Alexander Mikhailovich Prince of Vladimir. Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich. Father of Russian Aviation

Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich Romanov was the fourth son of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich (1832-1909), son of the Emperor, and Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna (1839-1891). He was born in Tiflis, where his father was governor of the Caucasus. After his birth, the Grand Duke became the chief of the 73rd Crimean Infantry Regiment, and at baptism he received the Order of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called, St. Alexander Nevsky, White Eagle and St. Anna 1st class. Together with his brothers, he received a comprehensive education at home and from childhood prepared for naval service, acquiring the necessary theoretical knowledge and visiting military ships and port facilities.

In October 1885, the Grand Duke was enlisted as a midshipman in the Guards crew, and in July of the following year he was granted the adjutant wing to H.I.V. In 1886-1889, he circumnavigated the world on the corvette "Rynda", after which he received the rank lieutenant, and in 1890-1891 he traveled to India on his own yacht “Tamara”. He outlined his impressions in the essay “23,000 miles on the yacht Tamara.” In 1892, the Grand Duke commanded the destroyer Revel, and in 1893 he again set off on a circumnavigation of the world on the frigate Dmitry Donskoy as part of a team sent to North America to participate in the celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America. In December 1894, Alexander Mikhailovich was promoted to captain of the 2nd rank. In 1895, he was appointed senior officer of the squadron battleship Sisoy the Great. In the same year, the Grand Duke presented a note arguing that Japan would be Russia's most likely adversary at sea. He planned the beginning of the future Russian-Japanese war for 1903-1904, proposing in this regard his own version of the shipbuilding program. After his proposals were rejected, Alexander Mikhailovich left the fleet, but already in 1899 he returned to active service and was appointed senior officer of the coastal defense battleship Admiral General Apraksin. In December 1900, the Grand Duke was awarded the rank of captain of the 1st rank. In 1900-1903, he commanded the battleship of the Black Sea Fleet "Rostislav", and in January 1903 he received the rank of rear admiral with enrollment in the retinue of E.I.V. and appointment as a junior flagship of the Black Sea Fleet.

Alexander Mikhailovich did a lot for the development of the Russian fleet at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1891-1906, under his editorship, the reference book “Military Fleets of Foreign States” was published, in addition, he published reference books and essays “Drawings of destroyers of the Russian fleet”, “Russian fleet”, “Marine steam boilers”, “Course of steam engines” and other. Since 1898, the Grand Duke was a member of the Council for Merchant Shipping, then became its chairman. In 1902-1905, as chief executive, he headed the Main Directorate of Merchant Shipping and Ports, created on his own initiative. Under the leadership of Alexander Mikhailovich, a procedure for the construction of ships was developed, the reconstruction of ports began, and the education of merchant marine sailors was improved. The Grand Duke was an honorary member of the Conference of the Nikolaev Maritime Academy, stood at the head of the Imperial Russian Shipping Society, the Russian Technical Society, and the Society of Naturalists at. During this period, he criticized the decision to send the 1st and 2nd Pacific squadrons to the Far East, and supervised the preparation and actions of auxiliary cruisers. In 1904, the Grand Duke became chairman of the Special Committee to strengthen the fleet using voluntary donations.

In February 1905, Alexander Mikhailovich was appointed head of a detachment of mine cruisers in the Baltic, built with donations. In 1905-1909 he was a junior flagship, in the summer of 1906 he commanded the Practical Defense Detachment of the Baltic Sea coast. After the end of the Russo-Japanese War, he actively participated in meetings regarding the revival of the fleet, insisting on the accelerated construction of new types of battleships and increasing allocations for the navy. In July 1909, Alexander Mikhailovich was promoted to vice admiral and granted adjutant general. He showed interest in the development of not only the navy, but also the air force, being one of the pioneers of domestic aviation. The Grand Duke headed the air fleet department under the Committee for Strengthening the Military Fleet with voluntary donations, initiated the sending of naval officers abroad in 1909 to study at flight schools in France, and the creation in 1910 of an aviation officer school near Sevastopol. In 1913, he submitted for approval to the government the “General Plan for the Organization of Aeronautics and Aviation in Russia.” In May 1913, he was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, 2nd class.

From the beginning, Alexander Mikhailovich was under the commander of the 4th Army; from 1914 he commanded the aviation of the Southern Front. In December 1915, he was awarded the rank of admiral. In December 1916, the Grand Duke became field inspector general of the air force. At the beginning of 1917, Alexander Mikhailovich supported the idea of ​​​​creating a government with the participation of public figures. After, on March 22, 1917, he was dismissed from service. He lived with his family in, then moved to Crimea, where he was under house arrest for some time. In December 1918, he left Yalta on a British warship.

In exile, the Grand Duke took an active part in the activities of such organizations as the Russian All-Military Union (ROVS), the Union of Russian Military Pilots (he was its honorary chairman), the Paris Wardroom, and the Association of Guards Crew Officials. Alexander Mikhailovich lived in Switzerland and was interested in spiritualism and archaeological research. He died in Roquebrune in the arms of his wife at the age of 66, and was buried there.

Alexander Mikhailovich was married to his cousin niece, the sister of Nicholas II, Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna (1875-1960). The marriage produced a daughter, Irina (1895-1970), who had been married to Prince F. F. Yusupov since 1914, and six sons: Andrei (1897-1981), Fedor (1898-1968), Nikita (1900-1974), Dmitry (1901-1980), Rostislav (1902-1978) and Vasily (1907-1989). All of them were in morganatic marriages.

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Father of Russian Aviation

He was preparing for his first lecture in the USA, not without excitement. The performance was to take place at a Baptist church in Grand Rapids. The church was full. Eight hundred and fifty people gathered to listen to his lecture on spiritualism. Most were attracted not so much by the topic as by the lecturer himself. He was walking to the podium when suddenly the orchestra began playing the introduction to the anthem of the Russian Empire, “God Save the Tsar.” All the listeners stood up in unison, and he... He mustered all his willpower not to lose consciousness. Then I barely understood how I finally forced myself to start the performance. He still had sixty lectures to give in American churches, universities, and women's clubs. In each contract, he stipulated: neither before the lecture, nor during, nor after, under any circumstances should the Russian anthem be performed. He admitted: it was not so difficult to survive the suicide of the empire as, after 11 years, to hear its living voice again. The organizers were forced to accept this condition, although the performance of the anthem would have made the meeting even more emotional. Americans are no strangers to sentimentality; they have been deceived more than once by adventurers who pretended to be either Grand Duchess Anastasia or Grand Duke Mikhail. And here is the real Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich Romanov! In his early youth he visited the United States. He was remembered.

He was the only one of the six Mikhailovich brothers who managed to escape from revolutionary Russia. The youngest, Alexey, died before reaching twenty years of age; Mikhail was expelled from Russia a long time ago, he settled in England, the events that happened in his homeland did not affect him; the elders, Nikolai and George, were shot in the Peter and Paul Fortress (Alexander did not like this place since childhood, as if he foresaw trouble); Sergei was thrown into a mine in Alapaevsk. He left on his own and took all his seven children out of the madness-ridden country. A fantastic favor of fate for those times. So his interest in mysticism is not accidental. True, many years ago, when few could believe in the fall of a three-hundred-year-old empire, the spirit of the Syrian seer Alkahest, who appeared to him during a spiritualistic seance, predicted not only the bloody revolution, but also its result. The result was inspiring: Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich would be elevated to the throne of his ancestors. Only the first part of the prophecy came true...

Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich.

Nevertheless, Alexander Mikhailovich occupies a very special place among the thirty-three heroes (some can hardly be called heroes, so, more precisely, characters) of this book. And not because he had an extraordinary mind, energy and ingenuity; not because he was the closest friend of the last emperor, so (up to a certain point!) he could have some influence on the course of events in the country. The point is different: Alexander Mikhailovich, the only one of the great princes, left us, descendants, extensive, brilliantly written memoirs covering the end of the reign of Alexander II, both last reigns and partly the first years of the Romanovs’ life in exile. His books Once a Grand Duce and Always a Grand Duce are an invaluable source of information about the royal family. This, on the one hand, is information from the inside, which is inferior to any memories of those close to him, teachers, ladies-in-waiting: they were close to the throne, but they were still not allowed to the most secret things. On the other hand, the memoirs of the Grand Duke are undoubtedly subjective, and since relations between the Romanovs were by no means cloudless, some characteristics (both positive and negative) should be approached with great caution. The simplest and most convincing example: the family of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich enters the Winter Palace in its entirety for the first time, Alexander sees his many cousins ​​for the first time. It would seem that in order to form an impression of everyone, you need to get to know each other better, but the memoirist writes: “And finally, our “enemy” Nikolasha. The tallest man in the Winter Palace... throughout the entire dinner, Nikolasha sat as straight as if he was expecting the national anthem to be played every minute. From time to time he cast a cold glance towards the “Caucasians” and then quickly lowered his eyes, as we all, as one, met him with hostile glances.” Nikolasha is the future Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian army in the first half of the First World War, one of the most gifted Grand Dukes. What did he do to deserve such disfavor from his fourteen-year-old cousin? It turns out that for a long time, even in early childhood, Nikolai Nikolaevich did not share something with the memoirist’s older brother Nikolai Mikhailovich. A serious reason for hostility, to say the least. Moreover, the hostility caused by this reason persists almost until the end of days... In addition, the memoirs were written by a sixty-year-old emigrant decades after the events described. He knows what some old words or actions led to. This knowledge, wittingly or involuntarily, changes the author’s attitude towards the past: he often portrays himself as a wise seer, warning the king against certain decisions and suggesting others. Somehow it turns out that if Nikolai had listened to the advice of his friend Sandro, the fate of Russia and the dynasty would have been simply rosy. However, exaggeration of one’s own role in history is typical of most memoirists.

