Alexander II Nikolaevich - state activities. Alexander II
The article is devoted to a brief biography of Alexander II, the Russian emperor who carried out large-scale reforms in all areas of Russian life. For carrying out the peasant reform, Alexander II was popularly called the “Liberator”.
Biography of Alexander II: early years
Alexander Nikolaevich Romanov was born in 1818. The child grew up very impressionable and smart. Its disadvantages include lack of persistence and weak will. Alexander's father, having become Emperor Nicholas I, immediately took care of the education of his heir. Zhukovsky was appointed Alexander's tutor, who took the assigned task seriously and drew up a clear training program for the heir. It included a wide range of disciplines providing for the scientific, cultural and physical development of the child. At the insistence of Nicholas I, a large place was given to military training, which gradually replaced other subjects.
At the same time, the emperor began to involve Alexander in government activities. The heir begins to attend Senate meetings. Senior statesmen hold conversations and lectures with him on the most important issues foreign and domestic policy.
Alexander visited leading European powers. In Darmstadt he met Princess Maria. The heir informed his father of his intention to marry. Nicholas I agreed, and in 1841 the wedding took place. The princess received the name Maria Alekseevna at baptism. Contemporaries noted the grace and excellent spiritual qualities of Alexander’s wife.
Alexander is increasingly involved in government work. In the early 40s. he becomes an active member of the State Council and the Committee of Ministers. During the departures of Nicholas I, all power temporarily passes to the heir. The Emperor promotes Alexander along the military line. His son is occupying increasingly important and responsible army positions.
In all his activities, Alexander carried out the will of his father and did not express any liberal views. All his decisions did not go beyond conservative politics. The heir always remained in the shadow of the emperor.
Biography of Alexander II: reign
In 1855, Nicholas I died, and Alexander, who suddenly received the throne, felt the full weight and responsibility of autocratic power. The heir inherited a country in an extremely difficult situation.
At first, Alexander sought to continue his father’s policies; he did not think about reforms and declared that the war would continue to a victorious end. The surrender of Sevastopol made a huge impression on him. It became clear that Russia was not capable of winning the Crimean War.
Historians believe that Alexander II began reforms solely out of necessity. Reforms were carried out through trial and error; Alexander II had no experience in such activities.
Reforms began in the fields of censorship and education. The Supreme Caesura Committee was closed, and significant freedom was given to universities.
It was completed in March 1856 Crimean War. Russia lost its fleet in the Black Sea, but still the terms of the peace treaty were quite acceptable.
Almost immediately after his accession to the throne, Alexander II thought about the possibilities of abolishing serfdom. He instructs to develop a project for such a reform. The work lasts about two years and ends with the Manifesto of 1861 - one of the most significant events in Russian history. The abolition of serfdom begins a whole chain of great reforms. Despite some limitations, they led to a huge breakthrough in economic and cultural development Russia.
Nevertheless, the activities of Alexander II were criticized. Conservatives reproached him for being too liberal, while radical movements accused him of insufficient reforms.
In 1866 there was an attempt on the life of Alexander II. He was amazed by this and gradually began to experience bewilderment and disappointment in his reform activities. He is taking some reactionary measures.
One of the important aspects of Alexander II's policy was the restoration of Russia's military power. Military reform was carried out using huge cash and gave significant results. Russia victoriously carried out Russian-Turkish war 1877-78 and concluded a profitable agreement with Turkey. However, at the Berlin Congress, many articles of the treaty were revised not in favor of Russia.
Attempts on the emperor's life continued and became more and more daring. This leads to Alexander II creating an emergency commission to combat the revolutionary movement.
In 1880, the wife of Alexander II died. The Emperor no longer had the same feelings for her for a long time and soon married E. Dolgorukova for the second time.
The emperor was working on yet another reform project when another assassination attempt occurred. As a result of the thrown bomb, Alexander II was seriously injured. He died in 1881 without regaining consciousness.
Alexander II became the author of reforms that radically changed the development of Russia. His greatest merit is the abolition of serfdom. However, the emperor’s activities were not appreciated by his contemporaries. The true scale of his activities became clear many years later.
The future ruler of Russia was born on April 17, 1818 in Moscow. He became the first and only heir to the throne born in the mother see since 1725. There, on May 5, the baby was baptized in the Cathedral of the Chudov Monastery.
The boy received a good education at home. One of his mentors was the poet V. A. Zhukovsky. He told the crowned parents that he would prepare his pupil not to be a rude martinet, but a wise and enlightened monarch, so that he would see in Russia not a parade ground and a barracks, but a great nation.
The poet's words turned out to be not empty bravado. Both he and other educators did a lot to ensure that the heir to the throne became a truly educated, cultured and progressively thinking person. From the age of 16, the young man began to take part in the administration of the empire. His father introduced him to the Senate, then to the Holy Governing Synod and other highest government bodies. The young man also completed military service, and very successfully. During the Crimean War (1853-1856) he commanded the troops stationed in the capital and held the rank of general.
