03/1/1881 (03/14). - Assassination of Emperor Alexander II

With the assassination of Alexander II, terrorists stopped liberal reforms

(1818–1881), eldest son, born April 17, 1818 in Moscow. His educators were generals Merder and Kavelin, as well as a poet. In 1837, Alexander made a long trip around Russia, then (in 1838) - around the countries Western Europe. In 1841 he married the Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt, who took the name Maria Alexandrovna. He ascended the throne the day after his father’s death - February 19, 1855, at the height of...

The unsuccessful outcome of this war was formalized (03/18/1856), which prohibited Russia from maintaining the Black Sea Navy. An external failure so noticeable for prestige, the growing criticism of Western liberals and revolutionary democrats (etc.), invariably supported by Europe, forced Alexander II to undertake liberal reforms. One of his first demonstrative acts was the pardon of exiles, announced during the coronation in Moscow on August 26, 1856 - and in general, more than 30 years have passed since the uprising.

The main social and moral problem was: ordering the liberation of the peasants did not cost anything, and the nobility was ready for this, but how to organize the life of tens of millions of farmers, left to their own devices without the tutelage of the landowners? In the Manifesto of February 19, 1861, issued on the basis of many years preparatory work previous reign, it was said about this:

“The nobility voluntarily renounced the right to personality of serfs... The nobles had to limit their rights to the peasants and face the difficulties of transformation, not without reducing their benefits... The referenced examples of the generous trusteeship of the owners for the welfare of the peasants and the gratitude of the peasants for the beneficent trusteeship of the owners are stated our hope that mutual voluntary agreements will resolve most of the difficulties inevitable in some cases of application general rules to the various circumstances of individual estates, and that in this way the transition from the old order to the new will be facilitated and mutual trust, good agreement and unanimous desire for common benefit will be strengthened in the future.”

The manifesto was met with general jubilation. But all the social problems of the new peasant dispensation could not be satisfactorily resolved, which is why even peasant protests began against the abolition of serfdom.

This radical reform required others, no less essential for the new structure of a freer society: administrative (they partly took over the care of the peasants), transformation of the military department (Charter on universal conscription), reform public education.

ABOUT foreign policy There is no need to say much in this calendar article - it was successfully led by A., who achieved the abolition of the restrictions of the Treaty of Paris, returned Russia to its former influence on European affairs (), and contributed to the liberation of the Balkan Christian peoples from the Turkish yoke. In Bulgaria, the name of Emperor Alexander II is still a symbol. So Alexander II earned the title of Tsar Liberator in both domestic and foreign policy.

It ended under Alexander II. Russia expanded its influence in the east; entered Russia, Kurile Islands in exchange for the southern part of Sakhalin.

His hardly successful “progressive” foreign policy decisions include the support provided to the Masonic North American United States (however, who could have guessed then what kind of monster would grow there?). During Civil War in America (the reason for this was not only the abolition of slavery, but also the hidden interests of Jewish financial hegemony: divide and conquer), Alexander II, contrary to the policies of Great Britain and France, strongly supported the democratic American government. When the war ended, he (1867) for the paltry sum of $7.2 million. (It is generally accepted that Russia would not have been able to retain these lands anyway with the growth of American influence, and so acquired “American friendship” - we will then feel it well in ...).

It is impossible not to mention such a ticklish, but important topic: the liberalism of this era also affected the morals of the royal court - an unprecedented thing: “the guardian of orthodoxy and all holy deanery in the Church” (v. 64), while his wife was alive, had a particularly open mistress who bore him four illegitimate children. This example of the monarch shook the discipline in the Imperial family, which then had disastrous consequences in the behavior of many Grand Dukes and resulted in open opposition against the demanding, especially during.

Despite all these liberal reforms, or rather thanks to them, since they gave greater freedom of action also to anti-state forces, the reign of Alexander II was marked by the growth of a revolutionary movement that developed with Jewish money. The kind-hearted Emperor did not understand the Jewish question at all, continuing well-intentioned attempts to make Jewish subjects “like everyone else.” Seeing the futility of his father’s administrative measures to convert Jews to Christianity, Alexander II completely abolished them, as well as most of the restrictions on Judaism. In government educational establishments Jews under him were accepted on equal terms with Russians; Jews had the right to receive officer ranks and noble titles. This did not in any way contribute to the Russification of the Jews, only allowing the Jewish “state within a state” () to acquire more and more power and influence in the field of finance and the press.

There were repeated attempts on the life of the Emperor; in 1880, he only accidentally escaped death when a Narodnaya Volya terrorist carried out an explosion in the Winter Palace. In the same year, after the death of Empress Maria Alexandrovna, the Tsar entered into a morganatic marriage with his long-term beloved, Princess Ekaterina Dolgoruka (but according to the law, the children did not have their rights to the throne).

Emperor Alexander II was killed by Narodnaya Volya on March 1, 1881 on the embankment of the Catherine Canal - ironically, precisely after he decided to sign the liberal “Loris-Melikov Constitution,” which God did not allow. Under those conditions, it would undoubtedly have done more harm than good. For the main drawback of the reforms of the Tsar the Liberator was that, while granting the people more freedom, he did not ensure the use of this freedom in the proper Orthodox manner: to educate the people in the truth and serve it - and this in the conditions of the growing Westernized corruption of the ruling stratum. Having ascended the throne, preserving many useful reforms of zemstvo self-government and court, with a hard hand he curbs the destructive elements, granting Russian Empire another quarter century of greatness.

