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 really great. Both a man and an emperor.
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 king 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."
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, devil take 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 rewarded him with a ruble with his own image: "Here's my portrait for you!"
Reception of the volost elders by Alexander III in the courtyard of the Petrovsky Palace in Moscow.
Painting by I. Repin (1885-1886)
And his look? Beard? Crown? Remember the cartoon "The Magic Ring"? “Ampirator drink tea. The samovar is mattere! Each device 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.
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 this. 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. "
Late 1880s - early 1890s
In an audience with the British ambassador, Alexander said:
I will not allow encroachment on our people and our territory.
The ambassador replied:
This could cause an armed clash with England!
The king calmly remarked:
Well ... Probably we can do it.
And mobilized 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 Minister of Internal Affairs 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 page, but a scroll 25 meters long. The Pacific Ocean gave a real outlet - the Trans-Siberian Railway. 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 has always been guided by the idea of \u200b\u200bjustice."
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 "unlimited gratitude for the measures taken to protect the Jewish population at this difficult time."
The construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway has begun - to this day it is almost the only transport artery that somehow connects the whole of Russia. The Emperor also instituted Railway Worker's 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.
The story of the patch
Despite his more than noble position, disposed to luxury, extravagance and a cheerful lifestyle, which, for example, Catherine II managed to combine with reforms and decrees, Emperor Alexander III was so modest that this trait of his character became a favorite topic of conversation of his subjects ...
For example, there was an incident that one of the tsar's close associates recorded in his diary. He happened to be one of the days next to the emperor, and then an object suddenly fell from the table. Alexander III bent down to the floor to pick it up, and the courtier, with horror and shame, from which even the top of his head acquires a beetroot color, notices that the tsar has a rough patch on the place, which is not usually called in society!
It should be noted here that the tsar did not wear pants made of expensive materials, preferring rough, military cut to them, not at all because he wanted to save money, as did the future wife of his son, Alexandra Fedorovna, who gave her daughters' dresses to the junkers for sale, before the disputes were expensive buttons. In everyday life, the emperor was simple and undemanding, he wore his uniform, which was long overdue to be thrown away, and he gave the torn clothes to his orderly, so that he would fix and mend where necessary.
Nonar preferences
Alexander III was a man of a categorical warehouse and it was not for nothing that he was nicknamed a monarchist and an ardent defender of autocracy. He never allowed his subjects to contradict him. However, there were plenty of reasons for this: the emperor significantly reduced the staff of the ministry of the court, and the balls that were given in St. Petersburg on a regular basis were reduced to four a year.
Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna.
Petersburg. 1886 g.
The emperor not only showed indifference to secular fun, but also showed a rare neglect of what many enjoyed and served as an object of worship. Take food, for example. According to the recollections of contemporaries, he preferred simple Russian food: cabbage soup, fish soup and fried fish, which he caught himself, leaving with his family on vacation in the Finnish skerries.
One of Alexander's favorite delicacies was "Guryev's" porridge, invented by the serf chef of retired Major Yurisovsky Zakhar Kuzmin. The porridge was prepared simply: semolina was boiled in milk and nuts were added there - walnuts, almonds, hazel, then creamy foam was poured in and dried fruits were covered with a generous hand.
The tsar always preferred this simple dish to exquisite French desserts and Italian delicacies, which he ate with tea in his Annichkov Palace. The Tsar did not like the Winter Palace with its pompous luxury. However, against the background of darned pants and porridge, this is not surprising.
The power that saved the family
The emperor had one pernicious passion, which, although he fought with it, sometimes prevailed. Alexander III loved to drink vodka or strong Georgian or Crimean wine - it was with them that he replaced expensive foreign varieties. In order not to injure the tender feelings of his beloved wife Maria Feodorovna, he secretly put a flask with a strong drink in the top of wide tarpaulin boots and applied to it when the empress could not see it.
Speaking about the relationship of spouses, it should be noted that they can serve as an example of reverent treatment and mutual understanding. For thirty years they lived soul in spirit - a timid emperor who did not like crowded gatherings and a cheerful, cheerful Danish princess Maria Sophia Frederica Dagmar.
It was rumored that in her youth she loved to do gymnastics and performed virtuoso somersaults before the future emperor. However, the tsar also loved physical activity and was famous throughout the state as a man-hero. Standing 193 centimeters tall, with a large figure and broad shoulders, he bent coins with his fingers and bent horseshoes. His amazing strength even once saved the life of him and his family.
In the fall of 1888, the Tsar's train crashed at the Borki station, 50 kilometers from Kharkov. Seven carriages were broken, there were seriously wounded and died among the servants, but members of the royal family remained unharmed: at that time they were in the dining car. However, the roof of the car still collapsed, and, according to eyewitnesses, Alexander kept it on his shoulders until help arrived. Investigators, who were investigating the reasons for the crash, concluded that the family had miraculously escaped, and if the tsar's train continued to travel at such a speed, then a miracle might not happen a second time.
Tsar-artist and art lover
Despite the fact that in everyday life he was simple and unassuming, thrifty and even economical, huge funds were spent on the acquisition of art objects. Even in his youth, the future emperor was fond of painting and even studied drawing with the famous professor Tikhobrazov. However, the tsar's troubles took a lot of time and effort, and the emperor was forced to leave his studies. But he retained his love for the graceful until the last days and transferred it to collecting. It was not for nothing that his son Nicholas II, after the death of his parent, founded the Russian Museum in his honor.
The emperor provided patronage to artists and even such a seditious canvas as "Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan on November 16, 1581" by Repin, although it aroused discontent, but did not become the reason for the persecution of the Itinerants. Also, the tsar, who was devoid of external gloss and aristocracy, was unexpectedly well versed in music, loved the works of Tchaikovsky and contributed to the fact that not Italian opera and ballets, but the works of domestic composers, sounded on the stage of theaters. Until his death, he supported Russian opera and Russian ballet, which received worldwide recognition and reverence.
Emperor's legacy
During the reign of Alexander III, Russia was not dragged into any serious political conflict, and the revolutionary movement became stalled, which was nonsense, since the murder of the previous tsar was seen as a sure reason for the beginning of a new round of terrorist acts and a change state order.
The emperor introduced a number of measures that made life easier for the common people. He gradually canceled the poll tax, paid special attention to the Orthodox Church and influenced the completion of the construction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. Alexander III loved Russia and, wanting to isolate it from an unexpected invasion, strengthened the army. His expression "Russia has only two allies: the army and the navy" became winged.
Also, the emperor owns another phrase "Russia for the Russians." However, there is no reason to reproach the tsar for nationalism: Minister Witte, whose wife was of Jewish origin, recalled that Alexander's activities were never aimed at bullying national minorities, which, by the way, changed during the reign of Nicholas II, when the Black Hundred movement found support in the state level.
In just 49 years, fate measured this autocrat. His memory is alive in the name of the bridge in Paris, in the Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, in the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, in the village of Aleksandrovsky, which laid the foundation for the city of Novosibirsk. And in the current troubled days Russia remembers the catch phrase of Alexander III: “In the whole world we have only two loyal allies - the army and the navy. All the rest, at the first opportunity, themselves will turn against us. "
Barantseva Svetlana
IV District Children's Christmas Readings
Literary-historical mini-essay
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MBOU Aryevskaya secondary school
IV District Children's Christmas Readings
Literary-historical mini-essay:
Three Alexander Russian history: Alexander I (Blessed), Alexander II (Liberator), Alexander III (Peacemaker).
