History of Russia
Heads of the stateTHE ROMANOVS
Emperor Alexander II (1818 - 1881)
Reign
1855 - 1881Parents:
Emperor Nicolas I Pavlovich and Empress Alexandra Fedorovna.
Wife:
Maria Alexandrovna, Princess Maximiliane Wilhelmine Auguste Sophie Marie of Hesse-Darmstadt (1824-1880).
Married: 16 April 1841.
Children of Alexander II and Maria Alexandrovna:
Alexandra (1842-1849)
Nikolai (1843-1865). Educated by Count Sergei Stroganov. Engaged to Princess Dagmar of Denmark. Died of tubercular meningitis in Cannes.
Alexander (see Alexander III).
Vladimir (1847 - 1909). He was an infantry general, member of the State Council, president of the Imperial Academy of Arts and honorary member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. He married Princess Marie Alexandrine Elisabeth Eleonore of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1854-1920). The daugther of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and a great-niece of Empress Alexandra Fedorovna, his wife was known as Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna. She headed the Imperial Academy of Arts after her husband's death.
Alexei (1850-1908). As an admiral general and naval minister, he was responsible for the Russian defeat at the Battle of Tsushima (1905) and was relived of all his posts (2 June 1905). Died in Paris.
Maria (1853-1920). She married Queen Victoria's second son, Prince Alfred Ernest Albert of Great Britain.
Sergei (1857-1905). He was the governor general of Moscow and commander of the Moscow Military District. Sergei was assassinated by a Socialist Revolutionary on Senate Square in the Moscow Kremlin (17 February 1905). His remains were transferred to the Novospassky Monastery (1995). He married Princess Elisabeth of Hesse-Darmstadt (1864-1918), sister of Empress Alexandra Fedorovna
Pavel (1860-1919). He was the honorary chairman of the National Health Society. He married his third cousin, Princess Alexandra of Greece (1870-91), who died giving birth to their second child. After marrying a divorced commoner, Olga Karnovich, he was dismissed from his posts and obliged to live abroad. Returning to Russia before the start of the First World War, he was shot by the Bolsheviks in Petrograd.
Important events:
......1853-1856 After losing the Crimean War, Russia was forced to sign the Treaty of Paris, forfeiting a number of possession. The war had revealed the country's economic and political backwardness. Reforms were urgently needed in every area of public life. The implementation of these reforms required not only brains and knowledge, but also an iron will. Unfortunately, this was something that Alexander lacked.
......1865 Despite his initial love for his wife, Alexander entered into a long-term liaison with one of her ladies-in-waiting - Princess Ekaterina Dolgorukova (1847-1922). While Maria was still alive, she bore him four children - Georgy, Olga, Boris and Ekaterina. Shortly after his wife's death, Alexander married Ekaterina and even considered making her empress.
......1861 Many sections of the population opposed the reforms and enemies of the tsar appeared on both the right and left wings. The peasants were particular disgruntled. The liberalisation of public life led to the emergence of several terrorist organisations whose aim was to kill the emperor. Supported by public opinion, the revolutionaries declared war on the tsar. They made a series of assassination attempts, the last of which was successful.
Alexander II was born in Moscow on 17 April 1818. He was brought up bearing in mind that one day he would inherit the throne. He received ia good education under Carl Merder, a battle officer, and the poet Vasily Zhukovsky. Besides Russian, the tsarevich also knew French, German, English and Polish. He studied mathematics, physics, geography, history and economy, statistics and law and developed a taste for art. At the age of nineteen, Alexander and Zhukovsky embarked on a long journey across Russia. He was the first member of the Imperial family to visit Siberia, where he met several of the Decembrists and managed to improve their living conditions. The tsarevich spent the following years travelling round Europe. Alexander was known for his kind heart, geniality, quick mind, good memory and soft character. When Theophile Gautier visited Russia in 1865, he described the emperor: "The sovereign's short hair frames a high and handsome forehead. His facial features are remarkably correct and might have been carved by an artist. His blue eyes stand out against his brown face, tanned by the wind during long journeys. The outlines of the mouth are as delicate and refined as a Greek sculpture. His majestic, calm and soft facial expression is occasionally set off by a gracious smile". Alexander demonstrated his bravery when he served in the Caucasian army and helped to repulse an attack by wild tribesmen. He was awarded the Order of St George (fourth class) for his heroism.
At an early age, Nicholas I introduced his son to the running of the government, assigning him various administrative posts. In 1842, when the emperor left St Petersburg for a month, he left his son in command. These periods of deputising gradually grew longer and longer.
