Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia Biography

19/20th-century Imperial Russian prince and naval officer

Lesser coat of arms of the younger sons of the emperor of Russia

Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia (Алексе́й Алекса́ндрович; 14 January::1850 in St. Petersburg – 14 November 1908 in Paris) was the fifth child and the fourth son of Alexander II of Russia and his first wife Marie of Hesse and by Rhine. Chosen for a naval career, Alexei Alexandrovich started his military training at the age of seven. By the age of 20 he had been appointed lieutenant of the Imperial Russian Navy and had visited all Russia's European military ports. In 1871, he was sent as a goodwill amb*ador to the United States and *an.

In 1883 he was appointed general-admiral. He had a significant contribution in the equipment of the Russian navy with new ships and in modernizing the naval ports. However, after the Russian defeat in the Battle of Tsushima in 1905, and viewed as an incompetent and corrupt dilettante, he was relieved of his command. He died in Paris in 1908.

Early life

Four brothers (from left to right: Alexander, Alexei, Vladimir and Tsarevich Nicholas) photo by Sergei Lvovich Levitsky

The Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich Romanov of Russia was born in Saint Petersburg on 14 January 1850 (4 January O.S.). He was the son of emperor Alexander II and empress Maria Alexandrovna. He was a younger brother of Grand *ss Alexandra Alexandrovna, Tsarevich Nikolay Alexandrovich, Alexander III of Russia, Grand Duke Vladmir Alexandrovich. He was an older brother of *ss Maria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich.

Alexei was chosen for a naval career since his childhood. At the age of 7 he received the rank of midshipman. The next year Konstantin Nikolayevich Posyet was appointed as his tutor. While the winters were dedicated to theoretical studies, during the summers he trained on Russian warships of the Baltic fleet stationed in Saint Petersburg harbour. Training exposed him to various sailing ships:

• in 1860 the yacht Shtandart on a cruise from Petergof to Livada
• in 1861–1863 the yacht Zabava under the flag of Counter-Admiral Posyet in the Gulf of Finland and Gulf of Bothnia,
• in 1864 the frigate Svetlana in the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea
• in 1866 the frigate Oslyabya during an extensive training cruise to the Azore Islands.

Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich in his youth, photo by Sergei Lvovich Levitsky

On 18 September 1866 Alexei was promoted to lieutenant. He continued his navy career serving as officer aboard the frigate Alexander Nevsky on a cruise in across the Mediterranean to Piraeus, where he attended the wedding of his cousin Olga Konstantinovna.

In 1868 he went on a trip to southern Russia traveling by train from Saint Petersburg to Nikolayevsk, continuing by ship down the Volga to Astrakhan. He then boarded a military ship for a cruise on the Caspian Sea to Baku, " (PDF). New York Times. 9 December 1871. Retrieved 2 September 2012.

References

• Chavchavadze, David. The Grand Dukes. Atlantic, 1989. ISBN:0-938311-11-5
• Ferrand, Jacques, Descendances naturelles des souverains et grands-ducs de Russie, de 1762 à 1910:: répertoire généalogique, 1995.
• Nunes, Pepsi, "The Evolution of the Imperial Russian Navy and the Grand Dukes 1850–1917". Atlantis magazine, Vol. 2, 2001 Nr. 3–4, Vol. 3 2002, Nr. 1
• Van Der Kiste, John. The Romanovs 1818–1959. Sutton Publishing, 1999. ISBN:0-7509-2275-3.
• Zeepvat, Charlotte. Romanov Autumn. Sutton Publishing, 2000. ISBN:0-7509-2739-9

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alexey Alexandrovich of Russia.

• Works by or about Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia at Internet Archive