The reign of Alexander II (1855-1881)
Domestic policy
Emperor Alexander II, who ascended the throne, inherited a difficult inheritance. A lot of foreign policy and domestic policy issues have accumulated. The financial situation of the country was extremely difficult due to the Crimean War. The state, in fact, found itself isolated, pitting itself against the strongest countries in Europe. Therefore, the first step of the new emperor was the conclusion of the Paris Peace, signed on March 18, 1856.
The signing was attended by Russia on the one hand and the allied states of the Crimean War on the other. These are France, Britain, Austria, Prussia, Sardinia and Ottoman Empire. Peace terms for Russian Empire turned out to be quite soft. She returned the previously occupied territories to Turkey, and in return received Kerch, Balaklava, Kamysh and Sevastopol. Thus, the foreign policy blockade was broken.
On August 26, 1856, the coronation took place in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. In this regard, the highest manifesto was issued. He granted benefits to certain categories of subjects, suspended recruitment for 3 years and abolished military settlements since 1857, which were widely practiced during the reign of Nicholas I.
But the most important thing in the activities of the new emperor was abolition of serfdom. A manifesto about this was announced on February 19, 1861. At that time, there were 23 million serfs out of 62 million people inhabiting the Russian Empire. This reform was not perfect, but it destroyed the existing social order and became a catalyst for other reforms that affected the court, finance, army, and education.
The merit of Emperor Alexander II is that he found the strength to suppress the resistance of opponents of the changes, which were many nobles and officials. In general, public opinion in the empire sided with the sovereign. And the court flatterers called him Tsar-Liberator. This nickname has taken root among the people.
A discussion of the constitutional structure began in the country. But the question was not about constitutional monarchy, but only about some limitation of absolute royal power. It was planned to expand the State Council and create a General Commission, which would include representatives of zemstvos. As for the Parliament, they did not intend to create it.
The emperor planned to sign the papers, which were the first step towards a constitution. He announced this on March 1, 1881 during breakfast with Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich. And literally a couple of hours later the sovereign was killed by terrorists. The Russian Empire was once again unlucky.
At the end of January 1863, an uprising began in Poland. At the end of April 1864 it was suppressed. 128 instigators were executed, 800 were sent to hard labor. But these speeches accelerated peasant reform in Poland, Lithuania, and Belarus.
Foreign policy
Emperor Alexander II pursued a foreign policy taking into account the further expansion of the borders of the Russian Empire. The defeat in the Crimean War showed the backwardness and weakness of weapons in the land army and navy. Therefore, a new foreign policy concept was created, which was inextricably linked with technological reforms in the field of weapons. All these issues were supervised by Chancellor A. M. Gorchakov. He was considered an experienced and efficient diplomat and significantly increased the prestige of Russia.
In 1877-1878, the Russian Empire fought with Turkey. As a result of this military campaign, Bulgaria was liberated. It became an independent state. Vast territories were annexed in Central Asia. The empire also included North Caucasus, Bessarabia, Far East. As a result of all this, the country has become one of the largest in the world.
In 1867, Russia sold Alaska to America (for more details, see the article Who Sold Alaska to America). Subsequently, this caused a lot of controversy, especially since the price was relatively low. In 1875, Japan was transferred Kurile Islands in exchange for Sakhalin Island. In these matters, Alexander II was guided by the fact that Alaska and the Kuril Islands are remote, unprofitable lands that are difficult to manage. At the same time some politicians criticized the emperor for annexing Central Asia and the Caucasus. The conquest of these lands cost Russia great human sacrifices and material costs.
The personal life of Emperor Alexander II was complex and confusing. In 1841 he married Princess Maximiliana Wilhelmina Augusta Sophia Maria of Hesse (1824-1880) of the Hessian dynasty. The bride converted to Orthodoxy in December 1840 and became Maria Alexandrovna, and on April 16, 1841 the wedding took place. The couple have been married for almost 40 years. The wife gave birth to 8 children, but the crowned husband was not distinguished by fidelity. He regularly took on mistresses (favorites).
Alexander II with his wife Maria Alexandrovna
Her husband's infidelities and childbirth undermined the empress's health. She was often sick, and died in the summer of 1880 from tuberculosis. She was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.
Less than a year had passed after the death of his wife, and the sovereign entered into an organic marriage with his longtime favorite Ekaterina Dolgoruka (1847-1922). The relationship with her began in 1866, when the girl was 19 years old. In 1972, she gave birth to a son from the emperor, named George. Then three more children were born.
It should be noted that Emperor Alexander II loved Dolgorukaya very much and was very attached to her. By a special decree, he bestowed the surname Yuryevsky and the titles of His Serene Highness on the children born from her. As for the environment, it disapproved of the organic marriage with Dolgoruka. The hostility was so strong that after the death of the sovereign, the newly-made wife and their children emigrated from the country and settled in Nice. There Catherine died in 1922.
The years of Alexander II's reign were marked by several attempts on his life (read more in the article Attempts on Alexander II). In 1879, the Narodnaya Volya members sentenced the emperor to death. However, fate protected the sovereign for a long time, and the assassination attempts were thwarted. It should be noted here that the Russian Tsar was not known for cowardice and, despite the danger, appeared in in public places either alone or with a small retinue.
