History Main / DidAnastasiaSurvive

Then came TheGreatPoliticsMessUp and the Romanov burial site was revealed to the world. At first, it seemed there was hope for the legend, since the bodies of Tsarevich Alexei and one of his sisters were missing from the grave [[note]]Which also supported much lesser known rumours that Alexei may have survived, as there were several men who tried to claim his name as well. These claims never received much public support or attention, however, as Alexei was known to have been a haemophiliac, making the notion that he could have survived any injuries impossible, and was something these imposters obviously couldn't fake.[[/note]]. But meanwhile, [[ScienceMarchesOn Science Marched On]] with advent of DNA testing, which finally proved that Anna Anderson not only had absolutely no relation to the Imperial family, but wasn't even Russian. In all likelihood, Anderson was actually Franziska Schanzkowska, a missing Polish factory worker with a history of mental illness, perhaps suggesting that her impersonation was a NapoleonDelusion to some extent. In 2007, another grave was discovered in Yekaterinburg, this one containing the remains of Alexei and the remaining sister, and finally all the Romanov children were accounted for. The Romanov bodies have been confirmed through DNA testing, establishing once and for all that the Grand Duchess Anastasia was killed in Yekaterinburg by Bolshevik guns on July 17, 1918. Case closed.

But during the 89 years it took to get there, the premise that Anastasia had survived became a perennial fixture of Western popular culture. This trope is technically an example of DatedHistory, but it shows every sign of continuing, at least in works which are [[ArtisticLicenseHistory taking significant liberties with historical fact anyway]].

* At the end of one ''Manga/DetectiveConan'' movie, ''The Last Wizard of the Century'', the protagonists find her as the solution of this film's mystery.

One of the StockUnsolvedMysteries, until it was solved in 2007 with the disappointing answer of "no".

Then came TheGreatPoliticsMessUp and the Romanov burial site was revealed to the world. At first, it seemed there was hope for the legend, since the bodies of Tsarevich Alexei and one of his sisters appeared to be missing from the grave. But meanwhile, [[ScienceMarchesOn Science Marched On]] with the invention of DNA testing and it showed that Anna Anderson was no relation to the Romanovs. In all likelihood, Anderson was actually Franziska Schanzkowska, a Polish factory worker with a history of mental illness, perhaps suggesting that her impersonation was a NapoleonDelusion to some extent. In 2007, another grave was discovered in Yekaterinburg, this one containing the bodies of Alexei and the remaining sister, and finally all the Romanovs were accounted for. The Romanov bodies have been confirmed through DNA testing, establishing once and for all that the Grand Duchess Anastasia was killed in Yekaterinburg by Bolshevik guns on July 17, 1918. Case closed.

%% Please see thread to discuss a new image.

Why the focus on Anastasia and not another of the Tsar's five children?[[note]]In the Soviet Union, in fact, the daughter believed to have survived was generally either Tatiana or Maria.[[/note]] Well, it all began in 1920, two years after the execution of the Romanovs, when a mysterious Slavic-accented woman turned up in Berlin. Suicidal and apparently amnesiatic, she was admitted to a local mental hospital. History generally refers to this woman by the adopted name of Anna Anderson. Within a couple years, she would claim to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia. Anderson gained much publicity through a lengthy legal battle in which she sought to establish her identity as Anastasia in order to claim a share of the remaining Romanov fortune. Public opinion sided overwhelmingly with Anderson because EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses. The case was finally ended in 1970, with the inconclusive ruling that there was no proof either way, but nevertheless denying her Romanov riches. When Anderson died in 1984, still claiming that she was the lost Grand Duchess, there was still no way to be certain what the truth was. After all, DNA testing was in the future, so the argument for both sides ultimately rested on hearsay. And besides, the site of the Romanovs' murder was located deep behind the UsefulNotes/IronCurtain, hidden from the world by the Soviet Union's secretive government, so who could say for sure what had happened there?

But during the eighty-nine years it took to get there, the concept of a survived Anastasia became a perennial fixture of Western popular culture. This trope is technically an example of DatedHistory, but it shows every sign of continuing, at least in works which are [[ArtisticLicenseHistory taking significant liberties with historical fact anyway]].

* Marcelle Maurette's 1952 play ''Anastasia'' is notable as the origin of what has become the standard Anastasia plotline. This involves an amnesiac waif being hired by a conman to impersonate Anastasia, only for it to turn out that said amnesiac waif was the real Anastasia all along ([[RiddleForTheAges or at least might be her]]) and has fallen in love with the conman to boot. This is a highly fictionalized take on Anna Anderson's life, essentially just using it as a jumping-off point for a romantic fantasy. The play also invented the concept of her winning over Anastasia's grandmother, the Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna Romanova, who actually never even met Anderson in real life.

Why the focus on Anastasia and not another of the Tsar's five children?[[labelnote:note]]In the Soviet Union, in fact, the daughter believed to have survived was generally either Tatiana or Maria.[[/labelnote]] Well, it all began in 1920, two years after the execution of the Romanovs, when a mysterious Slavic-accented woman turned up in Berlin. Suicidal and apparently amnesiatic, she was admitted to a local mental hospital. History generally refers to this woman by the adopted name of Anna Anderson. Within a couple years, she would claim to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia. Anderson gained much publicity through a lengthy legal battle in which she sought to establish her identity as Anastasia in order to claim a share of the remaining Romanov fortune. Public opinion sided overwhelmingly with Anderson because EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses. The case was finally ended in 1970, with the inconclusive ruling that there was no proof either way, but nevertheless denying her Romanov riches. When Anderson died in 1984, still claiming that she was the lost Grand Duchess, there was still no way to be certain what the truth was. After all, DNA testing was in the future, so the argument for both sides ultimately rested on hearsay. And besides, the site of the Romanovs' murder was located deep behind the UsefulNotes/IronCurtain, hidden from the world by the Soviet Union's secretive government, so who could say for sure what had happened there?

