DNA Testing Ends Romanov Mystery

The mystery of the murder on Russia’s last emperor and his family has finally been resolved due to DNA testing. The DNA analysis fragments of the bones of has proven that none of the children of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra survived and all died in Yekatherineburg in 1918.

The remains of the Tsar and his family had been found in 1991 but two bodies were missing, that of his son and heir Alexei, and of the couple’s 3rd daughter Grand Duchess Maria. Many thought that the two might have escaped thir executioners and might have survived. However in 2007 chemically damaged and burnt remains were found in the Romanov family’s makeshift grave outside the city of Yekaterinburg.

In 2008 researchers used the bone fragments that were found for a DNA analysis, comparing this DNA with that of other Romanov descendants. The results of the analysis were published on Tuesday 10 March in the journal PloS One.

Filed under Historical Royals, Russia
Tagged Death, Maria Nikolaevna of Russia, Russian Revolution, Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich of Russia.