The brother of Emperor Alexander II - Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich - went down in history as one of the largest public figures of the reform period of the 60s. of the 19th century, which in their content and significance were called the Great. His role in those turning points in Russian history is evidenced by the title of the main liberal of Russia.
Childhood and youth
Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich (1827 - 1882) was the second son of Emperor Nicholas I and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna. The crowned parents decided that the paths of their son would be serving in the Navy, so his upbringing and education were focused on this. At the age of four, he received the rank of Admiral General, but due to his young age, full-fledged entry into the post was postponed until 1855.
The teachers of Grand Duke Konstantin Romanov noted his love for historical sciences. It was thanks to this passion that he already in his youth formed his idea not only of the past, but also of the future of Russia. Thanks to extensiveKnowledge Konstantin in 1845 headed the Russian Geographical Society, where he met many prominent public figures. In many ways, it was these contacts that became the reason for the support that Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich Romanov provided to supporters of reforms and transformations.
Spring of Nations
Constantine's coming of age coincided with the rise of the revolutionary movement in Europe. The year 1848 went down in history under the symbolic name "spring of nations": the goals of the revolutionaries no longer concerned only a change in the form of government. Now they wanted to achieve independence from large empires like the Austro-Hungarian.
Emperor Nicholas, distinguished by conservatism, immediately came to the aid of his colleagues in the royal trade. In 1849, Russian troops entered Hungary. The biography of Grand Duke Konstantin Romanov was replenished with military exploits. But during the campaign, he realized how deplorable the state of the Russian army was, and forever abandoned his childhood dreams of conquering Constantinople.
Beginning of political activity
On his return from Hungary, Emperor Nicholas attracts his son to participate in government. Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich participates in the revision of maritime legislation, and since 1850 has been a member of the State Council. The leadership of the maritime department for a long time becomes the main occupation of Konstantin. After its head, Prince Menshikov, was appointed ambassador to Turkey, Konstantin began to manage the department himself. Hetried to make positive changes in the fleet management system, but ran into the dull resistance of the Nikolaev bureaucracy.
After the defeat in the Crimean War, Russia was deprived of the right to maintain warships in the Black Sea. However, the Grand Duke found a way around this ban. He founded and headed the Russian Society of Shipping and Trade six months after the conclusion of the peace treaty. Soon this organization was able to compete with foreign companies.
At the beginning of the reign of Alexander II
The successful leadership of the Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich of the maritime department did not go unnoticed. The older brother who came to power left all naval affairs in the hands of Constantine, and also attracted him to solve the most important domestic political problems. In the administration of Alexander II, he was one of the first to openly prove the urgent need to abolish serfdom: from an economic point of view, they had long lost their profitability and became a brake on social development. Not without reason, Konstantin argued that the failure that befell Russia in the Crimean War was closely related to the preservation of an obsolete system of social relations.
The social and political views of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich can be briefly described as close to moderate liberalism. Against the backdrop of conservatism and retrograde into which Russia plunged during the reign of his father, even such a position looked defiant. That is why the appointmentKonstantin, a member of the Secret Committee, which is preparing a draft peasant reform, caused discontent among aristocratic families.
Preparation for the liberation of the peasants
Konstantin joined the work of the Secret Committee on May 31, 1857. This organization had already existed for eight months, but did not offer any specific solutions to the aggravated issue, which caused Alexander's indignation. Konstantin immediately set to work, and already on August 17, the fundamental principles of the future reform were adopted, which boiled down to the three-phase liberation of the peasants.
In addition to working in government organizations, Konstantin, being the head of the maritime department, had the opportunity to independently decide the fate of the serfs who were at the Admir alty. Orders for their release were given by the prince in 1858 and 1860, that is, even before the adoption of the basic reform law. However, the active actions of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich caused such strong discontent among the nobles that Alexander was forced to send his brother abroad with an insignificant assignment.
Adoption and reform implementation
But even having lost the opportunity to directly participate in the preparation of the reform, the Grand Duke did not stop dealing with the problem of the liberation of the peasants. He collected documents testifying to the viciousness of the serf system, studied various studies, and even met with the then most prominent German specialist on the agrarian problem, Baron Haxthausen.
In September 1859 Konstantin returned to Russia. During his absenceThe Secret Committee became a publicly acting body and was renamed the Main Committee for Peasant Affairs. Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich was immediately appointed its chairman. Under his leadership, 45 meetings were held, which finally determined the direction and main steps of the upcoming reform to abolish serfdom. At the same time, the Editorial Commissions began to operate, which were instructed to draw up versions of the final bill. The project prepared by them, providing for the liberation of the peasants with land, aroused violent resistance from the landlords who sat in the Main Committee, but Konstantin managed to overcome their resistance.
On February 19, 1861, the Manifesto for the Emancipation of the Peasants was read out. The reform around which a fierce struggle has been waged for so many years has become a reality. Emperor Alexander called his brother the main assistant in resolving the peasant issue. With such a high assessment of the merits of the Grand Duke, it is not surprising that his next appointment was the chairmanship of the Main Committee on the Arrangement of the Rural Population, which was engaged in the implementation of the main points of the reform.
