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 dictum "Russia for the Russians", and also earned the nickname Peacemaker.
In the meantime, the future emperor Alexander III contented himself with the affectionate household nickname of the bulldog.
He retained this angular grace in his mature years: "He was not handsome, in manners he was rather shy and embarrassed, 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. Nikolay... Little Sasha was not singled out in the royal family in any way: “One might say, he was somewhat in the corral. They did not pay special attention either to his education or his upbringing, "the Minister of Finance recalled. Witte.
Portrait of Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich in his suite coat (S.K. Zaryanko, 1867)
"I was always lazy"
Fans of tsarism love to quote a witty dictum: "The good thing about monarchy is that during the succession to the throne, a worthy person may accidentally be in power." At first glance, this does not apply to Alexander. His educators and teachers, learning that their ward after the death of his brother became the heir to the throne, literally grabbed his head. "Despite assiduity, he studied poorly and was always extremely lazy", - the words of the teacher Grigory Gogel."He was distinguished by his diligence in drill training, but he discovered a complete lack of any military talents," - strategy teacher General Mikhail Dragomirov. And finally, a resume from the head of general education Alexander Professor Chivilev: "I am terrified 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 mistakes: there are such gems of his in official resolutions as "brochures for insolence", "a eight" and beautiful - "ideot". However, few were awarded this title. More often the emperor used other words. "Beast or madman" - oh artist Vereshchagin... "Bastard rabble" - about the French government. Uncle William, the emperor of Germany, he had just a "brute", but the chancellor Otto von Bismarck- already "chief cattle".
The picture is bleak. Especially considering 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 the ruling circles. The new autocrat himself is almost in despair: “A strange feeling took possession of us. What do we do?"
In such reflections, Alexander spent more than two years. In fact, he ruled the empire, but legally he was in no hurry to formalize this matter - the coronation was postponed. The mood of 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 cite speeches that circulated among the lower classes: “What kind of sovereign is he if he has not yet been crowned? I would be a real king, I would be crowned! "
Strength and might
The most interesting thing is that everything came true according to their word. From the moment Alexander was finally crowned, the cowardly blunt heir disappeared somewhere. And the same tsar appeared, about whom the domestic monarchists sigh.
Alexander showed at once what will happen to Russia in the near future. In the process of anointing to the kingdom. Now this may seem ridiculous, but at that 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 overwhelming: “Pearl barley soup. Borshchok. Soup. Jellied ruff. Green peas ".
All this is a Russian table. Moreover, common people, peasant, rude. The most notorious rogues then feasted on peas in pods. To treat such at the coronation of the ruler of the largest empire in the world means to give a weighty slap in the face of his 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 muscles. He abolished the poll tax, introduced an inheritance tax, and the navy, the most knowledge-intensive sphere of the armed forces, became the third in the world after the 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 get close from the other side. Not yet heir to the throne, he loved to kiss the bottle. Sometimes so dashingly that he fell into a real binge. Rescued him from hard drinking Dr. Botkin. But the addiction remained. And although the emperor did not unsuccessfully fight her, rumors and gossip about his alcoholism fell on the prepared ground.
This was especially useful for the revolutionaries, who needed to create the image of a "dumbass and drunkard" on the throne in order to show the full depth of the fall of the monarchy and the need to overthrow or even kill the tsar. Hence the legend that the tsar allegedly secretly got drunk, and then lay on the floor, jerked his legs and tried to knock everyone passing by. It is not true. Evidence of this is the memoirs of his personal doctor Nikolay Velyaminov: “Did he drink vodka with a snack? It seems not, and if he drank, then in no way more than one small glass. At the table, if he drank, then 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 both to him personally and to the results of his reign is the painting Vasnetsova"Heroes". It is known that the artist painted 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 "Better not to marry at all than to scold your wife for centuries"
© Commons.wikimedia.org / V. Vasnetsov "Flying Carpet" (1880)
© Commons.wikimedia.org / V. Vasnetsov "From apartment to apartment" (1876)
© Commons.wikimedia.org / V. Vasnetsov "Beggar Singers" (1873)
© Commons.wikimedia.org / V. Vasnetsov "After the Battle of Igor Svyatoslavovich with the Polovtsy" (1880)
Tsar Alexander III, who ruled Russia from 1881 to 1894, was remembered by posterity for the fact that under him a period of stability and the absence of wars began in the country. Having survived many personal tragedies, the emperor left the empire in a phase of economic and foreign policy recovery, which seemed firm and unshakable - such were the character traits of the Peacemaker Tsar. A short biography of Emperor Alexander III will be told to the reader in the article.
