They call Alexander 2. Historical figures: “Alexander II. Love that conquered death

Emperor of All Russia, Tsar of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from the Romanov dynasty

Alexander II

short biography

Alexander II Nikolaevich(April 29, 1818, Moscow - March 13, 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. Honored with 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 (March 3), 1861 and the victory in the Russian-Turkish War (1877-1878), respectively). Died as a result of a terrorist attack organized by the secret revolutionary organization "People's Will".

Childhood, education and upbringing

Born on April 29, 1818 at 11 a.m. in the Nikolaevsky Palace of the Moscow Kremlin, where the entire imperial family arrived in early April to fast and celebrate 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 is 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. The first persons under Alexander were: from 1825 - Colonel K.K. Merder, from 1827 - Adjutant General P.P. Ushakov, from 1834 - Adjutant General H.A. Lieven. In 1825, court councilor V. A. Zhukovsky was appointed mentor (with the responsibility of leading the entire process of upbringing and education and the instruction to draw up a “teaching plan”) and teacher of the Russian language.

Archpriests G. P. Pavsky and V. B. Bazhanov (God’s Law), M. M. Speransky (legislation), K. I. Arsenyev (statistics and history), E. F. Kankrin (finance) took part in Alexander’s training. , F. I. Brunnov (foreign policy), E. D. Collins (physical and mathematical sciences), K. B. Trinius (natural history), G. I. Hess (technology and chemistry). Alexander also studied military sciences; English, French and German languages, drawing; fencing and other disciplines.

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).

Until September 3 (15), 1831, he had the title “Imperial Highness the Grand Duke.” From this date he was officially called “Sovereign Heir, Tsarevich and Grand Duke.”

Beginning of government activities

On April 17 (29), 1834, Alexander Nikolaevich turned sixteen years old. Since this day fell on Tuesday of Holy Week, the celebration of the proclamation of adulthood and the taking of the oath was postponed until the Bright Resurrection of Christ. Nicholas I instructed Speransky to prepare his son for this important act, explaining to him the meaning and significance of the oath. On April 22 (May 4), 1834, Tsarevich Alexander was sworn in in the large church of the Winter Palace. After taking the oath, the Tsarevich was introduced by his father to the main state institutions of the empire: in 1834 to the Senate, in 1835 he was included in the Holy Governing Synod, from 1841 a member of the State Council, from 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 1838-1839 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

Sovereign title

Large title: “By God's hastening grace, We, Alexander II, Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia, Moscow, Kiev, Vladimir, Tsar of Kazan, Tsar of Astrakhan, Tsar of Poland, Tsar of Siberia, Tsar of Tauride Chersonis, Sovereign of Pskov and Grand Duke of Smolensk, Lithuania, Volyn , Podolsk and Finland, Prince of Estland, Livland, Courland and Semigalsk, Samogitsky, Bialystok, Korelsky, Tver, Ugra, Perm, Vyatka, Bulgarian and others; Sovereign and Grand Duke of Novagorod Nizovsky lands, Chernihiv, Ryazan, Polotsk, Rostov, Yaroslavsky, Beloozersky, Udorsky, Obdorsky, Kondian, Vitebsky, Mstislav and all northern countries, lord and sovereign Iverskiy, Kartalinsky, Georgia and Kabardinsky lands and Armenian regions, Cherkassky regions. and the Mountain Princes and other hereditary Sovereign and Possessor, Heir of Norway, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, Stormarn, Ditmarsen and Oldenburg, and so on, and so on, and so on.”
Abbreviated title: “By God's favor, We, Alexander II, Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia, Tsar of Poland, Grand Duke of Finland, etc., and so on, and so on.”

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.

Having ascended the throne on the day of his father’s death on February 18 (March 2), 1855, Alexander II issued a manifesto that read: “<…>in the face of the invisibly co-present God, we accept the sacred vow to always have as one goal the welfare of OUR Fatherland. May we, guided and protected by Providence, who has called US to this great service, establish Russia at the highest level of power and glory, may the constant desires and views of OUR August predecessors PETER, KATHERINE, ALEXANDER, the Blessed and Unforgettable, be fulfilled through US naked OUR Parent.<…>"
On the original His Imperial Majesty's own hand signed ALEXANDER

According to the journal of the State Council for February 19 (March 3), 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 the 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 (September 7), 1856 (the ceremony was led by Metropolitan Philaret (Drozdov) of Moscow; the emperor sat on the ivory throne of Tsar Ivan III), the Highest Manifesto granted benefits and concessions to a number of categories of subjects, in particular, the Decembrists, Petrashevites, 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 of 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 (February 3), 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. In order to reduce the influence of the Catholic Church on the public life of 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 (February 5), 1874, believers gathered near the parish church to prevent the transfer of the temple to the control of the 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.

After the uprising of part of Polish society, which did not receive significant support from the Lithuanians and Latvians (in Courland and partially Polished regions of Latgale), certain measures were taken to patronize the ethnocultural development of these peoples.

Part of the North Caucasian tribes (mainly Circassian) from the Black Sea coast, numbering several hundred thousand people, was deported to the Ottoman Empire in 1863-67. as soon as the Caucasian War ended.

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, the right of free settlement was given to merchants, artisans, doctors, lawyers, university graduates, their families and service personnel, as well as, for example, “persons of the 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 (16), 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 (20), 1881. Although the overwhelming majority of the 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 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 that of other countries. Contrary to the goals declared by the peasant reform of 1861, the country's agricultural productivity did not increase until the 1880s , despite the rapid progress in other countries (USA, Western Europe), and the situation in this most important sector of the Russian economy was also only getting worse.

The only industry that developed rapidly was railway transport: the country's railway network was growing rapidly, which also stimulated its own locomotive and carriage building. However, the development of railways was accompanied by many abuses and a deterioration in the financial situation of the state. 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 the Ottoman Empire in 1877-1878. Following the war, he accepted the rank of Field Marshal (April 30 (May 12), 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 $7.2 million. 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.

"They attack by surprise." Painting by V.V. Vereshchagin, 1871

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 (July 11), 1872, the department of the Aleutian diocese was transferred to San Francisco (California) and the diocese began to extend its care to all of 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.

Soviet 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 contributed in every possible way to education a united 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 included by the Greeks was Alexander II, who took third place and received less than 1 percent of the votes. However, representatives of the Russian, British and French royal 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, 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 (16), 1866, Alexander II made concessions to the protective course, expressed in the appointment of Dmitry Tolstoy, Fyodor Trepov, Pyotr Shuvalov to senior government posts, which led to tougher measures in the field of domestic policy.

Increased repression by police authorities, especially in relation to “going to the people” (the process of one hundred and ninety-three populists), caused public outrage and marked the beginning of terrorist activities, which subsequently took on a massive scale. 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 one hundred and ninety-three.” 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.

Alexander II. Photo between 1878 and 1881

Over the following 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 of the Russian-Turkish War of 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 the 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 was on the verge of a nervous breakdown in the last years of his life. Chairman of the Committee of Ministers P. A. Valuev wrote in his diary on June 3 (15), 1879: “The Emperor looks tired and he himself spoke about nervous irritation, which he is trying to hide. Crowned half-ruin. In an era where strength is needed, obviously one cannot count on it.”

Assassinations and murder

History of failed assassination attempts

Several attempts were made on Alexander II's life:

D. V. Karakozov April 4 (16), 1866. 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: the shooter was pushed by the peasant Osip Komissarov, who was standing nearby.

The gendarmes and some of the bystanders rushed at the shooter and knocked him down. "Guys! I shot for you!” - the terrorist shouted.
Alexander ordered him to be taken to the carriage and asked: “Are you a Pole?” “Russian,” answered the terrorist. - Why did you shoot at me? - You deceived the people: you promised them land, but didn’t give it. “Take him to the Third Department,” said Alexander, and the shooter, along with the one who seemed to prevent him from hitting the Tsar, was taken to the gendarmes. The shooter called himself peasant Alexei Petrov, and the other detainee called himself Osip Komissarov, a St. Petersburg cap maker who came from the peasants of the Kostroma province. It so happened that among the noble witnesses was the hero of Sevastopol, General E.I. Totleben, and he stated that he clearly saw how Komissarov pushed the terrorist and thereby saved the life of the sovereign.

The assassination attempt on May 25, 1867 was carried out by Polish emigrant Anton Berezovsky in Paris; the bullet hit the horse.
A.K. Solovyov April 2 (14), 1879 in St. Petersburg. Solovyov fired 5 shots from a revolver, including 4 at the emperor.

On August 26 (September 7), 1879, the executive committee of Narodnaya Volya decided to assassinate Alexander II.

On November 19 (December 1), 1879, there was an attempt to blow up an imperial train near Moscow. The emperor was saved by the fact that the steam locomotive of the suite train, which was running half an hour earlier than the tsar’s train, broke down in Kharkov. The king did not want to wait 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 5 (17), 1880, S. N. Khalturin carried out an explosion on the first floor of the Winter Palace. The emperor had lunch on the third floor; he was saved by the fact that he arrived later than the appointed time; the guards (11 people) on the second floor died.

To protect state order and fight the revolutionary movement, on February 12 (24), 1880, the Supreme Administrative Commission was established, headed by the liberal-minded Count Loris-Melikov.

Death and burial. Society's reaction

...There was an explosion
From the Catherine Canal,
Covering Russia with a cloud.
Everything foreshadowed from afar,
That the fateful hour will happen,
That such a card will appear...
And this century hour of the day -
The last one is named first of March.
Alexander Blok, "Retribution"

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; The tea was also attended by Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, who left a little later, having heard the explosion, and arrived shortly after the second explosion, giving orders and commands at the scene. The day before, February 28 (March 12), 1881 - (on 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 Leontyev) 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 (14), 1881, before the memorial 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 ours 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 following that: “<…>At night, sitting on our beds, we continued to discuss the disaster of last 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 the Russian Tsar would 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.”

An editorial in the Special Supplement to the right-wing conservative newspaper Rus on March 4 read: “The Tsar has been killed!... Russian tsar, in his own Russia, in his capital, brutally, barbarously, in front of everyone - with a Russian hand...<…>Shame, shame on 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 legends, 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 (20), 1881) of the official newspaper St. Petersburg Vedomosti, a “hot and frank article” was published, which 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 its sense of the people's pulse<…>That is why in St. Petersburg you can meet a lot of people, apparently Russians, but who talk 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 vile atrocity of recent days as a 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. The mullah 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 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.