The advantage of letters and diaries in this sense is obvious. Firstly, a person writes at a time when events are happening, without knowing where they will lead, which means he does not set out to justify or embellish his own position. Secondly, they are addressed (if these are letters) to close people or (if these are diaries) written exclusively for oneself, which means they imply, if not absolute, then at least almost complete frankness.

Memoirs are addressed to the general reader, and very often their goal is the desire to hide the true motives of actions, circumstances, relationships. This applies not only to the memories of Alexander Mikhailovich. So, quite often referring to the books of the Grand Duke, I always tried to compare his information and judgments with the testimony of other participants or contemporaries of the events described by him. It must be said that the main sin in such a comparison was the exaggeration of one’s own role, sometimes a very significant exaggeration. I will give just one example that characterizes not only the author of the memoirs, but, no less important, the people who can safely be called the culprits of the collapse of the great Russian Empire - Nicholas II and his wife. On February 10, 1917, the pedantic emperor wrote in his diary: “...At 2 o’clock Sandro arrived and had a conversation with Alix in my bedroom. Walked with Maria; Olga's ear hurt. Before tea I received Rodzianko. Misha drank tea. Then he received Shcheglovitov. In the evening I studied until 11 o’clock.” And here’s how Sandro himself recalls this conversation in the bedroom: “Alix was lying in bed in a white peignoir with lace. Her beautiful face was serious and did not predict anything good... I also did not like the look of Nika, sitting by the wide bed. In my letter to Alix, I underlined the words: “I want to see you completely alone, so that I can talk face to face.” It was difficult and awkward to reproach her for dragging her husband into the abyss in the presence of himself... I began by pointing to the icons and saying that I would speak to Alix as if in spirit. I briefly outlined the general political situation, emphasizing the fact that revolutionary propaganda had penetrated into the midst of the population and that all slander and gossip were accepted by them as truth. She abruptly interrupted me: “This is not true!” The people are still loyal to the king. Only traitors in the Duma and Petrograd society, my enemies and his.” “There is nothing more dangerous than half-truths, Alix. The nation is loyal to the Tsar, but the nation resents the influence that Rasputin enjoyed. No one knows better than me how much you love Niki, but still I must admit that your interference in government matters harms Niki’s prestige and the people’s idea of ​​an autocrat... all classes of the Russian population are hostile to your policies. You have a wonderful family. Why don't you focus your worries on what will give your soul peace and harmony? Leave state affairs to your husband!’” She flushed and looked at Nicky. He said nothing and continued smoking.” Next, Alexander Mikhailovich talks about how he persuaded the empress to make concessions to the hated Duma and, seeing that persuasion was not working, he warned: “Perhaps in two months there will not be any stone left unturned in Russia to remind us of the autocrats who sat on our throne ancestors... For thirty months I did not utter a word about what was happening within our government, or, more accurately, your government. I see that you are ready to die along with your husband, but do not forget about us! Should we all suffer for your blind recklessness? You have no right to drag your relatives into the abyss with you.” “I refuse to continue this argument,” she said coldly. – You exaggerate the danger. When you are less excited, you will realize that I was right.”

Where is the truth here? It's safe to say that some kind of bedroom conversation did take place on February 10th. As for the behavior of the Empress (she had less than a month left to remain in this role), there is no doubt about the truthfulness of the Grand Duke. There are confirmations. One thing is enough: shortly before Alexander Mikhailovich’s visit, her beloved sister Ella came to her with the same requests and warnings. The Tsarina kicked (!) Elizaveta Fedorovna out the door. And how many relatives, realizing the pointlessness of the conversation with Alexandra, admonished Nikolai! All for nothing. As for the emperor’s behavior during the conversation, it also seems to be true: many testify that he never objected to his wife with a word (at least in public). But let’s try to compare the entry in the emperor’s diary with the testimony of the Grand Duke. Nikolai mentions Sandro’s visit with absolute indifference, as they say, in passing, on a par with a walk with Maria and a tea party with Misha. What is it, complete deafness, a reluctance to delve into the words of an old friend, or was the conversation not as sharp, not as fateful as Sandro post factum describes it? Today this is no longer known. One thing is obvious: 13 years after the events, Alexander Mikhailovich understands them and evaluates them absolutely adequately, unlike those who still do not see the guilt of Nikolai and Alexandra in the collapse of the usual legal order.

I think there is no point in talking in detail about the life of the Grand Duke - I have already written about many things in the chapters dedicated to his many relatives: about his parents, about the upbringing and training of the Mikhailovichs, about life in Tiflis, about his first arrival in St. Petersburg and meeting his relatives, about the attitude to almost all uncles and cousins, about marriage to the daughter of Alexander III and sister of Nicholas II, Ksenia Alexandrovna, about the conflict with Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich, about attempts to save the monarchy, about the reaction to the Khodynka tragedy, about life in Crimea after the revolution and much more more. So all that remains is to add something about the impressions of childhood and youth, events in his personal life and tell, if not about all the enterprises of the very energetic and enterprising Grand Duke, then at least about the main thing - the organization of domestic aeronautics.

So, the most vivid impressions of childhood and youth that influenced the formation of Sandro’s character and worldview. The first, unforgettable, interruption of the usual course of events was an illness, scarlet fever. She prevented the boy from going to St. Petersburg with his family; he had to stay on his father’s estate in Borjomi under the supervision of two doctors. As soon as he began to recover, they happily forgot about their duties and began enthusiastically playing Indians with their little patient. Everyone around them tried to please the young Grand Duke as best they could. Never in his life had he eaten so many sweets or received so many toys as during this unforgettable month in Borjomi (his mother, Olga Fedorovna, was strict and considered sweets and toys impermissible indulgence). When Sandro was completely strong, he was allowed to go on long walks through the surrounding mountains and forests. Then he will travel all over the world, but he will not find anything more beautiful than the surroundings of Borjomi.

The second unforgettable impression was an acquaintance that played a huge role in the life of the memoirist. “...I ran into a smiling boy my age who was walking with a nanny holding a child in her arms. We looked at each other carefully. The boy extended his hand to me and said: “You don’t know me?” “I’m your cousin Niki, and this is my little sister Ksenia” (this is how the Grand Duke first saw the baby who, 17 years later, would become his wife. – I.S.), his kind eyes and sweet manner of communication surprisingly endeared him to everyone. My prejudice against everything from the north was suddenly replaced by a desire to make friends with him. Apparently, he liked me too, because our friendship, which began from that moment, lasted forty-two years.” Nicky was indeed, by all accounts, a very sweet boy. Moreover, his position as heir to the throne definitely added to his charm. In no way do I want to accuse Alexander Mikhailovich of pragmatism. Most likely, he made his choice at the behest of his heart and, it must be said, he did not change this choice. He immediately “decided to strike up friendships with Niki and his brother Georgiy... he was not averse to choosing Grand Dukes Pavel Alexandrovich and Dmitry Konstantinovich as comrades of my games. As for the other grand dukes, I decided to stay away from them as much as etiquette and politeness would allow me. Looking at the proud faces of my cousins, I realized that I had a choice between popularity among them and the independence of my personality. And it so happened that... throughout my life in Russia I had very little in common with members of the imperial family, with the exception of Emperor Nicholas II and his sisters and my brothers.”

So, a thirteen-year-old boy makes a conscious moral choice: he wants to maintain the independence of his personality. After this, he is faced with another choice - the choice of occupation. Father, the general-feldtzeichmeister, wanted all his sons to become artillerymen, or at least guard officers, but he made a mistake by hiring the cheerful, surprisingly handsome naval lieutenant Nikolai Aleksandrovich Zeleny as one of the mentors for his sons. He was a great joker and an amazing storyteller. His stories from the free life of sailors decided Sandro’s fate: the boy dreamed of becoming a sailor. To the horror and indignation of the parents. For the first time in his life, he showed character; neither his father’s persuasion nor his threats could convince the stubborn man. To become a naval officer, you had to graduate from the Naval Corps. But can the Grand Duke study with mere mortals? Of course no. I had to invite teachers to the Novo-Mikhailovsky Palace (fortunately the family had already moved to St. Petersburg by that time). A sailor mentor was invited to Sandro, with the secret hope that this extremely unpleasant person would turn the boy away from the ridiculous idea of ​​becoming a sailor. The mentor tried very hard, constantly accusing the Grand Duke of impenetrable stupidity, insisting that with such abilities he would never pass the exams of the strict professors of the Naval Corps. Sandro passed the exams brilliantly, but most importantly, he realized that he was not mistaken: the sea is his calling. During training voyages, he did not shirk his work and behaved in a friendly manner with the cadets. Well, they treated the fact that he slept in a separate cabin and ate at the captain’s table with understanding: after all, he was a Grand Duke.

