bison hunter

Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich

“In life you have to experience everything” - that was the motto of Grand Duke Alexei.

Alexei was born in 1850 and on the same day, by order of his grandfather Nicholas I, he was enrolled in the Guards crew, that is, he was to become a sailor, the same as his uncle Konstantin Nikolayevich (later he replaced him as commander of the navy) . At the age of 7, he already had the rank of midshipman, and at the age of ten he began to sail the seas and oceans under the guidance of his tutor, the famous admiral and navigator K. N. Posyet. The Grand Duke, despite his title, was taught hard - together with the rest of the sailors, he climbed the masts and yards, setting and removing the sails, scrubbed the deck and performed other ship service duties. At the age of 17, he already served as a watch commander - this was already his seventh “campaign”. During his naval service, he showed determination and considerable courage. In 1868, the frigate Alexander Nevsky, on board of which Alexei was, fell into a severe storm while sailing in the North Sea, ran into a reef off the coast of Jutland and was wrecked. The Grand Duke in this situation behaved in the highest degree with dignity. To Posyet's offer to be the first to leave the ship, he responded with a decisive refusal, until all the sailors were saved, he remained with the admiral on board until the last. Courage Alexei in his younger years was not to take. Even earlier, he saved a young man and his sister on Lake Onega, who fell out of the boat. For this feat, he received from his father the gold medal "For Bravery", which he was proud of all his life.

In 1870, Alexei celebrated his 20th birthday, which was then considered the age of majority in Rus'. Among the eldest sons of Alexander II, he was the largest and most beautiful. As a child, he was called Seichik. Already at the age of 12 he was fluent in German, French and English. Alexei grew up as a cheerful, truthful, trusting and affectionate young man. Playful Seichik was his father's favorite - he was allowed to do things that were not allowed to other children of his age. So, his cousin Marie of Battenberg wrote that seven-year-old Alexei was allowed to sit at the same table with adults, and this aroused childish envy in them. Most of the childhood and youth of the Grand Duke, however, passed not at sea, but on land, in the summer residences of the Crimea, in the Winter Palace and travels around Europe, where numerous Romanov relatives were scattered. He was very friendly with his older brother Alexander (the future Emperor Alexander III) and his wife Maria Fedorovna, Minnie, as she was called at home. After the death of Alexander III in 1894, Minnie always patronized Alexei until his death, more than once saving his shattered reputation. But we will talk about this in due time.

On the day of Alexei's twentieth birthday, a ceremony was held in the Winter Palace to take the oath of allegiance to the throne and the Fatherland. In the year of the oath, education officially ended, because since then it was believed that the most august children knew life and its laws. General N. A. Epanchin described the Grand Duke as follows: “Alexey Alexandrovich was ... a benevolent person, but there was little seriousness in life and work; there were strange gaps in his upbringing ... While sailing on the frigate Svetlana, Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich, upon arrival in New York, played cards with his colleagues ... after playing while calculating, the Grand Duke, pointing to one of the coins, asked what it was . They answered him: "Piglet" ... copper five kopecks; then the Grand Duke ... looked at her with curiosity and said: “I see it for the first time.” Surely this was not a joke, but proof of how far he was kept from life." It should be noted that in the future he not only did not count copper nickels, but even millions of gold rubles that disappeared in his bottomless pockets.

He suffered from fullness, not only natural, but also caused by gourmandism, bordering on gluttony. Despite this, Alexei was always exquisitely and elegantly dressed. Fullness at that time was not considered an obstacle to male charm. Therefore, he often caught the languid glances of high-society young ladies on himself, and then he himself fell in love with his mother's maid of honor, Sashenka Zhukovskaya. Their romance was carefully hidden, because she was 27 years old, and he was 19. They often met at the Anichkov Palace, the residence of his brother Alexander and Minnie, where both took part in home performances. This Zhukovskaya was the daughter of the famous poet, friend of A. S. Pushkin and tutor of Alexander II. She answered him in kind. What was to be done? He was not allowed to marry the title, and she - the position of the maid of honor. Now, if they were ordinary people ... Knowing about the side families of his father and both uncles, Konstantin Nikolaevich and Nikolai Nikolaevich, as well as about the cupids of his aunt Maria Nikolaevna with Count Stroganov, Alexei decided to run away with his beloved abroad, marry her, and there come what may.

Realizing that they would not be allowed to marry in Russia anyway, they secretly fled to Italy. There they secretly got married, but their marriage in Russia was not recognized by the Synod, so formally Alexei continued to be considered single. By the way, Alexey was the only one from the Romanov dynasty who remained a bachelor. Due to lack of money, the lovers returned to their homeland. Alexandra Zhukovskaya asked the Empress to allow her to marry Alexei in Russia, but she did not receive permission.

Alexei's parents did what they always did in such cases. They believed that the best cure for love is separation. Therefore, Sashenka Zhukovsky was urgently sent to Austria. At the same time, it turned out that she was also pregnant by Alexei! Time after time it doesn't get any easier! In 1871, her son was born, named Alexei - in honor of his father. In 1884, Alexander III granted him the title of Count Belevsky-Zhukovsky. Sashenka Zhukovsky herself was given in marriage with a rich dowry to Baron Verman, who turned out to be a very decent person and caring husband. She lived permanently in Germany and died in 1899, while her son remained in Russia. His father helped him and patronized him in everything, like the entire imperial family - the grandson of Alexander II, nevertheless, albeit illegitimate. He served as adjutant to his uncle, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, married, and had four children. And then the revolution came. His wife and children managed to leave through Constantinople to Germany, while Alexei remained in Russia. Under Soviet rule, he became a prominent biologist, but died during the Stalinist repressions in 1932 in Tbilisi.

But Alexei's father for such a rash act, as the people say, drove Mozhai. Well, not specifically for Mozhai, but to America. Alexander II, then, just in time, received an invitation from US President Ulysses Simpson Grant to pay a state visit in gratitude for Russia's support of the northerners during the Civil War. So he ordered Alexei to go to America instead of himself. Nothing to do, Alexey agreed. In 1871, on the frigate "Svetlana" as a lieutenant, he went on a long voyage. By the way, Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, whom we have already written about, was also on the same ship, it was then that he first learned the sin of Sodom.

Suffering from the loss of love, Alexei in Marseilles with a company of officers made a riot in one "fun" establishment with ladies. The police arrested the Buyans, but the Grand Duke managed to be “dismissed” by presenting to the authorities another officer named Alekseev (he was the half-brother of Alexei, he was the natural son of Emperor Alexander II. We also already wrote about this). Alexey Alexandrovich sent mournful letters from distant seas to his mother - well, just a cry from the heart: “I feel that I do not belong to myself, that I cannot leave them (Zhukovskaya and the unborn child. - M. P.). There is a feeling in this world that nothing can overcome - this is a feeling of love ... Mom, for God's sake, don't ruin me, don't sacrifice your son, forgive me, love me, don't throw me into that abyss where I can't get out ... "Later he still writes: “I do not want to be the shame and shame of the family ... Do not ruin me for God's sake. Do not sacrifice me for the sake of some prejudices that will disintegrate themselves in a few years ... To love this woman more than anything in the world and to know that she is forgotten, abandoned by everyone, she is suffering, waiting for childbirth from minute to minute ... And I must remain some a creature who is called the Grand Duke and who therefore must, and can be, in his position, a vile and nasty person, and no one dares to tell him this ... Help me, return honor and life to me, it is in your hands.

Apparently, his feeling for Zhukovskaya was actually serious. This feeling was also facilitated by the age of the Grand Duke - twenty years; at this age, love is especially strong, and if someone says that his beloved is not a couple, then this will be an insult for life. However, the parents stood their ground, the father was especially persistent, although he himself was not without sin in such matters. The brothers are another matter - they supported poor Alexei in everything and tried to help his grief. They spoke of his suffering to his parents; Alexander and Minnie tried to leave Zhukovskaya in Russia, and she was sent abroad to give birth. Useless. Vladimir then took matters into his own hands. He sent Zhukovskaya a letter: “Dear Alexandra Vasilievna! I often talked a lot with the empress about everything that happened ... Neither she nor the sovereign agree to the wedding, this is their unchanging decision, neither time nor circumstances will change it, believe me. Now, dear Alexandra Vasilievna, let me, relying on our old friendship and your long-standing disposition towards me, turn directly to your heart ... Do you remember when I, having seen off my brother, stopped by to you. Saying goodbye to you, I took both your hands and, looking you straight in the eyes, I asked - do you really love your brother? You answered that you truly love him. I believed you, and how could I not believe? Now you know what position he is in. You also know the determined will of my parents. All this prompts me, if you definitely love your brother, to beg you on your knees, do not destroy him, but voluntarily, sincerely, give him up ... ”And Zhukovskaya, knowing that she and Alexei would never be united, heeded this request. They didn't meet again.

