Alexander's childhood 3 summary. Alexander III made Russia a strong power. Domestic and foreign policy

On March 10, 1845, a boy was born into a Russian-German family. He was to become an artist's model Vasnetsova, the author of the extremist saying “Russia for the Russians,” and also earned the nickname Peacemaker.

For now future emperor Alexander III contented himself with the affectionate pet nickname of bulldog.

He retained this angular grace in his mature years: “He was not handsome, in his 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 was not singled out in any way in the royal family: “You could say that he was somewhat in the fold. Neither his education nor his upbringing special attention didn’t pay,” 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"

Fans of tsarism like to quote a witty saying: “The good thing about 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 became the heir to the throne after the death of his brother, literally clutched their heads. “Despite his perseverance, he studied poorly and was always extremely lazy,” the words of the teacher Grigory Gogel.“He was distinguished by his zeal for combat training, but discovered a complete lack of any military talent,” - strategy teacher General Mikhail Dragomirov. And finally, a resume from the manager general education Alexandra Professor Chivilev: “I am horrified and cannot 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 errors: such pearls of his in official resolutions are known as “brochures with daring”, “a eight” and the beautiful - “ideot”. However, few were awarded this title. More often the emperor used other words. “A brute or a lunatic” - oh artist Vereshchagin. “Rabble of Bastards” is about the French government. Uncle William, Emperor of Germany, he was just a “brute”, 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. His father, Alexander II the Liberator, had just been killed in a terrorist attack. There is panic in ruling circles. The new autocrat himself is almost in despair: “A strange feeling has taken possession of us. What do we do?"

Alexander spent more than two years in such thoughts. In fact, he ruled the empire, but he was in no hurry to formalize this matter legally - the coronation was postponed. The mood among the people roughly corresponded to the Sagittarius’s remark from the film “Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession”: “They say the Tsar is not real!” Police agents quote speeches that circulated 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 according to their word came true. From the moment Alexander was finally crowned, the cowardly, stupid heir disappeared somewhere. And the very king about whom domestic monarchists sigh appeared.

Alexander immediately showed what would happen to Russia in the near future. In the process of being anointed to the kingdom. It may seem funny now, but at the time knowledgeable people paid great attention to the coronation menu - the content of the “dining card” exactly corresponded to the political doctrine of the new monarch. Alexander’s choice was stunning: “Barley soup. Borschok. Soup. Jellied from ruffs. Pod peas."

All this is the Russian table. Moreover, common people, peasant, rude. The most notorious beggars then feasted on peas in pods. To serve this at the coronation of the ruler of the largest empire in the world means to give a hefty slap to your aristocracy and mortally insult foreigners.

The new emperor really proclaimed the slogan “Russia for Russians”, made life much easier for the common people and began to pump up his muscles. He abolished the poll tax, introduced an inheritance tax, and the fleet, the most knowledge-intensive sector armed forces, became third in the world after English and French.

This is not forgiven. And, as soon as it became clear that the unimportant education and upbringing of the monarch had almost no effect on the growing power of Russia, it was decided to approach from the other side. Not yet being heir to the throne, he loved to drink from the bottle. Sometimes it was so bad that he fell into a real binge. Got him out of his drinking bouts Dr. Botkin. But the tendency remained. And although the emperor fought against her, not unsuccessfully, rumors and gossip about his alcoholism fell on prepared ground.

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 king. Hence the legends that the king allegedly secretly got drunk, and then lay 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, it was no more than one small glass. If he drank at the table, it was his favorite drink - 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 both him personally and the results of his reign is the picture Vasnetsova"Bogatyrs". It is known that the artist painted Ilya Muromets, keeping in mind the appearance Alexandra III. Art critics describe the image of Ilya as follows: “Calm strength and power.”

Tsar Alexander III, who ruled Russia from 1881 to 1894, was remembered by descendants for the fact that under him a period of stability and absence of wars began in the country. Having experienced many personal tragedies, the emperor left the empire in a phase of economic and foreign policy upswing, which seemed firm and unshakable - such were the character qualities of the Tsar the Peacemaker. short biography Emperor Alexander 3 will be told to the reader in the article.

Milestones of life's journey

The fate of the Peacemaker Tsar was replete with surprises, but despite all the sharp turns in his life, he behaved with dignity, following the principles he had learned once and for all.

Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich was not initially considered by the royal family as the heir to the throne. He was born in 1845, when the country was still ruled by his grandfather, Nicholas I. Another grandson, named after his grandfather, was to inherit the throne. Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich, born two years earlier. However, at the age of 19, the heir died of tuberculous meningitis, and the right to the crown passed to the next oldest brother, Alexander.

Without an appropriate education, Alexander still had the opportunity to prepare for his future reign - he was in the status of heir from 1865 to 1881, gradually taking an increasing part in governing the state. During the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878, the Grand Duke was with the Danube Army, where he commanded one of the detachments.

Another tragedy that brought Alexander to the throne was the murder of his father by the Narodnaya Volya. Taking the reins of power into his own hands, the new tsar dealt with the terrorists, gradually extinguishing the internal unrest in the country. Alexander ended plans to introduce a constitution, reaffirming his commitment to traditional autocracy.

In 1887, the organizers of the assassination attempt on the Tsar, which never took place, were arrested and hanged (one of the participants in the conspiracy was Alexander Ulyanov, the elder brother of the future revolutionary Vladimir Lenin).

And the next year, the emperor almost lost all members of his family during a train crash near the Borki station in Ukraine. The Tsar personally held the roof of the dining car in which his loved ones were located.

The injury received during this incident marked the beginning of the end of the reign of Emperor Alexander III, which in duration was 2 times less than the reign of his father and grandfather.

In 1894, the Russian autocrat, at the invitation of his cousin, the Queen of Greece, went abroad for treatment for nephritis, but did not arrive and died a month later in the Livadia Palace in Crimea.

Biography of Alexander 3, personal life

Alexander met his future wife, the Danish princess Dagmara, under difficult circumstances. The girl was officially engaged to his older brother Nikolai Alexandrovich, the heir to the throne. Before the wedding, the Grand Duke visited Italy and fell ill there. When it became known that the heir to the throne was dying, Alexander and his brother’s fiancee went to see him in Nice to care for the dying man.

The very next year after his brother’s death, during a trip to Europe, Alexander arrived in Copenhagen to propose his hand in marriage to Princess Minnie (this was Dagmara’s home name).

“I don’t know her feelings for me, and this torments me very much. I am sure that we can be so happy together,” Alexander wrote to his father at that time.

The engagement was completed successfully, and in the fall of 1866 the Grand Duke’s bride, who received the name Maria Fedorovna in baptism, married him. She subsequently outlived her husband by 34 years.

Failed marriages

In addition to the Danish princess Dagmara, her sister, Princess Alexandra, could become the wife of Alexander III. This marriage, which Emperor Alexander II pinned his hopes on, did not take place due to the machinations of the British Queen Victoria, who managed to marry her son, who later became King Edward VII, to the Danish princess.

Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich was for some time in love with Princess Maria Meshcherskaya, his mother's maid of honor. For her sake, he was ready to give up his rights to the throne, but after hesitation he chose Princess Dagmara. Princess Maria died 2 years later - in 1868, and subsequently Alexander III visited her grave in Paris.

Counter-reforms of Alexander III

His heir saw one of the reasons for the rampant terrorism under Emperor Alexander II in the overly liberal orders established during this period. Having ascended the throne, the new king stopped moving towards democratization and focused on strengthening his own power. The institutions created by his father were still in operation, but their powers were significantly curtailed.

In 1882-1884, the government issued new, stricter regulations regarding the press, libraries and reading rooms.
In 1889-1890, the role of nobles in zemstvo administration was strengthened.
Under Alexander III, university autonomy was abolished (1884).
In 1892, according to the new edition of the City Regulations, clerks, small traders and other poor sections of the urban population were deprived of their voting rights.
A “circular about cooks’ children” was issued, limiting the rights of commoners to receive an education.

Reforms aimed at improving the plight of peasants and workers

The government of Tsar Alexander 3, whose biography is presented to your attention in the article, was aware of the degree of poverty in the post-reform village and sought to improve economic situation peasants In the first years of the reign, redemption payments for land plots were reduced, and a peasant land bank was created, whose responsibility was to issue loans to farmers for the purchase of plots.

The emperor sought to streamline labor relations in the country. Under him, factory work for children was limited, as well as night shifts in factories for women and teenagers.

Foreign policy of the Tsar the Peacemaker

In the field of foreign policy, the main feature of the reign of Emperor Alexander III was the complete absence of wars during this period, thanks to which he received the nickname Tsar-Peacemaker.

At the same time, the tsar, who had a military education, cannot be blamed for the lack of proper attention to the army and navy. Under him, 114 warships were launched, making the Russian fleet the third largest in the world after the British and French.

The Emperor rejected the traditional alliance with Germany and Austria, which had not shown its viability, and began to focus on Western European states. Under him, an alliance was concluded with France.

Balkan turn

Alexander III personally took part in the events of the Russian-Turkish War, but the subsequent behavior of the Bulgarian leadership led to a cooling of Russian sympathy for this country.

Bulgaria found itself involved in a war with fellow believer Serbia, which aroused the anger of the Russian Tsar, who did not want a new possible war with Turkey due to the provocative policies of the Bulgarians. In 1886, Russia broke off diplomatic relations with Bulgaria, which succumbed to Austro-Hungarian influence.

European peacemaker

A short biography of Alexander 3 contains information that he delayed the start of the First World War for a couple of decades, which could have broken out back in 1887 as a result of a failed German attack on France. Kaiser Wilhelm I listened to the tsar's voice, and Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, harboring a grudge against Russia, provoked customs wars between states. Subsequently, the crisis ended in 1894 with the conclusion of a Russian-German trade agreement beneficial for Russia.

Asian conqueror

Under Alexander III, the annexation of territories into the Central Asia at the expense of lands inhabited by Turkmens. In 1885 this caused military clash with the army of the Afghan emir on the Kushka River, whose soldiers were led by English officers. It ended in the defeat of the Afghans.

Domestic Policy and Economic Growth

The cabinet of Alexander III managed to achieve financial stabilization and growth in industrial production. The ministers of finance under him were N. Kh. Bunge, I. A. Vyshnegradsky and S. Yu. Witte.

The government compensated for the abolished poll tax, which unduly burdened the poor population, with a variety of indirect taxes and increased customs duties. Excise taxes were imposed on vodka, sugar, oil and tobacco.

