Family of Emperor Alexander III

Spouse. His wife, as well as the title of Tsarevich, Alexander Alexandrovich received "inheritance" from his older brother, Tsarevich Nicholas. It was a Danish princess Maria Sophia Frederic Dagmar (1847-1928), in Orthodoxy Maria Fedorovna.

Nikolai Alexandrovich met his bride in 1864, when, having completed his home education, he went on a trip abroad. In Copenhagen, in the palace of the Danish king Christian XI, he was introduced to the royal daughter, Princess Dagmar. The young people liked each other, but even without this, their marriage was a foregone conclusion, as it corresponded to the dynastic interests of the Danish royal house and the Romanov family. Danish kings had family ties to many of the royal houses of Europe. Their relatives ruled England, Germany, Greece and Norway. The marriage of the heir to the Russian throne with Dagmar strengthened the dynastic ties of the Romanovs with the European royal houses.

On September 20, the engagement of Nikolai and Dagmara took place in Denmark. After that, the groom was supposed to visit Italy and France. In Italy, the Tsarevich caught a cold, he began to have severe back pain. He got to Nice and there he finally took to his bed. Doctors declared his condition to be threatening, and Dagmara and her queen mother went to the south of France, accompanied by Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich. When they arrived in Nice, Nicholas was already dying. The Tsarevich understood that he was dying, and he himself joined the hands of his bride and brother, asking them to marry. On the night of April 13, Nikolai Alexandrovich died of tuberculous inflammation of the spinal cord.

Alexander, unlike his father and grandfather, was not a great lover of women and a connoisseur of female beauty. But Dagmara, an eighteen-year-old beautiful graceful brown-haired woman, made a great impression on him. The new heir's falling in love with the bride of his deceased brother suited both the Russian imperial and Danish royal families. This means that he will not have to be persuaded into this dynastic union. But still they decided not to rush, to wait a little for decency with a new matchmaking. Nevertheless, the Romanov family often remembered the sweet and unhappy Minnie (as Dagmar was called at home - Maria Fedorovna), and Alexander did not stop thinking about her.

In the summer of 1866, the Tsarevich began his journey through Europe with a visit to Copenhagen, where he hoped to see his dear princess. Even on the way to Denmark, he wrote to his parents: “I feel that I can and even love dear Minnie very much, especially since she is so dear to us. God grant that everything will be arranged as I wish. I really don't know what dear Minnie will say to all this; I don't know her feelings for me, and it really torments me. I'm sure we can be so happy together. I earnestly pray to God to bless me and arrange my happiness.”

The royal family and Dagmar received Alexander Alexandrovich cordially. Later, already in St. Petersburg, the courtiers said that the Danish princess did not want to lose the Russian imperial crown, so she quickly put up with replacing the handsome Nikolai, whom she was in love with, with the clumsy, but kind and looking at her with adoration Alexander. But what was she to do when her parents decided everything for her a long time ago!

The explanation between Alexander and Dagmara took place on June 11, about which the newly-made fiancé wrote home the same day: “I was already going to talk to her several times, but I didn’t dare, although we were together several times. When we looked at the photographic album together, my thoughts were not in the pictures at all; I only thought about how to proceed with my request. Finally, I made up my mind and did not even have time to say everything I wanted to. Minnie threw herself on my neck and cried. Of course, I couldn't stop myself from crying too. I told her that our dear Nix prays a lot for us and, of course, at this moment rejoices with us. Tears were flowing from me. I asked her if she could love anyone else but dear Nix. She answered me that no one but his brother, and again we hugged tightly. Much was said and remembered about Nix and his death. Then the queen, the king and the brothers came, everyone hugged us and congratulated us. Everyone had tears in their eyes."

On July 17, 1866, the young people were engaged in Copenhagen. Three months later, the bride of the heir arrived in St. Petersburg. On October 13, she converted to Orthodoxy with the new name Maria Fedorovna, and the grand ducal couple became engaged, and two weeks later, on October 28, they got married.

Maria Fedorovna quickly learned Russian, but until the end of her life she retained a slight peculiar accent. Together with her husband, they made up a slightly strange couple: he is tall, overweight, “masculine”; she is small, light, graceful, with medium-sized features of a pretty face. Alexander called her "beautiful Minnie", was very attached to her and only allowed her to command him. It is difficult to judge whether she truly loved her husband, but she was also very attached to him and became his most devoted friend.

The Grand Duchess had a cheerful, cheerful character, and at first many courtiers considered her frivolous. But it soon turned out that Maria Fedorovna was extremely intelligent, well versed in people and able to judge politics sensibly. She proved to be a faithful wife and a wonderful mother to her children.

In the friendly family of Alexander Alexandrovich and Maria Feodorovna, six children were born: Nikolai, Alexander, Georgy, Mikhail, Xenia, Olga. The childhood of the Grand Dukes and Princesses was happy. They grew up surrounded by parental love and the care of specially trained nannies and governesses discharged from Europe. At their service were the best toys and books, summer holidays in the Crimea and the Baltic Sea, as well as in the suburbs of St. Petersburg.

But from this it did not follow at all that the children turned out to be spoiled sissies. Education in the Romanov family was traditionally strict and rationally organized. Emperor Alexander III considered it his duty to personally instruct the governesses of his offspring: “They should pray well to God, study, play, play pranks in moderation. Teach well, do not give indulgences, ask according to the full severity of the laws, do not encourage laziness in particular. If anything, then address directly to me, I know what needs to be done, I repeat, I don’t need porcelain, I need normal, healthy, Russian children.

All children, especially boys, were brought up in Spartan conditions: they slept on hard beds, washed in cold water in the morning, and received simple porridge for breakfast. Older children could be present with their parents and their guests at the dinner table, but the food was served to them last, after everyone else, so they did not get the best pieces.

The education of imperial children was designed for 12 years, 8 of which took a course similar to the gymnasium. But Alexander III ordered not to torment the grand dukes and princesses with unnecessary ancient languages. Instead, courses were given in the natural sciences, including anatomy and physiology. Russian literature, the three main European languages ​​(English, French and German) and world and Russian history were compulsory. For physical development, children were offered gymnastics and dancing.

The emperor himself taught children traditional Russian outdoor games and the usual activities of a simple Russian person in organizing his life. His heir Nikolai Alexandrovich, being the emperor, sawed firewood with pleasure and could kindle the stove himself.

Taking care of his wife and children, Alexander Alexandrovich did not know what a dramatic future awaited them. The fate of all the boys was tragic.

Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich (05/06/1868-16 (17) 07/1918)- the heir to the throne, the future emperor Nicholas II the Bloody (1894-1917), became the last Russian tsar. He was overthrown from the throne during the February bourgeois revolution of 1917 and in 1918, together with his entire family, he was shot in Yekaterinburg.

Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich (1869-1870)- died in infancy.

Grand Duke Georgy Alexandrovich (1871-1899)- the heir-tsarevich under the elder brother Nicholas II in the absence of male children. He died of consumption (tuberculosis).

Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich (1878-1918)- heir-tsesarevich under the elder brother Nicholas II after the death of his brother George Alexandrovich and before the birth of Grand Duke Alexei Nikolaevich. In his favor, Emperor Nicholas II abdicated in 1917. Shot in Perm in 1918.

Wife of Alexander III Maria Feodorovna and daughters Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna (1875-1960) who was married to her cousin Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, and Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna (1882-1960) managed to escape abroad.

But in those days when Alexander Alexandrovich and Maria Feodorovna were happy with each other, nothing foreshadowed such a tragic denouement. Parental care brought joy, and family life was so harmonious that it was in striking contrast with the life of Alexander II.

The heir-tsarevich managed to look convincing when he demonstrated an even, respectful attitude towards his father, although in his heart he could not forgive him for betraying his sick mother for the sake of Princess Yuryevskaya. In addition, the presence of a second family in Alexander II could not but unnerve his eldest son, as it threatened to violate the order of succession to the throne in the Romanov dynasty. And although Alexander Alexandrovich could not condemn his father openly and even promised that after his death he would take care of Princess Yuryevskaya and her children, after the death of his parent he tried to get rid of the morganatic family as soon as possible by sending him abroad.

According to the status of the heir, Alexander Alexandrovich had to engage in various state activities. He himself most of all liked the affairs connected with charity. His mother, Empress Maria Alexandrovna, a well-known philanthropist, managed to instill in her son a positive attitude towards helping the suffering.

