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Alexander II of Russia Timeline

(April 29, 1818 – March 13, 1881 (reigned 1855–1881))

Alexander II of Russia, known as the 'Tsar Liberator,' ruled the Russian Empire from 1855 until his assassination in 1881. His reign was marked by sweeping reforms, most notably the 1861 emancipation of the serfs, as well as judicial, military, and administrative modernization aimed at transforming Russia into a more modern state. Less

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Early Life and Heir Apparent

Birth of Alexander II

Apr 29, 1818

Alexander Nikolaevich Romanov was born in Moscow on 29 April 1818, the eldest son of Grand Duke Nicholas Pavlovich, who would become Emperor Nicholas I. Few imagined that the young prince would one day carry out the most sweeping reforms in Russia since the reign of Peter the Great.

Image source: Alexander II of Russia

Birth of Alexander II

Becomes heir apparent when father becomes tsar

Dec 26, 1825

Upon his father's accession as Emperor Nicholas I following the death of Alexander I, the young Alexander became Tsesarevich and heir apparent to the Russian throne, a role he would hold for thirty years until 1855.

Six-month tour of Russia including Siberia

1837

Unusually for the time, the Tsesarevich was taken on a six-month tour of Russia in 1837, visiting twenty provinces. During this journey Alexander became the first Romanov heir ever to visit Siberia, giving him firsthand exposure to the empire's vast diversity and problems.

Grand Tour of Europe and meeting Queen Victoria

1838 - 1839

In 1838-39 Alexander undertook the Grand Tour of Western Europe customary for young men of his class. In 1839 he met the twenty-year-old Queen Victoria, and the two became well acquainted during his travels across prominent European countries.

Donation to Ireland during the Great Famine

1847

In 1847, while still heir apparent, Alexander donated money to Ireland during the Great Famine, an act of charity that earned him goodwill abroad during the catastrophic food crisis gripping Ireland under British rule.

Image source: Great Famine (Ireland)

Donation to Ireland during the Great Famine

Family and Personal Life

Marriage to Princess Marie of Hesse

Apr 16, 1841

After his engagement to Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine was officially announced in April 1840, the 23-year-old Tsesarevich Alexander married Marie in Saint Petersburg on 16 April 1841. She converted to Orthodoxy and became Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna.

Image source: Maria Alexandrovna (Marie of Hesse)

Marriage to Princess Marie of Hesse

Death of daughter Alexandra Alexandrovna

Jul 10, 1849

The Alexanders' eldest child, Grand Duchess Alexandra Alexandrovna, nicknamed Lina, died of infant meningitis in Saint Petersburg at just under seven years old, a devastating loss that her mother mourned deeply for the rest of her life.

Image source: Grand Duchess Alexandra Alexandrovna of Russia

Death of daughter Alexandra Alexandrovna

Death of Empress Maria Alexandrovna

Jun 3, 1880

Empress Maria Alexandrovna succumbed to tuberculosis on 3 June 1880, shortly after her daughter Marie visited Russia to see her dying mother, clearing the way for Alexander to formalize his long-standing relationship with Catherine Dolgorukova.

Morganatic marriage to Catherine Dolgorukova

Jul 18, 1880

Six weeks after the empress's death, Alexander secretly married his mistress Catherine Dolgorukova morganatically at Tsarskoye Selo on 18 July [6 July O.S.] 1880. He had taken her as mistress in 1866 and had fathered three surviving children with her.

Image source: Catherine Dolgorukova

Morganatic marriage to Catherine Dolgorukova

Reign and Domestic Reforms

Relaxation of repressive regime in Congress Poland

1855 - 1863

After becoming King of Poland in 1855, Alexander substantially relaxed the strict regime imposed on Congress Poland after the November Uprising of 1830-31, easing censorship and promoting conciliation, though tensions continued to simmer beneath the surface.

Image source: Congress Poland

Relaxation of repressive regime in Congress Poland

Accession to the throne upon death of Nicholas I

Mar 2, 1855

Alexander succeeded his father as Emperor of Russia, King of Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland on 2 March 1855, aged 37, inheriting an empire mired in the failing Crimean War against Britain, France, and the Ottoman Empire.

Image source: Nicholas I of Russia

Accession to the throne upon death of Nicholas I

Coronation in Moscow

Sep 7, 1856

Alexander II was formally crowned Emperor of Russia on 7 September 1856, cementing his position after more than a year on the throne and marking the ceremonial start of a reign destined to transform the empire.

Image source: Peter II of Russia

Coronation in Moscow

Emancipation Reform abolishes serfdom

Mar 3, 1861

On 3 March 1861 Alexander signed and published the Emancipation Reform, which abolished serfdom on private estates throughout the Russian Empire. This historic act earned him the title "Alexander the Liberator," freeing over 20 million serfs.

