How many children did Alexander have 3. The reign of Alexander III (briefly)

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

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

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

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

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

Death of Alexander III

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

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

Children of Alexander III

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

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

Maria Fedorovna

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

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

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

Emperor Alexander III (1845-1894) ascended the throne after the assassination of his father Alexander II by terrorists. Ruled the Russian Empire in 1881-1894. He showed himself to be an extremely tough autocrat, mercilessly fighting any revolutionary manifestations in the country.

On the day of his father's death, the new ruler of Russia left the Winter Palace and, surrounding himself with heavy guards, took refuge in Gatchina. That for many years became his main stake, as the sovereign was afraid of assassination attempts and was especially afraid of being poisoned. He lived extremely closed, and security was on duty around the clock.

The years of the reign of Alexander III (1881-1894)

Domestic politics

It often happens that the son holds different views than the father. This state of affairs was also characteristic of the new emperor. Having ascended the throne, he immediately established himself as a consistent opponent of his father's policy. And by the nature of his character, the sovereign was not a reformer and thinker.

Here one should take into account the fact that Alexander III was the second son, and the eldest son Nicholas was prepared for state activity from an early age. But he fell ill and died in 1865 at the age of 21. After that, Alexander was considered the heir, but he was no longer a boy, and by that time he had received a rather superficial education.

He fell under the influence of his teacher K. P. Pobedonostsev, who was an ardent opponent of Western-style reforms. Therefore, the new king became the enemy of all those institutions that could weaken the autocracy. As soon as the newly-made autocrat ascended the throne, he immediately removed all his father's ministers from their posts.

First of all, he showed the rigidity of character in relation to the murderers of Alexander II. Since they committed the crime on March 1, they were called March 1st. All five were sentenced to death by hanging. Many public figures asked the emperor to replace the death penalty with imprisonment, but the new ruler of the Russian Empire upheld the death sentence.

The police regime has noticeably increased in the state. It was reinforced by the "Regulation on enhanced and emergency protection." As a result, protests have noticeably decreased, and terrorist activity has sharply declined. Only one successful attempt was recorded on the prosecutor Strelnikov in 1882 and one failed on the emperor in 1887. Despite the fact that the conspirators were only going to kill the sovereign, they were hanged. In total, 5 people were executed, and among them was Lenin's older brother Alexander Ulyanov.

At the same time, the situation of the people was relieved. Purchase payments fell, banks began to issue loans to peasants for the purchase of arable land. Poll taxes were abolished, night factory work for women and adolescents was limited. Also, Emperor Alexander III signed a decree "On the conservation of forests." Its execution was entrusted to the governors-general. In 1886, the Russian Empire established a national holiday, the Railwayman's Day. The financial system stabilized, and industry began to develop rapidly.

Foreign policy

The years of the reign of Emperor Alexander III were peaceful, so the sovereign was called peacekeeper. He was primarily concerned with finding reliable allies. Relations with Germany did not develop due to trade rivalry, so Russia moved closer to France, which was interested in an anti-German alliance. In 1891, the French squadron arrived in Kronstadt on a friendly visit. The emperor himself met her.

He twice prevented a German attack on France. And the French, in gratitude, named one of the main bridges across the Seine in honor of the Russian emperor. In addition, Russian influence in the Balkans increased. Clear boundaries were established in the south of Central Asia, and Russia was completely entrenched in the Far East.

In general, even the Germans noted that the emperor of the Russian Empire was a real autocrat. And when enemies say this, it is worth a lot.

The Russian emperor was deeply convinced that the royal family should be a role model. Therefore, in personal relationships, he adhered to the principles of worthy Christian behavior. In this, apparently, the fact that the sovereign was in love with his wife played an important role. She was the Danish princess Sophia Frederika Dagmar (1847-1928). After the adoption of Orthodoxy, she became Maria Feodorovna.

At first, the girl was predicted to be the wife of the heir to the throne, Nikolai Alexandrovich. The bride came to Russia and met the Romanov family. Alexander fell in love with a Dane at first sight, but he did not dare to express it in any way, since she was the bride of his older brother. However, Nikolai died before the wedding, and Alexander's hands were untied.

