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Top 10 Facts about Alexander II, Russia

Alexander II was emperor of Russia, king of congress Poland and Grand duke of Finland from 2nd march 1853 until his assassination.

Alexander was responsible for many reforms, including emancipating serfs, imposing universal military service, and promoting university education.

He was born in Moscow and was the eldest son of Nicholas I of Russia and Charlotte of Prussia.

The education of Alexander as the future emperor took place under the supervision of liberal romantic poet and gifted translator Vasily Zhukovisky.

Alexander grasped many subjects and became familiar with the chief modern European languages.

Get to discover the top 10 interesting facts about Alexander II.

1. He brought emancipation reforms

Alexander II’s major reform was the emancipation of Russian serfs in 1861, which made him known as alexander the liberator.

The reforms abolished serfdom on private estates throughout the Russian empire, and serfs gained the full rights of free citizens.

The serfs now had the right to own property, a business and marry without gaining consent.

In all the provinces where serfdom existed, emancipation committees were formed. Emancipation contained completed problems that profoundly affected the nation’s economic, social and political future.

Alexander had to choose between measures recommended to him and decide f the serfs would become agricultural labourers dependent economically and administratively on the landlords or serfs would be transformed into a class of independent communal proprietors.

Alexander supported the latter project, and the Russian peasantry became one of the last groups of peasants in Europe to shake off serfdom.

2. Alexander military reforms

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Alexander’s military reforms included universal conscription for all social classes on 1 January 1874. In 1861 conscription was compulsory and enforced only for the peasantry.

Conscription had been 25 years for serfs who were drafted by their landowners, which was widely considered a life sentence.

Other military reforms included extending the reserve forces and the military district system. This system split Russian states into 15 military districts.

Corporal punishment in the military and branding of soldiers as punishment were banned. Most of the military reforms were enacted as a result of the poor showing in the Crimean war.,

3. Alexander judicial reform

 The introduction of new judicial administration occurred in 1864. the reforms included the French model, which introduced security of tenure.

A new penal code and a greatly simplified civil and criminal procedure system also came into operation.

The reforms of the judiciary included trial in open court, with judges appointed for life, a jury system and the creation of justice of the peace to deal with minor offences at the local level.

Sir Henry Maine credited Alexander II with the first great attempt since the time of Grotius to codify and humanize war usage.

4. He survived assassination attempts but was killed by an assassin

Alexander II tomb. Photo by Richard Mortel on

Political disturbance grew a lot during alexanders reign, and revolutionaries started using terrorist attacks in their struggle for power.

In 1867 during the world fair, immigrant Antoni Berezowski attacked his carriage. Alexander was with his two sons and Napoleon II in the carriage. The pistol misfired and stuck a horse.

After four failed assassination attempts, on 1 March 1881 member of the organization “Narodnaya Volya” bombed his carriage while travelling through St. Petersburg.

Alexander died several hours later from wounds sustained during the attack. Where the emperor’s blood spilled was erected by the saviour’s church, but it’s the symbol of St. Petersburg.

5. Alexander sold Alaska to the united state

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The Alaska colony was losing money and would be impossible to defend in wartime against Britain.

In 1867 Russia sold Alaska to the united state for $7.2 million. The Russian administrators, soldiers, settlers and some of the priests returned home.

Others stayed to minister to their native parishioners, who remained members of the Russian orthodox church into the 21st century.

6. Alexander rejected a parliament

Alexander came to power in 1855, after Russia’s defeat in the Crimean war. He took the loss as an indication that Russia was lagging behind the European powers and that some management changes were necessary.

Alexander firmly believed he had the God-given duty to rule as an autocrat and that he alone understood the best interest of all of the people of Russia.

He, therefore, rejected any idea of a constitution that would limit his authority and rejected any parliament or duma that would take over some of the responsibilities that he alone could perform.

7. Censorship and glasnost

In 1858, alexander removed most of the censorship restrictions on the Media resulting in an explosion of a new publications.

Alexander achieved a degree of glasnost or open discussion as the new media were often filled with discussions of reforms that were urgently needed.

8. He was successful in education reforms

Before 1860 Russia had a scattershot education program that featured a few good universities but many limitations in every other area.

In 1863 main reforms came in; they extended popular education, opened secondary schools to women and allowed some women to audit universities course.

The universities obtained more autonomy, but small-scale student protests erupted, and universities were returned to closer supervision,

In 1864 laws reformed secondary schools along the lines typical in France and Prussia. The elementary school were regulated to emphasize religious teaching by orthodox priests.

9. Alexander marriage life

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In 1839 alexander visited London and fell in love with the young Queen Victoria, but political reasons wouldn’t permit the match, and Alexander returned to Russia.

Later alexander married a German princess, maria of Hesse, in 1841, and they had eight children, including the future emperor Alexander II.

After Maria’s death, alexander married his mistress, princess Catherine Dolgorukova with whom he already had four children.

10. He was responsible for numerous reforms

Alexander abolished capital punishment, promoted local self-government through the Zemstvo, imposed universal military service and ended the privileges of the nobility.

In 1872, he joined Germany and Austria in the three emperors’ leagues that stabilized the European situation. Alexander’s death caused a significant setback for the reform movement.