Cathedral of St. Petersburg, an exhumation of the remains of the emperor and empress was held. Upon withdrawal of samples, representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church were present.

The convened working group proposed to conduct additional identification studies, having studied objects previously inaccessible to the Investigative Committee. These are the remains of the sister of the Empress, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fedorovna, who are in Jerusalem, as well as the blood samples of Alexander II, preserved on his uniform.

On November 11, the TFR reported that the genetic analysis confirmed the authenticity of the remains of Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Fedorovna. The coincidence of DNA sections from samples taken from the jaw and the vertebra of the emperor in September, with the samples received earlier in the study of the shirt of Nicholas II with traces of his blood, was proved. In the sample from a fragment of the lower jaw of the skeleton of the Empress, areas of mitochondrial DNA were revealed, coinciding with the options for the descendants of the English Queen Victoria on the maternal line. The empress was the granddaughter of the Queen.

"In order to obtain a high -per - - - - -thech you final conclusion about the identification of skulls, experts will conduct scientific work on additional genetic systems. Comparisons with the closest relatives, including samples of blood traces, withdrawn from the clothes of Emperor Alexander II," said the TFR.

The case of the Romanov execution, excited in 1993, was closed and resumed several times. The last time the proceedings were terminated in January 2011 .