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Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia

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Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia ( Russian : Павел Александрович ; 3 October 1860 – 28 January 1919) was the sixth son and youngest child of Emperor Alexander II of Russia by his first wife, Empress Maria Alexandrovna . He was a brother of Emperor Alexander III and uncle of Nicholas II , Russia's last monarch.

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124-509: He entered the Imperial Russian Army , was a general in the cavalry and adjutant general to his brother Emperor Alexander III, and a Knight of the Order of St. Andrew . In 1889, he married Princess Alexandra of Greece , his paternal first cousin once removed. The couple had a daughter and a son, but Alexandra died after the birth of their second child. In his widowhood, Grand Duke Paul began

248-645: A lieutenant-general in 1780, and general of infantry in 1783, on the conclusion of his work there. From 1787 to 1791 he again fought the Turks during the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792 and won many victories. Suvorov's leadership also played a key role in a Russian victory over the Poles during the Kościuszko Uprising . As a major European power, Russia could not escape the wars involving Revolutionary France and

372-481: A Greek Orthodox church in Livorno , Italy . Because he married morganatically and without Emperor Nicholas II's permission, Grand Duke Paul was banished from Russia; he was dismissed from his military commissions; all his properties were seized, and his brother Grand Duke Sergei was appointed as guardian of Maria and Dmitri. Paul's family was outraged by his marriage. Emperor Nicholas II wrote to his mother: "The nearer

496-569: A Mosin-Nagant rifle, while new recruits and younger reservists did not begin arriving until after the Battle of Mukden in February 1905. The mobilization for the Russo-Japanese War also brought large numbers of reservists into the ranks who were more politicized, and began spreading revolutionary ideas among the troops. There were over 400 mutinies from autumn 1905 to summer 1906. At the outbreak of

620-701: A Russian defeat by the German Empire in the Battle of Tannenberg (1914). In the west, a Russian Expeditionary Force was dispatched to France in 1915. Amid the Russian Revolution of 1917 the Imperial Russian Army collapsed and dissolved . The rebellious remnants of the Imperial army evolved to become part of the new Red Army . The Imperial Russian Army entered the Napoleonic Wars organized administratively and in

744-611: A Swiss officer in Russian service, to prepare General Staff officers, though it did not have a significant role in the army until the post-Crimean War reforms. Guards units were tasked with protecting the Russian Emperor (the tsar) and the Imperial family. Throughout the Napoleonic Wars the Imperial Russian Guard was commanded by Grand Duke Konstantin . The guard grew from a few regiments to two infantry divisions combined into

868-654: A common grave. Grand Duke Paul was born on 3 October [ O.S. 21 September] 1860 at the Catherine Palace , in Saint Petersburg . He was the eighth and youngest child of Tsar Alexander II of Russia and his first wife, Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia , née Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine. As the youngest child in a large family, he was much loved by his parents and siblings. His early years were spent with his two siblings closest in age: his sister Marie , and his brother Sergei , from whom he

992-529: A convoy of returning prisoners of war. The Grand Duke flatly refused, preferring to die rather than put on an enemy uniform. Determined to round up the last Grand Dukes remaining on Russian soil, the Bolsheviks arrested Grand Duke Paul at 3 a.m. on 13 August [ O.S. 31 July] 1918. He was taken to the local Soviet, housed in Grand Duke Vladimir's Tsarkoe Selo villa. The next morning, he

1116-409: A daughter, Irina, was born on 5 December [ O.S. 22 November] 1903. In 1904, Grand Duke Paul arranged, through Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria , for his wife and their children to be granted the hereditary title of Count and Countesses de Hohenfelsen with a coat of arms. With the assassination of his brother Sergei in February 1905, Grand Duke Paul was allowed to return to Russia for

1240-665: A dragoon regiment were formed. Initially, they recruited children of the landless boyars and streltsy , volunteers, Cossacks and others. Commanding officers comprised mostly foreigners. After the war with Poland, all of the regiments were disbanded. During another Russo-Polish War , they were created again and became a principal force of the Russian Army. Often, regular and dragoon regiments were manned with datochniye lyudi for lifelong military service . Reiters were manned with small or landless gentry and boyars' children and were paid with money (or lands) for their service. More than

1364-516: A few words. Paul's wife was allowed to visit him twice a week, staying from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. She did all she could to have him released. Queen Alexandrine of Denmark , a niece of Grand Dukes Nicholas and George Mikahilovich, tried unsuccessfully to obtain the release of her Romanov relatives through the intervention of Harald Scavenius , the Danish Minister in Petrograd. On 6 December, as

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1488-407: A half of the commanding officers were representatives from the gentry. In times of peace, some of the regiments were usually disbanded. In 1681, there were 33 regular regiments (61,000 men) and 25 dragoon and reiter regiments (29,000 men). In the late 17th century, regiments of the new type represented more than a half of the Russian Army and at the beginning of the 18th century were used for creating

1612-609: A headdress against the cheeks; later it referred to the pennon of a cavalry troop. By 1717, the ranks of Fendrich and Cornet of the Royal Life Guards were officer ranks placed in the Eight class in the Danish order of precedence , normal Fendrich s and Cornet s were placed in the Ninth class. The rank was reintroduced in 1910–1951 as an enlisted rank. The rank Kornet in

1736-585: A holiday in Greece. At their return to Russia, he was appointed commander of the imperial house guards at Krasnoye Selo and, therefore, he was usually away fulfilling his military duties. Paul and his wife were given rooms at the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo, but they saw each other only on weekends. Although Grand Duke Sergei and his wife Elizabeth moved to Moscow in May 1891, the two couples remained very close. In

1860-786: A mass grave in the Fortress, the Bolsheviks having refused the distraught Princess Paley the right to bury her husband. On 31 January 1919, The Petrograd Pravda published the news about the execution of the four Grand Dukes. In 1981, Grand Duke Paul was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad as a holy martyr. In 1999, he was rehabilitated by the Prosecutor General 's Office of Russia. Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army or Russian Imperial Army ( Russian : Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия , romanized :  Rússkaya imperátorskaya ármiya )