On the day he turned 20, a gala reception was held at the Peterhof Palace in honor of his coming of age. Sandro swore the oath twice (as all the great princes swore the oath). First, he swore allegiance to the basic laws of the empire on succession to the throne, the second was the oath of the subject. Holding the flag of the Guards crew with his left hand, raising his right hand up, he read both oaths aloud, kissed the cross and the Bible that lay on the lectern, signed the oath sheets, hugged the sovereign and kissed the hand of the empress. From this moment adult life began. One of its first and main events was financial independence. True, for another five years it was relative: for this period the emperor appointed a guardian who was supposed to teach the young Grand Duke to spend his money wisely and carefully. Sandro, with great difficulty, managed to prove that he did not need to appoint a guardian: he was about to set off on a three-year voyage, and having a guardian in St. Petersburg was strange, to say the least. He knew how to persuade; he would have to use this talent more than once. And now a twenty-year-old boy becomes the owner of 210 thousand rubles a year. If you consider that until the age of 16 he did not receive a penny for pocket money, and from the day he turned 16 he began to receive 50 rubles a month from his parents, it becomes clear that he felt like Harun al-Rashid. But he did not spend money in restaurants and nightclubs, as the vast majority of his relatives did. He began collecting a library. He stated that he would have the best maritime library in Russia. During his trip around the world, which he will embark on on the corvette “Rynda” soon after coming of age, he will not forget to replenish his library at stops. And the sites were very exotic. The first is Rio de Janeiro. Before he had time to look around, he received a cable with an order to pay a visit to the Brazilian Emperor Don Pedro. The wise, gray-bearded monarch talked as equals for two hours with the young nephew of the Russian emperor. Sandro felt almost omnipotent. He came up with a very constructive idea: why go to the Strait of Magellan, and then explore our Far Eastern shores, conduct topographic surveys in the Tatar Strait, study the northern shores of Kamchatka, the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, the Bering Islands, when you can visit no less exotic countries than Brazil ? And he turned to his cousin Alexei with a request to change the route. The Admiral General (he would soon become a fierce opponent of the reforms that Sandro would continually propose) easily agreed.

And the young Grand Duke himself and the entire crew were delighted. “Rynda” will visit Singapore, Hong Kong, Nagasaki, Newcastle, Sydney, Melbourne, New Zealand, the Moukka Islands, Fiji Islands, Samoa, and Ceylon.

Life was full of adventures. Receptions, parades, dinners, balls, hunting. But the main event was the first intimacy with a woman. This happened in Hong Kong. The young lady was experienced, very pretty and not stupid. The thirst for a beautiful life brought her to Hong Kong from San Francisco. Life was not always beautiful, but she was lucky with the Grand Duke. He treated his first woman with tenderness. Then, when I happened to be in Hong Kong, the first thing I did was take a rickshaw and go to her. She was always glad to see him. When I returned to Hong Kong 4 years later, I learned that she had died of tuberculosis. But that will come later. And while the voyage continued, so did the “education” of the Grand Duke, who simply amazed his companions with his innocence.

The next long stop is Nagasaki. This Japanese port was at that time the main stop of the Russian Far Eastern squadron. Near the port is the village of Inassa. Everything there is for Russian officers. First of all, women. No, not port girls for one night at all, like in Europe. Here are temporary wives. They will faithfully look after their man and be faithful to him. True, exactly until the minute when his ship raises anchor. Sandro hesitated for a long time to have such a wife. Finally, he was persuaded. The Japanese took the choice of a wife for the brother of the Russian Tsar very responsibly: 60 applicants came to the bridesmaid ceremony. It was impossible to choose: they all looked the same. Sandro loved the color blue and made a simple decision: he chose a girl in a blue kimono. She turned out to be cheerful, affectionate, flexible. He was generous. So the union turned out to be harmonious. In his free moments, the inquisitive Grand Duke studied Japanese. I decided to show off the knowledge I had gained in the Mikado’s palace.

He, of course, was invited, it could not have been otherwise, as soon as the emperor of the Land of the Rising Sun heard that the brother of a neighboring monarch was visiting his land. At the reception they exchanged short speeches through an interpreter, but at dinner, sitting next to the empress, Sandro spoke in Japanese. The Empress answered him with a puzzled look. He decided to clearly and articulately repeat his enthusiasm for Japan's successes. At first she held back, her eyes filled with tears, then she burst out laughing loudly, as little girls do when they can’t hold back their laughter. This was the signal. An explosion of uncontrollable laughter shook the walls of the palace. When everyone had calmed down, the prince, who spoke English, at the request of his mother, asked the Grand Duke where he had learned to speak like that. Sandro was surprised: why is his Japanese so bad? Everyone smiled in unison. “No, what are you talking about,” answered the well-bred prince, “on the contrary, he’s very good, but this is a special Japanese thing, I don’t even know how to tell you... Have you ever visited a certain quarter? Inassa quarter? How's that? I didn't know that Inass lingo could be taught. Give your lady my congratulations."

The love adventures continued in St. Petersburg: Sandro fell in love with Grand Duchess Ksenia. The eldest daughter of Alexander III was then 14 years old. The emperor promised to think about it, but forbade even mentioning marriage until the girl turns 18. Realizing that there is still a long wait, Sandro decides to go on a new trip around the world, buys a yacht, takes his brother Sergei with him, recruits a team and sets off. The composition of the crew is curious: only two civilians, to whom the owner of the yacht pays a salary, and 29 people are sailors of the imperial fleet (something reminiscent of the currently fashionable use of conscripts in the construction of generals' dachas). The yacht "Tamara" headed for Ceylon. The brothers dreamed of hunting elephants. They were introduced to the famous hunter Lemesurier, who killed 90 elephants in 15 years. They were delighted. The hunt has begun. But they will be able to kill the elephants only during their second visit to Ceylon. The first hunt will be interrupted by an order to report to Colombo. The fact is that Nika’s beloved friend arrived there on the cruiser “Memory of Azov”. Father sent him to get acquainted with the countries of Asia. The meeting thousands of kilometers from home was a holiday.

Soon after returning home with rich hunting trophies, the Grand Duke had to set off on a new voyage. Alexander III received an invitation to take part in the celebrations marking the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America. He himself did not want to leave the country for a long time; he decided to send a squadron with one of the grand dukes. The choice fell on Alexander Mikhailovich. In Washington, he was received by President Cleveland, conveyed the sovereign's heartfelt congratulations on the anniversary and gratitude for the help provided by the Americans in 1892 during the famine in the southwestern provinces of Russia.

To convey the Grand Duke’s impressions of America, I will quote his memoirs: “So here it is, the country of my dreams! It was hard to believe that just 29 years ago the horror of a fratricidal war reigned here. I looked in vain for traces of that terrible past - fun and prosperity reigned on the streets... To the eye of an observer, there is a living example of the country’s capabilities in conditions similar to those in Russia. We just had to put a little common sense into our policies. And right there, in those few minutes while my walk lasted that evening, a broad plan for the Americanization of Russia matured in my head.” He will enthusiastically report this plan to the emperor (first of all, according to this plan, the complete mixture of classes should have been adopted from the USA). The plan would be rejected, as would his later plans to rebuild the navy and capture Constantinople.

Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna.

For now, he will be able to fulfill only one of his dreams: to marry Ksenia. It was customary to spend the first wedding night in the Ropshinsky Palace (I was not able to find out the origins of this amazing tradition, amazing because it was in this palace that the first of the Grand Dukes of the Romanovs, who managed to become Emperor Peter III and was overthrown from the throne, was killed). The wedding was remembered not only for the mind-blowing gifts, but also for a funny incident on the way to Ropsha. The palace was so brightly illuminated that the coachman, blinded by the unusual radiance, did not notice the small bridge over the stream, and the three horses, along with the carriage and the newlyweds, ended up in the water. Before Prince Vyazemsky, who met the newlyweds on the steps of the palace, the groom appeared with his face and hands black from dirt. The bride's luxurious outfit: a coat with ermine, a hat with ostrich feathers, shoes with precious buckles - everything was covered in dirt. Not a single muscle moved on the face of the experienced courtier. He greeted the grand ducal couple with the solemnity appropriate to the moment. Left alone, they began to laugh uncontrollably.

The second reason for laughter that evening was the groom’s outfit, which each of the Romanovs put on before their first wedding night. “We parted at one in the morning to put on our wedding clothes. Walking into my wife’s bedroom, I saw in the mirror the reflection of my figure, draped in silver brocade, and my funny appearance made me laugh again. I looked like an opera sultan in the last act...” A year later, Ksenia gave birth to a daughter. They called me Irina. She will grow up to be an irresistible beauty, marry Felix Yusupov, and live a difficult, but clearly not boring life. And Ksenia will give birth to six more sons. For twelve years Sandro will be happy with his wife. Then he will want some variety. He will cheat on his wife just out of curiosity. Then he falls in love and invites his beloved to go to the Fiji Islands or Australia and become farmers. She will wisely refuse. Alexander Mikhailovich recalled with sadness how his relationship with his wife developed: “I am becoming more and more crazy and can no longer hide from Ksenia. I tell her everything. She sits quietly, listens, then begins to cry. I'm in tears too. She acted like an angel. Her heart was broken, but she preferred even such a terrible truth to a lie. We discussed the situation from all sides and decided to leave everything as before for the sake of the children. We remained friends forever and became even closer to each other after such an ordeal. All the virtue is on her side, all the guilt is on me. She proved herself to be a great woman and a wonderful mother."