Life milestones
The fate of the Tsar-Peacemaker abounded with surprises, but despite all the sharp turns in his life, he carried himself with dignity, following the principles learned once and for all.
Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich was not initially considered in 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, Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich, who was born two years earlier, was to inherit the throne. 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 the 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 at the Danube army, where he commanded one of the detachments.
Another tragedy that elevated Alexander to the throne was the murder of his father by the Narodnaya Volya. Taking the reins of government into his own hands, the new tsar dealt with the terrorists, gradually extinguishing the internal turmoil in the country. Alexander ended plans for a constitution, reaffirming his commitment to traditional autocracy.
In 1887, the organizers of the attempt on the Tsar's life were arrested and hanged, which never took place (one of the participants in the conspiracy was Alexander Ulyanov, the elder brother of the future revolutionary Vladimir Lenin).
And the following year, the emperor nearly lost all his family members in a train crash at the Borki station in Ukraine. The king personally held the roof of the dining car in which his loved ones were.
The trauma received during this incident marked the beginning of the end of the reign of Emperor Alexander III, which was half the length of 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 jade, but did not get there and died a month later at 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, along with his brother's bride, went to Nice to look after the dying.
The very next year after his brother's death while traveling in Europe, Alexander came to Copenhagen to offer his hand and heart to Princess Minnie (this was Dagmara's home name).
"I do not know her feelings for me, and it torments me very much. I am sure that we can be so happy together," Alexander wrote to his father at this time.
The engagement was successfully completed, and in the fall of 1866, the bride of the Grand Duke, who received the name Maria Fedorovna in baptism, married him. Subsequently, she 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, on which Emperor Alexander II pinned his hopes, did not take place due to the intrigues of the British Queen Victoria, who managed to marry her son, who later became King Edward VII, to the Danish princess.
For some time Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich was in love with Princess Maria Meshcherskaya, his mother's maid of honor. For her sake, he was ready to give up the rights to the throne, but after hesitation he chose the 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 successor saw one of the reasons for the rampant terrorism under Emperor Alexander II in the excessively liberal order that was established during this period. Ascending 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 and stricter rules regarding printing, libraries and reading rooms.
- In 1889-1890, the role of the nobles in the 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 strata of the urban population were deprived of their voting rights.
- A "circular on cook's children" was issued, limiting the rights of commoners to receive education.
Reforms to endow the lot 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 the economic situation of the peasants. In the first years of the reign, the redemption payments for land allotments were reduced, and a peasant land bank was created, the duty of which was to issue loans to farmers for the purchase of allotments.
The emperor also strove to streamline labor relations in the country. Under him, the factory work of children was limited, as well as night shifts in factories for women and adolescents.
Foreign policy of the Tsar-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 of the 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, which made 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 did not show its viability, and began to focus on Western European states. Under him, an alliance was concluded with France.
Balkan U-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 Russia's sympathies for this country.
Bulgaria was involved in a war with Serbia of the same faith, which provoked the wrath of the Russian tsar, who did not want a new possible war with Turkey because of the provocative policies of the Bulgarians. In 1886, Russia broke off diplomatic relations with Bulgaria, which had 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 flared up back in 1887 as a result of Germany's failed attack on France. Kaiser Wilhelm I listened to the tsar's voice, and Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, harboring evil against Russia, provoked customs wars between states. Subsequently, the crisis ended in 1894 with the conclusion of a Russian-German trade agreement beneficial to Russia.
