On November 1, 1894, a man named Alexander died in the Crimea. He was called the Third. But for his deeds he was worthy to be called the First. And maybe even the only one. It is about such kings that the current monarchists sigh. They may be right. Alexander III was truly great. Both a man and an emperor.
It bites at me
However, some dissidents of that time, including Vladimir Lenin, joked rather maliciously about the emperor. In particular, they nicknamed him "Pineapple". True, Alexander himself gave a reason. In the manifesto "On Our Ascension to the Throne" dated April 29, 1881, it was clearly stated: "And on Us to entrust the Sacred Duty." So when the document was announced, the tsar inevitably turned into an exotic fruit.
In fact, this is unfair and dishonest. Alexander was distinguished by amazing strength. He could easily break a horseshoe. He could easily bend silver coins in his palm. He could lift a horse on his shoulders. And even to make him sit like a dog - this is recorded in the memoirs of his contemporaries. At a dinner in the Winter Palace, when the Austrian ambassador started talking about the fact that his country was ready to form three corps of soldiers against Russia, he bent and tied a fork in a knot. Threw it towards the ambassador. And he said: "This is what I will do with your corps."
The heir to the Tsarevich Alexander Alexandrovich with his wife the Tsarevich and Grand Duchess Maria Fedorovna, St. Petersburg, late 1860s. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
Height - 193 cm. Weight - over 120 kg. It is not surprising that a peasant who accidentally saw the emperor at the railway station exclaimed: "This is a tsar so tsar, damn me!" The wicked peasant was immediately seized for "uttering obscene words in the presence of the sovereign." However, Alexander ordered to let go of foul language. Moreover, he awarded him with a ruble with his own image: "Here's my portrait for you!"
And his look? Beard? Crown? Remember the cartoon "The Magic Ring"? “Ampirator drink tea. The samovar is mattere! Each appliance has three pounds of sieve bread! " It's all about him. He could actually eat 3 pounds of sieve bread for tea, that is, about 1.5 kg.
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At home he liked to wear a simple Russian shirt. But always with sewing on the sleeves. He tucked his pants into his boots, like a soldier. Even at official receptions he allowed himself to go out in shabby trousers, a jacket or a sheepskin coat.
His phrase is often repeated: "While the Russian tsar is fishing, Europe can wait." In reality, it was like that. Alexander was very correct. But he was very fond of fishing and hunting. Therefore, when the German ambassador demanded an immediate meeting, Alexander said: “Bite! It bites at me! Germany can wait. I'll take it tomorrow at noon."
Correct soul
During his reign, conflicts began with Great Britain. Dr. Watson, the hero of the famous novel about Sherlock Holmes, was wounded in Afghanistan. And, apparently, in a battle with the Russians. There is a documented episode. A Cossack patrol detained a group of Afghan smugglers. They had two Englishmen - instructors. The commander of the patrol, Esaul Pankratov, shot the Afghans. And he ordered the British to be sent outside the Russian Empire. True, he had previously whipped them with whips.
In an audience with the British ambassador, Alexander said:
- I will not allow encroachment on our people and our territory.
The ambassador replied:
- It could cause an armed clash with England!
The king calmly remarked:
- Well … Probably we can do it.
And mobilized the Baltic Fleet. It was 5 times less than the forces that the British had at sea. And yet the war did not happen. The British calmed down and surrendered their positions in Central Asia.
After that, the British Interior Minister Disraeli called Russia “a huge, monstrous, terrible bear hanging over Afghanistan and India. And our interests in the world."
In order to list the deeds of Alexander III, you need not a newspaper strip, but a scroll 25 meters long. The Trans-Siberian Railway gave a real outlet to the Pacific Ocean. He gave civil liberties to the Old Believers. He gave real freedom to the peasants - the former serfs under him were given the opportunity to take solid loans, buy out their lands and farms. He made it clear that everyone is equal before the supreme power - he deprived some of the grand dukes of privileges, reduced their payments from the treasury. By the way, each of them was entitled to a "allowance" in the amount of 250 thousand rubles. gold.
You can really yearn for such a sovereign. Alexander's elder brother Nikolai (he died without ascending to the throne) said about the future emperor as follows: “Pure, truthful, crystal soul. There is something wrong with the rest of us, fox. Alexander alone is truthful and correct in soul."
In Europe, they said about his death in about the same way: "We are losing an arbiter who was always guided by the idea of justice."
The largest deeds of Alexander III
The Emperor is credited, and, apparently, not without reason, the invention of the flat flask. And not just flat, but bent, the so-called "boot". Alexander loved to drink, but did not want those around him to know about his addictions. A flask of this shape is ideal for secret use.
It was he who owns the slogan, for which today you can seriously pay: "Russia - for the Russians." However, his nationalism was not aimed at bullying national minorities. In any case, the Jewish deputation headed by Baron Gunzburg expressed to the emperor "boundless gratitude for the measures taken to protect the Jewish population at this difficult time."
The construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway has begun - until now it is almost the only transport artery that somehow connects the whole of Russia. The Emperor also instituted Railroad Day. Even the Soviet government did not abolish it, despite the fact that Alexander set the date of the holiday for the birthday of his grandfather Nicholas I, under whom they began to build railways.
He actively fought against corruption. Not in words, but in deeds. Minister of Railways Krivoshein, Minister of Finance Abaza were sent to shameful resignation for bribes. He did not bypass his relatives - because of corruption, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich and Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich were deprived of their posts.
Konstantin Kudryashov
