Portrait of Czar Alexander III

Alexander III of Russia (1845-1894) was Emperor of Russia from 1881 until his death.
His personality contrasted with that of his father Alexander II, who was reputed to be more liberal, and with whose policies he frequently expressed his disagreement.
He acceded to the imperial throne following the assassination of Alexander II by members of Narodnaya Volya (i.e. ‘People’s Will’), a populist terrorist organisation. He subsequently pursued an autocratic policy and put an end to the liberal reforms envisaged by his father.
At his father’s insistence, he married Princess Dagmar of Denmark, who gave birth to 6 children. One of them was Nicholas II, the last Romanov tsar, murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1918 along with his entire family and entourage.