Alexander II Nikolayevich (Russian: Александр II Николаевич， English: Alexander II; From April 29, 1818 to March 13, 1881), the 16th Tsar of the Romanov Dynasty of Russia, the 12th Emperor of the Russian Empire (from March 2, 1855 to March 13, 1881), concurrently served as the King of Poland, the Grand Duke of Finland, and the eldest son of Tsar Nicholas I and Queen Alexandra Fiodorovna. [12]
Alexander II received a good education in his early years. He ascended the throne in 1855. At the beginning of his reign, he signed the Paris Peace Treaty with other countries to end the Crimean War. In view of the serious social crisis, we started social reform and issued an edict to abolish serfdom in 1861. In addition, he presided over a number of political reforms to promote the development of constitutional monarchy in Russia. From 1858 to 1864, China captured 1.5 million square kilometers of territory by signing the Aihui Treaty, the Beijing Treaty and the Northwest Boundary Treaty of Kanfen with the Qing Dynasty. From 1864 to 1865, they successively conquered Kokand, Bukhara, Shiwa and other khanates to establish their rule over Central Asia. From 1877 to 1878, the tenth Russian Turkish War was launched, and favorable conditions for peace were obtained. However, due to the interference of other powers, Russia was forced to accept the mediation of the Berlin Conference, which prevented Russia's ambition for the Balkans. At the same time, the trend of liberalization brought about by the reform has led to chaos in the domestic situation. Alexander II was unable to stop the rising activities of revolutionary groups. After 1874, the terrorist forces among the revolutionaries rose up and plotted plans to assassinate the tsar many times. Finally, Alexander II was assassinated by members of the Popular Party in 1881 at the age of 62 [12].
Alexander II's political, military, judicial, educational, financial and other reforms made a historic contribution to the social development of Russia. He was called the "liberator" because of the edict to abolish serfdom.

Early years
Alexander in his childhood was with his mother and sister
Alexander was born in Moscow's Kremlin on April 29, 1818. It is the eldest son of Alexandra Fiodorovna, the eldest daughter of Archduke Nikolai Pavlovich (later Nicholas I) and Frederick William III, the king of Prussia. Since Alexander I, Alexander's two uncles, and Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovic had no children, the whole court realized that Alexander was the successor of the future Russian empire very early. Both Nicolas and the whole court paid great attention to the education of the future crown prince. [1] [37]
Among Alexander's teachers were the famous Russian poet Vasili Andreyevich Zhukovsky, who was a scholar with a strong sense of humanity. In Alexander's education, Zhukovsky did not strictly divide the boundary between cultural education and moral cultivation education, and paid more attention to the ideological education of the prince. Nikolai I believed that the Russian emperor should first be a standard soldier, otherwise he could not become a qualified ruler. Zhukovsky said bluntly: "He will not train this successor to be a commander of the army, but a civilized monarch. The monarch should not focus on the training ground and military camp in Russia, but the whole country." In the "ideological education battle" between Nikolai I and Zhukovsky against Alexander, Alexander received both good cultural and ideological education and good military education. [1] [23]
At the age of 19, Alexander mastered four foreign languages (English, German, French, Polish) and many subjects, including mathematics, physics, geography, history, Orthodox theology, political economy, law, etc. It can be said that compared with all previous Russian emperors, Alexander received the best education. [1] In 1829, young Alexander went to Moscow, Warsaw and Berlin with his parents. At the age of 11, he commanded a company. At the age of 14, Alexander became an officer for the first time and once led a platoon. He then received further military training. [6]
Alexander II in his youth
In 1837, after completing his studies, Alexander, accompanied by Zhukovsky, began to travel around Russia as the crown prince. He not only walked through most provinces in European part of Russia, but also went to remote northern alpine regions, including Toborsk, the exile place of the December Communists (Alexander petitioned Nikolai for their fate). Everywhere they went, the local military and political officials gave high standard and thoughtful reception, and tried their best to show Alexander the good side of social development. Despite the efforts of local officials to cover up, Alexander was exposed to some real situations at the bottom of the society. This parade may be one of the sources of his vigorous reform measures after his succession. [1] [6]
In 1838, Alexander traveled to Europe. Within one year, he successively went to Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Britain, Austria and other countries and regions. He was received by the monarchs and heads of state of these countries. He also visited the famous museums, libraries, parliaments and places where major battles took place in these countries. [1] [6]
