Alexander II (redirected from Aleksandr Nikolayevich)

Alexander II, czar of Russia

Alexander II, 1818–81, czar of Russia (1855–81), son and successor of Nicholas I. He ascended the throne during the Crimean War (1853–56) and immediately set about negotiating a peace (see Paris, Congress of). Influenced by Russia's defeat in the war and by peasant unrest Alexander embarked upon a modernization and reform program. The most important reform was the emancipation of the serfs (1861; see Emancipation, Edict of). This failed, however, to meet the land needs of the newly freed group and created many new problems. In 1864, a system of limited local self-government was introduced (see zemstvo) and the judicial system was partially Westernized. Municipal government was overhauled (1870), universal military training was introduced (1874), and censorship and control over education were temporarily relaxed. In Poland, Alexander initially adopted a moderate policy, granting the subject nation partial autonomy. When revolt broke out in 1863, however, Alexander reacted with brutal suppression, imposing severe Russification. The Western powers were sharply warned against interference. Prussia's support of Russia during this diplomatic crisis led to a Russo-Prussian rapprochement, and in 1872 the Three Emperors' League was formed by Russia, Prussia, and Austria-Hungary. Throughout his reign Alexander promoted vigorous expansion in the East. The conquest of the Ussuri region in East Asia was confirmed by the Treaty of Beijing (1860) with China. Central Asia was added to Russia by the conquest of Kokand, Khiva, and Bokhara (1865–76). Alaska, however, was sold (1867) to the United States. In 1877–78 Russia waged war on Turkey, ostensibly to aid the oppressed Slavs in the Balkans (see Russo-Turkish Wars). Meanwhile, in domestic affairs, Alexander's reforms, while outraging many reactionaries, were regarded as far too moderate by the liberals and radicals. Radical activities increased sharply among the intelligentsia, resulting in a reassertion of repressive policies. When the populist, or "to the people," movement arose in the late 1860s (see narodniki), the government arrested and prosecuted hundreds of students. Many radicals responded with terrorist tactics. In 1881, after several unsuccessful attempts, a member of the People's Will, a terrorist offshoot of the populist movement, assassinated Alexander with a hand-thrown bomb; this on the very day (Mar. 13) that Alexander had signed a decree granting the zemstvos an advisory role in legislation. He was succeeded by his son Alexander III.

Bibliography

See studies by D. Footman (1974) and D. Lieven (1989).

---

Alexander II, king of Scotland

Alexander II, 1198–1249, king of Scotland (1214–49), son and successor of William the Lion. He joined the English barons in their revolt against King John of England in 1215. Though he made his peace with John's successor, Henry III, in 1221, there was later friction that almost led to war. In 1237, Alexander agreed to give up his claims to overlordship in old Northumbria and to exchange lands he held in central England for lands in the north. At home Alexander was firm in quelling disorder.

---

Alexander II

 Russian Aleksandr Nikolayevich

(born April 29, 1818, Moscow, Russia—died March 13, 1881, St. Petersburg) Tsar of Russia (1855–81). He succeeded to the throne at the height of the Crimean War, which revealed Russia's backwardness on the world stage. In response, he undertook drastic reform, improving communications, government, and education, and most importantly, emancipating the serfs (1861). His reforms reduced class privilege and fostered humanitarian progress and economic development. Though sometimes described as a liberal, Alexander was in reality a firm upholder of autocratic principles, and an assassination attempt in 1866 strengthened his commitment to conservatism. A period of repression after 1866 led to a resurgence of revolutionary terrorism, and in 1881 he was killed in a plot sponsored by the terrorist organization People's Will.

---

Alexander II

(born Aug. 24, 1198, Haddington, Lothian—died July 8, 1249, Kerrera Island) King of Scotland (1214–49). He came to the throne on the death of his father, William I (the Lion). In 1215 he supported the rebellious English barons against King John, hoping to regain land in northern England. After the rebellion collapsed (1217), he did homage to Henry III and in 1221 married Henry's sister, Joan. He consolidated royal authority in Scotland and subdued Argyll in 1222. In 1237 he concluded the Peace of York with Henry by which he abandoned his claim to land in England and received in exchange several English estates.

