Anna Anderson and Anastasia

[emily]

Personally, I don't think Anna Anderson looked like Anastasia at all.  All the pictures--she's got her head bowed in a certain way that one sees in some pictures of Anastasia, and the nose looks similar from that angle, but that's the ONLY resemblance I've noticed, ever.  I agree with Bob wholeheartedly!

??? ??? ??? ??? ??? :ooh my gosh i dont know what i think anastasia is a historical figure yat they did have a blood test from one of her closest kin and they didnt match so i believe that anna isnt anastasia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Galina]

Dear Anne
Romanovs would have been very busy indeed if they took everyone to court for using their name, crest ect.
So many pretenders. I think they generally handeled it all with dignity.



Speaking about survivors:yes, there is all scientific evidence we can have, but, but, but - how could people who new real Anastasia recognise her in AA? It is odd who Russia revolution repearts the French one -there was a story of 'missing'' Dophine, too...

[helenazar]

I don't know... maybe it's me, but Anna Anderson and Anastasia look absolutely nothing alike to me! I have always been fascinated by this story and read quite a few books on the topic, and have seen many pictures. Even prior to the revelation of the discovery of the nine bodies in shallow grave in siberia, and consequent DNA testing of Anna Anderson's remains, I always wondered how people can accept the fact that she may be the same person, if the features in the pictures look completely different. Yes, a person's face ages and changes somewhat, but the basic features stay the same. Anna Anderson's features were not even similar to Anastasia's!

[Alice]

I 100% agree with you, Helenazar: you only have to look at the photographs to know she is completely false.

"Oh, but [insert name of person here] recognised her as Anastasia", pro-Anna Anderson folks will say. To them I say: whoever recognised Anna Anderson as Anastasia was: A) being unrealistically hopeful, B) was bribed or C) couldn't've known or remembered Anastasia as well as they thought.

It's very obvious that Anna Anderson was NOT Anastasia. You only need to look at the photos and be honest with yourself.

[Jmentanko]

It seems to me that we should not take our opinions too seriously. The matter of identifying someone through photographs is a completely personal opinion. We must all remember that during the "Anastasia" trials experts all agreed that Anastasia and Anna Anderson are the same person.

[Alice]

My opinion is that they had completely different facial structures . . . I honestly believe that anyone that cannot see this must be deceiving themselves. No disrespect intended, but I honestly cannot understand how folks could say that they could be the same person. The shape of the nose, forehead, chin and cheekbones are completely different.  

On the other hand, Anna Anderson's and Franziska Schanzkowska's features were, at worst, very similar.

I understand that some folks disagree with me, and I respect that . . . everyone is entitled to their opinion.  

As for the experts identifying Anna Anderson as Anastasia . . . I must question their credibility. DNA results proved them wrong.

[Jmentanko]

   I'm not advocating Anna or anything like that. However, I personally can not deny the fact that experts believed Anna was Anastasia.
  I also believe there is not much of a resembelance between the two. Then again I haven't really studied the photos under a magnifying glass. It's just another interesting thing about Anna Anderson. They have the same foot defect and they have very similar ears. True, DNA has "proved" that Anna is not Anastasia. However there are even questions about the reliability of Anna's DNA. There is also the fact that Anna Anderson and Schanzkowska had different shoe sizes and hair color.
 Whoever Anna Anderson is she will always remain an enigma. If she wasn't Anastasia she was obviously disturbed. At any rate it sure is an interesting story.

[Scott Williams]

Have studied the sujbect of HIH Tsar Nicholai for years.

Fascinating and as you all write, there are theories, BUT concerning HIH Grand Duchess Anastasia, one ought to pay careful heed to the Court Process in Germany in the 1960s, Anna Anderson's last attempt at having her identity recognised and realise the meticulous German court could not decide either way.
The study took in facial features; earlobes which are like finger prints; etc. etc. Even the Dowager Empress was nearly convinced till that ONE main Prince Romanov who lived in France and refused to accept her... there were political reasons for this.

