Date of publication or update 01.11.2017
Alexander Pavlovich Romanov (Alexander I)
Alexander the First Blessed
Years of life: (December 12 (23), 1777, St. Petersburg - November 19 (December 1), 1825, Taganrog
Alexander was raised by his grandmother, Empress Catherine II, who did not love her son and early weaned her grandson from his parents. Alexander Pavlovich was educated in the spirit of the Enlighteners of the 18th century. The main mentor and educator of the heir was the Swiss Republican F.-Z. Laharpe. In accordance with his principles, he preached the power of reason, the equality of people, the absurdity of despotism, the vileness of slavery. He had a huge influence on Alexander I. In 1812, the emperor admitted: "If there were no La Harpe, there would be no Alexander."
In 1792, Catherine II decides to marry Alexander, who is only fourteen years old.
On May 10, 1793, the future Emperor Alexander Pavlovich becomes engaged to a 14-year-old German woman, Princess Louise of Baden, who received the name Elizabeth Alekseevna in Orthodoxy. At the moment of betrothal in honor of the newlyweds with Peter and Paul Fortress fired 51 shots.
Alexander, having learned about his grandmother's intentions to transfer the throne to him, bypassing his father, publicly declares that he prefers to go abroad as an "honest man."
In 1796, his father Pavel Petrovich occupies the Russian throne, becoming Emperor Paul I, and appoints his son military governor of St. Petersburg, chief of the Semyonovsky Life Guards regiment, inspector of cavalry and infantry, and later chairman of the military department of the Senate. During this period, a circle of his friends is organized around Alexander, called the Private Committee.
In March 1801, Paul I died under unclear mysterious circumstances. An apoplectic stroke is named as the official version, although it is possible that members of the Secret Committee were involved in his death. Alexander inherited the throne.
At the beginning of his reign, Alexander carried out broad liberal reforms developed by the Private Committee and M. M. Speransky. The young emperor canceled many of his father's innovations.
The decree of 1801 gave the right of land ownership to merchants, petty bourgeois and state-owned settlers. In 1803, he issued a decree on free cultivators, in 1804 - a decree that eased the lot of the peasants of the Lifland province.
In 1803, a new regulation on the organization of educational institutions was adopted. 5 universities were founded: in 1802 - Derpt, in 1803 - Vilna, in 1804 - Kharkov and Kazan. Petersburg Pedagogical Institute, opened in 1804, was transformed into a university in 1819. Privileged mediums were founded educational establishments- lyceums: in 1811 - Tsarskoye Selo, in 1817 - Richelieu in Odessa, in 1820 - Nezhinsky.
The Secret Expedition was abolished, torture was abolished, the clergy were freed from corporal punishment, the import of foreign books and the activities of private printing houses were again allowed. A financial reform has been carried out.
Already in adulthood, Alexander Pavlovich prepared several projects for the abolition of serfdom, but due to the resistance of most of the nobles, he did not dare to reform (the projects of Mordvinov, Arakcheev, Kankrin).
In foreign policy, Alexander Pavlovich the Blessed participated in two coalitions against Napoleonic France (with Prussia in 1804-1805, with Austria in 1806-1807). Defeated at Austerlitz in 1805 and Friedland in 1807, he concluded the Peace of Tilsit (1807) and an alliance with Napoleon.
In 1812, Napoleon invaded Russia, but was defeated during the Patriotic War of 1812. A brilliant victory won with the help of a talented army command Mikhail Ivanovich Kutuzov.
The combined forces of the new anti-Napoleonic coalition won the Battle of Leipzig in 1813 and invaded France. Alexander Pavlovich, at the head of the Russian troops, together with the allies, entered Paris in the spring of 1814.
Alexander was one of the leaders of the Congress of Vienna 1814–1815. In an effort to found a new European community based on religious and political principles, he participated in the creation Holy Union(1815). Gave Poland a liberal constitution.
At Alexander I Pavlovich the territories of Eastern Georgia (1801), Finland (1809), Bessarabia (1812), Azerbaijan (1813), and the former Duchy of Warsaw (1815) were annexed to Russia.
In 1814, the Senate granted Alexander Pavlovich the title of the Blessed, Magnanimous Ruler of Powers.
In 1821, the army introduced secret police.
In 1822, a decree was issued banning secret organizations and Masonic lodges.
In the last years of his life, Alexander often spoke of his intention to abdicate and "withdraw from the world."
Due to the fact that all the children of Emperor Alexander died, the issue of succession to the throne became relevant. A secret document is being prepared, according to which the throne should pass to his brother Constantine.
