Countless lights of tall candles. Clergy in mourning attire. Choirs of courtiers and metropolitan choristers. The gray heads of kneeling soldiers. Tearful faces of the Grand Duchesses. The worried whisper of the courtiers. And the general attention paid to two monarchs: one lying in a coffin with a meek, wounded face, and the other, standing at the coffin, strong, mighty, overcoming his sadness and fearing nothing.

For seven days we were present twice a day at solemn requiems in the Winter Palace. On the morning of the eighth day, the body was solemnly transferred to the Cathedral of the Peter and Paul Fortress. To enable the people to say goodbye to the ashes of the Tsar Liberator, the longest path was chosen, and thus the funeral procession passed through the glorious streets of the capital.

Our nerves were strained to the last degree. Physical fatigue, combined with eternal anxiety, has brought us young people almost to a hysterical state. At night, sitting on our beds, we continued to discuss the disaster of last Sunday and asked each other what will happen next? The image of the late Sovereign, bent over the body of a wounded Cossack and not thinking about the possibility of a second attempt, did not leave us. We understood that something immeasurably greater than our loving uncle and courageous monarch had irretrievably gone with him into the past.

Idyllic Russia with the Tsar Father and his loyal people ceased to exist on March 1, 1881. We understood that the Russian Tsar would never again be able to treat his subjects with boundless trust. He will not be able, forgetting regicide, to devote himself entirely to state affairs. The romantic traditions of the past and the idealistic understanding of the Russian autocracy in the spirit of the Slavophiles - all this will be buried, together with the murdered emperor, in the crypt of the Peter and Paul Fortress. Last Sunday's explosion dealt a mortal blow to the old principles, and no one could deny that the future not only of the Russian Empire, but of the whole world, now depended on the outcome of the inevitable struggle between the new Russian Tsar and the elements of denial and destruction.

Fortunately for Russia, Emperor Alexander III possessed all the qualities of a major administrator. A staunch supporter of a healthy national policy, a fan of discipline, and a very skeptical one, the Sovereign ascended the throne of his ancestors, ready to fight. He knew court life too well not to feel contempt for his father's former employees, and a thorough acquaintance with the rulers of modern Europe inspired him with a well-founded distrust of their intentions. Emperor Alexander III believed that the majority of Russian disasters stemmed from the inappropriate liberalism of our bureaucracy and from the exceptional property of Russian diplomacy to succumb to all sorts of foreign influences.

24 hours after the burial of Alexander II, Alexander III issued a special manifesto with a list of reforms he had planned. Much was subject to a radical change: management methods, views, dignitaries themselves, diplomats, etc. Count Loris-Melikov and other ministers were dismissed, and they were replaced by people of business who were not taken from the court environment, which immediately caused indignation in St. Petersburg aristocratic salons.

The days of black reaction had come, the inconsolable supporters of liberal reforms assured, but the biographies of the new ministers seemed to refute this preconceived notion. Prince Khilkov, appointed Minister of Railways, spent his adventurous youth in the United States, working as a simple laborer in the mines of Pennsylvania. Professor Vyshnegradsky - Minister of Finance - was widely known for his original economic theories. He managed to bring the finances of the Empire into a brilliant state and to contribute a lot to the development of the industry of the country. The honored hero of the Russian-Turkish war, General Vannovsky, was appointed Minister of War. Admiral Shestakov, exiled by Alexander II abroad for merciless criticism of our navy, was summoned to St. Petersburg and appointed minister of the sea. The new Minister of the Interior, Count Tolstoy, was the first Russian administrator to realize that the concern for the well-being of the rural population of Russia should be the first task of state power.

S. Yu. Witte, who was a modest official of the Southwestern Railways, owed his dizzying career to the farsightedness of Emperor Alexander III, who, having appointed him a deputy minister, immediately recognized his talent.

The appointment of Girs, a finely educated but lacking in initiative man, to the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs caused considerable surprise both in Russia and abroad. But Alexander III only grinned. Most willingly, he would have preferred to be personally the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, but since he needed a figurehead, his choice fell on an obedient official who was supposed to follow the path outlined by him, the monarch, softening the harsh expressions of the Russian Tsar with the refined style of diplomatic notes.

The following years also proved the undoubted mind of Gears. Not a single international ruler of thoughts and hearts, not a single idol of European capitals could embarrass Gears in his exact execution of the Emperor's orders. And thus, for the first time after fatal mistakes, Russia found its pronounced national policy towards foreign powers.

Having formed the Council of Ministers and developed a new political program, Alexander III turned to the important issue of ensuring the security of the Royal Family. He resolved it in the only logical way - namely, by moving to permanent residence in the Gatchina Palace. The Tsar's pride was hurt: I was not afraid of Turkish bullets, and now I have to hide from the revolutionary underground in my country, he said with irritation. But Emperor Alexander III realized that the Russian Empire should not be in danger of losing two Sovereigns within one year.

As for his public work, it only benefited from the distance separating Gatchina from St. Petersburg. This distance gave Alexander III an excuse to reduce as much as possible his duties of representation, and also to reduce the number of visits from relatives. The Emperor languished at family gatherings. He found it a waste of time - endless conversations with his brothers, uncles and cousins. He had nothing against the little ones - Sergei and I visited Nikki and George (Georgy Alexandrovich) almost daily, but for adults who besieged him with eternal requests, the Tsar had neither patience nor time.

During the reign of Alexander III, the Gatchina Palace finally became what it should have been - the place of work of the busiest man in Russia.

We are indebted to the British Government for the fact that Alexander III very soon expressed the firmness of his foreign policy. Less than a year after the accession to the throne of the young Emperor, a serious incident occurred on the Russian-Afghan border. Under the influence of England, which looked with fear at the growth of Russian influence in Turkestan, the Afghans occupied Russian territory in the neighborhood of the Kushkoi fortress.

The commander of the military district telegraphed the Sovereign, asking for instructions. Drive out and teach a lesson, as was the laconic answer from Gatchina. The Afghans shamefully fled, and they were pursued for several tens of miles by our Cossacks, who wanted to capture the English instructors who were with the Afghan detachment. But they managed to escape.

Her Royal Majesty's British Ambassador was instructed to express a sharp protest in St. Petersburg and demand an apology.

We will not do this, - said Emperor Alexander III and awarded General Komarov, Head of the Border Detachment, with the Order of St. George, 3rd degree. - I will not allow anyone to encroach on our territory, - the Sovereign declared.

Gears trembled.

Your Majesty, this may cause an armed clash with England.

Even so, the Emperor replied.

A new threatening note came from England. In response to her, the Tsar gave the order to mobilize the Baltic Fleet. This order was an act of supreme courage, for the British navy outnumbered our maritime forces by at least five to one.

Two weeks passed, London fell silent, and then proposed the formation of a commission to consider the Russian-Afghan incident.

Europe began to look with different eyes towards Gatchina. The young Russian monarch turned out to be a person with whom Europe had to seriously reckon.

The culprit of the second incident was Austria. The Vienna government opposed our continuous intervention in the sphere of influence of Austria-Hungary in the Balkans, and the Austro-Hungarian ambassador in St. Petersburg threatened us with war.

At a large dinner in the Winter Palace, sitting at a table opposite the Tsar, the ambassador began to discuss the annoying Balkan question. The king pretended not to notice his irritated tone. The ambassador got excited and even hinted at the possibility that Austria would mobilize two or three corps. Without changing his half-mocking expression, Emperor Alexander III took the fork, bent it into a loop and threw it towards the Austrian diplomat's device:

This is what I will do with your two or three mobilized corps, - the Tsar said calmly.

In the whole world we have only 2 faithful allies, - he liked to say to his ministers: - our army and navy. All the rest, at the first opportunity, will take up arms against us.

Alexander III once expressed this opinion in a very frank form at a dinner given in honor of Prince Nicholas of Montenegro, who had arrived in Russia, in the presence of the entire diplomatic corps. Raising a glass to the health of his guest, Alexander III proclaimed the following toast:

I drink to the health of my friend, Prince Nicholas of Montenegro, the only sincere and faithful ally of Russia outside its territory.

Gears, who was present, opened his mouth in amazement; diplomats turned pale.

The London Times wrote the next morning about the amazing speech delivered by the Russian Emperor, which runs counter to all traditions in relations between friendly powers.

But while Europe was still discussing the consequences of the Kushka incident, the Russian imperial government made a new statement that forced the London cabinet to inquire by telegraph of St. Petersburg about the authenticity of the note received from London. Not recognizing the conditions of the shameful Peace of Paris in 1855, according to which Russia was forbidden to have a navy on the Black Sea, Alexander III decided to launch no warships at all in Sevastopol, where a coalition of European powers humiliated the Russian name in 1855.

The tsar chose an extremely favorable moment for this, when none of the European powers, with the exception of England, was inclined to threaten Russia with war. Turkey still remembered the lesson of 1877-78. Austria was bound by the policy of Bismarck, who dreamed of making an alliance with Russia. The project of the Iron Chancellor would undoubtedly have been carried out if Alexander III had not felt a personal dislike for the young unbalanced German emperor, and Wilhelm II and his Svengalli - Bismarck - could not understand the character of the Russian Emperor. During their visit to St. Petersburg, they both behaved absolutely impossible. Wilhelm II kept loud speeches, and Bismarck allowed himself to give Alexander III a whole lecture on the art of managing the Empire. All this ended badly. Bismarck was reprimanded, and Wilhelm was ridiculed. Both monarchs - Russian and German - represented a striking contrast in their personalities. Wilhelm - gesticulating, running back and forth, raising his voice and spewing a whole arsenal of international plans; Alexander III is cold, restrained, outwardly, as if amused by the expansiveness of the German emperor, but deep down he was outraged by his superficial judgments.

Those of us who witnessed the events of 1914 are inclined to reproach Alexander III with the fact that in him personal feelings of antipathy towards Wilhelm II took precedence over the sobriety of a practical politician. How could it happen that the Russian monarch, who was the epitome of common sense, rejected Bismarck's proposals for a Russo-German alliance and agreed to a risky alliance with France? There is a very simple explanation for this. Not being a visionary of the mistakes made in foreign policy during the reign of Nicholas II, and the consequences of the unsuccessful Russo-Japanese war and the revolution of 1905, Alexander III also overestimated our military might.

He was sure that a lasting peace would reign in Europe if Russia morally supported the French Republic, thus warning Germany against the aggressiveness of 1870. The possibility of France interfering in the decisive struggle between England and Germany for world dominion on the seas simply did not occur to the Tsar.

If he had remained longer in power, he would have indignantly rejected the role of the Franco-English ball-roller, smoothing out the slightest bump in their path, which role was imposed on Russia in 1914.

He longed for peace, a hundred years of unbreakable peace. Only an open attack on Russia would force Alexander III to participate in wars. The bitter experience of the 19th century taught the Tsar that every time Russia took part in the struggle of any European coalitions, she later had only to regret it bitterly. Alexander I saved Europe from Napoleon I, and the result of this was the creation of the Russian Empire on the western borders of the mighty Germany and Austria-Hungary. His grandfather Nicholas I sent the Russian army to Hungary to suppress the 1848 revolution and restore the Habsburgs to the Hungarian throne, and in gratitude for this service, Emperor Franz Joseph demanded political compensation for his non-intervention during the Crimean War.

