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Birthday anniversary of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, military figure and poet
10 (22) August 1858, was born Grand Duke Konstantin K. Romanov. He was the second son of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich and Grand Duchess Alexandra Joseph, grandson of Nicholas I. According to the existing practice, during the baptism he was granted many awards, as well as put on the lists of various military units. Konstantin received a versatile education at home. Among his mentors and teachers were historians S. M. Soloviev and K. N. Bestuzhev-Rumin, music critic G. A. Laroche, cellist I. I. Seifert, writers I. A. Goncharov and F. M. Dostoevsky.
Grand Duke was trained from childhood for military service, namely to serve in the Navy. A famous naval officer, I. A. Zelenoy, was assigned his tutor. He taught according to the curriculum of the Naval School. During two years, 1874-1876, Konstantin took part in a long voyage to the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea on board the frigate "Svetlana", after which, having passed the relevant examinations, was promoted to the rank of warrant officer.
Baptism of fire of Grand Duke took place during the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. He was on the crew frigate "Svetlana", which, under enemy’s fire, accompanied pontoons from the mouth of Olta River to a bridge near Zimnitsa. For participation in combat operations Konstantin was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree.
In 1878-1882 Konstantin, promoted by then to the rank of lieutenant, held various positions: commanded a company of the Guards, was the shift chief of "Duke of Edinburgh", aboard which he was navigating in the Mediterranean until January 1882. However, poor health had not allowed the Grand Duke to continue to serve in the Navy. In 1882, due to illness, he was transferred into a land office and promoted to staff captain of Guard. His service continued in Izmailovo Regiment, and in 1891 Konstantin was appointed commander of the Life Guards of Preobrazhensky Regiment at the rank of colonel, and later – that of major general. In 1900, he became the head of the military schools. In this position, the Grand Duke did a great job of organizing military training, especially in establishment of cadet corps and military schools. In 1901 and in 1907 Konstantin was consistently awarded the title of Lieutenant-General and General of Infantry.
In addition to military services, the Grand Duke had another passion that occupied a great part of his life - the love for art and poetry. Konstantin inherited his father's artistic tastes and abilities: he played well musical instruments, and tried his hand as an actor in various productions. In 1887 he was awarded the title of honorary member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. In 1889 Konstantin was appointed its president. On his initiative, at the Department of Russian Language and Literature, was established a Rank of belles lettres, according to which I. A. Bunin, V. G. Korolenko, A. P. Chekhov, and others were elected honorary academicians. In addition, the Grand Duke led committee for celebration of the 100th anniversary of birth of Alexander Pushkin.
As a poet, he was known by the initials K. R. under which he published several books of poetry. Although he did not have a first-class talent, he managed to take his place in the history of Russian literature. Many of his poems were notable for melody and set to music. In addition, the Grand Duke was the author of several translations of foreign writers in Russian, including Schiller and Goethe, and his translation of "Hamlet" by Shakespeare had been acknowledged by critics as quite successful and reprinted several times.
Grand Duke Konstantin died 2 (15) June 1915, in his office in the palace at Pavlovsk. He was the last of the Romanovs, who died before the revolution. Konstantin was buried in the grand-ducal crypt of the Peter and Paul Fortress.
Lit.: Константин Константинович (вел. князь). Дневники. Воспоминания. Стихи. Письма. М., [1997]; Кузьмина Л. И. Августейший поэт КР: Личность. Творчество. СПб., 1995; Матонина Э. Е., Говорушко Э. Л. К. Р. М., 2008; Соболев В. С. Августейший президент: Великий князь Константин Константинович во главе Имп. академии наук 1889-1915. СПб., 1993; Чернышова-Мельник Н. Д. Баловень судьбы: История жизни Константина Романова. М., 2008.
Based on the Presidential Library’s materials: