Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia (Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova, (Russian: Великая Княжна Анастасия Николаевна Романова (June 18 [O.S. June 5] 1901 — July 17, 1918), was the youngest daughter of Emperor Nicholas II of Russia, the last sovereign of Imperial Russia, and his wife Alexandra Fyodorovna. Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... is the 169th day of the year (170th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Peterhof (Russian: , Petergof, originally named Peterhof: Peters Court), is a series of palaces and gardens, laid out on the orders of Peter the Great, and sometimes called the Russian Versailles. It is located about twenty kilometers west and six kilometers south of St. ... July is the seventh month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... For other uses, see number 17. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Snow-covered statue of Sverdlov in Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburgs Church on the Blood built on the spot where the Tsar and his family were executed. ... Nicholas II redirects here. ... Alexandra and her daughters, Olga, Tatiana, Anastasia, and Maria, 1913 Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine (German: ) or Saint Alexandra, 6 June 1872 – 17 July 1918, under the title Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna (Russian: ), was Empress consort of the Russian Empire and the wife of Nicholas II of Russia, the... is the 169th day of the year (170th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Old Style redirects here. ... Year 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 198th day of the year (199th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Nicholas II redirects here. ... Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start... Alexandra and her daughters, Olga, Tatiana, Anastasia, and Maria, 1913 Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine (German: ) or Saint Alexandra, 6 June 1872 – 17 July 1918, under the title Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna (Russian: ), was Empress consort of the Russian Empire and the wife of Nicholas II of Russia, the...

Anastasia was a younger sister of Grand Duchess Olga, Grand Duchess Tatiana and Grand Duchess Maria, and was an elder sister of Alexei Nikolaievitch, Tsarevitch of Russia. She is presumed to have been murdered with her family on July 17, 1918, by forces of the Bolshevik secret police. However, rumors have persisted of her possible escape since 1918. Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia (Olga Nikolaevna Romanova) (in Russian Великая Княжна Ольга Николаевна; November 15 [O.S. November 3] 1895 – July 17, 1918) was the eldest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, the last autocratic ruler of the Russian Empire, and of Empress Alexandra of Russia. ... Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaievna of Russia (Tatiana Nikolaievna Romanova) (In Russian Великая Княжна Татьяна Николаевна), (May 29 (O.S.)/June 10 (N.S.), 1897 - July 17, 1918), was the second daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, the last autocratic ruler of Russia, and of Tsarina Alexandra. ... Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (Maria Nikolaevna Romanova) (In Russian Великая Княжна Мария Николаевна), (June 14 (O.S.)/June 26 (N.S.), 1899 – July 17, 1918) was the third daughter of Nicholas II of Russia and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna. ... Tsarevich Alexei (1904-1918) Tsesarevich (Tsarevich) Alexei Nikolaevich of Russia (In Russian Царевич Алексей Николаевич) (August 12, 1904 - July 17, 1918), of the House of Romanov, was a Tsarevich of Russia and was the youngest child of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and Alexandra of Hesse. ... For other uses, see Bolshevik (disambiguation). ...

Several women have claimed to have been Anastasia, the most famous of whom was Anna Anderson. Anderson's body was cremated upon her death in 1984. Despite support for her claim from several people who knew Anastasia, DNA testing in 1994 on pieces of Anderson's tissue and hair showed no relation to DNA of the Grand Duchess.^[1] Anastasia Manahan, usually known as Anna Anderson [1] (c. ...

Life and childhood

When Anastasia was born, her parents and extended family were disappointed to have a fourth daughter. Tsar Nicholas II went for a long walk to compose himself before going to visit Tsarina Alexandra and the newborn Anastasia for the first time.^[2] One meaning of her name is "the breaker of chains" or "the prison opener." The fourth grand duchess received her name because, in honor of her birth, her father pardoned and reinstated students who had been imprisoned for participating in riots in St. Petersburg and Moscow the previous winter.^[3] Another meaning of the name is "of the resurrection," a fact often alluded to later in stories about her rumored survival. Anastasia's title is most precisely translated as "Grand Princess," meaning that Anastasia, as an "Imperial Highness" was higher in rank than other Princesses in Europe who were "Royal Highnesses." "Grand Duchess" became the most widely used translation of the title into English from Russian.^[4]

A formal portrait of, from left to right, Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia Nikolaevna, 1906.

The Tsar's children were raised as simply as possible. They slept on hard camp cots without pillows, except when they were ill, took cold baths in the morning, and were expected to tidy their rooms and do needlework to be sold at various charity events when they were not otherwise occupied. Most in the household, including the servants, generally called the Grand Duchess by her first name and patronym, Anastasia Nikolaevna, and did not use her title or "Her Imperial Highness." She was occasionally called by the French version of her name, "Anastasie," or by the Russian nicknames "Nastya," "Nastas," or "Nastenka." Other family nicknames for Anastasia were "Malenkaya," meaning "little (one),"^[5] or "shvibzik," the Russian word for "imp." Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (823x519, 69 KB) This photograph of Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia in 1906 appears to originate from a Russian postcard that was published prior to World War I. Because of its age, I believe it to... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (823x519, 69 KB) This photograph of Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia in 1906 appears to originate from a Russian postcard that was published prior to World War I. Because of its age, I believe it to... A patronymic is a personal name based on the name of ones father. ...

Living up to her nicknames, young Anastasia grew into a vivacious and energetic child, described as short and inclined to be chubby, with blue eyes^[6] and reddish-^[7]blonde hair.^[8] Margaretta Eagar, a governess to the four Grand Duchesses, said one person commented that the toddler Anastasia had the greatest personal charm of any child he had ever seen.^[3] Margaretta Alexandra Eagar, also known as Margaret Eagar, (August 12, 1863 - 1936), was a nurse for the four daughters of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra. ...

While often described as gifted and bright, she was never interested in the restrictions of the school room, according to her tutors Pierre Gilliard and Sydney Gibbes. Gibbes, Gilliard, and ladies-in-waiting Lili Dehn and Anna Vyrubova described Anastasia as lively, mischievous, and a gifted actress. Her sharp, witty remarks sometimes hit sensitive spots.^[9][10][8] Pierre Gilliard (1879 - May 30, 1962), a Swiss citizen, was the French tutor for the five children of Tsar Nicholas II from 1905 to 1918. ... Charles Sydney Gibbes (19 January 1876 - 24 March 1963) was the English tutor of Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich of Russia. ... Lili Dehn, or Lili von Dehn, born Yulia Smolskaia, (July 27 (O.S.)/August 9, 1888 (N.S.) - October 8, 1963),[1] was the wife of a Russian naval officer and a friend to Tsarina Alexandra. ... Anna Alexandrovna Vyrubova, neé Taneyeva (Russian: Анна Александровна Вырубова, Танеева) (16 July 1884 — 20 July 1964, Helsinki), was a lady-in-waiting, best friend and confidante to Tsaritsa Alexandra Fyodorovna. ...

