The update said Anna Anderson had no genetic connection to the Russian Royal Family, but how could she be so convincing to Anastasia's childhood friend and nurse? I find it hard to believe that she would know that many intimate details. The only thing she had going against her was that she wouldnt' speak Russian. I haven't done any extensive research on the topic, but I'm sure the book about it is interesting.

I was a longtime believer myself, however, the unfortunate thing is, DNA doesnt lie...hey, she fooled a lot fo people for 70 years, it was a fun ride ;)

This is one of my favorite UM segments --- mostly because the actors were good and I love how it was filmed.

Yeah, I wonder how she knew all those details. :confused:

I was really hopping Anna was the real Anastasia.

http://www.romanov-memorial.com/Pic/Hist_Romanov_Familly.jpg

I was convinced, until she refused to speak Russian, then I doubted her

Its a true shame that one of the few Euro monarchs who actually married for love and who cared about his family above all else including the throne ( Which he never wanted, but inherited after his brother's assasination ), had to die with them, in one of the worst cases of political murder in history. This should be a true indictment of the Bolshevics for all time.

btw, this thread should have been on the politics/current events theads, dont you think? :confused:

Its a true shame that one of the few Euro monarchs who actually married for love and who cared about his family above all else including the throne ( Which he never wanted, but inherited after his brother's assasination ), had to die with them, in one of the worst cases of political murder in history. This should be a true indictment of the Bolshevics for all time.


I know! I find the whole situation very sad.

Plus, I tend to put a lot of the blame on that idiot Rasputin. For anyone that doesn’t know, Rasputin was a "mystic"/"spiritual healer" from Russia. He became a friend of the Romanov family when Nicholas and Alexandra were seeking help for Alexei’s hemophilia. He was a last resort, as the doctors they went to didn’t seem to help. Let’s just say his influences over the family weren’t the best.

To read more about him, go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasputin

I know! I find the whole situation very sad.
Plus, I tend to put a lot of the blame on that idiot Rasputin. . Let’s just say his influences over the family weren’t the best.
Yeah, hes sometimes reputed to have had an affair with the Tsarina, however, knowing how much she loved her husband, and knowing Rasputins love of very young women, id say its more likey he was after the princesses. :rolleyes:

Yeah, hes sometimes reputed to have had an affair with the Tsarina, however, knowing how much she loved her husband, and knowing Rasputins love of very young women, id say its more likey he was after the princesses. :rolleyes:

Yeah, I doubt Alexandra had an affair. And it wouldn't surprise me if he wanted to bed one of the princesses --- he was a nasty man, that's for sure!

one, or ALL of them :rolleyes:

Hey...

Found some greats pics of the Romanovs:

http://www.alexanderpalace.org/palace/scrapbook1.html

nice pics alright :)

I have been a Romanov fan since the age of 5 in 1967. I have read many books on the Romanovs and their court, including Rasputin, the war and the many family issues at that time.

I, for one, believe that Anastasia survived the execution in Ekaterinburg. I do not know if she is for sure "Anna Anderson", but I do know that it is possible.

Think about it:

1) The current head of the Romanov family categorically denies that Anastasia survived. Of course he would. If she survived, there is the chance she might have heirs. That would make them next in line as the head of the Romanovs, not him.

2) Contrary to popular belief, the Queen did recognize Anastasia at first look. It was only after Anastasia let slip that her father was holding (in today's currency) the equivalent of over $70,000,000 in money, jewels and property, that the English Royal Family denied she was Anastasia. This comes from royal family insiders not Anna Anderson or the movies. If they denied she was alive, they inherited all the assets as next of kin.

3) The Bolsheviks had to tell the public that the Romanovs had been killed. All of them. The daughters were no real threat to the Russians. They legally couldn't ascend the throne. But, Alexei could. But the Russians were calling for blood for all the alleged atrocities by the Romanovs and their years of rule.

4) As for the DNA "evidence". Don't you find it interesting that the "experts" first to check the evidence were Russians in their own country? Of course, anyone can manipulate DNA evidence. Look at our own FBI. They manipulate files, people, evidence all of the time. They had the most to gain by claiming all the Romanovs were found in the pit and the DNA was all Romanov. Not only would they have to answer to the World Press about their history, but they would have to possibly rewrite all their own history. It would not benefit them to say anything else.

