学文网On the night of July 16th， 1918， the Romanov dynasty came to an end when Bolshevik troops executed Nicholas and his family. The details of the execution and the location of their final resting place remained a Soviet secret for more than six decades. Lacking physical evidence， rumors[流言] spread through Europe， telling of a Romanov child， usually the youngest daughter， Anastasia， who had somehow survived. In the 1920s， a number of women claimed to be her. The most convincing was Anna Anderson.
In 1991， Russian amateur[业余爱好者] investigators， using a recently released government report on the Romanov execution， found what they thought to be the Romanov burial site. Russian authorities[权力机构] exhumed[掘出] human remains. Scientists studied the skulls， claiming that Anastasia’s was among those found， but the Russian findings were not conclusive[决定性的]. To prove that the remains were indeed those of the Romanovs， the Russians asked for help from British DNA experts.
First， the scientists tested for gender[性别] and identified five females and four males among the remains. Next they tested to see how， if at all， these people were related. A father and mother were identified， along with three daughters. The four other remains were likely those of servants. The son Alexei and one daughter were missing.
To prove the identity[身份] of Alexandra and her children， the scientists took blood from Prince Philip注1， the consort[君王或女王的配偶] of Queen Elizabeth II and the grand nephew of Alexandra. Because they all share a common maternal[母系的] ancestor[祖先]， they would all share mitochondrial DNA注2， which is passed almost unchanged from mother to children. The comparison between the mtDNA in Philip’s blood and in the remains was positive[阳性的]， proving them to be the Romanovs.
To prove the czar’s identity， who did not share this mtDNA， the remains of Grand Duke George， the brother of Nicholas， were exhumed. A comparison of their mtDNA proved their relationship.
The Crown Prince[皇储] Alexei and one Romanov daughter were missing， adding fuel to the legend that Anastasia had survived execution. Was it possible that Anastasia had escaped and resurfaced as Anna Anderson？ In 1994， American and English scientists attempted to answer this question once and for all[最后一次]. Using a tissue[组织] sample of Anderson’s， the English team compared her mtDNA with that of the Romanovs. At the same time， an American team compared the mtDNA found in her hair. Both teams came to the same conclusion： Anna Anderson was not a Romanov. In 1995， a Russian government commission[委托] study revealed that one of the skeletons[骨骼] was in fact Anastasia’s， and that the missing Romanov daughter was， in fact， Maria.
1918年7月16日深夜，布尔什维克***队将尼古拉二世一家处决，罗曼诺夫王朝随之灭亡。六十多年来，关于这次处决的细节和沙皇一家的最终埋葬点一直是前苏联的机密。由于缺乏物证，谣言在欧洲四处散播，说罗曼诺夫家的其中一个孩子――一般指最小的女儿阿纳斯塔西娅逃过了一劫。上世纪20年代，很多女人声称自己是阿纳斯塔西娅，其中最令人信服的是安娜・安德森。
1991年，几名俄罗斯业余调查员通过研究一份新近的有关处决罗曼诺夫一家的***府报告，找到了他们相信是沙皇一家的埋葬地。俄罗斯当局掘出了人体残骸。科学家对头骨进行研究，宣布这些遗骸当中有阿纳斯塔西娅的尸骨，然而俄罗斯的发现不足以做出最后判断。为了证明这些遗骸确实属于罗曼诺夫一家，俄罗斯方面向英国的DNA专家寻求帮助。
首先，科学家对性别进行检测，并确定遗骸中有五名女性和四名男性。接着，他们想检测看看这些人存在怎样的亲属关系（假如他们确实有亲属关系）。科学家鉴别出一对父母，还有三个女儿，剩下四人的遗骸应该是仆人的。儿子阿列克谢和另一名女儿下落不明。
为了证实亚历山德拉及其孩子的身份，科学家从菲利普亲王身上采集血液样本――菲利普亲王是英女王伊丽莎白二世的丈夫，也是亚历山德拉的侄孙。由于他们有共同的母系祖先，而线粒体DNA在母亲传给孩子时几乎不会发生改变，所以他们应该有相同的线粒体DNA。菲利普亲王血液内的线粒体DNA和遗骸的线粒体DNA比对结果呈阳性，从而证实遗骸属于罗曼诺夫家人。为了证实沙皇的身份（他不具有这个线粒体DNA），研究人员掘出尼古拉二世的弟弟、乔治大公的遗体。两人的线粒体DNA比对证明他们是亲属。
皇储阿列克谢和其中一个女儿依然下落不明，令阿纳斯塔西娅逃过处决的传说愈演愈烈。阿纳斯塔西娅有没有可能逃走，并以安娜・安德森的身份重新出现呢？1994年，英美科学家试***彻底解答这个问题。英国研究队用安德森的组织样本和罗曼诺夫家人的进行线粒体DNA比对。与此同时，一个美国研究队用安德森的头发进行线粒体DNA比对。两队得出相同的结论：安娜・安德森不是罗曼诺夫家的人。1995年，由俄罗斯***府委托的一项研究显示，当中一副骨骼其实属于阿纳斯塔西娅，失踪的女儿其实是玛利亚。
注1：菲利普亲王是亚历山德拉姐姐的外孙。
注2：线粒体DNA（缩写mtDNA）是指一些位于线粒体内的DNA，与一般位于细胞核内的DNA有不同的演化起源。
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