Emperor Alexander II known primarily as the “tsar-liberator” who abolished serfdom. But we should not forget that the reformer sovereign carried out much more reforms.
Birth of Tsar-Liberator Alexander 2
Having accomplished the great work of liberating the peasants and carrying out a number of other reforms, Alexander II took the necessary steps towards transforming Russia into a competitive state destined to play one of the leading roles on the world stage. But at the same time, his reforms accelerated the process of revolutionary ferment in Russian society, to which their creator fell victim. Alexander 2.
In 1818, the Russian imperial court spent the last days before Easter and Holy Week in Moscow. All members of the imperial family, with the exception of Emperor Alexander I himself, who was on a trip to the south of Russia, celebrated Easter Sunday within the ancient walls.
15 years of happy and serene life have passed Alexander Nikolaevich Romanov after his marriage. The future emperor is young, healthy, “ideally” in love with his wife and enjoys reciprocity; children are born one after another; his father introduced him to state affairs - but the burden of autocratic responsibility had not yet fallen on his shoulders. Everything moves along the track that was drawn for Russia by the index finger of Nicholas I, and it is not he, Alexander, who has to make decisions that could lead to either glory or the destruction of the empire.
Alexander Nikolaevich bowed to his father’s authority until his sudden death on February 18, 1855. Nikolai left his son a difficult inheritance. The Crimean War was going on, and it was obvious that, despite the unprecedented courage of the Russian soldiers, Russia would be defeated in it for many months.
The technical backwardness of our army, the lack of weapons, organization, the complete breakdown of the financial system - all this could not be redeemed by the heroism of the Russian army. And on March 18, 1856, the Paris Peace Treaty was signed between Russia on the one hand and “all of Europe”, coupled with Ottoman Empire with another. The treaty cost Russia the Black Sea Fleet, but—through the efforts of the diplomatic genius A.M. Gorchakov—it turned out to be not as humiliating as one might have expected.
Nevertheless, the defeat in the Crimean War was an important lesson for Alexander II, which pushed him to realize the need for speedy reforms.
Sasha Mitrakhovich 14.02.2017 08:59
In the photo: “Announcement of the 1861 Manifesto” by Kustodiev
Emperor Alexander II began his reform activities even before the signing of the Treaty of Paris. In December 1855, he ordered the liquidation of the Supreme Censorship Committee, ushering in a new era of glasnost in Russian history. Society, discouraged and humiliated by what was happening in the army in the field, was in dire need of at least speaking out, believing urbi et orbi its doubts and hopes. It received this opportunity - and was immediately provided with a multitude of independent printed publications of various kinds.
Next, it was necessary to resolve the most painful issue - the peasant one, thanks to which Russia long years remained somewhere on the “feudal outskirts” of Europe. Apparently, the emperor was afraid to approach him. Back in March 1856, he assured the Moscow nobility that the “rumors” about the liberation of the peasants were “unfair,” although he tested the waters with caution, he often made the following speeches:
“But I won’t tell you that I am completely against it. We live in such an age that this must happen over time. I think that you are of the same opinion as me; therefore, it is much better that it should happen from above than from below.”
Only in January 1861 did the sovereign find enough strength to push through the bill on the abolition of serfdom, prepared by the relevant committee. He accepted it despite the objections of the majority of members of the State Council. On February 19, Alexander II approved the final text of the law on the emancipation of peasants and signed the Highest Manifesto, read out on March 5 after mass in all churches from the pulpits of which the Tsar’s word was heard:
“Make the sign of the cross, Orthodox people, and call with Us God’s blessing on your free labor, the guarantee of home well-being and public good.”
It should be noted that after many years of dreaming about “freedom,” the peasants received less than they would have liked. However, considering that in 1859 almost a third of the nobility spoke out in favor of the fact that the “grey-legged” should not be freed under any circumstances, and another third proposed to free them without land at all, we must recognize the beneficence and great value this "revolution from above".
Reforms of Alexander II:
1861 Peasant reform.
Liberation of peasants from serfdom with personal land allotment and the possibility of purchasing land from the landowner.
The peasants gained personal freedom. True, the former serfs did not automatically receive land plots - they had to pay redemption payments to the state for 49 years. Nevertheless, the reform gave impetus to the development of both agriculture and industry - after all, many peasants who became free flowed to the factories.
The reform was of a compromise nature and therefore did not satisfy either the peasants, who were mutely talking among themselves about “another will”, which the tsar supposedly “promised, but the bar was taken away,” nor the nobles, who for the most part were unable to manage their estates without the use of free labor and quickly ruined.
1864 Zemstvo reform.
In 1864, zemstvos appeared - local bodies of self-government in counties and provinces.
One of the greatest liberal reforms of the reign of Alexander II was the creation in rural Russia new structure local government- zemstvos. Already on January 1, 1864, the Regulations on provincial and district zemstvo institutions were promulgated.
Creation of local government bodies (provincial and district zemstvo assemblies and councils), elected, on an unclassified basis. It was intended to promote “local initiative”, but only partially achieved its goals.
Among other responsibilities, zemstvo self-government bodies in a number of Russian provinces were entrusted with the most difficult task - the arrangement and further development of the public health care system.
1864 Judicial reform.
Judicial reform was of great importance for Russia. Since 1864, the court was built on an estateless basis, the irremovability of judges and the independence of the court from the administration were proclaimed. The introduction of all-class courts, the establishment of openness of legal proceedings, the establishment of the legal profession. Refers to the most radical reforms.
1870 Urban reform.
“City version” of zemstvo reform. Creation of city councils and councils - unlike zemstvos, they were classless in nature.
1874 Military reform.
The military reform stretched until 1874, the result of which was the transition from conscription to universal conscription. The introduction of universal conscription, reducing the period of active service to 5 (ground forces) - 7 (navy) years against the previous service period of 25 years. The goal was to strengthen Russia's defense capabilities.
1860-1870s Church and educational reforms
as a result of which graduates of theological seminaries received access to universities, the persecution of Old Believers loyal to the secular authorities stopped, partial autonomy of universities was introduced, and the first Higher Women's Courses in Russia were opened (1869). The new university charter and school reform led to the democratization of all levels of education, and press reform significantly weakened censorship.
Military reform of the 1860s-1870s
The military reform of the 1860s-1870s turned out to be very progressive and timely during the reign of Alexander 2.
The lesson of the Crimean War that sadly ended for Russia - “the British don’t clean their guns with bricks” - was learned and understood. The personnel structure, organization, and technical equipment of the Russian army were subject to reform. The troops received new states - so, in peacetime, the highest tactical unit was now considered a division (not an army or a corps, as before), and for ease of administration, the entire territory of the state was divided into military districts - this system is still used today. All troops stationed in it were subordinate to the district commander. The districts ensured the rapid mobilization of the army in case of war.
Also, during the reform, the Main (now General) Headquarters was created, the size of the enormously bloated army of the “Nikolaev model” was reduced by almost half, a network of military schools and courts was created, corporal punishment was abolished; and although those “especially fined” in some cases could still be punished with canes, the nightmarish gauntlets and passes through the gauntlet are a thing of the past. The army and navy were radically re-equipped: breech-loading (that is, loaded not from the muzzle, but from the breech) guns and artillery pieces, rapid-fire cannons on metal carriages appeared, obsolete sailing ships began to be replaced by battleships.
One of the remarkable achievements of the reform was the replacement of conscription with universal conscription in 1874. Theoretically, all young people over 20 years old were considered liable for military service; In practice, only the minimum required number of recruits was drafted, about a quarter of the draft. Didn't recruit only sons in the family and the only breadwinners, those whose older brother had already served were exempt from conscription.
The length of service was also significantly reduced: to six years in the army plus nine years in the reserve. Benefits extended to the educated: persons with primary education served for four years, graduates of city schools - three, graduates of gymnasiums - four. Those with higher education served for only six months.
Sasha Mitrakhovich 14.02.2017 09:14
Alas, the society contemporary to Alexander II failed to give a proper assessment of what had happened. The emperor found himself between a rock and a hard place. Reproaches fell both from the conservative nobility, on which the throne was accustomed to rely, and from the new force - guardians for the people, who read Fourier, Saint-Simon, Dobrolyubov and Chernyshevsky and looked forward to the kingdom of God - on earth and without God.
The police measures by which order was maintained in Russia under Nicholas I were a thing of the past, and the educated class (a fair portion of it was already made up of commoners) wandered. To experience loyal feelings towards the anointed one, and even more so to speak about them out loud, became more and more indecent, “uncomme il faut” - not everywhere, of course, but in certain circles, which, however, were rapidly expanding. The intelligentsia took the path of denying the monarchy and opposed itself to it: already in 1862, the first proclamations appeared calling for the overthrow of the autocracy and the division of the land.
Simultaneously with internal Russian fermentation processes, the national liberation movement revived in the northwestern outskirts of the empire. Some softening of the rules established in his time by Nicholas I in the Kingdom of Poland was perceived by Polish patriots as a signal to action. In January 1863, an armed uprising began, which was suppressed only with the most severe measures. The situation stabilized, but the suppression of the rebels also did not add to the popularity of Alexander II.
Sasha Mitrakhovich 14.02.2017 09:36
The last years of the reign of Alexander II were marked for the country by the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, which caused a certain patriotic upsurge in society, alleviated the situation of the Orthodox Slavic population of the Balkans and demonstrated the combat effectiveness of our army, but nevertheless, according to the results of the peace treaty, not at all so victorious , as the successes of Russian weapons deserved. Why this happened is a topic for a separate conversation, which is not appropriate to conduct here.
For Emperor Alexander II himself, the years from 1865 to 1881 became a time of painful discord in the family and equally painful happiness.
Empress Maria Alexandrovna, whose health was undermined by frequent childbirth and the rotten St. Petersburg climate, slowly faded away. Alexander felt sorry for her, but languished nearby. In 1865, the untimely death of Tsarevich Nicholas, a handsome young man who suffered from spinal tuberculosis, dealt the final blow to the emperor's family. The crowned spouses moved away from each other. The sovereign's romances, which had happened before, were no secret to anyone, but in 1865 he fell in love last love. His chosen one, Princess Ekaterina Dolgorukova, bore him three children, and soon after the death of Maria Alexandrovna in 1880, without waiting for the prescribed period of mourning, the emperor married her.
High society took his action with hostility - but Alexander probably foresaw his imminent death, because starting in 1879, terrorists hunted him like an animal - and sought to ensure the future of his morganatic wife and children.
On the way to the constitution
On the morning of March 1, 1881, Alexander II ordered the convening of the Council of Ministers for the final editing of the relevant government message. It was not yet a parliament, not a constitution, but a definite step towards both.
The assassination of Alexander II by the terrorist Grinevitsky on the Catherine Canal
The bleeding sovereign was taken to the Winter Palace, where he died, almost without regaining consciousness. It was the first week of Great Lent. The day before, the servant of God Alexander confessed and received the Holy Mysteries.
