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In the early morning of July 17, 1918, Emperor Nicholas II was executed along with his wife Alexandra in the basement of one of the houses in Yekaterinburg. The Romanov dynasty, to which he belonged, ruled Russia for more than 300 years. The Bolsheviks did not even spare their five children. Their bodies could not be immediately discovered, so rumors quickly began to spread that one of the Romanovs managed to survive.

Anastasia's secret

In 1921, a mysterious woman appeared in one of the psychiatric hospitals in Germany, who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia, the Tsar's youngest daughter. Supporters of this woman, known as Anna Anderson, tried for 30 years to get the court to recognize her as Anastasia (not to mention the fact that in this case she would be entitled to a large part of the Romanov fortune). However, a German court rejected this claim in 1970. Anderson died in 1984, and in the 1990s DNA testing was carried out, which proved that she had no relation to the Romanov family, but was most likely of Polish origin.

Alexey and Maria's grave

Russian scientists managed to discover the remains of Nicholas, Alexandra and their three daughters in 1978, but the discovery was kept secret until the collapse of Soviet Union. However, two bodies were never found. It was the 13-year-old heir Alexei and one of his sisters. Finally, in 2007, researchers were able to find evidence left behind by one of the family's killers, which led them to a separate grave. Scientists later confirmed that the remains in it belong to Alexei and his 19-year-old sister Maria.

However, Russian Orthodox Church expressed doubts that the remains actually belonged to the Romanov brother and sister, therefore she was against their burial along with the rest of the members royal family in one of the cathedrals of St. Petersburg.

The remains were found and identified during the investigation into a criminal case conducted by the Russian Prosecutor General's Office. On July 17, 1998, the remains of members of the imperial family and their servants were buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. On August 14, 2000, the Russian Orthodox Church canonized Nicholas II and members of his family as passion-bearers.

General patterns of appearance

Self-proclaimed Romanovs

False Olga

• Marja Boodts- perhaps the most successful of the “Romanov impostors.” She first appeared in France before the start of World War II, collecting money from well-wishers for the “miraculously saved Grand Duchess,” who was completely impoverished and therefore forced to beg. She was arrested for fraud. At the trial she called herself a Polish noblewoman. She appeared a second time in the early 1950s, flatly rejecting her identity with the “pre-war” fraudster. She managed to convince Prince Nicholas of Oldenburg and Crown Prince Wilhelm of her truthfulness, who paid her a fairly substantial pension for the rest of her life, which allowed her to settle in a villa near Lake Como (Italy). She claimed that “no one but her” was able to escape, and she owed her life to a certain peasant woman who replaced her in Ipatiev’s house.

• Concetta Fedele- died in Argentina. It remains unknown whether Concetta Fedele declared herself Olga Nikolaevna, despite the fact that her children are seeking to regain their “true surname.” As the main evidence, photographs of Concetta are used, according to supporters, “like two peas in a pod” similar to Olga Nikolaevna. As for the “escape,” the version is based on the fact that the Romanov family (or part of it) managed to leave for Poland and then to Germany under a secret agreement between the Soviet government and the Kaiser.

• Olga Andromed(aka - Olga Gellariy Romanov Andromeda)

• Sarah Osburn

False Tatiana

• London immediately after the end of the Russian Civil War. She avoided talking about her past; it was known that for some time she was a dancer in Constantinople. She married a corporal named Lindsay. She never declared herself Tatyana Nikolaevna, however, the large fortune she brought with her from nowhere gave rise to inevitable rumors. Margherita herself never confirmed or denied them.

• Michelle Anshe- real name unknown. Appeared in France in the early 1920s, claiming that she came straight from Siberia. Indeed, in appearance she resembled the Grand Duchess. She did not want to talk about how she managed to “avoid the Yekaterinburg execution,” declaring that she would reveal the whole truth face to face to her “grandmother,” the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. But the date did not take place. The impostor died under mysterious circumstances in her home in one of the Parisian suburbs. The passport in the name of Michelle Anshe turned out to be false, the circumstances of the death were classified by the French police, which immediately gave rise to a new wave of rumors that the Bolsheviks had reached the “saved Tatiana.”

• Maddis Brandon Ajort- appeared in Canada in 1937. Her announcement of identity with the Grand Duchess failed to deceive anyone; the impostor was ridiculed and ultimately forced to leave the country. She died in Spain in 1982.

False Mary

• "Grandma Alina"- in 1954 she appeared in South Africa with a man named Frank, who was many years older than her, whom she married. After Frank's death, a Greek named Karamidas became her second husband. Strictly speaking, she never called herself Maria Nikolaevna, despite the fact that she stipulated that she was from Russia, and her high-ranking family died. The story about “Grandma Alina” was published by one of her neighbors, who remembered her as a boy - Louis Duval, who is currently looking for evidence of his assumption.

• Czeslawa Shapska- appeared in Romania in 1919, where she married Nikolai Dolgoruky. According to her assurances, everyone was saved except for the former tsar and servants, who were actually shot in Ipatiev’s house. She declared “sisters” Marja Boodts (whom she actually met), Marguerite Lindsay and Anna Anderson. Her recently deceased son, Nikolai Dolgoruky, until recently laid claim to the Russian crown.

• Maria Marti- extremely little is known about this impostor. She died in Argentina, and her “identity” with Maria Nikolaevna was announced by her children - despite the fact that it is unknown whether she herself claimed anything. “Proof” is believed to be her handwriting - supposedly identical to the handwriting of the Grand Duchess. Now Marty's supporters have their own website on the Internet in Spanish and English language. This candidate is not popular.

• Averis Iacovelli- appeared in one of the Polish villages on January 23, 1919. She was identified by local residents as Anastasia Nikolaevna; later, an amendment was made to the “legend”, and the unknown person was named Maria. She herself never confirmed or denied her identity with the Grand Duchess, however, after her death, as a few adherents claim, it was possible to find the remains of a diary, from which “evidence can be extracted” about her identity with Maria Nikolaevna.

