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77-532: The bank was founded in 1866 in Moscow in the form of a stock partnership by 77 local entrepreneurs led by Ivan A. Lyamin  [ ru ] , who became its chairman. The bank's charter was approved by Alexander II on 1 June 1866. The initial share capital was 1.26 million rubles. The bank financed mainly textile enterprises in the Central Industrial Region and, in the late 19th century,

154-652: A Turfanian document from 639 CE was found in the Astana district of Turpan, which recorded Sogdian sale contract of a female slave from the period of the Gaochang kingdom under the rule of Qu clan and mentioned the Sogdian word "twrkstn", which may have referred to the lands to the east and north of Syr Darya in the realm of the First Turkic Khaganate . In 2024, Turkish Ministry of Education changed

231-552: A Russian architect, even sketched a design of a monumental gate (which was never built) to commemorate the event. Modest Mussorgsky later wrote his piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition , the last movement of which, "The Great Gate of Kiev", is based on Hartmann's sketches. During the 1867 World's Fair in Paris, Polish immigrant Antoni Berezowski attacked the carriage containing Alexander, his two sons and Napoleon III . His self-modified double-barreled pistol misfired and struck

308-573: A Russian victory during Alexander II's rule. Just before the conclusion of the war the Russian Army, under the emperor's order, implemented the mass-killings and extermination of Circassian "mountaineers" in the Circassian genocide , which would be often referred to as "cleansing" and "genocide" in several historic dialogues. In 1857, Dmitry Milyutin first published the idea of mass expulsions of Circassian natives . Milyutin argued that

385-656: A class of independent communal proprietors. The emperor gave his support to the latter project, and the Russian peasantry became one of the last groups of peasants in Europe to shake off serfdom. The architects of the emancipation manifesto were Alexander's brother Konstantin , Yakov Rostovtsev , and Nikolay Milyutin . On 3 March 1861, six years after his accession, the emancipation law was signed and published. A host of new reforms followed in diverse areas. The tsar appointed Dmitry Milyutin to carry out significant reforms in

462-650: A counterbalance to their geopolitical rival, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . In 1863, the Russian Navy 's Baltic and Pacific fleets wintered in the American ports of New York and San Francisco, respectively. The Treaty of Paris of 1856 stood until 1871, when Prussia defeated France in the Franco-Prussian War . During his reign, Napoleon III , eager for the support of

539-548: A country which had never known the meaning of legality, to redesign the entire administration, to introduce freedom of the press in the context of untrammeled authority, to call new forces to life at every turn and set them on firm legal foundations, to put a repressed and humiliated society on its feet, and to give it the chance to flex its muscles. Alexander II succeeded to the throne upon the death of his father in 1855. As Tsesarevich, he had been an enthusiastic supporter of his father's reactionary policies. That is, he always obeyed

616-738: A disaster similar to the Crimean War. The Russian Emperor succeeded in his diplomatic endeavors. Having secured agreement as to non-involvement by the other Great Powers, on 17 April 1877 Russia declared war upon the Ottoman Empire. The Russians, helped by the Romanian Army under its supreme commander King Carol I (then Prince of Romania), who sought to obtain Romanian independence from the Ottomans as well, were successful against

693-686: A future war. He sought peace, moved away from bellicose France when Napoleon III fell in 1871, and in 1872 joined with Germany and Austria in the League of the Three Emperors that stabilized the European situation. Despite his otherwise pacifist foreign policy, he fought a brief war with the Ottoman Empire in 1877–78 , leading to the independence of Bulgaria , Montenegro , Romania and Serbia . He pursued further expansion into

770-430: A greatly simplified system of civil and criminal procedure also came into operation. Reorganisation of the judiciary occurred to include trial in open court, with judges appointed for life, a jury system, and the creation of justices of the peace to deal with minor offences at local level. Legal historian Sir Henry Maine credited Alexander II with the first great attempt since the time of Grotius to codify and humanise

847-517: A hundred years later. The building of strategic railways and an emphasis on the military education of the officer corps comprised further reforms. Corporal punishment in the military and branding of soldiers as punishment were banned. The bulk of important military reforms were enacted as a result of the poor showing in the Crimean War. A new judicial administration (1864), based on the French model, introduced security of tenure. A new penal code and