5) I know most peope believe that Anastasia died, but even some of the soldiers who shot them, stated that at least one of the princesses survived. Everyone ever interviewed stated categorically that it was Anastasia.


This evidence all comes from released Russian documents.

Sorry to bump this older topic, but I had to reply. I always believed that Anna Anderson *was* the lost grand duchess until the DNA results came back, but there is still a part of me in disbelief. And there is so much stuff all over the internet about Anna, both for and against her claims. The DNA testing concluded that Anna was not the lost grand duchess, but was in reality Franziska Schanzkowska, though some say that the tissue samples were "tampered with". Who really knows. It's an incredible case.

Yeah I always thought it was her too. But it's just strange that the DNA says that it's not her. I guess we'll never find out now.

I believe that Anna Anderson was perhaps one of the greatest actresses the world has ever known (and this role she played from 1921 onward ensured she never had to work a day in her life for the next 63 years- even through the Depression and WWII when millions of fellow German citizens were starving) .Let's not forget, she originally ran away to Berlin in 1921 to BE an actress!
Unfortunately, she played her role SO well, she totally lost all ability to believe herself to be anything BUT Anastasia! I guess that fate beat having to have resigned herself to being a Polish peasant girl who'd put on airs about distant noble ancestors but whose current reality was far bleaker and more of a struggle!
As to her supporters who'd known the real Grand Duchess? Well, they,too, may have had little else going for them if they DIDN'T claim her- as quite a few legit Romanov survivors lived rather meagerly for many years after the Russian Revolution!

I think it is possible that Anastasia survived. I wouldn't say for sure that Anna Anderson was her but even with the DNA test results I wouldn't positively rule it out. I always wondered how reliable the samples they got for each side of the test were. When I read these posts I finally decided to try and look it up. These pages seemed intersting and the authors also questioned the DNA evidence in different ways.

http://www.freewarehof.org/manahans.html

and this one

http://www.peterkurth.com/ANNA-ANASTASIA%20NOTES%20ON%20FRANZISKA%20SCHANZKOWSKA.htm

I truley think we will never really know with this one.
There were two bodies missing from the mass grave. The brothers body was not there and I have wondered what happened to him and why people rarely talk of him. I read once that a man claimed to be him but I don't remember what book it was in or the mans name.

I had looked this one up in the day and I'm almost positive that it was later determined that the graves that were unearthed that were thought to be the Romanoff's were in fact NOT. Thus the DNA that Anna Anderson supplied would not have matched. I've also heard that her DNA was so deteriorated (wow, my spelling is really off today) that it wasn't possible to really get any match anyways.

Anyone else read this? Are ya with me?

I never heard this business about the Romanov grave site NOT being the Romanov grave site, but Anna Anderson had every reason in the world to lie, and, from all available evidence, she did. She couldn't speak Russian, her DNA did not match the available samples, and, as PracTz pointed out long ago, she never had to work a single day in her long life because of her claim.

I'm not impressed. Maybe I'm Tsar Nikolas' great grandson...

Maybe a better question now would be, "Just who was Anna Anderson"? Where did she come from? Who were her family if not the Romanovs?

Maybe a better question now would be, "Just who was Anna Anderson"? Where did she come from? Who were her family if not the Romanovs?
Hi neighbour, im in Welland!:wave: Anyway, I think Anna Anderson was who the authorities said she was, a peasant who just happened to have an extraordinary resemblance to the Princess Anastasia and used that to her benefit.

I always wondered how she could have had such an intimate knowledge of the family. Could it have been a paranormal thing where the soul of Anastasia was reborn as Anna Anderson with no memory of the years in between????

I always wondered how she could have had such an intimate knowledge of the family. Could it have been a paranormal thing where the soul of Anastasia was reborn as Anna Anderson with no memory of the years in between????
Unlikely, a more likely scenario is that she used the technique that fortune tellers do, asking veiled questions (and giving vague answers) that give the "faker" the information they need, to seem genuine. Not to mention that the day to day happenings in the imperial palace were gossiped about so much during the time of the revolution, that what may have seemed like exclusive information of the Royal family , may have been fairly well-known to even a peasant like Anna. ( Im speculating here, btw )

I had to bump this thread as I love this case!!!!

Something that always got me about this case was the fact that the Queen claimed Anastasia until she heard about the secret money account.

