Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia, second son of Emperor Alexander II and Empress Maria Alexandrovna. Born on February 26, 1845. After the untimely death of the elder brother of Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich, on April 12, 1865, he was proclaimed heir to the throne; On October 28, 1866, he married the daughter of the Danish king Christian IX, Princess Sophia-Frederica-Dagmara, who was named Maria Feodorovna during the anointing. While still the heir, Alexander took part in state affairs, as the commander of the troops of the guards corps, the ataman of all Cossack troops, a member of the State Council. In the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-78, he commanded a separate Ruschuk detachment and successfully completed a campaign against Osman Bazar, Razgrad and Eski Juma. In 1877 he took an active part in the creation of the volunteer fleet.
Emperor Alexander III (1881-1894)
During the reign of Emperor Alexander III, important measures were taken in the field of the national economy, carried out mainly by the Minister of Finance N. X. Bunge: in 1882 redemption payments were reduced, the poll tax was abolished, a peasant bank was established, the work of minors in factories and plants was established factory inspection, arranged the life of Chinsheviks and some other categories of rural inhabitants. Even earlier, in 1881, and then in 1884, preferential terms were established for the leasing of state land by peasants; On June 15, 1882, a tax on inheritance and gifts was established, in 1885 additional taxes were introduced on trade and industrial enterprises, and a tax on monetary capital is established, and these financial reforms were supposed to serve for the gradual introduction of our income tax. Subsequently, the most important facts in the financial policy of the state are: the achievement of a fairly stable balance between income and expenses, a large-scale conversion of public debts; to increase the treasury funds, two new excise taxes were established - on matches and kerosene, an apartment tax was introduced, in addition, in the form of experience, a drinking monopoly was introduced in the eastern provinces.
Russian tsars. Alexander III
Of the individual legislative acts of an economic nature, the regulation of the resettlement movement of peasants to land beyond the Urals (a harbinger of P.A.Stolypin's resettlement policy) and the law on the inalienability of allotted lands are of particular importance. In the customs policy of the state, there was a significant increase in protectionism, which reached its climax in the tariff of 1891, but then was somewhat softened by trade agreements with France and Germany; the treaty with the latter country was concluded in 1894 after a stubborn and very acute customs war. In railway policy, it is especially important to subordinate the tariff business to government control, strengthen the ransom to the treasury railways and the opening of construction works The great Siberian way.
A very prominent place in domestic politics was occupied by cares about the nobility, about strengthening its importance in state and public life. To maintain the nobility's land tenure, a state noble bank was established in 1885. To create more favorable conditions for large land tenure, it was published in 1886. Regulations on hiring for rural work. Regulations on zemstvo district chiefs in 1889 and new Regulations on zemstvo institutions in 1890 gave the nobility a priority position in local government . Zemsky chiefs, elected from local hereditary nobles, were supposed to appear "close to the people, firm government power," persons in rural areas ”. In accordance with these tasks, the zemstvo chiefs were given, along with extensive administrative powers, and judicial power. With the introduction of zemstvo chiefs, the institution of justices of the peace was abolished in most of the country.
The general judicial institutions and the procedure for legal proceedings have also undergone changes: the competence of the jury in favor of a court with the participation of estate representatives has been limited, the procedure for electing jurors has been changed, the principles of irremovability and independence of judges have been significantly limited, and some significant exceptions have been made from the general rule of publicity of the trial.
He was on the throne for thirteen and a half years and died 49 years old, earning the title of "Tsar-Peacemaker" during his lifetime, since during his reign not a drop of Russian blood was shed on the battlefields ...
Soon after his death, the historian V.O. Klyuchevsky wrote: “Science will give Emperor Alexander III a proper place not only in the history of Russia and all of Europe, but also in Russian historiography, and will say that He won a victory in the area where it is most difficult to achieve victory, defeated the prejudice of peoples and thereby contributed to their rapprochement, conquered the public conscience in the name of peace and truth, increased the amount of goodness in the moral circulation of mankind, encouraged and raised Russian historical thought, Russian national consciousness, and did all this so quietly and silently that only now, when He is no longer there, Europe understood what He was for her. "
The venerable professor was mistaken in his predictions. For more than a hundred years, the figure of the penultimate Russian Tsar has been the target of the most impartial assessments; his personality is the object of unbridled attacks and tendentious criticism.
The fake image of Alexander III is being recreated to this day. Why? The reason is simple: the Emperor did not admire the West, did not worship liberal-egalitarian ideas, believing that the literal imposition of foreign orders would not be a boon for Russia. Hence - the irreconcilable hatred of this Tsar on the part of Western lovers of all stripes.
However, Alexander III was not a narrow-minded Western-hater, rejecting from the start everything that did not have the generic stigma: "made in Russia." For him, Russian was primary and especially significant not because it is the best in the world, but because it is dear, close, his own. During the reign of Emperor Alexander III, the words "Russia is for the Russians" were first spoken throughout the country. And although he was perfectly aware of the problems and absurdities in Russian life, he did not for a moment doubt that they should be overcome only by relying on own feeling understanding of duty and responsibility, not paying attention to what some "Princess Marya Aleksevna" says about it.
For almost two hundred years, he was the first ruler who not only did not covet "the love of Europe", but was not even interested in what they say and write about him there. However, it was Alexander III who became the ruler under whom, without a single weapon shot, Russia began to gain the moral authority of a great world power. The imposing bridge across the Seine in the very center of Paris, bearing the name of the Russian Tsar, has forever remained a vivid confirmation of this ...
