Alexander II of Russia

29 April 1818 – 13 March 1881

Alexander II (1818-1881) was Emperor of Russia from 1855 until his assassination in 1881, known as the 'Tsar Liberator' for emancipating Russia's serfs in 1861. His reign brought sweeping judicial, military, and local-government reforms, as well as the sale of Alaska to the United States. He was killed in St. Petersburg by a bomb thrown by a member of the revolutionary group Narodnaya Volya.

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Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Alexander II of Russia.

Life events

Born in Moscow
29 April 1818

Alexander Nikolaevich was born in the Moscow Kremlin, the eldest son of the future Emperor Nicholas I.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Educated under the poet Vasily Zhukovsky
c. 1826

As heir to the throne, Alexander received a broad liberal education supervised by the romantic poet Vasily Zhukovsky.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Married Marie of Hesse and by Rhine
28 April 1841

Alexander married Princess Marie of Hesse, who took the name Maria Alexandrovna and became Empress consort of Russia.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Acceded to the Russian throne
2 March 1855

Alexander became Emperor of Russia on the death of his father Nicholas I, during the closing phase of the Crimean War.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Signed the Emancipation Manifesto freeing the serfs
3 March 1861

Alexander's emancipation reform freed more than 23 million privately owned serfs, the most significant reform of his reign.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Enacted sweeping judicial and local-government reforms
1864

The 1864 reforms introduced elected zemstvo local assemblies and a modernized court system with public trials and juries.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Sold Alaska to the United States
30 March 1867

Alexander's government sold Russian America to the United States for 7.2 million dollars under the treaty signed in March 1867.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Led Russia into the Russo-Turkish War
24 April 1877 – 3 March 1878

Russia went to war with the Ottoman Empire in support of Balkan Christians, ending with the Treaty of San Stefano and the independence of several Balkan states.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Assassinated in St. Petersburg
13 March 1881

Alexander II was fatally wounded by a bomb thrown by Ignacy Hryniewiecki of the revolutionary organization Narodnaya Volya and died in the Winter Palace.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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