In August 1823, Konstantin Pavlovich renounced the right to inherit, and Alexander issued a manifesto, according to which his younger brother Nikolai would become the successor.
In 1825 Alexander I Pavlovich received information about an army conspiracy against himself. He decides to personally visit the military settlements.
In the summer of the same year, the health of his wife Elizaveta Alekseevna worsened. The doctors recommended a southern climate to her, Taganrog was chosen.
Taking advantage of his stay in the south, Alexander Pavlovich the Blessed visited military settlements in Novocherkassk and in the Crimea, but on the way to St. George's Monastery in November 1825 he caught a bad cold.
December 1 (November 19), 1825 Alexander Pavlovich Romanov died of a fever with inflammation of the brain in Taganrog. A. Pushkin wrote an epitaph for him: "I spent my whole life on the road, caught a cold and died in Taganrog."
There was a legend that Alexander Pavlovich spread a false message about his death, but in fact he lived for a long time as an old hermit in Siberia under the name of Elder Fyodor Kuzmich and died in 1864 in Tomsk.
In the 20th century, evidence appeared that during the opening of the tomb of Alexander I in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, which was carried out in 1921, it was found that it was empty. The question of the identity of the elder Fyodor Kuzmich and Emperor Alexander has not been unequivocally determined by historians. Archbishop Rostislav of Tomsk spoke about the possibility of conducting a genetic examination (the relics of the Siberian elder are kept in his diocese).
Unusual character Alexander I Pavlovich is especially interesting because he is one of the most important personalities in the history of the 19th century. An aristocrat and a liberal, at the same time mysterious and famous, he seemed to his contemporaries a mystery that everyone tried to understand in their own way. Napoleon considered him "an inventive Byzantine", an actor who is able to play any prominent role. From his grandmother, Emperor Alexander inherited the flexibility of mind, the ability to seduce an interlocutor, and a passion for acting. Raised according to Spartan principles, he was able to endure the hardships of military life. A great influence on his melancholic mood had mysterious death his father. During his reign, Russia was not ready for freedom, and Alexander Pavlovich, a follower of the revolutionary La Harpe, considered himself a "happy accident" on the throne of the kings. He spoke with regret about "the state of barbarism in which the country was due to the serfdom."
Alexander was married once in 1793 to Louise Maria Augusta of Baden (who took the name Elizaveta Alekseevna in Orthodoxy) (1779-1826), daughter of Karl Ludwig of Baden. Both of their daughters died in early childhood: Maria (1799-1800); Elizabeth (1806-1808).
For 15 years, Alexander Pavlovich had practically a second family with Maria Naryshkina (nee Chetvertinskaya). She bore him two daughters and a son and insisted on the annulment of his marriage. The researchers noted the close and very personal relationship between Alexander and his sister Ekaterina Pavlovna.
Under Alexander I, the Patriotic War 1812, therefore, many monuments dedicated to the victory in that war are somehow connected with Alexander: the Palace Square Ensemble, the Arch of the General Staff.
The Alexander Column is widely known - one of the famous monuments of St. Petersburg, erected in 1834 by decree of the younger brother of Emperor Alexander I, Nicholas I, in memory of the victory over Napoleon. The inscription reads: "Grateful Russia to Alexander I." At the top of the column is a sculpture of an angel with the facial features of Alexander I. In his left hand he has a four-pointed Latin cross, and his right is raised to heaven.
The reign of Alexander 1 (1801-1825)
By 1801, dissatisfaction with Paul 1 began to go wild. Moreover, it was not ordinary citizens who were dissatisfied with him, but his sons, in particular Alexander, some generals and the elite. The reason for non-solicitation is the rejection of the policy of Catherine 2 and the deprivation of the nobility of the leading role and some privileges. The English ambassador supported them in this, since Paul 1 tore everything diplomatic relations with the British, after their betrayal. On the night of March 11-12, 1801, the conspirators, led by General Palen, broke into Paul's chambers and killed him.
Emperor's First Steps
The reign of Alexander 1 actually began on March 12, 1801 on the basis of a coup carried out by the elite. In the early years, the emperor was an adherent of liberal reforms, as well as the ideas of the Republic. Therefore, from the first years of his reign, he had to face difficulties. He had like-minded people who supported the views of liberal reforms, but the main part of the nobility spoke from a position of conservatism, so 2 camps formed in Russia. In the future, the conservatives won, and Alexander himself, by the end of his reign, changed his liberal views to conservative ones.
In order to implement his vision, Alexander created a "secret committee", which included his associates. It was an informal body, but it was he who was involved in the initial drafts of reforms.
Internal government of the country
Alexander's domestic policy differed little from that of his predecessors. He also believed that serfs should not have any rights. The dissatisfaction of the peasants was very strong, so Emperor Alexander 1 was forced to sign a decree banning the sale of serfs (this decree was easily managed by the landlords) and in the same year the decree “On Sculptural Plowmen” was signed. According to this decree, the landowner was allowed to provide the peasants with freedom and land if they could redeem themselves. This decree was more formal, since the peasants were poor and could not redeem themselves from the landowner. During the reign of Alexander 1, 0.5% of peasants throughout the country received freedom.
The emperor changed the system of government of the country. He dissolved the colleges that had been appointed by Peter the Great and organized ministries in their place. Each ministry was headed by a minister who reported directly to the emperor. During the reign of Alexander, the judicial system of Russia was also changed. The Senate was declared the highest judicial authority. In 1810, Emperor Alexander 1 announced the creation of the State Council, which became supreme body governance of the country. The system of government proposed by Emperor Alexander 1, with minor changes, lasted until the very moment of the fall of the Russian Empire in 1917.
Population of Russia
During the reign of Alexander the First in Russia there were 3 large estates of inhabitants:
- Privileged. Nobles, clergy, merchants, honorary citizens.
- Semi-privileged. Odnodvortsy and Cossacks.
- Taxable. Petty bourgeois and peasants.
At the same time, the population of Russia increased and by the beginning of the reign of Alexander (early 19th century), it amounted to 40 million people. For comparison, at the start of the 18th century, the population of Russia was 15.5 million people.
Relations with other countries
Alexander's foreign policy was not distinguished by prudence. The emperor believed in the need for an alliance against Napoleon, and as a result, in 1805, a campaign was made against France, in alliance with England and Austria, and in 1806-1807. in alliance with England and Prussia. The British did not fight. These campaigns did not bring success, and in 1807 the Treaty of Tilsit was signed. Napoleon did not demand any concessions from Russia, he was looking for an alliance with Alexander, but Emperor Alexander 1, devoted to the British, did not want to move closer. As a result, this peace has become only a truce. And in June 1812, the Patriotic War began between Russia and France. Thanks to the genius of Kutuzov and the fact that the entire Russian people rose up against the invaders, already in 1812 the French were defeated and expelled from Russia. Fulfilling the allied duty, Emperor Alexander 1 gave the order to pursue Napoleon's troops. The foreign campaign of the Russian army continued until 1814. This campaign did not bring much success for Russia.
Emperor Alexander 1 lost his vigilance after the war. He had absolutely no control over the foreign organizations that started in large volume supply Russian revolutionaries with money. As a result, a boom of revolutionary movements began in the country aimed at overthrowing the emperor. All this resulted in the Decembrist uprising on December 14, 1825. The uprising was subsequently suppressed, but a dangerous precedent was set in the country, and most of the participants in the uprising fled from justice.
results
The reign of Alexander 1 was not glorious for Russia. The emperor bowed before England and did almost everything he was asked to do in London. He got involved in the anti-French coalition, pursuing the interests of the British, Napoleon at that time did not think about a campaign against Russia. The result of such a policy was terrible: the devastating war of 1812 and the powerful uprising of 1825.
Emperor Alexander 1 died in 1825, ceding the throne to his brother, Nicholas 1.
Alexander I
Emperor Alexander I.
Portrait by V.L. Borovikovsky from the original by E. Vigee-Lebrun. 1802.
Blessed
Alexander I Pavlovich Romanov (Blessed) (1777-1825) - Russian emperor from March 12 (24), 1801 - after the assassination of the emperor by conspirators from aristocratic circles Paul I.
At the beginning of his reign domestic politics showed a desire for moderate liberalism. The necessary transformations were discussed by members of the Unspoken Committee - the "young friends" of the emperor. Ministerial (1802), Senate (1802), university and school (1802-1804) reforms were carried out, the State Council was created (1810), the Decree on free cultivators was issued (1803), etc. After 1815, the trend intensified in the domestic policy of the king to conservatism (see Arakcheevshchina, military settlements).
He went down in history as a skilled politician and diplomat. He sought to create multilateral European unions (see the Holy Alliance), widely used negotiations with politicians and monarchs of Europe at congresses and in personal meetings (see the Tilsit treaties of 1807).
His foreign policy was mainly dominated by the European direction. In the first years of his reign, he tried to maintain peaceful relations with the powers that fought for hegemony in Europe (France and England), but after the intensification of aggressive tendencies in the policy of Napoleon I, Russia became an active participant in the Third and Fourth anti-Napoleonic coalitions. As a result of the victory in the Russian-Swedish war of 1808-1809. The Grand Duchy of Finland was annexed to Russia. The defeat of Napoleon during the Patriotic War of 1812 and the foreign campaign of the Russian army in 1813-1814. strengthened the international prestige of Russia and Alexander I personally - by decision of the Vienna Congress of 1814-1815, in which the Russian tsar was an active participant, most of the Polish lands (the Kingdom of Poland) were annexed to Russia.
