Story Highlights
- Historical event:
- 18 June 1901
- She was the youngest of four daughters of Tsar Nicholas II and was murdered along with other members of her family after the October Revolution. It was speculated for a long time that she may have been the only member of the imperial family who had managed to escape.
On this day the famous Anastasia, a member of the Russian imperial family and the daughter of the last Russian tsar, was born.
She was the youngest of four daughters of Tsar Nicholas II and was murdered along with other members of her family after the October Revolution.
Tsar Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra had five children: four daughters and one son. The daughters were called Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia – so they sometimes collectively signed themselves with the acronym OTMA (it was their collective nickname). Their brother – Prince Alexei – was born after them, as the youngest child. He suffered from hemophilia, which is why the emperor and empress employed the famous monk Rasputin to heal him.
Anastasia was the youngest of the sisters and was a very lively and energetic child. It is interesting that Nicholas’ royal children were brought up in a Spartan way. They allegedly slept on hard beds with no pillows and washed in cold water in the morning. In their free time, instead of dilly-dallying, the sisters did needlework, which was then sold for charity. The servants did not address Anastasia with her lofty title “Your Imperial Highness”, but simply “Anastasia Nikolaevna”.
When the Bolsheviks killed her, Anastasia was only 17 years old. It was speculated for a long time that she may have been the only member of the imperial family who had managed to escape. Even during the 20th century, a number of women claimed that they were Anastasia. However, a DNA analysis of the remains which was performed several years ago, confirmed that all four sisters (OTMA) were killed, along with their brother, father, and mother.