8 A class.
Supervisor: history teacher
Kiseleva Valentina Andreevna
year 2013
And if anyone hears
My words and will not believe
I do not judge him: for I have come
not judge the world, but save the world.
Gospel of John 12, 17.
In the coming 2013, a number of festive and solemn events are planned to mark the 400th anniversary of the House of Romanov. Back in 2007, a number of cities, including Nizhny Novgorod, proposed to celebrate the anniversary of the dynasty with magnificent ceremonies at the state level. In 2010, the Romanovs' photo exhibition was presented at the Nizhny Novgorod Exhibition Complex. To the 400th anniversary of service to Russia. The exhibition is based on the figure of Nicholas II and his family, but a series of rare photographs from the family albums of the Russian emperors Alexander II and Alexander III were also presented.
I want to tell you about the three emperors Alexandras and their place in the historical fate of Russia.
Alexander I Pavlovich, Blessed. The time of his reign from 1801 to 1825 from the birth of Christ.
This emperor was the first and only patricide on the Russian throne. Paul I himself pushed his son and heir Alexander to the crime. Attempts on power seemed to him even in his family. Therefore, he intended to send his wife into exile, and imprison the sons of Constantine and Alexander for life in the Peter and Paul and Shlisselburg fortresses. Saving his mother and brother, Alexander allowed the conspirators to arrest his father, on condition that Paul's life would be saved. However, this did not happen.
Alexander was looking for how to atone for his sin. It seemed to him that he, the autocrat, would be able to make Russia a modern, enlightened and prosperous country, give it a constitutional method of government, free the peasants from serfdom, and then retire from power. And this will at least partially help to atone for the terrible guilt of parricide. For his zeal for the good of Russia, for her liberation from the Antichrist-Napoleon, Alexander I received the nickname Blessed among the people. However, he did not succeed in bringing all his plans to life, this explains Alexander's prolonged bouts of depression, which became more frequent in last years his reign. After the death of the emperor in 1825, the elder Fyodor Kuzmich appeared in Siberia, built a cell in the taiga, and prayed fervently. He was the same height and age as Alexander, which was noted by many contemporaries. When the elder died in 1864, pilgrims were drawn to his grave, believing that this was the emperor himself. Their guesses were confirmed in 1921, when the Chekists opened the tomb of Alexander I, which turned out to be empty ...
Alexander II took power in 1855 after the sudden death of his father in difficult days for Russia. The emperor understood that Russia was catastrophically lagging behind European countries in its development, and he was obliged to return the power of the empire. Industry of the European level is needed, and for it to emerge, a radical reformation of the entire life of the country is necessary. This meant the intention to implement social, legal, educational and industrial reforms. And, above all, the abolition of serfdom. For the liberation of the Balkan peoples from Turkish rule, for the liberation of millions of serfs according to the Tsar's manifesto on February 19, 1861, Alexander II received the official nickname of the Liberator. On March 1, 1881, as a result of the 8th assassination attempt, Emperor Alexander was mortally wounded and died as a martyr. Boris Nikolaevich Chicherin, one of the smartest people of that time, wrote: He accepted the martyr's crown, which atoned for all his weaknesses and left his image as a bright face between the Russian tsars. Many surpassed his abilities, but no one did more than him for Russia, although neither he nor his contemporaries were given the opportunity to see the good fruits of his labors, and had to experience only thorns scattered along the way.
So, Alexander III Alexandrovich, Peacemaker. The 13th emperor who ruled for 13 years. Alexander's activity was based on two principles: Russia for Russians was his slogan in business domestic policy, and the principle of peace guided him in foreign policy. For the maintenance of European peace, Alexander III received the nickname Peacemaker. He was the only Russian emperor during whose reign, Russia did not wage a single war, however, it significantly strengthened its position in the world arena. The most Russian emperor - as some historians call Alexander III. There is an opinion that in his famous painting Bogatyrs in the central figure of Ilya Muromets, Vasnetsov portrayed exactly Emperor Alexander III. Alexander was distinguished by his religiosity: with a prayer for strengthening the spirit, he stood for hours at the analogion with the Holy Scriptures in his hands. The reign of Alexander the Peacemaker was unique not only in the absence of wars. This convinced monarchist, autocrat, real Romanov surprised his contemporaries with freedom and breadth of thought.
I would like to conclude my story with the words of the historian Zakatov: The main and unchanging meaning of the existence of the Russian Imperial House of Romanov at all times and in all political and life circumstances is the preservation of the Russian historical state tradition and its spiritual foundations.
The Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Imperial House maintain an uninterrupted connection with the entire thousand-year history of our Motherland. The Romanov dynasty is a living symbol of Russia, and as such it is dear to everyone who respects the great past of the Fatherland.
Chairman of the POC in the Perm Territory Georgy Sitnikov.
He clarified that 54-year-old prisoner Vagin was found dead in his cell last week.
“We received information that he died. The cause of death was indicated as suicide, ”Sitnikov noted.
At the same time, he expressed doubt that the thief in law had committed suicide. According to the chairman of the Perm POC, about a year ago he personally saw Vagin when he was serving his sentence c. Sitnikov stressed that then he did not see anything in the prisoner's behavior that would indicate a tendency to suicide. The interlocutor of the agency noted that Vagon read books, felt "normal and quite optimistic."
"It is necessary to wait for the official version, was it suicide, or was it death from some kind of disease," Sitnikov concluded.
Earlier, on September 22, a message that Vladimir Vagin committed suicide was spread by the Prime Crime news agency. As noted in the news agency, the body of the crime boss was found in the cell after lights out, from about 22:30 to 23:00 local time (0:30 - 01:00 Moscow time).
According to the press service of the State University Federal Service execution of punishments (FSIN) of Russia in the Perm Territory, the causes of Vagin's death are investigating (SK). “To clarify the circumstances of the incident, a commission of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia went to the Perm Territory,” the department noted.
Vagin was convicted in October 2015 in Nizhny Novgorod.
The court charged him with the fact that on March 15, 2009 at night he came to one of the entertainment clubs to help his friend Sergei Tishkov, who had a conflict with the company of vacationers in the Soho cafe. The showdown began on the street due to the fact that a bag was allegedly stolen from one of Tishkov's acquaintances.
When Vladimir Vagin with several of his companions drove up to the cafe in Bentley and BMW, he saw that his friend had a broken face. After that, he immediately went to the offenders to sort it out. At the same time, he swore and brandished a small keychain knife from the keys.
Opponents knew his identity. When they recognized him, they began to shout: "Vova, calm down!" - after which they fled in different directions. The car chased one of them, but on the way attacked a casual visitor standing at the entrance, whom he took for one of the offenders.
As it turned out later, the 23-year-old Fyodor Luchinkin, who was attacked by Vagin, was a professional kickboxer, who was also undergoing retraining at the Nizhny Novgorod Academy. In the cafe where the scuffle took place, the police officer celebrated his birthday with his brother Alexander, who, by the way, turned out to be a master of martial arts. Together they neutralized the crime boss by knocking him to the ground. However, in a common fight, Vagon inflicted a cut knife wound in the chest with Fyodor Luchinkin.
