Key dates in the life of Alexander II. Biography of Emperor Alexander II Nikolaevich Reign of Alexander 2 event dates

March 13 (March 1, Old Style) - Memorial Day Tsar-Liberator Alexander II Nikolaevich , who became a victim of revolutionary terrorists on March 1, 1881.

He was born on April 17, 1818, on Bright Wednesday, in the Bishop's House of the Chudov Monastery in the Kremlin. His teacher was the poet V.A. Zhukovsky, who instilled in him a romantic attitude to life.

According to numerous testimonies, in his youth he was very impressionable and amorous. So, during a trip to London in 1839, he fell in love with the young Queen Victoria (later, as monarchs, they experienced mutual hostility and enmity).

In 1837, Alexander made a long trip around Russia and visited 29 provinces of the European part, Transcaucasia and Western Siberia, and in 1838-1839 he visited Europe.

Alexander never, either in his youth or in his mature years, adhered to any particular theory or concept in his views on the history of Russia and the tasks of public administration. His general views were characterized by the idea of ​​the inviolability of the autocracy and the existing statehood of Russia as a stronghold of its unity, and of the divine origin of tsarist power. He confesses to his father, having become acquainted with Russia on a trip: “I consider myself lucky that God has assigned me to devote my entire life to her”. Having become an autocrat, he identified himself with Russia, considering his role, his mission as serving the sovereign greatness of the Fatherland.

Personal life

The personal life of Alexander II was unsuccessful. In 1841, at the insistence of his father, he married Princess Maximilian Wilhelmina Augusta Sophia Maria (†1880) of Hesse-Darmstadt. They had 7 children: Alexandra, Nicholas, Alexander (future Emperor Alexander III), Vladimir, Maria, Sergei, Pavel (the first two died: daughter in 1849, heir to the throne in 1865).

Tsar's wife Maria Alexandrovna

German by birth, Maria Alexandrovna was obsessed with her aristocracy. She did not love or respect Russia, did not understand or appreciate her husband, and spent most of her time embroidering or knitting and gossiping about court romances, intrigues, weddings and funerals at the courts of Europe. Alexander was not satisfied with such a wife. In 1866, he fell in love with Princess Ekaterina Dolgorukaya (†1922), whom he married immediately after the death of his first wife in 1880 in a morganatic marriage (a marriage between persons of unequal status in which the spouse of a lower status does not receive the same high social status as a result of this marriage). From this marriage he had 4 children.

Beginning of the reign

Alexander II ascended the throne at the age of 36 after the death of his father, Emperor Nicholas I, on February 19, 1855. The coronation took place in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin on August 26, 1856. (the ceremony was led by Metropolitan of Moscow Filaret (Drozdov)). The full title of the emperor sounded like Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia, Tsar of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland. On the occasion of the coronation, the Emperor declared an amnesty for the Decembrists, Petrashevites, and participants in the Polish uprising of 1830-31.

Alexander II's accession to the throne occurred under very difficult circumstances. Finances were extremely upset by the unsuccessful Crimean War, during which Russia found itself in complete international isolation (Russia was opposed by the combined forces of almost all the major European powers). The first important step was conclusion of the Peace of Paris (1856) - on conditions that were not the worst in the current situation(in England there were strong sentiments to continue the war until the complete defeat and dismemberment of the Russian Empire). Thanks to some diplomatic moves,Alexander II succeededbreak the foreign policy blockade of Russia. Representatives of seven powers (Russia, France, Austria, England, Prussia, Sardinia and Turkey) gathered in Paris. Sevastopol was given to Russia, but the tsar was obliged not to establish a fleet in the Black Sea. I had to accept this condition, which was terribly humiliating for Russia. The Paris peace, although not beneficial for Russia, was still honorable for her in view of such numerous and strong opponents.

Reforms of Alexander II

Alexander II went down in history as a reformer and liberator (in connection with the abolition of serfdom according to the manifesto of February 19, 1861). He abolished corporal punishment and banned caning of soldiers. Before him, soldiers served for 25 years, soldiers' children were enlisted as soldiers from birth. Alexander introduced universal conscription, extending it to all nationalities, whereas previously only Russians served.

The state bank, loan offices, railways, telegraphs, government mail, factories, factories - everything arose under Alexander II, as well as urban and rural public schools.

During his reign, serfdom was abolished (1861) . The liberation of the peasants was the cause of a new Polish uprising in 1863. Transforming Russia, Alexander made the Russification of the outskirts - Finland, Poland and the Baltic region - the cornerstone of the transformation.

GREAT REFORM OF ALEXANDER II

Assessments of some of Alexander II's reforms are contradictory. The liberal press called his reforms “great.” At the same time, a significant part of the population (part of the intelligentsia), as well as a number of government officials of that era, negatively assessed these reforms.

Foreign policy

During the reign of Alexander II, Russia returned to the policy of all-round expansion of the Russian Empire, previously characteristic of the reign of Catherine II.

During this period, Central Asia, the North Caucasus, the Far East, Bessarabia, and Batumi were annexed to Russia. Victories in the Caucasian War were won in the first years of his reign. The advance into Central Asia ended successfully (in 1865-1881, most of Turkestan became part of Russia).

