Of the year. The mentor of Alexander II was the Russian poet V.A. Zhukovsky, teacher - K.K. Merder, one of the teachers of the law is the famous Archpriest Gerasim Pavsky.

Changing the foundations of agrarian relations in Russia, the Peasant Reform was complex. Having granted the peasants personal freedom, personal land allotments and the opportunity to purchase land from landowners, she at the same time retained most of the land in the ownership of the nobility. The reform also preserved the peasant community as a traditional form of peasant self-government in Russia, although it legalized the free exit of peasants from it. Having changed the entire way of rural life, the reform significantly influenced the development of cities, accelerating their growth by transforming some of the peasants freed from serfdom into townspeople, artisans and workers.

Zemstvo reform

The Zemstvo reform of the city was of a fundamental nature, as a result of which local self-government bodies were created (provincial and district zemstvo assemblies and their executive bodies - provincial and district zemstvo councils). In the city, the Zemstvo reform was supplemented by the “City Regulations”, on the basis of which city dumas and councils were formed.

Judicial reform

Policy

The priorities of Alexander II's European policy were the Eastern question and revision of the results of the Crimean War, ensuring pan-European security. Alexander II focused on an alliance with the Central European powers - a “ Holy Alliance three emperors", Austria-Hungary, Germany, Russia.

During the reign of Alexander II, the Caucasian War of 1817–1864 was completed, a significant part of Turkestan was annexed (1865–1881), and borders with China were established along the Amur and Ussuri rivers (1858–1860).

Thanks to Russia's victory in the war with Turkey (1877–1878) in order to assist fellow believers Slavic peoples in their liberation from Turkish yoke Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia gained independence and began their sovereign existence. The victory was won largely thanks to the will of Alexander II, who, during the most difficult period of the war, insisted on continuing the siege of Plevna, which contributed to its victorious completion. In Bulgaria, Alexander II was revered as the Liberator. The Cathedral of Sofia is the temple-monument of St. blgv. led book Alexander Nevsky, heavenly patron of Alexander II.

During the reign of Alexander II, Russia experienced difficult period its socio-political history. Militant nihilism, atheism and extreme social radicalism became the ideological foundation of political terrorism, which became especially dangerous by the end of the 70s. In the fight against the state, extremist conspirators put their main goal regicide. From the 2nd half. 60s the life of Alexander II was in constant danger.

In total, five attacks were committed against Alexander II. unsuccessful assassination attempts:

April 4th - assassination attempt on D. Karakozov during the emperor’s walk in the Summer Garden. In memory of the rescue of Alexander II at the site of the incident in 1866-1867, the Alexander Nevsky Chapel was built into the fence of the Summer Garden according to the design of R. A. Kuzmin.
May 25 of the year - assassination attempt on the Pole A. Berezovsky during the emperor's official visit to France.
April 2 of the year - assassination attempt on a member of the "Land and Freedom" society A. Solovyov.
November 19, 1879 - explosion of the royal train near Moscow.
February 12 of the year - explosion of the royal dining room in the Winter Palace.

Showing exceptional state. and personal courage, Alexander II continued the course of reforms, the implementation of which he considered a historical necessity and his life’s work.

Literature

Chichagov L.M. [sschmch. Seraphim]. Stay of the Tsar-Liberator in the Danube Army in 1877 St. Petersburg, 1887. St. Petersburg, 1995r;
Runovsky N. Church and civil laws regarding the Orthodox white clergy during the reign of Emperor Alexander II. Kaz., 1898;
Papkov A. A. Church and social issues in the era of the Tsar-Liberator. St. Petersburg, 1902;
Tatishchev S.S. Emperor Alexander II, his life and reign. St. Petersburg, 19112. 2 vols.;
Yakovlev A.I. Alexander II and his era. M., 1992;
Zakharova L. G. Alexander II // Russian Autocrats (1801–1917). M., 1993;
Smolich I.K. History of the Russian Church. M., 1997. T. 8. 2 hours;
Rimsky S.V. Orthodox Church and state in the 19th century. R.-n./D., 1998.

Sources

A.V. Prokofiev, S.N. Nosov. Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia (Article from Volume I of the Orthodox Encyclopedia)
Lyashenko L.M. Alexander II, or the Story of Three Solitudes, M.: Mol.gvardiya, 2003

Emperor Alexander 2 took over the country during a difficult period. Russia was drawn into the Crimean War and by 1855, when Alexander 2 began to rule the country, our country was practically in a hopeless situation.

In subsequent years Emperor Alexander 2 was focused on the internal problems of the country, which was in dire need of reform. Alexander 2 has repeatedly stated that Russia needs changes and that domestic and foreign policies should be aimed at meeting these goals. Russia needed a settlement of relations with Asian countries, as well as a way out of the political isolation in which the country found itself as a result of defeat in the Crimean War. These the most difficult tasks were resolved largely thanks to the political talent of A.M. Gorchakova.

Emperor Alexander 2 directed enormous efforts to find allies in Europe. The leading European powers, which after the Crimean War formed an anti-Russian coalition, France, Austria and Prussia, had a lot of disagreements among themselves, leading to wars. Russian diplomacy decided to take a course towards rapprochement with France. In February 1859, a cooperation agreement was even signed between Russia and France. In April of the same year, France started a war with Austria, but Russia did not help it in this. Relations with France were damaged, but relations with Austria were improved.

In 1863-1864. A major uprising broke out in Poland, which Russia’s ill-wishers decided to take advantage of. England and France tried with all their might to intervene in this uprising in order to “establish order in barbaric Russia.” But at this time, Emperor Alexander 2 began a rapprochement with Prussia, which radically changed the situation. In exchange for Prussia's neutrality during the Polish uprising, Russia remained neutral during Prussia's wars with France in 1870-71, and Austria in 1866. During the war between Prussia and France, in October 1870, Emperor Alexander 2 announced to the whole world that Russia did not consider it necessary to fulfill the terms of the Paris Peace Treaty, according to which Russia was prohibited from having a fleet in the Black Sea. The reason for this is more than compelling - other countries that signed this agreement violated this clause and actively sent their ships to the Black Sea. In response to this, the governments of Austria, Turkey and England sent a note of protest to Russia. But the Russian emperor was unshakable. Russia began to rebuild its fleet in the Black Sea.

On February 19, 1861, Emperor Alexander 2 signed a decree abolishing serfdom in Russia.

The beginning of the reign of Alexander 2 is marked by the war for the Caucasus. It was a bloody war that dragged on, but by 1864 Russian troops occupied the entire Black Sea coast. The war for the Caucasus finally ended on May 21, 1864, when the last Circassian tribe was defeated.

At this time, there was a boom in the influx of American population in Alaska, therefore, Russia had to send everything to that region large quantity troops. It was becoming unprofitable to maintain Alaska. It was, to put it modern language, subsidized region. Emperor Alexander 2, together with the government, guided by the expensive maintenance of Alaska, as well as the need to establish working relations with the United States of America, decided to sell Alaska to the Americans, who expressed a clear interest in this. The sale of Alaska took place in 1867. The total transaction amount was $7.2 million.

Emperor Alexander 2, during his reign, managed to solve the problem of restoring the international prestige of the country, undermined by the defeat in the Crimean War. In addition, he managed to solve problems within the country. The reign of Alexander 2 lasted until 1881. This year the emperor was killed.

On March 3, 1855, Alexander II Nikolaevich ascended the throne. In his first speech to the members of the Council, the new emperor said: “My unforgettable Parent loved Russia and all his life he constantly thought about its benefits alone. In his constant and daily labors with me, he told me that I want to take for myself everything that is unpleasant and everything that is difficult, just to hand over to you a Russia that is well-ordered, happy and calm. Providence judged otherwise, and the late Emperor, in the last hours of his life, told me I hand over my command to you, but, unfortunately, not in the order he wished, leaving you with a lot of work and worries.”