By coincidence, the first position of the heir was the post of chairman of the Special Committee for the collection and distribution of benefits to the starving during the terrible crop failure of 1868, which befell a number of provinces in central Russia. The activity and diligence of Alexander in this position immediately brought him popularity among the people. Even near his residence, the Anichkov Palace, a special mug for donations was put up, into which Petersburgers daily dropped from three to four thousand rubles, and on Alexander's birthday it turned out to be about six thousand. All these funds went to the starving.

Later, mercy towards the lower strata of society and sympathy for the hardships of their lives would find expression in the labor legislation of Emperor Alexander III, which stood out for its liberal spirit against the background of other political and social initiatives of his time.

The mercy of the Grand Duke impressed many. F. M. Dostoevsky wrote about him in 1868: “How glad I am that the heir appeared before Russia in such a kind and majestic form, and that Russia so testifies to her hopes for him and her love for him. Yes, at least half of that love, as for a father, and that would be enough.

Mercy, perhaps, was also dictated by the peacefulness of the Tsarevich, unusual for a member of the Romanov family. He participated in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. Alexander did not show special talents in the theater of operations, but he acquired a strong conviction that the war brings incredible hardships and death to a simple soldier. Having become emperor, Alexander pursued a peacekeeping foreign policy and in every possible way avoided armed conflicts with other countries so as not to shed blood in vain.

At the same time, some of Alexander's actions are an excellent illustration of the fact that loving and pitying all of humanity is often easier and easier than respecting an individual. Even before the start of the Russian-Turkish war, there was an unpleasant quarrel between the heir and the Russian officer of Swedish origin K. I. Gunius, who was sent by the government to America to purchase guns. The brought samples did not please Alexander Alexandrovich. He harshly and rudely criticized the choice. The officer tried to object, then the Grand Duke shouted at him using vulgar expressions. After his departure from the palace, Gunius sent a note to the Tsarevich demanding an apology, otherwise he threatened to commit suicide in 24 hours. Alexander considered all this nonsense and did not think to apologize. A day later, the officer was dead.

Alexander II, wanting to punish his son for callousness, ordered him to follow the coffin of Gunius to the very grave. But the Grand Duke did not understand why he should have felt guilty for the suicide of a too scrupulous officer, because rudeness and insults towards subordinates were practiced by the male part of the Romanov family.

Of the personal interests of Alexander Alexandrovich, one can single out a love for Russian history. He contributed in every possible way to the foundation of the Imperial Historical Society, which he himself headed until his accession to the throne. Alexander possessed an excellent historical library, which he replenished throughout his life. He gladly accepted the historical works presented to him by the authors themselves, but, carefully placing them on the shelves, he rarely read. He preferred the historical novels of M. N. Zagoskin and I. I. Lazhechnikov to scientific and popular books on history and judged the past of Russia by them. Alexander Alexandrovich had a special curiosity about the past of his family and wanted to know how much Russian blood flows in his veins, since it turned out that he was more likely a German in the female line. The information extracted from the memoirs of Catherine II that her son Paul I could have been born not from her legal husband Peter III, but from the Russian nobleman Saltykov, oddly enough, pleased Alexander. This meant that he, Alexander Alexandrovich, was more Russian in origin than he had previously thought.

From fiction, the Tsarevich preferred the prose of Russian writers of the past and his contemporaries. The list of books he read in 1879 includes works by Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev, Goncharov and Dostoevsky. Read the future emperor and "What to do?" Chernyshevsky, got acquainted with illegal journalism, published in foreign emigre magazines. But in general, Alexander was not an avid book reader, reading only what a very averagely educated person of his time could not do without. In his leisure hours, he was occupied not with books, but with theater and music.

Alexander Alexandrovich and Maria Fedorovna visited the theater almost weekly. Alexander preferred musical performances (opera, ballet), and did not shun operetta, where he went alone, since Maria Fedorovna did not like her. In the Anichkov Palace of the Grand Duke, amateur performances were often staged, in which family members, guests, governesses of children played. The directors were professional actors who considered it an honor to work with the troupe of the heir. Alexander Alexandrovich himself often played music at home concerts, performing simple works on the horn and bass.

The crown prince was also famous as a passionate collector of works of art. He himself was not very well versed in art and preferred portraits and paintings of the battle genre. But in his collections, which filled the Anichkov Palace and chambers in the imperial residences that belonged to him, there were works by Wanderers he did not like, and works by old European masters and contemporary Western artists. As a collector, the future emperor relied on the taste and knowledge of connoisseurs. On the advice of Pobedonostsev, Alexander also collected ancient Russian icons, which constituted a separate, very valuable collection. In the 1880s The Grand Duke bought a collection of Russian paintings by the gold miner V. A. Kokorev for 70 thousand rubles. Subsequently, the collections of Alexander III formed the basis of the collection of the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.

The serene life of the Tsarevich's family, a little overshadowed only by the presence of a morganatic family in his father, was cut short on March 1, 1881. Alexander III, from the age of twenty, had been preparing to reign for sixteen years, but did not imagine that he would get the throne so unexpectedly and in such tragic circumstances.

Already on March 1, 1881, Alexander received a letter from his teacher and friend, Chief Prosecutor of the Synod K.P. The authorities saw clearly and knew firmly what they wanted and what they did not want and would not allow in any way. But the new emperor was not yet ready for firm, decisive action and, according to the same Pobedonostsev, in the first days and weeks of his reign, he looked more like a "poor, sick, stunned child" than a formidable autocrat. He oscillated between his desire to fulfill his earlier promises to his father to continue the reforms and his own conservative ideas about what the emperor's power should look like in autocratic Russia. He was haunted by the anonymous message received immediately after the terrorist attack that ended the life of Alexander II, which stood out among sympathetic condolences, in which, in particular, it was stated: “Your father is not a martyr and not a saint, because he did not suffer for the church, not for the cross, not for the Christian faith, not for Orthodoxy, but for the sole reason that he dissolved the people, and this dissolute people killed him.

The fluctuations ended by April 30, 1881, when a manifesto appeared that determined the conservative-protective policy of the new reign. Conservative journalist M. N. Katkov wrote about this document in the following way: “Like manna from heaven, the people's feeling was waiting for this regal word. It is our salvation: it returns to the Russian people the Russian autocratic tsar. One of the main compilers of the manifesto was Pobedonostsev, who took the Manifesto of Nicholas I of December 19, 1815 as a model. People versed in politics again saw the shadow of the reign of Nicholas, only the place of the temporary worker, which Arakcheev and Benkendorf had once been, was now taken by another person . As A. Blok wrote, “Pobedonostsev spread owl wings over Russia.” The modern researcher V. A. Tvardovskaya even saw a special symbolism in the fact that the beginning of the reign of Alexander III was marked by the execution of five Narodnaya Volya members, while the reign of Nicholas I began with the execution of five Decembrists.

The manifesto was followed by a series of measures repealing or restricting the reform edicts of the previous reign. In 1882, new "Provisional Rules on the Press" were approved, which lasted until 1905, putting all the press and book publishing in the country under government control. In 1884, a new university charter was introduced, which effectively destroyed the autonomy of these educational institutions and made the fate of teachers and students dependent on their loyalty to the authorities. At the same time, the fee for higher education doubled at once, from 50 to 100 rubles a year. In 1887, the infamous circular on "cook's children" was adopted, which recommended limiting the admission to the gymnasium of children of domestic servants, small shopkeepers, artisans and other representatives of the lower classes. In order to maintain public peace, even the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the abolition of serfdom was banned.

All these measures did not give the imperial family confidence in their own safety. The public regicide, organized by the Narodnaya Volya, instilled fear in the Winter Palace, from which its inhabitants and their inner circle could not get rid of.

On the first night after the death of his father, Alexander III was able to fall asleep only because he was very drunk. In the following days, the entire royal family was in great anxiety for their fate. Pobedonostsev advised the emperor to personally lock the door not only to the bedroom at night, but also to the rooms adjacent to it, and before going to bed, check if anyone was hiding in closets, behind screens, under furniture. The spectacle of the emperor crawling under his own bed with a candle in the evening in search of hidden terrorists did not inspire optimism in the Romanovs living in the Winter Palace, their courtiers and servants.

