Alexander II Nikolaevich (Alexander Nikolaevich Romanov). Born on April 17, 1818 in Moscow - died on March 1 (13), 1881 in St. Petersburg. Russian Emperor 1855-1881 from the Romanov dynasty. He was awarded a special epithet in historiography - Liberator.

Alexander II is the eldest son of first the grand ducal, and since 1825, the imperial couple Nicholas I and Alexandra Feodorovna, daughter of the Prussian king Frederick William III.

Born on April 17, 1818, on Bright Wednesday, at 11 o’clock in the morning in the Bishop’s House of the Chudov Monastery in the Kremlin, where the entire Imperial family, with the exception of the uncle of the newborn Alexander I, who was on an inspection trip to the south of Russia, arrived in early April for fasting and celebrating Easter; A 201-gun salvo was fired in Moscow. On May 5, the sacraments of baptism and confirmation were performed over the baby in the church of the Chudov Monastery by Moscow Archbishop Augustine, in honor of which Maria Feodorovna gave a gala dinner.

The future emperor was educated at home. His mentor (with the responsibility of supervising the entire process of upbringing and education) was V.A. Zhukovsky, teacher of the Law of God and Sacred history- Archpriest Gerasim Pavsky (until 1835), military instructor - Karl Karlovich Merder, as well as: M.M. Speransky (legislation), K. I. Arsenyev (statistics and history), E. F. Kankrin (finance), F. I. Brunov (foreign policy), Academician Collins (arithmetic), K. B. Trinius (natural history) .

According to numerous testimonies, in his youth he was very impressionable and amorous. So, during a trip to London in 1839, he had a fleeting, but strong, love for the young Queen Victoria, who would later become for him the most hated ruler in Europe.

Upon reaching adulthood on April 22, 1834 (the day he took the oath), the Heir-Tsarevich was introduced by his father into the main state institutions Empire: in 1834 to the Senate, in 1835 included in the Holy Governing Synod, from 1841 member of the State Council, in 1842 - the Committee of Ministers.

In 1837, Alexander made a long trip around Russia and visited 29 provinces of the European part, Transcaucasia and Western Siberia, and in 1838-39 he visited Europe.

The future emperor's military service was quite successful. In 1836 he already became a major general, and from 1844 a full general, commanding the guards infantry. Since 1849, Alexander has been the chief military educational institutions, Chairman of the Secret Committees on Peasant Affairs in 1846 and 1848. During Crimean War 1853-56, with the declaration of martial law in the St. Petersburg province, he commanded all the troops of the capital.

In his life, Alexander did not adhere to any specific concept in his views on the history of Russia and the tasks government controlled. Having ascended the throne in 1855, he received a difficult legacy. None of the issues of his father’s 30-year reign (peasant, eastern, Polish, etc.) were resolved; Russia was defeated in the Crimean War.

The first of his important decisions was the conclusion of the Paris Peace in March 1856. A “thaw” has set in in the socio-political life of the country. On the occasion of his coronation in August 1856, he declared an amnesty for the Decembrists, Petrashevites, and participants in the Polish uprising of 1830-31, suspended recruitment for 3 years, and in 1857 liquidated military settlements.

Not being a reformer by vocation or temperament, Alexander became one in response to the needs of the time as a man of sober mind and good will.

Having realized the primary importance of resolving the peasant issue, for 4 years he showed a desire to abolish serfdom. Adhering to the “Bestsee version” of landless emancipation of peasants in 1857-58, at the end of 1858 he agreed to the purchase of allotment land by peasants into ownership, that is, to a reform program developed by liberals, together with like-minded people from among public figures (N. A. Milyutin , Ya. I. Rostovtsev, Yu. F. Samarin, V. A. Cherkassky; Grand Duke Elena Pavlovna, etc.).

From the speech of Emperor Alexander II at a meeting of the State Council on January 28, 1861: “... The matter of the emancipation of serfs, which is presented for consideration by the State Council, I consider, in its importance, a vital issue for Russia, on which its future development and power... Further waiting can only further arouse passions and lead to the most harmful and disastrous consequences for the entire state in general and landowners in particular...”

With his support, the Zemstvo Regulations of 1864 and the City Regulations of 1870, the Judicial Charters of 1864, military reforms of the 1860-70s, reforms public education, censorship, abolition of corporal punishment.

Alexander II confidently and successfully pursued a traditional imperial policy. Victories in the Caucasian War were won in the first years of his reign. The advance into Central Asia ended successfully (in 1865-81 Russia became part of most of Turkestan). After long resistance, he decided on a war with Turkey in 1877-78.

After the suppression of the Polish uprising of 1863-64 and D. V. Karakozov’s attempt on his life on April 4, 1866, Alexander II made concessions to the protective course, expressed in the appointment of D. A. Tolstoy, F. F. Trepova, P. A. Shuvalova.

In 1867, Alaska (Russian America) was sold to the United States. This gave an almost 3% increase in the total income of the Russian Empire for that year.

Reforms continued, but sluggishly and inconsistently; almost all reform figures, with rare exceptions, were dismissed. At the end of his reign, Alexander was inclined to introduce limited public representation in Russia under the State Council.

Several attempts were made on Alexander II: by D.V. Karakozov in 1866, by the Polish emigrant Anton Berezovsky on May 25, 1867 in Paris, by A.K. Solovyov on April 2, 1879 in St. Petersburg.

On August 26, 1879, the Executive Committee of Narodnaya Volya decided to assassinate Alexander II (an attempt to blow up an imperial train near Moscow on November 19, 1879, an explosion in the Winter Palace carried out by S. N. Khalturin on February 5 (17), 1880). To protect state order and fight the revolutionary movement, the Supreme Administrative Commission was created. But this could not prevent the violent death of the emperor.

On March 1 (13), 1881, Alexander II was mortally wounded on the embankment of the Catherine Canal in St. Petersburg by a bomb thrown by Narodnaya Volya member Ignatius Grinevitsky. He died on the very day when he decided to give way to the constitutional project of M. T. Loris-Melikov, telling his sons Alexander (the future emperor) and Vladimir: “I do not hide from myself that we are following the path of the constitution.”

First marriage (1841) with Maria Alexandrovna (07/1/1824 - 05/22/1880), nee Princess Maximiliana-Wilhelmina-Augusta-Sophia-Maria of Hesse-Darmstadt.

The second, morganatic, marriage to his long-time (since 1866) mistress, Princess Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukova (1847-1922), who received the title of Most Serene Princess Yuryevskaya.

Equity Alexander II was about 12 million rubles on March 1, 1881. (securities, State Bank tickets, shares of railway companies); In 1880, he donated 1 million rubles from personal funds. for the construction of a hospital in memory of the Empress.

Children from first marriage:
Alexandra (1842-1849);
Nicholas (1843-1865), raised as heir to the throne, died of pneumonia in Nice;
Alexander III (1845-1894) - Emperor of Russia in 1881-1894;
Vladimir (1847-1909);
Alexey (1850-1908);
Maria (1853-1920), Grand Duchess, Duchess of Great Britain and Germany;
Sergei (1857-1905);
Pavel (1860-1919).

Alexander II went down in history as a reformer and liberator.