Grand Duchess Anastasia mugs for the camera as a soldier pulls her and her sister Grand Duchess Maria on a cart. Courtesy: Beinecke Library

Anastasia's daring occasionally exceeded the limits of acceptable behavior. "She undoubtedly held the record for punishable deeds in her family, for in naughtiness she was a true genius," said Gleb Botkin, son of the court physician Yevgeny Botkin, who later died with the family at Ekaterinburg.^[11] Anastasia sometimes tripped the servants and played pranks on her tutors. As a child, she would climb trees and refuse to come down. Once, during a snowball fight at the family's Polish estate, Anastasia rolled a rock into a snowball and threw it at her older sister Tatiana, knocking her to the ground.^[8] A distant cousin, Princess Nina Georgievna, recalled that "Anastasia was nasty to the point of being evil," and would cheat, kick and scratch her playmates during games; she was affronted because the younger Nina was taller than she was.^[12] She was also less concerned about her appearance than her sisters. Hallie Erminie Rives, a best-selling American author and wife of an American diplomat, described how 10-year-old Anastasia ate chocolates without bothering to remove her long, white opera gloves at the St. Petersburg opera house.^[13] Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (763x768, 102 KB) This photo of Grand Duchesses Maria and Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia is from the Beinecke Library and can be used if credit is given to the library. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (763x768, 102 KB) This photo of Grand Duchesses Maria and Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia is from the Beinecke Library and can be used if credit is given to the library. ... Gleb Evgenievich Botkin, (1900 - December 1969), was the son of Dr. Eugene Botkin, the court physician who was murdered at Ekaterinburg by the Bolsheviks with Tsar Nicholas II and his family on July 17, 1918. ... Dr. Yevgeny Sergeivich Botkin, also known as Dr. Eugene Botkin, (1865 - July 17, 1918), was the court physician for Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra and often treated the hemophilia-related complications of the Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich of Russia. ...

Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna with her father, Tsar Nicholas II, who called her "malenkaya," or "little one." Courtesy: Beinecke Library.

Anastasia and her older sister Maria were known within the family as "The Little Pair." The two girls shared a room, often wore variations of the same dress, and spent much of their time together. Their older sisters Olga and Tatiana also shared a room and were known as "The Big Pair." The four girls sometimes signed letters using the nick name, OTMA, which was derived from the first letters of their first names.^[14] Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1145x1536, 160 KB) This photograph of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his daughter Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna is from the Beinecke Library and can be used with attribution. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1145x1536, 160 KB) This photograph of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his daughter Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna is from the Beinecke Library and can be used with attribution. ... OTMA was the affectionate group name used by the daughters of Tsar Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra: The Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia. ...

Despite her energy, Anastasia's physical health was sometimes poor. The Grand Duchess suffered from the painful condition hallux valgus (bunions), which affected both of her big toes.^[15] Anastasia had a weak muscle in her back and was prescribed twice-weekly massage. She hid under the bed or in a cupboard to put off the massage.^[16] Anastasia's older sister, Maria, reportedly hemorrhaged in December 1914 during an operation to remove her tonsils, according to her paternal aunt Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia, who was interviewed later in her life. The doctor performing the operation was so unnerved that he had to be ordered to continue by Maria's mother, Tsaritsa Alexandra. Olga Alexandrovna said she believed all four of her nieces bled more than was normal and believed they were carriers of the haemophilia gene, like their mother.^[17] Symptomatic carriers of the gene, while not haemophiliacs themselves, can have symptoms of haemophilia including a lower than normal blood clotting factor that can lead to heavy bleeding.^[18] Anastasia, like all her family, doted on the long-awaited heir Tsarevich Alexei, or "Baby," who suffered frequent attacks of haemophilia and nearly died several times. Hallux valgus is a deformity of the big toe, whereby the joint at the base of the toe projects outwards, and the top of the toe turns inwards. ... The flag of the House of Romanov Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia (Russian: ; Olga Alexandrovna Romanova) (June 13, 1882–November 24, 1960) was the last Grand Duchess of Imperial Russia under the reign of her elder brother, Czar Nicholas II. Her father was the reformer of 19th century Russia... Haemophilia or hemophilia (from Greek haima blood and philia to love[1]) is the name of a family of hereditary genetic disorders that impair the bodys ability to control blood clotting, or coagulation. ...

Paul I Children    Alexander I    Grand Duke Constantine    Grand Duchess Alexandra    Grand Duchess Elena    Grand Duchess Maria    Grand Duchess Catherine    Grand Duchess Olga    Grand Duchess Anna    Nicholas I    Grand Duke Mikhail Alexander I Children    Grand Duchess Maria    Grand Duchess Elizabeth Nicholas I Children    Alexander II    Grand Duchess Maria    Grand Duchess Olga    Grand Duchess Alexandra    Grand Duke Konstantine    Grand Duke Nicholas    Grand Duke Michael Alexander II Children    Grand Duchess Alexandra    Tsarevich Nicholas    Alexander III    Grand Duke Vladimir    Grand Duke Alexei    Grand Duchess Maria    Grand Duke Sergei    Grand Duke Paul Alexander III Children    Nicholas II    Grand Duke Alexander    Grand Duke George    Grand Duchess Xenia    Grand Duke Michael    Grand Duchess Olga Nicholas II Children    Grand Duchess Olga    Grand Duchess Tatiana    Grand Duchess Maria    Grand Duchess Anastasia    Tsarevich Alexei