Industrial production only benefited from protectionist measures. Under Alexander III, steel and cast iron production, coal and oil production grew at record rates.

Tsar Alexander 3 and his family

The biography shows that Alexander III had relatives on his mother’s side in the German House of Hesse. Subsequently, his son Nikolai Alexandrovich found himself a bride in the same dynasty.

In addition to Nicholas, whom he named after his beloved older brother, Alexander III had five children. His second son, Alexander, died as a child, and his third, George, died at the age of 28 in Georgia. The eldest son Nicholas II and the youngest Mikhail Alexandrovich died after the October Revolution. And the emperor’s two daughters, Ksenia and Olga, lived until 1960. This year, one of them died in London, and the other in Toronto, Canada.

Sources describe the emperor as an exemplary family man - a quality inherited from him by Nicholas II.

Now you know summary biography of Alexander 3. Finally, I would like to present to your attention several interesting facts:

Emperor Alexander III was a tall man, and in his youth he could break horseshoes with his hands and bend coins with his fingers.
In clothing and culinary preferences, the emperor adhered to common folk traditions; at home he wore a Russian patterned shirt, and when it came to food he preferred simple dishes, such as suckling pig with horseradish and pickles. However, he loved to season his food with delicious sauces, and also loved hot chocolate.
An interesting fact in the biography of Alexander 3 is that he had a passion for collecting. The Tsar collected paintings and other art objects, which later formed the basis of the collection of the Russian Museum.
The emperor loved to hunt in the forests of Poland and Belarus, and fished in the Finnish skerries. Alexander’s famous phrase: “When the Russian Tsar fishes, Europe can wait.”
Together with his wife, the emperor periodically visited Denmark during his summer vacation. During the warm months he did not like to be disturbed, but at other times of the year he was completely immersed in business.
The king could not be denied condescension and a sense of humor. Having learned, for example, about a criminal case against the soldier Oreshkin, who, being drunk in a tavern, said that he wanted to spit on the Emperor, Alexander III ordered the case to be closed and his portraits no longer to be hung in taverns. “Tell Oreshkin that I didn’t give a damn about him either,” he said.

All-Russian Emperor Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov was born on February 26 (old style) 1845 in St. Petersburg in the Anichkov Palace. His father was a reforming emperor, and his mother was a queen. The boy was the third child in a family that later had five more children. His older brother Nicholas was preparing to become king, and Alexander was destined for the fate of a military man.

As a child, the Tsarevich studied without much zeal, and the teachers were undemanding to him. In the memoirs of his contemporaries, young Alexander was not very smart, but he had a sound mind and the gift of reasoning.

Alexander was kind-hearted and a little shy, although he had a distinguished figure: with a height of 193 cm, his weight reached 120 kg. Despite his stern appearance, the young man loved art. He took painting lessons from Professor Tikhobrazov and studied music. Alexander mastered playing brass and woodwind instruments. Subsequently, he will support Russian art in every possible way and, with sufficient unpretentiousness in everyday life, will collect a good collection of works by Russian artists. And in opera houses, with his light hand, Russian operas and ballets will begin to be staged much more often than European ones.

Tsarevichs Nicholas and Alexander were very close to each other. The younger brother even claimed that there was no one closer and more beloved to him except Nikolai. Therefore, when in 1865, the heir to the throne, while traveling in Italy, suddenly felt ill and died suddenly from spinal tuberculosis, Alexander could not accept this loss for a long time. In addition, it turned out that it was he who became a contender for the throne, for which Alexander was completely unprepared.

The young man’s teachers were horrified for a moment. The young man was urgently assigned a course of special lectures, which were read to him by his mentor Konstantin Pobedonostsev. After his accession to the kingdom, Alexander will make his teacher an adviser and will turn to him for the rest of his life. Nikolai Alexandrovich Kachalov was appointed another assistant to the Tsarevich, with whom the young man traveled around Russia.

Enthronement

In early March 1881, after another assassination attempt, Emperor Alexander II died from his wounds, and his son immediately ascended the throne. Two months later, the new emperor published the “Manifesto on the Inviolability of Autocracy,” which stopped all liberal changes in the structure of the state established by his father.

The sacrament of royal coronation took place later - on May 15, 1883 in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. During his reign, the royal family moved to the palace in Gatchina.

Domestic policy of Alexander III

Alexander III adhered to pronounced monarchical and nationalist principles; his actions in domestic politics could be called a counter-reformation. The first thing the emperor did was sign decrees with which he sent liberal ministers to retire. Among them were Prince Konstantin Nikolaevich, M. T. Loris-Melikova, D. A. Milyutin, A. A. Abaza. He made K. P. Pobedonostsev, N. Ignatiev, D. A. Tolstoy, M. N. Katkov the key figures in his circle.

In 1889, a talented politician and financier S. Yu. Witte appeared at court, whom Alexander Alexandrovich soon appointed Minister of Finance and Minister of Transport. Sergei Yulievich did a lot for Great Russia. He introduced the backing of the ruble with the country's gold reserves, which contributed to the strengthening of the Russian currency on the international market. This led to the fact that the flow of foreign capital into the Russian Empire increased, and the economy began to develop at an accelerated pace. In addition, he did a lot for the development and construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, which is still the only road connecting Vladivostok with Moscow.