The only European country Alexander didn't go to was France. At that time, Nicholas I, in order to show his dissatisfaction with Louis Philippe, the French king, specifically refused Alexander to visit France. During his visit to Germany, Alexander chose Maria, the youngest daughter of Grand Duke Hessen Damstad, as his future wife. In 1840, Maria was invited to Russia, and Alexander married Maria on April 16, 1841. [1] [6]
Participate in political affairs
alexander ii
Since the 1840s, Nicholas I began to gradually support Alexander to participate in state affairs. During Nicholas I's vacation in 1842, Alexander took the place of his father and presided over the military affairs for a month. [1]
In 1845, Nicholas I went abroad for a visit, and Alexander again temporarily presided over government affairs. Several years later, Alexander had already obtained the right to appoint individual ministers and began to gradually handle some daily affairs. At first, Nikolai I entrusted Alexander with the responsibility for Russian agricultural issues, and Alexander held a conservative position on the issue of farmers. After 1849, Nicholas I gradually appointed him to military posts, such as commanding the Guards and the Grenadiers, and taking charge of military education institutions. During this period, Alexander received Яков Иванович Ростовцев (1803-1860) Under the influence of generals and others, their views on the Russian serfdom changed, and they gradually abandoned their original conservative ideas and decided to gradually abolish the backward serfdom.

Emplacement and crisis
In the Crimean War from 1853 to 1856, Russia was defeated miserably, which made the domestic dissatisfaction with Nicholas I reach the peak. The defeat of the Russian army, which dominated Europe half a century ago, exposed serious problems such as backward equipment, low logistic transportation and supply capacity, outdated military thinking, and ineffective command. At this turning point in history, Nicholas I died of illness on March 2, 1855. Alexander took over a Russian empire that was in decline and in danger. [1]
On March 2, 1855 (February 18 of the Russian calendar), Alexander succeeded to the throne and became the twelfth emperor of the Russian Empire, known as Alexander II. On September 7 (August 26, the Russian calendar), Vasili Ascension Church was crowned in Moscow's Kremlin.

After Alexander II ascended the throne, the first thing to solve was the Crimean problem. In 1856, the Crimean War had come to an end. Alexander recalled the Crimean garrison commander in chief, Prince Alexander Sergeyevich Myshkov, and replaced him with Prince Mikhail Dmitrievich Gorchakov. At the same time, he carried out active diplomatic activities and authorized Ambassador Alexander Mikhail Lovich Gorchakov in Vienna to consider the possibility of peace. On March 15, the negotiations began in Vienna. After intense bargaining, on March 30, all countries signed the Paris Peace Treaty, ending the war. [6]
Emancipate serfs
Alexander II realized that the problems exposed by the Russian army in the Crimean War were essentially the problems that the Russian industrial and political system lagged behind other countries on the European continent. Based on this judgment, it is imperative to reform Russia's outdated political and economic system. [1] Therefore, in the declaration declaring the end of the Crimean War, he promised to carry out reform. Even before the war stopped, he issued the first batch of measures, including the cancellation of the strict regulations in the late reign of Nicholas I, such as the restrictions on overseas travel and university enrollment. All these foreshadowed the opening of a new prelude. [21]
Alexander II in 1860
Alexander II in 1860 [13]
The first thing to be abolished is serfdom. At that time, 90% of the population of Russia was serfs, completely bound to the land, and the production efficiency was very low, which also seriously hindered the development of capitalism based on the employment of free labor. After the Crimean War, the Russian serf resistance movement rose year by year. If the reform was delayed, the problem would become more serious. In fact, Alexander II has been determined to carry out reform since the day of his succession. In 1857, he established the "General Committee of Farmers' Affairs" to prepare for the reform of abolishing serfdom. [1]
In March 1861, Alexander II finally issued an edict for reform. There are two core points in the reform: first, the abolition of serfdom was announced. All serfs have personal freedom, including the rights of migration, marriage, change of occupation, ownership of property, and conclusion of contracts; Second, it is stipulated that all the land is owned by the landlord, and the farmer redeems a small piece of land according to the regulations. The amount of the ransom is two or three times the actual price of the land. The farmer pays part of it, and the government pays the rest in the form of paid bonds. The farmer must pay off the principal and interest within 49 years. There are other aspects of the reform, such as organizing free farmers into communes, where public officials are elected by farmers, but must be subject to the management of local administrative bodies. [1]