---

Alexander II

1. 1198--1249, king of Scotland (1214--49), son of William (the Lion)

2. 1818--81, tsar of Russia (1855--81), son of Nicholas I, who emancipated the serfs (1861). He was assassinated by the Nihilists

---

Alexander II 

Born Apr. 17 (29), 1818; died Mar. 1 (13), 1881. Emperor of Russia from Feb. 19, 1855. Oldest son of Nicholas I. General P. P. Ushakov was in charge of Alexander II’s education; his tutor was the poet V. A. Zhukov-skii. Married in 1841 to the princess of Hesse-Darmstadt, Maximiliana Wilhelmina Auguste Sofia Maria, who took the name of Maria Alexandrovna (1824–80). Married for a second time (morganatically) in 1880 to Princess E. M. Dol-gorukaia (Princess Iur’ievskaia). The most influential high officials at various times during his reign were la. I. Rosntovtsev, S. S. Lanskoi, P. A. Valuev, A. M. Gorchakov, P. A. Shuvalov, D. A. Miliutin, and M. T. Loris-Melikov.

Alexander II was a conservative in his political views. However, the course of the country’s economic development, the defeat in the Crimean War of 1853–56, the social ferment, and the revolutionary upsurge forced Alexander to implement in the 1860’s and 1870’s a series of bourgeois reforms: the abolition of serfdom, the establishment of the zemstvo (district assembly), and the enactment of judicial, municipal, military, and other reforms.

The fall of the revolutionary wave after the suppression of the Polish uprising of 1863–64 made it easier for Alexander’s government to move to a reactionary course. The immediate occasion for this was the first attempt on Alexander’s life, by D. V. Karakozov on Apr. 4, 1866. There were a number of other assassination attempts: by A. Berezovskii (1867), by A. K. Solov’ev (Apr. 2, 1879), and by the Populists, who organized the explosion which struck the tsar’s train in the autumn of 1879 and the explosion in the Winter Palace, carried out by S. N. Khalturin (Feb. 5, 1880). At the end of the 1870’s repression against the revolutionaries intensified. In 1880, Alexander established the Supreme Administrative Commission, headed by Loris-Melikov, to struggle against the revolutionary movement. Its program, in addition to repressive measures, provided for a series of reforms.

In foreign relations, Alexander II maintained a Ger-manophile orientation; he revered his uncle Wilhelm I, the king of Prussia (from 1871, the emperor of Germany). The so-called Eastern Question, in particular the struggle to abolish the conditions of the Treaty of Paris of 1856, occupied an important place in his foreign policy. In 1877, in the attempt to strengthen Russian influence in the Balkans, Alexander began a war with Turkey.

On Mar. 1, 1881, in Petersburg, Alexander II was killed by a bomb thrown by I. I. Grinevitskii in accordance with the sentence of the executive committee of the People’s Will.

REFERENCES

Lenin, V. I. “Goniteli zemstva i Annibaly liberalizma.” Poln. sobr. soch., 5th ed., vol. 5.
Lenin, V. I. “’Krest’ianskaia reforma’ i proletarski-krest’ianskaia revoliutsiia.” Ibid., vol. 20.
Tatishchev, S. S. Imperator Aleksandr II: ego zhizn’ i tsarstvovanie, 2nd ed., vols. 1–2. St. Petersburg, 1911.
Zaionchkovskii, P. A. Krizis samoderzhaviia na rubezhe 1870–1880 gg. Moscow, 1964.

P. A. ZAIONCHKOVSKII

---

Alexander II 

Died 1605. King of Kakheti from 1574.

Alexander II attempted to reestablish fortified cities and monasteries in order to strengthen the country’s defense; he purchased guns in Moscow and enlisted gunners and gunsmiths. Kakheti’s commercial ties with European and Asian countries expanded during his reign. He fought to strengthen the centralization of power. Interested in an alliance with Russia, Alexander adopted an oath of loyalty to Tsar Fedor Ivanovich in 1587. He was murdered upon the instigation of the Iranian shah Abbas.