On the eastern outskirts of Asia, during the reign of Alexander II, Russia also made quite important acquisitions, moreover, in a peaceful way. According to the treaty with China (1857), the entire left bank of the Amur went to Russia, and the Beijing treaty (1860) also provided us with part of the right bank between the river. Ussuri, Korea and the sea. Since then, the rapid settlement of the Amur region began, and various settlements and even cities began to emerge one after another.

Under Alexander II, the “deal of the century” took place on the sale of Alaska. In 1867, the government decided to give up Russia's possessions in North America and sold Alaska (Russian America) to the United States for $7 million (by the way, a 3-story district court building in New York then cost more than all of Alaska).

In 1875, Japan ceded the part of Sakhalin that did not yet belong to Russia in exchange for the Kuril Islands.

But his main achievement was the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878, which brought liberation to the Balkan peoples from the Turkish yoke.

The Turks conquered the Balkan Peninsula and all Christians were enslaved. For 500 years, Greeks, Serbs, Bulgarians, Croats and Armenians languished under the yoke of Muslims. They were all slaves. Their property and lives belonged to the Turks. Their wives and daughters were taken away into harems, and their sons into slavery. Finally the Bulgarians rebelled. The Turks began to pacify them with brutal executions and torture. Alexander tried to achieve liberation peacefully, but in vain. Then Russia declared war on Turkey, and all Russians enthusiastically went to shed their blood for their Christian brothers. In 1877, the Balkan Slavs were liberated!

Growing public discontent

The reign of Alexander II, despite liberal reforms, was not calm. The economic situation of the country worsened: industry was struck by a protracted depression, and there were several cases of mass famine in the countryside.

The foreign trade deficit and public external debt reached large sizes (almost 6 billion rubles), which led to a breakdown in monetary circulation and public finances.

The problem of corruption has worsened.

A split and acute social contradictions formed in Russian society, which reached their peak towards the end of the reign.

Other negative aspects usually include the unfavorable results of the Berlin Congress of 1878 for Russia, exorbitant expenses in the war of 1877-1878, numerous peasant uprisings (in 1861-1863: more than 1150 uprisings), large-scale nationalist uprisings in the kingdom of Poland and the North-Western region (1863) and in the Caucasus (1877-1878).

Assassination attempts

Under Alexander II, the revolutionary movement developed strongly. Members of revolutionary parties made attempts on the tsar's life several times.

The terrorists organized a real hunt for the Emperor. There have been multiple attempts on his life: Karakozov April 4, 1866 , Polish emigrant Berezovsky May 25, 1867 in Paris, Soloviev April 2, 1879 in St. Petersburg, an attempt to blow up an imperial train near Moscow November 19, 1879 , explosion in the Winter Palace carried out by Khalturin February 5, 1880 .

According to rumors, in 1867, a Parisian gypsy told the Russian Emperor Alexander II: “Six times your life will be in the balance, but will not end, and the seventh time death will overtake you.” The prediction came true...

Murder

March 1, 1881 - the last attempt on Alexander II's life, which led to his death.

The day before, February 28 (Saturday of the first week of Lent), the emperor, in the Small Church of the Winter Palace, together with some other family members, received the Holy Mysteries.

Early in the morning of March 1, 1881, Alexander II left the Winter Palace for the Manege, accompanied by a rather small guard. He was present at the changing of the guards and, after drinking tea with his cousin, Grand Duchess Catherine Mikhailovna, the emperor went back to the Winter Palace through the Catherine Canal. The assassination attempt occurred when the royal motorcade drove onto the embankment of the Catherine Canal in St. Petersburg. Nikolai Rysakov was the first to throw a bomb, but the tsar was not injured (this was the sixth unsuccessful attempt). He got out of the carriage and spoke to the Narodnaya Volya member, asking his name and rank. At that moment, Ignatius Grinevitsky ran up to Alexander II and threw a bomb between himself and the tsar. Both were mortally wounded. The blast wave threw Alexander II to the ground, bleeding profusely from his crushed legs. The fallen emperor whispered: “Take me to the palace... There I want to die.” Alexander II was put in a sleigh and sent to the palace. There, after some time, Alexander II died.

In the hospital, before his death, the regicide came to his senses, but did not give his last name. Rysakov was unharmed and was immediately arrested and interrogated by investigators. Fearing a death sentence, the 19-year-old terrorist told everything he knew, including betraying the entire core of Narodnaya Volya. Arrests of the organizers of the assassination began. At the trial of the “First Marchers” Grinevitsky was treated as Kotik, Elnikov or Mikhail Ivanovich. The real name of the king's killer became known only in Soviet time. Oddly enough, this young man was not a “fiend of hell” in life. Ignatius Joachimovich Grinevitsky was born in the Minsk province in 1856 into the family of an impoverished Polish nobleman. He successfully graduated from the Bialystok Real Gymnasium and in 1875 entered the Technological Institute of St. Petersburg. Everyone knew him as a gentle, modest, friendly person with a highly developed sense of justice. At the gymnasium, Ignatius was one of the best students and there he received the nickname Kotik, which later became his underground nickname. At the institute, he joined a revolutionary circle, was one of the organizers of the publication of the Workers' Newspaper, and a participant in the “walk among the people.” According to evidence, Grinevitsky not only had a gentle disposition, but was also a Catholic. It’s hard to wrap my head around how a Christian believer could commit murder. Obviously, he believed that autocracy in Russia is a great evil, all means are good to destroy it, and he professed conscious self-sacrifice with a willingness to give himself “into the hands of the devil.” What was it? The greatest ideological spirit or simply clouding of the mind?