Okay, I can understand how someone could be taught memories and be very convincing, but some things, that were pointed out by her childhood nanny, such as the bone deformities in her foot, the ritual of rubbing cologne on her forehead--things like these, how can they be faked, if indeed only Anastasia and the nanny knew this ritual?

Also, how could she have known about the secret bank account?

I used to honestly think Anna Anderson was Anastasia, (based on the uncanny resemblance) until I found the following website.

http://www.freewebs.com/anastasiafranziska/photographiccomparisons.htm

It shows how Anna Anderson could have easily been positioned to look like Anastasia and also compares her resemblance to the missing Polish factory worker. AA can look like either woman depending on what picture you look at.

I'm not sure if AA was Anastasia, but there is enough evidence to perhaps believe she did survive. I guess we will have to wait and see what the DNA proves on the newest 2 bodies discovered!

Any thoughts?

whoa. Thanks for posting that link, Kama. That site is (hands down) one of the best I've ever seen out there in terms of complete information, comparisons, and photographs. :eek:

I hope the DNA proves that the two bodies found are the last of the missing Romanovs. I'd like to see them put to rest and the mysteries finally solved.

I had to bump this thread as I love this case!!!!

Something that always got me about this case was the fact that the Queen claimed Anastasia until she heard about the secret money account.

Okay, I can understand how someone could be taught memories and be very convincing, but some things, that were pointed out by her childhood nanny, such as the bone deformities in her foot, the ritual of rubbing cologne on her forehead--things like these, how can they be faked, if indeed only Anastasia and the nanny knew this ritual?

Also, how could she have known about the secret bank account?

I used to honestly think Anna Anderson was Anastasia, (based on the uncanny resemblance) until I found the following website.

http://www.freewebs.com/anastasiafranziska/photographiccomparisons.htm

It shows how Anna Anderson could have easily been positioned to look like Anastasia and also compares her resemblance to the missing Polish factory worker. AA can look like either woman depending on what picture you look at.

I'm not sure if AA was Anastasia, but there is enough evidence to perhaps believe she did survive. I guess we will have to wait and see what the DNA proves on the newest 2 bodies discovered!

Any thoughts?

Lord help me, I'm watching the Star Jones show right now on TruTV and it's actually pretty interesting. She's interviewing Dr. Baden, a forensic pathologist who was involved in identifying the bodies of the Romanovs. He said that the two bodies who were thought to be Anastasia and her brother were in fact proven to be them through DNA testing. The bodies were about 50 yards away from the rest of the family. It's nice that we finally have a definitive answer on what happened to them, and really interesting to see how the Anastasia story turned into such a huge myth.

Lord help me, I'm watching the Star Jones show right now on TruTV and it's actually pretty interesting. She's interviewing Dr. Baden, a forensic pathologist who was involved in identifying the bodies of the Romanovs. He said that the two bodies who were thought to be Anastasia and her brother were in fact proven to be them through DNA testing. The bodies were about 50 yards away from the rest of the family. It's nice that we finally have a definitive answer on what happened to them, and really interesting to see how the Anastasia story turned into such a huge myth.


That is great news! I hadn't heard anything about the results of the DNA tests yet.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080430/ap_on_re_eu/russia_czar_s_family

So wait...is that right that Anastasia's remains were unearthed in 1991? When did the Anna Anderson segment air??

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080430/ap_on_re_eu/russia_czar_s_family

So wait...is that right that Anastasia's remains were unearthed in 1991? When did the Anna Anderson segment air??

After the diary of Yakov Yurovsky, the chief executioner of the Imperial Family and head of the Cheka in Iekaterinburg, was released from KGB archives, the bodies of Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra, 3 of their daughters and a few of their servants were indeed found buried in 1991. However, identification was conclusively done only a few years later, after the fall of the Soviet regime, using both DNA coming from surviving and dead relatives and facial reconstitution.

While indeed Anastasia was identified among the bodies found in the burial site, those of Alexei and one of the older daughters (either Olga or Maria) were not found there. Bone shards from Alexei and Maria were found in a forest around Iekaterinburg, as stated in the news release, and have now been positively identified last week.

Here you can watch the full "Great Crimes and Trials" segment on the assassination of the Romanov Imperial Family, with updated information on how the bodies were found in 1991 and identified afterwards.

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=Great+Crimes+and+Trials&hl=fr&sitesearch=&start=0

Spike actually gave this story 2 segments. And they updated about Annastasia was found dead.

