Alexander II (Russia)

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Emperor Alexander II of Russia
Signature Alexander II (Russia) .PNG

. Alexander II Nikolaevich ( Russian Александр Николаевич II * 17 . Jul / 29. April  1818 greg. In Moscow ; † 1. jul. / 13. March  1881 greg. In Saint Petersburg ) was 1855-1881 Emperor of Russia from the House Romanow-Holstein-Gottorp .

Because of the so-called " Great Reforms ", especially because of the abolition of serfdom during his reign, his contemporaries gave Alexander II the nickname "Tsar Liberator" (Russian Oswoboditel).

Childhood and upbringing

Alexander II was born in 1818 as the son of Emperor Nicholas I and Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna in Moscow's Kremlin Palace. His succession to the throne has  never been in doubt since he was eight years old - unlike most of his predecessors on the Russian throne since Peter I. In accordance with the customs at the Russian court, Alexander, like all grand dukes, was destined for an officer career and was trained accordingly. A professional soldier and veteran from the Napoleonic wars , namely the line officer Karl Merder of German descent, was responsible for the main features of the upbringing from the age of seven . Merder, who had previously proven his pedagogical skills as a teacher in a cadet corps, was almost constantly in the immediate vicinity of Alexander for over ten years and also accompanied him on his trips abroad. At the request of the Empress Vasily Zhukovsky stepped alongside Merder . The empress's liberal poet and reader took on the role of mentor and tutor. Both educators, who were mainly responsible, ensured that Alexander on the one hand acquired state-political tools, but on the other hand was also able to develop a developed personality. As the actual teachers in the respective subjects, the educators entrusted excellent scientists and in some cases the most important contemporary Russian politicians, such as the leading minister of Alexander I , Michail Speranski . It is noteworthy that, as in the case of Speranski, men were entrusted with the training of the heir to the throne, who stood in contrast to the extremely reactionary policies of Nicholas I. At the age of 16, on April 17, 1834, Alexander was officially proclaimed heir to the throne.

Alexander II as a child, painted by George Dawe (1827)

In 1839 Alexander II met his future wife, Princess Marie of Hesse and the Rhine , who was only 15 years old at the time. The wedding took place on April 4th . / April 16, 1841 greg. instead of. Even against the considerable resistance at the Tsar's court and even diplomatic interventions, Alexander won his election. Surprisingly, he had found support from his father, who was despotic on political issues and who obviously did not want to stand in his son's way on this issue, even though the marriage was considered "politically inexpedient". In 1842 their first daughter Alexandra (1842–1849) was born.

Alexander's character is assessed ambiguously: on the one hand, he is described as peaceful, wise and benevolent with a clear sense of the good, on the other hand, he was also seen by his own educators as arrogant, fickle, little active and - as he himself later admitted - as up to Resentful vengeance. In addition, his father taught him the basics of the autocratic conception of rule in such a way that Alexander firmly adhered to this principle despite all the libertarian tendencies and reforms. In addition, due to the strict military training, the heir to the throne developed a weakness for everything military, from which a foolish predilection for military ceremonies, reminiscent of Wilhelm II , grew. However, Alexander II did not develop military expertise, although he did imagine it.

However, like hardly anyone else, Alexander had been able to gain deep insights into government activities before taking over government responsibility, had performed representative tasks, made numerous trips abroad and to all Russian provinces, often performed important government tasks directly, and in 1842 even for a month assumed reign of the empire during his father's absence.

Regency

Crimean War and takeover of government

Alexander II of Russia

When Alexander after the death of his father on February 18th, Jul. / March 2, 1855 greg. took over the affairs of state, he was a mature, well-educated and politically savvy man at just under 37. However, he had to take over the empire in a serious crisis: In the Crimean War , which Alexander initially continued, the defeat of Russia was already evident in the spring of 1855 and became inevitable with the fall of Sevastopol . The emperor himself visited Odessa and the Crimea in November and finally came to the conclusion that the war was lost.

The Paris Peace of March 18th jul. / March 30, 1856 greg. ended the war. It only temporarily weakened Russia's position of power in the Orient and did not mean the end of Russian interest in Turkish territories. Even after this peace, the war against the Caucasian mountain peoples continued and large areas between the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea came under Russian influence and were in part finally occupied.