When the "thief in law" learned about the identity of the victim, then, as reported by the investigation, he fled to Dubai (UAE). Vagina was put on the international wanted list. In August 2014, after the extradition of Vagon to the territory of Russia and its delivery to the Nizhny Novgorod region, the investigation of the criminal case into the incident in the cafe was resumed.
In 2015, he was charged with intentionally causing moderate harm to health, harmless to human life, but causing a long-term health disorder, and sentenced to one year and nine months in prison in a colony-settlement. At the trial, the arrested crime boss said that he did not even think about killing the stranger. In addition, he apologized to the victim for stabbing.
In March of the following year, the verdict was appealed, and the court of appeal changed the convict's punishment to 7.5 years in a maximum security colony.
A good owner is not out of self-interest, but out of a sense of duty
I have already had occasion to speak several times about the remarkable and noble personality of Emperor Alexander III. It is a great misfortune that he reigned so little: only 13 years; but even in these 13 years, his figure, as the Emperor, completely outlined and grew. This was felt by all of Russia and all abroad on the day of his death. But Emperor Alexander III was far from appreciated by his contemporaries and the next generation, and the majority are skeptical about His reign. This is highly unfair.<….> I said that he was a good boss; Emperor Alexander III was a good owner not because of a sense of self-interest, but because of a sense of duty. I, not only in the Tsar's family, but also among the dignitaries, have never met that feeling of respect for the state ruble, for the state penny, which Emperor Alexander III possessed. He shores every penny of the Russian people, the Russian state, as the best owner could not take care of it.
Having been with him for two years as Minister of Finance and, finally, knowing his attitude to finance, even when I was director of the department of the Ministry of Finance, I must say that it was thanks to Emperor Alexander III, Vyshnegradsky, and then, in the end, to me - managed to put finances in order; for, of course, neither I nor Vyshnegradsky could have restrained all the impulses to throw in vain to the right and to the left money obtained by the blood and sweat of the Russian people, if it had not been for the mighty word of Emperor Alexander III, who held back all attacks on the state treasury. In the sense of a state treasurer, it can be said that Emperor Alexander III was the ideal state treasurer - and in this respect, facilitated the task of the minister of finance.
In the same way as he treated the money of the state budget, so he also treated his own economy. He hated unnecessary luxury, hated unnecessary throwing of money; lived with remarkable modesty. Of course, under the conditions in which the Emperor had to live, his economy was often rather naive. So, for example, I cannot but say that during His reign, when I was a minister, they ate comparatively very badly at court. I did not have the opportunity to often visit the Emperor's table, but as for the so-called knight marshal's table, they were so fed at this table that it can be said that almost always, when I had to eat there, there was danger in the stomach.<….> How Emperor Alexander III treated the war is shown by the following fact. I recall that once, on the occasion of some report - almost concerning the border guard, our conversation turned to war. And this is what Emperor Alexander III told me:
I am glad that I was in the war and saw myself all the horrors inevitably associated with the war, and after that, I think that every person with a heart cannot desire war, and every ruler to whom God has entrusted the people should take all measures to , in order to avoid the horrors of war, of course, if his (the ruler) is not forced to war by his opponents, then sin, curses and all the consequences of this war - let them fall on the heads of those who caused this war.
For Emperor Alexander III, every word was not an empty sound, as we often see with rulers: very often rulers say, on one occasion or another, a number of beautiful phrases, which are then forgotten after half an hour. Emperor Alexander III never had a word with a deed. What he said was felt by him, and he never backed down from what he said.
Thus, generally speaking, Emperor Alexander III, having received Russia, amid the most unfavorable political conjunctures, deeply raised the international prestige of Russia without shedding a drop of Russian blood.
We can say that at the end of his reign, Emperor Alexander III was the most important factor in world international politics.
Average mind and beautiful heart
I had the good fortune to be close to two Emperors: to Emperor Alexander III and to the current reigning Emperor Nicholas II; I knew both very well.
Emperor Alexander III was undoubtedly of an ordinary mind, and of completely ordinary abilities, and, in this respect, Emperor Nicholas II stands much higher than his Father, both in intelligence and ability, and in education. As you know, Alexander III was not at all prepared to be the Emperor. His elder brother Nikolai Alexandrovich, who had already died of consumption in Nice at a very adult age, focused on himself the attention of His father, Emperor Alexander II, and Empress Maria Alexandrovna; as for the future Emperor Alexander III, then, one might say, He was somewhat in the corral; they did not pay special attention either to His education or to His upbringing, since all attention, as I said, of both father and mother, and everyone around him was focused on the Heir Nicholas, who, by his appearance, by his abilities and brilliance, who he showed - he was incomparably taller than his brother Alexander.
And one, perhaps, Nikolai Alexandrovich at that time appreciated and understood his brother, the future Emperor Alexander III. It is known from reliable sources that when Tsarevich Nicholas was hopelessly ill (which he himself knew), then to the exclamation of one of those close to him: “What will happen if something happens to you? Who will rule Russia? After all, your brother Alexander is not prepared for this at all? " - he said: "You don't know my brother, Alexander: his heart and character completely replace and even exceed all other abilities that a person can be instilled in."
And, indeed, Emperor Alexander III was of a completely ordinary mind, perhaps, one might say, below average intelligence, below average abilities and below secondary education; in appearance - he looked like a big Russian peasant from the central provinces, a suit would suit him best of all: a short fur coat, an overcoat and bast shoes - and nevertheless, he with his appearance, which reflected his enormous character, beautiful heart, complacency, justice and, at the same time, firmness - undoubtedly impressed and, as I said above, if they did not know that he was the Emperor, and he would have entered the room in any suit - undoubtedly everyone would have paid attention to him.
Therefore, I am not surprised by the remark that I remember myself heard from the Emperor Wilhelm II, namely, that he envies royalty, autocratic royalty, which manifested itself in the figure of Alexander III.
When I had to accompany the train of Emperor Alexander III, then, of course, I did not sleep either day or night; and I constantly saw that when everyone was already going to bed, the valet of Emperor Alexander III, Kotov, constantly darned his pants, because they were torn from Him. One day, passing by the valet (who is still alive and is now the valet of Emperor Nicholas II) and seeing that he is mending his pants, I say to him:
Please tell me that you're all mending your pants? Can't you take with you several pairs of pantaloons, so that if there is a hole in your pants, you can give the Emperor new pants? And he says:
Try to give, just He will put it on. If He, - he says, - puts on some trousers or a frock-coat, - then it's over, until all at all the seams is torn - He will never throw off. This is for Him - he says - the biggest trouble if you force Him to wear something new. Likewise, the boots: give him, - he says, patent leather boots, so He says - he will throw these boots out of the window for you.
