History of Russia
Heads of the stateTHE ROMANOVS
Emperor Alexander I (1777 - 1825 ?)
Reign 1801 - 1825Parents: Emperor Pavel I Petrovich and Empress Maria Fedorovna.
Wife:
Elizabeth Alexeyevna, Princess Luise Marie Auguste of Baden (1779-1826).
Married: October 1793.
Children:
Maria Alexandrovna (1799-1800)
Grand Duchess.
Elizabeth Alexandrovna (1806-1808)
Grand Duchess.
Important events:
......1812 napoleon's attack spurred Alexander into action. He declared that he would not lay down arms until every last enemy soldier had been expelled from Russian soil. The tsar vowed never to sign peace, not even if he had to retreat to the end of the Russian Empire: "It is I or Napoleon; we cannot exist together".
......1812 The Battle of Borodino was fought on 26 August 1812. Both sides suffered heavy losses, with 44,000 Russians and 58,000 Frenchmen killed. In the evening, after reviewing the situation, Fieldmarshal Mikhail Kutuzov gave the order to retreat.
......1825-1826 The unexpected death of the emperor and the nocturnal funeral among close friends gave rise to many myths. The most popular legend is the claim that Alexander did not die and someone else was buried in his place. The sovereign retreated to Siberia, later resurfacing as Fedor Kuzmich, a starets (monastic spiritual leader) known for his righteous life who died in January 1864.
Alexander was born in St.Petersburg on 12 December 1777. He was raised in Spartan conditions and, as a result, never fell ill. Catherine II personally supervised the education of Alexander and his younger brother, Konstantin, laying out her instructions in a special document entitled Instructions for the Education of my Grandsons. The boys were taught by Frederic Cesar de la Harpe, who was later one of the directors of the Helvetic Republic under Napoleon Bonaparte. Alexander grew up reticent, suspicious and conceited. He was known for his clever mind, diplomacy and indecisiveness. When he heard of the plot against his father, he did not take any precautionary measures. Ascending the throne, he merely banished the ringleaders from St Petersburg.
The first half of Alexander's reign was a period of moderate and liberal reforms. The emperor relied upon the help of such young friends as Prince Adam Chartoryisky, Count Pavel Stroganov, Count Victor Kochubei and Count Nikolai Novosiltsev. Together, they formed the Unofficial Committee, which issued manifestos restoring the charters of Catherine II to bthe nobility and towns, granting pardons to those who had suffered under the previous tsar and allowing the purchase and sale of land by all free individuals. New universities were opened in Kharkiv, Kazan, Derpt and Vilno. Existing educational establishments were awarded new freedoms. The result was a renaissance of many aspects of Russian life. One of the most famous institutions founded by Alexander I was the Tsarskoe Selo Lyceum in 1810. Many famous Russian were educated there, including the poet Alexander Pushkin. When he was a lyceum student, Pushkin paid tribute to Alexander's role in the war against Napoleon and the liberal reforms at the start of his reign. The growing conservatism of the tsarist regime, however, forced the poet into the arms of the opposition. When this criticism crept into his writings, Pushkin was banished from St Petersburg. After that, he was generally negative in his appraisals of Alexander's personality and policies. Before then, however, he had lauded what he called the "wonderful first days of Alexander".