Emperor Alexander II remained neutral in 1870, thus keeping his word given to Emperor Wilhelm I, and eight years later, at the Congress of Berlin, Bismarck deprived Russia of the fruits of its victory over the Turks.

The French, the British, the Germans, the Austrians - all, to varying degrees, made Russia an instrument to achieve their selfish goals. Alexander III did not have friendly feelings towards Europe. Always ready to accept a challenge, Alexander III, however, at every opportunity made it clear that he was only interested in what concerned the well-being of 130 million people in Russia.

The twenty-six months that elapsed between the assassination of Alexander II and the coronation of Alexander III could be marked by a directly magical improvement in Russia's international position.

The wise autocrat of Gatchina dealt a crushing blow to the revolution. Most of the Russian revolutionaries were arrested and punished. Others went underground or fled abroad. A new era for the peasants, proclaimed from the height of the throne, meant that the Tsar understood the need for close communication with the Russian people. The establishment of the office of zemstvo chiefs in 1882 filled the gap left by the liberation reform. Acting as representatives of local authorities, zemstvo chiefs significantly contributed to the streamlining of Russian peasant life.

They resolved disputes on issues of peasant land ownership and land use, sent the functions of judges of first instance in minor cases, facilitated the resettlement of small landowners in Siberia and Turkestan, and promoted the development of rural cooperation. But the most important thing is that they waged a merciless struggle against the subconscious spirit of anarchy among the peasantry, which was a consequence of historical processes - somehow: the Tatar yoke, Pugachevism and serfdom. To appreciate this reform of Alexander III, one must keep in mind that the Russian peasantry loved the monarch and treated the government with distrust. Still unaware of the state necessity of any kind of government, our village looked at the authorities as an apparatus of coercion, sucking the juice out of the people and giving nothing in return.

The government demanded recruits, levied taxes, maintained the authority of prohibitive measures, and gave little encouragement to the masses. While the Russian peasants were in a state of serfdom, they realized that the landowners, no matter how bad they were, protected them from the pressure of the authorities.

Having received freedom in 1861, the Russian peasants could no longer hope for the guardianship of their former masters and became the prey of revolutionary agitators who promised a golden era of freedom and anarchy after the overthrow of the autocracy. It is quite understandable that at the beginning of the introduction of the institution of zemstvo chiefs, it was met with hostility in Russian left circles. Russian public opinion found that the government, in the person of zemstvo chiefs, had established new positions of government spies in the localities. In addition, the task of the new officials turned out to be unbearably difficult: in addition to great knowledge and experience, the position of zemstvo chief required great tact and even diplomatic abilities from the newly initiated. Step by step, the zemstvo chiefs had to win the confidence of the peasants.

Emperor Alexander III followed with great interest the progress of his envoys, accredited - to Their Majesties - Muzhiks.

The ultimate goal of the conceived reform was to increase the area of ​​peasant land ownership. Unfortunately, the untimely death of the sovereign prevented him from realizing his cherished dream of creating in Russia a strong class of peasants - small landowners. Nevertheless, the introduction of the institution of zemstvo chiefs had a positive significance for the rural population of Russia, the best proof of which was the hostility with which revolutionary circles reacted to the reform. Speaking with a delegation of peasants during the coronation celebrations in May 1883 in Moscow, the Tsar asked them to express their frank opinion on the establishment of the position of zemstvo chiefs. More than ten thousand peasants from all parts of vast Russia participated in this delegation. Both the old and the young seemed unanimously in favor of the new tsarist officials, who treated the rural population with great care and friendliness, and the peasants even asked that the judicial functions of the zemstvo chiefs be expanded as far as possible.

Not a single sketch of the reign of Emperor Alexander III is able to give a more vivid description of the new era of Russian autocracy than the description of the coronation of Their Majesties in 1863.

Foreign guests who spent an unforgettable week in Moscow from May 10 to May 17 felt that they were present at how the history of the new Russia was being created. It seemed that the new Russia, with all its unlimited possibilities, revealed its complete new face in the ancient capital of the Russian tsars. Since the end of April, the influx of hundreds of thousands of visitors from various provinces and regions, as well as from abroad, has almost tripled the population of the Mother See. Emergency trains arrived in Moscow almost every hour and delivered the crowned heads of Europe, members of the reigning houses and representatives of foreign states.

The minister of the imperial court, who was the chairman of the committee for the reception of distinguished guests, was literally torn to pieces, with difficulty keeping pace from station to station, following the final preparations and the strict execution of official ceremonial. According to the established custom, arriving high-ranking persons were supposed to be met at the station and accompanied everywhere by persons of equal status, which meant that we (the Grand Dukes) had to devote all our time to the arriving distinguished guests. I had to show signs of hospitality to Archduke Karl- Ludwig of Austria and his strikingly beautiful wife, Maria Theresa. We became fast friends, although I was tired of accompanying them everywhere, giving endless explanations about churches, museums, historical buildings and saints of the Kremlin. I must have done well in my not too enviable mission, since towards the end of the festivities, my distinguished guests expressed a desire to visit St. Petersburg and asked the Tsar to accompany them to the capital.

The coronation festivities opened with the solemn entry of the Sovereign and his family into Moscow. At half past eight in the morning, the Grand Dukes and foreign princes were waiting on horseback at the porch of the Trinity Palace for the exit of Alexander III to accompany him at the entrance to the Kremlin. Exactly at 10 o'clock. In the morning, the Tsar came out of the inner chambers, mounted his horse and gave a sign to depart. He rode alone, ahead of us all.

A squadron of cavalry guards rode ahead of the cortege and announced its approach to the people and troops, who stood in espaliers along the entire route. A long train of golden carriages followed our cavalcade. In the first carriage sat Empress Maria Feodorovna with the eight-year-old Grand Duchess Xenia and Queen Olga of Greece. The rest of the grand duchesses, princesses of royal blood and honored ladies of state were accommodated in the rest of the carriages of the cortege.

A thunderous cheer accompanied us all the way to the Iberian chapel, where the Emperor dismounted from his horse and, accompanied by the Empress, entered the chapel to venerate the icon of the Iberian Mother of God. We entered the Kremlin through the Spassky Gate and drove up to the Archangel Cathedral. The official program of the day ended with a prayer service celebrated by the Metropolitan of Moscow with the participation of the choir of the Court Singing Chapel. The afternoon of May 12 and the whole of the next day were occupied with the exchange of visits between members of the imperial family and foreign dignitaries, as well as with various entertainments given in their honor.

May 15 began with a salute of 101 shots from the walls of the Kremlin. We gathered in the hall of the Grand Palace. This time we were a very picturesque group, for each of the Grand Dukes and foreign princes was dressed in the uniform of his regiment. I remember the Duke of Edinburgh, the youngest son of Queen Victoria, extremely elegant in the uniform of an admiral of the British fleet. The Russian Grand Dukes, for the solemn occasion, put on the chains of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, adorned with diamonds, with diamond double-headed eagles. The Grand Duchesses and foreign princesses were wearing magnificent jewelry, and I think that neither I nor anyone else has seen such a number of luxurious decorations, as on this day May 15, 1885.

The hall was dominated by complete, as it were, sacred silence. Everything froze within a few minutes before the departure of the Sovereign and Empress. We were all under the impression of the upcoming sacrament and understood that words are superfluous on such a day when the Russian Autocrat receives the blessing of the Almighty and the anointing to reign. Of course, the last phrase may seem naive to many convinced democrats, but the numerous scenes of popular votes that I have seen in democratic countries make me distrust democracy and all its forms with great distrust.

The sovereign and the empress appeared when the clock struck nine. Accustomed to the modest life of the Gatchina court, Alexander III was clearly dissatisfied with the pomp surrounding him. I know, - said the expression on his face: that I have to go through this, but the sooner it all seems to be over, the more pleasant it will be for me.

The Empress, apparently, on the contrary, enjoyed it. She was pleased to see her family. She loved solemn ceremonies. Miniature, in comparison with the giant - the Tsar, she lavished her affectionate charming smile on all those present. Bathed in jewels, like some kind of Eastern deity, she moved forward with small steps, and four cameras-pages carried her long train, embroidered with gold and trimmed with ermine. After the traditional kissing of the hand, in which all those present, including the ladies, took part, during which the Sovereign stood in the middle of the hall and watched what was happening from under his thick eyebrows, the marshal announced that everything was ready to go. The sovereign gave his hand to the Empress, and the procession moved towards the exit, through the halls filled with court diplomats, ministers and military men.

Following the ceremonial, the Imperial couple went out onto the Red Porch, and, according to the old custom, bowed to the earth three times to the crowd of many thousands standing in the Kremlin. Deafening shouts of cheers greeted the Highest Exit. It was the best moment of the coronation celebrations, which made us remember the ancient Russian tsars: starting with Ivan III, all Russian tsars expressed their readiness to serve the people with these three prostrations from the steps of the Red Porch. Then the procession moved to a specially constructed wooden platform, covered with red cloth, which led to the Assumption Cathedral. From my seat, I saw the Russian imperial regalia, which were solemnly carried by the highest dignitaries of the Court: the state banner, sword, scepter, orb, shield and remarkably beautiful imperial crown.

Eight adjutant generals held a red and gold canopy over the Sovereign; eight chamberlains held the same canopy over the Empress, Two field marshals - my father and my uncle Nikolai Nikolayevich went directly behind the Sovereign, the rest of the members of the imperial family, as well as foreign princes and princesses followed the Empress.

Palace grenadiers in the uniforms of 1812 and in bear hats stood along the path of the royal route. From the bell tower of Ivan the Great there was a heavy blow of a large bell, and immediately after it, forty forty Moscow churches began a solemn chime. The majestic sounds of the national anthem were heard, which was performed by a choir of five hundred people. Looking down at the ocean of flickering hands and uncovered heads, I also saw faces wet with tears. I myself tried to swallow my tears, excitement squeezed my throat, - Russia at that moment won in me, the Caucasian.

Three metropolitans and a host of archbishops and bishops met Their Majesties at the entrance to the cathedral and escorted them to the thrones built in the middle of the temple. The large box to the right was intended for the royal family and foreign princes, the box to the left - for the highest dignitaries of the empire, military and foreign diplomats.

I listened with impatience to the long solemn service served by His Eminence Isidore, Metropolitan of St. Petersburg, as the senior Metropolitan in consecration.

When the long-awaited moment finally arrived, the Metropolitan took the Imperial crown from the red velvet cushion and handed it over to the Tsar. Alexander III put the crown on his own head with his own hands and then, taking the second crown of the Empress, turned to the kneeling Empress and put the crown on her head. This rite symbolized the difference between the rights of the Emperor, given to him from above, and the prerogatives of the Empress, received by her from the Emperor.

The empress rose from her knees, and the royal couple turned to face our bed, personifying the harmony of severe power and graceful beauty.

Then the Emperor approached the iconostasis to receive Holy Communion. Since the Russian monarch is the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, when taking communion on the day of the coronation, he takes the cup from the hands of the metropolitan and takes communion himself. After that, the Empress was given communion, and the coronation ended, the procession returned to the palace in the same order, the bells rang again, a cannon salute was heard, and the people shouted with even greater delight at the sight of the crowned Sovereign and Empress. Having reached the Red Porch, the Tsar and Tsaritsa once again bowed to the earth three times, after which they went to the most ancient part of the palace, to the so-called Faceted Chamber, where the Highest meal was held on a high platform.

