Editing Alexander III of Russia (section)

==Reign==
{{Conservatism in Russia|Politicians}}
On 13 March 1881 (N.S.) Alexander's father, [[Alexander II of Russia|Alexander II]], was [[Assassination of Alexander II of Russia|assassinated]] by members of the organization [[Narodnaya Volya]]. As a result, Alexander ascended to the Russian imperial throne in the village of [[Ninasi|Nennal]]. He and Maria Feodorovna were officially crowned and anointed at the [[Assumption Cathedral in Moscow]] on 27 May 1883. Alexander's ascension to the throne was followed by an outbreak of [[Pogroms in the Russian Empire#1881|anti-Jewish riots]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/1132-alexander-iii-alexandrovich-emperor-of-russia|title=Alexander III., Alexandrovich, Emperor of Russia |website=www.JewishEncyclopedia.com}}</ref><ref>[http://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/annoshow?call=dib|18830607|1|100.0|0 "Die Judenverfolgung in Rußland in der Krönungswoche"] (in German), ''[[Das interessante Blatt]]'', 7 June 1883.</ref><ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1883/06/01/102825816.pdf "Rioting and Politics in Russia"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', 1 June 1883.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Pogroms|title=YIVO – Pogroms|website=www.yivoencyclopedia.org}}</ref>

Alexander III disliked the extravagance of the rest of his family. It was also expensive for the Crown to pay so many grand dukes each year. Each one received an annual salary of 250,000 rubles, and grand duchesses received a [[dowry]] of a million rubles when they married. He limited the title of grand duke and duchess to only children and male-line grandchildren of emperors. The rest would bear a princely title and the style of [[Serene Highness]]. He also forbade [[morganatic marriage]]s, as well as those outside of the Orthodox Church.<ref>Sebag Montefiore, p. 668</ref>

===Domestic policies===
[[File:Alexander III reception by Repin.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.3|Alexander receiving rural district elders in the yard of [[Petrovsky Palace]] in Moscow; painting by [[Ilya Repin]]]]

On the day of his assassination, Alexander II signed an [[ukaz]] setting up consultative commissions to advise the monarch. On ascending to the throne, however, Alexander III took Pobedonostsev's advice and cancelled the policy before its publication. He made it clear that his [[autocracy]] would not be limited.

All of Alexander III's internal reforms aimed to reverse the liberalization from his father's reign. The new Emperor believed that the principles of [[Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality]], introduced by his grandfather [[Nicholas I of Russia|Nicholas I]], would quell revolutionary agitation and save Russia.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-21 |title=Alexander III of Russia - Biography, Policies & Significance |url=https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-rule-of-alexander-iii-of-russia.html |access-date=2024-07-13 |website=Study.com. History courses - help and review}}</ref>

[[File:Keisarintalo Lappeenranta.jpg|thumb|left|Photograph about arriving of Alexander III at the Fontell House (also known as "The House of Emperor") for the first time on August 4, 1885, in [[Lappeenranta]], [[Grand Duchy of Finland|Finland]].]]
Alexander weakened the power of the ''[[zemstvo]]'' (elective local administrative bodies) and placed the administration of peasant communes under the supervision of land-owning proprietors appointed by his government, "land captains" (''zemskiye nachalniki''). This weakened the nobility and peasantry and strengthed the Emperor's personal control. In such policies Alexander III followed the advice of [[Konstantin Pobedonostsev]], who retained control of the Church in Russia through his long tenure as Procurator of the [[Holy Synod]] (from 1880 to 1905) and who became tutor to Alexander's son and heir, Nicholas. (Pobedonostsev appears as "Toporov" in Tolstoy's novel ''Resurrection''.){{citation needed|date=October 2020}} Other conservative advisors included Count [[Dmitry Tolstoy|D. A. Tolstoy]] (minister of education, and later of internal affairs) and [[Ivan Durnovo|I. N. Durnovo]] (D. A. Tolstoy's successor in the latter post). Journalists such as [[Mikhail Katkov]] supported the emperor's autocracy policies.{{citation needed|date=August 2019}}

[[File:5 Roubles à l'effigie du Tsar d'Alexandre III, 1888.jpg|thumb|5-ruble coin of Alexander III, 1888]]