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924-461: A language of the common people to a national language equal to Swedish opened opportunities for a larger proportion of Finnish society. Alexander II is still regarded as "The Good Tsar" in Finland. These reforms could be seen as results of a genuine belief that reforms were easier to test in an underpopulated, homogeneous country than in the whole of Russia. They may also be seen as a reward for

1001-636: A pacifist, a heavy smoker and card player. The death of his father gave Alexander a diplomatic headache, for his father was engaged in open warfare in the southwest of his empire. On 15 January 1856, the new tsar took Russia out of the Crimean War on the very unfavourable terms of the Treaty of Paris (1856) , which included the loss of the Black Sea Fleet , and the provision that the Black Sea

1078-493: A series of new appointments, replacing liberal ministers with conservatives. Under Minister of Education Dmitry Tolstoy , liberal university courses and subjects that encouraged critical thinking were replaced by a more traditional curriculum, and from 1871 onwards only students from gymnasiums could progress to university. In 1879, governor-generals were established with powers to prosecute in military courts and exile political offenders. The government also held show trials with

1155-479: A tour of Europe, he met twenty-year-old Queen Victoria and they became acquainted. Simon Sebag Montefiore speculates that a small romance emerged. Such a marriage, however, would not work, as Alexander was not a minor prince of Europe and was in line to inherit a throne himself. In 1847, Alexander donated money to Ireland during the Great Famine . He has been described as looking like a German, somewhat of

1232-797: Is most commonly called the "Western Liao" ( 西遼 ) and is considered to be a legitimate Chinese dynasty , as is the case for the Liao dynasty . The history of the Qara Khitai was included in the History of Liao (one of the Twenty-Four Histories ), which was compiled officially during the Yuan dynasty by Toqto'a et al. After the fall of the Tang dynasty , various dynasties of non- Han ethnic origins gained prestige by portraying themselves as

1309-805: Is subdivided into Afghan Turkestan , Russian Turkestan , and East Turkistan (the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China). Throughout history, the area has been conquered and reconquered by several different groups and countries, including the Huns , the Chinese, Arab forces, the Persian Empire , various Turkic forces, and the Mongols . The Qara Khitai also included the majority of Turkestan's land. Known as Turan to

1386-527: The Narodnaya Volya (People's Will), a radical revolutionary group which hoped to ignite a social revolution , organised an explosion on the railway from Livadia to Moscow, but they missed the emperor's train. On the evening of 5 February 1880 Stephan Khalturin , also from Narodnaya Volya , set off a timed charge under the dining room of the Winter Palace , right in the resting room of

1463-780: The April Uprising , causing a general outcry throughout Europe. Some of the most prominent intellectuals and politicians on the Continent, most notably Victor Hugo and William Gladstone , sought to raise awareness about the atrocities that the Turks imposed on the Bulgarian population. To solve this new crisis in the "Eastern question" a Constantinople Conference was convened by the Great Powers in Constantinople at

1540-567: The Diet of Finland and initiated several reforms increasing Finland's autonomy within the Russian Empire, including establishment of its own currency, the Finnish markka . Liberation of business led to increased foreign investment and industrial development. Finland also got its first railways , separately established under Finnish administration. Finally, the elevation of Finnish from

1617-578: The Ems Ukase being an example. The authorities banned use of the Latin script for writing Lithuanian. The Polish language was banned in both oral and written form from all provinces except Congress Poland , where it was allowed in private conversations only. Nikolay Milyutin was installed as governor and he decided that the best response to the January Uprising was to make reforms regarding

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1694-686: The Far East , leading to the founding of Vladivostok ; into the Caucasus , approving plans leading to the Circassian genocide ; and into Turkestan . Although disappointed by the results of the Congress of Berlin in 1878, Alexander abided by that agreement. Among his greatest domestic challenges was an uprising in Poland in 1863, to which he responded by stripping that land of its separate constitution and incorporating it directly into Russia. Alexander

