Background

Alexander III of Russia was born on March 10, 1845, at the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire. He was the third child and second son of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia, and his first wife Marie of Hesse and by Rhine (Empress Maria Alexandrovna). Being the second son, it was believed that he had little prospect of succeeding the throne. His older brother and heir to the throne, Nicholas, died in 1865.

Education

While his brother Nicolas - the tsarevich or heir apparent - was groomed to be the future king, Alexander only received the training of an ordinary Grand Duke of that period. After his brother’s death, Alexander began to receive instruction in law and political science from Konstantin Pobedonostsev, a professor of civil law at Moscow State University. Pobedonostsev was very conservative and denounced democracy, trial by jury, and freedom of the press. He had a profound influence on Alexander for the remainder of his life. His teacher instilled in the young man a zeal for Russian Orthodox thought which would influence many of his decisions once he became the emperor.

Career

As heir apparent, Alexander participated in meetings of the State Council and collaborated with various committees as well as continuing his military career, rising eventually to the rank of General of Infantry. By the time of the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878, Alexander was in the theater of operations and headed a large force known as the Eastern Detachment that was assigned the task of capturing the Ruschuk fortress on the banks of the Danube.

The reign of Alexander III began in tragedy. On March 1, 1881, on the eve of the signing into law Russia's first constitution, two assassins threw bombs at the Tsar's carriage in St. Petersburg. Alexander II was mortally wounded and died shortly thereafter. Russia's hopes for a constitution also died that day. Although he promised at the beginning of his reign to continue the work of his father, he ended up following a more conservative course under the influence of his tutor and personal advisor, Konstantin Petrovich Pobedonostsev.

In fact, it turned out that the new Emperor did not share the views of his deceased father and was glad to negate many of the latter's liberal reforms. Immediately after ascending the throne, Alexander promulgated a manifesto entitled "On the Inviolability of Autocracy." His father's liberal ministers resigned, and Alexander established a government composed of people with a more conservative mindset.

Alexander III introduced some harsh security measures to fight the terror. He executed all those responsible for his father’s death as well as all direct leaders of terrorist revolutionary groups; he tightened police oppression and increased censorship of the press. The royal family left Petersburg for their country palace in Gatchina; from here Alexander set about restoring law and order in Russia. He was determined to strengthen the autocratic rule and quickly dismissed any liberal proposals in government. Just as he believed in God, he sacredly believed in a special destiny for Russia, void of Western reforms.

He wanted the country to remain true to Russian Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality and took drastic steps to prevent revolutionary agitations. He proved himself to be an autocratic ruler who prided himself on being a true Russian patriot. He wanted to create a nation that was composed of a single nationality, language, and religion, as well as one form of administration. In order to achieve this goal, he implemented a stringent policy of Russification of national minorities. He imposed the Russian language and Russian schools on his German, Polish, and Finnish subjects, and gave orders for persecuting the Jews and destroying the German, Polish, and Swedish institutions in the Russian provinces.

Like his father before him, Alexander encouraged the development of trade and industry and imposed customs duties on imported goods to recover Russia's economy, which had suffered from the deficit created by the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. He also introduced a higher degree of frugality and accounting in state finances, in this way liquidating the budget deficit. During his rule industrial development increased and the construction of the Trans Siberian Railway, the longest railway in the world, began.

Censorship was increased, the autonomy of universities restricted, the role of landowners in rural local self-government (the zemstvo) strengthened, and access to education for the lower classes limited. At the same time, the country experienced an economic upturn: preparations were made for monetary reform and the introduction of the gold-backed rouble, tax reform was introduced, customs regulations adopted, and the introduction of a government monopoly on the wine trade increased tax revenues. Nonetheless, in 1892 and 1893, many agricultural areas across the country were hit with famine.

The Tsar attempted to act as an arbiter in European conflicts and to ensure peaceful resolutions. Conflicts with Turkey and Afghanistan were resolved without resorting to arms. At the same time, Russia gradually annexed the territory of Turkmenistan and increased its presence in the Far East, where Japan's active policies were causing the country great concern.

Serious illness fell upon the robust Alexander entirely unexpectedly. He came down with nephritis (kidney disease), suffered from headaches, lost his appetite, and lost weight. He died in the arms of his wife in the Black Sea resort of Livadia where he had gone in the hope that there his health might improve. The oath of allegiance to the throne and to the autocracy was made by his eldest son, the last Russian Emperor, Nicholas II.

Achievements

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  Alexander III of Russia is best remembered as a man of peace. During the years of his reign, Russia was not involved in even a single major war. Because of his love for maintaining peaceful foreign relations, he earned the moniker, The Peacemaker. He took the throne when Russia was at its worse when revolutionary terror raged and passed it onto his successors perfectly pacified.
  