Only thanks to a gigantic force, he kept this roof
The third time I accompanied the imperial train already at the end of the eighties, in the year of the crash of the imperial train in Borki, near Kharkov. This crash took place in October when the Emperor returned from Yalta to Petersburg. - Earlier, in August or July, the Tsar, on his way to Yalta, made the following journey: He took an emergency train from St. Petersburg through Vilna to Rovno (then the Vilna-Rov railway was just opened); from the station Rovno He has already gone through the South-West. g. etc .; there I met Him, and then the Emperor from Rovno (where the train did not stop) went through Fastov to Elisavetgrad. There the Sovereign made maneuvers to the troops; after these maneuvers, the Sovereign from Elisavetgrad returned to Fastov along the South-West. yellow dor. and, on the road I was driving, drove from Fastov to Kovel to Warsaw and Skierniewitsa (to one of the imperial palaces). After staying in Skierniewice for several weeks, the Emperor went from Skierniewice, again through Kovel and Fastov, to the Crimea or the Caucasus (I don't remember). Then two months later he returned to St. Petersburg. And on the return trip to Borki, this terrible incident with the imperial train happened.
Thus, this year, during the summer and autumn, the Emperor drove 3 times in the South-West. yellow dor.
1st time - from Rivne to Fastov,
2nd time - from Fastov to Kovel and
3rd time - from Kovel again to Fastov.
So, when the imperial train came to Rovno, I, having met him, had to carry this train further.
The timetable for the imperial trains was usually drawn up by the Ministry of Railways, without any demand or participation from the railway managers. I received the schedule on time, according to which the train from Rovno to Fastov had to run for such and such a number of hours, and in such a number of hours only a light, passenger train could travel this distance; meanwhile, a huge imperial train, made up of a mass of the heaviest wagons, suddenly appeared in Rovno.
I was warned by telegram that the train would run of such a composition only a few hours before the arrival of this train in Rovno. Since such a train - and, moreover, with such a speed as was assigned - not only could not carry one passenger, but even two passenger steam locomotives, it was necessary to prepare 2 commodity locomotives and carry it with two commodity locomotives, that is, as they say, in a double track, because its weight was greater than the weight of an ordinary freight train, while the speed was set as that of passenger trains. Therefore, it was completely clear to me that every moment some misfortune could happen, because if commodity locomotives go at such a speed, then they completely shake the path, and if in some place the path is not completely, not absolutely strong, that always, on any track, it can and should happen, since nowhere, on any roads, the track is not intended for such movement, at such a speed, with two freight locomotives, these locomotives can turn the rails out, as a result of which the train can crash. Therefore, I drove all the time, all night, as if in a fever, while everyone was asleep, including the Minister of Railways (Admiral Posiet), who had his own carriage; the chief inspector rode with him railways engineer Baron Cherval. I entered the car of the Minister of Railways and rode in it all the time; This car was completely behind, it did not even have a direct connection with other cars, so from there, from this car, it was not even possible to give any signal to the drivers. I was driving, I repeat, all the time in a fever, expecting that at any moment misfortune might happen.
And so, when we arrived at Fastov, when I gave the train to another road, I could not have time to convey anything to either the Minister of Railways or Baron Sherval, because they had just woken up.
As a result, when I returned from Fastov to Kiev, I immediately wrote a report to the Minister of Railways, in which I explained how the movement along the road was carried out; that I did not have the courage to stop the train, as I did not want to cause a scandal, but that I consider such a movement inconceivable, impossible ...
To this I received the following reply by telegram; that in view of my such categorical statement, the Minister of Railways ordered to change the schedule and increase the train travel time by three hours.
The day came when the Emperor had to go back. The train arrived (at Fastov) in the early morning; were still asleep, but soon awoke.
When I entered the station, I noticed that everyone looked askance at me: the Minister of Railways looked sideways and gr. Vorontsov-Dashkov, who rode on this train, who was so close to my family and knew me from childhood, also pretends that he does not know me at all.
Finally, Adjutant General Cherevin comes up to me and says: The Emperor ordered you to convey that He is very dissatisfied with the ride on the South-West Railway. - Before Cherevin had time to tell me this, the Emperor himself came out, who heard Cherevin convey this to me. Then I tried to explain to Cherevin what I had already explained to the Minister of Railways. At this time, the Emperor turns to me and says:
What are you talking about. I drive on other roads, and no one slows me down, and you cannot go on your roads, simply because your road is Jewish.
(This is a hint that the chairman of the board was the Jew Blioch.)
Of course, to these words I did not answer the Emperor, I kept silent. Then immediately on this subject the Minister of Railways entered into a conversation with me, who pursued the same idea as the Emperor Alexander III. Of course, he did not say that the road was Jewish, but simply stated that this road was not in order, as a result of which it was impossible to go soon. And to prove the correctness of his opinion, he says:
And on other roads we drive at such a speed, and no one ever dared to demand that the Emperor be driven at a lower speed.
Then I broke down and said to the Minister of Railways:
You know, Your Excellency, let others do what they want, but I don’t want to break the Emperor’s head, because it will end with you breaking the Emperor’s head in this way.
Emperor Alexander III heard this remark of mine, of course, was very dissatisfied with my insolence, but did not say anything, because He was a good-natured, calm and noble man.
On the way back from Skernevitsy to Yalta, when the Tsar again drove along our road, the train was already given the same speed, they added the number of hours that I required. I again fit into the car of the Minister of Railways, and I noticed that since the time I last saw this car; he leaned significantly to the left. I looked at why this is happening. It turned out that this happened because the Minister of Railways, Admiral Posiet, had a passion for various, one might say, railway toys. So, for example, to stoves of various heating and to various instruments for measuring speeds; all this was put and attached to the left side of the car. Thus, the weight of the left side of the carriage increased significantly, and therefore the carriage tilted to the left side.
At the first station, I stopped the train; The car was inspected by specialists in car building, who found that it was necessary to monitor the car, but that there was no danger, and the movement should be continued. Everyone was asleep. I drove on. Since at each carriage there is, so to speak, a formal list of this carriage, in which all its malfunctions are recorded, I wrote in this carriage that I warn you: the carriage leaned to the left side; and it happened because all the tools and so on. attached to the left side; that I did not stop the train, since the train was examined by specialists, who came to the conclusion that it could pass - those 600-700 versts that remained for him to make on my way.
Then I wrote that if the car is in the tail, at the end of the train, then, I think that it can pass safely to its destination, but that there it is necessary to carefully review it, remove all the devices, it is best to throw them away completely or move to the other side. In any case, this car should not be placed at the head of the train, but placed in the tail.
Then I crossed myself and was glad that I got rid of these royal trips, because they were always associated with great unrest, troubles and dangers.
Two months passed. Then I lived in Lipki opposite the house of the governor-general. In one of the rooms there was a telegraph apparatus, and since it was necessary to send telegrams all day long, telegraph operators were on duty day and night.
Suddenly one night a valet knocks on my door. I woke up. They say there is an urgent telegram. I read: an urgent telegram signed by Baron Cherval, in which the baron telegraphed that the imperial train, leaving from Yalta, turned to the Sinelnikovo station along the Catherine road, and from there it would go to the Fastov station. From Fastov, the Emperor will go further along the South-Western road or through Kiev, or again through Brest, but rather through Kiev. Then I ordered to prepare myself an emergency train to go to meet in Fastov, and waited to be given a timetable when to go.
But earlier than I left Kiev, I received a second telegram that the Tsar would not go along the South-Western road, that, having reached the Kharkov-Nikolaev road, he turned to Kharkov and then he would go as expected: to Kursk and Moscow.
Having received this telegram, I kept thinking: what happened there? Then there were vague rumors that the imperial train had crashed and therefore the route was changed. I imagined that in all likelihood something trivial had happened, as the train continued onward.