At the site of the assassination of Emperor Alexander II, one of the masterpieces of church architecture was erected - the Church of the Resurrection of Christ ("Savior on Spilled Blood"). The temple was built in the style of Russian architecture of the 16th–17th centuries and resembled the cathedral on Red Square in Moscow. The special picturesque silhouette and multi-colored decorative decoration make the Savior on Spilled Blood unlike most architectural structures in St. Petersburg, which have a Western European appearance. The huge mosaics and mosaic panels, decorating the temple both inside and outside. They were created from drawings

In memory of Alexander II, my poem. March sunset in the windows of the Winter Palace. There seemed to be no end to the trials of the Autocrat... They predicted that with the eighth Assassination - death. Coping with the seventh…. There are six of them so far. Just like the gypsy guessed, So be it. In clear eyes I saw that the Tsar could not live. The seventh explosion blazed in the snow. But the armor sheet saved His life. To leave the place of death, and the Tsar-Father is in full view of everyone. To exhaust matters as offensive as personal sin. A young Cossack died before our eyes, a passing boy was torn to pieces... And rushing through the crowd, how could this be so? Thank God, we managed to save Himself. Here the heart of the “second” leapt with fierce anger, who betrayed Christ, and threw an explosive mixture at the Father that very minute, but he himself disappeared. And the convoy came to its senses, woke up from oblivion. On a sleigh, accompanied by groans and howls, he took the Tsar to die.... S.I. Zagrebelny 08/25/2003. Contact phone: 8-495-701-03-73 sq., 8-917-569-79-02 mobile. E-mail: [email protected]. 111672, Moscow, Novokosinskaya, 38-1-128. Zagrebelny Stefan Ivanovich

Emperor Alexander II in 1859: “Russia needs capable and educated officers, real leaders of the Russian people.”

Excellent text.

Assassination of Alexander II.

Assassination of Alexander II.

The eldest first of the grand duke, and from 1825 of the imperial couple Nicholas I and Alexandra Feodorovna (daughter of the Prussian king Frederick William III), Alexander received a good education.

Alexander II

His mentor was V.A. Zhukovsky, teacher - K.K. Merder, among the teachers - M.M. Speransky (legislation), K.I. Arsenyev (statistics and history), E.F. Kankrin (finance), F.I. Brunov (foreign policy).

Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky

Mikhail Nestorovich Speransky

The personality of the heir to the throne was formed under the influence of his father, who wanted to see in his son a “military man at heart,” and at the same time under the leadership of Zhukovsky, who sought to raise in the future monarch an enlightened man who would give his people reasonable laws, a monarch-legislator. Both of these influences left a deep mark on the character, inclinations, and worldview of the heir and were reflected in the affairs of his reign.

In the center of the lithograph is the heir to the Tsarevich Grand Duke Alexander Nikolaevich (future Emperor Alexander II), and at his feet is the Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich.

Artist Vasilievsky Alexander Alekseevich (1794 - after 1849)

Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich in cadet uniform

Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich in the uniform of the Ataman Regiment.

Having ascended the throne in 1855, he received a difficult legacy.

None of the cardinal issues of his father’s 30-year reign (peasant, eastern, Polish, etc.) were resolved; Russia was defeated in the Crimean War. Not being a reformer by vocation or temperament, Alexander became one in response to the needs of the time as a man of sober mind and good will.

The first of his important decisions was the conclusion of the Paris Peace in March 1856.

Paris Congress of 1856

With the accession of Alexander, a “thaw” began in the socio-political life of Russia. On the occasion of his coronation in August 1856, he declared an amnesty for the Decembrists, Petrashevites, and participants in the Polish uprising of 1830-1831, suspended recruitment for three years, and in 1857 liquidated military settlements.

Coronation of Alexander II

Partisan detachment of Emilia Plater

Realizing the primary importance of resolving the peasant question, for four years (from the establishment of the Secret Committee to the adoption of the Manifesto on March 3, 1861) he showed unwavering will in striving to abolish serfdom.

Adhering to the “Bestsee option” of landless emancipation of peasants in 1857-1858, at the end of 1858 he agreed to the purchase of allotment land by peasants into ownership, that is, to a reform program developed by the liberal bureaucracy, together with like-minded people from among public figures (N.A. Milyutin , Ya.I. Rostovtsev, Yu.F. Samarin, V.A. Cherkassky, etc.).

With his support, the Zemstvo Regulations (1864) and City Regulations (1870), Judicial Charters (1864), military reforms of the 1860-1870s, reforms of public education, censorship, and the abolition of corporal punishment were adopted. Alexander II was unable to resist traditional imperial policies.

Decisive victories in the Caucasian War were won in the first years of his reign

He gave in to demands for promotion to Central Asia(in 1865-1881, most of Turkestan became part of the Empire). After long resistance, he decided to go to war with Turkey (1877-1878).

After the suppression of the Polish uprising of 1863-1864 and the assassination attempt by D.V. Karakozov on his life in April 1866, Alexander II made concessions to the protective course, expressed in the appointment of D.A. to senior government posts. Tolstoy, F.F. Trepova, P.A. Shuvalova.

The first attempt on the life of Alexander II was made on April 4, 1866 during his walk in the Summer Garden. The shooter was 26-year-old terrorist Dmitry Karakozov. He shot almost point blank. But, fortunately, the peasant Osip Komissarov, who happened to be nearby, pulled away the killer’s hand.