  He was the recipient of several honors including the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation from the Kingdom of Italy (1865), French Légion d'Honneur (1865), Order of the Golden Fleece from Spain (1865), Order of the Southern Cross from the Empire of Brazil (1866), and Order of St. Stephen of Hungary (1866).

Religion

Alexander III was a deeply religious man and tried to do everything for the Orthodox Church that he considered necessary and useful. During his reign, the number of dioceses increased, new churches and monasteries were erected. Two years after the beginning of the reign of this ]reign, the construction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior was completed in Moscow, which is rightfully considered one of the most magnificent buildings.

Politics

Alexander’s political ideal was a nation containing only one nationality, one language, one religion, and one form of administration; and he did his utmost to prepare for the realization of this ideal by imposing the Russian language and Russian schools on his German, Polish, and Finnish subjects, by fostering Orthodoxy at the expense of other confessions, by persecuting the Jews, and by destroying the remnants of German, Polish, and Swedish institutions in the outlying provinces.

In the other provinces, he clipped the feeble wings of the zemstvo (an elective local administration resembling the county and parish councils in England) and placed the autonomous administration of the peasant communes under the supervision of landed proprietors appointed by the government. At the same time, he sought to strengthen and centralize the imperial administration and to bring it more under his personal control. In foreign affairs, he was emphatically a man of peace but not a partisan of the doctrine of peace at any price.

Though indignant at the conduct of Bismarck toward Russia, he avoided an open rupture with Germany and even revived for a time the Alliance of the Three Emperors between the rulers of Germany, Russia, and Austria. It was only in the last years of his reign, especially after the accession of William II as the German emperor in 1888, that Alexander adopted a more hostile attitude toward Germany. The termination of the Russo-German alliance in 1890 drove Alexander reluctantly into an alliance with France, a country that he strongly disliked as the breeding place of revolutions.

In Central Asian affairs Alexander III followed the traditional policy of gradually extending Russian domination without provoking conflict with the United Kingdom, and he never allowed the bellicose partisans of a forward policy to get out of hand. His reign cannot be regarded as an eventful period of Russian history, but under his hard rule, the country made considerable progress.

Views

Alexander III tried to restore order in all spheres of life. He was strict but fair. Often the monarch is reproached for tightening the right to receive education, to vote in zemstvo elections for peasants. But at the same time, he gave the peasants the opportunity to use loans with low-interest rates. This measure was aimed at expanding the peasant economy, strengthening the material position of the peasant. The emperor did not forget and the nobles, for them he also introduced restrictions. In the first year of his reign, the monarch canceled all additional payments from the treasury, which were abused by those close to him. The internal policy of the king was aimed at eradicating corruption, and he did a lot in this area. During the years of his reign, control over students, who have always been the most restless part of Russian society, intensified in the country. All educational institutions have set a limit on the number of students of Jewish origin.

Quotations: "There are no more worlds to conquer!"

"There is nothing impossible to him who will try."

"An army of sheep led by a lion is better than an army of lions led by a sheep."

Personality

The emperor professionally played the trombone and the baritone-helicon (a kind of saxhorn). The Emperor was a passionate collector of art. The Gatchina Castle has literally become a warehouse of priceless treasures. His collection included paintings, carpets, and sculptures.

The emperor was well versed in painting and music, and in his youth, he even took drawing lessons. Then, however, his duties began to take too much of his time, so he abandoned the brushes and canvas, but until the end of his life, Alexander III patronized Russian composers and ballet dancers.

Alexander III expressed the dislike of luxury. He could not stand balls, considering them a useless waste of money and a boring pastime, and then reduced their number to 4 per year. In food, Alexander III was also undemanding, preferring simple Russian food like cabbage soup, fish soup, and other similar traditional dishes.

Like his father, Alexander was fond of hunting and fishing. Belovezhskaya Pushcha was the favorite hunting place of the Emperor. Alexander was distinguished by thrift, piety, and modesty.

Physical Characteristics: The emperor was tall (193 cm). In his youth, he possessed exceptional strength - he could bend coins and break horseshoes with his fingers. Over the years he became obese and bulky, but even then, there was something graceful in his figure, according to contemporaries.

Interests

• Hunting, fishing

• Artists

  Nikolai Tikhobrazov

• Music & Bands

  Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Pyotr Tchaikovsky

Connections

As a young man, Alexander was madly in love with his mother's lady-in-waiting, Princess Maria Elimovna Meshcherskaya, and wanted to marry her, but with the death of his brother, Alexander inherited more than just the throne. While on his deathbed, Nicholas insisted that he also take his fiancé. In October 1866 Alexander married the daughter of the Danish King, Princess Dagmar, who took the name of Maria Fyodorovna after her conversion to Orthodoxy. The marriage proved to be a happy one and produced six children of whom five survived to adulthood.