The collapse of all hopes, the loss of a beloved, the inability to start a full-fledged family broke Alexei's faith in justice and forced him to decide never to marry. Officially, the Grand Duke remained single, but in terms of the number of love affairs and novels, both in Russia and abroad, he was the undisputed champion. However, God did not give him repeated true love. Love failure broke him, changed everything that was good in him that had been laid down since childhood.

Let's get back to Alexei's trip to America. In 2006, the United States solemnly celebrated the 135th anniversary of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich's visit to their country. He was greeted there with such scope and honor that neither Khrushchev, nor Gorbachev, nor even Putin were honored with! On August 20, 1871, the tsar himself accompanied his son to America on the frigate Svetlana, and already in November the ship anchored off the coast of Manhattan in New York. The distinguished guest was accommodated in the Claredon, the most luxurious hotel. There was a real stir about the visit of the distinguished Russian guest in America. Journalists tracked his every step and deed, and then scrupulously painted all this in the newspapers.

On November 24, 1871, Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich was received by US President Ulysses Grant at the White House, and then his long trip around the country began. He visited more than 20 cities in the US and Canada. Every state and every city aspired to excel each other in the honors accorded to the son of Russia. Balls and evenings were held, to which up to four thousand people were sometimes invited. Newspapermen greedily followed Alexei's every step, especially inventing rumors about his connections with women. So, one of the newspapers wrote that Alexei likes women of small stature. Then all fashionistas and socialites abandoned high-heeled shoes and high hairstyles. In every hotel, young ladies strolled along the lobby in the hope of capturing the eyes of the Grand Duke. Rumors that he was sent on a trip to America for having a relationship with the woman he loved, who did not come to the Court, further inflamed the imagination of American women - everyone was ready to jump into his bed. Alexei was literally besieged everywhere by a crowd of enthusiastic admirers.

He visited Niagara Falls, the Naval Academy, West Point, the Admiralty, the weapons and shipbuilding factories, Harvard University and many other remarkable places, until January 1, 1872 he arrived in the Wild West in the city of Chicago. Just the day before, there was a huge fire that destroyed part of the city, and Alexei donated 5 thousand dollars to the victims of the fire, which aroused even greater sympathy for the Americans. How could one surprise and entertain a distinguished guest here? Of course, hunting for buffalo and seeing wild Indians! General Sheridan, the hero of the Civil War, took up the organization of this entertainment. He instructed General Custer and the famous St. John's wort Buffalo Bill to organize a grand buffalo hunt. George Custer and Alexei became so close that they fought, danced and sang songs like boys. A photograph of 1872 has been preserved, which depicts both of these characters in hunting suits. Near Fort McPherson, near the Red Willow Creek, "Aleksei's camp" of 40 tents was pitched. The dining tent was decorated with the flags of both states. The menu included the meat of a wide variety of animals and birds - the inhabitants of the prairies, there was no shortage of a wide variety of drinks. Alexei was followed everywhere by a bed designed for his tall stature and powerful body. The hunt has begun. Prince Alexei was given the fastest horse and the best gun. On his 22nd birthday, Alexey killed his first bison, which he proudly wrote to his father about. Then the Indians were invited to the "camp of Alexei", ​​led by a leader named Spotted Tail. They performed their war dances before him and practiced their marksmanship at buffaloes. At a feast given in honor of the Indians, Alexei flirted with Spotted Tail's squaw, and it was so sweet that the ferocious leader of the redskins did not even think of skinning the pale-faced stranger.

There was even a Hollywood action film Maverick starring Mel Gibson and Judy Foster about the Grand Duke Alexei's hunt in the Wild West. True, he looks like a fool there, but still ... Americans are all Russian fools, this is already such a Hollywood standard. At the site of the royal hunt, local residents arrange a theatrical performance every year in memory of this event.

The next point of stay of Alexei in the United States was the city of New Orleans (the one that has now suffered from Hurricane Katrina). The choice of this city was not accidental. The fact is that back in New York, he met actress Lydia Thompson, a musical comedy star. The Russian prince was delighted with her game. Alexei was especially worried about the song in her performance "If I stop loving." After the performance, he invited Lydia to dinner and begged her to sing this ballad over and over again. Now that the hunting passions had cooled down, the Grand Duke remembered the pretty actress. When asked what other cities he would like to visit, Alexei did not hesitate to name New Orleans, it was there that the Lydia Thompson troupe went on tour.

In the city, in honor of Grand Duke Alexei, a grandiose music festival "Mardi Grae" was organized. Many high-ranking persons received an invitation to it; personally, Lydia Thomson sent him an invitation card, which the prince was much flattered by. Especially for Alexei, a platform was erected and a throne-like chair was placed on it, but he refused to sit on it, saying that he was only a lieutenant of the Russian Imperial Navy; that is how it should be perceived. Admirers of Alexei were upset - they so wanted to see him on the throne! For the Americans, the arrival of the Russian Grand Duke was, of course, exotic; It was under this sauce that he was perceived. From a meeting with Alexei, they tried to make a show, but this time they did not succeed.

On the evening after the festival, he went to a variety show in which Lydia Thompson was performing, and was so fascinated by the prima that he extended his stay in New Orleans by four days. She gave him a night of love, for which Alexey awarded his little girlfriend with a diamond bracelet and pearls of unprecedented beauty, and then left this city forever. The day of his visit to New Orleans became an official holiday! It is not known how much Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich is remembered in Russia, but in this city he is always remembered. America has a poor history, and even the visits of distinguished guests are a holiday for them.

The American press created the myth of Alexei the heartthrob. In fact, he rightly wrote home: “Regarding my success with American women, which the newspapers rang about, I can honestly say that all this is nonsense. They looked at me the way people look at a crocodile in a cage or a huge monkey, but after examining me, they became indifferent. So indifferent! Alexei was cunning, oh cunning! He was pleased with the attention of American women, and the attention of Lydia Thompson ...

In February 1872, Alexey returned to his frigate Svetlana and headed for Havana. It was supposed to return home through Europe, but suddenly Alexander II ordered to turn this voyage into a round-the-world trip. He probably thought that three months was not enough for Alexei to recover from unhappy love. I had to follow the royal order. Having visited Cuba, Brazil, the Philippines, Japan and China, "Svetlana" moored in Vladivostok, from which Alexei returned by land, through Siberia, to St. Petersburg. Thus, his journey dragged on for two years. Upon returning to the capital in 1874, Alexei was appointed commander of the Guards crew and captain of the Svetlana, conferring the rank of captain of the 1st rank on him.

After he became the captain of the Svetlana, Alexei immediately set sail around Europe. In 1875-1876 he called at the ports of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. His next visit to the United States was interrupted by the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, in which Alexei took an active part. Largely due to the actions of the sailors under his command, Russian troops successfully crossed the Danube, and then ensured stability on this vital waterway. For this campaign, Grand Duke Alexei was granted the rank of rear admiral, awarded the St. George Cross of the GU degree and the golden weapon "For Courage".

In 1881, after the assassination of Alexander II, Alexei Alexandrovich headed the entire Russian navy, taking the place of his uncle Konstantin Nikolaevich. However, in the most paradoxical way, it was from that moment that he completely ceased to be interested in the fleet. Having started swimming at the age of ten, Alexey Alexandrovich spent almost 20 years at sea. He became a real sailor. However, after 1881 he rarely went to sea. For the next 28 years, he clearly preferred land. In 1882, he was promoted to vice admiral, although Alexander III believed that his brother was indifferent. Why? Yes, because Alexei was already fed up with the seas and oceans with their long voyages and found himself a hobby in another - communication with the fair sex. Admiral I. A. Shestakov wrote in his diary: “It seems that my Grand Duke is indifferent not only to the fleet, but to everything, and does he care if Russia is well ...” In 1883, Alexei received a promotion from the hands of his brother-emperor - now he became a general-admiral. But he didn’t give a damn about it - he became indifferent to the maritime business. He fell out of love with the sea, he did not delve into the affairs of his department. His mind was frozen in the days of the sailing fleet, in the golden days of his campaigns on the Svetlana. Meanwhile, Russia had to build armadillos; another time has come - the time of steam, electricity and radio. And if, nevertheless, the Russian fleet was managed to be kept in a more or less decent condition, it was not thanks to, but in spite of, Admiral General Alexei Alexandrovich. We will talk about this a little below.