Sadly, Anna Anderson was a poseur (Who just happened to look a lot like the princess Anastasia), but, here is the real Grand Duchess, with her sisters, and family :notworthy

I wonder how many more strange legends will be conclusively solved such as the former mystery of Anastasia has been.

DNA could conceivable solve all of the "didn't really die" mysteries, but most lineages don't have both the tracable Y-chromosome and mtDNA lines and current carriers of said lines that Nicholas and Alexandra did.

I would like at least one "didn't really die" mystery to be true, although I'm not holding my breath... kind of takes the fun out of it when the accepted history seems to be right all the time.

Although a lot of the strange legends had aspects that seemed far-fetched, this case had me convinced until I heard about the results of DNA testing. I mean, the fact that Anna Anderson was able to convice Anastasia's childhood friends (among others) was remarkable. You add that to all of the similarities in physical attributes, and you have a compelling case.

This was one of my favorite segments on the show, as the story was well-presented and filmed. Like egswanso, I really hope that at least one of these legends is proven true one day.

Be on the lookout for an upcoming book which will explain how Anna Anderson/Anastasia Manahan got away with her charade to the extent that she did, for as long as she did, in which many questions will be answered.

The DNA said it wasn't her, but she had such an intimate knowledge of the family. It flashes me back on cases of people who survived near death experiences and returned with the personalities of memories of other people (a form of reincarnation?)

Isn't it possible that she just read a lot of books and articles on the royal family in her research and preparation for the greatest role (that as an actress) she would ever play?

I collect old books and I have one written about England's Queen Elizabeth and her sister, Margaret, regarding many, many details of their childhoods, before Elizabeth ever became queen.

It could be this one: The Little Princesses - The Intimate Story of H.R.H. Princess Elizabeth and H.R.H. Princess Margaret By Their Governess (1950)

Elizabeth's coronation was in 1953. I'm not sure if this is the book I have or not, I'm getting ready to move, and almost all of my books are packed up and in storage.

My point is, the Romanovs (as most royals) were popular, and there must have been many written sources available for an imposter to study and memorize in an attempt to impersonate one of them.

Anna Anderson did read everything she could get her hands on about the Romanovs, but claimed not to. She also incorporated stories told to her by others over the years, true or otherwise--so that some of what she said is actually of historical value but one would have to sift the true bits from among all the garbage. As for the rest, which she didn't obtain by reading, it came through other people as will be explained in the book. I also considered the spirit-channeling thing but discarded it after learning certain information which it is said will be expounded in this forthcoming book.

Sadly, Anna Anderson was a poseur (Who just happened to look a lot like the princess Anastasia), but, here is the real Grand Duchess, with her sisters, and family :notworthy

Wow, those girls were gorgeous!

Here is a segment from the Travel Channel show Mysteries at the Museum. http://www.travelchannel.com/video/the-real-anastasia The show is generally wonderfully done and they do a good job on the reenactments, although they did a very silly story on John Wilkes Booth (another person who had a claimant/impostor in later years and his was probably a better match) and I told them so. According to this program, the DNA from Anna Anderson was taken from a hair sample left at the Charlottesville Historical Society and a test simply showed she was "not a Romanov." They didn't say against whose DNA they checked it or how and I don't recall that they even said who performed the tests or when. I understood the definitive tests had been taken from tissue left after surgery Anna Anderson had undergone.

Now, I was very impressed when someone on this forum (it's the bottom reply here http://forum.alexanderpalace.org/index.php?topic=13419.msg84775#msg84775) said that the tissue would have to be from the specific part of the body (intestine or whatever) to match what was taken--in other words, it would eliminate the fear of someone having faked the test by just taking any tissue from anyone...well, presumably from someone in the Polish family suspect as being hers. I would be even more impressed if this hair and the tissue from the operation proved to be from the same person--as they were taken at different times and places, under different circumstances, etc. Incidentally, the hair in the museum didn't look to me like hers--it appeared blond, and I understood her to have dark hair--but perhaps it somehow lost color over the years.

A bit unrelated, but a great example of how things should be done was in the case of Bonnie and Clyde. Authorities immediately called in family members to positively identify them, then displayed their bodies to tens of thousands of visitors, unlike Booth or Anastasia, who were shot in secret and then buried for years. The person asked to identify Booth was a doctor who had met him perhaps once. On sight of the body, he declared it wasn't him, took a closer look and said it was after all, fueling years of survival speculation. You don't see too many cases of people coming forward to claim they were the real Bonnie and Clyde!