Asian conqueror
Under Alexander III, the annexation of territories in Central Asia continues by peaceful means at the expense of the lands inhabited by the Turkmen. In 1885, this caused a military clash with the army of the Afghan emir on the Kushka River, whose soldiers were led by British officers. It ended with the defeat of the Afghans.
Domestic politics and economic growth
The cabinet of Alexander III managed to achieve financial stabilization and the growth of industrial production. The finance ministers under him were N. Kh. Bunge, I. A. Vyshnegradskiy and S. Yu. Witte.
The government compensated for the abolished poll tax, which unduly burdened the poor, with a variety of indirect taxes and higher 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 a record pace.
Tsar Alexander 3 and his family
The biography testifies that on his mother's side, Alexander III had relatives in the Germanic Hesse house. Subsequently, in the same dynasty, his son Nikolai Alexandrovich found himself a bride.
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, the third - George - at the age of 28 in Georgia. The eldest son Nicholas II and the youngest Mikhail Alexandrovich died after the October Revolution. And the two daughters of the emperor, Xenia and Olga, lived until 1960. One of them died this year in London and the other in Toronto, Canada.
Sources describe the emperor as an exemplary family man - this quality was inherited from him by Nicholas II.
Now you know a summary of the biography of Alexander 3. Finally, I would like to bring to your attention a few 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 dress and culinary preferences, the emperor adhered to common folk traditions, at home he wore a patterned Russian shirt, and preferred simple dishes, such as pig with horseradish and pickled cucumbers, from food. However, he loved to season food with exquisite sauces, and also adored hot chocolate.
- An interesting fact in the biography of Alexander III is that he had a passion for collecting. The tsar collected paintings and other objects of art, 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. A well-known phrase of Alexander: "When the Russian Tsar is fishing, Europe can wait."
- Together with his wife, the emperor periodically visited Denmark during his summer vacation. In the warmer months, he did not like to be disturbed, but at other times of the year he was completely immersed in business.
- The Tsar could not be denied indulgence and a sense of humor. Having learned, for example, about the criminal case against the soldier Oreshkin, who, being drunk in a tavern, declared that he wanted to spit on the emperor, Alexander III ordered to stop the case, and no longer hang his portraits 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 reformer emperor, and his mother was a queen. The boy was the third child in a family, in which then five more children were born. His elder brother Nikolai was preparing for the reign, 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 too smart, but possessed a sound mind and the gift of reasoning.
By disposition, Alexander was kind and a little shy, although he turned out to be a noble figure: with a height of 193 cm, his weight reached 120 kg. Despite his austere 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 in every possible way support Russian art 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 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 through Italy, suddenly felt bad and suddenly died of tuberculosis of the spine, 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 teachers of the young man 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 accession to the kingdom, Alexander will make his teacher an advisor 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 across Russia.
Crowning the throne
In early March 1881, after another attempt on his life, Emperor Alexander II died from his wounds, and his son ascended the throne urgently. Two months later, the new emperor promulgated the "Manifesto on the inviolability of the autocracy," with which he suppressed all the liberal changes in the structure of the state, established by his father.
The sacrament of the wedding to the kingdom took place later - on May 15, 1883 in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. During the reign, the royal family moved to the palace in Gatchina.
Domestic policy of Alexander III
Alexander III adhered to clearly expressed monarchical and nationalist principles, his actions in domestic politics could be called a counter-reformation. The first thing the emperor did was to sign the decrees that sent the Liberal ministers to retirement. Among them were Prince Konstantin Nikolaevich, M. T. Loris-Melikova, D. A. Milyutin, A. A. Abaza. He made KP Pobedonostsev, N. Ignatiev, DA Tolstoy, MN Katkov key figures in his circle.
In 1889, a talented politician and financier S. Yu. Witte appeared at the court, whom Aleksandr Aleksandrovich soon appointed Minister of Finance and Minister of Railways. Sergei Yulievich did a lot for Great Russia. He introduced the provision of the ruble with the country's gold reserves, which contributed to the strengthening of the Russian currency in 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 for peasants Alexander III tightened the right to receive education and vote in zemstvo elections, he gave them the opportunity to take loans at low interest rates in order to expand their economy and strengthen their position on the earth. For the nobles, the emperor also imposed restrictions. Already in the first year of his reign, he canceled 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 the Russians." On the outskirts of the Empire, he proclaimed an active Russification.
