page_title: Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia
section_title: The voyage to the Far East
hierarchical_section_title: Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia / Goodwill mission to Japan / The voyage to the Far East
caption_attribution_description: English: Telegram of the Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich to Tsar Alexander II of Russia
context_page_description: Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia was the fifth child and the fourth son of Alexander II of Russia and his first wife Maria Alexandrovna. Chosen for a naval career, Alexei Alexandrovich started his military training at the age of 7. By the age of 20 he had been appointed lieutenant of the Imperial Russian Navy and had visited all Russia's European military ports. In 1871, he was sent as a goodwill ambassador to the United States and Japan.
  In 1883 he was appointed general-admiral. He had a significant contribution in the equipment of the Russian navy with new ships and in modernizing the naval ports. However, after the Russian defeat in the Battle of Tsushima in 1905, he was relieved of his command. He died in Paris in 1908.
context_section_description: On its way home the Russian squadron first stopped in Havana, Cuba, which it reached on 29 February. At that time, Cuba was still a Spanish colony and in the middle of the Ten Years' War against the insurgents, who had attempted to declare the island's independence. Though fighting was still going on the western part of the island against the rebels under the command of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, the hostilities did not prevent governor Blas Villate, count of Valmaceda, to receive the Grand Duke with full honors. During his stay in Havana, balls were organized every evening. Alexei also attended the operas Crispino e la Comare and Martha at the Great Theatre of Havana where, at the beginning of the play, the opera choir sang the Russian national anthem. He also visited the works of the Canal de Vento (now called Acueducto de Albear) for the water supply of the city, saw a cockfight in the city of Marianao and a corrida in the "Plaza de Torros" of Havana. In the following days he also went to the Yumurí River valley and to the city of Matanzas
  The Russian squadron then stopped in Rio de Janeiro where it arrived on 3 June 1872. Alexei entertained Emperor Pedro II of Brazil and the imperial court aboard the Svetlana. The Brazilian emperor awarded him the Imperial Order of Dom Pedro I. Alexei looked slightly disappointed and said that he had hoped for the Imperial Order of the Rose, a lower order, because he had never seen a more beautiful order. Pedro II graciously awarded him both orders. Thereafter, he spent several days in Brazil, leaving on 9 June.
  Sailing to the Far East, the squadron stopped in Cape Town, Batavia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Canton and Shanghai
caption: Telegram sent by Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich to Tsar Alexander II confirming the visit of the Japanese Emperor
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