The Romanovs of Imperial Russia

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The Romanovs of Imperial Russia

• By Amanda Ratliff

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• The Romanov family was the second and last
  imperial family of Russia. They ruled for five
  generations 1761-1917. The most well-known rulers
  were Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, and
  the last Tsar of Russia the martyred Nicholas
  II. At the time of the Imperial Familys downfall
  they were by far the wealthiest royals in the
  world.

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Tsar Nikolay Aleksandrovich Romanov

• Emperor Autocrat of All the Russias 1894-1917.
• Traveled extensively as Tsarevich survived an
  assassination attempt in Japan.
• Nicholas was ill prepared to become Emperor when
  his father passed away in 1894.
• Married for love Princess Alix was not liked by
  the people.
• His popularity wavered due to belief in absolute
  autocracy.
• Refused to allow the people any power as he
  believed he had absolute power from God.
• His government failed to produce supplies which
  led to riots and uprisings.
• As a man very religious, enjoyed the outdoors,
  smoking, military life, was a proud father.
• Forced to abdicate during the Russian Revolution
  and World War I.
• Was originally to stand trial but eventually was
  executed with his family by the Bolsheviks in
  1918.

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Tsaritsa Alexandra Fyodorovna

• Born Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine,
  1872-1918.
• Alix was a favorite grand daughter of Queen
  Victoria of England.
• Married on the heels of Alexander II funeral
  bad omen to the people.
• Was born a German princess Germans were very
  unpopular among Russians.
• Tried for many years to have an heir which
  resulted in very poor health.
• Considered cold rude among her peers. She spent
  all her time caring for her ill son and not
  socializing like an Empress was expected to.
• Depended on Grigori Rasputin to heal her
  hemophilic son and refused to listen to gossip
  about his moral character.
• Alicky was very protective of her children
  especially Alexei.

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Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna

• Eldest Grand Duchess, 1895-1918.
• Part of The Big Pair
• Loved to read, enjoyed school work, politics, and
  was independent yet very sheltered.
• Nursed Russian Soldiers during WWI.
• Was more aware of the hatred the people felt for
  her parents than were her siblings.
• Suffered severe depression during her months of
  captivity.

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Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna

• Part of The Big Pair, 1897-1918.
• Described as most elegant and beautiful of the
  four sisters.
• The sisters were raised simply, sleeping on camp
  beds and taking cold baths.
• Practical a leader she was nicknamed The
  Governess by her sisters.
• The Tsarinas favorite daughter.
• Tanya was polite, flirtatious, and sometimes shy.

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Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna

• Part of the little pair, 1899-1918.
• Marie was described as pretty, flirtatious,
  broadly built, with light brown hair and large
  blue eyes- known in the family as "Marie's
  saucers.
• Was closest to her father the Tsar.
• She was the most reserved of her sisters, often
  got teased by them, and nicknamed fat little bow
  wow.
• Maria was fond of soldiers and little children
  and would have preferred being a homemaker to a
  Grand Duchess.
• Was insecure and felt she was the least loved of
  the sisters.
• When giving gifts or writing letters the four
  sisters signed OTMA to represent their names.

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Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna

• The other half of the little pair, 1901-1918.
• Always considered short and chubby compared to
  her elder sisters she made up for it in great
  personal charm.
• Nastya was a tomboy, loved to climb trees, play
  jokes, and had a stinging tongue. She was very
  intelligent but despised school work.
• Nicknamed imp.
• The most famous of the four Grand Duchesses,
  Anastasia was remembered in the Disney cartoon
  Anastasia a fictitious tale of her survival.
• Her legacy has survived nearly 100 years in part
  to an imposter Anna Anderson.
• Anastasia is often remembered as a child but in
  reality died just short of her 18th birthday.
• Four Imperial children entered the basement to
  die and over the years 228 surviving children
  have been investigated.

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Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich

• Heir to the Russian throne, 1904-1918.
• Imperial couple tried for many years to have an
  heir Alexei was diagnosed with deadly
  hemophilia at 6 weeks old.
• His illness was kept secret from everyone which
  prevented the people from understanding the
  Empresss absence and faith in Rasputin.
• Alexei nearly died several times only to
  seemingly be saved by the family holy man,
  Grigori Rasputin. This relationship sealed the
  Romanovs fate.
• Alexei was spoiled, rambunctious, and very close
  to his sisters. He became the most sheltered of
  all and even had 2 men who went everywhere with
  him to prevent injury.
• Nicholas II abdicated in 1917 in favor of his son
  only to sign papers later that abdicated for
  Alexei as well in favor of his brother, Grand
  Duke Mikhail in order to keep his son with the
  family. Technically, Alexei was Tsar for a few
  hours.

