Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov

AN Imperial Family
On a spring day in May 1913, 11-year-old Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov stepped from her carriage. She was in the small Russian town of Kostroma. Anastasia joined her three older sisters for the parade to the local church. Dressed in matching white dresses and hats, the four girls lined up behind their parents. Their younger brother rode high in the arms of a tall soldier.
Anastasia’s family came from Kostroma. Exactly 300 years before, the first Romanov had been chosen to lead the Russian people. Now Anastasia’s parents, Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra, led the parade. It was one of many events throughout Russia celebrating 300 years of rule by the Romanov family.
Anastasia knew what to do on such an important day. From the age of 7, she had attended events with her parents. Anastasia walked slowly. Her back was straight, and she nodded to the thousands of Russians lining the street. Church bells rang out as the crowds cheered.
Anastasia tried to keep her excitement from showing on her face. She held onto her hat as the wind swirled around her. Soldiers marched beside the duchesses to protect them from the crowd.
Anastasia looked at her father, walking straight and proud at the head of the parade. The tsar was the ruler of the Russian Empire, but to Anastasia, he was just Papa.
FABERGÉ EGGS
Peter Carl Fabergé was the official jeweler to Tsar Nicholas and his father. The most famous Fabergé creations were jeweled Easter eggs he designed each year for the tsars. Nicholas gave one to his wife and one to his mother every Easter.
Fabergé had to make each egg new and unique. He put a surprise inside each egg. The eggs opened to reveal a tiny working train, portraits of the tsar’s family, or a rooster that crowed and flapped its wings. Of the 56 imperial eggs that Fabergé made, eight have been lost. Only 19 are still in Russia. In 2004, a Russian businessman bought nine of the eggs from a private collection. The eggs were valued between $3 million and $24 million each.
GRAND DUCHESS Anastasia
Early on the morning of June 18, 1901, Tsarina Alexandra gave birth to her fourth daughter. Anastasia was healthy, with blond hair and blue eyes. Her parents were happy, but they had hoped for a son. In Russia, only a boy could become tsar.
THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE
Anastasia’s father ruled one of the largest and wealthiest empires in Europe. The country stretched from eastern Europe to the Pacific Ocean. Tsar Nicholas made all the government decisions. No one in the Russian Empire was allowed to question the tsar or his laws.
The Romanov family was one of richest in the world. They owned millions of acres of land. The family jewels were worth $80 million. When Anastasia’s father was crowned in 1896, he sat on a throne decorated with nearly 900 sparkling diamonds.
AT HOME IN THE ALEXANDER PALACE
Anastasia’s family owned seven palaces. Three palaces were located on 800 acres (324 hectares) of parkland near Russia’s capital, St. Petersburg. The land was called the Tsarskoe Selo, or the Tsar’s Village. A tall iron fence surrounded the village. Soldiers patrolled the grounds to keep people out.
During the late fall and winter, the family lived at the Alexander Palace in the Tsar’s Village. The family seldom used the village’s other two palaces, the Catherine Palace and the Bablovo Palace.
The Alexander Palace had more than 100 rooms. Alexandra decorated the family rooms with wallpaper and flowered fabrics. Fresh flowers were everywhere. The children’s bedrooms were on the second floor. Their windows looked out on the gardens.