During his reign, serfdom was abolished, universal military service was introduced, zemstvos were established, judicial reform was carried out, censorship was limited, autonomy was granted to the Caucasian mountaineers (which greatly contributed to the end of the Caucasian War), and a number of other reforms were carried out.

TO negative side 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).

Biography

Alexander II Nikolaevich (April 17, 1818, Moscow - March 1, 1881, St. Petersburg) - Emperor of All Russia, Tsar of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland (1855-1881) from the Romanov dynasty. The eldest son of first the grand ducal, and since 1825, the imperial couple Nikolai Pavlovich and Alexandra Feodorovna.

He entered Russian history as a conductor of large-scale reforms. He was awarded a special epithet in Russian pre-revolutionary and Bulgarian historiography - Liberator (in connection with the abolition of serfdom according to the manifesto of February 19, 1861 and the victory in the Russian-Turkish War (1877-1878), respectively). Died as a result of a terrorist attack organized by the secret organization "People's Will".

Childhood, education and upbringing

Born on April 17 (29), 1818 at 11 o'clock in the morning in the Bishop's House of the Chudov Monastery in the Kremlin, where the entire imperial family arrived in early April for fasting and celebrating Easter. Since Nikolai Pavlovich’s older brothers had no sons, the baby was already perceived as a potential heir to the throne. On the occasion of his birth, a 201-gun salvo was fired in Moscow. On May 5, Charlotte Lieven brought the baby into the Cathedral of the Chudov Monastery, where Moscow Archbishop Augustine performed the sacraments of baptism and confirmation on the baby, in honor of which Maria Feodorovna gave a gala dinner. Alexander- the only native of Moscow who has been at the head of Russia since 1725.

He received a home education under the personal supervision of his parent, who paid special attention to the issue of raising an heir. His “mentor” (with the responsibility of leading the entire process of upbringing and education and the assignment to draw up a “teaching plan”) and teacher of the Russian language was V. A. Zhukovsky, a teacher of the Law of God and Sacred History - the enlightened theologian Archpriest Gerasim Pavsky (until 1835), military instructor - Captain K. K. Merder, as well as M. M. Speransky (legislation), K. I. Arsenyev (statistics and history), E. F. Kankrin (finance), F. I. Brunov (foreign policy), Academician E. D. Collins (arithmetic), C. B. Trinius (natural history).

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

Beginning of government activities

Upon reaching adulthood on May 5, 1834 (the day he took the oath), the heir-cresarevich was introduced by his father into the main state institutions of the empire: in 1834 into the Senate, in 1835 he was introduced into the Holy Governing Synod, from 1841 a member of the State Council, in 1842 - the Committee ministers.

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. On these travels he was accompanied by his fellow pupils and adjutants of the sovereign A.V. Patkul and, in part, I.M. Vielgorsky.

The future emperor's military service was quite successful. In 1836 he already became a major general, and from 1844 a full general, commanding the guards infantry. Since 1849, Alexander was the head of military educational institutions, chairman of the Secret Committees on Peasant Affairs in 1846 and 1848. During the Crimean War of 1853-1856, with the declaration of martial law in the St. Petersburg province, he commanded all the troops of the capital.

The Tsarevich had the rank of adjutant general, was part of the General Staff of His Imperial Majesty, and was the ataman of all Cossack troops; was a member of a number of elite regiments, including the Cavalry Guards, Life Guards Horse, Cuirassier, Preobrazhensky, Semyonovsky, Izmailovsky. He was the Chancellor of Alexander University, Doctor of Laws of the University of Oxford, an honorary member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, the St. Petersburg Medical-Surgical Academy, the Society for the Encouragement of Artists, and the University of St. Petersburg.

Reign of Alexander II

The country faced a number of complex domestic and foreign policy issues (peasant, eastern, Polish and others); finances were extremely upset by the unsuccessful Crimean War, during which Russia found itself in complete international isolation.

According to the journal of the State Council for February 19, 1855, in his first speech to the members of the Council, the new emperor said, in particular: “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: “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 I wanted, leaving You with a lot of work and worries.”

The first of the important steps was the conclusion of the Paris Peace in March 1856 - on conditions that were not the worst in the current situation (in England there were strong sentiments to continue the war until complete defeat and dismemberment of the Russian Empire).

In the spring of 1856, he visited Helsingfors (Grand Duchy of Finland), where he spoke at the university and the Senate, then Warsaw, where he called on the local nobility to “give up dreams” (French pas de rêveries), and Berlin, where he had a very important meeting with the Prussian king Frederick William IV (his mother’s brother), with whom he secretly sealed a “dual alliance,” thus breaking the foreign policy blockade of Russia.

A “thaw” has set in in the socio-political life of the country. On the occasion of the coronation, which took place in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin on August 26, 1856 (the ceremony was led by Metropolitan of Moscow Philaret (Drozdov); the emperor sat on the throne of Tsar Ivan III of Ivory), the Highest Manifesto granted benefits and concessions to a number of categories of subjects, in particular, the Decembrists, Petrashevites, and participants in the Polish uprising of 1830-1831; recruitment was suspended for 3 years; in 1857, military settlements were liquidated.

Great reforms

The reign of Alexander II was marked by reforms of an unprecedented scale, which were called “great reforms” in pre-revolutionary literature. The main ones are the following:

Liquidation of military settlements (1857)
Abolition of serfdom (1861)
Financial reform (1863)
Reform higher education (1863)
Zemstvo and Judicial reforms (1864)
City government reform (1870)
Reform of secondary education (1871)
Military reform (1874)

These transformations solved a number of long-standing socio-economic problems, cleared the way for the development of capitalism in Russia, expanded the boundaries of civil society and the rule of law, but were not completed.

By the end of the reign of Alexander II, under the influence of conservatives, some reforms (judicial, zemstvo) were limited. The counter-reforms launched by his successor Alexander III also affected the provisions of the peasant reform and the reform of city government.

National politics

A new Polish national liberation uprising on the territory of the Kingdom of Poland, Lithuania, Belarus and Right Bank Ukraine flared up on January 22, 1863. In addition to the Poles, there were many Belarusians and Lithuanians among the rebels. By May 1864, the uprising was suppressed by Russian troops. 128 people were executed for their involvement in the uprising; 12,500 were sent to other areas (some of them subsequently raised the Circum-Baikal Uprising of 1866), 800 were sent to hard labor.

The uprising accelerated the implementation of peasant reform in the regions affected by it, and on more favorable terms for the peasants than in the rest of Russia. The authorities took measures to develop primary schools in Lithuania and Belarus, hoping that educating the peasantry in the Russian Orthodox spirit would lead to a political and cultural reorientation of the population. Measures were also taken to Russify Poland. To reduce the influence of the Catholic Church on social life Poland after the uprising, the tsarist government decided to convert the Ukrainians of the Kholm region belonging to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church to Orthodoxy. Sometimes these actions met with resistance. Residents of the village of Pratulin refused. On January 24, 1874, believers gathered near the parish church to prevent the transfer of the temple to management Orthodox Church. After this, a detachment of soldiers opened fire on the people. 13 people died and were canonized by the Catholic Church as Pratulin martyrs.

