RUSSIA, CIRCA 1900

Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich (1857-1905), the son of Emperor Alexander II (1818-1881), was a prominent figure during the reigns of his brother Emperor Alexander III (1845-1894) and his nephew Emperor Nicholas II (1868-1918), who was also his brother-in-law through Sergei's marriage to Princess Elisabeth of Hesse (1884-1918), the sister of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (1872-1918). Governor General of Moscow from 1891 to 1905, Grand Duke Sergei’s conservative policies made him a polarizing figure. In February 1905, he was assassinated by a terrorist’s bomb while riding in his the carriage in the Kremlin.