"We do not want to, nor can we, escape. We can only be carried off by force, just as it was force that was used to carry us from Tobolsk. Thus, do not count on any active help from us. The commandant has many aides; they change often and have become worried. They guard our imprisonment and our lives conscientiously and are kind to us. We do not want them to suffer because of us, nor you for us; in the name of God, avoid bloodshed above all. Find out about them yourself. Coming down from the window without a ladder is completely impossible. Even once we are down, we are still in great danger because of the open window of the commandant's bedroom and the machine gun downstairs, where one enters from the inner courtyard. Give up, then, on the idea of carrying us off. If you watch us, you can always come save us in case of real and imminent danger. We are completely unaware of what is going on outside, for we receive no newspapers or letters. Since we have been allowed to open the window, surveillance has increased, and we are forbidden even to stick our heads [out], at the risk of getting shot in the face." —final response from the family in the series of "officer" letters, June 27, 1918 [The Fall of the Romanovs: Political Dreams and Personal Struggles in a Time of Revolution]