Foreign policy towards the east - decision eastern question- expressed support national movements in the Balkans, the desire to annex the Danubian principalities and gain a foothold in Transcaucasia (see the Russian-Turkish war of 1806-1812, the Bucharest peace treaty of 1812, the Gulistan peace treaty of 1813).
The exchange of envoys in 1809 marked the beginning of Russian-American diplomatic relations.
Since 1815, a conservative trend has intensified in the foreign policy of Alexander I: with his consent, the Austrian troops suppressed the revolutions in Naples and Piedmont, and the French - in Spain; he took an evasive position in relation to the Greek uprising of 1821, which he considered as a speech by his subjects against the legitimate monarch (sultan).
Orlov A.S., Georgiev N.G., Georgiev V.A. Historical dictionary. 2nd ed. M., 2012, p. 11-12.
Other biographical material:
Persons:
Dolgorukov Petr Petrovich (1777-1806), prince, peer and close associate of Alexander I.
Elizaveta Alekseevna (1779-1826), Empress, wife of Emperor Alexander I.
Mordvinov Nikolai Semenovich (1754-1845), count, admiral.
Novosiltsev Nikolai Nikolaevich (1761-1836), personal friend of Alexander I.
Platov Matvey Ivanovich (1751 - 1818), cavalry general. Ataman.
Rostopchin Fedor Vasilievich (1763-1826), Russian statesman.
Speransky Mikhail Mikhailovich (1772-1839), prominent statesman.
Emperor Alexander at the Monk Seraphim of Sarov.
Salavat Shcherbakov. Moscow, Alexander Garden.
Literature:
Bezhin L. "LG-dossier" N 2, 1992.
Bogdanovich M. H., History of the reign of Alexander I and Russia in his time, vol. 1-6, St. Petersburg, 1869-1871;
Vallotton A. Alexander I. M. 1991.
Documents for the history of Russia's diplomatic relations with the Western European powers, from the conclusion of a general peace in 1814 to the congress in Verona in 1822. St. Petersburg. 1823. Vol. 1. Part 1. Vol. 2. 1825. -
Kizevetter A. A., Emperor Alexander I and Arakcheev, in the book: Historical essays, M., 1912;
Lenin, V.I. Works. T. IV. S. 337. -
Marx, K. and Engels, F. Works. T. IX. pp. 371-372, 504-505. T. XVI. Part II. S. 17, 21, 23, 24.-
Martens, F. F. Collection of treatises and conventions concluded by Russia with foreign powers. Vol. 2, 3, 4. Ch. 1.6.7, 11, 13, 14. St. Petersburg. 1875-1905. -
Martens, F. F. Russia and England in early XIX th century. "Bulletin of Europe". 1894. Prince. 10. S. 653-695. Book. 11. S. 186-223. -
Materials for the history of the Eastern question in 1808-1813 -
International politics of modern times in treaties, notes and declarations. Part 1. From the French Revolution to the Imperialist War. M. 1925. S. 61-136. -
Merezhkovsky D.S. Alexander the First M. "Armada", 1998.
Mironenko S. V. Autocracy and reforms: Political struggle in Russia at the beginning of the 19th century. M., 1989.
Nikolai Mikhailovich, leader prince. Emperor Alexander I. Experience of historical research. T. 1-2-SPb. 1912.-
Picheta, V.I. International policy of Russia at the beginning of the reign of Alexander I (until 1807). In book. "Patriotic war and Russian society". T. 1. M. . pp. 152-174.-
Picheta, V. I. Russia's International Policy after Tilsit. In book. "Patriotic war and Russian society". T. 2. M. . pp. 1-32. -
Pokrovsky M. H., Alexander I, in the book: History Russia XIX in., ed. Pomegranate, v. 1, St. Petersburg, b. G.;
Popov, A. N. Patriotic War of 1812. Historical research. T. 1. Relations between Russia and foreign powers before the war of 1812. M. 1905. VI, 492 p. -
Presnyakov A. E., Alexander I, P., 1924;
Predtechensky A. V., Essays on socio-political. history of Russia in the first quarter. XIX century., M.-L., 1957.
Okun S. B., Essays on the history of the USSR. The end of the 18th - the first quarter of the 19th century, L., 1956;
Safonov M.M. The problem of reforms in the government policy of Russia at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. L., 1988.