The government was overwhelmed in dealing with the [[Russian famine of 1891–92]] and the ensuing [[cholera]] epidemic, which caused 375,000 to 500,000 deaths, and some liberal activity was tolerated, and the zemstvos were recruited to help with relief. Among others, [[Leo Tolstoy]] helped with relief efforts on his estate and through the British press,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kelly|first=Luke|date=November 2016|title=British humanitarianism and the Russian famine, 1891–2|journal=Historical Research|volume=89| issue = 246|pages=824–845|doi=10.1111/1468-2281.12140|via=EBSCO}}</ref> and [[Anton Chekhov|Chekhov]] directed anti-cholera precautions in several villages.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Czar Aleksandr III - Trivia |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1640169/trivia/ |access-date=2024-06-04 |website=IMDb |language=en-US}}</ref>

Alexander had the political goal of [[Russification]], which involved homogenizing the language and religion of Russia's people. He implemented changes such as teaching only the [[Russification|Russian language in Russian schools in Germany, Poland, and Finland]]. He also patronized [[Eastern Orthodox]]y and dissolved German, Polish, and Swedish cultural and religious institutions.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Florinsky |first=Michael T. |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |title=Alexander III |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexander-III-emperor-of-Russia |access-date=5 September 2019 |date=6 March 2019 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, inc.}}</ref>

Alexander was hostile to Jews, and his reign witnessed a sharp deterioration in their economic, social, and political condition. His policy was eagerly implemented by tsarist officials in the [[May Laws]] of 1882. These laws encouraged open anti-Jewish sentiment and dozens of [[Pogrom|pogroms]] across the western part of the empire. As a result, many Jews emigrated to Western Europe and the United States.<ref>I. Michael Aronson,  "The Attitudes of Russian Officials in the 1880s toward Jewish Assimilation and Emigration." ''Slavic Review'' 34.1 (1975): 1–18. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2495871 online]</ref> The laws banned Jews from inhabiting rural areas and [[shtetl]]s (even within the [[Pale of Settlement]]) and restricted the occupations in which they could engage.<ref>{{cite news|title= This day, May 15, in Jewish history|url= http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/cjnconnect/blogs/article_057a78b4-3f44-5375-a20d-a850a62b2194.html|newspaper= Cleveland Jewish News|access-date= 18 May 2014|archive-date= 19 May 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140519165352/http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/cjnconnect/blogs/article_057a78b4-3f44-5375-a20d-a850a62b2194.html|url-status= dead}}</ref><ref>I. Michael Aronson,  "The Prospects for the Emancipation of Russian Jewry during the 1880s." ''Slavonic and East European Review'' (1977): 348–369. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/4207496 online]</ref>

Encouraged by its successful assassination of Alexander II, the [[Narodnaya Volya]] movement began planning the murder of Alexander III. The [[Okhrana]] uncovered the plot and five of the conspirators, including [[Aleksandr Ulyanov]], the older brother of [[Vladimir Lenin]], were captured and hanged in May 1887.

===Foreign policy===
{{More citations needed section|date=October 2020}}
[[File:Borki cathedral.jpg|thumb|The Borki Cathedral was one of many churches built to commemorate the Tsar's miraculous survival in [[Borki train disaster|the 1888 train crash]]]]
{{Main|Foreign policy of the Russian Empire}}

The general negative consensus about the tsar's foreign policy follows the conclusions of the British Prime Minister [[Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury|Lord Salisbury]] in 1885:
:It is very difficult to come to any satisfactory conclusion as to the real objects of Russian policy. I am more inclined to believe there are none; that the Emperor is really his own Minister, and so bad a Minister that no consequent or coherent policy is pursued; but that each influential person, military or civil, snatches from him as opportunity offers the decisions which such person at the moment wants and that the mutual effect of these decisions on each other is determined almost exclusively by chance.<ref>Margaret Maxwell, "A Re-examination of the Role of N. K. Giers as Russian Foreign Minister under Alexander III" pp. 352–353.</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=S. C. M. Paine|title=Imperial Rivals: China, Russia, and Their Disputed Frontier|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|url=https://archive.org/details/imperialrivalsch00pain|url-access=registration|year=1996|page=[https://archive.org/details/imperialrivalsch00pain/page/248 248]|isbn=9781563247248}}</ref>