The need to perpetuate the place where the Tsar-Liberator was mortally wounded arose in society immediately after the tragic events of March 1, 1881. Alexander III insisted that it should be a temple, not a chapel.
The step towards the constitution was never taken; it was laid on the Catherine Canal.
On March 1, 1881, a bomb thrown by Ignatius Grinevitsky ended the life of Alexander II. The Narodnaya Volya carried out their “sentence”. But popular unrest that would have turned into a revolution (as the Narodnaya Volya members hoped for) did not happen. On the contrary, for the most part people were depressed by what happened.
Sasha Mitrakhovich 14.02.2017 09:51
The reign of Alexander II became a period that is often called the “era of reforms” that destroyed feudal remnants, a time of radical transformations of Russian society. Unlike his father, he was prepared to govern the state. The emperor received a good education, and his teachers were V. Zhukovsky, M. Speransky, E. Kankrin, who noted in the heir such qualities as goodwill, sociability, ability for science, but on the other hand, a tendency to retreat in the face of difficulties. Alexander II became emperor at the age of 36, with a well-established system of views and experience in government activities. Having ascended the throne, the emperor was forced to take the path of reform.
Prerequisites for reforms
The prerequisites for the reforms were the constant threat of peasant revolts and the political and economic crisis. The defeat in the Crimean War not only reduced Russia's international authority to the limit, but also showed the need for reforms in the financial, military, medical, and educational spheres. Another prerequisite was public dissatisfaction with the Nikolaev police regime and the constant threat of social protests. A situation favorable for reforms developed in the country - the emperor was supported by supporters of reforms (P. Valuev, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, D. Milyutin, etc.); the liberals and the revolutionary movement were disorganized and were unable to propose an alternative plan for reform; opponents of reforms after the defeat in the Crimean War did not dare to oppose the reforms. Therefore, in 1856, Alexander II made a famous speech to the Moscow nobility, in which he stated that “it is better to abolish serfdom from above, rather than wait for the time when it itself begins to be canceled from below.”
Abolition of serfdom
The most important event of the reign of Alexander II, for which he received the name “Liberator,” was the reform of 1861, which abolished serfdom. Preparations for the abolition of serfdom began in January 1857 with the creation of another Secret Committee, completely subordinate to the emperor. By November, a rescript had been drawn up, announcing the beginning of the abolition of serfdom and ordering the creation of noble committees in each province to develop proposals. This served as the beginning of extensive discussions of the peasant issue in the press. In February 1858, the Secret Committee was renamed the Main Committee for Peasant Affairs, which began to consider projects drawn up by provincial noble committees. During the discussions, a project was developed according to which peasants would be given freedom, but without being allocated land. This caused an intensification of the peasant movement in 1858. The government decided to revise the project for the liberation of the peasants and carry out the reform more radically. In order to rework the project, in February 1859, Editorial Commissions were established in St. Petersburg, which included mainly liberals, under the leadership of N. Milyutin. By the autumn of 1859 they had drawn up a draft “Regulations on Peasants”. On February 19, 1861, a reform was carried out that abolished serfdom. Alexander II signed the “Regulations on peasants emerging from serfdom,” according to which peasants were freed from personal dependence. The peasant reform consisted of several parts: the ownership of landowners in peasants was abolished, who could now go to work in the city or be hired by the landowner to work. The landowner lost the right to punish peasants, they became legal entities, that is, they could buy land, real estate, enter into transactions, and open enterprises. However, the peasants remained attached to their place of residence, were bound by a mutual guarantee in paying taxes, and bore duties in kind.
In addition, peasants received arable plots according to a rather complex scheme, which also significantly limited their movement. Within two years, statutory charters had to be drawn up - agreements between landowners and peasants, stipulating the terms of the redemption. After this, for 49 years, the peasants became “temporarily obligated” and had to pay the landowner a ransom. Only after this the plots became the property of the peasants. The amount of redemption payments was determined by the size of the peasant quitrent, i.e., it was not the personal dependence of the peasants and not the land that was redeemed, but the duties. This amount, deposited in the bank at 6% per annum, was supposed to bring the landowner an annual income in the amount of labor payments. The state acted as an intermediary between the peasant and the landowner; it paid the landowner, when concluding a redemption transaction, about 75% of the redemption amount. Peasants were required to annually contribute 6% of this amount to the state for 49 years. Household people were declared free without ransom, but for two years they had to serve their masters or pay quitrent. Serf workers of landowner and state-owned factories and factories were transferred to quitrent and received the right to buy out their former plots. State peasants (except for Siberia and the Far East), who were considered personally free, according to the “Regulations”, retained the lands that were in their use. They could continue to pay the quitrent tax to the state or enter into a redemption deal with the treasury. The “Regulation” divided the provinces into three parts (black earth, non-black earth and steppe lands). Within the provinces, localities were allocated, which were divided into plots between landowners - land owners and their peasants. The distribution norms were established so that the landowner could choose the best plots for his share, including wedging his lands into the middle of the peasant fields. This led to the emergence of “stripes”. The peasants' reactions to the reform varied. For example, in the Kazan province, unrest began due to the spread of rumors that the tsar gave land to the peasants for free, and the ransom was “invented” by the landowners. More than 300 people were killed during the suppression of these unrest. In 1861, more than 1,370 performances were recorded, but later the wave of performances began to decline. In general, the liberation of the peasants was a progressive step that destroyed the feudal relic of serfdom, which led to cash injections into agriculture, undermined the “natural” way of farming, and contributed to the development of capitalism.
Reforms of the 60s XIX century
Carrying out the peasant reform required changes in other areas of life. Finance reform. In 1860, the State Bank was created to carry out redemption payments between landowners and peasants. In 1862, the Ministry of Finance became the sole manager of public funds, which independently planned the state budget and, together with the State Council, approved the estimates of individual departments. To control funds, State Control was reformed in 1864, which was now independent of the administration and verified the correctness of spending budget funds. In the provinces, control chambers were established that checked financial statements based on primary documents, and not final reports, as before. Direct taxes were partially replaced by indirect ones.
Local government reform (zemstvo reform).
On January 1, 1864, zemstvos (all-estate bodies in counties and provinces) were established, whose competence included: local economy, distribution of state taxes, establishment of schools, hospitals, shelters, maintenance of prisons and communications. Within the zemstvo there were administrative and executive sectors. Administrative bodies - “meetings of vowels” (deputies) - dealt with economic issues and met once a year. Executive bodies - “zemstvo councils” - were engaged in the execution of decisions of the administrative sector. Funding for the implementation of the regulations was mixed: 80% of the funds came from the state, the rest from local taxes (self-financing). Elections to zemstvo administrative bodies were held on the basis of property qualifications, by curiae. The first curia - deputies from landowners - consisted of owners of land (from 200 to 800 dessiatines) or real estate (worth from 15 thousand rubles). The second curia - deputies from cities - united owners of industrial and commercial establishments (annual turnover of at least 6 thousand). rub.). Elections for the third curia of deputies from peasants are unlicensed, but multi-stage. Zemstvos were elected for three years. The chairman of the zemstvo assembly was to be the leader of the nobility. At the end of the 70s. zemstvos were introduced only in 35 of the 59 Russian provinces. Subsequently, throughout 1870-1880. the competence of zemstvos was gradually curtailed, and the composition became more and more aristocratic. But, despite many shortcomings, the work of zemstvos contributed to the formation of civic consciousness and the solution of some local problems of education and health care. Urban reform began to be developed in 1861. Its project, presented in 1864, was discussed and redone for a long time. On June 16, 1870, the “City Regulations” were approved, according to which a City Duma (legislative body) and a City Government (executive body) were created in cities under the chairmanship of the mayor. The functions of city government were to take care of the improvement of the city, the guardianship of trade, the establishment of hospitals, schools and city taxation. Elections to the City Duma were held in three electoral assemblies based on property qualifications. The first electoral assembly included only large taxpayers, who contributed a third of city taxes, the second - smaller ones, who paid the other third, and the third - all the rest. Each assembly elected representatives to the City Duma. City councils were under the control of government officials. The mayor (elected by the City Duma for 4 years) was approved by the governor or the Minister of Internal Affairs, they could also suspend the decisions of the City Duma.
Judicial reform. On November 20, 1864, judicial reform was carried out. It included the creation of new judicial statutes that introduced common judicial institutions for persons of all classes, with a general procedure for legal proceedings, openness and competitiveness of legal proceedings, equal responsibility of all classes before the law, and independence of the court from the administration. The country was divided into 108 judicial districts. The new structure of the court included: a magistrate's court, where criminal and civil cases were heard, the damage for which did not exceed 500 rubles. Justices of the peace were elected by district zemstvo assemblies and approved by the Senate; District Court, where serious civil suits and criminal cases were tried by jury. The Senate was the highest court and appellate authority. A preliminary investigation was conducted bailiffs. The legal profession was introduced. This system was supplemented by volost courts for peasants, consistories for the clergy, courts for the military, high officials, etc. The most important political crimes were under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Criminal Court, which was appointed by the emperor in exceptional cases. In 1863, a law was passed abolishing corporal punishment by court sentences. Women were completely exempt from corporal punishment. However, rods were preserved for peasants (according to verdicts of volost courts), for exiles, convicts and penal soldiers. Education and press reform was carried out in 1863-1865. In 1863, a new university charter was issued, which provided universities with broad freedom and self-government. In the summer of 1864, the “Charter of Gymnasiums and Pro-Gymnasiums” was introduced. The reform of public education proclaimed the principle of general and all-class education. In 1865, according to the press reform, censorship was significantly relaxed, and society was given the right to discuss political events. Military reform began in 1857 with the liquidation of the system of military settlements and the reduction of the service life of lower ranks (from 25 to 10 years). In the 60s The management of the fleet and naval educational institutions was reorganized, and over the course of 12 years, reforms were carried out in the army. In 1862, the reform of military administration began. The country was divided into 15 military districts for the purpose of more efficient command and control of troops. The War Ministry and the General Staff were reorganized. In 1864-1867 the size of the army decreased from 1132 thousand people. up to 742 thousand while maintaining military potential. In 1865, military-judicial reform began. In the 60s For the rapid transfer of troops, a railway was built to the western and southern borders of Russia, and in 1870, railway troops were created. New regulations have appeared in the army. During the reform of military educational institutions, military gymnasiums and cadet schools were organized for all classes with a two-year period of study. Officer training was improved. On January 1, 1874, the “Charter on Military Service” was published, according to which, instead of conscription, universal military service was introduced. Upon reaching the age of 21, all males were required to perform active service. All this made it possible to create a fairly strong, trained army. Further reform activities were interrupted on March 1, 1881 by the assassination of Alexander II as a result of a terrorist attack.