The death of the “Liberator”, killed by the Narodnaya Volya on behalf of the “liberated”, seemed to many to be a symbolic end of his reign, which led, from the point of view of the conservative part of society, to rampant “nihilism”. They say that half of Russia wanted him dead. Right-wing politicians said that the emperor died “at the right time”: if he had reigned for another year or two, the catastrophe of Russia (the collapse of the autocracy) would have become inevitable.

Demons- so F.M. Dostoevsky called revolutionaries terrorists. In his last work, The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoevsky wanted to continue the theme of Demons. The writer planned to “make” Alyosha Karamazov, almost a saint, a terrorist who ended his life on the scaffold! Dostoevsky is often called a prophet-writer. Indeed, he not only predicted, but even described the future killer of the Tsar: Alyosha Karamazov is very similar to Ignatius Grinevitsky. The writer did not live to see the assassination of Alexander II - he died a month before the tragic event.

Despite the arrest and execution of all the leaders of Narodnaya Volya, terrorist acts continued in the first 2-3 years of the reign of Alexander III.

Results of the reign of Alexander II

Alexander II left a deep mark on history; he managed to do what other autocrats were afraid to undertake - the liberation of peasants from serfdom. We still enjoy the fruits of his reforms to this day. During his reign, Russia firmly strengthened its relations with European powers and resolved numerous conflicts with neighboring countries. The internal reforms of Alexander II are comparable in scale only to the reforms of Peter I. The tragic death of the emperor greatly changed the further course of history, and it was this event that, 35 years later, led Russia to death, and Nicholas II to a martyr’s wreath.

The views of modern historians on the era of Alexander II were subject to dramatic changes under the influence of the dominant ideology, and are not settled.

Material prepared by Sergey Shulyak

Emperor Alexander 2nd was born on April 29, 1818. Being the son of Nicholas 1st and heir to the throne, he received an excellent, comprehensive education. Alexander's teachers were Zhukovsky and military officer Merder. His father also had a noticeable influence on the formation of the personality of Alexander II. Alexander ascended the throne after the death of Nicholas 1st - in 1855. By that time, he already had some management experience, since he acted as sovereign while his father was not in the capital. This ruler went down in history as Alexander the 2nd Liberator. When compiling a short biography of Alexander II, it is necessary to mention his reform activities.

The wife of Alexander 2nd in 1841 was Princess Maximilian Wilhelmina Augusta Sophia Maria of Hesse-Darmstadt, better known as Maria Alexandrovna. She bore Alexander seven children, the eldest two died. And since 1880, the tsar was married (in a morganatic marriage) to Princess Dolgorukaya, with whom he had four children.

The internal policy of Alexander the 2nd was strikingly different from the policy of Nicholas the 1st and was marked. The most important of them was the peasant reform of Alexander the 2nd, according to which in 1861, on February 19, it was. This reform caused an urgent need for further changes in many Russian institutions and led to the implementation of Alexander the 2nd.

In 1864, by decree of Alexander the 2nd, it was carried out. Its goal was to create a system of local self-government, for which the institution of district zemstvo was established.

Alexander I was born in 1818 on April 29, in Moscow. In honor of his birth, a salvo of 201 cannons was fired in Moscow. The birth of Alexander II occurred during the reign of Alexander I, who had no children, and Alexander I’s first brother Constantine did not have imperial ambitions, which is why the son of Nicholas I, Alexander II, was immediately considered as the future emperor. When Alexander II was 7 years old, his father had already become emperor.

Nicholas I took a very responsible approach to his son’s education. Alexander received an excellent education at home. His teachers were outstanding minds of that time, such as lawyer Mikhail Speransky, poet Vasily Zhukovsky, financier Yegor Kankrin and others. Alexander studied the Law of God, legislation, foreign policy, physical and mathematical sciences, history, statistics, chemistry and technology. In addition, he studied military sciences. Mastered English, German and French. The poet Vasily Zhukovsky, who was also Alexander’s teacher of the Russian language, was appointed as the teacher of the future emperor.

Alexander II in his youth. Unknown artist. OK. 1830

Alexander's father personally supervised his education, attending Alexander's exams, which he himself organized every two years. Nicholas also involved his son in government affairs: from the age of 16, Alexander had to attend meetings of the Senate, and later Alexander became a member of the Synod. In 1836, Alexander was promoted to major general and included in the tsar's retinue.

The training ended with a trip to the Russian Empire and Europe.

Nicholas I, from the “admonition” to his son before his trip to Russia: “Your first duty will be to see everything with the indispensable goal of becoming thoroughly familiar with the state over which sooner or later you are destined to reign. Therefore, your attention should be equally directed to everything... in order to gain an understanding of the present state of affairs.”

In 1837, Alexander, in the company of Zhukovsky, adjutant Kavelin and several other people close to him, made a long trip around Russia and visited 29 provinces of the European part, Transcaucasia and Western Siberia.