The remaining three days of festivities left me with only a feeling of pleasant weariness. Faithful to the traditions of hospitality, Moscow impressed everyone this time with its hospitality.

We danced at a ball given by the Moscow nobility. We were among the eight thousand invited to the ball at the Grand Kremlin Palace. We had breakfast at the city duma, dined at the zemstvo, and dined at officers' meetings. We drove through the streets, where music and singing were constantly heard. We looked at the distribution of gifts to 500,000 workers and peasants on the Khodynka field. We paid tribute to the talents of the cook of the Metropolitan of Moscow, known for his skillful preparation of the Lenten table. We received delegations, attended daily performances of the imperial ballet, saw off foreign princes and princesses at the departure of their emergency trains, and the guests and hospitable hosts could barely stand on their feet from fatigue.

On May 18, the Emperor went to rest in his residence near Moscow - Neskuchnoye, located on the banks of the Moscow River under the shadow of a century-old park.

Lying in the tall, lush grass and listening to the singing of the nightingales above our heads, the four of us - Nikki, Georges, Sergei and I - shared among ourselves that completely new, amazing feeling of calmness, complete security, which we had during all the coronation festivities.

Think of what a great country Russia will be by the time we escort Nikki to the Cathedral of the Assumption,” Brother Sergei said dreamily.

Nikki smiled his usual soft, timid, slightly sad smile.

EMPEROR ALEXANDER III (1933)
(Published in the Russkiy Mir Magazine, No. 1, 2004)

Fortunately for Russia, Emperor Alexander III possessed all the qualities of a major administrator. A staunch supporter of a healthy national policy, an admirer of discipline, and also very skeptical, the sovereign ascended the throne of his ancestors, ready to fight. He knew court life too well not to feel contempt for his father's former employees, and his thorough acquaintance with the rulers of modern Europe inspired him with a well-founded distrust of their intentions. Emperor Alexander III believed that the majority of Russian disasters stemmed from the inappropriate liberalism of our bureaucracy and from the exceptional property of Russian diplomacy to succumb to all sorts of foreign influences.

24 hours after the burial of Alexander II, Alexander III issued a special manifesto with a list of the reforms he had planned. Much was subject to a radical change: management methods, views, dignitaries themselves, diplomats, etc. Count Loris-Melikov and other ministers were dismissed, and they were replaced by people of business who were not taken from the court environment, which caused immediate indignation in the St. Petersburg aristocratic salons.

The days of "black reaction" have come, the inconsolable supporters of liberal reforms assured, but the biographies of the new ministers, it would seem, refuted this preconceived notion. Prince Khilkov, appointed Minister of Railways, spent his adventurous youth in the United States, working as a simple laborer in the mines of Pennsylvania. Professor Vyshnegradsky - Minister of Finance - was widely known for his original economic theories. He managed to bring the finances of the empire into a brilliant state and to contribute a lot to the development of the industry of the country. The honored hero of the Russian-Turkish war, General Vannovsky, was appointed Minister of War. Admiral Shestakov, sent abroad by Alexander II for ruthless criticism of our navy, was summoned to St. Petersburg and appointed minister of the sea. The new Minister of the Interior, Count Tolstoy, was the first Russian administrator to realize that caring for the well-being of the peasants of Russia should be the first task of state power.

S.Yu. Witte, who was a modest official of the Southwestern Railways, owed his dizzying career to the farsightedness of Emperor Alexander III, who, having appointed him a deputy minister, immediately recognized his talent.

The appointment of Girs, a finely educated man without any initiative, to the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs caused considerable surprise both in Russia and abroad. But Alexander III only grinned. Most willingly, he would have preferred to be personally the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, but since he needed a figurehead, his choice fell on an obedient official who was supposed to follow the path outlined by him, the monarch, softening the harsh expressions of the Russian Tsar with the refined style of diplomatic notes. The following years also proved the undoubted mind of Gears. Not a single "international ruler of thoughts and hearts", not a single "idol of European capitals" could embarrass Girs in his exact execution of the emperor's orders. And thus, for the first time after centuries of mistakes, Russia found its pronounced national policy towards foreign powers.

Having formed the Council of Ministers and developed a new political program, Alexander III turned to the important issue of ensuring the security of the royal family. He resolved it in the only logical way - by moving permanently to the Gatchina Palace. The king's pride was hurt: "I was not afraid of Turkish bullets and now I have to hide from the revolutionary underground in my country," he said with irritation. But Emperor Alexander III realized that the Russian Empire should not be in danger of losing two sovereigns within one year.

As for his state work, it only benefited from the distance separating Gatchina from St. Petersburg. This distance gave Alexander III a pretext for reducing, as far as possible, the duties of representation, as well as reducing the number of visits from relatives. The Emperor languished at family gatherings. He found endless conversations with his brothers, uncles, and cousins ​​a waste of time. He had nothing against the little ones - Sergei and I visited Nicky and George (Georgy Alexandrovich) almost daily, but for adults who besieged him with eternal problems, the tsar had neither patience nor time.

During the reign of Alexander III, the Gatchina Palace finally became what it should have been - the place of work of the most distinguished person in Russia. (1)

*
We are indebted to the British government for the fact that Alexander III very soon showed all the firmness of his foreign policy. Less than a year after the accession to the throne of the young emperor, a serious incident occurred on the Russian-Afghan border. Under the influence of England, which looked with fear at the growth of Russian influence in Turkestan, the Afghans occupied Russian territory in the vicinity of the Kushka fortress. The commander of the military district telegraphed the emperor, asking for instructions. "Kick me out and teach me a lesson," was the laconic answer from Gatchina. The Afghans shamefully fled, and they were pursued for several tens of miles by our Cossacks, who wanted to capture the English instructors who were with the Afghan detachment. But they managed to escape.

The British ambassador was instructed to express a sharp protest in St. Petersburg and demand an apology.

We will not do this, - said Emperor Alexander III and awarded General Komarov, the head of the border detachment, with the Order of St. George, 3rd degree. “I will not allow anyone to encroach on our territory,” the sovereign declared.

Gire trembled.

Your Majesty, this may cause an armed clash with England.

Even so, the emperor replied.

A new threatening note came from England. In response to her, the king gave the order to mobilize the Baltic Fleet. This order was an act of supreme courage, for the British navy outnumbered our maritime forces by at least five to one.

Two weeks passed. London fell silent, and then proposed the formation of a commission to consider the Russian-Afghan incident.

Europe began to look with different eyes towards Gatchina. The young Russian monarch turned out to be a person with whom Europe had to seriously reckon.

The culprit of the second incident was Austria. The Vienna government opposed our "continuous intervention in the sphere of influence of Austria-Hungary" in the Balkans, and the Austro-Hungarian ambassador in St. Petersburg threatened us with war.

At a large dinner in the Winter Palace, sitting at a table opposite the tsar, the ambassador began to discuss the annoying Balkan question. The king pretended not to notice his irritated tone. The ambassador got excited and even hinted at the possibility that Austria would mobilize two or three corps. Without changing his half-mocking expression, Emperor Alexander III took the fork, bent it into a loop and threw it towards the Austrian diplomat's device.

This is what I will do with your two or three mobilized corps,” the tsar said calmly.

In the whole world we have only two faithful allies, - he liked to say to his ministers, - our army and navy. All the rest, at the first opportunity, will take up arms against us.

Alexander III once expressed this opinion in a very frank form at a dinner given in honor of Prince Nicholas of Montenegro, who had arrived in Russia, in the presence of the entire diplomatic corps. Raising a glass to the health of his guest, Alexander III proclaimed the following toast:

I drink to the health of my friend, Prince Nicholas of Montenegro, the only sincere and faithful ally of Russia outside her territory.

Gire, who was present, opened his mouth in amazement; diplomats turned pale.

The London Times wrote the next morning "about the amazing speech delivered by the Russian emperor, which runs counter to all traditions in relations between friendly powers."

But while Europe was still debating the consequences of the incident at Kushka, the Russian imperial government made a new statement that forced the London Cabinet to inquire by telegraph of St. Petersburg about the authenticity of the note received in London. Not recognizing the conditions of the shameful Peace of Paris in 1855, according to which Russia was forbidden to have a navy on the Black Sea, Alexander III decided to launch several warships in Sevastopol, where a coalition of European powers humiliated the Russian name in 1855. The tsar chose an extremely favorable moment for this, when none of the European powers, with the exception of England, was inclined to threaten Russia with war. France was angry with England for her non-intervention in the war of 1870-1871. Turkey still remembered the lesson of 1877-1878. Austria was bound by the policy of Bismarck, who dreamed of making an alliance with Russia. The Iron Chancellor project would undoubtedly have been carried out if Alexander III did not feel a personal dislike for the young unbalanced German emperor, and Wilhelm II and Bismarck could not understand the character of the Russian emperor. During their visit to St. Petersburg, they both behaved quite impossible. Wilhelm II held loud speeches, and Bismarck allowed himself to give Alexander III a whole lecture on the art of managing an empire. All this ended badly. Bismarck was put in his place, and Wilhelm was ridiculed. Both monarchs - Russian and German - represented a striking contrast in their personalities. Wilhelm - gesticulating, running back and forth, raising his voice and spewing a whole arsenal of international plans; Alexander III is cold, restrained outwardly, as if amused by the expansiveness of the German emperor, but deep down he is outraged by his superficial judgments.

Those of us who witnessed the events of 1914 are inclined to reproach Alexander III with the fact that in him personal feelings of antipathy towards Wilhelm II took precedence over the sobriety of a practical politician. How could it happen that the Russian monarch, who was the epitome of common sense, rejected Bismarck's proposals for a Russo-German alliance and agreed to a risky alliance with France? There is a very simple explanation for this. Not being a visionary of the mistakes made in foreign policy during the reign of Nicholas II, and the consequences of the unsuccessful Russo-Japanese war and the revolution of 1905, Alexander III, moreover, overestimated our military might.

He was sure that a lasting peace would reign in Europe if Russia morally supported the French Republic, thus warning Germany against the aggressiveness of 1870. The possibility of France interfering in the decisive struggle between England and Germany for world dominion on the seas simply did not occur to the tsar. If he had remained longer in power, he would have indignantly rejected the role of the Franco-British steamroller smoothing over the slightest bump in their path, which role was imposed on Russia in 1914.

He longed for peace, a hundred years of inviolable peace. Only an open attack on Russia would force Alexander III to participate in wars. The bitter experience of the 19th century taught the tsar that every time Russia took part in the struggle of any European coalitions, she later had only to regret it bitterly. Alexander I saved Europe from Napoleon I, and the result was the creation of mighty Germany and Austria-Hungary on the western borders of the Russian Empire. His grandfather Nicholas I sent the Russian army to Hungary to suppress the revolution of 1848 and restore the Habsburgs to the Hungarian throne, and in gratitude for this service, Emperor Joseph of France demanded political compensation for his non-intervention during the Crimean War. Emperor Alexander II remained neutral in 1870, thus keeping his word given to Emperor Wilhelm I, and eight years later, at the Berlin Congress, Bismarck deprived Russia of the fruits of its victories over the Turks.

The French, the British, the Germans, the Austrians - all, to varying degrees, made Russia an instrument to achieve their selfish goals. Alexander III did not have friendly feelings towards Europe. Always ready to take on a challenge, however, at every opportunity he made it clear that he was only interested in the well-being of Russia's 150 million people.

