I'm confused. re the Romanov family - the finding of 2 more bodies?

Question

I'm puzzled and there must be a logical explanation.

Why for year's did they say that the 2 missing Romanov children were likely to be Anastasia and Alexei, and people were convinced she may of survived. (I'm not convinced now however). And now that 2 more bodies have been discovered the media are saying MARIA and Alexei's remains have been found. Does that mean then, that Anastasia's body was discovered back in 1991 with 4 other members of her family, when we assumed it was Maria? Or are they still unsure whether it's Anastasia or Maria that has just been found?

Sorry but you may agree it's all a bit confusing and I just wondered whether anyone out there can clarify the situation with Anastasia and Maria.

Thanks.

Answer 1

Anastasia is presumed to have been murdered with her family on July 17, 1918, by forces of the Bolshevik secret police. However, rumors have persisted of her possible escape since 1918, fueled by reports that two sets of remains, identified as Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia, and either Anastasia or her elder sister Maria, were missing from a mass grave found near Ekaterinburg and later identified through DNA testing as the Romanovs. In January 2008 Russian scientists announced that the charred remains of a young boy and a young woman found near Ekaterinburg in August 2007 are most likely those of the thirteen-year-old Tsarevich and one of the four Romanov grand duchesses. Final results of the DNA testing are scheduled to be announced later in April or May 2008.

In 1991, bodies believed to be those of the Imperial Family and their servants were finally exhumed from a mass grave in the woods outside Yekaterinburg. Once opened, the excavators realized that instead of eleven sets of remains the grave held only nine. Alexei and, according to the late forensic expert Dr. William Maples, Anastasia's bodies were missing from the family's grave. Russian scientists contested this, however, claiming that it was the body of the Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia that was missing. The Russians identified Anastasia by using a computer program to compare photos of the youngest grand duchess with the skulls of the victims from the mass grave. They estimated the height and width of the skulls where pieces of bone were missing. American scientists found this method inexact. DNA testing confirmed these were the remains of the Imperial Family and their servants, although the fate of the two missing children remains a mystery.

However, on August 23, 2007, a Russian archaeologist announced the discovery of two burned, partial skeletons at a bonfire site near Yekaterinburg that appeared to match the site described in Yurovsky's memoirs. The archaeologists said the bones are from a boy who was roughly between the ages of ten and thirteen years at the time of his death and of a young woman who was roughly between the ages of eighteen and twenty-three years old. Anastasia was seventeen years, one month old at the time of the assassination, while her sister Maria was nineteen years, one month old and her brother Alexei was two weeks shy of his fourteenth birthday. Anastasia's elder sisters Olga and Tatiana were twenty-two and twenty-one years old at the time of the assassination. Preliminary testing indicates a "high degree of probability" that the remains belong to the Tsarevich Alexei and to one of his sisters, Russian forensic scientists announced on January 22, 2008.

Answer 2

You might enjoy The Romanov Prophecy by Steve Berry. It is pure fiction but it explores the possibilities thrown up by the uncertainty surrounding the murders, although it was written in 2004, before the discovery of the last two bodies. The plot revolves around what might happen if the Russian people of today decided to restore the tsar, and who the heir to the Romanov throne might be.

Answer 3

They all died the same time, there were no survivors, it's the truth.

Answer 4

Guess what? Rachelle can copy paste!

All the Ramonov girls were close in age. I recall reading that there was always some confusion over which girl was missing even though popular culture honed in on Anastasia.  I believe the confusion came because of their size (anastasia being younger yet bigger than maria (?)). Anastasia also had imposters like Ana Anderson who many people believed to be the escaped Grand Duchess but now we know they were all frauds.

Once the last 2 bodies were found though it became clear who was who and yes Anastasia was found in 1991.

Answer 5

anastasia and maria were very close in the physical aspect which would make there skeletons/ bown growth similar. so if u were comparing skeletons it would b hard to decern which child was which. they at first believe anastasia and alexie may have survived but after examination of the first sets of bodies. they came to find that it was maria and alexie that were missing. and now are found.