The movie is based upon the story of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia. The youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, Anastasia was brutally murdered along with her parents and siblings by the Bolsheviks, in an attempt to prevent them from reclaiming power, should they ever escape from captivity. Despite the testimony of Yakov Yurovsky and others present at the shooting, many failed to believe that every member of the family had been killed. This rumor was made worse by stories of one or more of them escaping, thanks to sympathetic guards at the Ipatiev House, where they were being held. Also complicating the truth was the fact the location of the bodies remained a mystery, as they had been burned and buried in a remote forest.