On September 9 (21), 1827, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, the second son of Emperor Nicholas I, was born in St. Petersburg.

Konstantin Nikolaevich at a young age was assigned by his father to the "naval service" with the award of the rank of Admiral General and Chief of the Guards crew; his mentor and mentor was Vice Admiral F. P. Litke. Before taking the oath and reaching adulthood, the Grand Duke served on warships that sailed all the seas washing Europe, learned military craft in the ranks of the guards regiments and training companies of the 1st Cadet and Page Corps.

In 1848, Konstantin Nikolaevich was promoted to rear admiral, appointed chief of the Naval Cadet Corps and commander of the Life Guards of the Finnish Regiment. In 1849, the Grand Duke participated in the Hungarian campaign, for which he received Order of St. George 4 degrees.

The state activity of Konstantin Nikolaevich began in 1850. He was appointed a member State Council and the Admiralty Council, was the chairman of the Committee for the drafting of the maritime charter. Assistant and personal secretary of the Grand Duke was Secretary of State A. V. Golovnin.

The brother of Emperor Alexander II - Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich - went down in history as one of the largest public figures of the reform period of the 60s. of the 19th century, which in their content and significance were called the Great. His role in those turning points in Russian history is evidenced by the title of the main liberal of Russia.

Childhood and youth

Konstantin Nikolayevich (1827 - 1882) was the second son of Emperor Nicholas I and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna. The crowned parents decided that the paths of their son would be serving in the Navy, so his upbringing and education were focused on this. At the age of four, he received the rank of Admiral General, but due to his young age, full-fledged entry into the post was postponed until 1855.

Grand Duke Konstantin Romanov's teachers noted his love for the historical sciences. It was thanks to this passion that he already in his youth formed his idea not only of the past, but also of the future of Russia. Thanks to his extensive knowledge, Konstantin in 1845 headed the Russian Geographical Society, where he met many prominent public figures. In many ways, it was these contacts that became the reason for the support that Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich Romanov provided to supporters of reforms and transformations.

"Spring of Nations"

Constantine's coming of age coincided with the rise of the revolutionary movement in Europe. The year 1848 went down in history under the symbolic name "spring of nations": the goals of the revolutionaries no longer concerned only a change in the form of government. Now they wanted to achieve independence from large empires like the Austro-Hungarian.

Emperor Nicholas, distinguished by conservatism, immediately came to the aid of his colleagues in the royal trade. In 1849, Russian troops entered Hungary. The biography of Grand Duke Konstantin Romanov was replenished with military exploits. But during the campaign, he realized how deplorable the state of the Russian army was, and forever left his childhood dreams of conquering Constantinople.

Start of political activity

Upon his return from Hungary, Emperor Nicholas attracts his son to participate in government. Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich participates in the revision of maritime legislation, and since 1850 he has been a member of the State Council. The leadership of the maritime department for a long time becomes the main occupation of Konstantin. After its head, Prince Menshikov, was appointed ambassador to Turkey, Konstantin began to manage the department himself. He tried to make positive changes to the fleet management system, but ran into the dull resistance of the Nikolaev bureaucracy.

After the defeat in the Crimean War, Russia was deprived of the right to maintain warships in the Black Sea. However, the Grand Duke found a way around this ban. He founded and headed the Russian Society of Shipping and Trade six months after the conclusion of the peace treaty. Soon this organization was able to compete with foreign companies.

At the beginning of the reign of Alexander II

The successful leadership of the Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of the maritime department did not go unnoticed. The elder brother who came to power left all naval affairs in the hands of Constantine, and also attracted him to solve the most important domestic political problems. In the administration of Alexander II, he was one of the first to openly prove the urgent need to abolish serfdom: from an economic point of view, they had long lost their profitability and became a brake on social development. Not without reason, Konstantin argued that the failure that befell Russia in the Crimean War was closely connected with the preservation of an obsolete system of social relations.

The socio-political views of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich can be briefly described as close to moderate liberalism. Against the backdrop of conservatism and retrograde into which Russia plunged during the reign of his father, even such a position looked defiant. That is why the appointment of Constantine as a member of the Secret Committee, which is engaged in the preparation of a draft peasant reform, caused dissatisfaction among aristocratic families.

