Prince Konstantin Romanov biography. Romanov Konstantin Konstantinovich - biography

“I’m painfully thinking: I’m sinning, I’m getting worse, I’m trembling at God’s punishment, but instead I’m using only God’s mercies. My sin is unknown to anyone, I’m loved, praised and extolled beyond what I deserve, my life has turned out happily, I have a wonderful wife, everyone valued and respected; lovely children; finally, I receive a special royal favor - a rescript recognizing my merits - the women’s gymnasium will be named after me,” the emperor’s grandson wrote in his diary. It ended on February 14, 1904, and the poet, translator and playwright continued - as for many years before this frosty day - to be tormented by pangs of conscience.

“They call me “the best man in Russia.” But I know what this “best man” really is. How amazed all those people who love and respect me would be if they knew about my depravity! I am deeply dissatisfied with myself.” .

What was it, in the opinion of the man known in pre-revolutionary Russia as K.R. and what about Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich Romanov, who oppressed him with sin?
An intelligent, talented father of a large family who warmly treated his wife tried and could not get rid of his attraction to men.
By the standards of our time, this is not such a great tragedy, but for a very religious person everything looked completely different.

The Grand Duke with his family over the years :

“My life flows happily, I am truly a “darling of fate”, I am loved, respected and appreciated, I am lucky in everything and succeed in everything, but... there is no main thing: peace of mind.
My secret vice completely took possession of me. There was a time, and quite a long one, that I almost defeated him, from the end of 1893 to 1900. But since then, and especially since April of this year (just before the birth of our charming George), I slipped and rolled again and am still rolling, as if on an inclined plane, lower and lower.
Meanwhile, I, who stand at the head of the upbringing of many children and youth, must know the rules of morality.
Finally, I am no longer young, married, I have 7 children, the eldest are almost adults, and old age is just around the corner. But I’m like a weather vane: sometimes I accept a firm intention, pray fervently, spend an entire mass in fervent prayer, and then immediately, when a sinful thought appears, everything is immediately forgotten, and I again fall under the power of sin.
Is it really impossible to change for the better? Am I really going to wallow in sin?" (December 28, 1903)

If anyone thinks that the prince took advantage of his position as the chief commander of military educational institutions, then he will be completely wrong. No seduction of wards.

“I feel bad again in my soul, sinful thoughts, memories and desires are again haunting me. I dream of going to the bathhouses on the Moika or ordering the bathhouse to be flooded at home, I imagine my familiar bathhouse attendants - Alexei Frolov and especially Sergei Syroezhkin. My desires have always been for ordinary men, Outside their circle I did not look for and did not find participants in sin. When passion speaks, the arguments of conscience, virtue, and prudence fall silent" (April 19, 1904)

“Again, according to the memories of past years, I fell under the influence of bad thoughts and seductive dreams and ideas. The path lay past the bathhouses. I thought that if I saw the bathhouse attendant at the outer doors, I would not be able to stand it and go in. I was extremely worried, everything good was almost suppressed, I almost lost the ability to reason sensibly, ready to succumb to temptation almost without struggle. The door to the rooms was ajar, but by some miracle I resisted and drove past.
One would think that this victory over oneself should make one happy, but no; on the contrary, for a long time afterwards I was annoyed with myself for not taking advantage of the opportunity and not going in." (May 15, 1904)

“I again gave up fighting my lust, it’s not that I couldn’t, but I didn’t want to fight. In the evening they heated our bathhouse for me; the bathhouse attendant Sergei Syroezhkin was busy and brought his brother, a 20-year-old guy Kondraty, who works as a bathhouse attendant in the Usachev Baths And I led this guy into sin. Perhaps for the first time I made him sin, and only when it was too late did I remember the terrible words: Woe to him who seduces one of these little ones.” (23 June 1904)

