Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna

The youngest of the Grand Duchesses, Anastasia Nikolaevna, seemed to be made of mercury, and not of flesh and blood. She was very, extremely witty and had an undeniable gift for mime. She knew how to find the funny side in everything.

During the revolution, Anastasia turned only sixteen - after all, not such an old age! She was pretty, but her face was intelligent, and her eyes sparkled with remarkable intelligence.

The “tomboy” girl, “Schwibz,” as Her family called her, might have wanted to live up to the Domostroevsky ideal of a girl, but she couldn’t. But, most likely, She simply did not think about it, because the main feature of Her not fully developed character was cheerful childishness.

Anastasia Nikolaevna was... a big naughty girl, and not without guile. She quickly grasped the funny side of everything; It was difficult to fight against Her attacks. She was a spoiled person - a flaw from which She corrected herself over the years. Very lazy, as sometimes happens with very capable children, She had an excellent pronunciation of French and acted out small theatrical scenes with real talent. She was so cheerful and so able to dispel the wrinkles of anyone who was out of sorts that some of those around them began, remembering the nickname given to Her Mother when English yard, call her" Sunbeam"»

Birth.

Born on June 5, 1901 in Peterhof. By the time of her appearance, the royal couple already had three daughters - Olga, Tatyana and Maria. The absence of an heir strained the political situation: according to the Act of Succession to the Throne, adopted by Paul I, a woman could not ascend to the throne, so the heir was considered younger brother Nicholas II Mikhail Alexandrovich, which did not suit many, and first of all, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. In an attempt to beg Providence for a son, at this time she becomes more and more immersed in mysticism. With the assistance of the Montenegrin princesses Militsa Nikolaevna and Anastasia Nikolaevna, a certain Philip, a Frenchman by nationality, arrived at the court, declaring himself a hypnotist and a specialist in nervous diseases. Philip predicted the birth of a son to Alexandra Fedorovna, however, a girl was born - Anastasia.

Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna with daughters Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia

Nikolai wrote in his diary: “About 3 o’clock Alix began to have severe pain. At 4 o'clock I got up and went to my room and got dressed. At exactly 6 am, daughter Anastasia was born. Everything happened quickly under excellent conditions and, thank God, without complications. Thanks to the fact that it all started and ended while everyone was still sleeping, we both had a sense of peace and privacy! After that, I sat down to write telegrams and notify relatives in all corners of the world. Fortunately, Alix is ​​feeling well. The baby weighs 11½ pounds and is 55 cm tall.”

The Grand Duchess was named after the Montenegrin princess Anastasia Nikolaevna, a close friend of the Empress. The “hypnotist” Philip, not at a loss after the failed prophecy, immediately predicted her “an amazing life and a special destiny.” Margaret Eager, author of the memoir “Six Years at the Russian Imperial Court,” recalled that Anastasia was named in honor of the fact that the emperor pardoned and restored the rights of students of St. Petersburg University who took part in the recent unrest, since the very name “Anastasia” means “returned to life”; the image of this saint usually shows chains torn in half.

Childhood.

Olga, Tatyana, Maria and Anastasia Nikolaevna in 1902

The full title of Anastasia Nikolaevna sounded like Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess of Russia Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova, but it was not used, in official speech they called her by her first name and patronymic, and at home they called her “little, Nastaska, Nastya, little egg” - for her small height (157 cm .) and a round figure and a “shvybzik” - for his mobility and inexhaustibility in inventing pranks and pranks.

According to the memoirs of contemporaries, the emperor’s children were not spoiled with luxury. Anastasia shared a room with her older sister Maria. The walls of the room were gray, the ceiling was decorated with images of butterflies. There are icons and photographs on the walls. The furniture is in white and green tones, the furnishings are simple, almost Spartan, a couch with embroidered pillows, and an army cot on which the Grand Duchess slept all year round. This cot moved around the room in order to end up in a more illuminated and warmer part of the room in winter, and in summer it was sometimes even pulled out onto the balcony so that one could take a break from the stuffiness and heat. They took this same bed with them on vacation to the Livadia Palace, and the Grand Duchess slept on it during her Siberian exile. One a large room next door, divided in half by a curtain, served the Grand Duchesses as a common boudoir and bathroom.

Princesses Maria and Anastasia

The life of the grand duchesses was quite monotonous. Breakfast at 9 o'clock, second breakfast at 13.00 or 12.30 on Sundays. At five o'clock there was tea, at eight there was a general dinner, and the food was quite simple and unpretentious. In the evenings, the girls solved charades and did embroidery while their father read aloud to them.

Princesses Maria and Anastasia

Early in the morning it was supposed to take a cold bath, in the evening - a warm one, to which a few drops of perfume were added, and Anastasia preferred Koti perfume with the smell of violets. This tradition has been preserved since the time of Catherine I. When the girls were small, servants carried buckets of water to the bathroom; when they grew up, this was their responsibility. There were two baths - the first large one, left over from the reign of Nicholas I (according to the surviving tradition, everyone who washed in it left their autograph on the side), the other, smaller, was intended for children.

Grand Duchess Anastasia

Like other children of the emperor, Anastasia was educated at home. Education began at the age of eight, the program included French, English and German, history, geography, the law of God, natural sciences, drawing, grammar, arithmetic, as well as dance and music. Anastasia was not known for her diligence in her studies; she hated grammar, wrote with horrific errors, and with childish spontaneity called arithmetic “sinishness.” English teacher Sydney Gibbs recalled that she once tried to bribe him with a bouquet of flowers to improve his grade, and after he refused, she gave these flowers to the Russian language teacher, Petrov.

Grand Duchess Anastasia

Grand Duchesses Maria and Anastasia

In mid-June, the family went on trips on the imperial yacht “Standart”, usually along the Finnish skerries, landing from time to time on the islands for short excursions. The imperial family especially fell in love with the small bay, which was dubbed Standard Bay. They had picnics there, or played tennis on the court, which the emperor built with his own hands.

Nicholas II with his daughters -. Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia

We also rested at the Livadia Palace. The main premises housed the imperial family, and the annexes housed several courtiers, guards and servants. They swam in the warm sea, built fortresses and towers out of sand, and sometimes went into the city to ride a stroller through the streets or visit shops. It was not possible to do this in St. Petersburg, since any appearance of the royal family in public created a crowd and excitement.

Visit to Germany

They sometimes visited Polish estates belonging to the royal family, where Nicholas loved to hunt.

Anastasia with her sisters Tatyana and Olga.

World War I

According to the memoirs of contemporaries, following her mother and older sisters, Anastasia wept bitterly on the day war was declared.

On the day of their fourteenth birthday, according to tradition, each of the emperor’s daughters became an honorary commander of one of the Russian regiments.

In 1901, after her birth, the name of St. The Caspian 148th Infantry Regiment received Anastasia the Pattern-Resolver in honor of the princess. He began to celebrate his regimental holiday on December 22, the holy day. The regimental church was erected in Peterhof by the architect Mikhail Fedorovich Verzhbitsky. At 14, she became his honorary commander (colonel), about which Nikolai made a corresponding entry in his diary. From now on, the regiment became officially known as the 148th Caspian Infantry Regiment of Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Anastasia.

During the war, the empress gave many of the palace rooms for hospital premises. The older sisters Olga and Tatyana, together with their mother, became sisters of mercy; Maria and Anastasia, being too young for such hard work, became patronesses of the hospital. Both sisters gave their own money to buy medicine, read aloud to the wounded, knitted things for them, played cards and checkers, wrote letters home under their dictation, and entertained them in the evenings. telephone conversations, sewed linen, prepared bandages and lint.

Maria and Anastasia gave concerts to the wounded and tried their best to distract them from difficult thoughts. They spent days on end in the hospital, reluctantly taking time off from work for lessons. Anastasia recalled these days until the end of her life:

Under house arrest.