Alexander III was not a coward by nature, but the actions and words of the people he trusted instilled uncertainty and suspicion in his soul. So, in order to enhance the importance of his figure in the eyes of the tsar, the St. Petersburg mayor N.M. Baranov constantly invented non-existent conspiracies, caught some mythical conspirators and terrorists digging tunnels under the royal palaces. After some time, Baranov was exposed in a lie, but a shadow of fear of the assassination attempts he invented remained in the emperor's soul.

Fear made Alexander III an unwitting criminal. One day he unexpectedly entered the room of the palace guard on duty. The officer, Baron Reitern, who was there, smoked, which the tsar did not like. In order not to irritate the sovereign, Reitern quickly removed his hand with a lighted cigarette behind his back. Alexander decided that with this movement the officer was hiding the weapon with which he intended to kill him, and he struck down the baron on the spot with a shot from his own pistol.

Pobedonostsev wanted to take advantage of Alexander III's dislike for Petersburg and his fear of Petersburgers in order to fulfill his dream of recreating an Orthodox autocratic kingdom with its capital in ancient Moscow. In the very first days of the new reign, when the body of Emperor Alexander II was still lying in the Winter Palace, he repeated to his son: “Run away from Petersburg, this accursed city. Move to Moscow and move the government to the Kremlin.” But Alexander III was also afraid of Moscow with its provincial freethinking, which grew in it without constant supervision by the city authorities. He believed that he could hide from danger in his St. Petersburg and suburban palaces.

For two years, the atmosphere of general fear forced the official coronation ceremony of the emperor to be postponed. It took place only in May 1883, when police measures managed to stabilize the situation in the country: stop the wave of terrorist attacks against government officials, calm the peasants, and shut the mouth of the liberal press.

Pobedonostsev called the coronation celebrations in Moscow "a coronation poem". In these May days, the people were able to see their new emperor for the first time. Only the elected representatives of aristocratic families and foreign diplomats invited by the Ministry of the Court were admitted to the Kremlin for the ceremony itself. M. N. Katkov, who received a pass with difficulty, wrote that nature itself welcomed the coronation: “When the tsar appeared, the sun appeared before the people in all the guise of its rays, the tsar hid from the eyes of the people, the sky was covered with clouds and it was raining. When the shots of the guns announced the fulfillment of the sacrament, the clouds instantly dispersed. The artist V. I. Surikov, who was present at the ceremony in the Assumption Cathedral, described with admiration his impression of the tall, powerful figure of the fair-haired and blue-eyed sovereign, who, in his opinion, seemed at that moment “a true representative of the people.” It should be noted that the king threw a brocade coronation mantle over his usual clothes. Even at the moment of his highest triumph, he did not change his habit of dressing simply and comfortably.

On the days of the coronation, a festivity was organized for the common people on the Khodynka field. About 300 thousand inhabitants of the surrounding villages and towns gathered there, but this time everything went smoothly. The bloody "glory" of Khodynka was yet to come.

The peasants, as was customary, were forgiven arrears and fines in honor of the coronation. Officials received awards, orders, some nobles were awarded new titles. The courtiers were given many gifts: about 120,000 rubles were spent on diamonds alone for ladies-in-waiting and officials of the court. But, contrary to custom, there were no amnesties for political criminals. Only N. G. Chernyshevsky was transferred from Vilyuisk to a settlement in Astrakhan.

On May 18, 1883, another remarkable event took place - the consecration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, built according to the project of architect Konstantin Andreevich Ton. This building was conceived as a monument to the victory in the war of 1812 and was built for several decades (the temple was designed under Nicholas I). In the manifesto for the consecration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, signed by Alexander III, it was noted that it should serve as "a monument to peace after a fierce battle undertaken not to conquer, but to protect the Fatherland from a threatening conqueror." The emperor hoped that this temple would stand "for many centuries." He could not know that the church, founded by his ancestor as a warning to future generations, would not long survive the autocratic monarchy of the Romanovs and would be one of the many silent victims of the revolutionary reorganization of the world.

But the pacification of society and the unity of the monarchy and the people, which seemed to have been achieved during the coronation in Moscow, was illusory, and the victory over terrorism was temporary. Already in 1886, a new underground organization was created at St. Petersburg University to fight the autocracy, into which student revolutionary circles of higher educational institutions of the capital joined. On the sixth anniversary of the assassination of Emperor Alexander II, young revolutionaries planned a terrorist attack against Alexander III. On the morning of March 1, 1887, the emperor was to attend the annual memorial service at the Peter and Paul Cathedral. The terrorists were preparing to throw a bomb under the sled when the emperor was driving along Nevsky Prospekt. The attempt failed only because there was a traitor in the group who reported everything to the authorities. The perpetrators of the attack, students of St. Petersburg University Vasily Generalov, Pakhom Andreyushkin and Vasily Osipanov, were arrested on the day appointed for the assassination of the tsar, at 11 o'clock in the morning on Nevsky. Explosive shells were found on them. They also detained the organizers of the attack - Alexander Ulyanov, the elder brother of V.I. Ulyanov (Lenin), and Pyotr Shevyrev, as well as other members of the organization. A total of 15 people were arrested.

The case of the assassination attempt on Alexander III was considered at a closed meeting of the Special Presence of the Senate. Five terrorists (Ulyanov, Shevyrev, Osipanov, Generalov and Andreyushkin) were sentenced to death, the rest were sentenced to life imprisonment in the Shlisselburg fortress or twenty years hard labor in Siberia.

The failed assassination attempt made a deep impression on the emperor himself. On the margins of the case of the "First March" he made a pessimistic note: "This time God saved, but for how long?"

A strange incident happened to the royal family in October next, 1888. The royal train, on which the Romanovs were returning from the south, derailed 50 kilometers from Kharkov. Seven wagons were shattered, 20 servants and guards were killed, 17 were seriously injured. No one from the imperial family died, but some of the children of Alexander III suffered, especially the Grand Duchess Xenia, who remained hunchbacked until the end of her life.

The wounding of children by order of the emperor was hidden. Upon arrival in St. Petersburg, the royal family arranged a "feast of the crash", during which prayers of thanksgiving were offered to God for miraculous salvation. The king, with his wife and children, traveled through the streets of the capital to show the people that everyone was safe and sound.

The cause of the crash also remains unclear. The Minister of Railways, K. N. Posyet, was allegedly fired because the sleepers on that section of the road turned out to be rotten and could not withstand the weight of the train moving at high speed. But in society they said that this was another attempt on the emperor and his family, which ended in failure only by a lucky chance.

Rather, the family on that ill-fated day was saved not only by chance, but also by the courage of the emperor, who was ready to sacrifice himself for the sake of his wife and children (a rare case for the autocrat of the Romanov dynasty). At the time of the crash, the tsar and his relatives were in the dining car. They had just been served pudding for dessert. From a terrible blow, the roof of the car began to fall inward. Alexander, distinguished by heroic strength, took her on his shoulders and held her until his wife and children got out. At first, the king did not feel anything, except for severe muscle fatigue from inhuman tension. But after a while he began to complain of back pain. Doctors determined that the tsar's kidneys were damaged from the strain and blow during the accident, which later became one of the causes of his fatal illness.

An alarming feeling of constant danger was fueled by police reports of real and imaginary conspiracies, anonymous letters from well-wishers and adventurers. In the same 1888, during a performance at the Mariinsky Theater, the artist Alexander Benois accidentally met the eyes of Alexander III. Benois saw the eyes of a man driven into a corner: irritated and at the same time forced to constantly fear for himself and his loved ones.

Unlike his father, Alexander III was serious about the possibility of the destruction of his own person and members of his family by terrorists. He took every security measure that was available at the time.

The emperor did not move to Moscow, but even in St. Petersburg he felt more like a guest than a permanent resident. "The Gatchina prisoner" - that's what his contemporaries called him. Gatchina was located far from the capital. This suburban imperial residence was fortified under Paul I and resembled a castle.

The Gatchina Palace was designed by the Italian architect Antonio Rinaldi in 1766 for the favorite of Catherine II, Grigory Orlov. It had all the attributes of a palace building with dance halls and luxurious apartments. But the royal family occupied small rooms in it, intended for courtiers and servants. Pavel I once lived in them with his wife and children.

The location of the palace would do honor to any fortification. It stands on a wooded hill surrounded by three lakes (White, Black and Silver). Moats were dug around it and walls were built with watchtowers, with underground passages connecting the palace and fortifications with lakes. In this castle with an underground prison, Alexander III imprisoned himself voluntarily, hoping in this way to ensure a quiet life for his family.