The demilitarization of the Black Sea ports imposed on Russia in the Peace of Paris meant a heavy blow to its prestige as a great and regulatory power, which the empire had considered itself to be since the Napoleonic Wars. In the 1848 revolutions in particular, Russia presented itself as a European hegemonic power. According to Günther Stökl , the unnecessary and counterproductive humiliation of Russia, after overcoming the first shock, contributed to the emergence of a religious-national mood in Russia that longed for revenge for the war defeat.

On August 14th, July / August 26, 1856 greg. Five months after the peace treaty and almost a year and a half after he took office, the coronation ceremony of the new tsar took place in Moscow. Foreign and Russian guests especially noticed the diversity of the subjects who took part in the celebrations: Bashkirs , Circassians , Tatars and Armenians were invited to Moscow to showcase the diversity and extent of the empire and the bond between the Tsar and the to symbolically consolidate his Asian peoples. For the first time, representatives of the peasantry were invited to the ceremony and were specifically mentioned in the coronation albums.

The defeat in the Crimean War marked a deep turning point for the history of Russia and the political convictions of Alexander II. The inability to defeat a poorly managed coalition force operating in enemy territory showed Russia's backwardness in all areas, from the economy to infrastructure (especially the lack of railroad network) and education to army organization . Therefore, the Crimean War became a beacon for Russian politics, because Alexander II used the Paris Peace to create the basis for his political program of breaking the interwoven cultural, economic and social fetters through the impulse from outside. Alexander strove to give Russia a public or a society as quickly as possible in order to be able to compete with the other major European powers from his point of view.

The abolition of serfdom in Russia (picture from 1914 from the Slav Epic by Alfons Mucha )

The "Great Reforms"

In response to the backwardness of Russia, which emerged in the defeat in the Crimean War, Alexander embarked on far-reaching reforms, which are often described in the academic literature with the attribute “great”. These reforms represent one of the most important turning points in the history of Russia, and Hoetsch sees them as a more important reform work than that of Peter the Great . For Grünwald, the reforms stand “at the roots of the revolution”.

The core of the reforms was the liberation of the peasants: just twelve days after the signing of the Paris Peace, the emperor told Moscow aristocrats, "It is better to abolish serfdom than to wait for it to break." Humanitarian considerations may also play a role but more importantly, serfdom was viewed as objectively obsolete in economic terms. The actual aim of the reforms was to make Russia economically, technically and ultimately militarily competitive again in Europe. So it is not surprising that the abolition of serfdom, which began in 1861, was linked to further reforms, including a new military organization.

Alexander pushed through these reforms against great opposition. In addition to his brother Konstantin , he found support above all in the thoroughly reform-minded bureaucracy. However, since the resistance of the landlords and serfs was enormous, a “watered down” compromise was ultimately reached. In contrast to the peasant liberations in Prussia and Austria, in which the peasants had no land and thus capital resources and then investment enthusiasm of the large landowners were encouraged, the Russian peasants were given a permanent right of use of house and farm, i. d. Usually to the extent that they had previously cultivated the fields. However, the debt and interest burdens on the landlord remained, and the connection to the Mir remained , so there was no freedom of movement. The nobles were even given the right to reposition the peasants before they came into force in order to round off their estate at their own discretion. Although there was a "minimum rate", an area of ​​land that was supposed to secure the subsistence level, the overreaching of the farmers in the implementation regulations and the transfer payments was abundantly clear. When determining the areas there were large regional differences, much to the disadvantage of the farmers. The farmers had to buy the land and the state took over the financing of these businesses. The peasants were freed from the police force of the landowners immediately when the reform came into force in 1861; But because the land remained in the collective ownership of the local farmers and the periodic redistribution of the land, which had been the norm up to now, was established, the possibilities of the farmers to operate independently remained extremely limited.

Alexander tried to do justice to the nobility and farmers, but because of the - albeit inadequate - allocation of land to the farmers and the forced cultivation in the village community, the production factors labor and land were only insufficiently liberalized. As a result, there were neither significant capitalization effects in the aristocracy nor the emergence of large masses of impoverished landless people who, like in Prussia, would have fled to the cities and there would have been available to a proto-industry as a proletariat. The population development in Russia also worsened the situation, as in 1911 - 50 years after the peasants' liberation - it had already doubled. The fact that a large part of the Russian aristocracy was ruined within a short period of time because they were unable to adapt to the new economic framework shows how ambivalent the reform is. On the one hand, it was, for example, three years ahead of the liberation of slaves in the USA; on the other hand, Russia was and remained an agricultural state until the 1920s.