Sakharov A. N. Alexander I // Russian autocrats (1801-1917). M., 1993.
Collection of the Russian Historical Society. T. 21, 70, 77, 82, 83, 88, 89, 112, 119, 121, 127. St. Petersburg. 1877-1908. -
Solovyov S. M., Emperor Alexander I. Politics - diplomacy, St. Petersburg, 1877;
Solovyov, S. M. Emperor Alexander I. Politics-diplomacy. Collected works. SPb. . S. 249-758 (there is a separate edition: SPb. 1877. 560 s). - Nadler, V. K. Emperor Alexander I and the idea of the Holy Alliance. T. 1-5. [Kharkiv]. 1886-1892. -
Stalin, I. V. On Engels' article "The Foreign Policy of Russian Tsarism". "Bolshevik". M. 1941. No. 9. S. 1-5.-
Suvorov N. On the history of the city of Vologda: On the stay in Vologda of royal persons and other remarkable historical persons // VEV. 1867. N 9. S. 348-357.
Troitsky N. A. Alexander I and Napoleon. M., 1994.
Fedorov V.A. Alexander I // Questions of history. 1990. No. 1;
Schilder, N.K. Emperor Alexander the First. His life and reign. Ed. 2. Vol. 1-4. SPb. 1904-1905.-
Czartoryski, A. Mémoires du prince Adam Czartoryski et correspondance avec l empereur Alexandre I-er. Pref. de M. Ch. De Mazade. T. 1-2. Paris. 1887. (Czartorizhsky, A. Memoirs of Prince Adam Czartorizhsky and his correspondence with Emperor Alexander I. T. 1-2. M .. 1912). -
Vandal, A. Napoleon et Alexandre I-er. L alliance russe sous le premier empire. 6th ed. T. 1-3. Paris. . (Vandal, A. Napoleon and Alexander I. The Franco-Russian Union during the First Empire. T. 1-3. St. Petersburg. 1910-1913). -
See also literature to the article The Congress of Vienna 1814 - 1815.
Scroll depicting a funeral procession
during the funeral of Emperor Alexander I (detail).
Alexander I Pavlovich (1777-1825). Russian emperor, son of Emperor Paul I and Princess Sophia Dorothea of Württemberg-Mempelgard (baptized Maria Feodorovna), grandson of Catherine II.
Alexander, born from the second marriage of Emperor Paul I, was a long-awaited child, since his birth ensured direct succession to the throne.
From the first days after the birth of the heir, Catherine II took her grandson from her parents and herself took up his upbringing. For this, the best teachers were involved, including the Swiss Frederic Cesar de La Harpe, who was an adherent of the ideas of cosmopolitanism, abstract humanism and universal justice divorced from real life. The future emperor took these ideas as indisputable truths and remained in their captivity for almost his entire life.
On the night of March 11-12, 1801, as a result of a conspiracy organized by British diplomacy, the emperor was killed, and the throne passed to Alexander. Alexander's participation in the conspiracy is not in doubt. The death of his father shocked Alexander, because he had no doubt that the removal of Paul I from power would be limited to his abdication. The indirect sin of parricide burdened the soul of Alexander Pavlovich for all subsequent years.
March 12, 1801 Alexander I became Russian emperor. Ascending the throne, he proclaimed that he would govern the country "according to the laws and according to the heart of our late august sovereign, Empress Catherine the Great."
Alexander I began his reign with the preparation of a number of radical reforms. Speransky became the inspirer and direct developer of these reforms. The reforms concerned mainly social sphere: the foundations of a classless education were laid, ministries were created instead of the Colleges of Peter I, where the one-man command of ministers was introduced and their personal responsibility was provided for, the State Council (the highest legislative advisory body) was established. Of particular importance was the Decree on free cultivators. According to this law, for the first time in the history of Russia, it was allowed to release peasants into the wild for a ransom.
The foreign policy of Alexander I was no less active. In 1805, Russia again entered (into the third) anti-French coalition with England, Turkey and Austria. The defeat of the coalition troops at Austerlitz put an end to this alliance and put Russia in a very plight. The fame of Napoleon's invincibility boomed all over the world. The allies betrayed Alexander I one after another. Under these conditions, on June 13-14, 1807, in Tilsit, Alexander I and Napoleon met, where the Act of offensive and defensive alliance between Russia and France was signed.
In 1801, Georgia and a number of Transcaucasian provinces voluntarily joined Russia. Russia received the exclusive right to have its own navy in the Caspian Sea. On the southern borders from 1806 to 1812, Russia was fighting with an old enemy - Turkey. At the last stage of the war, General Field Marshal M. Kutuzov was at the head of the Russian army. He managed to surround the Turkish army and issue an ultimatum. The Turkish side accepted the ultimatum due to the hopelessness of the situation. According to the Brest peace treaty, Bessarabia with the fortresses of Khotyn, Bendery, Izmail, Akkerman departed to Russia.
