Alexander_II_of

:''For other people who went by the same title, see [[Alexander II]].''
{{Infobox_Monarch | name = Alexander II
| title = Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias
| image = [[Image:Tsar Alexander II -6.jpg|Alexander II of Russia|centre|220px]]
| reign = [[March 3]] [[1855]]-[[March 1]] [[1881]]
| coronation = [[September 7]] [[1856]]
| predecessor = [[Nicholas I of Russia|Nicholas I]]
| successor = [[Alexander III of Russia|Alexander III]]
| consort = [[Marie of Hesse and by Rhine]]
| issue = [[Grand Duchess Alexandra Alexandrovna of Russia|Grand Duchess Alexandra Alexandrovna]]<br>[[Nicholas Alexandrovich, Tsarevich of Russia|Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich]]<br>[[Alexander III of Russia|Tsar Alexander III (Alexandrovich)]]<br>[[Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia|Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna]]<br>[[Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia|Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich]]<br>[[Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia|Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich]]<br>[[Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia|Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich]]<br>[[Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia|Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich]]
| royal house = [[Romanov|House of Romanov]]
| royal anthem =
| father = [[Nicholas I of Russia|Nicholas I]]
| mother = [[Alexandra Fyodorovna (Charlotte of Prussia)|Charlotte of Prussia]]
| date of birth = {{birth date|1818|4|29|mf=y}}
| place of birth = [[Moscow]]
| date of death = {{death date and age|1881|3|13|1818|4|29|mf=y}}
| place of death = [[St. Petersburg]]
| place of burial = [[Peter and Paul Cathedral]]
|}}

'''Alexander (Aleksandr) II Nikolaevich''' ([[Russian language|Russian]]: ''Александр II Николаевич'') ([[Moscow]], [[29 April]] [[1818]] – [[13 March]] [[1881]] in [[St. Petersburg]]) was the Tsar (or Emperor) of the [[Russian Empire]] from [[3 March]] [[1855]] until his [[assassination]] in 1881. He was also the [[Grand Duke of Finland]] and [[King of Poland]] until 1867 when it was annexed into the [[Russian Empire]].

==Early life==
Born in 1818, he was the eldest son of Tsar [[Nicholas I of Russia|Nicholas I]] and [[Alexandra Fyodorovna (Charlotte of Prussia)|Charlotte of Prussia]], daughter of [[Frederick William III of Prussia]] and [[Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]. His early life gave little indication of his ultimate potential; until the time of his accession in 1855, few imagined that he would be known to posterity as a leader able to implement the most challenging reforms undertaken in Russia since the reign of [[Peter the Great]].

In the period of over thirty-six years during which he was [[heir apparent]], the atmosphere of [[Saint Petersburg, Russia|St Petersburg]] was unfavourable to the development of any intellectual or political innovation. Government was based on principles under which all [[freedom of thought]] and all private initiative were, as far as possible, suppressed vigorously. Personal and official [[censorship]] was rife; criticism of the authorities was regarded as a serious offence. This was also regarded as one of the reasons which led to his assassination.

Under supervision of the liberal poet [[Vasily Zhukovsky]], Alexander received the education commonly given to young Russians of good family at that time: a smattering of a great many subjects, and exposure to the chief modern [[Europe]]an [[European languages|languages]]. He took little personal interest in military affairs, but did take a personal interest in Vasily Zhukovsky, with whom he embarked on a short and fleeting sexual relationship. To the disappointment of his father, who was passionate about the [[military]], he showed no love of soldiering. Alexander gave evidence of a kind disposition and a tender-heartedness which were considered out of place in one destined to become a military [[autocrat]].