The first important step was the end of the bloody Crimean War of 1853-1856. Alexander II concluded the Treaty of Paris in March 1856. When external enemies stopped tormenting Russia, the emperor set about restoring the country and he began with reforms.

Great Reforms of Alexander II.

Abolition of military settlements in 1857.

IN early XIX century, during the era of the wars with Napoleon, a proposal arose to organize military settlements on a large scale in the internal provinces. This idea was put forward by Emperor Alexander I. He hoped that military settlements would replace reserve armies in Russia and would make it possible, if necessary, to increase the number of troops several times. Such settlements gave the lower ranks the opportunity to remain among their families during their service and continue their agricultural activities, and provide themselves with a home and food in their old age.

But the military settlements did not last long, bringing only losses to the treasury. After Emperor Alexander II ascended the throne, aide-de-camp Dmitry Stolypin was sent to military settlements. Having toured all the settlements, Stolypin reported to the emperor that the population of the districts was greatly impoverished, many owners had no livestock, gardening had fallen into disrepair, buildings in the districts required repairs, and in order to provide food for the troops, such an amount of land was needed that the villagers were left with only inconvenient areas. Both the local and the main authorities of military settlements came to the conclusion that military settlements were unprofitable in material terms and did not achieve their goal. In view of this, in 1857, military settlements and districts of arable soldiers were abolished and transferred to the management of the Ministry of State Property.

Abolition of serfdom in 1861.

The first steps towards the limitation and further abolition of serfdom were taken by Paul I in 1797 with the signing of the Manifesto on the three-day corvee, followed by Alexander I in 1803 with the signing of the Decree on free cultivators, and also by Nicholas I, who continued the peasant policy of Alexander I.

The new government assembled by Alexander II decided not only to continue this policy, but also to completely resolve the peasant issue. And already on March 3, 1861, in St. Petersburg, Alexander II signed the Manifesto on the abolition of serfdom and the Regulations on peasants emerging from serfdom, which consisted of 17 legislative acts.

Peasants ceased to be considered serfs and began to be considered temporarily indebted. Peasants received full civil legal capacity in everything that did not relate to their special class rights and responsibilities - membership in rural society and ownership of allotment land.
Peasant houses, buildings, and all movable property of peasants were recognized as their personal property.
The peasants received elective self-government, the lowest economic unit of self-government was the rural society, the highest administrative unit- parish.
The landowners retained ownership of all the lands that belonged to them, but were obliged to provide the peasants with a house plot and field allotment for use. Field allotment lands were not provided to peasants personally, but for the collective use of rural societies, which could distribute them among peasant farms at their own discretion. The minimum size of a peasant plot for each locality was established by law.
For the use of allotment land, peasants had to serve corvee or pay quitrent and did not have the right to refuse it for 49 years.
The size of the field allotment and duties had to be recorded in charters, which were drawn up by landowners for each estate and verified by peace intermediaries.
Rural societies were given the right to buy out the estate and, by agreement with the landowner, the field allotment, after which all obligations of the peasants to the landowner ceased. The peasants who bought the plot were called peasant owners. Peasants could also refuse the right of redemption and receive from the landowner an allotment free of charge in the amount of a quarter of the allotment that they had the right to redeem. When a free allotment was allocated, the temporarily obligated state also ceased.
The state, on preferential terms, provided landowners with financial guarantees for receiving redemption payments, taking over their payment. The peasants, accordingly, had to pay redemption payments to the state.

Many historians consider the reform of Alexander II incomplete and argue that it did not lead to the liberation of the peasants, but only determined the mechanism for such liberation, and an unfair one. From the speech of the “populist” I.N. Myshkina: “The peasants saw that they were given sand and swamps and some scattered patches of land on which it was impossible to farm, when they saw that this was done with the permission of the state authorities, when they saw that there was no that mysterious article of the law that they assumed as protecting the interests of the people, they became convinced that they had nothing to rely on state power, that they could only count on themselves.”

"The Liberation of the Peasants (Reading the Manifesto)." ⁠Boris Kustodiev.1907

Financial Reform.

The abolition of serfdom created a new type of economy in Russia. The reforms began on May 22, 1862 with the introduction of the “Rules on the preparation, consideration and execution of state lists and financial estimates of ministries and main departments.” The first step was the introduction of the principle of transparency in finance and the beginning of publication of the state budget. In 1864-68, treasuries were organized within the structure of the Ministry of Finance, administering all state revenues. In 1865, local financial self-government bodies - control chambers - were created.

With the beginning of reforms, trade also changed. In order to eradicate corruption, the government decided to replace the previously used tax payments with excise stamps on alcohol and tobacco. Wine farming, the income from which traditionally formed the lion's share budget was cancelled. From now on, excise taxes could be obtained from special excise departments. Currency reform 1862 was postponed because the state did not have enough gold and silver to exchange paper money. It was implemented only in 1895-97. under the leadership of Sergei Witte.

Modernization radically reorganized the state financial system, making it more open and more efficient. Strict accounting of the state budget put the economy on a new path of development, corruption decreased, the treasury was spent on important items and events, and officials became more responsible for managing money. Thanks to new system the state was able to overcome the crisis and mitigate Negative consequences peasant reform.

University Reform.

In 1863, the University Charter was adopted. The new charter gave universities more independence in matters of internal management and expanded the ability to take into account local conditions for their development, created more favorable conditions for scientific and educational activities, increased the attractiveness of teaching work at universities for young people and contributed to the establishment in the future of a sufficient number of qualified teachers in university departments, and also provided for a number of special measures to encourage students to master the sciences. The trustee of the educational district was responsible only for overseeing the legality of the actions of the University Council. Students studying at the university did not have the right to a corporate structure, and outsiders were not allowed to attend lectures at all.

Military Reform.

In 1860-1870, Military reform was carried out. The main provisions of the reforms were developed by Minister of War D. A. Milyutin. The results of the reform were:

reduction in army size by 40%;
the creation of a network of military and cadet schools, which accepted representatives of all classes;
improvement of the military command and control system, introduction of military districts, creation of the General Staff;
the creation of public and adversarial military courts and a military prosecutor's office;
abolition of corporal punishment (with the exception of canings for those specially “fined”) in the army;
rearmament of the army and navy (adoption of rifled steel guns, new rifles, etc.), reconstruction of state-owned military factories;
the introduction of universal conscription in 1874 instead of conscription and a reduction in terms of service. According to the new law, all young people who have reached the age of 20 are conscripted, but the government determines the required number of recruits every year, and by lot takes only this number from the conscripts, although usually no more than 20-25% of conscripts were called up for service. The only son of his parents, the only breadwinner in the family, and also if the conscript's older brother is serving or has served in service were not subject to conscription. Those recruited for service are listed in it: in ground forces 15 years - 6 years in service and 9 years in reserve, in the navy - 7 years of active service and 3 years in reserve. For those who received elementary education the period of active service is reduced to 4 years, for those who graduated from a city school - to 3 years, a gymnasium - to one and a half years, and for those who had a higher education - to six months.
development and introduction of new military laws in the troops.

Urban reform was carried out. It served as an impetus for the commercial and industrial development of cities and consolidated the system of urban public administration bodies. One of the results of the reforms of Alexander II was the inclusion of society in civil life. The foundation was laid for a new Russian political culture.