Preparations for the liberation of the peasants

Konstantin joined the work of the Secret Committee on May 31, 1857. This organization had already existed for eight months, but did not offer any specific solutions to the aggravated issue, which caused Alexander's indignation. Konstantin immediately set to work, and already on August 17 the fundamental principles of the future reform were adopted, which amounted to a three-phase liberation of the peasants.

In addition to working in government organizations, Konstantin, being the head of the maritime department, had the opportunity to independently decide the fate of the serfs who were at the Admiralty. Orders for their release were given by the prince in 1858 and 1860, that is, even before the adoption of the basic law on the reform. However, the active actions of the Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich caused such strong discontent among the nobles that Alexander was forced to send his brother abroad with an insignificant assignment.

Adoption and implementation of the reform

But even having lost the opportunity to directly participate in the preparation of the reform, the Grand Duke did not cease to deal with the problem of the liberation of the peasants. He collected documents testifying to the viciousness of the serf system, studied various studies, and even met with the then most prominent German specialist on the agrarian problem, Baron Haxthausen.

In September 1859 Konstantin returned to Russia. During his absence, the Secret Committee became a public body and was renamed the Main Committee on Peasant Affairs. Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich was immediately appointed its chairman. Under his leadership, 45 meetings were held, which finally determined the direction and main steps of the upcoming reform to abolish serfdom. At the same time, the Editorial Commissions began to operate, which were instructed to draw up versions of the final bill. The project prepared by them, providing for the liberation of the peasants with land, aroused violent resistance from the landlords who sat in the Main Committee, but Konstantin managed to overcome their resistance.

Years Manifesto on the liberation of the peasants was read out. The reform around which a fierce struggle has been waged for so many years has become a reality. Emperor Alexander called his brother the main assistant in resolving the peasant issue. With such a high assessment of the merits of the Grand Duke, it is not surprising that his next appointment was the chairmanship of the Main Committee on the Arrangement of the Rural Population, which was engaged in the implementation of the main points of the reform.

Kingdom of Poland

The adoption and implementation of the great reforms coincided with the rise of anti-Russian speeches and the movement for independence in the Polish possessions of the Russian Empire. Alexander II hoped to resolve the accumulated contradictions by a policy of compromise, and it was for this purpose that on May 27, 1862 he appointed Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich as governor of the Kingdom of Poland. This appointment fell on one of the most critical periods in the history of Russian-Polish relations.

On June 20, Konstantin arrived in Warsaw, and the next day an assassination attempt was made on him. Although the shot was fired point-blank, the prince escaped with only a slight wound. However, this did not deter the new governor from the original intention to negotiate with the Poles. A number of their requirements were met: for the first time since 1830, it was allowed to appoint Polish officials to many important posts, mail and control over communication routes were removed from subordination to the general imperial departments, and the Polish language began to be used in the affairs of the current administration.

However, this did not prevent a large-scale uprising. The Grand Duke had to resume martial law, courts-martial began to operate. However, Konstantin could not find the strength to apply more stringent measures and asked for his resignation.

Judicial reform

The judicial system in the Russian Empire was characterized by extreme slowness and no longer corresponded to the times. Understanding this, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, even within the framework of his maritime department, took a number of steps to reform it. He introduced new rules for recording the course of court hearings, and also canceled a number of useless rituals. In accordance with the judicial reform carried out in Russia, at the insistence of the Grand Duke, the most striking processes related to crimes in the fleet began to be covered in the press.

In July 1857, Constantine established a committee to review the entire system of naval justice. According to the head of the maritime department, the old judicial principles should be rejected in favor of modern methods of considering cases: publicity, competitiveness of the process, participation in the decision of the jury. To obtain the necessary information, the Grand Duke sent his assistants abroad. The judicial innovations of Grand Duke Konstantin in the maritime department became, in fact, a test of the viability of European traditions in Russia on the eve of the adoption of the project of an all-imperial reform of the judiciary in 1864.

