Anna Anderson

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

Unknown Russian, or Anastasia Romanova

The rumor that this woman The grand duchess Anastasia stirred up the world after a girl rescued in a suicide attempt was registered in the Berlin police report on February 17, 1920. She did not have any documents with her and refused to give her name. She had light brown hair and piercing gray eyes. She spoke with a clearly pronounced Slavic accent, therefore, in her personal file, the postscript "unknown Russian" was made.

Since the spring of 1922, dozens of articles and books have been written about her. Anastasia Tchaikovskaya, Anna Anderson, later - Anna Manakhan (by the name of her husband). These are the names of the same woman. The last name written on her tombstone is “Anastasia Manakhan”. She died on February 12, 1984, but even after her death, her fate haunts her friends and enemies.

Family of Nicholas II

Why did the myth of the rescue of Princess Anastasia and the only son of Nicholas II, Tsarevich Alexei exist for a century? After all, it was only in 1991 that a common grave with the remains was discovered. royal family, among which there were no bodies of the prince and Anastasia. 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 the house on Voskresensky Prospekt in Yekaterinburg (almost opposite the Ipatiev 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 for the tailor Baudin. He saw her at Baudin's house in the early morning of July 17, a few hours after the brutal massacre in the basement of the Ipatiev house. It was brought by one of the guards (probably from the former, more liberal composition of the guard - Yurovsky did not replace all the former guards), one of those few young guys who have long sympathized with girls, the tsar's daughters;
• 2. There is a great deal of confusion in the testimonies, reports and stories of the participants in this bloody massacre - even in different versions stories of the same participants;
• 3. It is known that the "Reds" were looking for the missing Anastasia for several months after the murder of the Tsar's family;
• 4. It is known that one (or two?) Female corsets have not been found. None of the investigations of the "whites" answer all the questions, including the investigation of the investigator of the Kolchak commission Nikolai Sokolov;
• 5. The archives of the Cheka-KGB-FSB about the murder of the Tsar's family and about what the Chekists headed by Yurovsky in 1919 (a year after the execution) and officers of the MGB (Beria's department) in 1946 did in the Koptyakovsky forest have not yet been opened. All the documents known so far about the execution of the Tsar's 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. The woman rescued in a suicide attempt was placed in the Elizabethan hospital on Lutzowstrasse. She admitted that she tried to commit suicide, but refused to give a reason or give any comments. On examination, the doctors discovered that six months ago she had undergone childbirth. For a girl "under the age of twenty", this was an important circumstance. On the patient's chest and abdomen, they saw numerous scars from lacerations. There was a 3.5 cm long scar on the head behind the right ear, deep enough for a finger to enter, as well as a scar on the forehead at the very roots of the hair. On the right foot there was a characteristic scar from a perforating wound. It fully corresponded to the shape and size of the wounds inflicted with a Russian rifle bayonet. Cracks in the upper jaw.

The day after the examination, she confessed 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. An impression of restraint born of fear. More fear than restraint. " The medical history also records that the patient has a third degree congenital orthopedic disease of the feet, hallux valgus.

“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 of the orthopedists 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 still had the same height, foot size, hair and eye color, and portrait likeness. From the data of the medical card it is clear that the traces of Anna Anderson's injuries fully correspond to those that, according to the investigator Tomashevsky, were inflicted on Anastasia in the basement of the Ipatiev house. The scar on the forehead also matches. Anastasia Romanova had such a scar since childhood, so she is the only daughter of Nicholas II who always wore hairstyles with bangs.

Anna Anderson

Anna calls herself Anastasia

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

It was not possible to establish the exact data, and even the name of the patient (she was named Anna Anderson) - the ‘princess’ answered the questions out of place, and although she understood the questions in Russian, she answered them in some other Slavic language. However, someone later claimed that the patient spoke in perfect Russian.

Her manners, gait, communication with other people are not devoid of a certain nobility. In addition, in conversations, the girl slipped quite competent judgments about various areas of life. She was well versed in art, in music, knew geography well, could freely list all the reigning persons of European states. The breed was clearly visible in her appearance, " blue blood", 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 a tsar's daughter, reached the Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna (aunt Anastasia) and her mother, Empress Maria Feodorovna (grandmother Anastasia). According to their instructions, people who knew well began to come to the patient royal family and Anastasia. 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, confused and confused, told and amazed many with her awareness. Despite the correct, but confused answers and a slight external similarity, the verdict was issued - this is not Anastasia.

Anna or Anastasia?

