Grand Duke Alexey Alexandrovich - a famous domestic statesman and military leader. 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 Admiralty Council. Repeatedly took part in wars and battles, was awarded a large number of Russian and foreign awards.
early years
Grand Duke Alexey Alexandrovich was born in 1850. He was born in St. Petersburg. As was customary in those days, in fact, at birth he was enlisted in the army in order to already have officer ranks for seniority by adulthood. Initially, he was assigned to the Preobrazhensky, Moscow and Jaeger regiments. In 1853, enrolled in the Ulan Regiment.
Already since 1855, Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich was part of the newly created Imperial Rifle Regiment. At the age of seven, the hero of our article already received his first officer ranks, took patronage over the Yekaterinburg Infantry Regiment. In 1860, he went to sea practice, which took place on various ships. The sea has always attracted him, so with his path he chose to serve in the Navy. Rear Admiral Konstantin Nikolayevich Posyet was his direct mentor and educator in this field.
In 1866, Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich was promoted to lieutenant guard and lieutenant of the fleet.
Ship wreck
In 1868, the young prince is on the verge of death when he sets sail on the frigate "Alexander Nevsky" to the Baltic from Poti. Posyet commands the ship, but on the night of September 13, it crashes, running aground in the Strait of Jutland. A rescue operation was urgently organized, during which one officer and three sailors were killed. According to the recollections of the captain of the first rank Oscar Karlovich Kremer, the hero of our article behaved with dignity when he refused to be the first to go ashore from a sinking ship. This was the first test of strength in the biography of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich.
Swimming around the world
Four days after this event, the hero of our article was promoted to headquarters captain; he received the appointment as an adjutant wing. In the same year he took patronage over the Tenginsky regiment. In 1870, he made his first independent voyage as a watch commander. On the Varyag corvette, he reached the Arkhangelsk via the water system from St. Petersburg, and from there he returned by sea to Kronshtadt.
Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich Romanov set sail in the world in 1871. He was appointed senior officer on the frigate "Svetlana". It was on it that he went to North America, circling the Cape of Good Hope, paid an official visit to Japan and China. He returned to Vladivostok in December 1872. From there he went to the capital by land across Russia, stopping in many Siberian cities. In Tomsk, in honor of his visit, the real school and one of the city streets were renamed.
It is known that during his visit to the United States he took part in the hunt for bison along with the famous American showman and military buffalo Bill and General Philip Henry Sheridan. On this trip, he looked almost the whole world, checked his strength, learned a lot and understood.
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 Marine Technical Committee, he is directly involved in the work of the marine department. Since 1876 - chief of the East Siberian Line Battalion.
Russian-Turkish war
The first military conflict in which Aleksey Aleksandrovich takes part is the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. During the fighting, he is appointed head of the naval teams on the Danube.
He himself takes a direct part in the battles, carries out a successful operation to organize the crossing of the Danube. For the successes shown in the service, he was awarded the Order of St. George of the fourth degree. Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich Sr., who at that time was the commander in chief of the army, notes the successful disposition and tirelessness of the young officer. Stresses the successful adoption of all necessary measures to prevent the adversary from causing harm to our crossings. This allowed the main forces to calmly and non-stop conduct military operations.
In 1877, Aleksei Aleksandrovich was promoted to rear admiral, five years later he became vice admiral. Shortly before that, he was a member of the State Council, becoming the head of the Maritime Department and the Navy, replacing his uncle Konstantin Nikolaevich at these posts.
In 1883 he received the title of Admiral General. At that time, Aleksei Aleksandrovich, of course, could not even suspect that he would be the last admiral general in the history of the Russian fleet, soon this post would be abolished, changing the army itself, and indeed the whole country.
January 1, 1888 receives the rank of admiral.
At the head of the Maritime Department and the Navy
Since 1890, Alexey Alexandrovich has been a member of the Berlin Orthodox Holy Prince Vladimir Church. After a few years, he receives regular appointments that promote him. 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, in most decisions and issues of principle he relied on his immediate assistants, that is, the leaders of the naval ministries. At different times, it was Aleksei Alekseevich Peshchurov, Ivan Alekseevich Shestakov, Nikolai Matveevich Chikhachev, Pavel Petrovich Tyrtov and Fedor Karlovich Avelan. The latter resigned in 1905. Many contemporaries highly appreciated the ability of Aleksei Aleksandrovich to listen to the opinion and position of senior officers.
Under him, a naval qualification was introduced in the Russian Navy, a provision appeared for rewards and incentives to command 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 armadillos were built, the ports of Alexander III in Libau, Port Arthur, Sevastopol were equipped. The number of boathouses increased, docks were significantly expanded in Vladivostok, Kronstadt, and the Sevastopol Sea Port.