Alexander Alexandrovich ascended the throne at the age of 36 on March 1, 1881. On that day, his father was mortally wounded by a terrorist's bomb, who soon died, and Alexander Alexandrovich became the "Autocrat of All Russia". He did not dream of a crown, but when death took his father away, he showed amazing composure and humility, accepting what was given only by the will of the Almighty.
With great spiritual trepidation, with tears in his eyes, he read the will of his father, the words and instructions of the murdered man. "I am sure that my son, Emperor Alexander Alexandrovich, will understand the importance and difficulty of his high calling and will continue in all respects worthy of the nickname of an honest man ... May God help him to justify my hopes and complete what I failed to do to improve the prosperity of our dear Fatherland. I implore him not to get carried away with fashionable theories, to think about its constant development, based on love for God and on the law. He must not forget that the power of Russia is based on the unity of the State, and therefore everything that can lean to the shocks of the whole unity and to the separate development of various nationalities, for her it is pernicious and should not be tolerated.Thank him, for the last time, from the depths of his tenderly loving heart, for his friendship, for the diligence with which he performed his official duties and helped me in State Affairs. "
Tsar Alexander III inherited a heavy inheritance. He understood perfectly well that improvements in various areas of life and public administration were necessary, they were long overdue, no one argued with this. He also knew that the "bold transformations" carried out by Alexander II in the 60s and 70s often gave rise to even more acute problems.
Since the end of the 70s, the social situation in the country had become so tense that some concluded that a collapse would soon come. Some tried to leave St. Petersburg, some to the estate, and some abroad.
The bleakness of the social situation was felt everywhere. Finances were upset, economic development slowed down, agriculture stagnation was observed. The zemstvos did a poor job of local improvement, all the time they asked for money from the treasury, and some zemstvo meetings turned into centers for public discussions of political issues that did not concern them in any way.
The universities were almost anarchy: anti-government publications were almost openly distributed, student gatherings were organized, where attacks on the government were sounded. And most importantly: there were constant assassinations and assassinations of officials, and the authorities could not cope with the terror. The monarch himself became the object of these villainous intentions and fell at the hands of terrorists!
Alexander III had an extremely difficult time. There were plenty of advisers: every relative and dignitary dreamed that the tsar would "invite to a conversation." But the young Emperor knew that these recommendations were often too biased, too selfless to trust them without looking back. The late father sometimes brought unprincipled people, devoid of will and strong monarchical convictions closer to him.
Business must be handled differently, of which he had no doubt. First of all, it is not necessary to draw up new laws, but to ensure that the existing ones are observed. This conviction matured in him in the spring days of 1881. Earlier, in January, speaking at a meeting with the main patron of the "constitutionalists", Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, the future Tsar definitely stated that "he does not see the need to impose on Russia all the inconveniences of constitutionalism that impede good legislation and governance." Such a statement was immediately interpreted by the liberal public as a manifestation of "reactionary convictions."
Alexander III never sought popularity, did not curry favor with entrepreneurs and regulars of St. Petersburg salons, either before he became Tsar or after. A few years after accession to the throne, talking with those close to him, Alexander III said that he would consider "the constitution very peaceful for himself, but very dangerous for Russia." In fact, he repeated the thought expressed by his father more than once.
Long before his death, Alexander II realized that it was unacceptable to give wide public freedoms, to which some of his most Europeanized compatriots urged him. In the empire of the two-headed eagle, the historical conditions for the establishment of the social order that existed in England or France had not yet developed. More than once he spoke about this both in a narrow circle and outside the royal palaces. In September 1865, receiving in Ilyinskoye, near Moscow, the Zvenigorod district marshal of the nobility, P. D. Golokhvastov, Alexander II outlined his political credo:
"I give you my word that now, on this table, I am ready to sign whatever constitution you want, if I were convinced that it is useful for Russia. But I know that if I do it today, and tomorrow Russia will fall to pieces." ... And until his death he did not change his conviction, although then completely unsubstantiated statements circulated that allegedly Alexander II intended to introduce constitutional rule ...
Alexander III fully shared this conviction and was ready to change and improve a lot, without breaking or rejecting what seemed to be reliable and historically justified. The main political value of Russia was Autocracy - a sovereign rule, independent of the written norms and government agencies, limited only by the dependence of the king of the earth on the King of Heaven.
Talking at the end of March 1881 with the poet's daughter Anna Fedorovna Tyutcheva, the wife of the famous Slavophile I.S. Aksakov, who published the popular newspaper "Rus" in Moscow, the Tsar said: "I read all the articles of your husband for recent times... Tell him that I am pleased with them. In my grief, I was greatly relieved to hear my word of honor. He is an honest and truthful person, and most importantly, he is a real Russian, which, unfortunately, are few, and even these few have been eliminated recently, but this will not happen anymore. "
Soon the word of the new Monarch sounded to the whole world. On April 29, 1881, the Supreme Manifesto appeared, thundering like the thunder of an alarm bell.
"In the midst of Our great sorrow, the voice of God commands Us to become cheerfully in the work of government, in hope in Divine Providence, with faith in the power and truth of Autocratic power, which We are called to affirm and protect for the good of the people from all inclinations."
Further, the new Tsar called on all the faithful sons of the Fatherland to take courage and help "to eradicate the vile sedition that dishonor the Russian land, to the establishment of faith and morality, to the good upbringing of children, to the extermination of untruth and embezzlement, to the establishment of order and truth in the operation of institutions granted to Russia by her benefactor. , beloved Parent. "
The manifesto was unexpected for many. It became clear that the days of liberal smiles were over. The fall of the political projectors - losers was only a matter of time.