The twenty-six months that elapsed between the assassination of Alexander II and the coronation of Alexander III were marked by a direct magical improvement in Russia's international position. The wise Gatchina autocrat dealt a crushing blow. Most of the Russian revolutionaries were arrested and punished. Others went underground or fled abroad. “A new era for the peasants”, proclaimed from the height of the throne, meant that the tsar understood the need for close communication with the Russian people. The establishment of the position of zemstvo chiefs in 1882 filled the gap left by the liberation reform. Acting as representatives of local authorities, zemstvo chiefs significantly contributed to the streamlining of Russian peasant life. They resolved disputes on issues of peasant land ownership and land use, sent the functions of judges of first instance in minor cases, facilitated the resettlement of small landowners in Siberia and Turkestan, and promoted the development of rural cooperation. But the most important thing is that they carried out a merciless struggle against the subconscious spirit of anarchy among the peasantry, which was a consequence of historical processes - somehow: the Tatar yoke, Pugachevism and serfdom. To appreciate this reform of Alexander III, one must keep in mind that the Russian peasantry loved the monarch and treated the government with distrust. Still unaware of the state need for any kind of government, our village looked at the government as an apparatus of coercion, sucking the juice out of the people and giving nothing in return. The government demanded recruits, levied taxes, maintained the authority of prohibitive measures, and gave little encouragement to the masses. While the Russian peasants were in a state of serfdom, they realized that the landowners, no matter how bad they were, protected them from the pressure of the authorities. Having received freedom in 1861, the Russian peasants could no longer hope for the guardianship of their former masters and became the prey of revolutionary agitators who promised a golden era of freedom and anarchy after the overthrow of the autocracy. It is quite understandable that at first the introduction of the institution of zemstvo chiefs was met with hostility in Russian left circles. Russian "public opinion" found that the government, represented by zemstvo chiefs, had established positions of government spies in the localities. In addition, the task of the new officials turned out to be unbearably difficult: in addition to great knowledge and experience, the position of zemstvo chief required great tact and even diplomatic abilities from the newly initiated. Step by step, the zemstvo chiefs had to win the confidence of the peasants.

Emperor Alexander III followed with great interest the progress of his envoys, accredited to "Their Majesties the peasants." The ultimate goal of the conceived reform was to increase the area of ​​peasant land ownership. Unfortunately, the untimely death of the sovereign prevented him from realizing his cherished dream: the creation in Russia of a strong class of peasants - small landowners. Nevertheless, the introduction of the institution of zemstvo chiefs had a positive significance for the rural population of Russia, the best proof of which was the hostility with which revolutionary circles reacted to the reform. Speaking with a delegation of peasants during the coronation celebrations in May 1883 in Moscow, the tsar asked them to express their frank opinion on the establishment of the position of zemstvo chiefs. More than ten thousand peasants from all parts of vast Russia participated in this delegation. Both old and young - all spoke unanimously in favor of the new tsarist officials, who treated the rural population with great care and friendliness, and the peasants even asked that the judicial functions of the zemstvo chiefs be expanded as far as possible.

*
Not a single sketch of the reign of Emperor Alexander III is able to give a more vivid description of the new era of Russian autocracy than the description of the coronation of Their Majesties in 1883.

Foreign guests who spent an unforgettable week in Moscow from 10 to 17 May felt that they were present at the creation of the history of the new Russia. It seemed that the new Russia, with all its unlimited possibilities, revealed its complete new face in the ancient capital of the Russian tsars. Since the end of April, the influx of hundreds of thousands of visitors from various provinces and regions, as well as from abroad, has almost tripled the population of the Mother See. Emergency trains arrived in Moscow almost every hour and delivered the crowned heads of Europe, members of the reigning houses and representatives of foreign states ...

The coronation festivities opened with the solemn entry of the sovereign and his family into Moscow. At half past eight in the morning, the Grand Dukes and foreign princes were waiting on horseback at the porch of the Trinity Palace for the exit of Alexander III to accompany him at the entrance to the Kremlin. Exactly at 10 o'clock. In the morning, the king left the inner chambers, mounted his horse and gave a sign to depart. He rode ahead of us all, a squadron of cavaliers rode ahead of the motorcade and announced its approach to the people and troops, who stood in espaliers along the entire route. A long train of golden carriages followed our cavalcade. Empress Maria Feodorovna sat in the first carriage with the eight-year-old Grand Duchess Xenia and Queen Olga of Greece. The rest housed grand duchesses, princesses of royal blood and honored ladies of state.

A thunderous “cheers” accompanied us all the way to the Iberian chapel, where the emperor dismounted from his horse and, accompanied by the empress, entered the chapel to bow to the icon of the Iberian Mother of God. We entered the Kremlin through the Spassky Gate and drove up to the Archangel Cathedral. The official program of the day ended with a prayer service served by the Metropolitan of Moscow with the participation of the choir of the Court Singing Chapel. The afternoon of May 12 and the whole of the next day were occupied with the exchange of visits between members of the imperial family and foreign dignitaries, as well as with various entertainments given in their honor. May 15 began with a salute of 101 shots from the walls of the Kremlin. We gathered in the hall of the Grand Palace. This time we were a very picturesque group, as each of the Grand Dukes and foreign princes was dressed in the uniform of his regiment. I remember the Duke of Edinburgh, the youngest son of Queen Victoria, extremely elegant in the uniform of an admiral of the British fleet. For the solemn occasion, the Russian Grand Dukes put on the chains of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, adorned with diamonds, with diamond double-headed eagles. The grand duchesses and foreign princesses were wearing magnificent jewelry, and I think that neither I nor anyone else saw such a quantity of luxurious jewelry as on this day, May 15, 1883.

Complete, as if sacred silence reigned in the hall. Everything froze for several minutes before the departure of the sovereign and empress. We were all under the impression of the upcoming sacrament and understood that words are superfluous on such a day when the Russian autocrat receives the blessing of the Almighty and anointing to the kingdom. Of course, the last phrase may seem naive to many convinced democrats, but the numerous scenes of "popular votes" that I have seen in democratic countries make me distrust democracy and all its forms with great distrust.

The Emperor and Empress appeared when the clock struck nine. Accustomed to the modest life of the Gatchina Court, Alexander 111 was clearly dissatisfied with the pomp surrounding him. “I know,” his expression said, “that I have to go through this, but the sooner this is all over, the more pleasant it will be for me.” The Empress, apparently, on the contrary, enjoyed it. She was pleased to see her family. She loved solemn ceremonies. Miniature, in comparison with the giant king, she lavished her affectionate charming smile on everyone present. Bathed in jewels, like some kind of Eastern deity, she moved forward with small steps, and four cameras-pages carried her long train, embroidered with gold and trimmed with ermine. After the traditional kissing of the hand, in which all those present, including the ladies, took part, during which the sovereign stood in the middle of the hall and watched what was happening from under his thick eyebrows, the marshal announced that everything was ready to go. The sovereign gave his hand to the empress, and the procession moved towards the exit through the halls filled with courtiers, diplomats, ministers and military men.

Following the ceremonial, the imperial couple went out to the Red Porch and, according to the old custom, bowed to the earth three times to the crowd of thousands standing in the Kremlin. Deafening cries of "Hurrah" met the highest exit. It was the best moment of the coronation celebrations, which made us remember the ancient Russian tsars: starting from Ivan III, all Russian tsars expressed their readiness to serve the people with these three prostrations from the steps of the Red Porch. Then the procession moved to a specially constructed wooden platform, covered with red cloth, which led to the Assumption Cathedral. From my seat, I saw the Russian imperial regalia, which were solemnly carried by the highest dignitaries of the court: the state banner, sword, scepter, shield and remarkably beautiful imperial crown.

Eight adjutant generals held a red and gold canopy over the sovereign; eight chamberlains held the same canopy over the empress, two field marshals - my father and my uncle Nikolai Nikolayevich - walked directly behind the sovereign, the rest of the members of the imperial family, as well as foreign princes and princesses, followed the empress.

Palace grenadiers in the uniforms of 1812 and in bear hats stood along the path of the royal route. From the bell tower of Ivan the Great there was a heavy blow of a large bell, and immediately after it forty bells of Moscow churches began a solemn chime. The majestic sounds of the national anthem were heard, which was performed by a choir of five hundred people. Looking down at the ocean of flickering hands and uncovered heads, I saw faces wet with tears. I myself tried to swallow my tears, excitement squeezed my throat - Russia at that moment defeated the Caucasian in me.

Three metropolitans and a host of archbishops and bishops met their majesties at the entrance to the cathedral and escorted them to the thrones built in the middle of the temple. The large box to the right was intended for the royal family and foreign princes, the box to the left - for the highest dignitaries of the empire, military and foreign diplomats.

I listened with impatience to the long solemn service served by His Eminence Isidore, Metropolitan of St. Petersburg, as the senior Metropolitan in consecration.

When the long-awaited moment finally arrived, the metropolitan took the imperial crown from the red cushion and handed it over to the tsar. Alexander III laid the crown on his head with his own hand and then, taking the second crown - the empress, turned to the kneeling empress and put the crown on her head. This rite symbolized the difference between the rights of the emperor, given to him from above, and the prerogatives of the empress, received from the emperor.

The empress rose from her knees, and the royal couple turned to face our bed, personifying the harmony of severe power and graceful beauty.

Then the emperor went to the iconostasis to receive Holy Communion. Since the Russian monarch is the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, when taking communion on the day of the coronation, he takes the cup from the hands of the metropolitan and takes communion himself. After that, the Empress was communed, and the coronation ended. The procession returned to the palace in the same order, the bells rang again, a cannon salute was heard, and the people shouted with even greater delight at the sight of the crowned sovereign and empress. Having reached the Red Porch, the tsar and tsarina once again bowed to the earth three times, after which they went to the most ancient part of the palace, to the so-called Faceted Chamber, where the highest meal was held on a high platform.

The remaining three days of festivities left me with only a feeling of pleasant weariness. Faithful to the traditions of hospitality, this time Moscow impressed everyone with its hospitality. We danced at a ball given by the Moscow nobility. We were among the eight thousand invited to the ball at the Grand Kremlin Palace. We had breakfast at the city duma, dined at the zemstvo, and dined at officers' meetings. We drove through the streets, where music and singing were constantly heard. We looked at the distribution of gifts to 500,000 workers and peasants on the Khodynka field. We paid tribute to the talents of the cook of the Metropolitan of Moscow, known for his skillful preparation of the Lenten table. We received delegations, attended daily performances of the Imperial Ballet, saw off foreign princes and princesses at the departure of their emergency trains, and the guests and hospitable hosts could barely stand on their feet from fatigue.

On May 18, the emperor went to rest in his residence near Moscow - Neskuchnoye, located on the banks of the Moscow River under the shadow of a century-old park.

Lying in the tall, lush grass and listening to the singing of the nightingales above our heads, the four of us - Nicky, Georges, Sergei and I - shared among ourselves that completely new, amazing feeling of calmness, complete security, which we had during all the coronation festivities.

Think what a great country Russia will be by the time we accompany Nike to the Cathedral of the Assumption,” brother Sergei said dreamily.

Nicky smiled his usual soft, timid, slightly sad smile...

Everyone was afraid of Alexander III like fire.

