- Born
- DiedMarch 13, 1881 · St. Petersburg, Russian Empire [now Russia] (wounds received in assassination attempt)
- Nickname
- The Liberator
- Alexander II (29 April 1818 - 13 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 2 March 1855 until his assassination. Alexander's most significant reform as emperor was the emancipation of Russia's serfs in 1861, for which he is known as Alexander the Liberator . The tsar was responsible for other reforms, including reorganizing the judicial system, setting up elected local judges, abolishing corporal punishment, promoting local self-government through the zemstvo system, imposing universal military service, ending some privileges of the nobility, and promoting university education. After an assassination attempt in 1866, Alexander adopted a somewhat more reactionary stance until his death. Alexander pivoted towards foreign policy and sold Alaska to the United States in 1867, fearing the remote colony would fall into British hands if there were another war. He sought peace, moved away from bellicose France when Napoleon III fell in 1871, and in 1872 joined with Germany and Austria in the League of the Three Emperors that stabilized the European situation. Despite his otherwise pacifist foreign policy, he fought a brief war with the Ottoman Empire in 1877-78, leading to the independence of the Bulgarian, Montenegrin, Romanian and Serbian states, pursued further expansion into Far East and the Caucasus, and conquered Turkestan, also approving plans leading to the Circassian genocide. Although disappointed by the results of the Congress of Berlin in 1878, Alexander abided by that agreement. Among his greatest domestic challenges was an uprising in Poland in 1863, to which he responded by stripping that land of its separate constitution and incorporating it directly into Russia. Alexander was proposing additional parliamentary reforms to counter the rise of nascent revolutionary and anarchistic movements when he was assassinated in 1881.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Bonitao
- SpousesPrincess Catherine Dolgoruki(July 6, 1880 - March 13, 1881) (his death, 4 children)Marie von Hessen und bei Rhein(April 16, 1841 - June 8, 1880) (her death, 8 children)
- ChildrenGrand Duchess Alexandra Alexandrovna of RussiaGrand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of RussiaPrince George Alexandrovich YuryevskyPrincess Olga Alexandrovna YurievskayaPrincess Catherine Alexandrovna Yurievskaya
- ParentsAlexandra Feodorovna (Charlotte of Prussia)
- RelativesGrand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia(Sibling)Olga Nikolaevna of Russia(Sibling)Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna of Russia(Sibling)Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia(Sibling)Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia(Sibling)Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia(Sibling)Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia(Aunt or Uncle)Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna of Russia(Aunt or Uncle)Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia(Aunt or Uncle)Catherine Pavlovna of Russia(Aunt or Uncle)Grand Duchess Olga Pavlovna of Russia(Aunt or Uncle)Anna Pavlovna of Russia(Aunt or Uncle)Duchess Frederica of Württemberg(Aunt or Uncle)Duchess Elisabeth of Württemberg(Aunt or Uncle)Marija Karadjordjevic(Great Grandchild)King Carol II(Great Grandchild)Mother Alexandra(Great Grandchild)Princess Maria Pavlovna(Grandchild)Lennart Bernadotte(Great Grandchild)Dmitri Pavlovich Romanov(Grandchild)Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia(Grandchild)Princess Olga Paul of Yugoslavia(Great Grandchild)Countess of Toerring-Jettenbac Princess Elizabeth(Great Grandchild)Princess Marina(Great Grandchild)Queen Olga(Niece or Nephew)King Frederick III of Prussia(Cousin)Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna of Russia(Grandchild)Vladimir Kirillovits Romanov(Great Grandchild)Her Grand Ducal Highness Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine(Great Grandchild)Queen Marie of Romania(Grandchild)Prince Nicholas of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen(Great Grandchild)Kirill Vladimirovich Romanov(Grandchild)Princess Alexandra of Hohenlohe-Langenburg(Grandchild)Alexandra Beatrice of Hohenlohe-Langenburg(Great Grandchild)Grand Duchess Maria(Great Grandchild)
- Already had three children with his mistress, Princess Catherine Dolgoruki, when they entered into a morganatic marriage. A fourth child would be born to them before his death.
- Signed the Edict of Emancipation, which abolished serfdom, on 19 February 1861.
- Children with his first wife: Alexandra (1842-49), Nikolay (1843-65), Czar Aleksandr III, Vladimir (1847-1909), Alexei (1850-1908), Duchess Maria Edinburgh of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Sergei (1857-1905), and Paul (1860-1919).
- Had four children with his second wife: George (1872-1913), Olga (1874-1925), Boris (1876-76) and Catherine (1878-1959).
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