Despite the fact that Alexander III tightened the right for peasants to receive education and vote in zemstvo elections, he gave them the opportunity to take out loans at low interest rates in order to expand their farms and strengthen their position on the land. The emperor also introduced restrictions for the nobles. Already in the first year of his reign, he abolished all additional payments from the royal treasury to those close to him, and also did a lot to eradicate corruption.

Alexander III strengthened control over students, set a limit on the number of Jewish students in all educational institutions, and tightened censorship. His slogan was the phrase: “Russia for Russians.” On the outskirts of the Empire, he proclaimed active Russification.

Alexander III did a lot for metallurgical industry and development of oil and gas production. Under him, a real boom began in improving the well-being of the people, and terrorist threats completely ceased. The autocrat did a lot for Orthodoxy. Under his reign, the number of dioceses increased, new monasteries and churches were built. In 1883, one of the most majestic buildings was erected - the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

Alexander III left a country with a strong economy as a legacy after his reign.

Foreign policy of Alexander III

Emperor Alexander III, with his wisdom in foreign policy actions and avoidance of wars, went down in history as the Tsar-Peacemaker. But at the same time, he did not forget to strengthen the power of the army. Under Alexander III Russian fleet became the third after the flotillas of France and Great Britain.

The emperor managed to maintain calm relations with all his main rivals. He signed peace agreements with Germany and England, and also significantly strengthened Franco-Russian friendship on the world stage.

During his reign, the practice of open negotiations was established, and the rulers of the European powers began to trust the Russian Tsar as a wise arbiter in resolving all controversial issues between states.

Personal life

After the death of his heir Nicholas, he was left with a fiancée, the Danish princess Maria Dagmar. Unexpectedly, it turned out that young Alexander was also in love with her. And even despite the fact that for some time he courted his maid of honor, Princess Maria Meshcherskaya, Alexander, at the age of 21, proposes to Maria Sofia Frederica. Thus, in a short period of time, Alexander’s personal life changed, which he never regretted later.

After the wedding sacrament, which took place in the large church of the Winter Palace, the young couple moved to the Anichkov Palace, where they lived until Alexander ascended the throne.

In the family of Alexander Alexandrovich and his wife Maria Feodorovna, who, like all overseas princesses, converted to Orthodoxy before marriage, six children were born, five of whom lived to adulthood.

The elder Nicholas would become the last Russian Tsar from the Romanov dynasty. Of the younger children - Alexander, Georgy, Ksenia, Mikhail, Olga - only sisters will live to old age. Alexander will die at the age of one year, Georgy will die in his youth from tuberculosis, and Mikhail will share the fate of his brother - he will be shot by the Bolsheviks.

The emperor raised his children in strictness. Their clothing and food were very simple. The royal offspring engaged in physical exercises and received a good education. Peace and harmony reigned in the family; spouses and children often traveled to Denmark to visit relatives.

Failed assassination attempt

On March 1, 1887, an unsuccessful attempt was made on the life of the emperor. Participants in the conspiracy were students Vasily Osipanov, Vasily Generalov, Pakhomiy Andreyushkin and Alexander Ulyanov. Despite months of preparation for the terrorist attack under the leadership of Pyotr Shevyrev, the young people were unable to carry out their plan to the end. All four were captured by the police and two months after the trial, they were executed by hanging in the Shlisselburg fortress.

Several members of the revolutionary circle, who were also arrested after the terrorists, were sent into long-term exile.

Death

A year after the assassination attempt, an unpleasant event occurred in the life of the royal family: the train in which Alexander and his relatives were traveling crashed near Kharkov. Part of the train overturned, killing people. The roof of the carriage in which the royal persons were located was held by the mighty emperor for a long time. on our own within 30 minutes. With this he saved everyone around him. But such overexertion undermined the king’s health. Alexander Alexandrovich developed kidney disease, which slowly progressed.

In the first winter months of 1894, the emperor caught a bad cold and six months later he felt very ill. A professor of medicine from Germany, Ernst Leiden, was called and diagnosed Alexander Alexandrovich with nephropathy. On the recommendation of a doctor, the emperor was sent to Greece, but on the way he became worse, and his family decided to stop in Livadia in Crimea.

Within a month, the king’s heroic physique faded away before everyone’s eyes and died on November 1, 1894 due to complete kidney failure. Over the past month, his confessor John (Yanyshev), as well as Archpriest John Sergiev, in the future John of Kronstadt, was constantly at his side.

An hour and a half after the death of Alexander III, his son Nicholas swore allegiance to the kingdom. The coffin with the emperor's body was delivered to St. Petersburg and solemnly buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

The image of the emperor in art

Not as many books have been written about Alexander III as about other conquering emperors. This happened because of his peacefulness and non-conflict nature. His person is mentioned in some historical books dedicated to the Romanov family.

In documentaries, information about him is presented in several feeds of journalists and. Feature films in which the character of Alexander III was present began to appear in 1925. A total of 5 films were published, including “The Shore of Life,” in which Lev Zolotukhin played the peacemaker emperor, as well as “The Barber of Siberia,” where he played this role.

The last film in which the hero of Alexander III appears was the 2017 film “Matilda”. He played the king in it.

