Yakov Mikhailovich Yurovsky was a Russian Bolshevik revolutionary and Soviet Chekist. Yurovsky was commander of the guard at Ipatiev House during the murder of the Romanov family on the night of 17 July 1918. He is known as the chief executioner of Emperor Nicholas II of Russia, his family, and four of their servants. Yurovsky was responsible for the distribution of weapons, ordering the family to the cellar room, announcing the execution to the family, and the disposal of the eleven bodies.