With him, the era of reform in Romanov Russia came to an end; The period of reaction began with his son Alexander III.
(1818 – 1881) Russian tsar. He abolished serfdom in Russia. He was born on April 29, 1818, in Moscow. He was killed in Petrograd (Leningrad) on March 13, 1881. He is the eldest son of Nicholas I. He was brought up by Zhukovsky, the favorite poet of the court, and the famous poet who gathered liberal thoughts in Europe and monarchist tendencies in his personality. Alexander was not unfamiliar with Western languages, and Western liberalism; but, like all Romanovs, he also went through religious, conservative, and chauvinistic education. These contradictory tendencies were also reflected in his administration.
Alexander II (29 April 1818 – 13 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 2 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881.
In April 1841 he married Marie, daughter of Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Hesse. He had six sons and two daughters from this marriage. During his reign, he made long trips to England and other European countries. He ascended the throne on March 2, 1855, in an environment where the Crimean War ended in defeat. The situation in the country required new regulations in every field. Alexander II set out to carry out these reforms not with a radical approach, but with a policy of lending. The futility of Nicholas I's spending and intensive organization for the army was understood. At first, Alexander II was inclined to favor legal reforms that would improve industry and commerce rather than problems such as the abolition of slavery and the introduction of constitutional liberties. With the acceleration of incorporation, the construction of railways for military and commercial purposes was also accelerated.
A dangerous problem to be solved for the development of capitalism was the abolition of serfdom. Land serfdom had been deeply entrenched in the history of Russia since the 16th century, and reform attempts on this issue were causing fierce opposition from the landlords. To abolish serfdom, work was first undertaken with Committees for the Improvement of the Peasants' Situation established in the Baltic states. This experiment, which was put into effect all over European Russia, was supposed to achieve a compromise between the so-called aristocracy and the peasantry. As the necessary agrarian reforms were not made, the peasants who were freed from serfdom were left hungry and landless; began to migrate to the cities. Peasants had to pay heavy taxes. Serfdom was abolished in European Russia, and while the old agricultural order was about to change, the Caucasus and Asian provinces were not touched. However, the law abolishing 'serfdom' was finalized and published on March 3, 1861. Alexander II also made new arrangements in the army and navy. Although drawing lots was not abolished to recruit soldiers, military service was reduced to five years. This was an important step, but the problem of unemployment was aggravated by the slow development of industry and agriculture.
Changes were also made in the justice organization. A new penal code and trial procedure was introduced. These reforms were carried out according to a centralized system, namely the French model. II. On the other hand, the reforms designed by Alexander on local governments did not materialize. In a country where there is no democratic tradition, the councils in the municipalities and districts were under the influence of the landowners, but mostly the provincial administrators. Also, in Russia, where there was no parliamentary life, local councils were rendered inoperable by fruitless debates between radicals, conservatives, and liberals. II. This moderate reformist policy of Alexander caused more uneasiness among the intellectuals than the conservatives. Indeed, as the Narodnik movement spread among university students and intellectuals, Manrism entered Russia during this period. On the other hand, political assassinations increased with the organization of nihilism and anarchism; He turned to high-ranking officials and even to the tsar.
The primitive oppressive rule of the tsarist bureaucracy and police intensified the nationalist movements among the oppressed peoples. The Polish uprising of 1863 is the most obvious example of this. The events could be prevented by the harsh pressure measures of General Governor M. I Muraviev. Aleksandr II did not give a damn when the dissidents filling the streets of Warsaw were fired upon. Alexander II followed an expansionist policy in foreign relations. Although this policy has an explanation such as the liberation of the Balkan Slavs, its expansion in Asia and its settlement in the Far East are indicative of the expansionist policy of Alexander II.
First, Foreign Minister Gorchakov declared that they were not bound by the provisions of the Paris Agreement signed after the 1870-1871 German-French war. Russia continued its expansion in Central Asia and the Far East for 15 years. After that, he turned to the "Eastern Question", that is, to the Ottoman Empire. Ottoman rule in the Balkans was nearing its end, and Russia wanted to speed it up and get a share. The Bosnia-Herzegovina uprising in 1875 and the Bulgarian events created an opportunity to take a hand in the Balkans. Alexander 2. In his famous speech in Moscow on November 10, 1876, he said that “as Europe does not defend the rights of the oppressed Balkan Slavs, he will personally come to the aid of his Slavic brothers as Tsar”. The Ottoman-Russian war of 1877-1878 was prolonged due to the effective defense of the Ottoman army and the unorganized and disorderly functioning of the Tsarist armies. But in the end, the Russians advanced as far as Istanbul, and Great Bulgaria was established with the Treaty of San Stefano; Serbia and Montenegro became independent.
However, European states did not accept this situation. With the Berlin Treaty of 1878, the sovereignty that was tried to be established in the Balkans was erased and Russia's wishes could not be realized. As Gorchakov said, tens of thousands of soldiers and millions of rubles were wasted. Alexander II died as a result of an assassination by nihilists in Petrograd on March 13, 1881. He was glorified by some historians as Zar Osvoboditel (Liberator Tsar) for his actions such as reducing the military term, abolishing serfdom, and taking the Balkans from the Ottomans. Alexander II is a ruler who, on the one hand, was the target of undeserved exaltation and on the other hand, of undeserved hostility. He tried to bring some innovations, but he could not adapt to the political-social environment in Russia at that time, nor to the traditions.