At the end of the "February Revolution" of 1917 (February in the Old Russian Calendar), on 2 March (Julian Calendar)/ 15 March (Gregorian Calendar) 1917, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicated the throne after riots in Petrograd spiraled out of control.
Upon her arrival, the parish priest took Evdokia at her word and together they searched until they found, in an old storage room, an icon covered with candle soot.