Anastasia vs. Anna Anderson

Posted by Ginger Groves Jun 22, 2006

We're all familiar with the story of the assassination of the Romanov family on the night of July 16th, 1918. And we're equally familiar with the continuing saga of the real Anastasia. Did she die that night? Or by some cruel twist of fate, survive the slaughter?

I say, "cruel twist of fate", because isn't it more palatable to imagine that she entered into the Kingdom of Heaven along with Mom, Dad, brother, and sisters and even the family dog. Imagine the trauma of being herded into a basement with your family, then seeing the soldiers raise their guns and firing at you. Not to mention afterwards having relatives, first declare you a miracle to have survived such a holocaust, then later have them declare you an imposter.

But that was the life of Anna Anderson. This poor little toothless lady just wanted to have a little privacy and care for her animals. She didn't make the talk show circuit. She didn't start her own line of fragrances or even her own line of designer paint.

So why are so many people determined to declare Anna Anderson the real Anastasia?

For me, it's just a matter of getting history correct. I do believe that Anna Anderson is/was Anastasia. Ok...so there's the DNA evidence. Good grief, the chain of custody would never hold up in a court of law, not even with Johnnie Cochran sitting in for the prosecution. Also, there were too many 'deep pockets' with interest in discrediting Anna Anderson, each with an agenda of their own.

My belief is based on several pieces of evidence. The first and most compelling I believe, is Anna Anderson's continued defense of Gregori Rasputin. The reputed holy man had been loved by the Royal Family. Even rumors and innuendoes could not diminish their loyalty to the man who had saved the life of the life of the Tsarevich, Alexei, several times. It would seem to me that 50-plus years of defending a man you never knew would not be likely. Sooner or later that pretense would give way to ambivalence.

My next piece of evidence has to do with photographs. Anastasia had affection for standing in front of a mirror and photographing herself. There are photographs of Anna Anderson posing in the same manner in front of a mirror. Granted, lots people with cameras have done the same thing; however, when you place photographs taken by the known, Anastasia, next to similar photographs taken by Anna Anderson, the result is uncanny. Not just the pose, but the haunting eyes and serious concentration on the faces: these are eerily identical.

This piece of history will likely never be put to rest. Yet, the whole story is too interesting, too romantic, too enduring to sit on a shelf and gather dust. And that's just fine with me.

This blog is part of the Historic Travel series on The St. Petersburg Traveler.