DNA Analysis Confirms Authenticity of Romanovs' Remains (2024)
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the execution of Nicholas II and his family, an event that toppled Russia’s Romanov dynasty. Yesterday, as the country was preparing to commemorate their deaths, Russian investigators announced that new DNA testing had confirmed that remains attributed to last tsar and his family are in fact authentic—a finding that may pave the way for the deceased royals to be buried with full rites by the Orthodox Church, according to Agence France-Presse.
The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, which is responsible for probing serious crimes, said DNA analysis “confirmed the remains found belonged to the former Emperor Nicholas II, his family members and members of their entourage.” As part of the new tests, investigators exhumed the body of Nicholas' father, Alexander III to prove that the two are related, and also took DNA samples from living members of the Romanov family, according to the Moscow Times.
The new findings are the latest development in a tangled dispute over the remains of the Romanovs, whose downfall was nigh after Nicholas II was forced to abdicate the throne in the midst of the Russian Revolution of 1917. Radical Bolsheviks took power and formed a provisional government, and the tsar, his wife, Alexandra and their five children were imprisoned in the city of Yekaterinburg. In 1918, civil war broke out between the communist government’s Red Army and the anti-Bolshevik White Army. As the White Army advanced on Yekaterinburg, local authorities were ordered to prevent the rescue of the Romanovs, and in the early hours of July 17, the family was executed by firing squad. Those who remained alive after the bullets stopped flying were stabbed to death.
The Romanovs’ bodies were thrown down a mineshaft, only to be retrieved, burned and buried near a cart track. The remains of Nicholas, Alexandra and three of their daughters— Anastasia, Olga and Tatiana—were found in 1979, though the bodies were only exhumed in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union, according to the AFP. As Tom Parfitt of the Times reports, DNA testing carried out at the time confirmed that the remains were authentic.
Orthodox Church officials, however, contested these findings. In 1998, the remains that had been uncovered some 20 years earlier were interred in Saint Petersburg, but the Church refused to give them full burial rites. In 2007, archaeologists discovered the bones of two more individuals, whom they believed to be the missing Romanov children: Maria and Alexei, the tsar’s only son and the heir to the throne.
“Their bones were also analyzed and scientists took the opportunity to repeat tests on the whole family using new technology,” Parfitt writes. “Evgeny Rogaev, a molecular geneticist, found there was one in a septillion chance that the remains thought to be of the tsar were not his.”
Still, the Church refused to recognize the remains. The bones of Maria and Alexei have never been buried.
Church officials explained their recalcitrance by saying that they need to be “extra sure” of the validity of the remains, since the tsar and his family were canonized in 2000, reports Alec Luhn of the Telegraph. This means that the Romanovs’ bones are relics—holy objects worthy of veneration.
But politics—and conspiracy theories—may have also come into play. The AFP reports that the Church clergy “felt sidelined” by an investigation into the remains that took place under former Russian president Boris Yeltsin in the 1990s. In 2015, the Church ordered yet another investigation, but critics have accused Church officials of stalling the proceedings because they are reluctant to admit their mistakes in handling the remains. Last year, for instance, a Church commission involved in the probe floated the anti-Semitic theory the Romanovs were killed as part of a Jewish ritual.
“There is absolutely no reason to examine these absurd theories about the deaths and the veracity of the remains when we know the circ*mstances, and scientists have proved beyond doubt they are real,” Viktor Aksyuchits, who fronted a state advisory group on the remains in the 1990s, tells the Times’ Parfitt.
The latest DNA analysis is part of the criminal investigation ordered by the Church. According to the AFP, Church spokesman Vladimir Legoida said in a statement that officials will review the latest findings “with attention.” The Romanovs may finally receive a full Church burial—though it will not come in time for the centenary of their deaths.
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Brigit Katz is a freelance writer based in Toronto. Her work has appeared in a number of publications, including NYmag.com, Flavorwire and Tina Brown Media's Women in the World.
The bodies had been dumped together, and they decomposed over time, leaving behind disorganized bone fragments. Scientists began by testing the short tandem repeat (STR) markers on the nuclear DNA. This enabled them to identify that nine people were buried in the grave. The skeletons were numbered one through nine.
From whom did the Romanov children receive their mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)? They received their mitochondrial (mt) DNA from their mother, the Tsarina Alexandra.
The mtDNA sequence of Georgij Romanov, matched that of the putative Tsar, and was heteroplasmic at the same position. This confirms heteroplasmy in the Tsar's lineage, and is powerful evidence supporting the identification of Tsar Nicholas II.
Queen Elizabeth II is related to the Romanovs through her paternal side; as mentioned, her grandfather King George V was Czar Nicholas II's cousin. Per The Express, Nicholas II's mother, Marie, was the sister of King Edward VII's wife, Queen Alexandra. And King Edward VII's mother was Queen Victoria.
There are no immediate family members of the former Russian Royal Family alive today. However, there are still living descendants of the Romanov family. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth II is the grandnephew of Tsarina Alexandra.
Though those five Romanovs were identified through DNA given by relatives, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church never accepted the scientific analysis as definitive proof (he skipped the interment).
Her purported survival has been conclusively disproven. Scientific analysis including DNA testing confirmed that the remains are those of the imperial family, showing that all four grand duch*esses were killed in 1918. Several women falsely claimed to have been Anastasia; the best known impostor was Anna Anderson.
Of the House of Romanov's 65 members, 47 survivors went into exile abroad. In 1924, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, the senior surviving male-line descendant of Alexander II of Russia by primogeniture, claimed the headship of the defunct Imperial House of Russia.
Yet, the monk's legacy is intertwined with that of Alexis Nikolaevich Romanov, the last Tsesarevich of Russia. Born as the only son of Nicholas II and Alexandra of Hesse, he would one day inherit the throne – until, not long after his birth, it became clear that he was born with hemophilia.
DNA testing of the Romanov family remains in 2009 showed that one of the four daughters, thought to be Maria by American researchers and Anastasia by Russian researchers, was a carrier.
They started off Russian, but ended up being mostly German. Empress Elizabeth was born to a Russian father and Belarusian mother. Her sister, Anna, married a Swedish man and had Peter III.
We all inherit mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from our mothers, but only females can pass it on. This unique inheritance path is interesting to explore and can be useful in our genealogy research if we understand its limitations.
The remains of Nicholas, Alexandra and three of their daughters— Anastasia, Olga and Tatiana—were found in 1979, though the bodies were only exhumed in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union, according to the AFP.
Last, Philip really did provide a DNA sample that helped identify some of the Romanovs' remains. Though both Elizabeth and Philip were related to the Romanovs, Philip's connection came through Alexandra, with whom he shared a common female ancestor, meaning only he could provide a mitochondrial DNA match.
Anyone who was fortunate enough to gaze upon the window of Maria Nikolaevna's soul recounted their sheer beauty, softness and gentleness. Her deep blue eyes were so large that Gleb Botkin gave a nickname of their own, “Marie's saucers”. Anastasia, who resembled her mother the most, also inherited her bright blue eyes.
The late Prince Philip is related to the Romanovs through both his mother and his father. Philip is the grandnephew of Alexandra Romanov, Nicholas II's wife, and the last Tsarina of Russia. He is also a cousin to the Russian royal family (more on that below).
Introduction: My name is Dean Jakubowski Ret, I am a enthusiastic, friendly, homely, handsome, zealous, brainy, elegant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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