ABSTRACT
The Tsar and his family had been held prisoners in their palace in Tsarskoye Selo since the first days after the Imperial abdication. The Provisional Government had to submit, and lived in constant dread that something might happen to the Imperial prisoners. The Soviet had made several attempts to raise the question of the trial of Nicholas II and the Tsaritza; but the Provisional Government, which had looked into the matter of their Majesties' alleged guilt, had come to the conclusion that they were innocent of anything approaching treason to the cause of their country, and managed to resist the pressure of the Soviet. Not wishing to complicate the situation for the Provisional Government, or to give others a pretext for saying that he was encouraging a reaction in his own favour, the Tsar asked to be removed to the neighbouring monastery, where he could have a garden at his disposal, and would be hidden from the public view.