In the north from 1808 to 1809 there was a war with Sweden. In March 1809, the troops of Field Marshal M. Barclay de Tolly marched across the ice of the Gulf of Bothnia to the Aland Islands and Stockholm. Sweden urgently asked for peace. According to the peace treaty signed in Friedrichsgam, Finland and the Åland Islands departed from Russia.
Patriotic War of 1812
On June 12, 1812, a huge Napoleonic army, which included troops from most of the countries of Europe, which is why it was nicknamed the "army of the twelve languages", crossed the borders of Russia and launched an attack on Moscow. Alexander I entrusted the conduct of the war with Napoleon to Field Marshal Barclay de Tolly and Bagration, and at a critical moment, when Smolensk was abandoned by Russian troops, he appointed Field Marshal M. Kutuzov as commander-in-chief.
The decisive battle of the Patriotic War of 1812 was the battle near the village of Borodino (110 km west of Moscow). During this battle, the forces of Napoleon's army were undermined. The Russian army inflicted irreparable losses on the enemy - over 58 thousand people, or 43% of the entire composition of the forces participating in the battle. But the Russian army also lost 44 thousand killed and wounded (including 23 generals). Napoleon's goal - the complete defeat of the Russian army - was not achieved. “Of all my battles,” Napoleon later wrote, “the most terrible is the one I fought near Moscow. The French showed themselves worthy of victory, and the Russians acquired the right to be invincible.
Given the heavy losses of the Russian army, Kutuzov at the military council in Fili decided to leave Moscow without a fight. Kutuzov argued this decision as follows: "Leaving Moscow, we will save the army, losing the army, we will lose both Moscow and Russia." On September 2, 1812, Russian troops left Moscow without a fight, and half of the Moscow population (about 100,000 people) left with them. From the first day of the entry of Napoleon's troops in Moscow, fires began. Up to 75% of houses were destroyed by fire, shopping arcades, shops, factories burned down, the Kremlin was damaged.
At this time, near the village of Tarutino (80 km south of Moscow), Kutuzov took steps to replenish the army and procure everything necessary to continue the war. In the rear of the French troops unfolded partisan movement. Partisan detachments Davydova, Dorohova, Seslavina and others controlled all the roads leading to Moscow. Torn off from their rear, Napoleon's army, actually locked in Moscow, began to starve.
Napoleon's attempts to make peace were unsuccessful, Alexander I rejected all negotiations for a truce. Under the circumstances, Napoleon had only one way out: to leave Moscow and retreat to the western borders of Russia in order to spend the winter there and resume the fight in 1813.
On October 7, the 110,000-strong French army left Moscow and moved towards Kaluga. But Kutuzov blocked Napoleon's path at Maloyaroslavets, forcing him to retreat along the war-ravaged Smolensk road, where the retreating troops were subjected to continuous attacks by the Cossack detachments of Ataman Davydov and partisans. The lack of food for the soldiers, fodder for horses, the onset of cold weather led to the rapid degradation of the French army. Exhausted, frostbitten, eating dead horses, the French retreated with little or no resistance. November 16 Napoleon, leaving his army to its fate, crossed the river. Berezina and fled from Russia. "Great French Army" as an organized military force ceased to exist.
The catastrophe of the French army in Russia put Alexander I at the head of the anti-Napoleonic coalition. England, Prussia, Austria and a number of other states hastened to join it. On March 31, 1814, the emperor, at the head of the Russian army, entered Paris. On the Congress of Vienna of the victorious powers (1815), the Russian emperor became the head of the Holy Alliance, the main task of which was the collective suppression of any anti-monarchist (revolutionary) movements in Europe.
Under pressure from Alexander I, Louis XVIII, who was elevated to the French throne, including by Russian bayonets, was soon forced to give his subjects a constitutional charter. But the point here, according to Russian historian V.V. Degoev, “is not only in the liberal fantasies of the tsar, as K. Metternich thought, but also in a very pragmatic desire to eventually see France as a loyal partner of Russia in its foreign policy.” However, according to the Decembrist I. D. Yakushkin, "Louis XVIII's charter enabled the French to continue the work they had begun in 1989."
Russia's participation in the creation of the Holy Alliance marked the emperor's final transition from liberalism to conservatism and the idea of an unlimited monarchy.
