Alexander II of Russia
1818 – 1881 Russian Emperor of Russia who freed the serfs
The 'Tsar Liberator' who freed the serfs and was killed by revolutionaries.
- Religion
- Russian Orthodox; the Church remained a central prop of the autocracy through his reforms.
- Affiliations
- House of Romanov; emancipated the serfs in 1861; assassinated by the People's Will in 1881.
Alexander II carried out the great reforms of the 1860s, above all the emancipation of some twenty-three million serfs in 1861. He modernized the courts, army, and local government, but rising radical movements were not satisfied. He was killed by a bomb thrown by members of the People's Will in 1881.
Connections
- family of Alexander III of Russia — His father, whose reforms he reversed.
- family of Alexander III of Russia — His son, who reacted against his reforms after his murder.
- family of Nicholas I of Russia — His father and predecessor.
- family of Nicholas I of Russia — His son and successor, the reforming tsar.