== Tsardom ==
Alexander II succeeded to the throne upon the death of his father in 1855. 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 counselor, [[Alexander Gorchakov|Prince Gorchakov]]. Then he began a period of radical reforms, encouraged by public opinion but carried out with autocratic power. All who had any pretensions to enlightenment declared loudly that the country had been exhausted and humiliated by the war, and that the only way of restoring it to its proper position in Europe was to develop its [[natural resource]]s and thoroughly to reform all branches of the administration. The government therefore found in the educated classes a new-born public spirit, anxious to assist it in any work of reform that it might think fit to undertake.
[[Image:Coronation of Tsar Alexander II -2.jpg|thumb|right|320px|<center>Painting by Mihály Zichy of the coronation of Tsar Alexander II and the [[Empress Maria Alexandrovna]], which took place on August 26/September 7, 1856 at the [[Cathedral of the Dormition|Dormition Cathedral]] of the [[Moscow Kremlin]]. The painting depicts the moment of the coronation in which the Tsar crowns his Empress]]

Fortunately for Russia the autocratic power was now in the hands of a man who was impressionable enough to be deeply influenced by the spirit of the time, and who had sufficient prudence and practicality to prevent his being carried away by the prevailing excitement into the dangerous region of [[Utopia]]n dreaming. Unlike some of his predecessors, he had no grand, original schemes of his own to impose by force on unwilling subjects, and no pet projects to lead his judgment astray. He looked instinctively with a suspicious, critical eye upon the panaceas which more imaginative and less cautious people recommended. These character traits, together with the peculiar circumstances in which he was placed, determined the part he would play in bringing to fruition the reform aspirations of the educated classes.

However, the growth of a [[Revolution|revolutionary movement]] to the "left" of the educated classes led to an abrupt end to Alexander's changes when he was assassinated by a bomb in 1881. It is interesting to note that after Alexander became tsar in 1855, he maintained a generally liberal course at the helm while providing a target for numerous assassination attempts (1866, 1873, 1880).

== Emancipation of the serfs ==
{{main|Emancipation reform of 1861 in Russia}}
Though he carefully guarded his autocratic rights and privileges, and obstinately resisted all efforts to push him farther than he felt inclined to go, Alexander for several years acted somewhat like a constitutional sovereign of the continental type. Soon after the conclusion of peace, important changes were made in legislation concerning industry and commerce, and the new freedom thus afforded produced a large number of [[limited liability company|limited liability companies]]. Plans were formed for building a great network of [[railroad|railways]] — partly for the purpose of developing the natural resources of the country, and partly for the purpose of increasing its power for defence and attack.

Then it was found that further progress was blocked by a formidable obstacle: the existence of [[serfdom]]. Alexander showed that, unlike his father, he meant to grapple boldly with this difficult and dangerous problem. Taking advantage of a petition presented by the [[Poland|Polish]] [[landed proprietor]]s of the [[Lithuania]]n provinces, and hoping that their relations with the serfs might be regulated in a more satisfactory way (meaning in a way more satisfactory for the proprietors), he 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.
[[Image:Cartetsar.JPG|thumb|right|200px|<center>Tsar Alexander II and his wife, Empress Maria, with their son, the future [[Tsar Alexander III]]]]

This step was followed by one still more significant. Without consulting his ordinary advisers, Alexander ordered the Minister of the Interior to send a circular to the provincial governors of [[European Russia]], containing a copy of the instructions forwarded to the [[Governor-General|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.

The deliberations at once raised a host of important, thorny questions. The emancipation was not merely a humanitarian question capable of being solved instantaneously by imperial ''[[ukase]]''. It contained very complicated problems, deeply affecting the economic, social and political future of the nation.

Alexander had little of the special knowledge required for dealing successfully with such problems, and he had to restrict himself to choosing between the different measures recommended to him. The main point at issue was whether the serfs should become agricultural labourers dependent economically and administratively on the landlords, or whether they should be transformed into 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 [[Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia|Konstantin]], [[Yakov Rostovtsev]], and [[Nikolay Milyutin]]. On [[March 3]] [[1861]], the sixth anniversary of his accession, the emancipation law was signed and published.

==Other reforms==
Other reforms followed: [[army]] and [[navy]] re-organization (1874); a new judicial administration based on the [[France|French]] model (1864); a new [[penal code]] and [[Judicial reform of Alexander II|a greatly simplified system of civil and criminal procedure]]; 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 [[MVD (Russia)|Minister of the Interior]]. Alexander II would be the second monarch to abolish [[capital punishment]], a penalty which is still legal (although not practiced) in [[Russia]].