Don’t think that the lady with whom Sandro cheated on his wife for the first time kept him around her forever. After her, the Grand Duke had many hobbies, most of them fleeting - his lifestyle became the same as that of many people in his circle. True, Ksenia Alexandrovna did not suffer for long either. Princess Irina’s teacher, Countess Komarovskaya, recalled with horror: “the Tsar’s own sister, the mother of a large family and an almost adult daughter had an open lover!” And here’s what Felix Yusupov wrote from Paris to his mother, Princess Zinaida Nikolaevna (in her youth she had an affair with Alexander Mikhailovich): “From the theater we went to dinner at Caffe de Paris. Alexander Mikhailovich with his lady and Ksenia Alexandrovna with her Englishman were sitting just in front of us. It’s just incomprehensible how you can advertise like that. Ksenia looks terrible, her skin color is completely earthy. Her Englishman is very handsome and remarkably handsome, but her American woman is so-so, with a very banal face, but wonderful white teeth (the Grand Duke was at that time infatuated with a rich young American woman, Miss Wobotan, the daughter of the owner of bathhouses in New York. - I.S.). Boris Vladimirovich sat almost next to them with a whole harem of cocottes. Alexander Mikhailovich has gone crazy in his old age. When we all went out into the street, he rushed at Dmitry Pavlovich and me, grabbed our hands, and we began to spin wildly on the sidewalk to the general surprise of the public and passers-by.” I will add that at this time Sandro selflessly became interested in dancing, or rather, not dancing in general, but tango. Nicholas II was shocked: he considered tango obscene; this dance was banned in Russia.

But novels were novels, dances were dances, and the passion for reforms did not leave the Grand Duke. At first he dreamed of reforming the fleet, which undoubtedly needed it. But the resistance of Admiral General Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich and the absolute inertia of Nicholas could not be overcome. Attempts to take Alexei’s place and become admiral general also ended in nothing. Although I tried very hard. The only thing he managed to do was help Alexander Stepanovich Popov overcome the resistance of officials, test and implement in the fleet (to begin with, on the squadron battleship Rostislav, commanded by the Grand Duke) his wonderful invention - a wireless telegraph.

In order to somehow console his childhood friend, Nikolai awarded him the rank of rear admiral and, yielding to his urgent requests, created the “Main Directorate of Merchant Shipping and Ports” (previously, both were under the supervision of Finance Minister Witte). Remembering this, Sergei Yulievich called Alexander Mikhailovich a scoundrel and an intriguer. Nevertheless, while holding the rank of minister, the Grand Duke streamlined the legislation on merchant shipping and began building several new ports; organized a new steamship line connecting our Black Sea ports with the Persian Gulf. He proposed creating a society for the exploitation of the oil fields of Baku, but not only did not meet with support, but was also accused of adventurism and undermining the foundations. His project to build a powerful dreadnought also caused fierce resistance from the Admiral General and his supporters. During the Russo-Japanese War, he persistently dissuaded Nicholas from the suicidal idea of ​​sending the Baltic squadron across half the globe to the Japanese shores. His arguments did not seem convincing. The fleet has been sent. To a senseless death. At this time he still managed to implement one of his ideas: he organized the so-called “cruising war.” Its goal was to suppress any supply of goods and products to Japan, which lived mainly from imports. By interrupting the Japanese sea communications, it was possible to achieve victory without much sacrifice. The effectiveness of the tactics proposed by Alexander Mikhailovich would be brilliantly confirmed 30 years later by the Americans, who would sink all ships going to and from Japan. But the Grand Duke failed to complete the matter. After the sinking of an English ship carrying smuggled weapons to warring Japan, an international scandal erupted. Russia was accused of attacking a peaceful ship of a neutral country, Great Britain threatened war. The “cruising war” had to be stopped. “Neutral” countries continued to support Japan with equipment, food, and weapons. Weakened, having even lost its outdated, practically helpless fleet, Russia was forced to come to terms.

Today's sanatorium named after. Rose of Luxemburg occupies the territory of the former estate of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich Romanov. His estate Ai-Todor is located a few minutes walk from the Tolitsyn palace and park.

Estate "Ai-Todor" The estate in Gaspra was acquired by Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich Romanov, governor of the Caucasus, from Princess Meshcherskaya in 1869. The plot of about 70 acres was located on the postal route near the Ai-Petrinskaya yaila. The estate occupied the area from the Sevastopol highway to the seashore, ending with Cape Ai-Todor. It would be difficult to find a more picturesque place on the coast.

Many other visitors wanted to follow the prince’s example, looking for plots that belonged to the Tatars. But then the Tatars did not have such documents by which it would be possible to legally secure the purchase of land, and the new institutions had not yet mastered the procedure for indisputably strengthening the purchaser's rights. Therefore, many such deals were terminated.

The Grand Duke was very proud of his purchase. Here, in the peace and coolness of a luxurious park, on the picturesque slopes of the Crimean Mountains, a small palace, a retinue building, and outbuildings were erected. Most of the land was allocated for vineyards, at which a wine cellar was built.

In 1882, the Grand Duke celebrated his 50th birthday on the south-bank estate. His brother, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, owner of a beautiful estate in Oreanda, was present at breakfast. Baroness M.P. Fredericks gave the birthday boy a bust of his mother, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. For many years the bust stood in the office at the Ai-Todor estate.

Later, Mikhail Nikolaevich divided the estate between his sons: Alexander Mikhailovich received most of the estate, and Georgy Mikhailovich received a smaller part of Ai-Todor.

Other sources report that the owner of the estate was the wife of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich - Grand Duchess Olga Fedorovna, née Princess Cecilia of Baden. She died in 1889 on a train on the way to Crimea, to Ai-Todor, and according to her spiritual will, this south-bank estate passed to her son Alexander Mikhailovich.

Estate of V.Kn. Alexander Mikhailovich "Ai-Todor" Alexander Mikhailovich, the owner of the Ai-Todor estate, had five brothers and a sister. They spent their childhood on this estate, and each of them retained vivid impressions of Crimea for the rest of their lives.

All six Mikhailovich brothers were exceptionally gifted people and stood out among the other Romanovs. The most famous was Nikolai Mikhailovich, an outstanding Russian historian, author of several multi-volume monographs.

Like all the Romanovs, he received a military education, but already in his youth he became seriously interested in entomology. At the age of 18 he became a member of the French Entomological Society. The Grand Duke gained well-deserved fame from his works on history: “Emperor Alexander I. Experience of Historical Research”, “Russian Portraits of the 18th and 19th Centuries” and others.

He was chairman of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, chairman of the Imperial Russian Historical Society, Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Berlin and Doctor of Russian History at Moscow University. The very list of titles and positions speaks of the Grand Duke’s scholarship.

He spent all his free time in the archives of St. Petersburg and Paris, living in the modest Hotel Vendôme. However, the Grand Duke had one weakness - he was a passionate roulette player and visited Monte Carlo every year to try his luck. Already on the way to Monaco, he was completely immersed in thoughts about the upcoming game, and it was impossible to interrupt the flow of his thoughts and calculations.

In his personal life, the prince turned out to be unhappy. From his youth he was in love with his cousin, but the Orthodox Church did not allow marriage between cousins. Remaining faithful to his only beloved, the prince preferred loneliness.

Nikolai Mikhailovich was the eldest son of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, the second oldest was Mikhail Mikhailovich. In 1891 he married the granddaughter of A.S. Pushkin.
At the time of his marriage, Mikhail Mikhailovich was about thirty years old. He was cheerful, handsome, danced superbly and was a favorite of the big world. When he turned twenty, according to the rules that existed in the House of Romanov, he began to receive about 200 thousand rubles and spent almost all this money on building his own palace, dreaming of settling in it with his beloved wife. But each time the Grand Duke’s choice was rejected by his family. Finally he married the English Countess S. de Merenberg. But the Countess’s origins were not high enough for her to enter the Romanov family.

Angered by this marriage alliance, Alexander III telegraphed the Grand Duke of Luxembourg Adolf and Prince Nicholas Wilhelm of Nassau (father of Countess Sofia Nikolaevna): “This marriage, concluded contrary to the laws of our country, requiring my prior consent, will be considered in Russia as invalid and did not take place.”

Disagreement and non-recognition by the Russian sovereign of the marriage of Pushkin’s granddaughter with the grandson of Nicholas I forced the young couple to leave Russia and settle permanently in England.
In 1908, Mikhail Mikhailovich published the autobiographical novel “Don’t Be Cheerful” in London, which he dedicated to his wife, Countess Sofya Nikolaevna de Torby (she received this title after her marriage). In this novel, he sharply condemned the legalized rules for the marriage of high-ranking officials, which actually excluded marital ties for love. This work of the Grand Duke was also on sale in Russia.

Mikhail Mikhailovich Romanov's thoughts were always with his homeland. When Russia entered the war with Germany in the summer of 1914, the Grand Duke sent a letter to Nicholas II asking for permission to return to his homeland. He never received an answer. Then Mikhail Mikhailovich, “since it was awkward to remain in London in wartime without certain activities,” entered the service as a secretary to General N.S. Ermolov - the military representative of Russia in England during the First World War.

Sofya Nikolaevna and Grand Duke Mikhail Mikhailovich lived for many years in the rented Kenwood estate, located in the middle of a huge and picturesque parkland in north-west London. Now this house houses an art gallery.