Further studies show that the USSR watched and watches all proceedings very carefully and that they did indeed 'exert pressures' against any positive identification.
HIH Grand Duchess Anastasia was plump; small and tending to put on weight easily. Although through the influence of HIH Tsaritsa Alexandra all but Alexei spoke English mainly as the daily language, all the children were tutored in and had a fluent knowledge of German, French etc. The Russian Royal family were often in Poland and this language was known also to them.
A very close study of the DNA results did indicate that when HRH The Prince Philip of Britain gave his blood for the comparison, those who were 'against' applauded and congratulated themselves... BUT A FEW YEARS later we read in the newspapers that experts no longer recognise the DNA tests as they were corrupted by procedures which were not fulfilled 100% WHY does one hear so little of this??

Anyone reading the Filatov book claiming that Alexei indeed also escaped; survived in Southern Russia and died in the 1980s... having released only bits of information to his family over the years; and knew the authorities would never let him live if he revealed the information... the book is now translated from the Russian language... and I'm not talking about the chap in Canada who claimed to be the Tsarevitch.

Anyone notice how, though the Tsaritsa adopted the Russian Orthodox religion, she brought the family up with deep biblical beliefs according to her former Lutheran teaching... a mixture; but the children were very biblically-based.

Scott Williams. [Australia]

[Penny_Wilson]

Here are a couple of problems that I have with photographic comparisons:

* It's always easy to spot a resemblance between similar physical types.  There was a girl in my college sorority called Laura who bore a strong, strong resemblance to GD Marie in terms of build and general facial characteristics.  When Laura reaches middle age, I have no doubt that photos of her would echo this resemblance, and give us an idea what Marie might have looked like had she lived that long.  And I don't suppose that Laura is the only person ever born to look like Marie -- there must be, after all, a certain finite number of ways that facial features can be arranged, as well as a finite number of physical types.  I find it easy to write off photographic comparisons for this reason alone, especially as --

* -- most comparisons that we are asked to make are between a photograph of a young Grand Duchess and a middle-aged or even elderly woman.  Are there NO photos of these claimants at a young age?  For instance, a photo of Olga and Michael at the time of their wedding might be nice.

* I think our minds are pre-conditioned by our own prejudices to reject or accept these alleged resemblances -- in other words, if you want to see the likeness, it's there, and if you don't, it's not.  I think professional photographic comparisons are more complex that just eyeballing grainy photos.

[Jessica Z.]

I myself do not believe that Anna Anderson and Anastasia were the same person.  Having read Robert Massie's book "The Romanovs: The Final Chapter" I came to this conclusion.  Anna Anderson was acutally polish and she was found in a mental hospital.  There are people who knew her as Anna Anderson who have stated that she had hinted to not being the princess.  Massie is my most trusted author on the Romanov's and I trust his opinion on these things.  There's a pretty big section in the book on imatators to the throne its acutally quite interesting.

[Jmentanko]

Not to discredit Massie or his books which I have read and appreciate. However don't let him be your final word on the subject. Read all of the books about Anna Anderson if you want an objective opinion.

I'm sorry, but I can't fathom reading one book and expecting that one book to be totally objective. I've read alot of books and I read them all with an open mind. You must also take into account exactly what the author is trying to convince you of.

[Janet Whitcomb]

Massie's work is the entry point for many of us.  But since he is an excellent researcher, I'm sure he wouldn't mind knowing that we use his works as a starting point, then continue on.

[Jmentanko]

Yes, well Jessica Z. said she came to a "conclusion" based on Massie's book. I suggested she read further rather than take his book as the "last word" on the Anna Anderson situation.

[Katharina]

When trying to answer a question about the imperial family's dentist I found the following information:

According to Ian Vorres, Dr. Kostrizky, the dentist of the imperial family, testified that the jaws of Mrs.Tchaikovsky-Anderson had nothing in common with the jaws-of which there was a plaster impression-of Grand Duchess Anastasia.

Is this true? If so, why is this statement neglected in all past and present claimant's discussions?

[Jmentanko]

Where did you find this information?

Thanks!