According to the memoirs of Lily Den (Yulia Alexandrovna von Den), a close friend of Alexandra Feodorovna, in February 1917, at the very height of the revolution, the children fell ill with measles one after another. Anastasia was the last to fall ill, when the Tsarskoe Selo palace was already surrounded by rebel troops. At that time the Tsar was at the headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief in Mogilev; only the Empress and her children remained in the palace. .

Grand Duchesses Maria and Anastasia look at photographs

On the night of March 2, 1917, Lily Den stayed overnight in the palace, in the Raspberry Room, with Grand Duchess Anastasia. So that they would not worry, they explained to the children that the troops surrounding the palace and the distant shots were the result of ongoing exercises. Alexandra Feodorovna intended to “hide the truth from them for as long as possible.” At 9 o'clock on March 2 they learned of the Tsar's abdication.

On Wednesday, March 8, Count Pavel Benckendorff appeared at the palace with the message that the Provisional Government had decided to subject imperial family house arrest in Tsarskoye Selo. It was suggested that they make a list of people who wanted to stay with them. Lily Dehn immediately offered her services.

A.A.Vyrubova, Alexandra Fedorovna, Yu.A.Den.

On March 9, the children were informed about their father’s abdication. A few days later Nikolai returned. Life under house arrest turned out to be quite bearable. It was necessary to reduce the number of dishes during lunch, since the menu of the royal family was announced publicly from time to time, and it was not worth giving another reason to provoke the already angry crowd. Curious people often watched through the bars of the fence as the family walked in the park and sometimes greeted her with whistling and swearing, so the walks had to be shortened.

On June 22, 1917, it was decided to shave the girls’ heads, since their hair was falling out due to persistent fever and strong medications. Alexei insisted that he be shaved too, thereby causing extreme displeasure in his mother.

Grand Duchesses Tatiana and Anastasia

Despite everything, the children's education continued. The entire process was led by Gillard, a French teacher; Nikolai himself taught the children geography and history; Baroness Buxhoeveden took over English and music lessons; Mademoiselle Schneider taught arithmetic; Countess Gendrikova - drawing; Alexandra taught Orthodoxy.

The eldest, Olga, despite the fact that her education was completed, was often present at lessons and read a lot, improving on what she had already learned.

Grand Duchesses Olga and Anastasia

At this time, there was still hope for the family of the former king to go abroad; but George V, whose popularity among his subjects was rapidly falling, decided not to risk it and chose to sacrifice the royal family, thereby causing a shock in own office ministers.

Nicholas II and George V

Ultimately, the Provisional Government decided to transfer the family of the former tsar to Tobolsk. On the last day before leaving, they managed to say goodbye to the servants and visit their favorite places in the park, ponds, and islands for the last time. Alexei wrote in his diary that on that day he managed to push his older sister Olga into the water. On August 12, 1917, a train flying the flag of the Japanese Red Cross mission departed from a siding in the strictest secrecy.

Tobolsk

On August 26, the imperial family arrived in Tobolsk on the steamship Rus. The house intended for them was not yet completely ready, so they spent the first eight days on the ship.

Arrival of the Royal Family in Tobolsk

Finally, under escort, the imperial family was taken to the two-story governor's mansion, where they were henceforth to live. The girls were given a corner bedroom on the second floor, where they were accommodated in the same army beds captured from the Alexander Palace. Anastasia additionally decorated her corner with her favorite photographs and drawings.

Life in the governor's mansion was quite monotonous; The main entertainment is watching passers-by from the window. From 9.00 to 11.00 - lessons. An hour break for a walk with my father. Lessons again from 12.00 to 13.00. Dinner. From 14.00 to 16.00 there are walks and simple entertainment such as home performances, or in winter - skiing down a slide built with one’s own hands. Anastasia, in her own words, enthusiastically prepared firewood and sewed. Next on schedule followed evening service and going to bed.

In September they were allowed to go to the nearest church for morning services. Again, the soldiers formed a living corridor right up to the church doors. The attitude of local residents towards the royal family was rather favorable.

The news that Nicholas II, exiled to Tobolsk, and the royal family were going to see the monument to Ermak, spread not only throughout the city, but also throughout the region. Tobolsk photographer Ilya Efimovich Kondrakhin, passionate about photography, with his bulky cameras - a great rarity in those days - hastened to capture this moment. And here we have a photograph showing several dozen people climbing the slope of the hill on which the monument stands so as not to miss the arrival of the last Russian Tsar. Vladimir Vasilievich Kondrakhin (grandson of the photographer) took a photo from the original photograph

Tobolsk

Suddenly, Anastasia began to gain weight, and the process proceeded at a fairly rapid pace, so that even the empress, worried, wrote to her friend:

“Anastasia, to her despair, has gained weight and her appearance exactly resembles Maria a few years ago - the same huge waist and short legs... Let's hope this will go away with age...”

From a letter to sister Maria.

“The iconostasis was set up terribly well for Easter, everything is in the Christmas tree, as it should be here, and flowers. We were filming, I hope it comes out. I continue to draw, they say it’s not bad, it’s very pleasant. We were swinging on a swing, and when I fell, it was such a wonderful fall!.. yeah! I told my sisters so many times yesterday that they were already tired, but I can tell them a lot more times, although there is no one else. In general, I have a lot of things to tell you and you. My Jimmy woke up and coughs, so he sits at home, bows to his helmet. That was the weather! You could literally scream from pleasure. I was the most tanned, oddly enough, like an acrobat! And these days are boring and ugly, it’s cold, and we were freezing this morning, although of course we didn’t go home... I’m very sorry, I forgot to congratulate all my loved ones on the holidays, I kiss you not three, but a lot of times to everyone. Everyone, darling, thanks you very much for your letter."

In April 1918, the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the fourth convocation decided to transfer the former tsar to Moscow for the purpose of his trial. After much hesitation, Alexandra decided to accompany her husband; Maria was supposed to go with her “to help.”

The rest had to wait for them in Tobolsk; Olga’s duties included taking care of her sick brother, Tatyana’s duties included leading household, Anastasia - “to entertain everyone.” However, at the beginning things were difficult with entertainment, on the last night before departure no one slept a wink, and when finally in the morning, peasant carts were brought to the threshold for the Tsar, Tsarina and those accompanying them, three girls - “three figures in gray” saw off those leaving with tears right up to the gate.

In the courtyard of the governor's house

In the empty house, life continued slowly and sadly. We told fortunes from books, read aloud to each other, and walked. Anastasia was still swinging on the swing, drawing and playing with her sick brother. According to the memoirs of Gleb Botkin, the son of a life physician, who died along with royal family, one day he saw Anastasia in the window and bowed to her, but the guards immediately drove him away, threatening to shoot if he dared to come so close again.

Vel. Princesses Olga, Tatiana, Anastasia () and Tsarevich Alexei at tea. Tobolsk, governor's house. April-May 1918

On May 3, 1918, it became clear that for some reason, the former Tsar's departure to Moscow was canceled and instead Nicholas, Alexandra and Maria were forced to stay in the house of engineer Ipatiev in Yekaterinburg, requisitioned by the new government specifically to house the Tsar's family . In a letter marked with this date, the empress instructed her daughters to “properly dispose of medicines” - this word meant the jewelry that they managed to hide and take with them. Under the guidance of her older sister Tatyana, Anastasia sewed the remaining jewelry she had into the corset of her dress - with a successful combination of circumstances, it was supposed to be used to buy her way to salvation.

