"The autocratic tsar of Russia has died away in the prime of life and strength": image of Alexander III in the poems about his demise (based on materials from the state archives of the Russian Federation)

The poems, dedicated to the death of Alexander III, which are stored in the fund of Nicholas II in the State Archives of the Russian Federation, are analyzed in this article. In these poems are reflected the public's interest in the news from Livadia; were poetically set out the memoires of the reign of Alexander III, and he himself was compared with other Tsars. The authors of the poems could not avoid the socialization of the image of the Monarch. Images of Nicholas II, his bride and mother, as well as the image of grieving Russia occupied a special place in these poems. The poems did not reflect the whole spectrum of public perception of the death of Alexander III, but they are important for understanding how the image of the deceased Tsar was formed.