Russian government declares Czar's remains genuine

A Russian government commission says it now has no more doubts thata set of bones, unearthed in the late 1970s, belonged to the last Czar and members of his family.

They were executed by the Communists soon after the 1917 revolution.

The commmission has completed several years of forensic tests on the remains and concluded that they belonged to Czar Nicholas the Second and his family.

Announcing the results, the commission head, first-deputy-prime-minister Boris Nemtsov, said the way was now open for their ceremonial reburial later this year.

The Russian Orthodox Church, many of whose members see Czar Nicholas as a martyr, has up until now disputed the authenticity of the remains.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service