Even a - albeit small - section of the Jews of the Tsarist Empire benefited from these reforms after a long period of repression and restrictions. In order to promote the Russian economy, both Jewish merchants with an income of more than 50,000 rubles and Jews with “preferred” professions (e.g. technicians and mechanics) were granted a right of residence outside the Pale of Settlement in the west of the empire . A freedom of movement were also Jews with academic degrees. (These provisions were largely reversed by his son and successor Alexander III .)

The death of his eldest son Nikolaj Alexandrovich Romanov (1843-1865), whom Alexander II had already viewed as a hopeful heir to the throne, plunged the Tsar into a personal crisis. After a long period of illness and several spa stays, the cause of death was meningitis. In this situation, which also had a major impact on his marriage to Marija, he began a love affair with the lady-in-waiting Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukaya (1847-1922) in the summer of 1866 .

Wars and revolts

Ossip Ivanovich Kommissarow, the lifesaver of Tsar Alexander II.

In 1863 the Polish January uprising was crushed with ruthless severity. The great importance of the reforms and the complete transformation of the economic conditions that resulted from them aroused opposition from many sections of the population. In the wake of this dissatisfaction and as a result of the great inequality that still persists in society, socialist , communist and nihilist ideas spread and gained importance. At the same time, the victory over Poland strengthened nationalist feelings and led to the rise of Pan-Slavism . Alexander made no serious attempts to suppress corruption in the bureaucracy; rather, he tolerated corrupt officials in high positions in his immediate environment. As a result, popular discontent against Alexander's government increased.

An on April 4th jul. / April 16, 1866 greg. The attempted assassination attempt on the emperor by the revolutionary Dimitri Karakosow in front of the summer garden , which was prevented by the farmer Kommissarow, resulted in detailed investigations which revealed the existence of numerous political secret societies. This and a second assassination attempt by the Pole Berezewski during the Paris World Exhibition in 1867 left a lasting impression on the emperor and reduced his inclination to reform. The censorship was restored in its old severity and a comprehensive police surveillance system was set up.

During this time, the Tsar also dealt intensively with the internal situation of the country. He pondered, gathered information, consulted with experts to find models for a new constitution for the Russian Empire. But the idea of ​​introducing a constitutional monarchy also played an important role in his considerations. A reform of the judiciary, the transfer of the larger cities to civil self-government, but above all the introduction of general conscription were the subject of political trials. The law came into effect on January 13, 1874.

Foreign policy

strategy

Alexander II in his cabinet in the Winter Palace

In foreign policy, Russia's future position as a great power and its spheres of influence played a greater role. In the course of these considerations, the long pursued expansion steps along the California coast were abandoned in 1867, the Ford Ross north of San Francisco had already been cleared in 1842 and the territory of Alaska had been sold to the USA in 1867. Instead, Russian foreign policy focused on the revision of the demilitarization of the Black Sea ports set out in the Paris treaty . After this goal has been achieved, the Black Sea Fleet should be rebuilt. At the same time, the Ottoman Empire was then to be isolated through skillful diplomacy, so that there could not be a coalition of some major European powers against Russia as in the Crimean War .

Alliance with Prussia

While the Russian Foreign Minister Gorchakov was thinking about realigning the alliances and strategic goals with different constellations, Alexander II stuck to the traditional orientation towards Prussia and Austria set out in the Holy Alliance , although it was officially broken up after the Crimean War, and had been replaced by the Paris treatise. Here Austria did not "enjoy" the high priority it had in the times of Alexander's predecessor Nikolaus I , as Austria had adopted an aggressive stance towards Russia in the Crimean War.

As a result, this orientation paid off. As early as 1863, Prussia and Russia were working together to crush the Polish January uprising . In addition, Alexander II was given a free hand in the violent pacification of Russia's southern border in Central Asia, which he had considered necessary. The Russian army , commanded by General Chernyayev , captured Tashkent in 1864/65 . This expanded the Russian territory in Central Asia.