Military guards were placed around Gatchina for several kilometers, allowing only those who had written permission from the palace administration to enter the residence. True, in summer and autumn the royal family often rested in the more cheerful and elegant Peterhof and in Tsarskoye Selo, traveled to the Crimea, to Livadia, which the Empress especially loved, to Danish Fredensborg. In St. Petersburg, the emperor lived mainly in the Anichkov Palace. The winter one reminded him too much of the last minutes of his beloved father's life and instilled fears due to the inability to effectively control this huge structure with many doors, windows, nooks and stairways.

In the 1880s the royal family left the palaces almost secretly, imperceptibly to prying eyes. Later, the move of the Romanovs generally began to resemble a special police operation. The family always gathered quickly and left the house suddenly, the day and hour were never appointed or discussed in advance. The exit from the palace was covered by a thick chain of guards, the policemen dispersed passers-by and onlookers from the sidewalk.

It no longer occurred to Alexander III to take a walk alone or with two or three officers in the Summer Garden or on the embankment. The subjects in this reign rarely had the pleasure of seeing their sovereign and members of his family. Usually this happened only during large state celebrations, when the royal family was at a considerable distance from the public, separated from it by several rows of guards.

Being an involuntary recluse of Gatchina, Alexander III became more and more interested in the personality and history of the reign of Paul I, his great-grandfather. In the palace for almost a century, the office of this deposed and murdered emperor with his belongings was kept intact. There hung a large, full-length portrait of Pavel dressed as a Grand Master of the Order of Malta, and there was his personal Gospel. Alexander often came to this room, prayed and thought about his fate.

The emperor collected historical evidence about the life and death of his great-grandfather. Once he got into the hands of papers relating to a conspiracy against Paul I. They were brought by Princess M. A. Panina-Meshcherskaya to refute the opinion that her great-grandfather I. P. Panin participated in a conspiracy against the Tsar. Alexander III carefully read the documents, but Meshcherskaya did not return them, but included them in his own archive.

Alexander III's interest in Paul I was no secret to his contemporaries. Some saw this as a secret sign of fate. The writers I. S. Leskov and P. A. Kropotkin (also a revolutionary anarchist) with their vivid imagination predicted the same death for the tsar at the hands of their entourage.

Under the influence of such prophecies and his own thoughts about the impossibility of hiding behind the walls of residences from all people, the emperor became more and more suspicious. He couldn't even trust the palace servants. The emperor always remembered that the terrorist Zhelyabov once lived quietly in the palace under the guise of a court carpenter. At the door of the royal office there was always a guard of Life Cossacks. The premises where the royal family gathered were always checked and guarded.

Alexander was haunted by the fear of being poisoned. Each time, provisions for the royal table were bought in a new place, and the merchant was carefully concealed for whom the purchases were made. Chefs also changed daily and were appointed at the last moment. Before entering the kitchen, the cook and his assistants were thoroughly searched, and during cooking, someone from the royal family and an official of the court was constantly with them.

At the same time, Alexander III can hardly be called an unfortunate sovereign. In many ways, his constant concern for himself and his family was explained by the fact that he was happy in his personal life and did not want to lose this happiness. Unlike his ancestors, Alexander was an almost perfect husband and father. His conservatism extended to family values. He was faithful to his wife, and in relations with children he skillfully combined parental rigor and kindness.

Falling in love with “dear Minnie” (as he continued to call Empress Maria Feodorovna) over the years turned into deep respect and strong affection. Spouses almost did not part. Alexander III loved his wife to accompany him everywhere: in the theater, at the ball, on trips to holy places and to military parades, reviews and divorces. Maria Feodorovna eventually became well versed in politics, but she never aspired to independent state activity, preferring traditional female occupations - raising children and managing the household. Nevertheless, Alexander himself often turned to her for advice on various issues, and gradually it became clear to everyone around him that in complex matters it was better to rely on the help of the empress, who had such a great influence on the emperor.

Alexander III was distinguished by very modest needs, so it was difficult to “buy” his favor with some rare trifle, but he always favored people who knew how to please the empress - a sublime nature and adoring everything beautiful. Historians love to tell the case that happened to the military engineer-inventor S. K. Dzhevetsky, who offered the Russian military department a new model of a submarine. In those days, submarines were a novelty, and the military hesitated whether to adopt Drzewiecki's invention. The decision was to be made by the king himself, who, as always, relied on the mind and taste of his wife. A sample of the boat was brought to Gatchina, to Silver Lake, which was famous for the exceptional transparency of its water. For the royal couple they staged a whole performance. The boat floated under water, and the emperor and the empress watched her from the boat. When the tsar and the tsarina went to the pier, a boat suddenly surfaced, Dzhevetsky got out of it with a bouquet of beautiful orchids, which he presented to Maria Feodorovna "as a gift from Neptune." The queen was delighted, Alexander III was moved and immediately signed an order to start building 50 submarines with a generous reward paid to the inventor. Drzewiecki's model was objectively a good development, but it was thanks to the gallant trick of the engineer that the decision to use it in the Russian navy was made easily and quickly.

Alexander III loved all his children very much. He sincerely rejoiced at the success of his sons in studies, sports, horseback riding and shooting exercises.

Especially in the imperial family, the eldest of the daughters, Grand Duchess Xenia, was pitied and spoiled. She suffered more than other children during the catastrophe of the royal train and grew up disabled. Her father spent a lot of time with her, and she was very attached to him. Not being able to play and frolic with her brothers and sister for health reasons, Xenia took on the duties of a family secretary and chronicler, and during her father's absence at home she wrote him detailed letters about how everyone lives without him, what they do.

Alexander III and Maria Fedorovna gave some preference to the heir to the throne, Nikolai Alexandrovich - Nicky and Mikhail Alexandrovich, who bore the not-too-elegant family nickname Mimishkin-Pipishkin-Kakashkin. Their upbringing was handled by K. P. Pobedonostsev, who by this time had turned from a moderate conservative into a gloomy retrograde. But the emperor, who was under his influence, believed that he could not find a better mentor for his sons.

While still a Grand Duke, Alexander III paid great attention to the education of his boys. But over time, including under the influence of fear for the life and safety of the family, it began to seem to him that education is not so important - the main thing is that children are healthy and happy. He himself did not have deep knowledge, but meanwhile, as he believed, he coped well with the management of a huge empire. The level of educational training in the royal family under Alexander III declined and was not much different from the level of home education that children in wealthy Russian families with not very high cultural demands received. The artist A. N. Benois, who often visited the palace, noted that the upbringing and education of the heir-prince, the future Nicholas II, did not correspond to the "superhuman role of the autocrat."

Love for his wife and children is probably the most attractive personality trait of Alexander III. Most of his energy was spent on family life and building good relationships with his family; he spent his time and the best qualities of his soul on his family. Obviously, he would have been a good landowner - the father of a large family, diligent and hospitable. But the country expected much more from the sovereign - political accomplishments and deeds that Alexander Alexandrovich was not capable of.

He was kind and fair to his own children. But his attention and mercy to strangers was limited to the framework of Christian virtue, which he understood too narrowly and primitively. So, the tsar was sincerely touched by the story of the little daughter of one of the cool ladies of the Smolny Institute, told to him by Pobedonostsev. The emperor gave a girl named Olya Ushakova and her poor mother 500 rubles from her own funds for a summer vacation. True, then he chose to forget about her. Alexander III was generally annoyed by conversations and publications in the press that there were many homeless children and juvenile beggars in Russia. In his empire, as in his family, order had to be observed, and what could not be corrected (like the injury of Grand Duchess Xenia) should not be made public.

Where order was violated, it was brought with all due severity. Almost never applying physical punishment to his own children, the emperor approved of the reasoning of Prince V.P. Meshchersky, his courtier, about the need for rods in educating the common people, since without them the offspring of peasants and philistines would face promiscuity and drunkenness in the future. The upbringing in the families of ordinary citizens of the empire was supposed to be strictly religious; extramarital forms of family existence were not recognized. Alexander III ordered to forcefully take away the children from the Tolstoyan nobleman D. A. Khilkov and his common-law wife Ts. V. Viner and hand them over for adoption to Khilkov’s mother. The reason was that the Khilkovs were unmarried, and their children were not baptized. The emperor was not interested in what were the true relations within this family, he had enough of the petition of Pobedonostsev, who acted on the denunciation of Khilkova Sr.