• Alison Cabrok- appeared in Japan in the early 1920s, and publicly declared herself Maria Nikolaevna. Her statement only caused ridicule and she was forced to leave the country. She died in Naples in 1976.

• Rosella Digoia

False Anastasia

The most famous of the false Anastasias is Anna Anderson

The self-proclaimed Anastasias are the most famous - this was probably facilitated by the dizzying career of the first of the impostors, Anna Anderson. The last of the false Anastasias, Natalya Bilikhodze, died in 2000.

• Anna Anderson- probably the real name of the impostor was Franziska Schanckowska. She appeared in Berlin, where, after an unsuccessful suicide attempt, she was imprisoned in a psychiatric clinic. One of the patients “identified” her as the Grand Duchess, after which the legend was actively supported by Russian emigrants. For more than twenty years, the applicant tried to achieve recognition in European courts as a Grand Duchess, however, she did not succeed. Until now, however, it is popular, and modern fans of Anderson continue to be of the opinion that the genetic examination that proved her relationship with the Shantskovsky family is nothing more than a fake.

• Eugenia Smith- American artist and writer of Ukrainian origin. Emigrated to the United States from Bukovina in 1929. She tried to sell her book, claiming that she received it from the hands of the Grand Duchess - but failed to pass a polygraph test. Having changed her testimony, she declared that she herself was a Grand Duchess. This caused a surge of interest in the United States and a sharp rise in prices for its artwork. She was exposed by the false Alexey - Michal Golenevsky, who publicly accused her of imposture.

• Nadezhda Vladimirovna Ivanova-Vasilieva- patient of the Kazan psychiatric hospital. She was recognized as suffering from “mania of persecution” - she herself assured that she managed to escape from the Ipatiev House with the help of a certain monarchist-minded officer. She was subjected to forced treatment in a prison-type clinic (which strengthened the legend that the “Bolsheviks” tried to get rid of the surviving princess in this way). Starved herself to death.

• 2000 A newspaper fuss was raised around her name; they assured that “the saved Anastasia” was able to return to the country the mythical royal gold, allegedly hidden in European banks. As it turned out later, scammers used Bilikhodze’s name.

• Josephine Fedele- Concetta's younger sister Fedele - "Olga Nikolaevna". According to her children, she was saved together with her brother and sister thanks to a secret agreement between Germany and Soviet Russia.

• Eleonora Albertovna Kruger- appeared in the Bulgarian village of Gabarevo in 1922, accompanied by a whole group of Russian emigrants. She herself never openly declared herself Anastasia Nikolaevna, however, she casually “let it slip” that the servants bathed her in a golden trough and she had her own room in the palace. A few followers developed a legend that even before the revolution, Anastasia was replaced by a certain maid and saved along with her brother.

• Magdalena Veres- Joseph Veres's sister - "Alexea". She herself has never declared her identity with Anastasia Nikolaevna, however, her nephews assure that it is impossible to “not recognize” her from the surviving photographs. She emigrated to the United States at the end of the First World War. She had no family and lived with her brother and his children.

• Rosalia Svent(aka Jackie Romanov)

• Ambers Gannimeb

• Lyubka Tersieva- also a citizen of Bulgaria. Her granddaughter continues to defend the rights of her “royal grandmother.”

• Alexandra Peregudova- died in the Volgograd region in 1982. After her death, the children stated that their mother had revealed to them the secret of her “royal origin.” According to this version, all the Romanovs survived, whom the driver of the train that took them to Siberia managed to replace with a certain family of doubles. The fate of the remaining survivors remained unknown.

• Anastasia Moskovskaya- real name unknown. According to her “secretary of state” Leonid Pakhomenko-Smirnov, who filed a statement with the Supreme Court of Russia, she was taken to Moscow in 1918 along with the Polish Anna Tshinkovskaya (apparently a distortion of the name Shantskovskaya), and prepared the latter to play their role in Europe and thus gain access to the royal millions. The real princess, according to Parkhomenko, was sent to Siberia to settle, and her four children were poisoned on the orders of Stalin. He was going to marry his fifth son to his daughter, but allegedly later changed his mind. In the 1980s, the Grand Duchess moved to Moscow. Alexander Parkhomenko refused to reveal her “new name”. The story did not progress further.

• Alexandra Spiridonovna Karpenko- resident of Omsk. She died in 1976. If you believe her story, some monarchist-minded conspirators managed to kidnap Anastasia, and they tried to take her away in a cart. What happened next, in her own words, looked like this: “ They carried me on a cart, and when the riders began to catch up, I jumped off and climbed up to my neck into the swamp. And they, ours, fought with sabers with those! And when everything calmed down, I got out, and we drove on again..." The surviving girl was adopted in 1920 by a resident of Primorye, Spiridon Miroshnichenko. The daughter of the named Anastasia contacted the writer Vladimir Kashits, outlining the “true story” of her mother.

• Elena Kharkina- appeared in 1943 in the Sapozhkovsky district of the Ryazan region. She spoke very reluctantly about the past, however, because of the “visible similarity,” local residents mistook her for Anastasia Nikolaevna, who was saved thanks to a substitution. Date of death unknown.

• Anastasia Yakovlevna Karetnikova- also, according to her son, she was wounded together with Alexei Nikolaevich during the execution and then abducted by some unnamed monarchists. The rescued children were transported to the Urals to Ataman Dutov. Alexei soon died, Anastasia was too weak to leave for Siberia after the retreating White army, so she turned for help to Ksenia Karetnikova, the wife of the Red commander Semyon Budyonny, and with her help remained in the Karetnikov family - who married her off as their daughter. Later she married Nikolai Ionov and gave birth to two children. She was killed in August 1936, and, as her son assures, the crime was hidden by the authorities and declared a suicide.