During the war between Austria and Prussia in 1866, Alexander maintained a neutral but pro-Prussian attitude. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71, Alexander's sympathies were with Germany, which he showed, among other things, by awarding orders to the German military leaders and by appointing Crown Prince Friedrich as Russian field marshal . Alexander prevented Austria-Hungary from interfering in the war by threatening the occupation of Galicia by Russian troops if the Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy should mobilize.

Three emperor agreement

As a result of this war, Alexander's influence increased: Wilhelm I , the new German Emperor, was not only related to him, but also indebted to him out of gratitude for his support, while France sought his goodwill in a possible war of revenge. Due to the defeat of France, the Paris treatise could no longer be kept. It was unilaterally terminated by Russia on October 31, 1870. This decision was confirmed at the Pontus Conference in March 1871. In its place came the Dreikaiser Agreement , which was signed on October 22, 1873 at Bismarck's initiative in Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna by the German Emperor Wilhelm I, the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph I and Alexander II. This agreement formed a new basis for peacekeeping in Europe.

Further peace initiatives

In the summer of 1874, on the initiative of Alexander, an international conference was held in Brussels to adopt a convention on the laws and customs of war. However, the Brussels Declaration never came into force due to a lack of ratifications.

Great game

Gorchakov's efforts to work with Britain were rewarded with the establishment of a demarcation line along the Oxus River . He accepted a corresponding offer from the British Foreign Minister Lord Granville on January 31, 1873. This line of demarcation was laid out generously towards Great Britain because it declared Afghan territory to be a British sphere of influence. In return, Great Britain should remain neutral in the event of a military conflict with the Ottoman Empire.

This agreement favored Russia's territorial expansion in Transoxania . However, the Russian sphere of influence ended on the right bank of Oxus. Kaufman's campaign to Khiva in 1873 greatly expanded Russia's power in interior Asia. A small area on the left bank of the river was conquered. In October of the same year, Russia reached the protectorate of the Emirate of Bukhara , as it felt threatened by the Kokand Khanate .

The campaign to Khiva did not initially result in a conflict with Great Britain. Rather, in 1874, the marriage of Alexander's only daughter, Maria , to Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh , even seemed to initiate a rapprochement between Russia and Great Britain . In May Alexander made a state visit to Great Britain. In 1876, the Kokand Khanate was conquered by General Kaufman's army and incorporated into the General Government of Turkestan , which had been founded nine years earlier .

Tensions between Russia and Great Britain began in December 1876 when the Conference of Constantinople was convened on an initiative of British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli . From Alexander's point of view, Great Britain had broken the supposed promise of January 1873 to stay out of a possible conflict between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. Relations between Russia and Britain deteriorated dramatically when, in November 1878, Disraeli ordered British troops in British India to occupy the emirate of Afghanistan . After Disraeli and his allies had reversed large parts of the Treaty of San Stefano at the Berlin Congress , Alexander expected Great Britain to at least accept Afghanistan as a new buffer zone.

Russo-Turkish War 1877

In April 1877 Russia declared in the wake of downcast Bulgarian April uprising to the Ottoman Empire war . Alexander moved with Gorchakov to Bessarabia , followed the advancing Danube Army through Romania to Bulgaria and set up his headquarters in Gorny Studen , where he stayed during the military setbacks that Russia suffered from July to September. When another success was achieved with the fall of Pleven , he returned to St. Petersburg on December 15, 1877 , where he was received with great jubilation on December 22.

Goals for the 1880s

There was a crisis in German-Russian relations on August 15, 1879, when the Russian tsar sent the so-called slap letter to the German Kaiser Wilhelm I. Alexander II, however, retained his pro-German attitude. A meeting between the emperor and the tsar in September 1879 eased the situation. The tsar is said to have regretted the demanding tone of his letter.

At the same time, the Second Anglo-Afghan War was raging , in which Great Britain gained more and more control over Afghanistan. From Alexander's point of view, the next target for Russia was to establish the buffer zone between Russia and British India in Afghanistan. If this goal is pursued by the successor of Alexander II on the Tsar's throne, the Russian Empire could benefit from a neutrality agreement with the German Empire and the Danube Monarchy. Therefore, Alexander brought about a relaxation in the German-Russian relationship and thus paved the way for the three emperors union between Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1881.

