Alexis in America: A Russian Grand Duke’s Tour

In 1871-72, Russian Tsar Alexander II’s son, Grand Duke Alexis, traveled through the United States for three months. Although his trip had a diplomatic purpose, there was a private reason as well – Alexis had fallen in love with an older woman who was not of royal blood, and the Tsar hoped an extended trip abroad would squelch the romance.

While Alexis traveled through America’s biggest cities of the period and met artists, politicians, and other memorable figures such as George Armstrong Custer and Buffalo Bill, he pined for his sweetheart back home. Americans fawned over the young Russian, fêting him with dinners, parades, and balls, and clamoring for the chance to be near royalty.

The visit highlighted U.S.-Russia relations, but also raised interesting questions about America’s national identity – some people asked if a democratic country should host a member of a notoriously oppressive monarchy. In the end, the visit was both a diplomatic venture and a cultural exchange in a particularly interesting moment in history, only a few years after the American Civil War and a few decades before the Russian Revolution.

Dr. Lee A. Farrow is Chair of the Department of History and World Cultures, Distinguished Research Professor and Distinguished Teaching Professor at Auburn University at Montgomery, in Montgomery, Alabama. She grew up in Louisiana and received her PhD from Tulane University. Her area of expertise is Russian History, with a focus on the history of Russian-American Relations. She is the author of The Catacazy Affair and the Uneasy Path of Russian-American Relations (2021), Seward’s Folly: A New Look at the Alaska Purchase (2017), and Alexis in America: A Russian Grand Duke’s Tour, 1871-72 (2014).