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Who Was Anastasia?

"I guess every lonely girl would hope she's a Princess"

By Ruth Elizabeth StiffPublished 2 years ago 4 min read
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Tsar Nicholas II and his family

She was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna. The youngest of four daughters, the black and white photograph of this young princess, with her long flowing hair and charming smile, shows what a beauty she was. At sixteen, Anastasia was murdered along with her family by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution. Her only crime was being born into the Russian Royal family. The date was 17th July, 1918.

Since that date, several young women have come forward claiming to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia. Several (false) reports have been made, claiming that Anastasia was the only one to survive that horrific day, and at least ten women have claimed to be her. The best known of these women was Anna Anderson.

Anna Anderson (1896-1984) was admitted into the Elisabeth Hospital on Lutzowstrasse, after trying to commit suicide on 27th February, 1920. She refused to give her name and was admitted as Fraulein Unbekannt (Miss Unknown). Two years later, a fellow psychiatric patient claimed that this Miss Unknown was a Grand Duchess and one of the daughters of Tsar Nicholas II. Finally, Baroness Sohpie Buxhoeveden, who had been a lady-in-waiting to the late Tsarina, came to see this ‘Grand Duchess’ but left convinced that Miss Unknown was not one of the Grand Duchesses.

However, Peuthert, Schwabe and Tolstoy did believe the story (even though Buxhoeveden had said that there was no resemblance). Miss Unknown was taken out of the asylum and given a room in Baron Arthur von Kleist’s home. He had been a police chief in Russian Poland before the Royal family were murdered (and it was ‘thought’ that he may have had ulterior motives).

Miss Unknown now called herself Anna Tschaikovsky, choosing “Anna” as a shortened form of “Anastasia”. She moved around, staying with different ‘friends’. A Meeting was set up with Princess Irene of Hesse (the Tsarina’s sister), but she did not recognize “Anna”. Also, another meeting was with Crown Princess Cecilie of Prussia, but “Anna” refused to speak with her, even though Cecilie signed a declaration saying that “Anna” was “Anastasia”. However, Cecilie’s family disputed it implying that she was suffering from dementia.

Anna Anderson (left) / The Grand Duchess Anastasia (right)

Anna developed a tuberculous infection in her arm, and from 1925, was placed in several hospitals for treatment. She became very sick and lost a great deal of weight. She was, again, visited by several people who had known the real Anastasia, but they all denied that “Anna” was the actual Grand Duchess.

In March 1926, Anna convalesced in Lugano at the expense of Prince Valdemar of Denmark (who was Anastasia’s great uncle). He was willing to provide material assistance (financial help) while “Anna’s” identity was being investigated. To allow this young woman to travel, the Berlin Aliens Office issued her with a temporary certificate of identity as “Anastasia Tschaikovsky '' with the Grand Duchess’s personal details. In 1926, “Anna” was moved to the Stillachhaus Sanatorium at Oberstdorf in the Bavarian Alps.

Over the next few years, several people who had known the young Grand Duchess Anastasia, visited “Anna” to see if there was any chance that she could have survived the shooting. One of them, Titiana Melnik (nee Botkin) believed “Anna” to be “Anastasia”, and started to ‘coach’ the young woman with details of life in the Imperial Family. Was this a desire to help a patient’s weak mind, or part of a deliberate charade?

In 1927, Valdemar withdrew his financial support because of pressure from his family. Another distant relative of the Tsar, Duke George of Leuchtenburg, now stepped in and gave Anna a home at Castle Seeon. Ernest Louise (the Tsarina’s brother), who was the Grand Duke of Hesse, hired Martin Knopf (a private detective) to investigate the claims that “Anna” was “Anastasia”.

Anna Anderson

From 1928 to 1968, “Anna” traveled around the world, from America to Germany, meeting different people and trying to prove that she was The Grand Duchess Anastasia. During this time, she now called herself Anna Anderson. Anna married John Eacott “Jack” Manahan (he was 20 years her junior) in 1968, and the couple lived (in separate bedrooms) in Charlottesville. He enjoyed this marriage of convenience (she only married him to stay in the country), calling himself the “son-in-law to the Tsar”.

In 1970, the lawsuits came to an end, with neither side able to establish “Anna’s” true identity. In 1984, Anna died of pneumonia and her body was cremated the same day, her ashes being buried in the churchyard at Castle Seeon on 18th June, the same year.

The Russian Royal Family

In 2007, DNA tests confirmed the remains of the seven members of the Russian Royal family. No one had survived. In 1998, the bodies were buried in St.Petersburg Cathedral and the whole family were declared Saints in the Russian Orthodox Church. They may have lived a privileged life but the family did not deserve to be murdered. It is no wonder they were declared Saints.

(If you enjoyed this article, have a look at my profile for more similar articles.)

Historical
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About the Creator

Ruth Elizabeth Stiff

I love all things Earthy and Self-Help

History is one of my favourite subjects and I love to write short fiction

Research is so interesting for me too

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