On the problem of representation

Unlike other Romanovs, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich was not afraid of the word "Constitution". The noble opposition to the government course prompted him to present to Alexander II his project of introducing elements of representation into the system of exercising power. The main point of Konstantin Nikolayevich's note was the creation of a deliberative assembly, which would include elected representatives from cities and zemstvos. By 1866, however, reactionary circles were gradually gaining the upper hand in the political struggle. Although the plan of Constantine in fact only developed the provisions of already existing laws, they saw in it an attack on the prerogatives of the autocracy and an attempt to create a parliament. The project was rejected.

Sale of Alaska

The lands belonging to Russia in North America were burdensome for the empire in their content. In addition, the economic rise of the United States made us think that the entire American continent would soon become their sphere of influence, and therefore Alaska would be lost anyway. Therefore, thoughts began to arise about the need to sell it.

Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich immediately established himself as one of the strongest supporters of signing such a treaty. He attended meetings devoted to the development of the main provisions of the contract. Despite the doubts of the ruling circles, weakened economically after the US Civil War, about the advisability of acquiring Alaska, in 1867 the treaty was signed by both parties.

Russian society was ambivalent about this operation: in its opinion, the price of 7.2 million dollars for such vast territories was clearly insufficient. To such attacks, Konstantin, like other supporters of the sale, replied that the maintenance of Alaska cost Russia a much larger amount.

Decline in popularity

Briefly, the biography of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich after the sale of Alaska and the coming to power of the conservatives is a story of the gradual loss of former influence. The emperor consults with his brother less and less, knowing about his liberal views. The era of reforms was coming to an end, the time had come for their correction, which coincided with the emergence of terrorist revolutionary organizations that staged a real hunt for the emperor. Under these conditions, Konstantin could only maneuver among the numerous court groups.

Last years

The life (1827 - 1892) of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, long by the standards of the 19th century, whose biography is filled with struggle to make decisions that are significant for Russia, ended in complete obscurity in the estate near Pavlovsk. The new emperor Alexander III (1881 - 1894) treated his uncle with marked hostility, believing that it was his liberal inclinations that largely led to a social explosion in the country and rampant terrorism. Other prominent reformers of the time of the Great Reforms were pushed aside from making political decisions along with Constantine.

Family and Children

In 1848, Konstantin married a German princess, who received the name Alexandra Iosifovna in Orthodoxy. Six children were born from this marriage, of which the most famous were the eldest daughter Olga - the wife of the Greek King George - and Konstantin, a prominent poet of the Silver Age.

The fate of the children became another reason for disagreement with Alexander III. In view of the fact that the number of members of the Romanov dynasty increased significantly, the emperor decided to bestow the title of Grand Duke only on his grandchildren. The descendants of Konstantin Nikolaevich became princes of imperial blood. The last man from the Konstantinovich family died in 1973.

Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich(September 9 (21), 1827, St. Petersburg - January 13 (25), 1892, Pavlovsk, near St. Petersburg) - Admiral General, fifth child and second son of Emperor Nicholas I and Alexandra Feodorovna.

Biography

Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich is one of the brightest and most controversial personalities of the Romanov dynasty.

His father decided that Konstantin should make a career as a naval sailor and from the age of five he entrusted his education to an outstanding sailor and scientist - Admiral Fyodor Litka. The teacher of his brother Alexander, the poet Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky, also had a great influence on him. In 1835 he accompanied his parents on a trip to Germany. In 1843 and 1844, Konstantin Nikolaevich, together with his brothers Nikolai and Mikhail, practiced on the Oranienbaum lugger, leaving for the Gulf of Finland. In 1844 he was appointed commander of the brig "Ulysses". In 1846 he was promoted to captain of the first rank and appointed commander of the frigate Pallada. On August 30, 1848, he was enrolled in His Majesty's retinue.

In 1848, in St. Petersburg, he married his second cousin Alexandra Friederike Henrietta Paulina Marianna Elisabeth, the fifth daughter of the Duke of Saxe-Altenburg Joseph (in Orthodoxy Alexandra Iosifovna). On the day of the wedding, he was promoted to rear admiral, appointed chief of the Naval Cadet Corps; the chief of the Life Guards of the Finnish Regiment was from 1831 until his death.

