A bit of History: Anastasia

The story of Anastasia, I think, is one of the most amazing stories of all time (if it is true, that is). I suppose I shall start at the beginning, for that is the very best place to start.
Anastasia Nicholaevna was born on June 18, 1901 to Nicholas II, Tsar of Russia, and his wife, Alexandra, nearly 7 years after Alexander III (father of Nicholas II) had died. She had three sisters, all older, and one younger brother by the name of Alexis. Unfortunately, Alexis was born with a disease known as hemophilia.
Nicholas II, for the most part, followed in his father’s footsteps. He disliked the thought of change and mistreated the minors, especially the Jews. When WWI began in 1914, Nicholas took supreme command while his wife took care of the royal duties with Rasputin, a family friend, as her personal advisor. After many losses and depressing news from the war, revolutions against Nicholas II began all over Russia. Even the military got involved. Nicholas had no other choice but to renounce the throne on March 15, 1917.
Shortly thereafter, the family was arrested and taken into captivity by the Bolsheviks. In July of 1918, the family was taken to a cellar where they were to take royal pictures. The event turned into a fiasco when armed forces suddenly appeared and began shooting. When there seemed to be survivors, the men bayoneted them.
When this was all done and over, the bodies were further tortured before being permanently buried.
The interesting part of the story comes in several years later, when a woman tried to end her life by jumping off a bridge. She was taken to a hospital and soon identified herself as Anna Anderson. This woman seemed a bit strange. She seemed to know a bit too much about the royal family of Nicholas II and she knew answers to questions that only his family would know. In addition, this woman was known to have the eyes of Nicholas II and was recognized by many as Anastasia. Two such people who recognized this woman happened to be her best friend, Tatiana Botkin, and cousin, Princess Xenia.
Several years later, Anna admitted she was Anastasia and told the story of her escape. Though she had much evidence and appeared to look and act just like the real Anastasia, it is still a wonder today whether Miss Anna Anderson really was Anastasia Nicholaevna, the lost grand duchess of Russia.