Since then, the amorous adventures of the Grand Duke have become a constant topic of high-society gossip. In the late 1870s, the life of Alexei Alexandrovich lit up with love for his distant relative, Countess Zinaida Beauharnais. She was a married lady, the wife of his cousin Duke Eugene Maximilianovich of Leuchtenberg (again those Leuchtenberg!). Recall that the Dukes of Leuchtenberg clung to the Romanov dynasty in 1839 as a result of the marriage union of Eugene Beaugrane, the son of Napoleon's stepson, and the daughter of Nicholas I, Maria Nikolaevna. They were worthless, arrogant and arrogant people.

Eugene of Leuchtenberg himself was married twice, and both times by morganatic, that is, unequal marriages. For the first time, Evgeny married Daria Opochinina, the great-granddaughter of Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov. The second time he married Zinaida, the younger sister of the famous General M. D. Skobelev (it is clear that Yevgeny's lip was not a fool - both times he married relatives of famous military leaders). Characteristically, both wives of Eugene were given the title of Countess Beauharnais by the Emperor. It is also interesting that Zinaida Beauharnais was the cousin of Eugene's first wife, Daria Opochinina, who died in 1870. And if we add that Alexei was a cousin of the duke, then we get a close family tangle. From his first marriage, the duke had a daughter, Daria Beauharnais, or Dolly, whose incredible fate we described in the chapter on Maria Nikolaevna, Princess Mary. The duke had no children from his second marriage.

The Duke of Leuchtenberg married Zinaida Skobeleva in 1878. Zina Beauharnais, as they called her in the world, was famous for her amazing beauty; judging by the surviving portraits, she was a real Russian beauty, unlike her shabby husband, who had French roots. According to contemporaries, Duke Eugene of Leuchtenberg was a kind man, distinguished by poor health and led a dispersed lifestyle. He was constantly in the company of his cousins ​​Alexei and Vladimir Alexandrovich. He had a reputation as a drunkard and a cuckold, which, however, did not depress him very much. State Secretary A. A. Polovtsov described him as “a scoundrel devoid of any moral sense, hunting with his wife” and extracting a lot of money from Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich. According to General Yepanchin, “the duke was a kind person, not an intriguer, but he had every right to say“ my tongue is my enemy ”and was not always able to keep it behind his teeth in time.” The duke turned a blind eye to his wife’s romance with Grand Duke Alexei, and therefore, during a joint trip to Europe, the inseparable trinity was nicknamed “la menage Royale a trois” (royal love triangle). However, he was beaten more than once by the giant Alexei on the threshold of his own bedroom in the house on the English Embankment, where the Grand Duke got into the habit of going. The cuckold husband tried in vain to complain to Alexander III about his wife-loving brother. All he could do was to sleep resignedly on the sofa in the office with an offended look, while Zinaida and Alexei made love. Judging by the photos that have come down to us, Alexei, a man of immense size and the same height, chose women to match himself - Zina was a plump, chubby lady. She rode with Alexei around St. Petersburg in an open carriage, openly demonstrated the diamonds given to her by her lover, and he paid the bills of Zina and her drunken husband in Europe and Russia. Countess Beauharnais hosted receptions at the Alekseevsky Palace (built especially for him on the Moika embankment) and compiled the lists of guests at her own discretion. For her sake, Alexei opened the doors of his palace to the capital's beau monde, where the beautiful Zinaida reigned, with royal grandeur ignoring all the rumors and gossip that spread because of her scandalous connection with the Grand Duke. According to the assurances of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, whom everyone called Sandro, who left rather frank and caustic memoirs, the Admiral General was ready to sacrifice the entire Russian fleet for the seductive Zina and showered her with unimaginable gifts. Sandro wrote: “I am aware of the complete impossibility of describing the physical qualities of this amazing woman. I have never seen the like of her in all my travels in Europe, Asia, America and Australia, which is a great happiness, since such women should not often catch the eye.

Zina's society was also loved by the future Emperor Nicholas II. During his tenure as Tsarevich, he wrote the following in his diary in 1892: “In b 3/4 I went to the dress rehearsal of Massenet's opera Esclarmonde. Finished at 11 1/2, went to the village of Alexei to have dinner. Zina occupied us with songs.

Where did Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich get the money for all these escapades? He obviously would not have had enough of the Grand Duke's salary ... And he shamelessly stole from the amounts allocated for the shipbuilding program of the Russian fleet, but we will talk about this side of the matter later. And now there is only one nuance - at one time scandals caused a lot of noise because of Alexei's attempts to maintain the Zina yacht, owned by the Duke of Leuchtenberg, at public expense.

The premature death of Zinaida Beauharnais in 1899 at the age of 44 was a heavy blow for Alexei. Until the end of his days, he kept her portraits and a marble bust. After the death of his wife, the Duke of Leuchtenberg lived either in Paris or in Alexei's palace on the Moika embankment, where his wife once hosted. In 1901, he was buried next to his unfaithful wife in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

And now let's talk about how Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich led the Naval Department and the Russian Navy. First of all, it should be said that in 1884-1885 the luxurious Alekseevsky Palace was built for him on the embankment of the Moika River, in which he lived for his own pleasure.

The well-known scientist and shipbuilder, Professor Krylov, described the leading activities of the Grand Duke in his department as follows: “Over the 23 years of his management of the fleet, the budget has grown on average almost five times; many battleships and armored cruisers were built, but this "set" was only a collection of individual ships, and not a fleet. So, the armored cruisers "Vladimir Monomakh" and "Dmitry Donskoy" were laid down at the same time of the same type. At the end of the construction, it turned out: one - like a corvette, the other - a frigate, one - a twin-screw, the other - a single-screw, etc. An even greater variety reigned between the battleships "Alexander II" and "Nicholas I", although they should be exactly the same, however, they came out different ... In the sense of creating a fleet, the activities of Admiral General Alexei were a typical example of unplanned waste of public funds, emphasizing the complete unsuitability of the organization itself and the management system of the fleet and the Maritime Department. Alexei's nephew, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, observing the maneuvers of the German fleet in Kiel in 1895, noted: “I must admit that in the late 90s our fleet made a miserable impression: most of the ships were completely outdated and were not usable - the fleet has been completely refurbished." Prime Minister S.Yu. Witte wrote in his memoirs: “Alexey Alexandrovich, being very nice, honest and noble, at the same time was not a particularly serious business person.” As for Witte's revelation that Alexei was an "honest" person... He compares this with himself: it was hard to find a more dishonest person than the prime minister himself. How can an embezzler be an honest person? But about the "frivolity" he is right - the Grand Duke frankly shied away from business. All his colleagues speak about it in unison. Here are just a few of those statements. Admiral Shestakov: "Alexey, apparently, is indifferent to the fleet and its fate ... He is all tryn-grass." Secretary of State A. A. Polovtsov: “Aleksey Alexandrovich only thinks about how, without violating decorum, to sneak away (from the meeting of the State Council) and return to Zina's bed. Boredom is expressed in large features on his face.

All his leadership of the Russian fleet boiled down to the fact that once a week he invited the admirals to dine at his palace. This action was called a meeting of the Admiralty Council. Since the cook was a master of his craft, and the Grand Duke's cognac would always be first-class, the guests did not complain. They hardly bothered him with business, because they knew that it was useless. At these meetings, as a sailor, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich also visited. This is how he described them: “After the Napoleonic cognac got into the stomach of his guests, the hospitable host opened the meeting of the Admiralty Council with a traditional story about an incident from the history of the Russian sailing navy ... I learned by heart all the details of this intricate narrative and always moved back out of caution a little with a chair from the table at the moment when, following the scenario, Uncle Alexei should be hitting the table with his fist and exclaiming in a thunderous voice: “And only then, my friends, did this stern commander recognize the outlines of the rocks of Skagen.” The Admiral General would have nothing against limiting the debate of the Admiralty Council in the redistribution of the case with the Alexander Nevsky.

