Her Imperial Highness the Grand Duchess Anastasia - Great--War

Her Imperial Highness the Grand Duchess
Anastasia Nicholaievna Romanov
Anastasia Romanov (1901-1918) has become one of the most romanticized figures in history,
due to her noble birth, playful personality, and the tragic, mysterious circumstances of her death.
T
o understand Anastasia Romanov, one must understand the world "Her
Imperial Highness the Grand Duchess (a
princess) Anastasia Nicholaievna Romanov" entered
at birth. She was the youngest daughter of Czar (an
emperor or king) Nicholas II. At the time, it was
believed he inherited the God-given right to rule.
Many of their subjects, especially peasants, looked
to them as demigods.
Nicholas has been described as handsome,
charming, gentle to the point of weakness, and
religious. When he met the beautiful Princess
Alexandra of Hess-Darmstadt (Germany), they were
immediately drawn to one another. The match was
unpopular as Russia was on unfriendly terms with
Germany, and the czar's family disliked Alexandra's
English upbringing by her grandmother, Queen
Victoria.
When Anastasia was born in 1901, Russia was the largest, richest country in
Europe. Great wealth was concentrated among the aristocracy and a small upper
class, while eighty percent of the population lived in poverty. The gulf between
Russian rulers and their subjects grew, which began with small revolutionary
reform groups during the mid-nineteenth century. Even though reformers within
the nobility attempted to make changes, the imperial rulers' attitudes and
traditions remained largely unchanged. Conflict was inevitable.
EARLY LIFE
Despite her privilege and status, Anastasia grew up to
be a remarkably warm, down-to-earth young woman
with a spirited personality. She was the darling of the
family, popular with the Russian people, and world
press.
The first years of Nicholas II's reign were peaceful. By
all accounts, the czar and czarina's primary interest
was their family. They spent a great deal of time with
the children, and kept them as far away from the
social whirl of the court as possible. For Anastasia and her older sisters (Olga,
Tatiana, and Marie; and later her brother, Alexei), home within the Winter
Palace's 1, 000 rooms was the family's private apartment.
The joy over the birth of Alexei in 1904 faded when it was
learned that he had inherited hemophilia, an incurable
disease that prevents blood from clotting. Specialists were
consulted, and the czar and czarina prayed for a miracle.
A year later they were introduced to Grigori Effimovich
Rasputin, a religious pilgrim of immense physical size.
With his hypotonic eyes and inexplicable powers to stop
Alexei's bleeding, Rasputin gradually gained a dangerous
control over Alexandra and her fears. In time, he also
dominated Nicholas and exerted his influence on matters
of state as well as Alexei's health.
Grigori Effimovich Rasputin
Other than close family friends, the children grew up
playing among themselves without much interaction with
the outside world. In addition to the czar and czarina's distaste for court life,
keeping Alexei's illness secret was crucial to maintaining strong Romanov rule.
Even at the age of three, Anastasia knew that Alexei's illness was a secret.
Nicknamed “Shvibzik,” meaning, "imp," Anastasia was mischievous, and loved
making others laugh. She delighted in mimicking pompous guests, as well as
instigating pranks on nurses and tutors.
THE WAR YEARS
In 1904, Russia became involved with a disastrous and unpopular war with
Japan. In 1905, an Orthodox priest organized workers to present work
grievances to Nicholas. As they approached the Winter Palace, government
troops opened fire. Thousands were killed on "Bloody Sunday, " a general strike
ensued, and discord raged for months. Finally Nicholas was convinced to support
the establishment of an elected legislature, and in 1906 the Duma was founded
in Russia's first national election. Then, July 28, 1914 the Archduke Franz
Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo.
The Austrian government blamed the Serbian government for the assassination
of Franz Ferdinand and his wife and declared war on Serbia. Although Russia
was allied with Serbia, Germany did not believe that she would mobilize and
offered their support to Austria if necessary. However, Russia did mobilize and,
through their alliance with France, called upon the French to mobilize. On
August 1, 1914, Germany declared war on Russia. This was the beginning of
World War One.
At this time, the Romanovs were staying at the Lower Palace at Peterhof.
Anastasia’s oldest sisters, Olga and Tatiana and
the czarina became nurses and worked in
hospitals, even assisting in surgeries. Anastasia
and her sister, Maria were too young to work as a
nurse, but along with Alexei they observed and
helped out in operations.
In the hope of saving Russia, a group of concerned
Romanov supporters (including Anastasia’s cousin
Dmitri, who grew up in their home and was raised
by her parents) killed the despised cleric, Rasputin
in December 1916. Olga had a nervous
breakdown. Unrest was growing against the war
and the czar.
