Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia - Retirement

Retirement

Since 1865, Konstantin had been pushing for a constitution in Russia. As President of the Council of State, he helped to prepare the proposal for a limited elective assembly which Alexander II was due to approve on the very day he was assassinated. For Konstantin and his fellow reformers, hopes ended within months of the new Emperor's ascension to the throne. Alexander III destroyed the document and as he never had liked his uncle Konstantin, whom he regarded a 'liberal powerhouse', requested his uncle's resignation. Konstantin refused to resign, saying that his father had directed me to serve both my deceased brother, and his successors. In my capacity as chairman of the State Council, and as Admiral-General of the Imperial navy, I plan to serve Your Majesty with just as much faith and energy. By doing so, I will fulfill my beloved father's last wishes". This was not the answer Alexander III had anticipated and the second time he presented his uncle not with a suggestion but with an order. After sixteen years as chairman of the Council of ministers, Konstantin was stripped of the office and was replaced by his brother, the more pliable Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich; Alexander III also took away Konstantin's position as head of the Naval Department, handing it over to his own brother, Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich. Konstantin was no longer welcome at court.

The dismissal fell heavily on the still vibrant, energetic Konstantin, leaving him adrift without any proper role. He was an enthusiastic chess player and his chess problems were published in international journals, but that was not a substitute for the position he once had at the center of affairs. He spent increasingly more time with his second family, further humiliating his legitimate wife. With nothing left to do, Konstantin retired to Pavlovsk, spending most of his time abroad or on his Crimean estate of Oreanda. In August 1881 a fire completely destroyed Oreanda. The palace was never rebuilt and Konstantin lived from then on in a wooden pavilion. Tragedy struck him again while living there. In April 1885, his two surviving illegitimate sons died days apart of scarlet fever. Of the five children Constantin had had with Kousnetzova, only the two daughters, Marina and Anna, thrived; Konstantin showered them with affection. He was also particularly close to his eldest daughter Olga whom he visited in Greece in 1883. His grandson Prince Christopher of Greece remembered him for his sharp and loud voice, which Konstantin enjoyed using, usually for new servants and preferably in the presence of guests. Without any reason he would glare at the new servant and then scream the servant's name. Some were used to the trick and remained calm, while others dropped the dishes in terror, which amused him.