Cornet of the Guard (17 (29) April 1825)
Second Lieutenant of the Guard “for success in sciences shown during the examination in the presence of Their Majesties” (January 7 (19), 1827)
Lieutenant of the Guard “for distinguished service” (July 1 (13), 1830)
Staff captain of the guard "for success in sciences shown during the examination in the presence of Their Majesties" (May 13 (25), 1831)
Adjutant Wing (17 (29) April 1834)
Colonel (10 (22) November 1834)
Major General of the Suite (6 (18) December 1836)
Lieutenant General of the Suite "for distinguished service" (December 6 (18), 1840)
Adjutant General (17 (29) April 1843)
General of Infantry (17 (29) April 1847)
Field Marshal "at the request of the army" (April 30 (May 12), 1878)
Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called (5 (17) May 1818)
Order of St. Alexander Nevsky (5 (17) May 1818)
Order of St. Anne 1st class. (5 (17) May 1818)
Order of the White Eagle (Kingdom of Poland, May 12 (24), 1829)
Insignia “For XV years of service in officer ranks” (April 17 (29), 1849)
Order of St. George 4th class. for participation “in the case against the Caucasian highlanders” (November 10 (22), 1850)
Insignia “For XX years of service in officer ranks” (April 4 (16), 1854)
Gold medal “For labors in liberating the peasants” (April 17 (29), 1861)
Silver medal “For the conquest of the Western Caucasus” (July 12 (24), 1864)
Cross “For Service in the Caucasus” (July 12 (24), 1864)
Order of St. Stanislaus 1st class. (11 (23) June 1865)
Order of St. George 1st class. on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the order (November 26 (December 8) 1869)
Golden saber, presented by officers of His Imperial Majesty's Own Convoy (December 2 (14), 1877)
Order of Noble Bukhara - the first recipient of this order (Bukhara Emirate, 1881)

foreign:

Prussian Order of the Black Eagle at baptism (5 (17) May 1818)
French Order of the Holy Spirit (13 (25) December 1823)
Spanish Order of the Golden Fleece (13 (25) August 1826)
Württemberg Order of the Württemberg Crown 1st class. (9 (21) November 1826)
Bavarian Order of St. Hubert (13 (25) April 1829)
Swedish Order of the Seraphim (8 (20) June 1830)
Danish Order of the Elephant (23 April (5 May) 1834)
Dutch Order of the Netherlands Lion 1st class. (2 (14) December 1834)
Greek Order of the Savior 1st class. (8 (20) November 1835)
Gold chain to the Danish Order of the Elephant (25 June (7 July) 1838)
Hanoverian Royal Guelph Order (18 (30) July 1838)
Saxe-Weimar Order of the White Falcon (30 August (11 September) 1838)
Neapolitan Order of Saint Ferdinand and Merit (20 January (1 February) 1839)
Austrian Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, Grand Cross (20 February (4 March) 1839)
Baden Order of Fidelity (11 (23) March 1839)
Baden Order of the Zähringen Lion 1st class. (11 (23) March 1839)
Hesse-Darmstadt Order of Ludwig 1st class. (13 (25) March 1839)
Saxon Order of the Ruth Crown, Grand Cross (19 (31) March 1840)
Hanoverian Order of St. George (3 (15) July 1840)
Hesse-Darmstadt Order of Philip the Magnanimous 1st class. (14 (26) December 1843)
Brazilian Order of the Southern Cross (15 (27) May 1845)
Sardinian Supreme Order of the Holy Annunciation (19 (31) October 1845)
Saxe-Altenburg Order of the House of Saxe-Ernestine, Grand Cross (18 (30) June 1847)
Hesse-Kassel Order of the Golden Lion (5 (17) August 1847)
Oldenburg Order of Merit of Duke Peter-Friedrich-Ludwig 1st class. (15 (27) October 1847)
Persian Order of the Lion and the Sun 1st class. (7 (19) October 1850)
Württemberg Order of Military Merit, 3rd class. (13 (25) December 1850)
Parma Constantinian Order of St. George (1850)
Dutch Military Order of Wilhelm, Grand Cross (15 (27) September 1855)
Portuguese Triple Order (27 November (9 December) 1855)
Portuguese Order of the Tower and Sword (27 November (9 December) 1855)
Brazilian Order of Pedro I (14 (26) February 1856)
Belgian Order of Leopold I 1st class. (18 (30) May 1856)
French Legion of Honor (30 July (11 August) 1856)
Prussian bronze medals for 1848 and 1849 (6 (18) August 1857)
Hesse-Kassel Order of the Golden Lion 1st class. (1 (13) May 1858)
Turkish Order of Medzhidiye 1st class. (1 (13) February 1860)
Mecklenburg-Schwerin Order of the Wendish Crown on a gold chain (21 June (3 July) 1864)
Mexican Imperial Order of the Mexican Eagle (6 (18) March 1865)
British Order of the Garter (16 (28) July 1867)
Prussian Order "Pour le Mérite" (26 November (8 December) 1869)
Turkish Order of Osmaniye 1st class. (25 May (6 June) 1871)
Golden oak leaves for the Prussian order "Pour le Mérite" (27 November (9 December) 1871)
Monegasque Order of St. Charles, Grand Cross (3 (15) July 1873)
Austrian Gold Cross for 25 years of service (2 (14) February 1874)
Austrian bronze medal (7 (19) February 1874)
Chain to the Swedish Order of the Seraphim (3 (15) July 1875)
Austrian Military Order of Maria Theresa 3rd class. (25 November (7 December) 1875)
Montenegrin Order of St. Peter of Cetinje

Results of the reign

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, and a number of other reforms were carried out. The empire expanded significantly by conquering and incorporating the Central Asian possessions, the North Caucasus, the Far East and other territories.

At the same time, the economic situation of the country worsened: industry was struck by a protracted depression, and there were several cases of mass starvation 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).

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. Thus, K.P. Pobedonostsev, at the first meeting of the government of Alexander III on March 8 (20), 1881, sharply criticized the peasant, zemstvo, and judicial reforms of Alexander II, calling them “criminal reforms,” and Alexander III actually approved his speech . And many contemporaries and a number of historians argued that the real liberation of the peasants did not occur (only a mechanism for such liberation was created, and an unfair one at that); corporal punishment against peasants (which remained until 1904-1905) was not abolished; the establishment of zemstvos led to discrimination against the lower classes; Judicial reform was unable to prevent the growth of judicial and police brutality. In addition, according to specialists on the agrarian issue, the peasant reform of 1861 led to the emergence of serious new problems (landowners, the ruin of the peasants), which became one of the reasons for the future revolutions of 1905 and 1917.

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. In Soviet historiography, a tendentious view of his reign prevailed, resulting from general nihilistic attitudes toward the “era of tsarism.” Modern historians, along with the thesis about the “liberation of the peasants,” state that their freedom of movement after the reform was “relative.” Calling the reforms of Alexander II “great,” they at the same time write that the reforms gave rise to “the deepest socio-economic crisis in the countryside,” did not lead to the abolition of corporal punishment for peasants, were not consistent, and economic life in 1860-1870 -e years was characterized by industrial decline, rampant speculation and farming.

Private life

“The sovereign’s hair was cut short and well framed his high and beautiful forehead. The facial features are amazingly regular and seem carved by an artist. Blue eyes especially stand out due to the brown tone of the face, weathered during long travels. The outline of the mouth is so fine and defined that it resembles Greek sculpture. The facial expression, majestically calm and soft, is decorated from time to time with a gracious smile,” Théophile Gautier - about the emperor, 1865.

Compared to other Russian emperors, Alexander II spent a lot of time abroad, mainly at the balneological resorts of Germany, which was explained by the poor health of the empress. It was at one of these resorts, in Ems, that the Marquis de Custine, who was heading to Russia in 1839, met the heir to the throne. There, forty years later, the emperor signed the Em Decree, which limited the use of the Ukrainian language. It was Emperor Alexander II who laid the foundation for the favorite summer residence of the last Russian emperors - Livadia. In 1860, the estate was bought together with a park, a wine cellar and a vineyard of 19 hectares from the daughters of Count Pototsky for the emperor’s wife, Maria Alexandrovna, who suffered from tuberculosis and, on the recommendation of doctors, had to recover from the healing air of the southern coast of Crimea. The court architect I. A. Monighetti was invited to Crimea and the Big and Small Livadia Palaces were rebuilt.

“The Emperor took daily walks in the morning - to Oreanda, Koreiz, Gaspra, Alupka, Gurzuf, to the forestry and to the Uchan-Su waterfall - in a carriage or on horseback, swam in the sea, walked. In moments of relaxation I listened to the beautiful poems of the poet [P. A.] Vyazemsky, who at that time was still at the Court, and, despite his 75 years, seemed vigorous and impressionable,” historian and writer Vasily Khristoforovich Kondaraki - about the emperor in the Crimea, 1867.

Alexander II was a particularly passionate lover of hunting. After his accession to the throne, bear hunting became fashionable at the imperial court. In 1860, representatives of the ruling houses of Europe were invited to such a hunt in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. The trophies obtained by the emperor decorated the walls of the Lisinsky pavilion. The collection of the Gatchina Arsenal (the armory room of the Gatchina Palace) contains a collection of hunting spears, with which Alexander II could personally go after bears, although this was very risky. Under his patronage, the Moscow Hunting Society named after Alexander II was created in 1862.

The Emperor contributed to the popularization of ice skating in Russia. This hobby swept St. Petersburg high society after in 1860 Alexander ordered the construction of a skating rink near the Mariinsky Palace, where he loved to skate with his daughter in full view of the townspeople.

As of March 1 (13), 1881, Alexander II’s net worth was about 12 million rubles. (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.

Alexander II suffered from asthma. According to the recollections of Princess Yuryevskaya, she always had several pillows with oxygen on hand, which she gave Alexander Nikolaevich to inhale during attacks of illness.

Family

Alexander was an amorous man. In his youth, he was in love with the maid of honor Borodzina, who was urgently married off, after which he had a relationship with the maid of honor Maria Vasilyevna Trubetskoy (in her first marriage, Stolypina, in her second, Vorontsova), who later became the mistress of Alexander Baryatinsky and had a son, Nikolai, from him. The maid of honor Sofya Davydova was in love with Alexander, because of this she went to the monastery. When she was already Abbess Maria, Alexander Nikolaevich’s eldest son, Nikolai Alexandrovich, saw her during his trip to Russia in the summer of 1863.

Later he fell in love with the maid of honor Olga Kalinovskaya and flirted with Queen Victoria. But, having already chosen the Princess of Hesse as his bride, he again resumed relations with Kalinovskaya and even wanted to abdicate the throne in order to marry her. On April 16 (28), 1841, in the Cathedral Church of the Winter Palace, Alexander Nikolaevich married Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna, daughter Grand Duke Ludwig II of Hesse, who was called Princess Maximilian Wilhelmina Augusta Sophia Maria of Hesse-Darmstadt before her conversion to Orthodoxy. On December 5 (17), 1840, the princess, having received confirmation, converted to Orthodoxy and was given a new name - Maria Alexandrovna, and upon her betrothal to Alexander Nikolaevich on December 6 (18), 1840, she became known as the Grand Duchess with the title of Imperial Highness.

Alexander's mother opposed this marriage due to rumors that the real father of the princess was the duke's chamberlain, but the crown prince insisted on his own. Alexander II and Maria Alexandrovna were married for almost 40 years, and for many years the marriage was happy. A. F. Tyutcheva calls Maria Alexandrovna “a happy wife and mother, idolized by her father-in-law (Emperor Nicholas I).” The couple had eight children.

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).

But, as the observant Count Sheremetev writes, “it seems to me that Emperor Alexander Nikolaevich felt stuffy with her.” The count notes that since the 60s she was surrounded by friends of A. Bludov and A. Maltsev, who did not hide their disdain for the emperor and in every possible way contributed to the alienation of the spouses. The king, in turn, was also irritated by these women, which did not contribute to the rapprochement of the spouses.

After ascending the throne, the emperor began to have favorites, with whom, according to rumors, he had illegitimate children. One of them was the maid of honor Alexandra Sergeevna Dolgorukova, who, according to Sheremetev, “mastered the mind and heart of the sovereign and studied his character like no one else.”

In 1866, he became close and began to meet in the Summer Garden with 18-year-old Princess Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukova (1847-1922), who became the closest and most trusted person to the Tsar; over time, she settled in the Winter Palace and gave birth to the Emperor’s illegitimate children:

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), married to Prince Alexander Vladimirovich Baryatinsky, and then to Prince Sergei Platonovich Obolensky-Neledinsky-Meletsky.

After the death of his wife, without waiting for the end of a year of mourning, Alexander II entered into a morganatic marriage with Princess Dolgorukova, who received the title Your Serene Highness Princess Yuryevskaya. The wedding allowed the emperor to legitimize their common children.

Memory of Alexander II

The memory of the “Tsar Liberator” was immortalized in many cities of the Russian Empire and Bulgaria by erecting monuments. After the October Revolution, most of them were demolished. Monuments in Sofia and Helsinki have remained intact. Some monuments were recreated after the fall of the communist regime. At the site of the death of the emperor at the hands of terrorists, the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood was built. There is an extensive filmography. For more information about perpetuating the memory of the monarch, see the article Memory of Alexander II.