Considering the fact that K.R. since 1884 he was married to Princess Elizabeth Augusta Maria Agnes, who in Russia bore the name Elizaveta Mavrikievna, one could talk not about homosexuality, but about bisexuality, but the Grand Duke himself wrote:
“I sent for Yatsko, and he was with me this morning. I easily called him to be frank. It was strange for me to hear well-known features: he never felt attracted to a woman and fell in love with men more than once. I did not admit to him that on a personal level I know these feelings from experience." (September 12, 1904)

Grand Duchess Elizaveta Mavrikievna at different ages

A few more entries to show how the Grand Duke perceived the orientation situation:

“Another day spoiled by bad thoughts. This is something physiological, and not just promiscuity and lack of will. There are days when, even if thoughts come, you easily drive them away; otherwise they will come and I can’t cope with them. don’t give in, endure it, and then it will become easier again.
Behold, one more day has lasted; but I don’t feel like praying.” (December 30, 1904)

“Bad thoughts bother me much less today. Conscience and reason tell me that I must cut off my escape route once and for all, that is, not go to the bathhouse, either at my place or in the hotel rooms.
And the will and feeling rebel. I would like to see Sergei Syroezhkin, who does not have to be led into temptation, since he is the first to be ready for this. And here comes the struggle. Lord help me.
Will I get rid of the vice, will I overcome myself, or will it overcome me?
What will the new year give us?
Blessed is the Name of the Lord from now on and forevermore" (December 31, 1904)

And as a final chord:
“I was greatly embarrassed by the letter from Captain Sosnitsky, who squandered up to 3 thousand money from the cadet teahouse and, as he did not make up for the waste, was dismissed from service.
Justifying himself, he writes that sin does not happen to anyone; “At least with you,” he continues and mentions that one evening in the summer of 1903 I came on his duty to the camp of the Pavlovsk School and from there went to the Krasnoselsky baths. “You probably remember what happened there,” writes Sosnitsky. The next day, after returning from duty, he visited the bathhouse and heard from the bathhouse attendant who used me what I had with him and that I gave him 20 rubles for it. Sosnitsky continues that he is keeping this circumstance secret for now, but if it were published in the press, it would hardly be convenient for me to remain in my post.
What Sosnitsky mentioned in this case is incorrect: I remember that evening well - I really was in the bathhouse, but 20 rubles. I didn’t give it to the bathhouse attendant at all and there was no reason for it. But what is mentioned is incorrect only in relation to the case cited. The scary thing is that there have been other cases and that they are getting publicity.
I did not accept Sosnitsky yesterday and will not accept him, I will not take any measures. Come what may. Am I not worth the punishment?"

Portrait by O. Braz

The Grand Duke bequeathed his diaries to be published 90 years after his death. By that time, there would have long been no one left who personally knew K.R., but the mental anguish of a famous person, brought to the attention of the public, would have become a variant of that same punishment.
Everything turned out differently: his ninth child, daughter Vera, died only a few years after the publication of excerpts from his notes. Has she read them? And if so, has your opinion about your father changed?
For me, the only emotion evoked by the diary is sympathy for a person who tormented himself with what, objectively assessed, can hardly be called a real mortal sin...

His Imperial Highness the Grand Duke, Adjutant General, Infantry General, Inspector General c. textbook grandson, 2nd son of His Emperor. Your Highness Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich and Her Emperor. Her Highness Princess Alexandra... ... Large biographical encyclopedia

KONSTANTIN KONSTANTINOVICH, see ROKOSSOVSKY. Source: Encyclopedia Fatherland ... Russian history

His Imperial Highness conducted. book, second son led. book Konstantin Nikolaevich, b. August 10, 1858 Chief of the 15th Tiflis Grenadier Regiment, President of the Akd. Sciences (since 1889), commander l. Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment (since 1891), and before that... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

Konstantin Konstantinovich- (1858 1915) Grand Duke, grandson of Nicholas I, general, president of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Poet (wrote under the pseudonym K.R.), author of several collections of poems and the poetic tragedy King of the Jews... Orthodox encyclopedic dictionary

