The RomanovsBeth Doerr and Lauren Kaufman

Background● The Romanov family ruled Russia for nearly 300 years, up

until the Russian Revolution when the family was executed.

The execution of the Romanov family in 1918 had been a

mystery up until recent years. In the mid 1970’s a mass grave

was discovered that contained the Romanov family, minus two

children. Forensic DNA testing of the remains in the early

1990s was used to identify the family.

● July 16, 1918: Nicholas, Alexandra, their five children and four

servants were ordered to dress quickly and go down to the

cellar of the house in which they were being held. There, the

family and servants were arranged in two rows for a

photograph they were told was being taken to quell rumors

that they had escaped. Suddenly, a dozen armed men burst

into the room and gunned down the imperial family in a hail of

gunfire. Those who were still breathing when the smoke

cleared were stabbed to death.

Setting: Early 20th Century

Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg Russia

St. Petersburg Russia

Downfall of the Romanovs● The February Revolution of 1917 resulted in the abdication of Nicholas

II in favor of his brother Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich

● The latter declined to accept imperial authority save to delegate it to the Provisional Government pending a future democratic referendum

● After the February Revolution, Nicholas II and his family were placed under house arrest in the Alexander Palace. Several members of the Imperial Family, including Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich of Russia, managed to establish good relations with the interim government and eventually fled the country during the October Revolution.

● Rise of the Bolsheviks

Key PlayersVictims and Suspects within the Case

● Czar Nicholas II: The last Czar of Russia. Him and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks

○ He and his wife had five children. In 1991 when remains of the family were found, the Crown Prince Alexei and daughter Anastasia were not found

● Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei Romanov: The five children of the Czar and Czarina

● Bolsheviks: Revolutionary group during the Russian Revolution

● Lenin: Leader of the Bolsheviks Party

Main Players in the Investigation ● Gely Ryabov: Follower and Conspiracist to the Romanov

disappearances ● Yakov Yurovsky: A Bolshevik guard who witnessed the killings

and disposal of the Romanov family● Aleksandr Blokhin: Researcher who used computer

superimposition software to analyze the battered skulls of the Romanovs

● Pavel Ivanov: One of Russia’s foremost DNA specialists ● Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip: Directly related to the

Romanov family (DNA comparison)● Peter Gill: Chief researcher ● Anna Anderson (Schanzkowska): Anastasia Imposter

Controversy: Where is Anastasia? Anna Anderson: Surfaced in Berlin in 1920, claiming to be Anastasia.

She had the same eye and hair color, the same birthmarks and scars, as

well as a bilateral congenital foot defect called “hallux valgus”, which she had

suffered from childhood, and is popularly known as "bunions. She spoke other

languages the way the historical Anastasia did, but refused to speak Russian

because of the psychological trauma. She was able to convince many people

including some distant members of the royal family.

How DNA Helped: Anderson had an operation done before her death and the tissue sample

that was taken was preserved. In 1994, the tissue sample was tested and mitochondrial DNA was

extracted from the sample and compared with that of the Romanovs and their relatives. The DNA did

not match any living relatives or any of the bones found, confirming that she was not Anastasia. Several

strands of Anderson's hair, were also tested. Mitochondrial DNA from the hair matched Anderson's hospital sample and that of Schanzkowska (her suspected family) relative Karl Maucher but not the Romanov remains or living relatives of the Romanovs.

Evidence FoundBone and teeth fragments: 30 years after the mass grave was discovered, 44 pieces of bone and teeth fragments were found only 70 meters from the original grave

Scraps of Expensive Clothing Found at the Scene: Jewels were embedded and sewn into the clothing of the women, which originally protected them against the bullets shot at their chests.

● It is a likely theory that the jewels protected Anastasia and that is why her bones were found several hundred meters away from her family. She likely tried to escape with her brother Alexei, but were later gunned down.

● Corresponded roughly with gender, age, and size of Romanov family and staff

Unknown Note Describing the Disposal of the Bodies

DNA of Anna Anderson, Queen Elizabeth, and Prince Philip:

Techniques UsedSTR Testing (Short Tandem Repeats Analysis): Looks at repeated patterns of DNA sequences and proves if bodies came from the same family group or not.

● Used as a sorting tool to distinguish each skeleton and show the family relationships among the remains

● Sorted out the sex of the remains as well as family relations to each skeleton

Forensic mtDNA Testing: Found in specific structures within bodies cells and is passed down through the maternal line.

● Used to link the Czar and his wife to living maternal relatives ● Tested mitochondrial DNA of living maternal line relatives such as Queen Elizabeth and Prince

Philip who were direct descendants of Czarina Alexandra’s sister● Heteroplasmy was found in the Czar and his brother - helped create family relations

Computer Superimposition Software:● Compared the battered skulls with photographs of the Czar and the Czarina. Gave a positive

match but needed further DNA testing for positive identification

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eAdBHwUr5w

Work Citedhttp://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/romanov-family-executedhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3205009/http://www.forensicdnacenter.com/dna-str.htmlhttp://www.exploreforensics.co.uk/romanovs-forensic-identification-tsars-grave.htmlhttp://www.thelostromanovicon.com/background.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Anderson