From Alexander II's reform articles, we can fully see his good intentions. After the serfs were liberated, the key issue was land. It is impossible in a reform (not a revolution) to liberate serfs with land and let them get the land they have been operating for free. Because the property right of the land was originally owned by the serf owners, the serfs' management rights were combined with their serf obligations. Alexander wanted to maximize the satisfaction of the feudal nobles and serfs, maintain the stability of the domestic situation while undergoing great changes, and let serfs acquire land by means of redemption might be the best choice. It is an irresponsible interpretation of history to say that Russia's 1861 reform was just a plunder of peasants by the feudal lords. After liberation, many serfs were still unable to stand on their own feet economically due to land reduction and other reasons, and could only be exploited by landlords in the form of feudal land rent. The reform was not thorough, but after all, the hardest step had been taken. [1]
In 1857, the reform of serfdom was first tried out in the Baltic coastal areas, which were more politically enlightened. In Lithuania, serf owners announced the liberation of serfs and made them independent free farmers. Since then, the relationship between serf owners and former serfs has changed into that between landlords and farm labourers. Since then, the reform measures have been gradually implemented in St. Petersburg and other provinces. [1]
The serfdom reform carried out by Alexander II touched the interests of the vast Russian landowners and nobles, and met with fierce opposition. The argument they raised against the reform was that it would cause political instability in Russia and aggravate the economic difficulties after the Crimean War. The landlords and nobles used the words of the radical revolutionaries to magnify the negative impact of the reform and fight against the reform measures. In addition, during this period, the national treasury of Russia was empty, and the whole country relied on debt to make a living. Due to tight funding, even the top priority of rearming the army was temporarily put on hold. The landlords and nobles blamed all this on the serfdom reform. [1]
Alexander II and the Peasants, K Painted by Lebedev
Alexander II and the Peasants, K Lebedev [6]
In the face of heavy resistance, Alexander II still carried out the reform to the end. On February 19, 1861, Russia announced a new peasant decree. On March 5, Alexander officially announced the liberation of all the serfs in Russia. Since then, the serfs have become free farmers. Although free farmers have nothing and no land of their own, they must rely on the original landlords in economic relations to survive, but the political significance is not trivial - farmers have obtained equal political rights, become free people, and can move freely, which means that they can become rich through the newly reclaimed land, thus gaining full economic independence. The influence of this reform was so great that it was called the greatest social movement after the French Revolution. So Alexander got the name of "liberator". [1]
However, due to the reduction of land, the payment of ransom, and the chaos caused by the reform, the liberated peasants lost their sense of stability and their resistance became more intense. In 1860, there were as many as 126 peasant riots, while in the year of reform, there were 1176. However, the political situation in Russia remained stable on the whole, and finally passed through this period of chaos and entered a new era. [1] In addition, the Tsar government also reformed the political, military, judicial, national education, finance, book and newspaper inspection system. [15]
Although the bourgeois reform in the 1960s and 1970s had great limitations, it promoted the development of Russian capitalist economy, promoted the transformation of the feudal landlord class to the bourgeoisie, and accelerated the transformation of the monarchy to the bourgeois monarchy. Lenin, the proletarian revolutionary, said: "If we take a general look at the changes in the overall structure of the Russian state in 1861, we will certainly recognize that this change is a step on the road from the feudal monarchy to the bourgeois monarchy. This is correct not only from an economic point of view, but also from a political point of view. Just recall the nature of the reforms in courts, management, and local autonomy, as well as the various types of reforms that occurred after the 1861 peasant reform The nature of similar reform will certainly convince us that this assertion is correct. " [3] So it can be said that Alexander II was the pioneer of Russian modernization