Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich Of Russia (1831–1891)
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Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia (; 8 August 1831 – 25 April 1891) was the third son and sixth child of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia and Alexandra Feodorovna. He may also be referred to as Nicholas Nikolaevich the Elder to tell him apart from his son, Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia (1856–1929). Trained for the military, as a
Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...
he commanded the Russian army of the Danube in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878.


Military career

Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich was born on 8 August 1831 at
Tsarskoye Selo Tsarskoye Selo (, , ) was the town containing a former residence of the Russian House of Romanov, imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the center of Saint Petersburg. The residence now forms part of the Pushkin, Saint Peter ...
in St. Petersburg. His father arranged for Nicholas Nikolaevich a career in the army. On the day he was born, he was appointed honorary colonel in the Life Guard Lancers and enlisted into the Life Guard Sappers battalion. A soldier most of his life, he first saw active service in the Crimea War, when he was in his early twenties, taking part in the battle of Inkerman (1854). Grand Duke Nicholas Nicolaievich showed a special interest in military engineering. In 1856, he was appointed as general Inspector of engineers and in 1864, he became commander of the Imperial Guard. In 1873, he accompanied his brother, Alexander II, to Berlin at the meeting of the three emperors: Russia, Germany and Austria. The epitome of his career was the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878, when Nicholas Nicolaievich was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Russian armies of the Danube, although his reputation as a strategist was very low. The Grand Duke had no particular distinction in early successes in the conflict and these were followed by terrible reverses of the armies under his orders. After the expulsion of the Russian troops from
Rumelia Rumelia (; ; ) was a historical region in Southeastern Europe that was administered by the Ottoman Empire, roughly corresponding to the Balkans. In its wider sense, it was used to refer to all Ottoman possessions and Vassal state, vassals in E ...
and unsuccessful attacks at Plevna, Nicholas Nicolaievich was removed from actual command , although in theory he remained in his post. The victory of his subordinates allowed him to participate in the success at
Adrianople Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...
and the Treaty of San Stefano, but after the war ended, he was criticized for not seizing
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
when his headquarters were already established in Adrianople. The Grand Duke also suffered the acute embarrassment of being charged with financial irregularities, of receiving bribes and embezzling money from the government. His brother, Alexander II, promoted Nicholas Nicolaievich's career and named him Commander of the St Petersburg military region. Eventually he received the ranks of Field Marshal-General, Inspector General of Cavalry and Inspector General of the Russian engineering forces. Nicholas Nicholaievich was an influential military figure; he also served on the State Council.


A Russian Grand Duke

Tall, strong and with a long thin nose, Nicholas Nicolaievich was neither handsome nor very intelligent. An incredible womanizer, Nicholas “loved all women except for his wife” as a contemporary wrote. He enjoyed army life, hunting ''The Camera and the Tsars'' : Charlotte Zeepvat, p. 31 and was a well-known gourmet. He was also an expert on cattle, purebred dogs, horse breeding, fishing and hunting. In his luxurious residence in
St Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
, the Nikolayevsky Palace, built between 1853 and 1861, horses were a favorite topic of conversation. The Grand Duke Nicholas Nicolaievich took great interest in managing his estates, but he failed to inspire affection, even in those closest to him.


Marriage

Nicholas Nikolaevich unwillingly married his second cousin Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna, formerly Princess Alexandra of Oldenburg (1838–1900), whose paternal grandmother was Catherine Pavlovna, fourth daughter of Emperor Paul I, Nicholas's grandfather. The wedding took place in St Petersburg on 6 February 1856. Alexandra was plain and unsophisticated and the couple soon found out that they had little in common. They had two children: * Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia ''the Younger'' (1856–1929) * Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia (1864–1931) The marriage was in trouble from the start and four years later, Nicholas developed a permanent relationship with Catherine Chislova, a dancer from the
Krasnoye Selo Krasnoye Selo (, lit. ''Red (or beautiful) village''). Г. П.  Смолицкая. "Топонимический словарь Центральной России". "Армада-Пресс", 2002 is a municipal town in Krasnos ...
Theater. Their affair was quite open and they had five children: * Olga Nikolaevna Nikolaeva (1868–1950) m. Prince Michael Cantacuzene * Vladimir Nikolaevich Nikolaev (1873–1942) * Catherine Nikolaevna Nikolaeva (1874–1940) * Nicholas Nikolaevich Nikolaev (1875–1902) * Galina Nikolaevna Nikolaeva (1877–1878) The Grand Duke arranged a change of class into the gentry for his mistress and the couple's illegitimate children took the surname Nikolayev. Alexander II ignored his brother's affair but advised him to be discreet.