One of the most important symbols of the Changes taking place in Russian life under Alexander was Mikhail Speransky (1772-1839). The son of a priest in Vladimir Province, he studied at seminaries in Vladimir and St Petersburg. Metropolitan Gabriel recommended Speransky to Prince Alexei Kurakin, who employed him as his secretary. He stayed with Kurakin when the latter was appointed general procurator by Tsar Paul. Under Alexander, he was transferred to the ministry of the Interior. When the minister of the interior fell ill, he asked Speransky to deliver his reports to the tsar. Alexander took a liking to Speransky and, in 1808, invited him to draw up a liberal constitution based on West European models, with the foundation of a state council and parliament or duma. Speransky never succeeded in implementing his programme.The indecisive tsar was frightened by the hostility of the nobility to his liberal reforms. Unable to win over the aristocracy and courtcused of plotting with Napoleon and exiled to Perm. Thanks to the intercession of Count Alexei Arakcheyev, Speransky was appointed governor of Perm in 1816 and governor general of Siberia. In 1821, he was returned to St Petersburg and made a member of the State Council. After the December Revolution of 1825, Speransky sat on the special court of investigation and passed the sentences. The rest of his life was spent compiling Complete Collection of the Laws of the Russian Empire, for which he was awarded the Order of St Andrew and the title of count. In 1805, Russia was drawn into anti-Napoleonic wars, ending with the humiliating Treaty of Tilsit. This was followed by wars against Turkey and Sweden and French invasion of 1812.
Napoleon's attack spurred Alexander into action. He declared that he would not lay down arms until every last enemy soldier had been expelled from Russian soil. The tsar vowed never to sign peace, not even if he had to retreat to end of the Russian Empire: "it is I or Napoleon; we cannot exist together". When the Grand Armee occupied Moscow and the city caught fire, Alexander regarded this as a divine punishment for his sins and his role in his father's murder. On 7 January 1813, the French were finally thrown out of Russia. Alexander and his army pursued Napoleon through out Europe, eventually entering Paris in 1814. The emperor often rode into the field of battle himself. At the Bettle of Lutzen in 1813, advised to retreat to a safe distance after coming under heavy fire, he replied:"My bullet is not here". Although the French had plundered and pillaged in Russia, Paris escaped the same fate. On 10 April 1814, Alexander ordered an Orthodox Easter mass to be celebrated in the spot where King Louis XVI had been guillotined. He was gracious towards the ex-empress Josephine and her children. At the Chateau de Malmaison, the Russian emperor acquired the collection of paintings belonging to Napoleon's first wife for the Imperial Hermitage.
After the Hundred Days, when Napoleon escaped from Elba and attempted to regain power, the Russian army reoccupied Paris. The tsar was welcomed by the local population and on 25 April 1814, the Russian State Council, Holy Synod and Cabinet of Ministers awarded him the title "Alexander the Blessed". This was followed by the Congress of Vienna and the post-war reconstruction of Europe.
These heady evens and the lingering pangs of conscience over his father's murder led Alexander to increasingly immerse in mysticism. While the peasants were herded into military settlements, pseudoreligious and mystical cults flourished throughout the country. Russia entered yet another period of stagnation. Alexander was a handsome and charming man. Napoleon wrote home to Josephine: "Were he a woman, I would probably fall in love with him". The tsar had a beautiful wife to match - Princess Luise Marie Auguste of Baden (1779-1826). She converted to Orthodoxy as Grand Duchess Elizabeth Alexeyevna and they were married on 9 October 1793. Elizabet was a niece of the first wife of Paul I. She gave birth to two daughters, who both died in infancy. Alexander soon lost interest in his wife and took a string of mistresses. The longest affair was with Maria Naryshkina (nee Chetvertinskaya), who gave birth to several of his children. Alexander I died in Taganrog on 19 November 1825. He was buried in the St Petr and Paul Cathedral on 13 March 1826. Two months later, his wife died and was buried alongside him. The unexpected death of the emperor and the nocturnal funeral among close friends gave rise to many myths. The most popular legend is the claim that Alexander did not died and someone else was buried in his place. The sovereign retreated to Siberia, later resurfacing as Fedor Kuzmich, starets (in Eastern Orthodoxy, a monastic spiritual leader) who died in a forest near Tomsk in January 1864.
Wife:
Elizabeth Alexeyevna, Princess Luise Marie Auguste of Baden (1779-1826).
Married: October 1793.
Children:
Maria Alexandrovna (1799-1800)
Grand Duchess.
Elizabeth Alexandrovna (1806-1808)
Grand Duchess.
Important events:
- 1801 - Annexation of Georgia
- 1802 - Colleges replaced by ministries.