In 1849 he participated in the Hungarian campaign, for which he received the Order of St. George, 4th degree. In the same year he was appointed to attend the State and Admiralty Councils. In 1850, he headed the Committee for the revision and addition of the General Code of Naval Regulations and became a member of the State Council and the Council of Military Educational Institutions. During this period, an important role was played by his acquaintance with the Secretary of State A.V. Golovnin, who was appointed to be with the Grand Duke. He attracted the best people of the fleet to work on the revision of the charters, personally considered all the comments received, wrote several chapters of the new charter.

On January 21, 1853, he entered the administration of the naval ministry. Promoted to vice admiral. During the Crimean War, Konstantin Nikolayevich took part in the defense of Kronstadt from the attack of the Anglo-French fleet, attracted a talented organizer, engineer and entrepreneur N. I. Putilov to build screw gunboats. According to legend, the Grand Duke called him and said:

Can you, Putilov, do the impossible? To build up to the end of navigation a flotilla of screw gunboats for the defense of Kronstadt? There is no money in the treasury - here's my personal two hundred thousand.

Since 1855 - admiral, manager of the fleet and the maritime department as a minister. From 1860 he chaired the Admiralty Council. The first period of his administration was marked by a number of important reforms: the number of coastal teams was reduced, office work was simplified, emerial cash desks and pensions for retirees were introduced. As a transitional step between the Naval Corps and the officers, the rank of midshipman was established. An academic course and special mine and artillery classes were established. The term of military service was reduced from 25 to 10 years, corporal punishment was completely abolished, a new officer uniform was introduced, and the content of the officers themselves was increased. During the reforms, the issues under consideration were openly discussed on the pages of the Marine Collection magazine, reports of various departments of the Naval Ministry were also published there. Under the leadership of Konstantin Nikolayevich, in a short time, the Russian fleet turned from an outdated sailing fleet into a modern armored and steam fleet.

Adhered to liberal values, in 1857 he was elected chairman of the Committee for the Emancipation of the Peasants, which developed a manifesto on the emancipation of the peasants from serfdom. He also played an important role in other major reforms of his brother Alexander II - judicial reform and the abolition of corporal punishment in the army. Paid a visit to England and France in order to study their fleets.

Viceroy of the Kingdom of Poland from June 1862 to October 1863. His governorship fell on the period of the Polish uprising. Together with his deputy, Marquis Alexander Velepolsky, he tried to pursue a conciliatory policy and carry out liberal reforms. Shortly after the arrival of Konstantin Nikolaevich in Warsaw, an attempt was made on him. Apprentice tailor Ludovik Yaroshinsky shot him at close range with a pistol on the evening of June 21 (July 4), 1863, when he was leaving the theater, but he was only slightly wounded. For various reasons, his policy was not successful, and in October 1863 he was dismissed from the post of governor.

In 1865 he was appointed Chairman of the State Council, he remained in this post until 1881.

On the initiative of Konstantin Nikolaevich, the American part of the Russian Empire was sold. It was he who suggested that Alexander II (his older brother) get rid of Alaska. On December 16, 1866, a special meeting was held in St. Petersburg, which was attended by Alexander II, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, the ministers of finance and the naval ministry, as well as the Russian envoy to Washington, Baron Eduard Andreevich Stekl. All participants approved the idea of ​​the sale. On March 30, 1867, the treaty was signed in Washington. An area of ​​1,519,000 km² was sold for $7.2 million in gold, that is, $4.74 per square meter. km, or 4.74 cents per hectare.

After the death of Alexander II, his son Emperor Alexander III, curtailing the reforms carried out by the former emperor, gradually removed Konstantin Nikolaevich from most of his posts.

Results of the Greek plebiscite

In 1862, after the reigning King Otto I (of the Wittelsbach family) was overthrown in Greece in an uprising, the Greeks held a plebiscite at the end of the year to choose a new monarch. There were no ballots with candidates, so any Greek citizen could propose his candidacy or type of government in the country. The results were made public in February 1863.