Interrogation of Anastasia Romanova

Another of the main arguments against Anderson's being Anastasia was her categorical refusal to speak Russian. Many eyewitnesses also stated that she generally understood very poorly when she was spoken to in her native language. She herself, however, motivated her reluctance to speak Russian with the shock she experienced while under arrest, when the warders 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. In addition, Anderson showed an almost complete ignorance of Orthodox customs and rituals.

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

Secondly, she inadvertently revealed a large state secret, which concerned her mother's brother (Empress Alexandra Feodorovna), about the arrival of her uncle Ernie of Hesse in Russia in 1916. The visit was connected with the 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 (the consequences of severe injuries received in the basement of the Ipatiev house, and the very difficult previous two years of wandering) that communication with her was not easy for any person. There is also an important fourth reason, but first things first.

The question of the inheritance of the Russian throne

In 1922, in the Russian diaspora, the question of who would lead the dynasty, for the place of the "Emperor in exile", was being decided. The main contender was Kirill Vladimirovich Romanov. He, like most Russian emigrants, could not even imagine that the rule of the Bolsheviks would drag on for seven long decades. The appearance of Anastasia caused confusion and division of opinions in the ranks of the monarchists. Information about the princess's physical and mental ill health, and the presence of an heir to the throne, who was born in 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 for the place of the head of the dynasty.

“The Romanovs did not want to see in the role of God's anointed peasant son, who was either in Romania or in Soviet Russia... By the time of meeting with relatives in 1925, Anastasia was seriously ill with tuberculosis. Her weight barely reached 33 kg. The people around Anastasia believed that her days were numbered. And who, besides her mother, needed her "bastard"? But she survived, and after meeting with Aunt Olya and other close people, she dreamed of meeting her grandmother, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. She waited for the recognition of her relatives, and instead, in 1928, on the second day after the death of the dowager empress, several members of the Romanov family publicly disowned her, announcing that she was an impostor. The insult caused the relationship to end. "

An 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 leaves for Berlin.

At the meeting, Anastasia's nanny did not recognize her ward in Anna, only the color of her eyes matched completely. These eyes were suddenly filled with tears of joy. Anna went up to Tyegleva and, hugging her tightly, began to cry. Looking at this touching scene, the arriving ladies were dumbfounded, but not the Grand Duchess. Having seen Anastasia for the last time in 1916, she at first glance determined that the girl standing in front of her had nothing to do with her niece.

Answering the questions of the ladies present, Anna Anderson discovered a good knowledge of the customs and orders of the imperial house. She even mentioned the injury to her finger, 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 finger of the Grand Duchess.

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

Anastasia's big toes had a slight curvature. With young girls, this does not happen often, and Tyegleva, having overcome the awkwardness, asked Anna Anderson to take off her shoes. She, not at all embarrassed, took off her shoes. The above fingers did indeed look twisted, but the feet themselves did not match Anastasia's feet. For the daughter of Nicholas II, they were graceful and small, but here they were wide and much larger. And the next verdict is an impostor.

Royal family

The life of Anastasia Romanova

The break in relations with most of the 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 Weizsacker came to the conclusion that the samples belong to the same person.

In 1938, at Anna's insistence, the trial begins and ends only in 1977. It lasts 39 years and is one of the longest trials in modern human history. All this time, Anna lives in America, then in own home in the village of Black Forest, donated to her by the Prince of Saxe-Coburg.

In 1968, at the age of 70, Anderson married a major industrialist John Manahan from Virginia, who dreamed of getting a real Russian princess as his wife, and became Anna Manahan. Interestingly, when she was in the United States, Anna meets with Mikhail Golenevsky, who pretends to be "the miracle of the saved Tsarevich Alexei," and publicly recognizes him as a brother.

In 1977, the trial finally came to an end. The court denied Anna Manakhan the right to inherit the property of the royal family, as it found insufficient evidence of her relationship with the Romanovs. Never having achieved her goal, the mysterious woman dies on February 12, 1984.