But on March 1, 1881, the autocrat’s luck changed. The terrorists carried out their murder plan. The assassination attempt was carried out on the Catherine Canal in St. Petersburg. The body of the sovereign was mutilated by the bomb thrown. On the same day, Emperor Alexander II died, having taken communion. He was buried on March 7 in the Peter and Paul Cathedral next to his first wife Maria Alexandrovna. Alexander III ascended the Russian throne.
Leonid Druzhnikov
Emperor Alexander 2 was born on April 29, 1818. Being the son of Nicholas 1 and heir to the throne, he received an excellent, comprehensive education. Alexander's teachers were Zhukovsky and military officer Merder.
Posted on ref.rf
His father also had a noticeable influence on the formation of the personality of Alexander 2. Alexander ascended the throne after the death of Nicholas 1, in 1885. By that time, he already had some management experience, since he acted as sovereign during his father’s absence in the capital. This ruler went down in history as Alexander 2 the Liberator. And a short biography of Alexander 2 would not be complete without mentioning his reform activities.
Wife of Alexander 2 in 1841. became Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt Maximilian Wilhelmina Augusta Sophia Maria, better known as Maria Alexandrovna. She gave birth to 7 children to Nikolai, the 2 eldest died. And since 1880 ᴦ. The tsar was married (morganatic marriage) to Princess Dolgorukaya, with whom he had 4 children.
Domestic policy Alexandra 2 was strikingly different from the policies of Nicholas 1 and was marked by many reforms. The most important of them was peasant reform Alexandra 2, according to which in 1861 ᴦ., February 19, was canceled serfdom. This reform created an urgent need for further changes in many Russian institutions and led to Alexander carrying out 2 bourgeois reforms.
In 1864 ᴦ. By decree of Alexander 2, zemstvo reform was carried out. Its goal was to create a system of local self-government, for which the institution of district zemstvo was established.
In 1870 ᴦ. urban reform was carried out, which had a positive impact on the development of industry and cities. City councils and councils were established, which were representative bodies of government. Judicial reform Alexandra 2, carried out in 1864, was marked by the introduction of European legal norms, but, some features of the previously in force judicial system For example, a special court for officials was retained.
The next one was military reform Alexandra 2. Its result is universal military conscription, as well as close to European standards army organization. During the financial reform of Alexander 2, the State Bank was created, and official accounting was born. The logical conclusion of the reform activities was the preparation of the first official draft Constitution in Russian history.
Overestimate the importance liberal reforms Alexander 2, which are sometimes called “revolution from above,” is difficult. The result of the reforms of Alexander 2 was the active development of machine production, the emergence of new industries in Russian industry, but not only that. The significance of the reforms is that public life in the country has become more liberal, and the political system has also seriously changed. This naturally led to the intensification of the social movement under Alexander II.
The foreign policy of Alexander 2 was very successful. During his reign, Russia regained its military power, which had been shaken under Nicholas 1. In the spring of 1864 ᴦ. The North Caucasus, where unsuccessful military operations had been going on for a long time, was subordinated. The same year was marked by the subjugation of Turkestan and the pacification of Poland. The war with Turkey of 1877 - 1878 brought glory to Russian weapons. quite significantly increased the territory of the country. But Russia lost Alaska, which was sold to the United States for a relatively small amount of 7 million 200 thousand dollars.
The reign of Alexander 2 was overshadowed by many attempts on his life. The first of these took place in Paris on May 25, 1867. The second assassination attempt took place in St. Petersburg in 1879. This was followed by an attempt to blow up the imperial train on August 26, 1879. and the explosion in the Winter Palace on February 5, 1880.
The great reforms of Alexander 2 were interrupted by his death. March 1, 1881 ᴦ. On that day, Tsar Alexander 2 intended to sign Loris-Melikov’s project of large-scale economic and administrative reforms. The assassination attempt on Alexander 2, committed by the Narodnaya Volya member Grinevitsky, led to his severe injury and the death of the emperor. Thus the reign of Alexander 2 came to an end. His son, Alexander 3, ascended the Russian throne.
Alexander 2 Nikolaevich (born April 17 (29), 1818 - death March 1 (13), 1881) - Russian Emperor(since 1855), (). In Russian history he is known as Alexander II the Liberator.
The eldest son of Nicholas I. Abolished serfdom and carried out a number of reforms: military (making army service compulsory for everyone, but reducing the time of service from 25 to 6 years), judicial, city, zemstvo, (entrusting elected local authorities - the “zemstvo” with schools, hospitals, etc.)
After the Polish uprising of 1863-1864. switched to a reactionary domestic political course. Since the late 1870s, repressions against revolutionaries intensified. During the reign of Alexander 2, the annexation of the territories of the Caucasus (1864), Kazakhstan (1865), and most of Sr. to Russia was completed. Asia (1865-81) A number of attempts were made on the life of Alexander 2 (1866, 1867, 1879, 1880); killed by Narodnaya Volya.
Origin. Upbringing
Alexander 2 Nikolaevich - the eldest son of first the grand ducal, and since 1825, the imperial couple Nicholas I and Alexandra Feodorovna (daughter of the King of Prussia Frederick William III),
Received an excellent education. His main mentor was the Russian poet Vasily Zhukovsky. He managed to raise the future sovereign as an enlightened person, a reformer, and not lacking in artistic taste.