As well as the Judicial Reform, which comprehensively reformed the judicial system and legal proceedings, and the Zemstvo Reform, which provided for the creation of a system of local self-government in rural areas - zemstvo institutions.

Foreign policy.

During the reign of Alexander II, expansion took place Russian Empire. During this period, Central Asia (in 1865-1881, most of Turkestan became part of Russia), the North Caucasus, the Far East, Bessarabia, and Batumi were annexed to Russia. Thanks to Prince Alexander Gorchakov, Russia restored its rights in the Black Sea, having achieved the lifting of the ban on keeping its fleet there. The meaning of annexing new territories, especially Central Asia, was unclear to part of Russian society. Saltykov-Shchedrin criticized the behavior of generals and officials who used the Central Asian war for personal enrichment, and M. N. Pokrovsky pointed out the meaninglessness of the conquest of Central Asia for Russia. These conquests resulted in great human losses and material costs.

In 1867, Russian America (Alaska) was sold to the United States for $7.2 million. In 1875, an agreement was concluded in St. Petersburg, according to which all the Kuril Islands were transferred to Japan in exchange for Sakhalin. Both Alaska and the Kuril Islands were remote overseas possessions, unprofitable from an economic point of view. Moreover, they were difficult to defend. The concession for twenty years ensured the neutrality of the United States and the Empire of Japan in relation to Russian actions in the Far East and made it possible to free up the necessary forces to secure more habitable territories.

In 1858, Russia concluded the Aigun Treaty with China, and in 1860 - the Beijing Treaty, under which it received vast territories of Transbaikalia, Khabarovsk Territory, a significant part of Manchuria, including Primorye (Ussuri Territory).

Assassinations and Death of Alexander II.

Several attempts were made on Alexander II's life. On April 16, 1866, the Russian revolutionary Karakozov made his first assassination attempt. When Alexander II was heading from the gates of the Summer Garden to his carriage, a shot was heard. The bullet flew over the emperor's head, and the shooter was pushed by the peasant Osip Komissarov standing nearby, who saved the emperor's life.

On May 25, 1867, an assassination attempt was made by the Polish emigrant Anton Berezovsky in Paris. The bullet hit the horse. April 14, 1879 in St. Petersburg. The Russian revolutionary Solovyov fired 5 shots from a revolver.

On December 1, 1879, there was an attempt to blow up an imperial train near Moscow. The emperor was saved by the fact that a steam locomotive, which was running half an hour earlier than the tsar’s, broke down in Kharkov. The king did not want to wait for the broken locomotive to be repaired and the royal train went first. Not knowing about this circumstance, the terrorists missed the first train, detonating a mine under the fourth carriage of the second.

On February 17, 1880, Khalturin carried out an explosion on the first floor of the Winter Palace. The emperor was having lunch on the third floor; he was saved by the fact that he arrived later than the appointed time; 11 guards on the second floor died.

On March 13, 1881, a fatal assassination attempt occurred. The Tsar's cortege turned from Inzhenernaya Street onto the embankment, heading towards the Theater Bridge, Rysakov threw a bomb under the horses of the Emperor's carriage. The explosion injured the guards and some people nearby, but the emperor himself was not injured. The person who threw the projectile was detained.

Life coachman Sergeev, captain Kulebyakin and Colonel Dvorzhitsky urged the emperor to leave the scene of the assassination attempt as soon as possible, but Alexander felt that military dignity required him to look at the wounded Circassians who were guarding him and say a few words to them. Afterwards, he approached the detained Rysakov and asked him about something, then went back to the place of the explosion, and then Grinevitsky, standing at the canal grate and unnoticed by the guards, threw a bomb wrapped in a napkin at the emperor’s feet.

The blast wave threw Alexander II to the ground, blood gushing from his crushed legs. The fallen emperor whispered: “Carry me to the palace... there... to die...” By order of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, who had arrived from the Mikhailovsky Palace, the bleeding emperor was taken to the Winter Palace.

The Emperor was carried in his arms and laid on the bed. Life physician Botkin, when asked by the heir how long the emperor would live, answered: “From 10 to 15 minutes.” At 15:35 the flagpole of the Winter Palace was lowered imperial standard, notifying the population of St. Petersburg about the death of Emperor Alexander II.

Emperor Alexander II on his deathbed. Photo by S. Levitsky.

– Emperor of All Russia, the eldest son of Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, was born in Moscow on April 17, 1818. His educators were generals Merder and Kavelin. Merder attracted attention as a company commander at the School of Guards Ensigns established on August 18, 1823. Nikolai Pavlovich, then still Grand Duke Having learned about his teaching abilities, gentle disposition and rare intelligence, he decided to entrust him with the upbringing of his son. Merder assumed this important position on June 12, 1824, when the Grand Duke was barely 6 years old, and fulfilled it with tireless diligence for 10 years. There is no doubt that the influence of this highly humane educator on the young heart of his pupil was most beneficial. No less beneficial was the influence of another mentor of the Grand Duke - the famous poet Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky, the head of his class studies. The best characteristic of the education Alexander received can be the words spoken by Zhukovsky about his colleague in the matter of education, General Merder, which can entirely be attributed to him: “There was nothing artificial in the education given to him; the whole secret consisted in a beneficent, quiet, but the incessant action of his beautiful soul... His pet... heard one voice of truth, saw one unselfishness... could his soul not fall in love with goodness, could it at the same time fail to acquire respect for humanity, so necessary in any life, especially in life near the throne and on the throne." There is no doubt that Zhukovsky, through his overall influence, contributed to preparing the heart of his pupil for the future liberation of the peasants.

Upon reaching adulthood, the heir to the crown prince traveled around Russia, accompanied by Kavelin, Zhukovsky and the adjutant Yuryevich. He was the first of the royal family to visit Siberia (1837), and as a result of this visit, the fate of political exiles was mitigated. Later, while in the Caucasus, the Tsarevich distinguished himself during an attack by the highlanders, for which he was awarded the order St. George 4th degree. In 1838, Alexander Nikolaevich traveled around Europe and at that time, in the family of the Grand Duke Ludwig of Hesse-Darmstadt, he chose as his wife Princess Maximiliana Wilhelmina Augusta Sophia Maria (born July 27, 1824), who upon arrival in Russia received St. Confirmation according to the charter of the Orthodox Church, December 5, 1840, with the name of Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna. The betrothal followed the next day, and on April 16, 1841 the marriage took place.

From the marriage of Emperor Alexander II with Empress Maria Alexandrovna the following children were born: led. book Alexandra Alexandrovna, b. August 19, 1842, d. June 16, 1849; led book heir Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich, b. September 8, 1843, d. April 12, 1865; led book Alexander Alexandrovich - now safely reigning Emperor Alexander III (see), b. February 26, 1845; Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, born on April 10, 1847, from August 16, 1874 in marriage with Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, daughter of the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Friedrich-Franz II, b. May 2, 1854; led book Alexey Alexandrovich, b. January 2, 1850; led book Maria Alexandrovna, b. 5 October 1853, married to Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, 11 January 1874; led book Sergey Alexandrovich, b. April 29, 1857, married since June 3, 1884 with Elisaveta Feodorovna, daughter of the Grand. hertz. Hesse, b. October 20, 1864; led book Pavel Alexandrovich, b. September 21, 1860, married since July 4, 1889 to the Greek royal Alexandra Georgievna, b. August 30, 1870

While still an heir, Alexander participated in management matters. IN last years the reign of Emperor Nicholas and during his travels, Alexander repeatedly replaced his august parent; in 1848, during his stay at the Vienna, Berlin and other courts, he carried out various important diplomatic assignments. Having taken over the military educational establishments, Alexander took special care of their needs and the gradual improvement of both scientific teaching and education.

