What Really Happened to the Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikolaevna of Russia?

This Romanov's story is far more tragic than movies would have you believe

In 1997, the animated movie Anastasia introduced me to the tragic tale of the Romanov family; and, like many children, I was completely enchanted. Already a history buff at age 12, I set out to find the truth hidden behind the feel-good family film — something my father had encouraged me to do with Pocahontas two years before.

What I found would remain with me forever. You see, the true story of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna is utterly heartbreaking; and certainly not one suitable for young children.

Her Life
Born June 18, 1901, Anastasia was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, the last sovereign of Imperial Russia, and his wife, Tsarina Alexandra Fyodorovna. A precocious child, she was as charming as she was mischievous. Gleb Botkin, son of the court physician, described her as, “witty, vivacious, hopelessly stubborn, delightfully impertinent, and in general a perfect enfant terrible." He further explained that “she undoubtedly held the record for punishable deeds in her family, for in naughtiness she was a true genius."

As she grew, Anastasia became more service oriented — though she never lost her spunk. Too young to become Red Cross Nurses (like their mother and older sisters), Anastasia and her sister Maria spent time playing games with wounded soldiers at a private hospital during World War I. A soldier named Felix Dassel recalled that Anastasia had a "laugh like a squirrel," and walked rapidly "as though she tripped along."

Tragically, she wouldn’t live to see peace.

Her Death
When the Russian Revolution began in February of 1917, the royal family were placed under house arrest at the Alexander Palace. Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate less than a month later, and a provisional government took over. In August 1917, Alexander Kerensky of the Provisional Government evacuated the Romanovs to Tobolsk in the Urals, allegedly to protect them from the approaching Bolsheviks. However, only a few months later, the Bolsheviks seized majority control of Russia, and the royal family were moved once more — this time to the Ipatiev House, or House of Special Purpose, at Yekaterinburg.

After the Bolshevik revolution in October 1917, Russia disintegrated into a civil war between the Reds (Bolsheviks) and the Whites (Anti-Bolsheviks). As the White Army advanced toward Yekaterinburg, the Reds knew they had to rid themselves of the imperial family once and for all.

Yakov Yurovsky, a Bolshevik officer filed an account of the event following the killings. It became known as the "Yurovsky Note,” and its terrible contents are how we know the details of the Romanov family’s last moments.

On the night of July 16, 1918, the royal family was awakened and told they were being moved to a new location to safeguard them from the violence that would ensue when the White Army reached Yekaterinburg. Once dressed, the family and their servants were led into a small room in the house's sub-basement and told to wait. Yurovsky then informed the Tsar and his family that they were to be executed. Before the Tsar could respond, the soldiers opened fire.

The Tsar, Tsarina, and Grand Duchess Maria were killed in the initial volley of bullets. However, when the smoke cleared, the executioners found Alexei, Tatiana, Anastasia and Olga still alive. Before being moved from Tobolsk, the girls had sewn the crown jewels into the linings of their corsets in an attempt to hide them from their captors, and in doing such, had essentially clad themselves in armor. They were stabbed with bayonets, and when that failed to work, Yurovsky shot each one in the head.

Their bodies were initially disposed of in a mineshaft, but needed to be moved as the spot was too conspicuous. They were relocated deeper into the forest, where Yurovsky planned to burn the corpses. He was only able to burn Alexei and one other body before peasants began to make their way through the forest to work. The rest of the bodies were placed in a pit, covered with sulfuric acid, and buried. Near the spot where the corpses were burned, another pit was dug for the bones of Alexei and one of his sisters.

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