After the assassination of Alexander 2, his son Emperor Alexander 3 began to rule Russia. This ruler took over the rule of the country at the age of 20. Since childhood, this young man had a passion for military sciences, which he studied more willingly than others.

The death of his father made a strong impression on Alexander 3. He felt the danger revolutionaries could pose. As a result, Emperor Alexander 3 vowed that he would do everything possible to destroy the beginnings of the revolution in Russia. March 2, 1881 Russian government swore allegiance to the new emperor. In his speech, the emperor emphasized that he intended to continue his father's course and maintain peace with all countries of the world in order to focus on internal problems.

The abolition of serfdom did not solve all the problems of the peasants. Therefore, the new emperor paid great attention to solving the peasant issue. He believed that, at all costs, it was necessary to preserve peasant communities in Russia, which were supposed to preserve the coexistence of peasants and save them from poverty. Wanting to strengthen this legislatively, Emperor Alexander 3 in 1893 issued a law that extremely limited the possibility of leaving the community.

During the reign of Alexander 3 in Russia, great attention began to be paid to the working conditions of workers. In 1882, a law was passed that prohibited the labor of children under 12 years of age. Therefore, by law, children aged 12 to 15 years were required to work no more than 8 hours a day. In 1885, a law was passed prohibiting night work for children and women. In 1886, a law was passed defining the relationship between the entrepreneur and the worker. Thus, Russia became the first country in Europe to legally control the working conditions of workers in factories and factories.

In determining the foreign policy of the state, Emperor Alexander 3 made the only correct conclusion in the current situation. Russia took a position of neutrality. Alexander 3 did not want to interfere in the bloody European conflicts, which for a century had been stopped only by the Russian army. The Emperor said that Russia has no friends, there are only state interests that must be followed. A similar opinion was expressed much later by the British Prime Minister Churchill, who, speaking about England, noted that England has no permanent friends, only permanent interests. As for Alexander 3, he said that Russia has only 2 friends: its army and its fleet.

An exception to the policy of neutrality was made only for the Balkans, since Emperor Alexander 3 wanted to strengthen Russia's influence in this region, primarily at the expense of Bulgaria, which was grateful to Russia for its independence. But everything happened differently. At the end of 1885, an uprising broke out in eastern Rumelia, which led to the separation of the province from Turkey and its entry into Bulgaria. This contradicted the provisions of the Berlin Treaty and was a pretext for a new war in the Balkans. The Emperor was angry with the Bulgarians, who accepted Rumelia into their fold without consulting Russia. As a result, not wanting to get involved in the war that was about to begin between Bulgaria and Turkey, the Russian emperor recalled all officials from Bulgaria, as well as all Russian officers. Austria took advantage of this and elevated its ruler to the Bulgarian throne.

Subsequently, the ruler of the Russian Empire continued to adhere to a policy of neutrality, as a result of which Russia had no allies, but also no enemies. The reign of Alexander 3 lasted until 1894. On October 20, 1894, Emperor Alexander 3 died.

Emperor of All Russia, second son of Emperor Alexander II and Empress Maria Alexandrovna, Alexander III was born on February 26, 1845, ascended the royal throne on March 2, 1881, died November 1, 1894)

He received his education from his tutor, Adjutant General Perovsky, and his immediate supervisor, the famous professor at Moscow University, economist Chivilev. In addition to general and special military education, Alexander was taught political and legal sciences by invited professors from St. Petersburg and Moscow universities.

After the premature death of his elder brother, heir-Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich on April 12, 1865, hotly mourned by the royal family and the entire Russian people, Alexander Alexandrovich, having become heir-Tsarevich, began to continue both theoretical studies and perform many duties in state affairs .

Marriage

1866, October 28 - Alexander married the daughter of the Danish King Christian IX and Queen Louise Sophia Frederica Dagmara, who was named Maria Feodorovna upon marriage. The happy family life of the sovereign heir bound the Russian people with the royal family with bonds of good hopes. God blessed the marriage: on May 6, 1868, Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich was born. In addition to the heir, the Tsarevich, their august children: Grand Duke Georgy Alexandrovich, born April 27, 1871; Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna, born March 25, 1875, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, born November 22, 1878, Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, born June 1, 1882.

Ascension to the throne

The accession of Alexander III to the royal throne followed on March 2, 1881, after the martyrdom of his father, the Tsar-Liberator, on March 1.

Seventeenth Romanov was a man of strong will and exceptionally purposeful. He was distinguished by his amazing capacity for work, could calmly think through every issue, was direct and sincere in his resolutions, and did not tolerate deception. Being an extremely truthful person himself, he hated liars. “His words never differed from his deeds, and he was an outstanding person by nobility and purity of heart,” this is how Alexander III was characterized by the people who were in his service. Over the years, the philosophy of his life was formed: to be an example of moral purity, honesty, justice and diligence for his subjects.

Reign of Alexander III

Under Alexander III, military service was reduced to 5 years of active service, and the life of soldiers improved significantly. He himself could not stand the military spirit, did not tolerate parades, and was even a bad horseman.

Solving economic and social issues was what Alexander III saw as his main task. And he devoted himself, first of all, to the cause of state development.

To get acquainted with different regions of Russia, the tsar often made trips to cities and villages and could see firsthand the difficult life of the Russian people. In general, the emperor was distinguished by his commitment to everything Russian - in this he was not like the previous Romanovs. He was called the truly Russian Tsar not only because appearance, but also in spirit, forgetting that by blood he was most likely a German.