Dmitry Vladimirovich Karakozov

Reforms continued, but sluggishly and inconsistently; almost all reform figures, with rare exceptions (for example, Minister of War D.A. Milyutin, who believed that “only consistent reforms can stop the revolutionary movement in Russia”), received resignations. At the end of his reign, Alexander was inclined to introduce limited public representation in Russia under the State Council.

Attempt by D.V. Karakozov on Alexander II

Art.Greener

Several attempts were made on Alexander II: D.V. Karakozov, Polish emigrant A. Berezovsky in 1867 in Paris, A.K. Solovyov in 1879 in St. Petersburg.

In 1867, the World Exhibition was to be held in Paris, to which Emperor Alexander II came. According to Berezovsky himself, the ideas of killing the Tsar and liberating Poland with this act arose in him from early childhood, but he made the immediate decision on June 1, when he was at the station in the crowd watching the meeting of Alexander II. On June 5, he bought a double-barreled pistol for five francs and the next day, June 6, after breakfast, he went to seek a meeting with the king. At five o'clock in the afternoon, Berezovsky, near the Longchamp racecourse in the Bois de Boulogne, shot at Alexander II, who was returning from a military review (along with the tsar, his two sons, Vladimir Alexandrovich and Alexander Alexandrovich, were in the carriage, i.e. the future emperor Alexander III, as well as Emperor Napoleon III). The pistol burst from too much strong charge, as a result, the bullet was deflected and hit the horse of the horseman accompanying the crew. Berezovsky, whose hand was severely injured by the explosion, was immediately seized by the crowd. “I confess that I shot the emperor today during his return from the review,” he said after his arrest. “Two weeks ago I had the idea of ​​regicide, however, or rather, I have nurtured this thought since I began to recognize myself, having in mind the liberation of my homeland.”

Anton Iosifovich Berezovsky

The Sovereign Emperor deigned to leave the Winter Palace on April 2, at just after nine o'clock in the morning, for his usual morning walk and walked along Millionnaya, past the Hermitage, around the building of the Guards headquarters. From the corner of the palace, His Majesty walked 230 steps to the end of the headquarters building, along the sidewalk, with right side Millionnaya and up to the Winter Canal; turning to the right, around the same headquarters building, along the Winter Canal embankment, the Emperor reached the Pevchesky Bridge, taking another 170 steps. Thus, the Sovereign Emperor walked 400 steps from the corner of the palace to the singing bridge, which required an ordinary walk of about five minutes. At the corner of the Winter Canal and the square of the Guards headquarters there is a policeman’s booth, that is, a policeman’s room for overnight stay, with a stove and a warehouse for a small amount of firewood. The policeman himself was not in the booth at that time; he was at his post not far away, in the square. Turning around the main headquarters building, from the Winter Canal and the Pevchesky Bridge, to the Alexander Column, that is, back to the palace, the Sovereign Emperor took another fifteen steps along the narrow sidewalk of the headquarters.

Here, standing opposite the fourth window of the headquarters, the Emperor noticed a tall, thin, dark-haired man with a dark brown mustache, about 32 years old, walking towards Him, dressed in a decent civilian coat and a cap with a civilian cockade, and both hands of this passer-by were in his pockets coat. Paramedic Maiman, standing at the gate of the headquarters building, shouted at a passerby who dared to go straight to meet His Majesty, but he, not paying attention to the warning, silently walked further in the same direction. At 6-7 steps, the villain quickly took a revolver from his coat pocket and shot at the Tsar almost point-blank.

Assassination attempt by A.K. Solovyov on Alexander II

The villain's movements did not escape His Majesty's attention. The Sovereign Emperor, leaning forward a little, then deigned to turn at a right angle and with quick steps walked across the site of the headquarters of the guard troops, towards the entrance of Prince Gorchakov. The criminal rushed after the retreating Monarch and after Him fired three more shots, one after the other. The second bullet hit the cheek and exited at the temple of a civil gentleman, a native of the Baltic provinces, named Miloshkevich, who was following the Tsar.

Solovyov's assassination attempt on Emperor Alexander II on April 2, 1879. April 2, 1879, attempt to assassinate the Tsar by Solovyov. Drawing by G. Meyer.

The wounded Miloshkevich, bleeding profusely, rushed at the villain who was shooting at the sacred person of the Sovereign Emperor. Having fired two more shots, and the bullet hit the wall of the headquarters building, the villain saw that his four shots at point-blank range did not hit the Emperor, and rushed to run across the square of the Guards headquarters, heading towards the sidewalk of the opposite building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Fleeing, the villain threw off his cap and coat, apparently to hide unrecognized in the crowd. He was overtaken by a young soldier of the 6th company of the Preobrazhensky Regiment and a retired sergeant-major guardsman Rogozin, who were walking by chance, not far behind the Emperor. They were the first to grab and throw the criminal to the ground. While defending himself, the criminal bit the hand of one woman, the wife of a court servant, who, along with others, rushed at the villain. The people who came running tried to tear the villain to pieces. The police arrived in time and saved him from the hands of the indignant crowd and, surrounding him, took him under arrest.