Among those who entered the Greeks was Konstantin Nikolaevich, he took sixth place and scored less than 0.5 percent of the vote. True, it must be admitted that representatives of the Russian, British and French royal houses could not occupy the Greek throne according to the London Conference of 1832.

Family life

Konstantin Nikolaevich was married to his second cousin Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg (in Orthodoxy - Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna).

1. Nikolai Konstantinovich (February 2, 1850 - January 14, 1918)
2. Olga Konstantinovna (August 22, 1851-1926), Queen of the Hellenes, husband - Greek King George I
3. Vera Konstantinovna (February 4, 1854-1912; husband - Wilhelm Eugene, Duke of Württemberg)
4. Konstantin Konstantinovich (August 10, 1858-1915; wife - Elizaveta Mavrikievna, Princess of Saxe-Altenburg)
5. Dmitry Konstantinovich (June 1, 1860-1919)
6. Vyacheslav Konstantinovich (July 1, 1862-1879)

Due to the increase in the size of the Imperial family, Alexander III decided to limit the circle of the Grand Dukes to the grandchildren of the reigning emperor. Thus, the grandchildren of Konstantin Nikolayevich himself, the first of which appeared a few years before his death, became Princes of the imperial blood, which, of course, infringed on their dynastic and property rights. This did not improve relations between Konstantin Nikolaevich and the emperor. The branch of the descendants of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich in the 20th century received the semi-official name " Konstantinovichi". One of his sons (Dmitry) and three grandchildren (John, Konstantin, Igor Konstantinovichi) were shot by the Bolsheviks; Nikolai Konstantinovich died shortly after the revolution from pneumonia. The male line of the "Konstantinovichi" branch ceased in 1973, and the female line in 2007.

Out of wedlock

After several years of passionate love for his beautiful wife, who bore him six children, there was a cooling. The subject of his adoration was the ballerina of the Mariinsky Theater Anna Vasilievna Kuznetsova (1847-1922), the natural daughter of the great tragedian Vasily Andreevich Karatygin. Konstantin Nikolayevich himself honestly told his wife about everything and urged "to observe decency." From this connection children were born:

• Sergei (1873-1873)
• Marina (1875-1941; husband - Alexander Pavlovich Ershov)
• Anna (1878-1920; husband - Nikolai Nikolaevich Lyalin)
• Ishmael (1879-1886)
• Leo (1883-1886)

Many people knew about the second family of the Grand Duke. Emperor Alexander III was sharply negative about his uncle's behavior, he had before his eyes the example of the mother of Empress Maria Alexandrovna, who was tormented by the connection between the husband of Emperor Alexander II and Princess Dolgorukova. It was this, and not only liberalism, that caused Alexander III's dislike for his uncle. Nevertheless, in 1883, the emperor granted all illegitimate children the patronymic "Konstantinovichi", the surname "Knyazev" and personal nobility, and in 1892 - hereditary (in fact, by this time all the sons of Konstantin and Kuznetsova had died in childhood, so the noble family of the Knyazevs was represented only two daughters, and the surname was not passed on).

“The eldest daughter, Marina Konstantinovna, married a general named Ershov and became the founder of a large family, many of whose members remained in Russia after the revolution. The youngest, Anna Konstantinovna, married Colonel Nikolai Lyalin. Their sons Constantine and Leo emigrated to Belgium, where Constantine became a Benedictine monk and died in 1958. Lev Lyalin became a chemical engineer, in 1953 his son, Bernard Lyalin, is now a historian"

Grand Duke, Admiral General, Minister of Marine (1853-1881), second son of Emperor Nicholas I; figure of the era of the Great Reforms of Emperor Alexander II; since its foundation in 1845, chairman of the Russian Geographical Society; Chairman of the State Council.

Mother Alexandra Feodorovna (nee Princess Friederike Louise Charlotte Wilhelmina of Prussia) (1798-1860).