However, the workers wanted better working conditions; national minorities wanted freedom. When radicals began to resort to the formation of [[Secret society|secret societies]] and to revolutionary agitation, Alexander II felt constrained to adopt severe repressive measures.

Alexander II resolved to try the effect of some moderate liberal reforms in an attempt to quell the revolutionary agitation, and for this purpose he instituted a [[ukase]] for creating special commissions, composed of high officials and private personages who should prepare reforms in various branches of the administration.

==Marriages and children==
{{wikisourcepar|Scribner's Monthly Magazine/Volume 3/Issue 2/The Imperial Family of Russia|an intimate glimpse into the family life of Alexander II (1871)}}

During his bachelor days, Alexander made a state visit to England in 1838. Just a year older than the young [[Queen Victoria]], Alexander took a liking to his distant cousin. The fondness however, was short-lived. While Victoria married her German cousin, [[Prince Albert]] in February 1840, Alexander became a husband the next year. On [[April 16]] [[1841]] he married [[Marie of Hesse and by Rhine|Princess Marie of Hesse]] in St Petersburg, thereafter known as [[Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia|Maria Alexandrovna]]. The Tsarevitch claimed to be deeply in love with the young Princess and vowed to marry no one else. Marie was the legal daughter of [[Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine]] and [[Wilhelmina of Baden|Princess Wilhelmina of Baden]], although there was a question of whether the Grand Duke or her mother's lover, [[August von Senarclens de Grancy|Baron August von Senarclens de Grancy]], was her actual father. Alexander was aware of the question of her [[paternity]]. The marriage produced six sons and two daughters:

{| border=1 style="border-collapse: collapse;"
|- bgcolor=cccccc
!Name!!Birth!!Death!!Notes
|-
|[[Grand Duchess Alexandra Alexandrovna of Russia|Grand Duchess Alexandra Alexandrovna]]||[[August 30]] [[1842]]||[[July 10]] [[1849]]||nicknamed Lina, died of [[meningitis|infant meningitis]] in [[St. Petersburg]] at the age of six
|-
|[[Nicholas Alexandrovich, Tsarevich of Russia|Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich]]||[[September 20]] [[1843]]||[[April 24]] [[1865]]||engaged to [[Dagmar of Denmark]]
|-
|[[Alexander III of Russia|Tsar Alexander III]]||[[March 10]] [[1845]]||[[November 1]] [[1894]]||married [[1866]], [[Dagmar of Denmark]]; had issue
|-
|[[Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia|Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich]]||[[April 22]] [[1847]]||[[February 17]] [[1909]]||married [[1874]], [[Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (Maria Pavlovna of Russia)|Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin]]; had issue
|-
|[[Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia|Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich]]||[[January 14]] [[1850]]||[[November 14]] [[1908]]||married [[1867]]/[[1870]], Alexandra Vasilievna Zhukovskaya; had issue
|-
|[[Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia|Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna]]||[[October 17]] [[1853]]||[[October 20]] [[1920]]||married [[1874]], [[Duke Alfred of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha|Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh]]; had issue
|-
|[[Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia|Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich]]||[[April 29]] [[1857]]||[[February 4]] [[1905]]||married [[1884]], [[Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna|Elizabeth of Hesse]];  
|-
|[[Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia|Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich]]||[[October 3]] [[1860]]||[[January 24]] [[1919]]||married [[1889]], [[Alexandra Georgievna of Greece|Alexandra of Greece and Denmark]]; had issue - second marriage [[1902]], [[Olga Valerianovna Paley|Olga Karnovich]]; had issue
|}

Alexander had many mistresses during his marriage and fathered 7 known illegitimate children. These included Antoinette Bayer ([[20 June]] [[1856]]-[[24 January]] [[1948]]) with his mistress Wilhelmine Bayer; Michael-Bogdan Oginski ([[10 October]] [[1848]]-[[25 March]] [[1909]]) with mistress Countess Olga Kalinovskya ([[1818]]-[[1854]]); and Joseph Raboxicz.