Stop playing the Tsar, - Alexander III telegraphed the same Sergei Alexandrovich to Moscow.

Throw out this pig, - the Tsar wrote on the most submissive report, which described the scandalous actions of one dignitary, who held a responsible post, who was courting someone else's wife.

When the Russian Tsar is fishing, Europe can wait,” he replied to one minister, who insisted in Gatchina that Alexander III immediately receive the ambassador of some great power.

One day some overly ambitious minister threatened the autocrat with his resignation. In response to these threats, the Tsar took him by the collar and, shaking him like a puppy, remarked:

Hold your tongue! When I want to throw you out, you will hear from me about it in very specific terms.

When Wilhelm II suggested to Alexander III "to divide the world between Russia and Germany", the Tsar replied:

Don't act like a dancing dervish, Willy...

The tragedy of Russia was that such a strong-willed man was destined to die at the age of forty-nine.

The article was first published as a chapter from a book of memoirs
in New York in 1932. in English and in Paris in 1933 in Russian.
(1) From the memoirs of P.M. Nevezhin:
Somehow, Emperor Alexander III found out that Ostrovsky was in a difficult financial situation, and at the first meeting with the playwright's brother, Mikhail Nikolayevich, a former member of the State Council, turned to him:

How is your brother doing?

Ostrovsky bowed silently. The sovereign continued:

How is his financial condition?

Very bad, Your Majesty. He has almost no means of his own; for his labors he receives very little, and he has a wife and six children.

It is strange, - the emperor said with displeasure, - that no one has told me about this until now. I will do what needs to be done.

A few days later, an imperial decree was issued on the appointment of the playwright, provincial secretary Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky, a pension of 3,000 rubles a year. (Editor's note).

Curriculum vitae:

GRAND DUKE ALEXANDER MIKHAILOVICH (1866-1933)

Outstanding Russian statesman. Grandson of Emperor Nicholas I, cousin of Emperor Alexander III and cousin of Emperor Nicholas II. Traveler, adjutant general, admiral, major theorist and organizer of the navy and merchant fleet. Acquired at personal expense in France several airplanes for Russia, laying the foundation for Russian aviation. During the war he organized and led the Russian front-line aviation. After the February Revolution, he was removed from his post and, in view of the threat of execution, left first for the Crimea, and then for Europe.

(1866-1933) Outstanding Russian statesman. Grandson of Emperor Nicholas I, cousin of Emperor Alexander III and cousin of Emperor Nicholas II. Traveler, adjutant general, admiral, major theorist and organizer of the navy and merchant fleet. Acquired at personal expense in France several airplanes for Russia, laying the foundation for Russian aviation. During the war he organized and led the Russian front-line aviation. After the February Revolution, he was removed from his post and, in view of the threat of execution, left first for the Crimea, and then for Europe.

Romanov Alexander Mikhailovich was born on April 13, 1866 in Tiflis. Most of his life was associated with the development of the fleet and aviation. This member of the royal dynasty is remembered for his design projects, short-lived leadership of maritime trade and vigorous activity during the period of emigration after the Civil War.

Childhood and youth

The Grand Duke was the son of Mikhail Nikolayevich and the grandson of Emperor Nicholas I. He was a cousin of Tsar Alexander III. The last autocrat Nicholas II was his cousin. Alexander's mother, Olga Fedorovna, was German by origin. She was the daughter of the Duke of Baden Leopold.

As a child, the future Tsar Nicholas II had several closest friends. Alexander Mikhailovich was considered one of them. The Grand Duke and the heir to the throne were practically the same age with a difference of two years. Like many minor representatives of the Romanov dynasty, Alexander chose a military career. He entered the Metropolitan Naval School, from which he graduated in 1885. The young man received the rank of midshipman and was enlisted in the Guards crew. The choice was not random. The guards crew was a prestigious naval unit within the imperial guard.

Trip around the world

In 1886, Romanov Alexander Mikhailovich went to start it as a midshipman. The Grand Duke circled the planet on the Rynde armored corvette. On Christmas Eve, the ship entered the territorial waters of distant Brazil. Alexander Mikhailovich even paid an official visit to the local emperor Pedro II. The monarch met the Russian guest at his high-altitude residence, Petropolis, where he was waiting for the zenith of the hot southern summer. Just a couple of years later, Pedro abdicated and Brazil became a republic.

The Grand Duke also made a stop in South Africa. There he got acquainted with the life and hard work of Dutch farmers. From Cape Town, the longest passage of the Rynda began - to Singapore. The ship spent 45 days on the high seas, and all this time her crew did not meet a hint of the approach of the land. According to the memoirs of Alexander Mikhailovich, every second house in Singapore's Chinatown was an opium den where lovers of the then popular drug gathered.

The cousin of the then king celebrated his 21st birthday on the way to Hong Kong. Then he spent about two years in Nagasaki, from where he went on voyages to India, Australia and the Philippines. In Japan, the Grand Duke visited the local emperor and even learned the basics of the local language. Rynda returned to Europe in the spring of 1889, passing through the Suez Canal in Egypt. Before arriving at home, the Grand Duke visited the English Queen Victoria, who received Romanov with cordiality, even despite the difficult period of British-Russian relations.

Alexander Mikhailovich had his own yacht "Tamara". On it, he also made several trips. In 1891 "Tamara" visited India. Shortly after that trip, Alexander Mikhailovich became commander on the destroyer Revel. In 1893, he went to North America with the squadron. The frigate "Dmitry Donskoy" and other Russian ships were sent to the New World on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of its discovery by Columbus.

Marriage

In 1894, Alexander Mikhailovich, the Grand Duke, was already in the rank of senior lieutenant. Shortly after this promotion, he married. Alexander's wife was Ksenia Alexandrovna. The Grand Duchess was the younger sister of Nicholas II. She knew her future husband from early childhood - he regularly visited Gatchina, where the children of Alexander III grew up.

A slender tall brunette was the only love of young Xenia. She first told about her feelings to her brother Nikolai, who called his friend Alexander simply Sandro. The wedding of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess took place on July 25, 1894 in Peterhof. The couple had seven children - six sons and one daughter (Irina, Andrei, Fedor, Nikita, Dmitry, Rostislav and Vasily).

Fleet care

In 1891, Alexander Mikhailovich began to publish the reference book "Military Fleets", which became an extremely popular publication in the domestic fleet. In the same year, his mother Olga Fedorovna died. The Grand Duke paid much attention to the state of the Pacific Fleet. In order to strengthen it, Alexander spent several years preparing a program for its strategic reform. The document was presented to Nicholas II in 1895.

At that time, the Far East was restless - there were unrest in China, and Japan was rapidly modernizing and began to claim the title of the main power in the region. What did Alexander Mikhailovich do under these conditions? The Grand Duke suggested proceeding from the fact that the rapidly developing Japan would sooner or later declare war on Russia. In his youth, he spent two years in the Land of the Rising Sun and during this time he could personally see the progress that the island empire had made in a short time.

However, the warnings of the Grand Duke caused irritation in St. Petersburg. The more senior military and members of the dynasty treated Japan as a weak opponent and did not consider it necessary to prepare for a difficult campaign. Time has shown that they were wrong. However, the program was never adopted. In addition, due to disagreement about the future of the fleet, Alexander Mikhailovich himself was briefly dismissed. The Grand Duke returned to service in 1898, becoming an officer on the battleship General-Admiral Apraksin of the Coast Guard.

Design achievements

Service on the Apraksin gave the Grand Duke invaluable experience, which formed the basis of his design work. In the military, he completed a sketch of the seaworthy battleship of the coast guard "Admiral Butakov". He became a rethinking of Apraksin. Together with Alexander Mikhailovich, Dmitry Skortsov, the chief ship engineer of the capital's port, worked on the project.

Another fruit of the design work of the Grand Duke is the project of a squadron battleship with a displacement of 14 thousand tons. He received sixteen guns. An identical project simultaneously with Alexander Mikhailovich was completed by the famous shipbuilding engineer Vittorio Cuniberti. This sketch became the foundation for the construction of Regina Elena class ships. The difference between the idea of ​​​​Cuniberti and the Grand Duke was only that the idea of ​​​​the Italian, in contrast to the variation of Romanov, was nevertheless implemented.

In the Cabinet of Ministers

In 1903, good news came to the palace of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich. He was promoted to rear admiral. Prior to that, the Grand Duke had been a captain on the squadron battleship Rostislav for two years. Now Alexander Mikhailovich focused on bureaucratic service. He joined the Council for Merchant Shipping. Alexander persuaded the king to transform this department. In November 1902, the Council became the Main Directorate of Merchant Shipping and Ports, and in fact - a ministry.

The inspirer and main defender of the new department was the Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich himself. The Russian fleet needed a separate institution that could protect its trade interests, Romanov believed. However, no matter how well-intentioned the nobleman was, he had to face serious resistance from the other ministers. They did not like that a member of the royal family interfered in the work of the government. Almost the entire Cabinet of Ministers turned out to be in opposition to Alexander Mikhailovich. His colleagues did everything to convince the emperor to dissolve the Main Directorate. This was done in 1905. Thus, the brainchild of the Grand Duke did not last even three years.

War with Japan

With the onset of the Russo-Japanese War, the Navy of the Russian Empire faced a serious test. Alexander Mikhailovich, who gave him most of his life, took a lively part in that campaign. He began to direct the operations and training of auxiliary vessels belonging to the Volunteer Fleet. Then he headed a committee that organized the collection of donations to strengthen military squadrons.

In 1905, following the liquidation of his own ministry, Alexander Mikhailovich became the commander of a detachment of destroyers and mine cruisers commissioned at the expense of the people. When the question arose of sending the Second Pacific Squadron to the shores of the Far East, the Grand Duke opposed this decision, considering the ships insufficiently prepared. Already after the end of the Russo-Japanese War, the tsar's cousin took part in drawing up programs and plans for the restoration of the fleet that had been defeated during the campaign.

Admiral and Patron of Aviation

In 1909, the Grand Duke became vice admiral. In the same year, his father Mikhail Nikolaevich died. For two decades he was the Viceroy of the Caucasus, for another 24 years he was the chairman of the State Council. Mikhail Nikolaevich had six children, and Alexander lived longer than all his brothers and sisters.

In 1915, the Grand Duke became an admiral. However, his activities concerned not only the fleet. Alexander Mikhailovich did a lot for the development of domestic aeronautics. It was on his initiative that the Sevastopol officer aviation school was established in 1910. Moreover, the tsar's cousin was the chief of the Imperial Air Force. During the First World War, the Grand Duke inspected both ships and aircraft.

Revolution and Civil War

The February Revolution drastically changed the lives of all the Romanovs. Members of the imperial family were removed from the army. Alexander Mikhailovich was dismissed from service, retaining his uniform. The provisional government allowed him to settle in his own Crimean estate. Perhaps only a timely move to the south saved citizen Romanov. Together with him, Ksenia Alexandrovna and their children moved to the Crimea.

Alexander Mikhailovich did not leave Russia until the last moment. During the Civil War, Crimea changed hands several times. When power on the peninsula temporarily passed to the Bolsheviks, the Romanovs were in mortal danger. Then Crimea came under German occupation. After the Peace of Brest-Litovsk, it was briefly held by the foreign allies of the Whites from the Entente. It was then that Alexander Mikhailovich and his family decided to leave Russia. In December 1918, he went to France on a British ship.