Alexander III with his wife Maria Feodorovna

In the summer of 1866, the new heir to the throne made the girl an offer of marriage. Soon the engagement took place, and on October 28, 1866, the young people played a wedding. Maria fit perfectly into the metropolitan society, and a happy marriage lasted almost 30 years.

Husband and wife parted very rarely. The Empress even accompanied her husband on a bear hunt. When the spouses wrote letters to each other, they were filled with love and care for each other. In this marriage, 6 children were born. Among them is the future Emperor Nicholas II. Maria Feodorovna, after the start of the revolution, went to her homeland in Denmark, where she died in 1928, having outlived her beloved husband for a long time.

The idyll of family life was almost destroyed by a railway accident that happened on October 17, 1888. The tragedy occurred near Kharkov near the Borki station. The royal train was carrying a crowned family from the Crimea and was moving at high speed. As a result, he derailed on a railway embankment. At the same time, 21 people died and 68 were injured.

As for the royal family, at the time of the tragedy she was having lunch. The dining car fell off the embankment and collapsed. The roof of the car collapsed down, but the Russian Tsar, who had a powerful physique and a height of 1.9 meters, put his shoulders up and held the roof until the whole family got to a safe place. Such a happy ending was perceived by the people as a sign of God's grace. Everyone began to say that now nothing terrible would happen to the Romanov dynasty.

However, Emperor Alexander III died relatively young. His life was cut short on October 20, 1894 in the Livadia Palace (the royal residence in the Crimea) from chronic nephritis. The disease gave complications to the vessels and heart, and the sovereign died at the age of 49 (read more in the article Death of Alexander III). Emperor Nicholas II Romanov ascended the Russian throne.

Leonid Druzhnikov

V. Klyuchevsky: "Alexander III raised Russian historical thought, Russian national consciousness."

Education and the beginning of activity

Alexander III (Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov) was born in February 1845. He was the second son of Emperor Alexander II and Empress Maria Alexandrovna.

His elder brother Nikolai Alexandrovich was considered the heir to the throne, so the younger Alexander was preparing for a military career. But the premature death of his older brother in 1865 unexpectedly changed the fate of the 20-year-old youth, who faced the need for succession to the throne. He had to change his mind and start getting a more fundamental education. Among the teachers of Alexander Alexandrovich were the most famous people of that time: the historian S. M. Solovyov, Ya. K. Grot, who taught him the history of literature, M. I. Dragomirov taught the art of war. But the teacher of jurisprudence K.P. Pobedonostsev had the greatest influence on the future emperor, who during the reign of Alexander held the post of Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod and had a great influence on state affairs.

In 1866, Alexander married the Danish princess Dagmar (in Orthodoxy - Maria Feodorovna). Their children: Nicholas (later Russian Emperor Nicholas II), George, Xenia, Mikhail, Olga. The last family photo taken in Livadia shows from left to right: Tsarevich Nicholas, Grand Duke George, Empress Maria Feodorovna, Grand Duchess Olga, Grand Duke Mikhail, Grand Duchess Xenia and Emperor Alexander III.

The last family photo of Alexander III

Before ascending the throne, Alexander Alexandrovich was the chief ataman of all Cossack troops, was the commander of the troops of the St. Petersburg Military District and the Guards Corps. From 1868 he was a member of the State Council and the Committee of Ministers. Participated in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, commanded the Ruschuk detachment in Bulgaria. After the war, he participated in the creation of the Volunteer Fleet, a joint-stock shipping company (together with Pobedonostsev), which was supposed to promote the foreign economic policy of the government.

Emperor's personality

S.K. Zaryanko "Portrait of Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich in a retinue frock coat"

Alexander III was not like his father either in appearance, or in character, or in habits, or in the very mindset. He was distinguished by a very large height (193 cm) and strength. In his youth, he could bend a coin with his fingers and break a horseshoe. Contemporaries note that he was devoid of external aristocracy: he preferred unpretentiousness in clothes, modesty, was not inclined to comfort, he liked to spend leisure time in a narrow family or friendly circle, he was thrifty, adhered to strict moral rules. S.Yu. Witte described the emperor as follows: “He impressed with his impressiveness, calmness of his manners and, on the one hand, extreme firmness, and on the other hand, complacency in his face ... in appearance, he looked like a big Russian peasant from the central provinces, he was most approached would suit: short fur coat, undercoat and bast shoes; and yet, with his appearance, which reflected his enormous character, beautiful heart, complacency, justice, and at the same time firmness, he undoubtedly impressed, and, as I said above, if they had not known that he was an emperor, he would entered the room in any suit - no doubt, everyone would have paid attention to him.

