Diary. 1865–1881. In 4 volumes. Volume 3-4

The third volume of the full edition of the diaries of Tsarevich Alexander Alexandrovich (from March 1881 - Emperor Alexander III) included diaries from July 1870 to August 1875. The fiasco with the “gun business” in the spring of 1869 did not pass without a trace for the pride of the heir. In the early 1870s, he joined a number of commissions for the reorganization and technical re-equipment of the army, received command of the 1st Guards Infantry Division, continued to participate in meetings of the State Council and the Committee of Ministers, almost daily visited the reports of ministers in the Winter Palace. The attention of the heir to the foreign policy situation is increasing. He followed the development of the revolutionary events in France in 1870-1871 and the fate of Napoleon III. Interesting records appear on trains in the Caucasus and abroad, where the Tsarevich met many members of the royal houses of Europe, visited relatives, participated in various representative events. Trips to England in 1872 and 1874 to visit Prince Albert of Wales and his wife Alexandra, acquaintance with Queen Victoria and her family, numerous English nobility, performances of famous theaters and museums are carefully described.

The diaries give an idea of the daily life of Alexander Alexandrovich in the 1870s: enthusiastic pursuits of staging home plays, held balls, trips with his father to hunt, which he, like his father, extremely loved. In the autumn-winter theatrical season, the heir often attended various performances and concerts, after which he sometimes recorded his impressions of the productions. In the 1870s, diary entries gradually became shorter and were increasingly accompanied by the phrase “the day was ordinary.” At the same time, when the heir managed to break away from the “stupid life of St. Petersburg”, accompanied by current routine obligations, and some interesting events occurred with him, he described them in detail and quite vividly in his diaries.

The fourth volume of the diaries of Tsarevich Alexander Alexandrovich covers the eventful five years of the life of the heir to the throne - from August 1875 to January 1881. During this period, the heir kept a diary irregularly, sometimes not writing anything in it for months and only later giving generalized descriptions of events in the missed period. He gave up keeping a diary while in the active army during the Russian-Turkish war. Daily recordings resumed from November 1878, although they were sometimes made after the fact, combining descriptions of events over several days or weeks. By this time, Tsarevich Alexander Alexandrovich became a mature statesman with his own judgments, full of determination and will to implement his plans. A strong shock for him was another attempt on Alexander II on Palace Square on April 2, 1879 and February 5, 1880. These events became turning points in the worldview, psychology and behavior of the Tsarevich. He begins to act, persuading his father to take “the most energetic measures”, and seeks from him a decision to create a Supreme Administrative Commission headed by Count M. T. Loris-Melikov, with whom diaries are recorded in the Anichkov Palace. Detailed records are devoted to the death of Empress Maria Alexandrovna in May 1880, Alexander Alexandrovich tells in detail in his diary about the days of farewell to the Empress in the Winter Palace and about her funeral on May 28 in the Peter and Paul Cathedral. With sadness and filial submission, he makes the decision of Alexander II to marry Princess E. M. Dolgorukova.

The last entry in the diary of the Tsarevich is dated January 16, 1881. After the death of his father, Emperor Alexander III finally abandoned the diary, it was enough for him to keep "memorial books", where there was no place "for... thoughts, feelings and impressions."

The fourth volume also includes an index of theatrical productions, plays, performances and annotated name index with brief biographical references