Leonid Sednev

I've always seen his last name written as SEDNEV, but recently i found "Sednyov" in The last diary of Tsaritsa Aleksandra" (the edition with Massie's introduction). I bet this is the translitteration for Sednëv, so it would be a question of wrong letter; but since pronunciation changes a lot, does anyone have idea of the truth?

 I would surmise that the variation is due to transliteration as you suggest. In the context of the scenario, it could only be he.
 I have only seen:  Леонид Иванович Седнев.    Regards,  AP.

I wonder if Sednev was the inspiration for Dmitri "the kitchen boy" in the children's movie Anastasia.

Wow - I've never thought of that! Hmm, good idea!

I would surmise that the variation is due to transliteration as you suggest. In the context of the scenario, it could only be he.
 I have only seen:  Леонид Иванович Седнев.    Regards,  AP.

Thanks. I was a bit confused because i know Massie is very precise.

This may have been discussed before, but I was hoping somebody could shed some light on this.

From what I've read, Leonid S.'s patronymic was Ivanovitch. His uncle (who was Leonid's father's brother, I think) was named Ivan.  Could it be possible that Leonid's uncle Ivan was his mother's brother? It seems a little unusual for two brothers both to be named Ivan.  (My Russian teacher told us that children whose parents were unmarried were given the patronymic Ivanovitch but that does not seem to be the case here.)

This may have been discussed before, but I was hoping somebody could shed some light on this.

From what I've read, Leonid S.'s patronymic was Ivanovitch. His uncle (who was Leonid's father's brother, I think) was named Ivan.  Could it be possible that Leonid's uncle Ivan was his mother's brother? It seems a little unusual for two brothers both to be named Ivan.  (My Russian teacher told us that children whose parents were unmarried were given the patronymic Ivanovitch but that does not seem to be the case here.)

  Hello, "archeologue"!   Yes, this has come up before.  It remains one of the smaller mysteries surrounding Leonid I. Sednev. To my knowledge, no DEFINITIVE explanation has come forth as of yet, but for some "practical" SPECULATION, please refer to Reply # 195 (page 14) of this thread, and Replies # 212, 213 (page 15) of this thread.                 Regards,   AP.

Oh, something interesting I also found, don't know what to make of this, but I had always heard of his first name as being Leonid, but going back through Edvard R.'s bio of Nicholas II, in the index, he note a nickname given to him that seems like it would be a nickname for the given name Alexei, and in the french Wikipedia for Eugene Botkin, they say his name is Alexei. Of course this is wikipedia, but it's just puzzling.

His name is Leonid, but why would they give him a nickname that would be a diminutive for the given name Alexei. Is there any truth in this? 

Oh, something interesting I also found, don't know what to make of this, but I had always heard of his first name as being Leonid, but going back through Edvard R.'s bio of Nicholas II, in the index, he note a nickname given to him that seems like it would be a nickname for the given name Alexei, and in the french Wikipedia for Eugene Botkin, they say his name is Alexei. Of course this is wikipedia, but it's just puzzling.

His name is Leonid, but why would they give him a nickname that would be a diminutive for the given name Alexei. Is there any truth in this?  

  In my opinion, I think you are confusing the nickname "Alyosha" with "Leshka."  I have never heard of Sednev being given the diminutive for "Alexei" ( i e.  "Alyosha") and see no reason for such.  
 
  In Radzinsky's Index, he properly associates "Leonid" with "Leshka."   IMO, the French version of Wikipedia concerning the name is simply wrong.  The short English version on Sednev himself  contains a relationship error on which I have remarked earlier.                                                                                                                                                                                                 
                                                    Best regards,  AP.

Ah, thank you for clearing that up. I was mistaken, just for some reason I thought Leshka was a diminutive of Alexei.