He had a negative attitude towards the reforms of his father, Emperor Alexander II, as he saw their unfavorable consequences: the growth of the bureaucracy, the plight of the people, imitation of the West, corruption in the government. He had a dislike for liberalism and the intelligentsia. His political ideal: patriarchal-paternal autocratic rule, religious values, strengthening of the class structure, national-original social development.

The emperor and his family lived mainly in Gatchina because of the threat of terrorism. But he lived for a long time both in Peterhof and in Tsarskoye Selo. He did not like the Winter Palace very much.

Alexander III simplified court etiquette and ceremonial, reduced the staff of the Ministry of the Court, significantly reduced the number of servants, and introduced strict control over the spending of money. At court, he replaced expensive foreign wines with Crimean and Caucasian ones, and limited the number of balls a year to four.

At the same time, the emperor did not spare money for the acquisition of art objects that he knew how to appreciate, since in his youth he studied drawing with the professor of painting N. I. Tikhobrazov. Later, Alexander Alexandrovich resumed his studies together with his wife Maria Fedorovna under the guidance of Academician A.P. Bogolyubov. During his reign, Alexander III, due to his busy schedule, left this occupation, but retained his love for art for life: the emperor collected an extensive collection of paintings, graphics, objects of decorative and applied art, sculptures, which, after his death, was transferred to the museum founded by the Russian Emperor Nicholas II in memory of his father Russian Museum.

The emperor was fond of hunting and fishing. Belovezhskaya Pushcha became his favorite place for hunting.

On October 17, 1888, the tsar's train, in which the emperor traveled, crashed near Kharkov. There were casualties among the servants in seven broken cars, but the royal family remained intact. The roof of the dining car collapsed in the crash; as is known from eyewitness accounts, Alexander held the roof on his shoulders until his children and wife got out of the car and help arrived.

But soon after that, the emperor began to feel pain in the lower back - the concussion during the fall damaged the kidneys. The disease developed gradually. The emperor began to feel unwell more and more often: his appetite disappeared, heart failure began. The doctors diagnosed him with nephritis. In the winter of 1894, he caught a cold, and the disease quickly began to progress. Alexander III was sent for treatment to the Crimea (Livadia), where he died on October 20, 1894.

On the day of the death of the emperor and in the previous last days of his life, next to him was Archpriest John of Kronstadt, who laid his hands on the head of the dying man at his request.

The emperor's body was brought to St. Petersburg and buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

Domestic politics

Alexander II intended to continue his reforms, Loris-Melikov's project (called the "constitution") received the highest approval, but on March 1, 1881, the emperor was killed by terrorists, and his successor turned the reforms off. Alexander III, as mentioned above, did not support the policies of his father, moreover, K.P. Pobedonostsev, who was the leader of the conservative party in the government of the new tsar, had a strong influence on the new emperor.

Here is what he wrote to the emperor in the first days after his accession to the throne: “... the hour is terrible and time does not endure. Either now save Russia and yourself, or never. If they sing the old siren songs to you that you need to calm down, you need to continue in a liberal direction, you need to give in to the so-called public opinion - oh, for God's sake, don't believe it, Your Majesty, don't listen. This will be the death, the death of Russia and yours: this is clear to me as daylight.<…>The insane villains who killed your Parent will not be satisfied with any concession and will only become furious. They can be appeased, the evil seed can be pulled out only by fighting them on the stomach and to death, with iron and blood. It is not difficult to win: until now everyone wanted to avoid the struggle and deceived the late Sovereign, you, themselves, everyone and everything in the world, because they were not people of reason, strength and heart, but flabby eunuchs and conjurers.<…>do not leave Count Loris-Melikov. I don't believe him. He is a magician and can still play a double game.<…>The new policy must be announced immediately and decisively. It is necessary to put an end at once, right now, to all the talk about the freedom of the press, about the willfulness of gatherings, about a representative assembly<…>».

