One of the most enduring mysteries of the Twentieth Century has been put to rest— DNA analysis of bone fragments has proven that two of Czar Nicholas' children, previously believed to have escaped, were killed with the royal family during the Russian Revolution.Rico says durn, now it's gonna be harder to sell that book...
The chemically damaged and burnt remains were found in the Romanov family's makeshift grave outside the city of Yekaterinburg, Russia in 2007. In 2008, scientists used bone and tooth fragments to identify the remains as those of the two missing children of Czar Nicholas II: thirteen-year-old Crown Prince Alexei, the emperor's only son and heir to the throne, and his sister Grand Duchess Maria, about nineteen.
Researchers wanted to confirm their findings by comparing DNA from the remains with that of living Romanov relatives. The results of the DNA analysis were published online in the journal PloS One.
The Romanov family, the last Russian monarchy, was executed in 1918 by Bolsheviks in the basement of a home in Yekaterinburg, about 900 miles (1,448 kilometers) east of Moscow. Several of their staff members and servants also were killed.
Nicholas' reign had ended when he abdicated the throne in 1917 at the time of the Russian Revolution.
The remains of the family were discovered in 1991, during the last days of the Soviet Union. In 1998, those remains— of Nicholas, his wife, Alexandra, and three daughters— were interred in a cathedral in St. Petersburg that contains the crypts of other Russian royalty. At the time, many thought that Alexei and Maria might have escaped, leading to hopes among royal supporters that one or both Romanovs were still alive. But clues left by one of the family's assassins led investigators to the grave where the remains of Alexei and Maria were unearthed in 2007.
The drama surrounding the Romanovs has been the subject of many books, movies, and documentaries. Several women have claimed that they were Anastasia, Nicholas' youngest daughter, contending that they escaped the executions. The body of one impostor, Anna Anderson, was cremated when she died in 1984. DNA tests showed she was not related to the Romanov family.
11 March 2009
Another great book idea shot to hell by history
Rico says he's long been working on a novel, The Next-to-Last Tsar, about the escape of Prince Alexei from the Bolsheviks, and now they screwed that up:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Forget history!
There are a lot of people who are fascinated with the fate of the Romanovs. Regardless of what the DNA findings are if your book has a good storyline with a solid plot people will gladly buy it.
Not to mention I'm sure there are a lot of people who would rather believe your version then the boring "they all died and were thrown in a ditch" one.
KEEP WRITING!
you should post your situation on FML, classic!
Post a Comment