Anastasia RomanovHistory, Myth

and a Lost Royal Family

Anastasia Romanov, http://www.alef.net/ALEFPeople/AnastasiaRomanov/AnastasiaRomanov-TippiFromThePhilippines.Gif

The Flight of Anastasia

•(!!!find Video!!!)•There are many rumors surrounding the death and disappearance of the Romanov family, particularly Anastasia.•The cartoon is all wrong, but shows a common belief that Anastasia survived.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Anastasia-don-bluth.jpg

Who was Anastasia?•Anastasia was the youngest daughter of Czar Nicholas II, the last Czar of Russia.•Had enjoyed luxury and court life in her early years.•She was born in 1901 and was just 16 years old when Revolution struck Russia. Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia aboard the Rus, the ship that

ferried her to Yekaterinburg in May 1918. This is the last known photograph of Anastasia., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AnastasiaRus.jpg

To Abdication•The early years of the 1900s had been difficult for Russia.•Poverty, a loss to Japan in a war had led to social issues and had nearly brought about Revolution.•The poor conditions brought about by WWI pushed the citizens of Russia too far, Revolution finally broke out in 1917 and Nicholas II was forced to give up the throne.•Revolution led to civil war between the Bolsheviks (Communists) and the Mensheviks (Supporters of the Czar) and made Nicholas II a dangerous figure.

Russo-Japanese War- A scan of a cartoon from The New Punch Library volume 1, page 44, published in London in 1932. First published in 1905. The hour-glass represents Russia's prestige running out due to the nation's defeat in the war. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese-Russo_War

The Romanovs•After the abdication, the Romanovs were placed under house arrest in a frontier region while leaders tried to decide what to do with them.•Lev Trotsky, a Revolutionary, wrote “I mulled over the conversation with Lenin about putting the tsar on trial…Punishing the tsar’s family would, of course, have been impossible in the legal sense. The tsar’s family was a victim of the principle that forms the very axis of monarchy: dynastic inheritance.”•No one wanted the Romanovs to become martyrs.

The Romanovs. From left to right: Olga, Maria, Nicholas II, Alexandra, Anastasia, Alexei, and Tatiana. Pictured at Livadia Palace in 1913, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Russian_Imperial_Family_1911.jpg

The Massacre•As the Civil War engulfed Russia, there were rumors that the Romanovs would be rescued, these rumors sealed their fate.•Even though people were frustrated with the Czar’s reign, he represented normalcy, something that had been taken away during the Civil War.•Bolshevik soldiers were ordered to kill the Romanovs in secret and at night.•The bodies were transported to a wooded area and buried in unmarked graves.

Grand Duchesses Maria and Anastasia making faces for the camera in captivity at Tsarskoe Selo in the spring of 1917, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MariaAnastasiafaces.jpg

The Mystery•The night that the Romanovs were killed was chaotic.•Once rumors started to circulate it was believed that the two youngest Romanovs, Alexi and Anastasia, might have escaped.•Debate raged for the rest of the 1900s; Was Anastasia in hiding? Did she die? Did those who were there that night lie about her? Where was her body?•Some even claimed to be Anastasia.

Alexei, Son of Nicholas II and heir to throne http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TsarevichAlexeiNikolaievichOfRussia--nsillustratedwar04londuoft.jpg

•Anna Anderson was the most famous of the Anastasia imposters Anna Anderson, Anastasia Imposter,

Franziska Schanzkowska16 December 1896Borreck Abbau/Borowilaß,[1] West Prussia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AnnaAnderson1922.jpg

The Science•Despite the rumors, there was enough information to lead to the belief that the Romanov’s had died in 1918.•A group of Russians found the grave site in the late 1970s but did not reveal the information out of fear.•In 1991, about the fall of the USSR, the find was reported and forensics specialists were called to exhume the bodies.

One of the last photographs taken of Nicholas II, showing him at Tsarskoye Selo after his abdication in March 1917, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nikolaus_II._(Russland).jpg

The Excavation•Bodies were excavated quickly by order of the local state official who wanted answers, accordingly normal archaeological techniques were not utilized.•Politics and science do not always work well together.•Portions of the remains were destroyed by the hasty excavation.•Fortunately, some sketches of the site were made and the remains were able to be identified. Romanov family grave, http://blockyourid.

com/~gbpprorg/judicial-inc/Romaasffno11.jpg

DNA•Scientists were able to compare DNA from the remains with the DNA from the Czar’s ancestors as well as the Czar’s bloody shirt, a relic of a failed assassination attempt.•DNA confirmed that the bodies in the grave included those of the Czar and his family.Yet, the grave only contained 9 bodies, there were supposed to be 11…Two were missing!!!

Skeletons exhumation, http://www.romanov-memorial.com/Final_Chapter.htm

The Fate of Anastasia???•The original mass grave held a body of a young girl who could have either been Anastasia or one of her sisters, but without confirmation and with two bodies missing speculation could continue.•The missing bodies were finally found in 2007, they were in a separate grave nearby. Soldiers had tried to burn these last two bodies but when that did not work they buried them where they were.•Though evidence is still inconclusive to which body is actually Anastasia’s, they are sure it is one of the two.

A forensic facial reconstruction of Grand Duchess Anastasia by S. A. Nikitin, 1994, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Forensic_rec._Romanov_05.jpg

Left, Map of the two graves location near the Koptyaki road, http://www.romanov-memorial.com/Final_Chapter.htm; Center, Romanov's remains, http://www.romanov-memorial.com/Final_Chapter.htm; Right,Draft of skeletons position in the grave :(1: Demidova - 2: Dr Botkin - 3: Olga -4: Nkolai - 5: Maria - 6: Tatiana -7: Aleksandra - 8: Kharitonov - 9: Trupp), http://www.romanov-memorial.com/Final_Chapter.htm

Legacy•Despite political and ideological beliefs, the Romanovs were still an important part of Russia’s history and the monarchy is an important cultural figure.•An entire family was murdered because their opponents feared their cultural importance and decided that a massacre was a prudent course of action.•When we talk politics we often forget that leaders are people.•The massacre of the Romanovs was a tragedy particularly for the young people who died because of their name.

Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia in captivity at Tsarskoe Selo in the spring of 1917. One of the last known photographs of Tsar Nicholas II's daughters., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Otmaincaptivity1917.jpg