1771-589: The Mongols in 1220. Genghis Khan gave the territory to his son Chagatai and the area became the Chagatai Khanate . Timur took over the western portion of Turkestan in 1369, and the area became part of the Timurid Empire . The eastern portion of Turkestan was also called Moghulistan and continued to be ruled by descendants of Genghis Khan. In Chinese historiography , the Qara Khitai

1848-557: The Narodnaya Volya (People's Will) party killed him with a bomb. The Emperor had earlier in the day signed the Loris-Melikov constitution , which would have created two legislative commissions made up of indirectly elected representatives, had it not been repealed by his reactionary successor Alexander III . An attempted assassination in 1866 started a more conservative period that lasted until his death. The Tsar made

1925-572: The Pale of Settlement , and became eligible for state employment. Large numbers of educated Jews moved as soon as possible to Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and other major cities. The Alaska colony was losing money, and would be impossible to defend in wartime against Britain, so in 1867 Russia sold Alaska to the United States for $ 7.2 million (equivalent to $ 157 million in 2023). The Russian administrators, soldiers, settlers, and some of

2002-752: The Persians , western Turkestan has also been known historically as Sogdia , "Ma wara'u'n-nahr" (by its Arab conquerors), and Transoxiana by western travelers. The latter two names refer to its position beyond the River Oxus when approached from the south, emphasizing Turkestan's long-standing relationship with Iran , the Persian Empires , and the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates . Oghuz Turks (also known as Turkmens ), Kyrgyzs , Uzbeks , Kazakhs , Khazars , Uyghurs , and Hazaras are some of

2079-568: The Romanov dynasty itself. Even so, there was no one more prepared to bring the country around than Alexander II. The first year of his reign was devoted to the prosecution of the Crimean War and, after the fall of Sevastopol , to negotiations for peace led by his trusted counsellor, Prince Alexander Gorchakov . The country had been exhausted and humiliated by the war. Bribe-taking, theft and corruption were rampant. The Emancipation Reform of 1861 abolished serfdom on private estates throughout

2156-662: The Russian conquest , Turkestan historically referred only to the western portion of Central Asia: The Eastern part of Central Asia (inhabited by nomads of the Tien Shan Mountains and settled peoples of the Tarim Basin ) was called Moghulistan (“Mongol land”). The Western part (inhabited by nomads of Syr-darya and settled peoples of Khwarazm ) was called Turkestan (Turk land), although they were both inhabited by linguistically Turkic ethnic groups. Beginning in

2233-551: The " Ergenekon " legend, and written sources, such as the Orkhon Inscriptions , in the 8th century AD, state that Turkic peoples originated in the nearby Altai Mountains , and, through nomadic settlement, started their long journey westwards. Much earlier than the Gokturks or their Orkhon Inscriptions, other groups such as the Huns conquered the area after they conquered Kashgaria in the early 2nd century BC. With

2310-816: The Bulgarians' first ruler. For his social reforms in Russia and his role in the liberation of Bulgaria, Alexander II became known in Bulgaria as the "Tsar-Liberator of Russians and Bulgarians". A monument to Alexander II was erected in 1907 in Sofia in the "National Assembly" square, opposite to the Parliament building. The monument underwent a complete reconstruction in 2012, funded by the Sofia Municipality and some Russian foundations. The inscription on

2387-492: The Russian Empire. By this edict more than 23 million people received their liberty. Serfs gained the full rights of free citizens, including rights to marry without having to gain consent, to own property, and to own a business. The measure was the first and most important of the liberal reforms made by Alexander II. Polish landed proprietors of the Lithuanian provinces presented a petition hoping that their relations with

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2464-479: The Russian armed forces. Further important changes were made concerning industry and commerce, and the new freedom thus afforded produced a large number of limited liability companies . Plans were formed for building a great network of railways, partly to develop the natural resources of the country, and partly to increase its power for defense and attack. Military reforms included universal conscription , introduced for all social classes on 1 January 1874. Prior to

2541-576: The Turkic inhabitants of the region who, as history progressed, have spread further into Eurasia forming such Turkic nations as Turkey , and subnational regions like Tatarstan in Russia and Crimea in Ukraine . Tajiks and Russians form sizable non-Turkic minorities. It is subdivided into Afghan Turkestan and historical Russian Turkestan (the latter of which extended in the south to Persia , in

