The Mystery of the
Romanov’s
The Royal Russian Family
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Nicholas II was the
last tsar of Russia
He and has wife
Tsarina Alexandra had
five children
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Olga
Tatiana
Maria
Anastasia
Alexei
Tatiana
1897-1918
Olga
1895-1918
Maria
1899-1918
Anastasia
1901-1918
Alexandra
1872-1918
Alexei
1904-1918
Nicholas II
1868-1918
Nicholas & Alexandra
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On April 20, 1894,
Czarevitch Nicholas II
proposed to Princess
Alexandra of Hesse.
Although
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seen by the Russian people
as a cold, unhappy German
princess
numerous letters document
a lifelong love that existed
between "Niki" and "Alix."
The Romanov Children
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The Czar and Czarina
Alexandra produced five
children.
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The first two daughters,
known as the "Big Pair," were
named Olga and Tatiana.
The next two daughters – the
"Little Pair" – were Maria and
Anastasia.
Then finally an heir to the
throne, Prince Alexei, was
born.
The Royal Family
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Alexei, the only son, destined to be the next tsar,
had hemophilia
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Virtually untreatable and usually led to untimely
death
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In desperation, Alexandria began to rely on
Rasputin, a mystic, who seemed to be able to
help Alexei during bleeding episodes
Rasputin
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healer for the young Alexei
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Called upon when doctors
couldn’t help him with his
hemophilia
Alexandra believed that
Rasputin was the only one
who could cure Alexei
He warned that the destiny
of both the Tsarevich and
the Romanov dynasty were
"irrevocably linked to him"
Problems for the Tsar
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The mounting pressure of World War I and
economic hardship led to massive discontent with
the Tsar
In addition Alexandra began to consult Rasputin
on domestic policy while the Tsar was absent
leading troops in WW I, further alienating the
Russian people
The Tsar was forced to abdicate in March, 1917
Rasputin’s Death
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Russian officials decided that
Rasputin should die
they fed Rasputin poisoned
wine and tea cakes but they
did not affect him
Dismayed, they shot him twice
but he lived
it was only when they bound
his body and threw it into the
Neva River that he died.
Final Days
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Vladimir Lenin and the
Bolsheviks took full
control of the
revolution and sought
to govern the land.
Final Days
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Family put under house arrest by the
Bolsheviks
Became a problem for Lenin
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Many still saw Nicholas as the legitimate ruler of
Russia
Execution
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On the night of July 17th, the family was awoken and
told that there was trouble and that they would be safer
in the basement
The whole family, the family doctor,and three servants
went to the basement. A group of twelve Red Army
soldiers appeared in the basement and shot those
there.
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The legend has it that the princesses had to be finished off with
bayonets as they had stuffed jewels in their blouses which had
deflected the bullets.
According to the Yurovsky (the man who carried out the
execution) the bodies were soaked in acid, burned, and
thrown down a mineshaft
Execution Room
Missing Bodies
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The next morning, fearing the discovery of
the bodies, Yurovsky ordered the bodies
retrieved to be buried elsewhere
However, the vehicle carrying the bodies
broke down and they were buried in a pit
along a cart track
Locating the Remains
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In 1979 a grave was discovered and believed to contain the
bodies of the Tsar, his family and servants
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Authenticity of the remains was questioned
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Only nine bodies were found. (Yurovsky explained that two of
the bodies were incinerated and not removed from the
mineshaft)
Popular rumor that Anastasia had miraculously been survived
In 1995 and the fall of the Soviet Union that permission was
given for the bodies to be exhumed and examined
Authentication of the Remains
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Fingerprints
Dental records
Physical Inspection
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Evidence of crushing blows, bayonet thrusts and
bullet wounds were apparent and consistent with
reports of the execution
Authentication of the Remains
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Reconstruction of the remains
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Nine skeletons were painstakingly reconstructed
from 700 bone fragments which were consistent
with ages and genders of those known to be
executed
Authentication of the Remains
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Nuclear DNA Fingerprinting
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Proved that three young women were the
daughters of one of the adult males
Insufficient DNA for complete analysis
Authentication of the Remains
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Mitochondrial DNA Analysis
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Mitochondrial DNA from living and dead (but
known relatives) of the Tsar & his family
established that the remains were indeed theirs
Anna Anderson Emerges
Final Mystery
Anna Anderson continued to claim until her death in
1984 that she was the missing princess,
Anastasia
A small sample of tissue from Anna Anderson which
had been removed during an earlier surgery was
tested in 1994
Proved that she was not a member of the royal
Romanov family and was born to a middle class
family in Poland