Alexander III considered this outcome logical. I wrote to my brother Sergei on June 11, 1881: “Appointing new people almost everywhere, we started hard work together, and, thank God, with difficulty and little by little we go forward, and things are going much more successfully than under the previous ministers who, by their behavior, forced me to fire They wanted to take me into their clutches and enslave me, but they did not succeed ... I cannot hide that even now we are still far from being in a normal state and there will still be many disappointments and anxieties, but everything has to be ready to go straight and boldly towards the goal, not deviating to the side, and most importantly - not to despair and hope in God! "
Although there were no persecutions, arrests, deportations of objectionable dignitaries (almost all of them were removed with honor, received appointments to the State Council), it seemed to some that at the top of power "an earthquake began." The bureaucratic ear has always subtly caught the impulses and moods in the highest corridors of power, which determined the behavior and diligence of officials.
As soon as Alexander III was on the Throne, it quickly became clear that jokes were bad with the new government, that the young Emperor is a tough man, even harsh, and his will must be obeyed unquestioningly. Immediately everything began to spin, the discussions subsided, and the state machine suddenly began to work with renewed vigor, although in last years the reign of Alexander II, it seemed to many that she no longer had the strength.
Alexander III did not create any emergency bodies (in general, during his reign, few new subdivisions appeared in the system of government), did not carry out any "special cleansing" of the bureaucratic apparatus, but the atmosphere in the country and in the corridors of power changed.
The salon talkers, who had only recently passionately defended freedom-loving principles, suddenly became almost numb and no longer dared to popularize "Liberte", "Egalite", "Fraternite" not only at open meetings, but even in the circle of "friends", for tight closed doors metropolitan living rooms. Gradually, the dignitaries who were reputed to be liberal were replaced by others who were ready to serve the Tsar and the Fatherland unquestioningly, without looking into European cribs and not afraid to be branded as "reactionaries."
Alexander III boldly and decisively began to fight the enemies of the state order. There were arrests of direct perpetrators of regicide and some other persons who did not personally participate in the first March atrocity, but were preparing other terrorist acts. In total, about fifty people were arrested, and five regicides were hanged by court verdict.
The Emperor had no doubt that an irreconcilable struggle should be waged against the enemies of Russia. But not only by police methods, but also by mercy. It is necessary to distinguish where the true, irreconcilable opponents are, and where are the lost souls, who, through thoughtlessness, allowed themselves to be drawn into anti-government actions. The emperor himself always followed the progress of the inquiry in political matters. Ultimately everything court decisions were left to his discretion, many asked for royal favor, and he had to know the details. Sometimes he decided not to bring the matter to court.
When a circle of revolutionaries was discovered in Kronstadt in 1884, the tsar, having learned from the testimony of the accused that the warrant officer of the naval crew, Grigory Skvortsov, was shedding tears, repented and gave frank testimony, ordered that the warrant officer be released and not prosecuted.
Alexander III always had sympathy for those people who professed traditional values. Conformism, conciliation, apostasy did not evoke anything in his soul, except disgust. His political principle was simple and in line with the Russian management tradition. Malfunctions in the state must be corrected, proposals must be heard, but for this it is absolutely not necessary to convene some kind of people's assembly.
It is necessary to invite specialists, experts in this or that issue, listen, discuss, weigh the pros and cons and accept correct solution... Everything should be done according to the law, and if it turns out that the law is outdated, then it must be revised, relying on tradition and only after discussion in the Council of State. This became the rule of state life.
The tsar told his entourage and ministers more than once that "bureaucracy is a strength in the state if it is kept in strict discipline." Indeed, under Alexander III, the administrative apparatus of the empire worked in a tough regime: the decisions of the authorities were strictly carried out, and the tsar personally followed this. He could not stand indifference, neglect of official duties.
The emperor introduced an innovation unprecedented in Russia: he demanded that he be presented with a list of all unfulfilled orders and decisions, indicating the persons responsible for them. This news greatly increased the "labor enthusiasm" of the bureaucracy, and the red tape became much less.
He was especially intransigent towards those who used their official position for personal gain. To such, there was no condescension.
The reign of Alexander III was distinguished by a simply amazing phenomenon: bribery and corruption, which used to be a sad Russian reality, almost completely disappeared. Russian history of this period did not reveal a single high-profile case of this kind, and numerous professional "exposers of tsarism" did not find a single corruption fact, although they were persistently looking for them for many decades ...
During the reign of Alexander III, strict administrative regulation of social life remained in Russia. Enemies of the state power were subjected to persecution, arrest, and deportation. Such facts existed both before and after Alexander III, however, in justification of the immutable thesis about a certain "course of reaction", it is the period of his reign that is often characterized as a particularly gloomy and hopeless period of history. Nothing of the kind has actually been observed.
In total, 17 people were executed for political crimes (there was no death penalty for criminal acts in Russia) during the "period of reaction". All of them either participated in the regicide, or prepared for it, and none of them repented. In total, less than 4 thousand people were interrogated and detained for anti-state acts (for almost fourteen years). If we take into account that the population of Russia then exceeded 120 million people, then these data convincingly refute the stereotyped thesis of the "terror regime" that was allegedly established in Russia during the reign of Alexander III.
Forensic and prison "reprisals" are only part of the "gloomy picture of Russian life" that is so often depicted. Its essential moment is the "oppression of censorship", allegedly "strangling" any "freedom of thought".
In the 19th century, censorship existed in Russia, as in all other, even "most" democratic states. In the tsarist empire, she not only protected moral principles, religious traditions and beliefs, but also performed the function of protecting state interests.