Less than a few hours later, I received a telegram from Kharkov signed by Baron Cherval, in which he telegraphed me that the Minister of Railways invites me to come to Kharkov now in order to be an expert on the reasons for the imperial train crash.
I went to Kharkov. Arriving there, I found Baron Cherval lying in bed at the Kharkov railway station, as his arm was broken; his courier also had a broken arm and leg (this very courier later, when I was Minister of Railways, was also my courier).
I arrived at the train crash site. Besides me, the experts there were local railway engineers and then the director institute of Technology Kirpichev, who is still alive. The main role, of course, was played by me and Kirpichev. Kirpichev enjoyed and still enjoys great prestige as a process engineer and as a professor of mechanics and railway construction in general, although in the full sense of the word he was a theoretician and never served on the railways. In the examination, we parted with him.
It turned out that the imperial train was traveling from Yalta to Moscow, and they gave such a high speed, which was demanded on the South-Western Railways. None of the road managers had the firmness to say that this was impossible. We also drove with two steam locomotives, and the car of the Minister of Railways, although it was somewhat facilitated by the removal of some devices on the left side, no major repairs were made while the train was parked in Sevastopol; in addition, he was put at the head of the train. Thus, the train went at an inappropriate speed, with two freight locomotives, and even with a not quite serviceable carriage of the Minister of Railways at the head. What I predicted happened: the train, as a result of the swing of a freight locomotive from a high speed, unusual for a freight locomotive, knocked out the rail. Commodity steam locomotives are designed without relying on high speed, and therefore, when a commodity locomotive goes at an inappropriate speed, it sways; from this swing the rail was knocked out and the train crashed.
The entire train fell under the embankment and several people were injured.
During the crash, the Emperor and his family were in the dining car; the entire roof of the dining car fell on the Emperor, and he, thanks to his gigantic strength, kept this roof on his back and it did not crush anyone. Then, with his characteristic calmness and gentleness, the Emperor got out of the carriage, reassured everyone who was wounded, and provided assistance, and only thanks to his calmness, firmness and gentleness - this whole disaster was not accompanied by any dramatic adventures.
So, as an expert, I gave such a conclusion that the train crashed from the reasons I indicated. Kirpichev said that this catastrophe happened because the sleepers were somewhat rotten. I examined the sleepers and came to the conclusion that Kirpichev did not know railway practice. On all Russian roads, in wooden sleepers that have served for several months, the top layer is always somewhat rotten, it cannot be otherwise, because in any tree, if it is not constantly stained or tarred, the upper part (the so-called apple tree) always has several rotten layer; but the core, which holds the crutches, which hold the rails to the sleeper - these parts of the sleepers were completely intact.
My acquaintance with Koni, who was sent from St. Petersburg to investigate this case, dates back to this time. Then I saw him for the first time. Apparently, Koni really wanted the road administration to be to blame for this catastrophe, so that the road administration was to blame, so he did not like my expertise. He wanted the examination to establish that it was not the train management, not the imperial train inspector, not the Minister of Railways, but that the railway management was to blame. I gave a conclusion that it is exclusively to blame central office - the Ministry of Railways, and also the imperial train inspector is to blame.
The result of this catastrophe was the following: after a while, Minister of Railways Posiet was to resign.
Baron Sherval also had to retire and settled in Finland. Baron Sherval was of Finnish origin; he was a respectable man, very complacent, with a notorious Finnish stupidity, and a medium caliber engineer.
The Emperor parted with these faces without any malice; these persons had to retire, due to the fact that public opinion Russia was extremely indignant at what had happened. But Emperor Alexander III, not without reason, considered the engineer Salov to be the main culprit of the disaster, who at that time was the head of the railway department. He was undoubtedly a smart, intelligent and knowledgeable man, but he practically knew little about the matter. ...
Emperor Alexander III, with his usual common sense, made out this, and therefore removed Salov already of his own free will and not without a certain amount of natural anger.
CONSERVATORS
Reforms of the 60-70s XIX century caused a wide public response. A significant part of Russian society believed that liberal reforms undermine the foundations of the state and lead to social upheavals. The terrorist activities of the "populists" supported these conclusions. Russia's conservative tone is second half of XIX centuries set two iconic figures of Russian social thought - M.N. Katkov and K.P. Pobedonostsev .
M.N. Katkov - a talented publicist and editor of the Moskovskie vedomosti newspaper expressed his attitude to liberal ideas as follows: “They say Russia is deprived of political freedom; they say that although Russian citizens are granted legal civil liberty, they do not have political rights. Russian subjects have something more than political rights; they have political responsibilities. Each of the Russians is obliged to guard the rights of the Supreme Power and take care of the benefits of the state. Everyone is not something that only has the right to take part in state life and to take care of its benefits, but also called to that by the duty of a loyal subject. This is our constitution. " Even more in conservative views, Katkov was strengthened by the Polish uprising of 1863-1864, which made him a consistent fighter against Western European liberalism and radical movements. He was convinced of the possibility of reforming Russia without affecting the foundations of autocratic power, which, in his opinion, should have made the country one of the leading Western European states. In this regard, he emphasized that the role of the nobility, which should remain in the new conditions the support of the throne and a link between the emperor and the people, cannot be negated. That is why, being generally loyal to the introduction of zemstvos, he argued that the main role in them should be played by the nobility, supplemented by representatives from other estates. Also, in his opinion, zemstvo institutions had to be subordinated to the government, i.e. put them under the control of the bureaucracy. At the same time, he supported the judicial reform of 1864, arguing that "the court is an independent and wealthy force."
M.N. Katkov wrote a lot about the role of education and the need for a reform of education that would bring up a generation confident in the inviolability of the state order and alien to the ideas of "nihilism." For this it was necessary to consistently implement the principles of Uvarov's doctrine - "Orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality."
It was in the person of Katkov that the government saw a publicist and publisher who could talentedly convey the autocratic ideology to Russian society. Events of the 70s and early 80s. XIX century, in connection with the strengthening of the "populist" terror, made M.N. Katkov was an even greater conservative who sharply opposed not only reforms, but also against any manifestation of liberalism, even if moderate. And this activity has borne fruit. Even the government began to reckon with the opinion of Moskovskiye Vedomosti.
K.P. Pobedonostsev - the mentor of Alexander III, who in 1880 became the chief prosecutor of the Holy Synod, also played a significant role in defining the government course and its ideology, especially after the events of March 1, 1881. In the 60s of the XIX century, we see him as a consistent critic Emperor Alexander II, whom he accused of indecision, irrational policy, lack of a consistent government course. He wrote: “Power is already becoming in Russia a plaything that pitiful and vulgar ambitious people want to pass on to each other through intrigue. There is no longer a firm center from which all power would directly proceed and on which it would be directly supported. " During the reforms of the 60-70s. he especially sharply opposed the radical implementation of the judicial reform, criticized the military reforms of Milyutin, especially the introduction of a general conscription... “It's fun to say that a nobleman will be taken as a soldier as well as a peasant,” he said.