The opinions of experts on whether Anderson was the real daughter of the emperor, or a simple impostor, remained controversial. When in 1991 it was decided to exhume the remains of the royal family, a study was carried out on Anna's relationship with the Romanov family. DNA tests did not show that Anderson belonged to 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 ") is considered by many to be the best in the historiography of this riddle (and is wonderfully written). Peter Kurt was personally acquainted with Anna Anderson. This is what he wrote in the afterword to the Russian edition of his book:

Stories about Anastasia Romanova

“Truth is a trap; it cannot be possessed without being caught. She cannot be caught, she catches a person. "
Soren Kierkegaard

“Fiction must remain within the boundaries of the possible. Truth is not. "
Mark Twain

These quotes were sent to me by a friend of mine in 1995, shortly after the Department of Forensic Medicine of the British Home Office announced that research on the mitochondrial DNA of "Anna Anderson" has convincingly proved that she is not Grand Duchess Anastasia, the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II. According to the conclusion of a group of British geneticists in Aldermaston, led by Dr. Peter Gill, the DNA of Mrs. Anderson does not coincide with 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 lineage living in England and elsewhere. At the same time, a blood test of Karl Mauger, the grand-nephew of the disappeared factory worker Franziska Schanzkowska, revealed a mitochondrial coincidence, suggesting that Franziska and Anna Anderson are one person. Subsequent tests in other labs that looked at the same DNA led to the same conclusion.

... I knew Anna Anderson for over ten years and was familiar with almost everyone who was involved in her struggle for recognition over the last quarter of a century: with friends, lawyers, neighbors, journalists, historians, with representatives of the Russian royal family and the royal families of Europe, Russian and European aristocracy - a wide circle of competent witnesses who did not hesitate to recognize her as a royal daughter. My knowledge of her character, all the details of her case and, as it seems to me, the probability and common sense - all convinces me that she was a Russian Grand Duchess.

This belief of mine, while challenged (by DNA research), remains unshakable. Without being an expert, I cannot question Dr. Gill's findings; if these results only revealed that Ms. Anderson is not a member of the Romanov family, I might be able to accept them - if not easily now, then at least over time. However, no amount of scientific evidence, nor the results of a forensic medical examination will convince me that Ms. Anderson and Franziska Shantskovskaya are one and the same person.

I categorically affirm that those who knew Anna Anderson, who lived next to her for months and years, treated her and looked after her during her many illnesses, be it a doctor or a nurse, who observed her behavior, posture, demeanor, "They cannot 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” (bunion). This can be seen not only in some photographs of the young Grand Duchess, but was confirmed after 1920 even by those close to her (to Anastasia) who did not believe in the identity of Anna Anderson (for example, the younger sister of the tsar, Olga Alexandrovna - and she knew the imperial children from their birth; this was also confirmed by Pierre Gilliard, the teacher of the royal children, who had been at court since 1905). It was precisely a congenital case of the disease. The nanny (little Anastasia), Alexandra (Shura) Tyegleva, also confirmed Anastasia's congenital bursitis of the big toes.
• 2. Anna Anderson also had a congenital deformity of both feet “Hallux Valgus” (bunion).
  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 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 strong deformity, obviously congenital: the big toe bends to the right, forming a tumor.”
  Rudnev also noted that “Hallux Valgus” was on both her legs. (see Peter Curt. - Anastasia. The Mystery of the Grand Duchess. M., publishing house "Zakharova", 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 spouses Gilliars arrived in Berlin. Once again: Shura Zhilyar-Tyegleva was Anastasia's nanny in Russia. They visited a very ill Anna Anderson at the clinic. Shura Tyegleva 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 Peter Curt's book, p. 121)
  Now, I will cite again the data of the medical statistics "Hallux Valgus" (bunion) in Russia:
  - “Hallux valgus” (HV) have 0.95% of the surveyed women;
  - 89% of them have the first degree of HV (= 0.85% of the surveyed women);
  - 1.6% of them have the third degree of HV (= 0.0152% of the surveyed women or 1: 6580);
  - 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 the congenital case of "hallux valgus" in the former Russia did not differ too much (even if 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 Romanoy dynasty

It is also known that the statistics of a congenital case of this orthopedic disease in the West in the first half of the 20th century was also calculated as isolated cases in the entire orthopedic medical practice.
Thus, the very rare congenital deformity of the legs "hallux valgus" of the Grand Duchess Anastasia and Anna Anderson puts an end to the tough (and sometimes cruel) disputes between Anna Anderson's supporters and opponents.

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 it never occurred to anyone to know medical statistics deformities of the feet hallux valgus! Truly, this story resembles the tale of a crystal shoe!

Now we can be completely and irrevocably confident that Anna Anderson and The grand duchess Anastasia is 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 find out 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

And finally, an excerpt from S. Sadalsky's story "The Mystery of the Princess": Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova - June 5, 1901 - Peterhof - July 17, 1918, Yekaterinburg. “In the early 1980s, when, by the will of fate, I began to visit Germany quite often, I showed great interest in old Russian emigrants, who, like fragments of Russian culture, were still preserved there. I was drawn to them, and they - to me. The Soviets at that time were afraid of them like the devil of incense.