Last years

Nicholas Nicolaievich was in
Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...
with his two sons when his brother Alexander II was assassinated, returning immediately to Russia in March 1881. The ascension to the Russian throne of his nephew, Alexander III, marked the beginning of the Grand Duke's steady decline. Alexander III did not have any special sympathy for his uncle and Nicholas Nicholaievich was resolutely deprived of all his influence. His authority suffered even further when he was involved in fraudulent military requisitions. When the Grand Duke tried to explain his actions to the Nouvelle Revue of
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
1880, he indiscreetly attacked government officials and military commanders and eventually was removed from his post. Alexander III also criticized his uncle's extramarital affairs. By then, Nicholas Nicholaievich was living openly with his mistress. His wife the Grand Duchess left him for good in 1881 and moved to
Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
, but refused to grant the
divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...
he wanted. The couple's adult sons took their mother's side in the family breakup, but continued to live at the palace and confronted Catherine once she was waiting for their father in the Palace he shared with his wife. Catherine Chislova nagged Nicholas to provide for her and their children, he soon became financially embarrassed and had to mortgage
Nicholas Palace Nicholas Palace (Russian: Николаевский дворец, ''Nikolayevsky dvorets'') is one of several Saint Petersburg palaces designed by Andreas Stackensneider (1802–65) for the children of Nicholas I of Russia. The palace of Grand Duke ...
in St. Petersburg. In 1882, Nicholas Nicolaievich was put under supervision due to the squandering of his fortune; he lived as a private gentleman in a modest house. Grand Duke Nicholas Nicolaievich, unable to get a divorce, hoped to survive his wife and then marry his mistress, but it was Catherine Chislova who died unexpectedly in
Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...
while Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna would survive him by nine years. Shortly after his mistress' death, Nicholas went mad; he had oral
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
that spread to his brain. Suffering from delusion, he was convinced that all women were in love with him. During one ballet performance, the Grand Duke even attacked a young male dancer that he took to be a woman. In 1890, Nicholas Nicolaievich was declared insane and kept locked indoors in Crimea. He died in
Alupka Alupka (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and Russian language, Russian: ; ; , Alòpex) is a resort city located in the Crimea, Crimean peninsula, a territory of Ukraine currently annexed by Russian Federation (see 2014 Crimean crisis). It is located ...
, Crimea on 25 April 1891. The Grand Duke's reputation at the imperial court was low and his death was not deeply felt. He had squandered all his tremendous wealth and his palace was immediately sold to cancel his massive debts.“The Romanov Legacy : The Palaces of St. Petersburg”: Zoia Belyakova, p.154


Honours

;RussianRussian Imperial Army - Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich (the Elder) of Russia
(In Russian)
* Knight of St. Andrew, ''8 August 1831'' * Knight of St. Alexander Nevsky, ''8 August 1831'' * Knight of the White Eagle, ''8 August 1831'' * Knight of St. Anna, 1st Class, ''8 August 1831'' * Knight of St. George, 4th Class, ''24 October 1854''; 2nd Class, ''15 July 1877''; 1st Class, ''28 November 1877'' * Knight of St. Vladimir, 1st Class, ''1 January 1863'' * Knight of St. Stanislaus, 1st Class, ''1865'' ;Foreign


Ancestry


References


Bibliography

*Alexander, Grand Duke of Russia, ''Once a Grand Duke'', Cassell, London, 1932. *Beliakova, Zoia, ''The Romanov Legacy : The Palaces of St. Petersburg'', Hazar Publishing, 1994, . * Chavchavadze, David, ''The Grand Dukes'', Atlantic, 1989, * King, Greg ''The Court of the Last Tsar'', Wiley, 2006, . *Perry, John and Pleshakov, Constantine, ''The Flight of the Romanovs'', Basic Books, 1999, . * Zeepvat, Charlotte, ''The Camera and the Tsars'', Sutton Publishing, 2004, .


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholas Nikolaevich Of Russia, Grand Duke 1831 births 1891 deaths People from Pushkin, Saint Petersburg People from Tsarskoselsky Uyezd Grand dukes of Russia House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) Field marshals of the Russian Empire 19th-century nobility from the Russian Empire Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Children of Nicholas I of Russia Sons of Russian emperors Burials at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Saint Petersburg Sons of dukes