From birth, he was predestined by his father for naval service. He was taught by F.P. Litke, a member of polar expeditions and circumnavigation in the team of V.M. Golovnin, as well as the poet V.A. Zhukovsky. Russian history was taught to the Grand Duke by Professor I.P. Shulgin. In 1844, Konstantin Nikolaevich made a great sea voyage on the ship "Ingermanland" from Arkhangelsk to Kronstadt. In the spring of 1815, his studies were suspended, and the whole year was devoted to sea expeditions. Accompanied by Litke, the Grand Duke went south by land to Nikolaev, sailed on a military ship to Constantinople, then visited France, Spain and England.

In 1846, the Grand Duke took the oath, being in the rank of Admiral General. He married in 1848 an Orthodox second cousin Alexandra Iosifovna (née Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg) (1830-1911). The marriage was made out of mutual love. It bore six children. Subsequently, the eldest son of the Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich Iskander-Romanov (1850-1918) was declared mentally ill due to a family scandal and expelled from the capital. In the 70s. 19th century Konstantin Nikolaevich lost interest in his wife and started a second family. His chosen one was the ballerina of the Mariinsky Theater Anna Vasilievna Kuznetsova (1847-1922), who gave birth to five children to the Grand Duke. Emperor Alexander III had a negative attitude towards his uncle's extramarital affair, as it reminded him of the situation in his own family: his mother suffered because of the second family of Alexander II with Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukova. It was this, and not only the liberal views of Konstantin Nikolaevich, that served as one of the main reasons for his resignation in 1881.

In 1849, Konstantin Nikolayevich took part in hostilities during the Hungarian campaign of 1849, for which he was awarded the Order of St. George IV degree. In 1850, the Grand Duke was elected an honorary member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. In the 1850-1860s. was involved in the preparation of the draft Maritime Charters. The draft Maritime Charter was developed according to a new scenario, openly and publicly. Its original version was sent to the officers of the Baltic and Black Sea fleets, and altered according to their feedback and comments. In 1853, the Grand Duke took over the administration of the Naval Ministry and set about preparing what he considered to be the overdue reforms. The efforts of Konstantin Nikolaevich were directed to the technical re-equipment of the domestic fleet. To this end, he traveled widely in Europe and studied the best practices of shipbuilding. Soon after the signing of the Peace of Paris in 1856, and as financial resources accumulated, the modernization of the Russian fleet began.

The transformations carried out by Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich in the maritime department became the prototype of the reforms of the 1860s, many of which were also carried out under his leadership. During the reign of his brother, Emperor Alexander II (1855-1881), he held positions that made him one of the key figures in Russian politics. In addition, Konstantin Nikolayevich gathered talented young people around him, to whom he provided all possible patronage. His like-minded people were called "Konstantinovites". Among them: the closest friend of Konstantin Nikolayevich, Minister of Public Education A.V. Golovnin, Minister of Finance M.Kh. Reitern, Minister of War D.A. Milyutin and others. The magazine "Sea Collection", published without censorship and under the supervision of the Grand Duke, has become a platform for discussing the most burning public issues.

Konstantin Nikolayevich actively participated in the liberation of the peasants. Since 1857, he was a member of the Secret (then Main) Committee on Peasant Affairs (since 1860, its chairman). Thanks to his efforts, the discussion of the reform in the committee was not delayed, and it was adopted as soon as possible. This made him many enemies at court.

As chairman of the Russian Geographical, Archaeological, Technical and some other societies, he patronized science. At the expense of the maritime department, he organized expeditions and assisted in the publication of scientific papers. In 1856, on the initiative of the Grand Duke, a literary expedition was sent to study the life of the Russian village.

From 1861 to 1864 the Grand Duke was the governor of the Kingdom of Poland. The period of his governorship fell on the Polish uprising of 1863, before and after which he unsuccessfully tried to pursue a policy of appeasement. During his stay in Warsaw, he survived an assassination attempt. At the end of October 1863, the Grand Duke and his wife left through the Crimea on a trip abroad. He spent the first half of November in Vienna, then several months in the German principalities of Baden, Darmstadt, and Altenburg with his wife's relatives.