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

I told her, of course, 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 residents adore this place unusually and bring flowers to it.

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

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

P.S.:Saint Princess Anastasia The youngest daughter, Anastasia, was born in 1901. At first, she was a tomboy and family jester. She was shorter than the others; she had a straight nose and beautiful gray eyes. Later, she was distinguished by 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 dog of Japanese breed, a favorite of the whole family. Anastasia was carrying this dog in her arms when she went down to the Yekaterinburg basement on the fatal night of July 4/17, and the little dog was killed along with her. "

Based on the article by Boris Romanov “ Crystal slippers Princess Anastasia "

Comments (1)

Vitaliy Pavlovich Romanov

I am also convinced that Toska got in the way
Cyril and his pack warm themselves from the royal treasury, and
Olya dreamed of taking over the throne. The greed of this
family is perceptible to me.

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

Romanov Vitaly Pavlovich

My surname is Romanov. I have never been interested in my origin. Now I have become an old man and
I really want to know who I am? Maybe an Anderson-type charlatan too? And Anastasia lived for 17 years
in Russia, but she did not know the language of her Motherland. The conclusion suggests itself - your Anderson is
fraudster. V.P. Romanov himself is at your service ...

Victoria

You know, I was never interested in the Second World War or some kind of revolution. I was always interested in the Romanovs, the Romanov family, where they were born, how they celebrated 300 years of the throne. But most of all I was interested in Anastasia. Did she survive or did she survive? This question I've been interested in 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 Anastasia Romanova. Do you know? I believe that Anna Anderson was That Anastasia is her. After all, while she was in the woods, or on whatever walked there for 2 years, she had curvature of her toes. And earlier, as Tyegleva said, she had soft, delicate legs. Why, she walked 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 scientists, with the help of many examinations, managed to prove that the fragments of bodies found 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 remained mysterious, which were not found in the common burial. http://ura.ru/content/svrd/16-09-2011/news/1052134206.html.

Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova was born on June 18, 1901. The sovereign waited for an heir for a long time, and when the long-awaited fourth child turned out to be his daughter, he was saddened. Soon the sadness passed, and the Emperor loved his fourth daughter as much as his other children.

They were waiting for a boy, but a girl was born. Anastasia, in her agility, could give odds to any boy. She wore simple clothes inherited from her older sisters. The bedroom of the fourth daughter was not richly decorated.

Be sure to take a cold shower every morning. It was not easy to see behind her. As a child, she was very nimble, she loved to climb where she could not, to hide.

When she was still a child, the Grand Duchess Anastasia loved to play pranks, as well as make others laugh. In addition to gaiety, such character traits as wit, courage and observation are reflected in it.

In all the tricks, the princess was considered the ringleader. Consequently, she was not devoid of leadership qualities. In pranks, later Anastasia was supported by her younger brother, the heir to the royal throne -.

A distinctive feature of the young princess was the ability to notice weak sides people and very talented to parody them. The girl's playfulness did not develop into something indecent. On the contrary, brought up surrounded by the Christian spirit, Anastasia turned into a creature that delighted and comforted all the close people around her.

When during the war she worked in a hospital, they began to say about her that even the wounded and sick were dancing in the presence of the princess. Before that, she was beautiful and cheerful, and when necessary - a sincere compassion and comforter. In the hospital, the princess prepared bandages and lint, sewed for the wounded and their families.

She did this with Maria. Then they lamented for a couple that, due to their age, they could not, like their older sisters, fully be sisters of mercy. Visiting the wounded soldiers, with her charm and wit, Anastasia Nikolaevna made them forget about the pain for a while, she consoled all the suffering with her affection and tenderness.

Among the wounded, with whom she managed to see, was an ensign. That same Gumilyov is famous. While in the infirmary, he wrote a poem about her, which you can find in his collections. The work was written on June 5, 1916 in the Infirmary of the Grand Palace, and is called "To the birthday".

Years later, officers and soldiers who visited hospitals remembered the Grand Duchesses very fondly. The military, recalling those days from their memory, seemed to be illuminated by an unearthly light. The wounded soldiers were interested in their fate. , assumed that all four sisters would marry four Balkan princes. The Russian soldier wanted to see the princesses happy, and prayed for them, for them the crowns of the queens of European states. However, everything turned out quite differently ...

The fate of Anastasia, like the fate of all, ended in the basement of the Ipatiev House. Here the Romanov dynasty ended, where Great Russian Russia ended with them.