Alexander succeeded to the throne on 18 February 1855 and was crowned in the Domition Cathedral in Moscow on 26 August 1856. Along with the throne, he inherited a whole series of problems. After losing the Crimean Was, Russia was forced to sign the Treaty of Paris, forfeiting a number of possessions and the right to keep a fleet on the Black Sea. The war had revealed the country's economic and political backwardness. Reforms were urgently needed in every area of public life. The implementation of these reforms required not only brains and knowledge, but also an iron will, Unfortunately, this was something that Alexander lacked.
The first reform was a manifesto emancipating the serfs on 19 February 1861. What now looks like a handsome gesture in fact horrified the vast majority of peasants. In order to own any land, they had to buy it form the landowner. Yet their only source of income was from toiling the land. The result was a vicious circle. Although freed from the landowners, agricultural labourers now became dependent on the peasant commune. The landowners also suffered as a result of the reforms. Deprived of a free source of labour, many decided to sell their land to the emerging middle class. The proceeds were either invested in stocks and shares or drunk away. The result was many personal and family tragedies. The land reform of 1864 envisaged self-government at the district and provincial levels. Here too there were problems. The organs of self-government - land councils and the Zemstvo - were riddled with bribery and corruption. Funds were embezzled and rural school, hospitals, roads and bridges were either built badly or not built at all.
The judicial reforms passed in November 1864 introduced trial by jury. The new juries reached some astonishing conclusions, such as the decision to acquit Vera Zasulich, who had shot and wounded Fedor Trepov, the governor of St Petersburg. The municipal self-government (1870) and military reforms (1874) also had a difficult passage.
Many sections of the population opposed of the reforms and enemies of the tsar appeared on both the right and left wings. The peasants were particular disgruntled. The liberalisation of public life led to the emergence of several terrorist organisations whose aim was to kill the emperor. Supported by public opinion, the revolutionaries declared war on the tsar. They made a series of assassination attempts, the last of which was successful.
Alexander II enjoyed mixed success in international affairs. He brought the Caucasian War to an end (1864) and annexed a series of territories, including the Amur Provinces (1858), Khiva (1873) and Kokand. Japan recognised Russia's right to southern Sakhalin and Kuril Islands (1876). On the other hand, Alaska and the Aleutian Islands were virtually given away to the United States (1867). Instead of the triumphant entry of Russian forces into Constantinople, Russia only acquired insignificant territories in Bessarabia and Asia Minor as result of the Russo-Turkish War (1877-78). The pro-German foreign policy brought no real benefit to Russia.
On 16 April 1841, Alexander married Princess Maximiliane Wilhelmine Auguste Sophie Marie of Hesse-Darmstadt (1824-1880). The daughter of Grand Duke Louis II of Hesse-Darmstadt, she converted to Orthodoxy on 5 December 1840 as Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna. Alexander and Maria made an excellent couple, with his high spirits and her kindness and piety. They had eight children. Maria won much respect in Russia for her charity work, but constantly suffered from poor health. She died of tuberculosis at the age of fifty-five and was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in 1880. On 1 March 1881, when he was driving along the Catherine Canal, Alexander was killed in a bomb attack. He was buried alongside Maria in the Peter and Paul Cathedral on 15 March 1881. A church was built on the site of his murder - the Church of the Resurrection of Christ (Church of the Saviour on Spilt Blood).
Wife:
Maria Alexandrovna, Princess Maximiliane Wilhelmine Auguste Sophie Marie of Hesse-Darmstadt (1824-1880).
Married: 16 April 1841.
Children of Alexander II and Maria Alexandrovna:
Alexandra (1842-1849)
Nikolai (1843-1865). Educated by Count Sergei Stroganov. Engaged to Princess Dagmar of Denmark. Died of tubercular meningitis in Cannes.
Alexander (see Alexander III).
Vladimir (1847 - 1909). He was an infantry general, member of the State Council, president of the Imperial Academy of Arts and honorary member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. He married Princess Marie Alexandrine Elisabeth Eleonore of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1854-1920). The daugther of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and a great-niece of Empress Alexandra Fedorovna, his wife was known as Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna. She headed the Imperial Academy of Arts after her husband's death.
Alexei (1850-1908). As an admiral general and naval minister, he was responsible for the Russian defeat at the Battle of Tsushima (1905) and was relived of all his posts (2 June 1905). Died in Paris.
Maria (1853-1920). She married Queen Victoria's second son, Prince Alfred Ernest Albert of Great Britain.