And the Grand Duke's cognac was really wonderful. Let's digress a little from his adventures and describe the wine cellar in the Alekseevsky Palace. The names of wines, vodkas and cognacs today sound like music. That would be a try! So, the wine cellar consisted of hundreds of brands of spirits and wines, placed in barrels, decanters, bottles and jugs. From here cognacs "Napoleon", "Naryshkin", "Kyuba", "Belle Vue", "Monte Carlo", "Clisson", "Cuvilliers" were served on the table of the Grand Duke. The liqueurs Curacao, Benedectin, Maria Christina were stored here and, upon request, were brought to the guests; port wines "Count Guryev", "Marsala"; sherry "Deprez", "Gonzales"; Madeira "Cuvelle", "Old Malvasia". In the wine cellar, there were up to forty varieties of vodka, among which one could not only see, but also taste such varieties as Seventh Heaven, Yacht Club, and Eliseev. There were also whiskey, rum, all kinds of liqueurs and liqueurs. Just a song, not a wine cellar!

According to S. Yu. Witte, Grand Duke Alexei did not have any state ideas. It is known that he was usually under the influence of another lady with whom he was close. Given that the Grand Duke really was a kind person, one of them could have directed him on the right path, but as luck would have it, he came across some bitches who needed only his money. Many complained about him to Alexander III, but the tsar turned a blind eye to this - if only his brother did not get into politics. And he didn't climb. Indifference and neglect of his duties more and more overcame Alexei.

Such was the Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich, who had a reputation as an excellent, noble man who did no harm to anyone. True, he had one feature behind him - he loved stupid practical jokes. Once, in 1882, Prince Alexander of Bulgaria came to St. Petersburg on an official visit. Alexei assured him that Empress Maria Feodorovna, out of patriotism, loves the smell of onions. He, in order to please her, ate herring with onions before the reception, but it turned out that the empress could not stand the stink of onions. Alexander Bolgarsky got into a mess, and Alexei only chuckled.

Since 1880, everyone has noted the growing craving of the sybarite and glutton Alexei for plentiful libations and carousing, usually in the company of the husband of his mistress, the Duke of Leuchtenberg. He became very stout, which gave the right to evil tongues to call him "seven pounds of august meat."

The philanthropy of the Grand Duke made him a scandalous personality. Alexander Mikhailovich once caustically remarked: "Nimble ladies and clumsy ships prevailed in his life." It is not difficult to imagine what kind of hunting was carried out for him by the women themselves. “Every night the ladies of our monde come to him, whom he deigns to invite,” wrote one of his contemporary. Serenity and fun, revels with gypsies, mischievous bachelor parties with abundant libations, balls and receptions made up his leisure in Russia. All this happened in front of the eyes of the capital's society and the Russian press, greedy for sensations. But even more pleasure was brought to him by being in Europe, away from the eyes of the evil-speaking Russian newspapermen. At the resorts in Biarritz and Cannes, his easy, carefree life was mainly held. He went there for a long time to rest, leaving everything in Russia, which even his brother Alexander III resented a lot. No work, no responsibilities - only golf, entertainment and trips to the gambling establishments of Monte Carlo. “A secular man from head to toe, le Beau Brummell (trendsetter) and bon vivant, who was spoiled by women, Alexey Alexandrovich traveled a lot. The mere thought of spending a year away from Paris would have forced him to resign... The mere mention of modern transformations in the navy caused a painful grimace on his handsome face. He was not interested in anything that did not relate to women, food and drink, ”wrote his cousin Sandro, not without irony. Another contemporary echoed him: “If the Grand Duke had been forced to spend at least a year away from Paris, he would immediately resign - which, of course, would play a positive role for the Russian fleet, where he was listed as Admiral General.”

He always stayed at the luxurious Ritz or Continental hotels, in which entire floors were rented for his retinue, visited chic restaurants where everyone stood at attention - from the owner to the head waiter with a whole host of waiters, and the other public was not allowed. When Grand Duke Alexei drove by or went for a walk, the police blocked all the streets. You won’t surprise anyone with this now, but then everything was a curiosity. If he entered the casino arm in arm with another lady and accompanied by a retinue, then the doors were locked and the stakes rose to half a million rubles. The famous courtesan La Goulue, who posed for Toulouse-Lautrec, danced especially for him, and Alexey literally covered her with large bills up to her waist. Felix Yusupov, the killer of Rasputin, recalled how in 1907 he met the courtesan Bibi, already an old and sick old woman, who was proud of her long-standing relationship with Grand Duke Alexei. Such was his life abroad. It was Alexei and his brother Vladimir who made the expression “to live like a grand prince” a household word in France; even in the 1930s, old-timers told legends about them.

How did his superiors treat such a wild life of Alexei? Note that only his brother-emperor was the head of him. He was pleased with the service of Alexei - or pretended to be pleased. When Alexander III died in 1894, he was replaced by Nicholas II, Alexei's nephew. He was frankly afraid of his uncle and did not dare to contradict him. Then the relatives got down to business, outraged by the confusion that reigned in the Maritime Department and the huge waste. During the reign of Nicholas II, they repeatedly attempted to remove Grand Duke Alexei from office, but the intercession of the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna saved him from this. Alexei was opposed by his nephew Sandro, who in 1896 submitted a report to Nicholas II on the deplorable state of the fleet and the need for reforms. As a result, Alexander Mikhailovich was forced to resign, as the Admiral General also threatened to resign. Then nothing was done.

Under Alexei, corruption and embezzlement completely decomposed the Maritime Department. It came to the point that the armor of the ships literally sprawled, because the metal rivets were stolen, and the armor plates were fastened with wooden bushings. One of the newest destroyers almost sank halfway between Kronstadt and St. Petersburg, as someone stuck tallow candles into the rivet holes. With such a naval commander, the shells of naval guns did not even explode, but the guns themselves often exploded, killing and maiming people.

Alexei was accused of embezzlement of the treasury and sadly joked that the ladies of Paris cost Russia one battleship a year. He glorified himself with huge theft, under him embezzlement in the fleet reached unprecedented proportions, the amount of money pocketed by him amounted to millions. He did not disdain the sums of the Red Cross intended for wounded soldiers. “In the pockets of“ honest ”Alexey,” contemporaries wrote, “several armadillos and a couple of millions of the Red Cross fit in, and he very wittily presented the ballerina-mistress with a wonderful red cross made of rubies, and she put it on on the very day when it became known about the defect two million." His Highness's career has been tarnished by a series of financial scandals. In 1902, they finally conducted an investigation into abuses in the Naval Department, as a result of which 43 officers were accused of bribery and corruption. No charges were brought against Alexei himself, but a number of his deputies were accused of embezzlement and they were convicted. The following year, a scandal erupted over the maritime budget, for which Alexey was responsible. An additional 30 million rubles, that is, half of the annual budget of the country's navy, has sunk into the water. Alexei managed to report on these amounts, although during this time not a single ship was launched into the water. At the same time, he bought himself a mansion in Paris. Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich wrote in his diary: "If this is so, then one cannot help but be surprised at such expenses on the part of the Russian Grand Duke."

The carefree existence of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich was interrupted by tragedy. Despite all the signs of an impending war with Japan, the Admiral General continued his daily festivities. Sandro once tried to talk to Alexei about this topic. Here's what came of it: “The date was more of a comical character. All the armed forces of the Mikado on land and at sea could not confuse Uncle Alexei's optimism. His motto was unchanged: “I don’t give a damn about anything.” How our “eagles” were supposed to teach the “yellow-faced monkeys” a lesson remained a mystery to me. Having thus finished with these questions, he spoke of the latest news of the Riviera, which he had given in order to find himself in Monte Carlo. The questions went: did I see Miss X and did I like Miss Y?

In 1904, the Russo-Japanese War began. For 18 months, Russia went from defeat to defeat. On account of Alexei Alexandrovich there were two wars: the Russian-Turkish 1877-1878 and the Russian-Japanese 1904-1905; he lost the last one ignominiously. All meetings of the Maritime Department in 1904 were chaired by Alexei Alexandrovich. According to S. Yu. Witte, the Grand Duke expressed his extreme weakness in the sense of preventing this war, although he realized that it would rather bring trouble. He had a negative attitude towards the idea of ​​sending Rozhdestvensky's squadron to certain death, but did not insist on his opinion. The fateful decision was made against all logic by Emperor Nicholas II himself.

