Alexander II of Russia (1818-1881) Also known as: Romanov, Alexander Nikolaevich (1818-1881)

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Count Tolstoy, the Russian Peasant, July 10, 1902

Three Efforts of Contemporary Russia to break through Current Abstractions, August 1918

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Birth Date

1818-04-29

Death Date

1881-03-13

Birthplace

Moscow Kremlin, Moscow, Russian Empire

Biographical Text

Alexander II was the Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 2 March 1855 until his assassination on 13 March 1881.

The education of the future tsar took place under the supervision of the liberal romantic poet and translator Vasily Zhukovsky. Alexander inherited the throne after the death of his father in 1855. In the first year of his reign he continued the Crimean War, and after the fall of Sevastopol the tsar sought peace. Driven by the defeat in the war, in the following years Alexander II carried out a series of reforms that aimed to modernize the country and restore its position as an important factor in European and world politics. Alexander II’s reforms aimed to achieve economic liberalization, which led to the creation of many new enterprises. The most important reform during his rule was the emancipation of the serfs, which had been halting the country’s economic development for decades. For this he is known as Alexander the Liberator.

The tsar also introduced other liberal reforms such as reducing censorship and allowing people to travel abroad easier than before. Under his rule Alaska was sold to the United States in 1867, because of fears that the remote colony would fall into British hands. Nihilistic doctrines among Russian youth produced radical leaflets, secret societies, and the beginnings of a revolutionary movement. The government, after 1862, had reacted increasingly with repressive police measures. A climax was reached in the spring of 1866, when Dmitry Karakozov attempted to kill the emperor. During this period Alexander II had an impossible to conceal affair with Princess Yekaterina Dolgorukaya which weakened his authority in his own family circle and in the St. Petersburg society. This caused more riots and unsuccessful attempts on his life. In 1866 he entrusted supreme power to the minister of the interior, Count Mikhail Loris-Melikov. In 1880 after the death of his wife he privately married Princess Dolgorukaya. On March 13, 1881 Tsar Alexander II was mortally wounded by bombs in a plot sponsored by People’s Will.

Alexander married Maria Alexandrovna, also known as Princess Marie of Hesse, in 1841. They had six children; Alexandra, Nicholas, Alexander III, Vladimir, Alexei, Maria, Sergei, and Paul.