Sergei (1857-1905). He was the governor general of Moscow and commander of the Moscow Military District. Sergei was assassinated by a Socialist Revolutionary on Senate Square in the Moscow Kremlin (17 February 1905). His remains were transferred to the Novospassky Monastery (1995). He married Princess Elisabeth of Hesse-Darmstadt (1864-1918), sister of Empress Alexandra Fedorovna
Pavel (1860-1919). He was the honorary chairman of the National Health Society. He married his third cousin, Princess Alexandra of Greece (1870-91), who died giving birth to their second child. After marrying a divorced commoner, Olga Karnovich, he was dismissed from his posts and obliged to live abroad. Returning to Russia before the start of the First World War, he was shot by the Bolsheviks in Petrograd.
Important events:
- 1855 - Russo-Japanese Treaty of peace and Frendship.
- 18 March 1856 - Treaty of Paris ending the Crimean War.
- 26 August 1856 - Foundation of the Tretyakov Gallery donated to the city of Moscow (1892)/
- 1856-57 - Peter Semyonov's expedition to Tien-Shan.
- 3 January 1857 - Creation of the Secret Committee to overhaul the system of serfdom.
- 11 April 1857 - Confirmation of the coat of arms of the Russian Empire.
- 1857 - Formation of a national system of customs organs.
- 1858 - annexation of the Amur territories and Pacific coast.
- 1859 - Conquest of the eastern Caucasus.
- 4 March 1859 - Start of work of commissions on the abolition of serfdom.
- 31 May 1860 - Foundation of the State Bank.
- 1861 - Abolition of serfdom.
- 12 May 1862 - Passing of temporaly rules on the press.
- 1862 - Opening of the St Petersburg Conservatoire.
- 18 June 1863 - New law on crown peasants.
- 1863-64 - Uprisings in Poland and Lithuania.
- 1 January 1864 - New law on provincial and district institutions.
- 1864 - Conquest of the western Caucasus. Reform of the departments of foreign trade and tax collection at the Ministry of Finance. New law on primary schools and statute on grammar schools. Reform of the legal and court system.
- 1865 - Implementation of the temporary rules on the press. Reform of the military court system Capture of Tashkent.
- 1867 - Sale of Russian America to the United States.
- 1868 - Capture of Samarcand and Bukhara.
- 17 February 1869 - Dmitry Mendeleyev discovers the periodical table of elements.
- 1870-82 - Nikolai Miklukho-Maklai's journey round Oceania.
- 1870-88 - Nikolai Pizhevalsky's expedition to China, Mongolia and Tibet.
- 1873 - Creation of League of Three Emperors between Russia, Germany and Austria.
- 1 January 1876 - Introduction of nationwide military service.
- 1876 - Annexation of Kokand.
- 1877-78 - Russo-Turkish War. Treaty of San Stefano (19 February 1878).
- 1878 - Congress of Berlin.
......1853-1856 After losing the Crimean War, Russia was forced to sign the Treaty of Paris, forfeiting a number of possession. The war had revealed the country's economic and political backwardness. Reforms were urgently needed in every area of public life. The implementation of these reforms required not only brains and knowledge, but also an iron will. Unfortunately, this was something that Alexander lacked.
......1865 Despite his initial love for his wife, Alexander entered into a long-term liaison with one of her ladies-in-waiting - Princess Ekaterina Dolgorukova (1847-1922). While Maria was still alive, she bore him four children - Georgy, Olga, Boris and Ekaterina. Shortly after his wife's death, Alexander married Ekaterina and even considered making her empress.
......1861 Many sections of the population opposed the reforms and enemies of the tsar appeared on both the right and left wings. The peasants were particular disgruntled. The liberalisation of public life led to the emergence of several terrorist organisations whose aim was to kill the emperor. Supported by public opinion, the revolutionaries declared war on the tsar. They made a series of assassination attempts, the last of which was successful.
Alexander II was born in Moscow on 17 April 1818. He was brought up bearing in mind that one day he would inherit the throne. He received ia good education under Carl Merder, a battle officer, and the poet Vasily Zhukovsky. Besides Russian, the tsarevich also knew French, German, English and Polish. He studied mathematics, physics, geography, history and economy, statistics and law and developed a taste for art. At the age of nineteen, Alexander and Zhukovsky embarked on a long journey across Russia. He was the first member of the Imperial family to visit Siberia, where he met several of the Decembrists and managed to improve their living conditions. The tsarevich spent the following years travelling round Europe. Alexander was known for his kind heart, geniality, quick mind, good memory and soft character. When Theophile Gautier visited Russia in 1865, he described the emperor: "The sovereign's short hair frames a high and handsome forehead. His facial features are remarkably correct and might have been carved by an artist. His blue eyes stand out against his brown face, tanned by the wind during long journeys. The outlines of the mouth are as delicate and refined as a Greek sculpture. His majestic, calm and soft facial expression is occasionally set off by a gracious smile". Alexander demonstrated his bravery when he served in the Caucasian army and helped to repulse an attack by wild tribesmen. He was awarded the Order of St George (fourth class) for his heroism.