• Tasiya Kazhukhina- Filipino Katherine Paterson stated in October 2010 that her late grandmother Tasia is Princess Anastasia. Little was known about Tasia: she was a Russian emigrant who, at age 17, sailed to Manila in the Philippines in 1918 along with other Russian refugees fleeing the communists. On the ship she was kept in a separate cabin and her contact with other passengers was minimal. She set foot in the Philippines without money and without any documents, after which she was accepted into a monastery orphanage. She received a passport in the name of Tasiya Kazhukhina there, and Kazhukhina’s surname was not real: the original one was, in her own words, very difficult to pronounce for the local population (later she never named it to any of her relatives). Tasia lived in a civil marriage with Lope Pelayo for almost 40 years and bore him 9 children, but for unknown reasons she refused to legalize the marriage and eventually agreed to the official marriage only when her husband was dying and it turned out that after his death their children and the grandchildren will not receive any inheritance. At one time, Paterson, recalling her grandmother’s stories about her pre-Filipino life, got the impression that Tasia lived in rich family. In particular, according to Katherine, she said that she had three sisters and a brother. She called her brother Alexey, one of her sisters Maria. Katherine also claimed that she got her name thanks to her grandmother, who wanted to name her in honor of Catherine the Great. When Katherine offered to find her relatives in Russia, Tasia forbade this, claiming that then “they” would find her and kill her (she never revealed who “they” were). After her death, Katherine, at the beginning of 2010, traveled with her husband and children to Russia to find some traces of Tasia and at the same time accidentally found a photo of Princess Anastasia on the Internet and discovered, in her words, a strong resemblance of the princess to the only surviving photograph from Tasia's youth. Then she came to the conclusion that the name Tasia could be the ending of the name Anastasia, and Kazhukhina could be a distorted version of the word “princess”.

False Alexei

Mark Polsrest, one of the contenders

• Alexey Putsyato- appeared a few months later, after the execution of the royal family in the Siberian village of Kosh-Agach, after which he went to Omsk, wanting to introduce himself directly to Admiral Kolchak. According to the claimant, he managed to jump out of the train on which the royal family was being taken into exile and hide from “ loyal people" The first applicant was an outright fraudster, and was soon exposed by Pierre Gilliard, the crown prince's teacher, after which he was forced to admit to deception.

• Vasily Filatov- this applicant assured that after the execution he managed to get out of the mine and escape with the help of the Strekotin brothers - Red Army soldiers who secretly sympathized with the family of the former tsar. The applicant himself did not publicly declare anything, which was very understandable, since he died during Soviet power. His children still actively defend his identity with the Tsarevich and demand the return of their “legitimate” surname.

• Nikolay Chebotarev- little is known about this candidate. His identity with Alexei Nikolaevich was stated by his son, Michael Gray (who actually came from the family of an Irish teacher - or, according to his own statements, adopted). In his book Blood Relative, he sets out the theory that the Tsarevich, along with the Dowager Tsarina Maria Feodorovna, managed to escape from Russia in 1919 on board the British Navy warship HMS Marlborough and later received a passport in the name Nikolai Chebotarev . The author himself believed himself to be the illegitimate son of Alexei Nikolaevich and Marina, Duchess of Kent.

• Eino Tammet- applicant of Estonian origin. According to his version, he escaped while transporting the bodies into the mine, since, according to a secret arrangement drawn up in advance, Yurovsky, who shot at the Tsarevich, used blank charges. He was handed over to be raised by the Veerman family, who were “distantly related” to some of the courtiers. Emigrated to Canada. His children continue to seek the return of the mythical royal deposits and lay claim to the Russian crown.

• 1930, when he lived under the name Irin, which he then changed to “Semyonov”. He was married four times, worked as an accountant in Samarkand, was convicted of embezzlement, and served his sentence in a correctional colony in Medvezhyegorsk (Karelia). He suffered two strokes, was taken to a local psychiatric clinic with a diagnosis of “manic-depressive psychosis,” and in the clinic he confessed to his “royal origin.” According to this claimant, he was wounded and then saved by some devoted person, and then taken to St. Petersburg by secret monarchists.

• Yurovsky. Subsequently, the rescued boy was transported to Suzdal and given up to be raised by the Objectov family, whose son Nikolai recently died. There, the applicant was “miraculously healed of hemophilia,” received the surname Dalsky (from Suz-Dalsky) and became an officer in the Red Army.

• Leonid Vasilievich Knyazev- a contender whose claims were announced after his death by his daughter, who continues to defend her interests to this day.

• Joseph Veres- a contender of Hungarian origin, brother of Magdalena Veres - “the miraculously escaped Grand Duchess Anastasia.” He pretended to be a representative of the Hungarian royal house, but the children, after their father’s death, compared his story with newspaper publications about the events in Ipatiev’s house, “understood what surname they were talking about.” According to his version, some nuns, with the help of monarchists, managed to kidnap the wounded Anastasia and Alexei while the firing squad was drinking in a nearby room, and with the help of the Vatican, transport them to the United States. The candidate receives almost no support.

• Michal Goleniewski- Polish counterintelligence officer, went over to the side of the Western Bloc, betraying his employers, for which he was sentenced to death in absentia in Poland. According to his version, the entire family survived, secretly taken to Poland with the help of the same Yakov Yurovsky. He undertook to find the “sisters” and in turn “identified” Anastasia in two impostors - Evgenia Smith and Anna Anderson. Until his death he fought for “recognition of his rights,” but his claims, which initially caused a newspaper fuss, were not taken seriously by anyone.

• Francesco Fedele- younger brother of Concetta Fedele - "Olga" and Josephine Fedele - "Anastasia". It is unknown whether he declared anything during his lifetime. The children continue to demand recognition as his “legal heir”; according to their stories, “the external resemblance to the surviving photographs clearly excludes any doubt.” The escape was carried out, as can be understood from the rather dark hints contained on the Fedele family website, through a secret treaty with Germany, apparently as one of the “secret paragraphs” of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty. Later he lived with his sisters in Argentina.