Becoming the mentor of the heir to the throne, he consistently sought to protect him from the influence of supporters of liberal reforms, instilling that "the whole mystery of Russian order and prosperity is at the top, in the person of the supreme power." And his influence on the new emperor was decisive. So, K.P. Pobedonostsev sharply opposed the project of Loris-Melikov, which was discussed at a meeting of the Council of Ministers during March-April 1881. And it was under his influence that the famous manifesto of Alexander III was published on April 29, 1881, in which it was proclaimed that the tsar would rule “with faith in the strength and truth of autocratic power ", which will" affirm and protect for the good of the people from any encroachment on it. " Thus, the adherents of conservatism won a victory in the government, which predetermined the entire course of the internal policy of Alexander III.
Tsarism and the workers
Memories of G.V. Plekhanov
Written in the period 1880-1890s, they tell about the life of an ordinary Russian worker in the 70s - early 80s of the last century
“It goes without saying that among the workers, as elsewhere, I met people who were very different from each other in character, ability and even education.<…> But, in general, this whole environment was distinguished by significant mental development and high level their everyday needs. I was surprised to see that these workers do not live any worse, and many of them are much better than the students. On average, each of them earned 1 ruble. 25 kopecks, up to 2 rubles. in a day. Of course, it was not easy for family people to live on this relatively good income. But single - and they were then the majority among the workers I knew - could spend twice as much as a poor student.<…> The more I got to know the Petersburg workers, the more I was amazed at their culture. Lively and eloquent, able to stand up for themselves and be critical of their surroundings, they were city dwellers in the best sense of the word.<…> It must also be said that among the Petersburg workers the "gray" village man was often a rather pitiful figure. A peasant from Smolensk province S entered the Vasileostrovsk cartridge plant as a lubricant. At this plant, the workers had their own consumer partnership and their own canteen, which served at the same time as a reading room, since it was supplied with almost all the capital's newspapers. It was the height of the Herzegovinian uprising (it was about the uprising in Bosnia and Herzegovina against the Ottoman Empire in 1875. - Ed.). The new greaseman went off to eat in the common dining room, where at dinner the newspapers were read aloud as usual. On that day, I don't know which newspaper, there was talk about one of the "glorious defenders of Herzegovina." The village man intervened in the conversations that arose about this and made the unexpected suggestion that "he must be her lover."
Who! Whose? - asked the surprised interlocutors.
Yes, the Duchess is a protector; why would he defend her, if there was nothing between them.
The audience burst into loud laughter. “So, in your opinion, Herzegovina is not a country, but a woman,” they exclaimed, “you don’t understand anything, you straight bumpkin!” Since then, a nickname has long been established for him - gray.<…> I ask the reader to keep in mind that I am talking here about the so-called factory workers, who constituted a significant part of the Petersburg working population and were very different from the factory workers, as in their relatively tolerable economic situation, and according to their habits.<…> The factory worker was a cross between an "intellectual" and a factory worker: a factory worker was something in between a peasant and a factory worker. To whom he is closer in his concepts, to a peasant or a factory, it depended on how long he lived in the city. "
Russian worker in the revolutionary movement // Revolutionaries of the 1870s: Memoirs of participants in the populist movement in St. Petersburg. Lenizdat, 1986
Philosophical and literary heritage of G.V. Plekhanov in three volumes
PERFECT SECRET
From the political review for 1892 by the head of the Yekaterinoslav provincial gendarme department D.I.Boginsky on the reasons for the unrest of workers in M. Yuzovka February 9, 1893
The reason for the latest riots in the town of Yuzovo, as it is now established and as witnesses to the riots and quite competent persons assert (as proof of which I can submit written statements to me from persons who are quite trustworthy), was the exploitation in the broad sense of this word of workers as mine owners by all without exceptions and especially by the French company and traders. Indeed, the examples cited of the exploitation of workers by these persons surpass any description; it is enough to stipulate that the majority of workers (mostly passportless) never fully receive their earnings (as in the original; it follows; earned money (approx. comp.)), but only a pay sheet, which shows products (for example: tea, sugar, etc. so on) at a very high price, which they never demanded; and at many mines (mainly at the mines of Alchevskiy-Alekseevskiy, Slavyanoserbsk district) settlement is made once every 2-3 months, and then not in cash, but in “coupons”, which are accepted by local traders with a deduction of 20% from the cost of the coupon.
The riots in the town of Yuzovo are repeated annually to a greater or lesser extent and, no doubt, will be repeated, according to the statements of the workers themselves, until order and a perfect reform are introduced in the relations of employers to workers and, on top of that, the reception of people without passports is stopped. As a proof of the indifferent, inhuman attitude of the mine owners towards the workers, it is enough to mention that from August 14 to September 18 there were up to 12 accidents with injuries and deaths for workers due only to ignoring the necessary technical means for the safety of workers.
FORMATION OF THE RUSSIAN-FRENCH UNION
The Franco-Russian alliance became a turning point in foreign policy Russia. The basis for his conclusion was the presence of common opponents - England and Germany.
Germany's refusal in 1890 to renew the "reinsurance contract" and its renewal in 1891 of the Triple Alliance with Austria-Hungary and Italy created fertile ground for Russian-French rapprochement. Russia, fearing to remain in international isolation, was looking for an ally capable of supporting it in the struggle against Germany and Austria-Hungary for spheres of influence in Europe and with Great Britain for spheres of influence in Asia.
On the other hand, the internal political crisis in the mid-80s of the 19th century, the aggravation of relations with Britain and Italy on the basis of colonial policy and tensions with Germany also put France in an isolated position in Europe. Thus, in the current international situation, this union was beneficial to both states. Rapprochement with France, the old enemy of Germany, and in that situation, England, was prepared by life itself.
In the summer of 1891, a French squadron under the command of Admiral Gervais arrived in Kronstadt. The meeting of the French ships resulted in a demonstration of Russian-French unity.
On August 27, 1891, an exchange of letters took place in Paris on the coordination of actions of both powers in the event of a military threat to one of them. A year later, a similar secret military convention was signed between the Russian and French general staffs, and on October 1 (13), 1893, a Russian squadron, consisting of five ships, solemnly embarked on the roadstead of the Toulon port. Thus began the ten-day visit of Russian sailors to France, where they were met with an enthusiastic reception.
In addition to Toulon, Russian sailors visited Marseille, Lyon and Paris, which were festively decorated to welcome the guests. Special souvenirs with symbols of Russian-French unity were sold everywhere. So, the front side of one of the souvenir tokens, which were attached to clothes, was decorated with two daggers with the inscription: "Long live France - Long live Russia", and the back - the equation "1 + 1 \u003d 3". This symbolized that the Russian-French alliance is a reliable counterbalance to the Triple Alliance of Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary.
Choosing the right candidate to command this squadron, Alexander III ordered him to be given a list of rear admirals who spoke poor French. It was this circumstance that determined the fact that F.K. Avelan, so that, in the words of the emperor, "talked less there." Squadron officers were instructed to exercise caution and restraint in their relations with the French in expressing their political convictions.
The final form of the Russian-French alliance took place in January 1894, when the Russian-French treaty was ratified by the Russian emperor and the French president.
I.E. Repin. Reception of volost elders by Emperor Alexander III in the courtyard of the Petrovsky Palace in Moscow. 1885-1886
He was on the throne for thirteen and a half years and died 49 years old, earning the title of "Tsar-Peacemaker" during his lifetime, since during his reign not a drop of Russian blood was shed on the battlefields ...