1984-480: A mine shaft near Alapayevsk , one day after the murder of Tsar Nicholas II and his immediate family at Yekaterinburg . Grand Duke Paul, who was too ill to travel, initially escaped the fate of his son. Although under constant harassment, Grand Duke Paul continued living a simple life with his wife and their two daughters at Grand Duke Boris's dacha. It was difficult to find provisions, but as the Grand Duke suffered from

2108-471: A noble title at the attainment of an officer's rank (such promotions were later abolished during the reign of Catherine the Great ). Conscription of peasants and townspeople was based on quota system, per settlement. Initially, it was based on the number of households, later it was based on the population numbers. The term of service in the 18th century was for life. In 1793, it was reduced to 25 years. In 1834, it

2232-583: A number of international conferences, ensured Russia's influence in Europe, if only because of the proven capability of its army to defeat that of Napoleon and to carry the war to Paris. After the allies defeated Napoleon, Alexander played a prominent role in the redrawing of the map of Europe at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Many of the prominent Russian commanders were feted in the European capitals, including London. In

2356-525: A part of the Grande Armée to ultimately change sides in the Convention of Tauroggen . This soon forced Prussia to declare war on France, and with its mobilisation, for many Prussian officers serving in the Russian Army to leave, creating a serious shortage of experienced officers in the Russian Army. After the death of Kutuzov in early 1813, command of the Russian Army passed to Peter Wittgenstein . The campaign

2480-616: A part of the Guard Infantry Division), the Lifeguard Horse Artillery under Colonel Kozen, attached to the 1st Cuirassier Division, and the Guard Sapper Battalion. Cornet (rank) Cornet is a military rank formerly used by the armed forces of some countries. A cornet or "cornet of horse" was in the 17th and 18th centuries a term for a group of cavalry (typically 100–300 men), so-called because it

2604-634: A regular army. Conscription in Russia was introduced by Peter the Great in December 1699, though reports say Peter's father also used it. The conscripts were called "recruits" (not to be confused with voluntary army recruitment, which did not appear until the early 20th century). Peter formed a modern regular army built on the German model, but with a new aspect: officers not necessarily from nobility , as talented commoners were given promotions that eventually included

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2728-652: A relationship with Olga Valerianovna Karnovich , a married woman with three children. After obtaining a divorce for Olga and in defiance of strong family opposition, Grand Duke Paul married her in October 1902. As he contracted a morganatic marriage with a divorcée in defiance of the Tsar's prohibition, Grand Duke Paul was banished from living in Russia and deprived of his titles and privileges. Between 1902 and 1914, he lived in exile in Paris with his second wife, who gave him three children. In

2852-677: A resolution: "The Cheka's verdict against the persons of the former imperial pack - to approve, informing the Central Executive Committee ". On 27 January 1919, Grand Duke Paul was taken to Cheka headquarters and then transferred to another prison, Gorochovaia. He was kept there until 10 p.m., when he was driven to the St. Peter and St. Paul Fortress . Paul's three cousins, Grand Dukes Nicholas Michailovich, George Michailovich and Dimitri Constantinovich, were taken there directly from Spalernaia prison. The four Grand Dukes were then locked up in

2976-550: A rudimentary military presence was possible due to the distance from Europe. The campaign in France was marked by persistent advances made by the Russian-led forces towards Paris despite attempts by Alexander's allies to allow Napoleon an avenue for surrender. In a brilliant deceptive manoeuvre Alexander was able to reach, and take Paris with the help of the surrender of Marshal Marmont's beleaguered exhausted troops, before Napoleon, who

3100-503: A scorched earth policy of retreat, broken only by the Battle of Borodino on 7 September, when the Russians stood and fought. This was bloody and the Russians eventually retreated, opening the road to Moscow. Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov made the decision in order to preserve the army. By 14 September, the French captured Moscow. The Russian governor Prince Rastopchin ordered the city burnt to

3224-638: A second lieutenant within the British Army regiments of the Blues and Royals and Queen's Royal Hussars . The rank was in use by the time of the English Civil War . Among famous cornets in that conflict were George Joyce , Robert Stetson, and Ninian Beall. It was abolished along with the purchase of commissions in the Army Reform Act of 1871 , replaced by second lieutenant . General Alexander Macomb

3348-481: A soldier on each side, towards a trench that had been dug in the courtyard. The fusillade of shots sent them reeling into the trench, joining thirteen other bodies in the mass grave. Grand Duke Paul, who was too emaciated and too sick to stand, was carried on a stretcher. Before he was murdered, he was heard saying « Lord, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing ». He was killed shortly afterwards. Grand Dukes Paul, Michael, George and Dmitri were buried in

3472-519: A solemn oath that he would not marry Olga, which Paul did. Despite his family's opposition, Paul remained infatuated with Olga. He lost interest in Maria and Dmitri and spent long periods abroad with his mistress. In 1900, he bought a mansion in Bois de Boulogne that had previously belonged to Princess Zenaida Ivanovna Yusupova, intending to settle there and marry Olga once she would obtain a divorce. Olga's divorce

3596-451: A son and two daughters. Her husband, Eric von Pistohlkors, was an aide de camp of Paul's brother, Grand Duke Vladimir , and a captain in Paul's regiment. The affair initially remained secret, but it became public knowledge at court when Olga attended a court ball wearing a diamond necklace that had belonged to Paul's mother, Empress Maria Alexandrovna. The Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna recognized

3720-487: A stomach ulcer, he was kept on a strict diet. On 2 August [ O.S. 20 July] 1918, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna came to say farewell to her father. She and her husband, Prince Sergei Putiatin, fled Russia through Ukraine . A week later, Grand Duke Paul was offered, through the Danish Ambassador, Harald Scavenius , to be smuggled out of the country and taken to Vienna wearing an Austrian uniform with

3844-468: A stroke at the French strategic left wing. The main force of the blow was evaded by the French at the Battle of Mohrungen in late January 1807. In response, Napoleon mounted a counterattack designed to cut off the Russians. Bennigsen managed to avoid entrapment and the two sides fought the Battle of Eylau on 7 and 8 February 1807. After this indecisive bloodbath both sides belatedly went into winter quarters. In early June, Bennigsen mounted an offensive that