Over the past years, the English offspring of the poet and the Romanovs has branched out widely. Nowadays it numbers more than forty people. In present-day Great Britain they occupy a special, privileged position, since they are related to almost all the courts of Europe, including the Royal House of Great Britain.

The great-great-granddaughter of the poet and Grand Duke Romanov, Natalya Eisha, became the wife of the 6th Duke of Westminster, one of the richest people in England, and received the title of Duchess of Westminster. All English newspapers wrote about this wedding. The Duchess's second child, a daughter, was baptized by the Princess of Wales, wife of Prince Charles, Lady Diana. The English press published photographs taken by the royal photographer of the Duchess of Westminster with her daughter. And Natalia Eisha herself became the godmother of Prince William, the grandson of Queen Elizabeth. These are the family ties that brought together the descendants of the great Russian poet A.S. Pushkin with the Romanovs and the British royal family.
The marriage of Grand Duke Mikhail Mikhailovich Romanov and his departure to England saved his life.

A different fate developed for his brothers, including the youngest, Sergei Mikhailovich.
Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich made a career as an artillery general, becoming at the end of his life the inspector general of this type of troops. In 1894 he was elected the first president of the Russian Theater Society.

All his life, the Grand Duke loved one woman - ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya. Without receiving reciprocation, he was her faithful, devoted and generous friend. In 1904, he began construction of a famous mansion in St. Petersburg, which received the name of its owner. The mansion is rightfully considered a masterpiece of architecture in the Art Nouveau style. After the October revolution, V. Lenin lived in the mansion for some time.

When Matilda Kshesinekaya gave birth to a son, Sergei Mikhailovich gave the boy his middle name so that he would not be considered illegitimate. Prince Andrei, the child's father, was at that time a 22-year-old “disenfranchised” member of the royal family and could not make such important decisions.
Sergei Mikhailovich loved the ballerina’s son very much, devoting all his free time to him, and even during the years of the civil war, when the Grand Duke, like all members of the royal family, was in danger, his thoughts were with his beloved woman and her son.

Fleeing from the Red Terror, Matilda Kshesinskaya, along with other aristocratic families, left for Kislovodsk, where at that time living conditions were relatively tolerable. There she received a telegram from Sergei Mikhailovich on her son’s birthday. The telegram was sent two days before his tragic death in Alapaevsk. This was the last news from him. Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich was killed by the Bolsheviks along with other members of the royal family.

Admiral Kolchak sent all the small items found near the dead to Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna, who handed them over to their closest relatives. For Sergei Mikhailovich, this was Matilda Kshesinskaya. She received a small medallion with her photograph inside...

The youngest of the Mikhailovichs, Alexey, died of tuberculosis when he was only 20 years old.

One of the most beloved in the Romanov family was the owner of the Ai-Todor estate, Alexander Mikhailovich, whom everyone called Sandro. The name of the Grand Duke was known to many not only because of the high position he occupied in Russian society at the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries, but also because of what he did for his fatherland. The details of his life, as well as the life of an entire generation, became known thanks to his memoirs, which he wrote in exile. This book was also published here.

By the time the Grand Duke took possession of the estate, it was already generating significant income, mainly from vineyards and winemaking, as well as the sale of fruits and flowers. Under Alexander Mikhailovich, wine cellars were built. The estate produced for sale such wines as table red, Bordeaux, table white, Pedro Ximenez, Semillon, Cabernet red, Muscat sweet, Madeira. These wines were sold in Omsk, Vinnitsa, Lodz, Simferopol and other cities.
Improvement and expansion work was constantly carried out inside the farm.

Alexander Mikhailovich loved his estate very much. It was here that he decided to bring his young wife after the wedding. He first met Ksenia, the younger sister of Nicholas II, when she was still a child and sat in the arms of her nanny; he was eleven years old at that time. In 1893, Alexander Mikhailovich asked Xenia’s hand in marriage from her father, Emperor Alexander III. Unexpectedly, he quickly agreed, asking only to wait one more year, since the bride was only seventeen years old. The groom went on business to America on one of the most modern Russian cruisers. Returning from America, where he spent a year, Alexander Mikhailovich received consent to marry. Their wedding took place in July 1894.

During the church service and the singing of pretend choristers, he was, according to him, immersed in thoughts about the upcoming honeymoon to Ai-Todor. In his memoirs, the prince wrote: “When I was still a child, my mother acquired the Ai-Todor strip of land on the southern coast of Crimea. Ai-Todor and I kind of grew up together. Over the years, Ai-Todor has turned into a blooming corner, covered with gardens, vineyards, meadows and bays cut along the shore. A lighthouse was built on the shore, which allowed us to navigate the sea on foggy nights. For us children, this brightly shining sheaf of light from the Ai-Todor lighthouse became a symbol of happiness. I thought about whether Ksenia would feel it the same way as my brothers during these twenty years.”

The palace was put in order before the young couple arrived. An emergency train from St. Petersburg delivered the young couple relatively quickly - in just 72 hours - to Crimea. Distinguished guests were expected on the South Bank. Regimental music was ordered, and honor guards were posted in Sevastopol and Yalta. Their Highnesses arrived in Yalta from Sevastopol on the yacht Tamara on August 5, 1894. Thus began their happy life in Ai-Todor.

But it was soon overshadowed by the death of the peacemaker emperor, Xenia’s father. The last Russian Emperor Nicholas II ascended the throne. Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, almost the same age as the Tsar, was Nicholas II’s cousin. And soon the wedding of Nicholas II took place.

The Ai-Todor estate was located next to the Livadia Palace, so families often spent time together, without getting tired of each other or their friendship. When Alexander Mikhailovich's daughter Irina was born in 1895, the Tsar and his wife spent hours at Ksenia Alexandrovna's bedside, admiring the beauty of the future Princess Yusupova.

Other children followed Irina; all the rest were sons. In his memoirs, Alexander Mikhailovich wrote about a very interesting Russian custom at the birth of a child. “It was that at the first cry of the child, the father should light the two candles that he and his wife held during the wedding ceremony, and then should wrap the newborn in the shirt that he had worn the previous night.” Six times, apparently, the Grand Duke had to follow this custom.

The children grew up in Crimea, where Alexander Mikhailovich turned from an exemplary naval officer into a rural owner. The increase in the family was accompanied by the expansion of the Ai-Todor estate.

Estate "Ai-Todor". Front entrance“I experienced great pleasure planting new trees, working in the vineyards and watching the sale of my fruits, wines, flowers. There was something incredibly encouraging about being able to get up at sunrise and say to yourself, riding along a narrow path bordered by impenetrable stands of roses: “This is real! This all is mine! It will never change! This is my place and here I would like to stay for the rest of my life,” Alexander Mikhailovich recalled happy days in Crimea.

The prince bought lands from the Crimean Tatars in order to expand his possessions. He compared the purchase of each tithe to the pleasure he received at the birth of his son. In 1902, the estate occupied an area of ​​more than 200 acres.

Crimea occupied a very important place in the life of the prince and his large family. People who were close in spirit and culture, relatives and friends lived here. In private life he was sociable and friendly. Everyone loved this handsome, tall brunette.

His range of interests was varied. Archeology occupied an important place in the prince’s life, and he became especially interested in it in the Crimea. He conducted excavations at the site of the ancient Roman fortress of Charax on Cape Ai-Todor. He found interesting things and donated a significant part of the valuables to the Chersonesos Museum of Antiquities. Regular field work on Ai-Todor began only in 1896 with the participation and leadership of Alexander Mikhailovich. The archaeological collection of antiquities that belonged to the prince amounted to 500 items.

The main work of his life A.M. Romanov considered the Fleet. From the age of 15 he was already sailing on cruisers. Since 1892, he commanded a detachment of destroyers of the Baltic Fleet. Based on his conviction, he entered the naval school and was a sailor all his life.

Convinced of the need for a strong navy, knowing the shortcomings of the country's naval defense, he tried to impress this on the emperor. He wrote a short note with his proposals to the Tsar, but encountered opposition from naval officials, in particular Admiral Chikhachev and Admiral General Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich, who were responsible for the defeat in the Russo-Japanese War.

At the age of 34, Alexander Mikhailovich became captain of the first rank and commander of the battleship of the Black Sea Fleet "Rostislav", and two years later the emperor appointed him head of the Main Directorate of Merchant Shipping with the rank of minister, awarded him the rank of rear admiral, and introduced him to the Council of Ministers, where he ended up the youngest member of the government.

Even in his youth, the Grand Duke began collecting a maritime library, which contained rare books from different countries. By the time of the revolution, it consisted of more than 8 thousand volumes. Unfortunately, the books were lost.

The prince also left his mark on domestic aviation. At the beginning of the 20th century, aviation was just developing, and few people then foresaw the role it would play in people’s lives and, in particular, in national defense. In 1909, the first aircraft were shown to the Russian Minister of War, General Sukhomlinov. The general called the first aviation week "extremely entertaining" but did not attach much importance.

The idea of ​​creating domestic aviation belonged to Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich. During the First World War, he became the leader and organizer of Russian military aviation and, having mastered flying well, headed the aviation of the Southwestern Front, and then the entire military aviation of the country.

