Between the assassination of Alexander II in 1881 and his death in 1894, Alexander III, despite giving up on equipping Russia with a constitution due to terrorist attacks and advice from his entourage, instead chose to develop and industrialize it.
He is credited with the railways and a certain modernization of his country. He is also credited with the alliance with France, although he hesitated for a long time due to his aversion to the republic and parliamentarianism. His concerns about Germany prompted him to forge this alliance. When he died in 1894, he had reigned very briefly, on the scale of history, barely 13 years.
But he left his son Nicholas a very different Russia. This tsar, the last one, was ill-prepared for his role, not very capable of fulfilling it. Henri Troyat unveils Russia under Alexander II with its series of attacks, followed by his son who witnessed his father’s death, thus being less inclined toward leniency with liberal ideas.
The writer takes us into the secrets, the backstage of power, the gossip, and the rumors. We discover the intellectual life of Russia, the international relations with Kaiser Wilhelm II, Austria, France, and England, always governed by Victoria who becomes the grandmother of crowned Europe.
Alexander III knew how to preserve peace on the continent by defusing crises. In Paris, he is honored with a bridge, perhaps the most beautiful in the French capital. Here, Henri Troyat acts as a historian, without forgetting the novelist. We leave Alexander III in Livadia, somewhat saddened by this tsar who has rendered his soul to God.
Thierry Jan, writer