On May 19, it was finally decided that the remaining daughters and Alexey, who was by then quite strong, would join their parents and Maria at Ipatiev’s house in Yekaterinburg. The next day, May 20, all four boarded the ship “Rus” again, which took them to Tyumen. According to the recollections of eyewitnesses, the girls were transported in locked cabins; Alexey was traveling with his orderly named Nagorny; access to their cabin was prohibited even for a doctor.

"My dear friend,

I'll tell you how we drove. We left early in the morning, then got on the train and I fell asleep, followed by everyone else. We were all very tired because we hadn't slept the whole night before. The first day it was very stuffy and dusty, and we had to close the curtains at each station so that no one could see us. One evening I looked out when we stopped at small house, there was no station there, and you could look outside. came up to me a little boy, and asked: “Uncle, give me the newspaper if you have it.” I said: “I’m not an uncle, but an aunt, and I don’t have a newspaper.” At first I didn’t understand why he decided that I was “uncle,” and then I remembered that my hair was cut short and, together with the soldiers who accompanied us, we laughed for a long time at this story. In general, there were a lot of funny things along the way, and if there is time, I will tell you about the journey from beginning to end. Goodbye, don't forget me. Everyone kisses you.

Yours, Anastasia."

On May 23 at 9 a.m. the train arrived in Yekaterinburg. Here, the French teacher Gillard, the sailor Nagorny and the ladies-in-waiting, who had arrived with them, were removed from the children. Crews were brought to the train and at 11 o'clock in the morning Olga, Tatyana, Anastasia and Alexey were finally taken to the house of engineer Ipatiev.

Ipatiev House

Life in the “special purpose house” was monotonous and boring - but nothing more. Rise at 9 o'clock, breakfast. At 2.30 - lunch, at 5 - afternoon tea and dinner at 8. The family went to bed at 10.30 pm. Anastasia sewed with her sisters, walked in the garden, played cards and read spiritual publications aloud to her mother. A little later, the girls were taught to bake bread and they enthusiastically devoted themselves to this activity.

The dining room, the door visible in the picture leads to the Princesses' room.

Room of the Sovereign, Empress and Heir.

On Tuesday, June 18, 1918, Anastasia celebrated her last, 17th birthday. The weather that day was excellent, only in the evening a small thunderstorm broke out. Lilacs and lungwort were blooming. The girls baked bread, then Alexei was taken out to the garden, and the whole family joined him. At 8 pm we had dinner and played several games of cards. We went to bed at the usual time, 10.30 pm.

Execution

It is officially believed that the decision to execute the royal family was finally made by the Ural Council on July 16 in connection with the possibility of surrendering the city to the White Guard troops and the alleged discovery of a conspiracy to save the royal family. On the night of July 16-17, at 11:30 p.m., two special representatives from the Urals Council handed a written order to execute the commander of the security detachment, P.Z. Ermakov, and the commandant of the house, Commissioner of the Extraordinary Investigative Commission, Ya.M. Yurovsky. After a brief dispute about the method of execution, the royal family was woken up and, under the pretext of a possible shootout and the danger of being killed by bullets ricocheting off the walls, they were offered to go down to the corner semi-basement room.

According to the report of Yakov Yurovsky, the Romanovs did not suspect anything until the last moment. At the empress’s request, chairs were brought to the basement, on which she and Nicholas sat with their son in her arms. Anastasia stood behind with her sisters. The sisters brought several handbags with them, Anastasia also took her beloved dog Jimmy, who accompanied her throughout her exile.

Anastasia holding Jimmy the dog

There is information that after the first salvo, Tatyana, Maria and Anastasia remained alive; they were saved by jewelry sewn into the corsets of their dresses. Later, witnesses interrogated by investigator Sokolov testified that of the royal daughters, Anastasia resisted death the longest; already wounded, she “had” to be finished off with bayonets and rifle butts. According to materials discovered by historian Edward Radzinsky, Anna Demidova, Alexandra's servant, who managed to protect herself with a pillow filled with jewelry, remained alive the longest.

Together with the corpses of her relatives, Anastasia’s body was wrapped in sheets taken from the beds of the Grand Duchesses and taken to the Four Brothers tract for burial. There the corpses, disfigured beyond recognition by blows from rifle butts and sulfuric acid, were thrown into one of the old mines. Later, investigator Sokolov discovered the body of Ortino’s dog here.

Grand Duchess Anastasia, Grand Duchess Tatiana holding the dog Ortino

After the execution, the last drawing made by Anastasia’s hand was found in the room of the Grand Duchesses - a swing between two birch trees.

Drawings of Grand Duchess Anastasia

Anastasia over Ganina Yama

Discovery of remains

The “Four Brothers” tract is located a few kilometers from the village of Koptyaki, not far from Yekaterinburg. One of its pits was chosen by Yurovsky's team to bury the remains of the royal family and servants.

It was not possible to keep the place a secret from the very beginning, due to the fact that literally next to the tract there was a road to Yekaterinburg; early in the morning the procession was seen by a peasant from the village of Koptyaki, Natalya Zykova, and then several more people. The Red Army soldiers, threatening with weapons, drove them away.

Later that same day, grenade explosions were heard in the area. Interested in the strange incident, local residents, a few days later, when the cordon had already been lifted, came to the tract and managed to discover several valuables (apparently belonging to the royal family) in a hurry, not noticed by the executioners.

From May 23 to June 17, 1919, investigator Sokolov conducted reconnaissance of the area and interviewed village residents.

Photo by Gilliard: Nikolai Sokolov in 1919 near Yekaterinburg.

From June 6 to July 10, by order of Admiral Kolchak, excavations of the Ganina Pit began, which were interrupted due to the retreat of the Whites from the city.

On July 11, 1991, remains identified as the bodies of the royal family and servants were found in the Ganina Pit at a depth of just over one meter. The body, which probably belonged to Anastasia, was marked with number 5. Doubts arose about it - the entire left side of the face was broken into pieces; Russian anthropologists tried to connect the found fragments together and put together the missing part. The result of the rather painstaking work was in doubt. Russian researchers tried to proceed from the height of the found skeleton, however, the measurements were made from photographs and were questioned by American experts.

American scientists believed that the missing body was Anastasia's because none of the female skeletons showed evidence of immaturity, such as an immature collarbone, immature wisdom teeth or immature vertebrae in the back, which they expected to find in the body of a seventeen-year-old girl.

In 1998, when the remains of the imperial family were finally interred, the 5'7" body was buried under Anastasia's name. Photos of the girl standing next to her sisters, taken six months before the murder, show that Anastasia was several inches shorter than them Her mother, commenting on the figure of her sixteen-year-old daughter, wrote in a letter to a friend seven months before the murder: “Anastasia, to her despair, has gained weight and her appearance exactly resembles Maria several years ago - the same huge waist and short legs... Let's hope with it will go away with age..." Scientists believe it is unlikely that she grew much in the last months of her life. Her actual height was approximately 5'2".

The doubts were finally resolved in 2007, after the discovery in the so-called Porosenkovsky ravine of the remains of a young girl and boy, later identified as Tsarevich Alexei and Maria. Genetic testing confirmed the initial findings. In July 2008, this information was officially confirmed investigative committee at the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation, reporting that an examination of the remains found in 2007 on the old Koptyakovskaya road established that the discovered remains belonged to Grand Duchess Maria and Tsarevich Alexei, who was the emperor's heir.

Fire pit with “charred wooden parts”

Another version of the same story was told by the former Austrian prisoner of war Franz Svoboda at the trial, at which Anderson tried to defend her right to be called a Grand Duchess and gain access to the hypothetical inheritance of her “father.” Svoboda proclaimed himself the savior of Anderson, and, according to his version, the wounded princess was transported to the house of “a neighbor in love with her, a certain X.” This version, however, contained quite a lot of clearly implausible details, for example, about violating the curfew, which was unthinkable at that moment, about posters announcing the escape of the Grand Duchess, allegedly posted all over the city, and about general searches, which, fortunately , they didn’t give anything. Thomas Hildebrand Preston, who was the British Consul General in Yekaterinburg at that time, rejected such fabrications. Despite the fact that Anderson defended her “royal” origin until the end of her life, wrote the book “I, Anastasia” and fought legal battles for several decades, no final decision was made during her lifetime.