Under Alexander III, the highest state activity in Russia acquired an increasingly obvious clan character. Already from the time of Nicholas I, many important posts in the empire were occupied by representatives of the Romanov dynasty. Large marriages of the Romanovs by the end of the 19th century. led to the fact that the number of grand dukes: uncles, nephews, relatives, cousins ​​and second cousins ​​​​of the emperor - increased significantly. All of them crowded at the foot of the throne and craved money, fame and honorary positions. Among them were well-educated, educated and capable people, but there were also many whose main talent was belonging to the Romanov family. But, as is often the case in other family clans, it was they who, more than others, wanted to rule and govern.

Unfortunately, during the time of Alexander III, among the Romanovs, there was no longer such an effective statesman as Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich was under his father Alexander II. On the contrary, the Emperor's uncles and brothers did more damage to the cause they served than benefited the empire. Under the chairmanship of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, the State Council turned from an effective advisory body under the tsar into a debating club, where each of its members expressed to others everything that came to mind, paying no attention to the demands of the present political moment. The younger brother of the sovereign, Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich, actually ruined the work of the naval department headed by him. Admiral General A. A. Romanov replaced in this post his uncle, the liberal and clever Konstantin Nikolaevich, who was objectionable to Alexander III, and managed to level everything that had been achieved under his predecessor in the development of the Russian fleet in a few years of his “work”. Russia saw the fruits of the activities of Grand Duke Alexei Romanov with all sad obviousness during the years of the Russo-Japanese War, during which the heroism of the sailors was powerless against the combat power of enemy ships and coastal artillery. Irritation of contemporaries was also caused by another brother of the tsar, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, who in 1891 became the Moscow governor-general. He was a tough, harsh and proud man, harassed his subordinates with petty regulation, and frightened the population under his jurisdiction with a quick and thoughtless application of punitive measures. It is no coincidence that he became one of the objects of hunting for revolutionary terrorists.

As far as Alexander III was modest and respectable in everyday life, his closest relatives were just as dissolute. They seemed to be striving to take advantage of those “destined” Romanov benefits and privileges that the emperor did not want or was not able to use. The Grand Dukes traveled with pleasure to foreign resorts, spending a lot, without limiting their means, on gambling, entertainment, women, outfits and decorations, furnishings for their palaces. Aleksey Alexandrovich was famous for his revelry, which mainly spent the funds of the naval department. Sergei Alexandrovich had a reputation as one of the dirtiest debauchees of his time, known for his connections with people of the same sex as him. In any European country of that time, this would have excluded him from big politics for a long time, but in Russia everything that had to do with the Romanov family could not be openly discussed and condemned in society. Even the best of the great princes - the president of the Russian Academy of Sciences, philanthropist and famous art collector Vladimir Alexandrovich - was a lazy person, a glutton and a drunkard who arranged ugly antics in the capital's restaurants.

Embezzlement, embezzlement of public money, bribery Romanovs did not consider serious misconduct. Alexander III became angry with his brothers only when their behavior and vices became public knowledge. Even when the St. Petersburg police chief had to intervene in a fight started by one of the Grand Dukes in a restaurant or other entertainment institution in the capital, the scandal was hushed up, and the matter was limited to an intra-family reprimand. Seriously, by the standards of the family clan, only Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich was punished, who became entangled in debt and stole diamonds from the Empress's casket. He was first exiled to Turkestan, and in 1882 he was sent to settle in the state estate Smolenskoye in the Vladimir province, where he spent several years under house arrest, not having the right to appear in the capitals.

As emperor, Alexander III controlled the fate of not only his own children, but also all members of the Romanov dynasty, rudely interfering in their personal lives. The Romanovs lived according to the laws of the 18th century, which excluded the possibility of penetration into the family of persons who did not belong to the ruling clans of Europe. This norm was strictly observed, despite its absurdity for the end of the 19th century, especially in relation to those members of the dynasty who would never have had to inherit the throne (cousins ​​and second cousins ​​of the emperor). Alexander III categorically forbade his nephew Nikolai Nikolaevich to marry a divorced noblewoman Burenina. Such a marriage, in his opinion, caused the royal family much more damage than the homosexuality of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. Such trifles as a broken heart and the unfortunate fate of a nephew were not taken into account.

This text is an introductory piece.

On March 10, 1845, a boy was born in a Russian-German family. He was to become an artist's model Vasnetsov, the author of the extremist saying "Russia for the Russians", and also earn the nickname Peacemaker.

While the future emperor Alexander III was content with the affectionate home nickname of the bulldog.

He retained this angular grace even in his mature years: “He was not handsome, in manners he was rather shy and embarrassed, he gave the impression of some kind of bearishness.” For a crowned person, such behavior is generally indecent. So after all, the imperial crown was not intended for him, but for his older brother Nicholas. Little Sasha in the royal family was not singled out in any way: “You can say that he was somewhat in the pen. Neither his education nor his upbringing was paid much attention, ”recalled the Minister of Finance Witte.

Portrait of Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich in a retinue frock coat (S. K. Zaryanko, 1867)

"I've always been lazy"

Admirers of tsarism like to quote a witty saying: "The good thing about a monarchy is that when inheriting the throne, a worthy person may accidentally end up in power." At first glance, this does not apply to Alexander. His educators and teachers, having learned that their ward after the death of his brother became the heir to the throne, literally grabbed his head. “Despite perseverance, he studied poorly and was always extremely lazy,” the words of the teacher Grigory Gogel.“He was distinguished by his zeal for combat exercises, but he discovered a complete absence of any military talents,” General Mikhail Dragomirov. And finally, a resume from the head of general education Alexander Professor Chivilev: "I'm horrified and can't come to terms with the idea that he will rule Russia."

And in fact, the heir, and then the emperor did not give the impression of an intelligent, educated and well-mannered person. He wrote with monstrous mistakes: such pearls of his in official resolutions as "brochures with impudent cue", "and eight" and the beautiful - "ideot" are known. However, few have been awarded this title. More often the emperor used other words. "Beast or Crazy" - oh artist Vereshchagin. "Rabble of bastards" - about the French government. uncle William, emperor of Germany, he had just "cattle", but the chancellor Otto von Bismarck- already "Ober-cattle".

The picture is bleak. Especially when you consider the circumstances under which Alexander came to power. Just as a result of a terrorist attack, his father, Alexander II the Liberator, was killed. There is panic in the ruling circles. The new autocrat himself is almost in despair: “A strange feeling has taken possession of us. What do we do?"

In such reflections, Alexander spent more than two years. In fact, he ruled the empire, but he was in no hurry to formalize this case legally - the coronation was postponed. The mood among the people roughly corresponded to the remark of the archer from the film "Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession": "They say the tsar is not real!" Police agents quote speeches that went among the lower classes: “What kind of sovereign is he, if he has not yet been crowned? If I were a real king, I would be crowned!”

Strength and power

The most interesting thing is that everything came true according to their word. From the moment Alexander was finally crowned, the cowardly, dull-witted heir disappeared somewhere. And the same tsar appeared, about whom domestic monarchists sigh.

What will happen to Russia in the near future, Alexander showed immediately. In the process of being anointed to the kingdom. Now it may seem ridiculous, but at that time, knowledgeable people paid great attention to the coronation menu - the content of the "table card" exactly corresponded to the political doctrine of the new monarch. Alexander's choice was stunning: “Pearl soup. Borschok. Soup. Jellied from ruffs. Green peas".

All this is a Russian table. And common people, muzhik, rude. The most notorious rogues then feasted on peas in pods. To treat this at the coronation of the ruler of the largest empire in the world means to give a weighty slap in the face to your aristocracy and mortally insult foreigners.

The new emperor really proclaimed the slogan "Russia for the Russians", greatly facilitated the life of the common people and began to pump up his muscles. He abolished the poll tax, introduced an inheritance tax, and the navy, the most science-intensive area of ​​the armed forces, became the third in the world after English and French.

This is not forgiven. And, as soon as it turned out that the unimportant education and upbringing of the monarch had almost no effect on the growing power of Russia, it was decided to get close from the other side. Even before he was heir to the throne, he liked to kiss the bottle. Sometimes it was so dashing that he fell into a real binge. Saved him from drinking Dr. Botkin. But the inclination remained. And although the emperor fought with her not without success, rumors and gossip about his alcoholism fell on prepared soil.