During the reign of this tsar, the words were first heard: “Russia for the Russians.” A decree was issued prohibiting foreigners from buying real estate in the western regions of Russia, a newspaper fuss arose against the dependence of Russian industry on the Germans, the first pogroms against Jews began, and “temporary” rules for Jews were issued that severely infringed on their rights. Jews were not admitted to gymnasiums, universities and other educational establishments. And in some provinces they were simply forbidden to reside or enter public service.

Alexander III in his youth

This king, incapable of cunning or ingratiating himself, had his own specific attitude towards foreigners. First of all, he disliked the Germans and did not have any kindred feelings towards the German House. After all, his wife was not a German princess, but belonged to the royal house of Denmark, which was not on friendly terms with Germany. The mother of this first Danish woman Russian throne, the smart and intelligent wife of King Christian IX of Denmark, was nicknamed “the mother of all Europe”, as she was able to wonderfully accommodate her 4 children: Dagmara became the Russian queen; Alexandra, the eldest daughter, married the Prince of Wales, who, even during the life of Queen Victoria, played an active role in the state, and then became the king of Great Britain; son Frederick, after the death of his father, ascended the Danish throne, the youngest, George, became the Greek king; the grandchildren made almost all the royal houses of Europe related to each other.

Alexander III was also distinguished by the fact that he did not like excessive luxury and was absolutely indifferent to etiquette. He lived almost all the years of his reign in Gatchina, 49 kilometers from St. Petersburg, in the beloved palace of his great-grandfather, whose personality he was especially drawn to, keeping his office intact. And the main halls of the palace were empty. And although there were 900 rooms in the Gatchina Palace, the emperor’s family did not live in luxurious apartments, but in the former premises for guests and servants.

The king and his wife, sons and two daughters lived in narrow small rooms with low ceilings, the windows of which overlooked a wonderful park. Big beautiful park- what could be better for children! Outdoor games, visits from numerous peers - relatives of the large Romanov family. Empress Maria, however, still preferred the city and every winter she begged the emperor to move to the capital. While sometimes agreeing to his wife’s requests, the Tsar nevertheless refused to live in the Winter Palace, finding it unfriendly and too luxurious. The imperial couple made the Anichkov Palace on Nevsky Prospect their residence.

The noisy court life and social bustle quickly bored the tsar, and the family moved to Gatchina again with the first days of spring. The emperor's enemies tried to claim that the king, frightened by the reprisal against his father, locked himself in Gatchina as if in a fortress, becoming, in fact, its prisoner.

The emperor actually did not like and was afraid of St. Petersburg. The shadow of his murdered father haunted him all his life, and he led a reclusive life, visiting the capital rarely and only on especially important occasions, preferring a lifestyle with his family, away from the “light.” A Savor at court it really somehow died out. Only the wife of Grand Duke Vladimir, the Tsar’s brother, the Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, gave receptions and held balls in her luxurious St. Petersburg palace. They were eagerly visited by members of the government, high dignitaries of the court and the diplomatic corps. It was thanks to this that Grand Duke Vladimir and his wife were considered as representatives of the Tsar in St. Petersburg, and the life of the court was actually centered around them.

And the emperor himself with his wife and children remained at a distance, fearing assassination attempts. Ministers had to come to Gatchina to report, and foreign ambassadors sometimes could not see the emperor for months. And the visits of guests - crowned heads during the reign of Alexander III were extremely rare.

Gatchina, in fact, was reliable: soldiers were on duty for several miles around day and night, and they stood at all the entrances and exits of the palace and park. There were even sentries at the door of the emperor's bedroom.

Personal life

Alexander III was happy in his marriage to the daughter of the Danish king. He not only “relaxed” with his family, but, in his words, “enjoyed family life" The emperor was a good family man, and his main motto was constancy. Unlike his father, he adhered to strict morality and was not tempted by the pretty faces of the court ladies. He was inseparable from his Minnie, as he affectionately called his wife. The Empress accompanied him at balls and trips to the theater or concerts, on trips to holy places, at military parades, and while visiting various institutions.

Over the years, he increasingly took into account her opinion, but Maria Feodorovna did not take advantage of this, did not interfere in state affairs and did not make any attempts to influence her husband in any way or contradict him in anything. She was an obedient wife and treated her husband with great respect. And I couldn’t do it any other way.

The emperor kept his family in unconditional obedience. Alexander, while still a crown prince, gave the following instruction to the teacher of his eldest sons, Madame Ollengren: “Neither I nor the Grand Duchess want to turn them into greenhouse flowers. “They should pray well to God, study science, play ordinary children’s games, and be naughty in moderation. Teach well, do not give concessions, ask strictly, and most importantly, do not encourage laziness. If there is anything, then contact me directly, and I know what to do. I repeat that I don’t need porcelain. I need normal Russian children. They'll fight, please. But the prover gets the first whip. This is my very first requirement."

Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna

Having become king, Alexander demanded obedience from all the great princes and princesses, although among them there were persons much older than him. In this respect he was in effect the head of all the Romanovs. He was not only revered, but also feared. Seventeenth Romanov on Russian throne developed a special “family status” for the Russian reigning House. According to this status, from now on only the direct descendants of the Russian tsars in the male line, as well as the tsar’s brothers and sisters, were entitled to the title of Grand Duke with the addition of Imperial Highness. The great-grandchildren of the reigning emperor and their eldest sons had the right only to the title of prince with the addition of highness.

