A Russian author has sensationally claimed Grand Duchess Anastasia - the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II - may have survived and successfully managed to escape to the West.

According to history, the Russian Imperial Romanov were all shot and bayoneted to death by Bolshevik revolutionaries on the night of July 17, 1918.

The entire , which included Nicholas II of , his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, and their five children: Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei, all died on that fateful night with no survivors.

However, according to Veniamin Alekseyev, the Grand Duchess Anastasia survived and was able to escape to the West, with new evidence backing up his claim.

Over the years there have been a number of claims from women masquerading as the long-lost princess including Anna Anderson.

Anderson first appeared in back in 1920, two years after the were executed, and she later moved to the where she was portrayed as the escaped daughter for decades.

Anderson's claims of being the last Romanov emperor were debunked after testing from DNA proved to be "conclusively" false.

These DNA tests were done in 1991 when the remains of the Russian royals were unearthed and proved all bodies were that of the Tsar, Tsarina and all their children.

This debunked Anderson's claims and she was instead found to be a mentally troubled Polish factory worker named Franziska Schanzkowska.

But according to Alekseyev's new explosive book, 'Who are you, Ms Tchaikovskaya?' Anderson's claims she is the lost princess are correct.

Alekseyev, who previously served on a government commission that had concluded bones found near Yekaterinburg were that of Nicholas II, explained: "On the basis of the archive documents discovered, and new Russian and foreign evidence I have seen since 1991, I have reason to think the royal family's fate is not as certain as it has been believed for almost 100 years."

Evidence from new documents from the Russian State Archive believe Anderson's claims are "quite possible and even probable" which includes reports from doctors treating Anderson, family confidants and relatives.

Alekseyev disputes the previous DNA tests arguing the genetic analysis was not conclusive which included work carried out on bones believed to be those of Anastasia and included a lock of Anderson's hair after her death.

Alekseyev also claims testimony from White Russians and Bolsheviks stating the whole family were all killed in 1918 as being untrustworthy.

Alekseyev adds: "I do not assume presumptuously she was executed by the Bolsheviks. This is for the reader to decide."

The Orthodox Church also debunked claims from of finding the genuine but incomplete bones of the Russian royals.

Alekseyev expects secret papers documenting diplomatic negotiations between Germany and the Soviets could throw new light on a possible secret exchange close to the end of the First World War.

"Why such mercy on the part of the Bolsheviks?," Alekseyev asked, adding: "After the leftist Social-Revolutionaries assassinated German Ambassador Mirbach, Wilhelm II could breach the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which would have ruined the Soviet regime. Therefore, they had to negotiate.

"All over the world this issue has been degraded for decades by unpretentious stage productions, garbage literature and films.

"We need scientific clarity over this complicated issue. Therefore, I am only publishing the documents.

"Where the truth lies, is up to the readers to decide."