Spouse. The first wife of Alexander II and the legal empress was Maria Alexandrovna, nee Hessian Princess Maximilian-Wilhelmina-Augusta-Sophia-Maria (07/27/1824-05/22/1880). This marriage turned out to be not entirely ordinary for the Romanov family, although the bride, as expected, came from a German ducal family. The fact is that the heir to the throne first married an illegitimate. With my future wife Alexander met during a trip abroad in 1838-1839. , still in the status of crown prince. On March 13, 1839, he arrived in Darmstadt, where he met with the Grand Duke of Hesse, Ludwig II. That same evening at the theater, the Tsarevich saw the Duke's fifteen-year-old daughter and fell in love with her. He immediately reported his feelings in a letter to his parents. Nicholas I and Alexandra Feodorovna were far from delighted with the choice of their son, since the dubious origin of the princess was not a secret for European courts. Duke Ludwig II of Hesse was in a dynastic marriage with Princess Wilhelmina of Baden. But this one is typical for Europe in the 19th century. The mutually beneficial union of representatives of the two ruling clans did not develop into a strong marital relationship. The ducal couple gave birth to two children together - princes Ludwig and Karl, but after that the husband and wife completely lost interest in each other and began to lead an independent personal life. Duchess Wilhelmina was a loving lady, she was fond of many men, not particularly limiting herself in connections on the side. As a result, she “gave” two bastards to the ducal house - the boy Alexander and the girl Maria. Duke Ludwig, in order not to disgrace himself and his family, recognized the children as his own. It was this Princess Maria, who was only half a princess, that he saw Grand Duke Alexander Nikolaevich He immediately asked his parents for consent to marry her, but received a decisive refusal. Alexander was stubborn and did not give up, seeking the right to marry his chosen one. He announced to his retinue: “I would rather give up the throne than marry Princess Mary.” They tried to dissuade him by telling him the secret of the girl’s origin, 99 to which he replied: “So what! I love Princess Mary and will marry her." Threats to renounce the throne had an effect on the parents; they were forced to agree to a marriage, which in their hearts they considered a misalliance. In the spring of 1840, Alexander again traveled to Darmstadt, where his engagement to Maria took place. In December of the same year, the bride arrived in St. Petersburg and converted to Orthodoxy under the name of Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna. On April 16, 1841, Alexander Nikolaevich and Maria Alexandrovna got married. The question of the legality of the origin of the wife of the heir-cresarevich, and then the emperor, was never discussed again in Russia. It is difficult to say whether this marriage was truly happy. Alexander was proud of his marriage and at first boasted of his happiness in letters to his friend - Alexander Adlerberg, the future minister of the imperial court. But in these same letters he casually discussed the merits of the famous court beauties, whom he was chasing while still single. And in his marriage to Maria Alexandrovna, Alexander Nikolaevich remained a subtle connoisseur female beauty, he had many hobbies on the side. The impressive Grand Duke, and then the Emperor enjoyed success with women. Maria Alexandrovna knew about this, but the free lifestyle of her parents’ family taught her not to notice such “little things.” She conscientiously fulfilled her family duty, producing great princes and princesses. From this marriage, Alexander II had eight children. The first child of the then grand ducal couple, Grand Duchess Alexandra Alexandrovna (1842-1849), died at an early age. The eldest son, heir Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich (1843-1865), did not live to see his accession to the throne. IOO After his death, Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich (02/26/1845 -10/20/1894) - the future Emperor Alexander III - was declared heir. Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich (1847-1909) was a great art lover, collector and philanthropist (at one time it was he who acquired the famous painting by I. E. Repin “Barge Haulers on the Volga”). His grandson, Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich, died at an old age in France in April 1992. Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich (1850-1908) did not leave a noticeable mark on the history of the family. The only survivor of two daughters, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna (1853-1900) ) in 1874 she married the youngest son of Queen Victoria of England - the Duke of Edinburgh Alfred Albert, who later became the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich (1857-1905) - Moscow Governor-General and commander of the Moscow Military District. He was married to the sister of Nicholas II's wife, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, daughter of the Grand Duke of Hesse. Sergei Alexandrovich was killed by the Socialist Revolutionary I Kalyaev. Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich (1860-1919) was married to the Greek princess Alexandra Georgievna (1870-1891). After the revolution, the Bolsheviks shot him in Peter and Paul Fortress Empress Maria Alexandrovna was tall, but thin and fragile, with thin bones. She had never enjoyed good health, and frequent childbirth had a devastating effect on her. She began to get sick often, and after the birth of her eighth child, doctors recommended that she refrain from further pregnancies. She began to lead a secluded life, staying in her IOI rooms for a long time and rarely leaving the palace. Due to health reasons, often avoiding the empress's representative duties, she nevertheless found time and energy to engage in philanthropy and charity. Maria Alexandrovna laid the foundation for a new approach to female education in Russia by establishing and supporting all-class gymnasiums for girls; organized during the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. Russian Red Cross, investing all his personal funds in it. No wonder the lady-in-waiting Tyutcheva wrote that the empress could become a saint. Her lifestyle in the last ten to fifteen years was more consistent with the behavior of an ascetic nun, and not the wife of one of the most brilliant monarchs in Europe. Still very handsome, healthy and strong, Alexander II was now forced to seek solace on the side. After a series of new short hobbies and connections, the emperor met his last true love. His mistress, and then his second, morganatic wife, was Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukaya (Yuryevskaya) (1847-1922). Alexander II first met Catherine Dolgorukaya in August 1857. The Emperor was 39 years old. He was heading to military maneuvers in Volyn and on the way stopped at the estate of Prince Mikhail Dolgoruky in the vicinity of Poltava. The Dolgorukovs (Dolgorukies) belonged to an ancient princely family that had faithfully served the Romanovs for the third century, who had already tried more than once to intermarry with this family. One warm day at the end of summer, Alexander and his adjutant were doing business on the open veranda. Suddenly a charming girl, graceful, big-eyed, ran up to them. When the king asked who she was, she replied that her name was Ekaterina Mikhailovna and she wanted to see the emperor. Her spontaneity touched and made Alexander laugh. He 102 took the girl in his arms and talked to her for several minutes. The next day he walked with her a little in the garden, talking decorously and politely, as with an important lady. Little Ekaterina Dolgorukaya was delighted and remembered this magical meeting for the rest of her life. Two years later, a misfortune happened in the Dolgoruky family. Prince Mikhail became interested in financial speculation and lost all his fortune. Out of despair, he fell ill with a nervous fever and died. To save his family from creditors, the emperor took the Teplovka estate under the care of the imperial treasury, and provided the upbringing and education of Dolgoruky’s six children by Catherine and her younger sister Maria ended up in the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens, founded by Catherine II. The girls here were taught everything that court ladies or spouses of aristocrats needed to know and be able to do. All schoolgirls had to carefully monitor their appearance, be able to dress and comb their hair with taste. But even among the refined students of Smolny, the Dolgoruky sisters stood out for their charm and grace. Both extraordinary beauties, with With their regular, chiseled facial features, beautiful skin color and large eyes, they personified two types of ideal female appearance: Catherine - dark-eyed, with lush brown hair, Maria - blue-eyed blonde. The Emperor, as a trustee, often visited the Smolny Institute, was interested in the successes of the pupils, took part in festive tea parties. He often met with the Dolgoruky sisters and talked with them for a long time, since he was considered their guardian. However, soon the teachers and students of Smolny began to notice that the sovereign gave clear preference to the eldest of the sisters In 1864, at the age of seventeen, Ekaterina Mikhailovna graduated from Smolny. As an orphan, she received a modest pension, which allowed her to make ends meet. Being an unmarried girl, Catherine settled with the family of her older brother Mikhail, who was married to the Italian marquise Cerce Maggiore. In winter, the young Dolgorukys lived in St. Petersburg, on Baseinaya Street, and in the summer they rented a small dacha in Peterhof. In the spring of 1865, Catherine walked with her maid in the Summer Garden. There she unexpectedly met the emperor, who was walking accompanied by an adjutant. Alexander approached her and then dragged her into one of the remote alleys, where they talked for a long time. This summer they often met in the Summer Garden, on Elagin Island, and in the parks of Peterhof. At first they communicated as people who had known each other for a long time, and then Alexander and Catherine truly fell in love with each other. They met when each was going through a difficult period in their lives, and ended up being tightly bound to each other until the end of one of their days. Ekaterina Dolgorukaya was young, inexperienced, lonely and almost poor. In the absence of a worthy dowry, she could hardly hope for a solid match. And then the attention of the emperor himself! Alexander was an impressive man who knew how to impress the ladies. The French writer Théophile Gautier, who knew European secular society well, wrote about him with admiration when he first saw him at a court ball in 1865 in St. Petersburg: “Alexander II was dressed in an elegant military suit, which favorably highlighted his tall, slender figure. It was a kind of white jacket with gold braiding, going down to the hips and trimmed on the collar, sleeves and bottom with blue Siberian fox. Orders of high dignity sparkled on his chest. Tight blue trousers outlined his legs and went down to his narrow boots. The sovereign's hair was cut short and revealed a large and well-formed forehead. The facial features are impeccably correct and seem made for a bronze medal. The blueness of his eyes especially benefits from a brownish complexion, darker than the forehead, from long travels and outdoor activities. The outline of his mouth is so defined that it seems carved from bone - there is something of a Greek sculpture about it. The expression on his face is full of majestic firmness and is illuminated at moments by a gentle smile.” Well, how could you not fall in love with such a gentleman, who is also affectionate, delicate and courteous! Alexander needed Catherine no less than she needed him. In 1865, the emperor, despite the outwardly prosperous impression he made on the uninitiated, felt lonely and unhappy. At the age of 23, his eldest son and heir to the throne, Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich (beloved by his father Nix), died of tuberculosis - gentle, kind, well-educated and brought up in the spirit of humanism, the hope of the family, court and society. The Empress was ill, and the doctors did not give any hope of improving her health. The 48-year-old sovereign at first tried to treat his 18-year-old protégé Dolgorukaya in a fatherly way, hesitated, struggled with himself, but then gave in to the strong feeling that covered him like a wave. What he felt for her was not like his previous short-lived infatuations. Later, he tried to break up with Catherine only once in order to avoid scandal and family drama , but was able to withstand only six months, and did not do this again. In the fall of 1865, the court returned to St. Petersburg. It became impossible to meet in parks in cold rainy weather. Alexander gave Catherine a key that opened a secret door in the Winter Palace. From it a small corridor led to a small room on the first floor with windows overlooking Palace Square. This room was connected to the former personal apartments of Emperor Nicholas I. i°5 The connection between Alexander II and young Dolgoruky soon began to be talked about in all St. Petersburg salons. After some time, the wife of Catherine's elder brother Cerce Maggiore was surprised to learn that society gossips were accusing her of pandering, as if she had tried to get away with her sister-in-law in this way. She decided that she needed to save her good name and the honor of Catherine and, with the consent of