I Was Anastasia: A Novel

The jewels that the Romanov sisters sew into their undergarments, including their corsets, are part of the historical record. They hoped that if they managed to escape imprisonment, they would have valuables to pay for travel and expenses. While this act has a strategic value, it also carries symbolic weight: By reinforcing their clothing with the riches that remain with them, the sisters remind themselves, and others, of their birth status as royalty. Their jewel-lined corsets, petticoats, and other garments become a reminder of their identity that has been threatened by the opposition. At the same time, Alexandra’s act of clinging to her jewels while the Russian people are starving from food shortages reflects the injustice and social inequality that Kerensky pointed to in his justification for killing the elephant.

Accounts of the executions at Ipatiev House report that the Romanov girls’ jewel-lined bodices acted as unintended armor and resisted bullets, which forced the soldiers to resort to stabbing them with their bayonets. In this respect, the jewel-lined corsets become a tragic emblem of their innocence. Anastasia is 17, and Alexey is only around 14 at the time of the murders. They are children who have personally done nothing wrong—their only crime was that they were born into privilege.