Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-07-17

Glcb r. Botkin, son of the late DR..
BotSin. personal physician to the En-
peror Nicholas III and who was Killed
10 years ago with the members or the
imperial family at Ekaterinberg, tells
In a series of articles. written exclusively
for The Star and associated newspapers
Of the North American Newspaper Al
lance. what has happened In America
10 Mime. Tchaikovsky." whom he recog-
nixes as the Grand Duchess Anatasia.
ny GLEB Il. BoTKIN.
The newspapers arc full of the case
81 Mine, Tchaikovsky," whom I Wis
tied last year at Castle Seeon. Ba-
varia, and recognized as the Grand
Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna. the
Youngest daughter of the late Emperor
Nicholas III,
since the grand duchess arrival here
in February reporters have made much
OF the mystery" Of Mrs. Leeds royal
guest. Fantastic stories have been
printed about the grand duchess and
her movements.
have had the honor Of seeing the
grand duchess almost daily since her
arrival In America, and l am in close
contact with her affairs. / was largely
instrumental in bringing her to the
United States. There is no mystery In
her visit here and no reason why she
has been secluded other than her need
for quiet because of i'll health.
No reporter has interviewed the grand
duchess in America. She has horror
of publicity. 1 may ALLEVIATE her by
writing these articles. But last year
when her situation was desperate 1t
was my series of articles that resulted
in her finding haven in America. /
feel 1t my duty to write the plain and
simple facts of her situation here.
shall probably offend some of my good
friends and her devoted adherents. But
IL ! am able to clear the public mind
of the silly and painful stories now in
circulation can bear the criticism.
Guest of Mrs. Leeds.
A number of influential Americans
interested themselves in the grand
duchess plight last year as result
Seeon. Among them was Mrs. william,
B. Leeds, who is Princess Xenia of
Greece.
1t was apparent in Germany that
what the grand duchess needed more
than anything was haven where she
would be safe from political enemies
and where she could recover her health
Surroundings in which she could for
get, If possible, the horrible experiences
she had been through were imperative
Mrs Leeds offered the grand duchess
her home at Oyster Bay, Long Island
After some negotiations the grand
duchess agreed to come to America and
a trained nurse was dispatched to bring
her to New York.
The grand duchess amazing story is
1A,, L., t..,% AnNlS It
what happened when the grand duchess
arrived here, I should review her story
and then set at rest some of the dis
credited stories. which though now ex-
ploded in Europe. still find place In
some American newspapers.
The grand duchess escaped the muir
derers of Ekaterinberg, where her
father, mother and sisters were slain
by the bolsheviss. Through the loyalty
of a man-who became bolShevik
only to save his life-She was Struggled
from the death chamber, desperately
wounded Cared for by this man, whose
name was Tchaikovsky. she was SNUG
gled into Rumania. where soon after
her protector was killed in the streets
Of Bucharest.
Rescued From Canal
rfOm HuHlaHId, SUFFERING from uH-
healed wounds and the nervous shock.
the grand duchess made her way to
Germany In search of relatives She
was left at cheap hotel in Berlin.
from which she fed In despair and
cast herself into canal. She was
rescued by police.
After months spent In German hos
pitfalls and institutions. where she re-
fused to reveal her identity, the grand
duchess admitted to a nurse that she
was AnastaSia. Russian refugees came
TO her rescue. She was passed from
hand to hand, often exploited by per-
sons who were interested in her solely
because they hoped to profit from her.
Eventually. she found friends who
sent her to a sanitarium Then the
Duke of Leuchtenberg invited her to
live at Castle Seeon, in Bavaria 1t
was there that visited her last year
did not believe that she could be the
grand duchess But when saw her all
doubt was dispelled and every contact
had with her thereafter deepened my