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Duke Alexander Petrovich of Oldenburg

Saint Petersburg, 2 Jun 1844 – Biarritz, 6 Sep 1932

10 facts3 sources

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 2 Jun 1844

    Born in Saint Petersburg

  2. 6 Sep 1932

    Dies in Biarritz, aged 88

Family

See the tree

Parents

Partner

During his lifetime

He lived through 10 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Saint Petersburg.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1840s · Duke is born in Saint Petersburg

In the news1848

Cholera and Crop Failures in 1848

In 1848, a major cholera epidemic, coupled with a bad harvest and dry weather that caused widespread town fires, severely disrupted the lives of the agrarian population.

Getting around

Vast network of postal relay stations

The postal system maintained approximately 3,950 relay stations across the empire, utilizing over 50,000 horses to provide fresh teams for travelers and mail couriers.

In Europe1845–1852

The Great Famine in Ireland

Potato blight ruined harvests: a million Irish people died and a million more emigrated, many to America.

Daily life

Low rates of peasant literacy and education

Literacy among serfs was extremely low, with estimates not exceeding 1%. Education was largely confined to home training by local sextons or clerks, often limited to reading, writing, and basic arithmetic.

What people wore

A single lifetime festive outfit

Peasants often prepared one high-quality outfit in their youth that was kept for their entire lives to be worn only on the most important feast days.

Music

Traditional khorovod dances and reed instruments

In the Kursk region, women performed traditional round dances called khorovod or karagod while singing and playing kuvichki, a set of pan-flute pipes made of reeds of varying lengths.

At the table

Everyday Drinks of the Peasantry

Kvass, a drink made from rye flour and malt, was the most common everyday beverage for ordinary people. While tea culture was starting to spread, it remained a luxury for many rural families, who often only drank it during illness or on special occasions.