Since 1816, military settlements began to be created in Russia - a special organization of troops, which had the goal of reducing state spending on the army. Here the soldiers combined military service with agriculture. The system of military settlements was headed by artillery general Arakcheev. By this time, he was already the all-powerful temporary worker of Russia, who fully justified his coat of arms motto "Without flattery betrayed." Alexander I handed over to Arakcheev the conduct of all internal affairs, and he himself preferred to engage in foreign policy.
The counter-reforms carried out in the second half of the reign of Alexander I were radical. The Ministry of Public Education was transformed into the Ministry of Spiritual Affairs, persecution of the press began, and "liberal professors" were expelled from St. Petersburg University. In 1821, the secret police was created, in 1822 all secret societies were banned, and subscriptions were collected from all military and civilians not to participate in such. This era was called in the history of "Arakcheevshchina".
Despite the measures taken, conspiracies were repeatedly created in the country with the aim of deposing the emperor. The most serious was being prepared for the autumn of 1825 - the winter of 1826. The Emperor knew about this, but did not take any preventive measures. In August 1825, Alexander I went to Taganrog to treat his consumptive wife, but he suddenly fell ill himself and died on November 19, 1825.
The legend has been preserved among the people that the emperor did not die, but went to Siberia, where he lived under the name of the elder Fyodor Kuzmich until his death in 1864 in Tomsk. When opened, the tomb of Alexander I in the Cathedral of the Peter and Paul Fortress was empty. However, an urn with ashes was found at the feet of the coffin of his wife Elizaveta Alekseevna. According to the most common version, Alexander I, prone to mysticism, wanted to atone for his guilt for the death of his father Paul I, in a conspiracy against whom he was directly involved, by his departure to Siberia and the life of an old ascetic.
The sudden mysterious death of Emperor Alexander I left Russia without a legitimate heir to the throne. In accordance with the Law of Succession, the second oldest son of Paul I, Constantine, was to ascend the throne, but he refused the imperial crown, and the third son of Paul I, Nicholas I, ascended the throne.
General S. A. Tuchkov noted in his "Notes" for 1766-1808: Although Emperor Alexander said in his manifesto, issued upon his accession to the throne, that he would follow in the footsteps of great Catherine, but politics, the internal government of the state and the organization of the troops - everything was changed. Everyone knows with what inconstancy Alexander I followed either the suggestions of the English cabinet or the will of Napoleon. From the side of government, he showed at the beginning a great inclination towards liberty and constitution, but even this was one mask. The spirit of his despotism was found in the army, which many considered at first necessary for the preservation of discipline. ... under Alexander, his court became almost exactly like a soldier's barracks ... Emperor Alexander showed a penchant for mystical books, societies and persons involved in this.
The historian A. I. Turgenev (brother of one of the main Decembrists N. I. Turgenev) called Alexander I "a republican in words and an autocrat in deeds" and believed that "Better is the despotism of Paul than a despotism hidden and changeable" Alexandra.
Married to Princess Louise (Elizaveta Alekseevna), Alexander I had two daughters: Maria and Elizabeth (both died in infancy). With his wife, the emperor was more than cold, despite the fact that contemporaries called Elizabeth Alekseevna the most beautiful empress of all times and peoples. The relationship between the Empress and A. S. Pushkin remained a mystery. Only recently were documents published showing that from the age of 14 Pushkin was in love with the wife of the emperor, and she reciprocated. Not being Russian by blood, Elizaveta Alekseevna carried her love for Russia through her whole life. In 1812, in connection with the invasion of Napoleon, she was asked to leave for England, but the empress replied: "I am Russian, and I will die with the Russians."
The entire imperial court adored their mistress, and only Alexandra's mother Maria Fedorovna, nicknamed "cast iron" for cruelty and deceit, hated her daughter-in-law. The widow of Paul I could not forgive Elizabeth Alekseevna for interfering in the events that followed the death of her husband. Upon learning of the death of Paul I, Maria Feodorovna demanded the crown for herself, and Alexander I was inclined to abdicate. But at the most critical moment, Elizaveta Alekkseevna exclaimed: “Madame! Russia is tired of the power of a fat German woman. Let her rejoice at the young king."
From 1804, Alexander I cohabited with Princess M. Naryshkina, who bore several children to the emperor. However, even then the legal wife remained the most devoted person to Alexander I. Elizaveta Alekseevna was repeatedly offered to carry out a coup d'etat and ascend the throne. With her popularity, this was easy to do (even the Society of Friends of Elizabeth arose). However, Elizaveta Alekseevna stubbornly refused power.
Since the relationship between father and grandmother did not work out, the Empress took her grandson from his parents. Catherine II immediately inflamed with great love for her grandson and decided what she would make of the newborn ideal emperor.