Alexander III did a lot for the metallurgical industry and the development of oil and gas production. Under him, a real boom in improving the well-being of the people began, and terrorist threats completely stopped. The autocrat also did a lot for Orthodoxy. During his reign, the number of dioceses increased, new monasteries and temples were built. In 1883, one of the most magnificent buildings was erected - the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
As a legacy after his reign, Alexander III left a country with a strong economy.
Foreign policy of Alexander III
Emperor Alexander III, with his wisdom in foreign policy actions and the prevention 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, the Russian fleet became the third after the flotillas of France and Great Britain.
The emperor managed to maintain calm relations with all the main rivals. He signed peace agreements with Germany, Britain, and also significantly strengthened Franco-Russian friendship on the world stage.
During the years of 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 the heir to Nicholas, he was left with a bride, the Danish princess Maria Dagmar. It suddenly turned out that young Alexander was also in love with her. And even despite the fact that for some time he courted the maid of honor, Princess Maria Meshcherskaya, Alexander, at the age of 21, proposes to Maria Sophia Frederica. So in a short time, Alexander's personal life changed, which he did not regret later on.
After the sacrament of the wedding, which took place in the large church of the Winter Palace, the young couple moved to Anichkov Palace, where they lived until Alexander's accession to 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 them survived to adulthood.
Elder Nicholas will become the last Russian tsar from the Romanov dynasty. Of the younger children - Alexander, Georgy, Xenia, Mikhail, Olga - only sisters will survive to old age. Alexander will die at the age of one year, George 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 brought up his children in severity. Their clothing and food were the most basic. The royal offspring were engaged in physical exercise and received a good education. Peace and harmony reigned in the family, spouses with children often went to Denmark to visit their relatives.
Unsuccessful attempt
On March 1, 1887, an unsuccessful attempt on the life of the emperor took place. The participants in the conspiracy were students Vasily Osipanov, Vasily Generalov, Pakhomiy Andreyushkin and Alexander Ulyanov. Despite the many months of preparation for a terrorist act under the leadership of Pyotr Shevyrev, the young people did not manage to carry out their plans to the end. All four were captured by the police and two months after the trial were executed by hanging in the Shlisselburg fortress.
Several members of the revolutionary circle, who were also arrested after the terrorists, were sent into exile for a long time.
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 family traveled crashed near Kharkov. Part of the train capsized, people died. The roof of the carriage, in which the royal persons were, was held by the mighty emperor for a long time with his own forces for 30 minutes. By this he saved everyone who was near him. But such an overstrain undermined the health of the king. 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 felt very ill. Ernst Leiden, a professor of medicine from Germany, was called, who diagnosed Alexander Alexandrovich with nephropathy. On the recommendation of a doctor, the emperor was sent to Greece, but on the way he got worse, and his family decided to stay in Livadia in the Crimea.
During the month of his heroic physique, the tsar died out in front of everyone and, due to the complete failure of his kidneys, died on November 1, 1894. During the last month, his confessor John (Yanyshev), as well as Archpriest John Sergiev, in the future John of Kronstadt, were constantly with him.
An hour and a half after the death of Alexander III, his son Nicholas swore allegiance to the kingdom. The coffin with the body of the emperor 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 emperors-conquerors. This happened because of his peacefulness and non-conflict. His persona is mentioned in some historical books dedicated to the Romanov family.
In documentary filmmaking, information about him is presented in several tapes of journalists and. Feature films featuring the character of Alexander III began to appear in 1925. In total, 5 paintings were published, including "The Shore of Life", in which the emperor-peacemaker was played by Lev Zolotukhin, 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 picture of 2017 "Matilda". In it he played the king.
After the assassination of Alexander 2, his son, Emperor Alexander 3, began to rule Russia. This ruler took over the country at the age of 20. From childhood, this young man had a passion for military sciences, which he was more willing to do than others.
