Rough Draft of Definition Essay
The Mystery of Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova

Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova was the youngest daughter of the last Russian tsar, Nicholas II. Could it be possible that she survived the massacre of the Romanov family during the Russian Revolution? Rumors say that she and her brother were able to escape such horrible fate by being shielded from bullets by family jewels that were sewn into their clothes. The possibility could be there. Anastasia was born in Petrodvorets, Russia on June 18, 1901. Her mother was Princess Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt who became known as Empress after her marriage with her father Nicholas II, the final tsar of Russia. They married shortly after her grandfather died, Tsar Alexander III. Anastasia was one of five siblings. She had three older sisters named Olga, Tatiana, and Maria, and a younger brother named Alexei, who was heir to the throne. She was the tomboy in her family and was greatly loved. She grew up being taught by her mother in her younger years than eventually by a Swiss tutor. She was not much a studious child and would often bribe her tutors, though they would refuse. Anastasia was also known to be a great actress, though she reserved her talent only for her family and friends. For the most part the child lived fairly well until World War I. Seventeen years later after her birth, on July 16th, she and her family were executed by Bolshevik guards in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in their own basement. In 1991, forensic study identified the bodies of her family members and servants. They found only nine bodies; four were male and five were female. Three of the female skeletons were classified as children. Forensic scientist knew that there were four servants killed; three of them male and one female. That meant two bodies were missing. It was discovered that it was Anastasia and her brother, Alexei. The mystery of where they were was questioned and brought up many to have claimed they were her. In the 1920s, a woman by the name of Anna Anderson claimed to be the Romanova princess. Though many women said to be her, Anderson’s story drew a huge amount of publicity. The woman fought to prove herself as the one to claim Anastasia’s inheritance. However, she was rejected in 1970, and the mystery remained unsolved. Anderson continued to say she was Anastasia until her death in 1984. The CSI was able to get close enough to determine that Anna Anderson was not even Russia, let alone Anastasia. Yet there are still those who claim that she was the Grand Duchess. The mystery of Anastasia’s whereabouts inspired others to create movies, plays, and books. An Academy Award-winning film starring Ingrid Bergman was one of those inspirations.