According to many testimonies, in his youth he was quite impressionable and amorous. While in London in 1839, he fell in love with the young Queen Victoria, who would later become the most hated ruler in Europe for him.
Government activities
1834 - Senator. 1835 - member of the Holy Synod. 1841 - member of the State Council, since 1842 - member of the Committee of Ministers. Major General (1836), full general since 1844, commanded the Guards infantry. 1849 - 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.
Years of reign. Reforms 1860-1870
Neither in youth nor in mature age Alexander did not adhere to any particular concept in his views on Russian history and tasks of public administration. When he came to the throne in 1855, he received a difficult legacy. None of the cardinal issues of his father’s 30-year reign (peasant, eastern, Polish, etc.) were resolved; Russia was defeated in the Crimean War. Not being a reformer by vocation or temperament, the emperor happened to become one in response to the needs of the time as a man of sober mind and good will.
His first important decision was the conclusion of the Paris Peace in March 1856. With the accession of Alexander to the throne, a “thaw” came in the socio-political life of Russia. 1856, August - on the occasion of the coronation, he declared an amnesty for the Decembrists, Petrashevites, and participants in the Polish uprising of 1830-1831, and recruitment was suspended for three years. 1857 - military settlements were liquidated.
Realizing the primary importance of resolving the peasant issue, for four years (from the establishment of the Secret Committee of 1857 to the adoption of the law on February 19, 1861) he showed a steady will in striving to abolish serfdom. Adhering to 1857-1858. “Bestsee version” of landless emancipation of peasants, by the end of 1858 he agreed to the purchase of allotment land by peasants into ownership, i.e., to a reform program developed by the liberal bureaucracy, together with like-minded people from among public figures (N.A. Milyutin, Ya. I. Rostovtsev, Yu.F. Samarin, V.A. Cherkassky, etc.). With his support, the following were adopted: Zemstvo Regulations of 1864 and City Regulations of 1870, Judicial Charters of 1864, military reforms of the 1860-1870s, reforms of public education, censorship, and corporal punishment was abolished.
The emperor was unable to resist traditional imperial policies. Decisive victories in Caucasian War were won in the first years of his reign. He gave in to demands for advancement into Central Asia (in 1865-1881, most of Turkestan became part of the Empire). After prolonged resistance, he decided to go to war with Turkey in 1877-1878. After the suppression of the Polish uprising of 1863-1864. and assassination attempts by D.V. Karakozov on his life on April 4, 1866, the sovereign made concessions to the protective course, which were expressed in the appointment of D.A. to senior government posts. Tolstoy, F.F. Trepova, P.A. Shuvalova.
Reforms continued, but rather sluggishly and inconsistently; almost all reform leaders, with rare exceptions, were dismissed. Towards the end of his reign, the emperor was inclined to introduce limited public representation in Russia under the State Council.
Assassination attempts. Death
There were attempts on the life of Alexander 2 several times: D.V. Karakozov, Polish emigrant A. Berezovsky May 25, 1867 in Paris, A.K. Soloviev on April 2, 1879 in St. Petersburg. 1879, August 26 - by the executive committee “ People's Will” a decision was made to kill the sovereign (an attempt to blow up the emperor’s train near Moscow on November 19, 1879, an explosion in the Winter Palace, which was carried out by S.N. Khalturin on February 5, 1880)
To protect state order and fight the revolutionary movement, a Supreme Administrative Commission was created. However, this could not prevent his violent death. 1881, March 1 - the sovereign was mortally wounded on the embankment of the Catherine Canal in St. Petersburg by a bomb thrown by Narodnaya Volya member I.I. Grinevitsky. He was killed precisely on the day when he decided to give way to M.T.’s constitutional project. Loris-Melikova, telling his sons Alexander (the future emperor) and Vladimir: “I do not hide from myself that we are following the path of the constitution.” Great reforms remained unfinished.
Personal life
Men from the Romanov dynasty were no different at all marital fidelity, however, Alexander Nikolaevich stood out even among them, constantly changing favorites.
The first time he was married (from 1841) to Princess Maximilian Wilhelmina Augusta Sophia Maria of Hesse-Darmstadt (in Orthodoxy Maria Alexandrovna, 1824-1880). Children from his first marriage sons: Nicholas, Alexander III, Vladimir, Alexey, Sergey, Pavel; daughters: Alexandra, Maria.
At the end of the 1870s. An amazing picture emerged: the sovereign lived in two families, not particularly trying to hide this fact. This, of course, was not reported to the subjects, but members of the royal family, high-ranking dignitaries, and courtiers knew this very well. Moreover, the emperor even settled his favorite Ekaterina Dolgorukova with her children in the Winter Palace, in separate chambers, but next to her legal wife and children.
After the death of his wife, without waiting for the end of a year of mourning, Alexander II entered into (from 1880) a morganatic marriage with Princess Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgoruka (Princess Yuryevskaya), with whom he had a relationship since 1866, from this marriage there were four children. In 1880, from his personal funds, he donated 1 million rubles to establish a hospital in memory of the late empress.