Konstantin Konstantinovich- (1858 1915) led. book, 2nd son led. book Konstantin Nikolaevich. Gene. adjutant, gen. from infantry. Military began his service in the navy. Russian participant tour. war 1877 78, awarded an order. St. George. In 1878 he enlisted in the Izmailovsky Life Guards Regiment in... ... Russian humanitarian encyclopedic dictionary

Konstantin Konstantinovich- KONSTANTIN KONSTANTINOVICH, see K. R... Biographical Dictionary

Konstantin Konstantinovich- (Romanov, 1858 1915) Grand Duke, poet, pseudonym. In 1889 1915 President of the Academy of Sciences. Published in Russian Bulletin, Bulletin of Europe. Works: collection. Poems by K.R., New poems by K.R. 1886 1888 (including the poem Sebastian... ... Dictionary of literary types

Konstantin Konstantinovich Jr. Konstantin Konstantinovich (December 20, 1890 (January 1, 1891), St. Petersburg July 18, 1918, near Alapaevsk) Russian prince of imperial blood, son of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich and Grand Duchess Elizabeth ... Wikipedia

Books

• Harpagoniad, Konstantin Konstantinovich Vaginov. Konstantin Konstantinovich Vaginov was one of the most intelligent, kind and noble people I have met in my life. And perhaps one of the most gifted,” recalled Nikolai Chukovsky.…
• Harpagoniad, Konstantin Konstantinovich Vaginov. Konstantin Konstantinovich Vaginov was one of the most intelligent, kind and noble people I have met in my life. And perhaps one of the most gifted,” recalled Nikolai Chukovsky.…

Oddly enough, there have been no Russian people on the Russian throne since the 19th century. There were Germans who most often married German princesses. Romanov (1858-1915) was no exception.

Childhood

In the family of Konstantin Nikolaevich and Alexandra Iosifovna (princess from Altenburg), a second son was born in August 1858, who was named Konstantin. He was immediately awarded high orders and enrolled in various regiments.

Excellent manners did not need to be instilled - they were absorbed by the treatment of him by his various educators, first by nannies of all kinds, and then by teachers who educated him at home. History was taught to him by our best historians, literature - the flower of our literature - by I.A. Goncharov and F.M. Dostoevsky.

Konstantin Romanov was well versed in music thanks to his brilliant theoretical and practical education in this field. But according to family tradition, he was prepared for naval service. He seriously studied under the Naval School program.

Youth

Serving as a midshipman on the frigate Svetlana from the age of 16, Konstantin Romanov completed a two-year voyage across the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, and then passed the exam and received the rank of midshipman. He also took part in the war of 1877-1878 between Russia and the Ottoman Empire and received an award for his valiant service - the Order of St. George 4th degree. At this time he had already begun to write poetry. Further, his ranks increased, but later, in 1882, he was transferred to the land department and, having received leave in 1883, met the sixteen-year-old Princess Elizabeth, who a year later would become his wife. The poet dedicated lyrical lines to her, in which the moon shone, the nightingale burst into song, and inspiration came.

The wedding took place in 1884. Being 9 years older, the husband wanted to raise a young girl to be a fan of lyrical poetry and music, but Elizaveta Mavrikievna, diligently studying the Russian language and loving her husband, was a woman of the dozen. She did not become spiritually close to her poetic husband. She was interested in palace news and gossip around him. The young couple lived in Strelna, in the Marble Palace. They had six sons and three daughters, and the young woman found her calling in raising children, never finding common ground with her husband.

Mature years

The wife of his cousin and friend, later the Moscow Governor-General, turned out to be spiritually close to the august poet. The brother very subtly appreciated Konstantin’s gift and supported him in this field. 4 poems were dedicated to Sergei Alexandrovich, and Konstantin Romanov disinterestedly admired his wife Elizaveta, dedicating heartfelt lines to her, in which delight in her perfection sounds.

