Alexander IV | |
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Alexander IV in 2000 | |
3rd Tsar of Alaska | |
Reign | 3 October 1927 – 13 August 2000 |
Coronation | 18 December 1927 |
Predecessor | Alexis II |
Successor | Nicholas III |
Prime Ministers | Georgy A. Parshikov Mikhail M. Stepovich Vladimir V. Yegorov Kirill Milyutin Jaroslav Khabalov Stanislav Kochenkov |
Born | 23 May 1925 Juneau House, Juneau, Alaska |
Died | 13 August 2000 (aged 75) Alexandrov Palace, New Petersburg, Alaska |
Spouse | Princess Irene of the Netherlands |
Issue | Grand Duchess Kristina Alexandrovna Nicholas III Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich Grand Duchess Natalia Alexandrovna |
Full name | |
Alexander Alexeievich Romanov | |
House | House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov |
Father | Alexis II of Alaska |
Mother | Alexandra Feodorovna of Alaska |
Religion | Russian Orthodox Church |
Alexander IV (Russian: Александр Алексеевич Романов; tr. Aleksandr Alekseievich Romanov; 23 May 1925 – 13 August 2000) was the 3rd Tsar of Alaska, and ruled from the death of his father, Alexis II, in 1927, to his own in 2000. He was the longest-ruling Tsar in Alaska's history, having reigned for 73 years.
Alexander was the Tsar of Alaska for most of his life. He ascended the throne at the age of two, when his haemophiliac father, Alexis II, died from injuries sustained during hunting on 3 October 1927. During his minority, his mother, Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, ruled on his behalf as Regent. In the meantime, at his German mother's insistence, Alexander was sent to Germany to be educated. He attended the Berlin Gymnasium, and learnt to speak French, English, and Latin fluently, as well as his native German and Russian. He also received military training at the Kriegsakademie. When Germany was invaded by Britain and Russia in 1940, Alexander was evacuated via Scandinavia back to Alaska.
Alexander came of age in 1943, when Alaska was in the midst of war with Japan. Under Alexander's leadership, Alaska cooperated closely with its allies in the Pacific Front, such as Cygnia and China, and Alaskan armies participated in the liberation of Japanese occupied territories.
After the war, Alexander oversaw Alaska's transition to constitutional monarchy, which culminated in the promulgation of Alaska's current constitution in 1972. Under his influence, the Alaskan government adopted a fusion of European and Westminster-style parliament, and today, Alexander is remembered as the father of Alaskan democracy.
Alexander IV died on 13 August 2000, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Nicholas III of Alaska.
Early life[]
Alexander was born on 23 May 1925 in Juneau House, Juneau, Alaska to Tsesarevich Alexei of Russia and Alaska and his wife Princess Alexandrine of Prussia. He was the couple's first child and would prove to be their only son. As both Alexei and Alexandrine spent most of their lives in Germany, German was the language spoken within the family. As a result, German became Alexander's first language, as opposed to Russian.
On 1 August, Emperor Nicholas II of Russia and Alaska died at Alexandrov Palace in New Petersburg, Alaska's capital. As a result, Tsesarevich Alexei succeeded his father as Emperor Alexis II. Several months later, Alexis declared Alaska's independence, and became the Tsar of Alaska. Alexander as Alexis' eldest child was named Tsesarevich of Alaska in February 1926. The family moved into Alexandrov Palace, where Alexander's sister, Victoria, was born in January 1927.
Tsar Alexis on 15 September 1927 injured himself during a hunting trip. As he was a haemophiliac, Alexis' condition rapidly worsened, and on 3 October he was dead. At the tender age of two, Alexander was immediately proclaimed Tsar of Alaska. The infant monarch was crowned at Arkhangelsk Cathedral on 18 December 1927, once the mourning period had ended. As Alexander was much too young to wield the powers that the Alaskan Throne entailed, the Alaskan State Duma declared that Alexander's mother, now Tsarina Dowager Alexandra Feodorovna, would rule as regent until Alexander was of age.
Education[]
When Alexander turned 6, his mother decided that it'd be beneficial for the boy to be educated in the more advanced societies of Europe. On 9 August 1931, Alexander, accompanied by Petty Officer Vladimir Orovsky, who would serve as his companion and guardian during his time in Europe, was sent to Berlin, the home of Tsarina Alexandra's family. The Alaskan Government purchased a house where Alexander would live while in Berlin. The house would remain the property of the Alaskan Government after Alexander's departure, and later would serve as the home of the Alaskan Embassy.
Alexander in January 1932 was enrolled at the Berlinisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster. There, he learnt to speak English, Latin, French and Ancient Greek. He grasped the first three easily, but "Greek was always quite the struggle". He also spent some time in the Netherlands, where he picked up Dutch.
Military training[]
Alexander, at the insistence of his mother, was enlisted in the Imperial German Army in Berlin when he was 13 in 1938. During his time there, the young Alexander was given the same rigorous military training as other cadets; however, he was also given part-time officer training by faculty from the Prussian Staff College. Although World War III was already in progress by the time Alexander joined the army, he was never sent to the front lines, and remained stationed in Berlin. However, he rose to the rank of Gefreiter by the time he left in 1941. He was given the nickname "Kleinzar" (German for "little Tsar") by his comrades in the Army, and was officially known as Gefreiter Alexander Romanov.
In 1940, British and Russian forces invaded Germany, and airstrikes on major German cities began shortly thereafter. While he never saw active combat in Germany, Alexander was enlisted with other cadets to assist in damage control during the Russian airstrikes on Berlin. On one occasion, Alexander rushed into a building that was on fire to rescue a family trapped inside, sustaining minor injuries. He was later awarded the Military Merit Cross by the German government for his bravery. However, when his mother heard about the risk he had put himself in, she ordered his immediate return to Alaska, and under heavy guard he was escorted north to neutral Denmark, from which he flew home on a Danish plane.
Early reign[]
Marriage and children[]
Constitutional monarchy[]
Later life[]
Death[]
Legacy[]
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