The accession of Alexander II to the throne on February 19, 1855 occurred under very difficult circumstances. The Crimean War, where Russia had to deal with the combined forces of almost all the major European powers, took an unfavorable turn for us. The Allied forces by that time had increased even more due to the addition of 15 tons of Sardinian troops to them; the enemy fleet operated against Russia on all seas. Despite, however, his love of peace, which was also known in Europe, Alexander expressed his firm determination to continue the fight and achieve an honorable peace. Up to 360 thousand militia people were recruited, and 3 recruit sets were given the same amount. The steadfastness and courage of the Russian troops in defending Sevastopol aroused enthusiastic surprise even from their enemies; the names of Kornilov, Nakhimov and others became covered with unfading glory. Finally, however, the terrible action of enemy artillery, which destroyed our fortifications and carried away thousands of people every day, and the combined assault of Sevastopol by all allies, carried out on August 27, forced the Russian troops to leave southern part city and go to the north. The fall of Sevastopol, however, did not bring significant benefit to the enemy. On the other hand, the Russians were partly rewarded with success in Asia: Kars - this impregnable fortress, reinforced by the British - was taken by General Muravyov with his entire large garrison on November 16. This success gave us the opportunity to show our readiness for peace. The Allies, also tired of the war, were willing to enter into negotiations, which began through the Vienna Court. Representatives of 7 powers (Russia, France, Austria, England, Prussia, Sardinia and Turkey) gathered in Paris and on March 18, 1856 a peace treaty was concluded. The main conditions of this agreement were the following: navigation on the Black Sea and Danube is open to all merchant ships; the entrance to the Black Sea, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles is closed to warships, with the exception of those light warships that each power maintains at the mouth of the Danube to ensure free navigation on it. Russia and Turkey, by mutual agreement, maintain an equal number of ships in the Black Sea. Russia, in order to ensure free navigation along the Danube, cedes to the Danube principalities part of its territory at the mouth of this river; she also promises not to fortify the Åland Islands. Christians in Turkey are compared in rights with Muslims, and the Danube principalities come under the general protectorate of Europe.

The Paris peace, although unfavorable for Russia, was still honorable for her in view of such numerous and strong opponents. However, its disadvantageous side - the limitation of Russia's naval forces on the Black Sea - was eliminated during the life of Alexander II with a statement on October 19, 1870.

But the disadvantages of the treaty were offset by the benefits of peace itself, which made it possible to turn all attention to internal reforms, the urgency of which became obvious.

Indeed, the Crimean War exposed many internal ulcers of our fatherland and showed the complete failure of our former way of life. It turned out that a complete reorganization of many parts was necessary, but serfdom stood as an inexorable obstacle to any improvement. The need for reform became palpable and urgent. And with the advent of peace, it was not long before the new era internal update. Already in final words the highest manifesto On March 19, 1856, which heralded the end of the Crimean War, a whole program for the future activities of the Tsar-Liberator was expressed: “With the help of heavenly Providence, which always benefits Russia, may its internal prosperity be established and improved; may truth and mercy reign in its courts; may it develop everywhere and with new strength the desire for enlightenment and all useful activities, and everyone, under the shadow of laws, for everyone equally fair, equally protective, may he enjoy in the world the fruit of the labors of innocents. Finally, this is Our first most living desire, the light of saving Faith, illuminating the minds, strengthening hearts, may it preserve and improve more and more public morality, this surest guarantee of order and happiness.”

In the same year, it was ordered to attend to the opening of women's gymnasiums and an academic committee was established to draw up and review teaching programs and educational manuals. On the day of coronation, August 26, the sovereign's new manifesto was marked by a number of favors. Recruitment was suspended for 3 years, all government arrears, charges, etc. were forgiven, the punishment of various criminals was released or at least commuted, including state criminals who participated in the rebellion on December 14, 1825 and in secret societies of that time, The admission of young Jews to recruits was canceled and recruitment between the latter was ordered to be carried out on a general basis, etc.

But all these private measures, greeted with enthusiasm by Russia, were only the threshold of those fundamental reforms that marked the reign of Alexander II. First of all and most urgently, it seemed to me to resolve the issue of serfdom, which, as was obvious to everyone, was the main root of all other shortcomings of our system. The idea of the need to liberate the peasants and, moreover, with a land allotment, prevailed already during the time of Emperor Nicholas. The entire intelligentsia regarded serfdom as a terrible and shameful evil. Literature continuously continued in this sense the glorious tradition of Radishchev. It is enough to mention the names of Griboyedov, Belinsky, Grigorovich, I. S. Turgenev. But the mood of the intelligentsia, which was predominantly noble, did not prevent the fact that when the question in any form came up for class discussion among the nobles, in this environment it often met with rebuff. Imp. Alexander II, upon ascending the throne, was convinced that the liberation of the peasants should take place during his reign. This was the general mood of the intelligentsia, and even among the peasants themselves there was a vague premonition of the approaching “will.” The decrees on the militia of 1854 and at the beginning of 1855 caused significant unrest in as many as 9 provinces, as peasants en masse expressed their desire to join the militia, considering service in the militia to be a transition to “freedom.”

The question therefore seemed urgent. When the sovereign spoke in Moscow about the need and timeliness of the emancipation of the serfs, all of Russia was seized with enthusiastic, joyful hopes... And in 1856 a special secret committee was established, and on January 3, 1857 had its first meeting under the direct supervision and chairmanship of the the emperor, whose task was to review the decrees and assumptions about serfdom. This committee included: Prince Orlov, gr. Lanskoy, Count Bludov, Minister of Finance Brock, Count V.F. Adlerberg, Prince Vas. A. Dolgorukov, Minister of State Property M. N. Muravyov, Chevkin, Prince P. P. Gagarin, Baron M. A. Korf and Ya. I. Rostovtsev. Of these, only Lanskoy, Bludov, Rostovtsev and Butkov, who managed the affairs of the committee, spoke out in favor of the actual liberation of the peasants; the majority proposed only a number of measures to alleviate the situation of the serfs. The Emperor was dissatisfied with the progress of affairs and appointed Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich a member of the committee. Meanwhile, on August 18, a petition was received from the nobility of 3 Lithuanian provinces for the liberation of the peasants, but with the landowners retaining the right to land. In response to this petition, on November 20, the highest rescript was given to the Vilna military, Grodno and Kovno governor-generals, in which the sovereign allowed the nobility of each of the named provinces to establish a committee that would develop a project for improving the life of the peasants. In the same year, the same permission was given to the nobility of St. Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod, and the next year - to the nobles of Moscow and other provinces; On January 8, 1858, the secret committee was transformed into the “main committee for peasant affairs,” which also included Count Panin, the Minister of Justice, and in March of the same year it was formed in the Ministry of Internal Affairs under the name “Zemstvo Department of the Central Statistical Committee” purely administrative body that played important role in this whole matter. It included such persons as N. A. Milyutin, Ya. A. Solovyov, zealous advocates of the idea of liberation. Journalism of that time was also an energetic ally of the minority, and thanks to the positive will of the sovereign, the good cause, despite the opposition of the majority in the committee, quickly went forward and even assumed broader dimensions than those set in the original rescripts to the nobility. Instead of “improving the life of the peasants,” the question was raised directly on the basis of their complete liberation. 17 Feb In 1859, a decree was announced on the establishment of “editorial commissions”, of which Adjutant General Rostovtsev was appointed chairman. Projects developed by provincial committees were forwarded to these commissions. The project developed by the editorial committee was supposed to go to the commission, which was composed of gr. Lansky, Count Palen and General. Muravyov and Rostovtsev, where the head of affairs was D.S. With. Zhukovsky. Finally, this commission submits the draft with its own considerations to the main committee. When the provincial committees finally presented their projects to the editorial commissions, landowners were called from the provinces twice (in August and December 1859), two from each, to provide the necessary information. Among these latter there were many conservatives, the main committee was also willing to slow down the matter, but the decisive will of the sovereign, who demanded that the committee complete its studies by January 1861, and the influence of its new chairman, led. K. Konstantin Nikolaevich, who replaced Orlov, quickly moved things forward. On January 28, the provisions developed by the drafting commissions and passed through the main committee were subject to consideration by the State Council, which adopted them with some changes in the sense of reducing the size of the peasant allotment. Finally, on February 19, 1861, a great manifesto followed, constituting the glory of the Tsar-Liberator - a manifesto on the liberation of the 22 million peasant population from serfdom.