Olga Working as a Nurse
By February 1917 large-scale riots had broken out
in St. Petersburg (then called Petrograd). Having spent too much time away from
home on the battlefront and leaving Alexandra and Rasputin to rule, Nicholas
was forced to give up the throne for himself and for Alexei. Anastasia’s Uncle
Misha turned it down after it was bequeathed it to him. Duma leaders made it
clear to him that his safety could not be guaranteed if he assumed power. He
would be a tsar without a court, or a following. That was the end of the
Romanovs on the throne of Russia. The short-lived Provisional Government was
formed.
By September 14, the State
Duma of the Russian Empire
officially dissolved by the newly
created Provisional
Government, and the country
was officially renamed into the
Russian Republic. By October
1917, the Bolsheviks, led by
Vladimir Lenin, seized power.
From March 1917 until July
1918, the Romanovs were
prisoners in their own country.
While the children realized
conditions were worsening,
they were astounded by their
arrest.
At first little changed; the
close-knit family banded together, and hoped they would be allowed to live at on
one of their small estates. As time passed, however, less friendly forces seized
power and sent the Romanovs to Siberia, where they lived from August 1917
until May 1918. It was very cold in Tobolsk, the home was barely heated and
food was scarce. There was noting to do. They were confined to the house except
for a few trips to a nearby church for services.
Shortly after Vladimir Lenin came
to power, the family was separated
- Nicholas, Alexandra, and Marie
were taken to Ekaterinburg in the
Ural region. By May, two months
before their execution, the family
was reunited. There was no food
and their clothes were in tatters.
The guards drank and stole things.
The family was followed
everywhere, even to the bathroom.
Guards painted over the windows,
so they could not see out and built
a big fence all around the house.
The family prayed, read the Bible
and sang hymns to pass time.
Anastasia turned seventeen that
June.
THE SECRET EXECUTION
Historians can only surmise exactly what happened during the early morning
hours of July 16, 1918. The family was ordered to go to the basement of the
house, called the "House of Special Purpose." Most experts agree that Nicholas,
Alexandra, the children, the family's doctor, and three servants were shot. The
White Army (loyalists to the Czar) concluded Bolsheviks had killed the family,
burned, and buried the bodies in a secret mass grave.
A MYSTERY EMERGES
A year later (1919) a woman who could not be
identified was found trying to jump off a bridge
in Berlin. She was hospitalized, and rarely
spoke during her long recovery. Many people
tried to identify the mystery woman, but failed.
To everyone's surprise, when she was released
from the hospital, she announced that she was
Anastasia.
In the years that followed, she told stories
about imperial family secrets in amazing detail.
Speculation about Anastasia's survival
exploded. Even after Romanov relatives visited and declared her not to be
Anastasia, speculation continued and various benefactors came to her rescue.
Eventually the woman assumed the name Anna Anderson, and became
increasingly eccentric and reclusive. Legal battles were waged between her and
the Romanov family, but neither side could prove or disprove her identity
conclusively. She died in 1984 still claiming to be Anastasia.
When Russia opened up politically in the 1980s, the government excavated what
was believed to be the burial site. Scientists confirmed the remains were those of
the Romanovs, but of the eleven people known to have been executed - only
nine bodies were found. The two smallest bodies, thought to be Alexei and
Anastasia, were missing.
In 1993, People, reported that DNA tests comparing a sample of Anderson's body
tissue with a blood sample from England's Prince Philip, a distant cousin of
Anastasia, proved that they were not related. Anna Anderson could not have
been Anastasia.
The question of Anastasia and Alexei's whereabouts lingered until scientists
matched old photos with remains exhumed from the grave. Russia's chief
forensic expert told U.S. News and World Report in 1994 that computer modeling
matched five of the remains precisely with photos of Nicholas, Alexandra, and
their daughters Olga, Tatiana, and Anastasia. The myth of Anastasia's survival
ended, but the whereabouts of Alexei and Marie remain unknown.
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Answer.com. “Grand Duchess Anastasia Nicholaievna Romanov.” <http://www.answers.com/topic/anastasia>. 2010.
Davidson, Lisa. Alexander Palace Time Machine. “Biographies: Grand Duke Mikail Alexandrovich.”
<http://www.alexander palace.org/palace/mikhail.html>. 2010 Bob Atchinson.
People, July 26, 1993.
U.S. News & World Report, September 19, 1994.
Wikipedia. “World War 1.” <http://www.en-wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_1>. 23 Mar 2010. Wikimedia Foundation,
Inc.