Investigative Committee regrets that no decision has yet been made on burial of Crown Prince Alexei, Princess Maria
ST. PETERSBURG. June 5 (Interfax) - The issue of the burial of the remains of Crown Prince Alexei and Princess Maria, the children of Emperor Nicholas II, should be discussed with the opponents of the conclusions drawn by the investigators, Vladimir Solovyov, a senior investigator with the Main Department of Criminalistics of the Russian Investigative Committee, told reporters on Thursday.
"A debate should be organized in governmental commissions composed of people who believe that the remains are those of the tsar's family and those who believe there are not the remains of the tsar's family. A decision should be made on the burial procedures, on whether they should be buried as private individuals, as the tsar's family, or be made holy relics," Solovyov told reporters on Thursday at the opening of an exhibit devoted to the investigation into the death of the family of Emperor Nicholas II held in the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg.
Solovyov, who has investigated the death of the Romanov family since 1993, said many publications on the work of the investigators have come out since that time and the results of the identification of the remains were made public in 2008.
"Experts are saying everything was done correctly and seriously and two Nobel prize winners have given their approvals of the materials. Our opponents are saying 'We are not experts in this area and are not confident that these are the remains of the tsar's family," Solovyov said.
Solovyov said the investigators have more than once suggested holding a discussion on the results of the investigation to enable all parties to give their arguments, but there was no response.
"I met with six metropolitans of the Russian Orthodox Church and asked them this question. Why is no decision being made on this matter [the burial]? They told me to ask the patriarch. I asked the patriarch, but, unfortunately, I did not get a response," he said.
"We can give all materials to those who want to get to the bottom of this issue. A lot of work has been done, but not all people trust us now," he said.
The remains of Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna, Princesses Tatiana, Olga, Anastasia, and their servants were found near Yekaterinburg in the late 1970s. In July 1998, the members of the tsar's family were buried in the St. Peter and Paul Cathedral. The remains of Princess Maria and Crown Prince Alexei were found in the same locality in 2007.