Alexander II, took her to a few months in Naples, to visit his family. But this first and only separation only strengthened the feelings of the lovers, who exchanged letters every day, and the Dolgoruky family stopped resisting Catherine’s romance with the emperor. For six years, this romance developed as a beautiful love story and did not require almost any special worries or obligations from Alexander II, until in the fall of 1872 Catherine informed her lover that she was expecting a child from him. Alexander was confused. He was afraid that the pregnancy would further compromise Dolgorukaya, and, mindful of the fate of his wife, he feared for the health of his mistress. But the new situation had little effect on Ekaterina Mikhailovna’s appearance, and even her relatives, with whom she continued to live, did not notice for a long time what was happening to her. In order to keep everything secret from the big world, the emperor decided that Dolgorukaya would give birth in the Winter Palace, in those secret Nikolaev apartments where they met for so many years. On May 11, 1873, feeling contractions, Catherine alone, without warning anyone at home, went to the palace, where she entered through a door familiar to her. The Emperor immediately went down to her. Reassured by his presence, Dolgorukaya fell asleep in the chair, since there was not even a bed in their room. Alexander, making sure that labor had not yet begun, left to go about his daily business and left her alone. At three o'clock in the morning he was awakened by an old grenadier soldier, who enjoyed the unlimited confidence of the king and guarded the door of his love nest. 10b Another trusted servant ran for the doctor and midwife, and Alexander rushed to his beloved. When the doctor appeared, the emperor ordered him to save Catherine at all costs, even if he had to sacrifice the child. But everything worked out, at half past nine in the morning Dolgorukaya gave birth to a beautiful and healthy boy, who was given the name George at baptism. The emperor’s illegitimate son was born on Sunday, and the father had to leave them with his mother and go to mass, where the royal family and court were waiting for him, so that no one would suspect anything. Alexander II could not leave his newborn son in the palace. He entrusted him to the head of his personal security, General Ryleev, who placed the child in his house in Moshkov Lane, where gendarmes were constantly guarding him and did not allow anyone not only to come close to the porch, but even to stop on the street. A nurse and an experienced governess were assigned to the baby. Frenchwoman. But Alexander and Catherine failed to keep their secret. On the same day, the German ambassador, Prince de Reus, who had developed agents in the emperor’s entourage, learned about what had happened. He informed Dolgorukaya’s daughter-in-law about everything, who had previously suspected nothing. The imperial family was shocked by this unexpected news. Tsarevich Alexander Alexandrovich and his immediate circle were especially excited. An illegitimate half-brother could bring confusion into the dynastic structure of the Romanov clan. Only Empress Maria Alexandrovna maintained external calm. She became even more withdrawn into herself and her own experiences. She had long known about the emperor’s connection with Dolgoruky, but she treated her as one of her husband’s hobbies, which have already become habitual. Now, after Catherine gave birth to a child, she felt superfluous and unnecessary. From that time on, her illness began to progress noticeably. 107 In high society, the appearance of the imperial bastard was perceived with deep disapproval. The emperor was free to have fleeting connections and affections, but now he actually had a second family. And it was no longer possible to ignore Dolgorukaya, since in the event of the death of the sickly empress, she could become the new legal wife of the sovereign, and then, perhaps, the empress. Many were outraged by the age difference between Alexander and his lover and the Tsar’s inability to restrain his passions, as well as the insult that the birth of little George caused the Romanovs. The situation worsened when, after a year and a half, the mistress gave the sovereign a second child - daughter Olga. The head of the secret chancellery, Count Pyotr Andreevich Shuvalov, dared to express general indignation at what had happened. Under the guise of denunciations from his secret agents, he told Alexander what they thought about him and Dolgoruky in high society and at court. The Emperor listened to his entourage outwardly coldly and calmly, but after a while he did not fail to take revenge on him for his insolence. The Tsar’s vengeful feeling towards Shuvalov was fueled by the head of the Emperor’s personal security, Ryleev. He reported to Alexander that the Count, among his friends, spoke sharply about Ekaterina Mikhailovna, who allegedly would have such an influence on the emperor that he looks at everything through her eyes and is completely dependent on her in his actions. Alexander II knew how to control himself. He did not show his hostility towards Shuvalov in any way; he remained invariably courteous and friendly with him. But in June 1874, he unexpectedly sent him as ambassador to London, which meant a demotion and honorable exile. Shuvalov’s unsuccessful denunciation had other consequences. At first, taking care of the reputation and feelings of the first family, Alexander baptized his illegitimate children secretly and in his own way. II personally destroyed the church documents where their real parents were named. However, gossip at court acquired an increasingly threatening character for the fate of Catherine Dolgoruky and the imperial bastards. Therefore, the king decided to take care of their future. The emperor, as an autocratic monarch, could award anyone he wished with an exclusive title and form a new noble family. So he did in this case . Remembering that the Dolgorukys, according to legend, descended from the famous Yuri Dolgoruky, the founder of Moscow and the Grand Duke of Kiev, he bestowed on his mistress and children the surname Yuryevsky and the title “Most Serene Princes,” which was only slightly inferior in dignity to the title “Grand Dukes,” which was worn by his offspring from a legal marriage. On July 11, 1874, he signed a Decree to the governing Senate: “We grant the minors Georgy Alexandrovich and Olga Alexandrovna Yuryevsky the rights inherent in the nobility and elevate them to princely dignity with the title “most serene.” The decree was secret, it was not made public, and a copy of it was kept by the emperor’s trusted man, Lieutenant General Ryleev. The decree, on the one hand, definitely demonstrated that these children of Alexander II are not full-fledged Romanovs and continue not the royal dynasty, but the dynasty of their mother, on the other hand, it emphasized that the tsar recognizes them as his own through the patronymic “Alexandrovichi”. At the end of the 1870s. Shocked by the trials of the Balkan War with Turkey, exhausted by state concerns, the emperor so needed constant friendly participation that he decided to settle his second family in the Winter Palace, under the same roof with the empress and children from a legal marriage. Princess Dolgorukaya was given a three-room apartment on the second floor. They were connected to the emperor’s personal chambers located below by a special staircase IO9. The situation was extremely awkward. The empress's chambers were located next to the sovereign's chambers. And Alexander’s meetings with his mistress now took place literally behind the wall of his wife’s bedroom. Maria Alexandrovna behaved arrogantly and tried to appear calm and cold, but internally she was deeply worried about her humiliating position. One day she could not restrain herself and told her close friend, Countess Alexandra Tolstoy, the teacher of Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna: “I forgive the insults inflicted on me as a monarch, but I am unable to forgive the torment that is inflicted on me as a wife.” Ekaterina Mikhailovna, in turn, tried to behave as delicately as possible. She lived in solitude, rarely leaving her apartment, and did not attend social events and entertainment. But she was still forced to use the services of court footmen and maids, grooms and messengers, so her presence in the palace could not be completely unnoticeable. To the delight of idle secular gossips who accused Dolgorukaya of the fact that relations with her exhausted the emperor morally and physically, in recent years the appearance of the always well-groomed and self-confident Alexander II changed for the worse. The Emperor noticeably stooped, his face became haggard, his movements became awkward, he began to feel short of breath. However, this was not surprising for a man of his age, who had recently participated in hostilities in the Balkans and endured the inconveniences and hardships of life in the field. The court and society were especially irritated by the fact that in September 1878, Ekaterina Mikhailovna gave birth to her third child - daughter Catherine. It was not easy for the Emperor to live in two families. He felt sorry for his wife, felt awkward in front of her, but his love for Catherine Dolgoruky turned out to be stronger than these emotions. His suffering and mental duality ended in 1880. BUT Empress Maria Alexandrovna died on June 3 at 8 am. She had been suffering from severe pneumonia for more than a month and could not breathe normally. A coughing fit interrupted her breathing forever. Death came so unexpectedly that the empress did not even have time to say goodbye to the children, and Alexander II at that time was in Tsarskoe Selo and there he learned that his wife was no more. Four days later, the body of the empress was transferred to the tomb of the imperial family in the Peter and Paul Cathedral. The coffin of Maria Alexandrovna together with the first dignitaries of the court were carried by the Emperor and Tsarevich Alexander Alexandrovich. Princess Dolgorukaya, despite her status as a court lady, did not attend the funeral; she and her children remained in Tsarskoe Selo. A month and a half after the death of the Empress, at the end of Peter's fast, on July 18, 1880, Alexander II married Catherine Dolgorukaya. Three days before the wedding, only the emperor's faithful friends were warned about him: Count Alexander Vladimirovich Adlerberg and General Alexander Mikhailovich Ryleev. The archpriest of the Great Church of the Winter Palace, Father Xenophon Yakovlevich Nikolsky, who was supposed to conduct the ceremony, was notified the day before. The Emperor did not consider it necessary to inform the heir-Tsarevich, who was away at that time, about this event in advance. To Adlerberg’s remark that his eldest son would be severely offended by this, Alexander II replied: “I remind you that I am the master over myself and the only judge of my actions.” The wedding took place at three o'clock in the afternoon in the Great Tsarskoye Selo Palace. The Emperor was in the blue uniform of a Guards Hussar, and Dolgorukaya was in a modest dress made of beige cloth and had her head uncovered. The ceremony took place in a small hall without furniture, in the middle of which there was an altar. General Ryleev and Adjutant General Eduard Trofimovich Baranov acted as best men holding crowns over the heads of the newlyweds. Adlerberg was also present at the wedding. The Emperor fulfilled his promise to marry, given to his beloved fourteen years ago. At the end of the ceremony, Alexander II and Ekaterina Mikhailovna did not exchange a word or a kiss. Silently they left the palace and, together with their son George, went for a walk in a stroller. During the walk, the emperor talked affectionately with his wife and son, but in his speech a strange phrase slipped through in that situation: “I’m afraid of my happiness, I’m afraid that God is too much of me.” will soon deprive him." And he asked his little son to promise that he would never forget his father. On the evening of the same day, Alexander II signed the act of concluding his second marriage with his maid of honor, Princess Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukaya. The act was witnessed by Adlerberg, Baranov, Ryleev and priest Nikolsky. At the same time, the emperor signed a secret decree with the following content: “Having entered into a legal marriage with Princess Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukaya for the second time, we order that she be given the name of Princess Yuryevskaya, with the title “most serene.” We order that the same name with the same title be given to our children: son George, daughters Olga and Catherine, as well as those who may be born subsequently. We grant them all the rights belonging to legitimate children, according to paragraph 14 of the Basic Laws of the Empire and paragraph 147 establishment of the imperial family (according to it, children born from one of the members of the imperial family and a person who does not belong to any of the ruling families of Europe cannot inherit the Russian royal throne. - L.S.).” Alexander II and Ekaterina Yuryevskaya became legal husband and wife, but their children, enjoying all the rights of members of the royal family, under no circumstances could 112. inherit the throne. The marriage documents were classified; the Minister of Internal Affairs, Adjutant General Count M. T. Loris-Melikov, was responsible for keeping them secret. For his loyalty, he received the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called from the emperor. But soon the entire