Nicholas I, from the “admonition” to his son before his trip to Europe: “Many things will seduce you, but upon closer examination you will be convinced that not everything deserves imitation; ... we must always preserve our nationality, our imprint, and woe to us if we fall behind it; in him is our strength, our salvation, our uniqueness.”

In 1838-1839, Alexander visited the countries of Central Europe, Scandinavia, Italy and England. In Germany, he met his future wife, Maria Alexandrovna, daughter of Grand Duke Ludwig of Hesse-Darmstadt, with whom they married two years later.

Beginning of the Reign

The throne of the Russian Empire went to Alexander on March 3, 1855. During this difficult time for Russia, the Crimean War, in which Russia had no allies, and the adversaries were advanced European powers (Turkey, France, England, Prussia and Sardinia). The war for Russia at the time of Alexander’s accession to the throne was almost completely lost. Alexander's first important step was to reduce the country's losses to a minimum by concluding the Treaty of Paris in 1856. Afterwards, the emperor visited France and Poland, where he made calls to “stop dreaming” (meaning dreams of the defeat of Russia), and later entered into an alliance with the King of Prussia, forming a “dual alliance.” Such actions greatly weakened the foreign policy isolation of the Russian Empire, in which it was located during the Crimean War.

However, the problem of war was not the only one that the new emperor inherited from the hands of his late father: the peasant, Polish and eastern issues were not resolved. In addition, the country's economy was severely depleted by the Crimean War.

Nicholas I, before his death, addressing his son: “I’m handing over my team to you, but, unfortunately, not in the order I wanted, leaving you with a lot of work and worries.”

Period of Great Reforms

Initially, Alexander supported his father's conservative policies, but long-standing problems could no longer remain unresolved and Alexander began a policy of reform.

In December 1855, the Supreme Censorship Committee was closed and the free issuance of foreign passports was allowed. In the summer of 1856, on the occasion of the coronation, the new emperor granted amnesty to the Decembrists, Petrashevites (freethinkers who were going to rebuild the political system in Russia, arrested by the government of Nicholas I) and participants in the Polish uprising. A “thaw” has set in in the socio-political life of the country.

In addition, Alexander II liquidated in 1857 military settlements, established under Alexander I.

The next thing was the solution to the peasant question, which greatly hampered the development of capitalism in the Russian Empire and every year the gap with the advanced European powers increased.

Alexander II, from an address to the nobles in March 1856: “There are rumors that I want to announce the liberation of serfdom. This is not fair... But I won’t tell you that I am completely against it. We live in such an age that eventually this must happen... It is much better for it to happen from above than from below

The reform of this phenomenon was prepared long and carefully, and only in 1861 Alexander II signed Manifesto on the abolition of serfdom And Regulations on peasants emerging from serfdom, compiled by proxies of the emperors, mostly liberals such as Nikolai Milyutin, Yakov Rostovtsev and others. However, the liberal spirit of the reform developers was suppressed by the nobility, who for the most part did not want to be deprived of any personal benefits. For this reason, the reform was carried out more in the interests of the nobility than in the interests of the people, since the peasants received only personal freedom and civil rights, and they had to buy land from the landowners for the needs of the peasants. Nevertheless, the government helped the peasants with the redemption with subsidies, which allowed the peasants to immediately buy the land while remaining debtors to the state. Despite these aspects, Alexander II was immortalized in history as the “Tsar Liberator” for this reform.

Reading of the 1861 Manifesto by Alexander II on Smolnaya Square in St. Petersburg. Artist A.D. Kivshenko.

The reform of serfdom was followed by a number of reforms. The abolition of serfdom created a new type of economy, while finance built on the feudal system reflected an outdated type of its development. In 1863, Financial Reform was carried out. In the process of this reform, the State Bank of the Russian Empire and the Main Redemption Institution under the Ministry of Finance were created. The first step was the emergence of the principle of transparency in the formation of the state budget, which made it possible to minimize embezzlement. Treasuries were also created to administer all government revenues. Taxation after the reform began to resemble modern taxation, with taxes divided into direct and indirect.

In 1863, an education reform was carried out, which made secondary and higher education accessible, a network of public schools was created, and schools for commoners were created. Universities received a special status and relative autonomy, which in turn had a positive impact on the conditions of scientific activity and the prestige of the teaching profession.

The next major reform was Zemstvo reform carried out in July 1864. According to this reform, local self-government bodies were created: zemstvos and city dumas, which themselves resolved economic and budgetary issues.

There was a need for a new judicial system to govern the country. Judicial reform was also carried out in 1864, which guaranteed the equality of all classes before the law. The institution of juries was created. Also, most of the meetings became open and public. All meetings became competitive.

In 1874, military reform was carried out. This reform was motivated by the humiliating defeat of Russia in the Crimean War, where all the shortcomings of the Russian army and its lag behind the European ones surfaced. It provided transition from conscription to universal conscription and reduction of service periods. As a result of the reform, the size of the army was reduced by 40%, a network of military and cadet schools was created for people from all classes, the General Headquarters of the army and military districts were created, the rearmament of the army and navy, the abolition of corporal punishment in the army and the creation of military courts and military prosecutors with adversarial litigation.

