Grand Duke Dmitry Konstantinovich of Russia (; 13 June 1860 – 28 January 1919) was a son of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich and a first cousin of Alexander III of Russia. He followed a military career. Although he never played any political role, as a relative of Tsar Nicholas II, he was executed by firing squad at the walls of Peter and Paul Fortress during the Russian Civil War.
Early life Grand Duke Dmitry Konstantinovich was born at Strelna on 13 June 1860, the third son and fifth child of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia and Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna, born Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg. When Dmitry turned 7 his education was turned over to Alexei Zelenoy, an officer who had served under his father in the Imperial Navy. His lessons followed the usual course: science, arithmetic, Russian and world history, composition, and geography alternating languages and the arts. He learned besides Russian, French, German and English. Like all the male members of the Romanov family, he was destined from birth to follow a military career. At his christening, Dmitry was named honorary colonel in Chief, a month later he was enrolled in the Guard Equipage, and in the Imperial family's 4th Rifle Battalion Life Guards Infantry Regiment.King & Wilson, Gilded Prism, p. 92
Dmitry's father, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, was Admiral General of the Russian Navy and hoped one of his sons would follow in his footsteps. With this in mind, Dmitry received lessons in naval warfare and tactics. His religious education left a big imprint on him. He would be a deeply religious man all his life. As both of his parents were musical, he received singing lessons and learned to play the piano and the violin. Dmitry was a diligent and good student, polite and attentive, capable and kind. He was also very shy and introverted, preferring quiet times reading to more usual pursuits of childhood.King & Wilson, Gilded Prism, p. 93
Formative years
His parents' marriage was unhappy and Dmitry was still a child when his father started a new family with his mistress, a Russian ballerina. A second family setback scared him even further. Dmitry was 14 when his eldest brother Nikolai Konstantinovich was disinherited, declared insane and sent into internal Russian exile, after stealing some diamonds from an icon in his mother's bedroom. Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna made her three remaining sons (Konstantin, age 16, Dmitry, age 14, and Vyacheslav, age 12) promise her that they would never drink, never give themselves to a life of self-indulgence, and never forget that all the privileges of their wealth and rank were meant for use and not enjoyment. Brought up under these conditions, the younger Konstantinovich grand dukes grew into thoughtful, introspective men Zeepvat, Romanov Autumn, p. 208
At the age of 15, Dmitry, with his younger brother Vyacheslav, was enrolled as a cadet aboard the tender Kadetski. Together the two brothers underwent the rigors of life at sea. During their training cruises through the Gulf of Finland, they spent their time drilling, standing watch, and taking turns leading their fellow cadets. In 1877, the 17-year-old Dmitry made his first official public appearance as a member of the Imperial family, he joined Alexander II with his father and cousins Grand Duke Sergei and Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich on a journey to southern Russia in the aftermath of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878).
Dmitry soon disappointed his father's wishes when he decided to abandon his career in the Navy in favor of the Imperial Army. He used the interval of an illness to ask his father to allow him to join the army. It was a blow to Konstantin to see his third consecutive son to leave the navy, but Dmitry begged his father and with the intervention of Alexandra Iosifovna, he was eventually allowed to leave the Navy and join the Horse Guards regiment in 1879.
Like his parents, Dmitry was musical; he had a particular love for Russian church music. In later years, he often sang in the chapel choirs at Strelna, the Marble Palace and the Pokrovsky Convent in Kiev. Duty stood at the core of his being and he was fiercely critical of a system, which pushed members of the Imperial family forward simply because of who they were. He believed that their promotions should be earned
Intensely shy, Dmitry preferred to avoid society, but on summer evenings at Petergof he often rode from Strelna to Znamenka, the house of his cousin, Grand Duke Pyotr where he was a welcome guest. Peter's wife, Grand Duchess Militsa, played the piano while Dmitry was usually persuaded to join in, accompanying with his own singing of Russian folk songs.
Military career
On 1 June 1880, Dmitry Konstantinovich was appointed to the suite of Alexander II and given the rank of Fligel-Adjutant. Six months later, after completing his initial infantry training, the grand duke was appointed lieutenant in the Horse Guards Regiment. He was to serve with the Horse Guards for twelve years as a junior officer, and finally as commander. After completing a training course with the General Staff Academy in 1880, Dmitry Konstantinovich was promoted to Ordnance Officer and scheduled to make his first official appearance, when he would deliver the report as an Imperial Adjutant in the Guards Sappers Cavalry Regiment. The date for his first appearance was Sunday, 1 March 1881. Two hours after the review, his uncle Alexander II, who had been present at the insistence of Alexandra Iosifovna, was assassinated.