Since the beginning of the 20s of the 20th century, girls have constantly appeared in Europe posing as Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanova. All of them were impostors with a desire to cash in on the grief of the Russian people. All the royal gold was bequeathed to Anastasia Nikolaevna. Therefore, there were adventurers who wanted to get their hands on him.

Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna was born on June 5/18, 1901. Upon learning of the birth of his fourth daughter, the Tsar walked alone for a long time and was sad, because he expected a boy to be born. But when he returned, he completely changed, with a smile entered the Empress's room and kissed the newborn child.

Born into the world instead of the expected heir, Anastasia, indeed, by the liveliness of her character, resembled a frisky boy. "The youngest of the great princesses, Anastasia Nikolaevna, seemed to be made of mercury, not flesh and blood," wrote Lily Den.

The younger Princess was bolder than her sisters, very quick and witty, sharp-witted and observant, in all tricks she was considered a ringleader. She had a pretty face, long blonde hair and quick eyes, sparkling with enthusiasm and gaiety. Many found that her features resembled her grandmother, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, the mother of the Sovereign Martyr.

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

“All these three Grand Duchesses, except for Tatiana, were naughty and frolicking like boys, but in their manners they reminded of the Romanovs,” recalls Anna Vyrubova. Anastasia Nikolaevna always played naughty, climbed, hid, made everyone laugh with her antics, and it was not easy to see behind her.

The younger Princess was extremely cheerful, courageous, very fast, witty and observant, in all tricks she was considered a ringleader. The 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. From early childhood, plans for various pranks arose in Her head, later the Heir, always ready for pranks, joined Her. When the Tsarevich lacked a boyish society, he was successfully replaced by the "little shots" Anastasia.

Her hallmark was to notice the weaknesses of people and talentedly imitate them. "It was a natural, gifted comedian, - wrote MK Dieterichs. - It always happened, she made everyone laugh, keeping a pretensely serious look."

The Empress Mother perfectly understood that for the sake of her daughter her irrepressible energy must be contained 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, to break it. She allowed her daughters, relying on the grafted rules of Christian piety, to develop depending on the God-given qualities. As a result, playfulness, a quality that could be reborn into something unattractive, turned into a virtue for Grand Duchess Anastasia: the gaiety of a young girl not only pleased, but also consoled those around

She also delighted the Queen Mother with her notes. Here is a typical sample note Anastasia Nikolaevna, May 7, 1915: "My dear dear Mom! I hope you are not too tired. We will try not to quarrel, argue and not fight, so you sleep well. God bless you! Your loving daughter Nastenka."

The daughters also wrote to the Father, who was also immensely loved and honored. Although these letters are already confessional, the measure of love in them is no less expressive. In these letters, the children are more relaxed, they could write as they please, which could not be done 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 just dined. So I send you my beautiful postcard... I'm sure you will like it. Today I sat with our soldier and helped him to read, which made me very happy ... Olga pushes Maria, and Maria screams like an idiot. The dragon and the big idiot. Olga sends you another kiss. I have already washed and must now go to bed. I will finish this letter tomorrow. Greetings, Your Imperial Majesty! Good morning! I'm going to drink tea. I slept well without my mom 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 younger Princess, combined with her liveliness and wit, incredibly inspired all those who had the good fortune to communicate with her. During the war, visiting the hospitals with her sister Maria, she amused the soldiers, forcing them to forget about the pain for a while, consoled all the suffering with her affection and tenderness. Even after many years, the soldiers and officers who were once in the Tsarskoye Selo hospitals, when remembering the tsar's daughters, according to eyewitnesses, seemed to be illuminated with an unearthly light, brightly recalling the days when the Grand Duchesses were lovingly and tenderly bowing over them.

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

The Holy Tsarev-Martyr Anastasia walked with her family the entire mournful journey from the Tsarskoye Selo Palace to the basement of the Ipatiev House, which the Lord had 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 that at least one of the daughters of the Sovereign Martyr was saved was kindled in the hearts of many Russian people. But these hopes did not come true. Neither the sister of the Tsarina Irena of Prussia, nor the Baroness Sophia Buchsgeven, nor the mentor of the royal children, Pierre Gilliard, recognized Anastasia in her. 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. "Tsarist gold" was bequeathed by the emperor to his youngest daughter. To this day, the desire to receive the "inheritance" kept by the Japanese emperor haunts many adventurers from politics, who more than once wanted to cash in on 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 her close associates, you involuntarily come to the undeniable conclusion that under no circumstances the Princess would have left her beloved family. Even if she was given a chance to escape, she would never use it. Any of the Royal Martyrs would have done the same, 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, Tsarina, Tsarevich and Grand Duchesses were tied by an unbreakable thread, which even death could not break.

