_To those faithful friends and companions who, because of their loyalty to us, perished before or after the tragedy which befell My Family:_ _Countess Anastasia Hendrikova, Mlle. Ekaterina Schneider, Prince Vasily Dolgorukov, Count Ilia Tatishchev, Nagorny, Chemodurov, and Ivan Sidniev;_ _To My Brother’s youthful companion and helper, whose fate I never learned:_ _Leonid Sidniev;_ _To My Uncle, His Imperial Highness, the Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich, and his secretary and friend, Nicholas Johnson, both of whom disappeared, apparently murdered by the Bolsheviks;_ _To My Aunt, Her Imperial Highness, the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, and her faithful nun, Varvara, who were brutally murdered by the Bolsheviks;_ _To other members of the Imperial Family who were murdered by the Bolsheviks;_ _To all members of the Imperial Family who died during the First World War and the Civil War in Russia;_ _To all members of the Imperial Family, living and dead, who survived the Bolshevik revolution;_ _To those dear and helpful friends:_ _Count Apraxin and Captain Nilov;_ _To the two officers who came to pay their respects and salute My Father for the last time at the station at Tsarskoe Selo just before our departure for Siberia:_ _Kushelev and Artasalev (?);_ _To friends who voluntarily accompanied My Family into exile;_ _To my rescuer, Alexander;_ _To Nikolai; to the Serbian, the Croatian, and the former Austrian soldier; and to all others who befriended and aided me during the long journey from the vicinity of Ekaterinburg to a refuge in Bukovina;_ _To those millions of heroes of the Russian Empire, sung and unsung, who gave their lives in defense of their country against the Central Powers and against the Bolsheviks;_ _To all members of the Imperial Armed Forces who served their Emperor and their country faithfully and loyally at all times;_ _To the millions who died in Russia from execution, starvation and other causes deriving from Bolshevik cruelty, tyranny and misrule;_ _To the members of the Imperial Armed Forces who are now living outside their homeland and especially those among them who are maimed and destitute;_ _To all who have helped me in any way since I left Russia;_ _To all these--departed and living, known and unknown, relatives and friends--I am eternally grateful._ _Anastasia_ Acknowledgements The present book could never have been completed without the encouragement, inspiration and help of friends who were interested in having the story of my family, as known to me, the youngest of the four daughters of the late Emperor Nicholas II and the Empress Alexandra, and my own story made known to the world.