During their imprisonment in Tobolsk, Empress Alexandra
managed to have many of the family's most valuable jewels smuggled out by the
family valet Chemodurov, who gave them to the mother superior of the Tobolsk
Ivanovski Monastary. Shortly before the Mother Superior died, she gave them to
her assistant, the nun Marfa Uzhintseva, who hid them in the convent. In the
mid 1920's, the nuns were evicted from the convent by the government.
Uzhintseva gave the jewels to a trusted acquaintance, Vasily Michaelovich
Kornilov, who then hid them. In October 1933, she confessed under interrogation
to the Tobolsk authorities, and revealed Kornilov's name to them. The Soviets
then interrogated Kornilov, who showed them where they were. The amazing truth
of this story was kept Top Secret in the Russian Counter-Intelligence files
until 1996. Among these many treasures were found a Gold cross with
alexandrites.