The death of his father made a strong impression on Alexander III. He sensed the danger that revolutionaries could carry within themselves. As a result, Emperor Alexander III vowed that he would do everything possible to destroy the beginnings of a revolution in Russia. On March 2, 1881, the Russian government swore allegiance to the new emperor. In his speech, the emperor stressed that he intends 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 the solution of the peasant question. He believed that at all costs in Russia it was necessary to preserve the peasant communities, which were supposed to preserve the cohabitation of the peasants and rid them of poverty. Wanting to strengthen this legislatively, Emperor Alexander III issued a law in 1893 that extremely limited the possibility of leaving the community.
During the reign of Alexander III in Russia, great attention was 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, according to the law, children between the ages of 12 and 15 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 employer and the worker. Thus, Russia became the first country in Europe to legally control the working conditions of workers in factories and plants.
Determining the foreign policy of the state, Emperor Alexander III made the only correct conclusion in the current situation. Russia has taken a position of neutrality. Alexander III did not want to intervene in bloody European conflicts, which for a century had been suppressed only by the Russian army. The emperor said that Russia has no friends, there are only state interests that need to be followed. A similar opinion was expressed much later by the British Prime Minister Churchill, who, speaking of England, noted that England had no permanent friends, only permanent interests. As for Alexander III, he said that Russia has only 2 friends: its army and its navy.
An exception from the policy of neutrality was made only for the Balkans, since Emperor Alexander III 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 was contrary to 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 ranks, without consulting Russia. As a result, not wanting to get involved in a 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 by elevating 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 III lasted until 1894. On October 20, 1894, Emperor Alexander III died.
Emperor of All Russia, the second son of Emperor Alexander II and Empress Maria Alexandrovna, Alexander III was born on February 26, 1845, ascended to 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 of the Moscow University economist Chivilev. In addition to general and special military education, political and legal sciences were presented to Alexander by the invited professors of St. Petersburg and Moscow universities.
After the untimely 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 the heir-Tsarevich, proceeded to continue both theoretical studies and to fulfill many responsibilities in state affairs. ...
Marriage
1866, October 28 - Alexander was married to the daughter of the Danish King Christian IX and Queen Louise Sophia Frederica Dagmara, who was named Maria Fedorovna at the time of marriage. The happy family life of the heir sovereign bound the Russian people with the royal family with the bonds of good hopes. God blessed the concluded marriage: on May 6, 1868, Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich was born. In addition to the heir-crown prince, their august children: Grand Duke Georgy Alexandrovich, born on 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
Ascent to the throne
The accession to the royal throne of Alexander III 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 extremely purposeful. He was remarkable for his amazing efficiency, he could calmly think over every question, in his resolutions he was straightforward and sincere, did not tolerate deception. Being himself an unusually truthful person, he hated liars. “His word never diverged from his deed, and he was an outstanding person for nobility and purity of heart,” - this is how people who were in his service characterized Alexander III. Over the years, the philosophy of his life was formed: to be for his subjects an example of moral purity, honesty, justice and diligence.
The reign of Alexander III
Under Alexander III, military service was reduced to 5 years of active service, and the life of the soldiers improved significantly. He himself could not stand the military spirit, did not tolerate parades, and even was a bad rider.
The solution of economic and social issues is what Alexander III saw as his main task. And he devoted himself, above 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 personally see the hard 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 a truly Russian tsar, not only in appearance, but also in spirit, forgetting that by blood he was more likely a German.
During the reign of this tsar, the words "Russia for the Russians" were first heard. A decree was issued prohibiting foreigners from buying real estate in the western regions of Russia, there was a newspaper clamor against the dependence of Russian industry on the Germans, the first Jewish pogroms began, and "temporary" rules for Jews were issued, which greatly infringed upon their rights. Jews were not accepted in gymnasiums, universities and other educational institutions. And in some provinces, they were simply forbidden to live or enter the public service.