This was especially useful for the revolutionaries, who needed to create the image of a “stupid and drunkard” on the throne in order to show the depth of the fall of the monarchy and the need to overthrow, or even kill the tsar. Hence the legend that the king allegedly secretly got drunk, and then rolled on the floor, kicked his legs and tried to knock down everyone passing by. It is not true. Evidence of this is the memoirs of his personal doctor Nikolai Velyaminov: “Did he drink vodka with a snack? It seems not, and if he drank, then no more than one small cup. At the table, if he drank, then his favorite drink is Russian kvass mixed with champagne, and then very moderately. From bad habits - rather smoking, strong Havana cigars and up to fifty cigarettes a day.

The best characteristic of him personally and the results of his reign is a picture Vasnetsov"Bogatyrs". It is known that the artist wrote Ilya Muromets, keeping in mind the appearance of Alexander III. Art critics describe the image of Ilya as follows: "Calm strength and power."

© Commons.wikimedia.org / V. Vasnetsov "Vyatka River" (1878)

© Commons.wikimedia.org / V. Vasnetsov. Illustration for the proverb “It is better not to marry at all than to quarrel with your wife for a century”

© Commons.wikimedia.org / V. Vasnetsov "Flying Carpet" (1880)

© Commons.wikimedia.org / V. Vasnetsov "From apartment to apartment" (1876)

© Commons.wikimedia.org / V. Vasnetsov "Beggars Singers" (1873)

© Commons.wikimedia.org / V. Vasnetsov "After the battle of Igor Svyatoslavovich with the Polovtsians" (1880)

The family of Alexander III can be called exemplary. Mutual love and respect of husband and wife, parents and children. Family comfort, which was doubly important for the autocrat of a vast empire, reigned in the Gatchina Palace, where they lived. And it was among the members of his family that the emperor found rest and solace from his hard work. The family idyll of Alexander III and his wife Maria Feodorovna lasted 28 years and was cut short by the untimely death of the emperor.

Below - Mikhail, from right to left - Alexander III, Xenia, Olga, Maria Fedorovna, Georgy, Nikolai.

In general, Maria Fedorovna (or Dagmar - that was her name before the adoption of Orthodoxy) was the bride of her elder brother Alexander, heir to the throne Nicholas. They were already engaged, but suddenly Nikolai Alexandrovich fell seriously ill and went to Nice for treatment. Both his fiancee and his most beloved brother Alexander went there. They met at the bedside of their dying brother. Tradition says that before his death, Nicholas himself took the hands of his bride and his brother and joined them together, as if blessing them for marriage. After the death of his brother, Alexander realized that he had fallen in love. He wrote to his father: I'm sure we can be so happy together. I earnestly pray to God to bless me and arrange my happiness.” Soon the Danish king, Dagmara's father, agreed to the marriage, and in October 1866 they got married.

It was a happy marriage. Maria Feodorovna loved her husband, and he reciprocated and was even afraid of his little empress. They felt absolutely happy on vacation when Alexander III caught fish, which Maria Feodorovna herself cleaned and fried, or when they sailed on a family yacht with the whole family, or when they rested in their beloved Livadia in the Crimea. There, the almighty emperor gave himself completely to his wife and children: he spent time with them, played, had fun, walked, and rested.

The father brought up the children in this family in strictness, but he never used force on them: probably, the formidable paternal look, which all the courtiers were afraid of, was enough. But at the same time, Alexander III loved to amuse his children and their friends: he bent pokers in their presence, tore decks of cards in half, and once doused Misha, the most mischievous of his sons, with a garden hose. He also demanded a strict attitude from the teachers of his children, he said: “Teach well, don’t make indulgences… They will fight, please. But the informer - the first whip ".

Death of Alexander III

On October 17, 1888, the entire royal family almost died. The imperial train, which was traveling at excess speed from the Crimea to St. Petersburg, derailed near Kharkov. The family sat in the dining car. At one moment, the side walls collapsed, the lackeys in the doors died immediately. The roof, which almost fell with all its weight on the emperor, empress and children, was held by Alexander III. He stood to his full height until the family got out of the car.

Although no one was hurt, from that moment the tragic decline of Emperor Alexander III began: his health was undermined. He became pale, lost a lot of weight, complained of pain in the lower back and heart. The doctors could not find anything, so they prescribed more work, which only worsened the situation. In 1894, the emperor's condition became very bad. He went to Germany for treatment, but on the way he got sick, so the king was taken to Livadia. A German doctor was called there, who diagnosed him with nephritis of the kidneys with damage to the heart and lungs. But it was too late to heal. Alexander III could neither walk, nor eat, nor sleep. On October 20, 1894, he died at the age of 49.

Children of Alexander III

In general, the children and wife of Alexander III had a difficult fate. The first son Nikolai, heir to the throne and the future Nicholas II, as everyone knows, abdicated and was shot together with his wife, five children and servants in Yekaterinburg by the Bolsheviks. The second son, Alexander, died a year after birth. The third son, George, repeated the fate of his uncle, the deceased brother of Alexander III Nicholas. After the death of his father, he was the heir to Nicholas II (before the birth of his son) but died in 1899 at the age of 28 from severe tuberculosis. The fourth son, Mikhail was a favorite in the Romanov family, in March 1917 he almost became the new emperor, and in June 1918 he was shot by the Bolsheviks in Perm (his grave was not found).

The daughters of Alexander III were much more fortunate: the eldest Xenia was unhappy in marriage, but was able to leave Russia in 1919, which saved her by moving to live in England. The same fate awaited the youngest daughter Olga, who emigrated with her mother to Denmark in 1919, and then to Canada, fleeing the persecution of the Soviet government, which declared her an "enemy of the people."

Maria Fedorovna

A difficult fate awaited after the death of her husband and Maria Fedorovna. Living in Gatchina, and then in Kyiv, she tried not to interfere in the personal affairs of children and in state problems. True, a couple of times she tried to influence the decisions of Nicholas II, but she did not succeed. Relations with the daughter-in-law, the wife of the emperor Alexandra Feodorovna, were difficult. After the revolution, Maria Feodorovna moved to the Crimea with her daughters, from where she was able to escape in 1919 to her native Denmark. There she will die in 1928, never believing in the death of her sons, who were shot in Russia. She had to survive her husband, all the sons and even grandchildren.

Maria Fedorovna on the deck of the battleship "Marlboro" in 1919

28 years of marriage between Alexander III and Maria Feodorovna were truly happy. And no one, probably, could suspect that these were the last happy years in the Romanov family, that the mighty emperor held back a huge force that his son could not cope with later, which would sweep away himself, and all relatives, and the great empire.

It is about such kings that today's monarchists sigh. Perhaps they are right. Alexander III was truly great. Both human and emperor.

"Pecking at me!"

However, some dissidents of that time, including Vladimir Lenin, quite evil joked on the emperor. In particular, they nicknamed him "Pineapple". True, Alexander himself gave a reason for this. In the manifesto "On Our Ascension to the Throne" dated April 29, 1881, it was clearly stated: "And on Us to impose a Sacred Duty." So when the document was read out, the king inevitably turned into an exotic fruit.

In fact, this is unfair and dishonest. Alexander was remarkable for his amazing strength. He could easily break a horseshoe. He could easily bend silver coins in the palm of his hand. I could lift a horse on my shoulders. And even make him sit like a dog - this is recorded in the memoirs of his contemporaries. At a dinner in the Winter Palace, when the Austrian ambassador started talking about the fact that his country was ready to form three corps of soldiers against Russia, he bent and tied a fork. Threw it towards the ambassador. And he said, "That's what I'll do with your hulls."

Heir Tsarevich Alexander Alexandrovich with his wife Tsarevich and Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna, St. Petersburg, late 1860s. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

Height - 193 cm. Weight - more than 120 kg. It is not surprising that a peasant who accidentally saw the emperor at the railway station exclaimed: “This is the king, so the king, damn me!” The wicked peasant was immediately seized for "uttering indecent words in the presence of the sovereign." However, Alexander ordered the foul language to be released. Moreover, he rewarded him with a ruble with his own image: “Here is my portrait for you!”

What about his look? Beard? Crown? Remember the cartoon "Magic Ring"? “Ampirator drink tea. Motherly samovar! Each appliance of sieve bread has three pounds! It's all about him. He really could eat 3 pounds of sieve bread with tea, that is, about 1.5 kg.