Image source: Emancipation reform of 1861

Emancipation Reform abolishes serfdom

Re-convening of the Diet of Finland

1863

In 1863 Alexander II re-convened the Diet of Finland and initiated reforms increasing Finland's autonomy within the Russian Empire, including the establishment of its own currency, the Finnish markka, making him popular among Finns.

Image source: Grand Duchy of Finland

Re-convening of the Diet of Finland

Emancipation of Polish peasants

1864

In 1864, following the suppression of the January Uprising, the Polish peasantry were emancipated from their serf-like status on terms more generous than those granted to Russian peasants in the 1861 emancipation reform.

Image source: January Uprising

Emancipation of Polish peasants

Judicial reform introduces security of tenure

1864

A new judicial administration based on the French model was introduced in 1864, bringing security of tenure for judges, greater independence of courts, and modernized legal proceedings as part of Alexander's sweeping reform program.

Image source: Judicial reform of Alexander II

Judicial reform introduces security of tenure

Establishment of zemstvo local self-government

1864

Alexander's bureaucracy instituted an elaborate scheme of local self-government known as the zemstvo for rural districts in 1864 and large towns in 1870, with elective assemblies holding restricted rights of taxation, alongside new rural and municipal police under the Minister of the Interior.

Image source: Zemstvo

Establishment of zemstvo local self-government

Educational retrenchment under Dmitry Tolstoy

1871

Under Minister of Education Dmitry Tolstoy, liberal university courses and subjects encouraging critical thinking were replaced with a more traditional curriculum, and from 1871 onward only students from gymnasiums could progress to university, reflecting the tsar's conservative turn.

Image source: Dmitry Tolstoy

Educational retrenchment under Dmitry Tolstoy

Universal military conscription introduced

Jan 1, 1874

Under the influence of War Minister Dmitry Milyutin, universal conscription was introduced for all social classes on 1 January 1874. Previously, conscription had been compulsorily enforced only on the peasantry since 1861.

Image source: Military history of the Russian Empire

Universal military conscription introduced

Governors-general empowered against dissenters

1879

In 1879 governors-general were established with powers to prosecute offenders in military courts and exile political offenders, reflecting the tightening of state control amid growing revolutionary activity across the empire.

Image source: Governor-general

Governors-general empowered against dissenters

Wars and Foreign Policy

"No dreams" speech warning Polish deputies

1856

At the beginning of his reign Alexander made a memorable speech to Polish nobility from Congress Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Livonia, and Belarus, warning against demands for further concessions with the words "Gentlemen, let us have no dreams!"

Ends Crimean War with Treaty of Paris

Jan 15, 1856

The new tsar took Russia out of the disastrous Crimean War on very unfavourable terms. The Treaty of Paris cost Russia the Black Sea Fleet, demilitarized the Black Sea, and forced Russia to cede Southern Bessarabia, humiliating but also spurring later reforms.

Image source: Treaty of Paris (1856)

Ends Crimean War with Treaty of Paris

Suppression of the January Uprising in Poland

Jan 1863 - 1864

A major Polish uprising began in January 1863 and lasted eighteen months before being suppressed. Alexander responded by stripping Poland of its separate constitution and directly incorporating the kingdom into the Russian Empire; martial law introduced in Lithuania at this time lasted forty years.

Sale of Alaska to the United States

1867

Owing partly to concerns that Russia's North American colonies bordering British Columbia could not be defended against Britain in another war, and because the colony was losing money, Russia sold Alaska to the United States in 1867 for $7.2 million, equivalent to about $166 million today.

Image source: Alaska Purchase

Sale of Alaska to the United States

Russia renounces Black Sea clauses of Treaty of Paris

1871

Encouraged by the new attitude of French diplomacy after Napoleon III's fall and supported by German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, Russia renounced the Black Sea clauses of the 1856 Paris treaty in 1871, restoring its right to maintain a fleet in the Black Sea.

Formation of the League of the Three Emperors

1873

Seeking peace and stability in Europe, Alexander moved away from bellicose France after Napoleon III's fall in 1870 and joined Germany and Austria-Hungary in the League of the Three Emperors in 1873, a conservative alliance of monarchies.

Image source: League of the Three Emperors

Formation of the League of the Three Emperors

April Rising in Bulgaria against Ottoman rule

Apr 1876

In April 1876 the Bulgarian population in the Balkans rebelled against Ottoman rule. The Ottoman suppression of the revolt outraged European opinion, increasing pressure on Russia to intervene on behalf of its fellow Orthodox Slavs.