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3968-567: Is the scandal! I am simply ashamed of it... So he is even slinging mud at our family! Awful, awful! And into what an awkward and disagreeable position it puts you, my poor Nicky, you who will have to punish him, because such an act cannot remain unpunished, and, into the bargain, marrying a divorced woman!". Grand Duke Paul and his second wife were still vacationing in Italy when they were banished from Russia. They settled in Boulogne-sur-Seine where

4092-726: The Baku area of the Caucasus from Qajar Iran as much due to the news of Napoleon's defeat in 1812 as the fear by the Shah of a new campaign against him by the resurgent Russian Army where the 1810 campaign led by Matvei Platov failed. This was immediately used to raise new regiments, and to begin creating a greater foothold in the Caucasus. By the early 19th century, the empire also was firmly ensconced in Alaska reached via Cossack expeditions to Siberia, although only

4216-544: The First French Empire , but as an adversary to Napoleon , the leadership of the new emperor, Alexander I of Russia (r. 1801–1825), who came to the throne as the result of his father's assassination (in which he was rumoured to be implicated) became crucial. The Russian Army in 1805 had many characteristics of Ancien Régime organization: there was no permanent formation above the regimental level, senior officers were largely recruited from aristocratic circles, and

4340-703: The Gulf of Bothnia . The eastern part became the Russian Grand Duchy of Finland . The Russo-Turkish War broke out in 1805–06 against the background of the Napoleonic Wars . The Ottoman Empire , encouraged by the Russian defeat in the Battle of Austerlitz , deposed the Russophile hospodars of its vassal states Moldavia ( Alexander Mourouzis ) and Wallachia ( Constantine Ypsilantis ). Simultaneously, their French allies occupied Dalmatia and threatened to penetrate

4464-461: The Minister of War in 1810, he instituted further reorganization and other changes in the army, down to company level, that saw the creation of separate grenadier divisions, and dedication of one brigade in each division to the jaeger light infantry for skirmishing in open order formations. The Nikolaev General Staff Academy was established in 1832 with the involvement of Antoine-Henri Jomini ,

4588-535: The Napoleonic Wars the active Russian Army was maintained at just over 1 million men, which was increased to 1.7 million during the Crimean War . It remained at around this level until the outbreak of World War I , at which point Russia had the largest peacetime standing army in Europe, about 1.3 million. The wartime mobilization increased this to a strength of 4.5 million, and in total 15 million men served from 1914 to 1917. In March [ O.S. February] 1917

4712-570: The Oder , Napoleon pushed east to seize Warsaw . In late December, the initial clashes between the French and Russians at Czarnowo , Golymin , and Pułtusk were without result. The French emperor put his troops into winter quarters east of the Vistula River, but the new Russian commander Levin August von Bennigsen refused to remain passive. Bennigsen shifted his army north into East Prussia and launched

4836-477: The Russian Invasion of Northern and Central Manchuria . The army's share of the budget fell from 30% to 18% in 1881–1902. By 1904 Russia was spending 57% and 63% of what Germany and Austria-Hungary were spending on each soldier, respectively. Army morale was broken by crushing over 1500 protests from 1883 to 1903. The Mosin–Nagant rifle was produced in 1891 and in the same year began to be used. The army

4960-591: The V Infantry Corps commanded at Borodino by General Lieutenant Lavrov and two cavalry divisions with their own artillery and train by the conclusion of the 1814 campaign. At Austerlitz in 1805 the artillery of the Guard included the Lifeguard Artillery Battalion under General Major Ivan Kaspersky. At Borodino in 1812 the artillery of the Guard included the Lifeguard Artillery Brigade (now

5084-691: The Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, with vacations at Livadia , the family's Crimean retreat. As time passed and the Empress’ health dictated her to avoid the harsh Russian climate, the Tsarina spent long sojourns abroad with her three youngest children in Jugenheim outside Darmstadt , and the winters in the south of France. Paul was a protected delicate child; he never had a robust constitution. Grand Duke Paul

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5208-503: The Belgian campaign, re-entered combat against the minor French forces in the East and occupied several important fortresses. Following the Napoleonic Wars, Emperor Nicholas I maintained a large army to keep Russia as a major power in Europe, which at the start of the Crimean War in the 1850s numbered 1,151,319 troops. The main focus of the army was on parades and artificial war games overseen by

5332-626: The Danubian principalities at any time. In order to safeguard the Russian border against a possible French attack and support the First Serbian uprising , a 40,000-strong Russian contingent advanced into Moldavia and Wallachia . The Sultan reacted by blocking the Dardanelles to Russian ships in 1807 and declared war on Russia. The war lasted until 1812. In the Finnish War Alexander wrested

5456-817: The Dutch armed forces is used for last year (most senior) officer cadets who pursue a career in the Royal Marechaussee (gendarmerie/policing), or in the cavalry and artillery branches of the Royal Netherlands Army . Cadets of the same seniority in other branches of the Army or in the Royal Netherlands Air Force are designated the rank Vaandrig and those with the Royal Netherlands Navy Adelborst . The rank of field cornet ( veldkornet )

5580-415: The Grand Duchy of Finland from Sweden in 1809, and acquired Bessarabia from Turkey in 1812. The requirement of joining France's Continental Blockade against Britain was a serious disruption of Russian commerce, and in 1810 Alexander repudiated the obligation. This strategic change was followed by a substantial reform in the army undertaken by Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly as the Minister of War. At

5704-423: The Grand Duke's health, already bad, declined sharply, he was transferred to the prison hospital on the island of Goloday . Before he left, he was allowed to say goodbye to his young daughters, Irina and Natalia . Shortly afterwards, Princess Paley arranged for the two girls to be smuggled into Finland . They never saw their father again. On Christmas Day, according to the old calendar, Princess Paley arrived at

