Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia - Early Career

Early Career

In 1849, as a young officer, Konstantin took part in a campaign assisting the Austrians to put down an uprising in Hungary. It was his first real taste of military conflict. He took part in three dangerous clashes, coming under enemy fire. For his bravery he received the St. George's Cross. During this campaign, he wrote to his father who maintained they were the best reports he received. A year later, Konstantin was appointed a member of the State Council.

In 1853, Konstantin's father Tsar Nicholas I made him General-Admiral of the Imperial Navy and head of the Department of the Imperial navy. In this position, he was in charge with reforming a navy that had largely remained unchanged since the time of Peter the Great. It fell upon Konstantin to not only preside over an archaic fleet but also to see it through the disaster of the Crimean War. On the midst of the conflict, his father died and Konstantin advised his brother to search for peace in a war already lost. In early 1856, he accompanied his brother Alexander II to the Crimea to view first-hand the devastation of the War. These early military experiences gave Konstantin a loathing of army life and the futility of war. From then on, he was a man of peace, despite his keen interest in the navy, and in political terms a progressive. There was a close working relationship between the two brothers, which was responsible for many reforms. Konstantin was also sent on a diplomatic mission to Napoleon III.