As noted in the literature dedicated to the heroes of the historical memory of Russian society, the image of Alexander II changed depending on the social order: “liberator” - “victim” - “serf owner”, but at the same time, which is typical, Alexander Nikolaevich almost always acted (and even today acts) in the information space rather as a “background” figure for the inevitable historical process than as an active figure in it. This is a striking difference between Alexander II and those historical figures whose image reflects the positive consensus of historical memory (such as Alexander Nevsky or Pyotr Stolypin) or, on the contrary, its conflict objects (such as Stalin or Ivan the Terrible). The main feature of the emperor's image is constant doubt and indecision.

The head of the government of Alexander II, P. A. Valuev: “The sovereign did not and, however, could not have a clear concept of what was called the “reforms” of his time.”

Maid of honor A.F. Tyutchev: he had “a kind, warm and humane heart... he had a mind that suffered from a lack of breadth and outlook, and Alexander was also little enlightened... was not able to grasp the value and importance of the reforms he consistently carried out” .

Alexander II's Minister of War D. A. Milyutin: was a weak-willed emperor. “The late sovereign was completely in the hands of Princess Yuryevskaya.”

According to S. Yu. Witte, who knew Alexander III well, the latter did not approve of his father’s marriage to Princess Yuryevskaya “after the age of 60, when He already had so many fully grown children and even grandchildren,” and considered him weak-willed: “In in recent years, when He already had experience, he saw that ... this turmoil, which was at the end of His Father’s reign, ... stemmed from the insufficiently strong character of His Father, thanks to which Emperor Alexander II often hesitated, and finally fell into family sin.”

Historian N.A. Rozhkov: “Weak-willed, indecisive, always hesitant, cowardly, limited”; was distinguished by extravagance and “loose morals.”

Historian P. A. Zayonchkovsky: “he was a very ordinary person”; “often consigned to oblivion the national interests of the country over which he ruled”; “Alexander II did not understand the vital necessity of these reforms for the further development of Russia... In certain periods of history there are moments when insignificant people who are not aware of the significance of what is happening are at the head of events. This is what Alexander II was.”

Historian N. Ya. Eidelman: “was more limited than his father” (Nicholas I).

“Alexander II took the path of liberation reforms not because of his convictions, but as a military man who realized the lessons of the Crimean War, as an emperor and autocrat, for whom the prestige and greatness of the state were above all. The qualities of his character also played a big role - kindness, cordiality, receptivity to the ideas of humanism... Not being a reformer by vocation, by temperament, Alexander II became one in response to the needs of the time, as a man of sober mind and good will.”
Historian L. G. Zakharova

Few monarchs in history have been honored with the epithet “liberator.” Alexander Nikolaevich Romanov deserved such an honor. Alexander II is also called the Tsar-Reformer, because he managed to get off the ground many old problems of the state that threatened riots and uprisings.
Childhood and youth
The future emperor was born in April 1818 in Moscow. The boy was born on a holiday, Bright Wednesday, in the Kremlin, in the Bishop's House of the Chudov Monastery. Here, on that festive morning, the entire Imperial family gathered to celebrate Easter. In honor of the boy’s birth, the silence of Moscow was broken by a 201-volley cannon salute.

Archbishop of Moscow Augustine baptized the baby Alexander Romanov on May 5 in the church of the Chudov Monastery. His parents were Grand Dukes at the time of their son's birth. But when the grown-up heir turned 7 years old, his mother Alexandra Feodorovna and father became the imperial couple.
The future Emperor Alexander II received an excellent education at home. His main mentor, responsible not only for training, but also for education, was. Archpriest Gerasim Pavsky himself taught sacred history and the Law of God. Academician Collins taught the boy the intricacies of arithmetic, and Karl Merder taught the basics of military affairs.

Alexander Nikolaevich had no less famous teachers in legislation, statistics, finance and foreign policy. The boy grew up very smart and quickly mastered the sciences taught. But at the same time, in his youth, like many of his peers, he was amorous and romantic. For example, during a trip to London, he fell in love with a young British girl.
Interestingly, after a couple of decades, it turned into the most hated European ruler for the Russian Emperor Alexander II.
The reign and reforms of Alexander II
When Alexander Nikolaevich Romanov reached adulthood, his father introduced him to the main state institutions. In 1834, the Tsarevich entered the Senate, the following year - into the Holy Synod, and in 1841 and 1842 Romanov became a member of the State Council and the Committee of Ministers.

In the mid-1830s, the heir made a long familiarization trip around the country and visited 29 provinces. In the late 30s he visited Europe. He also completed his military service very successfully and in 1844 became a general. He was entrusted with the guards infantry.
The Tsarevich headed military educational institutions and chaired the Secret Committees on Peasant Affairs in 1846 and 1848. He delves quite well into the problems of the peasants and understands that changes and reforms are long overdue.

The outbreak of the Crimean War of 1853-56 becomes a serious test for the future sovereign on his maturity and courage. After martial law was declared in the St. Petersburg province, Alexander Nikolaevich assumed command of all the troops of the capital.
Alexander II, having ascended the throne in 1855, received a difficult legacy. During his 30 years of rule, his father failed to resolve any of the many pressing and long-standing issues of the state. In addition, the country's difficult situation was aggravated by the defeat in the Crimean War. The treasury was empty.

It was necessary to act decisively and quickly. The foreign policy of Alexander II was to use diplomacy to break through the tight ring of blockade that had closed around Russia. The first step was the conclusion of the Paris Peace in the spring of 1856. The conditions accepted by Russia cannot be called very favorable, but the weakened state could not dictate its will. The main thing is that they managed to stop England, which wanted to continue the war until the complete defeat and dismemberment of Russia.
That same spring, Alexander II visited Berlin and met with King Frederick William IV. Frederick was the emperor's maternal uncle. They managed to conclude a secret “dual alliance” with him. The foreign policy blockade of Russia was over.

The domestic policy of Alexander II turned out to be no less successful. The long-awaited “thaw” has arrived in the life of the country. At the end of the summer of 1856, on the occasion of the coronation, the tsar granted amnesty to the Decembrists, Petrashevites, and participants in the Polish uprising. He also suspended recruitment for another 3 years and liquidated military settlements.
The time has come to resolve the peasant question. Emperor Alexander II decided to abolish serfdom, this ugly relic that stood in the way of progress. The sovereign chose the “Baltsee option” of landless emancipation of peasants. In 1858, the Tsar agreed to a reform program developed by liberals and public figures. According to the reform, peasants received the right to purchase the land allocated to them as their own.

The great reforms of Alexander II turned out to be truly revolutionary at that time. He supported the Zemstvo Regulations of 1864 and the City Regulations of 1870. The Judicial Statutes of 1864 were put into effect and the military reforms of the 1860s and 70s were adopted. Reforms took place in public education. Corporal punishment, which was shameful for a developing country, was finally abolished.
Alexander II confidently continued the traditional line of imperial policy. In the first years of his reign, he won victories in the Caucasian War. He successfully advanced in Central Asia, annexing most of Turkestan to the territory of the state. In 1877-78, the tsar decided to go to war with Turkey. He also managed to fill the treasury, increasing the total income of 1867 by 3%. This was done by selling Alaska to the United States.

But in the last years of the reign of Alexander II, the reforms “stalled.” Their continuation was sluggish and inconsistent. The emperor dismissed all the main reformers. At the end of his reign, the Tsar introduced limited public representation in Russia under the State Council.
Some historians believe that the reign of Alexander II, for all its advantages, had a huge disadvantage: the tsar pursued a “Germanophile policy” that did not meet the interests of the state. The monarch was in awe of the Prussian king - his uncle, and in every possible way contributed to the creation of a united militaristic Germany.

A contemporary of the Tsar, Chairman of the Committee of Ministers Pyotr Valuev, wrote in his diaries about the Tsar’s severe nervous breakdown in the last years of his life. Romanov was on the verge of a nervous breakdown and looked tired and irritated. “Crown half-ruin” - such an unflattering epithet given by Valuev to the emperor, accurately explained his condition.
“In an era where strength is needed,” the politician wrote, “obviously, one cannot count on it.”
Nevertheless, in the first years of his reign, Alexander II managed to do a lot for the Russian state. And he really deserved the epithets “Liberator” and “Reformer”.
Personal life
The emperor was a passionate man. He has many novels to his credit. In his youth, he had an affair with his maid of honor Borodzina, whom his parents urgently married off. Then another novel, and again with the maid of honor Maria Trubetskoy. And the connection with the maid of honor Olga Kalinovskaya turned out to be so strong that the Tsarevich even decided to abdicate the throne for the sake of marrying her. But his parents insisted on breaking off this relationship and marrying Maximilianna of Hesse.

However, the marriage with, nee Princess Maximiliana Wilhelmina Augusta Sophia Maria of Hesse-Darmstadt, was a happy one. 8 children were born there, 6 of whom were sons.
Emperor Alexander II mortgaged the favorite summer residence of the last Russian tsars, Livadia, for his wife, who was sick with tuberculosis, by purchasing the land along with the estate and vineyards from the daughters of Count Lev Pototsky.

Maria Alexandrovna died in May 1880. She left a note containing words of gratitude to her husband for a happy life together.
But the monarch was not a faithful husband. The personal life of Alexander II was a constant source of gossip at court. Some favorites gave birth to illegitimate children from the sovereign.

An 18-year-old maid of honor managed to firmly capture the heart of the emperor. The Emperor married his longtime lover the same year his wife died. It was a morganatic marriage, that is, concluded with a person of non-royal origin. The children from this union, and there were four of them, could not become heirs to the throne. It is noteworthy that all the children were born at a time when Alexander II was still married to his first wife.
After the tsar married Dolgorukaya, the children received legal status and a princely title.
Death
During his reign, Alexander II was assassinated several times. The first assassination attempt occurred after the suppression of the Polish uprising in 1866. It was committed in Russia by Dmitry Karakozov. The second is next year. This time in Paris. Polish emigrant Anton Berezovsky tried to kill the Tsar.

A new attempt was made at the beginning of April 1879 in St. Petersburg. In August of the same year, the executive committee of Narodnaya Volya sentenced Alexander II to death. After this, the Narodnaya Volya members intended to blow up the emperor’s train, but mistakenly blew up another train.
The new attempt turned out to be even bloodier: several people died in the Winter Palace after the explosion. As luck would have it, the emperor entered the room later.

To protect the sovereign, the Supreme Administrative Commission was created. But she did not save Romanov’s life. In March 1881, a bomb was thrown at the feet of Alexander II by Narodnaya Volya member Ignatius Grinevitsky. The king died from his wounds.
It is noteworthy that the assassination attempt took place on the day when the emperor decided to launch the truly revolutionary constitutional project of M. T. Loris-Melikov, after which Russia was supposed to follow the path of the constitution.

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.

Romanov
Years of life: April 17 (29), 1818, Moscow - March 1 (13), 1881, St. Petersburg
Emperor of All Russia, Tsar of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland 1855-1881.

From the Romanov dynasty.

He was awarded a special epithet in Russian historiography - Liberator.

He is the eldest son of the imperial couple Nicholas I and Alexandra Feodorovna, daughter of the Prussian king Frederick William III.

Biography of Alexander Nikolaevich Romanov

His father, Nikolai Pavlovich, was a Grand Duke at the time of his son’s birth, and in 1825 became Emperor. From an early age, his father began to prepare him for the throne, and considered “reigning” to be his duty. The mother of the great reformer, Alexandra Feodorovna, was a German who converted to Orthodoxy.

He received an education corresponding to his origin. His main mentor was the Russian poet Vasily Zhukovsky. He managed to raise the future king as an enlightened man, a reformer, and not lacking in artistic taste.