Historians have noted that Alexander II made decisions about reforms not because of his own convictions, but because of his understanding of their necessity. So we can conclude that for Russia of that era they were forced.

Territorial changes and wars under Alexander II

Internal and external wars during the reign of Alexander II were successful. The Caucasian War ended successfully in 1864, as a result of which the entire North Caucasus was captured by Russia. According to the Aigun and Beijing treaties with the Chinese Empire, Russia annexed the Amur and Ussuri territories in 1858-1860. In 1863, the emperor successfully suppressed the uprising in Poland. In 1867-1873, the territory of Russia increased due to the conquest of the Turkestan region and the Fergana Valley and the voluntary entry into vassal rights of the Bukhara Emirate and the Khanate of Khiva.

In 1867, Alaska (Russian America) was sold to the United States for $7 million. Which at that time was a profitable deal for Russia due to the remoteness of these territories and for the sake of good relations with the United States.

Growing dissatisfaction with the activities of Alexander II, assassination attempts and murder

During the reign of Alexander II, unlike his predecessors, there were more than enough social protests. Numerous peasant uprisings (of peasants dissatisfied with the conditions of the peasant reform), the Polish uprising and, as a consequence, the emperor’s attempts to Russify Poland led to waves of discontent. In addition, numerous protest groups appeared among the intelligentsia and workers, forming circles. Numerous circles began to propagate revolutionary ideas by “going to the people.” The government's attempts to take control of these processes only worsened the process. For example, in the process of 193 populists, society was outraged by the actions of the government.

“In general, in all segments of the population, some kind of vague displeasure has overwhelmed everyone. Everyone is complaining about something and seems to want and expect change.”

Assassinations and terror of significant government officials spread. While the public literally applauded the terrorists. Terrorist organizations grew more and more; for example, Narodnaya Volya, which sentenced Alexander II to death by the end of the 70s, had more than a hundred active members.

Plason Anton-Antonovich, contemporary of Alexander II: “Only during an armed uprising that has already flared up can there be the kind of panic that gripped everyone in Russia at the end of the 70s and in the 80s. Throughout Russia, everyone fell silent in clubs, in hotels, on the streets and in bazaars... And both in the provinces and in St. Petersburg, everyone was waiting for something unknown, but terrible, no one was sure of the future.”

Alexander II literally did not know what to do and was completely at a loss. In addition to public discontent, the emperor had problems in his family: in 1865, his eldest son Nicholas died, his death undermined the health of the empress. As a result, there was complete alienation in the emperor's family. Alexander came to his senses a little when he met Ekaterina Dolgorukaya, but this relationship also caused censure from society.

Head of Government Pyotr Valuev: “The Emperor looks tired and himself spoke of nervous irritation, which he is trying to hide. Crowned half-ruin. In an era where strength is needed, obviously one cannot count on it.”

Osip Komissarov. Photo from the collection of M.Yu. Meshchaninov

The first attempt on the tsar’s life was carried out on April 4, 1866 by a member of the “Hell” society (a society adjacent to the “People and Freedom” organization) Dmitry Karakozov; he tried to shoot the tsar, but at the moment of the shot he was pushed by the peasant Osip Komisarov (later a hereditary nobleman).

“I don’t know what, but my heart somehow beat especially when I saw this man hastily making his way through the crowd; I involuntarily watched him, but then, however, forgot him when the sovereign approached. Suddenly I saw that he had taken out and was aiming a pistol: it instantly seemed to me that if I rushed at him or pushed his hand to the side, he would kill someone else or me, and I involuntarily and forcefully pushed his hand up; Then I don’t remember anything, I felt like I was in a fog.”

The second attempt was carried out in Paris on May 25, 1867 by Polish emigrant Anton Berezovsky, but the bullet hit a horse.

On April 2, 1879, a member of Narodnaya Volya, Alexander Solovyov, fired 5 shots at the emperor from a distance of 10 steps, when he was walking around the Winter Palace without guards or escort, but not a single bullet hit the target.

On November 19 of the same year, members of Narodnaya Volya unsuccessfully attempted to mine the Tsar's train. Luck smiled on the emperor again.

On February 5, 1880, the People's Will member Stepan Khalturin blew up the Winter Palace, but only soldiers from his personal guard were killed, the emperor himself and his family were not injured.

Photo of the halls of the Winter Palace after the explosion.

Alexander II died on March 1, 1881, an hour after another assassination attempt from the explosion of a second bomb thrown at his feet on the embankment of the Catherine Canal in St. Petersburg by Narodnaya Volya member Ignatius Grinevitsky. The emperor died on the day when he intended to approve Loris-Melikov’s constitutional project.

Results of the reign

Alexander II went down in history as the “tsar-liberator” and reformer, although the reforms carried out did not completely solve many of Russia’s centuries-old problems. The country's territory expanded significantly, despite the loss of Alaska.

However, the economic condition of the country deteriorated under him: industry plunged into depression, public and foreign debt reached large sizes, and a foreign trade deficit formed, which led to a breakdown in finances and monetary relations. Society was already turbulent, and by the end of the reign a complete split had formed in it.