She was beautiful both mentally and externally. Her fate will end tragically along with the three sons of Constantine. They would die, thrown alive into a mine in Alapaevsk in 1918. But all this is in the distant future, but for now Prince Romanov is writing a tender lullaby to his eldest son. Despite his poetic gift and desire to devote himself completely to it, Konstantin Konstantinovich Romanov served for the glory of the Motherland, wherever he was placed. He was sensitive to the debt that fell to his share. Royal blood flowed in his veins, and he was the darling of fate, as he himself wrote, and faithfully and honestly served the three emperors under whom his life passed - Alexander II, Alexander III and Nicholas II.

Poems by Konstantin Romanov

Of course, they cannot be considered among the peaks of our poetry, but the poet had a lyrical gift and taste. While thoughtful, he could leaf through new collections of Fet’s poetic lines and family albums.

In the photo - Konstantin Romanov, taking a break from official affairs. He began writing poetry early, and when he was 24 years old, his first poems were published under the pseudonym K.R. He gave the collection to friends, relatives and acquaintances. It was impossible for a member of the reigning house to sign his full name, but everyone knew who was the author of poetry collections with the modest initials K.R. Multi-talented, he wrote critical articles and historical drama, and made a translation of Hamlet with commentaries, to which he devoted ten years of his life. And his numerous lyrical miniatures served as a source of inspiration for our best composers. I developed a special relationship with P.I. Tchaikovsky, who dedicated the opera “The Oprichnik” and the Second String Quartet to Prince Konstantin. Tchaikovsky's romances - there are four of them - with words by K.R. are in the repertoire of our best performers. Often meeting with Prince Konstantin, Tchaikovsky characterized him as a charming person. Tchaikovsky also appreciated his musical talent, intelligence and modesty. Konstantin Romanov himself wrote romances based on poems by V. Hugo, A.K. Tolstoy,

Conclusion

As if anticipating the trials that would be sent to him and his family, 15 years before his death he wrote “When there is no strength to bear the cross...”, hoping that the Lord would have mercy on everyone and give both mercy and love. But he himself died, without surviving the death of his son Oleg on the fields of World War II, at the age of 56. And the family partially died near Yekaterinburg, and partially went into exile after 1917.

One version of why the adjective “blue” began to denote homosexuals is that previously homosexuality was characteristic only of the aristocratic strata of society. To those who have blue blood flowing in their veins.
In the Russian Empire there were clans with “blueder” blood than the Romanovs, and maybe that’s why homosexuals among the members of the Imperial House can be counted on one hand. One well-known (largely thanks to Boris Akunin’s book “Coronation, or the Last of the Romanovs”) is Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, uncle of Nicholas II and governor of Moscow.
He never hid his inclinations, although he was married, preferred to sleep with his adjutants, and did not see any sin in it. But there was another case.

“Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich” I.E. Repin, 1891

.
Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich Romanov was born on August 22 (August 10, O.S.) 1858, and was the second son of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich Romanov. Among the ever-repeating Nikolaevs, Alexandrovs and Konstantinov Romanovs, you can get confused, so I will only say that Konstantin Konstantinovich was the younger brother of the more famous.
But unlike his scandalous brother, Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich was a model for example. As a midshipman in the Russian fleet, in the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878, in a battle near Silistria on the Danube, he sank a Turkish ship, for which he was awarded the St. George Cross, IV degree. In 1882, due to illness, he was transferred to the guard and five years later became commander of the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment. He was president of the Academy of Sciences and one of the founders of the Pushkin House.
Konstantin Konstantinovich was also known as the most educated man of his time, an excellent pianist and the most famous poet of that era, writing under the pseudonym “K.R.” All reading Russia knew his romantic poems, girls copied them into their girlish diaries and albums, and Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Alyabyev and many other composers wrote romances on them. Here is a typical example of the work of the poet K.R.:
When a cold wave hits me
The scope of the world is vanity,
The star will be my guiding star
Love and beauty.

