Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia

Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich
Grand Duke of Russia
Photograph by Sergey Levitsky, c. 1894
48th Governor-General of Moscow
In office 1891 – 17 February 1905
Monarchs	Alexander III Nicholas II
Preceded by	Vladimir Dolgorukov
Succeeded by	Alexander Kozlov
Born	(1857-05-11)11 May 1857 Catherine Palace, Tsarskoye Selo, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire
Died	17 February 1905(1905-02-17) (aged 47) Moscow Kremlin, Moscow, Moscow Governorate, Russian Empire
Burial	Chudov Monastery (original burial place) Novospassky Monastery, Moscow (since 1995)
Spouse	Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine ​ ​ (m. 1884)​
Names Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov
House	Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov
Father	Alexander II of Russia
Mother	Marie of Hesse and by Rhine
Religion	Russian Orthodox

Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia (Russian: Сергей Александрович; 11 May 1857 – 17 February 1905) was the fifth son and seventh child of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. He was an influential figure during the reigns of his brother Emperor Alexander III of Russia and his nephew Emperor Nicholas II, who was also his brother-in-law through Sergei's marriage to Elisabeth, the sister of Empress Alexandra.^[1]

Grand Duke Sergei's education gave him lifelong interests in culture and the arts. Like all male members of the Romanov dynasty, he followed a military career, and he fought in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, receiving the Order of St George for courage and bravery in action. In 1882, his brother, Tsar Alexander III, appointed him commander of the 1st Battalion Preobrazhensky Life Guard Regiment, a position he held until 1891. In 1889, Grand Duke Sergei was promoted to the rank of major general. In 1884, Sergei married Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Their marriage remained childless, but they became the guardians of the two children of his brother, Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia: Grand Duchess Maria, and Grand Duke Dmitri. Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and his wife promoted the marriage of Sergei's nephew, Tsar Nicholas II, with Princess Alix of Hesse, Elizabeth's youngest sister.

Between 1891 and 1905, Grand Duke Sergei served as Governor-General of Moscow. His reputation was initially tarnished as he was partially blamed for the Khodynka Tragedy during the festivities following the coronation of Emperor Nicholas II. As Governor of Moscow, he pursued very conservative policies that made him a polarizing figure. At the start of his tenure, he expelled Moscow's 20,000 Jews^[2] and repressed a student movement to prevent the spread of revolutionary ideas. Because of this, he was often regarded as a reactionary. In 1894 Grand Duke Sergei was made a member of the State Council. In 1896 he was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed as commander of Moscow Military District. After thirteen years of service, Grand Duke Sergei resigned from the Governorship on 1 January 1905, though he remained head of the Moscow Military District. Targeted by the SR Combat Organization, he was assassinated later that year by a terrorist bomb at the Kremlin during the 1905 Russian Revolution.