According to numerous testimonies, in his youth he was very impressionable and amorous. During a trip to London in 1839, he fell in love with the young Queen Victoria, who later became for him the most hated ruler in Europe.

In 1834, a 16-year-old boy became a senator. And in 1835 a member
Holy Synod.

In 1836, the heir to the throne received the military rank of major general.

In 1837 he went on his first trip to Russia. He visited about 30 provinces and reached Western Siberia. And in a letter to his father he wrote that he was ready to “strive for the work for which God destined me.”

The years 1838–1839 were marked by travels around Europe.

On April 28, 1841, he married Princess Maximiliana Wilhelmina Augusta Sophia Maria of Hesse-Darmstadt, who received the name Maria Alexandrovna in Orthodoxy.

In 1841 he became a member of the State Council.

In 1842, the heir to the throne entered the Cabinet of Ministers.

In 1844 he received the rank of full general. For some time he even commanded the guards infantry.

In 1849, he received military educational institutions and the Secret Committees for Peasant Affairs under his jurisdiction.

In 1853, at the beginning of the Crimean War, he commanded all the troops of the city.

Emperor Alexander 2

March 3 (February 19), 1855 became emperor. Having accepted the throne, he accepted the problems his father had left behind. In Russia at that time, the peasant question was not resolved, the Crimean War was in full swing, in which Russia suffered constant setbacks. The new ruler had to carry out forced reforms.

March 30, 1856 Emperor Alexander II concluded the Peace of Paris, thereby ending the Crimean War. However, the conditions turned out to be unfavorable for Russia; it became vulnerable from the sea, and it was prohibited from having naval forces in the Black Sea.

In August 1856, on the day of coronation, the new emperor declared an amnesty for the Decembrists, and also suspended recruitment for 3 years.

Reforms of Alexander 2

In 1857, the Tsar intends to free the peasants, “without waiting for them to free themselves.” He established a Secret Committee to deal with this issue. The result was the Manifesto for the Liberation of the Peasantry from Serfdom and the Regulations on Peasants Emerging from Serfdom, published on March 3 (February 19), 1861, according to which peasants received personal freedom and the right to freely dispose of their property.

Among other reforms carried out by the tsar was the reorganization of educational and legal systems, the virtual abolition of censorship, the abolition of corporal punishment, and the creation of zemstvos. With him the following were carried out:

Zemstvo reform on January 1, 1864, according to which issues of local economy, primary education, medical and veterinary services were entrusted to elected institutions - district and provincial zemstvo councils.

The city reform of 1870 replaced the previously existing class-based city administrations with city councils elected on the basis of property qualifications.

The Judicial Charter of 1864 introduced a unified system of judicial institutions, based on the formal equality of all social groups before the law.

In the course of military reforms, a systematic reorganization of the army was begun, new military districts were created, a relatively harmonious system of local military command was created, the reform of the military ministry itself was ensured, and operational control of troops and their mobilization was carried out. By the beginning of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. the entire Russian army was armed with the latest breech-loading rifles.

During the educational reforms of the 1860s. A network of public schools was created. Together with classical gymnasiums, real gymnasiums (schools) were created, in which the main emphasis was on teaching natural sciences and mathematics. The published Charter of 1863 for higher educational institutions introduced partial autonomy of universities. In 1869, the first higher women's courses in Russia with a general education program were opened in Moscow.

Imperial policy of Alexander 2

He confidently and successfully pursued traditional imperial policy. Victories in the Caucasian War were won in the first years of his reign. The advance into Central Asia was successfully completed (in 1865-1881, most of Turkestan became part of Russia). After long resistance, he decided to fight a war with Turkey in 1877-1878, which Russia won.

On April 4, 1866, the first attempt on the life of the emperor took place. The nobleman Dmitry Karakozov shot at him, but missed.

In 1866, 47-year-old Emperor Alexander II entered into an extramarital affair with a 17-year-old maid of honor, Princess Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgoruka. Their relationship lasted for many years, until the death of the emperor.

In 1867, the tsar, trying to improve relations with France, held negotiations with Napoleon III.

On May 25, 1867, the second attempt occurred. In Paris, Pole Anton Berezovsky shoots at the carriage where the Tsar, his children and Napoleon III were. One of the French guard officers saved the rulers.

In 1867, Alaska (Russian America) and the Aleutian Islands were sold to the United States for $7.2 million in gold. The feasibility of acquiring Alaska by the United States of America became obvious 30 years later, when gold was discovered in the Klondike and the famous “gold rush” began. A declaration of the Soviet government in 1917 announced that it did not recognize the agreements concluded by Tsarist Russia, thus Alaska should belong to Russia. The sale agreement was carried out with violations, so there are still disputes about the ownership of Alaska by Russia.

In 1872, Alexander joined the Union of Three Emperors (Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary).

Years of reign of Alexander 2

During his reign, a revolutionary movement developed in Russia. Students unite in various unions and circles, often sharply radical, and for some reason they saw the guarantee of the liberation of Russia only on the condition of the physical destruction of the Tsar.

On August 26, 1879, the executive committee of the People's Will movement decided to assassinate the Russian Tsar. This was followed by 2 more assassination attempts: on November 19, 1879, the imperial train was blown up near Moscow, but again the emperor was saved by chance. On February 5, 1880, an explosion occurred in the Winter Palace.

In July 1880, after the death of his first wife, he secretly married Dolgoruka in the church of Tsarskoye Selo. The marriage was morganatic, that is, unequal in gender. Neither Catherine nor her children received any class privileges or rights of succession from the emperor. They were granted the title of Most Serene Princes of Yuryevsky.

On March 1, 1881, the emperor was mortally wounded as a result of another assassination attempt by Narodnaya Volya member I.I. Grinevitsky, who threw a bomb, and died the same day from blood loss.

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

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

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)
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.
Children from this marriage:
Georgy Alexandrovich Yuryevsky (1872-1913), married to Countess von Tsarnekau
Olga Alexandrovna Yuryevskaya (1873-1925), married to Georg-Nikolai von Merenberg (1871-1948), son of Natalia Pushkina.
Boris Alexandrovich (1876-1876), posthumously legitimized with the surname “Yuryevsky”
Ekaterina Alexandrovna Yuryevskaya (1878-1959), married to Prince Alexander Vladimirovich Baryatinsky, and then to Prince Sergei Platonovich Obolensky-Neledinsky-Meletsky.

Many monuments have been erected to him. In Moscow in 2005 at an open The inscription on the monument reads: “Emperor Alexander II. He abolished serfdom in 1861 and freed millions of peasants from centuries of slavery. Conducted military and judicial reforms. He introduced a system of local self-government, city councils and zemstvo councils. Ended the many years of the Caucasian War. Liberated the Slavic peoples from the Ottoman yoke. Died on March 1 (13), 1881 as a result of a terrorist attack.” A monument was also erected in St. Petersburg made of gray-green jasper. In the capital of Finland, Helsinki, a monument to Alexander II was erected in 1894 for strengthening the foundations of Finnish culture and recognizing the Finnish language as the state language.

In Bulgaria he is known as the Tsar Liberator. The grateful Bulgarian people for the liberation of Bulgaria erected many monuments to him and named streets and institutions throughout the country in his honor. And in modern times in Bulgaria, during the liturgy in Orthodox churches, Alexander II and all the Russian soldiers who died on the battlefield for the liberation of Bulgaria in the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878 are remembered.

Coronation:

Predecessor:

Nicholas I

Successor:

Heir:

Nicholas (before 1865), after Alexander III

Religion:

Orthodoxy

Birth:

Buried:

Peter and Paul Cathedral

Dynasty:

Romanovs

Nicholas I

Charlotte of Prussia (Alexandra Fedorovna)

1) Maria Alexandrovna
2) Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukova

From the 1st marriage, sons: Nicholas, Alexander III, Vladimir, Alexey, Sergei and Pavel, daughters: Alexandra and Maria, from the 2nd marriage, sons: St. book Georgy Alexandrovich Yuryevsky and Boris daughters: Olga and Ekaterina

Autograph:

Monogram:

Reign of Alexander II
Big title
Beginning of reign
Background
Judicial reform
Military reform
Organizational reforms
Education reform
Other reforms
Autocracy reform
Economic development of the country
The problem of corruption
Foreign policy
Assassinations and murder
History of failed attempts
Results of the reign
Saint Petersburg
Bulgaria
General-Toshevo
Helsinki
Częstochowa
Monuments by Opekushin
Interesting Facts
Film incarnations

(April 17 (29), 1818, Moscow - March 1 (13, 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. Honored with a special epithet in Russian pre-revolutionary historiography - Liberator(in connection with the abolition of serfdom according to the manifesto of February 19, 1861). Died as a result of a terrorist attack organized by the People's Will party.

Childhood, education and upbringing

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, excluding 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 was given a gala dinner.

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 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 fell in love with the young Queen Victoria (later, as monarchs, they experienced mutual hostility and enmity).

Beginning of government activities

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 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.

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.

Reign of Alexander II

Big title

By God's hastening grace, We, Alexander II, Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia, Moscow, Kiev, Vladimir, Tsar of Astrakhan, Tsar of Poland, Tsar of Siberia, Tsar of Tauride Chersonis, Sovereign of Pskov and Grand Duke of Smolensk, Lithuania, Volyn, Podolsk and Finland, Prince of Estonia , Livlyandsky, Kurlyandsky and Semigalsky, Samogitsky, Bialystok, Korelsky, Tver, Yugorsky, Perm, Vyatka, Bulgarian and others; Sovereign and Grand Duke of Novagorod Nizovsky lands, Chernihiv, Ryazan, Polotsk, Rostov, Yaroslavsky, Beloozersky, Udorsky, Obdorsky, Kondian, Vitebsky, Mstislav and all northern countries, lord and sovereign Iverskiy, Kartalinsky, Georgia and Kabardinsky lands and Armenian regions, Cherkassky regions. and the Mountain Princes and other hereditary Sovereign and Possessor, Heir of Norway, Duke of Schleswig-Holstin, Stormarn, Ditmarsen and Oldenburg, and so on, and so on, and so on.

Beginning of reign

Having ascended the throne on the day of his father’s death on February 18, 1855, Alexander II issued a manifesto that read: “In the face of the invisibly co-present God, we accept the sacred scope of always having as one goal the well-being of OUR Fatherland. May we, guided and protected by Providence, who has called US to this great service, establish Russia at the highest level of power and glory, may the constant desires and views of OUR August predecessors PETER, KATHERINE, ALEXANDER, the Blessed and Unforgettable, be fulfilled through US OUR Parent. "

On the original His Imperial Majesty's own hand signed ALEXANDER

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 the 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” (fr. pas de rêveries), and Berlin, where he had a very important meeting for him 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 ivory throne of Tsar Ivan III), the Highest Manifesto granted benefits and concessions to a number of categories of subjects, in particular, the Decembrists , Petrashevites, participants in the Polish uprising of 1830-1831; recruitment was suspended for 3 years; in 1857, military settlements were liquidated.

Abolition of serfdom (1861)

Background

The first steps towards the abolition of serfdom in Russia were taken by Emperor Alexander I in 1803 with the publication of the Decree on Free Plowmen, which spelled out the legal status of freed peasants.

In the Baltic (Baltic Sea) provinces of the Russian Empire (Estonia, Courland, Livonia), serfdom was abolished back in 1816-1819.

