Genetic Study Shows Remains Are From Czar

A genetic study leaves no doubt that skeletal remains attributed to Russian Czar Nicholas II really did come from him, a researcher says.

Earlier genetic analysis had already made that virtually certain, but also found a puzzle.

The skeletal remains included an abnormal mix of two slightly different genetic variants, in a type of genetic material that is inherited only from the mother. The mix was not observed in two living relatives of the czar, who was executed in 1918.

But now scientists say they’ve found the very same rare abnormality in DNA from remains of the czar’s brother, Georgij Romanov, who died in 1899. The work was done at the request of the Russian government.

“It’s extremely strong evidence” that the remains of Czar Nicholas II were correctly identified, said researcher Thomas J. Parsons of the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory, part of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Rockville, Md. He and colleagues report the new work in the April issue of the journal Nature Genetics.