Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia Constantine Pavlovich ( ) ( 27 April 1779 – 27 June 1831 ) was a grand duke of Russia and the second son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg . He was the Tsesarevich of Russia throughout the reign of his elder brother Alexander I , but had secretly renounced his claim to the throne in 1823 . For 25 days after the death of Alexander I , from 19 November ( O . S . ) / 1 to 14 December ( O . S . ) / 26 December 1825 he was known as His Imperial Majesty Constantine I Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias , although he never reigned and never acceded to the throne . The succession controversy became the immediate cause of the Decembrist revolt . Constantine was known to eschew court etiquette and to take frequent stands against the wishes of his brother Alexander I , for which he is remembered fondly in Russia , but in his capacity as the commander - in - chief and " de facto " viceroy of Congress Poland he is remembered as a ruthless ruler . Early life . Constantine was born at Tsarskoye Selo on 27 April 1779 , the second son of the Tsesarevich Paul Petrovich and his wife Maria Feodorovna , daughter of Friedrich II Eugen , Duke of Württemberg . Of all Paul ' s children , Constantine most closely resembled his father both physically and mentally . He was named by Catherine the Great after Constantine the Great , the founder of the Eastern Roman Empire . A medal with antique figures was struck to commemorate his birth ; it bears the inscription " Back to Byzantium " which clearly alludes to Catherine ' s Greek Plan . According to the British ambassador James Harris , The direction of the boy ' s upbringing was entirely in the hands of his grandmother , the empress Catherine II . As in the case of her eldest grandson ( afterwards the emperor Alexander I ) , she regulated every detail of his physical and mental education ; but in accordance with her usual custom , she left the carrying out of her views to the men who were in her confidence . Count Nikolay Saltykov was supposed to be the actual tutor , but he too in his turn transferred the burden to another , interfering personally only on exceptional occasions , and exercised no influence upon the character of the passionate , restless and headstrong boy . The only person who exerted a responsible influence was Cesar La Harpe , who was tutor - in - chief from 1783 to May 1795 and educated both the empress ' s grandsons . Catherine arranged Constantine ' s marriage as she had Alexander ' s ; Juliane of Saxe - Coburg - Saalfeld , 14 , and Constantine , 16 , were married on 26 February 1796 . Juliane was unhappy in the marriage , and separated from Constantine in 1799 ; she went back permanently to her German home in 1801 . An attempt by Constantine in 1814 to win her back broke down in the face of her firm opposition . Napoleonic Wars . During this time , Constantine ' s first campaign took place under the leadership of Suvorov . The battle of Bassignano was lost by Constantine ' s fault ; but at Novi he distinguished himself by personal bravery , so that the emperor Paul bestowed on him the title of tsesarevich , which according to the fundamental law of the constitution belonged only to the heir to the throne . Though it cannot be proved that this action of the tsar denoted any far - reaching plan , it yet shows that Paul already distrusted the grand - duke Alexander . Constantine never tried to secure the throne . After his father ' s death ( 1801 ) he led a disorderly bachelor life . He abstained from politics , but remained faithful to his military inclinations , without manifesting anything more than a preference for the externalities of the service . In command of the Imperial Guards during the campaign of 1805 , he had a share of the responsibility for the Russian defeat at the battle of Austerlitz ; while in 1807 neither his skill nor his fortune in war showed any improvement . After the peace of Tilsit he became an ardent admirer of Napoleon and an upholder of the Russo - French alliance . He therefore lost the confidence of his brother Alexander ; to the latter , the French alliance was merely a means to an end . This view was not held by Constantine ; even in 1812 , after the fall of Moscow , he pressed for a speedy conclusion of peace with Napoleon , and , like field - marshal Kutuzov , he too opposed the policy which carried the war across the Russian frontier to victorious conclusion upon French soil . His personal behaviour towards both his own men and French prisoners was eccentric and cruel . During the campaign , Barclay de Tolly was twice obliged to send him away from the army due to his disorderly conduct . His share in the battles in Germany and France was insignificant . At Dresden , on 26 August , his military knowledge failed him at the decisive moment , but at La Fère - Champenoise he distinguished himself by personal bravery . In Paris the grand - duke excited public ridicule by the