Anastasia was obedient to her parents and older sisters. A meek and silent spirit internally, not externally, was inherent in her, because Anastasia was humble. She is humble, because the word "humility" attracts with the hidden phrase "with peace." Accept everything in peace. Even the bullying of the red "comrades" and executioners.

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

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

HOLY MARTYR KAREVNA ANASTASIA, GOD'S PRAYS FOR US!

Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna, daughter of the last Russian emperor, would have turned 105 on June 18, 2006. Or is it turned? This question haunts historians, researchers, and ... swindlers.

The life of the youngest daughter of Nicholas II ended at the age of 17. On the night of July 16-17, 1918, she and her relatives were shot in Yekaterinburg. From the memoirs of contemporaries it is known that Anastasia was perfectly educated, as befits the daughter of an emperor, she knew how to dance, she knew foreign languages, participated in home performances ... In the family she had a funny nickname: "Shvibzik" for being playful. In addition, she s early age took care of her brother, Tsarevich Alexei, who was sick with hemophilia.

In Russian history, there have been cases of "miraculous rescue" of the murdered heirs before: suffice it to recall the numerous False Dmitrys who appeared after the death of the young son of Tsar Ivan the Terrible. In the case of the royal family, there are serious reasons to believe that one of the heirs survived: members of the Yekaterinburg District Court Nametkin and Sergeev, who were investigating the death of the imperial family, came to the conclusion that the royal family was at some point replaced by a family of twins ... It is known that Nicholas II had seven such twin families. The version of the doubles was soon rejected, a little later the researchers returned to it again - after the memoirs of those who participated in the massacre in the Ipatiev House in July 1918 were published.

In the early 90s, the burial of the royal family near Yekaterinburg was discovered, but the remains of Anastasia and Tsarevich Alexei were not found. However, another skeleton, "number 6", was later found and buried as belonging to the Grand Duchess. Only one small detail raises doubts about its authenticity - Anastasia was 158 cm tall, and the buried skeleton was 171 cm ... Moreover, two judicial determinations in Germany, based on DNA examinations of the Yekaterinburg remains, showed that they completely correspond to the Filatov family - twins of the family of Nicholas II ...

In addition, little factual material remained about the Grand Duchess, perhaps this also provoked the "heiresses".

Two years after the execution of the royal family, the first applicant appeared. On one of the Berlin streets in 1920, a young woman, Anna Anderson, was found unconscious, who, having regained consciousness, called herself Anastasia Romanova. A miraculous salvation, according to her version, looked like this: together with all the killed family members, she was taken to the burial place, but on the way a half-dead Anastasia was hidden by some soldier. With him, she got to Romania, where they got married, but what happened next was a failure ...

The strangest thing in this story is that Anastasia was recognized in her by some foreign relatives, as well as Tatyana Botkina-Melnik, the widow of Dr. Botkin, who died in Yekaterinburg. For 50 years, conversations and court cases did not subside, but Anna Anderson was never recognized as the "real" Anastasia Romanova.

Another story leads to the Bulgarian village of Grabarevo. "A young woman with an aristocratic bearing" appeared there in the early 1920s and introduced herself as Eleanor Albert Kruger. A Russian doctor was with her, and a year later a tall, sickly-looking young man appeared in their house, who was registered in the community under the name of Georgy Zhudin.

Rumors that Eleanor and George were brother and sister, and belonged to the Russian royal family, circulated in the community. Nevertheless, they did not express any statements or claims for anything. George died in 1930, and in 1954 - Eleanor. Nevertheless, the Bulgarian researcher Blagoy Emmanuilov claims that he found evidence that Eleanor is the missing daughter of Nicholas II, and George is Tsarevich Alexei, citing some evidence:

"A lot of information reliably known about Anastasia's life coincides with the stories of Nora from Gabarevo about herself." - Researcher Blagoy Emmanuilov told Radio Bulgaria.

“Towards the end of her life, she herself recalled that the servants bathed her in a gold trough, combed her hair and dressed her. She talked about her own royal room, and about her children's drawings, drawn in it. There is another interesting piece of evidence. In the 1960s, in the Bulgarian Black Sea town of Balchik, a Russian White Guard, describing in detail the life of the executed imperial family, mentioned Nora and Georges from Gabarevo.With witnesses, he told that Nicholas II ordered him to personally take Anastasia and Alexei out of the palace and hide them in the provinces. After a long wandering they reached Odessa and boarded the ship, where, in the general turmoil, Anastasia was overtaken by bullets from the red cavalry.

