Emperor Alexander II "the Liberator"

[DrakeRlugia]

He abolished serfdom, but the former-serfs came under conditions worse than when they were serfs. When they were slaves, atleast they knew they'd have food, but after abolishment, many suffered from starvation and the such.

I believe he was an average tsar compared to some of the others. He wasn't great..but he wasn't horrible.

[Dominic_Albanese]

A couple of other thoughts come to mind related to him being considered "great" or not.

(1) His successors (especially his son) were deeply embarassed by his taking a 2nd wife and his morality in general.  I've often wondered if there embarassment of his actions had anything to do with Alexander III and Nicholas II being so true to their spouses and families.  Sunsquent family members did very little to propogate his greatness.  His son immediately reversed some of the decisions he took just prior to his death and it is well known that Alexander III was against much of what Alexander II did professionally late in his reign.  In other words, the family did little to extend the idea of Alexander II being "Great" and with the extinction of the dynasty, subsquent generations weren't able to propogate that concept either.  If you think back to Alexander I and Nicholas I they both actively venerated the greatness of their grandmother (Catherine I) while saying and doing very little for their father (Paul I).

(2) For more than 70 years Imperial Russian History and the Romanov family in general were not of much interest to historians.  It was only with the fall of the Soviet Union that scholars were able to access Imperial Russian archives in the (defunct) soviet union.  If you think about it, outside of the interest in Nicholas & Alexandra and there generation there still hasn't been much written about the Romanov family.  It seems to me that a good, thorough biography of Alexander II and/or Alexander III is long over due.

My .02!

best,
dca

[Belochka]

 It seems to me that a good, thorough biography of Alexander II and/or Alexander III is long over due. dca

I have a  biography on Alexander II and a few on Alexander III, however they are in the Russian language.

A compendium of books were released on each Russian Emperor (Empresses) since Peter the First several years ago as part of the Romanovii Dynasty series.

Such tomes await translation into English.

However I am inclined to agree with your contention that Alexander II despite his efforts to liberate the serfs, was deliberately ignored by his son and grandson because of Alexander II's perceived transgressions that appeared to affect the dignity of the Imperial Court.

One could assume that such conduct affected the Emperor's public obligation, whereby personal pleasure was seen to be be more important than self-sacrifice. Consequently Alexander II's authority as the "all powerfull autocrat" was seen to be less persuasive.

Such a perception was immediately turned around by Alexander III, who tightened his grip on authority, and including his own personal life.    

[Dominic_Albanese]

I have a  biography on Alexander II and a few on Alexander III, however they are in the Russian language.

A compendium of books were released on each Russian Emperor (Empresses) since Peter the First several years ago as part of the Romanovii Dynasty series.

Such tomes await translation into English.

Yes, for me that is a problem -- There are days that I have trouble enough reading english - let alone a new foreign language!

Was there anything new in the Bio's on Alexander III that might suprise us?  He is a particular enigma to me.

thanks
dca

[Belochka]

Was there anything new in the Bio's on Alexander III that might suprise us?  He is a particular enigma to me.
dca

To answer your question would be difficult since I am unaware what you know about Alexander II.

I personally admire him for what he attempted to achieve for his nation.

[dvoretzky]

A monument to Alexander II is being dedicated today in Moscow.

[Fawzia]

He abolished serfdom, but the former-serfs came under conditions worse than when they were serfs. When they were slaves, atleast they knew they'd have food, but after abolishment, many suffered from starvation and the such.

I definitely agree.   He may have been the Tsar Liberator, but liberated to go on to what?  :-/   There may have been some exceptions, some success stories, but overall.... :-/   Pretty dire circumstances.  

[Janet_W.]

The more I read about Alexander II, the more I admire him.

Yes, the love affair that turned into his second marriage was in many respects an embarrassment and a trial to his children and other family members. And yes, certain aspects of that affair are difficult to condone.

But as a Tsar he was thoughtful and forward-thinking. While we in the States study and admire Abraham Lincoln--and well we should!--Alexander II, on the other side of the world, wanted to liberate the serfs from a situation which, in many ways, paralleled the despicable enslavement of Negroes in the United States.

Alexander II was a human being who made mistakes. But he did his best. It is not his fault that the son who succeeded him was such a Neanderthal. And, as most of us know, a major reason behind the assassination of Alexander II was to destroy the man who would have curtailed revolution. The anarchists knew that once Alexander II was gone his reactionary son would bring Russia back to a ferment, allowing them to move ahead with their plans.

[hikaru]

Ystdy, near Moscow's Saviour's Cathedral was opened the Big  New Monument of Alexandr II.

[Mike]

A few photos of the opening ceremony may be viewed here. The statue resembles that of the pre-revolutionary Kremlin monument, but other parts, like the colonnade, look different.

[Dimitri]

Can I ask you to what extent did Alexander II's legal reforms challenge autocracy? It is for my nephews school project, I would be thankful for any help.

[ilyala]

in 1879 a doctor named Aleksandr Soloviev fired five times a gun into the emperror, from a short distance. there was also a tentative of blowing up the imperial train on the 19th of october 1879 and in february 1880 a terrorist bomb exploded in the banquet hall of the winter palace. these events made Alexander considering reforming time has come. he named as head of the administrative supreme comity the count general Mihail Loris-Melikov and invested him with dictatorial powers. Loris-Melikov believed that imediate repressions combined with constructive reforms would stabilise the political situation. he relaxed the censorship, he removed some restrictions about the zemstva activity and he abolished the salt taxes. that managed to reduce a little the political tensions. most unpopular conservative ministers were removed from the government, like Dmitri Tolstoi. the third section was removed also in august 1880 and its functions were taken over by the internal minister, which was again Loris-Melikov.

in may 1880 Maria Alexandrovna died. a few weeks later Alexander married his mistress and defied the church laws among with his family's wishes. Katia was not satisfied with her status as a morganatic wife. Loris-Melikov suggested that maybe the political liberalization could convince the public to accept Katia as an empress. he proposed the creation of a system of preparatorial comities who would sketch a kind of a law about some imperial problems. on the 28th of january 1881, Alexander accepted these suggestions which were pretty far from a constitution, but were the first step in that direction. he took it as a good sign the fact that no-one had tried to kill him in about a year, which meant that the reforms had the right effect. these proposals were meant to be presented to the council of ministers on the 4th of march 1881. on the 1st of march Alexander was asasinated.

in general, the reforms of Loris-Melikov managed to alienate the conservative people, but did not have the support of the liberals either. Alexander was autocrat in name only because he had to rely on his ministers. when he was assasinated, the authority of the conservative people was again in full force and his son removed all reforms that were planned.

[ZarevnaOlga]

Alexander II. Nikolajewitsch

[ZarevnaOlga]

Alexander II. with his sons (the left Alexander)


Alexander II. and Maria Alexandrowna on theit silver marriage day (is this so in English?)

[ZarevnaOlga]

Alexander II.