Selling Alaska
What Alexander Nikolaevich has always been blamed for is the sale of Alaska to America. The main claims were that the rich region, which brought furs to Russia, and with more careful research could become a gold mine, was sold to the United States for some 11 million royal rubles. The truth is that after the Crimean War, Russia simply did not have the resources to develop such a distant region, and besides, the Far East was a priority.
In addition, even during the reign of Nicholas, the Governor-General eastern Siberia Nikolai Muravyov-Amursky presented the emperor with a report on the necessary strengthening of ties with the United States, which sooner or later would raise the question of expanding its influence in this region, which was strategically important for America.
The emperor returned to this issue only when the state needed money for reforms. Alexander 2 had a choice - either to solve pressing problems of people and the state, or to dream about the long-term prospect of the possible development of Alaska. The choice turned out to be on the side of pressing issues. 1867, March 30 - at four o'clock in the morning, Alaska became the property of America.
LECTURE XX
(Start)
Crimean War and its significance. – Characteristics of Emperor Alexander Nikolaevich. – His upbringing and his political views and tastes. - The influence of the Crimean War on him. - The first steps of his reign. – The mood of society and its attitude towards Alexander in 1855–1856. – Conclusion of Peace and Manifesto March 19, 1856 – Speech to the nobility in Moscow.
Alexander II. Photo circa 1870
The military failures experienced by Russia in the Crimean campaign, which revealed in the eyes of everyone the inconsistency of Nicholas's policy, were, as we know, an event predicted back in 1847 by Nikolai Turgenev. To predict this in 1847, one had to have considerable insight and a deep understanding of the general course of affairs in Russia and Europe. Before the Crimean War, the power of the Russian government seemed colossal, and even the correctness of its system seemed almost indisputable not only in the eyes of Emperor Nicholas himself, but also of everyone around him, including the heir to the throne Alexander Nikolaevich, the future Tsar-liberator. After the rapid suppression of the Hungarian uprising by the superior forces of Paskevich, the military power of Russia seemed enormous in Europe, and it is surprising how easily this power collapsed at the first clash with the regular forces of civilized states, although these forces were not very significant at all. However, our combat unpreparedness began to be revealed even when we had only Turkey as the enemy. We couldn't defeat her right away either. Our unpreparedness for a serious war became even clearer when England, France, and then Sardinia joined Turkey.
As a matter of fact, despite the apparent impressiveness of the coalition, the allies landed few troops; the then means of sea transportation limited their ability to land a very large army, and the Allies landed only about 70 thousand troops. But although Nikolai Pavlovich’s army in general had about a million people, we could not cope with these seventy thousand - partly due to the chaotic state of the military economy and the backwardness of our weapons, partly due to the lack of convenient means of communication, partly due to the amazing lack of those trained and accustomed to conducting business independently military leaders and generals. The supply of the Sevastopol army was carried out in the same ways and means as the supply of the army in 1812; the number of carts and vehicles required, the number of oxen and horses was enormous and disproportionate to the amount of supplies that were delivered. Under the weight of this duty, our southern provinces were exhausted and ruined, and the army suffered from a lack of everything. The unrest was intensified by terrible theft and all sorts of abuses, which greatly increased the inevitable government expenses.
Medical and sanitary units were also poorly supplied, and the fight against diseases that especially developed in the south was carried out very poorly. Our strategic plans did not stand up to criticism. Then the most powerful person in the military sphere was Paskevich and he spoiled quite a lot, since, fearing an invasion from Austria, which, in gratitude for the help provided to it by Nicholas in 1849, kept its troops ready to join the enemies of Russia, Paskevich slowed down sending auxiliary military forces to Crimea. Prince V.I. Vasilchikov ( former boss headquarters in Sevastopol) definitely said that if Paskevich had not delayed sending aid, then Sevastopol could have been defended. The actions of other ground commanders were below any criticism: they could not show any initiative, any independence. Only the troops themselves rose to the occasion in terms of endurance and courage, which showed up in full force, and few representatives of the fleet, educated in the school of Admiral Lazarev, showed enough heroism and enterprise. But the annoyance of our failures was all the more emphasized, because with such Have a good mood With relatively small enemy forces, we could not defeat him on our own territory, and the glory of Russian weapons, which we had become accustomed to being proud of since the time of Catherine, darkened unusually quickly. Nikolai Pavlovich himself, who in the past loved to end his manifestos with arrogant exclamations, as, for example, in 1848: “God is with us! Understand the heathen and submit, for God is with us!” - was now forced to understand the inconsistency of that system, which until recently he considered completely correct, to which he devoted all his strength and thanks to which he was inclined to consider himself a great historical figure. Nikolai Pavlovich felt that he was leaving an inheritance to his son in an upset manner. It is known that, blessing Alexander on his deathbed, he said: “I am handing over the command to you not in good order.”
At this time, of course, the eyes were opened to the inconsistency of this system and everyone thinking people in Russia, since the impressive events that took place forced one to give oneself a correct assessment that could not be distorted or rejected.
As for Nikolai Pavlovich, we can say that he died just in time, because if after the Sevastopol campaign he had still had to reign, then he would have had to abandon, first of all, his thirty-year-old system of government, and abandoning it was everything for him is the same as abandoning oneself. In this respect, death was a blessing for him. Even those close to him were aware of this...