Kingdom of Poland
The adoption and implementation of the great reforms coincided with the rise of anti-Russian speeches and the movement for independence in the Polish possessions of the Russian Empire. Alexander II hoped to resolve the accumulated contradictions by a policy of compromises, and it was for this purpose that on May 27, 1862 he appointed Grand Duke Konstantin of Poland as governor of the Kingdom of Poland. Nikolaevich. This appointment came at one of the most critical periods in the history of Russian-Polish relations.
June 20 Konstantin arrived in Warsaw, and the next day he was assassinated. Although the shot was fired point-blank, the prince escaped with only a slight wound. However, this did not deter the new governor from the original intention to negotiate with the Poles. A number of their demands were met: for the first time since 1830, it was allowed to appoint Polish officials to many important posts, mail and control over communication routes were removed from subordination to all-imperial departments, and the Polish language began to be used in the affairs of the current administration.
However, this did not prevent a large-scale uprising. The Grand Duke had to resume martial law, courts-martial began to operate. However, Konstantin could not find the strength to apply more stringent measures and asked for his resignation.
Judicial reform
The judicial system in the Russian Empire was extremely slow and no longer corresponded to the times. Understanding this, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, even within the framework of his maritime department, took a number of steps to reform it. He introduced new rules for recording the course of court hearings, and also canceled a number of useless rituals. In accordance with the judicial reform carried out in Russia, at the insistence of the Grand Duke, the most striking processes related to crimes in the navy began to be covered in the press.
In July 1857, Constantine establishedcommittee to review the entire system of naval justice. According to the head of the maritime department, the former judicial principles should be rejected in favor of modern methods of considering cases: publicity, competitiveness of the process, participation in the decision of the jury. To obtain the necessary information, the Grand Duke sent his assistants abroad. The judicial innovations of Grand Duke Konstantin in the maritime department became, in fact, a test of the viability of European traditions in Russia on the eve of the adoption of the draft of the all-imperial reform of the judiciary in 1864.
To the problem of representation
Unlike other Romanovs, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich was not afraid of the word "Constitution". The noble opposition to the government course prompted him to present to Alexander II his project of introducing elements of representation into the system of exercising power. The main point of Konstantin Nikolayevich's note was the creation of a deliberative assembly, which would include elected representatives from cities and zemstvos. By 1866, however, reactionary circles were gradually gaining the upper hand in the political struggle. Although the plan of Constantine in fact only developed the provisions of already existing laws, they saw in it an attempt on the prerogatives of the autocracy and an attempt to create a parliament. The project was rejected.
Alaska Sale
The lands belonging to Russia in North America were burdensome for the empire in their content. In addition, the economic rise of the United States made one think that the entire American continent would soon become their sphere of influence, and thereforeAlaska will be lost anyway. Therefore, thoughts began to arise about the need to sell it.
Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich immediately established himself as one of the strongest supporters of signing such an agreement. He attended meetings devoted to the development of the main provisions of the contract. Despite the doubts of the ruling circles, weakened economically after the US Civil War, about the advisability of acquiring Alaska, in 1867 the agreement was signed by both parties.
Russian society ambiguously assessed this operation: in its opinion, the price of 7.2 million dollars for such vast territories was clearly insufficient. To such attacks, Konstantin, like other supporters of the sale, replied that the maintenance of Alaska cost Russia a much larger amount.
Declining popularity
A short biography of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich after the sale of Alaska and the coming to power of the conservatives is a story of the gradual loss of former influence. The emperor consults with his brother less and less, knowing about his liberal views. The era of reforms was coming to an end, the time had come for their correction, which coincided with the emergence of terrorist revolutionary organizations that staged a real hunt for the emperor. Under these conditions, Konstantin could only maneuver among the numerous court factions.
Recent years
The life (1827 - 1892) of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, long by the standards of the 19th century, whose biography is filled with the struggle for the adoption of iconicfor Russia decisions, ended in complete obscurity in the estate near Pavlovsk. The new emperor Alexander III (1881 - 1894) treated his uncle with marked hostility, believing that it was his liberal inclinations that largely led to a social explosion in the country and rampant terrorism. Other prominent reformers of the times of the Great Reforms were pushed aside from making political decisions together with Constantine.
Family and children
In 1848, Konstantin married a German princess, who received the name of Alexandra Iosifovna in Orthodoxy. Six children were born from this marriage, of which the eldest daughter Olga, the wife of the Greek King George, and Konstantin, a prominent poet of the Silver Age, became the most famous.
The fate of the children was another reason for disagreement with Alexander III. In view of the fact that the number of members of the Romanov dynasty increased significantly, the emperor decided to bestow the title of Grand Duke only on his grandchildren. The descendants of Konstantin Nikolaevich became princes of imperial blood. The last man from the Konstantinovich family died in 1973.