In addition, comparing the pictures of 17-year-old Anastasia and 35-year-old Eleanor Kruger from Gabarevo, experts have established a significant similarity between them. The years of their birth also coincide. George's contemporaries claim that he was sick with tuberculosis and talk about him as tall, weak and pale young man... Russian authors describe the hemophiliac prince Alexei in the same way. According to doctors, the external manifestations of both diseases are the same. "

Inosmi.ru reports Radio Bulgaria, which notes that in 1995 the remains of Eleanor and George were exhumed from the graves in an old village cemetery, in the presence of a forensic doctor and anthropologist. In the grave of George, they found an amulet - an icon with the face of Christ - one of those with which only representatives of the highest strata of the Russian aristocracy were buried.

It would seem that the appearance of the miraculously saved Anastasias should have ended after so many years, but no - in 2002 another applicant was presented. At that time she was almost 101 years old. Oddly enough, it was her age that made many researchers believe this story: those who appeared earlier could count on, for example, power, fame, money. But is there any point in chasing wealth in 101?

Natalia Petrovna Bilikhodze, who claimed to be considered the Grand Duchess Anastasia, of course, counted on the monetary inheritance of the royal family, but only in order to return it to Russia. According to representatives of the Interregional Public Charitable Christian Fund of Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanova, they had data from "22 examinations conducted in a judicial commission in three states - Georgia, Russia and Latvia, the results of which were not refuted by any of the structures." According to these data, a citizen of Georgia Natalya Petrovna Bilikhodze and Princess Anastasia have "such a number of coinciding features that can be found only in one out of 700 billion cases," said members of the Foundation. A book by N.P. Bilikhodze: "I am Anastasia Romanova", containing memories of life and relationships in the royal family.

It would seem that the solution is close: they even said that Natalia Petrovna was going to come to Moscow and perform at The State Duma, despite her age, but later it turned out that "Anastasia" died two years before she was declared heiress.

In total, since the day of the murder of the royal family in Yekaterinburg, about 30 pseudo-Anastasias have appeared in the world, writes NewsRu.Com. Some of them did not even speak Russian, explaining that the stress experienced in the Ipatiev House made them forget their native language. A special service was created in the Bank of Geneva for their "identification", the exam of which none of the former candidates could not pass.

Grand Duchess Anastasia, the youngest daughter of Emperor Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna, can be considered the most famous of the royal daughters. After her death, about 30 women declared themselves a miracle rescued Grand Duchess.

Why Anastasia?

Why youngest daughter the royal family was named Anastasia? There are two versions on this score. According to the first, the girl was named after a close friend of the Russian Empress Anastasia (Stana) Nikolaevna, a Montenegrin princess.

Montenegrin princesses, who were disliked at the imperial court for their addiction to mysticism and were called "Montenegrin spiders", had a great influence on Alexandra Feodorovna.

It was they who introduced the royal family to Grigory Rasputin.

The second version of the choice of the name was presented by Margaret Yeager, who wrote her memoir "Six Years at the Russian Imperial Court." She argued that Anastasia was named in honor of the pardon granted by Nicholas II in honor of the birth of his daughter to students at St. Petersburg University who participated in anti-government unrest. The name "Anastasia" means "brought back to life", in the image of this saint there are usually chains torn in half.

Unexpected daughter

When Anastasia was born, the royal couple already had three daughters. Everyone was waiting for the heir boy. According to the Act of Succession to the throne, a woman could take the throne only after the termination of all male lines of the ruling dynasty, therefore, the heir to the throne (in the absence of the prince) was the younger brother of Nicholas II, Mikhail Alexandrovich, which did not suit many.

Dreaming of a son, Alexandra Feodorovna, with the assistance of the already mentioned "Montenegrins", meets a certain Philip, who appears to be a hypnotist and promises to ensure the birth of a boy to the royal family.

As you know, a boy in the imperial family will be born - three years later. Now, on June 5, 1901, a girl was born.

Her birth caused a mixed reaction in court circles. Some, for example, Princess Xenia, sister of Nicholas II, wrote: “What a disappointment! 4th girl! She was named Anastasia. Mom telegraphed me about the same and writes: "Alix gave birth to a daughter again!"

