The Eastern journey of Nicholas II in 1890-1891 was a journey made by Nicholas Alexandrovich, then Tsarevich of Russia around the greater part of the Eurasian continent.
The total length of the journey exceeded 51,000 kilometers, including 15,000 km of railway and 22,000 km of sea routes. During his visit to the Empire of Japan, Nicholas was the target of a failed assassination attempt.
Contents |
After the Grand Embassy of Peter I, a long trip for educational purposes became an important part of training for the state activity of the members of the Russian Imperial house. In 1890 Emperor Alexander III of Russia decided to establish the Trans-Siberian Railway and his heir Tsarevich Nicholas took part in the opening ceremony.
On 23 October, after the church service in Gatchina, the Tsarevich went by train via Vienna to Trieste where he boarded the cruiser Pamiat Azova (Memory of Azov). This route was selected because of probable diplomatic difficulties concerning with intention of the Ottoman Empire to keep the straits of Bosporus and Dardanelles closed.
From Trieste the expedition came to the port Piraeus, where Nicholas met his godmother Olga Konstantinovna of Russia and her husband King George I of Greece. Their son Prince George of Greece and Denmark was included into the flagship's crew as an officer. From Greece the Tsarevich navigated to Port Said in Egypt. During the time his ship passed the Suez Canal, Nicholas with his retinue traveled along the Nile to the modern Aswan.
From Suez they went to Aden and on 11 December arrived in Bombay. Here Nicholas started long trans-Indian trip, which ended in Colombo. In India Nicholas visited all the important places, including the Taj Mahal and the Harimandir Sahib (Golden Temple). Here he bought numerous exotic works of art, later transferred to several Russian museums.
Leaving Ceylon on 31 January, the expedition continued to Singapore, the island of Java and Bangkok. In Siam the future Emperor spent one week as a guest of King Rama V. Nicholas received an Order and precious gifts. On 13 March he entered Nanking and started here the Chinese part of his voyage, visiting tea plantations and manufactures.
On 15 April 1891, accompanied by six ships of the Imperial Russian Navy, Nicholas arrived in the Empire of Japan. The Russian Pacific Fleet with the Tsarevich first called on Kagoshima, then Nagasaki, and then Kobe. From Kobe, the Tsarevich journeyed overland to Kyoto, where he was met by a delegation headed by Prince Arisugawa Taruhito. Prince Nicholas showed interest in the Japanese traditional crafts, had a tattoo on his body, and bought an ornamental hairpin for a Japanese girl who happened to be near him. On 29 April, the famous Otsu Scandal occurred, where Nicholas was wounded in an assassination attempt.
On 7 May Nicholas departed from Kobe and four days later arrived to Vladivostok. Here he accomplished the official part of his mission and started his journey across the entire length of Russia back to St. Petersburg. He travelled overland and by river boat via Khabarovka, Blagoveshchensk, Nerchinsk, Chita, Irkutsk, Tomsk, Surgut, Tobolsk, Tara, Omsk, and Orenburg, and then returned by train to St. Petersburg. To celebrate the visit by the future emperor, triumphal arches were erected in a number of Siberian cities.[1][2]
Prince Esper Ukhtomsky also took part in the journey, and collected important ethnographic notes about the places it visited. Later he published a splendid illustrated three-volume story of this voyage. More than 200 photos were taken by Vladimir Mendeleyev, a son of Dmitry Mendeleyev, who was a member of the Memory of Azov crew.