- 1803-06 - First Russian round-the-world voyage by Ivan Krusenstern and Yury Lisyansky.
- 1804-13 - Russo-Persian War.
- 1805-07 - Russia joins the anti-Napoleonic alliance.
- 1806-12 - Russo-Turkish War. New guards regiments - Jager Regiment, Guard Equipage, Lithuanian and Finnish Dragoon Regiments, Black Sea Company.
- 1808-09 - Russo-Swedish War.
- 1810 - Formation of the State Council.
- 1811 - Formation of the Tsarskoe Selo Lyceum.
- 1812-14 - War with Napoleonic France
- 1815-26 - Round-the-world trip of Otto von Kotzebue.
- 1816 - Start of the Caucasian War,
- 1819 - Jpening of St Petersburg University.
- 1820 - Fabian Gottieb von Bellinshausen and Mikhail Lazarev discover the Antarctic.
- 1822 - Banning of Masonic Lodges.
......1812 napoleon's attack spurred Alexander into action. He declared that he would not lay down arms until every last enemy soldier had been expelled from Russian soil. The tsar vowed never to sign peace, not even if he had to retreat to the end of the Russian Empire: "It is I or Napoleon; we cannot exist together".
......1812 The Battle of Borodino was fought on 26 August 1812. Both sides suffered heavy losses, with 44,000 Russians and 58,000 Frenchmen killed. In the evening, after reviewing the situation, Fieldmarshal Mikhail Kutuzov gave the order to retreat.
......1825-1826 The unexpected death of the emperor and the nocturnal funeral among close friends gave rise to many myths. The most popular legend is the claim that Alexander did not die and someone else was buried in his place. The sovereign retreated to Siberia, later resurfacing as Fedor Kuzmich, a starets (monastic spiritual leader) known for his righteous life who died in January 1864.
Alexander was born in St.Petersburg on 12 December 1777. He was raised in Spartan conditions and, as a result, never fell ill. Catherine II personally supervised the education of Alexander and his younger brother, Konstantin, laying out her instructions in a special document entitled Instructions for the Education of my Grandsons. The boys were taught by Frederic Cesar de la Harpe, who was later one of the directors of the Helvetic Republic under Napoleon Bonaparte. Alexander grew up reticent, suspicious and conceited. He was known for his clever mind, diplomacy and indecisiveness. When he heard of the plot against his father, he did not take any precautionary measures. Ascending the throne, he merely banished the ringleaders from St Petersburg.
The first half of Alexander's reign was a period of moderate and liberal reforms. The emperor relied upon the help of such young friends as Prince Adam Chartoryisky, Count Pavel Stroganov, Count Victor Kochubei and Count Nikolai Novosiltsev. Together, they formed the Unofficial Committee, which issued manifestos restoring the charters of Catherine II to bthe nobility and towns, granting pardons to those who had suffered under the previous tsar and allowing the purchase and sale of land by all free individuals. New universities were opened in Kharkiv, Kazan, Derpt and Vilno. Existing educational establishments were awarded new freedoms. The result was a renaissance of many aspects of Russian life. One of the most famous institutions founded by Alexander I was the Tsarskoe Selo Lyceum in 1810. Many famous Russian were educated there, including the poet Alexander Pushkin. When he was a lyceum student, Pushkin paid tribute to Alexander's role in the war against Napoleon and the liberal reforms at the start of his reign. The growing conservatism of the tsarist regime, however, forced the poet into the arms of the opposition. When this criticism crept into his writings, Pushkin was banished from St Petersburg. After that, he was generally negative in his appraisals of Alexander's personality and policies. Before then, however, he had lauded what he called the "wonderful first days of Alexander".