The emperor himself wrote the following in his diary about the birth of his fourth daughter: “About 3 o'clock Alix began to have severe pains. At 4 o'clock I got up and went to my room and got dressed. Exactly at 6 in the morning, daughter Anastasia was born. Everything happened under excellent conditions soon and, thank God, without complications. Thanks to the fact that it all began and ended while everyone was still asleep, we both had a sense of calm and solitude. "

"Schwibs"

Since childhood, Anastasia was distinguished by a difficult character. At home, for her cheerful irrepressible childishness, she even received the nickname "Shvybs". She had an undeniable talent as a comic actress. General Mikhail Dieterichs wrote: “Its distinguishing feature was to notice the weaknesses of people and talentedly imitate them. He was a natural, gifted comedian. Always, it happened, she made everyone laugh, keeping a pretensely serious look. "

Anastasia was very playful. Despite her physique (short, stout), for which the sisters called her a "pod", she deftly climbed trees and often refused to climb out of mischief, adored playing hide and seek, rounders and other games, played the balalaika and guitar, introduced fashion among their sisters to weave flowers and ribbons in their hair.

Anastasia was not very diligent in her studies, she wrote with mistakes, and called arithmetic "swinish."

English teacher Sydney Gibbs recalled that the younger princess once tried to "bribe" him with a bouquet of flowers, then gave the bouquet to the Russian teacher Petrov.

The maid of honor of the Empress Anna Vyrubova in her memoirs recalled how once, during a reception in Kronstadt, a very little three-year-old Anastasia crawled on all fours under the table and began to bite those present by the legs, pretending to be a dog. For which she immediately received a reprimand from her father.

Of course she loved animals. She had a Spitz Schwibzik. When he died in 1915, the Grand Duchess was inconsolable for several weeks. Later she got another dog - Jimmy. He accompanied her during her exile.

Army bunk

Despite her playful disposition, Anastasia still tried to comply with the customs of the royal family. As you know, the emperor and the empress tried not to pamper the children, therefore, in some matters, discipline in the family was almost Spartan. So, Anastasia slept on an army bed. What is significant, the princess took this same bed with her to the Livadia Palace when she left for the holidays. She slept on the same army bed during her exile.

The daily routine of the princesses was rather monotonous. In the morning it was supposed to take a cold bath, warm in the evening, to which a few drops of perfume were added.

The younger princess preferred Kitty's perfume with the scent of violets. This "bathroom tradition" was observed in royal dynasty since the time of Catherine the First. When the girls grew up, the responsibility to carry buckets of water in the bath began to be imputed to them, before that the servants were responsible for this.

The first Russian "selfie"

Anastasia was fond of not only pranks, but was also not indifferent to newfangled trends. So, she was seriously interested in photography. Many unofficial photos of the royal family were taken by the hand of the younger Grand Duchess.
One of the first "selfies" in world history and probably the first Russian "selfie" was taken by her in 1914 with a Kodak Brownie camera. A note to her father dated October 28, which she attached to the picture, read: “I took this photo while looking at myself in the mirror. It was not easy because my hands were shaking. ”To stabilize the image, Anastasia put the camera on a chair.

Patroness Anastasia

During World War I, Anastasia was only fourteen. As a young woman, she could not, like older sisters and mother, be a sister of mercy. Then she became the patroness of the hospital, gave her own money to buy medicines for the wounded, read them aloud, gave concerts, wrote letters to their loved ones under dictation, played with them, sewed clothes for them, prepared bandages and lint. Afterwards, their photographs were kept at her house; she remembered the wounded by their first and last names. She taught some illiterate soldiers to read and write.

Pseudo-nastasia

After the execution of the royal family, three dozen women appeared in Europe, claiming that they were Anastasia who miraculously escaped. One of the most famous impostors was Anna Anderson, she claimed that the soldier Tchaikovsky was able to pull her wounded from the basement of the Ipatiev house after he saw that she was still alive.

At the same time, Anna Anderson, according to the testimony of Duke Demetrius of Leuchtenberg, with whom she visited in 1927, did not know either Russian, or English, or French... She spoke only German with a North German accent. Didn't know Orthodox worship. Also Dimitri Leuchtenberg wrote: "Doctor Kostritsky, a dentist of the Imperial Family, testified in writing that the teeth of Mrs. Tchaikovskaya, a cast of which we sent to him made by our family dentist in 1927, have nothing to do with the teeth of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna."

In 1995 and 2011, genetic analysis confirmed the already existing assumptions that Anna Anderson was in fact Franziska Schanzkowska, a Berlin factory worker, who received a mental shock during the explosion at the factory, from which she could not recover for the rest of her life.