St. Petersburg society and the upper strata of the empire's population knew about the remarriage of Alexander II. The Emperor also took care of providing for his new family financially: on September 5, 1880, he deposited securities in the State Bank in the amount of three million three hundred two thousand nine hundred seventy rubles, the right to dispose of which was given to Ekaterina Mikhailovna Yuryevskaya. This amount should have allowed her and her children to live comfortably even after the death of their crowned husband. In the autumn of that year, Alexander II vacationed in Livadia with his son, Tsarevich Alexander Alexandrovich. During long conversations with his father, the heir to the throne promised to be protection and support for Princess Yuryevskaya and her children, no matter what happened to the emperor. After this conversation, the king wrote a warm letter to his eldest son: “Dear Sasha. In the event of my death, I entrust you with my wife and children. Your friendly disposition towards them, which manifested itself from the very first day of your acquaintance with them and was a true joy for us, convinces me that you will not leave them and will be their protector and good adviser. During the life of my wife, our children should remain only under her guardianship, if God calls her to himself before they come of age, I wish that General Ryleev and one more person of his choice and with your consent become their guardian. My wife has not inherited anything from her family. All the property that currently belongs to her, movable and immovable, was acquired by her personally, and her relatives do not have any rights to this property. My wife can dispose of it at her own discretion. Out of caution, she transferred it to me all my fortune, and we agreed that if I survived her, it would be equally distributed among our children and transferred to them by me after they came of age or the marriage of our daughters. Until our marriage is officially recognized, the capital that I deposited in the State Bank belongs to my wife according to the certificate that I issued to her. These are my last wishes, which I am sure you will fulfill in good faith. God bless you for this. Don’t forget me and pray for the soul of the one who loved you so dearly! Pa." Ekaterina Mikhailovna Yuryevskaya (Dolgorukaya) remained the morganatic wife of the sovereign; she did not have to become an empress. For her coronation, it was necessary to develop and legitimize a special ritual, since it existed only for the first consorts of emperors, who were married to the kingdom together with their husband. The solution to this difficult issue was entrusted to Prince Ivan Golitsyn, but he preferred to take his time, realizing the sensitivity of the situation, the possible negative attitude of the Romanov family and the imperial court towards it. Some contemporaries later hinted in their memoirs that Alexander II wanted to achieve the coronation of Catherine Mikhailovna exclusively for reasons of principle. Immediately after this, he allegedly planned to renounce the throne in favor of the heir-Tsarevich, leave with his second family somewhere in France and spend the rest of his life there as a private person, in peace and quiet. However, subsequent events did not allow either contemporaries or descendants to know how serious these assumptions were and whether such an end to fate was possible for the emperor. The relatively liberal, especially in comparison with the previous reign, policy of Alexander II did not meet with unanimous approval in the society of his era. - this is a time of rampant political terrorism, which has become the main means of struggle of populist revolutionary circles against the autocracy and the existing state system. The populists, who professed the idea of “peasant socialism,” were dissatisfied with the results of the peasant reform carried out in the 1860s. , and switched to terror tactics. Its main object was the Tsar-Liberator. The first attempt on the life of Alexander II was made on April 4, 1866. When the tsar was returning from his usual walk in the Summer Garden, he was shot by the 25-year-old lone revolutionary D.V. Karakozov. The attempt ended in failure. Karakozov was captured and executed. The Tsar was saved by the hatmaker Osip Ivanovich Komissarov, who was passing by, and managed to push Karakozov away at the moment of the shot. Later, Komissarov was awarded the nobility. Alexander II was not so much frightened as shocked by the very fact of the attempt on his life at the moment when he was at the very peak of the glory of the sovereign reformer. the attempt on his life was not some republican Pole, but a Russian man who, as Alexander was taught from childhood, was supposed to sacredly believe in the inviolability of autocratic power and its bearer - “God’s anointed.” This is probably why, ten days later, the emperor agreed to the proposal of the Holy Synod to celebrate this day annually with a religious procession through the central squares of St. Petersburg with bells ringing. And in vain did the Moscow Metropolitan Filaret (Drozdov), a prominent theologian and a highly respected person, wonder why the people should be reminded every year that now any person can attack the person of the sovereign - something that until recently was considered unthinkable. Survived attempt, problems in personal life and constant thoughts and hesitations associated with the need to continue reforms in new socio-political conditions affected the health and mental state of the emperor. He was often thoughtful and apathetic; the court doctors suspected him of nervous exhaustion and persistently advised rest and treatment. A state of doubt and anxiety, concern for the safety of his family gradually led Alexander to the conclusions about the need to return to protective principles in domestic policy. His surroundings also changed. Liberal dignitaries and ministers were ousted by conservatives. But the reforms still continued. Alexander II did not give up his long-standing habit of walking alone without security in the Summer Garden and walking around the center of St. Petersburg without an escort. He still believed that Karakozov’s assassination attempt was an unfortunate misunderstanding, and none of the inhabitants of Russia could encroach on the divinely sanctified personality of the autocratic tsar. Only another extraordinary event forced Alexander II to take the problem of terrorism more seriously. In 1867, the emperor visited the Paris World Exhibition, in which Russia also took a large part for the first time. When, after the opening of the Russian pavilion, he was returning to the hotel, insulting shouts were heard from the crowd standing on the sidewalk. A young man, a Pole named Berezovsky, suddenly ran up to the carriage. , and, jumping on the steps of the royal carriage, shot at Alexander. Berezovsky was not dexterous enough and missed, but after this incident the emperor became more careful and took some measures to ensure his own safety. Despite the obvious liberalization of life in the country, among the opponents and critics of the tsar and his associates were not only revolutionaries, but also part of the liberal-minded intelligentsia Its cooling towards the personality and actions of the emperor was facilitated by the diplomatically unsuccessful conclusion of the Balkan war with Turkey for Russia. The Berlin Congress, which approved its results, left no hope for the Russian government for territorial acquisitions and material benefits. From the point of view of society and the political elite of Russia, the results of the victory over the Turks, which cost hundreds of thousands of human lives and the monstrous strain of the financial and economic system, looked depressing. The head of Russian diplomacy, Chancellor Gorchakov, stated in his note to the Tsar: “The Berlin Congress is the darkest page in my career.” The Emperor wrote next to it: “And in mine too.” But society did not care about the tsar’s emotional experiences. The patriotic upsurge caused by the Russian-Turkish war dried up, and the wave of the revolutionary movement rose again. The targets for the revolutionaries again became the largest state dignitaries and the failed tsar, who caused so much suffering to the people during the war. In March 1879, Alexander Konstantinovich Solovyov, a member of the revolutionary organization “Land and Freedom”, a participant in the “walk among the people,” arrived in St. Petersburg from the Saratov province. He was considered a supporter of peaceful actions and patient long-term propaganda of the ideas of revolution among the masses, and here he suddenly announced to the leaders of the organization that he had come to commit an assassination attempt on Alexander II. Solovyov’s decision was not supported, and he was prohibited from acting on behalf of “Land and Freedom,” but some of its members provided him with financial and technical support in preparation for a terrorist attack. On April 2, 1879, he made an independent attempt on the life of the Tsar on Palace Square, which ended unsuccessfully. Solovyov was captured, interrogated, and on May 28 he was executed. In August 1879, “Land and Freedom” split into two independent organizations: “People’s Will” and “Black Redistribution”. “People's Will” declared its goal to be the overthrow of the autocracy, and declared terrorism to be the main tactical means of achieving it. From the point of view of the leaders of the organization, the main culprit for all the troubles of modern Russia was Emperor Alexander II. On August 26, 1879, the executive committee of Narodnaya Volya sentenced the Tsar to death. All the human and material resources of the organization were thrown into its implementation. However, killing the king was not easy. The Emperor and members of his family were carefully guarded day and night. The Executive Committee of Narodnaya Volya created several terrorist groups, each of which developed its own assassination scenario. As a result of a detailed study of the assassination options, the terrorists came to the conclusion that the most appropriate thing was to try to blow up the train on which the royal family annually went on vacation to the Crimea, since the sovereign’s security could not check and secure every meter of the railway. Nikolai Ivanovich Kibalchich, a young scientist, talented engineer and inventor, took upon himself all the technical preparation of the assassination attempts. Several explosion points were planned: in Odessa, where Alexander traveled from Crimea by sea; near the city of Aleksandrovsk on the route Simferopol - Moscow and in Moscow itself. V.N. Figner and N.I. Kibalchich came to Odessa under the name of the Ivanitsky couple, holidaymakers. They rented an apartment, and were soon joined by three more young revolutionaries. One of them, MF Frolenko, managed to get a job as a watchman on the local railway line and live in a booth near the Gnilyakovo station. The rest began to transport dynamite there. Soon it became known that the emperor would not travel from Livadia to Odessa this summer, and work stopped. They began to wait for the royal family to return home in order to make an attempt on the train on the way back 118 In the city of Alexandrovsk, located between Kursk and Belgorod, The explosion was prepared by a group of experienced underground fighter A.I. Zhelyabov. He obtained documents in the name of the merchant Cheremisinov and received permission to build a leather workshop near the railway track. Such a quantity of dynamite was placed in this building under construction that it would have been enough to blow the entire royal train into pieces (the revolutionaries were not worried about the thought that in addition to the king, members of his family and innocent servants and security soldiers would die). But something happened that no one expected: during the passage of the train on November 18, 1879, the charge did not explode, something happened to the wires. Probably, the revolutionaries were let down by insufficient technical awareness. Moscow remained. Back in September, a young couple, who gave their last name as the Sukhorukovs, bought a small house on the outskirts near the railroad. These were Sofya Lvovna Perovskaya - an aristocrat, the daughter of the former St. Petersburg governor and member of the Council of the Minister of Internal Affairs, and student-commoner Lev Nikolaevich Hartman, both active members of Narodnaya Volya. Several more Narodnaya Volya members secretly settled with them, among them the future major scientist, who became an honorary academician in Soviet times, Nikolai Aleksandrovich Morozov. All of them were intensively digging a tunnel to the railway track, into which they were supposed to lay dynamite, designed, in their opinion, to change the future of Russia . Sofya Perovskaya closely followed the newspapers. When the morning editions of November 19 did not contain any news from Aleksandrovsk, she realized that the assassination attempt had failed there, and began to prepare her group for decisive action. Everyone gathered in the house; The explosives were planted, they were waiting for the appearance of the royal train. The revolutionaries learned that the emperor was traveling to Crimea with a large number of accompanying persons on two trains. For safety reasons, the train with servants and minor court officials always followed first, and the king and his family rode in the second. Therefore, when the expected letter trains approached, Perovskaya and her comrades missed the first one, and blew up the second one. However, this time, due to some technical malfunction, the