The Emperor maintained complete calm of spirit. He took off his cap and reverently overshadowed himself sign of the cross. Meanwhile, the highest military officials living there ran out of the headquarters building in their clothes, without coats and caps, and the Tsar was given a private carriage that accidentally drove up to the entrance; but the Emperor got into it only when the villain had already been captured and disarmed. Having asked the palace police officer, non-commissioned officer Nedelin, whether the criminal had been arrested and whether he was safe, the Tsar got into the carriage and slowly returned to the palace, among the enthusiastic crowd that saw Him off. The bullet hit the headquarters building, knocking off the plaster down to the bricks. Miloshkevich was first taken to the palace for dressing, then placed in the court hospital (Konyushennaya Street), and he was provided with all the necessary benefits with remarkable speed.

The passage of Emperor Alexander II through the streets of St. Petersburg after the unsuccessful assassination attempt by Solovyov.

The criminal was immediately tied up, put into a random carriage and sent to the mayor's house, on Gorokhovaya Street. He was brought there, as they say, in an almost completely unconscious state. The senior police doctor, Mr. Batalin, who was immediately invited, at first mistook this condition of the criminal for arsenic poisoning, especially since he began to have terrible vomiting, as a result of which milk was poured into the poisoned man’s mouth; but other doctors who arrived at the same time, including a well-known expert on poisons, a former professor at the Medical-Surgical Academy, Privy Councilor Trapp, determined poisoning potassium cyanide, which is why, without wasting any time, he was given the appropriate antidote. It is not known exactly when the criminal took the poison, before or after the shots. There is reason to believe that he swallowed the poison a few moments before the shots, or immediately after the first shot, because after the 4th shot the criminal staggered, and after the fifth he began to foam at the mouth and have convulsions. During the search, another ball of the same poison was found in the criminal’s pocket, enclosed in a nut shell and covered in wax. Potassium cyanide, belonging to the group of hydrocyanic acid, the poison of bitter almonds, is one of the most terrible poisons, which can kill a person in a few moments due to paralysis of the heart and lungs. The undergarment of the attacker did not at all correspond to the outer garment. He was wearing a black, shabby frock coat, the same trousers and a dirty white shirt, but the outer dress was distinguished by its impeccable appearance. The cap that was on his head is completely new, and the elegant gloves, they say, were not made here. Several rubles were found in his wallet and a copy of a St. Petersburg German newspaper in his pocket.

Alexander Konstantinovich Solovyov

The executive committee of the Narodnaya Volya party put an end to political activity the emperor and in his life. He also put an end to the hopes of the Russian people for the introduction of a constitutional monarchy in the country.

What did the Narodnaya Volya party provide? It was a centralized, deeply secret organization. Most of its members were professional revolutionaries who were illegal.

The party charter obliged its members to be prepared to endure hardships, prison, and hard labor. They made a commitment to sacrifice their lives. Peter Kropotkin wrote: “It was believed that only morally developed people could participate in the organization. Before accepting a new member, his character was discussed at length. Only those who did not raise any doubts were accepted. Personal shortcomings were not considered minor.”

The activities of Narodnaya Volya were divided into propaganda and terrorist. At the first stage, propaganda work was carried out great importance, but soon more and more attention began to be paid to terror.

“People's Will” played a certain role in the social movement of Russia, but, having moved from political struggle to conspiracy and individual terror, it made a gross miscalculation. The Narodnaya Volya did not set themselves the goal of creating an independent workers' party, but they were the first in Russia to begin organizing revolutionary circles among the workers.

In the fight against the revolutionary movement, the government either tried to appeal to society for support, or placed this society under sweeping suspicion. Liberal press organs were severely punished. The inconsistent and chaotic actions of the authorities did not bring calm. They aroused opposition even in previously well-intentioned noble circles.

Meanwhile, the growing internal political crisis in the country raised hopes for the success of Narodnaya Volya, which turned political murder into the main weapon of its struggle. The death sentence, conditionally passed on the Tsar at the Lipetsk Congress, was finally approved on August 26, 1879, and in the fall of 1879 the executive committee of Narodnaya Volya began to implement its plan.

8 assassination attempts were prepared against Alexander II. The first terrorist attack was attempted by D. Karakozov near the Summer Garden on April 4, 1866. On April 2, 1879, during the emperor’s walk along Palace Square, A. Soloviev fired five shots almost point-blank.

That same year, three attempts were made to crash the royal train.

The explosion in the Winter Palace (18:22; February 5, 1880) is a terrorist act directed against the Russian Emperor Alexander II, organized by members of the People's Will movement. Khalturin lived in basement Winter Palace, where they carried up to 30 kg of dynamite. The bomb was detonated using a fuse. Directly above his room there was a guardhouse, and even higher, on the second floor, there was a dining room in which Alexander II was going to have lunch. The Prince of Hesse, brother of Empress Maria Alexandrovna, was expected for lunch, but his train was half an hour late. The explosion caught the emperor, who was meeting the prince, in the Small Field Marshal's Hall, far from the dining room. A dynamite explosion destroyed the ceiling between the ground and first floors. The floors of the palace guardhouse collapsed ( modern hall Hermitage No. 26). The double brick vaults between the first and second floors of the palace withstood the impact of the blast wave. No one was injured in the mezzanine, but the explosion lifted the floors, knocked out many window panes, and the lights went out. In the dining room or Yellow room The third spare half of the Winter Palace (modern Hermitage Hall No. 160, the decoration has not survived) had a cracked wall, a chandelier fell on a set table, and everything was covered with lime and plaster.

