Alexander iii of russia biography of donald

Alexander was an avid collector of art, and in this matter he was only rivaled by Catherine the Great. In the Gatchina Palace, where the Alexander chose to live, a rich collection of art was amassed, a large portion of which later entered into the Hermitage's collection. Alexander ascended to the Russian throne at a very dark hour: inafter his father, Alexander II, had been assassinated by terrorists.

Although he promised at the beginning of his reign to continue the work of his father, he ended up following a more conservative course under the influence of his tutor and personal advisor, Konstantin Petrovich Pobedonostsev. In fact, it turned out that the new Emperor did not share the views of his deceased father and was glad to negate many of the latter's liberal reforms.

Immediately after ascending the throne, Alexander promulgated a manifesto entitled "On the Inviolability of Autocracy. Censorship was increased, the autonomy of universities restricted, the role of landowners in rural local self-government the zemstvo strengthened, and access to education for the lower classes limited. At the same time, the country experienced an economic upturn: preparations were made for a monetary reform and the introduction of the gold-backed rouble, a tax reform was introduced, customs regulations adopted, and the introduction of a government monopoly on the wine trade increased tax revenues.

Construction began on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Nonetheless, in andmany agricultural areas across the country were hit with famine. In the area of foreign policy, Alexander's efforts resulted in an unprecedented respite of thirteen years of peace. The Tsar attempted to act as an arbiter in European conflicts and to ensure peaceful resolutions.

I was struck by the size of the man, and although cumbersome and heavy, he was still a mighty figure. There was indeed something of the muzhik Russian peasant about him. The look of his bright eyes made quite an impression on me. As he passed where I was standing, he raised his head for a second, and to this day I can remember what I felt as our eyes met.

It was a look as cold as steel, in which there was something threatening, even frightening, and it struck me like a blow. The Tsar's gaze!

Alexander iii of russia biography of donald

The look of a man who stood above all others, but who carried a monstrous burden and who every minute had to fear for his life and the lives of those closest to him. In later years I came into contact with the Emperor on several occasions, and I felt not the slightest bit timid. During the first 20 years of his life, Alexander had little prospect of succeeding to the throne, because he had an elder brother, Nicholas, who seemed of robust constitution.

Even when this elder brother first showed symptoms of delicate health, the notion that he might die young was never seriously entertained; Nicholas was betrothed to the charming princess Dagmar of Denmark. Under these circumstances, the greatest solicitude was devoted to the education of Nicholas as tsarevich, whereas Alexander received only the perfunctory and inadequate training of an ordinary grand-duke of that period, which did not go much beyond secondary instruction, practical acquaintance with French, English and German, and a certain amount of military drill.

Alexander became heir apparent by the sudden death of his elder brother in It was then that he began to study the principles of law and administration under Konstantin Pobedonostsev, who was then a professor of civil law at Moscow State University and who later in became chief procurator of the Holy Synod. Pobedonostsev awakened in his pupil very little love for abstract studies or prolonged intellectual exertion, but he influenced the character of Alexander's reign by instilling into the young man's mind the belief that zeal for Russian Orthodox thought was an essential factor of Russian patriotism and that this was to be specially cultivated by every right-minded tsar.

On his deathbed, Alexander's elder brother Nicholas is said to have expressed the wish that his affianced bride, Princess Dagmar of Denmark, should marry his successor. This wish was swiftly realized, when on November 9,Alexander wed the Princess of Denmark. The union proved a most happy one and remained unclouded to the end. During those years when he was heir-apparent— to —Alexander did not play a prominent part in public affairs, but he allowed it to become known that he had certain ideas of his own which did not coincide with the principles of the existing government.

Alexander deprecated what he considered undue foreign influence in general, and German influence in particular, so the adoption of genuine national principles was off in all spheres of official activity, with a view to realizing his ideal of a homogeneous Russia—homogeneous in language, administration, and religion. With such ideas and aspirations he could hardly remain permanently in cordial agreement with his father, who, though a good patriot according to many, had strong German sympathies, often used the German language in his private relations, occasionally ridiculed the exaggerations and eccentricities of the Slavophiles, and based his foreign policy on the Prussian alliance.

The antagonism first appeared publicly during the Franco-Prussian Warwhen the tsar supported the cabinet of Berlin and the tsarevich did not conceal his sympathies with the French. It reappeared in an intermittent fashion during the years —, when the Eastern question produced so much excitement in all ranks of Russian society. At first the tsarevich was more Slavophile than the government, but his phlegmatic nature preserved him from many of the exaggerations indulged in by others, and any of the prevalent popular illusions he may have imbibed were soon dispelled by personal observation in Bulgariawhere he commanded the left wing of the invading army.

The Bulgarians had been represented in St. Petersburg and Moscow not only as martyrs but also as saints, and very little personal experience sufficed to correct the error. Like most of his brother officers, Alexander III could not feel very great affection for the "little brothers," as the Bulgarians were then commonly called, and he was constrained to admit that the Turks were by no means so black as they had been painted.

He did not, however, scandalize the believers by any public expression of his opinions, and did not indeed make himself conspicuous in any way during the campaign. Never consulted on political questions, he confined himself to his military duties and fulfilled them in a conscientious and unobtrusive manner. After alexanders iii of russia biography of donald mistakes and disappointments, the army reached Constantinople and the Treaty of San Stefano was signed, but much that had been obtained by that important document had to be sacrificed at the Congress of Berlin.