One of the most important symbols of the Changes taking place in Russian life under Alexander was Mikhail Speransky (1772-1839). The son of a priest in Vladimir Province, he studied at seminaries in Vladimir and St Petersburg. Metropolitan Gabriel recommended Speransky to Prince Alexei Kurakin, who employed him as his secretary. He stayed with Kurakin when the latter was appointed general procurator by Tsar Paul. Under Alexander, he was transferred to the ministry of the Interior. When the minister of the interior fell ill, he asked Speransky to deliver his reports to the tsar. Alexander took a liking to Speransky and, in 1808, invited him to draw up a liberal constitution based on West European models, with the foundation of a state council and parliament or duma. Speransky never succeeded in implementing his programme.The indecisive tsar was frightened by the hostility of the nobility to his liberal reforms. Unable to win over the aristocracy and courtcused of plotting with Napoleon and exiled to Perm. Thanks to the intercession of Count Alexei Arakcheyev, Speransky was appointed governor of Perm in 1816 and governor general of Siberia. In 1821, he was returned to St Petersburg and made a member of the State Council. After the December Revolution of 1825, Speransky sat on the special court of investigation and passed the sentences. The rest of his life was spent compiling Complete Collection of the Laws of the Russian Empire, for which he was awarded the Order of St Andrew and the title of count. In 1805, Russia was drawn into anti-Napoleonic wars, ending with the humiliating Treaty of Tilsit. This was followed by wars against Turkey and Sweden and French invasion of 1812.
Napoleon's attack spurred Alexander into action. He declared that he would not lay down arms until every last enemy soldier had been expelled from Russian soil. The tsar vowed never to sign peace, not even if he had to retreat to end of the Russian Empire: "it is I or Napoleon; we cannot exist together". When the Grand Armee occupied Moscow and the city caught fire, Alexander regarded this as a divine punishment for his sins and his role in his father's murder. On 7 January 1813, the French were finally thrown out of Russia. Alexander and his army pursued Napoleon through out Europe, eventually entering Paris in 1814. The emperor often rode into the field of battle himself. At the Bettle of Lutzen in 1813, advised to retreat to a safe distance after coming under heavy fire, he replied:"My bullet is not here". Although the French had plundered and pillaged in Russia, Paris escaped the same fate. On 10 April 1814, Alexander ordered an Orthodox Easter mass to be celebrated in the spot where King Louis XVI had been guillotined. He was gracious towards the ex-empress Josephine and her children. At the Chateau de Malmaison, the Russian emperor acquired the collection of paintings belonging to Napoleon's first wife for the Imperial Hermitage.
After the Hundred Days, when Napoleon escaped from Elba and attempted to regain power, the Russian army reoccupied Paris. The tsar was welcomed by the local population and on 25 April 1814, the Russian State Council, Holy Synod and Cabinet of Ministers awarded him the title "Alexander the Blessed". This was followed by the Congress of Vienna and the post-war reconstruction of Europe.
These heady evens and the lingering pangs of conscience over his father's murder led Alexander to increasingly immerse in mysticism. While the peasants were herded into military settlements, pseudoreligious and mystical cults flourished throughout the country. Russia entered yet another period of stagnation. Alexander was a handsome and charming man. Napoleon wrote home to Josephine: "Were he a woman, I would probably fall in love with him". The tsar had a beautiful wife to match - Princess Luise Marie Auguste of Baden (1779-1826). She converted to Orthodoxy as Grand Duchess Elizabeth Alexeyevna and they were married on 9 October 1793. Elizabet was a niece of the first wife of Paul I. She gave birth to two daughters, who both died in infancy. Alexander soon lost interest in his wife and took a string of mistresses. The longest affair was with Maria Naryshkina (nee Chetvertinskaya), who gave birth to several of his children. Alexander I died in Taganrog on 19 November 1825. He was buried in the St Petr and Paul Cathedral on 13 March 1826. Two months later, his wife died and was buried alongside him. The unexpected death of the emperor and the nocturnal funeral among close friends gave rise to many myths. The most popular legend is the claim that Alexander did not died and someone else was buried in his place. The sovereign retreated to Siberia, later resurfacing as Fedor Kuzmich, starets (in Eastern Orthodoxy, a monastic spiritual leader) who died in a forest near Tomsk in January 1864.
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