and the Turks before it fell into the hands of the former iu ISoU. Pop., 1885, 22,600; 1897, 32,000.
ALEXANDROV, ii'leUsiin'drof. A town in Russia in the fjovcrnuient of Vhulimir, on an affluent of llie Kliasnia. a branch of the Volga, 72 miles east of Jloseow { Map : Russia, E 3 ) . It was a favorite summer residence of the Czar Ivan the Terrible, who introduced there the first printing-press known in Russia, in the sixteenth century. It has ,1 magnificent imperial stud, established by the Empress Elizabeth in 17til and
comjdeted about twenty years after. It is note-
worthy for its convent, in the burial grounds of
which are kept the remains of two sisters of
Peter the Great. Pop., 188.5, 0700; 1S97, C848.
ALEXANDROVSK, ii'leks-an'drofsk. A for-
tified town in the south of Russia, in the gov-
ernment cf Ekaterinoslav, on the left bank of
the Dnieper, below the cataracts, 56 miles south
of Ekaterinoslav (Map: Russia, E 5). Inland
productions are shipped here for the Black Sea,
and it is known for its large storage houses and
other storing facilities, but it has no considerable
trade of its own. In its vicinity there are many
hillocks, or mounds, which are in all probability
the graves of the great chiefs of the ancient
Scythians. Opposite the town is the Khortista
Island, the chief seat of the famous Dnieper
Cossacks in the seventeenth centurv. Pop., 1885,
6700; 1897, 10,.393.
ALEXANDROVSK - GRUSHEVSKI, gioo-shef'ske. A town in the territory of the Don Cossacks, Russia, situated on the Siver Grushevka, about 20 miles from Xovo-Tcherkask. It is well known for the rich coal mines in its vicinity,
notably along the banks of the Grushevka. The
anthracite coal of these, deposits is of remarkable
purity, containing as much as 94 per cent, of
carbon, the highest percentage found anywhere.
The discovery of coal in this region dates as far
back as the latter part of the eighteenth cen-
tury, but the exploitation of the mines was not
commenced until 1839. The j'early output of the
mines averages over half a million tons, and
they employ about 10,000 men. Pop., in 1897,
10,250.
ALEXEI, a'leks-ii', Ai.exandrovitch (1850— ). Grand Duke of Russia. He is the fourth son of Alexander II., and was born on January 14, 1850. In 1872 he traveled through the United States, meeting with a very kind reception. He is commander-in-chief of the fleet and
head of the ministry of marine, admiral-general, and president of the Admiralty Council.
ALEXEI MIKHAILOVITCH, me-ki'16-vech (1629-70). Russian Czar, second of the Romanofl's. He succeeded his father, Michael Feodorovitch, in 1645. The young Czar yielded himself to the control of his Chancellor, Plessoflf, and his tutor, JIorosoflF, and the avarice of these two advisers caused an insunection in 1048, in which Plessoff lost his life. Popular discontent favored
the plans of two pretenders to the throne —
Demetrius III. and Ankudinofl. The latter,
professing to be a son of the Czar Vasili
Shuiski, was executed at Moscow in 1053.
Alexei possessed good qualities, which appeared
when he came to riper years. In his two cam-
paigns against the Poles (1654-56 and 1660-67),
he took Smolensk, overran and devastated al-
most the wliole of Lithuania, and even se-
cured for himself the possession of several prov-
inces. He also gained a part of the l]'l<raine;
and though his war with Sweden (1056-58)
was unfortunate, he lost nothing by the follow-
ing peace. Alexei conferred gieat benefits on
his countrymen by the introduction of various
important refinnis into the Russian laws; he
ordered translations of numerous scientific
works, chiefly of a military nature, and even
ventured on some ecclesiastical changes. In his
private character he was amiable, temperate,
and pious. By his second wife, the beautiful
Natalia Narvshkin, he was the father of Peter
the (ircat.
ALEXEI PETROVITCH, petro'vech
(1690-1718). The eldest son of Peter the Great
of Russia. He was born at Moscow. Because he
had shown himself opposed to the reforms and
innovations made by the Emperor, Peter threat-
ened to exclude him from the succession to the
throne. With this prospect he appeared to be satis-
fie<l, and declared his intention of siiending the
remainder of his days in a monastery. But when
Peter the Great undertook his second tour in
Western Europe, Alexei, under the pretense of
following the Czar, escaped in 1717 to Vienna,
and thence went to Naples. He was induced to re-
turn to Russia, where, by the ukase of February
14, 1718, he was disinherited, and an investigation
was ordered, for the purpose of detecting persons
concerned in his flight. A widespread conspiracy
to undo all of Peter's reforms was discovered.
Eudoxia, the mother of Alexei, Maria Alexeyevna,
step-sister of the Czar, and several other person-
ages were made prisoners, and either executed or
otherwise punished, Alexei was condemned to
death, but soon afterward received a pardon.
Terror and agitation of the trial, however,
and the actual torture to which he was subjected,
so affected his health that he died in 1718. The
Czar, to avoid scandal, ordered the trial to be
published. Other accounts assert that Alexei
was beheaded in prison. By his wife. Charlotte
Christine Sophie, Princess of Brunswick- Wolfen-
biittel, Alexei left a son, who. as Peter II., was
elevated to the throne in 1727, Consult Bruck-
ner, Dcr Zoniiilch Alexander {}ieideherg,S80) .
ALEX'IANS. See Alexius.
ALEX'IS. In Tlw Faithful Shephcrdcus
(q.v. ), by John Fletcher, the name of a shep-
herd.
ALEXIS (c. 390–288 B.C.). A Greek dramatist of the period of "Middle Comedy" at Athens, whither he came in early life from Thurii, Italy, his native place. He is said to have written 245 plays, of which some hundreds of lines have come down to us in fragments.
ALEXIS, or ALEX'IUS I., COMNE'NUS (1048-1118) (Gk. 'Aac^wc K6/iv,/mr, Alexios Kominenos). One of the ablest rulers of the Byzantine Empire. He was born at Constantinople, the son of John Comnenus, brother of the Emperor Isaac Comnenus. In his youth Alexis gave brilliant promise of the vigorous military genius which he afterward manifested, and at length, after a series of anarchic reigns of brief duration, his soldiers .succeeded in elevating him to the throne, while the old and feeble Xicephorus Botaniates, his predecessor, was obliged to retire to a monastery (1081). Gibbon graphically paints the position and achievements of Alexis in the forty-eighth chapter of his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Everywhere he waa^