Emigration

In Paris, Alexander Mikhailovich became a member of the Russian Political Conference. This structure was created by opponents of Soviet power in order to represent the interests of their country at the Versailles Conference. At the end of 1918, the First World War ended and now the victorious countries were going to decide the fate of Europe. Russia, which honestly fulfilled its duty to the Entente, was deprived of representation at Versailles because of a separate peace with Germany. Supporters of the white movement tried to intercept the fallen banner, but to no avail. Alexander Mikhailovich himself used all his resources to persuade foreign powers to overthrow the Bolsheviks, but also unsuccessfully.

Attempts by emigrants, as you know, did not lead to anything. Among many, the Grand Duke left for Europe, hoping to return to his homeland soon. He was still far from being an old man, who had recently crossed the fifty-year threshold, and counted on a better future. However, like others, Alexander Mikhailovich remained in a foreign land until the end of his days. He chose France as his place of residence.

The Grand Duke was a member of many emigrant organizations. He chaired the Union of Russian Military Pilots and took part in the activities of the Russian All-Military Union created by Pyotr Wrangel. Romanov helped a lot of children who found themselves in exile in the most vulnerable position.

The last years of the life of cousin uncle Nicholas II were spent writing his own memoirs. In printed form, the memoirs of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich ("Book of Memoirs") were published in 1933 in one of the Parisian publishing houses. The author died shortly after the appearance of his work on store shelves. He passed away on February 26, 1933 in the resort town of Roquebrune on the Cote d'Azur. The Maritime Alps became the resting place and remains of the wife of the Grand Duke Xenia Alexandrovna. She survived her husband by 27 years, having died on April 20, 1960 in Windsor, England.

The memoirs of the Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich today represent the most interesting monument of a turning point in Russian history. After the fall of communism, the memory of Romanov himself in his homeland, as well as of many other representatives of the royal dynasty, was finally restored. In 2012, a bronze bust was erected to him in St. Petersburg. The author of the monument was the sculptor and member of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Arts Albert Charkin.

My book of memoirs first appeared in English in the New York edition of Ferrer and Reinhert.
Now I am happy to meet the desire of the publishing house "Illustrated Russia" to acquaint the Russian reader with my work by granting the right to publish the book in Russian as an appendix to the journal in 1933.
I wrote this book with no political aims and no public goals.
Just in accordance with what I experienced, I wanted to tell what my memory had preserved, and most importantly, to note the stages of the path that led me to the idea that the only valuable thing in our life is the work of the spirit and the liberation of the life-giving forces of our soul from all the fetters of material civilization and false ideals.
I believe that after severe trials, the Kingdom of the Spirit, the Kingdom of the liberation of the human soul, will be born in Russia.
There can be no Golgotha ​​without the Resurrection. And the world has never seen a more difficult Golgotha ​​than the Golgotha ​​of the Great Martyr of Russia.
Let us believe in the Kingdom of the Spirit.
That's what I wanted to say to my Russian readers.
Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich
Paris
June 1932

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During its 400-year history, the Romanov dynasty produced many extraordinary and outstanding figures who did a lot for the Russian state. We are talking not only about the autocrats, who ensured the stable development of the country for more than three hundred years and brought it into the ranks of the leading world powers, but also about their relatives and descendants.

The excellent education and integral worldview of the Grand Dukes and Duchesses, the ability to directly contact the monarch, as well as the leadership of any institutions, often allowed them to implement projects in various fields of politics, military and naval affairs, economics, science and culture, and social service. Their influence on the course of the historical process became especially noticeable during the reign of Emperor Nicholas II (1868-1918, reign from 1894 to 1917). It is enough to look at the documents of the royal family in the State Archives of the Russian Federation (GA RF), other archives, libraries and museums to see what a wide range of issues were supervised by most of the Grand Dukes and Duchesses. The history of the formation of the documentary heritage of the last Russian monarch and his family members - the first political archive of Soviet Russia, which is of great political and scientific importance - has already been studied in detail . Obviously, when studying the events of the history of Russia in the 19th - early 20th centuries, one cannot do without these documents.

The role of the Grand Dukes and Duchesses in the political process of pre-revolutionary Russia is a complex and multifaceted scientific problem. To reveal it, it is necessary, on the one hand, to clearly understand their relationship with the monarch, and on the other hand, with the heads of higher and central state institutions and the generals. This topic has been well studied in historiography in relation to the tragic events of 1917. Should their activities on the eve of the February Revolution be considered a betrayal of the emperor? Is it right to say that they were used to prepare a coup, and that their actions were the result of political illiteracy and inexperience? These questions have been of interest to historians both in Russia and abroad for several decades. The descendants of the ruling dynasty were no exception; they repeatedly spoke, in particular, about the role of their ancestors in the events of 1916-1917. . Their opinion is interesting, since some of the Romanovs, such as Prince Nikolai Romanovich, refer to documents unknown in Russian science. Especially often they began to give interviews in connection with the current anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. It should be recognized that in recent years the controversy has to some extent lost its academic character and become a socio-political one. This can be seen both in the sharp, sometimes very emotional reaction of the Internet community to every news on the occasion of the anniversary, and because of the sharp increase in the number of visitors to exhibitions, book presentations and other events.

Documents, monographs and articles began to be published about individual representatives of the dynasty in tragic events in Soviet literature, which confirmed their participation in a conspiracy against the monarch. These, for example, include studies on the famous historian, chairman of the Russian Historical Society and the Russian Geographical Society, Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich Romanov. It can be considered proven that on the eve of the revolution he coordinated the main directions of the opposition onslaught, and then died in the Peter and Paul Fortress, believing that the monarchy was a read page of history.

On the pages of many publications, one can also find judgments that the conflict between them and the royal family matured long before the revolution, thereby believing that there was some kind of single grand prince's opposition. As a rule, they refer to the well-known facts of negotiations between the Grand Dukes and the monarch in late 1916 - early 1917, during which they tried to convince him to make concessions to the State Duma, to remove G.E. Rasputin and carry out reforms. At first glance, this conclusion seems convincing. However, many other factors are overlooked. Firstly, from the very beginning of his reign, the sovereign allowed his relatives to speak in writing or orally about the ways of the country's development. The problem, apparently, is that the real organizers of the coup - the leaders of the Progressive Bloc and the military-industrial committees - tried to use any excuse to simulate a political crisis. And for this it was desirable to quarrel with the royal family. So, Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich wrote in his diary of January 4, 1917:

“In general, we are going through a strange time. The most ordinary things are interpreted inside out. We wrote to Nicky about mitigating the fate of Dmitriy Pav[lovich], but interpreted something like a family rebellion. How this happened is completely incomprehensible. You sit quietly at home, and they say that you are boycotting Kutaisov. Why is it all who needs it. Not without purpose, they want to quarrel with the whole family, and most importantly - to quarrel with the Sovereign. This is very serious and we need to take measures so that the Sovereign knows us, how devoted we are to him.” .

Secondly, you need to pay attention to how relatives behaved not only on the eve of the coup, but also during and after it. Thirdly, many experts do not notice the large number of relatives, each of whom had his own vision of the current political situation. By the beginning of the twentieth century. there were more than 300 representatives of the Romanov dynasty, of which 94 were in the male line (if we count the number of descendants of Emperor Paul I in six generations). The family grew especially rapidly under Emperor Nicholas I, who had three sons and four daughters. They became the founders of the five main branches of the family: Alexandrovichi from Emperor Alexander II, Konstantinovichi from Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, Nikolaevichi from Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Sr., Mikhailovichi from Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich and the Dukes of Leuchtenberg from Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna. To understand the views of at least the most significant figures, you need to carefully study the documents, which, as a rule, are dispersed in the vaults of dozens of organizations. Among them, the life and work of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich Romanov, the grandson of Emperor Nicholas I and the husband of the sister of Nicholas II, Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, a statesman and military leader of Russia, is of interest. The purpose of this article is to consider and analyze the business aspect of the relationship between the Grand Duke and the last monarch, their concept of Russia's development and to identify the reasons due to which their plans were not fully implemented. Note that the goal is not to explore the achievements of the last reign, since the meaning of the study is to determine the prerequisites for the fall of the monarchy.

Why was this person chosen for the study? Firstly, the Grand Duke was a childhood friend of Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich, and then unofficially became his adviser. At present, letters, reports and certificates of the Grand Duke have been found in the archives, which reflect his views on the critical moments of domestic and foreign policy. Most of them were sent to Emperor Nicholas II, with whom he corresponded constantly for almost 20 years (from 1889 to 1917, with a break between 1903 and 1913). In fact, they represent a single set of sources, thanks to which the behind-the-scenes side of the most important political decisions during the reign of the last monarch is revealed. The currently available sources on the views of Emperor Nicholas II and on his state activities do not cover all the issues that he actually decided. At present, separate reports of the Grand Duke and his notes on the fleet or aviation (which many have not paid attention to) have been published. However, this is far from exhausting the historical and documentary heritage of the prince. Two more documents of a political nature were published: a letter from the prince to Emperor Nicholas II on the situation in the country, published in an émigré edition of 1926 and republished in our country in 1991, and his rightful Russian emperor", signed, in particular, by Alexander Mikhailovich. In historiography, the first document is most often used. The author worked on it for more than a month, from December 25, 1916 to February 4, 1917, and as a result created a text that was very contradictory in content. Excerpts from it are often used to characterize his point of view on the process of preparing the revolution that took place in the ruling circles. At the same time, they lose sight of the fact that by that time the prince had not been involved in politics for many years, and was extremely busy with official affairs at the front. Suffice it to say that the small office of the prince (nine officers) sent and received up to 50 telegrams daily, the prince controlled all deliveries of airplanes to the front, their repair, training of personnel, and dealt with the management of aviation formations at the fronts.

Tsesarevich, Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich in Colombo (Ceylon) GA RF. F. 645. Op. 1. D. 603. L. 1.

Secondly, when studying the activities of Alexander Mikhailovich, the contrast in the assessments of the officials who knew him and the officers of the navy and aviation who served with him is also striking. In addition to the Minister of Finance S.Yu. Witte, who considered the prince an intriguer and an ignoramus in all matters, was given equally unflattering characteristics by the Minister of War A.N. Kuropatkin, Chairman of the Estonian Governor A.V. Belgard, an employee of the Main Directorate of Merchant Shipping and Ports Yu.V. Kartsov and others. However, representatives of senior officers, including veterans of the First World War, spoke of him with respect, as well as of a remarkable specialist in maritime affairs. Some of them, for example, Commissioner F.L. Zadorozhny or General V.M. Tkachev (who served 10 years in Stalin's camps), at the risk to themselves, already in the Soviet years defended the prince or his memory. Equally contradictory assessments of the emperor's activities became one of the reasons for very distorted ideas about him.