second, contrary to usual, was the service train. And all the victims of this terrible terrorist attack were in vain. Many people died, and the king and his family remained alive and unharmed. The Emperor was shocked by the death in front of his eyes of many innocent people and was outraged by the impudence of the terrorists. He demanded that the police increase their activity in the fight against the revolutionaries. Mass arrests began. But this did not stop the Narodnaya Volya members, who continued to carry out their sinister plans. The next assassination attempt was to take place in the Winter Palace, where the royal family lived permanently. People's Will member Stepan Nikolaevich Khalturin got a job in the palace carpentry workshop. Like other palace servants, he was given a room in the Winter Palace. There he brought dynamite in small quantities and put it in a chest with personal belongings that stood under the bed. Khalturin was busy renovating the premises near the royal dining room. There he was to blow up the entire royal family on February 5, 1880, the day Prince Alexander of Hesse and his son Alexander arrived to visit the Romanovs, in whose honor they gave a ceremonial dinner. This time everything was organized perfectly. At exactly the right time (the start of dinner was scheduled for 6:20 pm) Khalturin set fire to the fuse and quickly left the palace. He and Zhelyabov, who was waiting for him on the street, heard the sound of a terrible explosion and decided that the job was finally done. But this time too, fate was on Alexander’s side. II and his family. The Emperor at home - 120 Emperor Alexander II was ten minutes late. And the princes paid a courtesy visit to the chambers of Empress Maria Alexandrovna, who was not feeling well and could not go out for dinner. As a result, the guard soldiers who were in the room on the floor below died. There were 19 killed and 48 wounded, but the tsar and his relatives remained unharmed. However, the Narodnaya Volya members were stubborn. Killing the emperor became the goal of their lives. The palace and the approaches to it were carefully guarded, they had to look for other places and other methods. One of the leaders of the People's Will, A D Mikhailov, proposed an assassination attempt on the Stone Bridge, along which the emperor traveled from Tsarskoe Selo to the Winter Palace. The group of terrorists was again led by Andrei Zhelyabov, under whose leadership experienced demolitionists worked. Under the guise of repair workers, they sailed to the bridge in boats and laid dynamite. Everything was ready by August 17, 1880. During the passage of the emperor, Zhelyabov and the worker Makar Teterka were supposed to sail up on a raft and blow up the bridge. At the appointed hour, Zhelyabov arrived at the place and began to wait for his partner, but he did not appear. It was impossible for one to act, and the royal carriage proceeded unhindered to the palace. Only after that Teterka came running. The terrorists did not take into account that the revolutionary worker did not have his own watch and could not correctly calculate the time. They did not have a second opportunity, since due to the autumn cold the emperor stopped working. travel to Tsarskoe Selo Repeated terrorist attacks forced the authorities to hesitate in choosing further political steps. The society insisted on carrying out political reforms that would bring Russia closer to the introduction of a constitution. And the government took tough measures in order to stabilize the situation. After AK Solovyov’s assassination attempt on the emperor, the posts of governor-general with broad police and military personnel were introduced in St. Petersburg, Kharkov and Odessa. 1 powers. The explosion in the dining room of the Winter Palace led to the establishment of a special government body - the Supreme Administrative Commission. General Mikhail Tarielovich Loris-Melikov (1825-1888) was appointed its head, who from August 1880 also became the Minister of Internal Affairs with dictatorial powers. M. T. Loris-Melikov - former Kharkov governor general, hero of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877 -1878 , who conquered the Turkish fortress of Kars for Russia, was known as an intelligent, energetic person. He possessed the political flexibility necessary in those conditions and a penchant for liberal reforms. His method of governing the country was called by his contemporaries the “dictatorship of the heart” and the policy of “the wolf’s mouth and the fox’s tail.” Loris-Melikov resolutely and harshly suppressed the revolutionary movement and at the same time advocated the continuation of the reforms of Alexander II and the possible introduction of a constitution. Being a subtle politician and an experienced dignitary, the minister understood that the emperor, brought up in the consciousness of the value of autocratic power, would in every possible way resist any steps towards limiting it. Therefore, he tried to gain the confidence of Princess Yuryevskaya and promised to help realize her desire to become an empress. In Livadia, Loris-Melikov started conversations with the emperor about reforms, mainly in the presence of his wife, and repeatedly hinted, as if inadvertently, that the Russian people would be very pleased if the next queen were a woman of Russian blood, and not just another German princess. Alexander listened to these hints with visible benevolence, because the dictator said what the tsar himself was constantly thinking about. Under pressure from two people whom he respected and trusted almost infinitely, Alexander II came close to the political decision that his father adjured him to avoid - a slight limitation of his own power from - 122 by the power of an act of a constitutional type. Some time later, the third son of the emperor, Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, told Minister of War D. A. Milyutin that on March 1, 1881, the tsar signed the report of the Secret Committee and, after Loris-Melikov left, announced to the grand dukes present in the office: “I have given my consent to this idea, although I do not hide from myself that we are moving along the path to a constitution.” The final consideration of the project by the Minister of Internal Affairs was scheduled for March 4, as Alexander II wanted to enlist the support of the Council of Ministers. The Emperor did not know that he would no longer be able to live these three days on March 1, 1881. it was a Sunday afternoon. Alexander II, after meeting with Loris-Melikov, the Grand Dukes and the traditional church service, wanted to devote him to pleasant activities. He went into his wife’s chambers and told her that he intended to attend the changing of the guards in the Mikhailovsky Manege, then pay a visit to his cousin, the Grand Duchess Ekaterina Mikhailovna, and before lunch, take a walk with the family in the Summer Garden. The writer Mark Aldanov, who studied the history of terrorism in Russia, wrote that Princess Yuryevskaya was oppressed by some strange premonition. She knew how important the document was signed by her husband in the morning, and asked Alexander not to go anywhere until it was approved by the Council of Ministers, to beware of a possible assassination attempt. But the emperor laughed it off, saying that the fortune teller predicted his death from the seventh terrorist attack, and today, if it happens, then only the sixth The spouses agreed that at exactly three quarters of three Ekaterina Mikhailovna would be waiting for her husband, fully dressed for a walk, and they would go to the Summer Garden. Princess Yuryevskaya's premonitions were not the fruit of the suspiciousness of an exalted lady. She knew: a day before this, Loris-Melikov informed the sovereign in writing, that the police arrested Andrei Zhelyabov and in response we should expect new terrorist attacks in the near future. On the evening of February 28, 123, meeting with the tsar, the minister asked him to limit travel around the capital, but he brushed aside the warnings. At a quarter to one on March 1, Alexander II left the Winter Palace in a carriage guarded by six Terek Cossacks. Another Cossack was sitting on the box next to the coachman. The royal carriage was followed by a sleigh with three policemen, among whom the eldest was Colonel Dvorzhitsky. The emperor arrived at the Mikhailovsky Manege in a great mood. Sunday changing of the guards in the presence of the sovereign was a tradition started by Paul I. In the arena there were also grand dukes, court adjutants general, and foreign ambassadors. During the ceremony, Alexander II had a friendly conversation with them and smiled warmly at the officers. After the divorce, he went to his cousin Ekaterina Mikhailovna, with whom he drank tea and talked about family matters. At a quarter past two, the tsar left her palace and went to the Winter Palace, accompanied by his guards. Along Inzhenernaya Street, Alexander II's carriage and police sleigh drove out onto the Catherine Canal. The embankment was almost empty. Several police agents were walking along it, a boy was walking with a basket, an officer was walking with two or three soldiers, and on the sidewalk stood a long-haired young man with a small bundle in his hand. This young man was Nikolai Ivanovich Rysakov - a member of the People's Will organization. . When the royal carriage caught up with him, he threw his bundle under the horses' hooves. An explosion was heard, which killed two Cossacks and a peddler boy and damaged the carriage. This was the same sixth assassination attempt that the emperor had jokingly talked about in the morning. Alexander II remained unharmed. The coachman persuaded him to stay in the carriage, but the dignity of a military man demanded a different action from the emperor. He got out of carriage 124 and hurried to the wounded Cossacks to tell them words of encouragement. The police arrived in time to grab Rysakov, who tried to escape, but stumbled and fell. Colonel Dvorzhitsky asked the Tsar to get into the sleigh and quickly leave the scene of the tragedy, but Alexander wanted to see his would-be killer and the victims. When he approached Rysakov, one of the passers-by who had run to the scene of the explosion asked: “Are you not wounded, Your Majesty?” The king replied: “No, nothing happened to me, thank God.” To which the terrorist shouted to him with an evil grin: “Aren’t you thanking God too early?” At the same moment, another killer standing at the railing of the canal, Ignatius Ioakimovich Grinevitsky, to whom no one paid attention in the confusion, rushed to Alexander II and threw another bomb at his feet, exactly the seventh in total. When the cloud of smoke cleared, several bodies lay on the sidewalk. Grinevitsky died on the spot. The emperor was mortally wounded. Both his legs were crushed, he was bleeding, but still tried to get up on his own, leaning on his hands. In a state of shock, he muttered: “Help me... Is the heir alive? . . Take me to the palace. There to die." He was put in Colonel Dvorzhitsky's sleigh and taken to Zimny. On the March snow of the Catherine Canal embankment, 17 people lay dead and wounded. Alexander II was carried into his personal room and laid on a soldier's bed, covered with an old overcoat, which served him instead of a blanket. The emperor was dying from loss of blood; medicine was then powerless against such wounds. All this time, Princess Yuryevskaya was in her chambers and waited for her husband to call her for a walk. However, instead of Alexander, a servant quickly entered the room to report that His Majesty was not feeling well. Ekaterina Mikhailovna took several bottles of medicine that the emperor usually used and went down to his room. The sight of the dying sovereign shocked her, but did not deprive her of her will and ability to act. She helped physician Botkin alleviate Alexander's suffering: she rubbed his temples with ether, brought him an oxygen pillow, and prepared bandages with which the doctor tried to stop the continuous bleeding. Other members of the imperial family who arrived at the palace, having learned about the assassination attempt on the emperor, did not interfere with Princess Yuryevskaya show your last concern for your husband. For a few minutes the king came to his senses and took communion, after which he lost consciousness. At half past three in the afternoon, Alexander II died from loss of blood in the arms of his wife. According to the laws of the Russian Empire, at that very moment the heir-Tsarevich Alexander Alexandrovich, Alexander III, became emperor. His entourage immediately began to advise him to remove Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich and His Serene Highness Princess Yuryevskaya from the court as soon as possible. But it was impossible to do this before the funeral. Ekaterina Mikhailovna insisted on fulfilling the will of the emperor to organize the burial ritual. The deceased was dressed in the uniform of the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment, but there was neither a crown nor orders on him, since he once told his wife: “When I will have to appear before the Lord, I don’t want to look like a circus monkey, and then it won’t be the time to pretend to be majestic.” While the coffin was in the Winter Palace, Princess Yuryevskaya came every day to say goodbye to her husband again and again. She was the only one allowed to lift the thick veil that covered the disfigured face of the sovereign. On the eve of transferring the body to the Peter and Paul Cathedral for burial, she cut off her magnificent chestnut hair and placed it in the hands of her husband, who