Soon after his death, the historian V.O. Klyuchevsky wrote: “Science will give Emperor Alexander III a proper place not only in the history of Russia and all of Europe, but also in Russian historiography, and will say that He won a victory in the area where it is most difficult to achieve victory, defeated the prejudice of peoples and thereby contributed to their rapprochement, conquered the public conscience in the name of peace and truth, increased the amount of goodness in the moral circulation of mankind, encouraged and raised Russian historical thought, Russian national consciousness, and did all this so quietly and silently that only now, when He is no longer there, Europe understood what He was for her. "
The venerable professor was mistaken in his predictions. For more than a hundred years, the figure of the penultimate Russian Tsar has been the target of the most impartial assessments; his personality is the object of unbridled attacks and tendentious criticism.
The fake image of Alexander III is being recreated to this day. Why? The reason is simple: the Emperor did not admire the West, did not worship liberal-egalitarian ideas, believing that the literal imposition of foreign orders would not be a boon for Russia. Hence - irreconcilable hatred for this Tsar on the part of Western lovers of all stripes.
However, Alexander III was not a narrow-minded Western-hater, rejecting from the outset everything that did not have a generic stigma: "made in Russia." For him, Russian was primary and especially significant not because it is the best in the world, but because it is dear, close, his own. During the reign of Emperor Alexander III, the words "Russia is for Russians" were first heard throughout the country. And although he was well aware of the problems and absurdities in Russian life, he did not doubt for a minute that they should be overcome only by relying on his own sense of understanding of duty and responsibility, not paying attention to what some "Princess Marya Aleksevna ".
For almost two hundred years, he was the first ruler who not only did not covet "the love of Europe", but was not even interested in what they say and write about him there. However, it was Alexander III who became the ruler under whom, without a single weapon shot, Russia began to win the moral authority of a great world power. The imposing bridge across the Seine in the very center of Paris, bearing the name of the Russian Tsar, has forever remained a vivid confirmation of this ...
Alexander Alexandrovich ascended the throne at the age of 36 on March 1, 1881. On that day, his father was mortally wounded by a terrorist's bomb, who soon died, and Alexander Alexandrovich became the "Autocrat of All Russia". He did not dream of a crown, but when death took away his father, he showed amazing composure and humility, accepting what was given only by the will of the Most High.
With great spiritual trepidation, with tears in his eyes, he read the will of his father, the words and instructions of the murdered man. "I am sure that my son, Emperor Alexander Alexandrovich, will understand the importance and difficulty of his high calling and will continue in all respects worthy of the nickname of an honest man ... May God help him justify my hopes and complete what I failed to do to improve the prosperity of our dear Fatherland. I implore him not to get carried away with fashionable theories, to think about its constant development, based on love for God and on the law. He must not forget that the power of Russia is based on the unity of the State, and therefore everything that can lean to the shocks of all unity and to the separate development of various nationalities, it is pernicious for her and should not be tolerated. I thank him, for the last time, from the depths of his tenderly loving heart, for his friendship, for the diligence with which he performed his official duties and helped me in State Affairs. "
Tsar Alexander III inherited a heavy legacy. He understood perfectly well that improvements in various areas of life and public administration were necessary, they were long overdue, no one argued with this. He also knew that the "bold transformations" carried out by Alexander II in the 60s and 70s often gave rise to even more acute problems.
Since the end of the 70s, the social situation in the country has become so tense that some concluded that a collapse would soon come. Others tried to leave St. Petersburg, some to the estate, and some abroad.
The joylessness of the social situation was felt everywhere. Finances were upset, economic development slowed down, agriculture stagnation was observed. Zemstvos did a poor job of local improvement, all the time they asked for money from the treasury, and some zemstvo meetings turned into centers for public discussions of political issues that did not concern them in any way.
The universities were almost anarchy: anti-government publications were almost openly distributed, student gatherings were organized, where attacks on the government were heard. And most importantly: there were constant murders and attempts on officials, and the authorities could not cope with the terror. The monarch himself became the object of these villainous intentions and fell at the hands of terrorists!
Alexander III had an extremely difficult time. There were plenty of advisers: every relative and dignitary dreamed that the tsar would "invite to talk." But the young Emperor knew that these recommendations were often too biased, too selfless to be trusted without looking back. The late father sometimes brought unprincipled people, devoid of will and strong monarchist convictions closer to him.
Business must be handled differently, of which he had no doubt. First of all, it is not necessary to draw up new laws, but to ensure that the existing ones are observed. This conviction matured in him in the spring days of 1881. Earlier, in January, speaking at a meeting with the main patron of the "constitutionalists", Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, the future Tsar definitely stated that "he sees no need to impose on Russia all the inconveniences of constitutionalism that hinder good legislation and governance." Such a statement was immediately interpreted by the liberal public as a manifestation of "reactionary beliefs."
Alexander III never sought popularity, did not curry favor with entrepreneurs and regulars of Petersburg salons, either before he became Tsar or after. A few years after his accession to the throne, talking with those close to him, Alexander III said that he would consider "the constitution very calm for himself, but very dangerous for Russia." In fact, he repeated the thought expressed more than once by his father.
Long before his death, Alexander II realized that it was unacceptable to give broad public freedoms, to which some of his most Europeanized compatriots urged him. In the empire of the two-headed eagle, the historical conditions for the establishment of the social order that existed in England or France had not yet developed. More than once he spoke about this both in a narrow circle and outside the royal palaces. In September 1865, accepting in Ilyinskoye, near Moscow, the Zvenigorod district marshal of the nobility, P. D. Golokhvastov, Alexander II outlined his political credo:
"I give you my word that now, on this table, I am ready to sign whatever constitution you want, if I was convinced that it is useful for Russia. But I know that if I do it today, and tomorrow Russia will fall to pieces." ... And until his death, he did not betray his conviction, although then completely unsubstantiated statements circulated that allegedly Alexander II intended to introduce constitutional rule ...
Alexander III fully shared this conviction and was ready to change and improve a lot, without breaking or rejecting what seemed reliable and historically justified. The main political value of Russia was Autocracy - a sovereign rule, independent of the written norms and government agencies, limited only by the dependence of the king of the earth on the King of Heaven.
Talking at the end of March 1881 with the poet's daughter Anna Fedorovna Tyutcheva, the wife of the famous Slavophile I.S. Aksakov, who published the popular newspaper Rus in Moscow, the Tsar said: “I have read all the articles of your husband for recent times... Tell him I'm happy with them. In my grief, I was greatly relieved to hear my word of honor. He is an honest and truthful person, and most importantly, he is a real Russian, of which, unfortunately, there are few, and even these few have been eliminated recently, but this will not happen anymore. "
Soon the word of the new Monarch sounded to the whole world. On April 29, 1881, the Supreme Manifesto appeared, thundering like the thunder of an alarm bell.
"In the midst of Our great sorrow, the voice of God commands Us to become cheerfully in the work of government, in hope in Divine Providence, with faith in the power and truth of Autocratic power, which We are called to affirm and protect for the good of the people from any encroachments."
Further, the new Tsar called upon all the faithful sons of the Fatherland to be encouraged and to help "eradicate the vile sedition that dishonor the Russian land, to the establishment of faith and morality, to the good upbringing of children, to the extermination of untruth and embezzlement, to the establishment of order and truth in the operation of institutions granted to Russia by her benefactor. , beloved Parent. "
The manifesto was unexpected for many. It became clear that the days of liberal smiles were over. The fall of the political projectors - losers was only a matter of time.
