Glencoe World History © 2010

Chapter 23: War and Revolution

Student Web Activity Lesson Plans

The Russian Royal Family

Introduction

Czar Nicholas II, his wife, Alexandra, and their five children were murdered on the night of July 16, 1918. Soon after, rumors began to circulate that some members of the family had survived. In 1921, Anna Anderson, a young woman in Dalldorf, Germany, claimed to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia, youngest daughter of Nicholas II. After later DNA testing, it was revealed that she was not the Grand Duchess. In all probability, Anna Anderson was Franziska Schanzkowska, a Polish farmer’s daughter who had always dreamed of being an actress. In this activity, students will learn about the "real" Grand Duchess Anastasia and her royal family.

Lesson Description
Students will go to a Web site about the life of the Grand Duchess Anastasia. The site also contains information about Anna Anderson, the woman who claimed to be Anastasia. Students will read the information and answer four questions about what they have read. Students will then write several questions they would have liked to ask Anastasia to learn more about her life before and during the Russian Revolution.

Instructional Objectives
The learner will be able to interpret the account of Anastasia’s life in Russia before and during the revolution.
The learners will be able to apply what they have learned by writing interview questions for Anastasia.

Student Web Activity Answers

1. The royal family lived a very extravagant lifestyle. They lived in a palace that contained 200 rooms. They also had a number of palaces all over Russia, but they would stay in their private train whenever possible when traveling. Czar Nicholas II also built a beautiful white villa on a cliff overlooking the Black Sea in the Crimea.



2. Students’ opinions will vary but should mention that the family appears prosperous in the photographs. Although the children were pampered, they were taught to endure discomforts, a tradition begun by Catherine the Great.



3. The family lived as prisoners in humiliating conditions for more than a year. The family was first imprisoned in Tsarkoe Selo for five months, and then were moved to Tobolsk, Siberia, where they lived in the governor’s mansion for eight months. The last three months of their lives, the royal family lived in Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg.



4. Reasons may include that the woman was delusional; craved attention; hoped to obtain the Romanov wealth; or all of these.



5. Students' questions will vary.