2618-495: The Turks and the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 ended with the signing of the preliminary peace Treaty of San Stefano on 19 February [ O.S. 3 March] 1878. The treaty and the subsequent Congress of Berlin (June–July 1878) secured the emergence of an independent Bulgarian state for the first time since 1396, and Bulgarian parliamentarians elected the tsar's nephew, Prince Alexander of Battenberg , as

2695-742: The United Kingdom, had opposed Russia over the Eastern Question . France abandoned its opposition to Russia after the establishment of the French Third Republic . Encouraged by the new attitude of French diplomacy and supported by the German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck , Russia renounced the Black Sea clauses of the Paris treaty agreed to in 1856. As the United Kingdom with Austria could not enforce

2772-569: The administration. Boris Chicherin (1828–1904) was a political philosopher who believed that Russia needed a strong, authoritative government by Alexander to make the reforms possible. He praised Alexander for the range of his fundamental reforms, arguing that the tsar was: called upon to execute one of the hardest tasks which can confront an autocratic ruler: to completely remodel the enormous state which had been entrusted to his care, to abolish an age-old order founded on slavery, to replace it with civic decency and freedom, to establish justice in

2849-413: The autocratic ruler. But now he was the autocratic ruler himself, and fully intended to rule according to what he thought best. He rejected any moves to set up a parliamentary system that would curb his powers. He inherited a large mess that had been wrought by his father's fear of progress during his reign. Many of the other royal families of Europe had also disliked Nicholas I, which extended to distrust of

2926-615: The beginning of his reign, Alexander made a memorable speech to the deputies of the Polish nobility who inhabited Congress Poland , Western Ukraine , Lithuania , Livonia , and Belarus , in which he warned against further concessions with the words, "Gentlemen, let us have no dreams!" This served as a warning to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The territories of the former Poland-Lithuania were excluded from liberal policies introduced by Alexander. The result

3003-586: The clauses, Russia once again established a fleet in the Black Sea . France, after the Franco-Prussian War and the loss of Alsace–Lorraine , was fervently hostile to Germany and maintained friendly relations with Russia. In the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) the states of Romania , Serbia , and Montenegro gained international recognition of their independence while Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia achieved their autonomy from direct Ottoman rule. Russia took over Southern Bessarabia , lost in 1856.

3080-518: The dissolution of the Huns' Empire, Chinese rulers took over Eastern Central Asia, which was centuries later also called Turkestan. Arab forces captured it in the 8th century. The Persian Samanid dynasty subsequently conquered it and the area experienced economic success. The entire territory was held at various times by Turkic forces, such as the Göktürks , until the conquest by Genghis Khan and

3157-567: The end of the year. The participants in the Conference failed to reach a final agreement. After the failure of the Constantinople Conference, at the beginning of 1877, Emperor Alexander II started diplomatic preparations with the other Great Powers to secure their neutrality in case of a war between Russia and the Ottomans. Alexander II considered such agreements paramount in avoiding the possibility of causing his country

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3234-445: The goal was not to simply move them so that their land could be settled by productive farmers, but rather that "eliminating the Circassians was to be an end in itself – to cleanse the land of hostile elements". Tsar Alexander II endorsed the plans. A large portion of indigenous Muslim peoples of the region were ethnically cleansed from their homeland at the end of the Russo-Circassian War by Russia. A large deportation operation

3311-411: The guards a story below, killing 11 people and wounding 30 others. The New York Times (4 March 1880) reported "the dynamite used was enclosed in an iron box, and exploded by a system of clockwork used by the man Thomas in Bremen some years ago." However, dinner had been delayed by the late arrival of the tsar's nephew, the Prince of Bulgaria , so the tsar and his family were not in the dining room at

3388-483: The horse of an escorting cavalryman. On the morning of 20 April 1879, Alexander was briskly walking towards the Square of the Guards Staff and faced Alexander Soloviev , a 33-year-old former student. Having seen a menacing revolver in his hands, the Emperor fled in a zigzag pattern. Soloviev fired five times but missed; he was sentenced to death and hanged on 28 May. The student acted on his own, but other revolutionaries were keen to murder Alexander. In December 1879,