Let me explain for the uninitiated. The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 began with a sudden attack by the Japanese fleet on Port Arthur (our naval base in China). Several ships were damaged and the base itself was blocked from the sea. At the same time, the Japanese attacked the Varyag cruiser in Chemulpo Bay (Korea), as a result of which, after an unprecedented battle, the team itself sank the Russian ship so that it would not fall to the enemy. Thus, in the Pacific Ocean, Russia did not have any naval forces left, except for the low-powered Vladivostok detachment of cruisers. Under these conditions, it was decided to form a squadron of ships of the Baltic and Black Sea fleets under the command of Admiral Rozhdestvensky, so that she, bypassing around Europe, Africa and Indochina, fought with the Japanese fleet and unblocked Port Arthur. By this time, Port Arthur had already fallen, and the Russian ships were ordered to break through to Vladivostok with a fight. In the naval battle near the island of Tsushima on May 14-15, 1905, the squadron of Admiral Rozhdestvensky suffered a shameful defeat, and he himself was captured.

The fault for sending the squadron to certain death lies with Nicholas II, but Admiral General Alexei was no less to blame. It was his fault that the ships were slow-moving, of different types, weakly armed, outdated, and so on and so forth. In the days of national disgrace, all of Petersburg was embittered against Alexei for the unpreparedness and miserable state of the fleet, for his senseless death. Massive demands began for his resignation. Naval officers gave him the infamous nickname "Prince Tsushima". Glass was broken in the Alekseevsky Palace, a story appeared among the people that allegedly Nicholas II said in their hearts: “It would be better if you, uncle, stole twice as much, but would make the armor twice as thick!” and fired him. But this is just a legend. In fact, Nicholas II wrote the following in his diary: “May 30, Monday. Today, after the report, Uncle Alexei announced that he wanted to leave now. In view of the seriousness of the arguments expressed by him, I agreed. It hurts and is hard for him, the poor one! ..” The “poor” embezzler! It turns out that Alexei Alexandrovich himself asked for his resignation - probably, even such an impenetrable person was tortured by conscience. It is possible that he even suffered and felt guilty.

On June 2, 1905, he was dismissed from all his posts and drove off to Paris, taking with him his mistress, the Frenchwoman Eliza Balletta, an actress of the Mikhailovsky Theater, as fat as a sack of potatoes. She was a mediocre ballerina, but a beautiful woman. Eliza used to be a maid in one of the French hotels. Alexey Alexandrovich, being the chairman of the Imperial Society of Ballet Patrons, patronized her so actively that she became a prima with the highest fee. Madame Balletta was directly showered with expensive gifts from the Grand Duke, for which she received the title of "diamond majesty" from Petersburgers.

She sported a diamond necklace that the St. Petersburg wits called the "Pacific Fleet." In high society, it was believed that the Balletta was worth more than Tsushima. Many contemporaries directly associated the technical backwardness and defeat of the Russian fleet in the Russo-Japanese War with the name of this woman, the last mistress of Grand Duke Alexei. Alexey Alexandrovich spent most of his time on the Cote d'Azur or in Paris, and industrialists, in order to receive orders for the fleet, usually turned to his mistress Eliza Balletta.

Here are just a few examples. Even at the very beginning of the war, the government decided to strengthen the Russian fleet and decided to buy several battleships from the Republic of Chile. But the deal did not take place because of their ... cheapness! The representative of the Maritime Department Soldatenkov, an outright embezzler and bribe-taker, told the Chileans: “You should ask for a price of battleships no less than three times the price assigned. Wrong calculation! The Grand Duke must receive his own from the sale price. Much must be given to Madame Balletta. There should be something left for the share of smaller ranks ... ”As a result, the deal was upset, and the Japanese immediately bought the battleships from the Chileans, outraged by the impudence of Russian bribe-takers.

Another egregious incident in the life of Mrs. Balletta is associated with the acquisition of the latest marine torpedo. Its inventor was a Frenchman, whom the Russian government called to St. Petersburg for experimental firing. However, just to make an experiment, they demanded 25 thousand rubles from the Frenchman for the actress Balletta. The inventor, who himself dreamed of getting rich on a Russian order, of course, did not have that kind of money. He was forced to leave home, and the Japanese bought the novelty, although they already had their own torpedo, superior in quality to the French. They bought it just so the Russians wouldn't get it. All this excited the Russian public, and when Alexei appeared in the theater with Eliza Balletta, hung from head to toe with diamonds, the angry audience threw orange peels at them and ... in general, anything. The well-known historical novelist Valentin Pikul described this episode as follows: “In the evening of the same day, Seven Pounds of the Most August Meat, as always, fell apart in the box of the Mikhailovsky Theater, applauding their“ fluttering ”mistress. The audience gave Elise Balletta a scandal. “Get out of Russia! shouted even from the velvet box. “You don’t have diamonds on you, these are our dead cruisers and battleships”…”. According to another version, when during one of the performances in May 1905 she appeared on stage in a precious necklace, the audience began to shout: “Thief! That's where our fleet is! A shame!"

By the way, regarding diamonds. Alexey Alexandrovich gave her very expensive things, some of which are now in private collections. So, for example, the box “Baletta” by Carl Faberge is known, ordered especially for a French woman and made of gold, enamel and diamonds; it is decorated with an enamel anchor with the initial "A". The favorite of the Grand Duke also had a significant amount of other Faberge products, among which was the Balletta vase, the stone-cut figure of the Asking Schnauzer and a miniature jade watering can decorated with gold, enamel and diamonds.

After such scandals, Eliza Balletta had to leave not only the theater, but Russia itself. She left secretly, her luggage amounted to 133 pieces of luggage - valuables and the most fashionable dresses. The furniture left in her St. Petersburg apartment, pieces of artistic decoration, precious Chinese and Saxon dishes, crystal chandeliers and much more - everything was sold at auction. All this brought a lot of revenue, as well-to-do Petersburgers did not skimp, wanting to buy the things of a scandalous person. Of particular value in this regard was the Pate recorder with recordings of intimate conversations between Balletta and the Grand Duke.

In the lists of the Guards crew and was intended for naval service. At baptism, he received the orders of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called, St. Alexander Nevsky, the White Eagle and St. Anna of the 1st class. The Grand Duke was the chief of the Life Guards of Moscow, the 37th Infantry Ekaterinburg, the 77th Infantry Tenginsky regiments, the 1st East Siberian linear battalion and the 5th naval crew.

The emperor's fourth son was educated at home. In 1858-1874, he was brought up under the guidance of a famous navigator, mastering a theoretical course in marine sciences and taking part in the voyages of Russian ships. In 1857, the Grand Duke was awarded the rank of midshipman, in 1866 - lieutenant, and in 1868 he was granted the adjutant wing to E. I. V. In the same year, Alexei Alexandrovich was shipwrecked in the Skagerrak Strait. In 1870, he sailed through inland water systems from St. Petersburg to Arkhangelsk, and then returned by sea to Kronstadt on the Varyag corvette. In 1871-1873, on the military frigate Svetlana, the Grand Duke sailed to North America, and then returned to the capital by land through the whole country. In 1873 he received the rank of captain of the 1st rank, then for several years he commanded the Guards crew and at the same time the frigate Svetlana. In 1874, Alexey Alexandrovich became a member of the shipbuilding and artillery departments of the Naval Technical Committee, in 1875 - an honorary member of the Society for the Promotion of Russian Merchant Shipping, and in 1877 - an honorary member of the Nikolaev Naval Academy. In June 1877, he was promoted to rear admiral with enrollment in the retinue of E.I.V.

At the time, Alexei Alexandrovich was the head of all naval teams on the Danube. For the successful piloting of pontoons from Nikopol to Sistovo past enemy positions and guarding the crossing of Russian troops, he was awarded a golden saber with the inscription "For Courage" and the Order of St. George 4th class. In 1880, the Grand Duke was granted the adjutant general, and in 1881 he was appointed a member. In the same year, he became the manager of the fleet and the maritime department, and then was appointed chief commander of the fleet and maritime department with the rights granted to the admiral general. At the same time, Aleksey Alexandrovich headed the Special Meeting on Strengthening the Russian Navy. With his participation, a twenty-year shipbuilding program (1881) and subsequent plans for naval construction were developed. In 1882, the Grand Duke received the rank of vice admiral, the next year - the rank of admiral general, and in 1888 - admiral. In 1892 he was appointed a member of the Committee of Ministers and chief of the Naval Cadet Corps.

