WI Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich survived?

What if Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich hadn't died of meningitis in 1865, aged 21? As I understand it he was given actual training to rule, meaning he'd likely be more like his father. The reign of his reactionary brother Alexander III, who only got the throne by his brother dying and his father dying in a bomb blast, would be avoided and Alexander II's reforms would stick. OTL's Nicholas II would be Grand Duke Nicholas ITTL, and would be significantly different since Alexander's OTL wife was originally betrothed to his older brother. If Grand Duke Nicholas still marries Alexandra of Hesse-Darmstadt, he'll just be that nephew of the Tsar with the haemophiliac son and the eccentric starets entertained by his wife. Rather than Nicholas the Bloody, he'll be nth in the line to the throne since his uncle Nicholas Alexandrovich, known as Nicholas II in the ATL, will have children and grandchildren of his own.
 
I don't think you can say without qualification that Alexander II's reforms would stick if the elder Nicholas had lived, since a big part of Alexander III's reactionary stance came from the assassination of his father. If his brother had lived, it's possible that he'd have a similar reaction; this is the nature of political violence, driving moderates to extremes.
 
I don't think you can say without qualification that Alexander II's reforms would stick if the elder Nicholas had lived, since a big part of Alexander III's reactionary stance came from the assassination of his father. If his brother had lived, it's possible that he'd have a similar reaction; this is the nature of political violence, driving moderates to extremes.

That said, the assassination could easily be butterflied away.
 
That said, the assassination could easily be butterflied away.
There was a conspiracy theory that the assasination attempts... had a lot of sympathizers in Royal Family from those who thought that second morganatic marriage of Alexander II shames the family.
A lot depends on how Nicholas will view the "second family" of daddy dearest.
 
If Nicholas Alexandrovitch survives, he'd be the one to marry Dagmar of Denmark/Maria Feodorovna. It thus butterflies away OTL Nicholas II and leaves Grand Duke Alexander (OTL Alexander III) without a bride.
dandan_noodles said:
I don't think you can say without qualification that Alexander II's reforms would stick if the elder Nicholas had lived, since a big part of Alexander III's reactionary stance came from the assassination of his father. If his brother had lived, it's possible that he'd have a similar reaction; this is the nature of political violence, driving moderates to extremes.
Alexander III's reactionnary practices didn't come only from his father's assassination: he had also received a rather conservative education from his tutor Pobedonostsev. Plus, apparently Alexander II had focused on the education of his elder son Nicholas, neglecting that of Alexander.

Nicholas being a reactionnary like Alexander III is a possibility and having him crack down on opponents after Alexander II's assassination is among the possibilities, but it's not a given. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Nicholas was a bit more like his father than Alexander III was.
 
If Nicholas Alexandrovitch survives, he'd be the one to marry Dagmar of Denmark/Maria Feodorovna. It thus butterflies away OTL Nicholas II and leaves Grand Duke Alexander (OTL Alexander III) without a bride.
Alexander III's reactionnary practices didn't come only from his father's assassination: he had also received a rather conservative education from his tutor Pobedonostsev. Plus, apparently Alexander II had focused on the education of his elder son Nicholas, neglecting that of Alexander.

Nicholas being a reactionnary like Alexander III is a possibility and having him crack down on opponents after Alexander II's assassination is among the possibilities, but it's not a given. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Nicholas was a bit more like his father than Alexander III was.

There was an Oldenburgsky princess originally considered for Nikolai, so it is not inconceivable that with the younger Sasha remaining second-in-line until Dagmar/Maria produces a son, that such a match might go over.

Also, it's perfectly possible that one of Nikolai's sons could be as stubborn as OTL Nikolai II - given that they would have identical genetics.
 
Kellan Sullivan said:
Also, it's perfectly possible that one of Nikolai's sons could be as stubborn as OTL Nikolai II - given that they would have identical genetics.
True. But that doesn't mean he would be a carbon copy of Nicholas II nor that he would end up marrying Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt/Alexandra Feodorovna. His stubborness might be found elsewhere.

Also, you said one son... That doesn't necessarilly mean the eldest one.
 
Alexander III's fell under the influence of Pobyedonostsyev after his brother's death which was in part one of the reason's, along with his father's assassination, for his reluctance to embrace reform and his own firm commitment to the autocracy - there were plenty in the family who agreed with him on that though so the pressure to preserve the past was always there.

In the mid 1860s he was in love with one of his mother's lady's and in a tl where he wasn't suddenly heir then you couldn't rule out him joining the parade of Grand Duke's heading into exile with their morganatic spouses. He had to be forced to go and propose to his brother's fiance but fell in love with her hence their happy marriage.

One other point - his brother Nicholas as Emperor might have been more forgiving of his brother's and cousins when they made unequal marriages (Alexander III was pretty uncompromising with them and his son followed in his footsteps but often mishandled things) which might have meant the family were less disunited.

There's no reason to think a healthy Nicholas A and Marie of Denmark wouldn't have had children (she had six with Alexander - one died at birth - and her sister's and brother's produced plenty of issue)
 
Sorry for posting on an old thread, but, what if Nikolai Alexandrovich survives, but his dad still gets bombed (there were several attempts on the Tsar's life - there was an attempt in the dining room IIRC - so I don't think Alexander is safe), he succeeds as Emperor - does he shelve his liberal ideas or not?
 
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