Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia 6
Early life
Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich with three of his brothers(from left to right) : Alexander, Alexei, Vladimir and Tsarevich Nicholas
The Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich Romanov of Russia was born in Saint Petersburg on 14 January 1850 (4 January O.S.). He was the son of emperor Alexander II and empress Maria Alexandrovna. He was a younger brother of Grand Duchess Alexandra Alexandrovna, Tsarevich Nikolay Alexandrovich, Alexander III of Russia, Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia and He was an older brother of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia and Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich.
Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich was destined for a naval career since his childhood. At the age of 7 he received the rank of midshipman. The next year Konstantin Nikolayevich Posyet was appointed as his tutor. While the winters were dedicated to theoretical studies, during the summers he trained on Russian warships of the Baltic fleet stationed in Saint Petersburg harbour. The training was rough, but gave him the possibility of getting used to various sailing ships:
in 1860 the yacht Shtandart on a cruise from Petergof to Livada [disambiguation needed]
in 18611863 the yacht Zabava under the flag of counter-admiral Posyet in the Gulf of Finland and Gulf of Bothnia,
in 1864 the frigate Svetlana in the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea
in 1866 the frigate Oslyabya during an extensive training cruise to the Azore Islands.
Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich in his youth
On 18 September 1866 Grand Duke Alexei was promoted lieutenant. He continued his navy career serving as officer aboard the frigate Alexander Nevski on a cruise in across the Mediterranean Sea to Pireaus, where he attended the wedding of his cousin Olga Konstantinovna.
In 1868 he went on a trip to southern Russia traveling by train from Saint Petersburg to Nikolaevsk [disambiguation needed],