Why the focus on Anastasia and not another of the Tsar's five children[[labelnote:*]]in fact, in the Soviet Union, the daughter believed to have survived was generally either Tatiana or Maria[[/labelnote]]? Well, it all began in 1920, two years after the execution of the Romanovs, when a mysterious Slavic-accented woman turned up in Berlin. Suicidal and apparently amnesiatic, she was admitted to a local mental hospital. History generally refers to this woman by the adopted name of Anna Anderson. Within a couple years, she would claim to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia. Anderson gained much publicity through a lengthy legal battle in which she sought to establish her identity as Anastasia in order to claim a share of the remaining Romanov fortune. Public opinion sided overwhelmingly with Anderson because EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses. The case was finally ended in 1970, with the inconclusive ruling that there was no proof either way, but nevertheless denying her Romanov riches. When Anderson died in 1984, still claiming that she was the lost Grand Duchess, there was still no way to be certain what the truth was. After all, DNA testing was in the future, so the argument for both sides ultimately rested on hearsay. And besides, the site of the Romanovs' murder was located deep behind the UsefulNotes/IronCurtain, hidden from the world by the Soviet Union's secretive government, so who could say for sure what had happened there?

-->-- "A Rumor In St. Petersburg", ''WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}}''

* Kenneth [=MacMillan's=] 1967 {{ballet}} ''Anastasia'' focuses on Anna Anderson struggling to remember her past while in a Berlin mental hospital. In 1971, [=MacMillan=] [[AdaptationExpansion expanded]] the ballet with two acts set before and during the Revolution, with the original material as the third act.

->''Have you heard\\

But please do not repeat...''\\
-- "A Rumor In St. Petersburg", ''WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}}''

[[quoteright:307:[[FaceOnAMilkCarton http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/milk_carton_2zxda_4y1l8_normal.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:307:Have you seen me?]]

Following the events of UsefulNotes/RedOctober, the abdicated Tsar Nicholas II and his immediate family were exiled to the Siberian city of Yekaterinburg. On July 17, 1918, with the anti-communist White Army closing in on the city, the former Tsar, his wife, and [[WouldHurtAChild their children]] were all executed by Bolshevik soldiers. Or were they? (They were.) For many years, [[ConspiracyTheorist some people]] insisted that the Tsar's youngest daughter, seventeen-year-old Grand Duchess Anastasia, survived and escaped. (She didn't.)

[[/folder]]

Why the focus on Anastasia and not another of the Tsar's five children[[labelnote:*]]in fact, in the Soviet Union, the daughter believed to have survived was generally either Tatiana or Maria[[/note]]? Well, it all began in 1920, two years after the execution of the Romanovs, when a mysterious Slavic-accented woman turned up in Berlin. Suicidal and apparently amnesiatic, she was admitted to a local mental hospital. History generally refers to this woman by the adopted name of Anna Anderson. Within a couple years, she would claim to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia. Anderson gained much publicity through a lengthy legal battle in which she sought to establish her identity as Anastasia in order to claim a share of the remaining Romanov fortune. Public opinion sided overwhelmingly with Anderson because EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses. The case was finally ended in 1970, with the inconclusive ruling that there was no proof either way, but nevertheless denying her Romanov riches. When Anderson died in 1984, still claiming that she was the lost Grand Duchess, there was still no way to be certain what the truth was. After all, DNA testing was in the future, so the argument for both sides ultimately rested on hearsay. And besides, the site of the Romanovs' murder was located deep behind the UsefulNotes/IronCurtain, hidden from the world by the Soviet Union's secretive government, so who could say for sure what had happened there?

Why the focus on Anastasia and not another of the Tsar's five children? Well, it all began in 1920, two years after the execution of the Romanovs, when a mysterious Slavic-accented woman turned up in Berlin. Suicidal and apparently amnesiatic, she was admitted to a local mental hospital. History generally refers to this woman by the adopted name of Anna Anderson. Within a couple years, she would claim to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia. Anderson gained much publicity through a lengthy legal battle in which she sought to establish her identity as Anastasia in order to claim a share of the remaining Romanov fortune. Public opinion sided overwhelmingly with Anderson because EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses. The case was finally ended in 1970, with the inconclusive ruling that there was no proof either way, but nevertheless denying her Romanov riches. When Anderson died in 1984, still claiming that she was the lost Grand Duchess, there was still no way to be certain what the truth was. After all, DNA testing was in the future, so the argument for both sides ultimately rested on hearsay. And besides, the site of the Romanovs' murder was located deep behind the UsefulNotes/IronCurtain, hidden from the world by the Soviet Union's secretive government, so who could say for sure what had happened there?

* The 1956 film ''{{Film/Anastasia}}'', starring Creator/IngridBergman and Creator/YulBrynner, is a straight adaptation of the Marcelle Maurette play (see "Theatre" section for more information ).

* Creator/DonBluth[='s=] 1997 animated feature ''WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}}'', which was a very loose (and very [[{{Disneyfication}} Disneyfied]]) remake of the Ingrid Bergman film. It further fictionalizes the story with the inclusion of supernatural elements, adding in UsefulNotes/RasputinTheMadMonk as an undead sorcerer who is trying to kill off Anastasia in order to complete a curse he cast on the Romanov family.

But during the eighty-nine years it took to get there, the concept of a survived Anastasia became a perennial fixture of Western popular culture.