Under Alexander III, as a result of an administrative ban or for other reasons, mainly of a financial nature, several dozen newspapers and magazines ceased to exist. However, this did not mean that "the voice of the independent press has died out" in the country. Many new editions appeared, but many old ones continued to be issued.
A number of liberal-oriented publications (the most famous are the newspaper "Russkie vedomosti" and the magazine "Vestnik Evropy"), although they did not allow direct attacks on the authorities and their representatives, did not get rid of the critical ("skeptical") tone and successfully survived the "era of repression" ...
In 1894, the year of the death of Alexander III, 804 periodicals in Russian and other languages were published in Russia. About 15% of them were state ("state"), and the rest belonged to various societies and individuals. There were socio-political, literary, theological, reference, satirical, scientific, educational, sports newspapers and magazines.
During the reign of Alexander III, the number of printing houses grew steadily; the range of published book products also increased annually. In 1894, the list of titles of published books reached almost 11,000 thousand (in 1890 - 8638). Many thousands of books were imported from abroad. During the entire period of his reign, less than 200 books were not allowed to circulate in Russia. (This number included, for example, the notorious "Capital" of Karl Marx.) Most were prohibited not for political, but for spiritual and moral reasons: insulting the feelings of believers, promoting obscenity.
Alexander III died early, not yet an old man. His death was mourned by millions of Russian people, not out of duress, but at the call of the hearts of those who respected and loved this crowned sovereign - a big, strong, Christ-loving, so understandable, just, so "their own".
Alexander Bokhanov, Doctor of Historical Sciences
On February 26, 1845, the third child and second son were born to the future emperor, Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich. The boy was named Alexander.
Alexander 3. Biography
During the first 26 years, he was brought up, like other grand dukes, for a military career, as his elder brother Nikolai was to become the heir to the throne. By the age of 18, Alexander III was already in the rank of colonel. The future Russian emperor, according to the reviews of his educators, did not differ much in the breadth of his interests. According to the teacher's recollections, Alexander the Third "was always lazy" and began to make up for lost time only when he became the heir. An attempt to fill the gaps in education was carried out under the close supervision of Pobedonostsev. At the same time, from the sources left by the educators, we learn that the boy was distinguished by perseverance and diligence in calligraphy. Naturally, excellent military specialists, professors of Moscow University were engaged in his education. The boy was especially fond of Russian history and culture, which eventually grew into real Russophilia.
Members of his family sometimes called Alexander a slow-witted, sometimes for excessive shyness and clumsiness - “pug”, “bulldog”. According to the recollections of contemporaries, outwardly he did not look like a heavyweight: well built, with a small antennae, a receding hairline that appeared early. People were attracted by such traits of his character as sincerity, honesty, benevolence, lack of excessive ambition and a great sense of responsibility.
The beginning of a political career
His serene life ended when his elder brother Nikolai suddenly died in 1865. Alexander the Third was declared heir to the throne. These events stunned him. He immediately had to take up the duties of the crown prince. His father began to introduce him to state affairs. He listened to the reports of ministers, got acquainted with official papers, received membership in the State Council and the Council of Ministers. He becomes a major general and chieftain of all the Cossack troops of Russia. That's when we had to make up for the gaps in youth education. His love for Russia and Russian history formed the course of Professor S.M. Solovyov. accompanied him all his life.
Tsarevich Alexander the Third stayed for quite a long time - 16 years. During this time, he received
Combat experience. Participated in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, received the Order of St. Vladimir with swords "and" St. George of the 2nd degree ". It was during the war that he met people who later became his associates. Later, he created the Volunteer Fleet, which in peacetime was transport, and in wartime - combat.
In his internal political life, the Tsarevich did not adhere to the views of his father, Emperor Alexander II, but he did not oppose the course of the Great Reforms either. His relationship with his parent was complicated and He could not come to terms with the fact that his father, while his wife was alive, settled his favorite E.M. in the Winter Palace. Dolgorukaya and their three children.
The Tsarevich himself was an exemplary family man. He married the bride of his deceased brother Princess Louise Sophia Frederica Dagmara, who after the wedding adopted Orthodoxy and a new name - Maria Feodorovna. They had six children.
Happy family life ended on 1.03.1881, when a terrorist act was committed, as a result of which the father of the Tsarevich died.
Reforms of Alexander III or transformations necessary for Russia
On the morning of March 2, members of the State Council and the highest ranks of the court took the oath to the new emperor Alexander III. He announced that he would try to continue the work started by his father. But for a long time the most firm idea of what to do next did not appear. Pobedonostsev, an ardent opponent of liberal reforms, wrote to the monarch: "Either now save yourself and Russia, or never!"
The most accurate political course of the emperor was set forth in the manifesto of April 29, 1881. Historians nicknamed him the "Manifesto on the inviolability of autocracy." It meant major adjustments to the Great Reforms of the 1860s and 1870s. The primary task of the government was to fight the revolution.
The repressive apparatus, political investigation, secret search services, and others were strengthened. To contemporaries, government policy seemed cruel and punitive. But to those who live in the present, she may seem very modest. But now we will not dwell on this in detail.
The government tightened its policy in the field of education: universities were deprived of autonomy, a circular “On the cook's children” was issued, a special censorship regime was introduced regarding the activities of newspapers and magazines, and zemstvo self-government was curtailed. All these transformations were carried out to eliminate that spirit of freedom,
Who hovered in post-reform Russia.
The economic policy of Alexander III was more successful. The industrial and financial sphere was aimed at introducing gold security for the ruble, establishing a protectionist customs tariff, building railways, which created not only the communication routes necessary for the domestic market, but also accelerated the development of local industries.
