Yekaterinburg

Yekaterinburg, formerly known as Sverdlovsk and alternatively Ekaterinburg, is a Russian city located in the Ural, on the border between Asia and Europe, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city, built on the river Isset, serves as the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast.

History[edit | edit source]

In 1918, in the aftermath of the October Revolution, the deposed Tsar Nicholas II and his family were imprisoned in the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg by the Bolsheviks.^[1] Learning that the Imperial family was in possession of a Precursor box, both the Russian Assassins and the Russian Templars sought to acquire the artifact for their own ends.^[2]

While the Assassin Nikolai Orelov was tasked to infiltrate the Ipatiev House and recover the box, Templar agents infiltrated within the ranks of the Red Army interrogated the Tsar and his family for the artifact's whereabouts. When they refused to talk, the Templars executed the entire family, although the Tsar's youngest daughter, Grand Duchess Anastasia, managed to flee with the box. She was soon found by Nikolai, who protected her from her family's killers, although the close proximity of the box and a shard Nikolai was carrying imprinted Anastasia with the genetic memories of the Chinese Assassin Shao Jun.^[3]

After escaping from the Ipatiev House, Nikolai, taking pity on Anastasia, decided to bring her to the Russian Brotherhood in Moscow in the hopes they could cure her. Avoiding both Templar and Bolshevik patrols, the pair managed to flee Yekaterinburg by boarding a train headed to Kazan.^[4]

In 1924, Yekaterinburg's name was changed to Sverdlovsk in honor of Yakov Sverdlov, who had ordered the execution of Nicholas II's family. In 1991, the city reverted back to its original name.^[1]