From Royalty to Ruin: The Fall of the Romanovs

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Do you remember the 1997 animated movie Anastasia? It tells the story of a young orphan with amnesia who just might be the lost Romanov princess. Two con artists notice the resemblance and train her to impersonate Anastasia, hoping to cash in on a reward from the Dowager Empress who’s searching for her granddaughter. It’s a charming, feel-good story with a happy ending—but the real history behind the Romanovs is anything but.

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The story really starts with Tsar (emperor) Alexander II, who was assassinated by radicals who opposed how he ruled the country. 

After his death, his son Alexander III took the throne. He died unexpectedly—and for a while, some suspected he was poisoned. But a 2018 autopsy confirmed he actually died from kidney failure.

Next in line was Nicholas II, who many believe was never truly prepared for leadership. 

It’s said that his family kept him away from politics growing up. When he became Tsar, he got married to Alexandra, and together they had five children.

Despite being the royal family, the Romanovs were never fully respected—partly because of their family's history and how the monarchy had handled things in the past. Their son, Alexei, was the heir to the throne, but he was born with hemophilia, a serious blood disorder that prevented his blood from clotting. Because of his fragile condition, he was kept isolated and often in pain. The household staff reportedly struggled to care for him, unsure how to manage his illness.

This is where Rasputin enters the picture—and where things start to fall apart.

Rasputin claimed to be a healer. Desperate to help their son, Alexandra put her faith in him, especially after he told the doctors to stop giving Alexei aspirin. (We now know aspirin worsens hemophilia symptoms, so this actually helped.) Whether it was luck or not, Rasputin gained the family’s trust—and with it, influence.

He didn’t stop there. Rasputin built his own following, convincing many he had real powers. 

He began to speak on political matters, stirring up more controversy and radical support. Eventually, people saw him as a threat. His enemies plotted his death, hoping to weaken his grip on the Romanovs and stop the chaos he had stirred up. But by then, the damage had already been done.

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The Romanov family were kept prisoner while the fate of the monarchy was being debated. Once the decision was made, it was grim: the entire family would be executed.

They were pulled from their beds in the middle of the night and led to the basement, along with a few loyal servants. There, an execution squad opened fire. Tsar Nicholas was killed instantly. Some soldiers hesitated when it came to shooting the children—but in the end, they carried out the order.

What the soldiers didn’t expect was that the Romanov daughters had sewn family jewels into their clothing to hide them. The jewels acted like armor, causing bullets to ricochet. When the gunfire didn’t do the job, the executioners resorted to bayonets and blunt force. It’s said the whole horrifying process took around 20 minutes.

After the massacre, the soldiers stripped the bodies of any valuables and dumped them into a mine shaft. Fearing the remains would be discovered, they later moved the bodies and buried them again in unmarked graves.

Because not all of the remains were found right away, rumors started to swirl. Many imposters came forward, claiming to be surviving members of the Romanov family—especially Anastasia. The most famous was Anna Anderson, who spent nearly 70 years insisting she was the lost princess.

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In 1979, the remains of the Romanovs were finally discovered. Forensic testing confirmed their identities. Eventually, they were laid to rest in a family crypt—ending one of history’s most tragic royal mysteries.

What are your thoughts on this tragic massacre?