The Russian Government is publishing a report which confirms that human remains unearthed 20 years ago are those of the last Tsar, Nicholas II, and his family.

But the report is unlikely to end the controversy over what to do with the remains of Russia's last ruling royal family.

The findings detail the evidence that the remains are those of the last ruling members of the Romanov dynasty.

Scientists disinterred the Tsar's brother, Georgy, for their research. Prince Philip, the husband of the UK's Queen Elizabeth and a Romanov relative, gave a DNA sample for the inquiry.

The Chairman of the Investigating Commission, First Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov, has already revealed that there were "no longer any doubts" as to the authenticity of the bones, discovered near Yekaterinburg in the late 1970s.

Forensic tests

Boris Yeltsin is facing a growing political storm over remains

The bones of Nicholas, his wife Alexandra, three of their daughters and four family retainers, were eventually dug up in 1991 for forensic tests.

But the commission must now try to stop a growing political row by recommending what to do with the remains of the family, killed by the Bolsheviks after the 1917 Russian Revolution.

Three Russian cities are claiming the right to inter the bones - Yekaterinburg, St Petersburg and Moscow.

All other tsars of the Romanov dynasty are buried in St Petersburg but Moscow wants the remains for the recently rebuilt Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.

It is seeking support from the Russian Orthodox Church, many of whose members regard Nicholas as a martyr.

The Church is waiting for complete proof that the bones are those of the royal family.

Yeltsin has casting vote

Not all the Romanov family remains have been found

The final decision lies with President Yeltsin who, in a twist to the political row, comes from Yekaterinburg.

But the governor of Sverdlovsk, which includes Yekaterinburg, now says a local scientist knows where the Tsar's heir, Aleksei, and one of his sisters, are buried.

He will only reveal the location if the Kremlin agrees to return the Romanov remains to the city.

The imperial family was executed by Bolshevik troops on July 17 1918 after months in captivity.

They were shot in the house of a Yekaterinburg merchant. Their bodies were dumped in a shallow unmarked grave on the city's outskirts and sprayed with acid to make them unidentifiable.
 

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