Every morning, the emperor got up at 7 a.m., washed his face with cold water, dressed in simple, comfortable clothes, made himself a cup of coffee, ate a few pieces of black bread and a couple of hard-boiled eggs. Having had a modest breakfast, he sat down at his desk. The whole family was already gathering for second breakfast.

One of the king's favorite recreational activities was hunting and fishing. Rising before dawn and taking a gun, he went to the swamps or forest for the whole day. He could stand in knee-deep water in high boots for hours and catch fish with a fishing rod in the Gatchina pond. Sometimes this activity pushed even state affairs into the background. Alexander’s famous aphorism: “Europe can wait while the Russian Tsar fishes” made the rounds in newspapers in many countries. Sometimes the emperor gathered a small society in his Gatchina house to perform chamber music. He himself played the bassoon, and played with feeling and quite well. From time to time, amateur performances were staged and artists were invited.

Assassination attempts on the emperor

During his not so frequent trips, the emperor forbade escorting his crew, considering this a completely unnecessary measure. But along the entire road the soldiers stood in an unbroken chain - to the surprise of foreigners. Travel by rail - to St. Petersburg or Crimea - was also accompanied by all sorts of precautions. Long before the passage of Alexander III, soldiers with guns loaded with live ammunition were stationed along the entire route. The railway switches were tightly clogged. Passenger trains were diverted to sidings in advance.

Nobody knew which train the sovereign would be traveling on. There was no single “royal” train at all, but several trains of “extreme importance.” They were all disguised as royal ones, and no one could know which train the emperor and his family were on. It was a secret. The soldiers standing in line saluted each such train.

But all this could not prevent the train from crashing from Yalta to St. Petersburg. It was carried out by terrorists at the Borki station, near Kharkov, in 1888: the train derailed and almost all the cars crashed. The Emperor and his family were having lunch at this time in the dining car. The roof collapsed, but the king, thanks to his gigantic strength, was able to hold it on his shoulders with incredible effort and held it until his wife and children got out of the train. The emperor himself received several injuries, which, apparently, resulted in his fatal kidney disease. But, having got out from under the rubble, he, without losing his cool, ordered immediate assistance to the wounded and those who were still under the rubble.

What about the royal family?

The Empress received only bruises and contusions, but the eldest daughter, Ksenia, injured her spine and remained hunchbacked - perhaps that’s why she was married off to a relative. Other family members suffered only minor injuries.

Official reports described the event as a train crash of unknown cause. Despite all efforts, the police and gendarmes were unable to solve this crime. As for the salvation of the emperor and his family, this was talked about as a miracle.

A year before the train crash, an assassination attempt on Alexander III was already being prepared, which fortunately did not take place. On Nevsky Prospect, the street along which the Tsar had to travel to attend a memorial service in the Peter and Paul Cathedral on the occasion of the sixth anniversary of his father's death, young people were arrested holding bombs made in the shape of ordinary books. They reported to the emperor. He ordered that the participants in the assassination be dealt with without unnecessary publicity. Among those arrested and then executed was Alexander Ulyanov, the elder brother of the future leader of the October Bolshevik Revolution, Vladimir Ulyanov-Lenin, who even then set himself the goal of fighting against the autocracy, but not through terror, like his older brother.

Alexander III himself, the father of the last Russian emperor, mercilessly crushed opponents of the autocracy throughout the 13 years of his reign. Hundreds of his political enemies were sent into exile. Ruthless censorship controlled the press. Powerful police reduced the zeal of the terrorists and kept the revolutionaries under surveillance.

Domestic and foreign policy

The situation in the state was sad and difficult. Already the first manifesto on accession to the throne, and especially the manifesto of April 29, 1881, expressed the exact program of both foreign and domestic policy: maintaining order and power, observing the strictest justice and economy, returning to the original Russian principles and ensuring Russian interests everywhere .

In external affairs, this calm firmness of the emperor immediately gave rise to a convincing confidence in Europe that, with complete reluctance to any conquests, Russian interests would be inexorably protected. This largely ensured European peace. The firmness expressed by the government regarding Central Asia and Bulgaria, as well as the meetings of the sovereign with the German and Austrian emperors, only served to strengthen the conviction that had arisen in Europe that the direction of Russian policy was completely determined.

He entered into an alliance with France in order to obtain loans that were necessary for the construction of railways in Russia, begun by his grandfather, Nicholas I. Not liking the Germans, the emperor began to support German industrialists in order to attract their capital for the development of the economy of the state, in every possible way promote the expansion of trade relations. And during his reign, much changed in Russia for the better.

Not wanting war or any acquisitions, Emperor Alexander III had to increase his possessions during clashes in the east Russian Empire, and, moreover, without military action, since the victory of General A.V. Komarov over the Afghans at the Kushka River was an accidental, completely unforeseen clash.

But this brilliant victory had a huge impact on the peaceful annexation of the Turkmens, and then on the expansion of Russia’s possessions in the south to the borders of Afghanistan when the border line was established in 1887 between the Murghab River and the Amu Darya River on the side of Afghanistan, which has since become an Asian territory adjacent to Russia by the state.

