Anastasia Nicolaievna was the originator of all mischief, and was as witty and amusing as she was lazy at her lessons. She was quick and observant, with a keen sense of humor, and was the only one of the sisters who never knew the meaning of shyness. Baroness Buxhoevden.
Ingenuousness and utter simplicity were the most characteristic qualities of Anastasia Nicolaievna. As a small child she was very mischievous, spotting at once the comical traits in people's characters and afterwards imitating them very skillfully, so that it was irresistibly funny…Even at sixteen she still behaved like a headstrong young foal that has run away from its master. …you could not escape from her irresistible charm, made up of freshness & enjoyment of life…Pierre Gilliard, tutor to Imperial Children
My favorite goddaughter was she indeed! I liked her fearlessness. She never whimpered or cried, even when hurt. She was a fearful tomboy. Goodness only knows which of the young cousins had taught her how to climb trees, but climb them she did, even when she was quite small. It was not generally known that she had a weak back and the doctors ordered massage. Anastasia or "Shvibzik," as I used to call her, hated what she labeled "fuss." A hospital nurse, Tatiana Gromova, used to come to the palace twice a week, and my naughty little niece would hide in a cupboard or under her bed, just to put off the massage by another five minutes or so. I suppose the doctors were right about the defective muscle, but nobody, seeing Anastasia at play, would have believed it, so quick and energetic was she. And what a bundle of mischief!
But she was a Shvibzik indeed. As she grew older, she developed a gift for mimicry. Ladies who came to see my sister-in-law never knew that somewhere unseen in the background, their Empress's youngest daughter was watching every movement of theirs, every peculiarity, and later it would all come out when we were by ourselves. That art of Anastasia's was not really encouraged, but oh the fun we had when we heard duplicated the fat Countess Kutuzova, one of my mother's ladies-in-waiting, complaining of a heart attack brought on by the appearance of a mouse. Very naughty of Anastasia, but she was certainly brilliant at it! --Olga Alexandrovna, Anastasia’s aunt on her father’s side