Stepan Khalturin (1856-1882)

As a result of the explosion in the lower floor of the palace, 11 servicemen who were on guard that day in the palace of the lower ranks of the Life Guards of the Finnish Regiment, stationed on Vasilyevsky Island, were killed, and 56 people were injured. Despite their own wounds and injuries, the surviving sentries remained in their places and even upon the arrival of the called shift from the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, they did not give up their places to the newcomers until they were replaced by their distributing corporal, who was also wounded in the explosion. All those killed were heroes of the recently ended Russian-Turkish war.

Explosion in the Winter Palace 02/05/1880

In the autumn of 1880, the hunt for the emperor continued with amazing persistence. The main organizer of the preparation of the assassination attempt was Andrei Zhelyabov, but on February 27 he was arrested and he was unable to take part in the last terrorist act.

Andrey Ivanovich Zhelyabov

The assassination attempt on Alexander II on March 1, 1881 was planned as follows: an explosion on Malaya Sadovaya; if it did not produce results, then four throwers would have to throw bombs at the Tsar’s crew. If the tsar had remained alive after this, Zhelyabov, armed with a dagger, would have stabbed him.

The king's movements were constantly monitored. S. Perovskaya recorded his results. When turning onto the Catherine Canal, the coachman held the horses. Perovskaya noted that this is the most comfortable spot for an explosion. Mikhailov, Grinevitsky, Emelyanov were appointed as perpetrators of the terrorist act.

Timofey Mikhailovich Mikhailov Ivan Paiteleymonovich Emelyanov

Usually, preparations for the Tsar’s passage began at 12 noon, by which time mounted gendarmes appeared at both ends of Malaya Sadovaya. Traffic froze, traffic on the street stopped. However, on March 1, the tsar, influenced by rumors about the dangers of this route, went to the traditional Sunday review of guard units at the Mikhailovsky Manege another way - along the Catherine Canal. Perovskaya reacted quickly to the changed situation and gathered the throwers in one of the pastry shops on Nevsky Prospekt. Having received instructions, they took up new positions. Perovskaya took a place on the opposite side of the channel in order to give a signal for action at the right moment.

Sofia Lvovna Perovskaya

The verdict describes this event as follows:

“... When the sovereign’s carriage, accompanied by a regular convoy, passed by the garden of the Mikhailovsky Palace, at a distance of about 50 fathoms (11 meters) from around the corner of Inzhenernaya Street, an explosive shell was thrown under the horses of the carriage. The explosion of this shell injured some people and destroyed back wall carriages, but the sovereign himself remained unharmed.

The man who threw the shell, although he ran along the canal embankment, towards Nevsky Prospekt, was detained a few fathoms away and initially identified himself as the tradesman Glazov, and then revealed that he was the tradesman Rysakov.

Nikolai Ivanovich Rysakov

Meanwhile, the sovereign, having ordered the coachman to stop the horses, deigned to get out of the carriage and go to the detained criminal.

When the tsar was returning back to the site of the explosion along the canal panel, a second explosion followed, the consequence of which was to inflict several extremely severe wounds on the tsar, with both legs being crushed below the knees...

Peasant Pyotr Pavlov testified that the second explosive shell was thrown unknown person, standing leaning against the embankment grating, he waited for the king to approach at a distance of no more than two arshins and threw something on the panel, which caused a second explosion.

The man indicated by Pavlov was picked up at the crime scene in an unconscious state and, when taken to the court hospital of the Stable Department, died there 8 hours later. During the autopsy, he was found to have many wounds caused by the explosion, which, according to experts, should have occurred at a very close distance, no more than three steps from the deceased.

This man, having come to his senses somewhat before his death and answered the question about his name - “I don’t know,” lived, as was discovered by the inquiry and judicial investigation, on a false passport in the name of the Vilna tradesman Nikolai Stepanovich Elnikov and among his accomplices was called Mikhail Ivanovich and Kotik (I.I. Grinevitsky)."

Alexander II can be considered a record holder in Russian and even world history for the number of attempts on his life. The Russian emperor found himself on the brink of death six times, as a Parisian gypsy had once predicted to him.

"Your Majesty, you offended the peasants..."

On April 4, 1866, Alexander II was walking with his nephews in the Summer Garden. A large crowd of onlookers watched the emperor's promenade through the fence. When the walk ended, and Alexander II was getting into the carriage, a shot was heard. For the first time in Russian history, an attacker shot at the Tsar! The crowd almost tore the terrorist to pieces. "Fools! - he shouted, fighting back - I’m doing this for you! It was a member of a secret revolutionary organization, Dmitry Karakozov.

To the emperor’s question “why did you shoot at me?” he answered boldly: “Your Majesty, you offended the peasants!” However, it was the peasant, Osip Komissarov, who pushed the hapless killer's arm and saved the sovereign from certain death. Karakozov was executed, and in the Summer Garden, in memory of the salvation of Alexander II, a chapel was erected with the inscription on the pediment: “Do not touch My Anointed One.” In 1930, the victorious revolutionaries demolished the chapel.

"Meaning the liberation of the homeland"

On May 25, 1867, in Paris, Alexander II and the French Emperor Napoleon III were traveling in an open carriage. Suddenly a man jumped out of the enthusiastic crowd and shot twice at the Russian monarch. Past! The identity of the criminal was quickly established: the Pole Anton Berezovsky was trying to take revenge for the suppression of the Polish uprising by Russian troops in 1863. “Two weeks ago I had the idea of ​​regicide, however, I had this thought since I began to recognize myself, meaning liberation homeland,” the Pole explained confusingly during interrogation. A French jury sentenced Berezovsky to life in hard labor in New Caledonia.