The heir to the throne, Alexander Nikolaevich, however, was also completely unprepared for the reform activities that lay ahead of him. In Russian historical literature, there are quite a few false legends and incorrect concepts in this regard.
In general, the personality of Alexander II, the Tsar-Liberator, thanks to historians-panegyrists and naive memoirists-contemporaries, is usually presented as the personality of an ideological reformer, humanely minded, who wanted, so to speak, due to internal motives and inclinations, to carry out the reforms that he had to carry out. All this is completely wrong, and it seems to me to be especially important in this case to free the actual course of events from false ideas, since these ideas obscure the true course of the process, the study of which is ours. main task. Alexander Nikolaevich’s teacher, however, was a humane man – Zhukovsky; he very much wanted to instill in Alexander his humane views on the tasks of government, but it would be a mistake to imagine Zhukovsky as some kind of liberal. He was simply an honest and extremely kind man, and he wanted to prepare a good sovereign from Alexander, like Henry IV, especially in those features in which Zhukovsky could then imagine such sovereigns as Henry IV. Zhukovsky acted extremely boldly in his field: he did not hesitate to directly declare to Alexander’s parents that if they want him to emerge not as a regimental commander, but as an enlightened monarch, and so that in his fatherland he sees not a barracks, but a nation, then they need to remove him from that parade-ground atmosphere that dominated the court of that time. And it must be said that Alexander’s mother listened sympathetically to such thoughts and that even Nikolai Pavlovich allowed Zhukovsky to express them and, apparently, listened to them patiently and condescendingly. However, in the end, the ideas of Nikolai Pavlovich himself prevailed, and he definitely stated that the future emperor must be made, first of all, a military man. He believed that this was necessary, that without this Alexander “will be lost in this century...” True, Nikolai Pavlovich believed that the military situation in which he himself was once brought up was not suitable for a military man; he wanted his son to be a truly military man, well understanding the real military, and not the parade ground, and with a corresponding character, but in this regard he was powerless to raise Alexander even like that, and in the end it was the parade ground ideals that triumphed . From childhood, Alexander received a great inclination towards these parade-ground ideals; He was extremely flattered that even as a boy of ten he could prance well, could pronounce command words well and smartly ride in a ceremonial march in front of his grandfather, the Prussian king, in Berlin. Subsequently, these inclinations and feelings were deeply rooted in him, and he became not an adherent of the ideas of his teacher Zhukovsky, although, perhaps, he received from him a general inclination towards goodness, but a perfect son of his father, and when in the early 40s he , already a mature man, was introduced to public administration, then he turned out to be one of the staunch admirers of Nikolai Pavlovich’s system, despite the fact that he, as the heir, received information about the negative results of this system more easily than Nikolai himself. He never tried to take a critical point of view in relation to this system. On the contrary, as Nikolai Pavlovich granted him more power in various state affairs, he more and more declared himself a supporter of his father’s system.
It must even be said that when a period of sharp reaction began in 1848, the reactionary mood that gripped Nikolai Pavlovich gripped Alexander no less strongly. A significant part of the reactionary measures of that time were carried out with the participation and even sometimes on the initiative of Alexander Nikolaevich. For example, even the famous Buturlin Committee was organized not without his direct participation.
When Nikolai Pavlovich issued the famous manifesto on March 14, 1848, full of strange threats towards the enemy, who was not then attacking Russia at all, Alexander gathered the commanders of the guards regiments and together with them gave an enthusiastic ovation for this manifesto.
It should be added that in relation to the peasant cause, Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich was even more to the right than Nicholas, and in all the committees on peasant affairs in which he had to participate, he invariably supported the landowners' rights and interests.
Therefore, when he ascended the throne, people close to the court thought that now a real noble era would begin. Opponents of serfdom expressed regret that now all hope for movement on the peasant question was lost (as can be seen from the correspondence of Nikolai Milyutin with Kavelin); on the contrary, the serf owners were ready to triumph: they knew that Alexander was a definite enemy of the inventories carried out in the South-Western region; they knew that it was thanks to him that in 1853 they managed to protect the Lithuanian provinces from the extension of Bibikov’s inventory rules to them, despite the fact that Bibikov was then the Minister of Internal Affairs and that these rules were approved by Emperor Nicholas for Lithuania on December 22, 1852. It was precisely on this basis that a quarrel arose between Alexander and Bibikov, and when Alexander ascended the throne, it was Bibikov who was the first minister to fail. Bibikov was an adherent of the Nikolaev system and a great tyrant, but in the eyes of everyone he lost his place not as such, but as a person who stood on the side of the peasants in the peasant issue, contrary to the point of view of Alexander himself.
