Portrait of the Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolayevich the Elder, (1831-1891) by Vasily Bovin 1815-1870, Oil on canvas, 1869. Grand Duke Nicholas (1831 - 1891) was the third son and sixth child of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia and Alexandra Feodorovna. He may also be referred to as Nicholas Nikolayevich the Elder to tell him apart from his son. Trained for the military, as a Field Marshal he commanded the Russian army of the Danube in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-1878.