According to historians who specifically studied this issue, the percentage of serfs to the entire adult male population of the empire reached its maximum towards the end of the reign of Peter I (55%), during the subsequent period of the 18th century. was about 50% and increased again by the beginning of the 19th century, reaching 57-58% in 1811-1817. For the first time, a significant reduction in this proportion occurred under Nicholas I, by the end of whose reign it, according to various estimates, was reduced to 35-45%. Thus, according to the results of the 10th revision (1857), the share of serfs in the entire population of the empire fell to 37%. According to the population census of 1857-1859, 23.1 million people (of both sexes) out of 62.5 million people inhabiting the Russian Empire were in serfdom. Of the 65 provinces and regions that existed in the Russian Empire in 1858, in the three above-mentioned Baltic provinces, in the Land of the Black Sea Army, in the Primorsky region, the Semipalatinsk region and the region of the Siberian Kyrgyz, in the Derbent province (with the Caspian region) and the Erivan province there were no serfs at all; in another 4 administrative units (Arkhangelsk and Shemakha provinces, Transbaikal and Yakutsk regions) there were also no serfs, with the exception of several dozen courtyard people (servants). In the remaining 52 provinces and regions, the share of serfs in the population ranged from 1.17% (Bessarabian region) to 69.07% (Smolensk province).

During the reign of Nicholas I, about a dozen different commissions were created to resolve the issue of abolishing serfdom, but all of them were ineffective due to the opposition of the nobility. However, during this period, a significant transformation of this institution took place (see article Nicholas I) and the number of serfs sharply decreased, which facilitated the task of the final abolition of serfdom. By the 1850s A situation arose where it could have happened without the consent of the landowners. As historian V.O. Klyuchevsky pointed out, by 1850 more than 2/3 of noble estates and 2/3 of serfs were pledged to secure loans taken from the state. Therefore, the liberation of the peasants could have occurred without a single state act. To do this, it was enough for the state to introduce a procedure for the forced redemption of mortgaged estates - with the payment to the landowners of only a small difference between the value of the estate and the accumulated arrears on the overdue loan. As a result of such a redemption, most of the estates would pass to the state, and the serfs would automatically become state (that is, actually free) peasants. It was precisely this plan that was hatched by P.D. Kiselev, who was responsible for the management of state property in the government of Nicholas I.

However, these plans caused strong discontent among the nobility. In addition, peasant uprisings intensified in the 1850s. Therefore, the new government formed by Alexander II decided to speed up the solution to the peasant issue. As the Tsar himself said in 1856 at a reception with the leader of the Moscow nobility: “It is better to abolish serfdom from above than to wait until it begins to abolish itself from below.”

As historians point out, in contrast to the commissions of Nicholas I, where neutral persons or specialists on the agrarian issue predominated (including Kiselev, Bibikov, etc.), now the preparation of the peasant issue was entrusted to large feudal landowners (including the newly appointed ministers of Lansky , Panin and Muravyova), which largely predetermined the results of the agrarian reform.

The government program was outlined in a rescript from Emperor Alexander II on November 20 (December 2), 1857 to the Vilna Governor-General V. I. Nazimov. It provided for: the destruction of the personal dependence of the peasants while maintaining all the land in the ownership of the landowners; providing peasants with a certain amount of land, for which they will be required to pay quitrents or serve corvee, and, over time, the right to buy out peasant estates (a residential building and outbuildings). In 1858, to prepare peasant reforms, provincial committees were formed, within which a struggle began for measures and forms of concessions between liberal and reactionary landowners. The fear of an all-Russian peasant revolt forced the government to change the government program of peasant reform, the projects of which were repeatedly changed in connection with the rise or decline of the peasant movement, as well as under the influence and participation of a number of public figures (for example, A. M. Unkovsky).

In December 1858, a new peasant reform program was adopted: providing peasants with the opportunity to buy out land and creating peasant public administration bodies. To consider projects of provincial committees and develop peasant reform, editorial commissions were created in March 1859. The project drawn up by the Editorial Commissions at the end of 1859 differed from that proposed by the provincial committees by increasing land allotments and reducing duties. This caused discontent among the local nobility, and in 1860 the project included slightly reduced allotments and increased duties. This direction in changing the project was preserved both when it was considered by the Main Committee for Peasant Affairs at the end of 1860, and when it was discussed in the State Council at the beginning of 1861.

The main provisions of the peasant reform

On February 19 (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.

The main act - “General Regulations on Peasants Emerging from Serfdom” - contained the main conditions of the peasant reform:

Peasants ceased to be considered serfs and began to be considered “temporarily obliged”.

The landowners retained ownership of all the lands that belonged to them, but were obliged to provide the peasants with “sedentary estates” and field allotment for use.

For the use of allotment land, peasants had to serve corvee or pay quitrent and did not have the right to refuse it for 9 years.

The size of the field allotment and duties had to be recorded in the statutory charters of 1861, which were drawn up by the landowners for each estate and verified by the peace intermediaries.

The peasants were given the right to redeem the estate and, by agreement with the landowner, the field allotment; before this was done, they were called temporarily obliged peasants; those who exercised this right, until the full redemption was carried out, were called “redemption” peasants. Until the end of the reign of Alexander II, according to V. Klyuchevsky, more than 80% of former serfs fell into this category.

The structure, rights and responsibilities of peasant public administration bodies (rural and volost) and the volost court were also determined.

Historians who lived in the era of Alexander II and studied the peasant question commented on the main provisions of these laws as follows. As M.N. Pokrovsky pointed out, the entire reform for the majority of peasants boiled down to the fact that they ceased to be officially called “serfs”, but began to be called “obligated”; Formally, they began to be considered free, but nothing changed in their position: in particular, the landowners continued, as before, to use corporal punishment against the peasants. “To be declared a free man by the tsar,” the historian wrote, “and at the same time continue to go to corvée or pay quitrent: this was a glaring contradiction that caught the eye. The “obligated” peasants firmly believed that this will was not real...” The same opinion was shared, for example, by the historian N.A. Rozhkov, one of the most authoritative experts on the agrarian issue of pre-revolutionary Russia, as well as a number of other authors who wrote about the peasant issue.

There is an opinion that the laws of February 19, 1861, which meant the legal abolition of serfdom (in legal terms of the second half of the 19th century), were not its abolition as a socio-economic institution (although they created the conditions for this to happen over the following decades ). This corresponds to the conclusions of a number of historians that “serfdom” was not abolished in one year and that the process of its abolition lasted for decades. In addition to M.N. Pokrovsky, N.A. Rozhkov came to this conclusion, calling the reform of 1861 “serfdom” and pointing to the preservation of serfdom in subsequent decades. Modern historian B.N. Mironov also writes about the gradual weakening of serfdom over several decades after 1861.

Four “Local Regulations” determined the size of land plots and duties for their use in 44 provinces of European Russia. From the land that was in the use of peasants before February 19, 1861, sections could be made if the peasants' per capita allotments exceeded the highest size established for the given area, or if the landowners, while maintaining the existing peasant allotment, had less than 1/3 of the total land of the estate left.

Allotments could be reduced by special agreements between peasants and landowners, as well as upon receipt of a gift allotment. If peasants had plots of less than a small size, the landowner was obliged to either cut off the missing land or reduce duties. For the highest shower allotment, a quitrent was set from 8 to 12 rubles. per year or corvee - 40 men's and 30 women's working days per year. If the allotment was less than the highest, then the duties were reduced, but not proportionally. The rest of the “Local Provisions” basically repeated the “Great Russian Provisions”, but taking into account the specifics of their regions. The features of the Peasant Reform for certain categories of peasants and specific areas were determined by the “Additional Rules” - “On the arrangement of peasants settled on the estates of small landowners, and on benefits to these owners”, “On people assigned to private mining factories of the Ministry of Finance”, “On peasants and workers serving work at Perm private mining factories and salt mines”, “About peasants serving work in landowner factories”, “About peasants and courtyard people in the Land of the Don Army”, “About peasants and courtyard people in the Stavropol province”, “ About peasants and courtyard people in Siberia”, “About people who emerged from serfdom in the Bessarabian region”.

The “Regulations on the Settlement of Household People” provided for their release without land, but for 2 years they remained completely dependent on the landowner.

The “Regulations on Redemption” determined the procedure for peasants buying land from landowners, organizing the redemption operation, and the rights and obligations of peasant owners. The redemption of a field plot depended on an agreement with the landowner, who could oblige the peasants to buy the land at his request. The price of land was determined by quitrent, capitalized at 6% per annum. In case of redemption by voluntary agreement, the peasants had to make an additional payment to the landowner. The landowner received the main amount from the state, to which the peasants had to repay it annually for 49 years with redemption payments.

According to N. Rozhkov and D. Blum, in the non-black soil zone of Russia, where the bulk of serfs lived, the redemption value of land was on average 2.2 times higher than its market value. Therefore, in fact, the redemption price established in accordance with the reform of 1861 included not only the redemption of the land, but also the redemption of the peasant himself and his family - just as previously serfs could buy their freed land from the landowner for money by agreement with the latter. This conclusion is made, in particular, by D. Blum, as well as the historian B.N. Mironov, who writes that the peasants “bought not only the land... but also their freedom.” Thus, the conditions for the liberation of peasants in Russia were much worse than in the Baltic states, where they were liberated under Alexander I without land, but also without the need to pay a ransom for themselves.

Accordingly, under the terms of the reform, peasants could not refuse to buy out the land, which M.N. Pokrovsky calls “compulsory property.” And “to prevent the owner from running away from her,” writes the historian, “which, given the circumstances of the case, could have been expected, it was necessary to place the “released” person in such legal conditions that are very reminiscent of the state, if not of a prisoner, then of a minor or feeble-minded person in prison. under guardianship."

Another result of the reform of 1861 was the emergence of the so-called. sections - parts of the land, averaging about 20%, which were previously in the hands of peasants, but now found themselves in the hands of landowners and were not subject to redemption. As N.A. Rozhkov pointed out, the division of land was specially carried out by the landowners in such a way that “the peasants found themselves cut off by the landowner’s land from a watering hole, forest, high road, church, sometimes from their arable land and meadows... [as a result] they were forced to rent the landowner’s land land at any cost, on any terms." “Having cut off from the peasants, according to the Regulations of February 19, lands that were absolutely necessary for them,” wrote M.N. Pokrovsky, “meadows, pastures, even places for driving cattle to watering places, the landowners forced them to rent these lands only for work , with the obligation to plow, sow and harvest a certain number of acres for the landowner.” In memoirs and descriptions written by the landowners themselves, the historian pointed out, this practice of cuttings was described as universal - there were practically no landowners’ farms where cuttings did not exist. In one example, the landowner “bragged that his segments covered, as if in a ring, 18 villages, which were all in bondage to him; As soon as the German tenant arrived, he remembered atreski as one of the first Russian words and, renting an estate, first of all inquired whether this jewel was in it.”

Subsequently, the elimination of sections became one of the main demands not only of peasants, but also of revolutionaries in the last third of the 19th century. (populists, Narodnaya Volya, etc.), but also most revolutionary and democratic parties at the beginning of the 20th century, until 1917. Thus, the agrarian program of the Bolsheviks until December 1905 included the liquidation of landowner plots as the main and essentially the only point; the same demand was the main point of the agrarian program of the I and II State Duma (1905-1907), adopted by the overwhelming majority of its members (including deputies from the Menshevik, Socialist Revolutionary, Cadets and Trudoviks parties), but rejected by Nicholas II and Stolypin. Previously, the elimination of such forms of exploitation of peasants by landowners - the so-called. banalities - was one of the main demands of the population during the French Revolution.

According to N. Rozhkov, the “serfdom” reform of February 19, 1861 became “the starting point of the entire process of the origin of the revolution” in Russia.

The “Manifesto” and “Regulations” were published from March 7 to April 2 (in St. Petersburg and Moscow - March 5). Fearing the dissatisfaction of the peasants with the conditions of the reform, the government took a number of precautions (relocation of troops, sending members of the imperial retinue to places, appeal of the Synod, etc.). The peasantry, dissatisfied with the enslaving conditions of the reform, responded to it with mass unrest. The largest of them were the Bezdnensky uprising of 1861 and the Kandeyevsky uprising of 1861.