5828-459: The Great accelerated the modernization of Russia's armed forces, including with a decree in 1699 that created the basis for recruiting soldiers, military regulations for the organization of the army in 1716, and creating the College of War in 1718 for the army administration. Starting in 1700 Peter began replacing the older Streltsy forces with new Western-style regiments organized on the basis of his already existing Guards regiments. After

5952-442: The Great maintained professional hereditary musketeer corps known as streltsy . These were originally raised by Ivan the Terrible ; originally an effective force, they had become highly unreliable and undisciplined. In times of war, the armed forces were augmented by peasants. The regiments of the new order , or regiments of the foreign order ( Полки нового строя or Полки иноземного строя , Polki novovo (inozemnovo) stroya ),

6076-510: The Imperial Army swore loyalty to the Russian Provisional Government after the abdication of Emperor Nicholas II , though the official status of the monarchy was not resolved until September 1917, when the Russian Republic was declared. Even after the February Revolution , despite its ineffectiveness on the offensive, the majority of the army remained intact and the troops were still at the front lines. The "old army" did not begin disintegrating until early 1918. Russian tsars before Peter

6200-457: The Prussian model by the emperor's father Paul I against wishes of most of its officer corps, and with his demise immediate changes followed to remove much of the Prussianness from its character. Although the army had conventional European parts within it such as the monarch's guard, the infantry and cavalry of the line and field artillery, it also included a very large contingent of semi-regular Cossacks that in times of rare peace served to guard

6324-408: The Romanovs, Grand Duke Paul had a happy life in Paris with Olga and their three children. They lived in style employing a household staff of sixteen maids, gardeners, cooks, and tutors and they were avid art and old porcelain collectors. At their mansion in Boulogne-sur-Seine, they had a hectic social life offering dinners and lavish receptions entertaining writers, artist and Russian abroad. The couple

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6448-442: The Russian Empire's southern borders, and in times of war served as fully-fledged light cavalry, providing invaluable reconnaissance service often far better than that available to other European armies due to the greater degree of initiative and freedom of movement by Cossack detachments. The Ukrainian lands of the Empire also provided most of the Hussar and Ulan regiments for the regular light cavalry . Another unusual feature of

6572-470: The Russian soldier, in line with 18th-century practice, was regularly beaten and punished to instill discipline. Furthermore, many lower-level officers were poorly trained and had difficulty getting their men to perform the sometimes complex manoeuvres required in a battle. Nevertheless, the Russians did have a fine artillery arm manned by soldiers trained in academies and who would regularly fight hard to prevent their pieces from falling into enemy hands. Both

6696-530: The Russians and Austrians met a decisive military defeat at the hands of Napoleon during the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805. The War of the Fourth Coalition (1806–1807) involving Prussia, Russia, Saxony, Sweden and the United Kingdom against France formed within months of the collapse of the previous coalition. In August 1806, King Frederick William III of Prussia made the decision to go to war independently of any other great power except neighbouring Russia. Another course of action might have involved declaring war

6820-487: The army that was seen twice during the period was the constitution of the Narodnoe Opolcheniye , for the first time since the coming to power of the Romanov dynasty . In 1806, most of the Inspections were abolished, and replaced by divisions based on the French model although still territorially based. By 1809, there were 25 infantry divisions as permanent field formations, each organised around three infantry brigade and one artillery brigade. When Barclay de Tolly became

6944-448: The banks on 27 December. Grand Duke Paul, who had deposited all the jewelry he had inherited from his parents in the banks, under his wife's name, lost all his fortune. By early January 1918, Grand Duke Paul and his family could no longer afford to heat their large Tsarskoe Selo palace and they were forced to move to a nearby English dacha that belonged to his nephew, Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich . Shortly after they moved out, their home

7068-427: The battlefield. By that time, Paul was, once again, one of the few members of the extended Romanov family on good terms with the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna . Through her intervention, Nicholas II placed Paul in command of the First Corps of the Imperial Guard in 1915. However, before he could assume his military appointment, Paul felt gravely ill with gall bladder trouble. It was feared that he had cancer and he spent

7192-487: The building changed many hands over time. When the revolution ended, the mansion was sold to the Russian Society for the Production of Equipment and Military Supplies. Eventually it became home to various Soviet institutions. The palace has survived to the present and today it is at the disposal of Saint Petersburg State University . Grand Duke Paul's brother, Tsar Alexander III, died on 1 November [ O.S. 20 October] 1894 and Paul's nephew, Nicholas II, became

7316-428: The celebration of the Romanov Tercentenary . Grand Duke Paul moved back permanently to Russia only when he finished a house for himself and his family at Tsarskoe Selo in May 1914. At the out break of World War I , Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich's two sons, Dmitri and Vladimir, joined the war effort and his daughter, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna , became an army nurse. In August 1915, the Tsar granted Paul's wife, Olga,

7440-471: The concert hall with portraits of great composers and panels depicting The Four Seasons . Grand Duke Paul's marriage was happy, but brief. Alexandra, after a difficult first pregnancy, gave birth to a daughter on 18 April  [ O.S. 6 April] 1890, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia (1890–1958). Alexandra was of a frail constitution and she was also homesick for her native Greece. In autumn of that same year, Grand Duke Paul took his wife for

7564-423: The defence of the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea littorals, and 17 infantry and 3.5 cavalry divisions were to be transported in from Siberia and Turkestan. Among the army's higher formations during the war were the Western Front , the Northwestern Front and the Romanian Front . The war in the East began with Russian invasion of East Prussia (1914) and the Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia . The first ended in

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7688-401: The dungeons of Troubetskoy Bastion. All four were to be shot early the next morning as hostages in response to the murders of Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg in Germany. At 3 a.m. on the following day, the four Grand Dukes were taken outside the fortress and stripped to the waist, despite the fact that it was almost −20 °C (−4 °F). His three cousins were each escorted, with

7812-428: The emperor approved a conscription statute that made military service compulsory for all 21-year-old males with the term reduced for land army to six years plus nine years in reserve. This conscription created a large pool of experienced military reservists who would be ready to mobilize in case of war. It also permitted the Russian Empire to maintain a smaller standing army in peacetime. The system of military education

7936-459: The emperor. Following Russia's defeat in the Crimean War during the reign of Emperor Alexander II , the Minister of War , Count Dmitry Milyutin , instituted a series of military reforms, which had their basis in the emancipation of the serfs in 1861 . The modernization of the Imperial Army included reorganizing the Ministry of War for better centralized leadership, the creation of new technical and support organizations, changes to finances, and

8060-400: The fall and the winter of 1915-1916 sick. It was only after he recovered many months later, in May 1916, that Grand Duke Paul, ignoring his doctor's advice, left to take command of the 1st Guards Corps . He served with the rank of General of Cavalry. After a difficult spell at the front under heavy enemy bombardment at the village of Sokoul, he was awarded a St George's Cross 4th class, one of

8184-411: The fall of the Russian monarchy in March 1917, Grand Duke Paul, his wife, and their children remained united living at their luxurious estate in Tsarkoe Selo amid the upheaval. As Tsar Nicholas II and his family were sent to internal exile in Siberia , the Provisional Government , led by Alexander Kerensky , placed Paul under house arrest on 9 September [ O.S. 27 August]. His telephone line

8308-454: The fall of the Russian monarchy, Grand Duke Paul initially remained at his palace in Tsarskoe Selo during the period of the provisional government . With the Bolsheviks ascending to power, his palace was expropriated, and eventually he was arrested and sent to prison. In declining health, he was shot by the Bolsheviks with other Romanov relatives in the courtyard of the Peter and Paul Fortress in January 1919, and his remains were thrown into

8432-492: The family atmosphere of his first cousin Queen Olga of Greece , Grand Duke Paul grew closer with Olga's eldest daughter, Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark . Alexandra's father, King George I of Greece , was a brother of Tsarina Maria Feodorovna , Paul's sister-in-law. During the silver wedding anniversary of King George and Queen Olga, Paul asked for Alexandra's hand and he was accepted. Alexandra had come to Russia several times during visits to her maternal relatives. She

8556-468: The field on the same principles as it had been in the 18th century of units being assigned to campaign headquarters, and the "army" being known either for its senior commander, or the area of its operations. Administratively, the regiments were assigned to Military Inspections, the predecessors of military districts , and included the conscript training depots, garrisons and fortress troops and munitions magazines . The army had been thoroughly reorganised on

8680-496: The first time. Shortly after, they returned to Paris but their son, Vladimir, stayed in Russia and became a student in the Corps des Pages . In 1912, on the occasion of Dmitri reaching his majority, Tsar Nicholas II, finally relented and pardoned his only surviving uncle, restoring Grand Duke Paul's titles and privileges. He also recognized as valid Paul's second marriage. However, Grand Duke Paul decided to remain living in France. In 1913, Paul visited Russia, once again, to take part in

8804-434: The front and gather some troops to save the throne. He declined, convinced that it was going to be a fruitless endeavor. Instead, with the assistance of Prince Michael Putiatin and the lawyer Nicholas Ivanov, Grand Duke Paul drafted a manifesto introducing the idea of a constitutional monarchy with Nicholas II remaining as an Emperor. It was signed by Paul, Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich and Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich ,

8928-510: The funeral, but Olga was denied entrance that April to attend the promotion of her son Alexander Pistohlkors as an army officer. Paul claimed the custody of Marie and Dmitri, but the Tsar made Elizabeth their guardian. From then on, Grand Duke Paul was allowed to visit his children from his first marriage, but not to return to Russia permanently with his second wife. On 5 December that same year, Grand Duke Paul and Olga had another daughter, Natalia , completing their family. Although an outcast to

9052-423: The ground and large parts of it were destroyed. Alexander I refused to capitulate, and with no sign of clear victory in sight, Napoleon was forced to withdraw from Moscow's ruins. So the disastrous Great Retreat began, with 370,000 casualties largely as a result of starvation and the freezing weather conditions, and 200,000 captured. Napoleon narrowly escaped total annihilation at the Battle of Berezina , but his army

9176-461: The hall of their jailers and the clank of their keys in the door. Lunch was served at noon, which consisted of dirty hot water with a few fish bones in it and black bread. The lights were turned on in the cells at 7 p.m., although as the winter approached, the prisoners had to sit in darkness until that time. During the short time they were given to exercise, the Grand Dukes were able to exchange

9300-686: The hospital as usual to see her husband and bring him food. There was a new director, and the Princess was treated roughly. She was allowed to see her husband only briefly. It was their last time together. Princess Paley continued making desperate attempts to have her husband released through the intervention of Maxim Gorky . On 9 January 1919 the Presidium of the Cheka in a meeting was attended by Martin Latsis , Yakov Peters , Ivan Ksenofontov and Secretary Murnek issued

9424-523: The imminent threat of Russian invasion of Poland. The Grande Armée, 650,000 men (270,000 Frenchmen and many soldiers of allies or subject powers), crossed the Neman on 23 June 1812. Russia proclaimed a Patriotic War, while Napoleon proclaimed a Second Polish war, but against the expectations of the Poles who supplied almost 100,000 troops for the invasion force he avoided any concessions toward Poland, having in mind further negotiations with Russia. Russia maintained

9548-963: The jewels and had Olga removed from the ball. In the subsequent scandal, Paul was moved to a different regimental command and Eric von Pistohlkors was sent away, but it was already too late. Olga was pregnant with Paul's child. She gave birth to a son, Vladimir , in January 1897, and Eric von Pistohlkors asked for a divorce. Paul wanted to recognize Vladimir as his son and marry Olga, but his family opposed his union. His nephew Nicholas II of Russia and older brother Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia were particularly angry about his intentions. His brother Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia and his sister-in-law, Grand Duchess Elizabeth begged him to reconsider and think about his children and his responsibilities in Russia. The relationship with his brother Sergei and his sister-in-law Elisabeth, so close before, never recovered. Grand Duke Vladimir asked Paul to swear

9672-849: The most coveted military decorations. Due to his bad health, the grand duke was moved, in September 1916, to a new appointment as inspector general of the Guard at the Tsar's headquarters and his son, Vladimir, was placed under his orders. In the autumn of 1916, Paul took a three-week holiday in Crimea with his wife and children. On his way back north, in November, he visited the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna in Kiev . Maria Feodorovna and her son-in-law, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich , enlisted Paul's help in order to persuade Nicholas II and his wife of

9796-547: The need for change and to get rid of Rasputin 's damaging influence. Grand Duke Paul had an audience with the Tsar and Tsarina in December. He handled the issue with tact, but without success. Nevertheless, he was able to retain Nicholas II and Alexandra's confidence even after it was shaken with Paul's son Dmitri's involvement in Rasputin's murder in the early hours of 30 December  [ O.S. 17 December] 1916. Paul, who

9920-430: The new tsar. There was only an eight-year gap between uncle and nephew and Paul had known Nicholas II's wife, Alexandra Feodorovna, since she was a little girl, when in his youth he made many visits to his mother's native Darmstadt . Therefore, Grand Duke Paul was well-liked by the new Tsar and Tsarina. In 1895, Paul began an affair with a commoner, Olga Valerianovna Karnovich . Olga was married with three young children,

10044-570: The previous year and joining Austria and Russia. This might have contained Napoleon and prevented the Allied disaster in the Battle of Austerlitz . In any event, the Russian Army, an ally of Prussia, still remained far away when Prussia declared war. Napoleon smashed the main Prussian armies at the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt on 14 October 1806 and hunted down the survivors during the remainder of October and November. Having destroyed all Prussian forces west of

10168-483: The rank of field cornet was used in the South African Army from 1960 to 1968. Cornet was originally the lowest grade of commissioned officer in a British cavalry troop , the modern equivalent being a second lieutenant . The rank was abolished by the 1871 Cardwell Reforms , which replaced it with sub-lieutenant . Although obsolete, the term is still used as an internal title of address when referring to

10292-813: The relative who refuses to submit to our family statutes the graver must be his punishment. . . How painful and distressing it all is and how ashamed one feels for the sake of our family before the world! What guarantee is there now that Cyril won't start the same sort of thing tomorrow and Boris , or Sergei Mikhailovich the day after? And, in the end, I fear, a whole colony of members of the Russian Imperial Family will be established in Paris with their semi-legitimate and illegitimate wives! God alone knows what times we are living in, when undisguised selfishness stifles all feelings of conscience, duty or even ordinary decency!". Nicholas' mother Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna

10416-499: The same time, Russia continued its expansion. The Congress of Vienna created the Kingdom of Poland (Russian Poland), to which Alexander granted a constitution. Thus, Alexander I became the constitutional monarch of Poland while remaining the autocratic Emperor of Russia. He was also the Grand Duke of Finland, which had been annexed from Sweden in 1809 and awarded autonomous status. The Russo-French alliance gradually became strained. Napoleon

10540-529: The same year, under the influence of religious mysticism, Alexander initiated the creation of the Holy Alliance , a loose agreement pledging the rulers of the nations involved—including most of Europe—to act according to Christian principles. This emerged in part due to the influence religion had played in the army during the war of 1812, and its influence on the common soldiers and officers alike. The Russian occupation forces in France, though not participating in

10664-665: The spring of 1914, he settled back in Russia with his second family. With the outbreak of World War I , Grand Duke Paul was appointed in command of the first corps of the Imperial Guard . Afflicted with ill health, he served only intermittently. During the last days of the Tsarist period, he was one of the few members of the Romanov family who remained close to Tsar Nicholas II and his wife, Alexandra Feodorovna . It fell upon Grand Duke Paul to inform Alexandra of Nicholas II's abdication. After

10788-515: The summer of 1891, Paul and Alexandra decided to spend some time with them at Ilinskoie, Sergei's country estate outside Moscow. While there, Alexandra, seven months pregnant with her second child, carelessly stepped into a waiting boat, causing premature labor and the following day gave birth prematurely to a son, Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia (1891–1942). Alexandra did not recover consciousness and died six days later on 24 September  [ O.S. 12 September] 1891. Grand Duke Paul

10912-703: The system of military training getting a complete overhaul. The Main Staff of the Army was subordinated to the Ministry of War and the Department of the General Staff became the operations section of the Main Staff. The engineering, medical, supply, and ordnance services of the army were also placed under the Ministry of War. The last part of Milyutin's reforms focused on military recruitment and occurred in 1874. On 1 January 1874,

11036-446: The three most senior grand dukes in the last period of Imperial Russia. The manifesto was then delivered to the Duma to be presented for the Tsar's signature on March 1, at Nicholas II's return from headquarters. However, before that, the Tsar's train was held up and Nicholas II abdicated on 2 March. It fell upon Grand Duke Paul to inform Alexandra of Nicholas II's abdication on 3 March. At

11160-433: The title of Princess Paley with the style of Serene Highness , and their children also became Prince Vladimir Pavlovich Paley and Princesses Irina Pavlovna and Natalia Pavlovna Paley. In the same month, Prince Vladimir Paley joined a regiment. Although he had been away from active service for many years and his health was frail, Grand Duke Paul begged his nephew, Tsar Nicholas II, to give him an active military appointment on

11284-573: The treaty, and Alexander made use of his alliance with Napoleon for further expansion. Napoleon created the Duchy of Warsaw out of former Prussian territory. At the Congress of Erfurt (September–October 1808) Napoleon and Alexander agreed that Russia should force Sweden to join the Continental System, which led to the Finnish War of 1808–1809 and to the division of Sweden into two parts separated by

11408-533: The war, Emperor Nicholas II appointed his cousin, Grand Duke Nicholas as Commander-in-Chief. On mobilization, the Russian Army totalled 115 infantry and 38 cavalry divisions with nearly 7,900 guns (7,100 field guns, 540 field howitzers and 257 heavy guns). There were only 2 army ambulances and 679 cars. Divisions were allocated as follows: 32 infantry and 10.5 cavalry divisions to operate against Germany, 46 infantry and 18.5 cavalry divisions to operate against Austria-Hungary, 19.5 infantry and 5.5 cavalry divisions for

11532-420: Was accompanied by a cornet player (a trumpet-like instrument, from Old French cornet (14c.), Latin cornū , "horn"). Later "cornet" came to refer to the fifth commissioned officer in a cavalry troop, who carried the colours ; it never referred to the cornet player himself. An alternative etymology claims that the term is derived from a cornette , a woman's headdress, with a strip of lace hanging down from

11656-417: Was afflicted by the death of his mother, whose slim figure and delicate health he inherited. Shortly after, his father married his mistress Catherine Dolgorukova. Grand Duke Paul, overprotected by his brother Sergei, did not know of the affair. Emotionally distraught by the news, he had to travel abroad to recuperate. Grand Duke Paul was on a trip to Italy with his brother Sergei when their father Alexander II

11780-417: Was also reformed, and elementary education was made available to all the draftees. Milyutin's reforms are regarded as a milestone in the history of Russia: they dispensed with the military recruitment and professional army introduced by Peter the Great and created the Russian army such as it continued into the 21st century. Up to Dmitry Milyutin's reforms in 1874 the Russian Army had no permanent barracks and

11904-432: Was assassinated on 13 March [O.S. 1 March] 1881. Paul's eldest surviving brother, Alexander III, ascended to the Russian throne. Since childhood, Paul was very attached to his brother Sergei, their closeness remaining even after Sergei's engagement and later marriage to Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine (1864–1918) . Paul accompanied the couple to England to meet Elisabeth's British grandmother, Queen Victoria , who

12028-495: Was at Stavka with Nicholas II when both received news of the event, was horrified of his son's participation in the murder. The Grand Duke supported his son and wrote a letter to the Tsar asking for clemency for Dmitri. Nevertheless, after spending some time under house arrest, Dmitri was sent to the Persian front as a form of exile. On 28 February  [ O.S. 8 March] 1917, Alexandra summoned Paul and asked him to go to

12152-718: Was billeted in dugouts and shacks. The army saw service against the Turks during the Russo-Turkish War . During the Boxer Rebellion 100,000 Russian troops fought to pacify part of Manchuria and to secure its railroads. Some Russian military forces were already stationed in China before the war, and one of them met a grotesque end at the Battle of Pai-t'ou-tzu when the dead Russians were mutilated by Chinese troops, who decapitated them and sliced crosses into their bodies. Other battles fought include Boxers attacks on Chinese Eastern Railway , Defence of Yingkou , Battles on Amur River , and

12276-567: Was concerned about Russia's intentions in the strategically vital Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits. At the same time, Alexander viewed the Duchy of Warsaw , the French-controlled reconstituted Polish state, with suspicion. The result was the War of the Sixth Coalition from 1812 to 1814. In 1812, Napoleon invaded Russia to compel Alexander I to remain in the Continental System and to remove

12400-537: Was cut and a squad of soldiers guarded all the exits to his home. Through the intervention of his daughter, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia , whose second wedding he was not able to attend, the guards in charge of overseeing his house were removed. The lives of the Romanovs deteriorated sharply after the Bolsheviks rose to power in October 1917. On 13 November [ O.S. 31 October], Grand Duke Paul's house

12524-478: Was deeply affected by Alexandra's death. During this period, his brother Sergei and Sergei's wife took care of Paul's motherless children in a pattern of behavior that would be repeated in the years to follow. In his widowhood, the grieving grand duke moved to Tsarskoye Selo , leaving his palace in St Peterburg that had been his home with Alexandra to never return. For a long time, the palace stood vacant. After that,

12648-706: Was defeated by Japan during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05, notable engagements being the Siege of Port Arthur and the Battle of Mukden . After the mobilizations in the spring of 1905, by the summer the Russian army in the Far East grew to a strength of almost one million well-equipped and -trained soldiers facing an exhausted Japanese army, but the Russian naval defeat at the Battle of Tsushima made peace talks more desirable. The first reservists to be mobilized were older men with minimal training, some of whom had never held

12772-486: Was educated at home by private tutors. From the 1870s, Paul and his brother Sergei were kept in Russia by their studies. They were destined to follow a military career. From 1864 to 1885, their tutor was Admiral Dmitri Arsenyev (1832-1915), who encouraged his pupils to have a broad artistic education as well. Grand Duke Paul became a good amateur actor and an excellent dancer. He was widely liked due to his gentle character, very different from his boisterous eldest brothers. He

12896-473: Was equally angry: "This marriage of Uncle Paul's is really too distressing! Alas, he seems to have forgotten everything— his duty to his children, to his country, service honour, all, all, have been sacrificed ... How could he go through with it after all he had been told by his brothers and by us all? ... The thought of the misery of his poor little children for whom he had been everything and whom he has abandoned distresses me more than I can say ... And then there

13020-417: Was expropriated and turned into a museum, while Lenin himself rode in their car. In March 1918, all male members of the Romanov family, including Paul's son, Vladimir, were ordered to register at Cheka headquarters and shortly after they were sent away into internal Russian exile. They never saw Vladimir again. He was murdered by the Bolsheviks, along with several other Romanov relatives, on 18 July 1918 in

13144-417: Was favorably impressed by Paul. After Sergei's marriage, Paul moved in with his brother and his new sister-in-law, who also became very close to him. The trio shared the same household for some time, and they made a trip together to Jerusalem in 1888. Grand Duke Paul suffered from weak lungs and spent periods abroad to recuperate. On medical advice, he visited Greece in 1887. During his visits to Greece, in

13268-419: Was from birth a Guard cornet in an Infantry Regiment. However, his career advanced more slowly than that of his elder brothers. He became a Lieutenant in January 1874, but as he was still too young, he was the only one of Tsar Alexander II's sons not to take part in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78) . Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich was known as a gentle person, religious and accessible to people. In June 1880, he

13392-468: Was granted in 1902. In August 1902, Paul's niece, Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna , married Prince Nicholas of Greece , Paul's former brother-in-law. It was the first time that Paul's former father-in-law, King George of Greece, came to Russia since the death of his daughter Alexandra. Their meeting was very uncomfortable. After the wedding celebrations were over, Paul left for Italy where Olga awaited him. On 10 October 1902, Grand Duke Paul married Olga in

13516-453: Was inherited by his adopted daughter, Nadezhda Polovtsova . She sold the property to the Treasury in 1887, and Grand Duke Paul bought it the same year. In 1889, he had the architect Maximilian Messmacher redesign some of the interiors, creating a Moorish Hall. The treasures of the house included the white marble staircase, the sitting room decorated with caryatids , the oak-paneled library, and

13640-534: Was initially commissioned a cornet in a career in which he eventually became Commanding General of the United States Army . The ranks of ensign and cornet were abolished in the US Army in 1815. The subaltern rank of cornet was the equivalent of the contemporary infantry rank of ensign ; today both have been supplanted by the rank of second lieutenant . The cornet carried the troop standard , known as

13764-547: Was inseparable. By the time of Paul's birth, his mother was afflicted with tuberculosis and the doctors advised her not to have more children. Relations between Paul's parents ceased. The family was struck by tragedy in 1865 with the death of Paul's eldest brother, Nicholas Alexandrovich, Tsesarevich of Russia , when Paul was four years old. The following year, his father, Alexander II, started an affair with Princess Catherine Dolgorukova , who gave him three children. Grand Duke Paul's early years were spent at Tsarskoye Selo and at

13888-517: Was lively and mischievous, while he was reserved. Their engagement was announced on 10 November 1888. The wedding took place on 17 June [ O.S. 5 June] 1889 in St. Petersburg , at the chapel of the Winter Palace . Grand Duke Paul was 29 years old and his wife ten years younger. Paul settled with his wife in his own palace in St. Petersburg on the English Embankment, No. 68. The mansion

14012-720: Was located behind the Church of the Annunciation and faced the Corps de la Marine in the very center of Saint Petersburg. It was built in the Florentine renaissance revival style by the architect Alexander Krakau between 1859 and 1862 for Baron Alexander von Stieglitz , a prominent financier and the first Governor of the State Bank of the Russian Empire . After Stieglitz's death in 1884, the mansion

14136-454: Was noted for the number of sieges the Russian Army conducted and a large number of Narodnoe Opolcheniye ( irregular troops ) that continued to serve in its ranks until newly trained recruits could reach the area of combat operations. Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov emerged as one of the leading and talented senior commanders of the army, participating in many important battles, including the Battle of Leipzig . In 1813 Russia gained territory in

14260-524: Was out of position and rushing to Paris to defend it, could reinforce its garrison, effectively ending the campaign. More pragmatically, in 1814 Russia, Britain, Austria, and Prussia had formed the Quadruple Alliance . The allies created an international system to maintain the territorial status quo and prevent the resurgence of an expansionist France. This included each ally maintaining a corps of occupation in France. The Quadruple Alliance, confirmed by

14384-466: Was quickly parried by the French. Napoleon launched a pursuit toward Königsberg but the Russians successfully fended it off at the Battle of Heilsberg . On 14 June, Bennigsen unwisely fought the Battle of Friedland with a river at his back and saw his army mauled with heavy losses. Following this defeat, Alexander was forced to sue for peace with Napoleon at Tilsit on 7 July 1807, with Russia becoming Napoleon's ally. Russia lost little territory under

14508-647: Was ransacked and his firearms collection was taken away. Paul was arrested and held for two weeks at the Bolsheviks' headquarters in the Smolny Institute . He was going to be incarcerated at the Peter and Paul Fortress , but the Grand Duke protested. He was treated well by his captors, who addressed him as "Comrade Highness". Due to his frail health, he was released and returned to live in Tsarskoe Selo with his family. The Bolshevik Government confiscated all property held by

14632-400: Was reduced to 20 years plus five years in the reserve, and in 1855 to 12 years plus three years in the reserve. The history of the Russian Army in this era was principally linked to the name of Russian General Alexander Suvorov , considered to be one of the few great generals in history who never lost a battle. From 1777 to 1783 Suvorov served in the Crimea and in the Caucasus , becoming

14756-410: Was sent to Spalernaia prison, where he would remain for most of his incarceration. His cousins, Grand Dukes Dimitri Konstantinovich , Nicholas Mikhailovich and George Mikhailovich , were already imprisoned there. The four Grand Dukes, all men in their fifties, each had their own cell, 7 feet (2.1 m) by 3 feet (0.91 m). Their days began at 7 a.m., when they were awakened by the steps in

14880-657: Was the Russian term that was used to describe military units that were formed in the Tsardom of Russia in the 17th century according to the Western European military standards. There were different kinds of regiments, such as the regulars ( infantry ), dragoons , and reiters . In 1631, the Russians created two regular regiments in Moscow. During the Smolensk War of 1632–1634, six more regular regiments, one reiter regiment, and

15004-637: Was the armed land force of the Russian Empire , active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of regular troops and two forces that served on separate regulations: the Cossack troops and the Muslim troops. A regular Russian army existed after the end of the Great Northern War in 1721. During his reign, Peter

15128-517: Was used for the senior officer of a ward or sub-district in the independent republican states of the Transvaal and Oranje-Vrystaat in late 19th century South Africa . They were elected by the commandos of their ward for periods of three years. In the case of large wards, an assistant field cornet could also be chosen. The rank was reminiscent of the Dutch use in cavalry troops that the commandos most closely resembled. In apartheid-era South Africa ,

15252-473: Was very close to their three children, and on Sundays, the whole family attended private mass at the Russian church on rue Daru. Although he was not consulted in the engagement of his daughter Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna to Prince Wilhem of Sweden , Paul attended the wedding on 3 May [ O.S. 20 April] 1908. That same year, Grand Duke Paul, Olga and their three children visited Russia together for

15376-522: Was wrecked nevertheless. By December only 20,000 fit soldiers from the main army were among those who recrossed the Neman at Kaunas . By this time Napoleon had abandoned his army to return to Paris and prepare a defence against the advancing Russians. As the French retreated, the Russians pursued them into Poland and Prussia, causing the Prussian Corps under Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg that had been formerly

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