Birthday anniversary of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich

9 (21) September 1827, in St. Petersburg was born Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, the second son of Emperor Nicholas I.

As a child, Konstantin was put by his father to "naval service". He was awarded the rank of admiral general and chief of the Guards; his mentor and teacher was Vice-Admiral F. P. Litke. Prior to taking the oath, and the age of majority, Grand Duke served on warships sailing in all seas surrounding Europe, learned military craft in the ranks of the Guards and training companies of the 1st Cadet Corps and the Corps of Pages.

In 1848, Konstantin was promoted to rear admiral, appointed chief of the Sea Cadet Corps and the commander of the Life Guard of Finland Regiment. In 1849, Grand Duke participated in the Hungarian campaign, for which he was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th class.

State activities of Konstantin Nikolaevich began in 1850. He was appointed member of the State Council and the Admiralty Board, was chairman of the Committee to draw up marine charter. Assistant and personal secretary to the Grand Duke was State Secretary A.V. Golovnin.

During the Crimean War, the Grand Duke took part in the defense of Kronstadt from the Anglo-French fleet.

With the accession to the throne of the Emperor Alexander II in 1855, Konstantin was appointed manager of the Navy and the Navy Department as the Minister. While he managed the Navy, Konstantin introduced a number of important reforms: the former sailing fleet was replaced by the steam one; paperwork for the Navy Department was simplified, relief foundations for pensioners of the Navy established. The period of military service was reduced from 25 to 10 years, corporal punishment was abolished. Paying great attention to the development of maritime education and science, the Grand Duke contributed to the establishment of academic courses and special classes of mine and artillery. "Marine Collection" issued by the Ministry, was an open spokesman of the new trends: it published articles on matters far beyond the special naval interests.

After the Crimean War Konstantin founded the Siberian Flotilla to strengthen Russia's positions on the Pacific coast. Severe consequences of the war prompted the Grand Duke to initiate sales of the American part of the Russian Empire. In the era of the "great reforms" Grand Duke was one of the principal figures in elaborating the abolition of serfdom, in addition, was chairman of committees to review the drafts of military-legal regulations (from 1867), and for the use of the Charter of the compulsory military service (from 1874). In 1862, Konstantin was appointed Viceroy of the Kingdom of Poland. Grand Duke’s attempt to carry out a policy of reconciliation using some liberal concessions was not successful and in 1863 he resigned from the post.

After the death of Alexander II, his son, Emperor Alexander III, gradually dismissed Konstantin Nikolayevich from most of his posts.

13 (25) January 1892, after a long and serious illness, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich died in Pavlovsk and was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, St. Petersburg.

Lit.: Воронин В. Е. Великий князь Константин Николаевич: становление государственного деятеля. М., 2002; Завьялова Л. В., Орлов К. В. Великий князь Константин Николаевич и великие князья Константиновичи : история семьи.СПб, 2009; Список флота адмиралам и штаб-офицерам. СПб, 1866; Управленческая элита Российской империи. История министерств. 1802-1917. СПб., 2008; Шилов Д. Н. Государственные деятели Российской империи 1802—1917. Биобиблиографический справочник. СПб., 2002; Федорченко В. И. Императорский Дом. Выдающиеся сановники: энциклопедия биографий. В 2-х т. Красноярск, 2003. Т. 1. С. 568-570.

Based on the Presidential Library’s materials:

Константин Николаевич (1827-1892) / Великие князья // Коллекция «Государственная власть».