The House of Romanov (Рома́нов, pronounced ) was the second and last imperial dynasty of Russia, which ruled Muscovy and the Russian Empire for five generations from 1613 to 1762. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Paul I of Russia (Russian: ; Pavel Petrovich) (October 1, 1754-March 23, 1801) was the Emperor of Russia between 1796 and 1801. ... Aleksandr I Pavlovich (Russian: Александр I Павлович) (December 23, 1777 – December 1, 1825?), was Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801-1 December 1825 and Ruler of Poland from 1815–1825, as well as the first Grand Duke of Finland. ... Constantine was known for his repugnant physical features which resembled those of his father, Emperor Paul. ... Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia, (Russian: Великая княжна Александра Павловна) (St. ... This article is about the daughter of Paul I of Russia. ... Portrait of Maria Pavlovna, by Vladimir Borovikovsky. ... Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna of Russia (Tsarskoe Selo, 10 May 1788 – Stuttgart, 9 January 1819) was the fourth daughter of Tsar Paul I of Russia and Duchess Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. ... Portrait of Jan Baptist van der Hulst, 1837. ... Nicholas I (Russian: Николай I Павлович, Nikolai I Pavlovich), July 6 (June 25, Old Style), 1796–March 2 (18 February Old Style), 1855), was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. ... Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia (Russian:Михаи́л Па́влович; Mikhail Pavlovich) (born St. ... Aleksandr I Pavlovich (Russian: Александр I Павлович) (December 23, 1777 – December 1, 1825?), was Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801-1 December 1825 and Ruler of Poland from 1815–1825, as well as the first Grand Duke of Finland. ... Nicholas I (Russian: Николай I Павлович, Nikolai I Pavlovich), July 6 (June 25, Old Style), 1796–March 2 (18 February Old Style), 1855), was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. ... Alexander (Aleksandr) II Nikolaevich (Russian: Александр II Николаевич) (Moscow, 29 April 1818 – 13 March 1881 in St. ... Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia. ... Grand Duchess Olga of Russia (September 11, 1822 – October 30, 1892), later Queen Olga of Württemberg, was a member of the Russian Imperial Family who became the Queen consort of Württemberg. ... Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna of Russia. ... Grand Duke Konstantine Nikolaievich of Russia Grand Duke Konstantine Nikolaievich of Russia (September 9, 1827 – January 13, 1892) was the second son of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. ... Grand Duke Nicholas Nicolaievich of Russia Do not confuse with his son, Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia (1856-1929). ... Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia (October 13, 1832 - December 18, 1909) was the fourth son and seventh child of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia and Charlotte of Prussia. ... Alexander (Aleksandr) II Nikolaevich (Russian: Александр II Николаевич) (Moscow, 29 April 1818 – 13 March 1881 in St. ... Alexandra Alexandrovna Romanov, Grand Duchess of Russia (August 30, 1842 - July 10, 1849) was born at Tsarskoe Selo to Alexander II of Russia and Marie of Hesse and by Rhine. ... Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich Romanov (Russian: ), full title: Heir, Tsarevich and Grand Duke of Russia (Russian: ) (20 September [O.S. 8 September] 1843 — 24 April [O.S. 12 April] 1865) was Tsarevich - the heir apparent - of Imperial Russia, from March 2, 1855 until his death in 1865. ... Alexander III Alexandrovich (10 March 1845 – 1 November 1894) (Russian: Александр III Александрович) reigned as Emperor of Russia from 14 March 1881 until his death in 1894. ... Velikiy Knjaz Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia, in Russian Владимир Александрович / Влади́мирович (22 April 1847 - 17 February 1909). ... The Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovitch Romanov of Russia (14 January 1850- 14 November 1908) was the sixth child and the fourth son of Alexander II of Russia and his first wife Maria Alexandrovna (Marie of Hesse). ... Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (later Duchess of Edinburgh and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha; 17 October 1853 – 24 October 1920) was a daughter of Alexander II of Russia and his first Empress consort Marie of Hesse. ... Sergei Alexandrovich Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov (April 29, 1857 - February 4, 1905, Old Style) was the seventh child and fifth son of Emperor Alexander II of Russia and his first Empress-consort Marie of Hesse and by Rhine. ... His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia (Павел Александрович) (October 3, 1860 N.S.–January 24, 1919 N.S.) was the eighth child of Tsar Alexander II of Russia by his first wife Maria Alexandrovna of Hesse. ... Alexander III Alexandrovich (10 March 1845 – 1 November 1894) (Russian: Александр III Александрович) reigned as Emperor of Russia from 14 March 1881 until his death in 1894. ... Nicholas II redirects here. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... Grand Duke George Alexandrovitch as a young man in the early 1890s Grand Duke George Alexandrovich Romanov, (In Russian Великий Князь Георгий Александрович Романов), (May 6, 1871 in Tsarskoe Selo - August 9, 1899 in Abbas Tuman, Caucasus) was the third son of Alexander III and Empress Marie of Russia. ... Grand Duchess Xenia of Russia (April 6, 1875 – April 20, 1960) was a member of the Russian Imperial Family. ... Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovitch of Russia (1878-1918) Grand Duke Michael of Russia, Mikhail Aleksandrovich Romanov (Russian: Михаи́л Александрович Рома́нов) (St. ... The flag of the House of Romanov Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia (Russian: ; Olga Alexandrovna Romanova) (June 13, 1882–November 24, 1960) was the last Grand Duchess of Imperial Russia under the reign of her elder brother, Czar Nicholas II. Her father was the reformer of 19th century Russia... Nicholas II redirects here. ... Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia (Olga Nikolaevna Romanova) (in Russian Великая Княжна Ольга Николаевна; November 15 [O.S. November 3] 1895 – July 17, 1918) was the eldest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, the last autocratic ruler of the Russian Empire, and of Empress Alexandra of Russia. ... Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaievna of Russia (Tatiana Nikolaievna Romanova) (In Russian Великая Княжна Татьяна Николаевна), (May 29 (O.S.)/June 10 (N.S.), 1897 - July 17, 1918), was the second daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, the last autocratic ruler of Russia, and of Tsarina Alexandra. ... Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (Maria Nikolaevna Romanova) (In Russian Великая Княжна Мария Николаевна), (June 14 (O.S.)/June 26 (N.S.), 1899 – July 17, 1918) was the third daughter of Nicholas II of Russia and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna. ... Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich Romanov (Russian: ), full title: Heir, Tsarevich and Grand Duke (Russian: ) (12 August [O.S. 30 July] 1904 — July 17, 1918), of the House of Romanov, was Tsarevich - the heir apparent - of Russia, being the youngest child and the only son of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and...

Association with Grigori Rasputin

Her mother relied on the counsel of Grigori Rasputin, a Russian peasant and wandering starets or "holy man," and credited his prayers with saving the ailing Tsarevich on numerous occasions. Anastasia and her siblings were taught to view Rasputin as "Our Friend" and to share confidences with him. In the autumn of 1907, Anastasia's aunt Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia was escorted to the nursery by the Tsar to meet Rasputin. Anastasia, her sisters and brother Alexei were all wearing their long white nightgowns. Rasputin redirects here. ... St Sergii Radonezhsky was one of the most famous of startsy. ... The flag of the House of Romanov Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia (Russian: ; Olga Alexandrovna Romanova) (June 13, 1882–November 24, 1960) was the last Grand Duchess of Imperial Russia under the reign of her elder brother, Czar Nicholas II. Her father was the reformer of 19th century Russia...

"All the children seemed to like him," Olga Alexandrovna recalled. "They were completely at ease with him."^[19] Rasputin's friendship with the Imperial children was evident in some of the messages he sent to them. In February 1909, Rasputin sent the imperial children a telegram, advising them to "Love the whole of God's nature, the whole of His creation in particular this earth. The Mother of God was always occupied with flowers and needlework."^[20]

However, one of the girls' governesses, Sofia Ivanovna Tyutcheva, was horrified in 1910 that Rasputin was permitted access to the nursery when the four girls were in their nightgowns and wanted him barred. Nicholas asked Rasputin to avoid going to the nurseries in the future. The children were aware of the tension and feared that their mother would be angered by Tyutcheva's actions. "I am so afr(aid) that S.I. (governess Sofia Ivanovna Tyutcheva) can speak...about our friend something bad," Anastasia's twelve-year-old sister Tatiana wrote to their mother on March 8, 1910. "I hope our nurse will be nice to our friend now."^[21] Alexandra eventually had Tyutcheva fired. is the 67th day of the year (68th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

Tyutcheva took her story to other members of the family.^[22] While Rasputin's visits to the children were, by all accounts, completely innocent in nature, the family was scandalized. Tyutcheva told Nicholas's sister, Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia, that Rasputin visited the girls, talked with them while they were getting ready for bed, and hugged and patted them. Tyutcheva said the children had been taught not to discuss Rasputin with her and were careful to hide his visits from the nursery staff. Xenia wrote on March 15, 1910 that she couldn't understand "...the attitude of Alix and the children to that sinister Grigory (whom they consider to be almost a saint, when in fact he's only a khlyst!)"^[21] Grand Duchess Xenia of Russia (April 6, 1875 – April 20, 1960) was a member of the Russian Imperial Family. ... is the 74th day of the year (75th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Khlysts or Khlysty (Хлысты in Russian), was an underground sect in the late 17th, 18th, 19th and early 20th century that split off the Russian Orthodox Church and belonged to the Spiritual Christians (духовные христиане) tendency. ...

In the spring of 1910, Maria Ivanovna Vishnyakova, a royal governess, claimed that Rasputin had raped her. Vishyakova said the empress refused to believe her account of the assault, and insisted that "everything Rasputin does is holy."^[23] Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna was told that Vishnyakova's claim had been immediately investigated, but instead "they caught the young woman in bed with a Cossack of the Imperial Guard." Vishnyakova was kept from seeing Rasputin after she made her accusation and was eventually dismissed from her post in 1913.^[24] For other uses, see Cossack (disambiguation). ...

