A Brief History
On April 30, 2008, Russian scientists confirmed that the skeletal remains found near the city of Yekaterinburg, formerly known as Sverdlovsk, in the Ural District of Russia, were indeed the remains of Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich and Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna, the son and daughter of the last Czar of Russia, Nicholas II and his wife, Czarina Alexandra Feodorovna.
Digging Deeper
Nicholas II was forced to abdicate in 1917, due to ongoing political unrest and the disastrous conduct of World War I. The Czar and Czarina were executed in 1918, along with their four daughters and son, Alexei, the heir to the throne.
Russian revolutionaries took no chances on leaving any of the Royal family alive to reclaim the throne, and ever since the executions, rumors and conspiracy theories persisted about the alleged survival of Anastasia and or Alexei. Imposters claiming to be Anastasia have been debunked, but belief persisted even beyond the 2008 confirmation of her death.
Note: There is apparently some time lag between when the scientists determined the DNA belonged to the Romanov children and when the announcement was made.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Fleming, Candace. The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia. Anne Schwartz Books, 2014.
Meyer, Carolyn. Anastasia and Her Sisters. Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books, 2016.
The featured image in this article, a photograph of Nicholas II with his family, is in the public domain because its copyright has expired and its author is anonymous.
You can also watch video versions of this article on YouTube.