• Georgy Zhudin- an unknown Russian who hid his real name under this pseudonym. He appeared in the village of Gabarevo together with Eleanor Kruger - “Anastasia”, and rumor immediately turned them into brother and sister. According to eyewitnesses, he suffered from tuberculosis, avoided people, and maintained contact only with his “sister” and other Russians, and loved to take long walks around the village in a military-style jacket. Died 1930

• Mark Polsrest

• Sakubei Ivan Chamell

• Andrew Giovanni Romanov

• Alexey Kutsyatoy-Dzhizubionsky

• Marcester Ursuboi

“Descendants” seeking recognition of their “rights”

• Anatoly Ionov- the son of Anastasia Yakovlevna Karetnikova, officially seeking to ensure that his mother finds her final peace in the royal tomb, and he himself is officially recognized as the “emperor in exile.” He tried to write to President Putin, contacted newspapers, however, his claims did not find a response.

Romanovs who never existed

• 1903, when the queen “officially” experienced a false pregnancy. Nicholas and Alexandra allegedly could not present their fifth daughter to the court and people, and therefore she was sent to be raised in Holland in the Hemmes family, where she was secretly transported by Philippe Nizier, a “clairvoyant and sorcerer” who was Empress Alexandra’s confidant.

• Tobolsk The girl allegedly managed to be transported abroad with the secret consent of the Soviet government.

see also

Notes

Literature

• Page about the most famous Romanov impostors (in English)
• Michel Wartelle "L`Affaire Romanov". Paris, Courteau Louise, 06.2008 ISBN 2892393027

Emperor Nicholas II with his wife and children.

In 1918, the Bolsheviks sentenced the royal family without trial. The Romanovs were shot at dawn on July 17, finished off with bayonets, the remains were doused with sulfuric acid and buried. This brutal murder soon began to become overgrown with rumors and legends, which were composed by swindlers trying to prove their involvement in the imperial family. Almost all the false Romanovs were convinced that they miraculously managed to escape execution in the house of engineer Ipatiev, where one of the most monstrous atrocities in the history of Russia took place.

Tsarevich Alexey

Tsarevich Alexey

Some time after the execution of the royal family, a certain Alexey Putsyato appeared before Admiral Kolchak and told him that when the train was leaving on which the Romanovs were being taken into exile, people sympathetic to the tsar organized his escape, the heir to the throne. They helped Alexei hide for several months. But the swindler was immediately exposed, since one of the Tsarevich’s teachers was alive, and brought the impostor to clean water.


Alexei Putsyato is the first impostor exposed by the crown prince's teacher.

For a long time, a certain Philip Semyonov convinced those around him of his “royal origin.” He even told details from his palace life. In the end, he was placed in a psychiatric hospital, where the other Napoleons and Macedonians were kept.


Philip Semenov - Tsarevich from the colony.

Estonian Eino Tammet put forward the following version of his salvation. Yurovsky, who led the group of reprisals against the royal family, used blank cartridges when shooting at him, the king’s son. Then, while transporting the bodies to the burial site, Alexei fled and was handed over to a family of distant relatives of the Tsar's courtiers who lived in Estonia.


Eino Tammet is an impostor of Estonian origin.

Having reached adulthood, he left for Canada. Currently, his heirs continue to lay claim to the Romanov family and the royal crown.

Nikolai Dalsky, proving that he was Alexei Romanov, claimed that under the guise of an assistant to the tsar’s cook, guards sympathetic to the monarchists took him from the place of detention of the royal family to the city of Suzdal, to the family of a certain Dalsky, whose son, the same age as the Tsarevich, died at that time. There, the “heir to the throne” was allegedly cured of hemophilia. Later he became a Red Army officer.

In total in different time There were 81 impostors who pretended to be Tsarevich Alexei.

Princess Maria


Maria Nikolaevna Romanova, Holy Princess

When Alina Karamidas, who lived in South America, lived to a ripe old age, her family heard that she began to speak Russian. The linguist translated the following. She claimed that she was born in Russia and was Princess Romanova, who at one time escaped execution. Children and grandchildren have been looking for evidence of grandmother Alina’s words for a long time, but in vain.

At the beginning of 1919, a girl with a regal bearing and secular manners appeared in a Polish village. Her name was Averis Iacovelli. Rumors began to appear around that it was Maria Nikolaevna Romanova who miraculously survived. The girl did not comment on these statements. She lived quietly and secludedly. However, after her death, diaries were discovered, entries in which showed an identity with the princess.

The contender for the title of Russian princess Maria Marti openly stated that she was born Maria Romanova. Her children still point to the identity of the handwriting of their mother and the Grand Duchess of Russia. They even opened a page on the Internet, where they gathered many supporters of their version.

Anastasia

Princess Anastasia.

The most discussed personality from the Romanov dynasty. It is she who is credited with the accidental rescue from the Ural dungeons, and the number of impostors in this case is colossal.

One of the Anastasias was a certain Anna Anderson, her real name was Francis. When she was admitted to a Berlin psychiatric hospital, in her delirium she called herself Princess Romanoff. One of the nurses saw the girl’s striking resemblance to the favorite of Nicholas II. Russian emigrants readily supported this myth, and for twenty years the impostor tried to prove her royal origin through the courts. She accurately described the situation in the palace, the servants, household items and various little things that confirmed her version. Anderson's supporters still consider her to be the only surviving member of the imperial family.


Anna Anderson.

Nadezhda Ivanova-Vasilieva, while in a psychiatric hospital in the city of Kazan, said that she escaped from the Ipatievs’ house by seducing a security officer. Proving her involvement in the royal family, she went on a hunger strike. Later she was sentenced to death by the NKVD for conducting underground monarchist activities.

Eugenia Smith, a famous American artist, author of the book “Anastasia,” which is supposedly an autobiography of the Grand Duchess. Smith fantasized so inspiredly that she herself believed in the authenticity of what happened to her in her youth. Which, in fact, is very typical of creative people. But the impostor did not pass the polygraph test.

Tatiana

Princess Tatiana.

