Gleb Yevgenyevich Botkin (; 29 July 1900 – 27 December 1969) was the son of Dr.
Yevgeny Botkin, the Russian court physician who was murdered at
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg (, ; ), alternatively Romanization of Russian, romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( ; 1924–1991), is a city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District, Russia. The ci ...
by the
Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
with
Tsar Nicholas II and his family on 17 July 1918.
In later years, Botkin became a lifelong advocate of
Anna Anderson, who claimed to be the surviving
Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia. DNA results later proved that she was an impostor called Franziska Schanzkowska.
In 1938, he founded his own goddess-worshipping, monotheistic church, The
Church of Aphrodite.
Early life
Gleb was the youngest son of Russian physician Yevgeny Botkin and his wife, Olga Manuilova Botkina. Gleb was born on 30 July 1900 in Ollila, Hyrynsalmi Municipality, Kainuu, Finland (at the time a ducal province of Russia).
His parents divorced in 1910, when Botkin was 10, due to his father's demanding position at court and his mother's affair with his German tutor, Friedrich Lichinger, whom she later married. Yevgeny Botkin retained custody of the children following the divorce. His older brother Dmitry was killed in action during World War I. According to Botkin's memoirs, he and his sister
Tatiana Botkina (Tatiana Evgenievna Botkina Melnik) played with the children of Nicholas II during holidays. He used to amuse the grand duchesses on holidays and when they were all in exile at
Tobolsk with his stories and
caricature
A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, ...
s of pigs dressed in human clothing acting like stuffy dignitaries at court. Exiled along with the Romanoffs, Gleb and his sister hid in a basement after the royal family was executed along with the Botkins' father. After the then-secret execution of their father alongside the royal family, the young Botkins escaped and made their way to Japan. He took with him the illustrations and stories that he created in exile for the young Romanovs. The manuscript was donated to the Library of Congress in 1995 and published by Random House Value Publishing in 1996 as 'Lost Tales: Stories for the Tsar's Children'.
Botkin was described by one historian as "articulate, sensitive, with pallid skin and soulful green eyes" and as "a talented artist, a wicked satirist, and a born crusader". His obituary in the ''New York Times'' called him "a tenacious champion
f Anna Anderson'sfight for recognition as Anastasia" and a "devoted monarchist".
Exile
Following the
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...
and the murder of his father, Botkin fled Tobolsk as a teenager. He later spent a summer at a
Russian Orthodox
The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
in Siberia and briefly considered becoming a priest, but decided against the religious life. He married Nadezhda Mandrazhi-Konshina, widow of Ensign of the Dragoons regiment, nobleman Mikhail Nikolaevich Mandrazhi, who was the chevalier of the
Order of Saint George and was killed in battle in June 1915 at
Grodno
Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...
in
Belarus
Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
. Two months after his death, Nadezhda (sometimes
anglicised
Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...
Nadine) gave birth to a daughter, Kira Mikhailovna Mandrazhi (1915–2009). Nadezhda's father, nobleman
Alexei Vladimirovich Konshin, was the president of the Russian Bank of State from 1910 to 1914 and the president of the Russian Industry and Commerce Bank from 1914 to 1917. Ultimately, the Botkins had a daughter and three sons, as well.
The Botkins immigrated to the United States via Japan, arriving in
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
from
Yokohama
is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...
on 8 October 1922. Botkin worked as a photo
engraver and attended art classes at the
Pratt Institute in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Later, he earned his living as a novelist and illustrator.
[Kurth, p. 199]
Association with Anna Anderson
Botkin first visited
Anna Anderson in May 1927 at
Seeon Abbey, where Anderson was a guest. Anderson had asked Botkin to bring along "his funny animals". Botkin wrote later that he immediately recognized Anderson as Anastasia because she shared memories of their childhood play.
Historian Peter Kurth wrote that Botkin tended to overlook some of the more unattractive aspects of Anderson's personality, such as her stubbornness and rapid changes in mood, or to view them as manifestations of her royal heritage.
"She was, to Gleb's way of thinking, an almost magically noble tragic princess, and he saw it as his mission to restore her to her rightful position by any means necessary", wrote Kurth in ''Anastasia: The Riddle of Anna Anderson''.
Botkin penned letters in support of Anderson to various Romanov family members, wrote books about her and the Romanovs, including ''The Woman Who Rose Again,'' ''The Real Romanovs,'' and ''Lost Tales: Stories for the Tsar's Children,'' and arranged for Anderson's financial support throughout his life. He was Anderson's friend even when other supporters abandoned her.
Religious views
Botkin, following his father's murder, had considered becoming a priest, but he eventually turned away from the
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...
. Botkin eventually turned his interest in religion towards his own nature-based religion, which he started first in
West Hempstead, New York and later in
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...
