Having succeeded to the throne on the assassination of his father, Alexander II, he rejected the latter's plans for constitutional reform. Considered Russia's last true autocrat, Alexander III was the epitome of what a Russian Tsar was supposed to be. Born as the second son of the Emperor Alexander II of Russia, it was unlikely that he would succeed his father as the emperor. He was much more lenient with his children than most European monarchs, and he told their tutors, "I do not need porcelain, I want normal healthy Russian children.[46] General Cherevin believed that the clever George was "the favourite of both parents". As tsesarevich, Alexander began to study the principles of law and administration under Konstantin Pobedonostsev, then a professor of civil law at Moscow State University and later (from 1880) chief procurator of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in Russia. In 1870, Alexander II supported Prussia in the Franco-Prussian War, which angered the younger Alexander. [60] On 21 October, Alexander received Nicholas's fiance, Princess Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt, who had come from her native Darmstadt to receive the Tsar's blessing. However when his brother Nicolas was in his deathbed, he asked Alexander to marry his fiance, Princess Dagmar of Denmark. He married Dagmar of Denmark (1847-1928) 9 November 1866 . At the same time, the country experienced an economic upturn: preparations were made for a monetary reform and the introduction of the gold-backed rouble, a tax reform was introduced, customs regulations adopted, and the introduction of a government monopoly on the wine trade increased tax revenues. Alexander's ascension to the throne was followed by an outbreak of anti-Jewish riots. The marriage proved to be a happy one and produced six children of whom five survived to adulthood. Authors: Jennifer Llewellyn, Michael McConnell, Steve Thompson These laws encouraged open anti-Jewish sentiment and dozens of pogroms across the western part of the empire. [52] When Alexander and his family survived the Borki train disaster in 1888, Alexander joked, "I can imagine how disappointed Vladimir is going to be when he learns that we all stayed alive! Considered Russia's last true autocrat, Alexander III was the epitome of what a Russian Tsar was supposed to be. "The Orthodox Church in the Baltic Region and the Policies of Alexander Ill's Government. Alexander became the Tsarevitch of Russia in 1865 following the death of his brother, Nicholas, from meningitis. We can help you make the right choice from hundreds of St. Petersburg hotels and hostels. [48] Even at the end of his life, he considered Nicholas a child and told him, "I can't imagine you as a fianc how strange and unusual! Search for jobs related to Alexander iii of russia height or hire on the world's largest freelancing marketplace with 20m+ jobs. During his childhood, Alexander was tutored by Konstantin Pobedonostsev, whose lessons instilled him the young prince with both religious piety and political conservatism. In 1866 Alexander married the daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark, Dagmar (Marie Sophie Frederikke Dagmar), who had been his late brother's fiancee. "Rehabilitating Tsarism: The Imperial Russian State and Its Historians. Alexander would get married and have a son named Nicholas. During the years of his reign Russia was not involved in even a single major war. He deprecated undue foreign influence in general and German influence in particular. Author of. . He adopted programs, based on the concepts of Orthodoxy, autocracy, and narodnost (a belief in the Russian people), that included the Russification of national minorities in the Russian Empire as well as persecution of the non-Orthodox religious groups. In spite of all his shortcomings, Russia fought no major wars during his reign and thus he was dubbed "The Peacemaker". Alexander III (Russian: III , tr. It's free to sign up and bid on jobs. Dont tell me you never noticed the Grand Duke is . Biography. Alexander III of Russia, Tsar of Russia, was born 10 March 1845 in Saint Petersburg, Russia to Alexander II of Russia (1818-1881) and Maria von Hessen und bei Rhein (1824-1880) and died 1 November 1894 Livadia Palace Livadiya, Russia of nephritis. 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. Alexander and his father became estranged due to their different political views. Then he started studying the principles of law and administration under Konstantin Pobedonostsev. Corrections? His straightforward manner savoured sometimes of gruffness, while his unadorned method of expressing himself harmonized well with his rough-hewn immobile features. "[56], On 29 October[O.S. It was also Pobedonostsev that taught Alexander III to be anti-Semitic and view the Jewish community of the Empire as "Christ Killers". His father had been a soft-hearted, liberal ruler and Alexander III was nothing like him in disposition. Alexander III; Nicholas II. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). On the very day of his death he signed an ukaz creating a number of consultative commissions that might have been transformed eventually into a representative assembly. He left behind an incomplete legacy, his work unfinished, and an heir unprepared to rule. [51], Alexander had an extremely poor relationship with his brother Grand Duke Vladimir. The exclusion and persecution of Russias Jews escalated, leading to numerous pogroms in the 1880s. Upon succeeding the throne on the death of his father, Emperor Alexander II of Russia, he reversed some of the liberal reforms his father had implemented during his reign. After leaving Livadia on 6 November and traveling to St. Petersburg by way of Moscow, his remains were interred on 18 November at the Peter and Paul Fortress, with his funeral being attended by numerous foreign relatives, including King Christian IX of Denmark, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and Duke of York, and Duke and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and his daughter-in-law to be, Alix of Hesse, and her brother, Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse. "[42] He died in Dagmar's arms, and his daughter Olga noted that "my mother still held him in her arms" long after he died.[43]. On ascending to the throne, however, Alexander III took Pobedonostsev's advice and cancelled the policy before its publication. Conflicts with Turkey and Afghanistan were resolved without resorting to arms. Alexander III Of Russia detail biography, family, facts and date of birth. Alexanders father, Emperor Alexander II of Russia, was assassinated on 1 March 1881 and as a result he ascended to the Russian imperial throne as Alexander III of Russia. 1 March] 1881 1 November [O.S. Date published: March 11, 2019 Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. He worked to strengthen and modernize Russia's armed forces while avoiding armed conflict and improve Russia's standing as a world power. History tends to view Alexander III as a brutish despot. Their marriage was a happy one with no known infidelity. Alexander III was born in Saint Petersburg on March 10, 1845. At the same time, he sought to strengthen and centralize the imperial administration and to bring it more under his personal control. Alexanders 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. During the years of his reign Russia was not involved in even a single major war. Being the second son, it was believed that he had little prospect of succeeding the throne. Alexander rejected foreign influence, German influence in particular, thus the adoption of local national principles was deprecated in all spheres of official activity, with a view to realizing his ideal of a Russia homogeneous in language, administration and religion. He came to power at a critical point in Imperial Russian history. Finally, Alexander was hopelessly out of touch with the emerging realities of a modern industrialized Russia. Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich was born on 10 March 1845 at the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire, the second son and third child of Tsesarevich Alexander (Future Alexander II) and his first wife Maria Alexandrovna (ne Princess Marie of Hesse). 13 March [O.S. 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. [59] Recognizing that the Tsar's days were numbered, various imperial relatives began to descend on Livadia. ", I. Michael Aronson, "The Prospects for the Emancipation of Russian Jewry during the 1880s.". These agreements defined Russian boundaries and restored equilibrium to dangerously unstable situations. His first cousin, Queen Olga of Greece, offered him to stay at her villa Mon Repos, on the island of Corfu, in the hope that it might improve the Tsar's condition. Aleksandr III Aleksandrovich; 10 March 1845 1 November 1894)[1] was Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 13 March 1881 until his death in 1894. He encouraged trade and commerce and took steps to revive Russias economy which had suffered a major setback after the Russian-Turkish war of 18771878. As a young man he was madly in love with his mother's lady-in-waiting, Princess Maria Elimovna Meshcherskaya and wanted to marry her. Alexander was born on Feb. 26, 1845. He wanted the country to remain true to Russian Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality, and took drastic steps to prevent revolutionary agitations. He wanted to create a nation that was composed of a single nationality, language, and religion, as well as one form of administration. As a result, many Jews emigrated to Western Europe and the United States. Margaret Maxwell, "A Re-examination of the Role of N. K. Giers as Russian Foreign Minister under Alexander III" pp 35253. Even though he did not play an important role in the public life as the heir apparent, he made it clear to his father that many of his own beliefs did not coincide with the principles of the existing government. He tore packs