Thus, you see that the personal tastes and personal beliefs and prejudices of Emperor Alexander did not seem to bode well for the impending reforms and, in particular, for the most important of them - the abolition of serfdom. It seems to me important to highlight this circumstance because it especially clearly depicts the strength, indisputability and irresistibility of the course of things that was taking place at that time; it is very important to find out that the reforms took place in in this case not because of the sovereign’s desire for them, but almost contrary to his convictions, and he had to give in to the developing socio-political process, since he saw that if he fought this process, as his father fought, it could lead to collapse the entire state. That is why I consider it necessary to emphasize that all these reforms did not begin at all because of the humane ideas that Zhukovsky invested in young Alexander Nikolaevich. Alexander became a supporter of reforms not because of his sympathy for the people who pronounced their Annibal oaths against serfdom in the 40s, but because of his firmly realized conviction in the era of the Crimean War of the need for radical changes - for the sake of preserving and strengthening the power of the Russian state, which otherwise, as has already become clear from the events of the Crimean War, it would have been completely undermined by the course of things. This, of course, does not at all detract from his merits and makes it even more important and more valuable, since he was able to steadfastly, courageously and honestly carry out this matter, despite all its difficulties and not relying on his inner inclinations and sympathies, but standing solely on point of view of the state need recognized by him.
It must be said that the attack on reforms could not be started immediately. Alexander came to the throne on February 19, 1855 in the midst of the war, and the first thing he had to liquidate was the Crimean War. All the forces and thoughts of the government and society were aimed at ending the difficult war and concluding peace, which was finally made possible by some of the successes of the Russian troops in the Caucasus and especially their resilience in Sevastopol. This made it possible, due to the exhaustion of the allies themselves, to begin peace negotiations that would not be too shameful for Russia. After the capture of Kars, these negotiations were begun, and soon a peace was concluded, which was not as painful for us as might have been feared due to the defeats we experienced.
After the conclusion of peace, in March 1856, the opportunity arose to turn to the correction of internal affairs. During the war, in this regard, Alexander could take only a few steps that did not require special effort, but outlining his new progressive mood in the eyes of everyone. The abolition of the Buturlin Committee, the permission of the free issuance of foreign passports and the abolition of restrictions introduced in universities after 1848 had such significance.
Society at that moment reacted to these first glimpses of liberal politics in exactly the same way as society at the beginning of the reign of Alexander I treated his first steps. The mood was completely optimistic, unusually rosy and complacent. Society, which had experienced terrible oppression for a whole thirty years and had previously been weakened by the destruction of its best part in the person of the Decembrists, was, of course, very humiliated and not accustomed to freely expressing its thoughts. The dominant feeling was that of liberation from the oppression of the Nicholas regime and that expectation of a more liberal policy, which was supported by Alexander's first measures.
Therefore, the significance of these first steps of the government was such that Alexander’s personality immediately received the aura of a sincere supporter and friend of liberal reforms. Any hitch and stop in this type of government activity was by no means blamed on the young monarch and was immediately attributed to the intrigues and hostility of the dignitaries surrounding him. At the same time, in society itself, at first, there was very little inclination towards self-activity and initiative. Accustomed to waiting for everything from above, society now expected everything from the progressive government, not at all trying to secure for itself any rights to participate in state affairs. It is remarkable that the programs that emanated from society at that time were completely unanimous - whether they belonged to moderate liberals, like Granovsky, who died in October 1855, or to future radicals, like Chernyshevsky, or to unconditionally free and experienced politicians in the time of the European storms of 1848 to people like Herzen, who lived on complete freedom in London, beyond any pressure of Russian conditions. All these programs sought, as Chernyshevsky modestly formulated it in 1856, for the same thing: everyone wanted to spread education, increase the number of teachers and students, improve censorship conditions (they did not even dare to dream of a complete abolition of censorship), construction railways- the most important means for the development of industry, and finally, the “reasonable distribution of economic forces,” which meant the abolition of serfdom, but which was not yet allowed to be spoken about openly.
In handwritten notes of that time, this was expressed more directly: they said that one of the first needs was the abolition of serfdom, but even here this was expressed extremely modestly; namely: the desirability of the gradual abolition of serfdom without shaking the country was indicated, as Granovsky expressed it in a note published in 1856 by Herzen in Voices from Russia.
Herzen himself expressed himself much more vividly and much more directly, in the inspired language in which he was accustomed to write and express himself, without submitting to any censorship restrictions in London. But his program was also very modest - he expressed it in his famous letter to Alexander II, published in the first book of the Polar Star in 1855. Here Herzen said that the urgent needs of Russia are: the liberation of the peasants from the landowners, the liberation of the tax-paying classes from beatings and liberation of the press from censorship. Herzen did not go further - he only wanted relief from oppression and did not yet demand even constitutional guarantees.
This was the mood of Russian society at the very beginning of the reign of Alexander II in 1855–1856.
As we have seen, Emperor Alexander II, despite the fact that since 1848 he was gripped by a very reactionary mood, despite the fact that he had previously been, apparently, a convinced admirer of his father’s system, realized at the time of the Crimean campaign that radical transformations are necessary and that among these transformations, the largest and first in time should undoubtedly be the abolition of serfdom. But while the war lasted, no serious work in this direction was possible; all the attention of both the government and society was then focused on the fate of Sevastopol. While the war continued, all the thoughts and all the forces of the country were concentrated on the question of the outcome of the war. But this did not prevent the government from issuing a number of decrees that were of a negatively liberal nature and amounted to the abolition of reactionary decrees and regulations recent years the reign of Nikolai Pavlovich, because these orders did not require any development. Alexander Nikolaevich made a number of such orders in the very first months of his reign, and thus society could, as we have already noted, immediately get some idea of the liberal and progressive tendencies of the new emperor, and those circles of society that were inclined to imagine him as a reformer became even more confirmed in their ideas and in their optimistic aspirations..
