assigned to a school in Lunéville. This path mirrored Mihail's own schooling and, in addition, was selected in order to prevent Grigore and Dimitrie from being educated in Russia. It was also designed to avoid Paris, which was the center of radical politics ever since the July Revolution: "youth from good families [had] to learn French, the language of diplomacy, and receive a good instruction, were carefully kept out of any contact with the liberal or revolutionary spirit." The news was finally communicated to the Russian Emperor, Nicholas I, who was indignant that his subordinate's sons were being educated in liberal France, and pondered having Sturdza dethroned. Another factor which made stay in France unlikely was an illegal duel, in which Grigore wounded his colleague Lippmann. In August 1835 the two boys were relocated to the French Gymnasium in the Prussian capital, Berlin. In addition to the regular schedule, they were given lessons in legal history, and applied their new-found knowledge to the study of Moldavian law. Grigore earned top marks for his academic interests, but also for his courageous and passionate character; he and Dimitrie graduated together, enlisting at Berlin University in October 1837. Grigore was supposed to take lectures in natural law from Eduard Gans, but the latter died before he could enlist. He eventually studied political economy under Adolph Riedel, and technology with Heinrich Gustav Magnus, renouncing all legal study in April 1840; according to various records, he took history with Leopold von Ranke and was introduced to natural sciences by Alexander von Humboldt and Heinrich Wilhelm Dove. In a sarcastic note, Gérard de Nerval referred to Sturdza as having "more studied than understood Hegel's philosophy". The Beizadea spent three more years in Berlin. Biographers speculate that he probably attended a Prussian military school, though it remains more clearly attested that Grigore was being privately tutored by an artillery officer of the Gardekorps. Both brothers took legal courses at home, focusing especially on Byzantine law. This was meant to serve them in their mission of modernizing Moldavia's courts. In 1838, they had been advanced to Lieutenants in the militia and had acquired junior position on Mihail's privy council; at some point before 1848, "without ever having served in the Russian army, [they] received from Emperor Nicholas the rank of Polkovnik (Colonel)." This was possibly an honor requested by their father. Grigore was already unusually tall, a trait