Riddle Solved of Missing Tsar?

An archaeological team is claiming that the missing remains of an 18th century Tsar have been located. The group is now calling for a state burial in St.Petersburg.

Ivan VI has been compared to Alexandre Dumas' 'Man in the Iron Mask', owing to his macabre destiny. He may never have lived long enough to become another Ivan the Terrible, bur he met with a decidedly terrible fate.

Born in 1740, Ivan was proclaimed Emperor as a two-month-old infant. However, a coup d' etat the following year saw the child and his family imprisoned in the fortress of Dunamunde. The next to decades saw him transferred from one prison to the next, in an effort to maintain the veil of secrecy.

Finally, in 1764, a lieutenant named Mirovich discovered the identity of a mysterious prisoner in his garrison at Shisselburg. A plan was hatched to free the young man. But it was not to be. Secret instructions had been relayed by Empress Catherine that Ivan should be killed if there was any rescue attempt. These orders were carried out by the jailers and all the conspirators were executed.

Leader of the excavation, businessman Anatoly Karanin, says he is "100 percent sure" of his find. However, not all experts are convinced and a DNA test would involve permission from Danish authorities, as Ivan's closest relatives died in exile in Denmark.