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The emperor Alexander II was a man of weak character who possessed no steadfast views on politics. During the reign of his father he had sometimes surpassed Nicholas in reactionary intentions. The Crimean War proved too clearly the danger of Nicholas’s martinet system, however, and public opinion was too impetuous for Alexander to resist.

Learn about the life and legacy of Alexander II, the nineteenth-century Russian emperor who abolished serfdom and reformed the military and judicial system. Find out how he was assassinated by a group of revolutionaries in 1881 and what his reforms meant for Russia and the world.

Russia. Russia - From Alexander II to Nicholas II: Defeat in Crimea made Russia’s lack of modernization clear, and the first step toward modernization was the abolition of serfdom. It seemed to the new tsar, Alexander II (reigned 1855–81), that the dangers to public order of dismantling the existing system, which had deterred Nicholas I ...

Carl Peter Watts examines a set of reforms which held out the prospect of modernising Russia but whose failure paved the way for revolution. Alexander II’s ‘great reforms’ stand out as among the most significant events in nineteenth century Russian history. Alexander became known as the ‘Tsar Liberator’ because he abolished serfdom in ...

(1818 – 1881), tsar and emperor of Russia from 1855 to 1881. Alexander Nicholayevich Romanov is largely remembered for two events — his decision to emancipate the serfs and his assassination at the hands of revolutionaries.