In total, during 1861 alone, 1,176 peasant uprisings were recorded, while in 6 years from 1855 to 1860. there were only 474 of them. The uprisings did not subside in 1862, and were suppressed very cruelly. In the two years after the reform was announced, the government had to use military force in 2,115 villages. This gave many people a reason to talk about the beginning of a peasant revolution. So, M.A. Bakunin was in 1861-1862. I am convinced that the explosion of peasant uprisings will inevitably lead to a peasant revolution, which, as he wrote, “essentially has already begun.” “There is no doubt that the peasant revolution in Russia in the 60s was not a figment of a frightened imagination, but a completely real possibility...” wrote N.A. Rozhkov, comparing its possible consequences with the Great French Revolution.

The implementation of the Peasant Reform began with the drawing up of statutory charters, which was largely completed by mid-1863. On January 1, 1863, peasants refused to sign about 60% of the charters. The purchase price of the land significantly exceeded its market value at that time, in the non-chernozem zone on average 2-2.5 times. As a result of this, in a number of regions there was an urgent effort to obtain gift plots and in some provinces (Saratov, Samara, Ekaterinoslav, Voronezh, etc.), a significant number of peasant gift-holders appeared.

Under the influence of the Polish uprising of 1863, changes occurred in the conditions of the Peasant Reform in Lithuania, Belarus and Right Bank Ukraine - the law of 1863 introduced compulsory redemption; redemption payments decreased by 20%; peasants who were dispossessed of land from 1857 to 1861 received their allotments in full, those dispossessed of land earlier - partially.

The peasants' transition to ransom lasted for several decades. By 1881, 15% remained in temporary obligations. But in a number of provinces there were still many of them (Kursk 160 thousand, 44%; Nizhny Novgorod 119 thousand, 35%; Tula 114 thousand, 31%; Kostroma 87 thousand, 31%). The transition to ransom proceeded faster in the black earth provinces, where voluntary transactions prevailed over compulsory ransom. Landowners who had large debts, more often than others, sought to speed up the redemption and enter into voluntary transactions.

The transition from “temporarily obligated” to “redemption” did not give the peasants the right to leave their plot - that is, the freedom proclaimed by the manifesto of February 19. Some historians believe that the consequence of the reform was the “relative” freedom of the peasants, however, according to experts on the peasant issue, the peasants had relative freedom of movement and economic activity even before 1861. Thus, many serfs left for a long time to work or trade hundreds miles from home; half of the 130 cotton factories in the city of Ivanovo in the 1840s belonged to serfs (and the other half - mainly to former serfs). At the same time, a direct consequence of the reform was a significant increase in the burden of payments. The redemption of land under the terms of the reform of 1861 for the vast majority of peasants lasted for 45 years and represented real bondage for them, since they were not able to pay such amounts. Thus, by 1902, the total amount of arrears on peasant redemption payments amounted to 420% of the amount of annual payments, and in a number of provinces exceeded 500%. Only in 1906, after the peasants burned about 15% of the landowners' estates in the country during 1905, the redemption payments and accumulated arrears were canceled, and the "redemption" peasants finally received freedom of movement.

The abolition of serfdom also affected appanage peasants, who, by the “Regulations of June 26, 1863,” were transferred to the category of peasant owners through compulsory redemption under the terms of the “Regulations of February 19.” In general, their plots were significantly smaller than those of the landowner peasants.

The law of November 24, 1866 began the reform of state peasants. They retained all the lands in their use. According to the law of June 12, 1886, state peasants were transferred to redemption, which, unlike the redemption of land by former serfs, was carried out in accordance with market prices for land.

The peasant reform of 1861 entailed the abolition of serfdom in the national outskirts of the Russian Empire.

On October 13, 1864, a decree was issued on the abolition of serfdom in the Tiflis province; a year later it was extended, with some changes, to the Kutaisi province, and in 1866 to Megrelia. In Abkhazia, serfdom was abolished in 1870, in Svaneti - in 1871. The conditions of the reform here retained the remnants of serfdom to a greater extent than under the “Regulations of February 19”. In Azerbaijan and Armenia, peasant reform was carried out in 1870-1883 and was no less enslaving in nature than in Georgia. In Bessarabia, the bulk of the peasant population was made up of legally free landless peasants - tsarans, who, according to the “Regulations of July 14, 1868,” were allocated land for permanent use in exchange for services. The redemption of this land was carried out with some derogations on the basis of the “Redemption Regulations” of February 19, 1861.

The peasant reform of 1861 marked the beginning of the process of rapid impoverishment of the peasants. The average peasant allotment in Russia in the period from 1860 to 1880 decreased from 4.8 to 3.5 dessiatinas (almost 30%), many ruined peasants and rural proletarians appeared who lived on odd jobs - a phenomenon that practically disappeared in the middle XIX century

Self-government reform (zemstvo and city regulations)

Zemstvo reform January 1, 1864- The reform consisted in the fact that issues of local economy, collection of taxes, approval of the budget, primary education, medical and veterinary services were now entrusted to elected institutions - district and provincial zemstvo councils. The elections of representatives from the population to the zemstvo (zemstvo councilors) were two-stage and ensured the numerical predominance of the nobles. Vowels from the peasants were a minority. They were elected for a term of 4 years. All matters in the zemstvo, which concerned primarily the vital needs of the peasantry, were carried out by landowners, who limited the interests of the other classes. In addition, local zemstvo institutions were subordinated to the tsarist administration and, first of all, to the governors. The zemstvo consisted of: zemstvo provincial assemblies (legislative power), zemstvo councils (executive power).

Urban reform of 1870- The reform replaced the previously existing class-based city administrations with city councils elected on the basis of property qualifications. The system of these elections ensured the predominance of large merchants and manufacturers. Representatives of big capital managed the municipal utilities of cities based on their own interests, paying attention to the development of the central quarters of the city and not paying attention to the outskirts. Government bodies under the 1870 law were also subject to the supervision of government authorities. The decisions adopted by the Dumas received force only after approval by the tsarist administration.

Historians of the late XIX – early XX centuries. commented on the self-government reform as follows. M.N. Pokrovsky pointed out its inconsistency: in many respects, “self-government by the reform of 1864 was not expanded, but, on the contrary, narrowed, and, moreover, extremely significantly.” And he gave examples of such a narrowing - the resubordination of local police to the central government, prohibitions on local authorities from establishing many types of taxes, limiting other local taxes to no more than 25% of the central tax, etc. In addition, as a result of the reform, local power was in the hands of large landowners (while previously it was mainly in the hands of officials reporting directly to the tsar and his ministers).

One of the results was changes in local taxation, which became discriminatory after the completion of the self-government reform. Thus, if back in 1868 peasant and landowner land were subject to local taxes approximately equally, then already in 1871 local taxes levied on a tithe of peasant land were twice as high as the taxes levied on a tithe of landowner land. Subsequently, the practice of flogging peasants for various offenses (which previously was mainly the prerogative of the landowners themselves) spread among zemstvos. Thus, self-government in the absence of real equality of classes and with the defeat of the majority of the country’s population in political rights led to increased discrimination against the lower classes by the upper classes.

Judicial reform

Judicial Charter of 1864- The Charter introduced a unified system of judicial institutions, based on the formal equality of all social groups before the law. Court hearings were held with the participation of interested parties, were public, and reports about them were published in the press. Litigants could hire lawyers for their defense who had a legal education and were not in public service. The new judicial system met the needs of capitalist development, but it still retained the imprints of serfdom - special volost courts were created for peasants, in which corporal punishment was retained. In political trials, even with acquittals, administrative repression was used. Political cases were considered without the participation of jurors, etc. While official crimes remained beyond the jurisdiction of general courts.

However, according to contemporary historians, the judicial reform did not produce the results that were expected from it. The introduced jury trials considered a relatively small number of cases; there was no real independence of judges.

In fact, during the era of Alexander II, there was an increase in police and judicial arbitrariness, that is, something opposite to what was proclaimed by the judicial reform. For example, the investigation into the case of 193 populists (the trial of the 193 in the case of going to the people) lasted almost 5 years (from 1873 to 1878), and during the investigation they were subjected to beatings (which, for example, did not happen under Nicholas I neither in the case of the Decembrists, nor in the case of the Petrashevites). As historians have pointed out, the authorities kept those arrested for years in prison without trial or investigation and subjected them to abuse before the huge trials that were created (the trial of 193 populists was followed by the trial of 50 workers). And after the trial of the 193s, not satisfied with the verdict passed by the court, Alexander II administratively tightened the court sentence - contrary to all the previously proclaimed principles of judicial reform.

Another example of the growth of judicial arbitrariness is the execution of four officers - Ivanitsky, Mroczek, Stanevich and Kenevich - who in 1863-1865. carried out agitation in order to prepare a peasant uprising. Unlike, for example, the Decembrists, who organized two uprisings (in St. Petersburg and in the south of the country) with the aim of overthrowing the Tsar, killed several officers, Governor-General Miloradovich and almost killed the Tsar’s brother, four officers under Alexander II suffered the same punishment ( execution), like 5 Decembrist leaders under Nicholas I, just for agitation among the peasants.

In the last years of the reign of Alexander II, against the backdrop of growing protest sentiments in society, unprecedented police measures were introduced: the authorities and police received the right to send into exile any person who seemed suspicious, to conduct searches and arrests at their discretion, without any coordination with the judiciary , bring political crimes to the courts of military tribunals - “with their application of punishments established for wartime.”

Military reform

Milyutin's military reforms took place in the 60-70s of the 19th century.

Milyutin's military reforms can be divided into two conventional parts: organizational and technological.

Organizational reforms

Report of the War Office 01/15/1862:

Transform the reserve troops into a combat reserve, ensure that they replenish the active forces and free them from the obligation to train recruits in wartime.

The training of recruits will be entrusted to the reserve troops, providing them with sufficient personnel.

All supernumerary “lower ranks” of the reserve and reserve troops are considered on leave in peacetime and called up only in wartime. Recruits are used to replenish the decline in the active troops, and not to form new units from them.

To form cadres of reserve troops for peacetime, assigning them garrison service, and to disband internal service battalions.

It was not possible to quickly implement this organization, and only in 1864 did a systematic reorganization of the army and a reduction in the number of troops begin.

By 1869, the deployment of troops to the new states was completed. At the same time, the total number of troops in peacetime compared to 1860 decreased from 899 thousand people. up to 726 thousand people (mainly due to the reduction of the “non-combat” element). And the number of reservists in the reserve increased from 242 to 553 thousand people. At the same time, with the transition to wartime standards, new units and formations were no longer formed, and units were deployed at the expense of reservists. All troops could now be brought up to wartime levels in 30-40 days, while in 1859 this required 6 months.

The new system of troop organization also contained a number of disadvantages:

The organization of the infantry retained the division into line and rifle companies (given the same weapons, this made no sense).

Artillery brigades were not included in the infantry divisions, which negatively affected their interactions.

Of the 3 brigades of cavalry divisions (hussars, uhlans and dragoons), only the dragoons were armed with carbines, and the rest did not have firearms, while all the cavalry of European states was armed with pistols.

In May 1862, Milyutin presented Alexander II with proposals entitled “The main grounds for the proposed structure of military administration in districts.” This document was based on the following provisions:

Abolish the division in peacetime into armies and corps, and consider the division to be the highest tactical unit.

Divide the territory of the entire state into several military districts.

Place a commander at the head of the district, who will be entrusted with supervision of the active troops and command of local troops, and also entrust him with the management of all local military institutions.

Already in the summer of 1862, instead of the First Army, the Warsaw, Kiev and Vilna military districts were established, and at the end of 1862 - Odessa.