However, Alexander himself did not yet have a deliberate program of reforms at that moment. Actually, his first programmatic statement can be considered those rather vague final words that were placed in the peace manifesto. They then attracted everyone's attention. Since the Paris Peace Treaty was concluded after an unfortunate war and with the internal disorder of Russia revealed, one could expect major concessions on our part to European powers hostile to us. In the end, these concessions were not as great as might have been feared. Our diplomacy managed to defend relatively honorable peace terms, taking advantage of the disagreements and misunderstandings that arose between Napoleon III and England. Napoleon III, who started the war in order to weaken the power of Russia, considered it necessary to set a certain practical goal for this campaign, and this goal he set as the liberation of Poland or its return to a semi-independent constitutional order. In this he relied on the Congress of Vienna and the Constitution of 1815, and he thoroughly thought that if Poland was restored by the will of the European powers, prescribed to Russia, then this would be an important political precedent for the obvious intervention of European powers in the internal affairs and relations of the Russian Empire, which, of course, would mark its political weakening.
But the English government was not inclined to energetically intervene in the Polish question, and when Napoleon saw this, he greatly moderated his previous warlike ardor and quite easily inclined to negotiate with Russia, even starting to cast appropriate baits where influential Russian diplomats were located - wishing in this way to provoke initiative in opening peace negotiations on the Russian side. Prince A. M. Gorchakov, who was then still envoy in Vienna, very successfully formulated our mood with a very witty phrase that Russia, being necessarily mute, will not, however, be deaf, i.e. that although we should formally begin peace negotiations , as the party that failed, it is awkward, but we will not shy away from them at all. Thus, the negotiations began insensitively, and perhaps, given Napoleon’s mood at that time, they would have led to even more favorable results for us if Austria had not intervened, which at this moment continued to ignore the services rendered to it by Nicholas in 1849 ., quite seriously spoiled our international chances and significantly reduced the success of our diplomacy; but still, in the end, the Paris Congress, which met as a result of these negotiations at the beginning of 1856, ended relatively well for us. In any case, of the two demands of Russian diplomacy - firstly, that no indemnity be imposed, which was considered especially humiliating for a great power, even regardless of the grave financial consequences of such a measure for us, and, secondly, that there should be no derogation our territory - the first was achieved, but the mouth of the Danube, contrary to the second demand, still had to be ceded to Romania.
Announcing to everyone the conditions of the concluded peace, Alexander at the end of the manifesto said that these concessions are not important in comparison with the hardships of war and the benefits of peace and concluded the manifesto with the following significant words: “With the help of Heavenly Providence, which has always benefited Russia, let it be established and improved. its internal improvement; Let truth and mercy reign in her courts; May the desire for enlightenment and all useful activities develop everywhere and with renewed vigor, and may everyone, under the shadow of laws that are equally fair for everyone and equally protective for everyone, enjoy in the world the fruits of the labors of innocents...”
The program of internal reforms implied in these words was fully consistent with the mood of Russian society and its aspirations and hopes, which awoke with the change of reign.
The last words of the above phrase quite clearly hinted at the coming equalization in the position of the various classes and could, of course, be interpreted as a hint at the abolition or limitation of serfdom. These words naturally caused great alarm among the serf owners of that time. Therefore, Count Zakrevsky, the Moscow governor-general, one of the enemies of the planned transformations, asked Alexander, while he was in Moscow, to reassure the nobility regarding the alarming rumors that were spreading at that time. Alexander agreed, but at the same time made a speech that neither Zakrevsky nor other people surrounding the emperor expected. Alexander said that he did not think of abolishing serfdom immediately, so to speak, with one stroke of the pen, but that it was obviously impossible to remain in the current situation and that it was better to abolish serfdom from above than to wait until it began to abolish itself from below, and finished indicating that the nobility should think about how to fulfill these words.
This speech was so unexpected for everyone that even the Minister of Internal Affairs Lanskoy, when he was told about it, did not believe it at first and became convinced only when Alexander himself told him about it, adding that he not only really made this speech, but that he doesn’t regret what he said.
All the above circumstances are quite well clarified in the writings of military historians: General M. I. Bogdanovich"Eastern War 1853–1856". St. Petersburg, 1877 (especially volumes II–IV) and General A M. Zayonchkovsky"Eastern War 1853–1856" in the modern political situation", volume I, in which the state of the Russian army at the beginning of this war is clarified.
Apparently, even Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Compare at Barsukova information received from spheres close to the royal family: “The life and works of M. P. Pogodin.” T. XIII. P. 392. I cited this information in my book “The Social Movement under Alexander II (1855–1881).” M„ 1909. P. 14.
These negotiations are detailed in the book Tatishcheva"Emperor Alexander II, his life and reign." St. Petersburg, 1903, vol. I, pp. 174–206.
For the text of this speech, see the notes Y. A. Solovyova in "Russian" antiquity" for 1881, vol. XXVII, pp. 228–229.