However, rumours persisted and it was later whispered in society that Rasputin had seduced not only the Tsaritsa but also the four grand duchesses.^[25] The gossip was fueled by ardent, yet by all accounts innocent, letters written to Rasputin by the Tsaritsa and the four grand duchesses which were released by Rasputin and which circulated throughout society. "My dear, precious, only friend," wrote Anastasia. "How much I should like to see you again. You appeared to me today in a dream. I am always asking Mama when you will come...I think of you always, my dear, because you are so good to me ..."^[26]

This was followed by circulation of pornographic cartoons, which depicted Rasputin having relations with the Empress, her four daughters and Anna Vyrubova.^[27] After the scandal, Nicholas ordered Rasputin to leave St. Petersburg for a time, much to Alexandra's displeasure, and Rasputin went on a pilgrimage to Israel.^[28] Despite the rumors, the imperial family's association with Rasputin continued until his murder on December 17, 1916. "Our Friend is so contented with our girlies, says they have gone through heavy 'courses' for their age and their souls have much developed," Alexandra wrote to Nicholas on December 6, 1916.^[29] December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Friday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 340th day of the year (341st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Friday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

In his memoirs, A.A. Mordvinov reported that the four Grand Duchesses appeared "cold and visibly terribly upset" by Rasputin's death, and sat "huddled up closely together" on a sofa in one of their bedrooms on the night they received the news. Mordvinov recalled that the young women were in a gloomy mood and seemed to sense the political upheaval that was about to be unleashed.^[30] Rasputin was buried with an icon signed on its reverse by Anastasia, her mother and her sisters. She attended his funeral on December 21, 1916, and her family planned to build a church over the site of Rasputin's grave.^[31] is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Friday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

World War I and revolution

Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna, left, and Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna visiting their hospital in about 1915. Courtesy: Beinecke Library

During World War I Anastasia, along with her sister Maria, visited wounded soldiers at a private hospital on the grounds at Tsarskoye Selo. The two teenagers, too young to become Red Cross nurses like their mother and elder sisters, played games of checkers and billiards with the soldiers and tried to uplift their spirits. Felix Dassel, who was treated at the hospital and knew Anastasia, recalled that the grand duchess had a "laugh like a squirrel," and walked rapidly "as though she tripped along."^[32] Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (945x1536, 189 KB) This photo of Grand Duchesses Maria and Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia, taken in about 1915, is from the Beinecke Library. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (945x1536, 189 KB) This photo of Grand Duchesses Maria and Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia, taken in about 1915, is from the Beinecke Library. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Catherine Palace and Park Tsarskoye Selo (Russian: ; may be translated as Tsar’s Village) is a former Russian residence of the imperial family and visiting nobility 24 versts (km) south from the center of St. ... The Anarchist Black Cross was originally called the Anarchist Red Cross. The band Redd Kross was originally called Red Cross. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... starting position on a 10×10 draughts board Draughts, also known as checkers, is a group of mental sport board games between two players which involve diagonal moves of uniform pieces and mandatory captures by jumping over the enemys pieces. ... This article is about the various cue sports. ...

In February 1917, Nicholas II abdicated the throne and Anastasia and her family were placed under house arrest at the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo during the Russian Revolution. As the Bolsheviks approached, Alexander Kerensky of the Provisional Government had them moved to Tobolsk, Siberia.^[33] After the Bolsheviks seized majority control of Russia, Anastasia and her family were moved to the Ipatiev House, or House of Special Purpose, at Yekaterinburg.^[34] Abdication (from the Latin abdicatio disowning, renouncing, from ab, from, and dicare, to declare, to proclaim as not belonging to one), the act whereby a person in office renounces and gives up the same before the expiry of the time for which it is held. ... View of the corps de logis from the cour dhonneur. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Bolshevik Party Meeting. ... Alexander Kerensky This article is about the Russian politician. ... A provisional government is an emergency or interim government set up when a political void has been created by the collapse of a previous administration or regime. ... View of Tobolsk in the 1910s Tobolsk (Russian: ; Tatar: Tubıl) is a historic capital of Siberia, now an ordinary town in Tyumen Oblast, Russia. ... This article is about Siberia as a whole. ... Yekaterinburgs Church on the Blood, built on the spot where the Ipatiev House once stood. ... Snow-covered statue of Sverdlov in Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburgs Church on the Blood built on the spot where the Tsar and his family were executed. ...

The stress and uncertainty of captivity took their toll on Anastasia as well as her family. "Goodby [sic]," she wrote to a friend in the winter of 1917. "Don't forget us."^[35] At Tobolsk, she wrote a melancholy theme for her English tutor, filled with spelling mistakes, about Evelyn Hope, a poem by Robert Browning about a young girl: "When she died she was only sixteen years old," Anastasia wrote. "Ther(e) was a man who loved her without having seen her but (k)new her very well. And she he(a)rd of him also. He never could tell her that he loved her, and now she was dead. But still he thought that when he and she will live [their] next life whenever it will be that ..."^[35] Robert Browning (May 7, 1812 – December 12, 1889) was a British poet and playwright whose mastery of dramatic verse, especially dramatic monologues, made him one of the foremost Victorian poets. ...

At Tobolsk, she and her sisters sewed jewels into their clothing in hopes of hiding them from their captors. She, Olga, and Tatiana were harassed by guards looking for the hidden jewels aboard the Rus, a steamship that ferried them to Yekaterinburg to join their parents and sister Maria in May 1918. Her English tutor, Sydney Gibbes, recalled hearing the grand duchesses screaming in terror and was haunted by his inability to help them.^[36] Pierre Gilliard recalled his last sight of the children at Yekaterinburg: "The sailor Nagorny, who attended to Alexei Nikolaevitch, passed my window carrying the sick boy in his arms, behind him came the Grand Duchesses loaded with valises and small personal belongings. I tried to get out, but was roughly pushed back into the carriage by the sentry. I came back to the window. Tatiana Nikolayevna came last carrying her little dog and struggling to drag a heavy brown valise. It was raining and I saw her feet sink into the mud at every step. Nagorny tried to come to her assistance; he was roughly pushed back by one of the commisars ..."^[37] Less than two months later, on July 14, 1918, local priests at Yekaterinburg conducted a private church service for the family and reported that Anastasia and her family, contrary to custom, fell on their knees during the prayer for the dead.^[38] is the 195th day of the year (196th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ...

Grand Duchesses Anastasia, Maria, and Tatiana Nikolaevna in captivity at Tsarskoe Selo in the spring of 1917.

However, even in the last months of her life, she found ways to enjoy herself. She and other members of the household performed plays for the enjoyment of their parents and others in the spring of 1918. Anastasia's performance made everyone howl with laughter, according to her tutor Sydney Gibbes.^[39] In a May 7, 1918 letter from Tobolsk to her sister Maria in Yekaterinburg, Anastasia described a moment of joy despite her sadness and loneliness and worry for the sick Alexei: "We played on the swing, that was when I roared with laughter, the fall was so wonderful! Indeed! I told the sisters about it so many times yesterday that they got quite fed up, but I could go on telling it masses of times ... What weather we've had! One could simply shout with joy."^[40] In his memoirs, one of the guards at the Ipatiev House, Alexander Strekotin, remembered Anastasia as "very friendly and full of fun," while another guard said Anastasia was "a very charming devil! She was mischievous and, I think, rarely tired. She was lively, and was fond of performing comic mimes with the dogs, as though they were performing in a circus."^[41] Yet another of the guards, however, called the youngest grand duchess "offensive and a terrorist" and complained that her occasionally provocative comments sometimes caused tension in the ranks.^[42] Image File history File links Anamashtat1917. ... Image File history File links Anamashtat1917. ... is the 127th day of the year (128th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ...

