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Anastasia: A Century's Mystery

© Anna Gruverman

In the autumn of 1900, the Tsar fell terribly ill with typhoid fever. Torn by worries for her husband, Alix was suddenly put face to face with another question: Imperial succession. All of Europe turned anxious eyes to the Russian capital, where the supreme master lay dying and three charming little girls abruptly became three little disappointments. Yes, they were pretty, and adorable, and the pictures of glowing health, but the Empress had failed to fulfill her one true duty -- to provide the Tsar with a little boy.

Securing the succession of the Russian throne was a matter of international concern. The world’s stability was inextricably bound to it. The future hung now on Tsar Paul’s hatred for his mother, Catherine the Great -- the last ruling Tsarina Russia had ever had, because her son had forbidden the Imperial throne to women. Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaievna, Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorvna’s eldest child, was ineligible to inherit the crown. The Tsar’s brother Mikhail was suddenly elevated to the role of Imperial Heir.

European newspapers and well-wishes rushed to him while Russia trembled, for he was young and rash and without particular diplomatic abilities, even according to the mother that adored him. Alexandra, fearful that she had let down her country, and that, most importantly, she had failed to continue her beloved Nicholas’s line, looked with anxious eagerness towards the birth of the fourth child she carried.

A French soul doctor had been summoned to court, and had succeeded in convincing her that the baby was going to be a boy. In the early summer of 1901, as Tsar Nicholas recovered, the family waited for the critical arrival in their summer residence of Peterhoff. Here, one of the most famous names in history was born.

On June 5th, 1901, Nicholas wrote the following in his diary:

“At about 3 o'clock in the morning, Alix started to have strong pains. At 4 o'clock I got up, went to my room and dressed. At exactly 6 o'clock in the morning our little daughter was born. Everything went off splendidly, quite quickly and thank God without complications! Thanks to the fact that it all began and ended while everyone was still asleep, we both had a feeling of calm and solitude! After that I sat down to write telegrams to relatives and friends in various parts of the world. Luckily Alix felt quite cheerful. The little one weighs 11½ pounds and measures 55 centimeters.”

Alexandra Feodorovna with Anastasia	Alexandra holding baby Anastasia	Baby Anastasia	Anastasia bundled up comically	Posing in a sailor outfit
The little rugamuffin	Anastasia looking playfully at the camera	Anastasia in formal court dress	Anastasia	Anastasia during a visit to royal friends
Anastasia in her most famous pose on a chaise	Anastasia holding her camera	Anastasia Nikolaievna	Anastasia in a famous family portrait	A beautiful color portrait
Playing with Aunt Olga	Tired after playing tennis	Anastasia, Aleksei and their mother	Sitting by a tree after picking mushrooms	During a formal presentation
	Anastasia	Anastasia (left) and Olga	A colored formal portrait	Still witty and charming
Thoughtful on a sunny day	Anastasia Nikolaievna	Doing charity with village children	Smiling in captivity	Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaievna Romanova

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