Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich is a well-known national statesman and military figure. He was the fourth son in the family of Alexander II and Maria Alexandrovna. He was a member of the State Council, led the Naval Department and the Navy, the Admir alty Council. Repeatedly took part in wars and battles, was awarded a large number of Russian and foreign awards.
Early years
Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich was born in 1850. He was born in St. Petersburg. As was customary in those days, in fact, at birth he was enrolled in the army, so that by adulthood he would already have officer ranks for long service. Initially, he was assigned to the Preobrazhensky, Moscow and Jaeger regiments. In 1853 he was enrolled in the Ulansky regiment.
Already from 1855, Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich was part of the newly created Imperial Riflea shelf. At the age of seven, the hero of our article had already received his first chief officer ranks, took patronage of the Yekaterinburg Infantry Regiment. In 1860 he went to sea practice, which took place on various ships. The sea has always attracted him, so he chose his paths to serve in the navy. Rear Admiral Konstantin Nikolaevich Posieta was his direct mentor and educator in this field.
In 1866, Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich was promoted to lieutenant of the guard and lieutenant of the fleet.
Shipwreck
In 1868, the young prince is on the verge of death when he sets sail on the frigate "Alexander Nevsky" to the B altic from Poti. The ship is commanded by Posyet, but on the night of September 13, it crashes, running aground in the Jutland Strait. A rescue operation was urgently organized, during which one officer and three sailors died. According to the memoirs of the captain of the first rank Oscar Karlovich Kremer, the hero of our article behaved with dignity when he refused to be among the first to go ashore from a sinking ship. This was the first strength test in the biography of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich.
Sailing the world
Already four days after this event, the hero of our article was promoted to staff captain, he was appointed adjutant wing. In the same year, he took patronage over the Tengin regiment. In 1870 he made his first independent voyage as a watch officer. On the corvette "Varyag" he got from St. Petersburg to Arkhangelsk through the water system, and from there by seareturned to Kronstadt.
The Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich Romanov set sail around the world in 1871. He was appointed senior officer on the frigate "Svetlana". It was on it that he went to North America, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, visited Japan and China on an official visit. He returned to Vladivostok in December 1872. From there I went to the capital by land through all of Russia, stopping in many Siberian cities. In Tomsk, in honor of his visit, a real school and one of the streets of the city were renamed.
It is known that during his visit to the United States he took part in a buffalo hunt along with the famous American showman and military man Buffalo Bill and General Philip Henry Sheridan. On this trip, he looked at almost the whole world, tested himself for strength, learned and understood a lot.
In 1873, the hero of our article was appointed commander of the Guards Naval Crew. As a member of the artillery and shipbuilding departments of the Naval Technical Committee, he is directly involved in the work of the maritime department. Since 1876 - the chief of the East Siberian linear battalion.
Russian-Turkish war
The first military conflict, in which Alexey Alexandrovich takes part, is the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. During the fighting, he is appointed head of naval teams on the Danube.
He himself takes a direct part in the battles, carries out a successful operation to organize a crossing across the Danube. For the successshown in the service, was awarded the Order of St. George of the fourth degree. Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Sr., who at that time was the commander-in-chief of the army, notes the successful diligence and tirelessness of the young officer. Emphasizes the successful adoption of all necessary measures to prevent the enemy from harming our crossings. This allowed the main forces to conduct military operations calmly and non-stop.
In 1877, Alexei Alexandrovich was promoted to rear admiral, five years later he became vice admiral. Shortly before that, he was a member of the State Council, became the head of the Maritime Department and the Fleet, replacing his uncle Konstantin Nikolayevich in these posts.
In 1883 he received the rank of Admiral General. At that time, Alexei Alexandrovich, of course, could not even suspect that he would be the last general-admiral in the history of the Russian fleet, soon this position would be abolished, changing the army itself, and the whole country.
1 January 1888 promoted to admiral.
Head of the Maritime Department and Fleet
Since 1890, Alexei Alexandrovich has been a member of the Berlin Orthodox St. Prince Vladimir Brotherhood. A few years later, he receives another appointment, raising him in the service. He becomes the chief of the Naval Cadet Corps and the Fifth Naval Crew.
It is worth noting that during the time in which he headed the fleet and the Maritime Department, he relied on his directassistants, that is, heads of maritime ministries. At different times, these were Aleksey Alekseevich Peshchurov, Ivan Alekseevich Shestakov, Nikolai Matveevich Chikhachev, Pavel Petrovich Tyrtov and Fedor Karlovich Avelan. The latter retired in 1905. Many contemporaries highly appreciated the ability of Alexei Alexandrovich to listen to the opinion and position of the highest officer command staff.
Under him, a naval qualification was introduced in the Russian fleet, a provision appeared on remuneration and encouragement for the command of ships of the first and second rank for a long time, the corps of mechanical engineers and ship engineers were transformed and improved. The number of crews in the Russian fleet increased, a large number of cruisers and battleships were built, the ports of Alexander III in Libau, Port Arthur, Sevastopol were equipped. The number of boathouses has grown, the docks in Vladivostok, Kronstadt, and the Sevastopol seaport have been significantly expanded.
The development of these cities was directly influenced by Alexey Alexandrovich. It was under him that a sea fishing and trading port appeared in the Crimea. The Sevastopol seaport remains one of the most significant and influential on the Black Sea coast today. In this, it is necessary to recognize the merit of the hero of our article.
Russo-Japanese War
A strong blow to his reputation was the crushing defeat that the Russian fleet suffered during the Russo-Japanese War. In the eyes of the public, it was he who turned into the main culprit and responsible forhappened.