The liberation of the landowner peasants took place on the following principles. First of all, it was declared obligatory for the landowner to provide his former peasants, in addition to the estate land, with arable and hayfields, in the amounts specified in the regulations. Such an obligation for the landowner to allocate an allotment to the peasants was limited only to relatively small landowners, landowners of the Land of the Don Army, Siberian landowners and owners of private mining factories, for whom special allotment rules were established. Secondly, next to this obligation for the landowner to give allotments to the peasants, the obligation was declared for the peasants to accept the allotment and keep in their use, for the duties established in favor of the landowner, the secular land allocated to them for the first nine years (until February 19, 1870). After 9 years, individual members of the community were given the right to both leave it and refuse to use field lands and lands if they bought out their estate; society itself also receives the right not to accept for its use such plots that individual peasants refuse. Thirdly, with regard to the size of the peasant plot and the payments associated with it, according to general rules it is customary to be based on voluntary agreements between landowners and peasants, for which purpose a charter is concluded through the mediators established by the situation, their congresses and provincial presences on peasant affairs, and in the West. lips - and special verification commissions. Such a voluntary agreement is limited only by the requirement that the peasants have no less than the amount of land left for use that is determined in the local regulations grouping the provinces, to determine the size of the per capita allotment in each of them, three strips; and then, in accordance with the amount of per capita allotment, local regulations determine the amount of duties that temporarily obliged peasants had to bear in favor of the landowners before the redemption was made. These duties are either monetary, or determined in the form of quitrent, or in the form of piecework, corvee. Until the temporarily obliged peasants redeem their lands and are in a guilty relationship with the former landowner, the latter is provided with patrimonial police in the rural society of temporarily obliged peasants.

The provision, however, is not limited to the rules for allocating land to peasants for permanent use, but makes it easier for them to buy out the allocated plots of land into their ownership using a state redemption operation, and the government gives peasants a loan for the lands they acquire with a payment in installments for 49 years and, by issuing this amount to the landowner in government interest-bearing securities, he takes upon himself all further settlements with the peasants. Upon approval of the redemption transaction by the government, all obligatory relations between the peasants and the landowner are terminated, and the latter enter the category of peasant-owners.

This happened peacefully and without significant upheavals. state mechanism a great reform, which since the time of Catherine II was considered next in line, but which they were still afraid to begin. Instead of 22 mil. enslaved people created a free peasant class with significant self-government within the community and volost. The rights granted to the landowner peasants by the regulation of February 19, 1861 were gradually extended to the palace, appanage, assigned and state peasants.

After the peasant situation, the most important place in the series of administrative reforms occupies, without any doubt, the provision on zemstvo institutions. Back on March 25, 1859, the highest order was given to transform the provincial and district administrations, and the following leadership principle was indicated: “When establishing the executive and investigative parts, enter into the consideration of the economic and administrative management in the district, which is now divided between several committees and part of it is included in composition of the police department; with this consideration, it is necessary to provide the economic administration in the district with greater unity, greater independence and greater trust; and at the same time, the degree of participation of each class in the economic administration of the district must be determined." On October 23, 1859, these principles were ordered to be distributed to the transformation of provincial institutions. As a result, a special commission was established at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the activities of which were facilitated from the very beginning modern works, carried out in a special commission under the Ministry of Finance to revise the tax system. As a result of all this work, it was published on January 1. 1864 regulation on provincial and district zemstvo institutions, which are entrusted with the following matters: management of property, capital and monetary collections of the zemstvo, arrangement and maintenance of buildings and communications belonging to the zemstvo, management of mutual zemstvo property insurance, care for the development of local trade and industry, the affairs of national food and public charity for the poor, participation, mainly in economic terms, within the limits of the law, in the care of the building of churches, public education, public health and the maintenance of prisons, the allocation, purpose, collection and expenditure of local and some state levies to satisfy zemstvo needs of the province or district. To manage all these zemstvo affairs, they were established: in each district - district zemstvo assembly, meeting once a year and having its own permanent executive body called district zemstvo government; in the province there is provincial zemstvo assembly with its permanent executive body - provincial zemstvo council. In connection with the reform of zemstvo administration, it was approved on June 16, 1870. City Regulations, which gives our cities significant self-government. According to this Regulation, city public administration consists of city electoral meetings, city duma And city government chaired by the mayor. The scope of city government within the city is very extensive. The Duma independently organizes city administration and economy, elects officials and assigns them salaries, establishes city fees, manages city property, spends sums, takes care of the external improvement of the city, its health, education and industry, charitable institutions, etc. Moreover, the exact execution of the regulations issued by city public institutions must be strictly monitored by the police.

Among the reforms that marked the reign of Alexander II, one of the leading places undoubtedly belongs to judicial reform. This deeply thought-out reform had a strong and direct impact on the entire system of government and public life, she introduced into it completely new, long-awaited principles - which are: the complete separation of the judicial power from the administrative and prosecutorial power, publicity and openness of the court, the independence of judges, the legal profession and the adversarial procedure of legal proceedings, and the more important criminal cases in terms of the gravity of the crimes are ordered to be transferred to public court conscience represented by jurors. It's already September 29th. In 1862, the main provisions regarding the transformation of the judiciary, drawn up by the Second Department of His Own Imp., were reviewed and approved by the sovereign. Majesty's Office. Then a special commission was established under the direct chairmanship of the Secretary of State, which, developing these provisions, drew up draft judicial statutes, then discussed and amended in detail by the State Council, and finally, on November 24, 1864, the Charter of Criminal and Civil Procedure and the Charter were approved by the highest decree on punishments imposed by magistrates.

The essence of judicial reform boils down to the following. The trial is oral and public; judicial power is separated from accusatory power and belongs to the courts without any participation of administrative power; the main form of legal proceedings is the adversarial process; a case on its merits can be examined in no more than two instances; to the third instance (the cassation department of the Senate) can only be transferred upon requests for cassation of decisions in cases of obvious violation direct meaning laws or rituals and forms of production; in cases of crimes entailing punishment, coupled with the deprivation of all or some special rights and benefits of the state, the determination of guilt is left to jurors elected from local inhabitants of all classes; clerical secrecy is eliminated, and for the petition in cases and the defense of defendants, there are sworn attorneys in the courts, who are under the supervision of special councils composed of the same corporation. New judicial institutions received the following types: magistrates' courts, congresses of magistrates, district courts and judicial chambers. The county, constituting a world district, is divided into world sections, the number of which is determined by a special schedule. Each magistrate's precinct has a local magistrate, and within the district there are several honorary magistrates; all of them are elected for 3 years from local residents who meet the conditions prescribed by law, and are approved by the Governing Senate. For the final decision of a case subject to amicable proceedings, district and honorary magistrates of the district hold regular congresses at the appointed time, the chairman of which is elected for 3 years from among them. - A district court is established for several districts, consisting of a chairman and a certain number of members appointed by the government, and a high judicial district is constituted from one or more provinces, in which a judicial chamber is established, divided into departments, and both the chairman and their regular members are appointed government. At district courts and judicial chambers, to determine the guilt or innocence of the defendant in criminal cases, there are jurors elected from local inhabitants of all classes. Then, each of these two institutions has a special prosecutor and a certain number of his comrades. The prosecutor of the district court is subordinate to the prosecutor of the judicial chamber, and the latter is directly dependent on the Minister of Justice, as the prosecutor general.