loved to stroke and caress it so much during his lifetime. Alexander III could not prevent Yuryevskaya from attending the funeral. The French ambassador Maurice Paleologue, a witness to the funeral ritual, wrote that after bidding farewell to the emperor of the heir and other members of the royal family, when foreign diplomats were already preparing to approach the coffin, the chief master of ceremonies asked them to wait. And then the following happened: “In the depths of the church, from the door adjacent to the sacristy, the Minister of the Court, Count Adlerberg, appears, supporting a fragile young woman under a long crepe veil. This is the morganatic wife of the late emperor, Princess Ekaterina Mikhailovna Yuryevskaya, née Princess Dolgorukaya. With unsteady steps she climbs the steps of the hearse. Kneeling down, she plunges into prayer, leaning her head against the body of the deceased. A few minutes later, she rises with difficulty and, leaning on the hand of Count Adlerberg, slowly disappears into the depths of the church...” Soon after the funeral, Princess Yuryevskaya and her children, at the insistence of Alexander III, left Russia and lived in Paris and Nice, where beautiful houses were purchased in her name during the emperor’s lifetime. Ekaterina Mikhailovna was allowed to take with her from her husband’s personal belongings everything that had to do with his tragic death, including the pectoral cross that was on him March 1, and personal icons. In her luggage was a death mask, removed from the face of Alexander II on March 3, 1881. The items were kept by Yuryevskaya until her death, which happened in Nice on February 15, 1922. In 1931, they were sold at auctions in Paris and London. The Romanov family, of course, could not even imagine that by expelling the Yuryevskys from Russia, it was saving their lives. While members of the imperial house were killed by terrorists and executed by revolutionaries, the Yuryevskys lived in grand style in hospitable France. In the banks of this country, they had substantial sums in their accounts, which was once taken care of by Alexander II and his entourage. 12-7 Through the Yuryevskys and the Dukes of Nassau, the Pushkin family became related to the royal family. Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin had a difficult relationship with Emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I. Nikolai Pavlovich granted him the rank of chamber cadet, humiliating for the great poet, with which very young aristocrats usually began serving under the sovereign. Evil tongues said that this was done so that the emperor, a connoisseur of female beauty, could see the beautiful Natalya Nikolaevna Pushkina at court holidays and balls. At that time, Alexander Sergeevich, who was jealous of his wife for the tsar, could not even imagine that his own granddaughter would marry the grandson of Nicholas I, and the grandson would marry the granddaughter of the same emperor. But family destinies often intersect in the most bizarre way. Pushkin’s youngest daughter Natalya Alexandrovna in sixteen years old, despite the dissatisfaction of her mother and stepfather, General P. P. Lansky, she married Lieutenant Colonel of the Absheron Infantry Regiment Mikhail Leontyevich Dubelt, the son of General L. V. Dubelt, chief of staff of the gendarme corps under Nicholas I, who did the “posthumous search” at Pushkin's apartment. Dubelt Jr. was a gambler and a reveler, and the Lansky family foresaw trouble from this marriage. After the wedding, the young people left St. Petersburg and went to Lieutenant Colonel M.L. Dubelt’s place of service in Ukraine: first in Nemirov, then in Elizavetgrad. There, Natalya Pushkina belatedly became convinced that her older relatives were right. Her husband soon squandered not only his own fortune, but also Natalya’s dowry - 28 thousand silver rubles, which she inherited from her father. In addition, Dubelt turned out to be a mentally unstable person with a difficult character. He was constantly jealous of his wife, made terrible scandals and even beat her. 128 In 1862, Natalya Alexandrovna decided to start divorce proceedings, which was rare in those days, and therefore it was lengthy and very difficult for her family. Her half-sister A.P. Lanskaya-Arapova considered this scandalous divorce to be the reason for the premature death of their mother N.N. Pushkina-Lanskaya, who “began to melt like a candle” from shame and worries. In anticipation of a divorce, Natalya Alexandrovna and her three children (two daughters and a son) went abroad for four years. There, in 1867, she got married in London to the crown prince of one of the German duchies, Nicholas Wilhelm of Nassau. She met him 11 years ago in St. Petersburg at one of the palace receptions. Then the prince, an officer in the Prussian army, was a guest at the coronation of Alexander II. He was related to the Romanovs: his elder brother, Grand Duke Wilhelm Adolf, was the husband of the emperor’s cousin, Grand Duchess Elizaveta Mikhailovna. Natalya Alexandrovna Pushkina did not belong to a titled ruling family, therefore she could not bear the surname and title of her husband - a person of royal blood. Her new son-in-law, Prince George of Walden-Pyrmont, bestowed upon her the title of Countess of Merenberg, with which she became the morganatic wife of the Duke of Nassau. Countess Merenberg remained abroad until the end of her life. She lived mainly in Germany, in Wiesbaden, only occasionally visiting Russia. From her second marriage, she had two daughters and a son. The eldest daughter of the Prince of Nassau and Countess Merenberg, Sofya Nikolaevna Merenberg, married her grandson in 1891 Emperor Nicholas I, Grand Duke Mikhail Mikhailovich Romanov. The marriage of a member of the Russian imperial family and the semi-legitimate daughter of a German prince was concluded without the consent of the head of the Romanov house - Alexander III. Outraged by this, the emperor informed the Prince of Nassau and his brother Duke Adolph of Luxembourg in a telegram that such a marriage would be considered in Russia as invalid and did not take place. Mikhail Mikhailovich Romanov refused to annul his marriage to Sophia Merenberg and was banned from living in Russia. The couple settled in England. They had a wonderful family, three children, and they did not want to give up their happiness for the sake of titles and the illusory honor of belonging to the imperial clan. Even when the next Tsar Nicholas II allowed them to return to Russia, Mikhail and Sofia Romanov did not want to do this. Sofia's brother Georg Nikolaevich Merenberg married his Serene Highness Princess Olga Alexandrovna Yuryevskaya, the daughter of Alexander II from a morganatic marriage with Dolgoruka. This union once again united the Pushkins with the Romanovs. This married couple also never returned to Russia. The third of the younger Merenbergs, Alexandra Nikolaevna, married the Argentine nobleman Maximo de Elia. The descendants of the Nassau-Merenbergs now live in different countries of the Old and New Worlds. The fate of the descendants of Alexander II from his first marriage who remained in Russia, turned out to be much more dramatic. The same fate befell the reforms of this sovereign. Let us recall that with the support of Princess Yuryevskaya, Alexander decided to make changes in the political structure of Russia. On April 2, a manifesto was to appear in print, notifying society about upcoming innovations. But the unexpected death of the Tsar disrupted the course of these events. When the servants were already washing the body of the deceased Alexander II, his heir Alexander III, Count Loris-Melikov approached and asked whether he should publish the manifesto handed to him early in the morning. At that moment, Alexander III answered him without any hesitation: “I will always respect my father’s will. Order it to be printed tomorrow.” However, at night he sent Loris-I3O Melikov a written order to suspend the publication of the document. This act was the result of pressure on the new sovereign from his inner circle, and first of all, the Chief Prosecutor of the Synod, K. P. Pobedonostsev. Those close to him insisted that the decisions of Alexander II be frozen by his son, and then they should be renounced altogether. Unfortunately, this is what happened. Already the next day after the death of Alexander II, the mood in the Winter Palace changed dramatically. The Romanov family almost openly blamed the Minister of Internal Affairs Loris-Melikov for the fact that the last attempt on the sovereign’s life was successful. The meeting scheduled by Alexander II for March 4 was postponed by Alexander III to the 8th. It saw a dramatic clash between supporters of reforms led by Loris-Melikov, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich and D. A. Milyutin and conservatives led by K. P. Pobedonostsev, who delivered an accusatory speech denying the need for constitutional changes in Russia. The meeting did not make any decision, but on April 29 they published the Emperor’s Manifesto, which proclaimed his will to preserve the inviolability of the foundations of the autocracy in the form they had taken shape at the end of the 18th century. Loris-Melikov, Milyutin and many of their supporters from among the ministers and dignitaries were dismissed. Alexander III dismissed his liberal uncle, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, from the posts of fleet commander, naval minister and chairman of the State Council. Konstantin Nikolayevich left St. Petersburg and settled in Crimea, leading the life of a private person. How can one not recall the words of another outstanding exile and exile, the poet Joseph Brodsky, written a hundred years later: “Since you happen to be born in an empire, it is better to live in a remote province by the sea.” The resignation and voluntary exile of Konstantin put an end to the possibilities of Russia's development in the direction of a constitutional state of law. Former Minister of War D. A. Milyutin wrote in his diary: “The reaction under the guise of nationality and Orthodoxy is Right way to death for the state." But neither Milyutin nor anyone else knew that by rejecting the transition project government structure Russia towards a constitutional monarchy, Alexander III unwittingly signed the death warrant for his son and grandson, and for many other members of the Romanov family who fell under the “red wheel” after the 1917 revolution. Neither society nor his family expected anything outstanding from Alexander III. He devoted his life to the preservation of autocracy, the archaic nature of which his father already understood. His first actions after ascending the throne were acts of revenge and memory. On April 3, 1881, a public execution of the participants and organizers of the assassination attempt on Alexander II took place in St. Petersburg. All of them were betrayed by Rysakov, whose bombing ended in failure. By the verdict of the Special Presence of the Government Senate, Narodnaya Volya members A.I. Zhelyabov, S.L. Perovskaya, N.I. Kibalchich, T.M. Mikhailov and N.I. Rysakov were hanged. Grinevitsky died at the scene of the explosion without identifying himself. His head was cut off and put on public display for identification. In vain LN Tolstoy cried out for mercy in his letter to Alexander III: “Forgive me, repay good for evil, and out of hundreds of villains they will go over not to you, not to us (it doesn’t matter), but will pass from the Devil to God, and thousands, millions of hearts will tremble with joy and tenderness at the sight of good from the throne at such a terrible moment for the son of a murdered father...” However, the new emperor was a different person and chose revenge over forgiveness In memory of the death of Alexander II on the Catherine Canal (now the Griboedov Canal) a church was founded. This temple, I32 called the Savior on Spilled Blood, is built in the Russian style and resembles St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. It took almost twenty years to build and was consecrated only on August 19, 1908. The church has survived to this day and is clearly visible from Nevsky Prospekt. Alexander II died at the age of 63. For 26 years he ruled a huge empire, for which he probably did everything he could, given the characteristics of his character and upbringing. The fatal explosion on the Catherine Canal prevented him from doing more. Alexander was respected by both his comrades and political opponents. The famous revolutionary anarchist Prince P. A. Kropotkin wrote about the impression he made on him, then young man, Emperor: "To be actor in court life it was more than curious for a daredevil of my age. Moreover, it must be said that I then looked at Alexander II as a hero of the family; he did not attach importance to court ceremonies, then began work at five o’clock in the morning and stubbornly fought against the reactionary party in order to carry out a series of reforms, of which the liberation of the peasants was only the first step.” The new Emperor Alexander III ascended the throne as an adult, fully formed man. In 1881 he was 36 years old. Before this, for a decade and a half, he had been participating in the political life of the country as the heir to the crown prince. For him, there were no secrets or insoluble contradictions in Russian politics and family life of the Romanov house. He was conservative and old-fashioned; perhaps too conservative and too old-fashioned for his time. With his accession in the history of the country and in the history of the imperial Romanov dynasty, a new era began - an era of stagnation that turned into crisis.