. His church was called the
Church of Aphrodite.
[Kurth, p. 287] Botkin was of the opinion that
patriarchal society had caused many of the problems plaguing humankind. "Men!" he once said. "Just look at the mess we've made!"
His church drew from ancient pagan rituals and from some of the tenets of the
Old Believers, a rebel branch of the
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...
who had separated after 1666–1667 from the hierarchy of the church as a protest against liturgical reforms introduced by
Patriarch Nikon.
Anderson never joined his church but did not object when Botkin finished his letters to her with this prayer: "May the Goddess bestow Her tender caress on Your Imperial Highness's head."
Botkin had argued his case before the
New York State Supreme Court in 1938 and won the right to an official charter for the religion. The judge told him, "I guess it's better than worshipping
Mary Baker Eddy." His wife, whom he doted on, converted to his church in later life.
Botkin held regular church services in front of a statue of
Aphrodite
Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...
, the ancient Greek goddess of love, and presided over them dressed in the regalia of an
archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
. The
female symbol, a cross surmounted by a circle representing
Aphrodite
Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...
, was embroidered on his headdress. He later published a book, at his own expense, arguing that
Aphrodite
Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...
was the supreme
deity
A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...
and
creation had been much like a woman giving birth to the universe. This symbol also was engraved on his gravestone at his death.
Botkin told a reporter for ''The Cavalier Daily'', the student newspaper at the
University of Virginia at Charlottesville, that his religion pre-dated Christianity. With Christianity, he said, "you have the dilemma of either following the straight and narrow path and going to
Heaven
Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...
or having fun on earth and going to
Hell
In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...
". On the other hand, he said that his "Aphrodisian religion" was based on "truth and reality. Anything true will survive. Life itself is the blossoming of love, and love is the basis of goodness and happiness".
[ ] He thought his church would expand in coming years.
The student newspaper reporter commented on Botkin's "unorthodox" beliefs regarding sexual relations between men and women. Botkin believed that it was inappropriate for a man to react to his wife's
affair
An affair is a relationship typically between two people, one or both of whom are either married or in a long-term Monogamy, monogamous or emotionally-exclusive relationship with someone else. The affair can be solely sexual, solely physical or ...
with the rage that was expected by society: "A woman falls in love with another man. All that is necessary is to let her have her fling. After that she is often a better wife and mother. It is like a person who loves to play Bach and suddenly wants to play Beethoven."
One historian commented that Botkin's church "was a curious faith, to be sure", but "the Church of Aphrodite was not nearly so wanton as it sounds".
The church did not continue long after Botkin's death from a heart attack in December 1969, but some of his followers went on to join
neopagan movements with beliefs superficially similar to those of the Church of Aphrodite.
Death
Rev. Gleb Botkin passed away at home from a heart attack in December 1969. He was buried alongside his wife Nadine in Monticello Memorial Park, Albemarle County, Virginia, on the outskirts of Charlottesville.
DNA used to identify father's remains
Botkin and his wife had four children, daughter Marina and sons Nikita, Peter, and Yevgeny. He also had a stepdaughter, Kira, from Nadine's previous marriage. His daughter Marina Botkina Schweitzer's DNA was later used to help identify the remains of her grandfather, Yevgeny Botkin, after they were exhumed along with those of some of the Romanovs in 1991 from a mass grave discovered in
Ganina Yama near
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg (, ; ), alternatively Romanization of Russian, romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( ; 1924–1991), is a city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District, Russia. The ci ...
. Schweitzer's DNA was compared against the DNA of her maternal half-sister Kira, who also gave a blood sample, to help scientists isolate the DNA Schweitzer shared in common with her grandfather. This enabled scientists to create a "Botkin DNA profile" and use it to positively identify Dr. Botkin. Scientists in the early 1990s were unable to identify Dr. Botkin using
mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondrion, mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the D ...
, or DNA that is passed down from mother to child, as they used it to identify the Romanovs. Schweitzer was descended from Dr. Botkin in the paternal line and didn't share mitochondrial DNA with her father and grandfather.
Schweitzer later expressed scepticism about the DNA results proving that
Anna Anderson could not have been the Grand Duchess Anastasia.
[Massie, Robert K., ''The Romanovs: The Final Chapter'', 1995, p. 198]
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Botkin, Gleb
1900 births
1969 deaths
20th-century American memoirists
American modern pagans
Converts to new religious movements from Eastern Orthodoxy
Converts to pagan religions from Christianity
Former Russian Orthodox Christians
Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States
Writers from Charlottesville, Virginia
People from Long Island
People from West Hempstead, New York
Russian modern pagans
Founders of modern pagan movements
Male feminists
Russian monarchists
Founders of new religious movements