The second successful area was foreign policy. Alexander the Third received the nickname "Emperor-Peacemaker". Immediately after accession to the throne, he sent out a dispatch in which it was announced: the emperor wants to keep peace with all powers and to focus his special attention on internal affairs. He professed the principles of a strong and national (Russian) autocratic power.
But fate gave him a short century. In 1888, the train in which the emperor's family was traveling, suffered a terrible wreck. Alexander Alexandrovich found himself crushed by the collapsed ceiling. Having tremendous physical strength, he helped his wife and children and got out on his own. But the trauma made itself felt - he developed a kidney disease, complicated after "influenza" - the flu. 10/29/1894 he died before he was 50 years old. He said to his wife: "I feel the end, be calm, I am completely calm."
He did not know what trials his beloved Motherland, his widow, his son and the entire Romanov family would have to endure.
Who received the appropriate education.
Childhood, education and upbringing
In May 1883, Alexander III proclaimed a course called "counter-reforms" in the historical-materialist literature, and "correction of reforms" in the liberal-historical literature. He expressed himself as follows.
In 1889, in order to strengthen the supervision of the peasants, the positions of zemstvo chiefs with broad rights were introduced. They were appointed from the local noble landowners. Clerks and small traders, other poor strata of the city were deprived of the right to vote. Has undergone a change judicial reform... In the new regulation on zemstvos in 1890, the estate-nobility representation was strengthened. In 1882-1884. many publications were closed, and the autonomy of universities was abolished. Primary schools were transferred to the church department - the Synod.
These events revealed the idea of an “official nationality” of the times of Nicholas I - the slogan “Orthodoxy. Autocracy. The spirit of humility ”was consonant with the slogans of a bygone era. The new official ideologists K.P. Pobedonostsev (Chief Prosecutor of the Synod), M.N. the word "people" as "dangerous"; they preached the humility of his spirit before the autocracy and the church. In practice, the new policy resulted in an attempt to strengthen the state by relying on the traditionally loyal nobility to the throne. Administrative measures were supported by the economic support of the landlord households.
On October 20, 1894 in the Crimea, 49-year-old Alexander III suddenly died from acute inflammation kidneys. Nicholas II ascended the imperial throne.
In January 1895, at the first meeting of representatives of the nobility, the top of the zemstvos, cities and Cossack troops with the new Tsar, Nicholas II declared his readiness to “protect the beginning of the autocracy as firmly and unswervingly as his father did”. During these years, representatives of the royal family, which by the beginning of the 20th century, had up to 60 members, often intervened in the management of the state. Most of the Grand Dukes held important administrative and military posts. The Tsar's uncles, the brothers of Alexander III - the Grand Dukes Vladimir, Alexei, Sergei, and his cousins Nikolai Nikolaevich, Alexander Mikhailovich, had a particularly great influence on politics.
Domestic policy
His departure was a real escape. On the day he was supposed to leave, four imperial trains stood in full readiness at four different stations in St. Petersburg, and while they waited, the emperor left with a train that stood on the siding.
Nothing, not even the need for a coronation, could force the tsar to leave the Gatchina palace - he ruled uncrowned for two years. Fear of "Narodnaya Volya" and fluctuations in the choice of the political course determined this time for the emperor.
Economic poverty was accompanied by a retardation of the mental and legal development of the mass of the population, education under Alexander III was again taken into the blinders, from which it escaped after the abolition of serfdom. Alexander III expressed the attitude of tsarism to education in a litter on a report that literacy is very low in the Tobolsk province: "And thank God!"
Alexander III encouraged unprecedented persecution of Jews in the 1980s and 1990s. They were evicted within the Pale of Settlement (only 20 thousand Jews were evicted from Moscow), a percentage was set for them in secondary and then higher educational institutions (within the Pale of Settlement - 10%, outside the Pale - 5, in the capitals - 3%) ...
New period in the history of Russia, which began with the reforms of the 1860s, ended by the end of the 19th century with counterreforms. For thirteen years, Alexander III, in the words of G.V. Plekhanov, "sowed the wind." His successor, Nicholas II, was to reap the whirlwind.
For thirteen years Alexander III sowed the wind... Nicholas II will have to prevent storm broke... Will he be able to do it?
Professor S. S. Oldenburg, in his scientific work on the history of the reign of Emperor Nicholas II, referring to the domestic policy of his father, testified that during the reign of Emperor Alexander III, the following main tendency of power manifested itself, among others: the desire to give Russia more internal unity by affirming primacy Russian elements of the country.
Foreign policy
The reign of Emperor Alexander III in foreign policy brought serious changes. The closeness with Germany and Prussia, so characteristic of the reigns of Catherine the Great, Alexander I, Nicholas I, Alexander II, was replaced by a noticeable cooling, especially after the resignation of Bismarck, with whom Alexander III signed a special three-year Russian-German agreement on "benevolent neutrality" in in the event of an attack by any third country on Russia or Germany.
N.K. Girs became the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Experienced diplomats of the Gorchakov school remained at the head of many departments of the ministry and in the Russian embassies of the leading countries of the world. Main directions foreign policy Alexander III were next.
- Strengthening influence in the Balkans;
- Search for reliable allies;
- Maintaining peaceful relations with all countries;
- Establishment of borders in the south of Central Asia;
- Consolidation of Russia in the new territories of the Far East.
Russian policy in the Balkans... After the Berlin Congress in the Balkans, Austria-Hungary significantly strengthened its influence. Having occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina, she began to strive to extend her influence to other Balkan countries. Germany supported Austria-Hungary in its aspirations. Austria-Hungary began to try to weaken the influence of Russia in the Balkans. Bulgaria became the center of the struggle between Austria-Hungary and Russia.
