page_title: Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia
section_title: Life at the Russian court
hierarchical_section_title: Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia / Life at the Russian court
caption_attribution_description: English: Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich and the Duchess of Leuchtenberg Русский: Великий князь Алексей Александрович и герцогиня Лейхтенбергская
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: His critics talked of Alexei's life as consisting of "fast women and slow ships", referring to his womanizing and the defeat of the Russian navy by the Japanese. This statement is not fully justified, because, despite any drawbacks, his contribution to the modernization of the Russian Navy was outstanding.  Away from his desk Alexei devoted his time to the good things of life. He entertained generously and collected fine silver and other works of art to adorn his palace. Sometimes he designed his own clothes. A womanizer, he spent his vacations in Paris or in Biarritz, each time in the company of a different lady.
  Around the late 1880s he started a celebrated affair with the Duchess of Leuchtenberg, the morganatic wife of one of his cousins Eugène von Leuchtenberg. Born Zinaida Skobelyeva, "Zina" was a strikingly beautiful woman who had married Eugeni of Leuchtenberg as his second wife in 1870. Alexander II made her Countess de Beauharnais and Alexander III raised her to Serene Highness and Duchess of Leuchtenberg. Alexei was so besotted with her that he conducted an affair openly, under her husband's roof and in his full knowledge. Eugeni Leuchtenberg drank away most of his fortune, and for years he and Zinaida lived off his cousin's generosity. Even after his wife's death in 1899 the Duke continued to live under Alexei's roof.
  Beside his military duties, Alexei was also chairman of the Imperial Commission for the Promotion of Ballet.
  In 1904, he became one of the godparents of Tsarevich Alexei, the other godparents being the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, King Christian IX of Denmark, Grand Duke Ernest Ludwig of Hesse, Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna, Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich, and Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaievna. All soldiers serving in the military during the Russo-Japanese War were also declared godfathers to Alexei.
caption: Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich and the Duchess of Leuchtenberg
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