Alexander III considered this outcome logical. I wrote to my brother Sergei on June 11, 1881: “Appointing new people almost everywhere, we started hard work together and, thank God, with difficulty and little by little we go forward, and things are going much more successfully than under the previous ministers, who by their behavior forced me to fire They wanted to take me into their clutches and enslave me, but they did not succeed ... I cannot hide that even now we are still far from being in a normal state and there will still be many disappointments and anxieties, but everything has to be ready to go straight and boldly towards the goal, not deviating to the side, and most importantly - not to despair and hope in God! "
Although there were no persecutions, arrests, deportations of objectionable dignitaries (almost all of them were removed with honor, received appointments to the State Council), it seemed to some that at the top of power "an earthquake began." The bureaucratic ear has always subtly caught the impulses and moods in the higher corridors of power, which determined the behavior and diligence of officials.
As soon as Alexander III was on the Throne, it quickly became clear that with the new government It’s bad jokes that the young Emperor is a tough man, even harsh, and his will must be obeyed unquestioningly. Immediately, everything started spinning, the discussions subsided, and the state machine suddenly started working with renewed vigor, although in the last years of the reign of Alexander II, many thought that it had no strength anymore.
Alexander III did not create any emergency bodies (in general, during his reign, few new subdivisions appeared in the system of government), did not carry out any "special cleansing" of the bureaucratic apparatus, but the atmosphere in the country and in the corridors of power changed.
Salon talkers, who had only recently passionately defended freedom-loving principles, suddenly became almost numb and no longer dared to popularize Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite not only at open meetings, but even among their own people, behind the tightly closed doors of the capital's living rooms. Gradually, the dignitaries who were reputed to be liberal were replaced by others who were ready to serve the Tsar and the Fatherland unquestioningly, without looking into European cribs and not afraid to be branded as "reactionaries."
Alexander III boldly and decisively began to fight the enemies of the state order. There have been arrests of direct perpetrators of regicide and some other persons who did not personally participate in the first March atrocity, but were preparing other terrorist acts. In total, about fifty people were arrested, and five regicides were hanged by court verdict.
The emperor had no doubt that an irreconcilable struggle should be waged against the enemies of Russia. But not only by police methods, but also by mercy. It is necessary to distinguish, where are the true, irreconcilable opponents, and where are the lost souls, who, through thoughtlessness, allowed themselves to be drawn into anti-government actions. The emperor himself always followed the progress of the inquiry in political matters. In the end, all court decisions were left to his discretion, many asked for royal favor, and he should have known the details. Sometimes he decided not to bring the matter to court.
When a circle of revolutionaries was discovered in Kronstadt in 1884, the tsar, having learned from the testimony of the accused that the warrant officer of the naval crew, Grigory Skvortsov, was shedding tears, repented and gave frank testimony, ordered that the warrant officer be released and not subject to prosecution.
Alexander III always had sympathy for those people who professed traditional values. Conformity, conciliation, apostasy did not evoke anything in his soul, except disgust. His political principle was simple and in line with the Russian management tradition. Malfunctions in the state must be corrected, proposals must be heard, but for this it is absolutely not necessary to convene some kind of people's assembly.
It is necessary to invite specialists, experts on a particular issue, listen, discuss, weigh the pros and cons and make the right decision. Everything should be done according to the law, and if it turns out that the law is outdated, then it must be revised, relying on tradition and only after discussion in the Council of State. This became the rule of state life.
The tsar repeatedly told his entourage and ministers that "bureaucracy is a strength in a state if it is kept in strict discipline." And indeed, under Alexander III, the administrative apparatus of the empire worked in a tough regime: the decisions of the authorities were strictly carried out, and the tsar personally followed this. He could not stand indifference, neglect of official duties.
The emperor introduced an innovation unprecedented in Russia: he demanded that he be presented with a list of all unfulfilled orders and decisions, indicating the persons in charge of them. This news greatly increased the "labor enthusiasm" of the bureaucracy, and the red tape became much less.
He was especially intransigent towards those who used their official position for personal gain. To such, there was no condescension.
The reign of Alexander III was distinguished by an amazing phenomenon: bribery and corruption, which used to be a sad Russian reality, almost completely disappeared. Russian history of this period did not reveal a single high-profile case of this kind, and numerous professional "unmaskers of tsarism" did not find a single corruption fact, although they were persistently looking for them for many decades ...
During the reign of Alexander III, strict administrative regulation of social life remained in Russia. Enemies of the state power were subjected to persecution, arrest, and deportation. Such facts existed both before and after Alexander III, however, in justification of the immutable thesis about a certain "course of reaction", it is the period of his reign that is often characterized as a particularly dark and hopeless period of history. Nothing of the kind has actually been observed.
In total, 17 people were executed for political crimes (there was no death penalty for criminal acts in Russia) during the "period of reaction". All of them either participated in the regicide, or prepared for it, and none of them repented. In total, less than 4 thousand people were interrogated and detained for anti-state acts (for almost fourteen years). If we take into account that the population of Russia then exceeded 120 million people, then these data convincingly refute the stereotyped thesis about the "terror regime" that was allegedly established in Russia during the reign of Alexander III.
Forensic and prison "massacres" are only part of the "gloomy picture of Russian life" that is so often depicted. Its essential moment is the "oppression of censorship", allegedly "strangling" any "freedom of thought."
In the 19th century, censorship existed in Russia, as in all other, even "most" democratic states. In the tsarist empire, she not only protected moral principles, religious traditions and beliefs, but also performed the function of protecting state interests.
Under Alexander III, as a result of an administrative ban or for other reasons, mainly of a financial nature, several dozen newspapers and magazines ceased to exist. However, this did not mean that the voice of the independent press had "died out" in the country. Many new editions appeared, but many old ones continued to be issued.
A number of liberal-oriented publications (the most famous are the newspaper "Russkie vedomosti" and the magazine "Vestnik Evropy"), although they did not allow direct attacks on the authorities and their representatives, did not get rid of the critical ("skeptical") tone and successfully survived the "era of repression" ...
In 1894, the year of the death of Alexander III, 804 periodicals in Russian and other languages \u200b\u200bwere published in Russia. Approximately 15% of them were state ("state"), and the rest belonged to various societies and individuals. There were socio-political, literary, theological, reference, satirical, scientific, educational, sports newspapers and magazines.
During the reign of Alexander III, the number of printing houses grew steadily; the range of published book products also increased annually. In 1894, the list of titles of published books reached almost 11,000 thousand (in 1890 - 8638). Many thousands of books were imported from abroad. During the entire period of his reign, less than 200 books were not allowed to circulate in Russia. (This number included, for example, the notorious "Capital" of Karl Marx.) The majority was prohibited not for political, but for spiritual and moral reasons: insulting the feelings of believers, promoting obscenity.
Alexander III died early, not yet an old man. His death was mourned by millions of Russian people, not out of duress, but at the call of their hearts who respected and loved this crowned sovereign - a big, strong, Christ-loving, so understandable, just, so "their own".
Alexander Bokhanov, Doctor of Historical Sciences