Alexander III in his youth
This king, who was not capable of cunning or ingratiating himself, had his own definite attitude towards foreigners. First of all, he disliked the Germans and generally did not harbor 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 on the Russian throne, the intelligent and intelligent wife of King Christian IX of Denmark, was nicknamed “the mother of all Europe”, since she was able to wonderfully accommodate her 4 children: Dagmara became the Russian queen; Alexandra, the eldest daughter, married the Prince of Wales, who during the lifetime of Queen Victoria played an active role in the state, and then became King of Great Britain; son Frederick, after the death of his father, ascended the Danish throne, the younger, George, became the Greek king; the grandchildren became related to each other in almost all the royal houses of Europe.
Alexander III was also distinguished by the fact that he did not like excessive luxury and was completely indifferent to etiquette. For almost all the years of his reign, he lived in Gatchina, 49 kilometers from St. Petersburg, in the beloved palace of his great-grandfather, to whose personality he especially gravitated, keeping his office intact. And the state rooms of the palace were empty. And although there were 900 rooms in the Gatchina Palace, the emperor's family housed not 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 of numerous peers - relatives of the large Romanov family. Empress Maria, however, still preferred the city and every winter begged the emperor to move to the capital. Sometimes agreeing to the requests of his wife, the tsar, nevertheless, refused to live in the Winter Palace, finding it unfriendly and too luxurious. The imperial couple made their residence Anichkov Palace on Nevsky Prospect.
The noisy court life and secular bustle quickly bored the tsar, and the family with the first spring days again moved to Gatchina. The emperor's enemies tried to assert that the tsar, frightened by the reprisal against his father, locked himself in Gatchina, as in a fortress, becoming, in fact, its prisoner.
In reality, the emperor did not like Petersburg and was afraid of it. The shadow of his murdered father haunted him all his life, and he led a reclusive lifestyle, he rarely visited the capital and only on especially important occasions, preferring the lifestyle with his family, away from the "light". And the social life at the court really died out somehow. Only the wife of Grand Duke Vladimir, the brother of the tsar, the Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, gave receptions and hosted balls in her luxurious St. Petersburg palace. Members of the government, high dignitaries of the court and the diplomatic corps willingly visited them. It is thanks to this that the Grand Duke Vladimir and his wife were considered, as it were, the representatives of the tsar in St. Petersburg, around them, in fact, the life of the court was concentrated.
And the emperor himself with his wife and children stayed in the distance, fearing attempts. The ministers had to come to Gatchina for a report, and sometimes foreign ambassadors could not see the emperor for months. And the visits of guests - crowned heads during the reign of Alexander III were extremely rare.
In reality, Gatchina 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 the park. There were sentries even at the door of the emperor's bedroom.
Personal life
In a marriage with the daughter of the Danish king, Alexander III was happy. He did not just "relax" 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 a strict morality, he was not tempted by the pretty faces of the court ladies. From his Minnie, as he affectionately called his wife, he was inseparable. The Empress accompanied him at balls and trips to the theater or concerts, on trips to holy places, at military parades, during visits to various institutions.
Over the years, he increasingly reckoned with her opinion, but Maria Fedorovna did not use this, did not interfere in state affairs and did not attempt to influence her husband in any way or contradict him in some way. She was an obedient wife and treated her husband with great respect. And it could not be otherwise.
The emperor held his family in unconditional obedience. The teacher of his eldest sons, Madame Ollengren, Alexander, while still a crown prince, gave the following instruction: “Neither I nor the Grand Duchess want to make greenhouse flowers out of them. “They should pray well to God, study science, play ordinary children's games, and be naughty in moderation. Teach well, do not give indulgences, ask to the fullest extent, and most importantly, do not encourage laziness. If anything, please contact me directly, and I know what to do. I repeat that I don’t need porcelain. I need normal Russian children. Fight - please. But the prover is the first whip. This is my very first requirement. "
Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna
Alexander, having become king, demanded obedience from all the grand dukes and princesses, although there were persons between them and much older than him. In this respect, he was in fact the head of all the Romanovs. He was not only revered, but also feared. The seventeenth Romanov on the Russian throne developed a special "family status" for the Russian reigning House. According to this status, only direct descendants of Russian tsars in the male line, as well as the tsar's brothers and sisters, were now entitled to the title of Grand Duke with the addition of Imperial Highness. The great-grandchildren of the reigning emperor and their elder sons were entitled only to the title of prince with the addition of highness.