Personal life

Alexander II often spent time abroad, was a passionate lover of hunting large animals, loved ice skating and greatly popularized this phenomenon. I myself suffered from asthma.

He himself was a very amorous person; during a trip to Europe after his studies, he fell in love with Queen Victoria.

He was married twice. From his first marriage to Maria Alexandrovna (Maximilian of Hesse) he had 8 children, including Alexander III. From his second marriage to Ekaterina Dolgorukova he had 4 children.

Family of Alexander II. Photo by Sergei Levitsky.

In memory of Alexander II, the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood was erected at the site of his death.

The fate of this emperor is in many ways the fate of Russia, in many ways a game on the edge of the possible and the impossible. All his life, Alexander II did not act as he wanted, but as circumstances, relatives, and country required. Is it possible that the king named Liberator will be destroyed by those who considered themselves the best representatives of the people!

On April 17, 1818, the first-born son of Russian Emperor Nicholas I was born in the Chudov Monastery. Prominent teachers and scientists were involved in raising the heir to the throne: V.A. became a teacher of the Russian language. Zhukovsky, legislation was taught by M.M. Speransky, and finances E.F. Kankrin. The future emperor quickly developed a complete picture of the state of Russia and its potential future, and also developed state thinking.

Already in 1834-1635, Nicholas I introduced his son to the most important government bodies of the Empire: the Senate and the Holy Synod. Like his predecessors, Alexander is in military service and is responsible during the Russian-Turkish War of 1853-1856 for the combat effectiveness of the militia in St. Petersburg. An ardent champion of autocracy, Alexander very quickly comes to believe in the backwardness of Russia's socio-economic system, while launching a whole set of reforms that will forever change the face of the empire.

The reforms of Alexander II are called Great: Abolition of serfdom (1861), Judicial reform (1863), Education reform (1864), Zemstvo reform (1864), Military reform (1874). The transformations affected all spheres of Russian society, shaping the economic and political contours of post-reform Russia. The activities of Alexander II were largely aimed at breaking down the order that had been established for centuries, which led to a surge in social activity on the one hand, and also aroused a reaction on the part of the landowner class. As a result of such an attitude towards the Tsar-Liberator, on March 1, 1881, on the embankment of the Catherine Canal (now the Griboyedov Canal), Emperor Alexander II died at the hands of Narodnaya Volya bombers. Historians are still arguing about what Russia would have become if the sovereign had lived for at least four days, when Loris-Melikov’s constitutional draft was to be discussed in the State Council.

During the reign of Alexander II, Russian society and the state reached its 1000th anniversary. Looking back, deep into the centuries, every Russian person saw the years of struggle with stubborn nature for the harvest, the 240-year Tatar yoke and Ivan the Great, who threw it off, the campaigns of the Terrible against Kazan and Astrakhan, the first Emperor Peter and his associates, as well as Alexander I the Blessed, who brought peace and the triumph of law in Europe! The list of glorious ancestors and their deeds were captured in the monument “Millennium of Russia” (in the spirit of the times, it was not immortalized on the monument), which was installed in the first capital of the Russian state, Novgorod, in 1862.

Today there are many monuments to Alexander II the Liberator, one of them stands in Helsinki. In St. Petersburg on the embankment of the canal. Griboyedov, on the site of the mortal wound of the emperor-liberator, the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood was built, where you can still see the cobblestones on which Alexander’s blood was spilled on March 1, 1881.

On March 3, 1855, Alexander II Nikolaevich ascended the throne. In his first speech to the members of the Council, the new emperor said: “My unforgettable Parent loved Russia and all his life he constantly thought about its benefits alone. In his constant and daily labors with me, he told me that I want to take for myself everything that is unpleasant and everything that is difficult, just to hand over to you a Russia that is well-ordered, happy and calm. Providence judged otherwise, and the late Emperor, in the last hours of his life, told me I hand over my command to you, but, unfortunately, not in the order he wished, leaving you with a lot of work and worries.”

The first important step was the end of the bloody Crimean War of 1853-1856. Alexander II concluded the Treaty of Paris in March 1856. When external enemies stopped tormenting Russia, the emperor set about restoring the country and he began with reforms.

Great Reforms of Alexander II.

Abolition of military settlements in 1857.

At the beginning of the 19th century, during the era of the wars with Napoleon, a proposal arose to organize military settlements on a large scale in the internal provinces. This idea was put forward by Emperor Alexander I. He hoped that military settlements would replace reserve armies in Russia and would make it possible, if necessary, to increase the number of troops several times. Such settlements gave the lower ranks the opportunity to remain among their families during their service and continue their agricultural activities, and provide themselves with a home and food in their old age.

But the military settlements did not last long, bringing only losses to the treasury. After Emperor Alexander II ascended the throne, aide-de-camp Dmitry Stolypin was sent to military settlements. Having toured all the settlements, Stolypin reported to the emperor that the population of the districts was greatly impoverished, many owners had no livestock, gardening had fallen into disrepair, buildings in the districts required repairs, and in order to provide food for the troops, such an amount of land was needed that the villagers were left with only inconvenient areas. Both the local and the main authorities of military settlements came to the conclusion that military settlements were unprofitable in material terms and did not achieve their goal. In view of this, in 1857, military settlements and districts of arable soldiers were abolished and transferred to the management of the Ministry of State Property.