In the 20s of the last century, a certain lady came to France from Siberia, claiming to be Tatyana Romanova. Outwardly, she really looked very much like a princess. She promised to tell the circumstances of her escape only in the presence of her grandmother, Empress Maria Feodorovna. Just before the meeting, the woman died under unclear circumstances. Her name was Michelle Anshe. When checked, the passport turned out to be fake. The circumstances of her death were classified, but the means mass media in the West they trumpeted that the punishing sword of the Bolsheviks had reached the only daughter of Nicholas II who escaped execution.


Her name was Michelle Anshe.

Margot Lindsay is known as a dancer from Constantinople. After graduation Civil War in Russia she arrived in London and married a military man. Margaret did not discuss her past with anyone, not even with her husband, but her enormous fortune and resemblance to Tatyana Nikolaevna gave rise to certain rumors.

Margot Lindsay.
Margot Lindsay.

However, the woman did not refute them, nor did she declare herself the heiress of the Romanovs.

Olga

Princess Olga.

The most famous and successful of all the scammers who called themselves Olga Nikolaevna Romanova was, perhaps, Marga Boodts. At the beginning of World War II, she settled in France, playing the role of the miraculously escaped execution and impoverished daughter of the murdered Russian Emperor. For a long time, the Romanov impostor collected significant sums from gullible and sympathetic citizens. Such alms provided Marga with a far from poor existence and some privileges in Parisian society. Her fraud was exposed, and the swindler appeared in court.

Swindler Marga Boodts.

After serving her sentence, she somehow miraculously managed to convince Crown Prince Wilhelm and other high-ranking members of the Romanov tree of the veracity of her version, who provided her with a substantial pension for the rest of her life and gave her a luxurious villa in Italy.
Remembering the events of that scary night in the Ipatievs’ house, Marga said that she was saved by a simple peasant woman, replaced by an orphan girl who did not even suspect that in a few hours she would be shot. False Olga claimed that except for herself, no one from the royal family managed to escape.

In the early 90s of the last century, Russian criminologists reconstructed the faces of the royal family based on skulls found in the supposed place of their burial. And many previously classified materials on the royal family case remain very controversial. But still in this bitter story there are many dark spots, which make you wonder: were all the false Romanovs swindlers?..

On July 17, 1918, the royal family was shot. The lack of information about what happened gave rise to myths and “surviving Romanovs.” There were about 230 impostors.

Successful impostor

Marja Boodts (self-proclaimed Olga) is without a doubt the most successful of the “Romanov impostors”! She first appeared in France before the start of World War II: she collected donations from well-wishers for the completely impoverished “miraculously saved Grand Duchess.” Naturally, she was arrested for fraud and at the trial called herself a Polish noblewoman.

She appeared for the second time in the early 1950s, zealously rejecting her identity with the “pre-war” fraudster. The impostor was quite convincing! She managed to convince Prince Nicholas of Oldenburg and Crown Prince Wilhelm of her truthfulness, who paid her a fairly substantial pension for the rest of her life. The pension was enough for a comfortable life in a villa near Lake Como (Italy).

Marja Boodts claimed that she owed her miraculous salvation to a certain peasant woman who replaced her in Ipatiev’s house.

Detail: there were 28 self-proclaimed Olgas in total!

Impostor-mystery

Michelle Anshe convinced that she came to Paris straight from Siberia! Her appearance in the early 1920s in the capital of France really interested the public: the fact is that in appearance Michelle really did look very much like the Grand Duchess.

The impostor did not want to talk about how she managed to “avoid the Yekaterinburg execution,” declaring only that she would reveal the whole truth face to face to her “grandmother,” the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. But...the date didn't take place! Here begins the most mysterious part of the story: Michelle Ansche died under mysterious circumstances in her home in one of the Parisian suburbs. The passport in the name of Michelle Anshe turned out to be false, and the circumstances of the death were classified by the French police, which gave rise to a new wave of rumors. One of the most popular: the Bolsheviks reached the “saved Tatiana.”

Detail: there are 33 self-proclaimed Tatianas in total!

Secretive impostor

An unknown woman who called herself Averis Yacovelli appeared in one of the Polish villages on January 23, 1919. Fellow villagers immediately noticed that her entire body was covered with scars from wounds. Later medical evidence confirmed that the injuries were quite serious!

Averis Iacovelli made several attempts to return to Russia, but ultimately married a Polish soldier named Karl Dianogy in 1921 and gave birth to a son, Nikolai.

In 1956, Nikolai Dianogiy died of hemophilia, a disease that plagued imperial family. Then she repeated more than once that “the whole family died, every single one,” this was perceived as a belated recognition of her “royal origin.”

Detail: there are 53 self-proclaimed Marias in total!

An impostor with a “dizzying career”

Anna Anderson. Probably, the real name of the impostor was Franziska Schanckowska. After an unsuccessful suicide attempt, she was admitted to a psychiatric clinic in Berlin. There, one of the patients “identified” her as the Grand Duchess, after which the legend was actively supported by Russian emigrants.

For more than twenty years, the applicant tried to achieve recognition in European courts as a Grand Duchess, but was not particularly successful in this. However, her persona is still popular: modern fans of Anderson are sure that the genetic examination that proved her relationship with the Shantskovsky family is nothing more than a fake.

Detail: The self-proclaimed Anastasias are best known for the “dizzying career” of the first Anna Anderson. The last of the false Anastasias, Natalya Bilikhodze, died in 2000. There are 33 self-proclaimed Anastasias in total!

Imposter loser

Rumors that not all members of the royal family were shot, but that Alexei Nikolaevich miraculously survived and is now hiding somewhere, create fertile ground for impostors. Alexei Putsyato was one of the first to try to pass himself off as the “miracle saved” Tsarevich.

Quite little is known about his personality and origins. It is believed that he was born into a prosperous, intelligent family, otherwise how can one explain his good education, erudition and excellent manners?! All this, coupled with a cunning mind and quick wit, inspired young man call himself the king's son, yet escaped death.

Alexey Putsyato decided to try his luck, but he was unlucky! His deception was exposed former teacher Tsarevich, Frenchman Gillard. In the end, the impostor was forced to admit his deception, after which he was arrested.

