Maybe so. But it's better to struggle with that question than to pretend that we're absolved of responsibility just because it's a war.
You can find figureheads anywhere, and even if one didn't exist, they could have dredged up a "Romanov" from somewhere or tried to turn the family into martyrs. Lord known enough people over the years have claimed to be descendants. Killing the kid provides just as much of a de jure right for other monarchists as keeping him alive, and maybe even a stronger one.
Magical what-if trolley land is nice and all, but it doesn't take away from the concrete facts here. And the concrete facts here are that they put a child on the wall and the fighting kept going because killing him did fuck all.
Maybe so. But it's better to struggle with that question than to pretend that we're absolved of responsibility just because it's a war.
You can find figureheads anywhere, and even if one didn't exist, they could have dredged up a "Romanov" from somewhere or tried to turn the family into martyrs. Lord known enough people over the years have claimed to be descendants. Killing the kid provides just as much of a de jure right for other monarchists as keeping him alive, and maybe even a stronger one.
Magical what-if trolley land is nice and all, but it doesn't take away from the concrete facts here. And the concrete facts here are that they put a child on the wall and the fighting kept going because killing him did fuck all.
It's actually not better to struggle with the question during a make or break moment. Not many people know this.