In August 1864, the “Regulations on Military Districts” were approved, on the basis of which all military units and military institutions located in the district were subordinate to the Commander of the District Troops, thus he became the sole commander, and not an inspector, as was previously planned (with all artillery units in the district reported directly to the chief of artillery of the district). In the border districts, the Commander was entrusted with the duties of the Governor-General and all military and civil power was concentrated in his person. The structure of the district government remained unchanged.

In 1864, 6 more military districts were created: St. Petersburg, Moscow, Finland, Riga, Kharkov and Kazan. In subsequent years, the following were formed: the Caucasian, Turkestan, Orenburg, West Siberian and East Siberian military districts.

As a result of the organization of military districts, a relatively harmonious system of local military administration was created, eliminating the extreme centralization of the War Ministry, whose functions were now to exercise general leadership and supervision. Military districts ensured the rapid deployment of the army in the event of war; with their presence, it became possible to begin drawing up a mobilization schedule.

At the same time, reform of the War Ministry itself was underway. According to the new staff, the composition of the War Ministry was reduced by 327 officers and 607 soldiers. The volume of correspondence has also decreased significantly. It can also be noted as positive that the Minister of War concentrated in his hands all the threads of military control, but the troops were not completely subordinate to him, since the heads of military districts depended directly on the tsar, who headed the supreme command of the armed forces.

At the same time, the organization of the central military command also contained a number of other weaknesses:

The structure of the General Staff was built in such a way that little space was allocated to the functions of the General Staff itself.

The subordination of the main military court and the prosecutor to the Minister of War meant the subordination of the judiciary to the representative of the executive branch.

The subordination of medical institutions not to the main military medical department, but to the commanders of local troops, had a negative impact on the organization of medical treatment in the army.

Conclusions of organizational reforms of the armed forces carried out in the 60-70s of the 19th century:

During the first 8 years, the Ministry of War managed to implement a significant part of the planned reforms in the field of army organization and command and control.

In the field of army organization, a system was created that could, in the event of war, increase the number of troops without resorting to new formations.

The destruction of the army corps and the continued division of infantry battalions into rifle and line companies had a negative effect in terms of combat training of troops.

The reorganization of the War Ministry ensured relative unity of military administration.

As a result of the military district reform, local government bodies were created, excessive centralization of management was eliminated, and operational command and control of troops and their mobilization were ensured.

Technological reforms in the field of weapons

In 1856, a new type of infantry weapon was developed: a 6-line, muzzle-loading, rifled rifle. In 1862, more than 260 thousand people were armed with it. A significant part of the rifles were produced in Germany and Belgium. By the beginning of 1865, all infantry were rearmed with 6-line rifles. At the same time, work continued to improve rifles, and in 1868 the Berdan rifle was adopted for service, and in 1870 its modified version was adopted. As a result, by the beginning of the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878, the entire Russian army was armed with the latest breech-loading rifled rifles.

The introduction of rifled, muzzle-loading guns began in 1860. The field artillery adopted 4-pound rifled guns with a caliber of 3.42 inches, superior to those previously produced in both firing range and accuracy.

In 1866, weapons for field artillery were approved, according to which all batteries of foot and horse artillery must have rifled, breech-loading guns. 1/3 of the foot batteries should be armed with 9-pounder guns, and all other foot batteries and horse artillery with 4-pounder guns. To re-equip the field artillery, 1,200 guns were required. By 1870, the rearmament of field artillery was completely completed, and by 1871 there were 448 guns in reserve.

In 1870, artillery brigades adopted high-speed 10-barrel Gatling and 6-barreled Baranovsky canisters with a rate of fire of 200 rounds per minute. In 1872, the 2.5-inch Baranovsky rapid-firing gun was adopted, in which the basic principles of modern rapid-firing guns were implemented.

Thus, over the course of 12 years (from 1862 to 1874), the number of batteries increased from 138 to 300, and the number of guns from 1104 to 2400. In 1874, there were 851 guns in reserve, and a transition was made from wooden carriages to iron ones.

Education reform

During the reforms of the 1860s, the network of public schools was expanded. Along with classical gymnasiums, real gymnasiums (schools) were created in which the main emphasis was on teaching mathematics and natural sciences. The University Charter of 1863 for higher educational institutions introduced partial autonomy of universities - the election of rectors and deans and the expansion of the rights of the professorial corporation. In 1869, the first higher women's courses in Russia with a general education program were opened in Moscow. In 1864, a new School Charter was approved, according to which gymnasiums and secondary schools were introduced in the country.

Contemporaries viewed some elements of the education reform as discrimination against the lower classes. As the historian N.A. Rozhkov pointed out, in real gymnasiums, introduced for people from the lower and middle classes of society, they did not teach ancient languages (Latin and Greek), unlike ordinary gymnasiums that existed only for the upper classes; but knowledge of ancient languages was made mandatory when entering universities. Thus, access to universities was actually denied to the general population.

Other reforms

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 part of Jews received the right to freely settle throughout Russia. As A.I. Solzhenitsyn writes, the right of free settlement was given to merchants, artisans, doctors, lawyers, university graduates, their families and service personnel, as well as, for example, “persons of the 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 a supreme council under the tsar (including major nobles and officials), to which part of the rights and powers of the tsar himself were transferred. We were not talking about a constitutional monarchy, in which the supreme body is a democratically elected parliament (which did not exist and was not planned in Russia). 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 approved this plan two weeks before his death, 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). As the historian N.A. Rozhkov pointed out, a similar project for reform of the autocracy was subsequently presented to Alexander III, as well as Nicholas II at the beginning of his reign, but both times it was rejected on the advice of K.N. Pobedonostsev.

Economic development of the country

Since the early 1860s. An economic crisis began in the country, which a number of historians associate with Alexander II’s refusal of industrial protectionism and the transition to a liberal policy in foreign trade. Thus, within several years after the introduction of the liberal customs tariff in 1857 (by 1862), cotton processing in Russia fell 3.5 times, and iron smelting decreased by 25%.

The liberal policy in foreign trade continued further, after the introduction of a new customs tariff in 1868. Thus, it was calculated that, compared with 1841, import duties in 1868 decreased on average by more than 10 times, and for some types of imports - even 20-40 times. According to M. Pokrovsky, “customs tariffs of 1857-1868. were the most preferential that Russia enjoyed in the 19th century...” This was welcomed by the liberal press, which dominated other economic publications at the time. As the historian writes, “financial and economic literature of the 60s provides an almost continuous chorus of free traders...” At the same time, the real situation in the country’s economy continued to deteriorate: modern economic historians characterize the entire period until the end of the reign of Alexander II and even until the second half of the 1880s. as a period of economic depression.

Contrary to the goals declared by the peasant reform of 1861, agricultural productivity in the country 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. For the first time in Russia, during the reign of Alexander II, periodically recurring famines began, which had not occurred in Russia since the time of Catherine II and which took on the character of real disasters (for example, mass famine in the Volga region in 1873).

Liberalization of foreign trade led to a sharp increase in imports: from 1851-1856. to 1869-1876 imports increased almost 4 times. If previously Russia's trade balance was always positive, then during the reign of Alexander II it worsened. Beginning in 1871, for several years it was reduced to a deficit, which by 1875 reached a record level of 162 million rubles or 35% of export volume. The trade deficit threatened to cause gold to flow out of the country and depreciate the ruble. At the same time, this deficit could not be explained by the unfavorable situation in foreign markets: for the main product of Russian exports - grain - prices on foreign markets from 1861 to 1880. increased almost 2 times. During 1877-1881 The government, in order to combat the sharp increase in imports, was forced to resort to a series of increases in import duties, which prevented further growth of imports and improved the country's foreign trade balance.

The only industry that developed rapidly was railway transport: the country's railway network was growing rapidly, which also stimulated its own locomotive and carriage building. However, the development of railways was accompanied by many abuses and a deterioration in the financial situation of the state. 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 budget expenditures to support private companies, while the latter artificially inflated their costs in order to receive government subsidies.

To cover budget expenses, the state for the first time began to actively resort to external loans (under Nicholas I there were almost none). Loans were attracted on extremely unfavorable conditions: bank commissions amounted to up to 10% of the borrowed amount, in addition, loans were placed, as a rule, at a price of 63-67% of their face value. Thus, the treasury received only a little more than half of the loan amount, but the debt arose for the full amount, and annual interest was calculated from the full amount of the loan (7-8% per annum). As a result, the volume of government external debt reached 2.2 billion rubles by 1862, and by the beginning of the 1880s - 5.9 billion rubles.

Until 1858, a fixed exchange rate of the ruble to gold was maintained, following the principles of monetary policy pursued during the reign of Nicholas I. But starting in 1859, credit money was introduced into circulation, which did not have a fixed exchange rate to gold. As indicated in the work of M. Kovalevsky, during the entire period of the 1860-1870s. To cover the budget deficit, the state was forced to resort to issuing credit money, which caused its depreciation and the disappearance of metal money from circulation. Thus, by January 1, 1879, the exchange rate of the credit ruble to the gold ruble fell to 0.617. Attempts to reintroduce a fixed exchange rate between the paper ruble and gold did not yield results, and the government abandoned these attempts until the end of the reign of Alexander II.

The problem of corruption

During the reign of Alexander II there was a noticeable increase in corruption. Thus, many nobles and noble persons close to the court established private railway companies, which received state subsidies on unprecedentedly preferential terms, which ruined the treasury. For example, the annual revenue of the Ural Railway in the early 1880s was only 300 thousand rubles, and its expenses and profits guaranteed to shareholders were 4 million rubles, thus, the state only had to maintain this one private railway company annually to pay an additional 3.7 million rubles from his own pocket, which was 12 times higher than the income of the company itself. In addition to the fact that the nobles themselves acted as shareholders of the railway companies, the latter paid them, including persons close to Alexander II, large bribes for certain permits and resolutions in their favor

Another example of corruption can be the placement of government loans (see above), a significant part of which was appropriated by various financial intermediaries.

There are also examples of “favoritism” on the part of Alexander II himself. As N.A. Rozhkov wrote, he “unceremoniously treated the state chest... gave his brothers a number of luxurious estates from state lands, built them magnificent palaces at public expense.”

In general, characterizing the economic policy of Alexander II, M.N. Pokrovsky wrote that it was “a waste of funds and effort, completely fruitless and harmful for the national economy... They simply forgot about the country.” Russian economic reality of the 1860s and 1870s, wrote N.A. Rozhkov, “was distinguished by its crudely predatory character, the waste of living and generally productive forces for the sake of the most basic profit”; The state during this period “essentially served as a tool for the enrichment of the Gründers, speculators, and, in general, the predatory bourgeoisie.”

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). After long resistance, he decided on a war with Turkey in 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 of 1877-1878, the consequence of which, according to some historians and diplomats of the second half of the 19th century. became the Berlin Treaty (1878), which entered Russian historiography as “defective” in relation to the self-determination of the Balkan peoples (which significantly curtailed the Bulgarian state and transferred Bosnia-Herzegovina to Austria).

In 1867, Alaska (Russian America) was transferred to the United States.

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 (Petr 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 Karakozov (a lone terrorist).

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 (the so-called “going to the people”), mainly from among the intelligentsia, went to the countryside under the guise of ordinary people in order to propagate revolutionary ideas.

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 police authorities, 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 greeted by an enthusiastic demonstration of a large crowd of people gathered at the courthouse.

Over the following 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 chief of gendarmes, Drenteln, in St. Petersburg.

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. 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 of the Russian-Turkish War of 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 the royal family. These and other facts gave rise to the version that Skobelev was preparing a military coup to overthrow the Romanovs. Another example of the protest mood towards the policies of Alexander II can be the monument to his successor Alexander III. The author of the monument, sculptor Trubetskoy, depicted the tsar sharply besieging the horse, which, according to his plan, was supposed to symbolize Russia, stopped by Alexander III at the edge of the abyss - where the policies of Alexander II led it.