Having learned about the abdication of Nicholas II from the throne, the Grand Duke, together with Empress Maria Feodorovna, hurried to Headquarters, where their last meeting took place.

Fearing reprisals against the Romanovs, the Provisional Government, through its commissar, conveyed an order to Alexander Mikhailovich to immediately go to Crimea along with members of his family. The journey from Kyiv to Ai-Todor was carried out under the escort of sailors.

So in 1917 the fates of the last Romanovs were divided. Those who find themselves in Crimea will be saved by a miracle. The events described by the Grand Duke in his memoirs resemble the plot of a detective novel. Several times the lives of Crimean prisoners hung by a thread.

One day, Ksenia Alexandrovna even decided to find out what fate had in store for them, just as they did with their brothers in childhood. She opened the Holy Scripture at random. It was page 28 of chapter 2 of the book of the Revelations of St. John: “And I will give him the morning star.” These words gave them hope. The next day, a German general actually arrived and reported on the capture of Yalta by German troops.

Crimean prisoners were kept in the dark about the advance of German troops, that they occupied Kyiv and moved 20 to 30 versts east every day. The general's arrival was a complete surprise for them.

The British naval fleet arrived in Sevastopol and the commander, Admiral Keltrop, informed members of the royal family about the English king’s proposal to put a steamer at their disposal for departure to England. Thus, the stay in Crimea ended happily for that part of the imperial family that at that time found itself on the peninsula.

Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich Romanov left Crimea before the rest of the family. On December 11, 1918, he left Russia at night on the ship of His Majesty King George of England to see the heads of the Allied governments in Paris and present them with a report on the situation in Russia.

The English ship Forsyth, increasing speed, moved away from Sevastopol into the open sea, the coastal lights gradually disappeared from sight. How did the Grand Duke feel at these moments?

In exile, remembering this moment of farewell to his homeland, he will write: “When I turned to the open sea, I saw the Ai-Todor lighthouse. It was built on land that my parents and I had farmed for the past forty-five years. We grew gardens on it and worked in its vineyards. My mother was proud of our flowers and fruits. My boys had to cover themselves with napkins to keep their shirts from getting dirty while eating our gorgeous, juicy pears.

It was strange that, having lost so many people and events, my memory retained the memory of the aroma and taste of pears from our estate in Ai-Todor. But it’s even more strange to realize that, having dreamed for 50 years of my life about liberation from the embarrassing fetters that the title of Grand Duke imposed on me, I finally received the desired freedom on an English ship.”

The Grand Duke's hopes for help from the allied governments were in vain. Clemenceau, the Prime Minister of France, sent his secretary to a meeting with Alexander Mikhailovich, who listened kindly and absent-mindedly. The others weren't paying attention either. Even the prince was denied an English visa.
And in the end, what happened happened: a new government built on lies and terror, mass emigration...

Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich settled with his wife, Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna, in England. Life took its course. Sons got married, grandchildren were born, descendants of famous Russian aristocratic families.

Almost all representatives of various strata of society: grand dukes, landowners, industrialists, clergy, intelligentsia lost everything and had to earn their living through hard work. “The delights of emigration life” were also experienced by the sons and daughter of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich.

The prince's health was deteriorating, and his relatives took him to Menton, in the Alpes-Maritimes, hoping that clean air and good care would help him. Until the last minute, his daughter Irina, with whom the prince was truly friendly, was next to his father.

Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich died on February 26, 1933, at the age of 67, and was buried in Roquebrune Cemetery, in the south of France.

His wife, Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna, died in 1960, having survived the events of the Second World War, anxiety both for Russia and for her son Dmitry, who was an officer in the British navy and took part in hostilities.

What did Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich leave behind? A book of memories in which he wrote about Russia, about friends, acquaintances, relatives. Many pages in this book are devoted to life in Crimea.

Years and hard times have spared his estate Ai-Todor. After the final end of the civil war and the establishment of Bolshevik power, the estate became part of the Soviet economy "Gaspra" and was the property of the Raisovkhoz.

Objects of art, the pride of the Grand Duke, archaeological finds were assigned to various museums in Crimea. On the estate itself, in 1921, a holiday home for metal workers was opened, then a sanatorium for adults with tuberculosis, then for children and teenagers, and the sanatorium began to be called them. Rose Luxemburg.

On the territory of the sanatorium you can still see buildings from the past. The palace for children, built in 1912 by the architect Krasnov, in which the sons of the Grand Duke lived in the old days, has been preserved; it now houses a dormitory building.

The palace, built in 1860, in which Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna, the Grand Duke, their daughter Grand Duchess Irina, ladies-in-waiting lived, is now also a sanatorium dormitory building.

The dining room, built in 1860 by the architect Kotenkov, is also noteworthy. The parquet flooring, wooden panels, beautiful sculpting, glass ceiling have been preserved, all three rooms are small, they are simple and elegant.

A magnificent park has also been preserved, along the shady alleys of which modern children who came from different parts of Ukraine run. The guys come to breathe the healing air, saturated with phytoncides, volatile substances that kill pathogenic microbes. The air in these places is truly wonderful. The combination of mountains and sea makes it surprisingly healthy.

Based on materials from Tamara Bragina, Natalia Vasilyeva.

This year, February 26 marks the 85th anniversary of the death of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, grandson of Emperor Nicholas I and brother-in-law of the last Russian Sovereign, Emperor Nicholas II. Alexander Mikhailovich went down in history as one of the most extraordinary and, as he called himself, “unlucky” representatives of the Russian Imperial Family. He devoted the first part of his multifaceted life to the Imperial Navy, and shortly before the First World War, he became the founding father of Russian military aviation. Already in emigration, Alexander Mikhailovich shocked many of his compatriots by becoming interested in spiritualism and mysticism, giving lectures on the topic of the afterlife and communication with the souls of the departed.

Alexander Mikhailovich was the fifth child and fourth son in the family of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich and Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna, née Princess of Baden. He was born on April 1/13, 1866 in Tiflis, when his father held the position of Viceroy of the Emperor in the Caucasus. Being a gifted and highly educated man, Alexander Mikhailovich (or Sandro, as his relatives and friends often called him in the Georgian manner), decided to connect his life with the fleet. At the age of nineteen, he brilliantly graduated from the Naval School and made his first trip around the world on the corvette Rynda. The Grand Duke was one of the few who tried to take steps to reform the Russian navy, but almost always encountered a solid lack of understanding of the pressing problems of the army at the top of the government. Ultimately, his service was interrupted, and later he briefly headed the Russian merchant fleet, but in the course of behind-the-scenes intrigues he was forced to leave this post.

Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich at the age of four

The Grand Duke when he was a cadet at the Naval School

Vice Admiral of the Russian Imperial Navy Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich

Finding himself in retirement, the Grand Duke did not while away the time on his Crimean estate Ai-Todor and remember the past radiant years. His violent nature, in any life circumstances, looked for a business that would benefit both the state and society. Having learned about the flight of the French aircraft designer Louis Blériot across the English Channel, Alexander Mikhailovich became interested in the idea of ​​developing aeronautics in Russia. Thanks to his energy and enormous efforts, in November 1910, the first aviation school in Russia was opened in Sevastopol, and Alexander Mikhailovich rightfully began to bear the title of chief of the imperial air fleet.

The Grand Duke inspects an aviation school in Sevastopol

Since childhood, he was friends with his cousin and almost the same age as Nicholas II. At the same time, Alexander Mikhailovich met the elder sister of the future Sovereign, Ksenia Alexandrovna, who in 1894 became his wife. They had six stately and handsome sons and one charming daughter. After the revolution, Alexander Mikhailovich lived with his family on his Crimean estate Ai-Todor, where he was placed under house arrest. He also witnessed the occupation of the peninsula by German troops, and then the arrival of former Entente allies in Crimea.

Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich with his wife and children

Alexander Mikhailovich and Ksenia Alexandrovna shortly before the February Revolution

The Grand Duke left Russia in December 1918 on board the British cruiser Forsyth. Alexander Mikhailovich hurried to France for the Versailles Conference, where he wanted to speak to leading world leaders so that they would help the White movement and dying Russia. But he never managed to meet anyone, since many believed that the Romanovs were forever thrown to the sidelines of world history.

Alexander Mikhailovich settled in France separately from his wife. Their marriage cracked in the early 1910s, and already in exile he tried to get an official divorce from his wife, but Ksenia Alexandrovna was inexorable and stubbornly continued to observe dynastic decency.

In his declining years, Alexander Mikhailovich began writing memoirs, publishing two books of memoirs. The first was published in 1929 in Paris and was entitled “Once a Grand Duke,” and the second, “Always a Grand Duke,” was published in 1933. When writing his memoirs, Alexander Mikhailovich showed extraordinary literary talent, demonstrating the mastery of artistic expression. His memoirs contain a lot of interesting, unique and mysterious memories of his family, homeland and life in exile. In fact, the memoirs of the Grand Duke are a real bestseller of the House of Romanov, but, alas, it is impossible to completely trust the words and stories of the grandson of Emperor Nicholas I. Sometimes, for the sake of eloquent words or a vivid description of an event, Alexander Mikhailovich used outright rumors and ridiculous speculation, but, in spite of everything, reading these memoirs is quite interesting.

