Anastasia


 * [[image:Anastasia_1.jpg width="167" height="172" align="left"]]Anastasia: Where is She Now?**

There are many unsolved mysteries surrounding us today. Why do they go unsolved? What is it that makes us want to believe or not believe everything we hear? Today there are many scientists and researchers are figuring out if black holes or Atlantis really exist. Anastasia, the last grand duchess, is one of the historical mysteries that capture people’s attention. Some believe she is still alive today.

[|Anastasia Romanov] was born June 18, 1901. She already had three older sisters; [|Olga], born in 1895, [|Tatiana], born in 1897, and [|Maria], born in 1899. All of the sisters are exactly 2 years apart. Three years after Anastasia was born, her brother [|Alexei] was born. Soon after Alexei was born, his mother, [|Alexandra,] noticed big black bruises appearing on his legs and arms. She began to worry and took him to a doctor. She then learned that Alexei had hemophilia. [|Hemophilia] is a disease in which your blood does not clot properly. Any fall, cut, or bump would leave Alexei in pain and cause internal bleeding. A monk named [|Rasputin] was called whenever Alexei was injured. He was supposed to help heal Alexei. He was also a family friend.

In August of 1914, [|the tsar] arrived at home with news that [|Russia] was now at war with [|Germany] and [|Austria]. Anastasia’s mother was a German princess before she was married. In 1915, more than one million Russian soldiers had died at war. Anastasia’s father decided to take command of the army himself, so he was away most of the time. While Anastasia's father was away, her mother, Alexandra, began to run the government. She trusted Rasputin and got many ideas from him during the rough times. Because Rasputin had such an impact on what the family did, Rasputin and the family made many enemies. This eventually caused the Tsar’s downfall. The [|Romanov family] had ruled all of Russia for more than three hundred years. Tsar Nicolas (Anastasia’s father) had ruled for 23 years. He was the last tsar of Russia. He was asked to give up his throne. He did not complain and gave up his throne. The family was moved to [|Tobolsk],[|Siberia] on August 14, 1917. One year after the family was moved, Anastasia’s father was told that he had to leave Siberia for his safety and that he may bring some of his family with him. In April of 1918, Tsar Nicolas, Alexandra, and Marie where all transported to [|Ekaterinburg]. Anastasia, Olga, Tatiana,and Alexie had to stay in Siberia. A month later the family was reunited in Ekaterinburg.

After midnight on July 16, 1918, the family was ordered to a basement room. There had been shootings in town. Later a commandant came to the room followed by a soldier. The soldier read aloud that the family was to be executed. The room was immediately erupted in gunfire. Alexandra and Nicolas were killed instantly. The soldiers kept shooting until everyone was dead. Years later, in 1991, the bones of the imperial family were dug up. But two skeletons were missing. The bodies, thought to be Alexei’s and Anastasia’s, were never found. Many people claimed to be Alexei and Anastasia. One of the most famous impersonators was a woman known as [|Anna Anderson]. She claimed to be Anastasia. Many people came to see her. Some said that she was Anastasia while others said she wasn’t. After Anna Anderson died, some scientists ran some blood tests and tried to link her blood to the families. After many tests they concluded that Anna Anderson was not a member of the Romanov family. But the bones of Alexei and Anastasia are still missing.

I think Alexei and Anastasia were both killed, but the people who killed them might have buried the bones in a different location. I think of it this way; why would you want to let the youngest of the family live? If you hate the father wouldn’t you hate the children?

__CITATIONS__

Meyer, Carolyn. __Anastasia The Last Grand Duchess__. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2000.

Massie, Robert K.. __The Romanovs The Final Chapter__. New York : Random House Publishing, 1995.

Brewster, Hugh. __Anastaia's Album__. New York : Hyperion Books For Children, 1996.

"Grigori Rasputin." <[|http://en.wikipedia.com>.]

Anastasia online image Viimeinen Tsaariperhe Romanovit Feb. 22, 2007http://www.info.tampere.fi/a/amuri/tyot/Romanovit.htm

Rasputin online image Tour@rena Feb. 22, 2007 http://www.tourarena.ru/ta2graph.nsf/Graph/History1_Rasputin.photo/$File/Rasputin.photo.jpg

Tsar Nicholas II online image Tsar Nicholas II Feb. 22, 2007 http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/9463/nicholas_portrait.jpg

Romanov Family online image Pictures of the Romanov Family Feb. 22, 2007 http://www.logoi.com/pastimages/romanov_family.html