Pan-Slavism

Meanwhile he reorganized the army according to the German model. Even before this reorganization was finished, Alexander was almost unwillingly urged by the spread of Pan-Slavism , especially among aristocrats and officials, to engage Russia in the Balkans . During the Balkan crisis he tolerated the support of Serbia and Montenegro through volunteers and funds, and was himself a godfather for a son of the Serbian prince Milan III. and took a public position for the Christians in the Ottoman Empire .

attacks

Sarcophagus of Alexander II and his wife in the Peter and Paul Cathedral

Even after the war, his situation in the midst of warring directions in Russia remained difficult, especially after new attacks by nihilists in 1879. Several attacks were carried out on Alexander himself: on April 14, 1879, Alexander Konstantinovich Solovyov shot him; On December 1, 1879, nihilists tried to blow up the train in which Alexander was traveling near Moscow; on February 17, 1880 there was another assassination attempt in the Winter Palace . In response, the surveillance and prosecution of opponents of the regime was tightened.

Alexander continued to plan internal reforms of the society.

attack

The assassination attempt on the Emperor Alexander II ( gouache , Russia, 19th century)
The assassination of Alexander II of Russia, 1881

When Alexander II. On July 1st . / March 13, 1881 greg. Left the Mikhailovsky Palace with his escort in a carriage, it was hit by a can filled with dynamite after only a few meters near the Griboyedov Canal in Saint Petersburg . The emperor survived the explosion unharmed and wanted to go towards the Winter Palace . But when the perpetrator of the attack, the student Nikolai Ryssakov , was overwhelmed, he called out to the emperor: “Don't be too early!” The carriage was damaged, a passer-by was killed and several others were injured. When Alexander got out to inspect the damage, the young nobleman and engineering student Ignati Grinewizki threw another grenade at the Tsar's feet. The assassin and the tsar died on the same day from their serious injuries. His then twelve-year-old grandson, who later became Tsar Nicholas II , witnessed the assassination attempt by the underground organization Narodnaya Volja (“People's Will”).

At the point of the attack, his son Alexander III. build the Church of the Resurrection . His tomb, like that of all Romanovs, is located in the Peter and Paul Cathedral .

Marriage and offspring

Alexander II monument in central Helsinki
Monument to the “Liberator Tsar” in Sofia

On April 28, 1841 , Alexander married the German Princess Marie of Hessen-Darmstadt (* August 8, 1824 as Maximiliane Wilhelmine Auguste Sophie Marie of Hessen-Darmstadt, called "Cerise" = cherry by the Romanovs), with whom he had eight children:

On June 3, 1880, Empress Maria Alexandrovna died. A few weeks later, on July 18, Alexander married Yekaterina Dolgorukaya , with whom he had had a relationship for a long time and had five children, two of whom died as infants:

  • Alexander (* 1868; † 1868), Prince Jurjewski
  • Georgij (May 12, 1872 - September 13, 1913), Prince Jurjewski
  • Olga (born November 9, 1873; † August 10, 1925) ⚭ May 12, 1895 Georg von Merenberg (* 1871; † 1948)
  • Boris (* 1876; † 1876), Prince Jurjewski
  • Ekaterina (born September 20, 1878 - † December 22, 1959), Countess Obolensky

Dolgorukaya was introduced as a chambermaid to the empress in order to bring her to court, and after the marriage was made Princess Jurjewskaja. Yet the family never accepted her. After the emperor's funeral, she and her children left Russia.

ancestors

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Peter III from Russia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Paul I of Russia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Catherine II of Russia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Nicholas I of Russia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Friedrich Eugen of Württemberg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sophie Dorothee of Württemberg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Friederike Dorothea Sophia of Brandenburg-Schwedt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Alexander II of Russia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Friedrich Wilhelm III. of Prussia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Friederike Luise of Hessen-Darmstadt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Charlotte of Prussia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Charles II of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Luise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Friederike Caroline Luise of Hessen-Darmstadt
 
 
 
 
 
 

filming

In the feature film Katja, the uncrowned Empress (France 1959, directed by Robert Siodmak ), the love story between Alexander II and Yekaterina is told very freely. The Tsar is played by Curd Jürgens , Jekaterina (Katja) by Romy Schneider .