Portrait of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich by Nicholas Zaroquilli. 1920s

Towards the end of his life, he became interested in spiritualism and began to preach the need for a spiritual revolution. A Swiss acquaintance suggested that Alexander Mikhailovich give a lecture on spiritualism in Zurich. Soon a new proposal came for a course of lectures in the USA. The Grand Duke spent three winters in distant America and gave more than sixty lectures, but he was drawn to Europe, closer to his relatives.

During a tour of the United States with a course of lectures on spiritualism

Returning from the States, Alexander Mikhailovich settled on his beloved French Riviera. He tried to drown out the difficult memories of the death of his brothers Nika and Georges, who were shot in the Peter and Paul Fortress in 1919, to forget the bloody events of the revolution and the Civil War. Alexander Mikhailovich was one of the first among his numerous relatives to begin to analyze in detail the causes of the disaster that struck Russia in 1917. He thought about his homeland all the time and never stopped hoping for a quick return home. “If we return to Russia, then we will work tirelessly there too; we will have to build our own well-being, there will be no one to expect help from,” the Grand Duke addressed his compatriots. - We must love Russia and the Russian people. Once and for all, we must understand that we can give nothing to the new Russia except love.”

Having finished his second book of memoirs in August 1932, Alexander Mikhailovich unexpectedly fell ill for those around him. He was tormented by terrible back pain. During his illness, he lost a lot of weight and practically did not get out of bed. Doctors diagnosed him with lung cancer in the last stage. Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna, who hastily arrived from Great Britain, “found a terrible change in Sandro.” Everyone began to understand that Alexander Mikhailovich’s days were numbered. His daughter, Princess Irina Alexandrovna, moved her father to Menton, to the Villa Sainte-Thérèse, which belonged to the princess’s friends, the Chirikov couple, who during the tragic days of house arrest in 1917–1918 were with the Yusupovs in the Crimean estate Koreiz.

Before Ksenia Alexandrovna’s arrival, Irina Alexandrovna, together with Olga Konstantinovna Chirikova, taking turns, selflessly looked after the Grand Duke. “The doctors do not despair at all, although the situation is very serious,” wrote Ksenia Alexandrovna in December 1932 in a private letter. - He needs increased nutrition, but in the absence of appetite and aversion to food, it is difficult to achieve this, and he is tormented when he is begged to eat. In general, it’s very difficult to work with him and you often don’t know which way to approach! Olga Konstantinovna looks after him like an angel, I must say, and with great patience, but she, poor thing, gets hurt endlessly.”

One of the last photographs of Alexander Mikhailovich, taken shortly before his death

On her first visit, Ksenia Alexandrovna stayed in a private boarding house, which was literally a few steps from the Chirikovs’ house. Ksenia Alexandrovna described the reason why she did not settle at the Villa Sainte-Therese in a letter to Alexandra Obolenskaya: “Sandro, having learned about my intention to come, wrote to me that there is no room in the house, although the Chirikovs, of course, will say that there is, but he knows that this will embarrass them and him too.”

In December 1932, Alexander Mikhailovich felt much better, so Ksenia Alexandrovna decided to return to London for the Christmas holidays and spend time with her sons. “The doctors are more satisfied with his general condition, and now it will be easier to do “traitementsérieux” (serious treatment), - wrote the Grand Duchess Alexandra Obolenskaya in Paris. - Last Saturday Sandro took communion and was very pleased, but tired after all the emotions. He called Irina, Olga Konstantinovna and me to his room, and we all prayed together - the priest read prayers before and after communion.”

In February 1933, Ksenia Alexandrovna returned to the south of France, where she found her husband “much more cheerful and better.” Buss’s attending physician was pleased with the patient’s condition, but Alexander Mikhailovich’s appearance did not inspire optimism. “In the morning he lies by the open window in the sun and is even tanned - so far only one cheek,” Ksenia Alexandrovna wrote to her friend Alexandra Obolenskaya. “He’s incredibly thin—it’s painful to look at.”

The denouement of events came very quickly. Everyone understood that the days of the Grand Duke were numbered long ago, but no one expected that death would come for Alexander Mikhailovich so quickly and unexpectedly. On February 25, 1933, Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna was invited as a guest of honor to the Corps of Pages alumni ball. Returning from the gala event, Ksenia Alexandrovna spent until 11 pm at the bedside of her sick husband. When their only daughter Irina Alexandrovna came to the villa to replace her mother, the Grand Duchess kissed her husband, wished him pleasant dreams and went to the boarding house. As it turned out, this was their last evening together.

At three o'clock in the morning, Alexander Mikhailovich suddenly felt terrible pain in his back. Irina Alexandrovna immediately sent for the doctor and her mother, but she was late. When Ksenia Alexandrovna returned to the villa, her husband died quietly in the arms of her daughter. The doctor who arrived next only stated the fact of his patient’s death.

The next day, all the leading Russian emigrant newspapers in France, Germany and Yugoslavia published on their pages obituaries and memoirs in memory of the late grandson of Emperor Nicholas I. Telegrams with words of condolences from King George V of Great Britain and King Christian of Denmark were sent to Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna X, King Gustav V of Sweden, Duke Arthur of Connaught and French President Albert Lebrun. Until the end of her days, the Grand Duchess kept these condolences in personal papers and, towards the end of her emigrant life, she often took out these telegrams, yellowed with time, to re-read them and once again remember the years she had lived.

Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna with her daughter Irina Alexandrovna on the day of her husband’s death

In the main church of the Russian diaspora, in Paris, in the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral on Rue Daru, the next day after the death of the Grand Duke, a solemn memorial service was served, which attracted a large number of worshipers. Members of the House of Romanov, prominent political and military figures of old Russia and the White emigration came to honor the memory of the deceased. The memorial service was celebrated by the famous church figure of the Russian diaspora, Archpriest Georgy Spassky. Before the exclamation of “Eternal Memory,” Father George said a short and profound word in which he clearly outlined the personality of the deceased “Reverend Sovereign and Grand Duke,” recalling his services at the head of the merchant and air fleets, as well as as a representative of the Russian Imperial Family. On the same day, the body of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich was transported from the Villa Saint-Thérèse to the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in the city of Menton, where funeral services were performed daily at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. by the clergy. Every hour, a guard of officers from the Union of Russian Pilots changed at the coffin of the deceased.

Three generations of the family. Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna with her daughter and granddaughter. The photograph was taken by French reporters at the Villa Sainte-Thérèse on the day of the burial of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich

The funeral of the Grand Duke took place on March 1, 1933. The funeral service in Menton was led by the rector of the church, Archpriest Gregory Lomako. The church was overcrowded with numerous worshipers and could not accommodate everyone. Almost all Russian emigrants then living in the south of France hastened to come to Menton and pay their last respects to the Grand Duke. On the coffin of the deceased lay an officer's cap and sword. Almost all of his children came to Menton to say goodbye to Alexander Mikhailovich, except for his three sons Nikita, Rostislav and Vasily, who lived in the USA at that time. King Christian X and his wife Queen Alexandra arrived from Denmark for the funeral (she was the niece of Alexander Mikhailovich, the eldest daughter of Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna and Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin). The French authorities were represented at the funeral ceremony by the prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes department.

On the day of the Grand Duke's funeral, the streets nearby to the church where the funeral service took place were crowded with Russian emigrants

Even during his lifetime and even before the fall of the monarchy, the Grand Duke managed to draw up a spiritual will, which was approved on August 4, 1914 by Emperor Nicholas II. About his final resting place, Alexander Mikhailovich wrote: “I ask His Imperial Majesty to allow me to be buried in Crimea on my estate in Ai-Todor.” Remembering her husband’s wishes and hoping for a quick collapse of communism in Russia, Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna believed that her husband’s grave in the south of France would become temporary. The family decided to bury Alexander Mikhailovich in a crypt in the cemetery of the small resort town of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin.

Among the numerous relatives, the King of Denmark and his wife were present at the farewell to Alexander Mikhailovich

At exactly noon, the funeral service in the church ended. The coffin was taken by car to Roquebrune and, after a short funeral service, lowered into the crypt. Later, Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna, their son Prince Nikita Alexandrovich and daughter-in-law Princess Maria Illarionovna were buried in the same crypt.

Last requiem before burial

Five days after the funeral, already in London in the Russian Church of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Victoria, a memorial service was celebrated for the Grand Duke, which was attended by his grandchildren and the large Russian diaspora. On the same day, a letter from Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna was published in the next issue of the Russian newspaper “Vozrozhdenie”: “Not being able to write separately to all the people who honored the memory of my husband and from everywhere expressed deep sympathy for our grief, I ask them all to accept my most heartfelt gratitude from me and my children."

The grave of the Grand Duke and his family is located at the very edge of the Roquebrune cemetery. The large Orthodox cross crowning the grave is noticeably different from the other tombstones in the cemetery. From the place where the Grand Duke found his eternal rest, a picturesque and enchanting view of the Mediterranean Sea opens. Somewhere there, far in the East, is Russia and the Crimea, beloved by the Grand Duke, where he dreamed of finding his eternal peace. Will he ever return home to his native Ai-Todor?

@ Ivan Matveev

@ NP "Russian Culture"

Alexander Mikhailovich. Photo from 1896

Alexander Mikhailovich (Sandro), 1866-1933, Grand Duke, son of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich; adjutant general, admiral, chief manager of merchant shipping and ports (1902-1905), during the war he was in charge of the organization of aviation in the army. He was married to Ksenia, the Tsar's sister. A Mason, he called himself a Rosicrucian and Philalethe.