She was, according to most accounts, murdered along with her family by a firing squad in the early morning of July 17, 1918. The extra-judicial execution was carried out by forces of the Bolshevik secret police under the command of Yakov Yurovsky. is the 198th day of the year (199th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Extrajudicial punishment is physical punishment without the permission of a court or legal authority, and as such, constitutes a violation of basic human rights (such as the right to due process and humane treatment). ... For other uses, see Bolshevik (disambiguation). ... Yakov Yurovsky Yakov (Yankel) Mikhailovich Yurovsky (June 19 [O.S. June 7] 1878 in Tomsk, Siberia, Russia – before 2 August 1938 in Moscow) is best known as the chief executioner of Russias last emperor Tsar Nicholas and his family after the Russian Revolution of 1917. ...

Captivity and execution

After Tsar Nicholas II abdicated the throne in 1917, Russia quickly disintegrated into civil war. Negotiations for the release of the Romanovs between their Bolshevik (commonly referred to as 'Reds') captors and their extended family, many of whom were prominent members of the Royal Houses of Europe, stalled.^[43] As the Whites (loyalists still faithful to the Tsar and the principles of autocracy) advanced toward Yekaterinburg the Reds were in a precarious situation. The Reds knew Yekaterinburg would fall to the better manned and equipped White Army. When the Whites reached Yekaterinburg, the Imperial Family had simply disappeared. The most widely accepted account was that the family had been executed. This was due to an investigation by White Army Investigator Nicholas Sokolov, who came to the conclusion based on items that had belonged to the family being found thrown down a mine shaft at Ganina Yama.^[44] Ganina Yama (Russian: Ганина Яма) is a disused mine shaft near the village of Koptyaki, 15 km north from Yekaterinburg. ...

From left to right, Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia, Tsar Nicholas II, Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna and Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna in captivity at Tobolsk in the winter of 1917. Courtesy: Beinecke Library

The "Yurovsky Note", an account of the event filed by Yurovsky to his Bolshevik superiors following the execution, was found in 1989 and detailed in Edvard Radzinsky's 1992 book The Last Tsar. According to the note, on the night of the murders the family was awakened and told to dress. When they asked why, they were informed that they were being moved to a new location to ensure their safety in anticipation of the violence that might ensue when the White Army reached Yekaterinburg. Once dressed, the family and the small circle of servants and caregivers that had remained with them were herded into a small room in the house's sub-basement and told to wait. Alexandra and Alexei were allowed to sit in chairs provided by guards at the request of the Tsaritsa. After several minutes, the executioners entered the room, led by Yurovsky. With no hesitation, Yurovsky quickly informed the Tsar and his family that they were all to be executed. The Tsar had time to say only "What?" and turn to his family before he was assassinated with a bullet to the head. The Tsaritsa and her daughter Olga tried to make the sign of the cross, but were killed in the initial volley of bullets fired by the executioners, both suffering gunshot wounds to the head. The rest of the Imperial retinue was shot in short order with the exception of Anna Demidova, Alexandra's maid. Demidova survived the initial onslaught but was quickly murdered against the back wall of the basement, stabbed to death while trying to defend herself with a small pillow she had carried into the sub-basement that was filled with precious gems and jewels.^[45] Image File history File links RomanovsatTobolsk. ... Image File history File links RomanovsatTobolsk. ...

The "Yurovsky Note" further reported that once the thick smoke that had filled the room from so many weapons being fired in such close proximity cleared it was discovered that the executioners' bullets had ricocheted off the corsets of two or three of the Grand Duchesses. The executioners later came to find out that this was because the family's crown jewels and diamonds had been sewn inside the linings of the corsets to hide them from their captors. The corsets thus served as a form of "armor" against the bullets. Anastasia and Maria were said to have crouched up against a wall covering their heads in terror until they were shot down by bullets, recalled Yurovsky. However, another guard, Peter Ermakov, told his wife that Anastasia had been finished off with bayonets. As the bodies were carried out, one or several of the girls cried out and were clubbed on the back of the head, wrote Yurovsky.^[45] A selection of gemstone pebbles made by tumbling rough rock with abrasive grit, in a rotating drum. ... This article is about the gemstone. ... Hourglass corset from around 1880. ...

Reports of survival

The legend of Anastasia's possible survival and escape begins here. Anna Anderson, the most famous Anastasia claimant, would contend that she had feigned death amongst the bodies of her family members and servants, and that she was able to make her escape with the help of a compassionate guard who rescued her from amongst the corpses after noticing that she was still alive.^[46] She was one of at least ten women who claimed to be Anastasia. Some other lesser known claimants were Nadezhda Ivanovna Vasilyeva^[47] and Eugenia Smith.^[48] Two young women claiming to be Anastasia and her sister Maria were taken in by a priest in the Ural Mountains in 1919 where they lived as nuns until their deaths in 1964. They were buried under the names Anastasia and Maria Nikolaevna.^[49] Anastasia Manahan, usually known as Anna Anderson [1] (c. ... Nadezhda Ivanovna Vasilyeva (? - 1971) was one of several women who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia. ... Eugenia Smith, of Chicago, also known as Eugenia Drabek Smetisko, (1899-31 January 1997) was the author of the Autobiography of HIH Anastasia Nicholaevna of Russia, in which she claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia. ...

Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia aboard the Russia, the ship that ferried her to Yekaterinburg in May 1918. This is the last known photograph of Anastasia.

Rumors of Anastasia's survival were further fueled by various contemporary reports of trains and houses being searched for 'Anastasia Romanov' by Bolshevik soldiers and secret police.^[50] When she was briefly imprisoned at Perm in 1918, Princess Helena Petrovna, the wife of Anastasia's distant cousin, Prince Ioann Konstantinovich of Russia, reported that a guard brought a girl who called herself Anastasia Romanova to her cell and asked if the girl was the daughter of the Tsar. Helena Petrovna said she did not recognize the girl and the guard took her away.^[51] Although other witnesses in Perm later reported that they saw Anastasia, her mother Alexandra Fyodorovna and sisters in Perm after the murder, that story is now widely discredited as nothing more than a rumor.^[51] Another report is given more credibility by one historian. Eight witnesses reported the recapture of a young woman after an apparent escape attempt in September 1918 at a railway station at Siding 37, northwest of Perm. These witnesses were Maxim Grigoyev, Tatiana Sitnikova and her son Fyodor Sitnikov, Ivan Kuklin and Matrina Kuklina, Vassily Ryabov, Ustinya Varankina, and Dr. Pavel Utkin, a physician who treated the girl after the incident.^[52] Some of the witnesses identified the girl as Anastasia when they were shown photographs of the grand duchess by White Russian Army investigators. Utkin also told the White Russian Army investigators that the injured girl, whom he treated at Cheka headquarters in Perm, told him, "I am the daughter of the ruler, Anastasia." Utkin obtained a prescription from a pharmacy for a patient named "N" at the orders of the secret police. White Army investigators later independently located records for the prescription.^[53] During the same time period in mid-1918 there were several reports of young people in Russia passing themselves off as Romanov escapees. Boris Soloviev, the husband of Rasputin's daughter Maria, defrauded prominent Russian families by asking for money for a Romanov impostor to escape to China. Soloviev also found young women willing to masquerade as one of the grand duchesses for the benefit of the families he had defrauded.^[53] Image File history File links AnastasiaRus. ... Image File history File links AnastasiaRus. ... Location Position of Perm in Russia Government Country Federal district Federal subject Russia Volga Federal District Perm Krai Mayor Igor Nikolayevich Shubin Geographical characteristics Area  - City    - Land    - Water 799. ... Princess Jelena of Serbia (November 4, 1884 - October 16, 1962), later known as Princess Elena Petrovna of Russia, or sometimes Princess Helena Petrovna or Princess Helen Petrovna, or Princess Ellen Petrovna or Princess Hélène Petrovna, was the daughter of King Peter I of Yugoslavia and his wife Princess... His Highness Prince Ioann Konstantinovich of Russia (Иоанн Константиович) (July 5, 1886–July 18, 1918) was the elder son of HIH Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia by his wife Elisaveta Mavrikievna née HH Princess Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg. ... Location Position of Perm in Russia Government Country Federal district Federal subject Russia Volga Federal District Perm Krai Mayor Igor Nikolayevich Shubin Geographical characteristics Area  - City    - Land    - Water 799. ... ... For the reggaeton aritst, see Cheka (artist). ... For other uses, see Pharmacy (disambiguation). ... Maria Rasputin (March 26, 1898-1977), born Matryona Grigorievna Rasputina, was the daughter of the starets Grigori Rasputin and his wife Praskovia Fyodorovna Dubrovina. ...