During the years of Aleksey Aleksandrovich's management of the maritime department and the fleet, the corps of mechanical engineers and ship engineers were transformed, the number of naval crews was increased, new battleships and cruisers were built, ports in Sevastopol and Vladivostok were equipped or improved. The negative aspects of the leadership of the Grand Duke were the increase in the level of embezzlement in his department, the slowdown in the technical re-equipment of the fleet and the decrease in its combat effectiveness. On June 2, 1905, at the height of the war, Alexei Aleksandrovich was removed from his posts while retaining the rank of Admiral General.

The Grand Duke spent the last years of his life in. According to the Grand Duke, his relative had no idea how one could "spend a year away from Paris". In 1908, Alexey Alexandrovich died in the capital of France from pneumonia. He was buried in the grand ducal tomb of the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

Alexei Alexandrovich was not married, but had a connection with the maid of honor of the Empress Alexandra Vasilievna Zhukovskaya (1842-1899), the daughter of the famous poet, son of Alexei (1871-1832). In 1884, by decree, he was elevated to the dignity of a count of the Russian Empire.

Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich (uncle of Nicholas II), loved travel, entertainment and pretty actresses, he was accused of embezzlement of the treasury and immoral behavior.

At the age of 20, Prince Alexei secretly married for love a lady-in-waiting, Sashenka Zhukovskaya. The family did not recognize the marriage and obtained an annulment. The maid of honor was hastily married to another, and the prince, out of grief, went into all serious trouble and did not marry again. From a brief marriage, he had a son, Alexei Alekseevich.

Palace of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich (Alekseevsky Palace). She walked around the palace and remembered the story of the prince. He was very fond of theater and music, and it so happened that now in his palace "St. Petersburg House of Music" - as if by the will of the owner.

The prince-traveler was not only on a traditional trip to Europe, he traveled to America, China, Japan, Brazil, Cuba. Prince Alexei especially liked the Wild West, where he hunted with the Indians.

Young Prince Alexei

The prince's relatives arranged a divorce from his wife during his departure. Upon learning of this, he wrote letters to his mother: “I feel like I don’t belong to myself, that I can’t leave them (wife and child). There is a feeling in this world that nothing can overcome - this is a feeling of love ... Mom, for God's sake, don't ruin me, don't sacrifice your son, forgive me, love me, don't throw me into that abyss where I can't get out ... "

“I don’t want to be the shame and shame of the family… Don’t ruin me for God’s sake. Do not sacrifice me for the sake of some prejudices that will disintegrate themselves in a few years ... To love this woman more than anything in the world and to know that she is forgotten, abandoned by everyone, she is suffering, waiting for childbirth from minute to minute ... And I must remain some a creature who is called the Grand Duke and who therefore must, and can be, in his position, a vile and nasty person, and no one dares to tell him this ... Help me, return honor and life to me, it is in your hands "

Sashenka Zhukovskaya

Vladimir Alexandrovich, the brother of Prince Alexei, wrote a straightforward letter to Zhukovskaya, asking him to retreat: “Dear Alexandra Vasilievna! I often talked a lot with the empress about everything that happened ... Neither she nor the sovereign agree to the wedding, this is their unchanging decision, neither time nor circumstances will change it, believe me.

Now, dear Alexandra Vasilievna, let me, relying on our old friendship and your long-standing disposition towards me, turn directly to your heart ... Do you remember when I, having seen off my brother, stopped by to you. Saying goodbye to you, I took both your hands and, looking you straight in the eyes, I asked - do you really love your brother? You answered that you truly love him. I believed you, and how could I not believe? Now you know what position he is in. You also know the determined will of my parents. All this prompts me, if you definitely love your brother, to beg you on your knees, do not destroy him, but voluntarily, sincerely, give him up ... "

Palace in the 19th century

It is interesting that Alexander II, the father of Prince Alexei, later married a lady of non-royal blood for the second time, but did not allow his son.

To distract Prince Alexei from his sad thoughts, the royal relatives sent him on a big exotic trip around America. The Americans liked the prince, the democratic way of life turned out to be very close to him, the locals called him "a friend of the Americans." The ladies, having learned that the prince had recently experienced a love drama, showed a romantic interest in him. The young prince turned 21 during an American trip in 1871.

Here is such a chic banquet for 2000 people arranged in New York in honor of the arrival of the prince on the frigate "Svetlana":

“A huge hall, 250 feet long and 60 wide, decorated with the flags of both powers, was luxuriously decorated, models of various American ships stood in the piers; shields of weapons hung on the walls; around three chandeliers, white stars could be seen against a dark blue background; the ceiling was covered with red and white stripes of fabric used for sewing flags, which went to the decoration of all rooms up to 1,000,000 yards. Above the place appointed for the Grand Duke, there was a staff with the stern flag of the frigate, on which Admiral Farragut entered the roadstead of Mobile.
His Highness arrived at 10:30 and stayed at the ball until dinner, that is, until 2:00.
On the tables were vases of flowers, anchors made of natural flowers, and models of Svetlana, Bogatyr, and Abrek made from sugar. Opposite the instrument of the Grand Duke was placed a yellow Imperial standard of sugar, with a black eagle in a wreath of immortals.
An even more brilliant ball was given in honor of the Grand Duke on November 29, in the halls of the Academy of Music. The number of invitees reached 4000 people.

The decoration of the hall was distinguished by luxury and elegance. The covered porch was draped in Russian and American flags; the entrance was illuminated by a huge gas chandelier; against the doors of the dance-hall hung three emblematic pictures, one of which showed a young, beautiful woman in a Phrygian cap, draped in an American flag, and holding out her hand across the sea to a handsome youth in an imperial crown and a purple mantle trimmed with ermine; at the bottom of the picture is a cherub holding an olive branch.

Prince in the Wild West

On the picture, hanging on the right, were presented: a Caucasian, a Great Russian and a Finnish; and on the left are three Americans: one with a plow, another with a bale of cotton paper, and a third striking an anvil with a hammer. On the other two walls hung 2 paintings depicting the liberation of the peasants by the Sovereign Emperor and the Negroes by Lincoln. In the corner of the hall was placed a wide pink silk Turkish sofa, with a garland of artificial flowers; in the deepening of the hall was a white marble balustrade, on which fresh flowers and greenery were arranged; in the middle was a fountain surrounded by flowers, and in the distance a grotto was visible. On the doors to the billiard room, there was a light silk drapery, with double-headed and single-headed eagles.

His Highness arrived with his retinue at 10 o'clock and took a seat in a special box prepared for him, in the depths of which hung portraits of the Sovereign Emperor and the Empress. At the entrance of the Grand Duke, the music played "God Save the Tsar" and the audience stood up, bowing respectfully to the distinguished guest.

Dinner began at the end of the first hour. The dining room was adorned with shields, with American and Russian weapons and national flags. The table for the Grand Duke was set on a raised platform; in the middle was placed in a magnificent silver vase a bouquet of roses and camellias. Immediately there were Russian palaces and monuments of Washington made of sugar and chocolate ... The ball ended very late.

The prince traveled and saw in all its glory the "Wild West". He especially liked the buffalo hunt, local hunters respected the prince. The journey lasted 134 days.

The prince remained in the history of America. In the comedy about gamblers of the Wild West "Maverick" ("Trump Ace"), a Russian prince appears in the episode, who came to hunt buffalo, the prototype of the character is Prince Alexei Alexandrovich. The film is funny, but the "pissing" heroine Jodie Foster annoys me there.

Returning to Russia, the prince continued his bachelor life. In the light, his affair with Countess Zinaida Beauharnais, wife of the Duke of Leuchtenberg, caused a heated discussion. In honor of his mistress, Prince Alexei even named his yacht Zina. The Duke of Leuchtenberg did not interfere in his wife's relations and even maintained friendly relations with his rival, they joked in the world that they had "three of them in love."

Prince's favorite

According to the memoirs of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, the Countess had a magical charm that fascinated everyone:
“When I mention her name, I am aware of the complete impossibility of describing the physical qualities of this amazing woman.