The Russo-Japanese War began in January 1904. The struggle was for the right to establish control in Korea, Manchuria and the Yellow Sea. It was the largest conflict in the world over the past few decades, in which armadillos, long-range artillery and destroyers were actively used.
Already at the beginning of the 20th century, issues related to the Far East became one of the main ones in the policy of Emperor Nicholas II. He was attracted by the so-called "big Asian program". In particular, during his meeting with the German Emperor Wilhelm II, he unequivocally stated that Russia plans in the very near future not only to strengthen, but also to strengthen its influence in East Asia.
Japan has become the main obstacle to solving this problem. It is believed that Nicholas II foresaw this clash, preparing for it on all fronts - both diplomatic and military. However, many in government circles expected that Japan would not at all decide on an armed conflict with such a strong adversary. Russo-Japanese relations escalated in 1903 over a dispute over timber concessions in Korea. For Russia, this was a matter of principle, since it could secure access to non-freezing seas and take possession of the vast uninhabited territory of Manchuria. Japan sought complete control over Korea, demanding that Russia back down.
Already in December 1903, thanks to undercover data, Nicholas II knew that Japan had completed preparations for war, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Butno immediate response was forthcoming. The indecisiveness of senior officials led to the fact that the plan for preparing a campaign against an aggressive neighbor could not be implemented.
The Japanese fleet attacked the Russian squadron suddenly and without declaring war on the outer roadstead of Port Arthur on the night of January 27, 1904. This led to the disabling of several powerful ships, allowing the Japanese to land unhindered in Korea. In May, the Japanese took advantage of the passivity of the Russian command to land on the Kwantung Peninsula, effectively cutting off Port Arthur from Russia by land. By December, the unsupported garrison was forced to capitulate. The remnants of the powerful Russian squadron that stood on its defense were sunk by the crews themselves or blown up by Japanese artillery.
The general battle took place in February 1905 at Mukden. In it, the Russian army was forced to retreat. One of the most famous was the battle near the island of Tsushima, in which another Russian squadron deployed to the Far East was defeated.
The Second Squadron of the Pacific Fleet was commanded by Vice Admiral Zinovy Petrovich Rozhestvensky. The Imperial Japanese Navy, led by Admiral Togo, inflicted the last crushing defeat on Russia in this war. In the Battle of Tsushima Island, the last hopes of the Russian leadership for a favorable outcome collapsed. The failure was due to many factors. Among them, they noted the remoteness of the theater of operations from the main centers of the country, incomplete military-strategic training, limitedcommunications, as well as a significant technological gap between the Russian fleet and the enemy army. Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich and his fleet, of which he actually was, became the main responsible for this failure.
After the defeat in the Battle of Tsushima, he resigned, was dismissed from all naval posts.
Private life
There are many assumptions about the personal life of Alexei Alexandrovich. According to some reports, he was in a morganastic marriage with the maid of honor Alexandra Vasilievna Zhukovskaya, who was the daughter of the famous Russian poet. It is impossible to say for sure whether this marriage existed, but even if so, it was not officially recognized.
It is believed that the 19-year-old hero of our article secretly married 27-year-old Alexandra Vasilievna Zhukovskaya, either somewhere in Italy, or in Geneva. The emperor did not approve of the marriage, and it was annulled by the Synod. According to other sources, the lovers only maintained extramarital relationships.
In 1871, Zhukovskaya gave birth to the prince's son Alexei. He grew up in Germany, received the title of baron in San Marino and the surname Seggiano. He served in a dragoon regiment, until 1914 he remained at his villa in Baden-Baden, but returned to Russia with the outbreak of World War I.
After the October Revolution, he worked as a biologist. His children emigrated, and he himself decided to stay in Russia. Shot in Tbilisi in 1932.
After the relationship with Zhukovskaya, Alexey Alexandrovich was close to Zinaida Skobeleva. Although she was married, their relationship continued with1880 to 1899, until her death. After her death from throat cancer, the hero of our article became interested in the French ballerina Eliza Balletta, who danced in the troupe of the Mikhailovsky Theater. The Palace of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich was located in St. Petersburg on Palace Embankment, 30.
Awards
The Grand Duke had a huge number of awards. He had all the main orders of the Russian Empire, personalized weapons. In 1874 he received the Legion of Honor in France. This is a national award, which is considered the most prestigious and significant for France. Aleksey Alexandrovich himself considered the Order of the Legion of Honor to be his main foreign award.
Death
In November 1908, the royal manifesto announced his death. He died in Paris, the body of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich (1850-1908) was taken to Russia by train. The burial took place in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.
The farewell ceremony was attended by: Emperor Nicholas II with his wife, Empress Dowager Maria Feodorovna. The cause of his sudden death at the age of 58 was pneumonia, which he caught on a foreign trip. At the same time, his inner circle noted that the prince was dejected by his resignation, a crushing defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, because of which he was very worried.
References in popular culture
The personality of Alexei Alexandrovich is extremely popular in popular culture. For example, he is the main character of the cycle of novels "GeneralAdmiral" Zlotnikov. These are classic examples of books on alternative history. Zlotnikov's novels "General-Admiral", which also contain a lot of fantasy, have long found their fans.
The hero of our article occupies an important place in the work of Andrei Velichko, in particular in his series of books "Prince of the Caucasus". The mention of the Grand Duke is found in Vasily Shukshin's story "Aliens", the attempt on his life is described by Conan Doyle in the collection "The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes".
