alexander iii was the epitome of what a russian tsar was supposed to be forceful formidable fiercely patriotic and at 6.4 he towered over his fellow countrymen he was the embodiment of the fabled russian bear he came to power at a critical point in imperial russian history the industrial revolution had finally come to russia and capitalism was taking root foreign investment within the country was at an all-time high his father alexander ii was within hours of granting the country its first constitution ironically alexander iii was not born heir to the russian throne born in saint petersburg
on february 26 1845 he was the second son of alexander ii the tsar liberator who had freed the serfs his older brother and heir to the throne nicholas died in 1865. the young grand duke was greatly influenced by his tutor konstantin petrovich porbenta nosteff who instilled into him conservative fundamentals of autocracy orthodoxy and nationalism that were required to govern the russian empire poor bentanosef believed that all opposition to the government should be ruthlessly crushed and viewed liberal ideas like constitutions and free press as a threat to the state with the death of his brother alexander
inherited more than just the title of tsarevich while on his deathbed his brother nicholas insisted that he also take his fiancee in october 1866 alexander married the danish princess dagmar after her conversion to orthodoxy she took the name of marie feodarovna [Music] together alexander iii and empress marie had five children in 1869 alexander but the infant died of meningitis in 1870 one month before his first birthday nicholas was born in 1868. he would be the last emperor of russia their third child george was born in 1871 followed by senior in 1875 michael in 1878 and
olga in 1882 [Music] george died at 27 of tuberculosis in 1899. the bolsheviks murdered michael in june 1918 before nicholas and his family who were killed in july of the same year senia and olga were able to escape russia along with their mother during the revolution the reign of alexander iii began in tragedy on the 1st of march 1881 on the eve of the signing into law russia's first constitution two assassins threw bombs at the tsar's carriage in saint petersburg alexander ii was mortally wounded and died shortly thereafter [Music] russia's hopes for a constitution also
died that day one cannot fault alexander's reaction to his father's death his father the tsar liberator had freed the serfs predating lincoln's emancipation proclamation by two years one can only imagine the rage the family felt as they watched the tsar bleed and die this event would solidify the reactionary tone of his 13-year reign as a result of the assassination alexander iii would not consider granting the constitution he tightened censorship of the press and sent thousands of revolutionaries to siberia in his accession manifesto he declared his intention to have full faith in the justice and strength
of the autocracy that he had been entrusted with any liberal proposals in government were quickly dismissed alexander was determined to strengthen autocratic rule as a god-given right his reign is often referred to as the age of counter reform to many westerners he appeared crude and not overly intelligent queen victoria commented that she thought of him as a sovereign whom she does not look upon as a gentleman indeed he was not educated or prepared in his youth to be emperor but what he lacked in style he more than made up for in his conviction of his
position his love for his country and an understanding of the importance he could play in shaping his country's future he possessed such a strong will as to rule the russian empire as an absolute autocrat to the point where the empire stabilized and prospered thus allowing capitalism to begin to take root during his reign the autocracy stabilized and dissent was forced underground he worked to strengthen and modernize russia's armed forces while avoiding armed conflict and improved russia's standing as a world power [Music] as a husband and a father he was greatly successful he was good with
kids and doted upon his daughters he dressed simply and would wear his clothes until they were threadbare his simplicity was also evident in his choice of living quarters though he lived in the large gachena palace he chose to live in the renovated servants area he was known as the peasant's law and because of his size he was always viewed as larger than life he loved the simplicity of russian life and had little taste for anything western in october 1888 the imperial train derailed while lazar and his family were eating in the dining car no one
was seriously hurt but the strong alexander lifted the roof of the car from the wreckage so that his family could escape it was not known at the time but the tsar had suffered a severe bruise to his kidney that would contribute to his death six years later at the beginning of 1894 alexander iii was 49 years old it was believed that he had barring assassination many years left to his reign as the year progressed his health deteriorated at an alarming rate the best doctors of the time were called to help but none were able to
save the dying emperor alexander alexandrovich romanov czar of all the russias died of nephritis on the 20th of october 1894 at the summer palace at lavodia in the crimea he was buried in the saint peter and paul cathedral in saint petersburg he left behind an incomplete legacy and his work unfinished [Music] history tends to view alexander iii as a brutish despot his only accomplishment been to strengthen his autocratic rule at the expense of the working class and peasantry nevertheless to his credit he stabilized the russian government and maintained peace with his european and asian neighbors
history is blessed with perfect hindsight alexander iii however had no such luxury he had no idea that the causes he cared for and the means at which he obtained them would cause the eventual destruction of the way of life and government he cherished so deeply his cancelling of the planned constitution set into motion events that would eventually take russia to the brink of annihilation [Music] based strictly on primary sources the book the romanoff royal martyrs offers previously unpublished texts in english from various archival sources an impressive 512-page book featuring more than 200 black and white
photographs and a 56-page full-color photo insert