After the death of Alexander II, a struggle broke out between liberals and conservatives in the government; at a meeting of the Committee of Ministers, the new emperor, after some hesitation, nevertheless accepted the project drawn up by Pobedonostsev, which is known as the Manifesto on the inviolability of autocracy. This was a departure from the former liberal course: liberal-minded ministers and dignitaries (Loris-Melikov, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, Dmitry Milyutin) resigned; Ignatiev (Slavophile) became the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs; he issued a circular that read: “... the great and widely conceived transformations of the past Reign did not bring all the benefits that the Tsar-Liberator had the right to expect from them. The Manifesto of April 29th indicates to us that the Supreme Power has measured the enormity of the evil from which our Fatherland suffers, and has decided to begin to eradicate it…”.

The government of Alexander III pursued a policy of counter-reforms that limited the liberal transformations of the 1860s and 70s. A new University Charter of 1884 was issued, which abolished the autonomy of higher education. The admission to the gymnasium of children of the lower classes was limited (the "circular about the cook's children", 1887). Peasant self-government since 1889 began to submit to zemstvo chiefs from local landowners, who combined administrative and judicial power in their hands. Zemsky (1890) and city (1892) provisions tightened the administration's control over local self-government, limited the rights of voters from the lower strata of the population.

During the coronation in 1883, Alexander III announced to the volost foremen: "Follow the advice and guidance of your leaders of the nobility." This meant the protection of the class rights of the noble landowners (the establishment of the Noble Land Bank, the adoption of the Provision on hiring for agricultural work, which was beneficial for the landowners), the strengthening of administrative guardianship over the peasantry, the conservation of the community and the large patriarchal family. Attempts were made to increase the social role of the Orthodox Church (the spread of parochial schools), repressions against the Old Believers and sectarians were tightened. On the outskirts, a policy of Russification was carried out, the rights of foreigners (especially Jews) were limited. A percentage norm was established for Jews in secondary, and then higher educational institutions (within the Pale of Settlement - 10%, outside the Pale - 5, in the capitals - 3%). Russification policy was carried out. In the 1880s teaching in Russian was introduced in Polish universities (earlier, after the uprising of 1862-1863, it was introduced in schools there). In Poland, Finland, the Baltic states, and Ukraine, the Russian language was introduced in institutions, on railways, on posters, etc.

But not only counter-reforms characterize the reign of Alexander III. Redemption payments were lowered, the obligation to buy out peasant plots was legalized, and a peasant land bank was established to enable peasants to receive loans for the purchase of land. In 1886, the poll tax was abolished, and a tax on inheritance and interest-bearing papers was introduced. In 1882, a restriction was introduced on the factory work of juveniles, as well as on the night work of women and children. At the same time, the police regime and class privileges of the nobility were strengthened. Already in 1882-1884, new rules were issued on the press, libraries and reading rooms, called temporary, but valid until 1905. a long-term loan for noble landowners, in the form of the establishment of a noble land bank (1885), instead of an all-estate land bank designed by the Minister of Finance.

I. Repin "Reception of volost foremen by Alexander III in the courtyard of the Petrovsky Palace in Moscow"

During the reign of Alexander III, 114 new warships were built, including 17 battleships and 10 armored cruisers; The Russian fleet occupied the third place in the world after England and France. The army and the military department were put in order after their disorganization during the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, which was facilitated by the full confidence placed in the minister Vannovsky and the chief of the general staff Obruchev by the emperor, who did not allow outside interference in their activities.

The influence of Orthodoxy increased in the country: the number of church periodicals increased, the circulation of spiritual literature increased; parishes closed during the previous reign were restored, new churches were being intensively built, the number of dioceses within Russia increased from 59 to 64.

During the reign of Alexander III, there was a sharp decrease in protests, in comparison with the second half of the reign of Alexander II, a decline in the revolutionary movement in the mid-80s. Terrorist activity has also decreased. After the assassination of Alexander II, there was only one successful attempt by the Narodnaya Volya (1882) on the Odessa prosecutor Strelnikov and a failed one (1887) on Alexander III. After that, there were no more terrorist attacks in the country until the beginning of the 20th century.

Foreign policy

During the reign of Alexander III, Russia did not wage a single war. For this, Alexander III received the name Peacekeeper.

The main directions of the foreign policy of Alexander III:

Balkan policy: strengthening the positions of Russia.

Peaceful relations with all countries.

Search for loyal and reliable allies.

Definition of the southern borders of Central Asia.

Politics in the new territories of the Far East.

After the 5-century Turkish yoke as a result of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. Bulgaria in 1879 acquired its statehood and became a constitutional monarchy. Russia intended to find an ally in Bulgaria. At first it was like this: the Bulgarian prince A. Battenberg pursued a friendly policy towards Russia, but then the Austrian influence began to prevail, and in May 18881 a coup d'état took place in Bulgaria, led by Battenberg himself - he abolished the constitution and became an unlimited ruler, pursuing a pro-Austrian policy. The Bulgarian people did not approve of this and did not support Battenberg, Alexander III demanded the restoration of the constitution. In 1886 A. Battenberg abdicated. In order to prevent Turkish influence on Bulgaria again, Alexander III advocated the exact observance of the Berlin Treaty; invited Bulgaria to solve its own problems in foreign policy, withdrew the Russian military without interfering in Bulgarian-Turkish affairs. Although the Russian ambassador in Constantinople announced to the Sultan that Russia would not allow a Turkish invasion. In 1886 diplomatic relations were severed between Russia and Bulgaria.

N. Sverchkov "Portrait of Emperor Alexander III in the uniform of the Life Guards Hussars"

At the same time, Russia's relations with Britain are becoming more complicated as a result of a clash of interests in Central Asia, the Balkans and Turkey. At the same time, relations between Germany and France are also becoming more complicated, so France and Germany began to look for opportunities for rapprochement with Russia in the event of a war between themselves - it was provided for in the plans of Chancellor Bismarck. But Emperor Alexander III kept Wilhelm I from attacking France, using family ties, and in 1891 a Russian-French alliance was concluded for as long as the Triple Alliance existed. The treaty had a high degree of secrecy: Alexander III warned the French government that if the secret was disclosed, the union would be terminated.

In Central Asia, Kazakhstan, the Kokand Khanate, the Emirate of Bukhara, the Khanate of Khiva were annexed, and the annexation of the Turkmen tribes continued. During the reign of Alexander III, the territory of the Russian Empire increased by 430 thousand square meters. km. This was the end of the expansion of the borders of the Russian Empire. Russia avoided war with England. In 1885, an agreement was signed on the creation of Russian-English military commissions to determine the final borders of Russia with Afghanistan.

At the same time, the expansion of Japan was intensifying, but it was difficult for Russia to conduct military operations in that area due to the lack of roads and the weak military potential of Russia. In 1891, the construction of the Great Siberian Railway began in Russia - the railway line Chelyabinsk-Omsk-Irkutsk-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok (about 7 thousand km). This could dramatically increase Russia's forces in the Far East.

Board results

During the 13 years of the reign of Emperor Alexander III (1881-1894), Russia made a strong economic breakthrough, created an industry, re-equipped the Russian army and navy, and became the world's largest exporter of agricultural products. It is very important that all the years of the reign of Alexander III Russia lived in peace.

The years of the reign of Emperor Alexander III are associated with the flourishing of Russian national culture, art, music, literature and theater. He was a wise philanthropist and collector.

P.I. Tchaikovsky, in a difficult time for him, repeatedly received material support from the emperor, which is noted in the letters of the composer.

S. Diaghilev believed that for Russian culture, Alexander III was the best of the Russian monarchs. It was under him that the flowering of Russian literature, painting, music and ballet began. Great art, which later glorified Russia, began under Emperor Alexander III.

He played an outstanding role in the development of historical knowledge in Russia: the Russian Imperial Historical Society began to work actively under him, of which he was chairman. The Emperor was the creator and founder of the Historical Museum in Moscow.

At the initiative of Alexander, a patriotic museum was created in Sevastopol, the main exposition of which was the Panorama of the Sevastopol Defense.

Under Alexander III, the first university in Siberia (Tomsk) was opened, a project was prepared to create a Russian Archaeological Institute in Constantinople, the Russian Imperial Palestinian Society began to operate, and Orthodox churches were built in many European cities and in the East.