Abolition of serfdom in 1861.

The first steps towards the limitation and further abolition of serfdom were taken by Paul I in 1797 with the signing of the Manifesto on the three-day corvee, followed by Alexander I in 1803 with the signing of the Decree on free cultivators, and also by Nicholas I, who continued the peasant policy of Alexander I.

The new government assembled by Alexander II decided not only to continue this policy, but also to completely resolve the peasant issue. And already on March 3, 1861, in St. Petersburg, Alexander II signed the Manifesto on the abolition of serfdom and the Regulations on peasants emerging from serfdom, which consisted of 17 legislative acts.

• Peasants ceased to be considered serfs and began to be considered temporarily indebted. Peasants received full civil legal capacity in everything that did not relate to their special class rights and responsibilities - membership in rural society and ownership of allotment land.
• Peasant houses, buildings, and all movable property of peasants were recognized as their personal property.
• Peasants received elected self-government, the lowest economic unit of self-government was the rural society, the highest administrative unit was the volost.
• The landowners retained ownership of all the lands that belonged to them, but were obliged to provide the peasants with a house plot and field allotment for use. Field allotment lands were not provided to peasants personally, but for the collective use of rural societies, which could distribute them among peasant farms at their own discretion. The minimum size of a peasant plot for each locality was established by law.
• For the use of allotment land, peasants had to serve corvee or pay quitrent and did not have the right to refuse it for 49 years.
• The size of the field allotment and duties had to be recorded in charters, which were drawn up by landowners for each estate and verified by peace intermediaries.
• Rural societies were given the right to buy out the estate and, by agreement with the landowner, the field allotment, after which all obligations of the peasants to the landowner ceased. The peasants who bought the plot were called peasant owners. Peasants could also refuse the right of redemption and receive from the landowner an allotment free of charge in the amount of a quarter of the allotment that they had the right to redeem. When a free allotment was allocated, the temporarily obligated state also ceased.
• The state, on preferential terms, provided landowners with financial guarantees for receiving redemption payments, taking over their payment. The peasants, accordingly, had to pay redemption payments to the state.

Many historians consider the reform of Alexander II incomplete and argue that it did not lead to the liberation of the peasants, but only determined the mechanism for such liberation, and an unfair one. From the speech of the “populist” I.N. Myshkina: “The peasants saw that they were given sand and swamps and some scattered patches of land on which it was impossible to farm, when they saw that this was done with the permission of the state authorities, when they saw that there was no that mysterious article of the law that they assumed as protecting the interests of the people, they became convinced that they had nothing to rely on state power, that they could only count on themselves.”

"The Liberation of the Peasants (Reading the Manifesto)." ⁠Boris Kustodiev.1907

Financial Reform.

The abolition of serfdom created a new type of economy in Russia. The reforms began on May 22, 1862 with the introduction of the “Rules on the preparation, consideration and execution of state lists and financial estimates of ministries and main departments.” The first step was the introduction of the principle of transparency in finance and the beginning of publication of the state budget. In 1864-68, treasuries were organized within the structure of the Ministry of Finance, administering all state revenues. In 1865, local financial self-government bodies - control chambers - were created.

With the beginning of reforms, trade also changed. In order to eradicate corruption, the government decided to replace the previously used tax payments with excise stamps on alcohol and tobacco. Wine farming, the income from which traditionally formed the lion's share of the budget, was abolished. From now on, excise taxes could be obtained from special excise departments. The monetary reform of 1862 was delayed because the state did not have enough gold and silver to exchange paper money. It was implemented only in 1895-97. under the leadership of Sergei Witte.

Modernization radically reorganized the state financial system, making it more open and more efficient. Strict accounting of the state budget put the economy on a new path of development, corruption decreased, the treasury was spent on important items and events, and officials became more responsible for managing money. Thanks to the new system, the state was able to overcome the crisis and mitigate the negative consequences of the peasant reform.

University Reform.

In 1863, the University Charter was adopted. The new charter gave universities more independence in matters of internal management and expanded the ability to take into account local conditions for their development, created more favorable conditions for scientific and educational activities, increased the attractiveness of teaching work at universities for young people and contributed to the establishment in the future of a sufficient number of qualified university departments. teachers, and also provided for a number of special measures to encourage students to master the sciences. The trustee of the educational district was responsible only for overseeing the legality of the actions of the University Council. Students studying at the university did not have the right to a corporate structure, and outsiders were not allowed to attend lectures at all.

Military Reform.

In 1860-1870, Military reform was carried out. The main provisions of the reforms were developed by Minister of War D. A. Milyutin. The results of the reform were:

• reduction in army size by 40%;
• the creation of a network of military and cadet schools, which accepted representatives of all classes;
• improvement of the military command and control system, introduction of military districts, creation of the General Staff;
• the creation of public and adversarial military courts and a military prosecutor's office;
• abolition of corporal punishment (with the exception of canings for those specially “fined”) in the army;
• rearmament of the army and navy (adoption of rifled steel guns, new rifles, etc.), reconstruction of state-owned military factories;
• the introduction of universal conscription in 1874 instead of conscription and a reduction in terms of service. According to the new law, all young people who have reached the age of 20 are conscripted, but the government determines the required number of recruits every year, and by lot takes only this number from the conscripts, although usually no more than 20-25% of conscripts were called up for service. The only son of his parents, the only breadwinner in the family, and also if the conscript's older brother is serving or has served in service were not subject to conscription. Those recruited for service are listed in it: in the ground forces for 15 years - 6 years in the ranks and 9 years in the reserve, in the navy - 7 years of active service and 3 years in the reserve. For those who have completed primary education, the period of active service is reduced to 4 years, for those who have graduated from a city school - to 3 years, a gymnasium - to one and a half years, and for those who have had a higher education - to six months.
• development and introduction of new military laws in the troops.