The owner of Ai-Todor in Crimea, where, after the abdication of the Tsar, some members of the imperial family were kept under arrest. Directory name index

Alexander Mikhailovich (1866-1933) - Grand Duke, son of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, brother of Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich, husband of Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna, father of Princess of the Blood Irina Alexandrovna.

Wing Adjutant (1886), Rear Admiral of the Suite (1903), Vice Admiral and Adjutant General (1909), Admiral (1915). Specialist in the field of shipbuilding, amateur archaeologist and collector. Having received a home education, he was enrolled in the Guards crew and repeatedly made long voyages. Member (1898) and chairman (1900) of the Council for Merchant Shipping Affairs, chairman of the Special Meeting to consider the issue of managing commercial ports (1901), chief manager of merchant shipping and ports (1902-1905), junior flagship of the Black Sea (1903) and Baltic (1905) -1909) fleets. During the First World War - head of the organization of aviation in the armies of the Southwestern Front (1914) and in the entire active army (1915), field inspector general of aviation (1916-1917). Died in exile.

The name index of the book was used: V.B. Lopukhin. Notes of the former director of the department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. St. Petersburg, 2008. Alexander Mikhailovich (Sandro) Romanov

(1866-1933) - Grand Duke, Adjutant General, Admiral, Chairman of the Council for Merchant Shipping Affairs (1900-1902), Chief Minister of the Merchant Shipping and Ports Department. During World War I, he was in charge of the aviation unit in the active army. After the revolution - in exile.

Alexander Mikhailovich, Grand Duke (1866-1933) - son of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, childhood friend of Nicholas II and his cousin;

Alexander Mikhailovich Romanov (1866–1933) - Grand Duke, statesman and military leader, admiral (1915), adjutant general (1909), 4th son of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich. Married (since 1894) to the daughter of Emperor Alexander III, Xenia. Close friend of Nicholas II. In 1900–1903 commander of the battleship "Rostislav" (Black Sea Fleet), since 1903 junior flagship of the Black Sea Fleet. Supported the creation of the Naval General Staff (1906). Since 1898, member, then chairman of the Council for Merchant Shipping, in 1902–1905. headed the Main Directorate of Merchant Shipping and Ports, created on his initiative. Since 1904, Chairman of the Special Committee for Strengthening the Fleet using voluntary donations, after the end of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. insisted on the accelerated construction of new types of battleships and increased allocations for the navy. From February 1905, he was the head of a detachment of mine cruisers on the Baltic Sea, in 1905–1909. junior flagship of the Baltic Fleet. Honorary member of the Nikolaev Maritime Academy (1903), chairman of the Imperial Russian Shipping Society, Russian Technical Society, Society of Naturalists at St. Petersburg University. Actively contributed to the development of aviation in Russia; headed the air fleet department under the Committee for Strengthening the Military Fleet with voluntary donations, initiator of the creation of an aviation officer school near Sevastopol (1910).

Book materials used: Stolypin P.A. Correspondence.

M. Rosspan, 2004.

Alexander Mikhailovich, Grand Duke (April 1, 1866 - February 26, 1933). Grandson of Nicholas I, son led. book Mikhail Nikolaevich. He began his service in 1885 in the naval guards crew. As a naval officer he made a number of voyages, incl. around the world. In 1894, with the permission of Nicholas II, he married the daughter of Alexander III. book Ksenia. While continuing to be a member of the maritime department, he held a number of civil positions related to navigation: chairman of the Council for Merchant Shipping Affairs, chief manager of merchant shipping and ports (1902-1905). In 1905-1909, the junior flagship of the Baltic Fleet. One of the creators of Russian aeronautics. During the First World War he was commander of front aviation, and from 1916 inspector general of the air force. Admiral (1915). Retired since March 1917. Since 1918 in exile. Left memoirs.

Ksenia Alexandrovna, sister of Nicholas II
when she was Alexander Mikhailovich’s fiancée.
Photo from 1892.

Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich left Russia with his eldest son, Prince Andrei Alexandrovich and his wife even before the general evacuation of Crimea and headed to Paris to defend the interests of Russia before the allies: just at that time the peace conference was taking place in Versailles. But the Grand Duke’s allies did not heed. Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich remained to live in Paris and died in Menton, where he was buried.

Materials used from the book: Grand Duke Gabriel Konstantinovich. In the Marble Palace. Memories. M., 2005

Pedigree of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich

• Alexander (“Sandro”) (04/1/1866 - 1933+);
  Grand Duke, Admiral and Adjutant General (1909). In 1901-05, chief manager of merchant shipping and ports. He took part in the creation of Russian aviation.
  In 1900–1903 commanded the battleship "Rostislav" on the Black Sea, since 1904 chairman of the Special Committee for strengthening the fleet using voluntary donations. He actively contributed to the development of aviation, was the initiator of the creation of an officer aviation school near Sevastopol in 1910, and with the outbreak of World War I, he actually headed the Russian air fleet. Since 1915, admiral, since December 1916, field inspector general of the air force.
  After February 1917 he ended up in Crimea; in 1919 he went into exile.

He spent the last years of his life in France and the USA, and was the honorary chairman of the Union of Russian Military Pilots. Left a famous book of memories;

Wife - led. Princess Ksenia Alexandrovna (03/25/1875 - 1960+), sister of Nicholas II;

Children:

• Irina (07/3/1895 - 1970+);
• Andrey (01/12/1897 - 1981+), prince
• Ksenia (born 1919);
• Mikhail (born 1920);
• Andrey (born 1923);
• Olga (born 1950);
• Alexey (born 1953);
• Peter (born 1961);
• Andrey (born 1963);
• Natasha (born 1993);
• Fedor (12/1/1898 - 1968+), prince
• Mikhail (born 1924);
• Mikhail (born 1959);
• Tatiana (born 1986);
• Irina (born 1934);
• Nikita (1900-1974+), prince
• Nikita (born 1923);
• Fedor (born 1974);
• Alexander (born 1929);
• Dmitry (1901-1980+), prince
• Nadezhda Romanovskaya-Kutuzova (born 1933), Most Serene Princess;
• Rostislav (1902-1978+), prince
• Rostislav (born 1938);
• Stefana (born 1963);
• Alexandra (born 1983);
• Rostislav (born 1985);
• Nikita (born 1987);
• Nikolai (born 1945);
• Nicholas-Christopher (b. 1968);
• Daniel-Joseph (b. 1972);
• Heather-Noel (born 1976);
• Vasily (1907-1989+), prince

Marina (born 1940); : Nicholas I Pavlovich (1796-1855+), Alexandra Fedorovna (1798-1860+);

Parents: M Ikhail Nikolaevich (3.10.1832 - 1909+) , Olga Fedorovna (8.09.1839 - 31.03.1891+), Princess of Baden

Brothers and sisters :

• Nikolai (05/14/1859 - 1919x);
  Grand Duke, historian, infantry general (since 1913), honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1898). Monographs on the history of Russia 1st quarter. XIX century.

• In 1909-17, chairman of the Russian Historical Society. After the October Revolution he was arrested and since 1918 in the Peter and Paul Fortress.
  Shot.

• Anastasia (07/16/1860 - 1922+);
  Husband - Friedrich-Franz, led. Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin;
• Mikhail (“Mish-Mish”) (4.09.1861 - 1929+);
• In 1891, he married a person of unequal origin, Sofya Nikolaevna Merenberg (granddaughter of A.S. Pushkin), contrary to the tsar’s ban, for which he was expelled from Russia and settled in England;
• Anastasia Thorby (1892-1977+), Countess;

• Nadezhda Thorby (1896-1963+), Countess;
• Michael Thorby (1898-1959+), Countess;
• George (11.08.1863 - 1919x), Grand Duke

• Nina (1901-1974+);

Ksenia (1903-1965+);
Sergei (09/25/1869 - 07/18/1918x);
Marriage of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich

and Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna, daughter of Alexander III.

The wedding took place in the Cathedral of the Great Peterhof Palace on July 25, 1894.
Eyewitness testimony

Quoted from the book: Mosolov A.A. At the court of the last king. Memoirs of the head of the palace chancellery. 1900-1916. M., 2006.

Alexander Mikhailovich Romanov, (1.4.1866, Tiflis - 26.2.1933, Nice, France), Grand Duke, Russian. admiral (12/6/1915), adjutant general (7/2/1909). 4th son of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich. Received home education; childhood friend of Emperor Nicholas II. 10/1/1885 enlisted as a midshipman in the Guards crew. In 1886-91 he circumnavigated the world on the corvette Rynda; in 1890-91 - to India on his own yacht “Tamara”. In 1892, commander of the destroyer Revel. In 1893 he sailed to North America on the frigate Dmitry Donskoy. In 1894 he married Ksenia Alexandrovna, daughter of Alexander III. From March 1895 to July 1896 - senior officer of the battleship Sisoy the Great. 12.1916 Field Inspector General of the Air Force under the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. After the February Revolution, all the Romanovs were removed from the army, and A. was dismissed from service on March 22, 1917 at the request of his uniform.

Participants of the First World War(biographical index)

The fate of the members of the imperial family after the revolution of 1917-1918(Reference to July 1, 1953)

Letter from P.A. Stolypin to Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich

, September 4, 1906 Jewish dinner