Editing Alexander III of Russia (section)

===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}}