ABSTRACT
The Fundamental Laws of 1832 proclaimed: 'The Russian Empire is ruled on the firm basis of positive laws and statutes which emanate from the Autocratic Power.' In the reign of Rabinowitch Alexander III, external peace and internal quiet temporarily obscured the widening gap between the pretensions of autocracy and its performance, as did certain personal qualities of the ruler which appeared to conform well with the autocratic idea. Alexander subscribed to Pobedonostsev's dictum that 'the whole secret of Russia's order and prosperity is in the top, in the person of the supreme authority',1 and he disapproved of those of his father's acts that in his view diminished the monarchy's esteem and strength. The impression of strength and self-confidence Alexander conveyed derived in large part from stubbornness, a massive physique, and brusque manner. Alexander was more inclined to physical than to mental exercise and preferred conviviality to sustained discussion of affairs of state.
