Anna Andersen

Lifted from real life

Nope, no resemblance to the actual Anastasia. Or Riley, for that matter.

### Born

December 16, 1896Borreck Abbau/Borowilaß, West Prussia, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire (modern-day Poland)

### Died

February 12, 1984 (age 87)Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

### Occupation / Rank

* Factory worker
* Grand Duchess Anastasia impostor

## Parody universe information

### Role(s)

* Alternate identity of Grand Duchess Anastasia
* Riley Andersen's ancestor (presumed)

### Notable for

* Being mislabeled as "Princess Anastasia"
* Being exiled to Siberia

### Enemies

* Joseph Stalin and the Soviet regime

**Anna Andersen** is an important figure in *Andersen's Mind*. Revealed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia of the Romanov dynasty early on, it is also thought that she is Riley Andersen's ancestor, therefore making Riley herself a royal, a possibility Riley's emotions are excited about.

## In real life

*Main article: Anna Anderson on Wikipedia*
In actuality, Grand Duchess Anastasia, along with the rest of the Tsar's family which ruled Russia prior to the establishment of the Soviet Union, was assassinated on the night of 16-17 July 1918 under the newly formed Soviet regime, which then proceeded to purport that the family survived, as part of the propaganda machine. As a result, various impostors of these royals, as well as their descendants, started popping up during the century; the most notable of them was a Polish factory worker **Franziska Schanzkowska**, who, in 1920, started claiming to be Anastasia, adopting the moniker of "Anna Anderson" and suing the remaining relatives of the Romanovs for part of their fortune. The case ended inconclusively, denying Anderson any riches.

Anna's identity remained unconfirmed after her death and was only confirmed with the advent of DNA testing and the exhuming of the Romanovs' grave in 1991. Those, alongside samples of living relatives of both the Romanovs and Schanzkowska, confirmed both that the bodies belonged to the real Romanovs and that Anderson was likely Schanzkowska.

However, the media coverage of Anna was also expanded into fictionalized content, such as 20th Century Fox's animated film *Anastasia*, which purported, despite evidence as of the movie's release in 1997, that Anderson was, indeed, Anastasia; this extends into the 21st century and *Andersen's Mind*.

## In parodies

So far, there only has been an indirect appearance of Anna, stemming from a documentary linked to Riley by her friend (likely Meg), who was excited about the prospect of Riley being "a real-life princess". The documentary, while based on a real TV show in Russia, nevertheless depicts a false translation and therefore a false depiction of events, in which Anna and Anastasia were confirmed to be the same person in 1929, leading to Anna's exile in Siberia, where she became the likely ancestor of the modern Andersens (including Riley, Jill and Bill). This has caught media attention with the modern Andersens' move to Saint Petersburg from Siberia, requiring a DNA assessment of them.

Tripledent, a Ko-fi supporter of CreativityTheEmotion's, suggested a potential video about Riley and her emotions reacting to 20th Century Fox's animated film *Anastasia*, featuring a fictionalized version of Anna's story, which Riley could potentially compare to her own. However, this parody is yet to be made.

## Notes

1. ↑ Real name altered in parodies to match the last name of Riley Andersen.