I have never seen the like of her in all my travels in Europe, Asia, America and Australia, which is a great happiness, since such women should not often come across. When she came in, I couldn't stay in the same room with her. I knew her way of getting very close to people in conversation, and I was aware that in her company I become not responsible for my actions. All the young Grand Dukes fully sympathized with me in this regard, since everyone suffered at the sight of her just as I did. Being in the company of the charming Zina, the only thing left to do was to hug her, leaving the master of ceremonies to do whatever they wanted, but we, the youth, could never muster the courage to decide on this only logical act.

The matter was complicated by the fact that our "Beau Brummell" Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich was an inseparable companion of the Leuchtenberg couple, and his love for the duchess had long been the subject of a scandal. In society, this trinity was called "ménage royal à trois", and all the efforts of Emperor Nicholas II to influence his temperamental uncle had no success. I believe that Grand Duke Alexei would sacrifice the entire Russian fleet, if only he would not be separated from Zina.

The Duchess died at the age of 43 in 1889. Her love affair with the prince lasted 9 years until her death.

Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich recalled the cheerful disposition of his uncle: “I have always been an avid tennis player, and in the winter months of 1893-96. often played on the indoor courts of Uncle Nikolasha (Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich) and Count Shuvalov, whom we called Bobby. In addition, we had a court at our disposal, which was arranged in the premises of one of the large warehouses of the naval shipyard.
Father and uncle Aleksey, as well as many foreign diplomats, often joined our games full of carefree fun.

Uncle Alexei dressed in a strange robe of his own invention - something like a Mephistopheles suit with red stripes - which made him look like a real ringmaster. He was very proud that he was the only owner of such a fantastic outfit, and loved to show it to others. “I am better dressed than any of you,” he told us more than once.

When, between sets, we drank tea - and it was served to us from Uncle Alexei's nearby house - the boys from the nautical school, who brought us balls, began to fool around and made such a noise and uproar that Uncle Alexei, with his loud commanding voice, called them to order."

In public service, Prince Alexei chose a maritime career. Participated in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, was appointed head of naval teams on the Danube. The task of the prince was "to prevent the enemy from harming our crossings, which ensured the army's allowance and made it possible to conduct military operations calmly and without stopping."

Alexei Alexandrovich served as Admiral of the Fleet during the Russo-Japanese War. He dissuaded Nicholas II from sending a fleet to the Far East, but his arguments were unconvincing for his nephew.

mature years

Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich confirms that Nicholas II was dissuaded from an ill-considered step: “We were sitting in Tsarskoye with Nikki, Uncle Alexei and Avelan and discussed a new important issue. We had to decide whether we should approve the plan of Admiral Rozhdestvensky, who proposed sending our warships to the Far East, to certain destruction. The admiral himself did not harbor any hopes of victory. He just thought that he had to "something to satisfy public opinion ..."

Nikki explained to us the reason for our meeting and asked us all to give our honest opinion on the matter.

Uncle Alexei could not say anything and had the civil courage to admit it ... it was decided ... not to send our Baltic Fleet to certain death in the Pacific Ocean.

Colorful office space

"In the Tsushima defeat, he could not blame anyone but himself"- Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich wrote about the decision of Nicholas II.

After the defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, the prince took the blame on himself in order to save the royal reputation. In 1905 he resigned and left Russia. Former friends and supporters turned their backs on him as a traitor. The prince's reputation for debauchery and embezzlement played an additional role. It was said that with the money intended for the construction of ships, he bought diamonds for his favorites. Once, when the prince's favorite singer took the stage, shouts were heard from the auditorium: "this is where our ships are - in her diamonds!"
The prince died three years after his resignation in 1908 in Paris at the age of 58.

• Saint Petersburg, Russian empire

• Paris, France

• Grand Duke's Tomb

Biography

He was enrolled in military service at birth - in the Guards crew and the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky and Jaeger regiments, as well as the chief of Moscow. On the namesake of 1853, he was enrolled in the Life Guards Ulansky Regiment. On July 22, 1855, he was enrolled in the newly formed Rifle Regiment of the Imperial Family. On March 13, 1856, he became chief of the 27th naval crew (later abolished). On his seventh birthday, he received the first chief officer ranks: naval - midshipman and guards - ensign, and in the same year, for the namesake - patronage of the Yekaterinburg Infantry Regiment. Since 1860, he underwent maritime practice on various ships, under the guidance of his tutor, Rear Admiral K. N. Posyet. On his twelfth birthday, he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. On September 13, 1866, he was promoted to lieutenant of the fleet and lieutenant of the guard.

In 1868, under the leadership of Vice Admiral Posyet, he was sailing from Poti to the Baltic aboard the frigate Alexander Nevsky, which wrecked on the night of September 12-13, running aground in the Jutland Strait. During the rescue operation, three sailors and an officer of the ship were killed. The commander, Captain 1st Rank O.K. Kremer, considered that Aleksey Aleksandrovich behaved with dignity on the ship in distress, refusing to be among the first to be transported ashore. Four days after this event, the Grand Duke was promoted to staff captain and appointed adjutant wing. In the same year, he was appointed chief of the 77th Tenginsky Infantry Regiment.

In 1870, he traveled along the water system from St. Petersburg to Arkhangelsk, from where he returned by sea to Kronstadt as a watch officer on the Varyag corvette.

January 1, 1881 was appointed a member of the Council of State; July 13 of the same year - Chief of the Fleet and the Naval Department (instead of his uncle - Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich) with the rights of Admiral General and Chairman of the Admiralty Council.

On May 15, 1883, he was awarded the rank of Admiral General (the last Admiral General of the Russian Navy); On January 1, 1888 he was promoted to the rank of admiral.

Since 1890 he was an honorary member of the Berlin Orthodox St. Prince Vladimir Brotherhood. On January 18, 1892 he was appointed chief of the Naval Cadet Corps, and on January 27 of the same year - chief of the 5th naval crew.

During his management of the maritime department and the fleet (in what activities he relied on the managers of the maritime ministry: A. A. Peshchurov (1880-1882), I. A. Shestakov (1882-1888), N. M. Chikhachev (1888-1896 ), P. P. Tyrtov (1896-1903), F. K. Avelan (1903-1905)) a naval qualification was introduced, a regulation was issued on remuneration for long-term command of ships of I and II ranks, the corps of mechanical engineers and ship engineers were transformed, the number of crews was increased, many battleships and cruisers were built, the ports of Sevastopol, Alexander III, Port Arthur were built, the number of boathouses was increased, the docks in Kronstadt, Vladivostok and Sevastopol were expanded.

His death, which followed in Paris on November 1, 1908, was announced by the highest manifesto. The body was taken by funeral train to the Nikolayevsky railway station. The transportation of the body from the Nikolaevsky railway station to the Peter and Paul Cathedral and burial took place on November 8 according to the highest approved ceremonial. Metropolitan Anthony (Vadkovsky) of St. Petersburg and Ladoga performed the Liturgy and funeral service; present were Emperor Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, and Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna.

He was the first to be buried in the newly built tomb of members of the imperial family at the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

Awards

Ratings

His cousin, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, believed that Alexei Alexandrovich did not have great military abilities:

A secular man from head to toe, "le Beau Brummell", who was spoiled by women, Alexey Alexandrovich traveled a lot. The mere thought of spending a year away from Paris would have forced him to resign. But he was in the civil service and held the position of no more no less than the admiral of the Russian Imperial Fleet. It was hard to imagine the more modest knowledge that this admiral of a powerful state had in maritime affairs. The mere mention of modern transformations in the navy caused a painful grimace on his handsome face.<…>This carefree existence was overshadowed, however, by tragedy: despite all the signs of the approaching war with Japan, the Admiral General continued his festivities and, waking up one fine morning, learned that our fleet had suffered a shameful defeat in the battle with modern Mikado dreadnoughts. After that, the Grand Duke resigned and soon died.

Personal life

According to some reports, he entered into a morganatic marriage with the maid of honor Alexandra Vasilievna Zhukovskaya (1842-1899), daughter of the poet V. A. Zhukovsky. If the marriage actually took place, then it was not officially recognized.

The second significant woman in his life was Zinaida Dmitrievna Skobeleva, with whom he was close in 1880-1899 until her death, despite the objections of her husband, the Duke of Leuchtenberg. About a year after the death of Zinaida Dmitrievna from throat cancer, the Frenchwoman Eliza Balletta, invited to the French troupe of the Mikhailovsky Theater, became the new mistress of the Grand Duke for many years.

