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The Romanov Family
The first Romanov ruler was Tsar Michael, and sixteen more generations of Romanov rulers followed. The last Tsar of Russia was Tsar Nicholas II. His family was the last royal Romanov family of Russia.
Nicholas was born on May 19, 1868, to his parents, Marie Feodorovna, a Danish princess, and his father, Tsar Alexander II. Alexandra, or Alix, was born on June 6, 1872 to Louis IV, and Princess Alice. They met at Nicholas’s sister’s wedding when he was a man, sixteen-years old. Alix was only twelve years old then, but when they met, it was love at first sight. Nicholas ruled Russia from 1894-1917.
They later got married and moved into the Alexander Palace, a wedding gift from Alexander II. Together, they had five children. Olga was described as “a splendid child, fat and rosy with a full head of hair.” Her hair was a chestnut blonde, and she had blue eyes, just like her father. She was the most thoughtful of the sisters. Tatiana and Olga were “The Big Pair,” because they were closest to each other and shared a room. Tatiana was tall and stately like her mother, with her auburn hair and grey eyes. She was nicknamed “Governess” because she was such a leader. She was Alix’s favorite child. Maria and Anastasia were “The Little Pair.” Like Olga and Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia were close as well. Maria had light brown hair and large blue eyes-known as “Maria’s Saucers” in their family. She was a warm and loving person. She claimed that she wanted to marry a soldier and have twenty children. Also, Maria was the only child who traveled with her parents to Ekaterinburg. Anastasia had brown hair and blue eyes. Anastasia was the little jokester of the family, enfant terrible. Alexei, the heir to the Romanov throne, had blonde hair and blue eyes. He seemed a healthy baby when he was born, but when he was about six weeks old, he started to bleed at the navel, and the parents could not deny that the heir to the throne had hemophilia, a disease that causes the blood to fail to clot. Alexandra found a monk that could stop Alexei's bleeding. In fact, he was the only person that could stop it. However, this monk was named Rasputin, and he was a horrible man. He even convinced Alexandra to make some very bad changes to the government! Poor Alexei survived some painful hemophilia attacks, and he died with the rest of his family.
On August 1914, Russia declared war on Germany and Austria. Russia lost, and many people believed that Nicholas made many wrong decisions. This led to the Russian Revolution, or the Soviet Revolution. This was the rebellion of the Russian people against the rule of the Tsar. The revolution swept way the ancient Russian monarchy and laid the foundation for the Soviet Union. In March 1917,(February Revolution)the Russian people rebelled against the Tsar, and he decided to abdicate with the advice from his cousin. When he abdicated, the provisional government of Alexander Kerensky was established. But then, the October Revolution (November 1917) came, and V.I. Lenin and the Bolsheviks seized power.
When the Tsar abdicated, he was taken under house arrest with his family to a house in Siberia. Then, the family was taken to Ekaterineburg and put in the Ipativ house. On July 16, 1918, the family was awakened late at night. They were told to get dressed and to go to the cellar to be “photographed.” They were actually shot to death. Anastasia was carrying Jemmy, one of their dogs, when armed men burst into the room and began firing. Alexandra, Nicholas, and Olga died right away. However, the bullets bounced of Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia because before they had left, they had sewn diamonds into their dresses. Alexei was on the floor alive, but groaning. Sadly, a soldier shot him in the head and he died. The assassins filled the cellar with smoke, and Anastasia huddled against the wall, covering her face. All of the daughters died, but there have been claims that Anastasia was still alive. Anna Anderson claimed that she was Anastasia, but was proven wrong after many tests.
The assassins tried their best to destroy the bodies of the last imperial family. They were thrown down into a mine shaft, and later their bodies were removed. Some were burned, while others were doused with acid remains.
The family’s bodies were found in the seventies and were exhumed in 1991. On July 17, 1998, Nicholas, Alexandra, and three of their children were laid to rest. A funeral was held for them at the Russian Orthodox Church, and there they were recognized as saints.
Rasputin
Nicholas and Alexei