Father:

Alexander II

Alexander III bore little resemblance to his softhearted, impressionable father. On March 13 (March 1, O.S.), 1881, Alexander II was assassinated, and the following day autocratic power passed to his son.

Mother:

Maria Alexandrovna

Maximiliane Wilhelmine Auguste Sophie Marie, Her Grand Ducal Highness Princess Marie of Hesse and by the Rhine, was the first wife of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia.

Spouse:

Maria Fyodorovna

Alexander was deeply attached to his wife, whom he called Minnie. Their marriage was a happy one. Maria Fyodorovna bore him six children. Alexander and Minnie were married on November 9, 1866, in the Imperial Chapel of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg.

After the wedding festivities, the newlyweds moved into the Anichkov Palace in St. Petersburg where they were to live for the next 15 years. In addition, they spent time at their summer villa Livadia Palace in the Crimean Peninsula.

Brother:

Nicholas Alexandrovich

In April 1865 Alexander's elder brother Nicholas suddenly died and as of that moment, Alexander was proclaimed the heir to the Russian throne.

Sister:

Alexandra Alexandrovna

Alexandra Alexandrovna was the eldest sister of Alexander III, who died of infant meningitis at the age of six and a half.

Brother:

Vladimir Alexandrovich

Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia was appointed regent in the event of the death of Alexander III before Nicholas II had reached the age of majority.

Brother:

Alexei Alexandrovich

Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich is most well-known for his coast to coast official visit to the United States in 1871 where one of the highlights was buffalo hunting with Buffalo Bill Cody, General George Armstrong Custer, and General Philip Sheridan.

Sister:

Maria Alexandrovna

Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia was the sister of Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia, and the paternal aunt of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia. She was raised in luxury and splendor in the large palaces and country estates owned by the Romanovs. Maria was the first Russian grand duchess to be raised by English nannies and to speak fluent English. Besides her native Russian and English, she was also fluent in German and French.

Brother:

Sergei Alexandrovich

Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia was the husband of Princess Elisabeth "Ella" of Hesse and by the Rhine, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. He was born on May 11, 1857, at the Catherine Palace at Tsarskoye Selo near St. Petersburg, Russia, the son of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia and Princess Marie of Hesse and by the Rhine.

Brother:

Paul Alexandrovich

Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia was one of the four Grand Dukes executed by a firing squad at the Peter and Paul Fortress on January 30, 1919.

Stepmother:

Catherine Dolgorukov

Princess Yekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukova, or Princess Catherine Dolgorukov, was first the mistress and then the second and morganatic wife of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia.

Half-brother:

George Alexandrovich

Prince George Alexandrovich Yuryevsky was a captain in the regiment of the Hussars of the Guard.

half-sister:

Princess Catherine Alexandrovna Yurievskaya

Princess Catherine Alexandrovna Yurievskaya was a professional singer.

half-sister:

Princess Olga Alexandrovna Yurievskaya

Princess Olga Alexandrovna Yurievskaya married a German nobleman, becoming Countess Merenberg, and spent most of her life in Germany.

Half-brother:

Prince Boris Alexandrovich Yuryevsky

Boris caught a cold and died a few weeks after his birth.

Son:

Nicholas II of Russia

Alexander III was succeeded by his eldest son who took the throne as Nicholas II. Alexander's inability or unwillingness to prepare his son Nicholas at an early age to rule as an absolute autocrat further exacerbated the future events that would sweep over his Empire.

Son:

Alexander Alexandrovich

Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich of Russia died of meningitis one month before his first birthday.

Son:

George Alexandrovich

Grand Duke George Alexandrovich of Russia was considered to be the cleverest of the Imperial children. He was also outgoing, like his mother. George displayed signs of a promising career in the Navy before falling ill with tuberculosis in 1890.

Daughter:

Xenia Alexandrovna

Like her other siblings, Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia was raised in a relatively simple manner considering her status.

Son:

Michael Alexandrovich

Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia was the heir to the Russian throne until the birth of his hemophiliac nephew Alexei, the only son of Michael’s eldest brother Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, in 1904.

Daughter:

Olga Alexandrovna

Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia's relationship with her mother was strained and distant from childhood. In contrast, she and her father were close.

adviser:

Konstantin Pobedonostsev

Pobedonostsev influenced the character of Alexander's reign by instilling into his mind hatred for representative government and the belief that zeal for Orthodoxy ought to be cultivated by every tsar.

Acquaintance:

Sergei Witte

References

• Alexander III of Russia
  1895
• Alexander III: His Life and Reign Alexander III: His Life and Reign is the only publication to explore Alexander’s childhood, his life as a Grand Duke, and then as the Tsesarevich (Heir) as well as his reign as Emperor of Russia following his father, Alexander II’s assassination in 1881.
• Alexander III and the State Council: Bureaucracy and Counter-Reform in Late Imperial Russia
  1982