At an early age, Nicholas I introduced his son to the running of the government, assigning him various administrative posts. In 1842, when the emperor left St Petersburg for a month, he left his son in command. These periods of deputising gradually grew longer and longer.
Alexander succeeded to the throne on 18 February 1855 and was crowned in the Domition Cathedral in Moscow on 26 August 1856. Along with the throne, he inherited a whole series of problems. After losing the Crimean Was, Russia was forced to sign the Treaty of Paris, forfeiting a number of possessions and the right to keep a fleet on the Black Sea. The war had revealed the country's economic and political backwardness. Reforms were urgently needed in every area of public life. The implementation of these reforms required not only brains and knowledge, but also an iron will, Unfortunately, this was something that Alexander lacked.
The first reform was a manifesto emancipating the serfs on 19 February 1861. What now looks like a handsome gesture in fact horrified the vast majority of peasants. In order to own any land, they had to buy it form the landowner. Yet their only source of income was from toiling the land. The result was a vicious circle. Although freed from the landowners, agricultural labourers now became dependent on the peasant commune. The landowners also suffered as a result of the reforms. Deprived of a free source of labour, many decided to sell their land to the emerging middle class. The proceeds were either invested in stocks and shares or drunk away. The result was many personal and family tragedies. The land reform of 1864 envisaged self-government at the district and provincial levels. Here too there were problems. The organs of self-government - land councils and the Zemstvo - were riddled with bribery and corruption. Funds were embezzled and rural school, hospitals, roads and bridges were either built badly or not built at all.
The judicial reforms passed in November 1864 introduced trial by jury. The new juries reached some astonishing conclusions, such as the decision to acquit Vera Zasulich, who had shot and wounded Fedor Trepov, the governor of St Petersburg. The municipal self-government (1870) and military reforms (1874) also had a difficult passage.
Many sections of the population opposed of the reforms and enemies of the tsar appeared on both the right and left wings. The peasants were particular disgruntled. The liberalisation of public life led to the emergence of several terrorist organisations whose aim was to kill the emperor. Supported by public opinion, the revolutionaries declared war on the tsar. They made a series of assassination attempts, the last of which was successful.
Alexander II enjoyed mixed success in international affairs. He brought the Caucasian War to an end (1864) and annexed a series of territories, including the Amur Provinces (1858), Khiva (1873) and Kokand. Japan recognised Russia's right to southern Sakhalin and Kuril Islands (1876). On the other hand, Alaska and the Aleutian Islands were virtually given away to the United States (1867). Instead of the triumphant entry of Russian forces into Constantinople, Russia only acquired insignificant territories in Bessarabia and Asia Minor as result of the Russo-Turkish War (1877-78). The pro-German foreign policy brought no real benefit to Russia.
On 16 April 1841, Alexander married Princess Maximiliane Wilhelmine Auguste Sophie Marie of Hesse-Darmstadt (1824-1880). The daughter of Grand Duke Louis II of Hesse-Darmstadt, she converted to Orthodoxy on 5 December 1840 as Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna. Alexander and Maria made an excellent couple, with his high spirits and her kindness and piety. They had eight children. Maria won much respect in Russia for her charity work, but constantly suffered from poor health. She died of tuberculosis at the age of fifty-five and was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in 1880. On 1 March 1881, when he was driving along the Catherine Canal, Alexander was killed in a bomb attack. He was buried alongside Maria in the Peter and Paul Cathedral on 15 March 1881. A church was built on the site of his murder - the Church of the Resurrection of Christ (Church of the Saviour on Spilt Blood).
On our pages you can make the travel to history Russia , and to the history Moscow and S-Petersburg
recommended
sites:
Internet shop
of exclusive Russian souvenirs "ATAMAN".
If you want to present a special gift to your relatives or friends,
want to get really unforgettable memory about your trip or you are
interested in the history of Russia - this shop is a real find for you
There are history maps, books, souvenirs, insignia, heraldry and many
other things on this site. This site have the English
version.
You can find the link for it in the right top corner of the site
We hope that the information of our portal will be useful to you.