Detail: the total number of self-proclaimed Alekseevs is 81.

“The Fifth Daughter of Romanov” No. 1

Susanne Katharina de Graaf declared herself the never-existent Alexandra Romanova, the “fifth daughter” of the Tsar. The legend of the impostor was quite bold: she was born in 1903, when the queen was “officially” experiencing a false pregnancy. Nicholas and Alexandra could not present their fifth daughter to the court and people, and therefore she was sent to be raised in Holland, where she was secretly transported by Philip Nizier, a “clairvoyant and sorcerer” who was a confidant of Empress Alexandra.

“The Fifth Daughter of Romanov” No. 2

Irina Romanova - real name unknown. An Argentinean who pretended to be the “fifth daughter of the Tsar”, born during exile in Tobolsk. The girl allegedly managed to be transported abroad with the secret consent of the Soviet government.

The House of Romanov celebrated its four hundredth anniversary in 2013. In the distant past there is a day when Mikhail Romanov was proclaimed tsar. For 304 years, the descendants of the Romanov family ruled Russia.

For a long time it was believed that the execution of the imperial family of Nicholas II was the end of the entire royal dynasty. But even today the descendants of the Romanovs are alive, the Imperial House exists to this day. The dynasty is gradually returning to Russia, to its cultural and social life.

Who belongs to the dynasty

The Romanov family dates back to the 16th century, with Roman Yuryevich Zakharyin. He had five children, who gave birth to numerous offspring that have survived to this day. But the fact is that most of the descendants no longer bear this surname, that is, they were born on the maternal side. Representatives of the dynasty are considered only descendants of the Romanov family in the male line who bear an old surname.

Boys were born less frequently in the family, and many were childless. Because of this, the royal family was almost interrupted. The branch was revived by Paul I. All living descendants of the Romanovs are the heirs of Emperor Pavel Petrovich,

Branching of the family tree

Paul I had 12 children, two of them illegitimate. Their ten legitimate sons are four:

• Alexander I, who ascended the Russian throne in 1801, left no legitimate heirs to the throne.
• Konstantin. He was married twice, but the marriages were childless. Had three who were not recognized as descendants of the Romanovs.
• Nicholas I, All-Russian Emperor since 1825. He had three daughters and four sons from his marriage to the Prussian princess Frederica Louise Charlotte, in Orthodoxy Anna Fedorovna.
• Mikhail, married, had five daughters.

Thus, the Romanov dynasty was continued only by the sons Russian Emperor Nicholas I. So all the remaining descendants of the Romanovs are his great-great-great grandchildren.

Continuation of the dynasty

Sons of Nicholas the First: Alexander, Konstantin, Nikolai and Mikhail. They all left behind offspring. Their lines are unofficially called:

• Alexandrovichi - the line came from Alexander Nikolaevich Romanov. The direct descendants of the Romanov-Ilyinskys, Dmitry Pavlovich and Mikhail Pavlovich, live today. Unfortunately, they are both childless, and with their passing this line will end.
• Konstantinovichi - the line originates from Konstantin Nikolaevich Romanov. The last direct descendant of the Romanovs in the male line died in 1992, and the branch was cut short.
• Nikolaevichs - descended from Nikolai Nikolaevich Romanov. To this day, the direct descendant of this branch, Dmitry Romanovich, lives and lives. He has no heirs, so the line fades away.
• The Mikhailovichs are the heirs of Mikhail Nikolaevich Romanov. It is to this branch that the remaining male Romanovs living today belong. This gives hope to the Romanov family for survival.

Where are the descendants of the Romanovs today?

Many researchers were interested in whether there were any descendants of the Romanovs left? Yes, this great family has heirs in male and female lines. Some branches have already been interrupted, other lines will soon fade away, but the royal family still has hope for survival.

But where do the descendants of the Romanovs live? They are dispersed throughout the planet. Most of them do not know Russian and have never been to the homeland of their ancestors. Some people have completely different surnames. Many became acquainted with Russia solely through books or television news reports. And yet, some of them visit their historical homeland, they do charity work here and consider themselves Russian at heart.

When asked whether there are any descendants of the Romanovs left, one can answer that today there are only about thirty known descendants of the royal family living in the world. Of these, only two can be considered purebred, because their parents married according to the laws of the dynasty. It is these two who can consider themselves full representatives of the Imperial House. In 1992 they were issued Russian passports in return for the refugee passports on which they had lived abroad until that time. Funds received as sponsorship from Russia allow family members to pay visits to their homeland.

It is unknown how many people live in the world who have “Romanov” blood flowing in their veins, but they do not belong to the clan, since they descended through the female line or from extramarital affairs. Nevertheless, genetically they also belong to an ancient family.

Head of the Imperial House

Prince Romanov Dmitry Romanovich became the Head of the House of Romanov after Nikolai Romanovich, his elder brother, died.

Great-great-grandson of Nicholas I, great-grandson of Prince Nikolai Nikolaevich, son of Prince Roman Petrovich and Countess Praskovya Sheremeteva. He was born in France on May 17, 1926.

From 1936 he lived with his parents in Italy, and later in Egypt. In Alexandria he worked at the Ford automobile plant: he worked as a mechanic and sold cars. Upon returning to sunny Italy, he worked as a secretary in a shipping company.

I visited Russia for the first time back in 1953 as a tourist. When he married his first wife Johanna von Kaufmann in Denmark, he settled in Copenhagen and served in a bank there for more than 30 years.

All numerous members of the royal family call him the Head of the House, only the Kirillovich branch believes that he has no legal rights to the throne due to the fact that his father was born in an unequal marriage (the Kirillovichs, the heirs of Alexander II, are Princess Maria Vladimirovna, who herself claims for the title of head of the Imperial House, and her son Georgy Mikhailovich, claiming the title of Tsarevich).

Dmitry Romanovich's long-time hobby is orders and medals different countries. He has a large collection of awards, about which he is writing a book.