Urban reform was carried out. It served as an impetus for the commercial and industrial development of cities and consolidated the system of urban public administration bodies. One of the results of the reforms of Alexander II was the inclusion of society in civil life. The foundation was laid for a new Russian political culture.

As well as the Judicial Reform, which comprehensively reformed the judicial system and legal proceedings, and the Zemstvo Reform, which provided for the creation of a system of local self-government in rural areas - zemstvo institutions.

Foreign policy.

During the reign of Alexander II, the Russian Empire expanded. During this period, Central Asia (in 1865-1881, most of Turkestan became part of Russia), the North Caucasus, the Far East, Bessarabia, and Batumi were annexed to Russia. Thanks to Prince Alexander Gorchakov, Russia restored its rights in the Black Sea, having achieved the lifting of the ban on keeping its fleet there. The meaning of annexing new territories, especially Central Asia, was unclear to part of Russian society. Saltykov-Shchedrin criticized the behavior of generals and officials who used the Central Asian war for personal enrichment, and M. N. Pokrovsky pointed out the meaninglessness of the conquest of Central Asia for Russia. These conquests resulted in great human losses and material costs.

In 1867, Russian America (Alaska) was sold to the United States for $7.2 million. In 1875, an agreement was concluded in St. Petersburg, according to which all the Kuril Islands were transferred to Japan in exchange for Sakhalin. Both Alaska and the Kuril Islands were remote overseas possessions, unprofitable from an economic point of view. Moreover, they were difficult to defend. The concession for twenty years ensured the neutrality of the United States and the Empire of Japan in relation to Russian actions in the Far East and made it possible to free up the necessary forces to secure more habitable territories.

In 1858, Russia concluded the Aigun Treaty with China, and in 1860 - the Beijing Treaty, under which it received vast territories of Transbaikalia, Khabarovsk Territory, a significant part of Manchuria, including Primorye (Ussuri Territory).

Assassinations and Death of Alexander II.

Several attempts were made on Alexander II's life. On April 16, 1866, the Russian revolutionary Karakozov made his first assassination attempt. When Alexander II was heading from the gates of the Summer Garden to his carriage, a shot was heard. The bullet flew over the emperor's head, and the shooter was pushed by the peasant Osip Komissarov standing nearby, who saved the emperor's life.

On May 25, 1867, an assassination attempt was made by the Polish emigrant Anton Berezovsky in Paris. The bullet hit the horse. April 14, 1879 in St. Petersburg. The Russian revolutionary Solovyov fired 5 shots from a revolver.

On December 1, 1879, there was an attempt to blow up an imperial train near Moscow. The emperor was saved by the fact that a steam locomotive, which was running half an hour earlier than the tsar’s, broke down in Kharkov. The king did not want to wait for the broken locomotive to be repaired and the royal train went first. Not knowing about this circumstance, the terrorists missed the first train, detonating a mine under the fourth carriage of the second.

On February 17, 1880, Khalturin carried out an explosion on the first floor of the Winter Palace. The emperor was having lunch on the third floor; he was saved by the fact that he arrived later than the appointed time; 11 guards on the second floor died.

On March 13, 1881, a fatal assassination attempt occurred. The Tsar's cortege turned from Inzhenernaya Street onto the embankment, heading towards the Theater Bridge, Rysakov threw a bomb under the horses of the Emperor's carriage. The explosion injured the guards and some people nearby, but the emperor himself was not injured. The person who threw the projectile was detained.

Life coachman Sergeev, captain Kulebyakin and Colonel Dvorzhitsky urged the emperor to leave the scene of the assassination attempt as soon as possible, but Alexander felt that military dignity required him to look at the wounded Circassians who were guarding him and say a few words to them. Afterwards, he approached the detained Rysakov and asked him about something, then went back to the place of the explosion, and then Grinevitsky, standing at the canal grate and unnoticed by the guards, threw a bomb wrapped in a napkin at the emperor’s feet.

The blast wave threw Alexander II to the ground, blood gushing from his crushed legs. The fallen emperor whispered: “Carry me to the palace... there... to die...” By order of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, who had arrived from the Mikhailovsky Palace, the bleeding emperor was taken to the Winter Palace.

The Emperor was carried in his arms and laid on the bed. Life physician Botkin, when asked by the heir how long the emperor would live, answered: “From 10 to 15 minutes.” At 15:35, the imperial standard was lowered from the flagpole of the Winter Palace, notifying the population of St. Petersburg about the death of Emperor Alexander II.

Emperor Alexander II on his deathbed. Photo by S. Levitsky.