of cards in half with his bare hands to entertain his children. Raymond A. Mohl, "Confrontation in Central Asia, 1885,", Charles Jelavich, "Russo-Bulgarian relations, 1892-1896: with particular reference to the problem of the bulgarian succession. He was a conscientious commander, but he was mortified when most of what Russia had obtained by the Treaty of San Stefano was taken away at the Congress of Berlin under the chairmanship of the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck. It was only in the last years of his reign, especially after the accession of William II as German emperor in 1888, that Alexander adopted a more hostile attitude toward Germany. [12] Two days after Empress Marie died, his father told him, I shall live as I wish, and my union with Princess Dolgorukova is definite" but assured him that "your rights will be safeguarded.[13] Alexander was furious over his father's decision to marry Catherine a month after his mother's death, which he believed forever ruined all the dear good memories of family life.[14] His father threatened to disinherit him if he left court out of protest against the marriage. These acts weakened the nobility and the peasantry and brought Imperial administration under the Emperor's personal control. Alexander enjoyed a more informal relationship with his youngest son Michael and doted on his youngest daughter, Olga. Autocratic rule was established at a time in Russian history when the nation was illiterate, uneducated, and attacked from foreign powers on all sides. [37], Following his father's assassination, Alexander III was advised that it would be difficult for him to be kept safe at the Winter Palace. After her conversion to Orthodoxy, she took the name of Marie Fedorovna. 1875), Michael (b. Pobedonostsev, who influenced the character of his reign by instilling into his mind hatred for representative government and the belief that zeal for Orthodoxy ought to be cultivated by every tsar. [citation needed], Alexander had the political goal of Russification, which involved homogenizing the language and religion of Russia's people. 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. His older brother and heir to the throne, Nicholas, died in 1865. In the Gatchina Palace, where the Alexander chose to live, a rich collection of art was amassed, a large portion of which later entered into the Hermitage's collection. Let our meeting and events experts help you organize a superb event in St. Petersburg. [15] He privately denounced Catherine as "the outsider" and complained that she was "designing and immature". Alexander III of Russia was the emperor of Russia from 1881 to 1894. However, when his elder brother Nicolasthe heir apparentdied at a young age, Alexander became the heir apparent to succeed his father. Shortly after becoming Tsar, Alexander III issued a statement asserting his belief in unshakable autocracy. As Tsar, Alexander would repress non-Russians . Alexander had six children by Dagmar, five of whom survived into adulthood: Nicholas (b. He would order each musician of the orchestra to leave and turn off the lights until the guests left. The look of his bright eyes made quite an impression on me. His reign was one of conservative reaction and the repression of revolutionary and reform groups. Encouraged by its successful assassination of Alexander II, the Narodnaya Volya movement began planning the murder of Alexander III. The four-meter monument by Russian sculptor Andrey Kovalchuk depicts Alexander III sitting on a stump, his stretched arms resting on a sabre. Need tickets for the Mariinsky, the Hermitage, a football game or any event? In return for the Russian support which had enabled him to create the German Empire,[35] it was thought that he would help Russia to solve the Eastern question in accordance with Russian interests, but to the surprise and indignation of the cabinet of Saint Petersburg he confined himself to acting the part of "honest broker" at the Congress, and shortly afterwards contracted an alliance with Austria-Hungary for the purpose of counteracting Russian designs in Eastern Europe. As a whole, Alexanders reign cannot be regarded as one of the eventful periods of Russian history, but it is arguable that under his hard, unsympathetic rule the country made some progress. This event would solidify the reactionary tone of his 13-year reign. All rights reserved. Dagmar was so delighted by the First Hen egg that Alexander gave her an egg every year as an Easter tradition. Alexander III became ill with incurable kidney disease in early 1894 and died on 1 November 1894, at the age 6f 49. 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. [citation needed] Alexander resented having to take refuge at Gatchina. He came to power at a critical point in Imperial Russian history. "[6], Unlike his extroverted wife, Alexander disliked social functions and avoided St. Petersburg. Alexander III of Russia was the emperor of. 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