Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia

**Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia** (; 11 May 1857 – 17 February 1905) was the fifth son and seventh child of Emperor Alexander II and Empress Maria Alexandrovna. He was a brother Emperor Alexander III and his nephew Tsar Nicholas II, who was also his brother-in-law through Sergei's marriage to Elizabeth Feodorovna, the sister of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.

With a military career, Sergei fought in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78 and later recieved the Order of St George for courage and bravery in action. In 1882, his brother, Emperor Alexander III, appointed him commander of the 1st Battalion Preobrazhensky Life Guard Regiment, a position he held until 1891. In 1889, 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. They both promoted the marriage of Sergei's nephew, Tsar NicholasII, with Princess Alix of Hesse, Elisabeth's youngest sister.

From 1891 to 1905, Sergei served as Governor-General of Moscow. As Governor of Moscow, he implemented harsh conservative policies that made him a polarizing figure. At the start of his tenure, he expelled 20,000 Jews from Moscow 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, Sergei resigned from the governorship on 1 January1905, 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.

## Orders and decorations

- National

- Knight of St. Andrew, _1857_
- Knight of St. Alexander Nevsky, _1857_
- Knight of the White Eagle, _1857_
- Knight of St. Anna, 1st Class, _1857_
- Knight of St. Stanislaus, 1st Class, _11 June 1865_
- Knight of St. George, 4th Class, _20 October 1877_
- Knight of St. Vladimir, 4th Class, _15 May 1883_; 3rd Class, _30 August 1890_; 1st Class, _15 May 1893_
- Silver Commemorative Medal for the Reign of Emperor Alexander III, _17 March 1896_
- Commemorative Medal for the Coronation of Emperor Nicholas II, _13 June 1896_

- Foreign

## Infobox (officeholder/office)

- **monarch**: Alexander III of Russia, Alexander III
 Nicholas II of Russia, Nicholas II
- **termstart**: 1891
- **termend**: 17 February 1905
- **predecessor**: Vladimir Dolgorukov
- **successor**: Alexander Kozlov


## Infobox (royalty)

- **name**: Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich
- **image**: File:Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia 1857-1905.jpg
- **caption**: Photograph by Sergey Lvovich Levitsky, Sergey Levitsky,
- **succession**: 48th List of heads of Moscow government#Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, Governor-General of Moscow
- **full name**: Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov
- **house**: House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov, Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov
- **father**: Alexander II of Russia
- **mother**: Maria Alexandrovna (Marie of Hesse), Marie of Hesse and by Rhine
- **birth place**: Catherine Palace, Tsarskoye Selo, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire
- **death place**: Moscow Kremlin, Moscow, Moscow Governorate, Russian Empire
- **burial place**: Chudov Monastery (original burial place)
 Novospassky Monastery, Moscow (since 1995)
- **religion**: Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox