Alexander III of Russia

Alexander III was emperor of Russia from 1881 to 1894 and pursued an autocratic programme after the assassination of his father Alexander II.

Alexander became heir after the death of his elder brother and married Dagmar of Denmark, who became Maria Feodorovna. His reign strengthened central authority, censorship and Russification while industrial and railway expansion accelerated. He rejected broad constitutional reform and left the throne to his eldest son Nicholas II in 1894.