Street names

In the south Hessian city of Darmstadt , the hometown of his wife, a street was named after Alexander II in 1843, the Alexanderstraße .

literature

  • Heinz-Dietrich Löwe : Alexander II. 1815–1881. In: Hans-Joachim Torke (Ed.): Die Russischen Zaren 1547–1917. CH Beck, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-406-38110-3 , pp. 315–338.
  • Nobility calendar, issue 10, Verlag WIRD, Saint Petersburg 2003, ISBN 5-94030-045-6 .
  • K. Appel: Alexander II. Nikolaevič . In: Biographical Lexicon on the History of Southeast Europe. Vol. 1. Munich 1974, pp. 40-42.
  • E. Heresch: The Romanows , Nicolai-Verlag Berlin 2014.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ It remained common in contemporary usage and abroad until 1917 to refer to the Russian rulers as tsars . This usage of language has been preserved in the consciousness of posterity. The official title of the Russian rulers has been "All-Russian Emperor" (imperator vserossijskij) since 1721, which expresses both a different origin and a different understanding of the state. In the 19th century, this led to a conceptual language in literature that was not appropriate to the source and to an outmoded conceptual apparatus in German literature up to the present day. See Hans-Joachim Torke: The Russian Tsars, 1547–1917. P. 8; Hans-Joachim Torke: The state-related society in the Moscow Empire. Leiden 1974, p. 2; Reinhard Wittram : The Russian Empire and its shape change. In: Historische Zeitschrift Vol. 187 (1959), no. 3, pp. 568–593, here p. 569.
  2. ↑ The term “Great Reforms” is also used in recent literature. See e.g. B. Christoph Schmidt: Russian history 1547–1917. Munich 2003, p. 88. Likewise Raoul Zühlke: Alexander II. The “Tsar Liberator”. In: The greats of the world. Vol. 4: Age of Enlightenment. Pp. 581-589, here p. 584.
  3. ↑ Constantin de Grünwald: At the roots of the revolution. Alexander II and his time. Wien et al. 1965, p. 7. See also the use in lexical representations, e.g. B .: Raoul Zühlke: Alexander II. The “Tsar Liberator”. In: The greats of the world. Vol. 4: Age of Enlightenment. Pp. 581-589. See also the use in Russian-speaking and English-speaking countries, for example NGO Pereira: Tsar-Liberartor: Alexander II of Russia 1818–1881. Newtonville 1983.
  4. ^ Werner E. Mosse : Alexander II and the Modernization of Russia. 6th edition New York 1976, p. 26.
  5. ↑ a b c d e f Raoul Zühlke: Alexander II. The "Tsar Liberator". In: The greats of the world. Vol. 4: Age of Enlightenment. Leipzig et al. 2005, pp. 581–589, here p. 581.
  6. ↑ a b c L. M. Kanajewa: Alexander II. In Tsarskoje Selo. In: Alexander II. Son of Charlotte of Prussia, Emperor and Tsar of Russia, reformer and liberator of the peasants. His life and work in Tsarskoje Selo / St. Petersburg. Berlin 1998, no page number, here the first page of the article.
  7. ↑ a b Constantin de Grünwald: At the roots of the revolution. Alexander II and his time. Vienna et al. 1965, p. 16 f.
  8. ↑ Constantin de Grünwald: At the roots of the revolution. Alexander II and his time. Vienna et al. 1965, p. 17.
  9. ^ LM Kanajewa: Alexander II. In Tsarskoje Selo. In: Alexander II. Son of Charlotte of Prussia, Emperor and Tsar of Russia, reformer and liberator of the peasants. His life and work in Tsarskoje Selo / St. Petersburg. Berlin 1998, no page number, here the second page of the article.
  10. ↑ a b Constantin de Grünwald: At the roots of the revolution. Alexander II and his time. Vienna et al. 1965, p. 31.
  11. ↑ Constantin de Grünwald: At the roots of the revolution. Alexander II and his time. Vienna et al. 1965, p. 30 f.
  12. ↑ a b c d e Raoul Zühlke: Alexander II. The "Tsar Liberator". In: The greats of the world. Vol. 4: Age of Enlightenment. Leipzig et al. 2005, pp. 581–589, here p. 582.
  13. ^ Werner E. Mosse: Alexander II and the Modernization of Russia. 6th edition New York 1976, p. 27.