At home, he liked to wear a simple Russian shirt. But always with sewing on the sleeves. He tucked his pants into boots, like a soldier. Even at official receptions, he allowed himself to go out in worn trousers, a jacket or a sheepskin coat.

His phrase is often repeated: "While the Russian Tsar is fishing, Europe can wait." In reality, it was like that. Alexander was very correct. But he loved fishing and hunting. Therefore, when the German ambassador demanded an immediate meeting, Alexander said: “Pecking! It pecks at me! Germany can wait. I'll take it tomorrow at noon."

Right in soul

During his reign, conflicts with Great Britain began. Doctor Watson, the hero of the famous Sherlock Holmes novel, was wounded in Afghanistan. And, apparently, in battle with the Russians. There is a documented episode. The Cossack patrol detained a group of Afghan smugglers. With them were two Englishmen - instructors. The commander of the patrol, Yesaul Pankratov, shot the Afghans. And he ordered the British to be sent outside the Russian Empire. True, he had previously flogged them with whips.

At an audience with the British ambassador, Alexander said:

I will not allow encroachment on our people and our territory.

The ambassador replied:

This can cause an armed clash with England!

The king calmly remarked:

Well, well ... Probably, we can do it.

And mobilized the Baltic Fleet. It was 5 times smaller than the forces that the British had at sea. And yet there was no war. The British calmed down and surrendered their positions in Central Asia.

After that, English Interior Minister Disraeli called Russia "a huge, monstrous, terrible bear that hangs over Afghanistan, India. And our interests in the world."

Death of Alexander III in Livadia. Hood. M. Zichy, 1895 Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

In order to list the affairs of Alexander III, we need not a newspaper page, but a scroll 25 meters long. It gave a real exit to the Pacific Ocean - the Trans-Siberian Railway. He gave civil liberties to the Old Believers. He gave real freedom to the peasants - the former serfs under him got the opportunity to take solid loans, redeem their lands and farms. He made it clear that everyone is equal before the supreme power - he deprived some of the grand dukes of their privileges, reduced their payments from the treasury. By the way, each of them was entitled to a "allowance" in the amount of 250 thousand rubles. gold.

Indeed, one can yearn for such a sovereign. Alexander's older brother Nikolay(he died without ascending the throne) said about the future emperor: “Pure, truthful, crystal soul. There's something wrong with the rest of us, fox. Alexander alone is truthful and correct in soul.

In Europe, they spoke about his death in much the same way: "We are losing an arbitrator who has always been guided by the idea of ​​​​justice."

The biggest deeds of Alexander III

The emperor is credited, and, apparently, not without reason, with the invention of a flat flask. And not just flat, but bent, the so-called "boot". Alexander liked to drink, but did not want others to know about his addictions. A flask of this shape is ideal for secret use.

It is he who owns the slogan, for which now you can seriously pay: "Russia is for the Russians." Nevertheless, his nationalism was not aimed at the treatment of national minorities. In any case, the Jew-s-kai deputation, headed by Baron Gunzburg expressed to the emperor "boundless gratitude for the measures taken to protect the Jewish population at this difficult time."

The construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway has begun - until now it is almost the only transport artery that somehow connects all of Russia. The Emperor also instituted the Railwayman's Day. Even the Soviet authorities did not cancel it, despite the fact that Alexander set the date of the holiday for the birthday of his grandfather Nicholas I, under which we began to build railways.

Actively fought against corruption. Not in words, but in deeds. The Minister of Railways Krivoshein and the Minister of Finance Abaza were sent to a shameful resignation for bribes. He did not bypass his relatives either - because of corruption, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich and Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich were deprived of their posts.

Emperor Alexander II was married twice. His first wife was Maria Alexandrovna, daughter of Grand Duke Ludwig II of Hesse. True, the mother of the Tsarevich was against marriage, suspecting that the princess was actually born from the chamberlain of the duke, but Nicholas I simply adored his daughter-in-law. In the marriage of Alexander II and Maria Alexandrovna, eight children were born. However, soon the relationship in the family went wrong and the emperor began to make himself a favorite.

So in 1866 he became close to the 18-year-old Princess Ekaterina Dolgorukova. She became the closest person to the king and moved to the Winter Palace. From Alexander II, she gave birth to four illegitimate children. After the death of the Empress, Alexander and Catherine got married, which legalized common children. Who were the descendants of the emperor - you will learn from our material.

Alexandra Alexandrovna

Alexandra was the first and long-awaited child of the grand ducal couple. She was born on August 30, 1842. The birth of a granddaughter was especially expected by Emperor Nicholas I. The next day, happy parents received congratulations. On the ninth day, the Grand Duchess was transferred to the chambers prepared for her and the child. Maria Alexandrovna expressed a desire to feed her daughter on her own, but the emperor forbade this.

On August 30, the girl was baptized in the Tsarskoye Selo Church. But unfortunately, the little Grand Duchess did not live long. She fell ill with meningitis and died suddenly on June 28, 1849, before she was 7 years old. Since then, girls in the imperial family were no longer called Alexandra. All the princesses with that name mysteriously died before reaching the age of 20.

Nikolai Alexandrovich

Tsarevich Nikolai was born on September 20, 1843 and was named after his grandfather. The emperor was so excited about the birth of the heir to the throne that he ordered his sons - Grand Dukes Konstantin and Mikhail - to kneel before the cradle and take an oath of allegiance to the future Russian emperor. But the Tsarevich was not destined to become a ruler.

Nikolai grew up as a universal favorite: his grandfather and grandmother doted on him, but Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna was most attached to him. Nicholas was well brought up, polite, courteous. He made friends with his second cousin, Princess of Oldenburg. There were even negotiations about their wedding, but in the end, the mother of the princess refused.

In 1864, the Tsarevich went abroad. There, on the day of his 21st birthday, he became engaged to Princess Dagmar, who would later become the wife of Alexander III. Everything was fine until, while traveling in Italy, the heir suddenly fell ill. He was treated in Nice, but in the spring of 1865 Nikolai's condition began to deteriorate.

On April 10, Emperor Alexander II arrived in Nice, and already on the night of the 12th, the Grand Duke died after a four-hour agony from tuberculous meningitis. The body of the heir was delivered to Russia on the Alexander Nevsky frigate. The mother was inconsolable and, it seems, she could not fully recover from the tragedy. Years later, Emperor Alexander III named his eldest son in honor of his brother, whom he "loved more than anything else."

Alexander Alexandrovich

Alexander III was two years younger than his older brother, and by the will of fate it was he who was destined to ascend the Russian throne. Since Nicholas was being prepared for the reign, Alexander did not receive an appropriate education, and after the death of his brother he had to take an additional course of science necessary for the ruler.

In 1866 he became engaged to Princess Dagmar. His ascension to the throne was also overshadowed by death - in 1881, Emperor Alexander II died as a result of a terrorist act. After this, the son did not support the liberal ideas of his father, his goal was to suppress the protests. Alexander followed a conservative policy. So, instead of the draft “Loris-Melikov constitution” supported by his father, the new emperor adopted the “Manifesto on the inviolability of autocracy”, compiled by Pobedonostsev, who had a great influence on the emperor.

Administrative pressure was increased, the beginnings of peasant and city self-government were eliminated, censorship was strengthened, military power was strengthened, it was not for nothing that the emperor said that "Russia has only two allies - the army and the navy." Indeed, during the reign of Alexander III there was a sharp decrease in protests, so characteristic of the second half of his father's reign. Terrorist activity also began to decline, and since 1887 there were no terrorist attacks in the country until the beginning of the 20th century.

Despite the build-up of military power, during the reign of Alexander III, Russia did not wage a single war, for maintaining peace he received the nickname Peacemaker. He bequeathed his ideals to the heir and the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II.

Vladimir Alexandrovich

The Grand Duke was born in 1847 and devoted his life to a military career. He participated in the Russian-Turkish war, since 1884 he was the Commander-in-Chief of the Guards and the St. Petersburg Military District. In 1881, his brother appointed him regent in case of his death before the age of Tsarevich Nicholas, or in the event of the latter's death.

Known for participating in the tragic events of January 1905, known as "Bloody Sunday". It was Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich who gave the order to Prince Vasilchikov to use force against the procession of workers and residents of the city, which was heading towards the Winter Palace.