Currently, genetic analysis has confirmed already existing assumptions that Anna Anderson was in fact Franziska Schanzkovskaya, a worker in a Berlin factory that manufactured explosives. As a result of an industrial accident, she was seriously injured and suffered mental shock, the consequences of which she could not get rid of for the rest of her life.

Another false Anastasia was Eugenia Smith (Evgenia Smetisko), an artist who published “memoirs” in the USA about her life and miraculous salvation. She managed to attract significant attention to her person and seriously correct financial position, capitalizing on public interest.

Eugenia Smith. photo

Rumors about Anastasia's rescue were fueled by news of trains and houses that the Bolsheviks were searching in search of the missing princess. During her brief imprisonment in Perm in 1918, Princess Elena Petrovna, wife distant relative Anastasia, Prince Ivan Konstantinovich, reported that the guards brought a girl to her cell who called herself Anastasia Romanova and asked if the girl was the daughter of the Tsar. Elena Petrovna replied that she did not recognize the girl, and the guards took her away. Another account is given more credibility by one historian. Eight witnesses reported the return of a young woman after an apparent rescue attempt in September 1918 at the railway station at Siding 37, northwest of Perm. These witnesses were Maxim Grigoriev, Tatyana Sytnikova and her son Fyodor Sytnikov, Ivan Kuklin and Marina Kuklina, Vasily Ryabov, Ustina Varankina and Dr. Pavel Utkin, the doctor who examined the girl after the incident. Some witnesses identified the girl as Anastasia when they were shown photographs of the Grand Duchess by White Army investigators. Utkin also told them that the injured girl he examined at the Cheka headquarters in Perm told him: “I am the daughter of the ruler, Anastasia.”

At the same time, in mid-1918, there were several reports of young people in Russia posing as escaped Romanovs. Boris Solovyov, the husband of Rasputin's daughter Maria, deceitfully begged money from noble Russian families for the supposedly saved Romanov, in fact wanting to use the money to go to China. Solovyov also found women who agreed to pose as grand duchesses and thereby contributed to the deception.

However, there is a possibility that one or more guards could actually save one of the surviving Romanovs. Yakov Yurovsky demanded that the guards come to his office and review the things they stole after the murder. Accordingly, there was a period of time when the bodies of the victims were left unattended in the truck, in the basement and in the hallway of the house. Some guards who did not participate in the murders and sympathized with the grand duchesses, according to some sources, remained in the basement with the bodies.

In 1964-1967, during the Anna Anderson case, Viennese tailor Heinrich Kleibenzetl testified that he allegedly saw the wounded Anastasia shortly after the murder in Yekaterinburg on July 17, 1918. The girl was looked after by his landlady, Anna Baoudin, in a building directly opposite Ipatiev's house.

“Her lower body was covered in blood, her eyes were closed and she was white as a sheet,” he testified. “We washed her chin, Frau Annuschka and I, then she moaned. The bones must have been broken... Then she opened her eyes for a minute.” Kleibenzetl claimed that the injured girl remained in his landlady's house for three days. The Red Army soldiers allegedly came to the house, but knew its landlady too well and did not actually search the house. “They said something like this: Anastasia has disappeared, but she’s not here, that’s for sure.” Finally, a Red Army soldier, the same man who brought her, arrived to take the girl away. Kleibenzetl about her future fate I didn't know anything else.

Rumors revived again after the release of Sergo Beria’s book “My Father is Lavrenty Beria,” where the author casually recalls a meeting in the foyer Bolshoi Theater with the supposedly saved Anastasia, who became the abbess of an unnamed Bulgarian monastery.

Rumors of a “miraculous rescue,” which seemed to have died down after the royal remains were subjected to scientific study in 1991, resumed with renewed vigor when publications appeared in the press that one of the grand duchesses was missing from the bodies found (it was assumed that it was Maria) and Tsarevich Alexei. However, according to another version, among the remains there might not have been Anastasia, who was slightly younger than her sister and almost the same build, so a mistake in identification seemed likely. This time, Nadezhda Ivanova-Vasilieva applied for the role of the rescued Anastasia, who conducted most life in Kazan psychiatric hospital, where she was assigned by the Soviet authorities, who allegedly feared the surviving princess.

Prince Dmitry Romanovich Romanov, great-great-grandson of Nicholas, summed up the long-term epic of impostors:

In my memory, the self-proclaimed Anastasias ranged from 12 to 19. In the conditions of the post-war depression, many went crazy. We, the Romanovs, would be happy if Anastasia, even in the person of this very Anna Anderson, turned out to be alive. But alas, it was not her.

The last dot was put to rest by the discovery of the bodies of Alexei and Maria in the same tract in 2007 and anthropological and genetic examinations, which finally confirmed that there could not have been any rescued among the royal family

Some of the most famous impostors in history were the False Dmitrys, swindlers who, in search of easy money, posed as the sons of Ivan the Terrible with varying degrees of success. Another “leader” in the number of “fake” children was Romanov family. Despite the tragic death of the imperial family in July 1918, many subsequently tried to pass themselves off as “surviving” heirs. In 1920, a girl appeared in Berlin claiming that she was the youngest daughter of Emperor Nicholas II, Princess Anastasia Romanova.

Based on materials from Commons.wikimedia.org

Anna Anderson

Anna Anderson (Tchaikovskaya, Manahan, Shantskovskaya) is the most famous of the women who posed as Grand Duchess Anastasia, daughter of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Let's try to figure out whether Anna Anderson was Princess Anastasia Romanova or is she just another swindler, an impostor, or just a sick person.

Unknown Russian, or Anastasia Romanova

The rumor that this woman, Grand Duchess Anastasia, excited the world after the Berlin police report on February 17, 1920 recorded a girl rescued from a suicide attempt. She had no documents with her and refused to give her name. She had Brown hair with a chestnut tint and piercing gray eyes. She spoke with a pronounced Slavic accent, so in her personal file there was an entry “unknown Russian.”

Since the spring of 1922, dozens of articles and books have been written about her. Anastasia Tchaikovskaya, Anna Anderson, later Anna Manahan (after her husband’s last name). These are the names of the same woman. Last name, written on her gravestone “Anastasia Manahan”. She died on February 12, 1984, but even after death, her fate haunts neither her friends nor her enemies.

Family of Nicholas II

Why has there been a myth for a century about the salvation of Princess Anastasia and the only son of Nicholas II, Tsarevich Alexei? After all, it was only in 1991 that a common grave with the remains of the royal family was discovered, among which the bodies of the prince and Anastasia were missing. And only in August 2007, near Yekaterinburg, the remains were discovered, presumably belonging to Tsarevich Alexei and the Grand Duchess. However, foreign experts have not confirmed this fact.