In foreign affairs Alexander III was a man of peace, but not at any price, and held that the best means of averting war is to be well-prepared for it. Diplomat [[Nikolay Girs]], scion of a rich and powerful family, served as his Foreign Minister from 1882 to 1895 and established the peaceful policies for which Alexander has been given credit.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} Girs was an architect of the [[Franco-Russian Alliance]] of 1891, which was later expanded into the [[Triple Entente]] with the addition of Great Britain. That alliance brought France out of diplomatic isolation, and moved Russia from the German orbit to a coalition with France, one that was strongly supported by French financial assistance to Russia's economic modernisation.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} Girs was in charge of a diplomacy that featured numerous negotiated settlements, treaties and conventions. These agreements defined Russian boundaries and restored equilibrium to dangerously unstable situations. The most [[Panjdeh incident|dramatic success came in 1885]], settling [[The Great Game|long-standing tensions]] with Great Britain, which was fearful that Russian expansion to the south would be a threat to India.<ref>Raymond A. Mohl, "Confrontation in Central Asia, 1885", ''History Today'' (1969) 119#3 pp. 176–183.</ref> Girs was usually successful in restraining the aggressive inclinations of Tsar Alexander convincing him that the very survival of the Tsarist system depended on avoiding major wars. With a deep insight into the tsar's moods and views, Girs was usually able to shape the final decisions by outmaneuvering hostile journalists, ministers, and even the Tsarina, as well as his own ambassadors.

[[File:Russo-French alliance.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Alexander III and French President [[Marie François Sadi Carnot]] forge an alliance]]
Though Alexander was indignant at the conduct of German chancellor [[Otto von Bismarck]] towards Russia, he avoided an open rupture with Germany—even reviving the [[League of Three Emperors]] for a period of time and in 1887, signed the [[Reinsurance Treaty]] with the Germans. However, in 1890, the expiration of the treaty coincided with the dismissal of Bismarck by the new German emperor, [[Kaiser Wilhelm II]] (for whom the Tsar had an immense dislike), and the unwillingness of Wilhelm II's government to renew the treaty. In response Alexander III then began cordial relations with France, eventually entering into an [[Franco-Russian Alliance|alliance]] with the French in 1892.<ref>Van Der Kiste, John ''The Romanovs: 1818–1959 ''(Sutton Publishing; 2003) p. 162</ref>

Despite chilly relations with Berlin, the Tsar nevertheless confined himself to keeping a large number of troops near the German frontier. With regard to Bulgaria he exercised similar self-control. The efforts of [[Alexander, Prince of Bulgaria|Prince Alexander]] and afterwards of [[Stefan Stambolov|Stambolov]] to destroy Russian influence in the principality roused his indignation, but he vetoed all proposals to intervene by force of arms.<ref>Charles Jelavich, "Russo-Bulgarian relations, 1892–1896: with particular reference to the problem of the bulgarian succession". ''Journal of Modern History'' 24.4 (1952): 341–351. {{JSTOR|2936115}}.</ref>

In [[Central Asia]]n affairs he followed the traditional policy of gradually extending Russian domination without provoking conflict with the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] (see [[Panjdeh incident]]), and he never allowed the bellicose partisans of a forward policy to get out of hand. His reign cannot be regarded as an eventful period of [[History of Russia|Russian history]]; but under his hard rule the country made considerable progress.{{sfn|Wallace|1911|p=563}}

[[File:Александр III и Мария Федоровна на крыльце своего дома в Лангинкоски в Финляндии.jpg|thumb|Alexander III and Maria Feodorovna in the family circle on the porch of his home in [[Langinkoski]], [[Finland]] in summer 1889.]]
Alexander and his wife regularly spent their summers at [[Langinkoski]] manor along the [[Kymi River]] near [[Kotka]] on the [[Finland|Finnish]] coast, where their children were immersed in a Nordic lifestyle.