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Grigori Rasputin Holy Man

• Rasputin often called the mad monk was not a
  monk but a Russian peasant and wandering Holy
  Man.
• Brought to the Romanovs in the hope of saving
  young Alexeis life.
• Repeatedly seemed to intervene and bring Alexei
  back from death.
• Greatly influenced the Tsar and Tsarina in the
  late days helped Alexandra run the government
  in 1915 when Nicholas was away.
• In reality, was a very crude man who participated
  in activities such as drinking and rape.
• Because the Tsarevichs illness was kept secret
  no one understood his presence.
• Rasputin was murdered in 1916 by Nicholass
  nephew.
• Said to have told the Tsar that his death would
  bring about the end of the Romanov Dynasty. This
  legend has lived on and Rasputin remains the
  villain of this tragic tale.

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Abdication Exile

• With Russia involved in World War I, lack of
  supplies, millions of troops dying, and a backlog
  of years of distrust the people rioted.
• Following the February Revolution in Petrograd,
  Nicholas was forced to abdicate first to Alexei
  but after realizing his son would be taken away
  in favor of his brother, Grand Duke Mikhail who
  turned it down.
• The family was placed under house arrest in March
  1917 at the family homestead Tsarskoe Selo. In
  August they were evacuated to Tobolsk.
• Bolsheviks came to power in October and they were
  moved to the Impatiev House in Yekatrinburg with
  four retainers.
• They remained here until July 1918.
• Yekatrinburg soldiers were cruel and lewd to the
  family. Anytime a soldier seemed to get friendly
  they were replaced. The family diaries remain
  from this time and indicate that as a unit they
  were still very close.

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Execution

• The family was awakened early on July 17th and
  taken to the basement.
• Initially told they were being taken for
  protection from gunshots being fired in the city
  they were read an execution order.
• All eleven people were shot. Jewels hidden in
  their clothing protected the Grand Duchesses from
  bullets and they were also bayoneted.
• Accounts recently surfacing following the end of
  the Cold War indicate very a very brutal
  massacre.
• The bodies were taken by truck to the forest
  where they were first hidden in a mine shaft.
• Deciding this wouldnt work they were exhumed the
  next day and buried in another grave that was not
  found until 1991.
• When located 2 bodies were missing which
  supported that the leader, Yurovsky had burned
  two. Complete obliteration by fire is impossible
  so the location of the other two bodies remains
  unknown.

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Anna Anderson
Anastasia
Anna

• In 1920 a Jane Doe attempted suicide and was
  sent to an asylum. It was there that a media
  circus began claiming she was the Grand Duchess
  Anastasia.
• She claimed to have fainted during the shooting
  and been shielded from bullets by her sister,
  Tatianas body. Afterward, a soldier named
  Tchaikovsky noticed her alive among the corpses
  and spirited her away.
• Anna put up a convincing argument that divided
  both the Romanovs and fanatics however, DNA
  tests after her death in 1984 proved she was a
  Polish factory worker named Franziska Schankowska
  who had been presumed dead in 1920.
• Despite many imposters, Anna became the most
  famous and Anastasia became the most recognized
  Grand Duchess world wide. Nearly 100 years later
  most people have heard of the missing Grand
  Duchess Anastasia who disappeared the night of
  her families massacre and was spirited away
  never to be heard from again.

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Memorial

• The location of the Romanov bodies was known to a
  few select people but it wasnt until after the
  cold war ended in the 1990s that they were
  finally exhumed.
• 9 of the 11 victims were recovered in Pigs Meadow
  outside Ekaterinburg.
• Alexei either Anastasia or Maria is missing
  fueling speculation of survivors.
• DNA tests compared to Englands Prince Philip
  confirmed the identity of the Romanovs and 4
  servants in the grave.
• On July 18, 1998 the 80th anniversary of the
  execution the Romanovs minus their son and
  daughter were laid to rest in the Romanov family
  crypt in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
• The Russian Orthodox Church canonised the family
  as Saints in 2000

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Presenters Note

• Ive always been a huge history buff and find
  the history of the Russian Imperial Family to be
  fascinating. I thought it would be fun to give a
  brief outline of who the main players in this
  tragedy really were as opposed to who the general
  public thinks they were. I hope you enjoy.
• -Amanda

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For More Information Go To

• The Alexander Time Machine http//www.alexanderpa
  lace.org/palace/
• Livadia.org
• http//www.livadia.org/
• The Romanov Memorial
• http//www.romanov-memorial.com/
• Wikipedia
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_II_of_Russi
  a