3465-437: The intention of deterring others from revolutionary activity, but after cases such as the Trial of the 193 where sympathetic juries acquitted many of the defendants, this was abandoned. After Alexander II became Emperor of Russia and King of Poland in 1855, he substantially relaxed the strict and repressive regime that had been imposed on Congress Poland after the November Uprising of 1830–1831. However, in 1856, at

3542-408: The legitimate dynasty of China. Qara Khitai monarchs used the title of " Chinese emperor ", and were also called the "Khan of Chīn". The Qara Khitai used the "image of China" to legitimize their rule to the Central Asians. The Chinese emperor, together with the rulers of the Turks, Arabs, India and the Byzantine Romans, were known to Islamic writers as the world's "five great kings". Qara Khitai kept

3619-441: The loyalty of its relatively western-oriented population during the Crimean War and during the Polish uprising . Encouraging Finnish nationalism and language can also be seen as an attempt to dilute ties with Sweden. During the Crimean War Austria maintained a policy of hostile neutrality towards Russia, and, while not going to war, was supportive of the Anglo-French coalition. Having abandoned its alliance with Russia, Austria

3696-512: The matter of complete conquest of the Caucasus is near to conclusion. A few years of persistent efforts remain to utterly force out the hostile mountaineers from the fertile countries they occupy and settle on the latter a Russian Christian population forever. — Imperial rescript of Alexander II ordering the ethnic cleansing of the Muslim Circassians and advancement of Russian settler-colonial program in Caucasus. (Dated 24 June, 1861) The Russo-Circassian War (1763–1864) concluded as

3773-469: The monument reads in Old-Bulgarian style: "To the Tsar-Liberator from grateful Bulgaria". There is a museum dedicated to Alexander in the Bulgarian city of Pleven . In April 1866, there was an attempt on the emperor's life in St. Petersburg by Dmitry Karakozov . To commemorate his narrow escape from death (which he himself referred to only as "the event of 4 April 1866"), a number of churches and chapels were built in many Russian cities. Viktor Hartmann ,

3850-403: The most enduring trace of the Khitan's power is names that are derived from it, such as Cathay , which is the medieval Latin appellation for China. Names derived from Khitai are still current in modern usage, such as the Russian, Bulgarian, Uzbek and Mongolian names for China. However, the use of the name Khitai to mean "China" or "Chinese" by Turkic speakers within China, such as the Uyghurs ,

3927-406: The new regulation, as of 1861, conscription was compulsorily enforced only for the peasantry. Conscription had been 25 years for serfs who were drafted by their landowners, which was widely considered to be a life sentence. Other military reforms included extending the reserve forces and the military district system, which split the Russian states into 15 military districts, a system still in use over

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4004-484: The nineteenth century, the term Turkestan was also applied to Ferghana and Mawara-an-nahr by the Russians. On their way southward during the conquest of Central Asia in the 19th century, the Russians under Nikolai Aleksandrovich Veryovkin  [ ru ] took the city of Turkistan (in present-day Kazakhstan ) in 1864. Mistaking its name for the entire region, they adopted the name of "Turkestan" ( Russian : Туркестан ) for their new territory . In 1969,

4081-420: The order of his father. Personal and official censorship was rife; criticism of the authorities was regarded as a serious offence. The education of the tsesarevich as future emperor took place under the supervision of the liberal romantic poet and gifted translator Vasily Zhukovsky , grasping a smattering of a great many subjects and becoming familiar with the chief modern European languages . Unusually for

4158-405: The peasants. He devised a program which involved the emancipation of the peasantry at the expense of the nationalist szlachta landowners and the expulsion of Roman Catholic priests from schools. Emancipation of the Polish peasantry from their serf -like status took place in 1864, on more generous terms than the emancipation of Russian peasants in 1861. In 1863, Alexander II re-convened

4235-417: The population of the Qara Khitai. These Han Chinese had lived in Kedun  [ zh ] during the Liao dynasty, and in 1124 migrated with the Khitans under Yelü Dashi along with other people of Kedun, such as the Bohai , Jurchen, and Mongol tribes, as well as other Khitans in addition to the Xiao consort clan. Qara Khitai's rule over the Muslim-majority Central Asia has the effect of reinforcing