Every morning the emperor got up at 7 o'clock in the morning, washed himself with cold water, dressed in simple comfortable clothes, made a cup of coffee for himself, ate a few slices of black bread and a couple of hard-boiled eggs. After a modest breakfast, he sat down at his desk. The whole family gathered for the second breakfast.
Hunting and fishing were one of the king's favorite types of recreation. Getting up before dawn and taking a gun, he went for the whole day to the marshes or the forest. For hours he could stand in high knee-deep boots in the water and fish with a line in the Gatchina pond. Sometimes this occupation pushed even state affairs into the background. The famous aphorism of Alexander: "Europe can wait while the Russian tsar is fishing" went around the newspapers of many countries. Sometimes in his Gatchina house the emperor gathered a small society to perform chamber music. He himself played the bassoon, and he played with feeling and very well. From time to time, amateur performances were staged, artists were invited.
Assassination attempts on the emperor
During his not so frequent trips, the emperor forbade the escort of his crew, considering it an absolutely unnecessary measure. But along the entire road, the soldiers stood in an unbreakable chain - surprisingly foreigners. Departures by rail - to Petersburg or to the Crimea - were also hedged with all sorts of precautions. Long before the passage of Alexander III, soldiers with rifles loaded with live ammunition were placed all along the way. The railroad switches were jammed tightly. Passenger trains were diverted to sidings in advance.
Nobody knew which train the emperor would take. There was no one "royal" train at all, and there were several trains of "extreme importance". All of them were disguised as royal ones, and no one could know which train the emperor and his family were on. It was a mystery. Each such train was saluted by the soldiers in the chain.
But all this could not prevent the train wreck, which followed from Yalta to St. Petersburg. It was staged by terrorists at the Borki station, not far from 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 an incredible effort and held it until his wife and children got off the train. The emperor himself received several injuries, which, most likely, entailed a fatal kidney disease for him. But, getting out from under the rubble, he, without losing his composure, ordered immediate assistance to the wounded and those who were still under the rubble.
And what about the royal family?
The empress received only bruises and bruises, but the eldest daughter, Ksenia, injured her spine and remained hunchbacked - perhaps that is why she was married to a relative. Other family members received only minor injuries.
In official reports, this event was described as a train wreck for an unknown reason. Despite all their efforts, the police and gendarmes did not manage to solve this crime. As for the salvation of the emperor and his family, they talked about it as a miracle.
A year before the train crash, an attempt on the life of Alexander III was already being prepared, which fortunately did not take place. On Nevsky Prospekt, the street the tsar was supposed to travel along to attend the funeral service at the Peter and Paul Cathedral on the occasion of the sixth anniversary of his father's death, young people were arrested holding bombs in the form of ordinary books. Reported to the emperor. He ordered to deal with the participants in the assassination attempt without unnecessary publicity. Among those arrested and then executed was Alexander Ulyanov, the elder brother of the future leader of the October Revolution of the Bolsheviks, Vladimir Ulyanov-Lenin, who already then set himself the goal of fighting against the autocracy, but not by terror, like his older brother.
Alexander III himself, the father of the last Russian emperor, during all 13 years of his reign mercilessly crushed the opponents of autocracy. Hundreds of his political enemies were sent into exile. Ruthless censorship controlled the press. The powerful police curbed 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 of 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 foreign affairs, this calm firmness of the emperor immediately gave rise to convincing confidence in Europe that, with a complete reluctance to any conquests, Russian interests would be inexorably protected. This has 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 emperors of Germany and Austria, served only to strengthen the conviction that had developed in Europe that the direction of Russian policy had been fully 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 loving the Germans, the emperor began to support German industrialists in order to attract their capital for the development of the country's economy, in every possible way promote the expansion of trade ties. And during his reign, much has changed in Russia for the better.
Not wanting a war or any acquisitions, Emperor Alexander III had to increase the possessions of the Russian Empire during clashes in the east, 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 tremendous 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 between the Murghab River and the Amu Darya River was established in 1887 on the part of Afghanistan, which has since become an Asian adjacent to Russia. the state.