  14. ↑ See Günther Stökl : Russian History. From the beginnings to the present (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 244). 4th enlarged edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 1983, ISBN 3-520-24404-7 , p. 536.
  15. ↑ Constantin de Grünwald: At the roots of the revolution. Alexander II and his time. Vienna et al. 1965, p. 32 f.
  16. ↑ a b c d Raoul Zühlke: Alexander II. The "Tsar Liberator". In: The greats of the world. Vol. 4: Age of Enlightenment. Leipzig et al. 2005, pp. 581–589, here p. 583.
  17. ↑ a b c Christoph Schmidt: Russian History 1547-1917. Munich 2003, p. 81.
  18. ↑ a b c Günther Stökl: Russian history. From the beginnings to the present (= Kröner's pocket edition. Volume 244). 4th enlarged edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 1983, ISBN 3-520-24404-7 , p. 507.
  19. ↑ Ulrike von Hirschhausen , Jörn Leonhard : Empires and nation states in the 19th century. 2nd edition, Vandenhoeck & Rupprecht, Göttingen 2011, p. 39.
  20. ^ Hans von Rimscha : History of Russia. Darmstadt 5th ed. 1979, p. 470.
  21. ^ A b c Raoul Zühlke: Alexander II. The "Tsar Liberator". In: The greats of the world. Vol. 4: Age of Enlightenment. Leipzig et al. 2005, pp. 581–589, here p. 584.
  22. ↑ Otto Hoetsch: Russia in Asia. 1966, quoted from Hans von Rimscha: History of Russia. Darmstadt 5th edition 1979, p. 479.
  23. ↑ So the title of his biography of Alexander II: Constantin de Grünwald: At the roots of the revolution. Alexander II and his time. Vienna et al. 1965.
  24. ↑ a b c Christoph Schmidt: Russian History 1547-1917. Munich 2003, p. 83.
  25. ^ Hans von Rimscha: History of Russia. Darmstadt 5th ed. 1979, p. 481.
  26. ↑ a b Constantin de Grünwald: At the roots of the revolution. Alexander II and his time. Vienna et al. 1965, p. 90.
  27. ^ Hans von Rimscha: History of Russia. Darmstadt 5th edition 1979, p. 484.
  28. ^ Christoph Schmidt: Russian History 1547-1917. Munich 2003, p. 84.
  29. ^ Günther Stökl: Russian history. From the beginnings to the present (= Kröner's pocket edition. Volume 244). 4th enlarged edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 1983, ISBN 3-520-24404-7 , p. 538 ff.
  30. ↑ Constantin de Grünwald: At the roots of the revolution. Alexander II and his time. Vienna et al. 1965, p. 92 f.
  31. ↑ a b c Raoul Zühlke: Alexander II. Alexander II. The "Tsar Liberator". In: The greats of the world. Vol. 4: Age of Enlightenment. Leipzig et al. 2005, pp. 581–589, here p. 585.
  32. ^ A b Hans von Rimscha: History of Russia. Darmstadt 5th edition 1979, p. 485 f.
  33. ↑ http://www.retrobibliothek.de/retrobib/seite.html?id=133799
  34. ↑ Treaty of March 30, 1867
  35. ↑ Andreas Rose: German Foreign Policy in the Bismarck Era, (1862-1890) paperback 2013, p. 12. "[... Russia's foreign minister Gortschakow's rapprochement between Russia and France ...]"
  36. ^ Christoph Baumer: History of Central Asia. The Age of Decline and Revival. 4th volume, IB Tauris & Co Ltd. 2018, p. 141
  37. ^ The Great Politics of the European Cabinets 1871–1914 . Ed. On behalf of the Foreign Office by J. Lepsius et al., Volume 3, Berlin 1926, p. 36 ff.
  38. ↑ Michael Gregor: The end of the tsarist empire. Complete Media 2007, ISBN 978-3-8312-9362-9 (Imperium, 2nd season, 2nd part), p. 131
  39. ↑ Street naming of the city of Darmstadt ( Memento from May 28, 2016 in the Internet Archive )

Web links

Commons : Alexander II (Russia)  - collection of images, videos and audio files
predecessor Office successor
Nicholas I. Emperor of Russia
1855–1881 		Alexander III
personal data
SURNAME Alexander II
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Alexander II Nikolayevich; Александр II Николаевич
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Russian emperor
DATE OF BIRTH April 29, 1818
PLACE OF BIRTH Moscow
DATE OF DEATH March 13, 1881
Place of death St. Petersburg