Confirmation of the death of Anastasia Romanova

In addition, there are a number of reasons that do not allow Anastasia to be considered dead along with the entire Royal Family on the night of July 17, 1918:

• “1. There is an eyewitness account who saw the wounded but alive Anastasia in a house on Voskresensky Prospekt in Yekaterinburg (almost opposite Ipatiev’s house) in the early morning of July 17, 1918; it was Heinrich Kleinbetzetl, a tailor from Vienna, an Austrian prisoner of war, who in the summer of 1918 worked in Yekaterinburg as an apprentice to the tailor Baudin. He saw her in Baudin's house in the early morning of July 17, a few hours after the brutal massacre in the basement of Ipatiev's house. It was brought by one of the guards (probably still from the previous more liberal composition of the guard - Yurovsky did not replace all the previous guards) - one of those few young guys who had long sympathized with the girls, the tsar’s daughters;
• 2. There is great confusion in the testimonies, reports and stories of the participants in this bloody massacre - even in different versions stories from the same participants;
• 3. It is known that the “Reds” were looking for the missing Anastasia for several months after the murder of the Royal Family;
• 4. It is known that one (or two?) women's corsets were not found. None of the “white” investigations answers all the questions, including the investigation of the Kolchak commission investigator Nikolai Sokolov;
• 5. The archives of the Cheka-KGB-FSB about the murder of the Royal Family and what the security officers led by Yurovsky in 1919 (a year after the execution) and MGB officers (Beria’s department) in 1946 did in the Koptyakovsky forest have not yet been opened. All documents known so far about the execution of the Royal Family (including Yurovsky’s “Note”) were obtained from other state archives (not from the archives of the FSB).”

The story of Anastasia Romanova

And so back to the story of Anna Anderson. A woman rescued from a suicide attempt was placed in the Elisabeth Hospital on Lützowstrasse. She admitted that she tried to commit suicide, but refused to give a reason or make any comments. Upon examination, doctors discovered that she had given birth six months ago. For a girl “under the age of twenty,” this was an important circumstance. They saw numerous scars from lacerations on the patient’s chest and stomach. On the head behind the right ear there was a 3.5 cm long scar, deep enough for a finger to go into it, as well as a scar on the forehead at the very roots of the hair. On the foot of his right leg there was a characteristic scar from a perforating wound. It fully corresponded to the shape and size of the wounds inflicted by the bayonet of a Russian rifle. There are cracks in the upper jaw.

The next day after the examination, she admitted to the doctor that she was afraid for her life: “She makes it clear that she does not want to identify herself for fear of persecution. The impression of restraint born of fear. More fear than restraint." The medical history also records that the patient has a congenital orthopedic foot disease hallux valgus of the third degree.

“The disease discovered in the patient by the doctors of the clinic in Daldorf absolutely coincided with the congenital disease of Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova. As one orthopedist put it: “It’s easier to find two girls of the same age with the same fingerprints than with signs of congenital hallux valgus.” The girls we are talking about also had the same height, foot size, hair and eye color, and portrait resemblance. From the medical record data it is clear that the traces of injuries to Anna Anderson fully correspond to those that, according to the forensic investigator Tomashevsky, were inflicted on Anastasia in the basement of Ipatiev’s house. The scar on the forehead also matches. Anastasia Romanova had such a scar since childhood, so she is the only one of the daughters of Nicholas II who always wore her hair with bangs.

Anna Anderson

Anna calls herself Anastasia

Later, Anna declared herself the daughter of Nikolai Romanov, Anastasia, and said that she came to Berlin in the hope of finding her aunt, Princess Irene, the sister of Queen Alexandra, but in the palace they did not recognize her or even listen to her. According to ‘Anastasia’, she attempted suicide out of shame and humiliation.

It was never possible to establish the exact data, and even the name of the patient (she was named Anna Anderson) - the ‘princess’ answered questions at random, and although she understood the questions in Russian, she answered them in some other Slavic language. However, someone later claimed that the patient spoke excellent Russian.

Her manners, gait, and communication with other people are not without a certain nobility. In addition, in conversations, the girl made quite competent judgments about various areas of life. She had an excellent understanding of art and music, knew geography well, and could freely list all the reigning persons of European states. In her appearance, the breed, “blue blood”, was clearly visible, inherent only to persons of the reigning dynasties or noble gentlemen and ladies close to the throne.

The news that a woman had appeared posing as the Tsar's daughter reached Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna (Anastasia's aunt) and her mother Empress Maria Feodorovna (Anastasia's grandmother). Following their instructions, people who knew the royal family and Anastasia well began to come to the patient. They looked closely at Anna, asked her questions about life in Russia, about her salvation, about the facts of Anastasia’s life, known only to those closest to the Tsar. The girl spoke confusedly and confusedly and amazed many with her knowledge. Despite the correct, but confusing answers and slight external resemblance, a verdict was made - this is not Anastasia.

Anna or Anastasia?

Interrogation of Anastasia Romanova

Another of the main arguments against Anderson being Anastasia was her categorical refusal to speak Russian. Many eyewitnesses also claimed that she generally understood very poorly when addressed in her native language. She herself, however, motivated her reluctance to speak Russian by the shock she experienced while under arrest, when the guards forbade members of the emperor’s family to communicate with each other in any other languages, since they could not understand them in this case. Moreover, Anderson demonstrated almost complete ignorance Orthodox customs and rituals.

Why did members of the House of Romanov in Europe and their relatives from the royal dynasties of Germany turn out to be opposed to it almost immediately, in the early 1920s? “Firstly, Anna Anderson spoke sharply about Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich (“he is a traitor”) - the same one who, immediately after the abdication of Nicholas II, took his Guards crew away from Tsarskoe Selo and allegedly put on a red bow.

Secondly, she unintentionally revealed a big state secret, which concerned her mother’s brother (Empress Alexandra Feodorovna), about the arrival of her uncle Ernie of Hesse to Russia in 1916. The visit was associated with intentions to persuade Nicholas II to a separate peace with Germany. In the early twenties it was still a state secret

Thirdly, Anna-Anastasia herself was in such a difficult physical and psychological condition (consequences of severe injuries received in the basement of Ipatiev’s house, and the very difficult previous two years of wandering) that communicating with her was not easy for anyone. There is an important fourth reason, but first things first.

The question of succession to the Russian throne

In 1922, in the Russian Diaspora, the question of who would lead the dynasty was being decided for the place of the “Emperor in Exile.” The main contender was Kirill Vladimirovich Romanov. He, like most Russian emigrants, could not even imagine that the Bolshevik rule would last for seven long decades. The appearance of Anastasia caused confusion and division of opinion in the ranks of the monarchists. The subsequent information about the physical and mental ill health of the princess, and the presence of an heir to the throne who was born in an unequal marriage (either from a soldier, or from a lieutenant of peasant origin), all this did not contribute to her immediate recognition, not to mention the consideration of her candidacy to replace the head of the dynasty.

“The Romanovs did not want to see God’s anointed peasant son, who was either in Romania or in Soviet Russia. By the time she met her relatives in 1925, Anastasia was seriously ill with tuberculosis. Her weight barely reached 33 kg. The people surrounding Anastasia believed that her days were numbered. And who besides the mother needed her “bastard”? But she survived, and after meetings with Aunt Olya and other close people, she dreamed of meeting her grandmother, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. She was waiting for recognition from her family, but instead, in 1928, on the second day after the death of the Dowager Empress, several members of the Romanov dynasty publicly renounced her, declaring that she was an impostor. The insult led to a break in the relationship.”

Impostor or Princess Anastasia Romanova?

The fact that Anna Anderson was an impostor, and not Grand Duchess Anastasia, was immediately reported to Grand Duchess Olga. The Grand Duchess cannot calm down in any way, she is tormented by doubts, and in the fall of 1925, taking with her Alexandra Tegleva, the former nanny of Anastasia and Maria and several ladies who are well acquainted with the royal family, she herself goes to Berlin.

When they met, Anastasia’s nanny did not recognize Anna as her ward, but the color of her eyes completely matched. Those eyes suddenly filled with tears of joy. Anna went up to Tyeglyova and, hugging her tightly, began to cry. Looking at this touching scene, the arriving ladies were dumbfounded, but not the Grand Duchess. Having last seen Anastasia in 1916, she determined at first glance that the girl standing in front of her had nothing in common with her niece.