A railway was built on this vast territory that recently entered Russia, which connected the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea with the center of Russian Central Asian possessions - Samarkand and the Amu Darya River.
In matters of internal affairs, many new legal provisions were issued.
Alexander III with children and wife
The development of the great cause of the economic structure of the multimillion peasantry in Russia, as well as the increase in the number of peasants suffering from a shortage of land allotments 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 the issuance of loans for the purchase of land both to entire peasant societies, and to peasant associations and individual peasants. For the same purpose, to provide assistance to the noble landowners, who were in difficult economic conditions, in 1885 the government Noble Bank was opened.
Significant reforms took place in the field 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 majority of Orthodox Christians like? In their souls, many were still pagans, and if they worshiped Christ, they did it, rather, out of habit, and as a rule, because it was so customary in Russia from time immemorial. And what a disappointment it was for the believing commoner to learn that Jesus was, it turns out, a Jew ... By the decree of the king, who himself was deeply religious, three-year parish schools began to open in 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 were literate.
The Holy Governing Synod has been instructed to assist the Ministry of Public Education in the field of public schools by opening parish schools at 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 the direct authorities over a wide-ranging inspection were entrusted to the trustee of the educational district, rectors were elected by the minister and approved by the highest authority, the appointment of professors was given to the minister, the candidate's degree and the title of valid student have been destroyed, why the final examinations in universities have been abolished and replaced by examinations in government commissions.
At the same time, they began to revise the regulations on gymnasiums and the highest order was to take care of the expansion of vocational education.
The court area was also not ignored. The procedure for sending a court with a jury was supplemented by new rules of 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 local government the general principles of governance that are present in the whole of Russia, with the introduction of clerical work Russian language.
Death of the emperor
It seemed that the king-peacemaker, this hero, would reign for a long time. A month before the death of the tsar, no one imagined that his body was already "worn out." Alexander III died unexpectedly for everyone, not having lived one year to be 50 years old. 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 be treated, and in general he almost never spoke about his illness.
Summer 1894 - hunting among the swamps further weakened his health: headaches, insomnia and weakness in the legs appeared. He had to go to doctors. He was advised to rest, preferably in the warm climate of Crimea. But the emperor was not the kind of person who is capable of disrupting his plans just because he feels bad. After all, at the beginning of the year, a trip was planned in September with my family to Poland to spend a couple of weeks in a hunting lodge in Spala.
The state of the sovereign remained unimportant. From Vienna, the largest specialist in renal diseases, Professor Leiden, was urgently summoned. Having carefully examined the patient, he diagnosed nephritis. At his insistence, the family immediately left for the Crimea, to the summer Livadia Palace. The dry warm Crimean air had a beneficial effect on the king. His appetite improved, his legs were so strong that he could go ashore, enjoy the sea surf, take sun baths. 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 was only temporary. A change for the worse came abruptly, forces began to fade away 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 at the window. He said to his wife: “I think my time has come. Don't be sad for 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, his lips whispering: "I am not dead yet, but I have already seen an angel ..." Immediately after noon, the hero-king died, bowing his head on the shoulder of his beloved wife.
It was the most peaceful death in the last century of the Romanovs. Paul was brutally killed, his son Alexander passed away, leaving behind a still unsolved mystery, another son, Nikolai, in despair and disillusionment, most likely, of his own free will ceased to exist on earth, but 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, having reigned for only 13 years. He fell asleep in eternal sleep on a wonderful autumn day, sitting in a huge "Voltaire" armchair.
Two days before his death, Alexander III said to his eldest son - the heir to the throne of the future: “You have to take from my shoulders the heavy burden of state power and carry it to the grave just as I carried it and as our ancestors carried it ... Autocracy created a historical individuality Russia The autocracy will collapse, God forbid, then Russia will collapse with it. The fall of the primordial Russian power will open an endless era of turmoil and bloody feuds ... Be firm and courageous, never show weakness. "
Yes! Seventeenth Romanov turned out to be a great visionary. His prophecy came true a little less than a quarter of a century ...