He was married for the second time in the Russian city of Kostroma to Dorrit Reventrow, a Danish translator, in July 1993. He has no children, therefore, when the last direct descendant of the Romanovs passes into another world, the Nikolaevich branch will be cut off.

Legitimate members of the house, the fading branch of the Alexandrovichs

Today the following true representatives of the royal family are alive (in the male line from legal marriages, direct descendants of Paul I and Nicholas II, who bear the royal surname, the title of prince and belong to the Alexandrovich line):

• Romanov-Ilyinsky Dmitry Pavlovich, born in 1954 - direct heir of Alexander II in the male line, lives in the USA, has 3 daughters, all married and changed their last names.
• Romanov-Ilyinsky Mikhail Pavlovich, born in 1959 - half-brother of Prince Dmitry Pavlovich, also lives in the USA, has a daughter.

If the direct descendants of the Romanovs do not become fathers of sons, then the Alexandrovich line will be interrupted.

Direct descendants, princes and possible successors of the Romanov family - the most prolific branch of the Mikhailovichs

• Alexey Andreevich, born in 1953 - direct descendant of Nicholas I, married, no children, lives in the USA.
• Petr Andreevich, born in 1961 - also a purebred Romanov, married, childless, lives in the USA.
• Andrey Andreevich, born in 1963 - legally belongs to the House of Romanov, has a daughter from his second marriage, lives in the USA.
• Rostislav Rostislavovich, born in 1985 - direct descendant of the family, not yet married, lives in the USA.
• Nikita Rostislavovich, born in 1987 - legitimate descendant, not yet married, lives in the UK.
• Nicholas-Christopher Nikolaevich, born in 1968, is a direct descendant of Nicholas I, lives in the USA, has two daughters.
• Daniel Nikolaevich, born in 1972 - a legal member of the Romanov dynasty, married, lives in the USA, has a daughter and a son.
• Daniil Danilovich, born in 2009 - the youngest legitimate descendant of the royal family in the male line, lives with his parents in the USA.

As can be seen from the family tree, hope for the continuation of the royal family is given only by the Mikhailovich branch - the direct heirs of Mikhail Nikolaevich Romanov, youngest son Nicholas I.

Descendants of the Romanov family, who cannot pass on the royal family by inheritance, and controversial contenders for membership of the Imperial House

• Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, born in 1953 - Her Imperial Highness, claims the title of Head of the Russian Imperial House, the legitimate heir of Alexander the Second, belongs to the Alexandrovich line. Until 1985, she was married to Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia, with whom she gave birth to her only son, George, in 1981. At birth he was given the patronymic Mikhailovich and the surname Romanov.
• Georgy Mikhailovich, born in 1981 - the son of Princess Romanova Maria Vladimirovna and the Prince of Prussia, claims the title of Tsarevich, however, most representatives of the House of Romanov rightly do not recognize his right, since he is not a descendant in the direct male line, but it is through the male line that the right of inheritance is transferred. His birth is a joyful event in the Prussian palace.
• Princess Elena Sergeevna Romanova (after her husband Nirot), born in 1929, lives in France, one of the last representatives of the House of Romanov, belongs to the Alexandrovich line.
• Born 1961 - legal heir of Alexander II, now lives in Switzerland. His grandfather Georgy was illegitimate son from the Emperor’s connection with Princess Dolgorukova. After the relationship was legalized, all of Dolgorukova’s children were recognized as legitimate children of Alexander II, but the Yuryevskys received the surname. Therefore, de jure Georgy (Hans-Georg) does not belong to the House of Romanov, although de facto he is the last descendant of the Romanov dynasty in the Alexandrovich male line.
• Princess Tatyana Mikhailovna, born in 1986 - belongs to the Romanov house through the Mikhailovich line, but as soon as she gets married and changes her last name, she will lose all rights. Lives in Paris.
• Princess Alexandra Rostislavovna, born in 1983 - also a hereditary descendant of the Mikhailovich branch, unmarried, lives in the USA.
• Princess Karlain Nikolaevna, born in 2000 - is a legal representative of the Imperial House through the Mikhailovich line, unmarried, lives in the USA,
• Princess Chelli Nikolaevna, born in 2003 - direct descendant of the royal family, unmarried, US citizen.
• Princess Madison Danilovna, born in 2007 - on the Mikhailovich side, a legal family member, lives in the USA.

Unification of the Romanov family

All other Romanovs are children from morganatic marriages, and therefore cannot belong to the Russian Imperial House. All of them are united by the so-called “Union of the Romanov Family,” which was headed by Nikolai Romanovich in 1989 and fulfilled this responsibility until his death, in September 2014.

Below are the biographies of the most prominent representatives of the Romanov dynasty of the 20th century.

Romanov Nikolay Romanovich

Great-great-grandson of Nicholas I. Watercolor artist.

Saw the light on September 26, 1922, not far from French city Antibes He spent his childhood there. In 1936 he moved to Italy with his parents. In this country, in 1941, Mussolini directly received an offer to become king of Montenegro, which he refused. Later he lived in Egypt, then again in Italy, in Switzerland, where he married Countess Svevadella Garaldeschi, then returned to Italy again, where he took citizenship in 1993.

He headed the Association in 1989. On his initiative, a congress of male Romanovs was convened in Paris in 1992, at which it was decided to create a Fund for Assistance to Russia. In his opinion, Russia should be a federal republic with a strong central government whose powers are strictly limited.

He has three daughters. Natalya, Elizaveta and Tatyana started families with Italians.

Vladimir Kirillovich

Born on August 17, 1917 in Finland, in exile with Sovereign Kirill Vladimirovich. He was raised to be a truly Russian person. He was fluent in Russian and many European languages, knew the history of Russia very well, was a well-educated, erudite person and felt true pride that he belonged to Russia.

At the age of twenty, the last direct descendant of the Romanovs in the male line became the Head of the Dynasty. It was enough for him to enter into an unequal marriage, and by the 21st century there would be no more legal members of the imperial family left.

