Volume I

ROBERT SPELLER & SONS, PUBLISHERS New York

Printed in the United States of America

WITH LOVE AND ESTEEM

I dedicate this book

To My Family:

To My Father, His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor Nicholas II,

To My Mother, Her Imperial Majesty, the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna,

To My Brother, His Imperial Highness, the Tsesarevich Alexei Nicholaevich,

To My Sisters, Their Imperial Highnesses, the Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, and Marie;

To those dear and understanding friends who perished with My Family in Ekaterinburg;

Dr. Eugene Botkin, Mlle. Anna Demidova, Ivan Kharitonov, and Trup;

To those faithful friends and companions who, because of their loyalty to us, perished before or after the tragedy which befell My Family:

_Countess Anastasia Hendrikova, Mlle. Ekaterina Schneider, Prince Vasily Dolgorukov, Count Ilia Tatishchev, Nagorny, Chemodurov, and Ivan Sidniev;_

To My Brother’s youthful companion and helper, whose fate I never learned:

Leonid Sidniev;

To My Uncle, His Imperial Highness, the Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich, and his secretary and friend, Nicholas Johnson, both of whom disappeared, apparently murdered by the Bolsheviks;

To My Aunt, Her Imperial Highness, the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, and her faithful nun, Varvara, who were brutally murdered by the Bolsheviks;

To other members of the Imperial Family who were murdered by the Bolsheviks;

To all members of the Imperial Family who died during the First World War and the Civil War in Russia;

To all members of the Imperial Family, living and dead, who survived the Bolshevik revolution;

To those dear and helpful friends:

Count Apraxin and Captain Nilov;

To the two officers who came to pay their respects and salute My Father for the last time at the station at Tsarskoe Selo just before our departure for Siberia:

Kushelev and Artasalev (?);

To friends who voluntarily accompanied My Family into exile;

To my rescuer, Alexander;

To Nikolai; to the Serbian, the Croatian, and the former Austrian soldier; and to all others who befriended and aided me during the long journey from the vicinity of Ekaterinburg to a refuge in Bukovina;

To those millions of heroes of the Russian Empire, sung and unsung, who gave their lives in defense of their country against the Central Powers and against the Bolsheviks;

To all members of the Imperial Armed Forces who served their Emperor and their country faithfully and loyally at all times;

To the millions who died in Russia from execution, starvation and other causes deriving from Bolshevik cruelty, tyranny and misrule;

To the members of the Imperial Armed Forces who are now living outside their homeland and especially those among them who are maimed and destitute;

To all who have helped me in any way since I left Russia;

To all these--departed and living, known and unknown, relatives and friends--I am eternally grateful.

Anastasia

Acknowledgements

The present book could never have been completed without the encouragement, inspiration and help of friends who were interested in having the story of my family, as known to me, the youngest of the four daughters of the late Emperor Nicholas II and the Empress Alexandra, and my own story made known to the world.

My indebtedness to these friends is deep and lasting. First of all must be mentioned the late Mrs. Helen Kohlsaat Wells, a close friend and confidante for many, many years. She worked with me closely during the years 1930 to 1934 during which we completed the first complete draft of the manuscript. Many years later we worked intermittently on revising the manuscript until Mrs. Wells’ untimely death. Also in a separate category is the late Mr. John Adams Chapman, whose friendship and counsel were so valuable at all times. Deserving of special gratitude are Mrs. Marjorie Wilder Emery, Miss Edith Kohlsaat, Mr. and Mrs. Norman Hanson, Mrs. John Adams Chapman, Mr. and Mrs. Louis Ellsworth Laflin, Jr., and Mr. and Mrs. Francis Beidler II.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations xi Author’s Preface xiii

Volume I✦

Volume I