At the height of the January Uprising, the emperor approved the secret Valuevsky circular on the suspension of the printing of religious, educational and intended for elementary reading literature in Ukrainian. Only such works in this language that belong to the field of fine literature were allowed to be passed by the censorship. In 1876, the Emsky Decree was followed, aimed at limiting the use and teaching of the Ukrainian language in the Russian Empire.

Under Alexander II, significant changes took place regarding the Jewish Pale of Settlement. Through a series of decrees issued between 1859 and 1880, a significant portion of Jews received the right to freely settle throughout Russia. As A.I. Solzhenitsyn writes, merchants, artisans, doctors, lawyers, university graduates, their families and service staff, as well as, for example, “persons of liberal professions”. And in 1880, by decree of the Minister of Internal Affairs, it was allowed to allow those Jews who settled illegally to live outside the Pale of Settlement.

Autocracy reform

At the end of the reign of Alexander II, a project was drawn up to create two bodies under the tsar - the expansion of the already existing State Council (which included mainly large nobles and officials) and the creation of a “General Commission” (congress) with the possible participation of representatives from zemstvos, but mainly formed “by appointment" of the government. This was not about a constitutional monarchy, in which the supreme body is a democratically elected parliament (which did not exist and was not planned in Russia), but about the possible limitation of autocratic power in favor of bodies with limited representation (although it was assumed that at the first stage they would be purely advisory ). The authors of this “constitutional project” were the Minister of Internal Affairs Loris-Melikov, who received emergency powers at the end of the reign of Alexander II, as well as the Minister of Finance Abaza and the Minister of War Milyutin. Alexander II, shortly before his death, approved this plan, but they did not have time to discuss it at the Council of Ministers, and a discussion was scheduled for March 4, 1881, with subsequent entry into force (which did not take place due to the assassination of the Tsar).

The discussion of this project of reform of the autocracy took place already under Alexander III, on March 8, 1881. Although the overwhelming majority of ministers spoke in favor, Alexander III accepted the point of view of Count Stroganov (“power will pass from the hands of the autocratic monarch... into the hands of various rogues who think... only about for your personal benefit”) and K.P. Pobedonostsev (“you need to think not about establishing a new talking shop, ... but about business”). The final decision was secured by a special Manifesto on the inviolability of autocracy, the draft of which was prepared by Pobedonostsev.

Economic development of the country

From the beginning of the 1860s, an economic crisis began in the country, which a number of economic historians associate with Alexander II’s refusal of industrial protectionism and the transition to a liberal policy in foreign trade (at the same time, the historian P. Bayrokh sees one of the reasons for the transition to this policy in the defeat of Russia in the Crimean War). The liberal policy in foreign trade continued after the introduction of the new customs tariff in 1868. Thus, it was calculated that, compared to 1841, import duties in 1868 decreased on average by more than 10 times, and for some types of imports - even by 20-40 times.

Evidence of slow industrial growth during this period can be seen in the production of pig iron, the increase of which was only slightly faster than population growth and noticeably lagged behind the indicators of other countries. Contrary to the goals declared by the peasant reform of 1861, productivity in agriculture countries did not increase until the 1880s, despite rapid progress in other countries (USA, Western Europe), and the situation in this most important sector of the Russian economy also only worsened.

The only industry that developed rapidly was railway transport: the network railways was growing rapidly in the country, which also stimulated its own locomotive and carriage building. However, the development of railways was accompanied by many abuses and deterioration financial situation states. Thus, the state guaranteed the newly created private railway companies full coverage of their expenses and also the maintenance of a guaranteed rate of profit through subsidies. The result was huge budgetary expenses for maintaining private companies.

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). In 1871, thanks to A. M. Gorchakov, Russia restored its rights in the Black Sea, having achieved the lifting of the ban on keeping its fleet there. In connection with the war in 1877, a major uprising occurred in Chechnya and Dagestan, which was brutally suppressed.

After long resistance, the emperor decided to go to war with Ottoman Empire 1877-1878. Following the war, he accepted the rank of Field Marshal (April 30, 1878).

The meaning of annexing some new territories, especially Central Asia, was incomprehensible to part of Russian society. Thus, M. E. 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. Meanwhile, this conquest resulted in great human losses and material costs.

In 1876-1877, Alexander II took personal part in concluding a secret agreement with Austria in connection with the Russian-Turkish War, the consequence of which, according to some historians and diplomats of the second half of the 19th century, was the Berlin Treaty (1878), which entered Russian historiography as “defective” in relation to the self-determination of the Balkan peoples (which significantly reduced the Bulgarian state and transferred Bosnia-Herzegovina to Austria). Examples of the unsuccessful “behavior” of the emperor and his brothers (grand dukes) at the theater of war aroused criticism from contemporaries and historians.

In 1867, Alaska (Russian America) was sold to the United States for $7 million (see sale of Alaska). In addition, he concluded the St. Petersburg Treaty of 1875, according to which he transferred all the Kuril Islands 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”).

In 1859, representatives of Russia founded the Palestine Committee, which was later transformed into the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IPOS), and in 1861 the Russian Spiritual Mission in Japan arose. To expand missionary activity, on June 29, 1872, the department of the Aleutian diocese was transferred to San Francisco (California) and the diocese began to extend its care throughout North America.

Refused the annexation and Russian colonization of the northeastern coast of Papua New Guinea, to which Alexander II was urged by the famous Russian traveler and explorer N. N. Miklouho-Maclay. Australia and Germany took advantage of Alexander II’s indecisiveness in this matter, and soon divided among themselves the “ownerless” territories of New Guinea and the adjacent islands.

Historian P. A. Zayonchkovsky believed that the government of Alexander II pursued a “Germanophile policy” that did not meet the interests of the country, which was facilitated by the position of the monarch himself: “Revering before his uncle, the Prussian king, and later the German Emperor Wilhelm I, he in every possible way contributed to the formation of a single militaristic Germany." During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, “St. George’s crosses were generously distributed to German officers, and insignia of the order to soldiers, as if they were fighting for the interests of Russia.”

Results of the Greek plebiscite

In 1862, after the overthrow of the ruling king Otto I (of the Wittelsbach family) in Greece as a result of an uprising, the Greeks held a plebiscite at the end of the year to choose a new monarch. There were no ballots with candidates, so any Greek citizen could propose his candidacy or type of government in the country. The results were published in February 1863.

Among those whom the Greeks entered was Alexander II, he took third place and received less than 1 percent of the votes. True, it should be recognized that representatives of the Russian, British and French reigning houses could not occupy the Greek throne according to the London Conference of 1832.

Growing public discontent

Unlike the previous reign, which was almost not marked by social protests, the era of Alexander II was characterized by growing public discontent. Along with the sharp increase in the number of peasant uprisings (see above), many protest groups emerged among the intelligentsia and workers. In the 1860s, the following arose: S. Nechaev’s group, Zaichnevsky’s circle, Olshevsky’s circle, Ishutin’s circle, the Earth and Freedom organization, a group of officers and students (Ivanitsky and others) preparing a peasant uprising. During the same period, the first revolutionaries appeared (Pyotr Tkachev, Sergei Nechaev), who propagated the ideology of terrorism as a method of fighting power. In 1866, the first attempt was made to assassinate Alexander II, who was shot by D. Karakozov.