Thirdly, such work, perhaps, will make it possible to bring some clarity about the ways of the country's development. Disputes about the ways of industrialization do not subside in society. Some believe that for development it is necessary to use Stalinist methods, i.e. through the creation of a repressive administrative apparatus, while others, on the contrary, speak of liberal models of economic policy. The latter, as a rule, believe that in the process of the emergence of democratic institutions on the Western model, industry will appear as if by itself due to the development of the main elements of the capitalist economy: the presence of private ownership of the means of production and competition. However, historical experience has shown that both models of the social system are schemes that only lead to the collapse of the state and huge losses among the population. Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich managed in a decade to build ships one and a half times cheaper than the Naval Ministry did, and of better quality. This set an interesting precedent in history. He is credited with creating a flight school in the Crimea. The organization of construction, as well as the search for funds, were not burdensome for the population and were not accompanied by mass deaths. During the First World War, he contributed to the emergence of aviation and automobile enterprises, where they launched the production of items that had previously been imported. It was then that he achieved a decision on the allocation of aviation to an independent branch of the military, capable of performing important strategic tasks. Its role in the development of the fleet and aviation in pre-revolutionary Russia has already been studied to some extent. It is obvious that the implementation of many projects became possible only thanks to the personal intervention of the head of state.

Consider the main milestones of their biography. Tsesarevich, Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov was born on May 6, 1868 in Tsarskoye Selo. According to tradition, he received an education at home, which was very extensive and comprehensive. Eminent specialists were invited as teachers. So, the course of military statistics was taught by N.N. Obruchev, on the combat training of troops - General M.I. Dragomirov, prof. A.N. Beketov - in chemistry, N.Kh. Bunge - on statistics, political economy and finance, etc.

Tsesarevich, Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich, Grand Dukes Alexander and Sergei Mikhailovich, Prince George of Greece in Colombo (Ceylon), 1891. GA RF. F. 601. Op. 1. D. 1470. L. 3.

In addition to theoretical education, the crown prince, as a member of the State Council and the Committee, participated in their meetings for practice. In 1890-1891. the heir to the throne, Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich, on the orders of his father, Emperor Alexander III, made a long educational journey to the countries of Europe and Asia. The heir visited Austria-Hungary, Italy, and then, on the cruiser "Memory of Azov", visited Greece, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, China, Japan. He returned to Russia through Vladivostok, where he took part in the laying of the Trans-Siberian Railway. It was there that the Tsarevich received the rescript signed on March 17, 1891: “Your Imperial Highness. Having ordered now to start building a continuous railway through the whole of Siberia, having to connect the Siberian regions, abundant with gifts of nature, with a network of internal rail communications, I instruct you to declare such my will, upon your entry back to the Russian land, after reviewing the foreign countries of the East. At the same time, I entrust you with laying foundations in Vladivostok that are allowed for construction, at the expense of the treasury and by direct order of the government of the Ussuri section of the Great Siberian Route.

Another position, no less important for both the future monarch and the country, was his appointment on November 17 of the same year as chairman of the Committee to help those in need in areas affected by crop failure: “Your Imperial Highness. The poor harvest of grain products this year put the population of several provinces of the Empire in a difficult position regarding food supplies. The disaster affected not only that part of the agricultural state, which, on the basis of existing laws, is provided with food aid, but also a significant number of people who do not belong to local rural communities. Providing these persons with sufficient means of subsistence, as well as protecting the needy in general, due to crop failure, from painful deprivations, cannot but be a matter of paramount importance for the government.

Thus, even during the life of Emperor Alexander III, the Tsarevich not only received theoretical knowledge about the development of the state and society, mastered military affairs, but also solved complex problems in practice, such as organizing the construction of the world's longest railway or helping the population of 29 provinces, where from almost half a million peasants suffered from hunger.

With his cousin uncle, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich Romanov, he was of the same generation - Alexander Mikhailovich was only two years older (born April 1, 1866 in Tiflis). Like the Tsarevich, the Grand Duke and his brothers were taught and educated by a staff of mentors. The curriculum, divided into eight years, included the following subjects: Law of God, History of the Orthodox Church, Comparative History of Other Faiths, Russian Grammar and Literature, History of Foreign Literature, History of Russia, Europe, America and Asia, Geography, Mathematics, French, English and German languages, music. In 1885 he was promoted to midshipman, and the following year he was sworn in. A great influence on his horizons and professional experience was made by foreign voyages on the Rynda corvette in 1886-1889. and on the yacht "Tamara" in 1890-1891. During this period he visited and established contacts with many countries of South America, Asia and Africa. From that time on, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich served in the Black Sea and Baltic Fleets. He was appointed commander of a detachment of mine cruisers in the Baltic Sea. Since that time, he began to seriously think about the problems of international politics, about Russia's place in the world and, in particular, about naval policy.

Thus, by the beginning of the 1890s, he was a professional military man, comprehensively educated, intelligent, and disciplined. From the beginning of the 1890s, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich served in the Black Sea and Baltic Fleets. In particular, he was appointed commander of a detachment of mine cruisers in the Baltic Sea. Then he was sent on the cruiser "Dmitry Donskoy" to the USA, and after his return he was appointed senior officer of the battleship "Sisoy the Great". In 1896, as a result of a conflict with his cousin, Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich, the chief commander of the fleet and the maritime department, he was removed from military service. In 1898, he served as chairman of the Council for Merchant Shipping under the Ministry of Finance, in 1901 - chairman of the Special Meeting on the Management of Commercial Ports. At the same time, in 1901-1902, he became chairman of the forest concession on the river. Yalu. In 1902, he managed to convince the emperor to separate an independent institution from the Ministry of Finance - the Main Directorate of Merchant Shipping and Ports, which he led until 1905. At the same time, the prince was the chairman of many public organizations, the main one being the Special Committee for Strengthening the Fleet with voluntary donations , founded in 1904

Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich. USA, 1893 GA RF. F. 645. Op. 1. D. 346. L. 1

Heading this committee, the prince was able to achieve the most significant results in strengthening the naval forces. In the future, he did a lot for the development of domestic aviation. In 1908, on his initiative, the first airfield was built in Sevastopol, and in 1910 an officer aviation school was created near Sevastopol. From the beginning of the First World War, Alexander Mikhailovich held leading positions at the front. In September 1914, he became in charge of organizing the aviation of the Southwestern Front, from October 1915 - of the entire front. In 1916 he received the rank of Field Inspector General of the Air Force. In April 1917 he resigned, lived in the Crimea, then - in exile. He died in France on February 26, 1933.

Emperor Nicholas II and the Grand Duke, although they had different military specialties, received approximately the same upbringing and, in general, a similar worldview. In addition to friendly relations, they were united by an interest in politics. This feature is especially evident in the monarch. This confirms the composition and content of the documents of their personal funds. In the emperor's fund, three voluminous files with letters from Alexander Mikhailovich have been preserved. The first case contains letters for 1889-1891, the second - for 1892-1899, the third - for 1901-1917. Approximately two-thirds of the letters of the late 1880s and early 1890s are devoted to personal or domestic issues, and their author often complains that they remain unanswered. However, in subsequent letters, many state, social and socio-economic problems are detailed and analyzed, there are no requests from the prince to answer the letters, and the context shows that the addressee not only read carefully, but also constantly asked the details of a particular issue. Unfortunately, few response letters have survived, and they are all personal in nature. The memoirs of D.N. Lyubimova: “Always calm, correct, extremely educated, the heir did not give out either his sympathies or antipathies. He treated the matter with interest, as far as decency required it; he listened to everyone attentively, did not express his opinions; agreed with rare disagreements with the majority. In one of the modern works, a correct and well-founded opinion is expressed that the emperor, immediately after the death of his father, plunged into solving state problems. In particular, his words are cited from a letter to his brother, Grand Duke George: “The work is up to my throat, but thanks to God, I cope with it easily.”

Their trips in the early 1890s were not just a tourist trip. The crown prince looked at visiting the distant outskirts as an opportunity to gain experience and information that could later be useful in the service of the Sovereign and the Fatherland. They were interested in the economic and political situation of different states, their achievements in the field of science and technology. The archive contains interesting documents that list "the main points that the Sovereign Heir would like to visit" in India, China and Japan. This is an inspection of the port, the astronomical and meteorological observatory in Bombay, the main naval arsenal and tea plantations of Fu Zhao, the port of Chifu and Hong Kong, the cities of Nagasaki, Tokyo and Kyoto, etc. Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich treated these travels in the same way. During their trip abroad with their brother Sergey Mikhailovich on the Tamara yacht to Turkey, Africa and Southeast Asia (India, Ceylon, Singapore, Indonesia, Sunda Islands), they collected a huge amount of information about the nature, culture and economy of these countries. “An extensive library introducing those countries that it was decided to visit,” wrote one of the participants in the trip, prof. G.I. Radde, - and the necessary instruments for collecting natural science collections were, of course, with us. It should be noted that in his subsequent activities, the prince collected a huge amount of documents and materials on military equipment, the economy and the political situation abroad, and used the data obtained in the preparation of letters and reports. He received the necessary information, in particular, during his trips. Another source of information is the letters of engineers, scientists and reports of special agents abroad: A. Bosche and G. Richard, G. Bietta, P.D. Kuzminsky and others. Clippings from newspapers about tests of armor and shells, military exercises, an outboard electric propeller for boats, and the development of aviation have been preserved.

Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich believed that Russia was a great power, and it cannot become such without a monarchy, since this is the only government under which Russia can grow rich, expand and look boldly into the future. The condition for development should be the technical and economic independence of the country, or, as they said then, “self-sufficiency of the state”, and the enlightenment of the people on the high moral principles of Orthodoxy and taking into account the development of science and technology. The self-sufficiency of the economy meant the creation of large industrial enterprises with a closed technological cycle, where the entire production process is located on the territory of the country. Such enterprises were created and produced trains and equipment for railways, ships, military products. In this sense, his ideas fully corresponded to the spirit of the economic policy of Emperor Alexander III and, at the same time, were in tune with the views of Nicholas II. The most adequate position of the last monarch is reflected in the text of the Supreme Command on the approval of the program of commercial and industrial policy of March 19, 1899: “1. Firmness and consistency in matters of economic policy and the national economy, if not more so than in other branches of state administration, then equally constitute the main condition for success. 2. After repeated fluctuations in the first half of this century, in the guiding principles of our commercial and industrial policy, this was established by Emperor Alexander II in the sense of protecting our domestic industry from the rivalry of foreign products; during the reign of the deceased Emperor Alexander III, this system received its final expression in the decrees of the tariff of 1891. . It is important to emphasize that in his notes on economic policy, three options for state regulation of economic life were distinguished. As an example, they cited the experience of building railways. It was noted that they used three options: the construction of the Nikolaev railway, the Odessa-Baltic railway by an administrative method by a private person at the expense of the treasury, by an economic method with the use of penal soldiers; line from Kyiv to Zhmerinka and Volochinsk by delivery to the contractor. The last two methods turned out to be the most unsatisfactory.

In letters to the emperor, Alexander Mikhailovich emphasized that the most important element of development was the creation and strengthening of the fleet by building modern ships at Russian shipyards at an adequate price, strengthening the country's export potential in the foreign trade system, preventing the transfer of key sectors of the economy into the hands of foreign firms for nothing. A state that can defend its interests in the international arena, including with the help of a powerful fleet, is capable of realizing these tasks. Such ideas also found full sympathy with the monarch. The range of questions about which he wrote and which, as follows from the context of the letters, were of great interest to the addressee, was extremely wide. It was about the establishment of new shipping companies, the distribution of military fleets in the Baltic, Black and Mediterranean seas, the construction of railways, machine-building plants, etc. Often he defended shipbuilding engineers who were not allowed to work by officials. “You have probably heard that Kolbasiev is building a submarine at his own expense, and it seems that it promises to be successful. Of course, this was enough for our superiors, with Verkhovsky at the head, to make him a lot of difficulties. Isn't it true, how patriotic and completely human. My request is to you that you ask the manager [manager] of the M[orsky] M[ministry] by telegram when the boat is ready. All this was repaired by one idea - to bring Russia into the category of powerful economically and culturally developed states.

Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich with a group of officers from the battleship Rostislav. GA RF. F. 645. Op. 1. D. 364. L. 1.

The implementation of such a policy led to the collapse of the plans of large European and American firms to capture world markets. There are good reasons to believe that the Grand Duke and his supporters interfered with the plans of the Minister of Finance S.Yu. Witte (1849-1915), who received the post in 1892 of the most important post of manager of the Ministry of Finance. During the life of Emperor Alexander III, his views on the economic development of the country were fully consistent with the spirit of the times. Alexander Mikhailovich even wrote a positive review of Witte's pamphlet "National Economy and Friedrich List" (St. Petersburg, 1891). However, after the death of Alexander III, Witte's policy remained the same only in words, but in fact, from the mid-1890s, he began to carry out economic reforms in the interests of international capital and competitors of Russian companies. In this sense, the politically calm year 1897 became very important for the fate of the country and the monarchy. It was then that, under the leadership of the minister, a reform of monetary circulation was carried out, as a result of which an influential layer of dignitaries was formed, opposed to nationally minded Russian politicians and the monarch himself. The reform established, as is known, the gold monometallism of the ruble, or the free exchange of the ruble for gold. By decree of August 29, 1897, the State Bank became the central issuing bank, which received the right to issue unsecured gold banknotes of 300 million rubles. Such a limitation on emissions created the prerequisites for making the Russian economy, primarily new industries, dependent on external borrowing, since only in this case could the quantity of goods be equivalent to the money supply. Thus, the reform objectively placed the newly created sectors of the economy in technological and partly financial dependence on large foreign companies and governments. In other words, the financial reform contributed to the accelerated inflow of foreign capital, mainly in the form of loans. Foreign banks almost did not invest in the modernization of Russian industry, but were, as a rule, interested (like the governments of European states) in receiving momentary profits. The scarcity of financial resources weighed heavily on the economy, but the consequences of the reform in the oil industry were especially detrimental, and the policy of the Ministry of Finance was most clearly manifested in the example of Russian oil firms. By 1898, the Russian oil industry came out on top in world production and export of kerosene, holding the lead until 1901. , which caused alarm among the management of the American company Standard Oil Cº. Therefore, the idea of ​​ousting domestic enterprises from international markets has become one of the main tasks of the American government and, first of all, this company. To do this, ten companies were established in the UK, which were officially declared as English, but in fact were subsidiaries of Standard Oil Cº. Their fixed capital amounted to a total of 53 million rubles. Then, in 1897, in the article "Development of the oil industry on the Apsheron Peninsula" a program was formulated for the capture of oil fields in the Caucasus by British business. A number of employees warned Witte and his assistants about the possibility of such firms appearing in Russia: an official for special assignments of the Ministry of Finance M.I. Lazarev, manager of the Russian Consulate General in New York - A.P. Weiner, commercial agent of the Ministry of S.S. Tatishchev.

Thus, the finance minister knew that Russian enterprises were falling into the hands of American competitors, but he hid this from both the emperor and the heads of ministries and departments. Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich unsuccessfully tried to prevent the seizure of deposits, which he informed the sovereign in a memorandum dated March 20, 1898, and in personal letters dated March 31 and April 30 of the same year, believing that it was only about English companies. Oil production and refining enterprises were transferred to these firms. In 1899, this policy was supplemented by the adoption of legislative acts facilitating their activities: the tax on bonds issued abroad by foreign anonymous societies was abolished, and the purchase of real estate was allowed for Jews with foreign citizenship, "known for their position in society and for extensive trade turnovers » . As a result, since 1901, the production of oil, especially kerosene, began to decline, and its sales on the world market decreased. The fires of 1904-1905 caused especially severe consequences for the industry. Whether this is a coincidence or not is unknown, we can only state that there were no fires at the enterprises of English firms. By the beginning of the First World War, the price of a pood of kerosene had risen almost 10 times in the Russian domestic market. In this example, one can see how the strategic sectors of the economy fell into a kind of financial trap, from which they got out for several decades.

The emperor, quite obviously, was deceived by the minister and believed that “the political undesirability of concentrating vast land holdings in one area or another in the hands of one or another private foreign company can always be eliminated by virtue of the existing conditions for allowing foreign joint-stock enterprises to operate, according to which the acquisition of immovable property by foreign companies is made dependent on the permission of the local administrative authority” . Since in Russia, as, indeed, in other countries, there was no single foreign intelligence agency at that time, there was no one to control Witte's actions.

That is why the activities of the prince in the Ministry of Finance had more modest results than public ones. The latter manifested itself in various fields as early as the mid-1890s. This includes educational activities as an author or editor-in-chief of fundamental research and reference and encyclopedic publications about the fleet, and support for war veterans, and organization of assistance to Pomor sailors who were in distress during the 1984 storm.

A characteristic feature of a number of social projects is the multi-purpose activity of organizations patronized by the prince. This can be seen from the history of two of them: the Committee for Assistance to the Pomors of the Russian North that arose in 1894 to help the families of sailors who suffered from a storm in the White Sea. However, it was not just a charitable organization, insurance was carried out under its auspices, scientific research expeditions were organized to explore the riches of the sea, and projects for fishing vessels were developed. Another organization that should be mentioned is the Sevastopol Defense Museum. In addition to the restoration of historical monuments and the organization of exhibitions, the museum operated a library, and schools were created for the children of the poorest residents of the city. Much attention was paid to the support of veterans of the Crimean War. So, during the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the defense of Sevastopol, they veterans had the right to travel in 1st class cars to Sevastopol, they were provided with free accommodation, food and medical care. In 1916, by his order, public flights were organized in Moscow in favor of the injured pilots and their families, a hospital for wounded pilots was set up, for which two-thirds of the funds (1027 rubles 64 kopecks) were donated to him, targeted one-time payments were also practiced.

As for the proposals of the prince put forward for solving national problems, even in cases where his ideas were sanctioned by the emperor, such as, for example, a timber concession in Korea, they were often difficult to implement due to lack of funds. It is important to emphasize that at the beginning of the 20th century the struggle of the Grand Duke to strengthen the monarchy and the national economy became a dangerous occupation. In 1901, with the assassination of the Minister of Education N.P. Bogolepov began a wave of political terror. In the next decade, almost all statesmen whom Emperor Nicholas II trusted die from shots and bombs: interior ministers D.S. Sipyagin (1902) and V.K. Alexandrovich Romanov (1905), Chairman of the Council of Ministers P.A. Stolypin (1911). After the revolution, together with his family, one of the last chairmen of the pre-revolutionary Council of Ministers, I.L. Goremykin (1917), as well as former ministers of internal affairs: A.N. Khvostov (1918), N.A. Maklakov (1918), A.A. Makarova (1919). It is this circumstance that draws attention - all the dead belonged to the emperor's confidants, they all adhered to monarchist views on the prospects for the development of Russian statehood and never once changed their convictions in practice. One of the few close people of the sovereign, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, fortunately escaped a violent death. As noted above, shortly after the revolution, the Grand Duke retired from the army. And the moral qualities of the prince, like most other representatives of the dynasty, were most clearly manifested in the revolutionary years.

The revolutionary events and the political terror that accompanied them became a real test for the whole country and, of course, for the representatives of the Romanov dynasty. Some studies state that on February 10, 1917, Alexander Mikhailovich demanded that the royal couple fulfill the requirements of the Duma opposition, i.e. actually betrayed the sovereign. At the same time, they refer to his last letter to the emperor dated December 25, 1916 - February 4, 1917.

Firstly, the Grand Duke sent all letters, reports and notes to the monarch, where he expressed his opinion, only with his permission. This letter was no exception, which begins with the words: “It was your pleasure, on December 22, to let me express my opinion on a well-known issue and along the way I had to touch on almost all the issues that concern us, I asked permission to speak as if in spirit and you gave it to me." There were no "requirements". The conversation with the emperor and empress, as the prince admitted to his brother, Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich, was indeed sharp, but he still saw his main task in one thing: to save Russia and the royal throne. The last letter to the sovereign had, perhaps, one peculiarity. It had an abstract character, all previous messages are more specific: their author always said, for example, which persons should be appointed to a particular position, and who should be fired, who should be helped, which organizations should be supported, etc. General words are heard here: “the chairman of the Council of Ministers should be a person whom you completely trust, he chooses himself and is responsible for all other ministers, all of them together should make up one head, one mind and one will”, “I am fundamentally against the so-called responsible ministries, i.e. responsible to the Duma, this should not be allowed”, “the government should consist of persons enjoying the confidence of the country”, etc. All this suggests that the prince either did not understand the political situation, or understood what kind of problems the supreme power was facing, and did not knew what to advise. In favor of the second assumption is the fact that in the above-mentioned letter to Nikolai Mikhailovich he admits that he does not see a way out of this situation. However, the fact of treason to the throne does not follow from this. The statement that he wanted to usurp power, and for this he joined the Masonic lodge, is also unproven, no documents have been found. True, a letter from Professor P.N. Milyukov with an invitation to join the lodge has been preserved in his fund in the State Archives of the Russian Federation, but there is no reaction from the prince to him.

After the revolution, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich remained a statesman and supporter of monarchist views. As an example, one can point to a letter to the editors of the Russkoye Slovo newspaper dated April 12, 1917, in which the prince demanded an end to the campaign of slander against the deposed monarch and the dowager empress Maria Feodorovna. The fact that in the late 1900s the prince maintained correspondence with some of the organizers of the February coup (A.I. Guchkov, P.P. Ryabushinsky) also proves nothing, since at that time Nicholas II also trusted these figures.

Monarchism, neither before the revolution nor after it, was inseparable from patriotism. How he perceived the coup that took place in the country and the collapse in the army can be seen not only in his reaction to the fall of the monarchy, but also in his attitude towards the army. His feelings and pain are most clearly expressed in letters to his sons. In one of them, to Prince Dmitry Alexandrovich, dated March 15, 1917, he writes: “The Provisional Government finds that the Grand Dukes cannot, under the present circumstances, remain in command posts, and I was forced, like others, to resign , as you all understand, it is inexpressibly difficult for me to leave the post on which I stood for 31 months; I got so used to the aviation business, I fell in love with all the pilots as if they were my own children, and just now, during the complete fermentation of minds, when it is precisely my leadership of the matter that is so necessary, they do not allow me to serve, insulting and painful, but the good of the Motherland is above all , and since our presence in the army is undesirable for higher considerations, we should obey, which I do.

Thus, considering the history of the relationship between the emperor and the Grand Duke, one can see that they had the same vision of the future of Russia. Due to objective circumstances, their plans were not destined to be fully realized. Nevertheless, the historical merit of these politicians lies in the creation of a number of successful applicants in the economy, politics and culture, which give the right to say that the emergence of Russia as a powerful military and industrial power without any repressive measures against its own people is not a utopia . At the same time, an analysis of the tragic causes of the fall of the monarchy allows us to see gaps in the work of state institutions in pre-revolutionary Russia, which is also very instructive in our time.

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