Alexander rejected foreign influence, German influence in particular, thus the adoption of local national principles was deprecated in all spheres of official activity, with a view to realizing his ideal of a Russia homogeneous in language, administration and religion.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} These ideas conflicted with those of his father, who had German sympathies despite being a patriot; Alexander II often used the German language in his private relations, occasionally ridiculed the [[Slavophiles]] and based his foreign policy on the Prussian alliance.{{sfn|Wallace|1911|p=562}}
[[File:France-russe1896.jpg|thumb|Alexander III and Nicholas II on French stamps, {{Circa|1896}}]]
Some differences between father and son had first appeared during the Franco-Prussian War, when Alexander II supported the cabinet of [[Berlin]] while the [[Tsesarevich]] made no effort to conceal his sympathies for the French.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} These sentiments would resurface during 1875–1879, when the [[Eastern question]] excited Russian society. At first, the Tsesarevich was more Slavophile than the Russian government.{{how|date=October 2020}} However, his [[phlegmatic]] nature restrained him from many exaggerations, and any popular illusions he may have imbibed were dispelled by personal observation in [[Bulgaria]] where he commanded the left wing of the invading army. Never consulted on political questions, Alexander confined himself to military duties and fulfilled them in a conscientious and unobtrusive manner. After many mistakes and disappointments, the army reached [[Constantinople]] and the [[Treaty of San Stefano]] was signed, but much that had been obtained by that important document had to be sacrificed at the [[Congress of Berlin]].{{sfn|Wallace|1911|p=562}}

[[Otto von Bismarck|Bismarck]] failed to do what was expected of him by the Russian emperor. In return for the Russian support which had enabled him to create the [[German Empire]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Baynes|first=Thomas Spencer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p_uSlufwlUQC&q=Bismarck+failed+to+do+what+was+expected+of+him+by+the+Russian+emperor.+In+return+for+the+Russian+support+which+had+enabled+him+to+create+the+German+Empire%2C+-wikipedia&pg=PA260|title=The Encyclopædia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature|date=1902|publisher=Little, Brown|pages=260|language=en}}</ref> it was thought that he would help Russia to solve the Eastern question in accordance with Russian interests, but to the surprise and indignation of the cabinet of Saint Petersburg he confined himself to acting the part of "honest broker" at the Congress, and shortly afterwards contracted an [[Dual Alliance (1879)|alliance with Austria-Hungary]] for the purpose of counteracting Russian designs in [[Eastern Europe]].{{sfn|Wallace|1911|p=562}}

The Tsesarevich could refer to these results as confirmation of the views he had expressed during the Franco-Prussian War; he concluded that for Russia, the best thing was to recover as quickly as possible from her temporary exhaustion, and prepare for future contingencies by military and naval reorganization. In accordance with this conviction, he suggested that certain reforms should be introduced.{{sfn|Wallace|1911|p=562}}

===Trade and Industry===

Alexander III took initiatives to stimulate the development of trade and industry, as his father did before him. Russia's economy was still challenged by the [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)|Russian-Turkish war]] of 1877–1878, which created a deficit, so he imposed customs duties on imported goods. To further alleviate the budget deficit, he implemented increased frugality and accounting in state finances. Industrial development increased during his reign.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://russia.rin.ru/guides_e/7022.html |title=The Economical Policy of Alexander III |access-date=14 August 2020}}</ref> Also during his reign, construction of the [[Trans-Siberian Railway|Trans Siberian Railway]] was started.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Trans-Siberian Railway |url=https://www.historytoday.com/archive/months-past/trans-siberian-railway |website=History Today}}</ref>

=== Family life ===
[[File:Tzar Alexander III and members of the Royal family.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Left to Right: Emperor Alexander III, Prince George (later [[George V|George V of the United Kingdom]]), [[Maria Feodorovna (Dagmar of Denmark)|Marie Feodorovna]], [[Princess Maria of Greece and Denmark|Maria of Greece]], Tsesarevich Nicholas (later Emperor [[Nicholas II of Russia]]). Probably taken on the imperial yacht near Denmark, {{c.}} 1893.]]

Following his father's assassination, Alexander III was advised that it would be difficult for him to be kept safe at the [[Winter Palace]], and he relocated his family to the [[Gatchina Palace]] {{convert|20|mi|km|sigfig=1|order=flip}} south of [[St. Petersburg]]. The palace was surrounded by moats, watch towers, and trenches, and soldiers were on guard night and day.<ref>Carolly Erickson, ''Alexandra: The Last Tsarina,'' p. 19</ref> Under heavy guard, he would make occasional visits into St. Petersburg, but even then he would stay in the [[Anichkov Palace]], not the Winter Palace.<ref>Kennan, George F. (1979) ''The Decline of Bismarck's European Order: Franco-Russian Relations, 1875-1890,'' caption to plate 15: "...where Alexander III and Dagmar usually stayed when in Petersburg"</ref> Alexander resented having to take refuge at [[Gatchina]]. [[Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia|Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich]] remembered hearing the tsar say, "To think that after having faced the guns of the Turks I must retreat now before these skunks."<ref>Alexander Mikhailovich, ''Once a Grand Duke,'' p. 65</ref>