4312-456: The priests returned home. Others stayed to minister to their native parishioners, who remain members of the Russian Orthodox Church into the 21st century. Alexander maintained a generally liberal course. Radicals complained he did not go far enough, and he became a target for numerous assassination plots. He survived attempts that took place in 1866, 1879, and 1880. Finally 13 March [ O.S. 1 March] 1881, assassins organized by

4389-421: The serfs might be regulated in a way more satisfactory for the proprietors. Alexander II authorized the formation of committees "for ameliorating the condition of the peasants", and laid down the principles on which the amelioration was to be effected. Without consulting his ordinary advisers, Alexander ordered the Minister of the Interior to send a circular to the provincial governors of European Russia ( serfdom

4466-432: The term 'Central Asia' ( Turkish : Orta Asya ) to 'Turkestan' ( Turkish : Türkistan ) in history textbooks. The history of the Central Asian region that was later called Turkestan dates back to at least the third millennium BC. Many artifacts were produced in that period, with much trade being conducted. The region was a focal point for cultural diffusion , as the Silk Road traversed it. Turkic sagas, such as

4543-400: The time of his accession in 1855, aged 37, few imagined that posterity would know him for implementing the most challenging reforms undertaken in Russia since the reign of Peter the Great . His uncle Emperor Alexander I died childless. Grand Duke Konstantin , the next-younger brother of Alexander I, had previously renounced his rights to the throne of Russia. Thus, Alexander's father, who

4620-495: The time of the explosion and were unharmed. Turkestan Turkestan , also spelled Turkistan , is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and East Turkestan ( Xinjiang ). The region is located in the northwest of modern day China and to the northwest of its borders, and extends directly to the east of the Caspian Sea . Turkestan is primarily inhabited by Turkic peoples , as well as Russian and Tajik-Persian minorities. Turkestan

4697-498: The time, the young Alexander was taken on a six-month tour of Russia (1837), visiting 20 provinces in the country. He also visited many prominent Western European countries in 1838 and 1839. As Tsesarevich, Alexander became the first Romanov heir to visit Siberia (1837). While touring Russia, he also befriended the then-exiled poet Alexander Herzen and pardoned him. It was through Herzen's influence that he later abolished serfdom in Russia. In 1839, when his parents sent him on

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4774-407: The trappings of a Chinese state, such as Chinese coins, Chinese imperial titles, the Chinese writing system, tablets, seals, and used Chinese products like porcelain, mirrors, jade and other Chinese customs. The adherence to Liao Chinese traditions has been suggested as a reason why the Qara Khitai did not convert to Islam . Despite the Chinese trappings, there were comparatively few Han Chinese among

4851-540: The usages of war. Alexander's bureaucracy instituted an elaborate scheme of local self-government ( zemstvo ) for the rural districts (1864) and the large towns (1870), with elective assemblies possessing a restricted right of taxation, and a new rural and municipal police under the direction of the Minister of the Interior . Under Alexander's rules Jews could not own land, and were restricted in travel. However special taxes on Jews were eliminated and those who graduated from secondary school were permitted to live outside

4928-419: The view among some Muslim writers that Central Asia was linked to China even though the Tang dynasty had lost control of the region a few hundred years ago. Marwazī wrote that Transoxiana was a former part of China, while Fakhr al-Dīn Mubārak Shāh defined China as part of "Turkestan", and the cities of Balāsāghūn and Kashghar were considered part of China. The association of Khitai with China meant that

5005-452: The west to the Aral and Caspian Seas and in the northeast to Lake Balkhash and Lake Zaysan ) in the west, and Chinese Turkestan or East Turkestan in the east. Of Persian origin (see -stan ), the term "Turkestan" ( ترکستان ) had historically never referred to a single nation state . Persian geographers first used the word to describe the place where Turkic peoples lived. According to ethnographer Dávid Somfai Kara , prior to

