Emperor Alexander I

[Romanov_fan]

I don't really know what defined him. In history, it has become accepted that it was the Napoleon stuff that has defined him. This is maybe because Napoleon was so famous, his reputation overshadows that of many other people, including Alexander I. I don't think it did, but maybe it was his enigma and how he came to the throne that really defined him, since it cast longer shadows over his reign than Napoleon. Napoleon just defined the lives of lots of people, in fact defined European everything at one point, in the years when he was at his height. It is just easy to put Alexander I in that category, too easy in my opinion. You have some great thoughts on Alexander I!

[polignac]

We know Nicholas II's expenses...Are the Alexander I's known?

[Alixz]

I have a little from Radzinsky  Alexander II the Last Great Tsar  page 22


"In Tagnrog, the emperor[Alexander I] died swiftly and unexpectedly.  The official diagnosis has been preserved, but it is so vague that it is difficult to guess what disease killed Napoleon's conqueror.  The rumor that reached Moscow right after the news of his death has also survived the centuries; Alexander I did not die.  Another corpse was in the coffin, and the emperor went off to be a hermit in Siberia, to pray and repent for his terrible sin against his father [Paul I].

The arrival of the coffin bolstered the rumor, since the coffin was not opened when the emperor lay in state.  This was the first time that the court said its farewells to a ruler without seeing his face.  Even Peter III and Paul I, who had marks of violence upon them, were laid out to be seen.

The court was told that the heat in Taganrog had caused the body to decay.  But everyone knew that the body had been embalmed.  People repeated the strange words of Prince Volkonsky, that "the Emperor's face, despite the embalming, had turned black and even the features had changed completely."

Of course in 1894, the same thing happened to Alexander III and that coffin was left open and everyone was required to kiss the portrait that he held in his hands.  It was said that his face was black and that the stench was overwhelming.

Who knows 

[ivanushka]

I think he was defintely attractive compared to some of  his contemporaries. As for today's standards, it's hard to tell from old portraits, but not so much. Of course attraction lies in other things than just purely looks. I myself don't find him attractive/handsome, but I can see why contemporaries did. He did have as many mistresses as any other Russian ruler in his younger days, but they weren't the famous people some mentioned.Those were more flirtations, if you will.

I think the key word in describing Alexander is "attractive" rather than "handsome".  Though he seems to have been a reasonably good looking man what seems to have made him stand out was his considerable personal charm.    He appears to have possessed the ability to make anyone he met feel instantly at ease and that is a very seductive thing.  Other royals who possessed this skill were Marie Antoinette - not a conventional beauty but able to convey the impression of being very beautiful indeed - and Mary, Queen of Scots whose allure was legendary.   

[AGRBear]

This is the one I remember most:

I found one too!

[Elisabeth]

I think the key word in describing Alexander is "attractive" rather than "handsome".  Though he seems to have been a reasonably good looking man what seems to have made him stand out was his considerable personal charm.    He appears to have possessed the ability to make anyone he met feel instantly at ease and that is a very seductive thing.  Other royals who possessed this skill were Marie Antoinette - not a conventional beauty but able to convey the impression of being very beautiful indeed - and Mary, Queen of Scots whose allure was legendary. 

I think you're completely off track here, Ivanushka. Mary of Scots was considered very beautiful by the standards of her day - but those standards have changed considerably since the sixteenth century. Likewise, Alexander I was considered incredibly handsome in the early 1800s. To such an extent, that Napoleon himself said, after meeting him, that Alexander was so pretty, that if he had only been a girl, he, Napoleon, would have made love to him.

[ivanushka]

I completely agree, Elisabeth.  Mary Queen of Scots was considered a great beauty in her day.  However, from all the books I've read on her, the fact that emerges is that her looks alone were only part of her formidable allure.  Apparently she had the most extraordinary personal charm that more often than not could win over enemies to her cause with remarkable ease.  I gather that's why she was known as "the fair devil of Scotland" because her allure was so great that her enemies considered it a gift from the devil.  One writer even suggested that the reason Queen Elizabeth kept declining Mary's repeated requests for a meeting in the early 1560s was that she was wary that this fabled charm might cause her to let down her guard with a woman who was ultimately a rival and a threat.

Sorry, a bit off topic!  I guess the point I was making regarding Alexander was that as well as good looks he appears to have possessed considerable charm which can often enhance the perception of a person's attractiveness.  When Louise of Baden first met him she actually wrote that he wasn't as good looking as she had been led to believe yet quickly she became dazzled by him.   

[Dominic_Albanese]

http://www.fotoglif.com/f/jbgy9tok35xw

Alexander used this cradle.

Great pic's, enjoy...

dca

[Dominic_Albanese]

I haven't been successful finding any additional info.  The Kremlin website is not updated very often and I haven't been successful finding a kremlin related site that is more up to date.

dca

[RomanovsFan4Ever]

Two portraits of Emperor Alexander I

http://www.artwallpapers.narod.ru/wallpapers/alex12.jpg

Maybe it's just an impression, but in this one I see a resemblance with his brother Nicholas (Emperor Nicholas I)

http://www.artwallpapers.narod.ru/wallpapers/alex13.jpg

[RomanovsFan4Ever]

[RomanovsFan4Ever]

[RomanovsFan4Ever]

[Anastasia Spalko]

He supposedly ran off and took the name of Feodor Kuzmich.

Any idea why he might have chosen this name?  Was it a random choice or did it have some kind of meaning?

As a matter of fact, there was a general or something by the name of Feodor Kuzmich.  Surprisingly, even Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna said that she and her brother Nicholas II believed in the legend.  I'm pretty convinced myself about Kuzmich being the tsar, and I'm not easily swayed by things like this.

[RomanovsFan4Ever]

I didn't know that Nicholas and Olga Alexandrovna believed in the legend, this is very interesting...personally I don't know if to believe that Feodor Kuzmich was actually the Tsar Alexander I or not, I read that his tomb at the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral is empty (according to who opened the tomb)...if so, I guess that the location of his body is still unknown, and so we can't know for sure if he actually died in Taganrog on december 1, 1825...however I believe that this mystery will never be solved.