From 1865 to 1881 Chairman of the State Council. Having become chairman of the State Council in 1866, he presented to his brother Emperor Alexander II a version of the constitutional project, in which the State Council was transformed into the upper house of parliament. However, at that time, the emperor had already survived the first assassination attempt and was moving away from the idea of ​​​​liberal reforms. In 1880, Konstantin Nikolaevich demonstrates his project to M.T. Loris-Melikov.

He perceived the death of the reigning brother as a personal and state tragedy. Under Alexander III, he was dismissed from all government posts.

At the end of 1881 and in 1882. Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich traveled a lot, visited Vienna, Venice, Milan, Florence, Rome. Then he lived in France for several months. He expressed his pain and disappointment at the fact that his activities were unnecessary, he expressed in private correspondence with V.M. Golovnin.

Winter 1883-1884 he spent in St. Petersburg, where he suffered from neurotic pains of the face and head. He was treated by Dr. Botkin and recommended that he go to the southern regions. In April 1884, the Grand Duke went to the Crimea, to Oreanda, where he remained in seclusion. From 1888 he was seriously ill, he died in Pavlovsk on January 13, 1892. It can be said without exaggeration that his resignation broke him.

By 1917, the Romanov family, in addition to the emperor himself, his wife and children, numbered more than 60 people. There were quite decent people among them, and there were not very good ones. But they tried not to even mention one thing in the Romanov family, because he had a sin from those that are not forgiven

In contact with

Odnoklassniki

Pride of the Romanov family

In the Romanov family, he was called Nikola. Nikola's father, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, was the second son of Nicholas I and the younger brother of Alexander II. So Nikola stood in the Romanov table of ranks only a step below the reigning emperor.

Nicholas was considered the most handsome of all the great princes. A wonderful dancer, he was the decoration of all balls. In time, he was to inherit one of the largest fortunes in the empire. His parents owned the Marble Palace in St. Petersburg, second in luxury only to the Winter Palace, and the breathtaking beauty of Pavlovsk.

God did not offend the young man either with his mind or character. On his own initiative, in 1868 he entered the Academy of the General Staff. He studied on a general basis, no concessions were given to a member of the imperial family, but Nikolai graduated from the academy among the best with a silver medal.

He entered the military service and at the age of 21 became the squadron commander of the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment. He was supposed to become the pride of the Romanov family, but ... Women ruined more than one brilliant officer career.

Femme fatale

Fanny Lear

At one of the balls, the Grand Duke met the American dancer Fanny Lear. At first, this relationship in the Romanov family did not cause concern (another amorous adventure of a brilliant officer). But soon rumors began to reach that the relationship between the Grand Duke and the frivolous artist went far beyond the scope of a love affair. There were fears that everything could end in a scandalous marriage.

Nikolai's worried parents, who had been living separately for a long time, met to discuss how to save their son. The father said that the best way to cure an officer of amorous cholera was to send him to war. And the young 23-year-old colonel of the General Staff in 1873, together with the Russian expeditionary force, went on a campaign to Khiva.

Nikolai returned as a warrior who had been under fire and with the Order of Vladimir III degree. First of all, I went to the beloved Fanny and, in company with his beloved, went on a trip to Europe. The novel continued. Nicholas showered his mistress with expensive gifts. More and more money was required for its maintenance, and the funds were not enough.

Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich was rich, very rich. But if someone thinks that he could spend any amount of money uncontrollably, then he is mistaken. The amounts allocated to Nicholas for pocket expenses were large, but limited, and they were by no means millions. In the royal family, it was customary to save on personal expenses.

Theft

On April 14, 1874, a theft was discovered in the Marble Palace. It was not just theft, it was sacrilege. Diamonds disappeared from the salary of one of the family icons. The icon was very dear to the couple, with it Nicholas I blessed his son Konstantin and his bride Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg for marriage. The Grand Duchess fell ill from frustration, the enraged husband called the police. The investigation was personally controlled by the chief of the gendarme corps, Count Shuvalov.