Answering questions from the ladies present, Anna Anderson revealed a good knowledge of the customs and practices of the imperial house. She even mentioned the finger injury, showing the scar on it to the arriving ladies. She also indicated the time - 1915, when the footman, slamming the carriage door hard, pinched the Grand Duchess's finger.

The girl affectionately called Tyeglyova Shura and told about several funny incidents from her childhood. They really took place, and the former nanny hesitated. The woman was ready to recognize Anna Anderson as her pupil when she suddenly remembered the incident with the finger. It happened not to Anastasia, but to Maria - and not in a carriage, but in a train compartment. The charm woven by the stranger from dear memories dissipated. But there was still one more piece of evidence that needed to be verified.

Anastasia's big toes had a slight curvature. This doesn’t happen often with young girls, and Tegleva, overcoming her awkwardness, asked Anna Anderson to take off her shoes. She, not at all embarrassed, took off her shoes. The above toes did indeed look crooked, but the feet themselves did not match Anastasia's feet. The daughter of Nicholas II had them graceful and small, but here they are wide and much larger. And another verdict - an impostor.

Royal family

Life of Anastasia Romanova

The breakdown of relations with most of her relatives forced Anna to defend her rights in court. This is how forensic experts appeared in Anastasia’s life. The first graphological examination was made in 1927. It was performed by an employee of the Institute of Graphology in Prisna, Dr. Lucy Weizsäcker. Comparing the handwriting on the recently written samples with the handwriting on the samples written by Anastasia during the life of Nicholas II, Lucy Weizsäcker came to the conclusion that the samples belong to the same person.

In 1938, at the insistence of Anna, the trial began and ended only in 1977. It lasted 39 years and is one of the longest trials in modern history humanity. All this time, Anna lives either in America or in her own house in the Black Forest village, given to her by the Prince of Saxe-Coburg.

In 1968, at the age of 70, Anderson married large industrialist John Manahan from Virginia, who dreamed of getting a real Russian princess as his wife, and became Anna Manahan. It is interesting that while she was in the United States, Anna met with Mikhail Golenevsky, who pretended to be “the miraculously saved Tsarevich Alexei,” and publicly recognized him as her brother.

In 1977, the trial was finally put to rest. The court denied Anna Manahan the right to inherit the property of the royal family, as it considered the available evidence of her relationship with the Romanovs insufficient. Having failed to achieve her goal, the mysterious woman dies on February 12, 1984.

Expert opinions about whether Anderson was the emperor's real daughter or a simple impostor remained controversial. When in 1991 it was decided to exhume the remains of the royal family, research was also carried out on Anna’s relationship with the Romanov family. DNA tests did not show Anderson to be a member of the Russian royal family.

Now I will give the floor to the American author Peter Kurt, whose book “Anastasia. The Riddle of Anna Anderson" (in Russian translation "Anastasia. The Riddle of the Grand Duchess"), according to many, is the best in the historiography of this riddle (and is wonderfully written). Peter Kurth knew Anna Anderson personally. This is what he wrote in the afterword to the Russian edition of his book:

Stories about Anastasia Romanova

“Truth is a snare; you can't have it without getting caught. You can’t catch her, she catches a person.”
Søren Kirkegaard

“Fiction must remain within the boundaries of the possible. The truth is no.”
Mark Twain

These quotes were sent to me by a friend in 1995, shortly after the British Home Office's Department of Forensic Sciences announced that mitochondrial DNA testing of "Anna Anderson" had conclusively proven that she was not Grand Duchess Anastasia, the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II. According to the conclusion of a team of British geneticists in Aldermaston, led by Dr Peter Gill, Ms Anderson's DNA does not match either the DNA of female skeletons recovered from a grave near Yekaterinburg in 1991 and allegedly belonging to the queen and her three daughters, nor with the DNA of Anastasia's maternal relatives and paternal line, residing in England and elsewhere. At the same time, a blood test of Karl Mauger, the great-nephew of missing factory worker Franziska Schanckowska, revealed a mitochondrial match, leading to the conclusion that Franziska and Anna Anderson are the same person. Subsequent tests in other laboratories looking at the same DNA led to the same conclusion.

... I knew Anna Anderson for more than ten years and was familiar with almost everyone who was involved in her struggle for recognition over the past quarter century: friends, lawyers, neighbors, journalists, historians, representatives of the Russian royal family and the royal families of Europe, Russian and European aristocracy - a wide circle of competent witnesses who, without hesitation, recognized her as the tsar’s daughter. My knowledge of her character, all the details of her case and, as it seems to me, probability and common sense - everything convinces me that she was a Russian Grand Duchess.

This belief of mine, although challenged (by DNA research), remains unshakable. Not being an expert, I cannot question Dr. Gill's results; if only these results had revealed that Ms. Anderson was not a member of the Romanov family, I might be able to accept them—if not easily now, then at least in time. However, no amount of scientific evidence or forensic evidence will convince me that Ms. Anderson and Franziska Schanckowska are the same person.

I categorically state that those who knew Anna Anderson, who lived with her for months and years, treated her and cared for her during her many illnesses, be it a doctor or a nurse, who observed her behavior, posture, demeanor, “They can’t believe that she was born in a village in East Prussia in 1896 and was the daughter and sister of beet farmers.”

So, in the case of Anastasia Romanova, we can state the following

• "1. Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova had a congenital deformity of both feet “Hallux Valgus” (bursitis thumb feet). This is visible not only in some photographs of the young Grand Duchess, but was confirmed after 1920 even by those people close to her (to Anastasia) who did not believe in the identity of Anna Anderson (for example, the Tsar’s younger sister, Olga Alexandrovna - and she knew the imperial children starting from their birth; this was also confirmed by Pierre Gilliard, the teacher of the royal children, who was at court since 1905). This was precisely a congenital case of the disease. The nanny (of little Anastasia), Alexandra (Shura) Tegleva, also confirmed congenital bunions of Anastasia’s big toes.
• 2. Anna Anderson also had a congenital deformity of both feet “Hallux Valgus” (bunions).
  In addition to the diagnosis of German doctors (in Daldorf in 1920), the diagnosis of congenital “Hallux Valgus” was made to Anna Anderson (Anna Tchaikovskaya) also by the Russian doctor Sergei Mikhailovich Rudnev at the clinic of St. Maria in the summer of 1925 (Anna Tchaikovskaya-Anderson was there in serious condition, with tuberculosis infections): “On her right leg I noticed a severe deformity, apparently congenital: the big toe bends to the right, forming a tumor.”
  Rudnev also noted that “Hallux Valgus” was on both of her legs. (See Peter Kurt. - Anastasia. The Mystery of the Grand Duchess. M., Zakharova Publishing House, p. 99). Dr. Sergei Rudnev cured and saved her life in 1925. Anna Anderson called him “my kind Russian professor who saved my life.”
• 3. On July 27, 1925, the Gilliard couple arrived in Berlin. Once again: Shura Gilliard-Tegleva was Anastasia’s nanny in Russia. They visited a very sick Anna Anderson in the clinic. Shura Tegleva asked to show her the patient’s legs (feet). The blanket was carefully turned away, Shura exclaimed: “With her [with Anastasia] it was the same as here: the right leg was worse than the left” (see the book by Peter Kurt, p. 121)
  Now, I will give once again the medical statistics of “Hallux Valgus” (bursitis of the big toe) for Russia:
  — “Hallux valgus” (HV) is present in 0.95% of the examined women;
  - 89% of them have the first degree of HV (= 0.85% of the women examined);
  - 1.6% of them have the third degree of HV (= 0.0152% of the women examined or 1: 6580);
  — the statistics of a congenital case of “hallux valgus” (in modern Russia) is 8:142,000,000, or approximately 1:17,750,000!