Image source: April Uprising of 1876

April Rising in Bulgaria against Ottoman rule

Russo-Turkish War declared

Apr 17, 1877

After securing neutrality agreements from the other Great Powers following the failure of the Constantinople Conference, Russia declared war upon the Ottoman Empire on 17 April 1877, fighting alongside Romanian forces under Prince Carol I.

Image source: Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)

Russo-Turkish War declared

Treaty of San Stefano signed

Feb 19, 1878

The Russo-Turkish War ended with the preliminary Treaty of San Stefano, which created a large autonomous Bulgarian state, secured independence or autonomy for Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, and Eastern Rumelia, and returned Southern Bessarabia to Russia.

Image source: Treaty of San Stefano

Treaty of San Stefano signed

Congress of Berlin revises San Stefano treaty

Jun 1878 - Jul 1878

The Congress of Berlin revised the San Stefano agreement, shrinking the Bulgarian state. Though disappointed by the results, Alexander abided by the agreement. Bulgaria nonetheless gained independence for the first time since 1396, electing the tsar's nephew Prince Alexander of Battenberg as ruler.

Image source: Congress of Berlin

Congress of Berlin revises San Stefano treaty

Assassination Attempts

First assassination attempt: Dmitri Karakozov

Apr 4, 1866

In April 1866 there was an attempt on the emperor's life in Saint Petersburg by revolutionary Dmitry Karakozov. Alexander narrowly escaped death, referring to it only as "the event of 4 April 1866," and churches and chapels were built in many cities to commemorate his survival. The attempt pushed him toward a more conservative political stance.

Image source: Dmitry Karakozov

First assassination attempt: Dmitri Karakozov

Berezowski attack in Paris

Jun 6, 1867

During the 1867 World's Fair in Paris, Polish immigrant Antoni Berezowski attacked the carriage containing Alexander, his two sons, and Napoleon III. Berezowski fired shots at the carriage but failed to hit anyone, and was tried and sentenced to hard labor.

Image source: Antoni Berezowski

Berezowski attack in Paris

Soloviev shooting attempt

Apr 20, 1879

On the morning of 20 April 1879, while walking briskly toward the Square of the Guards Staff, Alexander faced Alexander Soloviev, a 33-year-old former student who fired several revolver shots at the emperor but missed every time.

Narodnaya Volya train bombing attempt

Dec 1879

In December 1879 the Narodnaya Volya (People's Will), a radical group hoping to ignite social revolution, organized an explosion on the railway from Livadia to Moscow, but they missed the emperor's train, sparing his life once again.

Loris-Melikov heads Supreme Executive Commission

Feb 1880

After the February 1880 assassination attempt, Count Loris-Melikov was appointed head of the Supreme Executive Commission with extraordinary powers to fight revolutionaries. He also became a key advocate of modest parliamentary-style reforms to counter rising revolutionary movements.

Image source: Mikhail Loris-Melikov

Loris-Melikov heads Supreme Executive Commission

Winter Palace bombing by Stephan Khalturin

Feb 5, 1880

On the evening of 5 February 1880, Stephan Khalturin of Narodnaya Volya detonated a timed charge under the Winter Palace dining room, killing 11 and wounding 30. Dinner had been delayed by the late arrival of the Prince of Bulgaria, so the imperial family escaped unharmed.

Image source: Stepan Khalturin

Winter Palace bombing by Stephan Khalturin

Assassination by Narodnaya Volya in Saint Petersburg

Mar 13, 1881

On 13 March [1 March O.S.] 1881, assassins of the Narodnaya Volya party killed Alexander with bombs on a Saint Petersburg embankment, despite earlier proposals he had made for additional parliamentary reforms. His son Alexander III succeeded him and reversed many liberal policies.

Image source: Assassination of Alexander II of Russia

Assassination by Narodnaya Volya in Saint Petersburg

Church of the Savior on Blood built on assassination site

1883

With construction starting in 1883, the ornate Church of the Savior on Blood was built on the site of Alexander's assassination in Saint Petersburg and dedicated to his memory, becoming one of the city's most famous landmarks.

Image source: Church of the Savior on Blood

Church of the Savior on Blood built on assassination site

Key Facts

  1. Alexander II became Tsar of Russia in 1855 during the Crimean War, succeeding his father Nicholas I.
  2. In 1861, he issued the Emancipation Manifesto, freeing over 23 million serfs, earning him the title 'Tsar Liberator.'
  3. He implemented major reforms including the creation of zemstvos (local self-governments) in 1864, judicial reform, and military reform with universal conscription in 1874.
  4. Russia expanded significantly during his reign, selling Alaska to the United States in 1867 while conquering territory in Central Asia.
  5. He survived multiple assassination attempts before being killed by a bomb thrown by members of the revolutionary group Narodnaya Volya (People's Will) on March 13, 1881, in St. Petersburg.

Source

This Alexander II of Russia timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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