Military Administration has also undergone transformations. Already at the beginning of the reign, military settlements were destroyed, the period of military service was reduced from 25 to 15 years, humiliating corporal punishment was abolished, and special attention was paid to raising the level of general education army officers through reforms of military educational institutions. Further, due to the noticed shortcomings in the structure of military command, which stemmed from its excessive centralization, in 1862 the Ministry of War was given the highest order to subject the system of military command to a radical revision, bearing in mind the absolute need to strengthen management at the locations of troops. As a result of this revision, the Regulations on Military District Directorates, approved on August 6, 1864, were issued. Based on this provision, initially 10 military districts were established, and then (Aug. 6, 1865) 4 more. In each district, a chief commander was appointed at the immediate highest discretion, bearing the name of the commander of the troops of such and such a military district. This position may also be assigned to the local governor-general. In some districts, an assistant commander of the troops is also appointed. - Another significant measure for the transformation of our military structure was the Charter on Military Service published on January 1, 1874, according to which the entire male population of the empire, regardless of condition, is subject to military service, and this service consists of remaining in the ranks for 6 years, 9 years in expulsion and up to 40 years of age in the militia. It must also be borne in mind that in 1867 a public court was also introduced in the army; judicial power is distributed between regimental courts, district courts and the main military court in St. Petersburg. The composition of the courts, excluding regimental ones, was supposed to be replenished with officers completing a course at the Military Law Academy.

Public education also attracted the attention of the sovereign. Of particular importance in this regard was the publication of a new and general charter of Russian universities on June 18, 1863, in the development of which, on the initiative of the Minister of Public Education A.V. Golovnin, a special commission under the Main Board of Schools, composed mainly of St. Petersburg professors, participated. university. According to this charter, each university (under the main command of the Minister of Public Education) is entrusted to the trustee of the educational district, who is entrusted with government control, within the limits determined by the charter, over the independent orders of the university. Each university consists of a certain number of faculties, as components of one whole. Control educational part entrusted to the faculties and council of the university. Each faculty constitutes an independent faculty assembly of ordinary and extraordinary professors under the chairmanship of a dean, elected by them for 3 years. The council is composed of all ordinary and extraordinary professors under the chairmanship of the rector, elected by the council for 4 years and confirmed in rank by the highest order. The rector is also entrusted with the immediate management of the university. The charter defines which matters the faculties and council can decide by their own authority and which must be approved by the trustee and the minister. For economic affairs, a board has been established under the chairmanship of the rector, consisting of deans and an inspector (invited only for student affairs). A university court of three judges, annually elected by a council of professors, has been established to deal with student misconduct. In addition, the content of professors, the number of departments and the funds of the university are increased.

On November 19, 1864, a new charter on gymnasiums also appeared, significantly modified and supplemented by the charter of June 19, 1871. According to these charters, secondary educational institutions are divided into classical, in which the classical system is carried out with great firmness, and real ones. Public education in in every sense settled by the highest approval on June 14, 1864. Regulations on primary public schools. Attention was also paid to women's education. Already in the 60s, instead of the previous closed women's institutions, open ones began to be established, with the admission of girls of all classes, and these new institutions were under the department of the Institutions of Empress Maria. The Ministry of Public Education began to establish similar gymnasiums. In 1870, on May 24, a new Regulations on women's gymnasiums and pro-gymnasiums of the Ministry of Public Education. These educational institutions were accepted under the highest patronage of the Empress. They are allowed to be established with the permission of the trustees of educational districts in such cities where it is possible to ensure their existence through public or private donations, and the ministry is allowed to provide benefits to these institutions, for which it is given a certain amount annually in accordance with the funds of the treasury, but not more than, however, 150 t.r. in year. Finally, the need for higher education for women led to the establishment pedagogical courses and higher women's courses in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kyiv, Kazan and Odessa.

The press reform also had a profound and beneficial influence on the development of public consciousness. Already in 1862, the main censorship department was closed and part of its responsibilities were assigned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the other directly to the Minister of Public Education. Finally, on April 6, 1865, Temporary Rules for Press Affairs. The Central Administration for Press Affairs is entrusted to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, within which the Main Directorate for Press Affairs has been opened. This department is entrusted with three types of affairs: 1) monitoring print works published without censorship permission; 2) supervision of printing houses, lithographs and bookstores, and 3) administration of the remaining preliminary censorship. All periodicals and works of at least 10 sheets published in the capitals, as well as all publications of scientific institutions, drawings, plans and maps are universally exempt from preliminary censorship.

The reign of Alexander II, so rich in terms of internal reforms, was also marked in terms of foreign policy a whole series of military actions, which ultimately again raised the temporarily diminished importance of Russia after the Crimean War and again gave it its rightful position in the host of European powers. As a matter of fact, despite the fact that the matter of internal renewal absorbed almost all the government’s attention, especially in the first half of Alexander’s reign, the war with external enemies went on almost continuously on the outskirts of the state. First of all, upon his accession to the throne, Alexander II had to end another war, which he inherited from his previous reign along with the Crimean one. It was a war with the Caucasian highlanders. This struggle, which has been going on for a long time, costing us a lot of effort and resources, has not yet produced any decisive results. Shamil, the leader of the highlanders, even pushed us away from Dagestan and Chechnya. At the end of the Crimean War, the sovereign appointed Prince Baryatinsky as commander-in-chief in the Caucasus, and things moved faster. Already in April 1859, Vedeno, the seat of Shamil, was taken, which entailed the subjugation of almost all of Dagestan. Shamil and his followers retired to the impregnable heights of Gunib, but were surrounded on all sides by Russian troops and on August 25, after their decisive attack, he was forced to surrender. Eastern Caucasus, was thus subdued; the conquest of the West still remained. The latter was all the more difficult because the mountaineers were actively supported by all our enemies who did not want to allow the end Caucasian War. Despite the peace concluded with us, Turkey accepted the mountaineers, as Muslims, under its protection, and delivered weapons and reinforcements through its emissaries. England also collected money for the Circassians, and the French ambassador in Constantinople clearly took their side. In Trebizond, a committee for “assistance to the highlanders” was even formed by the European consuls (with the exception of the Prussian one). Despite, however, all these out-of-town electoral meetings, city deliberations, the work of conquering and gradually pushing the highlanders to the sea moved forward, albeit slowly, thanks to the energy and familiarity with the local conditions of General Evdokimov. At the beginning of 1863, Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich was appointed governor of the Caucasus, and things moved quickly, so that on May 21, 1864, the Grand Duke could telegraph to the sovereign about the complete conquest of the Western Caucasus.

In the same year, 2 more major events took place - the pacification of Poland and the conquest of Turkestan.