However, according to some accounts there may have been an opportunity for one or more of the guards to rescue a survivor. Yakov Yurovsky demanded that the guards come to his office and turn over items they had stolen following the murder. There was reportedly a span of time when the bodies of the victims were left largely unattended in the truck, in the basement and in the corridor of the house. Some guards who had not participated in the murders and had been sympathetic to the grand duchesses were reportedly left in the basement with the bodies.^[54]

During a 1964–1967 German trial regarding the identity of Anna Anderson, Viennese tailor Heinrich Kleibenzetl testified that he saw a wounded Anastasia immediately following the murders at Yekaterinburg on July 17, 1918. The girl was being treated by his landlady, Anna Baoudin, in a building directly opposite from the Ipatiev House. is the 198th day of the year (199th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Yekaterinburgs Church on the Blood, built on the spot where the Ipatiev House once stood. ...

"The lower part of her body was covered with blood, her eyes were shut and she was pale as a sheet," he testified. "We washed her chin, Frau Annouchka and me, then she groaned. The bones must have been broken ... Then she opened her eyes for a minute." Kleibenzetl testified that the wounded girl remained in his landlady's home for three days. During those days, Red Guards came to the house but knew his landlady too well to actually search the house. "They went like this: 'Anastasia's disappeared but she's not here, that's for sure,'" he testified. Finally a Red Guard, the same man who had brought her came to take her away. Kleibenzetl knew no more about her fate.^[55]

Kleibenzetl had delivered clothing to the Ipatiev House and seen the grand duchesses walking in the home's enclosed courtyard but had never spoken to any of them. He testified that the wounded girl was "one of the women" he had seen walking in the courtyard, not that he personally recognized her as Anastasia.^[55]

The British Consul-General in Ekaterinburg, Thomas Hildebrand Preston, at the time of the murders refutes this stating, "As to the person Franz Svboda, who claims to have rescued the still living but wounded Grand Duchess Anastasia from the House Ipatiev and taken her to a nearby house in his friend's cart, Svboda's evidence is the most important of all the witnesses. The following are my observations on Svboda's evidence which to my mind does not hold water on any counts : In the first place why should an Austrian prisoner of war concern himself, with enormous risk to his own life, with the fate of the Emperor of a country with which his own country was at war? Secondly, Svboda produces a cock-and-bull story about a certain 'H' (whose name he won't disclose because the man is still alive in the U.S.S.R.) who, he alleges, was the Commandant of the Tcheka, who helped him to make contact with the Tsar with a view to his liberation. In a reign of terror such as prevailed in Ekaterinburg at one time and the violent and fanatical hatred of the Romanov dynasty by the Ekaterinburg Tcheka which consisted mainly of Jews, who had reason to hate the regime, treachery on the part of one of its members - e.g. 'H' - is unthinkable. Moreover, as British Consul, I was extremely well informed of what was going on and should almost certainly have heard of Svboda's alleged activities had they been true." ^[56]

There were also reports from Bulgaria of the survival of Anastasia and her younger brother Tsarevich Alexei. In 1953, Peter Zamiatkin, who was reportedly a member of the guard of the Russian Imperial Family, told a 16-year-old fellow hospital patient that he had taken Anastasia and Alexei to his birth village near Odessa at the request of the Tsar. After the assassination of the rest of the royal family, Zamiatkin reportedly escaped with the children via ship, sailing from Odessa to Alexandria. The alleged survivors, "Anastasia" and "Alexei," reportedly lived out their lives under assumed names in the Bulgarian town of Gabarevo near Kazanlak. The Bulgarian Anastasia claimant called herself Eleonora Albertovna Kruger and died in 1954.^[57] Kazanlak (Bulgarian: ) is a town located in Stara Zagora Province, Bulgaria. ... Eleonora Albertova Kruger (Nora) (unknown-20 July 1954) was a woman who lived in the village of Gabarevo, Bulgaria in the twentieth century. ...

Anastasia's possible survival was one of the celebrated mysteries of the 20th century. In 1922, as rumors spread that one of the grand duchesses or that all of the family had survived a woman who later came to call herself Anna Anderson appeared in Germany and claimed to be Anastasia. She created a life-long controversy and made headlines for decades with some surviving relatives believing she was Anastasia and others not. Indeed, it was she who made Anastasia and her legend famous. Her battle for recognition continues to be the longest running case that was ever heard by the German courts where the case was officially filed. It began in 1938, and a final verdict was not handed down until 1970. The final decision of the court was that Anderson had not provided sufficient proof to claim the identity of the grand duchess. In it, it also held that the death of Grand Duchess Anastasia had never been established as a historically proven fact.^[58] Anastasia Manahan, usually known as Anna Anderson [1] (c. ...

Anderson died in 1984 and her body was cremated. DNA tests were conducted in 1994 on a tissue sample from Anderson located in a hospital and the blood of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, a grand-nephew of Empress Alexandra. According to Dr. Gill who conducted the tests, "If you accept that these samples came from Anna Anderson, then Anna Anderson could not be related to Tsar Nicholas or Tsarina Alexandra." Anderson's mitochondrial DNA was a match with a great-nephew of Franziska Schanzkowka, a missing Polish factory worker.^[59] Prince Philip redirects here. ... Mitochondrial DNA (some captions in German) Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is the DNA located in organelles called mitochondria. ...

New forensic non-DNA comparisons in 1994 with photos of Grand Duchess Anastasia and pretender Anna Anderson's face and ears, following routine procedures of legal identification alleged that Anna Anderson's ears matched those of the Grand Duchess. The tests were commissioned for a British television documentary connected with well known Anna Anderson supporter Peter Kurth. As such their objectivity is questionable.^[60]

Romanov grave

In 1991, bodies believed to be those of the Imperial Family and their servants were finally exhumed from a mass grave in the woods outside Yekaterinburg. The grave had been found nearly a decade earlier, but was kept hidden by its discoverers from the Communists who still ruled Russia when the grave was originally found. Once opened, the excavators realized that instead of eleven sets of remains (Tsar Nicholas II; Tsarina Alexandra; Tsarevitch Alexei; the four Grand Duchesses, Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia; the family's doctor, Yevgeny Botkin; their valet, Alexei Trupp; their cook, Ivan Kharitonov; and Alexandra's maid, Anna Demidova) the grave held only nine. Alexei and, according to the late forensic expert Dr. William Maples, Anastasia's bodies were missing from the family's grave. Russian scientists contested this, however, claiming that it was the body of the Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia that was missing. The Russians identified Anastasia by using a computer program to compare photos of the youngest grand duchess with the skulls of the victims from the mass grave. They estimated the height and width of the skulls where pieces of bone were missing. American scientists found this method inexact.^[61] Snow-covered statue of Sverdlov in Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburgs Church on the Blood built on the spot where the Tsar and his family were executed. ... Dr. Yevgeny Sergeivich Botkin, also known as Dr. Eugene Botkin, (1865 - July 17, 1918), was the court physician for Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra and often treated the hemophilia-related complications of the Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich of Russia. ... Alexei Igorovich Trupp (1858 - July 16, 1918), was a footman in the household of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. ... Ivan Mikhailovich Kharitonov, (1872 - July 17, 1918), was a cook at the court of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. ... Anna Stepanovna Demidova, (1878 - July 17, 1918) was a chambermaid for Tsarina Alexandra of Russia. ... Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (Maria Nikolaevna Romanova) (In Russian Великая Княжна Мария Николаевна), (June 14 (O.S.)/June 26 (N.S.), 1899 – July 17, 1918) was the third daughter of Nicholas II of Russia and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna. ...