Assassinations and murder

History of failed attempts

Several attempts were made on Alexander II's life:

D. V. Karakozov April 4, 1866. 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: the shooter was pushed by the peasant Osip Komissarov, who was standing nearby.

Polish emigrant Anton Berezovsky on May 25, 1867 in Paris; the bullet hit the horse.

A.K. Solovyov on April 2, 1879 in St. Petersburg. Solovyov fired 5 shots from a revolver, including 4 at the emperor, but missed.

On August 26, 1879, the executive committee of Narodnaya Volya decided to assassinate Alexander II.

On November 19, 1879, there was an attempt to blow up an imperial train near Moscow. The emperor was saved by the fact that he was traveling in a different carriage. The explosion occurred in the first carriage, and the emperor himself was traveling in the second, since in the first he was carrying food from Kyiv.

On February 5 (17), 1880, S. N. Khalturin carried out an explosion on the first floor of the Winter Palace. The emperor had lunch on the third floor; he was saved by the fact that he arrived later than the appointed time; the guards (11 people) on the second floor died.

To protect state order and fight the revolutionary movement, on February 12, 1880, the Supreme Administrative Commission was established, headed by the liberal-minded Count Loris-Melikov.

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; The tea was also attended by Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, who left a little later, having heard the explosion, and arrived shortly after the second explosion, giving orders and commands 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 Leontyev) 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, 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 is 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 the Russian Tsar would 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 has been killed!... Russian tsar, in his own Russia, in his capital, brutally, barbarously, in front of everyone - with a Russian hand... Shame, shame on 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 sense 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.” 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.

The following lines by Alexander Blok (poem “Retribution”) are dedicated to the assassination of Alexander II:

Results of the reign

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, and a number of other reforms were carried out. The empire expanded significantly by conquering and incorporating the Central Asian possessions, the North Caucasus, the Far East and other territories.

At the same time, the economic situation of the country worsened: industry was struck by a protracted depression, and there were several cases of mass starvation 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). Within the imperial family, the authority of Alexander II was undermined by his love interests and morganatic marriage.

Assessments of some of Alexander II's reforms are contradictory. Noble circles and the liberal press called his reforms “great.” At the same time, a significant part of the population (peasantry, part of the intelligentsia), as well as a number of government figures of that era, negatively assessed these reforms. Thus, K.N. Pobedonostsev at the first meeting of the government of Alexander III on March 8, 1881 sharply criticized the peasant, zemstvo, and judicial reforms of Alexander II. And historians of the late XIX - early XX centuries. they argued that the real liberation of the peasants did not occur (only a mechanism for such liberation was created, and an unfair one at that); corporal punishment against peasants (which remained until 1904-1905) was not abolished; the establishment of zemstvos led to discrimination against the lower classes; Judicial reform was unable to prevent the growth of judicial and police brutality. In addition, according to specialists on the agrarian issue, the peasant reform of 1861 led to the emergence of serious new problems (landowners, the ruin of the peasants), which became one of the reasons for the future revolutions of 1905 and 1917.

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. In Soviet historiography, a tendentious view of his reign prevailed, resulting from general nihilistic attitudes toward the “era of tsarism.” Modern historians, along with the thesis about the “liberation of the peasants,” state that their freedom of movement after the reform was “relative.” Calling the reforms of Alexander II “great,” they at the same time write that the reforms gave rise to “the deepest socio-economic crisis in the countryside,” did not lead to the abolition of corporal punishment for peasants, were not consistent, and economic life in 1860-1870 -e years was characterized by industrial decline, rampant speculation and farming.

Family

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 with a long-time (since 1866) mistress, Princess Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukova (1847-1922), who received the title Your Serene Highness Princess Yuryevskaya.

Alexander II's net worth as of March 1, 1881 was about 12 million rubles. (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);

Alexander III (1845-1894);

Vladimir (1847-1909);

Alexey (1850-1908);

Maria (1853-1920);

Sergei (1857-1905);

Pavel (1860-1919).

Children from a morganatic marriage (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), married to Prince Alexander Vladimirovich Baryatinsky, and then to Prince Sergei Platonovich Obolensky-Neledinsky-Meletsky.

In addition to the children from Ekaterina Dolgoruky, he had several other illegitimate children.

Some monuments to Alexander II

Moscow

On May 14, 1893, in the Kremlin, next to the Small Nicholas Palace, where Alexander was born (opposite the Chudov Monastery), it was laid, and on August 16, 1898, solemnly, after the liturgy in the Assumption Cathedral, in the Most High presence (the service was performed by Metropolitan of Moscow Vladimir (Epiphany) ), a monument to him was unveiled (the work of A. M. Opekushin, P. V. Zhukovsky and N. V. Sultanov). The emperor was sculptured standing under a pyramidal canopy in a general's uniform, in purple, with a scepter; the canopy made of dark pink granite with bronze decorations was crowned with a gilded patterned hipped roof with a double-headed eagle; The chronicle of the king's life was placed in the dome of the canopy. Adjacent to the monument on three sides was a through gallery formed by vaults supported by columns. In the spring of 1918, the sculptural figure of the Tsar was thrown off the monument; The monument was completely dismantled in 1928.

In June 2005, a monument to Alexander II was inaugurated in Moscow. The author of the monument is Alexander Rukavishnikov. The monument is installed on a granite platform on the western side of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. On the pedestal of the monument there is the inscription “Emperor Alexander II. He abolished serfdom in 1861 and freed millions of peasants from centuries of slavery. Conducted military and judicial reforms. He introduced a system of local self-government, city councils and zemstvo councils. Ended the many years of the Caucasian War. Liberated the Slavic peoples from the Ottoman yoke. Died on March 1 (13), 1881 as a result of a terrorist attack.”

Saint Petersburg

In St. Petersburg, at the site of the death of the Tsar, the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood was erected using funds collected throughout Russia. The cathedral was built by order of Emperor Alexander III in 1883-1907 according to a joint project by architect Alfred Parland and Archimandrite Ignatius (Malyshev), and consecrated on August 6, 1907 - on the day of the Transfiguration.

The tombstone installed over the grave of Alexander II differs from the white marble tombstones of other emperors: it is made of gray-green jasper.

Bulgaria

In Bulgaria, Alexander II is known as Tsar Liberator. His manifesto of April 12 (24), 1877, declaring war on Turkey, is studied in a school history course. The Treaty of San Stefano on March 3, 1878 brought freedom to Bulgaria after five centuries of Ottoman rule that began in 1396. The grateful Bulgarian people erected many monuments to the Tsar-Liberator and named streets and institutions throughout the country in his honor.

Sofia

In the center of the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, on the square in front of the People's Assembly, stands one of the best monuments to the Tsar-Liberator.

General-Toshevo

On April 24, 2009, a monument to Alexander II was inaugurated in the city of General Toshevo. The height of the monument is 4 meters, it is made of two types of volcanic stone: red and black. The monument was made in Armenia and is a gift from the Union of Armenians in Bulgaria. It took Armenian craftsmen a year and four months to make the monument. The stone from which it is made is very ancient.

Kyiv

In Kyiv from 1911 to 1919 there was a monument to Alexander II, which was demolished by the Bolsheviks after the October Revolution.

Kazan

The monument to Alexander II in Kazan was erected on what became Alexander Square (formerly Ivanovskaya, now May 1) near the Spasskaya Tower of the Kazan Kremlin and was inaugurated on August 30, 1895. In February-March 1918, the bronze figure of the emperor was dismantled from the pedestal, until the end of the 1930s it lay on the territory of the Gostiny Dvor, and in April 1938 it was melted down to make brake bushings for tram wheels. The “Labor Monument” was first built on the pedestal, then the monument to Lenin. In 1966, a monumental memorial complex was built on this site, consisting of a monument to Hero of the Soviet Union Musa Jalil and a bas-relief to the heroes of the Tatar resistance in Nazi captivity of the “Kurmashev group”.

Rybinsk

On January 12, 1914, the laying of a monument took place on Red Square in the city of Rybinsk - in the presence of Bishop Sylvester (Bratanovsky) of Rybinsk and the Yaroslavl governor Count D.N. Tatishchev. On May 6, 1914, the monument was unveiled (work by A. M. Opekushin).

Repeated attempts by the crowd to desecrate the monument began immediately after the February Revolution of 1917. In March 1918, the “hated” sculpture was finally wrapped and hidden under matting, and in July it was completely thrown off the pedestal. First, the sculpture “Hammer and Sickle” was placed in its place, and in 1923 - a monument to V.I. Lenin. The further fate of the sculpture is unknown; The pedestal of the monument has survived to this day. In 2009, Albert Serafimovich Charkin began working on recreating the sculpture of Alexander II; The opening of the monument was originally planned in 2011, on the 150th anniversary of the abolition of serfdom, but most townspeople consider it inappropriate to move the monument to V.I. Lenin and replace it with Emperor Alexander II.

Helsinki

In the capital of the Grand Duchy of Helsingfors, on Senate Square in 1894, a monument to Alexander II, the work of Walter Runeberg, was erected. With the monument, the Finns expressed gratitude for strengthening the foundations of Finnish culture and, among other things, for recognizing the Finnish language as the state language.

Częstochowa

The monument to Alexander II in Częstochowa (Kingdom of Poland) by A. M. Opekushin was opened in 1899.

Monuments by Opekushin

A. M. Opekushin erected monuments to Alexander II in Moscow (1898), Pskov (1886), Chisinau (1886), Astrakhan (1884), Czestochowa (1899), Vladimir (1913), Buturlinovka (1912), Rybinsk (1914) and in other cities of the empire. Each of them was unique; According to estimates, “the Czestochowa monument, created with donations from the Polish population, was very beautiful and elegant.” After 1917, most of what Opekushin created was destroyed.

And to this day in Bulgaria, during the liturgy in Orthodox churches, during the great entrance of the liturgy of the faithful, Alexander II and all the Russian soldiers who fell on the battlefield for the liberation of Bulgaria in the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878 are remembered.

Alexander II is the current current head of the Russian state who was born in Moscow.

The abolition of serfdom (1861), carried out during the reign of Alexander II, coincided with the beginning of the American Civil War (1861-1865), where the struggle for the abolition of slavery is considered its main cause.

Film incarnations

Ivan Kononenko (“Heroes of Shipka”, 1954).

Vladislav Strzhelchik (“Sofya Perovskaya”, 1967).

Vladislav Dvorzhetsky (“Yulia Vrevskaya”, 1977).

Yuri Belyaev (“The Kingslayer”, 1991).

Nikolai Burov (“The Emperor’s Romance”, 1993).

Georgy Taratorkin (“The Emperor’s Love”, 2003).

Dmitry Isaev (“Poor Nastya”, 2003-2004).

Evgeny Lazarev (“Turkish Gambit”, 2005).

Smirnov, Andrey Sergeevich (“Gentlemen of the Jury”, 2005).

Lazarev, Alexander Sergeevich (“The Mysterious Prisoner”, 1986).

Borisov, Maxim Stepanovich (“Alexander II”, 2011).




Coronation:
Predecessor:	Nicholas I
Successor:
Heir:	Nicholas (before 1865), after Alexander III
Religion:	Orthodoxy
Birth:

Buried:	Peter and Paul Cathedral
Dynasty:	Romanovs
	Nicholas I
	Charlotte of Prussia (Alexandra Fedorovna)
	1) Maria Alexandrovna 2) Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukova
	From the 1st marriage, sons: Nicholas, Alexander III, Vladimir, Alexey, Sergei and Pavel, daughters: Alexandra and Maria, from the 2nd marriage, sons: St. book Georgy Alexandrovich Yuryevsky and Boris daughters: Olga and Ekaterina
Autograph:
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