(I’ve seen many people headcanon that APH Russia was close to the Romanov kids, and since I’ve always had an interest in learning about them as well, I had to draw something! Idk how serious Hetalia is allowed to get but this topic feels pretty darn serious…)
The last Imperial children of Russia (left to right)
Grand Duchess MARIA Nikolaevna - third oldest. Maria was known for her big blue eyes, which her siblings lovingly dubbed “Marie’s saucers”. She had a sweet and simple outlook on life; what she most wanted was to marry a handsome soldier and have many children to raise in the countryside. She adored her father and as a young child, she would kiss a portrait of him often. She died at 19.
Grand Duchess OLGA Nikolaevna - oldest. Olga was bookish and, out of her siblings, perhaps the most aware of the political turmoil in Russia at the time. She had a tendency to be moody and at times had a rocky relationship with her mother, the tsarina. She had a passion for playing the piano. During the First World War, Olga, her younger sister Tatiana, and their mother volunteered as nurses for wounded Russian soldiers. The trauma of witnessing such atrocities took the heaviest toll on Olga, who entered a depressive state in the months before her death. She died at 22.
Tsarevich ALEXEI Nikolaevich - youngest and heir to the throne. Nowadays, Alexei is perhaps best known for his hemophilia, a genetic disease which causes uncontrollable bleeding and/or swelling at the slightest bump or scratch. During the early 20th century, a hemophilia diagnosis was practically a death sentence. In fact, this disease was instrumental in the final downfall of the Romanovs. Grigori Rasputin, an alleged mystic who claimed he could heal the boy, was hired by the tsar and tsarina to ease Alexei’s pain when his hemophilia flared up. It’s unknown exactly what he did, but Rasputin actually had some positive effect in alleviating the disease. Unfortunately, because Alexei’s hemophilia was a closely guarded secret in fear of exposing weakness in the imperial family, the Russian public only saw their royals associating with a drunk, dirty, immoral fraud for seemingly no reason. This only served to destroy the Romanovs’ reputation even more. Despite this, Alexei was a happy child. Once, his sister Olga caught him lying on his back in the grass and staring at the sky. When she asked what he was thinking about, he replied, “ Oh, so many things…I enjoy the sun and the beauty of summer as long as I can. Who knows whether one of these days I shall not be prevented from doing it?” He died at 13.
Grand Duchess TATIANA Nikolaevna - second oldest. Tatiana was said to be the most beautiful of her sisters. She was tall and slender, and she held herself with the grace and dignity befitting of the tsar’s daughter. Her siblings nicknamed her “The Governess”, as she frequently bossed them around and looked out for them. Tatiana was incredibly close with her mother and acted as an informal adviser when the tsarina made important decisions. She had a natural knack for leadership and was a dedicated and hard worker. She died at 20.
Grand Duchess ANASTASIA Nikolaevna - second youngest. It goes without saying that Anastasia is the most famous of her family, thanks to rumors that she had survived the assassination of the Romanovs. Sadly, these rumors were conclusively proven false in 2007, when DNA testing on two sets of human remains showed them to be the bodies of either Anastasia or Maria and Alexei, buried separately from the rest of the family. With this discovery, all seven royals were accounted for, making it impossible for anyone to have escaped. In life, Anastasia was a very lively, vivacious, and mischievous girl. She enjoyed playing pranks on others and had a talent for making people laugh. As such, Anastasia was nicknamed shvibzik, or imp, by her family. She also enjoyed photography and was said to be excellent at mimicry. She died at 17.
After the Tsar abdicated, the children and their parents were sent into exile. Eventually they ended up in the isolated town of Yekaterinburg, Siberia. They stayed there for several months under strict house arrest before their gruesome demise.
In the early morning hours of July 17th, 1918, the family was awoken and ordered to report to the basement under the guise of taking a “family photo”. Bolshevik guards then entered the basement and announced that they were to be executed. The guards immediately opened fire, but the children were inadvertently shielded from the bullets by the heirloom jewelry they had secretly sewn into their clothing to keep safe. The guards then resorted to bayoneting and stabbing the children to death or shooting directly into the head. It took well over ten minutes for all members of the family and a few loyal servants to be killed.
This tragic event took place exactly one hundred years ago from today. The Romanovs are remembered as passion bearers in the Russian Orthodox Church, or people who upheld their faith in the face of death.
One century later, a sad truth still stands: Children should not be punished for the crimes of their parents.
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