American scientists thought the missing body to be Anastasia because none of the female skeletons showed the evidence of immaturity, such as an immature collarbone, undescended wisdom teeth, or immature vertebrae in the back, that they would have expected to find in a seventeen year old. In 1998, when the remains of the Imperial Family were finally interred, a body measuring approximately 5'7" was buried under the name of Anastasia. Photographs taken of her standing beside her three sisters up until six months before the murders demonstrate that Anastasia was several inches shorter than all of them. Her mother commented on sixteen-year-old Anastasia's short stature in a December 15, 1917 letter, written seven months before the murders. "Anastasia, to her despair, is now very fat, as Maria was, round and fat to the waist, with short legs. I do hope she will grow."^[62] Scientists considered it unlikely that the teenager could have grown so much in the last months of her life. Her actual height was approximately 5'2".^[63] is the 349th day of the year (350th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ...

DNA testing confirmed these were the remains of the Imperial Family and their servants, although the fate of the two missing children remains a mystery. Some historians believe the account of the "Yurovsky Note" that two of the bodies were removed from the main grave and cremated at an undisclosed area. The rationale was that this action would create doubt that these were the remains of the Tsar and his retinue should the grave be discovered by the Whites because the body count would not be correct. However, some forensic experts believe the complete burning of two bodies in that short amount of time would have been impossible given the environment and materials possessed by Yurovsky and his men.^[64] Numerous searches of the area in subsequent years failed to turn up a cremation site or the remains of the two missing Romanov children.^[65]

However, on August 23, 2007, a Russian archaeologist announced the discovery of two burned, partial skeletons at a bonfire site near Yekaterinburg that appeared to match the site described in Yurovsky's memoirs. The archaeologists said the bones are from a boy who was roughly between the ages of ten and thirteen years at the time of his death and of a young woman who was roughly between the ages of eighteen and twenty-three years old. Anastasia was seventeen years, one month old at the time of the assassination, while her sister Maria was nineteen years, one month old and her brother Alexei was two weeks shy of his fourteenth birthday. Anastasia's elder sisters Olga and Tatiana were twenty-two and twenty-one years old at the time of the assassination. Along with the remains of the two bodies, archaeologists found "shards of a container of sulfuric acid, nails, metal strips from a wooden box, and bullets of various caliber." The bones were found using metal detectors and metal rods as probes. Tests are still being conducted on the remains to determine whether they are the remains of the two missing Romanov children.^[66] {| style=float:right; |- | |- | |} is the 235th day of the year (236th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

Sainthood

Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia
This icon depicts the Romanov family as passion bearers of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Holy Child-Martyr Grand Duchess Anastasia; Royal Passion-Bearer Grand Duchess Anastasia
Born	June 18, 1901(1901-06-18), Peterhof, Russia
Died	July 17, 1918 (aged 17), Ekaterinburg, Russia
Venerated in	Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
Canonized	1981, 2000, United States; Russia by Russian Orthodox Church Abroad; Russian Orthodox Church
Major shrine	Church on Blood, Ekaterinburg, Russia
Feast	July 17
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In 2000, Anastasia and her family were canonized as passion bearers by the Russian Orthodox Church. The family had previously been canonized in 1981 by the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad as holy martyrs. The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad canonized the Romanovs and their servants as martyrs along with other victims of oppression by the Soviet Union. The canonizations were controversial for both churches. In 1981, opponents noted Nicholas II's perceived weaknesses as a ruler and felt his actions led to the resulting Bolshevik Revolution. One priest of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad noted that martyrdom in the Russian Orthodox Church has nothing to do with the martyr's personal actions but is instead related to why he or she was killed.^[67] The Romanovs were not considered martyrs by the Russian Orthodox Church inside Russia, which rejected the family's classification as martyrs because they were not killed because of their religious faith. Religious leaders also had objections to canonizing the Tsar's family because they perceived him as a weak emperor whose incompetence led to the revolution, the suffering of his people and made him at least partially responsible for his own murder and the murders of his wife and children. For these opponents, the fact that the Tsar was, in private life, a kind man and a good husband and father did not override his poor governance of Russia.^[67] Image File history File links Romanovicon. ... is the 169th day of the year (170th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 198th day of the year (199th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... The Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (Russian: ), also known as the Orthodox Christian Church of Russia, is a body of Christians who are united under the Patriarch of Moscow, who in turn is in communion with the other patriarchs and primates of the Eastern Orthodox Church. ... The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, ROCA, or ROCOR) is a jurisdiction of Eastern Orthodoxy formed in response against the policy of bolsheviks with respect to religion in the Soviet Union soon after the Russian Revolution. ... This article is about the process of declaring saints. ... Eastern Orthodox shrine Buddhist shrine just outside Wat Phnom. ... Church on Blood is a Russian Orthodox church in Yekaterinburg dedicated to Nicholas II of Russia and his family. ... The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organising a liturgical year on the level of days by associating each day with one or more saints, and referring to the day as that saints day. ... is the 198th day of the year (199th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Gloriole. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the process of declaring saints. ... A passion-bearer is one who faces his death in a Christ-like manner. ... The Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (Russian: ), also known as the Orthodox Christian Church of Russia, is a body of Christians who are united under the Patriarch of Moscow, who in turn is in communion with the other patriarchs and primates of the Eastern Orthodox Church. ... The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, ROCA, or ROCOR) is a jurisdiction of Eastern Orthodoxy formed in response against the policy of bolsheviks with respect to religion in the Soviet Union soon after the Russian Revolution. ... For other uses, see Martyr (disambiguation). ...

The Russian Orthodox Church inside Russia ultimately canonized the family as "passion bearers," or people who met their deaths with Christian humility. Proponents cited previous Tsars and Tsareviches who had been canonized as passion bearers, such as Tsarevich Dimitri, murdered at the end of the sixteenth century, as setting a precedent for the canonization of Anastasia and her family. They noted the piety of Anastasia and her family and reports that Anastasia's mother and her sister Olga prayed and attempted to make the sign of the cross immediately before they died. The family's servants were not canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000. The bodies of Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra, and three of their daughters were finally interred at St. Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg on July 17, 1998, eighty years after they were murdered.^[68] Just recently, the work of careful amateurs have solved history's mystery of the missing Romanov children, Anastasia and Alexei. Nearly 90 years later after puring over many documents, evidence has shown that one of the killers had talked about another grave nearby. They found a mound near the side of the road, and two young bodies, those of Anastasia and her brother Alexei have been recovered from the site. Tsarevich Demetrius (1899), by Mikhail Nesterov. ... In spiritual terminology, piety is a virtue. ... For other uses, see Prayer (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Sign of the cross (disambiguation). ... The Peter and Paul Cathedral is located inside the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. ... is the 198th day of the year (199th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ...

