The Romanovs-The Facts -Ruling dynasty of Russia for over 300 years -Michael Romanov, 1613 -Tsar Nicholas II ascended in 1894 -married to Alexandra (was not liked by the Russians) -had 4 girls, 1 boy -son Alexei, hemophilia

The Romanovs-The Facts Nicholas didn’t want to be king, father died young -ascended at age 22 -failed miserably in the Russo-Japanese War in 1904 -economic turmoil and unrest -set up a Duma (like Parliament) but gave them little power

The Romanovs-The Facts Russia entered WWI and did poorly again -people dispaced and starving; poor military decisions -rioting in the capital -Nicholas abdicated in Feb 1917; Provisional Gov’t set up -Romanovs exiled to the Ural Mountains

The Romanovs-The Murders -Romanovs lived in the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg (the basement in the front is what is left of the house) -Lenin and the Bolsheviks overthrow government -order family killed -family was ordered to move to the basement for pictures to prove they were still alive and then were going to be transported

The Romanovs-The Murders Prior to this, all the women had sewn jewels into their clothing Shooting began, Nicholas died instantly Others were bayoneted and shot at closer range; guards freaked out when they didn’t die instantly Bodies wrapped up, burned, buried in the countryside Graves run over by the trucks

The Romanovs-The Murders Mass grave not rediscovered until 1991 (fall of USSR) -Nicholas and Alexandra, 3 girls, 4 servants found -bones not reburied until 1998 http://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/videos/mystery-files/the-death-of-the-romanovs-4528.aspx

The Romanovs-The Conspiracy https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4FcwtGWnXHYZjF5VjJUbjlIVjA/view?usp=sharing

The Romanovs-The Conspiracy Popular belief-2 children had crawled away from the grave or had been rescued by a guard Alexei and Anastasia (or Maria) thought to be missing Many imposters tried to claim they were Anastasia (this is where we get the cartoon movie from!) Most famous imposter-Anna Anderson (aka Franziska Shanzkowska) -similar foot deformity, handwriting, spoken languages as Anastasia -knew “insider knowledge” that only Anastasia would have known

The Romanovs-The Conspiracy Anna Anderson-married a doctor, moved to VA, died in 1984 DNA testing in 90s showed she was really… -Franziska Schanzkowska -mentally ill Polish girl -had disappeared from a factory in 1920 -many believed, and still believe, that she was Anastasia 2007-2 bodies found by a farmer, were Alexei and Maria