In the 1870s these trends intensified significantly. This period includes such protest groups and movements as the circle of Kursk Jacobins, the circle of Chaikovites, the Perovskaya circle, the Dolgushin circle, the Lavrov and Bakunin groups, the circles of Dyakov, Siryakov, Semyanovsky, the South Russian Union of Workers, the Kiev Commune, the Northern Workers' Union, the new organization Earth and Freedom and a number of others. Most of these circles and groups until the end of the 1870s. engaged in anti-government propaganda and agitation only from the late 1870s. a clear shift towards terrorist acts begins. In 1873-1874 2-3 thousand people, mainly from among the intelligentsia, went to the countryside under the guise of ordinary people with the aim of promoting revolutionary ideas (the so-called “going to the people”).

After the suppression of the Polish uprising of 1863-1864 and the attempt on his life by D.V. Karakozov on April 4, 1866, Alexander II made concessions to the protective course, expressed in the appointment of Dmitry Tolstoy, Fyodor Trepov, Pyotr Shuvalov to the highest government posts, which led to a tightening of measures in the field of domestic policy.

Increasing repression by the police, especially in relation to “going to the people” (the trial of the 193 populists), caused public outrage and marked the beginning of terrorist activity, which subsequently became widespread. Thus, the assassination attempt by Vera Zasulich in 1878 on the St. Petersburg mayor Trepov was undertaken in response to the mistreatment of prisoners in the trial of 193. Despite the irrefutable evidence that the assassination attempt had been committed, the jury acquitted her, she was given a standing ovation in the courtroom, and on the street she was met by an enthusiastic demonstration of a large crowd of people gathered at the courthouse.

During next years assassination attempts were carried out:
1878: against the Kyiv prosecutor Kotlyarevsky, against the gendarme officer Geiking in Kyiv, against the chief of gendarmes Mezentsev in St. Petersburg;
1879: against the Kharkov governor Prince Kropotkin, against the police agent Reinstein in Moscow, against the chief of gendarmes Drenteln in St. Petersburg
February 1880: an attempt was made on the life of the “dictator” Loris-Melikov.
1878-1881: a series of assassination attempts took place on Alexander II.

By the end of his reign, protest sentiments spread among different strata of society, including the intelligentsia, part of the nobility and the army. A new upsurge of peasant uprisings began in the countryside, and a mass strike movement began in the factories. The head of government, P. A. Valuev, giving a general description of the mood in the country, wrote in 1879: “In general, some vague displeasure is manifesting itself in all segments of the population. Everyone is complaining about something and seems to want and expect change.”

The public applauded the terrorists, the number of terrorist organizations themselves grew - for example, the People's Will, which sentenced the Tsar to death, had hundreds of active members. Hero Russian- Turkish war 1877-1878 and the war in Central Asia, the commander-in-chief of the Turkestan army, General Mikhail Skobelev, at the end of Alexander’s reign, showed sharp dissatisfaction with his policies and even, according to the testimony of A. Koni and P. Kropotkin, expressed his intention to arrest royal family. These and other facts gave rise to the version that Skobelev was preparing a military coup to overthrow the Romanovs.

According to historian P. A. Zayonchkovsky, the growth of protest sentiments and the explosion of terrorist activity caused “fear and confusion” in government circles. As one of his contemporaries, A. Planson, wrote, “Only during an armed uprising that has already flared up can there be such a panic as took hold of 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.”

As historians point out, against the backdrop of growing political and social instability, the government took more and more emergency measures: first, military courts were introduced, then, in April 1879, temporary governors-general were appointed in a number of cities, and finally, in February 1880 The “dictatorship” of Loris-Melikov was introduced (who was given emergency powers), which remained until the end of the reign of Alexander II - first in the form of the chairman of the Supreme Administrative Commission, then in the form of the Minister of Internal Affairs and the de facto head of government.

The Emperor himself last years life was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The Chairman of the Committee of Ministers P. A. Valuev wrote in his diary on June 3, 1879: “The Emperor looks tired and he 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.”

Death and burial. Society's reaction

March 1 (13), 1881, at 3 hours 35 minutes in the afternoon, died in the Winter Palace as a result of a fatal wound received on the embankment of the Catherine Canal (St. Petersburg) at about 2 hours 25 minutes in the afternoon on the same day - from a bomb explosion (the second in the course of the assassination attempt ), thrown at his feet by Narodnaya Volya member Ignatius Grinevitsky; died on the day when he intended to approve the constitutional draft of M. T. Loris-Melikov. The assassination attempt occurred when the emperor was returning after a military divorce in the Mikhailovsky Manege, from “tea” (second breakfast) in the Mikhailovsky Palace with Grand Duchess Catherine Mikhailovna; was also present at the tea Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, who left a little later, having heard the explosion, and arrived shortly after the second explosion, gave orders and instructions at the scene. 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.

On March 4, his body was transferred to the Court Cathedral of the Winter Palace; On March 7, it was solemnly transferred to the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. The funeral service on March 15 was led by Metropolitan Isidore (Nikolsky) of St. Petersburg, co-served by other members of the Holy Synod and a host of clergy.

The death of the “Liberator”, killed by the Narodnaya Volya on behalf of the “liberated”, seemed to many to be the symbolic end of his reign, which led, from the point of view of the conservative part of society, to rampant “nihilism”; Particular indignation was caused by the conciliatory policy of Count Loris-Melikov, who was viewed as a puppet in the hands of Princess Yuryevskaya. Right-wing political figures (including Konstantin Pobedonostsev, Evgeny Feoktistov and Konstantin Leontiev) even said with more or less directness that the emperor died “on time”: had he reigned for another year or two, the catastrophe of Russia (the collapse of the autocracy) would have become inevitable.

Not long before, K.P. Pobedonostsev, appointed chief prosecutor of the Holy Synod, wrote to the new emperor on the very day of the death of Alexander II: “God ordered us to survive this terrible day. It was as if God's punishment had fallen on unfortunate Russia. I would like to hide my face, go underground, so as not to see, not to feel, not to experience. God, have mercy on us. "

The rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, Archpriest John Yanyshev, on March 2, 1881, before the funeral service in St. Isaac's Cathedral, said in his speech: “The Emperor not only died, but was also killed in His own capital... the martyr’s crown for His sacred Head was woven on Russian soil, among His subjects... This is what makes our grief unbearable, the illness of the Russian and Christian heart incurable, our immeasurable misfortune our eternal shame!

Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, who at a young age was at the bedside of the dying emperor and whose father was in the Mikhailovsky Palace on the day of the assassination attempt, wrote in his emigrant memoirs about his feelings in the days that followed: “At night, sitting on our beds, we continued to discuss the catastrophe of the past Sunday and asked each other what would happen next? The image of the late Sovereign, bending over the body of a wounded Cossack and not thinking about the possibility of a second assassination attempt, did not leave us. We understood that something incommensurably greater than our loving uncle and courageous monarch had gone with him irrevocably into the past. Idyllic Russia with the Tsar-Father and his loyal people ceased to exist on March 1, 1881. We understood that Russian Tsar will never again be able to treat his subjects with boundless trust. He will not be able to forget the regicide and devote himself entirely to state affairs. The romantic traditions of the past and the idealistic understanding of Russian autocracy in the spirit of the Slavophiles - all this will be buried, along with the murdered emperor, in the crypt of the Peter and Paul Fortress. Last Sunday’s explosion dealt a mortal blow to the old principles, and no one could deny that the future of not only the Russian Empire, but the entire world, now depended on the outcome of the inevitable struggle between the new Russian Tsar and the elements of denial and destruction.”