.
He was successfully married to his distant relative (they were both great-great-grandsons of Emperor Paul I), the German princess Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg. Upon arrival in Russia, she began to be called Elizaveta Mavrikievna, but did not convert to Orthodoxy, remaining a Lutheran. The Grand Duchess loved her husband tenderly and selflessly, he reciprocated her feelings, and in their marriage they had nine children.

Konstantin Konstantinovich was lucky - he suffocated during an attack of angina pectoris in the Pavlovsk Palace in 1915, and became the last of the Romanovs who died before the revolution and were solemnly buried in the grand ducal tomb of the Peter and Paul Fortress.
He did not live to see the fall of the monarchy and the Russian Empire, the death of his sons John, Konstantin and Igor, who the day after the execution of the royal family were thrown alive into a mine near Alapaevsk.
But his daughter, Grand Duchess Vera Konstantinovna, lived to be 94 years old and died in 2001, becoming today the last of the Romanovs who remembered pre-revolutionary life (in this photo she is in her father’s arms).

.
Throughout his life, K.R. kept diary entries, which, according to his will, after his death were transferred to the archives of the Academy of Sciences with the condition of publication no earlier than 90 years later.
Russian historians violated the will of the deceased, and these diaries were published 79 years after the death of K.R., in 1994, and plunged historians into some confusion - it turns out that the happy father of the family and an excellent family man, Konstantin Konstantinovich, was a secret homosexual all his life. And in his diaries he described his homosexuality with extraordinary frankness. Here are just a few of the Grand Duke's notes:

December 28, 1903 - St. Petersburg.
My life flows happily, I am truly a “darling of fate”, I am loved, respected and appreciated, I am lucky in everything and succeed in everything, but... I lack the main thing: peace of mind.
My secret vice completely took possession of me. There was a time, and quite a long one, that I almost defeated him, from the end of 1893 to 1900. But since then, and especially since April of this year (just before the birth of our charming George), I slipped and rolled again and am still rolling, as if on an inclined plane, lower and lower.
Meanwhile, I, who stand at the head of the upbringing of many children and youth, must know the rules of morality.
Finally, I am no longer young, married, I have 7 children, the eldest are almost adults, and old age is just around the corner. But I’m like a weather vane: sometimes I accept a firm intention, pray fervently, spend an entire mass in fervent prayer, and then immediately, when a sinful thought appears, everything is immediately forgotten, and I again fall under the power of sin.
Is it really impossible to change for the better? Am I really going to wallow in sin?

April 19, 1904 - St. Petersburg.
I feel bad again in my soul, sinful thoughts, memories and desires again haunt me. I dream of going to the bathhouses on the Moika or having a bathhouse flooded at home, I imagine my familiar bathhouse attendants - Alexei Frolov and especially Sergei Syroezhkin. My lusts always related to simple men; outside their circle I did not look for and did not find participants in sin. When passion speaks, the arguments of conscience, virtue, and prudence fall silent.

June 23, 1904 - St. Petersburg.
I again gave up fighting my lust, it wasn’t that I couldn’t, but I didn’t want to fight. In the evening they heated our bathhouse for me; The bath attendant Sergei Syroezhkin was busy and brought his brother, a 20-year-old guy named Kondraty, who works as a bath attendant at the Usachev Baths. And I brought this guy into sin. Perhaps I made him sin for the first time and only when it was too late did I remember the terrible words: woe to him who seduces one of these little ones.

All his life, Konstantin Konstantinovich successfully hid his secret sin from those around him, who did not even suspect his homosexual inclinations (the Grand Duke sinned only with commoners). But why did he decide to make all this public, even 90 years after his death?
Either it was extremely important for him as a manifestation of the integrity of his personality, or for the edification of his descendants, or just like that. I don't know... I have no explanation. Maybe you have them?