Here is the book of which I spoke earlier: http://www.amazon.com/The-Resurrection-Romanovs-Anastasia-Anderson/dp/0470444983#

I always thought Anna Anderson was one of the most believable "imposters" featured on UM. I really couldn't believe the update when they confirmed she was a fraud. The story had me fooled.

So who was this woman?! I can't believe a sister, mother, aunt, neighbor, cashier, bank teller never came forward and said, "Hey, I know her!" Of course, several cases go this way...people just don't pay attention.

I always thought Anna Anderson was one of the most believable "imposters" featured on UM. I really couldn't believe the update when they confirmed she was a fraud. The story had me fooled.


Me too, Cars. I believed the story as well.

I watched an In Search of Episode about this. She comes across very poorly in that episode (IMO). If I had seen the ISO episode first, I probably wouldn't have been as taken by the UM story.

So who was this woman?! I can't believe a sister, mother, aunt, neighbor, cashier, bank teller never came forward and said, "Hey, I know her!" Of course, several cases go this way...people just don't pay attention.

According to things I've read, Gertrude, the sister of the Polish woman, Franziska Schanzkowska, that Anna Anderson is believed to have been, once confronted her and said, "You are my sister! Admit it!" Then the brother made inquiries as to whether, if a mentally ill person committed a crime, such as fraud, their family could be held liable. He seemed to believe they could and the family disowned her--therefore she came out of "nowhere." Kinda surprising, though, that Anastasia's relatives wouldn't pay off her relatives and offer them immunity for positively identifying her, rather than drag on a costly court case for 40 years or so! That almost looks kinda suspect. :confused:

I watched an In Search of Episode about this. She comes across very poorly in that episode (IMO). If I had seen the ISO episode first, I probably wouldn't have been as taken by the UM story.

I recently watched the "In Search Of" episode about this as well. Man, you're right, Anna Anderson came across as a very unpleasant, unlikable old woman in her interview and makes you less inclined to believe she could be Anastasia. Her fame-hungry husband wasn't particularly likable either. You could tell that Anna had become incredibly embittered from having lived a lie for so long since by this point, she would never officially be recognized as Anastasia and gain all the prestige that came with it.

It was also funny to hear all the experts interviewed in the segment say that we would never know for sure if she was Anastasia or not since DNA testing was not a thing yet.

As far as her relatives' response to her, from what I've read, the last inquiry into her identity came at the time the Nazi government was in power in Germany. Her relatives possibly were scared (with reason) of the legal repercussions against her or themselves if they admitted that they knew she was an imposter. Schanzkowska had a difficult relationship with her mother and siblings, as well as living a fairly comfortable lifestyle in her role as Anastasia, so it's not surprising that they didn't push more strongly to identify or reclaim her. If they had helped to establish her fraud, she would have ended up in prison, an institution or likely one of her relatives would have been obligated to support her.

Resurrection of the Romanovs is a really good work for anyone who wants more information about her background. Certainly she was a quarrelsome, mentally troubled individual, but her problematic family relationships and hardships prior to her suicide attempt in the canal made her a bit more sympathetic.

With all the "evidence" UM provided in their LONG profile, the UPDATE sure is a shocking downer.

Re-watching it knowing the ending still boggles the mind.

I find it amazing that the discovery of the bodies in 1991 still allowed the mystery to live for nearly another two decades due to the absence of Anastasia and Alexei's remains. If they had not been buried just a bit away from everyone else, the mystery would have ended right there, before UM aired its segment.

I always liked to believe that she was Anastasia when I was a child due to the birthmarks and things she seemed to recall. It's sad to think she was just a con artist, but I suppose I should look into her background as other posters stated to see what a troubled life she led before becoming an imposter.

I could never figure out how the imposter had the same birthmarks and such.

Just rewatched and I am laughing so hard at the now-discredited historian guy who is so adamant that its really Anastasia.

I watched this segment for the first time in a long time yesterday and it's glossed over in the segment, but this woman couldn't even speak Russian! Pretty big detail that was excused by that historian as her being "offended" at the request to speak Russian because she was "royalty".

I could never figure out how the imposter had the same birthmarks and such.

I don't recall the brithmarks. Only things I can find on them is "They match" from sites that wanted them to be the same person.

Just rewatched and I am laughing so hard at the now-discredited historian guy who is so adamant that its really Anastasia.

A good lie is easier to believe than the truth. Plus.. Hey.. If the guy had wound up being right.. He would forever be known as the guy who got it right.

Heck of a gamble to take with your credibility, tho, isn't it?

And.. i wouldn't be surprised if the producers put him on and told him that they wanted him to be the 'pro' side of the argument.

I watched this segment for the first time in a long time yesterday and it's glossed over in the segment, but this woman couldn't even speak Russian! Pretty big detail that was excused by that historian as her being "offended" at the request to speak Russian because she was "royalty".

I think they also tried to see if she spoke French as well as the children were taught to speak it, but she couldn’t that either.

Just rewatched and I am laughing so hard at the now-discredited historian guy who is so adamant that its really Anastasia.

That historian was also convinced there was a fifth Daughter aside from OTMA and Alexei.

I wish the “and I’m Michael Jordan and play for the Chicago Bulls” guy was in this segment.

Never understood why this case fascinated so many people, even loosely inspired a Disney movie and a live one with Yul Brynner. The Romanovs were nobody to be admired just because they were filthy rich, they lived in splendor for many years while their people suffered. Of course the Bolsheviks were just as bad. But then Russia has never been known for its noble leaders.

All that fuss and she was just an attention whore.

People are just to fascinated with royalty anyway. Mostly just crummy people who think their you know what doesn't stink.

I LOVE learning about famous royal families and I LOVE history itself and I have heard of Anna Anderson because according to a book I have on Anastasia Romanov it was believed that Anna Anderson was indeed Anastasia Romanov but they had no clue if Anna was Anastasia because there really was no info to prove that Anna Anderson was Anastasia and Anna Anderson died in "I believe" 1950. But Anastasia Romanov and the rest of the family had to go to another country "I can't remember where" but some books mentioned that they went to Japan but Anastasia's grandmother moved to Paris where she continued to live until her death in the 50's. I became a fan of Anastasia Romanov after seeing the animated movie Anastasia and I fell in love with her story and started learning more about Anastasia. But I never knew Unsolved Mysteries did a story on Anna Anderson. Is this episode seen anywhere?

I LOVE learning about famous royal families and I LOVE history itself and I have heard of Anna Anderson because according to a book I have on Anastasia Romanov it was believed that Anna Anderson was indeed Anastasia Romanov but they had no clue if Anna was Anastasia because there really was no info to prove that Anna Anderson was Anastasia and Anna Anderson died in "I believe" 1950. But Anastasia Romanov and the rest of the family had to go to another country "I can't remember where" but some books mentioned that they went to Japan but Anastasia's grandmother moved to Paris where she continued to live until her death in the 50's. I became a fan of Anastasia Romanov after seeing the animated movie Anastasia and I fell in love with her story and started learning more about Anastasia. But I never knew Unsolved Mysteries did a story on Anna Anderson. Is this episode seen anywhere?
yes, most of the original UM catalogue is available on multiple streaming platforms now. amazon prime, most of the free tv apps have it, YouTube, etc. The Anastasia segment can be found on Unsolved Mysteries season 6 episode 3. Quickest way to watch would be to search that on YouTube.

Never understood why this case fascinated so many people, even loosely inspired a Disney movie and a live one with Yul Brynner. The Romanovs were nobody to be admired just because they were filthy rich, they lived in splendor for many years while their people suffered. Of course the Bolsheviks were just as bad. But then Russia has never been known for its noble leaders.

All that fuss and she was just an attention whore.

People are just to fascinated with royalty anyway. Mostly just crummy people who think their you know what doesn't stink.

Completely agree with you - it's amazing to think while their country was starving, they were paying Rasputin to live like a king due to his 'healing powers'. Not justifying what happened to them, but man, there priorities were all over the place.

Completely agree with you - it's amazing to think while their country was starving, they were paying Rasputin to live like a king due to his 'healing powers'. Not justifying what happened to them, but man, there priorities were all over the place.

Oh yeah. I'm not saying their deaths weren't tragic. Especially the girls, I mean they couldn't help their father was a piss poor leader. They were still human beings, and it was absolutely a brutal execution carried out by a bunch of thugs no question about it. I do feel sympathy for what happened to them, just not any admiration for who they were.