Eastern journey of Nicholas II

The Eastern journey of Nicholas II in 1890–91 was a journey made by Nicholas Alexandrovich–then Tsesarevich of Russia–around the greater part of the Eurasian continent.

The total length of the journey exceeded 51,000 kilometeres, including 15,000 km of railway and 22,000 km of sea routes. During his visit to the Empire of Japan, Nicholas was the target of a failed assassination attempt.

After the Grand Embassy of Peter the Great, a long trip for educational purposes became an important part of training for the state activity of the members of the Russian Imperial house. In 1890 Emperor Alexander III of Russia decided to establish the Trans-Siberian Railway and his heir Tsesarevich Nicholas took part in the opening ceremony.

On 23 October, after a church service in Gatchina, the Tsesarevich went by train via Vienna to Trieste where he boarded the cruiser Pamiat Azova (Memory of Azov). This route was selected because of probable diplomatic difficulties with the Ottoman Empire, which wanted to keep the straits of Bosporus and Dardanelles closed.

From Trieste the expedition came to the port Piraeus, where Nicholas met his godmother Olga Konstantinovna of Russia and her husband King George I of Greece. Their son Prince George of Greece and Denmark was included into the flagship's crew as an officer. From Greece the Tsesarevich sailed to Port Said in Egypt. While his ship passed through the Suez Canal, Nicholas with his retinue travelled along the Nile, going upriver to Aswan.

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