Alexander II
1818 – 1881 Russian Emperor of Russia
The reforming tsar who freed the serfs and was assassinated by revolutionaries in 1881.
- Religion
- Russian Orthodox
- Affiliations
- House of Romanov
Alexander II is remembered as the tsar liberator for abolishing serfdom in 1861, freeing tens of millions of peasants, though the terms left many poor and burdened with redemption payments. He reformed the courts, local government, and the military, and sold Alaska to the United States. His reign also saw the conquest of Central Asia and the completion of the long war in the Caucasus. Reform did not satisfy a rising revolutionary movement, and in 1881 he was killed by a bomb thrown by members of People's Will, after which his successors turned to repression.
Connections
- family of Nicholas II — His grandfather, the reforming tsar.
- family of Nicholas II — His grandson, the last of the Romanov emperors.
In the timeline
- 1861 Emancipation of the Serfs the reforming tsar
- 1861 Russia abolishes serfdom mentioned
- 1864 End of the Caucasian War the reigning tsar
- 1865 – 1885 Russian Conquest of Central Asia the reigning tsar
- 1867 Sale of Alaska the selling tsar
- 1881 Assassination of Alexander II the assassinated tsar
- 1881 Assassination of Tsar Alexander II, 1881 central figure
- 1881 Russian Okhrana established as tsarist secret police mentioned
- 1881 – 1882 Pogroms sweep the south after the tsar's murder mentioned