We can assume that the statistics of congenital cases of “hallux valgus” in former Russia did not differ too much (even several times, 1: 10,000,000, or 1: 5,000,000). Thus, the probability that Anna Anderson was not Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova ranges from 1:5 million to 1:17 million.

Evidence of Anna's relationship to the Romano dynasty

It is also known that the statistics of congenital cases of this orthopedic disease in the West in the first half of the 20th century were also calculated in single cases for the entire orthopedic medical practice.
Thus, the very rare congenital deformity of the legs “hallux valgus” of Grand Duchess Anastasia and Anna Anderson puts an end to the tough (and sometimes cruel) debate between supporters and opponents of Anna Anderson.

Vladimir Momot published his article (“Gone with the Wind”) in February 2007 in the American newspaper “Panorama” (Los-Angeles, newspaper “Panorama”). He did a great job to restore the truth about Anna Anderson and the royal daughter Anastasia. It’s amazing how, for more than 80 years, no one thought to find out the medical statistics of hallux valgus foot deformity! Truly this story is reminiscent of the fairy tale about the glass slipper!

Now we can be completely and irrevocably sure that Anna Anderson and Grand Duchess Anastasia are one and the same person.”

So who is Anna Anderson really, an impostor or Anastasia Romanova? If Anna Anderson and Grand Duchess Anastasia are one and the same person, then it remains to be seen whose remains were buried under the name of Grand Duchess Anastasia in St. Petersburg in July 1998 (however, there are doubts about other remains buried then), and whose the remains were found in the summer of 2007 in the Koptyakovsky forest.

Anastasia

My curiosity was rewarded by meeting Princess Anastasia, who, before her death, came to Hanover to say goodbye to her friends and youth.

I told her, naturally, in Russian (she answered in German), that I had seen the Ipatievs’ house in Sverdlovsk during my tour with the Sovremennik Theater, that the city’s residents extremely revered this place and brought flowers to it.

Then, by order of the first secretary of the regional party committee, Yeltsin, the house was demolished overnight, but the residents took everything home brick by brick and kept it as a shrine.

The princess listened and cried and asked me to bow to that place. She died in America in 1984."

P.S.: “Holy Princess Anastasia The youngest daughter, Anastasia, was born in 1901. At first she was a tomboy and the family jester. She was shorter than others; she had a straight nose and beautiful gray eyes. Later, she was distinguished by her good manners and subtlety of mind, had the talent of a comedian and loved to make everyone laugh. She was also extremely kind and loved animals. Anastasia had a small Japanese dog, the favorite of the whole family. Anastasia carried this dog in her arms when she went down to the Yekaterinburg basement on the fateful night of July 4/17, and the little dog was killed along with her.”

Based on materials from the article by Boris Romanov “The Crystal Slippers of Princess Anastasia”

Comments

Vitaliy Pavlovich Romanov

I am also convinced that Toska was very disturbing
Kirill and his pack to bask in the royal treasury, and
Olya dreamed of seizing the throne. The greed of it
family is palpable to me.

The Grand Duke himself is at your service.
Romanov Vitaly Pavlovich.

Romanov Vitaly Pavlovich

My last name is Romanov. I have never been interested in my origins. Now I have become an old man and
I really want to know who I am? Maybe also a charlatan like Anderson? And Anastasia lived for 17 years
in Russia, but did not know the language of my homeland. The conclusion suggests itself - your Anderson is
scammer. Romanov V.P. himself is at your service...

Victoria

You know, I was never interested in the Second World War or any revolution. I was always interested in the Romanovs, the Romanov family, where they were born, how 300 years of the throne were celebrated. But most of all I was interested in Anastasia. Did she survive, or was she saved? This question I’ve been interested in her for many years. I just can’t believe that she, like everyone else, was shot in the basement. She suffered for so many years, proving that she was the one, Anastasia Romanova. Do you know? I believe that “Anna Anderson” was that Anastasia to her. After all, while she was walking through the forest, or whatever it was, for 2 years, her toes became crooked. And before, as Tegleva said, she had soft, tender legs. I wish I could walk for 2 years! !!No, it was Anastasia!

Ural historians found the remains of the royal family back in 1976, but the excavations themselves were carried out only in 1991. Then, with the help of many examinations, scientists were able to prove that the found fragments of bodies belonged to Tsar Nicholas, Empress Alexandra, three daughters - Olga, Tatiana and Anastasia, as well as their servants. The fate of only the bodies of Tsarevich Alexei and Grand Duchess Maria, who were not found in the general burial, remained mysterious. http://ura.ru/content/svrd/16-09-2011/news/1052134206.html.

Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna was born on June 5/18, 1901. Having learned about the birth of his fourth daughter, the Tsar walked for a long time alone and was sad, because he expected that a boy would be born. But when he returned, he completely changed, with a smile he entered the empress’s room and kissed the newborn child.

Having been born instead of the expected heir, Anastasia, indeed, by the liveliness of her character, resembled a playful boy. “The youngest of the Grand Duchesses, Anastasia Nikolaevna, seemed to be made of mercury, and not of flesh and blood,” wrote Lily Dehn.

The youngest Princess was bolder than her sisters, very fast and witty, quick-witted and observant, and was considered the ringleader in all pranks. She had a pretty face, long blond hair and quick eyes sparkling with enthusiasm and fun. Many found that her facial features resembled her grandmother, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, the mother of the Sovereign Martyr.

Saint Princess Anastasia, like all the royal children, was brought up in the Russian Orthodox spirit, combining work and prayer, as well as Spartan conditions: a cold bedroom, a hard bed with small pillows, cold shower in the morning, clothes are always simple, inherited, as a rule, from older sisters.

“All these three Grand Duchesses, except for Tatiana, played pranks and frolicked like boys, but in their manners they were reminiscent of the Romanovs,” recalls Anna Vyrubova. Anastasia Nikolaevna was always playing pranks, climbing, hiding, making everyone laugh with her antics, and it was not easy to spot her.

The Younger Princess was extremely cheerful, brave, very fast, witty and observant, and was considered the ringleader in all pranks. Grand Duchess Anastasia was also a lively and carefree child, intelligent and not without cunning. She always managed to turn everything in her own way. WITH early childhood Plans for various pranks arose in Her head; later the Heir, always ready for pranks, joined Her. When the Tsarevich lacked boyish company, he was successfully replaced by the “bastard” Anastasia.

Her distinctive feature was to notice people's weaknesses and skillfully imitate them. “She was a natural, gifted comedian,” wrote M.K. Diterichs. “It always happened that she made everyone laugh, maintaining an artificially serious appearance.”

The Empress Mother understood perfectly well that for the sake of her daughter, her irrepressible energy had to be restrained from time to time. But unlike many modern mothers, the wise Empress Alexandra Feodorovna did not at all want to remake the child’s nature to her own taste, or break it. She allowed her daughters, relying on the instilled rules of Christian piety, to develop depending on their God-given qualities. As a result, playfulness, a quality that could have degenerated into something unattractive, turned into a virtue for Grand Duchess Anastasia: the cheerfulness of the young girl not only pleased, but also consoled those around her

She also pleased the Queen Mother with her notes. Here is a typical example - a note from Anastasia Nikolaevna dated May 7, 1915: “My dear sweet Mother! I hope that you are not too tired. We will try not to quarrel, argue or fight, so sleep well. God bless you! loving daughter Nastenka."