5082-425: Was Emperor of Russia , King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 2 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881 . Alexander's most significant reform as emperor was the emancipation of Russia's serfs in 1861, for which he is known as Alexander the Liberator (Russian: Алекса́ндр Освободи́тель , romanized : Aleksándr Osvobodítel , IPA: [ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɐsvəbɐˈdʲitʲɪlʲ] ). The tsar

5159-409: Was also notable for his foreign policy, which was mainly pacifist, supportive of the United States , and opposed to Great Britain . Alexander backed the Union during the American Civil War and sent warships to New York Harbor and San Francisco Bay to deter attacks by the Confederate Navy . He sold Alaska to the United States in 1867, fearing the remote colony would fall into British hands in

5236-407: Was diplomatically isolated following the war, which contributed to Russia's non-intervention in the 1859 Franco-Austrian War , which meant the end of Austrian influence in Italy; and in the 1866 Austro-Prussian War , with the loss of its influence in most German-speaking lands. During the American Civil War (1861–1865), Russia supported the Union , largely due to the view that the U.S. served as

5313-565: Was for some time the second largest in assets among private-sector banks in Russia. At the start of the 20th century it was still third-largest, and the largest one not headquartered in Saint Petersburg . This bank and insurance -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Alexander II of Russia Alexander II (Russian: Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич , romanized : Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich , IPA: [ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ] ; 29 April 1818 – 13 March 1881)

5390-461: Was launched against the remaining population before the end of the war in 1864 and it was mostly completed by 1867. Only a small percentage accepted surrender and resettlement within the Russian Empire . The remaining Circassian populations who refused to surrender were thus variously dispersed, resettled, or killed en masse . In April 1876, the Bulgarian population in the Balkans rebelled against Ottoman rule . The Ottoman authorities suppressed

5467-431: Was not a simple goal capable of being achieved instantaneously by imperial decree. It contained complicated problems, deeply affecting the economic, social, and political future of the nation. Alexander had to choose between the different measures recommended to him and decide, if the serfs would become agricultural laborers dependent economically and administratively on the landlords, or if the serfs would be transformed into

5544-487: Was proposing additional parliamentary reforms to counter the rise of nascent revolutionary and anarchistic movements when he was assassinated in 1881. Born in Moscow , Alexander Nikolayevich was the eldest son of Nicholas I of Russia and Charlotte of Prussia (eldest daughter of Frederick William III of Prussia and of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz ). His early life gave little indication of his ultimate potential; until

5621-484: Was rare in other parts) containing a copy of the instructions forwarded to the Governor-General of Lithuania, praising the supposed generous, patriotic intentions of the Lithuanian landed proprietors, and suggesting that perhaps the landed proprietors of other provinces might express a similar desire. The hint was taken: in all provinces where serfdom existed, emancipation committees were formed. Emancipation

5698-457: Was responsible for other liberal reforms, including reorganizing the judicial system, setting up elected local judges, abolishing corporal punishment , promoting local self-government through the zemstvo system, imposing universal military service, ending some privileges of the nobility, and promoting university education. After an assassination attempt in 1866, Alexander adopted a somewhat more conservative stance until his death. Alexander

5775-548: Was the January Uprising of 1863–1864 that was suppressed after eighteen months of fighting. Hundreds of Poles were executed, and thousands were deported to Siberia . The price of suppression was Russian support for the unification of Germany . The martial law in Lithuania, introduced in 1863, lasted for the next 40 years. Native languages, Ukrainian , and Belarusian , were completely banned from printed texts,

5852-401: Was the third son of Paul I, became the new Emperor ; he took the name Nicholas I . At that time, Alexander became Tsesarevich as his father's heir to the throne. In the period of his life as heir apparent (1825 to 1855), the intellectual atmosphere of Saint Petersburg did not favour any kind of change: freedom of thought and all forms of private initiative were suppressed vigorously by

5929-460: Was to be a demilitarized zone similar to a contemporaneous region of the Baltic Sea . This gave him room to breathe and pursue an ambitious plan of domestic reforms. Encouraged by public opinion, Alexander began a period of radical reforms, including an attempt not to depend on landed aristocracy controlling the poor, an effort to develop Russia's natural resources, and to reform all branches of

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