Five bullets of teacher Solovyov

The next attempt on the life of the emperor occurred on April 14, 1879. While walking in the palace park, Alexander II drew attention to young man, quickly walking towards him. The stranger managed to fire five bullets at the emperor (and where were the guards looking?!) until he was disarmed. It was only a miracle that saved Alexander II, who did not receive a scratch. Turned out to be a terrorist school teacher, and “part-time” - a member of the revolutionary organization “Land and Freedom” Alexander Solovyov. He was executed on the Smolensk field in front of a large crowd of people.

"Why are they chasing me like a wild animal?"

In the summer of 1879, an even more radical organization emerged from the depths of “Land and Freedom” - “People's Will”. From now on, in the hunt for the emperor there will be no place for the “handicraft” of individuals: professionals have taken up the matter. Remembering the failure of previous attempts, the Narodnaya Volya members abandoned small arms, choosing a more “reliable” means - a mine. They decided to blow up the imperial train on the route between St. Petersburg and Crimea, where Alexander II vacationed every year. The terrorists, led by Sofia Perovskaya, knew that a freight train with luggage was coming first, and Alexander II and his retinue were traveling in the second. But fate again saved the emperor: on November 19, 1879, the locomotive of the “truck” broke down, so Alexander II’s train went first. Not knowing about this, the terrorists let it through and blew up another train. “What do they have against me, these unfortunate people? - the emperor said sadly. “Why are they chasing me like a wild animal?”

"In the Lair of the Beast"

And the “unlucky ones” were preparing a new blow, deciding to blow up Alexander II in his own home. Sofya Perovskaya learned that the Winter Palace was renovating the basements, including the wine cellar, “successfully” located directly under the imperial dining room. And soon a new carpenter appeared in the palace - Narodnaya Volya member Stepan Khalturin. Taking advantage of the amazing carelessness of the guards, he carried dynamite into the cellar every day, hiding it among building materials. On the evening of February 17, 1880, a gala dinner was planned in the palace in honor of the arrival of the Prince of Hesse in St. Petersburg. Khalturin set the bomb timer for 18.20. But chance intervened again: the prince’s train was half an hour late, dinner was postponed. The terrible explosion claimed the lives of 10 soldiers and injured another 80 people, but Alexander II remained unharmed. It was as if some mysterious force was taking death away from him.

"The honor of the party demands that the Tsar be killed"

...It was necessary to leave quickly, but the emperor got out of the carriage and headed towards the wounded. What was he thinking about at these moments? About the prediction of the Parisian gypsy? About the fact that he has now survived the sixth attempt, and the seventh will be the last? We will never know: a second terrorist ran up to the emperor, and a new explosion occurred. The prediction came true: the seventh attempt became fatal for the emperor...

Alexander II died on the same day in his palace. "Narodnaya Volya" was defeated, its leaders were executed. The bloody and senseless hunt for the emperor ended in the death of all its participants.

Russian Emperor Alexander II was born on April 29 (17 old style), 1818 in Moscow. The eldest son of the Emperor and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. After his father's accession to the throne in 1825, he was proclaimed heir to the throne.

Received an excellent education at home. His mentors were lawyer Mikhail Speransky, poet Vasily Zhukovsky, financier Yegor Kankrin and other outstanding minds of that time.

He inherited the throne on March 3 (February 18, old style) 1855 at the end of an unsuccessful campaign for Russia, which he managed to complete with minimal losses for the empire. He was crowned king in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin on September 8 (August 26, old style) 1856.

On the occasion of the coronation, Alexander II declared an amnesty for the Decembrists, Petrashevites, and participants in the Polish uprising of 1830-1831.

The transformations of Alexander II affected all areas of activity Russian society, shaping the economic and political contours of post-reform Russia.

On December 3, 1855, by imperial decree, the Supreme Censorship Committee was closed and discussion of government affairs became open.

In 1856, a secret committee was organized “to discuss measures to organize the life of the landowner peasants.”

On March 3 (February 19, old style), 1861, the emperor signed the Manifesto on the abolition of serfdom and the Regulations on peasants emerging from serfdom, for which they began to call him the “tsar-liberator.” The transformation of peasants into free labor contributed to capitalization Agriculture and the growth of factory production.

In 1864, by issuing the Judicial Statutes, Alexander II separated the judicial power from the executive, legislative and administrative powers, ensuring its complete independence. The process became transparent and competitive. The police, financial, university and all secular and spiritual were reformed education system generally. The year 1864 also marked the beginning of the creation of all-class zemstvo institutions, which were entrusted with the management of economic and other social issues locally. In 1870, on the basis of the City Regulations, city councils and councils appeared.

As a result of reforms in the field of education, self-government became the basis of the activities of universities, and secondary education for women was developed. Three Universities were founded - in Novorossiysk, Warsaw and Tomsk. Innovations in the press significantly limited the role of censorship and contributed to the development of the media.

By 1874, Russia had rearmed its army, created a system of military districts, and reorganized War Ministry, the officer training system was reformed, universal conscription was introduced, the term was shortened military service(from 25 to 15 years, including reserve service), corporal punishment was abolished.

The emperor also established the State Bank.