In November 1881, Alexander III promoted Dmitry Konstantinovich to the position of Adjutant in the H. I. M. Retinue. Celebrating Dmitry's majority on 26 November of that year was delayed owing the assassination of Alexander II. The ceremony took place later and coincided with the Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich and Grand Duke Mikhail Mikhailovich taking an oath to the Emperor.King & Wilson, Gilded Prism, p. 94 Through the 1880s, Dmitry Konstantinovich served with his regiment with unceasing energy and an eye toward correcting grievances from his men. He built himself a two-storied dacha at Krasnoye Selo, equipping the property with stables and exercise yard for the horses. Here he spent the summers with his regiment; in spring and fall, he invariably invited his regimental officers to his Palace, Strelna, which he inherited on the death of his father in 1892. Mornings were spent riding through the park in which, the grand duke put his men and their horses through intricate maneuvers; after lunch, he would lead the officers on walks through the exquisite gardens.
On 6 April 1889, the grand duke was promoted to the rank of captain and given command of the 2nd Squadron of the Horse Guards. Three years later, on 10 December 1892, he was promoted to the rank of colonel and owing to his distinguished service, he was given command of the House Guards Grenadiers Regiment by Alexander III. Dmitry was a popular commander, and a tough and demanding officer. He took pride in his soldiers, and was greatly concerned with their welfare.
Russian Grand Duke
Dmitry was very religious and he assumed responsibility for the church of the Apparition of the Virgin near Strelna, which was the regimental church of the Horse Grenadiers. He commissioned both an enlargement and a renovation program, which he paid for himself.
The grand duke's main residence was the Palace of Strelna, where he lived a quiet life and was his main residence until the revolution. He lived in a suite of rooms of the ground floor on the west wing that had previously been occupied by his father. He had the palace electrified, telephones were installed and modern plumbing provided for the bathroom and the kitchen.
Dmitry Konstantinovich was fair, with blond hair and blue eyes, and wore a small cavalry mustache.Chavchavadze, The Grand Dukes, p. 153 He was tall and lean with long legs and a long neck that increased his extraordinary height. In a family known for the height of its male members, Dmitry was among the tallest. Grand Duchess Militsa considered him "the nicest and best among the grand dukes". He was proper, dignified and very refined in his manners.
Alexander Mosolov, head of Nicholas II's Court Chancellery, described him as "full of good sense", remarking that Dmitry Konstantinovich "was the one among all the grand dukes who was most deeply imbued with the sense of his duty as a Prince and a cousin of the Emperor".
One day, the grand duke dispatched a hefty portion of his annual civil list income to support a struggling church. When Mosolov learnt of this he warned, " If you make gifts everywhere on this scale, your revenues will not last." But Dmitry Konstantinovich replied that the stipend was "not intended to enable us to live as sybarites; this money is put into our hands in order that we may augment the prestige of the Imperial family".King & Wilson, Gilded Prism, p. 96
The grand duke was a lifelong bachelor, never involved in scandals. In his memoirs, his cousin Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich recalled that he was "a confirmed and enthusiastic woman-hater",Alexander, Grand Duke of Russia, Always A Grand Duke, Garden City Publishing Company, New York 1933, p88. then a term used for misogynists but also homosexuals. That Dimitry had close affectionate relationships with the female members of his family suggests the latter. He was adored by his family and especially by his young nieces and nephews, with whom he would happily play and ride for hours. He was particularly close to the children of his brother Konstantin. His nephew Prince Gabriel Konstantinovich remembered him, as a "wonderful, kind person" who was almost a second father and wherever they saw him, they ran across the room, jumping up to hug him and wrap their arms around his neck. Dmitry Konstantinovich also loved to tease the children and play practical jokes on them.
Under Nicholas II, the grand duke received further promotions. On 26 May 1896, he was raised to the rank of Major-General, and three months later, he was named General à la suite in the Imperial Entourage. On 19 December 1904, Dmitry Konstantinovich was promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed Adjutant General to Nicholas II. Nicholas II also appointed the grand duke general director of the Imperial Stud in 1896. Despite his love of the military, it was this later post that struck the deepest chord in Dmitry Konstantinovich. On learning of his appointment, the grand duke – whom one courtier termed "timid beyond imagination" declared, " I should have eagerly accepted the appointment if it only meant looking after horse [...] I am afraid I shall never get on properly with officials."King & Wilson, Gilded Prism, p. 97
Dmitry Konstantinovich was entranced with his new position, one of which demanded that he traveled across Russia and Europe, selecting the finest horses. Acting on his advice, the Imperial Stud purchased Galtee More, who had won the Derby in Great Britain, for an astronomical 200,000 rubles; as soon as he arrived in Russia, the thoroughbred was put to stud at Tsarskoye Selo. Dmitry Konstantinovich held the post until 1905, when he was replaced with Major-General Alexei Zdnovich. On 10 January 1904, Dmitry Konstantinovich relinquished command of the Horse Guard grenadiers Regiment. Although he would have been happy to remain in his post, his eyesight was failing rapidly, in detriment to his military career. Reluctantly he recognized that by remaining he was depriving another, more capable man of advancement. On leaving active service, the grand duke generously gave his dacha at Krasnoye Selo to the Horse Guards Regiment, to be used as an officer's club.
Retirement