In the 1860s, Alexander fell in love with his mother's lady-in-waiting, [[Mariya Meshcherskaya|Princess Maria Elimovna Meshcherskaya]]. Dismayed to learn that Prince zu [[Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn]] had proposed to her in early 1866, he told his parents that he was prepared to give up his rights of succession in order to marry his beloved "Dusenka". In 1866 after tsesarevich Nicholas's death, tsar Alexander II informed the new tsesarevich Alexander that Russia had come to a marriage agreement with the parents of Princess Dagmar of Denmark, who had been Nicholas' fiancée. Initially, the tsesarevich refused to travel to Copenhagen because he wanted to marry Maria. Enraged, the tsar ordered him to go straight to Denmark and propose to Princess Dagmar. The young Alexander wrote in his diary "Farewell, dear Dusenka."

Despite his initial reluctance, Alexander grew fond of Dagmar, by the end of his life they loved each other deeply. A few weeks after their wedding, he wrote in his diary: "God grant that... I may love my darling wife more and more... I often feel that I am not worthy of her, but even if this was true, I will do my best to be."<ref>Julia P. Gelardi, ''From Splendor to Revolution'', p. 29</ref> When she left his side, he missed her bitterly and complained: "My sweet darling Minny, for five years we've never been apart and Gatchina is empty and sad without you."<ref>Simon Sebag Montefiore, ''The Romanovs,'' p. 459</ref> In 1885, he commissioned [[Peter Carl Fabergé]] to produce the first [[Fabergé egg|jeweled Easter egg]]s for her, and she was so delighted that Alexander gave her an egg every Easter. After Alexander died, his heir Nicholas doubled the tradition, every Easter commissioning an egg for his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, and one for his mother Dagmar. When Dagmar nursed him in his final illness, Alexander told her, "Even before my death, I have known an angel."<ref>''The Romanovs'', p. 483</ref> He died in Dagmar's arms, and his daughter Olga wrote that "my mother still held him in her arms" long after he died.<ref>''The Romanovs'', p. 484</ref>

Alexander had six children by Dagmar, five of whom survived into adulthood: [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas]] (b. 1868), [[Grand Duke George Alexandrovich of Russia|George]] (b. 1871), [[Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia|Xenia]] (b. 1875), [[Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia|Michael]] (b. 1878) and [[Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia|Olga]] (b. 1882). He told Dagmar that "only with [our children] can I relax mentally, enjoy them and rejoice, looking at them."<ref>The Romanovs, p. 460</ref> He wrote in his diary that he "was crying like a baby"<ref>Miranda Carter, ''George, Nicholas, and Wilhelm: Three Royal Cousins and the Road to World War I,'' p. 54</ref> when Dagmar gave birth to their first child, Nicholas. He was much more lenient with his children than most European monarchs, and he told their tutors, "I do not need porcelain, I want normal healthy Russian children."<ref>John Curtis Perry, ''The Flight of the Romanovs'', p. 54</ref> General Cherevin believed that the clever George was "the favourite of both parents". Alexander enjoyed a more informal relationship with his youngest son Michael and doted on his youngest daughter, Olga.

Alexander was concerned that his heir-apparent, Nicholas, was too gentle and naive to become an effective Emperor. When Witte suggested that Nicholas participate in the Trans-Siberian Committee, Alexander said, "Have you ever tried to discuss anything of consequence with His Imperial Highness the Grand Duke? Don't tell me you never noticed the Grand Duke is ... an absolute child. His opinions are utterly childish. How could he preside over such a committee?"<ref>''The Romanovs,'' p. 475</ref> He was worried that Nicholas had no experiences with women and arranged for the Polish ballerina [[Mathilde Kschessinska|Mathilde Kschessinskaya]] to become his son's mistress.<ref>''The Romanovs'', p. 477</ref> Even at the end of his life, he considered Nicholas a child and told him, "I can't imagine you as a fiancé – how strange and unusual!"<ref>''The Romanovs'', p. 479</ref>