Internal and external wars Emperor Alexander II were victorious - the uprising that broke out in 1863 in Poland was suppressed, and the Caucasian War (1864) ended. According to the Aigun and Beijing treaties with the Chinese Empire, Russia annexed the Amur and Ussuri territories in 1858-1860. In 1867-1873, the territory of Russia increased due to the conquest of the Turkestan region and the Fergana Valley and the voluntary entry into vassal rights of the Bukhara Emirate and the Khanate of Khiva. At the same time, in 1867, the overseas possessions of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands were ceded to the United States, with which they established good relations. In 1877 Russia declared war Ottoman Empire. Türkiye suffered a defeat, which predetermined the state independence of Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania and Montenegro.

© Infographics

© Infographics

The reforms of 1861-1874 created the preconditions for a more dynamic development of Russia and strengthened the participation of the most active part of society in the life of the country. Back side transformations were the aggravation of social contradictions and the growth of the revolutionary movement.

Six attempts were made on the life of Alexander II, the seventh was the cause of his death. The first shot was shot by nobleman Dmitry Karakozov in the Summer Garden on April 17 (4 old style), April 1866. By luck, the emperor was saved by the peasant Osip Komissarov. In 1867, during a visit to Paris, Anton Berezovsky, a leader of the Polish liberation movement, attempted to assassinate the emperor. In 1879, the populist revolutionary Alexander Solovyov tried to shoot the emperor with several revolver shots, but missed. The underground terrorist organization "People's Will" purposefully and systematically prepared regicide. Terrorists carried out explosions on the royal train near Alexandrovsk and Moscow, and then in the Winter Palace itself.

The explosion in the Winter Palace forced the authorities to take extraordinary measures. To fight the revolutionaries, a Supreme Administrative Commission was formed, headed by the popular and authoritative General Mikhail Loris-Melikov at that time, who actually received dictatorial powers. He took harsh measures to combat the revolutionary terrorist movement, while at the same time pursuing a policy of bringing the government closer to the “well-intentioned” circles of Russian society. Thus, under him, in 1880, the Third Department of His Imperial Majesty’s Own Chancellery was abolished. Police functions were concentrated in the police department, formed within the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

On March 14 (old style 1), 1881, as a result of a new attack by the Narodnaya Volya, Alexander II received mortal wounds on the Ekaterininsky Canal (now the Griboyedov Canal) in St. Petersburg. The explosion of the first bomb thrown by Nikolai Rysakov damaged the royal carriage, wounded several guards and passers-by, but Alexander II survived. Then another thrower, Ignatius Grinevitsky, came close to the Tsar and threw a bomb at his feet. Alexander II died a few hours later in the Winter Palace and was buried in the family tomb of the Romanov dynasty in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. At the site of the death of Alexander II in 1907, the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood was erected.

In his first marriage, Emperor Alexander II was with Empress Maria Alexandrovna (nee Princess Maximiliana-Wilhelmina-Augusta-Sophia-Maria of Hesse-Darmstadt). The emperor entered into a second (morganatic) marriage with Princess Ekaterina Dolgorukova, bestowed with the title of Most Serene Princess Yuryevskaya, shortly before his death.

The eldest son of Alexander II and heir to the Russian throne, Nikolai Alexandrovich, died in Nice from tuberculosis in 1865, and the throne was inherited by the emperor's second son Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich (Alexander III).

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

Alexander II Nikolaevich (born April 17 (29), 1818 - death March 1 (13), 1881) - Emperor of All Russia, from. 1881, March 1 - the Tsar was mortally wounded on the embankment of the Catherine Canal in St. Petersburg by a bomb. Regicide - Narodnaya Volya I.I. Grinevitsky.

During the reign of Alexander 2, large-scale reforms were carried out, including peasant reform, and as a result, serfdom was abolished. For this the king was called the Liberator. At the same time, the era of Alexander 2 was characterized by an increase in public discontent. The number of peasant uprisings increased, and many protest groups emerged among the intelligentsia and workers. As a result, many attempts were made on the emperor's life.

All attempts on Alexander 2

The first attempt on the life of the sovereign was made in 1866. It was a member of a secret revolutionary organization, Dmitry Karakozov. The Emperor was walking with his nephews in the Summer Garden. A large crowd of onlookers watched this through the fence. When the walk was finished and the monarch was getting into the carriage, a shot rang out. The crowd nearly tore the shooter to pieces. To the king’s question “why did you shoot at me?” Karakozov answered boldly: “Your Majesty, you offended the peasants!” And yet, it was the peasant, Osip Komissarov, who pushed the hapless terrorist’s arm and saved the emperor from certain death. Karakozov was executed.

1867, May 25 - in Paris, Alexander II and the Emperor of France were traveling in an open carriage. Suddenly a man jumped out of the jubilant crowd and shot twice at the Russian emperor. Past! The Pole Anton Berezovsky attempted to take revenge for the suppression of the Polish uprising by Russian troops in 1863. A French court sentenced Berezovsky to lifelong hard labor in New Caledonia.

1879, April - Solovyov was chosen by a group of populists to carry out a terrorist attack. For several days he went out to the corner of Nevsky and Admiralteyskaya Square to watch the Emperor, who, as always, walked from the right entrance of the Winter Palace around the building of the Agricultural Museum and back. An assassination attempt was made by Solovyov in 1879, on April 2 after 8 o’clock in the morning - approaching, he shot at the sovereign several times, but missed. He was captured by security. He was executed on the Smolensk field.