The editorial article of the Special Supplement to the right-wing conservative newspaper “Rus” on March 4 read: “The Tsar was killed!... The Russian Tsar, in his own Russia, in his capital, was brutally, barbarously, in front of everyone - by the Russian hand... Shame, shame our country! Let the burning pain of shame and grief penetrate our land from end to end, and let every soul tremble in it with horror, sorrow, and the anger of indignation! That rabble, which so impudently, so brazenly oppresses the soul of the entire Russian people with crimes, is not the offspring of our simple people themselves, nor their antiquity, nor even the truly enlightened newness, but the product of the dark sides of the St. Petersburg period of our history, apostasy from the Russian people, treason its traditions, principles and ideals."

At an emergency meeting of the Moscow City Duma, the following resolution was unanimously adopted: “An unheard-of and terrifying event occurred: the Russian Tsar, liberator of peoples, fell victim to a gang of villains among a people of many millions, selflessly devoted to him. Several people, the product of darkness and sedition, dared to encroach with a sacrilegious hand on the centuries-old tradition of the great land, to tarnish its history, the banner of which is the Russian Tsar. The Russian people shuddered with indignation and anger at the news of the terrible event.”

In issue No. 65 (March 8, 1881) of the official newspaper St. Petersburg Vedomosti, a “hot and frank article” was published that caused “a stir in the St. Petersburg press.” The article, in particular, said: “Petersburg, located on the outskirts of the state, is teeming with foreign elements. Both foreigners, eager for the disintegration of Russia, and leaders of our outskirts have built their nest here. [St. Petersburg] is full of our bureaucracy, which has long lost the feeling of the people’s pulse. That’s why in St. Petersburg you can meet so many people, apparently Russians, but who reason as enemies of their homeland, as traitors to their people.”

An anti-monarchist representative of the left wing of the Cadets, V.P. Obninsky, in his work “The Last Autocrat” (1912 or later), wrote about the regicide: “This act deeply shook up society and the people. The murdered sovereign had too outstanding services for his death to pass without a reflex on the part of the population. And such a reflex could only be a desire for a reaction.”

At the same time, the executive committee of Narodnaya Volya, a few days after March 1, published a letter which, along with a statement of “execution of the sentence” to the tsar, contained an “ultimatum” to the new tsar, Alexander III: “If the government’s policy does not change , revolution will be inevitable. The government must express the will of the people, but it is a usurper gang.” A similar statement, which became known to the public, was made by the arrested leader of Narodnaya Volya, A.I. Zhelyabov, during interrogation on March 2. 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.

On these same days in early March, the newspapers Strana and Golos were given a “warning” by the government for editorials “explaining the heinous crime last days system of reaction and as placing responsibility for the misfortune that befell Russia on those of the tsarist advisers who led the measures of reaction.” In the following days, on the initiative of Loris-Melikov, the newspapers Molva, St. Petersburg Vedomosti, Poryadok and Smolensky Vestnik, which published “harmful” articles from the government’s point of view, were closed.

In his memoirs, the Azerbaijani satirist and educator Jalil Mammadkulizade, who was a schoolboy at the time of the death of Alexander II, described the reaction of the local population to the assassination of the emperor as follows:
We were sent home. The market and shops were closed. The people were gathered into the mosque, and a forced funeral service was held there. Molla climbed onto the minber and began to describe the virtues and merits of the murdered padishah in such a way that in the end he himself burst into tears and brought tears to the worshipers. Then the marsia (English) Russian was read, and grief for the murdered padishah merged with grief for the imam - the great martyr, and the mosque was filled with heartbreaking cries.

Alexander II is one of the most prominent Russian monarchs. Alexander Nikolaevich was popularly nicknamed Alexander the Liberator.

People really have a reason to call Alexander II that way. The emperor carried out a number of important life reforms. The course of his policy was distinguished by a liberal tint.

Alexander II initiated many liberal initiatives in Russia. The paradox of his historical personality is that the monarch, who gave the people unprecedented freedom before the village, was killed by revolutionaries.

They say that the draft constitution and the convocation of the State Duma were literally on the emperor’s table, but his sudden death put an end to many of his endeavors.

Alexander II was born in April 1818. He was also the son of Alexandra Feodorovna. Alexander Nikolaevich was purposefully prepared for accession to the throne.

The future Emperor received a very decent education. The prince's teachers were the smartest people of their time.

Among the teachers were Zhukovsky, Merder, Kankrin, Brunov. As you can see, science was taught to the future emperor by the ministers of the Russian Empire themselves.

Alexander Nikolaevich was a gifted man, he had equal abilities, he was a good-natured and sympathetic person.

Alexander Nikolaevich was well acquainted with the structure of affairs in the Russian Empire, as he actively worked for public service. In 1834 he became a member of the Senate, a year later he began working in the Holy Synod.

In 1841 he became a member of the State Council. In 1842 he began working on the Committee of Ministers. Alexander traveled a lot around Russia, so the poet was well acquainted with the state of affairs in the Russian Empire. During the Crimean War, he was the commander of all armed forces of St. Petersburg.

Domestic policy of Alexander II

Domestic policy was aimed at modernizing the country. Alexander II was largely pushed towards a policy of reform, the results of which were disappointing. In the period from 1860 to 1870, Zemstvo reform, Judicial reform and military reform were carried out.

History considers the most important achievement of the reign of Alexander II (1861). The significance of the reforms carried out over the decade is difficult to underestimate.

The reforms created the opportunity for the rapid development of bourgeois relations and rapid industrialization. New industrial regions are being formed, both heavy and light industry are developing, and wage labor is becoming widespread.

Foreign policy of Alexander II

Foreign policy had two distinct directions. The first is the restoration of Russia's shaky authority in Europe after the defeat in the Crimean War. The second is the expansion of borders in the Far East and Central Asia.

During his reign, Gorchakov showed himself excellently. He was a talented diplomat, thanks to whose skills Russia was able to break the Franco-Anglo-Austrian alliance.

Thanks to France's defeat in the war with Prussia, Russia abandoned the article of the Paris Peace Treaty prohibiting it from having a navy on the Black Sea. Russia also fought with Turkey, and military talent shone on the battlefields of this war.

Attempts were made on Alexander II more than once. The revolutionaries longed to kill the Russian monarch and they nevertheless succeeded. More than once, by the will of fate, he remained alive and well. Unfortunately, on March 1, 1881, Narodnaya Volya members threw a bomb at the carriage of Alexander II. The emperor died from his wounds.

Alexander II forever inscribed his name in Russia and entered Russian history as an undeniably positive personality. Not without sin, of course, but which of the historical figures, and even from ordinary people Can you call it ideal?

They were timely and gave a powerful impetus to the development of Russia. The Emperor could have done more for Russia, but fate decreed otherwise.

Alexander 2 Nikolaevich (born April 17 (29), 1818 - death March 1 (13, 1881) - Russian Emperor (since 1855), (). In Russian history he is known as Alexander II the Liberator.

