Ron's Blog: October 2008

I was always interested in events of 1917 and have a LP of Shostakovich's symphony

I think I always thought the suggestion that Anna Anderson was Anastasia was nonsense - how could the Bolsheviks have missed her in that fusillade of Mauser automatics and rifles in the cellar.

The 1956 film with Ingrid Bergman and Yul Brynner introduced me to the idea that some of the people who knew Anastasia did accept Anna as her. So I read more and it did seem so. Then recently I thought the whole business had been solved with a clear DNA test on the royal bodies found in Russia compared to Anna's DNA and that they were not related.

However now I hear there is doubt about that sample - it disappeared and then was found again - so was it actually from Anna. The sample tested might not have been Anna's so if not her then naturally it would not be Romanov. However apart from showing the sample's (whoever it belonged to) was not Romanov the tests did show that the sample was related to Franziska Schanzkowska - the Polish woman who was reputed to be Anna's real identity. I can accept that the sample was not Anna's but if she was was really Franziska and the sample was from Franziska then it seems proven that the sample was from Anna and the lack of links to Romanov's settles it. Unless there was a real conspiracy in 1994 when the DNA was proposed and a Franziska sample was switched - who got that sample - no that is too wild.

BUT what kind of test proved she was Franziska - mtDNA - and see the quote from
http://www.geocities.com/anastasiagrandduchess/

"In 1994, mtDNA matches were believed to prove identity, and to be unique to related individuals. Last year, an extensive UK study showed that out of a random 100 persons, four completely unrelated subjects shared exactly the same mtDNA profiles; extrapolate that here, on a board with 400 members: of the 400 of us posting here, 40 of us-unrelated to each other-would have identical mtDNA profiles, thus "proving" that we're related. The odds of a random mtDNA match between the Manahan sample and the Maucher profile are indeed considerable given the size of the world population and the numbers involved. I suspect, based on the continuing evolution of the science, that future studies will show mtDNA profiles to be even more common than this."

There is a lot on above site re why the Romanov DNA tests were not conclusive but as I said if the sample being actually Anna's is doubtful - it is the Franziska connection that makes it Anna's - however the statistics of DNA may cast doubt on that - but it could be considered a considerable statistic that the sample tested just happened by accident to be in the 4% of the population who share the same mtDNA as Franziska and her family.

More bizarre is that Franziska and Anna had different heights - Anna appeared in February 1920 and Franziska disappeared in March - the site above and the next one give a lot more detail on their differences.

http://members.ee.net/ahartsook/

The above is very good on all the reason why Anna might be the Grand Duchess -

and this is a very good on the whole business
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Anna+Anderson

The DNA testing is now under suspicion and looking at all the original evidence about her - marks on her body known to be like The Grand Duchess and scars consistent with the violence in the Ekaterinburg cellar including a bayonet wound in the foot all bring me back to thinking the impossible again.....

If Anna was Franziska and had been tutored to be Anastasia then the tutoring involved as far as I can make out knowing members of the Romanov on sight, knowing passwords and bank accounts (it seems the Tsar told his daughters) and very personal information about family events and people including that her uncle the Grand Duke of Hesse a German was visiting the Tsar in 1916 in WW1 which would have been treason and he always denied the visit but the Soviets published books which had records of this visit - this indicates the impossible visit did happen and that the so called impostor knew about it . As well as her having all this information she had to physically resemble the Duchess and have body markings like hers and on top of all that she had to learn Russian and English. And over what time frame did all this take place - a couple of weeks

I don't know - the most fascinating mystery of the 20th century and the jury is still out

Well then along came 31 May 2007 and ABC Sydney has a show on Grand Duchess Olga - the Aunt of Anastasia. Olga divorced the Prince they made her marry so that she could wed a commoner. She went to Denmark and later Canada and lived a lovely life. Everyone remembered her with great affection and you could just tell what a really caring person she was.
The show was quite plain she said Anna was not Anastasia. Wiki entry on Anna has a lot on Olga and you can see that she went to see Anna just in case she was Anastasia and found she was not. Her sister Xenia also was clear that she did not accept her either. The WHOLE family did not accept her. Anastasia's tutor did not accept. There were strange likeness and things that she knew. But it looks like seem of these are exaggerations.

Yup I think the jury has given a verdict......

AND this looks to be the final verdict

Remains of tsar's heir may have been found | Russia | Guardian Unlimited

The Royal family were found and buried in 1998 - except Alexei and one sister were still missing. They did say that Anastasia was there and Maria was missing - but that did not seem to be a confident assumption. Now they have found the missing pair. And the whole family can be buried together. Bless them all.

But how did Anna Anderson so confuse so many people.

Always nice when a "mystery" is solved

Ron's Blog

Monday, October 13, 2008

Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia and Anna Anderson/ Manahan and Ingrid Bergman and Grand Duchess Olga - the Aunt

Monday, October 06, 2008

Chronology - sites I am reading

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