In 1894, Alexander III of Russia died and was succeeded by Nicholas II.

CNN: Saturday,

Petersburg, Russia into a family of jewelers, and was eventually singled out by Alexander III, Tsar of Russia, becoming the Imperial Court Jeweler.

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Russian Czar Alexander III commissioned craftsman Peter Carl Faberg?? in 1885 to craft an egg as an Easter gift for his wife, Empress Maria Fedorovna.

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For months Alexander III refused to admit a famine was occurring.

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His brilliance and bluntness endeared him to Czar Alexander III.

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Despite his cosmopolitan side, the president also likes to quote another 19th Century Tsar, Alexander III, who said that Russia has no allies apart from its army and navy.

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