The development of these cities was directly influenced by Aleksey Aleksandrovich. It was under him that a sea fishing and trading port appeared in the Crimea. Sevastopol Sea Port and today remains one of the most significant and influential on the Black Sea coast. In this it is necessary to recognize the merit of the hero of our article.
Russian-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 for what happened.
The Russo-Japanese War began in January 1904. The struggle was fought for the right to establish control in Korea, Manchuria and the Yellow Sea. This 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, in the policy of Emperor Nicholas II, issues related to the Far East became one of the main ones. He was attracted to the so-called "Big Asian program." In particular, during his meeting with the German emperor William 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.
The main obstacle to solving this problem was Japan. It is believed that Nicholas II foresaw this clash, preparing for it on all fronts - both diplomatic and military. However, many in government circles hoped that Japan would not at all decide on an armed conflict with such a strong enemy. Russian-Japanese relations escalated in 1903 due to a dispute over forest concessions in Korea. For Russia, this was a matter of principle, since it could provide itself with access to the ice-free seas, and take possession of the vast uninhabited territory of Manchuria. Japan sought to establish complete control over Korea, demanding that Russia retreat.
Already in December 1903, thanks to intelligence, Nicholas II knew that Japan had completed preparations for the war, waiting for an opportunity to strike. But no urgent response was followed. The indecision of senior officials led to the fact that the plan to prepare a campaign against an aggressive neighbor was never able to be implemented.
The Japanese fleet attacked the Russian squadron suddenly and without declaring war on the outer roads of Port Arthur on the night of January 27, 1904. This led to the failure 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 garrison without support was forced to capitulate. The remains of the powerful Russian squadron that stood on its defenses 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, transferred to the Far East, was defeated.
The second squadron of the Pacific Fleet was commanded by Vice Admiral Zinovy Petrovich Rozhestvensky. The Japanese imperial fleet, led by Admiral Togo, inflicted Russia's last crushing defeat in this war. In the battle of Tsushima, the last hope of the Russian leadership for a favorable outcome collapsed. The failure was due to many factors. Among them were noted the remoteness of the theater of operations from the main centers of the country, unfinished military-strategic training, limited communications, and also the significant technological lag of the Russian fleet from the enemy army. The Grand Duke Alexey Alexandrovich and his fleet, whose face 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.
Personal life
There are a lot of assumptions about the personal life of Alexey Alexandrovich. According to some reports, he was in an organic marriage with maid of honor Alexandra Vasilyevna Zhukovskaya, who was the daughter of the famous Russian poet. It cannot be reliably said whether this marriage existed, but even so, it was not officially recognized.
It is believed that the 19-year-old hero of our article secretly married the 27-year-old Alexandra Vasilyevna Zhukovskaya, either somewhere in Italy or in Geneva. The emperor did not approve the marriage, and he was dissolved by the Synod. According to other sources, lovers maintained only extramarital affairs.
In 1871, Zhukovskaya gave birth to the prince son Alexei. He grew up in Germany, received the title of Baron in San Marino and the name of Seggiano. He served in a dragoon regiment, until 1914 he remained at his villa in Baden-Baden, but with the outbreak of World War I he returned to Russia.
After the October Revolution he worked as a biologist. His children emigrated, and he decided to stay in Russia. In 1932 he was shot in Tbilisi.
After a relationship with Zhukovskaya, Alexey Alexandrovich was close to Zinaida Skobeleva. Although she was married, their relationship lasted from 1880 to 1899, until her death. After her death from throat cancer, the hero of our article became interested in the French ballerina Elise Balletta, who danced in the troupe of the Mikhailovsky Theater. The palace of the 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. Aleksei Aleksandrovich himself considered the Legion of Honor his main foreign award.
Death
In November 1908, his death was declared the highest manifesto. He died in Paris, the body of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich (1850-1908) was delivered to Russia by train. The burial took place in the Peter and Paul Cathedral of St. Petersburg.
The farewell ceremony was attended by: Emperor Nicholas II and his wife, the Dowager Empress Maria Fedorovna. The reason for his sudden death at the age of 58 was pneumonia, which he picked up on a trip abroad. At the same time, his inner circle noted that the prince was depressed by his resignation, a crushing defeat in the Russian-Japanese war, because of which he was very worried.
Mentions in popular culture
The personality of Aleksei Aleksandrovich is extremely popular in popular culture. For example, he is the protagonist of the series of novels "Admiral-General" Zlotnikova. These are classic examples of alternative history books. Zlotnikov’s novels, “Admiral General,” which also has a lot of fantasy, have long since 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 "The Caucasian Prince". The mention of the Grand Duke is found in the story of Vasily Shukshin "Aliens", an attempt on his life is described by Conan Doyle in the collection "Feats of Sherlock Holmes".