By this time, an uprising against Turkish rule broke out in Eastern Rumelia (southern Bulgaria as part of Turkey). Turkish officials were expelled from Eastern Rumelia. The annexation of Eastern Rumelia to Bulgaria was announced.
The unification of Bulgaria caused an acute Balkan crisis. A war between Bulgaria and Turkey involving Russia and other countries could break out at any moment. Alexander III was angry. The unification of Bulgaria took place without the knowledge of Russia, this led to the complication of Russia's relations with Turkey and Austria-Hungary. Russia suffered heavy human losses in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. and was not ready for a new war. And Alexander III for the first time deviated from the traditions of solidarity with the Balkan peoples: he spoke for the strict observance of the articles of the Berlin Treaty. Alexander III offered Bulgaria to solve its foreign policy problems on its own, recalled Russian officers and generals, did not interfere in Bulgarian-Turkish affairs. Nevertheless, the Russian ambassador to Turkey announced to the Sultan that Russia would not allow a Turkish invasion of Eastern Rumelia.
In the Balkans, Russia has turned from an adversary to Turkey into its de facto ally. Russia's positions were undermined in Bulgaria, as well as in Serbia and Romania. In 1886, diplomatic relations between Russia and Bulgaria were severed. In the city, Ferdinand I, Prince of Coburg, who had previously served as an officer in the Austrian service, became the new Bulgarian prince. The new Bulgarian prince understood that he was the ruler of an Orthodox country. He tried to reckon with the deep Russophile sentiments of the broad masses and even elected the Russian Tsar Nicholas II as godfathers to his heir, son Boris, in 1894. But the former officer of the Austrian army could not overcome "a feeling of overwhelming antipathy and a certain fear" towards Russia. Russia's relations with Bulgaria remained strained.
Search for allies... At the same time, in the 80s. complicates relations between Russia and England. The clash of interests of the two European states is taking place in the Balkans, Turkey and Central Asia. At the same time, relations between Germany and France are becoming more complicated. Both states were on the brink of war with each other. In this situation, both Germany and France began to seek an alliance with Russia in case of war with each other. In the city of German Chancellor O. Bismarck proposed to Russia and Austria-Hungary to renew the "Union of Three Emperors" for six years. The essence of this alliance was that the three states pledged to abide by the decisions of the Berlin Congress, not to change the situation in the Balkans without each other's consent, and to maintain neutrality in relation to each other in the event of war. It should be noted that the effectiveness of this union for Russia was insignificant. At the same time, O. Bismarck secretly from Russia in the city entered into a Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy) against Russia and France, which provided for the provision of military assistance to each other by the participating countries in case of hostilities with Russia or France. The conclusion of the Triple Alliance did not remain a secret for Alexander III. The Russian tsar began to look for other allies.
Far East direction... At the end of the XIX century. on Far East the expansion of Japan rapidly intensified. Japan before the 60s XIX century. was a feudal country, but in years. a bourgeois revolution took place there, and the Japanese economy began to develop dynamically. With the help of Germany, Japan created a modern army, with the help of England and the United States, it actively built its fleet. At the same time, Japan pursued an aggressive policy in the Far East.
Private life
Gatchina became the main residence of the emperor (due to the threat of terrorism). For a long time he lived in Peterhof and Tsarskoe Selo, and when he came to Petersburg, he stayed at the Anichkov Palace. He did not like winter.
Court etiquette and ceremonial under Alexander became much easier. He greatly reduced the staff of the court ministry, reduced the number of servants and introduced strict supervision over the spending of money. Expensive foreign wines were replaced by Crimean and Caucasian ones, and the number of balls is limited to four per year.
At the same time, huge amounts of money were spent on the acquisition of art objects. The Emperor was a passionate collector, second only to Catherine II in this respect. The Gatchina Castle has literally turned into a warehouse of priceless treasures. Alexander's acquisitions - paintings, art objects, carpets and the like - no longer fit in the galleries of Zimny, Anichkov and other palaces. However, in this hobby, the emperor showed neither fine taste, nor great understanding. Among his acquisitions were many ordinary things, but there were also many masterpieces that later became a true national treasure of Russia.
Unlike all his predecessors on the Russian throne, Alexander adhered to strict family morality. He was an exemplary family man - loving husband and a good father, never had mistresses or connections on the side. At the same time, he was one of the most devout Russian sovereigns. Alexander's simple and straightforward soul knew neither religious doubts, nor religious pretense, nor the temptations of mysticism. He firmly adhered to the Orthodox canons, always stood the service to the end, prayed earnestly and enjoyed church singing. The sovereign willingly donated to monasteries, to build new churches and restore the ancients. Under him, church life was noticeably revived.
Alexander's hobbies were also simple and artless. He was passionate about hunting and fishing. Often in the summer, the royal family left for the Finnish skerries. Here, among the picturesque semi-wild nature, in the labyrinths of numerous islands and canals, freed from palace etiquette, the august family felt like an ordinary and happy family, devoting most time for long walks, fishing and boating. Belovezhskaya Pushcha was the favorite hunting place of the Emperor. Sometimes the imperial family, instead of resting in the skerries, left for Poland to the Principality of Loviche, and there they indulged in hunting fun, especially hunting deer, and ended their vacation most often with a trip to Denmark, to Bernstorf Castle - the ancestral castle of Dagmara, where they often gathered from all over Europe her crowned kinsmen.