The eldest son of Nicholas I. Abolished serfdom and carried out a number of reforms: military (making army service compulsory for everyone, but reducing the time of service from 25 to 6 years), judicial, city, zemstvo, (entrusting elected local authorities - the “zemstvo” with schools, hospitals, etc.)

After the Polish uprising of 1863-1864. switched to a reactionary domestic political course. Since the late 1870s, repressions against revolutionaries intensified. During the reign of Alexander 2, the annexation of the territories of the Caucasus (1864), Kazakhstan (1865), and most of Sr. to Russia was completed. Asia (1865-81) A number of attempts were made on the life of Alexander 2 (1866, 1867, 1879, 1880); killed by Narodnaya Volya.

Origin. Upbringing

Alexander 2 Nikolaevich - the eldest son of first the grand ducal, and since 1825, the imperial couple Nicholas I and Alexandra Feodorovna (daughter of the King of Prussia Frederick William III),

Received an excellent education. His main mentor was the Russian poet Vasily Zhukovsky. He managed to raise the future sovereign as an enlightened man, a reformer, and not lacking in artistic taste.

According to many testimonies, in his youth he was quite impressionable and amorous. While in London in 1839, he fell in love with the young Queen Victoria, who would later become the most hated ruler in Europe for him.

Government activities

1834 - Senator. 1835 - member of the Holy Synod. 1841 - member of the State Council, since 1842 - member of the Committee of Ministers. Major General (1836), full general since 1844, commanded the Guards infantry. 1849 - head of military educational institutions, chairman of the Secret Committees on Peasant Affairs in 1846 and 1848. During the Crimean War of 1853-1856. with the declaration of martial law in the St. Petersburg province, he commanded all the troops of the capital.

Years of reign. Reforms 1860-1870

Neither in his youth nor in adulthood did Alexander adhere to any particular concept in his views on Russian history and tasks of public administration. When he came to the throne in 1855, he received a difficult legacy. None of the cardinal issues of his father’s 30-year reign (peasant, eastern, Polish, etc.) were resolved; Russia was defeated in the Crimean War. Not being a reformer by vocation or temperament, the emperor happened to become one in response to the needs of the time as a man of sober mind and good will.

His first important decision was the conclusion of the Paris Peace in March 1856. With the accession of Alexander to the throne, a “thaw” came in the socio-political life of Russia. 1856, August - on the occasion of the coronation, he declared an amnesty for the Decembrists, Petrashevites, and participants in the Polish uprising of 1830-1831, and recruitment was suspended for three years. 1857 - military settlements were liquidated.

Realizing the primary importance of resolving the peasant issue, for four years (from the establishment of the Secret Committee of 1857 to the adoption of the law on February 19, 1861) he showed a steady will in striving to abolish serfdom. Adhering to 1857-1858. “Bestsee version” of landless emancipation of peasants, by the end of 1858 he agreed to the purchase of allotment land by peasants into ownership, i.e., to a reform program developed by the liberal bureaucracy, together with like-minded people from among public figures (N.A. Milyutin, Ya. I. Rostovtsev, Yu. F. Samarin, V. A. Cherkassky, etc.). With his support, the following were adopted: Zemstvo Regulations of 1864 and City Regulations of 1870, Judicial Charters of 1864, military reforms of the 1860-1870s, reforms of public education, censorship, and corporal punishment was abolished.

The emperor was unable to resist traditional imperial policies. Decisive victories in the Caucasian War were won in the first years of his reign. He gave in to demands for advancement into Central Asia (in 1865-1881, most of Turkestan became part of the Empire). After prolonged resistance, he decided to go to war with Turkey in 1877-1878. After the suppression of the Polish uprising of 1863-1864. and assassination attempts by D.V. Karakozov on his life on April 4, 1866, the sovereign made concessions to the protective course, which were expressed in the appointment of D.A. to senior government posts. Tolstoy, F.F. Trepova, P.A. Shuvalova.

Reforms continued, but rather sluggishly and inconsistently; almost all reform leaders, with rare exceptions, were dismissed. Towards the end of his reign, the emperor was inclined to introduce limited public representation in Russia under the State Council.

Assassination attempts. Death

There were attempts on the life of Alexander 2 several times: D.V. Karakozov, Polish emigrant A. Berezovsky May 25, 1867 in Paris, A.K. Soloviev on April 2, 1879 in St. Petersburg. 1879, August 26 - the executive committee of “Narodnaya Volya” made a decision to kill the sovereign (an attempt to blow up the emperor’s train near Moscow on November 19, 1879, an explosion in the Winter Palace, which was carried out by S.N. Khalturin on February 5, 1880)

To protect state order and fight the revolutionary movement, a Supreme Administrative Commission was created. However, this could not prevent his violent death. 1881, March 1 - the sovereign was mortally wounded on the embankment of the Catherine Canal in St. Petersburg by a bomb thrown by Narodnaya Volya member I.I. Grinevitsky. He was killed precisely on the day when he decided to give way to M.T.’s constitutional project. Loris-Melikova, telling his sons Alexander (the future emperor) and Vladimir: “I do not hide from myself that we are following the path of the constitution.” Great reforms remained unfinished.

Personal life

Men from the Romanov dynasty were not at all distinguished by marital fidelity, but Alexander Nikolaevich stood out even among them, constantly changing his favorites.

The first time he was married (from 1841) to the Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt Maximilian Wilhelmina Augusta Sophia Maria (in Orthodoxy Maria Alexandrovna, 1824-1880) Children from his first marriage sons: Nicholas, Alexander III, Vladimir, Alexey, Sergei, Pavel ; daughters: Alexandra, Maria.

At the end of the 1870s. An amazing picture emerged: the sovereign lived in two families, not particularly trying to hide this fact. This, of course, was not reported to the subjects, but members of the royal family, high-ranking dignitaries, and courtiers knew this very well. Moreover, the emperor even settled his favorite Ekaterina Dolgorukova with her children in the Winter Palace, in separate chambers, but next to her legal wife and children.

After the death of his wife, without waiting for the end of a year of mourning, Alexander II entered into (from 1880) a morganatic marriage with Princess Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgoruka (Princess Yuryevskaya), with whom he had a relationship since 1866, from this marriage there were four children. In 1880, from his personal funds, he donated 1 million rubles to establish a hospital in memory of the late empress.

Selling Alaska

What Alexander Nikolaevich has always been blamed for is the sale of Alaska to America. The main claims were that the rich region, which brought furs to Russia, and with more careful research could become a gold mine, was sold to the United States for some 11 million royal rubles. The truth is that after the Crimean War, Russia simply did not have the resources to develop such a distant region, and besides, the Far East was a priority.

In addition, even during the reign of Nicholas, the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia Nikolai Muravyov-Amursky presented the Emperor with a report on the necessary strengthening of ties with the United States, which sooner or later would raise the question of expanding its influence in this region, which was strategically important for America.

The emperor returned to this issue only when the state needed money for reforms. Alexander 2 had a choice - either to solve pressing problems of people and the state or to dream about the long-term prospect of the possible development of Alaska. The choice turned out to be on the side of pressing issues. 1867, March 30 - at four o'clock in the morning, Alaska became the property of America.

N. Lavrov "Russian Emperor Alexander II"

“He did not want to seem better than he was, and was often better than he seemed” (V.O. Klyuchevsky).