Prince Bismarck failed to do what was confidently expected of him. Initially, the tsesarevich refused to travel to Copenhagen because he wanted to marry Maria. Enraged, the tsar ordered him to go straight to Denmark and propose to Princess Dagmar. The alexander iii of russia biography of donald Alexander wrote in his diary "Farewell, dear Dusenka.

Despite his initial reluctance, Alexander grew fond of Dagmar, by the end of his life they loved each other deeply. A few weeks after their wedding, he wrote in his diary: "God grant that I may love my darling wife more and more I often feel that I am not worthy of her, but even if this was true, I will do my best to be. After Alexander died, his heir Nicholas doubled the tradition, every Easter commissioning an egg for his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, and one for his mother Dagmar.

When Dagmar nursed him in his final illness, Alexander told her, "Even before my death, I have known an angel. Alexander had six children by Dagmar, five of whom survived into adulthood: Nicholas b. He told Dagmar that "only with [our children] can I relax mentally, enjoy them and rejoice, looking at them. He was much more lenient with his children than most European monarchs, and he told their tutors, "I do not need porcelain, I want normal healthy Russian children.

Alexander enjoyed a more informal relationship with his youngest son Michael and doted on his youngest daughter, Olga. Alexander was concerned that his heir-apparent, Nicholas, was too gentle and naive to become an effective Emperor. Don't tell me you never noticed the Grand Duke is His opinions are utterly childish. How could he preside over such a committee?

Alexander had an extremely poor relationship with his brother Grand Duke Vladimir. Petersburg needed to escort Vladimir out of the restaurant. Alexander had better relationships with his other brothers Alexei who he made rear admiral and then grand admiral of the Russian NavySergei who he made governor of Moscow and Paul. Despite the antipathy that Alexander had towards his stepmother, Catherine Dolgorukovhe nevertheless allowed her to remain in the Winter Palace for some time after his father's assassination and to retain keepsakes such Alexander II's blood-soaked uniform and his reading glasses.

Even though he disliked their mother, Alexander was kind to his half-siblings. His youngest half-sister Princess Catherine Alexandrovna Yurievskaya remembered when he would play with her and her siblings: "The Emperor On 29 October [ O. At the moment of the crash, the imperial family was in the dining car. Its roof collapsed, and Alexander held its remains on his shoulders as the children fled outdoors.

The onset of Alexander's kidney failure was later attributed to the blunt trauma suffered in this incident. InAlexander III became ill with terminal kidney disease nephritis. His first cousin, Queen Olga of Greeceoffered to let him stay at her villa Mon Reposon the island of Corfuin the hope that it might improve the Tsar's condition. Clergyman John of Kronstadt paid a visit and administered Communion to the Tsar.

He died in the arms of his wife, and in the presence of his physician, Ernst Viktor von Leydenat Maly Palace in Livadia on the afternoon of 1 November [ O. After leaving Livadia on 6 November and traveling to St. In disposition, Alexander bore little resemblance to his soft-hearted, liberal father, and still less to his refined, philosophic, sentimental, chivalrous, yet cunning great-uncle Emperor Alexander I.

Although an enthusiastic amateur musician and patron of the balletAlexander was seen as lacking refinement and elegance. Indeed, he rather relished the idea of being of the same rough texture as some of his subjects. His straightforward, abrupt manner savoured sometimes of gruffness, while his direct style of expression matched his rough-hewn, immobile features and somewhat sluggish movements.

His education was not such as to soften these peculiarities. Alexander was extremely strong. He tore packs of cards in half with his bare hands to entertain his children. Unlike his extroverted wifeAlexander disliked social functions and avoided St. At palace balls, he was impatient for the events to end. He would order each musician of the orchestra to leave and turn off the lights until the guests left.

After an unpleasant childhood experience on a bad-tempered mount, he developed a lifelong fear of horses. He immediately left the carriage and no amount of pleading from his wife could convince him to get back in. I was struck by the size of the man, and although cumbersome and heavy, he was still a mighty figure. There was indeed something of the muzhik [Russian peasant] about him.

The look of his bright eyes made quite an impression on me. As he passed where I was standing, he raised his head for a second, and to this day I can remember what I felt as our eyes met. It was a look as cold as steel, in which there was something threatening, even frightening, and it struck me like a blow. The Tsar's gaze! The look of a man who stood above all others, but who carried a monstrous burden and who every minute had to fear for his life and the lives of those closest to him.

In later years I came into contact with the Emperor on several occasions, and I felt not the slightest bit timid. Both the horse and rider were sculpted in massive form, leading to the nickname of "hippopotamus". Troubetzkoy envisioned the statue as a caricaturejesting that he wished "to portray an animal atop another animal", and it was quite controversial at the time, with many, including the members of the Imperial Family, opposed to the design, but it was approved because the Empress Dowager unexpectedly liked the monument.

Following the Revolution ofthe statue remained in place as a symbol of tsarist autocracy until when it was placed in storage. Init was again put on public display, although in a different place — in front of the Marble Palace. It was opened by his son, Nicholas II, and exists to this day. The four-meter monument by Russian sculptor Andrey Kovalchuk depicts Alexander III sitting on a stump, his stretched arms resting on a sabre.

An inscription says "Russia has only two allies: the Army and the Navy", although historians dispute whether the Tsar actually said those words. Domestic [ 71 ] [ self-published source? Foreign [ 71 ]. Note: all dates prior to are in the Old Style Calendar. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools.

Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikidata item. Emperor of Russia from to In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customsthe patronymic is Alexandrovich and the family name is Romanov. Portrait photograph, Dagmar of Denmark. Early life [ edit ]. As Tsarevich [ edit ]. Reign [ edit ]. Related topics.

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