He was forced to leave his post as Commander of the Guards and the St. Petersburg Military District after a high-profile scandal with his son's marriage. His eldest son Cyril married the former wife of the brother of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Princess Victoria-Melite of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The Highest permission was not given for the marriage, even despite the blessing of Kirill's mother Maria Pavlovna. Vladimir was a well-known philanthropist and was even the president of the Academy of Arts. In protest against his role in the execution of workers and townspeople, the artists Serov and Polenov left the Academy.

Aleksey Aleksandrovich

The fifth child in the grand-ducal family was already enrolled in military service from childhood - in the Guards crew and the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky and Jaeger regiments. His fate was sealed.

In 1866, Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich was promoted to lieutenant of the fleet and lieutenant of the guard. Participated in the voyage of the frigate "Alexander Nevsky", which on the night of September 12-13, 1868 was wrecked in the Jutland Strait. The commander of the ship noted the courage and nobility of Alexei, who refused to be one of the first to leave the ship. Four days later he was promoted to staff captain and adjutant wing.

In 1871, he was a senior officer of the Svetlana frigate, on which he reached North America, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and, having visited China and Japan, arrived in Vladivostok, from where he reached home by land through all of Siberia.

In 1881 he was appointed a member of the State Council, and in the summer of that year - Chief of the Fleet and the Naval Department with the rights of Admiral General and Chairman of the Admiralty Council. During the management of the fleet, he carried out a number of reforms, introduced a maritime qualification, increased the number of crew, arranged the ports of Sevastopol, Port Arthur and others, expanded the docks in Kronstadt and Vladivostok.

At the end of the Russo-Japanese War, after the Tsushima defeat, he resigned and was dismissed from all naval posts. He was considered one of the responsible for the defeat of Russia in the war. He died in Paris in 1908.

Maria Alexandrovna

Princess Maria was born in 1853. She grew up as a "weak" girl and suffered from worms as a child. Despite the prescriptions of the doctors, the father wanted to ride everywhere with her, he did not look for the soul in his daughter. In 1874 she married Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second son of the British Queen Victoria. Alexander gave her as a dowry the unimaginable sum of £100,000 and an annual allowance of £20,000.

Alexander insisted that in London his daughter should be addressed as "Her Imperial Highness" and that she should have precedence over the Princess of Wales. This infuriated Queen Victoria. However, after marriage, the requirements of the Russian emperor were met.

In 1893 her husband became Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, as his older brother Edward had renounced his claim to the throne. Mary became a duchess, retaining the title of Duchess of Edinburgh. However, tragedy befell their family.

Their son, Crown Prince Alfred, was engaged to Duchess Else of Württemberg. However, Alfred was convicted of extramarital affairs and in 1898 he began to show severe symptoms of syphilis. It is believed that the disease shook his mind.

In 1899, he shot himself with a revolver during a solemn family gathering on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his parents' marriage. On February 6, he died at the age of 24. A year later, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha died of cancer. The Dowager Duchess Maria remained to reside in Coburg.

Sergey Aleksandrovich

Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich became the Moscow governor-general. On his initiative, the creation of a portrait gallery of former governors-general began. Under him, the Public Art Theater was opened, in order to take care of the students, he ordered the construction of a hostel at Moscow University. A gloomy episode of his reign was the tragedy on the Khodynka field. In the stampede, according to official figures, 1,389 people were killed and another 1,300 were seriously injured. The public found Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich guilty and nicknamed him "Prince Khodynsky".

Sergei Alexandrovich supported monarchist organizations and was a fighter against the revolutionary movement. He died in a terrorist attack in 1905. At the entrance to the Nikolaevskaya Tower, a bomb was thrown into his carriage, which tore the prince's carriage apart. He died on the spot, the coachman was mortally wounded.

The attack was carried out by Ivan Kalyaev from the "Combat Organization of the Party of Socialist Revolutionaries." He planned to make it two days earlier, but could not throw a bomb into the carriage in which the wife and nephews of the Governor General were. It is known that the widow of Prince Elizabeth visited her husband's killer in prison and forgave him on behalf of her husband.

Pavel Alexandrovich

Pavel Alexandrovich made a military career, possessed not only Russian, but also foreign orders and honors. He was married twice. He entered into his first marriage in 1889 with his cousin, the Greek princess Alexandra Georgievna. She bore him two children - Maria and Dmitry. But the girl died at the age of 20 during premature birth. The children were given to be brought up in the family of their brother, Moscow Governor-General Sergei Alexandrovich and Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna.

10 years after the death of his wife, he married a second time, Olga Pistohlkors, she was the ex-wife of a subordinate Prince Pavel Alexandrovich. Since the marriage was unequal, they could not return to Russia. In 1915, Olga Valerievna received for herself and the children of the prince the Russian title of princes Paley. They had three children: Vladimir, Irina and Natalya.

Soon after the abdication of Nicholas II from the throne, the Provisional Government took measures against the Romanovs. Vladimir Paley was exiled to the Urals in 1918 and then executed. Pavel Alexandrovich himself was arrested in August 1918 and sent to prison.

In January of the following year, he, along with his cousins, Grand Dukes Dmitry Konstantinovich, Nikolai Mikhailovich and Georgy Mikhailovich, were shot in the Peter and Paul Fortress in response to the murder of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht in Germany.

Georgy Alexandrovich

Georgy Alexandrovich was born out of wedlock in 1872, and after the wedding of Alexander II with Princess Dolgorukova, he received the title of Most Serene Prince and the surname Yuryevsky. The emperor wanted to equate illegitimate children with heirs from an alliance with Empress Maria Alexandrovna. After the assassination of his father-emperor, he left for France with his sisters and mother.

In 1891 he graduated from the Sorbonne with a bachelor's degree, then returned to Russia, where he continued his studies. He served in the Baltic Fleet, studied at the dragoon department of the Officer Cavalry School. He was assigned to the 2nd squadron of the Life Guards Hussar Regiment, in 1908 he retired. After 4 years, he died of jade in Magburg, German Empire. He was buried in Wiesbaden at the Russian cemetery. Goga had, as his father jokingly called him, brother Boris. But the boy did not live even a year, and was posthumously legalized as Yuryevsky.

Olga Alexandrovna

She was born a year after her older brother, and was also legalized as the Most Serene Princess Yuryevskaya. It is interesting that the emperor chose the title for children not by chance. It was believed that the princely family of his second wife Dolgorukova took its origins from Rurik and had Prince Yuri Dolgoruky as an ancestor. In fact, this is not so. The ancestor of the Dolgorukovs was Prince Ivan Obolensky, who received the nickname Dolgoruky for his vindictiveness. It originated from the second cousin of Yuri Dolgoruky - Vsevolod Olgovich.

The Most Serene Princess in 1895 married the grandson of Alexander Pushkin - Count Georg-Nikolaus von Merenberg and became known as Countess von Merenberg. In marriage, she gave birth to her husband 12 children.

Ekaterina Aleksandrovna

But the youngest daughter of Alexander II, Ekaterina Yuryevskaya, twice unsuccessfully married and became a singer in order to earn her bread. After the accession of Nicholas II, she returned to Russia with her mother, brother and sister. In 1901, Catherine married the richest prince Alexander Baryatinsky. She was smart and talented, but she was not lucky with her husband. He was a rather extravagant character, led a wild life and adored the beautiful Lina Cavalieri. The husband demanded that his wife also share his love for the favorite.

The Serene Princess, loving her husband, tried to win his attention. But it was all in vain. The three of them went everywhere - performances, operas, dinners, some even lived together in a hotel. But the triangle collapsed with the death of the prince, the inheritance went to Catherine's children - princes Andrei and Alexander. Since they were minors, the mother became their guardian.

After World War I, they moved from Bavaria to the Baryatinsky estate in Ivanovsky. Soon, Catherine met a young guards officer, Prince Sergei Obolensky, and jumped out to marry him. After the revolution, they lost everything and left on false documents to Kyiv, and then to Vienna and further to England. For the sake of earning money, the most serene princess began to sing in living rooms and at concerts. The death of her mother did not improve the financial situation of the princess.

In the same 1922, Obolensky left his wife for another wealthy lady, Miss Alice Astor, daughter of millionaire John Astor. Abandoned Catherine became a professional singer. For many years she lived on an allowance from Queen Mary, widow of George V, but after her death in 1953 she was left without a livelihood. She sold her property and died in 1959 in a nursing home on Hayling Island.