All-Russian Emperor, Tsar of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland Alexander Nikolaevich Romanov - the first son of Nicholas I from his marriage to Alexandra Feodorovna, daughter of the Prussian king Frederick William III, was born in the Kremlin, baptized in the Miracle Monastery and at baptism awarded the highest Russian Order of St. Andrew the First-Called.

Upbringing

His birth is a long-awaited event in the royal family, because... Nikolai's older brothers had no sons. In this regard, he was raised as the future heir to the throne.

According to tradition, he was immediately appointed chief of the Life Guards Hussar Regiment. At the age of 7 he was promoted to cornet, and at the age of 11 he already commanded a company. Alexander liked both military service and war games, but as the heir to the throne, the idea of ​​his special purpose was constantly instilled in him - “to live for others.”

His systematic home education began at the age of 6. His father chose his mentors himself. The poet V.A. was appointed teacher. Zhukovsky, who compiled the “Teaching Plan” for 12 years. The basis of this plan was comprehensive education combined with morality. Zhukovsky was also a teacher of the Russian language. The teacher of the Law of God and Sacred History was Archpriest G. Pavsky, the military instructor was Captain K. Merder, a simple officer awarded for bravery at Austerlitz. He was an intelligent and noble man who worked in a cadet school and had experience working with children. Legislation was taught by M.M. Speransky, statistics and history - K.I. Arsenyev, economics - E.F. Kankrin, foreign policy– F.I. Brunnov, arithmetic - Academician Collins, natural history - K.B. Trinius, famous German and Russian botanist, academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

F. Kruger "Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich"

As a result, the prince received a good education, was fluent in French, German and English languages, from childhood he was distinguished by his responsiveness and impressionability, mental alertness, good manners and sociability.

But at the same time, the teachers noted that he was hot-tempered and unrestrained; gives in to difficulties, not having a strong will, unlike his father. K. Merder noted that sometimes he acted not out of inner need, but out of vanity or the desire to please his father and receive praise.

Nicholas I personally supervised his son’s education, organized exams twice a year and attended them himself. From the age of 16, he began to involve Alexander in state affairs: the prince was supposed to participate in meetings of the Senate, then he was introduced to the Synod, and in 1836 he was promoted to major general and was included in the tsar’s retinue.

The process of education of the crown prince ended with travels around Russia (May-December 1837) and abroad (May 1838 - June 1839). Before his trip to Russia, Nicholas I prepared a special “instruction” for his son, which said: “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.”

Grand Duke Alexander Nikolaevich

During this trip, Alexander visited 28 provinces, seeing with his own eyes the ugliness of Russian reality. He was the first of the Romanov family to visit Siberia, where he met with the Decembrists, as a result of which he addressed his father in several letters “for the forgiveness of some unfortunates” and achieved a mitigation of their fate. On the journey, the Tsarevich was accompanied by Adjutant General Kavelin, the poet Zhukovsky, teacher of history and geography of Russia Arsenyev, physician Enokhin and young officers.

Later he even visited the Caucasus, where he distinguished himself in battle during an attack by highlanders, for which he was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree.

Before leaving abroad, Nicholas I admonished his son: “Many things will tempt 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 it is our strength, our salvation, our uniqueness.”

During his trip abroad, 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.

I. Makarov "Empress Maria Alexandrovna"

Maria Alexandrovna loved music and was well versed in it, and knew the latest European literature well. The breadth of her interests and spiritual qualities amazed many with whom she happened to meet. “With her intelligence, she surpasses not only other women, but also most men. This is an unprecedented combination of intelligence with purely feminine charm and... a charming character,” wrote the poet A.K. Tolstoy. In Russia, Maria Alexandrovna soon became known for her widespread charity - Mariinsky hospitals, gymnasiums and orphanages were in her field of vision and spread, earning highly appreciated contemporaries.

In 1841, Nicholas I appointed the heir to the State Council, which was actually the beginning of his state activities.

And since 1842, Alexander already performed the duties of the emperor during his absence in the capital. At this stage of his activity, he shared the conservative views of his father: he supported in 1848. preventive action on tightening censorship in connection with revolutionary events in Europe, concerning the protection of educational institutions from the “revolutionary infection”.

Beginning of the reign

Monogram of Alexander II

The sudden death of Nicholas I, accelerated by the tragic events of the Crimean War, naturally led Alexander to the throne. Russia was faced with a number of acute problems that Nicholas I failed to solve: the peasant problem, eastern, Polish and other problems, state financial difficulties, upset by the Crimean War, the international isolation of Russia, etc. Nikolai in the last hours of his life said to his son: “I hand over my command to you, but, unfortunately, not in the order I wanted, leaving you with a lot of work and worries.”

Alexander's first decisive step was the conclusion of the Paris Peace in 1856 with conditions that were not the worst for Russia. He then visited Finland and Poland, where he called on the local nobility to “give up their dreams,” which strengthened his position as a decisive emperor. In Germany, he secured a “dual alliance” with the Prussian king (his mother’s brother) Frederick William IV, thereby weakening the foreign policy blockade of Russia.

But, having begun his reign with effective support for the conservative views of his father, under the pressure of circumstances he was forced to switch to a policy of reform.

N. Lavrov "Portrait of Emperor Alexander II"

Alexander's reformsII

In December 1855, the Supreme Censorship Committee was closed and the free issuance of foreign passports was allowed. By Coronation Day (August 1856), an amnesty was declared for political prisoners, and police supervision was weakened.

But Alexander understood that serfdom hampered the development of the state, and this was the basis for returning again to the peasant issue, which was the main one at that moment. Speaking to the nobles in March 1856, he said: “There are rumors that I want to declare 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 in time this must happen... It is much better for it to happen from above than from below.”

In 1857, to consider this issue, a Secret Committee was formed of the emperor's proxies, which began developing regulations in individual regions, in order to then unite them for all of Russia into the “Regulations” on the abolition of serfdom. Commission members N. Milyutin, Y. Rostovtsev and others tried to prepare compromise solutions, but the constant pressure of the nobility on the authorities led to the fact that the project protected primarily the interests of the landowners. On February 19, 1861, the Manifesto for the Emancipation of the Peasants was signed, and thus conditions were created for capitalist production (23 million landowner peasants received personal freedom and civil rights), but many points of the “Regulations” limited the peasants to economic and legal dependence on the rural community controlled by the authorities. In relation to the landowner, the peasants remained “temporarily obligated” until the debt was paid (within 49 years) for the allocated land plots and had to carry out the previous duties - corvée, quitrent. The landowners received the best plots and huge redemption sums.

But, despite the limitations of the peasant reform, Alexander II went down in history as the Tsar-Liberator.

January 1, 1864 was held Zemstvo reform. Issues of local economy, collection of taxes, approval of the budget, primary education, medical and veterinary services were entrusted to elected institutions - district and provincial zemstvo councils. The election of representatives was of two degrees, but with a predominance of the nobility. They were elected for a term of 4 years.

V. Timm "Coronation"

Zemstvos dealt with issues of local government. At the same time, in everything that concerned the interests of the peasants, the zemstvos were guided by the interests of the landowners who controlled their activities. That is, self-government was simply a fiction, and elected positions were filled at the direction of the landowner. Local zemstvo institutions were subordinate to the tsarist administration (primarily governors). The zemstvo consisted of: zemstvo provincial assemblies (legislative power), zemstvo councils (executive power).