1879, summer - the organization - "People's Will" decided to blow up the royal train on the route between St. Petersburg and Crimea, where the emperor vacationed every year. The terrorists, under the leadership of Sofia Perovskaya, knew that a freight train with luggage would travel first, and the sovereign and his retinue would follow in the second. However, fate saved the tsar again: 1879, November 19 - the locomotive of the “truck” broke down, so the imperial train went first. Unaware of the replacement, the terrorists missed it and blew up another train.

I learned that the Winter Palace is renovating the basements, including the wine cellar, which is “successfully” located right under the royal dining room. And soon a new carpenter appeared in Zimny ​​- Narodnaya Volya member Stepan Khalturin. Taking advantage of the carelessness of the guards, every day, for several months, he brought dynamite (3 pounds!) into the cellar. 1880, February 5 - in the evening a gala dinner was planned in the palace in honor of the arrival of the Prince of Hesse in St. Petersburg. Khalturin set the bomb timer for 18.20. However, chance intervened again: the prince's train arrived half an hour late, and dinner was postponed. The terrible explosion took the lives of 10 soldiers, another 80 (according to other sources 56) people were injured, but the monarch was not injured. It was as if some unknown force was taking death away from him.

Committee of the People's Will

1880, autumn - the Narodnaya Volya began preparing the next, and as it turned out, the last attempt on the life of Alexander 2. They monitored the movements of the sovereign: S.L. Perovskaya, I.I. Grinevitsky, A.V. Tyrkov, P.V. Tychinin, E.N. Olovennikova, E.M. Sidorenko, N.I. Rysakov. A dynamite workshop was set up on the Obvodny Canal, where a technical group consisting of Kibalchich, Isaev, Grachevsky, and Sukhanov made explosives.

Two options for the assassination attempt were considered: the use of a mine or the use of projectiles. On Malaya Sadovaya, No. 8, they dug a tunnel under the street from the basement of a rented shop. The following were involved in this: Bogdanovich, Barannikov, Zhelyabov, Trigoni, Langans, Frolenko and others, 10 people in total.

The mine was supposed to be detonated as the emperor passed by. If this did not work, the throwers were supposed to take over, but if the emperor remained alive even then, Zhelyabov, who was duplicated by Trigoni, was supposed to kill the king with a dagger. On the eve of the planned assassination attempt, Trigoni and Zhelyabov were arrested. 1881, February 28 - the remaining terrorists decided to act on their own. Sofya Perovskaya took over the leadership of the operation.

The last attempt on Nicholas 2

1881, February - Prime Minister Loris-Melikov reported to the emperor that, according to police information, the executive committee of Narodnaya Volya was preparing another attempt on his life, and the plans for this attempt could not be revealed. March 1, morning - Loris-Melikov once again warned the tsar about the impending danger. He earnestly asked the sovereign not to go that day to the parade in the arena, which was traditionally held on Sundays. Alexander 2 did not listen.

On the way back, when the carriage and escort were passing along the Neva embankment, the Narodnaya Volya member Rysakov threw a bomb under the sovereign’s carriage, which was fortified by a dugout. The carriage was damaged, several Circassians from the convoy were wounded by shrapnel, but the tsar was not injured. The coachman convinced the emperor not to get out of the carriage; he swore that even in the damaged carriage he could take the king to the palace. And yet the king came out.

Alexander inquired about the health of the wounded. Then he approached the terrorist, looked at him, and calmly said, “Well done.” Afterwards, he headed towards the carriage, at which time another terrorist, Grinevitsky, approached him, who was standing on the embankment with a package in which a bomb was hidden, and threw it between himself and the emperor so that both were killed.

The second explosion sounded stronger than the first. The Tsar and his assassin, both mortally wounded, sat almost side by side in the snow, resting their hands on the ground, their backs against the canal grate. The confusion of all those who were nearby led to the fact that no assistance was provided to the sovereign on the spot. For some time there was no one near him at all!

The monarch's clothes were partially burned or torn off by the explosion, Alexander was half naked. His right leg was torn off, his left leg was crushed and almost separated from his body. The face and head were also injured.

Then the cadets who were returning from the parade, the gendarmerie captain Kolyubakin, ran up to him... Those who ran up helped carry the sovereign into the sleigh. Someone suggested bringing the king into the first house. Alexander 2 heard this and whispered:

To the palace... To die there...

In the same state of panic, they carried him from the sleigh into the palace, not on a stretcher, not even on a chair, but in their arms. It was difficult for the crowd to squeeze into the palace door. They broke down the door, still holding a half-naked, burned, dying man in their arms. The sovereign was carried along the marble steps of the stairs, then along the corridor to his office.

There, some time later, he died. March 1 (13 New Style) 1881 shocked all of Russia. On this day, the life of the reformer Tsar Alexander 2 was cut short.

The trial of the Narodnaya Volya

The organizers and perpetrators of the assassination attempt were convicted and sentenced to death by hanging. The sentence was carried out on April 3, 1881. The execution was carried out on the Semenovsky parade ground in St. Petersburg. Perovskaya, Zhelyabov, Mikhailov Kibalchich and Rysakov were hanged. Standing on the scaffold, the Narodnaya Volya members said goodbye to each other. Subsequently, those executed began to be called March 1st, since the attempt was committed on March 1.