Aleksandr II (1818 - 1881)

Aleksandr II

Alexandr II Nikolaevich (Russian: Александр II, Александр Николаевич) was Emperor of All Russia, Tsar of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland of the Romanov dynasty.

Alexandr was the eldest son of the imperial couple Nikolai Pavlovich and Alexandra Feodorovna. The time of his reign from March 2, 1855 to March 13, 1881, the coronation took place on September 7, 1856. Alexander II is known for large-scale domestic reforms, the most important of which was the liberation of serfs (1861).

Responsible for the moral and intellectual development of little Alexandr was appointed poet, humanitarian, liberal and romantic Vasily Zhukovsky, who laid the foundations of the future tsar's character. Alexandr ascended the throne at the age of 36 after the death of his father in February 1855, in the midst of the Crimean War. His first order of business was the construction of new railroads, which was vital to the economy of the vast country, then he abolished serfdom, carried out judicial reform and reform of local government. The Army Statute of 1874 introduced conscription for the first time, making young men of all estates eligible for military service.

One of Alexandr's most important decisions was to soften the fate of those convicted on political articles. Many prisoners were released, and Siberian exiles were allowed to return. The emperor also removed or relaxed heavy restrictions on religious minorities, especially Jews. However, all these liberal innovations eventually led to the birth of a revolutionary movement. In the spring of 1866, the first attempt was made on the tsar, who miraculously escaped, but afterward gave great powers to the secret police under Pyotr Shuvalov. Failures in foreign policy and unforgivable love affairs followed, with the result that Alexandr's authority was greatly undermined. Beginning in 1879, revolutionary terrorism against the person of the Tsar himself intensified. On March 13, 1881, he was mortally wounded by a bomb as a result of a plot organized by the Narodnaya Volya.

In general, during the reign of Alexandr II, a large-scale modernization of Russian institutions was carried out. Russia created the base necessary for the transition to capitalism and industrialization at the end of the century. At the same time, Russian expansion, especially in Asia, was steadily gaining momentum.