DNA Confirms IDs of Czar's Children, Ending Mystery

[Hissyspit]

Source: Associated Press

DNA confirms IDs of czar's children, ending mystery
2008-04-30 21:12:45
By MIKE ECKEL Associated Press Writer

MOSCOW (AP) — For nine decades after Bolshevik executioners gunned down Czar Nicholas II and his family, there were no traces of the remains of Crown Prince Alexei, the hemophiliac heir to Russia's throne. Some said the delicate 13-year-old had somehow survived and escaped; others believed his bones were lost in Russia's vastness, buried in secret amid fear and chaos as the country lurched into civil war.

Now an official says DNA tests have solved the mystery by identifying bone shards found in a forest as those of Alexei and his sister, Grand Duchess Maria.

The remains of their parents — Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra — and three siblings, including the czar's youngest daughter, Anastasia, were unearthed in 1991 and reburied in the imperial resting place in St. Petersburg. The Russian Orthodox Church made all seven of them saints in 2000.

Despite the earlier discoveries and ceremonies, the absence of Alexei's and Maria's remains gnawed at descendants of the Romanov dynasty, history buffs and royalists. Even if Wednesday's announcement is confirmed and widely accepted, many descendants of the royal family are unlikely to be fully assuaged; they seek formal "rehabilitation" by the government.

Read more: http://myembarq.com/news/news_reader.php?storyid=16019442&feedid=14

[NanceGreggs]

1. THANKS SO MUCH ...

... for posting this!

(Sorry about the caps - as a bit of a Romanov-nut, I tend to get overly-excited.)

But thanks again! :hi:

[Divine Discontent]

7. That's so cool you like their history, also!

I went and saw, "The Treasure of the Czars" in Tampa about 10 years ago, it was awesome. I remember the Faberge Eggs, especially the one celebrating the history of the Czars. Also, one of the more moving pieces was a small piece of wood from what was said to be a piece of the cross that Christ was crucified upon, that was given to the Romanov family by one of the Queens of England.

[NanceGreggs]

14. I have been a bit of a RAVING FANATIC ...

... on the topic of the Romanovs since I was in my early teens, and saw "Anastasia" with Ingrid Bergman. Although a highly fictionalized account of the life of Anna Andersen (who claimed to be Anastasia right up until her death), I was fascinated by the story.

It led to a lifetime of reading every book on the last Romanovs I could get my hands on!

Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna Romanov (Tsar Nicholas' sister) eventually emigrated to Canada, and lived in an apartment above a store in east Toronto until her death. That apartment is walking distance from my house. Olga was long deceased when I moved to Toronto in the 'seventies, and I didn't know this fact until I moved to this area of the city in 1985!

My MIL (who shared my fascination with the Romanov story) once saw GD Olga, many years ago. My Sweet Eileen attended an Easter service at a Russian Orthodox church with a friend, and asked who the woman at the front of the church was, the one who was being treated so deferentially by fellow attendees. She was told that it was Olga, who had been coaxed by her many 'supporters' to attend the special service.

[Divine Discontent]

15. what a coincidence, you moving there, then!

thank you for the story. Very interesting, I had no idea she emigrated to CAN. hmmm interesting indeed. That would have been so neat to have shook her hand at the Easter service, I'm guessing she rarely went out.

take care!

[rasputin1952]

12. It is a bit of a fascinating story, incredibly tragic, but fascinating

none the less.

On of the instructors at my local college I attend is a Russian who emigrated here a few years ago via USSR/Germany/France/US. EWe have talked extensively about Russian/Soviet history, and it is amazing what they taught over there, not as bad as one would think. There was a change years ago on how the Romanov's were seen, and as the stories emerged about their demise the weirder the story got.

The assassination of Rasputin, the fall of the Romanov's, the execution in the basement...:( It is apparent the girls didn't have much of a chance, but beyond that, the jewels that were sewn into their dresses made the execution even more reprehensible, as many of the bullets simply ricocheted off of them. But each one would have been like a powerful fist pounding away at them. It has been said that the men w/the machine guns, reloaded at least twice, possibly 3x, and they were scarred for life after the murders.

Lenin was no gem either, and Stalin is one of the worst mass murders of all time. The one thing Stalin left behind that is considered a work of art is the Moscow subway system...just about everything else is tarnished w/murder, and even the Metro system is blood soaked.

As for Rasputin...there is a story all in it's own...;)

[TNDemo]

2. I read that Nicholas was a T2 genetically.

I am too. Is there anything to inherit???

[Pastiche423]

3. What is a T2

besides Thoracic, level 2?

[rasputin1952]

5. There are several aspects to T2...

but most likely, this is the one referred to:


"Beta-ketothiolase deficiency is an inherited disorder in which the body cannot effectively process a protein building block (amino acid) called isoleucine. This disorder also impairs the body's ability to process ketones, which are molecules produced during the breakdown of fats.

The signs and symptoms of beta-ketothiolase deficiency typically appear between the ages of 6 months and 24 months. Affected children experience episodes of vomiting, dehydration, difficulty breathing, extreme tiredness (lethargy), and, occasionally, seizures. These episodes, which are called ketoacidotic attacks, sometimes lead to coma. Ketoacidotic attacks are frequently triggered by infections, periods without food (fasting), or increased intake of protein-rich foods."

More here:

http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=betaketothiolasedeficiency

[Pastiche423]

6. Thanks very much for the info!

My brain went elsewhere when I read T2.

[TNDemo]

8. Actually it is based on the DNA profile from the Genographic project

by National Geographic. I am a T, which 8% of the population is, and that has five subcategories - T1, T2, etc. It is a study showing human migratory patterns. Mine started many years ago in Central Africa, migrated to the fertile crescent, then part went to southwest Asia and the other went to northern and eastern Europe. And of course somebody in my family took a boat over here at some point.

[rasputin1952]

11. If we go back far enough, it is accepted that all of us came from

Central/Southern Africa. Just one more reason why I think all of this racial stuff is absurd.

[rpannier]

4. Interesting...

Thanks for posting

[anarchodog]

9. I'm sorry for the Romanov children, but Czar Nicholas was the Saddam Hussein of his day...

and terrible things happen in war, in this case the Russian Civil War. Nicholas has been turned into some kind of a sympathetic figure in Western history, but on his orders peaceful protesters were gunned down in the streets, and peasants were hanged by the thousands for minor infractions of the law. Even Tolstoy railed against his callous treatment of the peasants and excessive use of capital punishment (see his, "I Cannot Be Silent!"). I've read that when Russians of the time heard about the death of Czar Nicholas, the typical reaction was "who cares?" You reap what you sow. He was a parasite like all monarchs.

[rasputin1952]

10. Not really, he was certainly an inept leaders and had numerous flaws

but I would consider Lenin, Trotsky and eventually Stalin as the real evils that afflicted Russia/USSR. Romanov was a despot, but nothing like some previous Russian leaders either, like Ivan the Terrible and a few others.

[knitter4democracy]

18. The tsars started the gulags, though.

They'd used them for centuries. Stalin was just more efficient at it.

[knitter4democracy]

17. Very true.

There were two revolutions in 1917, and people often forget that. The Tsar was overthrown in favor of a democratic government, and the Bolsheviks overthrew that government (the council was hiding in the Malachite Room in the Winter Palace, and the Bolsheviks cut the power before they went in, which led to them getting lost for a couple of hours before finding the government to overthrow).

[mitchum]

13. Good

[Orrex]

16. This will no doubt elevate the level of discourse

By eliminating the czar chasm.

[Posteritatis]

19. *twitch* Grounded! Go to your room! (nt)

[Orrex]

20. Whoop! Almost went 24 hours without anyone noticing that...

I thought I was in the clear!