Alexander was brought up by the Swiss Laharpe, who was considered by many to be a staunch republican. The prince received a good education Western pattern.
Alexander believed in the possibility of creating an ideal, humane society, he sympathized french revolution, felt sorry for the Poles deprived of statehood, and was skeptical of the Russian autocracy. Time, however, dispelled his belief in such ideals ...
Alexander I became Emperor of Russia after the death of Paul I, as a result of palace coup. The events that took place on the night of March 11-12, 1801, affected the life of Alexander Pavlovich. He was very worried about the death of his father, and guilt haunted him all his life.
Domestic policy of Alexander I
The emperor saw the mistakes made by his father during his reign. The main reason for the conspiracy against Paul I was the abolition of privileges for the nobility that Catherine II introduced. First of all, he restored these rights.
Domestic policy had a strictly liberal connotation. He declared an amnesty for people who were subjected to repression during the reign of his father, allowed him to freely travel abroad, reduced censorship and returned the foreign press to the Russian Empire.
Carried out major reforms government controlled in Russia. In 1801, the Permanent Council was created - a body that had the right to discuss and cancel the decrees of the emperor. The indispensable council had the status of a legislative body.
Instead of collegiums, ministries were created, headed by responsible persons. Thus the cabinet of ministers was formed, which became the most important administrative body Russian Empire. During the reign of Alexander I, the undertakings of Speransky played a big role. He was a talented man with great ideas in his head.
Alexander I distributed all sorts of privileges to the nobility, but the emperor understood the seriousness of the peasant issue. Many titanic efforts were made to alleviate the position of the Russian peasantry.
In 1801, a decree was adopted, according to which merchants and philistines could buy free lands and organize economic activity using hired labor. This decree destroyed the monopoly of the nobility on land ownership.
In 1803, a decree was issued, which went down in history as the “Decree on free cultivators”. Its essence was that now, the landowner could make a serf free for a ransom. But such a deal is possible only with the consent of both parties.
Free peasants had the right to property. Throughout the reign of Alexander I, there was continuous work aimed at solving the most important internal political issue - the peasant one. Various projects were developed to give freedom to the peasantry, but they remained only on paper.
There was also a reform of education. The Russian Emperor understood that the country needed new highly qualified personnel. Now educational institutions were divided into four successive levels.
The territory of the Empire was divided into educational districts, headed by local universities. The university provided staff and curricula local schools and high schools. In Russia, 5 new universities were opened, many gymnasiums and colleges.
Foreign policy of Alexander I
His foreign policy first of all, "recognizable" by the Napoleonic wars. Russia was at war with France, most of the reign of Alexander Pavlovich. In 1805, a major battle took place between the Russian and French armies. The Russian army was defeated.
Peace was signed in 1806, but Alexander I refused to ratify the treaty. In 1807, the Russian troops were defeated near Friedland, after which the emperor had to conclude the Tilsit Peace.
Napoleon sincerely considered the Russian Empire his only ally in Europe. Alexander I and Bonaparte seriously discussed the possibility of joint military operations against India and Turkey.
France recognized the rights of the Russian Empire to Finland, and Russia, the rights of France to Spain. But due to a number of reasons, Russia and France could not be allies. The interests of the countries clashed in the Balkans.
Also, the existence of the Duchy of Warsaw, which prevented Russia from conducting profitable trade, became a stumbling block between the two powers. In 1810, Napoleon asked for the hand of Alexander Pavlovich's sister, Anna, but was refused.
In 1812 the Patriotic War began. After the expulsion of Napoleon from Russia, foreign campaigns of the Russian army began. During the events of the Napoleonic wars, many worthy people inscribed their names in golden letters in the history of Russia: Kutuzov, Bagration, Davydov, Yermolov, Barclay de Tolly ...
Alexander I died on November 19, 1825 in Taganrog. The emperor died of typhoid fever. The unexpected departure of the emperor from life gave rise to many rumors. There was a legend among the people that a completely different person was buried instead of Alexander I, and the emperor himself began to wander around the country and, having reached Siberia, settled in this area, leading the life of an old hermit.
Summing up, we can say that the reign of Alexander I can be characterized in positive terms. He was one of the first to speak about the importance of limiting autocratic power, introducing a duma and a constitution. Under him, voices calling for the abolition of serfdom and a lot of work has been done in this respect.
During the reign of Alexander I (1801 - 1825), Russia was able to successfully defend itself against an external enemy that conquered all of Europe. The Patriotic War of 1812 became the personification of the unity of the Russian people in the face of external danger. The successful defense of the borders of the Russian Empire is undoubtedly a great merit of Alexander I.