After the suppression of the Polish uprising in 1831, Poland was in the position of a rebellious country, so that, next to the ordinary administration, there was also a special military-police department. Emperor Alexander II, having ascended the throne, destroyed this difference between the Poles and other Russian subjects. Amnesty was granted to political criminals, the Poles were given many benefits, and the establishment of an Agricultural Society with an unlimited number of members, chaired by Count Zamoyski, was allowed. Despite, however, all these benefits, the revolutionary party did not give up its aspirations. The agricultural society also began to pursue the goals of national unification. The success of the Italian national movement, the unrest in the Austrian possessions - all this increased the hopes of Polish patriots. In 1860, a series of demonstrations began against the Russians, which especially intensified in 1861. Despite, however, these demonstrations, which even reached the point of clashes between people and troops, the government continued its restrained and peaceful policy. The Poles were even announced the appointment of the famous Polish patriot, the Marquis of Wielepolsky, as director of education and spiritual affairs, the establishment in the Kingdom of new schools and the State Council of eminent persons of the region, elected councils in the provinces and districts and elected municipal government in Warsaw. But all this could not satisfy the revolutionary party. An attempt was even made on the life of the newly appointed governor of the kingdom, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, and it was announced that a new Polish government (Zhond) with a central people's committee would be established in all parts of the former Poland. In view of all these threatening actions, the government resorted to a decisive measure - it announced a general recruitment in the Kingdom not by lot, but by personal call, limiting it to the urban population and those rural residents who are not engaged in arable farming. This measure brought the revolutionary party to the last degree of irritation, and at the beginning of 1863, when the recruitment announcement followed, the revolutionary committee called all Poles to arms. On the night of January 10-11, an attack was made on our troops located in different places in the Kingdom. This enterprise was generally unsuccessful. When the last attempt made by the government towards reconciliation, namely the granting of forgiveness to those who would lay down their arms before May 1, did not lead to anything, the government took vigorous measures to suppress the uprising. The intercession of the Western powers, who sent their notes on the Polish question, was rejected, and the general indignation that gripped Russia thanks to the importunate and provocative tone of these notes and expressed in a whole mass of addresses from all the noble assemblies, expressing their devotion to the sovereign and their readiness to die for him, forced the uninvited intercessors to give up their demands. The uprising was suppressed thanks to the energetic actions of the governor of Warsaw, Count. Berg and the Vilna Governor-General gr. Muravyova. Following this, a number of measures were taken to contribute to the final pacification of Poland, and the main figures in this field were Prince Cherkassky and N.A. Milyutin. Polish peasants were granted land ownership and secular self-government, cities and towns were freed from patrimonial dependence in relation to the landowners, in the provinces (of which the number was increased from 5 to 10) and districts, administration similar to that in force in the empire was introduced, etc. In 1869 (March 28) the highest will was announced to take measures for the complete merger of the Kingdom with other parts of the empire and to abolish for this purpose all government institutions central to the Kingdom. Finally, in 1869, the Imperial University was established in place of the Main School in Warsaw.

At the same time as all these events, there was a struggle on our Asian border. Already during the reign of Emperor Nicholas I, the Russians had a firm foothold in Turkestan thanks to the subjugation of the Kirghiz. In 1864, as a result of the energetic and intensified actions of General Verevkin and Colonel Chernyaev, our frontier front line moved forward significantly: Chernyaev took Aulieta and Chekment by storm, and Verevkin, for his part, conquered Turkestan. Having learned that the Emir of Bukhara intended to occupy Tashkent, which depended on Kokand, Chernyaev in 1865 quickly moved to this city, protected by 30 troops. garrison, and, having only 2000 people. and 12 guns, took it by open assault. The fight with the emir continued until 1868, when Samarkand and Uzhgut were taken. The emir was forced to reconcile and conclude an agreement according to which he provided Russian merchants with complete freedom of trade and abolished slavery in his possessions. Back in 1867, the Turkestan Governor-General was established from the Turkestan region with the addition of the Semirechensk region to it again. In 1871, Russian possessions were enriched by the annexation of Kuldja, and in 1875 Kokand itself, which now makes up the Fergana region, was occupied. Even before the conquest of Kokand, the struggle with the Khiva Khan began. Under the protection of his unfortunate, waterless steppes, this latter did not pay attention to the treaty concluded with the Russians in 1842, attacked Russian merchants, robbed them and took them captive. I had to resort to drastic measures. In 1873, three detachments moved to Khiva from three different directions: a detachment led by General Markozov came from the shores of the Caspian Sea, General Verevkin came from Orenburg, and General Kaufman, the main commander of the entire expedition, came from Tashkent. The first detachment was supposed to return, but the remaining two, despite the 45° heat, lack of water and all sorts of difficulties, reached Khiva, took it and conquered the entire state in 2 weeks. The Khan was forced to admit his dependence on the White Tsar and cede part of his possessions at the mouth of the Amu Darya; further, he granted Russian merchants complete freedom of trade and exclusive navigation along the Amu Darya; their disputes with the Khivans were to be resolved by the Russian authorities; under the khan himself, a council of noble Khivans and Russian officers was established, and, finally, he had to pay an indemnity of 2,200,000 rubles. After the subjugation of the Kirghiz and Turkmens, the annexation of Samarkand and Kokand and the bringing of Khiva and Bukhara into dependence, the Russians had only one more enemy left in Central Asia - this was the Khan of Kashgar Yakub, protected by the British, who gave him the title of emir from the Sultan of Constantinople. When the Russians occupied Gulja in 1870 and thus approached his possessions, he tried to resist, supported by the British. Yakub died in 1877, and the Chinese laid claim to his possessions, demanding that the Russians also return Gulja. After long negotiations in St. Petersburg, on February 24, 1881, through the Chinese commissioner Marquis Tzenga, an agreement was concluded with the Chinese, according to which the Russians ceded Gulja to them and renounced their claims to Kashgar in exchange for various trade privileges.

To punish the Turkmen who lived on the borders of Afghanistan and owned the cities of Geok-Tepe and Merv for their predatory raids, an expedition was launched against them. On December 20, 1880, General Skobelev took Yanshkale by storm, then Dengil-Tepe and Geok-Tepe, and on January 30, 1881 he took Askhabad. The concession of Ahal-Teke by the Shah in connection with the acquisition of Lekhabad and Geok-Tepe, however, gave us very advantageous positions on the northern border of Afghanistan. (Wed. I. Strelbitsky"Land acquisitions of Russia during the reign of Emperor Alexander II from 1855 to 1881", St. Petersburg, 1881).

On the eastern outskirts of Asia, during the reign of Alexander II, Russia also made quite important acquisitions, moreover, in a peaceful way. According to the Aigun Treaty, concluded with China in 1857, the entire left bank of the Amur went to us, and the Beijing Treaty of 1860 also provided us with part of the right bank between the river. Ussuri, Korea and the sea. Since then, the rapid settlement of the Amur region began, and various settlements and even cities began to emerge one after another. In 1875, Japan ceded the part of Sakhalin that did not yet belong to us in exchange for the Kuril Islands, which we did not need at all. In the same way, in order not to scatter its forces and round off the Asian border, the government decided to abandon our former possessions in North America and, for a monetary reward, ceded them to the United North American States, which served as the basis for our friendship with the latter.

But the largest, most glorious military enterprise of the reign of Alexander II is Russian-Turkish war 1877-1878

After the Crimean War, Russia, busy with its own internal affairs, for some time completely withdrew from Western European affairs. Thus, in 1859, during the Austro-Italian conflict, Russia limited itself only to armed neutrality. The latter responded to the interference of the Roman Curia in the government's relations with its Catholic subjects by canceling the concordat of 1847 on December 4, 1866, and in June 1869 it forbade the Catholic bishops of the empire to take part in the council convened by Pius IX. During the Danish-Prussian War, the Emperor tried to be only a mediator and remained in the same neutral position during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. The Franco-Prussian War of 1870 gave rise to the abolition of the article of the Paris Peace that was unfavorable for us, which did not allow us to have fleet on the Black Sea.

