"The real Anastasia's life was nothing like the Fox cartoon!"
ROTF!
I like to remain open-minded (by this I'm not implying that I consider that Anasastia's life may've been like a cartoon, I'm referring to the survival VS death argument).
As far as I can see, while the remains for Anastasia (and Alexei) have not been found, we have a mystery (the understatement of the century!). There is no conclusive evidence of survival, nor is there conclusive evidence of death.
I, myself, have many theories for both Anastasia and Alexei's death and survival. Many of them would seem ludicrous to most people, and I'm not saying that my theories are at all likely, but they are, at least, possible.
The most perplexing question for me is: why did Yurosvky lie about the cremation of two of the remains? Pig's Meadow has been examined over and over, with no more remains found. I wonder why he lied about this but was rather open in his memoirs about the location of the main grave.
Someone (not necessarily on this thread) suggested that the remains of Anastasia and Alexei were eaten by animals. I am reluctant to believe this. Firstly, I cannot imagine the Bolsheviks leaving remains on the forest floor, unburied. If they did bury them, and they were subsequently dug up by animals, I cannot imagine that animals would consume all of the bones of two bodies - this is over 400 bones, there would be something left. Hair and teeth, at the very least, would remain. Also, I could be wrong, but I don't believe that many animals would consume skulls.
For the purpose of discussion, I will share one of my "survival" theories. Please feel free to criticise and deconstruct my theory. I encourage this. I think that it is at least possible that, because Yurovsky spared the life of Leonid Sedniev, that he spared the lives of Alexei and Anastasia, both children at the time of the murders. I am completely aware that this very unlikely.
Evidence that could support this theory:
- Yurovsky spared Leonid Sedniev. Alexei and Anastasia were children, like Leonid Sedniev.
- Yurovsky was often seen asking after Alexei's health and having conversations with him in the Ipatiev House.
- In his memoirs, Yurovsky says that the truck that he summoned to transport the bodies arrived hours later than intended. Possibly in the time before the truck's arrival, Alexei and Anastasia were removed from the house, and then the truck was summoned.
- Yurovsky says he cremated the remains of Alexei and Demidova. He had to say Alexei, as it would've been obvious to anyone who uncovered the grave that the body of a 13 year old boy was missing, but by saying that he cremated Demidova with him, he is accounting for all of the Imperial Family in the main grave, with the exception of Alexei. (Because Anastasia would be assumed to be one of the bodies found in the main grave). If he really did cremate the bodies, then he lied about the two bodies he cremated, because Demidova was in the main grave. Nowehere in his memoirs does he refer to the cremation of Anastasia.
- He lied about the cremation and burial of the two bodies. We now know that it is impossible to cremate two bodies in the conditions and time that the Bolsheviks had. He said he buried the remains, and that he supervised both burials (the burials of the 9 in the main grave, and of the 2 in the other grave). This suggests that these graves were in the vicinity of one another, but, additional remains have never been found in Pig's Meadow.
- All four daughters were said to have been "finished off" with shots to the head. But, eyewitnesses saw two of the daughters alive when they were being transported to the truck. It is possible that one daughter survived a shot to head (albeit VERY unlikely) but two? According to most eyewitnesses, Anastasia was the last of the family to die. Was this conveniently appended to the statements?
