New York Times Bestselling True Crime And History Author
Will “Dig In” To Look For Remains Of Tsar’s Brother
While Working On New Book “FINDING ANASTASIA”
The search team will be looking for the clandestine grave of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich Romanov
Beginning the first week of June and for the next three weeks thereafter, I’ll be writing a series of posts you can find below this message about an expedition I’m joining to Perm in the very heart of Russia. I’ll be working as part of a team looking for the 97-year-old clandestine grave of the Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich Romanov and his faithful secretary, Brian Johnson. Joining other members of NecroSearch International, the forensic investigators I wrote about in NO STONE UNTURNED, as well as SEARCH (the Scientific Expedition to Account for the Romanov Children), this will be our third attempt to locate the remains of Tsar Nicholas II’s brother and Johnson, who were murdered in June 1918 by Bolshevik revolutionaries. A dashing cavalry officer, who risked his brother’s anger by marrying a commoner for love over duty, Mikhail’s life and death is worthy of a book in itself; I’ll fill you in on some
New York Times bestselling author Steve Jackson will be blogging from Russia With Love
of his story, including what led us to the search area. In addition to actively participating with the team, which will be using a variety of techniques to search for the graves from Ground-Penetrating Radar to a cadaver dog, I’m working on two books while in Russia. One will be the sequel to NO STONE TURNED, which was recently updated and released for the first time as an eBook and audio book, chronicling the evolution of NecroSearch since the original book was published in 2002. I’m also working on FINDING ANASTASIA, a book that will span time from before the Russian Revolution to the present. It’s an exciting narrative that is part history, part romance, part true detective, portraying two iconic Russian families, one of them the Tolstoys (of War And Peace fame) and the other the Sarandinakis, whose descendant, Peter Sarandinaki, founded SEARCH and is the leader of this expedition as well as my co-author. I hope you’ll join me on our little adventure to the land (and time) of Dr. Zhivago.
Follow the expedition in the blog posts below. Or receive each blog as it is posted by signing up for our WildBlue Press eZine.
*In addition to being a bestselling, award-winning author of true crime, Steve Jackson writes histories and biographies, including winning the 2001 Colorado Center for the Book Award for Best History/Biography for LUCKY LADY: The World War II Heroics of the USS Franklin and Santa Fe, as well being runner-up in 2002 for the prestigious Admiral Samuel Morison Award for Naval History for LUCKY LADY.
Post 1: New York Times Bestselling Author Steve Jackson Joins Team To Search For Grave Of Romanov Grand Duke
Keep Up With The Expedition To Find The Last Tsar's Brother Starting With This First Post In June 1918, the Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich Romanov and his secretary and friend, Brian Johnson, were abducted by Bolsheviks from their hotel in Perm. The assassins told the men that they were being moved to another city for their "safety," placed in horse-drawn carriages and driven out into the countryside near the river Kama. However, after five or six kilometers, the carriages came to a stop … [Read More...]
Post Two: The Tale Of The Skeletons In The Cave On Red Hill and the Red-haired Policeman
Learn More About NecroSearch International's Involvement In The Search for the Romanovs In NO STONE UNTURNED And Check Back Here For More Of "From Russia With Love" I've left for the first leg of my journey to join the expedition to Perm, Russia and our search for the Grand Duke Mikhail and his secretary Brian. I'm currently in Wales dealing with people who drive on the "wrong side" of the road while learning to drive with the steering wheel on the right side and a left-handed stick … [Read More...]
Post Three: The Search for Grand Duke Mikhail Romanov and the Saga of the Red Mountain Skull Part II
It's June 12 and Russia National Day, a patriotic holiday for this great and proud country and its warm and generous people. Outside of my hotel window I can hear an orchestra playing the 1812 Overture (celebrating the Russian victory over Bonaparte and the French outside the gates of Moscow). Ironically, it's also the anniversary of the June 12, 1918 abduction and murder of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich Romanov and his secretary and friend, Brian Johnson. Thousands of people will join a five … [Read More...]
Post Four: Saga of the Red Mountain Skull Deadends; Search For Romanov Grand Duke Mikhail Expedition Moves On
I apologize for the delay between posts for those of you following the 2015 search for the remains of the Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich Romanov and his secretary Brian Johnson. We've been working hard and seeing a few of the sites and visiting with our Russian friends (more on that and them in an upcoming post). When I last left you, we were in the middle of chasing down a story that came to light shortly before the arrival of the team. The story was that back in the 1970s some boys … [Read More...]
Post Five: A Visit To The Belaya Gora (White Mountain) Monastery; A People And Their Faith
On Sunday the members of our expedition to locate the remains of the Grand Duke Mikhail Romanov were taken on a field trip by our Russian hosts to the Belaya Gora (for White Mountain) monastery. Located on a high hill about 100 kilometers from Perm, the monastery is both a reminder of Russia’s tragic past, as well as a metaphor for the resilience of the Russian people and their faith. The monastery is dominated by a large, beautiful white church with gold domes topped by golden crosses. … [Read More...]
Post Six: One Man’s Quest To Answer The Romanov Questions and Finish What His Family Started
In 2013, I was invited by Peter Sarandinaki to join his first expedition to Perm, Russia to locate the remains of the Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich Romanov, the final leg of a journey he'd been on for years and, in a way perhaps, his entire life. We just completed the third expedition and, having not yet achieved our goal, are already preparing for a fourth expedition in August 2016. It has been one of the most unique and rewarding experience of my life and career, precipitating an interest … [Read More...]