During the summer holidays, ministers could distract the emperor only in urgent cases. True, for the rest of the year, Alexander devoted himself entirely to business. He was a very hardworking sovereign. Every morning he got up at 7 o'clock, washed himself with cold water, made himself a cup of coffee and sat down at his desk. Quite often the working day ended in the middle of the night.
Death
Train wreck with the royal family
And yet, despite a relatively healthy lifestyle, Alexander died quite young, before he reached the age of 50, quite unexpectedly for both his family and his subjects. In October, the tsarist train, coming from the south, crashed at the Borki station, 50 kilometers from Kharkov. Seven cars were smashed to smithereens, there were many casualties, but the royal family remained intact. At that moment, they were eating pudding in the dining car. The roof of the car collapsed during the crash. Alexander with incredible efforts kept her on his shoulders until help arrived.
However, soon after this incident, the emperor began to complain of back pain. Professor Trube, who examined Alexander, came to the conclusion that the terrible concussion during the fall initiated the kidney disease. The disease developed steadily. The sovereign increasingly felt unhealthy. His complexion became sallow, his appetite was gone, his heart was working poorly. In the winter he caught a cold, and in September, while hunting in Belovezhie, he felt completely nasty. Berlin professor Leiden, urgently arrived on call in
10/20/1894 (2.11). - Tsar Peacemaker Alexander III died in the Livadia Palace in Crimea at the age of 50
King Peacemaker
Alexander III (26.02.1845–20.10.1894) – Russian Emperor since 1881, after the death of his father, who was killed by terrorists.
The future Emperor Alexander III grew up in a large family, in which there were six brothers: Nikolai, Alexander, Vladimir, Alexei, Sergei, Pavel and two sisters (Maria married a son the queen of England Victoria). Boys, at the insistence of their grandfather, were brought up in a strict spirit. Regular education, which began at the age of eight, continued for 12 years. They were taught: the Law of God, Russian language, foreign languages(German, French, English), mathematics, geography, general and Russian history, reading, calligraphy, drawing, military affairs, gymnastics, horse riding, fencing, music.
The teachers were the most qualified specialists, so contrary to the liberal myths about "ignorance" and "unpreparedness", the future Emperor Alexander III, like all tsarist children, received an excellent education. The law of God was taught to him by the professor of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy N.P. Christmas. General MI Dragomirov taught military history and tactics. Military instructors taught boys marching, rifle techniques and other military skills under the leadership of Major General N.V. Zinoviev. Russian literature was taught by professor, philologist and historian Ya.K. Groth and the future director of the Public Library in St. Petersburg M.A. Corfe; history was taught by a famous historian; classes in jurisprudence were first taught by Professor I.E. Andreevsky, and then a professor who was destined to become one of the people closest to Alexander Alexandrovich.
Alexander Alexandrovich became heir to the throne in 1865 after the death of his elder brother Nikolai. In 1866 he married his bride -. He was an exemplary Orthodox family man, had six children (of which one son died in infancy). The royal children were traditionally brought up in severity and simplicity.
Ascending the Throne, Emperor Alexander III was aware that the murder of His August Parent testified to the internal trouble in the state, which demanded the adoption of decisive measures to combat the corrupters of the state foundations. We read about the beginning of the reign of Alexander III: “His entry into the kingdom was terrible. He sat down on the Throne of his fathers, watered with tears ... in the midst of the horror of the people, in the midst of hissing anger and sedition. " Wanting to support the new Tsar, Pobedonostsev wrote to him:
“The insane villains who have killed your Parent will not be satisfied with any concession and will only grow furious. And you can calm down, the evil seed can be pulled out only by fighting them to the stomach and to death. It is not difficult to win: until now everyone wanted to avoid the struggle and deceived the late Tsar, you, yourself, everyone and everything in the world ... No, Your Majesty, there is only one right way to get on your feet and start without falling asleep. for a minute, the most sacred struggle that has ever been in Russia. The whole people are waiting for a powerful decision on this, and as soon as they feel the will of the sovereign, everything will rise, everything will revive and freshen up in the air. "
“And now the darkness of turmoil ... began to quickly dissipate,” writes the historian V.V. Nazarevsky. - Cramola, which seemed irresistible, melted like wax in the face of fire ... Confusion in the minds began to quickly give way to Russian sanity, licentiousness and willfulness gave way to order and discipline. Free-thinking no longer trampled on Orthodoxy as a kind of ultramontaneism and our native Church as clericalism. The authority of the indisputable and hereditary national Supreme power has returned to its historical traditional height. " For the general improvement of the atmosphere in the country, it is indicative that the number of crimes has sharply decreased and bribery has disappeared.
The guiding rules of his reign were: complete peacefulness in external relations and focusing on the internal well-being of the power entrusted to him by God. The Tsar himself, as if a hero who came to us from the Russian epic, encouraged everything Russian, both in industry and in culture. He was the creator and the first chairman of the Russian Historical Society, with his active participation and partly at his own expense, created , after the death of Alexander III, who bore his name.
There is no region in which, in the incomplete 14 years of the reign of Alexander III, there was no significant rise. But Alexander III was especially concerned about the Church and the peasantry. To raise the prosperity of the peasants, the Peasant Land Bank was established in 1882. In 1883 the Coronation Manifesto. A rule was issued on the hiring of workers for rural and factory work, and a factory inspection was introduced to protect the interests of workers. But the Emperor was not only concerned with the material situation of the common people: his constant desire was to give public education, about which he also cared a lot, a religious basis, for which purpose the establishment of parish schools in 1884 was adopted. In 1885 the Noble Land Bank was established. In 1890, in order to improve the civil and family life of the common people, Alexander III established the position of zemstvo chiefs. Thanks to a number of measures, despite the great poor harvest in 1891, the financial and economic situation of the country improved significantly by the end of the nineteenth century.