[[File:Alexander-Maria.jpg|thumb|Alexander and his wife [[Maria Feodorovna (Dagmar of Denmark)|Empress Maria Fyodorovna]] on holiday in [[Copenhagen]] in 1893.]]
Each summer his parents-in-law, [[King Christian IX of Denmark|King Christian IX]] and [[Louise of Hesse-Kassel|Queen Louise]], held family reunions at the Danish royal palaces of [[Fredensborg Palace|Fredensborg]] and [[Bernstorff Palace|Bernstorff]], bringing Alexander, Maria and their children to Denmark.<ref name=":0">Van Der Kiste, John ''The Romanovs: 1818–1959'' (Sutton Publishing, 2003), p. 151</ref> His sister-in-law, the [[Queen Alexandra|Princess of Wales]], would come from Great Britain with some of her children, and his brother-in-law and cousin-in-law, [[King George I of Greece]], his wife, [[Queen Olga of Greece|Queen Olga]], who was a first cousin of Alexander and a Romanov Grand Duchess by birth, came with their children from Athens.<ref name=":0" /> In contrast to the strict security observed in Russia, Alexander and Maria revelled in the relative freedom that they enjoyed in Denmark, Alexander once commenting to the Prince and Princess of Wales near the end of a visit that he envied them being able to return to a happy home in England, while he was returning to his Russian prison.<ref name="Van Der Kiste, p. 152">Van Der Kiste, p. 152</ref> In Denmark, he was able to enjoy joining his children, nephews and nieces, in muddy ponds looking for tadpoles, sneaking into his father-in-law's orchard to steal apples, and playing pranks, such as turning a water hose on the visiting [[Oscar II of Sweden|King Oscar II of Sweden]].<ref name="Van Der Kiste, p. 152"/>

Alexander had an extremely poor relationship with his brother [[Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia|Grand Duke Vladimir]]. At a restaurant, Vladimir had brawled with the French actor [[Lucien Guitry]] when the latter kissed his wife, [[Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin]].<ref name="Kiste, 1959, p. 121">John Van der Kiste, ''The Romanovs 1818–1959'', p. 121</ref> The prefect of [[St. Petersburg]] needed to escort Vladimir out of the restaurant.<ref name="Kiste, 1959, p. 121"/> Alexander was so furious that he temporarily exiled Vladimir and his wife and threatened to exile them permanently to Siberia.<ref name="Kiste, 1959, p. 121"/> When Alexander and his family survived the [[Borki train disaster]] in 1888, Alexander joked, "I can imagine how disappointed Vladimir is going to be when he learns that we all stayed alive!"<ref>Julia P. Gelardi, ''From Splendor to Revolution,'' p. 128</ref> This tension was reflected in the rivalry between Maria Feodorovna and Vladimir's wife Marie Pavlovna.<ref>Van Der Kiste, p. 141</ref>

Alexander had better relationships with his other brothers [[Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia|Alexei]] (who he made rear admiral and then grand admiral of the Russian Navy), [[Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia|Sergei]] (who he made governor of Moscow) and [[Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia|Paul]].

Despite the antipathy that Alexander had towards his stepmother, [[Catherine Dolgorukova|Catherine Dolgorukov]], he nevertheless allowed her to remain in the Winter Palace for some time after his father's assassination and to retain keepsakes such Alexander II's blood-soaked uniform and his reading glasses.<ref>Van Der Kiste, p. 118</ref>

Even though he disliked their mother, Alexander was kind to his half-siblings. His youngest half-sister [[Catherine Yurievskaya|Princess Catherine Alexandrovna Yurievskaya]] remembered when he would play with her and her siblings: "The Emperor... seemed a playful and kind Goliath among all the romping children."<ref>Van Der Kiste, p. 119</ref>

On {{OldStyleDate|29 October|1888|17 October}} the Imperial train [[derailment|derailed]] in an [[Borki train disaster|accident]] at [[Birky, Chuhuiv Raion|Borki]]. At the moment of the crash, the imperial family was in the dining car. Its roof collapsed, and Alexander held its remains on his shoulders as the children fled outdoors. The onset of Alexander's kidney failure was later attributed to the blunt trauma suffered in this incident.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alexanderpalace.org/palace/alexbio.html|title=Diaries and Letters – Alexander III|author=Scott Malsom|work=Alexander Palace Time Machine|access-date=1 February 2018}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|date=November 2021|certain=y}}