Emperor Alexander II, who went down in history with the nickname “Liberator” for the abolition of serfdom, was not popular with everyone among his contemporaries. In particular, he was especially disliked by representatives of radical revolutionary democratic organizations. He became the first Russian Emperor, on whom so many attempts were made - before the tragic day of March 1, 1881, there were five of them, and with the last two explosions, the number of attempts increased to seven.
The executive committee of the Narodnaya Volya organization “sentenced” the emperor to death in 1879, after which it made two attempts to assassinate him, both of which ended in failure. The third attempt at the beginning of 1881 was prepared especially carefully. Various options for the assassination attempt were considered, and two of them were most actively prepared. Firstly, it was planned to blow up the Stone Bridge across the Catherine Canal: this was the only bridge over which the emperor’s carriage could get to the Winter Palace when Alexander II was returning from the Tsarskoye Selo station. However, this plan was technically difficult to implement, was fraught with numerous casualties among the townspeople, and in the winter of 1881 the tsar practically did not travel to Tsarskoye Selo.
The second plan included the creation of a tunnel near Malaya Sadovaya street, along which one of the king’s permanent routes ran, followed by an explosion. If the mine suddenly did not go off, then four Narodnaya Volya members should have thrown bombs at the Tsar’s carriage, and if Alexander II had remained alive after that, then the leader of the “Narodnaya Volya” Andrei Zhelyabov personally had to jump into the carriage and stab the Tsar. To implement this plan, house No. 8 on Malaya Sadovaya had already been rented, from which they began to dig a tunnel. But shortly before the assassination attempt, the police arrested many prominent members of Narodnaya Volya, including Zhelyabov who was arrested on February 27. The arrest of the latter prompted the conspirators to take action. After Zhelyabov’s arrest, the emperor was warned about the possibility of a new assassination attempt, but he took it calmly, saying that he was under divine protection, which had already allowed him to survive 5 assassination attempts.
After Zhelyabov’s arrest, the group was headed by Sofya Perovskaya. Under the leadership of Nikolai Kibalchich, 4 bombs were made. On the morning of March 1, Perovskaya handed them over to Grinevitsky, Mikhailov, Emelyanov and Rysakov.
On March 1 (13, new style), Alexander II left the Winter Palace for Manege, accompanied by a rather small guard (in the face of a new assassination attempt). The Emperor attended the changing of the guards at the Manege. And then he went to the Mikhailovsky Palace for tea with his cousin.
Few monarchs in history have been honored with the epithet “liberator.” Alexander Nikolaevich Romanov deserved such an honor. Alexander II is also called the Tsar-Reformer, because he managed to get off the ground many old problems of the state that threatened riots and uprisings.
Childhood and youth
The future emperor was born in April 1818 in Moscow. The boy was born on a holiday, Bright Wednesday, in the Kremlin, in the Bishop's House of the Chudov Monastery. Here, on that festive morning, the entire Imperial family gathered to celebrate Easter. In honor of the boy’s birth, the silence of Moscow was broken by a 201-volley cannon salute.
Archbishop of Moscow Augustine baptized the baby Alexander Romanov on May 5 in the church of the Chudov Monastery. His parents were Grand Dukes at the time of their son's birth. But when the grown-up heir turned 7 years old, his mother Alexandra Feodorovna and father became the imperial couple.
The future Emperor Alexander II received an excellent education at home. His main mentor, responsible not only for training, but also for education, was. Archpriest Gerasim Pavsky himself taught sacred history and the Law of God. Academician Collins taught the boy the intricacies of arithmetic, and Karl Merder taught the basics of military affairs.
Alexander Nikolaevich had no less famous teachers in legislation, statistics, finance and foreign policy. The boy grew up very smart and quickly mastered the sciences taught. But at the same time, in his youth, like many of his peers, he was amorous and romantic. For example, during a trip to London, he fell in love with a young British girl.
Interestingly, after a couple of decades, it turned into the most hated European ruler for the Russian Emperor Alexander II.
The reign and reforms of Alexander II
When Alexander Nikolaevich Romanov reached adulthood, his father introduced him to the main state institutions. In 1834, the Tsarevich entered the Senate, the following year - into the Holy Synod, and in 1841 and 1842 Romanov became a member of the State Council and the Committee of Ministers.
In the mid-1830s, the heir made a long familiarization trip around the country and visited 29 provinces. In the late 30s he visited Europe. He also completed his military service very successfully and in 1844 became a general. He was entrusted with the guards infantry.
The Tsarevich headed military educational institutions and chaired the Secret Committees on Peasant Affairs in 1846 and 1848. He delves quite well into the problems of the peasants and understands that changes and reforms are long overdue.
The outbreak of the Crimean War of 1853-56 becomes a serious test for the future sovereign on his maturity and courage. After martial law was declared in the St. Petersburg province, Alexander Nikolaevich assumed command of all the troops of the capital.
Alexander II, having ascended the throne in 1855, received a difficult legacy. During his 30 years of rule, his father failed to resolve any of the many pressing and long-standing issues of the state. In addition, the country's difficult situation was aggravated by the defeat in the Crimean War. The treasury was empty.
It was necessary to act decisively and quickly. The foreign policy of Alexander II was to use diplomacy to break through the tight ring of blockade that had closed around Russia. The first step was the conclusion of the Paris Peace in the spring of 1856. The conditions accepted by Russia cannot be called very favorable, but the weakened state could not dictate its will. The main thing is that they managed to stop England, which wanted to continue the war until the complete defeat and dismemberment of Russia.
That same spring, Alexander II visited Berlin and met with King Frederick William IV. Frederick was the emperor's maternal uncle. They managed to conclude a secret “dual alliance” with him. The foreign policy blockade of Russia was over.
The domestic policy of Alexander II turned out to be no less successful. The long-awaited “thaw” has arrived in the life of the country. At the end of the summer of 1856, on the occasion of the coronation, the tsar granted amnesty to the Decembrists, Petrashevites, and participants in the Polish uprising. He also suspended recruitment for another 3 years and liquidated military settlements.
The time has come to resolve the peasant question. Emperor Alexander II decided to abolish serfdom, this ugly relic that stood in the way of progress. The sovereign chose the “Baltsee option” of landless emancipation of peasants. In 1858, the Tsar agreed to a reform program developed by liberals and public figures. According to the reform, peasants received the right to purchase the land allocated to them as their own.
The great reforms of Alexander II turned out to be truly revolutionary at that time. He supported the Zemstvo Regulations of 1864 and the City Regulations of 1870. The Judicial Statutes of 1864 were put into effect and the military reforms of the 1860s and 70s were adopted. Reforms took place in public education. Corporal punishment, which was shameful for a developing country, was finally abolished.
Alexander II confidently continued the traditional line of imperial policy. In the first years of his reign, he won victories in the Caucasian War. Successfully advanced in Central Asia, annexing the territory of the state most Turkestan. In 1877-78, the tsar decided to go to war with Turkey. He also managed to fill the treasury, increasing the total income of 1867 by 3%. This was done by selling Alaska to the United States.
But in the last years of the reign of Alexander II, the reforms “stalled.” Their continuation was sluggish and inconsistent. The emperor dismissed all the main reformers. At the end of his reign, the Tsar introduced limited public representation in Russia under the State Council.
Some historians believe that the reign of Alexander II, for all its advantages, had a huge disadvantage: the tsar pursued a “Germanophile policy” that did not meet the interests of the state. The monarch was in awe of the Prussian king - his uncle, and in every possible way contributed to the creation of a united militaristic Germany.
A contemporary of the Tsar, Chairman of the Committee of Ministers Pyotr Valuev, wrote in his diaries about the Tsar’s severe nervous breakdown in the last years of his life. Romanov was on the verge nervous breakdown, looked tired and irritated. “Crown half-ruin” - such an unflattering epithet given by Valuev to the emperor, accurately explained his condition.
“In an era where strength is needed,” the politician wrote, “obviously, one cannot count on it.”
Nevertheless, in the first years of his reign, Alexander II managed to do a lot for the Russian state. And he really deserved the epithets “Liberator” and “Reformer”.
Personal life
The emperor was a passionate man. He has many novels to his credit. In his youth, he had an affair with his maid of honor Borodzina, whom his parents urgently married off. Then another novel, and again with the maid of honor Maria Trubetskoy. And the connection with the maid of honor Olga Kalinovskaya turned out to be so strong that the Tsarevich even decided to abdicate the throne for the sake of marrying her. But his parents insisted on breaking off this relationship and marrying Maximilianna of Hesse.
However, the marriage with, nee Princess Maximiliana Wilhelmina Augusta Sophia Maria of Hesse-Darmstadt, was a happy one. 8 children were born there, 6 of whom were sons.
Emperor Alexander II mortgaged the favorite summer residence of the last Russian tsars, Livadia, for his wife, who was sick with tuberculosis, by purchasing the land along with the estate and vineyards from the daughters of Count Lev Pototsky.
Maria Alexandrovna died in May 1880. She left a note containing words of gratitude to her husband for a happy life together.
But the monarch was not a faithful husband. The personal life of Alexander II was a constant source of gossip at court. Some favorites gave birth to illegitimate children from the sovereign.
An 18-year-old maid of honor managed to firmly capture the heart of the emperor. The Emperor married his longtime lover the same year his wife died. It was a morganatic marriage, that is, concluded with a person of non-royal origin. The children from this union, and there were four of them, could not become heirs to the throne. It is noteworthy that all the children were born at a time when Alexander II was still married to his first wife.
After the tsar married Dolgorukaya, the children received legal status and a princely title.
Death
During his reign, Alexander II was assassinated several times. The first assassination attempt occurred after the suppression of the Polish uprising in 1866. It was committed in Russia by Dmitry Karakozov. The second is next year. This time in Paris. Polish emigrant Anton Berezovsky tried to kill the Tsar.
A new attempt was made at the beginning of April 1879 in St. Petersburg. In August of the same year, the executive committee of Narodnaya Volya sentenced Alexander II to death. After this, the Narodnaya Volya members intended to blow up the emperor’s train, but mistakenly blew up another train.
The new attempt turned out to be even bloodier: several people died in the Winter Palace after the explosion. As luck would have it, the emperor entered the room later.
To protect the sovereign, the Supreme Administrative Commission was created. But she did not save Romanov’s life. In March 1881, a bomb was thrown at the feet of Alexander II by Narodnaya Volya member Ignatius Grinevitsky. The king died from his wounds.
It is noteworthy that the assassination attempt took place on the day when the emperor decided to launch the truly revolutionary constitutional project of M. T. Loris-Melikov, after which Russia was supposed to follow the path of the constitution.
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