The investigation stalled. A strictly limited circle of people had access to the icon: a doctor, a maid, two footmen, a court lady. All are people proven by many years of service, no one doubted their honesty. There were still members of the imperial family, but they were a priori beyond suspicion.

Scandal in the royal family

The detectives did not eat bread for free. They started from the other end and soon found diamonds in one of the St. Petersburg pawnshops. An officer from the retinue of Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich, a certain Varnakhovsky, handed over the stones. The officer was detained and interrogated.

And then the pen of the police clerk who filled out the protocol hung in the air: according to Varnakhovsky, he received the diamonds from Nikolai Konstantinovich himself! And the proceeds were allegedly supposed to be spent on gifts for Fanny Lear. Count Shuvalov went to the palace to personally tell Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich the terrible news: his son is a thief.

Called for explanations, Nikola denied everything at first, but then confessed. At the same time, to the horror of his father, he showed neither regret for what he had done, nor repentance. The members of the Romanov family were by no means free from ordinary human weaknesses, but none of them ever stooped to theft.

Members of the Romanov family gathered in the Marble Palace to decide the fate of Nikola. Of course, there was no question of bringing him to justice: the prestige of the royal family had to be protected. But Nikolai, who disgraced all the Romanovs, should be punished - everyone agreed with this.

Outcast

Nikolai was told that he, like a thief, was being expelled from his family. From now on, in the papers relating to the imperial house, his name will never be mentioned. Nikolai loses his property - it is transferred to younger brothers. He is deprived of all ranks, awards, military and court ranks, his name is deleted from the lists of the regiment, wearing a military uniform is prohibited. He is deported from Petersburg forever and from now on he will live where he is directed.

For society, he will be declared mentally ill, under compulsory treatment. Fanny Lear is expelled from Russia without the right to ever return. But Nicholas retained the title of Grand Duke and until the last days he was addressed as "Your Imperial Highness." In the autumn of 1874, Nikolai Konstantinovich left Petersburg forever.

Wandering

The life of an exile began. Uman, Orenburg, Samara, Crimea, Vladimir province, the town of Tyvrov near Vinnitsa - for 7 years he was changed his place of exile more than 10 times, not allowing him to take root anywhere.

In 1877, while in Orenburg, Nikolai married the daughter of the local police chief, Nadezhda Alexandrovna Dreyer. Through the efforts of the Romanovs, the Holy Synod by a special decree declared the marriage invalid. Nadezhda remained with the prince in the unclear status of a wife-cohabitant.

In 1881, the outcast prince asked permission to come to the capital for the funeral of the murdered Alexander II. Alexander III replied: “You have dishonored us all. While I'm alive, your feet will not be in St. Petersburg! ”, But he allowed to legalize the marriage with Dreyer and sent the spouses to an eternal settlement in Tashkent.

What is Tashkent at the end of the 19th century? A garrison on the edge of the empire with continuous drunkenness, melancholy and an eternal dream to leave these adobe huts for Russia. It was here that the Grand Duke was to remain until the end of his days.

Resourceful businessman

In distant Turkestan, the disgraced prince became an entrepreneur. One after another, reports came to St. Petersburg: the Grand Duke owns a soap factory, billiard rooms, organizes the sale of kvass and rice, grows cotton, builds cotton ginning plants and develops a manufactory, opened the first Khiva cinematograph in Tashkent. The prince's business income exceeded 1.5 million rubles a year.

Palace of Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich. Built in 1890 by B.C. Heinzelman. The outbuildings were completed by A.N. Benoit. With the money earned, Nikolai Konstantinovich built himself a palace (today the Uzbek Foreign Ministry holds official receptions for foreign guests in it), installed a water pipe in the city, and built a theater. And yet the money was still there. Nikolai decided to take up the development of the region.

Tashkent prince

The disgraced prince started large-scale irrigation works. At his own expense, he laid a 100-kilometer canal, 119 settlements appeared on irrigated lands. As the newspapers wrote, "one high-ranking person did more for Central Asia than the entire state administration." Dekhkans literally prayed for him, the settlers addressed him as "prince-father", the townspeople called him "Tashkent prince" behind his back.