Romanov Konstantin Konstantinovich - poetic pseudonym K. R. (August 10 (22), 1858, Strelna - June 2 (15), 1915, Pavlovsk) - Grand Duke, President of the Imperial St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, poet, translator and playwright.

The second son of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich and Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna, grandson of Nicholas I. Received a comprehensive education at home. Famous historians S. M. Solovyov, K. I. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, music critic G. A. Larosh, cellist I. I. Seifert, writers I. A. Goncharov and F. M. Dostoevsky took part in his training and education. . From childhood, the Grand Duke was prepared for service in the navy. At the age of 7, Captain 1st Rank I. A. Zelenoi was appointed his teacher, who held this position until the Grand Duke came of age. Classes were conducted according to the Naval School program. In 1874 and 1876, as a midshipman, he made long voyages to the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea on the frigate Svetlana. In August 1876, he passed the exam for the Naval School program and was promoted to the rank of midshipman.

From 1877 to 1898, Konstantin Konstantinovich served in various naval and land units, and participated in the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878. Since 1898 he was appointed to His Majesty's Retinue. In 1887, Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich was awarded the title of honorary member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, and in 1889 he was appointed its President (“August President”). This was the first and only case in the history of Russia when the Academy of Sciences was headed by a member of the reigning house.

Since 1900 - Chief Head of Military Educational Institutions. Under the leadership of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, a lot of work was done to develop and improve training in military educational institutions. Honorary member of the Nikolaev Engineering Academy (since 1904), the Imperial Military Medical Academy and the Mikhailovsky Artillery Academy and many others. etc.

Konstantin Konstantinovich Romanov was also a famous Russian poet, translator and playwright, who published his poems under the initials K.R. Signing his works with his full name was prohibited for him to act as a professional poet, actor or musician for one of the members of the reigning house was “out of rank” .

The first poetic works were published in the magazine “Bulletin of Europe” in 1882. The first book “Poems by K.R.” (1886) did not go on sale, it was sent to those whom the poet considered close to him in spirit (including Fet, Ap. Maikov, Polonsky). It evoked poetic dedications and responses in letters - enthusiastic and not entirely objective. Believing in his talent, the Grand Duke began to publish everything that came from his pen: love and landscape lyrics, salon poems, translations, and soon took a strong place in literature. In 1888 K.R. published the first poem “Sebastian the Martyr”, then the collections “New Poems by K.R.”, “Third Collection of Poems by K.R.” (1900), “Poems by K. R.” (1901).

The melodic stanzas of Konstantin Konstantinovich’s poetry easily turned into romances (the most famous is the romance “I opened the window...” with music by P. I. Tchaikovsky). They remained in the vocal repertoire, since Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Glazunov, Gliere wrote music for them. The poem “The Poor Man Died in a Military Hospital” became a popular song. K.R.’s most significant work, the mystery play “The King of the Jews” (1913), was banned from production by the Synod, which did not allow the Gospel story of the Passion of the Lord to be relegated to the theatrical stage. With the permission of the tsar, the play was staged by an amateur court theater, where the author played one of the roles.

I. A. Goncharov, Y. P. Polonsky, A. A. Fet corresponded with the Grand Duke, who appreciated his taste and even instructed him to correct his poems. K.R. also translated a lot into Russian: F. Schiller’s tragedy “The Bride of Messina”, the tragedy of J.V. Goethe, Shakespeare’s “King Henry IV”. K.R. is the author of a successful translation of Shakespeare's Hamlet into Russian, on which he worked from 1889 to 1898; a translation with extensive commentary in 3 volumes was published in 1899 and was reprinted several times.

Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich died on June 2, 1915. He was the last of the Romanovs to die before the revolution and was buried in the grand ducal tomb of the Peter and Paul Fortress.