Influence on culture

The possible survival of Anastasia has been the subject of both theatrical and made-for-television films. The earliest, made in 1928, was called Clothes Make the Woman. The story followed a woman who turns up to play the part of a rescued Anastasia for a Hollywood film, and ends up being recognized by the Russian soldier who originally rescued her from her would-be assassins. Year 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The most famous is probably the highly fictionalized 1956 Anastasia starring Ingrid Bergman as Anna Anderson, Yul Brynner as General Bounine (a fictional character based on several actual men), and Helen Hayes as the Dowager Empress Marie, Anastasia's paternal grandmother. The film tells the story of a woman from an asylum who appears in Paris in 1928 and is captured by several Russian emigrés who feed her information so that they can fool Anastasia's grandmother into thinking Anderson actually is her granddaughter in order to obtain a Tsarist fortune. As time goes by they begin to suspect that this "Madame A. Anderson" really is the missing Grand Duchess. A car from 1956 Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Anastasia is a 1956 film which tells the true story of a young, confused woman in France after the Russian Revolution who, backed by the Russian emigre community, attempts to pass herself off as Anastasia Nicolaievna Romanova, the daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. ...   (pronounced in Swedish, but usually in English, IPA notation) (August 29, 1915 – August 29, 1982) was a three-time Academy Award-winning and two-time Emmy Award-winning Swedish actress. ... Anastasia Manahan, usually known as Anna Anderson [1] (c. ... Yul Brynner (July 11, 1920[1] – October 10, 1985) was a Russian-born Broadway and Academy Award-winning Hollywood actor. ... Helen Hayes (October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress whose successful and award-winning career spanned almost 70 years. ... Maria Feodorovna, born Princess Dagmar of Denmark (November 26, 1847–October 13, 1928) was Empress Consort of Russia. ... This article is about the capital of France. ...

The story served as the basis for the short-lived 1965 musical Anya. Original cast recording Anya is a musical with a book by George Abbott and Guy Bolton and music and lyrics by Robert Wright and George Forrest. ...

In 1986, NBC broadcast a mini-series loosely based on a book published in 1983 by Peter Kurth called Anastasia: The Riddle of Anna Anderson. The movie, Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna was a two-part series which began with the young Anastasia Nicholaievna and her family being sent to Yekaterinburg, where they are executed by Bolshevik soldiers. The story then moves to 1923, and while taking great liberties, fictitiously follows the claims of the woman known as Anna Anderson. Amy Irving portrays the adult Anna Anderson. Year 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Amy Irving (born September 10, 1953 in Palo Alto, California) is an American actress. ...

The most recent film is 1997's Anastasia, an animated musical adaptation of the story of Anna Anderson's fictional escape from Russia and her subsequent quest for recognition. The film took greater liberties with historical fact than the 1956 film of the same name. For the band, see 1997 (band). ... Anastasia is an American Academy Award-nominated animated feature film produced and directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman at Fox Animation Studios, and was released on November 14, 1997 by Twentieth Century Fox. ...

In The Romanov Prophecy, a 2004 novel by Steve Berry, the wounded Anastasia and Alexei are rescued by guards and spirited away to the United States, where they live under assumed names with a family of loyalists paid by Felix Yussupov. In the novel, both children died of illnesses in the 1920s, but not before Alexei married and fathered a son. The Romanov Prophecy is novel written by Steve Berry and is an amalgam of fact of fiction. ... For other people with the same or similar name, see Steven Berry (disambiguation). ... Prince Felix Yusupov (Феликс Феликсович Юсупов) (March 23, 1887 – September 27, 1967), (variously transliterated from Russian as Yussupov, Yossopov, Iusupov, Youssoupov, or as Feliks, Graf Sumarrokow-Elston (гр&#1072...

References

• Bokhanov Alexander, Knodt Manfred, Oustimenko Vladimir, Peregudova Zinaida, Tyutynnik Lyubov (1993). The Romanovs: Love, Power, and Tragedy. Leppi Publications. ISBN 0-9521-6440-X
• Christopher Peter, Kurth Peter, Radzinsky Edvard (1995). Tsar: The Lost World of Nicholas and Alexandra. Little Brown and Co. ISBN 0-3165-0787-3
• Dehn, Lili (1922). The Real Tsaritsa. alexanderpalace.org.
• Eagar, Margaret (1906). Six Years at the Russian Court. alexanderpalace.org.
• Gilliard, Pierre. Thirteen Years at the Russian Court alexanderpalace.org.
• King Greg, Wilson Penny (2003). The Fate of the Romanovs. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. ISBN 0-471-20768-3
• Kurth, Peter (1983). Anastasia: The Riddle of Anna Anderson. Back Bay Books. ISBN 0-316-50717-2
• Lovell, James Blair (1991). Anastasia: The Lost Princess. Regnery Gateway. ISBN 0-89526-536-2
• Mager, Hugo (1998). Elizabeth: Grand Duchess of Russia. Carroll and Graf Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-7867-0678-3
• Massie, Robert K. (1967). Nicholas and Alexandra. Dell Publishing Co. ISBN 0-4401-6358-7
• Massie, Robert K. (1995). The Romanovs: The Final Chapter. Random House. ISBN 394-58048-6
• Maylunas Andrei, Mironenko Sergei (eds), Galy, Darya (translator) (1997). A Lifelong Passion, Nicholas and Alexandra: Their Own Story. Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-48673-1
• Occleshaw, Michael (1993). The Romanov Conspiracies: The Romanovs and the House of Windsor. Orion Publishing Group Ltd. ISBN 1-85592-518-4
• Radzinsky, Edvard (1992). The Last Tsar. Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-42371-3
• Radzinsky, Edvard (2000). The Rasputin File. Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-48909-9
• Sams, Ed. Victoria's Dark Secrets. curiouschapbooks.com.
• Shevchenko, Maxim. The Glorification of the Royal Family. Nezavisemaya Gazeta, May 31, 2000.
• Vorres, Ian (1965). The Last Grand Duchess. Scribner. ASIN B-0007-E0JK-0
• Vorres, Ian (1985). The Last Grand Duchess London, Finedawn Press (3rd edition)
• Vyrubova, Anna. Memories of the Russian Court. alexanderpalace.org.
• Zeepvat, Charlotte (2004). The Camera and the Tsars: A Romanov Family Album. Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-3049-7

is the 151st day of the year (152nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ...

Notes and sources

is the 345th day of the year (346th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 347th day of the year (348th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 347th day of the year (348th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 347th day of the year (348th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 236th day of the year (237th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 344th day of the year (345th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Anastasia Legend Anastasia and the legend which surrounds her fate.
• Anastasia : Fact Fiction and Fantasy - a site challenging the identity of Anna Anderson
• Anastasia Romanova Memoirs, anecdotes, letters, and details about Anastasia and her life.
• Anastasia's Art Studio
• The Murder of Russia's Imperial Family Nicolay Sokolov Investigation of the murder of the Romanov Imperial Family in 1918, in Russian.
• FrozenTears.org A media library of the last Imperial family
• Anastasia Information A web site dealing with the controversy surrouding Anastasia's death.
• Article by Peter Kurth — Anna Anderson’s biographer tells why he still believes "Anna Anderson" was Anastasia.
• The Glorification of the Royal Family
• Anastasia and Anna Anderson A website with an overview of Anastasia's life and legend and a brief discussion of Anna Anderson's tale along with links to various books on the subject.
• Hemophilia A (Factor VIII Deficiency)
• Could the Bulgarian mountain village of Gabarevo be the last refuge of the lost Romanov Princess?