manifestation of his petty military fads . His first visit was to the stables , and it was said that he had been marching and drilling even in his private rooms . Governor of Poland . Constantine ' s importance in political history dates from when his brother , Tsar Alexander , installed him in the Congress Poland as " de facto " viceroy ( however he was not the ' official viceroy ' - namestnik of the Kingdom of Poland ) , with a task of the militarization and discipline of Poland . In the Congress Poland created by Alexander he received the post of commander - in - chief of the forces of the kingdom ; to which was added later ( 1819 ) the command of the Lithuanian troops and of those of the Russian provinces that had formerly belonged to the Polish - Lithuanian Commonwealth ( so called Western Krai ) . Alexander ' s policies were liberal by the standards of Restoration Europe ; classical liberal s lapped up the freedoms of education , scholarship , and economic development , but key deficiencies in Poland ' s autonomy of lack of control over the budget , military , and trade left them hungry for more . The Kalisz Opposition , led by the brothers Bonawentura and Wincenty Niemojowski , pressed for reforms including more independence for the judiciary ; Alexander , calling their actions an " abuse " of liberty , suspended the Polish parliament ( Sejm ) for five years , and authorized Constantine to maintain order in the kingdom by any means necessary . Into this scene of unrest entered Constantine , attempting to execute his brother ' s mandate to silence dissent . His efforts to strengthen the secret police ( Ochrana ) and suppress the Polish patriotic movements led to popular discontent among his subjects . Constantine also harassed the liberal opposition , replaced Poles with Russians on important posts in local administration and the army , and often insulted and assaulted his subordinates , which led to conflicts within the officer corps . The Sejm , until then mostly dominated by supporters of the personal union with Russia , saw his actions as disobedience of the very constitution of which he felt personally proud . Nevertheless , Constantine was an ardent supporter of Polish musicians , such as Maria Agata Szymanowska and Frédéric Chopin . After 19 years of separation , the marriage of Constantine and Juliane was formally annulled on 20 March 1820 . Two months later , on 27 May , Constantine married the Polish Countess Joanna Grudzińska , who was given the title of " Her Serenity Duchess of Lowicz . " Connected with this , he renounced any claim to the Russian succession , which was formally completed in 1822 . After this marriage , he became increasingly attached to his new home , Poland . Succession Crisis and Decembrist Uprising . When Alexander I died on 1 December 1825 , Grand Duke Nicholas had Constantine proclaimed emperor in St . Petersburg . In Warsaw meanwhile Constantine abdicated the throne . When this news became public knowledge , the Northern Society scrambled in secret meetings to convince regimental leaders not to swear allegiance to Nicholas . These efforts would culminate in the Decembrist revolt . Under the emperor Nicholas I , Constantine maintained his position in Poland . Differences soon arose between him and his brother , in consequence of the part taken by the Poles in the Decembrist conspiracy . Constantine hindered the unveiling of the organized plotting for independence which had been going on in Poland for many years , and held obstinately to the belief that the army and the bureaucracy were loyally devoted to the Russian empire . The eastern policy of the Tsar and the Turkish War of 1828 and 1829 caused a fresh breach between them . It was due to the opposition of Constantine that the Polish army took no part in this war . Failed assassination and November uprising . An assassination attempt was made on the life of Grand Duke Constantine which precipitated the November 1830 insurrection in Warsaw ( the November Uprising ) . Like the assassination , the recruitment of army units by the rebels failed ; only two units joined them , and only the capture of the armory and the subsequent arming of the populace kept the revolt alive . Constantine refused to send his troops against the revolutionaries , saying " The Poles have started this disturbance , and it ' s Poles that must stop it " , and left the suppression of the revolt in the hands of the Polish government . He himself retreated behind Russian lines but following the failure of the uprising expressed admiration for the valor of the Polish insurgents . Death and memory . Constantine died of cholera at Vitebsk on 27 June 1831 ; he did not live to see the suppression of the revolution . His frequent stands against the wishes of the imperial family were perceived in Russia as brave , even gallant ; but in Poland , he was viewed as a tyrant , hated by the military and civilian population alike , and in Polish literature Constantine is portrayed as a cruel despot .