He continued his navy career serving as officer aboard the frigate Alexander Nevsky on a cruise in across the Mediterranean to Piraeus, where he attended the wedding of his cousin Olga Konstantinovna.

This included inland navigation on a cutter with a steam engine, on the route from Saint Petersburg to Arkhangelsk through the Mariinsk Canal system and the Northern Dvina.

It was only in 1883, that Alexander III, Alexei's elder brother, granted the Baron Seggiano the title of Count Belevsky, and in 1893 approved his coat of arms.

Though all ships were equipped with steam engines, the squadron made the passage to America mainly under sail, so as to avoid making port on the route for coal supplies.

[10] The Russian squadron set sail from Plymouth on 26 September,[11] and, en route to New York, stopped for a few days in Funchal, (Madeira Islands), leaving on 9 October.

Among the members of the committee were Moses H. Grinnell, General Irwin McDowell, Theodore Roosevelt Sr. Rear-Admiral S. W. Godon, John Taylor Johnston, Albert Bierstadt, Lloyd Aspinwall and others.

[14] After a short delay due to the weather, the Russian squadron anchored in New York Harbor on 21 November 1871, where the Grand Duke was greeted by general John Adams Dix.

The visit to Washington was overshadowed by President Grant's discontent caused by the Russian government's refusal to recall Konstantin Katacazi, minister plenipotentiary of Russia to the United States.

[19] The evening of the visit to the White House, Alexei and his suite dined at Minister Katakazi's residence, the only American official attending being General Porter.

The painting Farragut in the shrouds of the Hartfort at the battle of Mobile Bay by William Page was handed over as a gift of the citizens of New York for Tsar Alexander II.

General John Adams Dix presented the picture and the accompanying scroll, with a brief address in which he expressed the hope that it would further cement the union that existed between the United States and Russia.

During his stay, he visited Harvard University and the suburb of Cambridge, Massachusetts as well as different public schools in the Boston area, being extensively briefed on the American education system.

On December 12th, Alexei attended a performance of Henry VIII at Boston’s Globe Theatre, starring the famed actress Charlotte Cushman.

The audit of the expenses shows that the cost of ball was $14,678.58 (equivalent of $750,000 today), with $8,916.29 being covered by the sale of the tickets and other receipts [36][37] On 17 December, Alexei left by train to Canada.

Joseph Medill, mayor of Chicago, had written to the Grand Duke: "We have but little to exhibit but the ruins and débris of a great and beautiful city and an undaunted people struggling with adversity to relieve their overwhelming misfortunes."

In St. Louis, Alexei attended the burlesque show Blue Beard in which Lydia Thompson, a 36-year-old actress was singing a tune "If Ever I Cease to Love".

Colonel (Brevet Major General) George Armstrong Custer, the latter having been selected to be grand marshal of the hunt, arrived at Fort McPherson on 13 January 1872, by a special train provided by the Pennsylvania Railroad.

About 600 warriors of different Sioux tribes, led by Spotted Tail, War Bonnet, Black Hat, Red Leaf, Whistler and Pawnee Killer, assembled to greet Alexei at the hunting camp.

At the start of the party, Spotted Tail, dressed in a suit, which didn't fit him, with an army belt upside down and an extremely awkward look was introduced to the Grand Duke.

Concerned that his mother, Empress Maria Alexandrovna, might receive reports of his flirtations, he wrote her from St. Louis: "Regarding my success with American ladies about which so much is written in the newspapers, I can openly say, that this is complete nonsense.

[45] A dispute broke out, but Alexei was able to calm down the fight with gifts of red and green blankets, ivory-handled hunting knives and a large bag of silver dollars.

He carried a Russian hunting knife and an American revolver bearing the coats-of-arms of the United States and Russia on the handle, which he had recently received as a present.

On the conclusion of the hunt, when returning to Fort McPherson, General Sheridan proposed that Buffalo Bill take the reins and show Alexei the old style of stage driving over the plains with the horses at full gallop.

The group of young men who founded the Rex Organization hoped not only to entertain the Grand Duke, but also to create a daytime parade that would be attractive and fun for the citizens of the city and their guests.

Before he could begin his reign, he had to borrow a crown, scepter, and costume from Lawrence Barrett, a distinguished Shakespearean actor who was performing Richard III at the Varieties Theater.

[45] On its way home, the Russian squadron first stopped in Havana, Cuba, which it reached on 29 February 1872,[70] before sailing on to Rio de Janeiro where it arrived on 3 June 1872.

[79] In 1874, Alexei accompanied his father to England to visit his sister, the Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna, recently married to Queen Victoria's son Prince Alfred.

In 1882, after the accession of his brother Alexander to the throne, Alexei was appointed head of the Naval Department, replacing Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaievich.

Russian academician and naval engineer Alexei Nikolaevich Krylov shows that, despite these achievements, there were severe drawbacks in the Grand Duke's activity.

[90] His critics talked of Alexei's life as consisting of "fast women and slow ships", referring to his womanizing and the defeat of the Russian navy by the Japanese.