In 1885 he moved to a palace specially built for him on the Moika Embankment (architect M. E. Messmacher).

Personal diary

In the summer of 2006, during a planned review of the Yusupovs' fund of the manuscript department of the Russian National Library, researchers at the Yusupov Palace discovered the "Journal" of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich, which is a massive notebook bound in chocolate color with a gilded monogram "AA" on the cover and a gilded lock; he kept a diary in Russian for forty-five years, from 1862 to 1907.

In popular culture

The figure of Alexei Alexandrovich is somewhat popular with the authors of the genre of alternative history. In particular, he is the main character of Roman Zlotnikov's cycle "General-Admiral" (4 books as of September 2012, the cycle is completed), a significant place is occupied by his activities in Andrei Feliksovich Velichko's cycle "The Caucasian Prince" (6 books as of December 2011), as well as the cycle “Mr. from Tomorrow” by a team of domestic authors (A. Makhrov, B. Orlov, etc.). Mentioned in the story of V. Shukshin "Aliens". The attempt on Alexei is described in one of the stories in the collection The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes.

The Grand Duke is also featured in the 1994 film Maverick, where he is played by Paul Smith.

Memory

• Alekseevsky real school in Perm.
• Bay Port Alexey(now - sec; English Sek Harbor) on the Northeast coast of New Guinea in the Astrolabe Bay of the New Guinea Sea was named in his honor in 1872 by the Russian ethnographer and traveler N. N. Miklukho-Maklay during the first expedition to New Guinea. In 1883, with the participation of Miklukho-Maclay and the support of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich, the crew of the Skobelev corvette carried out a detailed hydrographic survey of the bay in order to determine the possibility of creating a filling base for the cruisers of the imperial fleet here (later this idea was abandoned). And although the original Russian toponym has fallen into disuse, the Germanized derivative of it is German. Alexishafen, at various times gave international names to a number of objects in the vicinity of the bay and is still used as the name of the settlement (German) Russian

Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich (1850-1908) was the son of Alexander II and brother of Alexander III, famous for his rare external beauty and novels. Perhaps Alexei Alexandrovich would have been different if his father Alexander II had allowed him to be the husband of the daughter of the poet V.A. Zhukovsky Alexandra (1842-1899). At the age of 20, Alexei Alexandrovich, without the highest permission, secretly married in Italy to his ardently beloved Alexandra Zhukovskaya, the mother of their son Alexei (1871 - 1932), but this marriage was declared invalid in Russia. A.V. Zhukovskaya was forced to marry without love in Munich a German officer G. Worman (1849-1932), became Baroness Worman, left Russia. At the age of 13, her illegitimate son Alexei Alekseevich received from Alexander III the title of Count Belevsky (at the age of 61, the Communists shot him in Tiflis only because he was the grandson, albeit illegitimate, of Alexander II). After the annulment of the marriage with A.V. Zhukovskoy Alexey Alexandrovich began to have fun with women in a big way and did not think about marriage at all. Most discussed in society was his scandalous romance with one of the most beautiful women in Europe, the sexy Zinaida Dmitrievna (1856-1899, nee Skobeleva), sister of the famous general M.A. Skobelev, wife (since 1878) Evgeny Maximilianovich (1847 -1901), Prince Romanovsky, Duke of Aeichtenberg, who in 1889 received the title of Countess of Beauharnais. Alexey Alexandrovich, who neglected his duties as Admiral General of the Fleet, fell in love with Zinaida Dmitrievna, the wife of the grandson of Nicholas I (the son of his beloved daughter Maria Nikolaevna), who became his long-term lover, his main favorite.

Aleksey Aleksandrovich accompanied the Leuchtenbergsky couple everywhere, they talked about their reprehensible “threesome love”, but the couple did not divorce, because in such a situation they also benefited. Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich It was said in society that the favorites of this Grand Duke, especially Zinaida Dmitrievna, take advantage of his financial generosity and use the official opportunities and connections of this Romanov for their personal enrichment.

Aleksey Alexandrovich was a member of the State Council, adjutant general, admiral general, chief commander of the fleet and the Naval Department (1880-1905), but he did not really deal with his own affairs with prejudice. But from a young age he had an interest in maritime affairs; by the age of 17, he had already participated in seven sea voyages, because from childhood he was being prepared for naval service. At the age of 18, on board the frigate Alexander Nevsky, he got into a shipwreck in the North Sea, flatly refused to be the first to leave the sinking ship, crossed to the shore only after the whole team, believed that the duty of the Grand Duke told him to think first of all about saving the team. Alexey Alexandrovich visited North America in 1872, paid a visit to the President of the USSR. Grant (1822-1885); this visit was the first ever personal contact between a US leader and a high representative of Russia and its Royal House. Alexey Alexandrovich believed for a long time that his main duties were to faithfully serve the affairs of the Russian Navy and unquestioningly carry out the decisions of the ruling sovereign. But soon he doubted the fidelity of the decisions of the emperor - his father Alexander II, who could not stop the riots and theft in the maritime department, called on everyone to honesty and morality, and he himself became a victim of the young princess E.N. Dolgoruky, who gave birth to his children and used his opportunities. Aleksey Alexandrovich soon became convinced that everyone in the clan of those in power was, to one degree or another, dishonest in business and personal life, and decided to keep up with them, especially since at the age of 31 he became Chief of the Fleet and the Maritime Department. It is not surprising that he soon began to show laziness in official affairs, joined in idleness, acquired traits of arrogance, did not worry about the lack of his professional knowledge in maritime affairs and the vulnerability of his business qualities. As Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich recalled, Alexei Alexandrovich even thought of arranging meetings of the Admiralty Council in his palace, combining them with dinner in the company of its members, who, like him, appreciated excellent cognac and the art of its chefs. He did nothing, despite all the signs of an approaching war with Japan, and continued his festivities. Alexey Alexandrovich had not devoted his best strength, soul, and time to the execution of state affairs for a long time; it is not surprising that under him in the Admiralty began a strong theft from the turmoil, embezzlement of public funds, placement in a profitable service for bribes. After the defeat in the naval battle of Tsushima (1905) during the Russo-Turkish War (the Japanese fleet, which had superior forces, artillery, speed, defeated the Second Pacific Squadron, and Russia was forced to start peace negotiations), 55-year-old Alexei Alexandrovich, one of the main perpetrators of the troubles of the Russian fleet, began to reproach the eyes to call Tsushima, he resigned and soon died at the age of 58 years.

On Petrovskaya Embankment (house 2) is the palace of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Jr. (1856-1929), grandson of Nicholas I, nephew of Emperor Alexander II. He was Adjutant General, General of the Cavalry, Inspector General of the Cavalry (1895-1905), Chairman of the Council of State Defense (1905-1908), Commander-in-Chief of the Guards and the St. Petersburg Military District (1905-1914), Supreme Commander of all the armed forces of Russia in the first year of World War I (1914-1915). This palace of his was built in 1910 according to the project of the architect A.S. Fucking. In the Soviet and post-Soviet periods, the functional use and owners of the palace changed. Since 1918, the Institute for the Study of the Brain and Mental Activity, organized and headed by VL1 Bekhterev, worked in the building of the palace. in 1985 - the Wedding Palace. Since 2000, the palace has housed the official residence of the plenipotentiary representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Northwestern Federal District. The most famous person associated with this palace, undoubtedly, was and remains VL1 Bekhterev.

Vladimir Mikhailovich Bekhterev (1857-1927) went down in national history as an outstanding Russian neurologist, psychiatrist, psychologist, founder of a scientific school. He created scientific works on anatomy, physiology and pathology of the nervous system.

V.M. Bekhterev studied the possibilities of using hypnosis in the treatment of diseases, including the treatment of alcoholism. He is the author of books on sex education, early childhood behavior, and social psychology. Bekhterev studied personality on the basis of a comprehensive study of the brain by physiological, anatomical and psychological methods. He is the founder of the scientific direction - reflexology, as well as the organizer and leader of the first in Russia and the world Psychoneurological Institute (1908, from the Soviet period - named after V.M. Bekhterev) and the Institute for the Study of the Brain and Psychic Activity (1918). Bekhterev dared to make a terrible diagnosis to I.V. Stalin - paranoia (the general name for mental disorders characterized by systematic delirium and mania of persecution, betrayal, danger, jealousy, etc.).