Taking advantage of the defeat of France and the isolation of England, the Russian Chancellor, Prince Gorchakov, in a circular dispatch dated October 19, stated that Russia no longer intended to constrain itself with the mentioned article, and the London Conference on March 1 (13), 1871 recognized this change by striking out the article from the treaty. After the fall of Napoleon, the 3 emperors entered into a close alliance with each other, called the “Triple Alliance”. The Berlin Congress of 1872, the visit of the German Emperor to St. Petersburg in 1873 and frequent meetings of the 3 emperors further strengthened this alliance. The Eastern question, however, soon put this Western friendship towards us to a great test.

The fate of our kindred Slavic tribes on the Balkan Peninsula has always attracted the attention and sympathy of the Russian people and government. Of these tribes, the Serbs, Romanians and Montenegrins achieved some independence in the 60s; This was not the fate of the Slavs in Bosnia, Herzegovina and Bulgaria. Here Turkish oppression and tyranny reigned in all its unbridledness, causing frequent desperate uprisings of the inhabitants, driven to extremes. In 1874, an uprising broke out in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Turks suffered defeat after defeat. To calm the rebels, representatives of Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary drew up a reform program for Turkey in Berlin. But the Turks, relying on England’s obvious sympathy for them, not only rejected this program, but boldly killed the French and German consuls in Thessaloniki, who stood up for one Bulgarian girl, and then, not being able to defeat the rebels in Bosnia and Herzegovina, attacked the defenseless Bulgaria. Since 1864, the Porte began to settle here Circassians who were evicted from the Caucasus in order to avoid Russian domination. Accustomed to living by robbery and robbery in their homeland, these predators, called bashi-bazouks, began to oppress the Bulgarian peasants, forcing them to work for themselves, like serfs. The ancient hatred between Christians and Muslims flared up with renewed vigor. The peasants took up arms. And so, to take revenge for this uprising, Turkey sent thousands of Circassians, Bashi-Bazouks and other irregular troops against Bulgaria. Civilians were treated equally with the rebels. Terrible rampages and massacres began. In Batak alone, out of 7,000 inhabitants, 5,000 people were beaten. An investigation undertaken by the French envoy showed that 20 thousand Christians died within 3 months. All of Europe was gripped by indignation. But this feeling had the strongest impact in Russia and in all Slavic lands. Serbia and Montenegro stood up for the Bulgarians. General Chernyaev, the winner of Tashkent, took command of the Serbian army as a volunteer. Russian volunteers from all classes of society flocked to help the rebels; Society's sympathy was expressed through all sorts of voluntary donations. Serbia, however, was not successful due to the numerical superiority of the Turks. Russian public opinion loudly demanded war. Emperor Alexander II, due to his characteristic peacefulness, wanted to avoid it and reach an agreement through diplomatic negotiations. But neither the Constantinople Conference (November 11, 1876) nor the London Protocol led to any results. The Turks refused to fulfill even the mildest demands, counting on the support of England. War became inevitable. On April 12, 1877, our troops stationed near Chisinau were given the order to enter Turkey. On the same day, our Caucasian troops, of which Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich was appointed commander-in-chief, entered the borders of Asian Turkey. Started Eastern War 1877- 78G.(see this next), which covered the Russian soldier with such loud, unfading glory of valor.

Treaty of San Stefano 19 Feb. In addition to its direct goal - the liberation of the Balkan Slavs - 1878 brought brilliant results to Russia. The intervention of Europe, which jealously followed Russia's successes, with the Berlin Treaty significantly narrowed the size of these results, but they still remain very significant. Russia acquired the Danube part of Bessarabia and the Turkish regions bordering Transcaucasia with the fortresses of Kars, Ardahan and Batum, converted into a free port.

Emperor Alexander II, who sacredly and courageously carried out the work assigned to him by fate - the construction and rise of a huge monarchy, arousing the delight of true patriots and the surprise of enlightened people of the whole world, also met evil ill-wishers. With madness and fury, pursuing goals incomprehensible to anyone, the organizers-destroyers created a whole series of attempts on the life of the sovereign, who was the pride and glory of Russia, attempts that so greatly interfered with his great undertakings, confused his peace and bewildered a large kingdom, completely calm and the king devoted. Various police measures, created one after another, and enormous powers given at the end of the reign to the Minister of Internal Affairs, Count. Loris-Melikov, to the great sadness of the Russian people, did not achieve their goal. On March 1, 1881, the sovereign, for whom a large population was ready to lay down their lives, died a martyr’s death from a villainous hand that threw an explosive shell. On scary place After the assassination of the great sovereign, the Church of the Resurrection was erected in St. Petersburg, the same temples and various monuments in memory of the Tsar-Liberator were built in different places of the Russian land, and the Russian people, remembering the name of the Tsar-Liberator, always make the sign of the cross.

Encyclopedia Brockhaus-Efron

Future king Alexander II born April 29 (April 17, old style) 1818. From birth, the firstborn of the imperial couple Nikolai Pavlovich And Alexandra Fedorovna was perceived as a potential heir to the throne, because the king’s older brothers had no children. Therefore, special attention was paid to the upbringing and education of the future emperor. He taught him sacred history and the Law of God Archpriest Gerasim Pavsky, taught arithmetic Academician Collins, the basics of military affairs - Colonel Karl Merder, and legislation - statesman Mikhail Speransky. The Russian language teacher and main mentor of Alexander Nikolaevich, responsible for his training and education, was the court councilor, poet Vasily Zhukovsky.

The main direction of Russia’s domestic policy during the reign of Alexander II was liberal reforms, nicknamed “great”. In the 1860-70s, financial, zemstvo, judicial, censorship, military reforms, reforms of the middle and higher education, city government. This list of transformations is crowned by the peasant reform. On March 3 (February 19, old style), 1861, the emperor signed two documents: “Manifesto on the abolition of serfdom” and “Regulations on peasants emerging from serfdom.” According to them, peasants ceased to be considered serfs and received the status of “temporarily obliged”. They were allocated a house plot and a field plot, for the use of which the peasants had to serve corvee or pay dues for 49 years.

Also associated with the name of Alexander II is Alaska: a peninsula sold by the Emperor to the United States of America in 1867. This remote possession was costly to the treasury, and it was also believed that in case of war it would be difficult to defend. Nevertheless, under Alexander II, Russia significantly expanded its borders, the territories of Central Asia were annexed to it, North Caucasus, Far East and Bessarabia.

The personal life of the tsar was always on the lips of his contemporaries. In his youth, he often fell in love with court ladies-in-waiting, and had stormy affairs with some of them. One of the ladies of Alexander's heart was the young Queen Victoria, whom he met during a trip to London in 1839. In 1841, the twenty-three-year-old heir to the throne married the seventeen-year-old princess of the House of Hesse, who received the name in Orthodoxy Maria Alexandrovna. While married, the emperor continued to have affairs, and by the end of 1870 he began to live in two families, without particularly hiding it. Princess Ekaterina Dolgorukova, The Tsar's young mistress, together with their common illegitimate children, lived in separate chambers in the Winter Palace, next to the legal wife of Alexander II.

In July 1880, a few months after the death of Maria Alexandrovna, the emperor married Catherine. The wedding took place hastily, before the end of the required mourning. Alexander II wanted to crown his chosen one and make their common children heirs to the throne, but did not have time: their family happiness with Dolgorukova lasted less than a year. On March 13 (March 1, old style), 1881, the emperor died as a result of another (sixth) assassination attempt. The wound received from a bomb thrown at his feet by Narodnaya Volya member Ignatius Grinevitsky turned out to be fatal.