Some of the most famous impostors in history were False Dmitry, swindlers who, in search of easy money, with varying degrees of success, pretended to be the sons of Ivan the Terrible. Another "leader" in terms of the number of "fake" children was the Romanov family … Despite the tragic death of the imperial family in July 1918, many subsequently tried to impersonate the "surviving" heirs. In 1920, a girl appeared in Berlin, claiming that she was the youngest daughter of Emperor Nicholas II, Princess Anastasia Romanova.
An interesting fact: after the execution of the Romanovs, "children" appeared in different years, who supposedly managed to survive in a terrible tragedy. History has preserved the names of 8 Olga, 33 Tatyan, 53 Mari and as many as 80 Alekseev, all, of course, with the prefix false. Despite the fact that in most cases the fact of imposture was obvious, the case of Anastasia is almost unique. There were too many doubts around her person, and her story seemed too believable.
For a start, it is worth remembering Anastasia herself. Her birth was more of a disappointment than a joy: everyone was waiting for an heir, and Alexandra Feodorovna gave birth to a daughter for the fourth time. Nicholas II himself warmly received the news of his paternity. Anastasia's life was measured, she was educated at home, loved to dance and had a friendly easy character. As befits the daughters of the emperor, having reached the 14th birthday, she headed the Caspian 148th infantry regiment. During the First World War, Anastasia took an active part in the lives of soldiers, in order to cheer up the wounded, she arranged concerts in hospitals, wrote dictation letters and sent them to her family. In her peaceful everyday life, she was fond of photography and loved to sew, mastered the use of the telephone and was happy to communicate with her friends.
The girl's life was cut short on the night of July 16-17, the 17-year-old princess was shot along with other members of the imperial family. Despite the inglorious death, they talked about Anastasia for a long time in Europe, her name gained almost world fame, when, 2 years later, information appeared in Berlin that she had managed to survive.
A girl who pretended to be Anastasia was discovered by accident: a policeman saved her from suicide by catching her on the bridge when she was about to commit suicide by throwing herself down. According to the girl, she was the surviving daughter of Emperor Nicholas II. Her real name was Anna Anderson. She claimed that she was saved by a soldier who shot the Romanov family. She made her way to Germany to find relatives. Anna-Anastasia was initially sent to a psychiatric hospital, after undergoing treatment, she left for America to continue to prove her relationship with the Romanovs.
There were 44 heirs of the Romanov family, some of them made a declaration of non-recognition of Anastasia. However, there were also those who supported her. Perhaps the cornerstone in this matter was the inheritance: the real Anastasia was supposed to have all the gold of the imperial family. The case, in the end, went to court, the litigation lasted several decades, but neither side was able to provide sufficient convincing evidence, so the case was closed. Anastasia's opponents argued that she was actually born in Poland, worked at a bomb factory, and there she received numerous injuries, which she later passed off as bullet wounds. The point in the story of Anna Anderson was put by a DNA test carried out a few years after her death. Scientists have proven that the impostor had nothing to do with the Romanov family.
The false Romanovs who escaped the execution are the largest group of impostors in Russian history. More interesting facts - in our review "The most famous Russian impostors".