City government reform. Ensured the participation of various segments of the population in local government, but at the same time the autocracy still remained both the highest legislative and executive body, which nullified these reforms, since the lack of sufficient material resources increased dependence local government from the government.

Judicial reform of 1864 was a major step in the history of Russia towards the development of civilized norms of legality; they were based on the principles of modern law:

• independence of the court from the administration;
• irremovability of judges;
• publicity;
• competitiveness (in criminal courts, the institution of jurors elected from the population was introduced; for legal assistance to the population, the institution of sworn attorneys was introduced).

But as soon as the new courts demonstrated their work in a new capacity, the authorities immediately began to subordinate them to the regime. For example, legal proceedings in political cases were carried out not by juries, but by military courts; special courts were retained for peasants, clergy, etc.

Military reform. Taking into account the lessons of the Crimean War, serious changes were carried out in the army in 1861-1874. The conditions for soldier's service were eased, combat training was improved, and the military command system was streamlined: Russia was divided into 15 military districts. In 1874, the Charter on General conscription, who replaced the recruiting officer.

In addition to these reforms, transformations affected the sphere of finance, education, the media, and the church. They received the name “great” and contributed to the strengthening of the country’s economy and the formation of the rule of law.

Historians note, however, that all the reforms of Alexander II were carried out not because of his convictions, but because of the necessity he recognized, so his contemporaries felt their instability and incompleteness. In connection with this, a conflict began to grow between him and the thinking part of society, who feared that everything that had been done “risks being lost if Alexander II remains on the throne, that Russia is in danger of returning to all the horrors of the Nikolaev region,” as P. Kropotkin wrote.

Since the mid-60s, contemporaries have noted fatigue and some apathy in the emperor’s behavior, which led to a weakening of his transformative activities. This is due both to misfortunes and troubles in the family, and to multiple (7 in total) attempts by “grateful” subjects on the life of the emperor. In 1865, his eldest son Nicholas, heir to the throne, died of a serious illness in Nice. His death undermined the empress's health, which was already weak. Doctors’ recommendations to abstain “from marital relations” intensified the long-standing alienation in the family: in short term Alexander changed several mistresses until he met 18-year-old E. Dolgorukaya. This connection also led to disapproval from society.

Attempts on Alexander's lifeII

On April 4, 1886, the first attempt on the life of the emperor occurred. The shooter was D. Karakozov, a member of the secret society “Hell”, adjacent to “Earth and Freedom”, when Alexander II was heading to his carriage, leaving the gates of the Summer Garden. The bullet flew past the emperor - the shooter was pushed by the peasant O. Komissarov.

On May 25, 1879, during a visit to the World Exhibition in Paris, Pole A. Berezovsky shot at him. The bullet hit the horse.

On April 2, 1879, a member of the “Narodnaya Volya” A. Solovyov fired 5 shots at the gates of the Winter Palace, but the emperor remained unharmed - the shooter missed.

On November 18 and 19, 1879, members of the “People's Will” A. Zhelyabov, A. Yakimova, S. Perovskaya and L. Hartmann unsuccessfully tried to blow up the royal train traveling from Crimea to St. Petersburg.

On February 5, 1880, Narodnaya Volya member S. Khalturin prepared an explosion in the Winter Palace, the guard soldiers on the first floor were killed, but none of the royal family, who were on the third floor, were injured.

The assassination attempt occurred when the emperor was returning from a military divorce at the Mikhailovsky Manege. During the explosion of the first bomb, he was not injured and could have left the embankment of the Catherine Canal, where the assassination attempt took place, but he got out of the carriage to the wounded - and at that time Grinevitsky threw the second bomb, from which he himself died and the emperor was mortally wounded.

Alexander II with his wife. Photo by Levitsky

Result of the reign

Alexander II went down in history as a reformer and liberator. During his reign

• Serfdom was abolished;
• universal conscription was introduced;
• zemstvos were established;
• judicial reform was carried out;
• censorship is limited;
• a number of other reforms were carried out;
• the empire expanded significantly due to the conquest and inclusion of Central Asian possessions, North Caucasus, Far East and other territories.

But M. Paleolog writes: “At times he was overcome by severe melancholy, reaching the point of deep despair. Power no longer interested him; everything he tried to accomplish ended in failure. None of the other monarchs wished more happiness for their people: he abolished slavery, abolished corporal punishment, and carried out wise and liberal reforms in all areas of government. Unlike other kings, he never sought bloody laurels of glory. How much effort did he spend to avoid the Turkish war... And after its end, he prevented a new military clash... What did he receive as a reward for all this? From all over Russia, he received reports from governors that the people, deceived in their aspirations, blamed the tsar for everything. And police reports reported an alarming increase in revolutionary ferment.”

Alexander II found the only consolation and meaning of life in his love for E. Dolgoruky - “a person who thought about his happiness and surrounded him with signs of passionate adoration.” On July 6, 1880, a month and a half after the death of the Emperor's wife Maria Alexandrovna, they entered into a morganatic marriage. E. Dolgorukaya received the title of Most Serene Princess Yuryevskaya. This marriage also increased discord in the royal family and at court. There is even a version that Alexander II intended to carry out the planned transformations and abdicate the throne in favor of his son Alexander and go with a new family to live in Nice.

Thus, “the first of March tragically stopped both state reforms and the emperor’s romantic dreams of personal happiness... He had the courage and wisdom to abolish serfdom and begin to build a rule of law state, but at the same time he remained virtually a prisoner of the system, the foundation of which he began to abolish with his reforms,” - writes L. Zakharova.

Emperor Alexander II with children. Photo from 1860

Children of Alexander II from his first marriage:

• Alexandra (1842-1849);
• Nicholas (1843-1865);
• Alexander III (1845-1894);
• Vladimir (1847-1909);
• Alexey (1850-1908);
• Maria (1853-1920);
• Sergei (1857-1905);
• Pavel (1860-1919).

From marriage with Princess Dolgoruka (legalized after the wedding):

• His Serene Highness Prince Georgy Alexandrovich Yuryevsky (1872-1913);
• Your Serene Highness Princess Olga Alexandrovna Yuryevskaya (1873-1925);
• Boris (1876-1876), posthumously legitimized with the surname “Yuryevsky”;
• Your Serene Highness Princess Ekaterina Alexandrovna Yuryevskaya (1878-1959).
  • In addition to the children from Ekaterina Dolgoruky, he had several other illegitimate children.

At the insistence of Alexander III, Dolgorukaya-Yuryevskaya soon left St. Petersburg with her children, born before marriage. She died in Nice in 1922.

In memory of the martyrdom of Emperor Alexander II, a temple was built at the site of his murder.

The temple was erected by order of Emperor Alexander III in 1883-1907 according to the joint project of the architect Alfred Parland and Archimandrite Ignatius (Malyshev). The temple is made in the “Russian style” and is somewhat reminiscent of Moscow’s St. Basil’s Cathedral. It took 24 years to build. On August 6, 1907, on the day of Transfiguration, the cathedral was consecrated as the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood.

Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood