DIGG dei monarchici

YEKATERINBURG, Russia - Russians should not rule out the benefits of returning to a monarchical system, a leading descendant of tsar Nicholas II said on Thursday while marking her ancestor's killing 90 years ago.

"Concerning monarchy, it's for the Russian people to decide themselves if this option suits them," said Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, who on the basis of her ancestral line claims to be Nicholas's heir.

"It gives a nation something eternal they can rely on.... Forgive me, as head of the imperial house I couldn't think otherwise, but it's our people who should choose for themselves," she told reporters.

The duchess was attending commemorations in Yekaterinburg, where Nicholas, his wife and their five children were killed on the night of July 16-17, 1918, sealing the fall of an ancient dynasty and its replacement by the Soviet Union.

Currently resident in Madrid, she said she would like to return to live in Russia but such a decision would have to be supported from within the country.

"It's important that there be the right circumstances, some kind of status.