In Soviet historiography, the reign of Alexander III is presented as nothing more than "the outburst of grim reaction"; this tradition is continued by many democratic post-Soviet authors. “For more than a hundred years, the figure of the penultimate Russian Tsar has been the target of the most impartial assessments; his personality is the object of unbridled attacks and tendentious criticism ", - writes the historian A. Bokhanov and objects:" In total, 17 people were executed for political crimes (for criminal acts) during the "period of reaction". All of them either participated in the regicide, or prepared for it, and none of them repented. In total, less than 4 thousand people were interrogated and detained for anti-state acts (for almost fourteen years). If we take into account that the population of Russia then exceeded 120 million people, then these data convincingly refute the stereotyped thesis of the "terror regime" that was allegedly established in Russia during the reign of Alexander III. "
The people sincerely loved their Tsar. When, by the grace of God, the Sovereign and the entire August Family remained unharmed, then all of Russia rejoiced and prayed.
The emerging threat of the death of the entire Imperial family. The fact was that his brother Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich (the next son of Alexander II in seniority) in 1874 married the Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, who did not accept Orthodoxy before marriage (she converted to Orthodoxy only in 1908, when children became adults). By this he violated Art. 185 of the Fundamental Laws: "The marriage of a male person of the Imperial House, who may have the right to inherit the Throne, with a special different faith, is accomplished only by her acceptance of the Orthodox confession." In 1886, as chairman of the Imperially approved Commission for the Review of the Institution of the Imperial Family, Grand Duke Vladimir Aleksandrovich tried to change the wording of this article, limiting its effect: instead of "Marriage of a male person of the Imperial House, who may have the right to inherit the Throne", Vel. Book. Volodymyr Aleksandrovich wrote: "The marriage of the Heir to the Throne and the elder man in his generation." In such a wording, the article would no longer apply to the family of Grand Duke Vladimir. However, in 1889, Emperor Alexander III restored the article in its previous edition. For if he died with his family in a train crash, then, according to the amended article, the throne would go to his brother Vladimir and his non-Orthodox wife (these were the parents of the future violator of family, state and church laws and a traitor-Februaryist brought up in this family) -) ...
The Tsar was deeply moral and honest, an unusually simple, cheerful and very witty person. Many of his resolutions have become classic. There is a known case when in some volost government one man spat on his portrait. Cases of insulting the Majesty were examined in the District Courts and the verdict was necessarily brought to the attention of the Emperor. So it was in this case... The abusive peasant was sentenced to six months in prison and brought to the attention of the Emperor. Alexander III burst out laughing:
- How! He didn’t give a damn about my portrait, and I’m going to feed him for another six months? You are out of your mind, gentlemen. Send him away and say that I, in turn, did not care about him. And the business is over. What an incredible thing!
Or, the writer Tsebrikova was arrested on some political case and reported to the Emperor. He deigned to write on paper the following resolution: "Let the old fool go!" The entire Petersburg, including the ultra-revolutionary one here, laughed to tears. Ms. Tsebrikova's career was completely destroyed ...
In the reign of Alexander III, it was completed, which put an end to internecine conflicts and raids on the tribes that became part of the Russian Empire.
Peaceful time has come in Europe as well. Without interfering in European affairs, since they did not affect our interests, Alexander III, with his sincere love of peace, strengthened the military might of Russia, skillfully and firmly created political equilibrium in Europe, becoming the guardian of peace in it. The influence of Russia in Europe during his reign was generally recognized. A famous episode with fishing, which Alexander III loved very much, is characteristic. Once, when he was fishing on Karpin Pond, the Minister of Foreign Affairs rushed to him and began to persistently ask to immediately receive an ambassador of some Western power on an important European matter. To which Alexander III replied: "When the Russian Tsar is fishing, Europe can wait."
But, unfortunately, the reign of Emperor Alexander III was short-lived. After a short illness, on October 20, 1894, the Tsar, having received Holy Communion three times before his death, departed into eternity, admonished by the great prayer book and miracle worker of the Russian land who was with Him.
The historian put it this way after the death of the Sovereign Peacemaker: “Science will give Emperor Alexander III a proper place not only in the history of Russia and all of Europe, but also in Russian historiography, will say that He won a victory in the area where it is most difficult to achieve victory, won the prejudice of peoples and by this he contributed to their rapprochement, conquered the public conscience in the name of peace and truth, increased the amount of good in the moral circulation of mankind, encouraged and raised Russian historical thought, Russian national consciousness, and did all this so quietly and silently that only now, when He is no longer Europe understood what He was for her. "
Monument to Alexander III at the Marble Palace (works by P. Trubetskoy)
Indeed, the whole world reacted to the death of the Russian Tsar - and this respect for him was simply amazing against the background of ordinary European Russophobia. French Foreign Minister Flourens said: “Alexander III was a true Russian Tsar, which Russia had not seen for a long time before him. Of course, all the Romanovs were devoted to the interests and greatness of their people. But prompted by the desire to give their people a Western European culture, they were looking for ideals outside of Russia ... Emperor Alexander III wished Russia to be Russia, to be, first of all, Russian, and he himself set the best examples of this. He showed himself the ideal type of a truly Russian person. " Even the Marquis of Salisbury, hostile to Russia, admitted: “Alexander III saved Europe many times from the horrors of war. According to his deeds, the sovereigns of Europe should learn how to govern their peoples. " This respect of contemporaries for the Russian Emperor is still evidenced by the bridge named after him over the Seine in the very center of Paris.
