Alexander III Obituary. Price, for Use of the Plates, $1.00. American Press Association.

“He never once doubted that he was the Lord’s anointed…”

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The Associated Press (AP News) was established in New York City in 1846. This AP-distributed illustrated broadside, titled “The Czar–24 Special Feature. 1894,” provides a lengthy obit and opinion piece on Russian Tsar Alexander III in a three-column format.

A clear editorial perspective characterizes the Romanoffs as eccentric and despotic, underscoring the oppressive aspects of Alexander III’s rule. In part:

“The Jewish community, whose experience in Russia was persistently challenging, faced increasingly hostile persecution” and “The hard cruel fact remains that he reversed all the liberal movements of his father, gave the penal laws a sharper edge, treated Jews and Poles with atrocious cruelty, [and] adopted the worst features of so called panslavism…”

The text also opines on the czar’s religious convictions and the persecution endured by specific societal groups during his reign:

“Alexander III’s faith was unwavering. He firmly believed that he was divinely ordained to govern both Russia and its subject territories, viewing those who did not unconditionally follow his directives—Jews, Stundists, Mennonites, and others—as being in defiance of God and meriting little leniency.”

Other passages describe the various assassination attempts on Alexander III’s life:

“Brave as Alexander III was, the continued danger of assassination finally wore him out, as it has many other brave man. He narrowly escaped at the funeral of his father. At another time there was an explosion in the palace and again a narrow escape. Finally occurred the explosion on the railway to Moscow, and the slightest of accidents alone prevented the whole imperial family from being blown into eternity.” (Józef Piłsudski, the future founder of Poland’s Second Republic, was imprisoned in Siberia for five years for his role in this failed assassination.)

The broadside concludes by speculating on who would become Alexander III’s successor.

Price: $125.00