But he met Princess Leonida Georgievna Bagration-Mukhranskaya, daughter of the Head of the Georgian Royal House, who became his legal wife in 1948. In this marriage, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna was born in Madrid.

He was the Head of the Russian Imperial House for several decades and by his own decree declared the right of his daughter, born in a legal marriage, to inherit the throne.

In May 1992 he was buried in St. Petersburg in the presence of many family members.

Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna

The only daughter of Prince Vladimir Kirillovich, a member of the Imperial House in exile, and Leonida Georgievna, daughter of the Head of the Georgian Royal House, Prince Georg Alexandrovich Bagration-Mukhrani. Born in legal marriage on December 23, 1953. Her parents provided her with a good upbringing and excellent education. At the age of 16, she swore allegiance to Russia and its peoples.

After graduating from Oxford University, she received a diploma in philology. Speaks fluently in Russian, many European and Arabic. She worked in administrative positions in France and Spain.

The imperial family owns a modest apartment in Madrid. A house in France was sold due to the inability to maintain it. The family maintains an average standard of living - by European standards. Has Russian citizenship.

Upon reaching adulthood in 1969, according to the dynastic act issued by Prince Vladimir Kirillovich, she was proclaimed guardian of the throne. In 1976 she married Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia. With the adoption of Orthodoxy, he received the title of Prince Mikhail Pavlovich. The current contender for the Russian throne, Prince Georgy Mikhailovich, was born from this marriage.

Tsarevich Georgy Mikhailovich

Claims to be the heir to the title His Imperial Highness the Sovereign.

The only son of Princess Maria Vladimirovna and the Prince of Prussia, born in marriage on March 13, 1981 in Madrid. Direct descendant of the German Emperor Wilhelm II, Russian Emperor Alexander II, Queen of England Victoria.

He graduated from school in Saint-Briac, then continued his studies in Paris at the College of St. Stanislas. Lives in Madrid since 1988. He considers French to be his native language; he speaks Spanish and English perfectly; he knows Russian a little less well. I saw Russia for the first time in 1992, when I accompanied the body of my grandfather, Prince Vladimir Kirillovich, and his family to the burial place. His independent visit to his homeland took place in 2006. Worked in the European Parliament and the European Commission. Single.

In the House's anniversary year, it established a research fund to combat cancer.

Andrey Andreevich Romanov

Great-great-grandson of Nicholas I, great-grandson Alexandra III. Born in London on January 21, 1923. Now lives in the United States, California, in Marin County. He knows Russian perfectly, because everyone in his family always spoke Russian.

Graduated from the London Imperial Service College. During World War II he served on a British Navy warship as a sailor. It was then, accompanying cargo ships to Murmansk, that he visited Russia for the first time.

Has had American citizenship since 1954. Worked in America agriculture: farming, agronomy, agricultural technology. B studied sociology. Worked for a shipping company.

His hobbies include painting and graphics. He creates works in a “childish” manner, as well as color drawings on plastic, which is later heat-treated.

He is in his third marriage. From his first marriage he has a son, Alexei, and from his second, two: Peter and Andrey.

It is believed that neither he nor his sons have rights to the throne, but they may be considered as candidates Zemsky Sobor on a par with other descendants.

Mikhail Andreevich Romanov

Great-great-grandson of Nicholas I, great-grandson of Prince Mikhail Nikolaevich, was born in Versailles on July 15, 1920. Graduated from King's College Windsor, London Institute of Aeronautical Engineers.

He served in World War II in Sydney in the British Navy Volunteer Air Force Reserve. He was demobilized in 1945 to Australia. He remained there to live, working in the aviation industry.

He was an active member of the Maltese Order of Orthodox Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, and was even elected protector and grand prior of the Order. He was part of the Australians for a Constitutional Monarchy movement.

He was married three times: in February 1953 to Jill Murphy, in July 1954 to Shirley Crammond, in July 1993 to Julia Crespi. All marriages are unequal and childless.

He passed away in September 2008 in Sydney.

Romanov Nikita Nikitich

Great-great-grandson of Nicholas I. Born in London on May 13, 1923. He spent his childhood in Great Britain, then in France.

Served in the British Army. In 1949 he moved to the USA. He received a master's degree in history from Berkeley University in 1960. He earned his own living and education by working as a furniture upholsterer.

At Stanford University, and later at San Francisco, he taught history. He wrote and published a book about Ivan the Terrible (co-author - Pierre Payne).

His wife is Janet (Anna Mikhailovna - in Orthodoxy) Schonwald. Son Fedor committed suicide in 2007.

He has been to Russia several times and visited the estate of his business, Ai-Todor, in Crimea. Recent years Forty lived in New York City until he died in May 2007.

Brothers Dmitry Pavlovich and Mikhail Pavlovich Romanov-Ilyinsky (sometimes under the name Romanovsky-Ilyinsky)

Dmitry Pavlovich, born in 1954, and Mikhail Pavlovich, born in 1960

Dmitry Pavlovich is married to Martha Merry McDowell, born in 1952, and has 3 daughters: Katrina, Victoria, Lela.

Mikhail Pavlovich was married three times. First marriage to Marsha Mary Lowe, second to Paula Gay Mair and third to Lisa Mary Schisler. The third marriage produced a daughter, Alexis.

Currently, the descendants of the Romanov dynasty live in the United States and recognize the legality of the rights of members of the Imperial House to the Russian throne. Princess Maria Vladimirovna recognized their right to be called princes. She recognized Dmitry Romanovsky-Ilyinsky as the eldest male representative of all Romanov descendants, regardless of what marriages he entered into.

Finally

There has been no monarchy in Russia for about a hundred years. But to this day, someone breaks spears, arguing about which of the living descendants of the royal family has the legal right to the Russian throne. Some people today resolutely demand the return of the monarchy. And although this issue is not simple, since laws and decrees relating to issues of succession to the throne are interpreted differently, the disputes will continue. But they can be described by one Russian proverb: the descendants of the Romanovs, whose photos are presented in the article, “share the skin of an unkilled bear.”