The daughters also wrote to the Father, whom they also loved and honored immensely. Although these letters are confessional, the measure of love in them is no less expressive. In these letters, the children were more relaxed; they could write as they pleased, which was not possible in correspondence with Mom. The most lively and playful ones were written by Anastasia.
Here is her “message” dated October 28, 1914: “My golden, good, dear Dad! We have just had lunch. So I am sending you my beautiful postcard. I am sure you will like it. Today I sat with our soldier and helped him read , which made me very happy... Olga pushes Maria, and Maria screams like an idiot. The dragon and the big idiot. Olga sends you a kiss again. I have already washed my face and must now go to bed. I will finish this letter tomorrow. Greetings Your Imperial Majesty ! Good morning! I'm going to have tea. I slept well without my mother and sisters. Now I have a Russian lesson. Pyotr Vasilyevich is reading Turgenev's "Notes of a Hunter". Very interesting. I wish you all the best, 1,000,000 kisses. Your devoted and loving daughter, 13 year old servant of God Anastasia God bless you."

Kind, loving heart the youngest Princess, combined with her liveliness and wit, incredibly inspired all those who had the good fortune to communicate with her. During the war, visiting hospitals with her sister Maria, she cheered up the soldiers, making them forget about pain for a while, and consoled all those suffering with her kindness and tenderness. Even many years later, soldiers and officers who once lay in the Tsarskoe Selo infirmaries, when remembering the Tsar’s daughters, according to eyewitnesses, seemed to be illuminated by an unearthly light, brightly recalling those days when the Grand Duchesses leaned over them carefully and tenderly.

The wounded soldiers and officers were keenly interested in the fate of the princesses.

Holy Tsareva-Martyr Anastasia walked with her family the entire mournful path from Tsarskoye Selo Palace to the basement of the Ipatiev House, which the Lord prepared for them to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

In the 1920s, a girl appeared in Berlin posing as Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanova. The hope burned in the hearts of many Russian people that at least one of the daughters of the Sovereign Martyr had been saved. But these hopes did not come true. Neither the Tsarina's sister Irena of Prussia, nor Baroness Sophia Buchsgeven, nor the mentor of the royal children, Pierre Gilliard, recognized her as Anastasia. The girl turned out to be an impostor. Later, more and more impostors appeared. One of the reasons for these appearances was that the so-called. The “royal gold” was bequeathed by the emperor to his youngest daughter. And to this day, the desire to receive the “inheritance” kept by the Japanese emperor haunts many political adventurers who more than once wanted to profit from the tragedy of the Russian people - the betrayal of the Royal Family, which ended in regicide.

Reading the letters of Grand Duchess Anastasia and the memories of those close to her, you involuntarily come to the indisputable conclusion that under no circumstances would the Princess leave her beloved family. Even if she was given a chance to escape, she would never take it. Anyone would have done the same Royal Martyrs, since not one of them wanted to leave Russia and could not imagine himself without his family, where the souls and hearts of the Tsar, Queen, Tsarevich and Grand Duchesses were connected by an inextricable thread, which even death could not break.

Anastasia was obedient to her parents and older sisters. A meek and silent spirit was inherent in her internally, and not externally, because Anastasia was humble. It is precisely humble, since the word “humility” attracts with the phrase “in peace” hidden in it. Accept everything in peace. Even the bullying of the Red “comrades” and executioners.

On the night of the martyrdom of the Royal Family, Blessed Maria of Diveyevo raged and shouted: "The princesses with bayonets! Damned Jews!" She raged terribly, and only then did they understand what she was screaming about. The wounded Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna was finished off with bayonets and rifle butts. The most innocent suffered the greatest torment, truly the Holy Lamb.

Melnik-Botkina’s memoirs mention a conversation between members of the Provisional Government commission to investigate the guilt of the Royal Family. One of its members asked why letters from the Empress and the Grand Duchesses had not yet been published. “What are you saying,” said another, “all the correspondence is here in my desk, but if we publish it, the people will worship them as saints.”

HOLY MARTYR QUEEN ANASTASIA, PRAY TO GOD FOR US!

Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna.

She flashed like a shadow on the historical horizon during the years of her country’s most serious trials, and together with her family found herself a victim of the terrible Russian revolution. She was not (and could not be) a politician; she could not influence the course of government affairs. She simply lived, by the will of Providence, being a member of the royal family, wanting only one thing: to live in this family, sharing with it all the joys and sorrows. The story of Anastasia Nikolaevna is the story of the family of Emperor Nicholas II, the story of good human relations between the closest people, who sincerely, to the depths of their hearts, believe in God and His good will.
It is precisely because the family was crowned that the story of the life and death of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna (as well as her sisters and brother) acquires fundamental significance for Christian consciousness. The Romanovs, by their fate, confirmed the truth of the Gospel thought about the meaninglessness of acquiring “the whole world” at the cost of harming one’s own soul (Mark 9:37). This was also confirmed by Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna, who was killed along with her entire family in the basement of Ipatiev’s house on the night of July 16-17, 1918...

Sunbeam

Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna at the age of 3 years.

“Thank God, nothing...”

On August 1, 1917, together with her entire family and servants, she forever left the places where she spent the happy years of her short life. Soon she saw Siberia: she was to spend several months in Tobolsk with her family. Anastasia Nikolaevna did not lose heart, trying to find advantages in her new position. In her letters to A.A. Vyrubova, she assures that they settled down comfortably (all four live together): “It’s nice to see small mountains covered with snow from the windows. We sit on the windows a lot and have fun looking at people walking.” Later, in the winter months of New Year 1918, she again assures her confidante that they live, thank God, “nothing,” stage plays, walk in their “fence,” and set up a small slide for skating. The leitmotif of the letters is to convince A.A. Vyrubova that everything is fine with them, that there is nothing to worry about, that life is not so hopeless... She is illuminated by faith, hope for the best and love. No indignation, no resentment for humiliation, for being locked up. Long-suffering, integrity of the Christian worldview and amazing inner peace: everything is God’s will!
In Tobolsk, the Grand Duchess’s schoolwork also continued: in October, Klavdia Mikhailovna Bitner, the former head of the Tsarskoye Selo Mariinsky Girls’ Gymnasium, began teaching the royal children (with the exception of the eldest Olga Nikolaevna). She taught geography and literature. School preparation the Tsarevich and the Grand Duchesses were not satisfied with K.M. Bitner. “You have to wish for a lot,” she said to the commissioner of the Provisional Government for the protection of the royal family, V.S. Pankratov. “I did not at all expect what I found. Such grown-up children already know so little Russian literature and are so little developed. They read little of Pushkin, Lermontov even less, and had never heard of Nekrasov. I'm not even talking about others.<...>What does it mean? How did you deal with them? There was every opportunity to provide the children with the best teachers - and this was not done.”
It can be assumed that such “underdevelopment” was the price for the home isolation in which the Grand Duchesses grew up, completely cut off from the world of their peers. Naive and pure girls, unlike their mother, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, did not have deep philosophical knowledge, although they were, apparently, well-read in theological literature. Their chief educator and the teacher - the mother - was more concerned about proper upbringing (as she understood it) than about the full education of her daughters and heir. Was this the result of the empress’s conscious pedagogical policy or her oversight? Who knows... The Yekaterinburg tragedy closed this issue forever.
Earlier, in April 1918, part of the family was transported to Yekaterinburg. Among those who moved were the emperor, his wife and Grand Duchess Maria. The remaining children (along with the sick Alexei Nikolaevich) remained in Tobolsk. The family was reunited in May, and Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna was among those who arrived. She celebrated her last birthday, her 17th birthday, at the House of Special Purpose in Yekaterinburg. Like her sisters, Anastasia Nikolaevna at that time learned to cook from the royal chef I.M. Kharitonov; I kneaded flour with them in the evenings and baked bread in the mornings. In Yekaterinburg, the life of prisoners was more strictly regulated, and total control was exercised over them. But even in this situation we do not notice despondency: faith allows us to live, to hope for the best even when there is no longer any reason for hope.

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