On this vast expanse that recently entered Russia, they laid railway, which connected the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea with the center of Russian Central Asian possessions - Samarkand and the Amu Darya River.

In internal affairs, many new regulations were issued.

Alexander III with children and wife

The development of the great cause of the economic structure of the multimillion-dollar peasantry in Russia, as well as the increase in the number of peasants suffering from a lack of land allotment as a result of the increasing population, caused the establishment of the government Peasant Land Bank with its branches. The bank was entrusted with an important mission - to assist in issuing loans for the purchase of land both to entire peasant societies and to peasant partnerships and individual peasants. For the same purpose, to provide assistance to noble landowners who were in difficult economic conditions, the government Noble Bank was opened in 1885.

Significant reforms appeared in the matter of public education.

In the military department, military gymnasiums were transformed into cadet corps.

Another great desire overwhelmed Alexander: to strengthen the religious education of the people. After all, what were the masses of Orthodox Christians in their majority like? In their souls, many still remained pagans, and if they worshiped Christ, they did it, rather, out of habit, and as a rule, because this was the custom in Rus' from time immemorial. And what a disappointment it was for the believing commoner to learn that Jesus was, it turns out, a Jew... By order of the tsar, who himself was distinguished by deep religiosity, three-year parochial schools began to open at churches, where parishioners studied not only the Law of God, but also studied literacy And this was extremely important for Russia, where only 2.5% of the population was literate.

The Holy Governing Synod is instructed to assist the Ministry of Public Education in the field of public schools by opening parish schools in churches.

The general university charter of 1863 was replaced by a new charter on August 1, 1884, which completely changed the position of universities: the direct management of universities and direct authority over a broadly assigned inspectorate was entrusted to the trustee educational district, rectors are elected by the minister and confirmed by the highest authority, the appointment of professors was granted to the minister, the degree of candidate and the title of full student are destroyed, why the final examinations in universities are destroyed and replaced by examinations in government commissions.

At the same time, they began to revise the regulations on gymnasiums and the highest order was taken to expand vocational education.

The court area was also not ignored. The procedure for administering a trial with a jury was supplemented by new rules in 1889, and in the same year the judicial reform spread to the Baltic provinces, in relation to which a firm decision was made to implement in the matter of local government the general principles of management available in the whole of Russia, with the introduction of Russian language.

Death of the Emperor

It seemed that the peacemaker king, this hero, would reign for a long time. A month before the king’s death, no one imagined that his body was already “wear and tear.” Alexander III died unexpectedly for everyone, one year short of his 50th birthday. The cause of his premature death was kidney disease, which was aggravated by the dampness of the premises in Gatchina. The sovereign did not like to undergo treatment and almost never spoke about his illness.

1894, summer - hunting in the swamps weakened his health even more: headaches, insomnia and weakness in the legs appeared. He was forced to turn to doctors. He was recommended to rest, preferably in the warm climate of Crimea. But the emperor was not the kind of person who was capable of disrupting his plans just because he was not feeling well. After all, at the beginning of the year, a trip to Poland with my family was planned in September to spend a couple of weeks at a hunting lodge in Spala.

The sovereign's condition remained unimportant. A major specialist in kidney diseases, Professor Leiden, was urgently summoned from Vienna. After carefully examining the patient, he diagnosed nephritis. At his insistence, the family immediately left for Crimea, to the summer Livadia Palace. The dry, warm Crimean air had a beneficial effect on the king. His appetite improved, his legs became so strong that he could go ashore, enjoy the surf, and sunbathe. Surrounded by the care of the best Russian and foreign doctors, as well as his loved ones, the tsar began to feel much better. However, the improvement turned out to be temporary. The change for the worse came abruptly, the strength began to fade quickly...

On the morning of the first day of November, the emperor insisted that he be allowed to get out of bed and sit in the chair that stood by the window. He told his wife: “I think my time has come. Don't be sad about me. I am completely calm." A little later, the children and the bride of the eldest son were called. The king did not want to be put to bed. With a smile, he looked at his wife, kneeling in front of his chair, her lips whispering: “I have not died yet, but I have already seen an angel...” Immediately after noon, the king-hero died, bowing his head on the shoulder of his beloved wife.

It was the most peaceful death in the last century of Romanov rule. Pavel was brutally killed, his son Alexander passed away, leaving behind a unsolved mystery, another son, Nicholas, despairing and disappointed, most likely, of his own free will, ceased to exist on earth, while Alexander II - the father of the peacefully deceased giant - became a victim of terrorists who called themselves opponents of autocracy and executors of the people's will.

Alexander III died after reigning for only 13 years. He fell into an eternal sleep on a wonderful autumn day, sitting in a huge “Voltaire” chair.

Two days before his death, Alexander III told his eldest son, the future heir to the throne: “You have to take the heavy burden of state power from my shoulders and carry it to the grave just as I carried it and as our ancestors carried it... Autocracy created historical individuality Russia's autocracy will collapse, God forbid, then Russia will collapse with it. The fall of the primordial Russian power will open an endless era of unrest and bloody civil strife... Be strong and courageous, never show weakness.”

Yes! The seventeenth Romanov turned out to be a great seer. His prophecy came true a little less than a quarter of a century later...