TheUrals. The Russian character and identity have long beeninfluenced by the fact that Russia spreads across the two continents Europeand Asia. The boundary between the two continents lies along the Ural Mountainsthat also mark the beginning of Siberia. Siberia covers a vast area of overfive million square kilometers. For several decades Siberia was strictly offlimits to foreigners and only in the early 1990s it became accessible foreverybody.The population of Siberia has grown both from a mix of adventurersand fortune seekers who settled there voluntarily and those who were forcedthere for criminal and political reasons.
Tzar Nicolas II and his family werethe most prominent people who were forced there. In the center of Yekaterinburgthere is a monument to Jakov Sverdlov, a high ranking official, who wasresponsible for the execution of the royal family. The brutal execution tookplace in 1918 in the basement room of the house in Yekaterinburg.That housewas bulldozed in 1977, as it was an inconvenient reminder of bloody methods ofthe Communist regime.
The royal family was given a secret burial in an unmarkedmeadow. Controversies about the members of the royal family continued until1994 when the DNA testing identified the bodies of nine people of the royalfamily including Anastasia who had been long considered to have survived by amiracle. The Urals have long supplied Russia with locally minedprecious and semi-precious stones.They are widely used by local craftsmen whocreate wonderful designs in order to make exquisite and unique jewelry.
Theirmasterpieces are famous worldwide. Alexander V. Myskin, gr. 2o1.