The greatest works of science, culture, art, literature, the era of the reign of Alexander III are the great achievements of Russia, which we are still proud of.

“If Emperor Alexander III had been destined to continue reigning for as many more years as he reigned, then his reign would have been one of the greatest reigns of the Russian Empire” (S.Yu. Witte).

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 absence of wars began in the country. Having endured many personal tragedies, the emperor left the empire at a phase of economic and foreign policy upsurge, which seemed firm and unshakable - such were the qualities of the character of the Tsar-Peacemaker. A brief biography of Emperor Alexander 3 will be told to the reader in the article.

Milestones of the life path

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

Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich was not initially considered in the royal family as the heir to the throne. He was born in 1845, when his grandfather, Nicholas I, was still ruling the country. 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 the 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 government. 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 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 king dealt with the terrorists, gradually extinguishing the internal unrest in the country. Alexander ended plans for a constitution, reaffirming his commitment to traditional autocracy.

In 1887, the organizers of the assassination attempt on the tsar 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 next year, the emperor almost lost all members of his family during a train crash near the Borki station in Ukraine. The king personally held the roof of the dining car in which his relatives were.

The trauma received during this incident marked the beginning of the end of the reign of Emperor Alexander III, which was 2 times shorter than the reigns 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 the Crimea.

Biography of Alexander 3, personal life

With his future wife - the Danish princess Dagmar - Alexander met under difficult circumstances. The girl was officially engaged to his elder brother Nikolai Alexandrovich, 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, together with his brother's bride, went to see him in Nice to care for the dying.

The very next year after the death of his brother, while traveling in Europe, Alexander came to Copenhagen to offer his hand and heart to Princess Minnie (such was Dagmar's home name).

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

The engagement was successfully completed, and in the autumn of 1866 the bride of the Grand Duke, 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 had hoped for, did not take place due to the intrigues of the British Queen Victoria, who managed to marry her son to the Danish princess, who later became King Edward VII.

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 Dagmar. Princess Maria died 2 years later - in 1868, and subsequently Alexander III visited her grave in Paris.

Counter-reforms of Alexander III

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

In the years 1882-1884, the government issues new tougher rules regarding the press, libraries and reading rooms.
In 1889-1890, the role of the nobility 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 merchants and other poor sections of the urban population lost their voting rights.
A "circular about the cook's children" was issued, limiting the rights of raznochintsy to receive an education.

Reforms aimed at investing 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, redemption payments for land plots were reduced, and a peasant land bank was created, the responsibility of which was to issue loans to farmers for the purchase of plots.

The emperor also sought 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.

The 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 title of Tsar-Peacemaker.

At the same time, the tsar, who had a military education, cannot be reproached for the lack of due 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 the Western European states. Under him, an alliance was concluded with France.

Balkan reversal

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 the same faith Serbia, which caused the anger of the Russian tsar, who did not want a new possible war with Turkey because of the provocative policy of the Bulgarians. In 1886, Russia severed diplomatic relations with Bulgaria, which succumbed to Austro-Hungarian influence.

European peacekeeper

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

Asian conqueror

Under Alexander III, the annexation of territories in Central Asia by peaceful means continues at the expense of the lands inhabited by Turkmens. 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 growth in industrial production. The ministers of finance under him were N. Kh. Bunge, I. A. Vyshnegradsky and S. Yu. Witte.

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

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

Tsar Alexander 3 and his family

The biography testifies that on the mother's side, Alexander III had relatives in the German 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 younger Mikhail Alexandrovich died after the October Revolution. And the two daughters of the emperor Xenia and Olga survived 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 - this quality was inherited from him by Nicholas II.

Now you know the 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 clothing and culinary habits, the emperor adhered to folk traditions, at home he wore a Russian patterned shirt, and from food he preferred simple dishes, such as pig with horseradish and pickles. However, he liked to season his food with delicious sauces, and he also adored 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 then formed the basis of the collection of the Russian Museum.
The emperor liked to hunt in the forests of Poland and Belarus, and fished in the Finnish skerries. Alexander's famous phrase: "When the Russian tsar is fishing, Europe can wait."
Together with his wife, the emperor periodically visited Denmark during his summer vacation. In 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 the criminal case against the soldier Oreshkin, who, being drunk in a tavern, said 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.