On [[July 6]] [[1880]], less than a month after Tsarina Maria's death on [[June 8]], Alexander formed a [[morganatic marriage]] with his mistress Princess [[Catherine Dolgorukov]], with whom he already had four children.
* George Alexandrovich Romanov Yurievsky ([[12 May]] [[1872]]-[[13 September]] [[1913]]). Married Countess Alexandra Zarnekau and had issue. They later divorced.
* Olga Alexandrovna Romanov Yurievsky ([[7 November]] [[1874]]-[[10 August]] [[1925]]). Married Count George von [[Merenberg]].
* Boris Alexandrovich Yurievsky ([[23 February]] [[1876]] - [[11 April]] [[1876]]).
* Catherine Alexandrovna Romanov Yurievsky ([[9 September]] [[1878]]-[[22 December]] [[1959]]). Married first Prince Alexander V. Bariatinsky and second Prince Serge Obolensky, whom she later divorced.

==Suppression of national movements==
At the beginning of his reign, Alexander expressed the famous statement "No dreams" addressed for Poles, populating [[Congress Poland]], Western [[Ukraine]], [[Lithuania]], [[Livonia]] and [[Belarus]]. The result was the [[January Uprising]] of 1863-4 that was suppressed after eighteen months of fighting. Thousands of Poles were executed, tens of thousands were deported to [[Siberia]]. The price for suppression was Russian support for Prussian-united Germany. Twenty years later, Germany became the major enemy of Russia on continent.

All territories of the former [[Poland-Lithuania]] were excluded from liberal policies introduced by Alexander. The [[martial law]] in Lithuania, introduced in 1863, lasted for the next 50 years. Native languages, [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]], [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]] and [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]] were completely banned from printed texts, see, e.g., [[Ems Ukase]]. The [[Polish language]] was banned in both oral and written form from all provinces except [[Congress Kingdom]], where it was allowed in private conversations only.

==Rewarding loyalty and encouraging Finnish nationalism==
[[Image:Alexander II (Romanov) monument in Helsinki, Finland.jpg|thumb|240px|<center>The monument to Alexander II "The Liberator" at the [[Helsinki Senate Square|Senate Square]] in Helsinki was erected in 1894. The date "1863" refers to the reopening of the [[Diet of Finland]]]]
In [[1863]] Alexander II re-established the [[Diet of Finland]] and initiated several reforms increasing Finland's autonomy from Russia including establishment of own [[currency]], the ''[[Markka]]''. Liberation of enterprise lead to increased [[Foreign direct investment|foreign investment]] and industrial development. And finally the elevation of [[Finnish language|Finnish]] from a language of the common people to a [[national language]] equal to [[Finland Swedish|Swedish]] opened opportunities for a larger proportion of the society. Alexander II is still regarded as "The Good Tsar" in Finland.

Alexander's attitude towards Finland could be seen as genuine belief in reforms in that reforms were easier to test in a small, homogeneous country than the whole of Russia. The benevolent treatment of Finland may also be seen as a reward for the loyalty of its relatively western oriented population during the [[Crimean war]] and during the [[January Uprising|Polish uprising]]. Encouraging Finnish [[nationalism]] and language can also be seen as an attempt to weaken the strong ties with Sweden.

==Assassination attempts==
In 1866 there was an attempt on his life in [[Petersburg]] by [[Dmitry Karakozov]]. To commemorate his narrow escape from death (that he referred to only as "the event of April 4, 1866"), a number of churches and chapels were built in many Russian cities.

On the morning of [[April 20]], [[1879]], Alexander II was walking towards the Square of the Guards Staff and faced [[Alexander Soloviev (Revolutionary)|Alexander Soloviev]], a 33 year-old former student. Having seen a revolver in his hands, the Tsar ran away; Soloviev fired five times but missed. He was sentenced to death and hanged on [[May 28]].

The student acted on his own, but other revolutionaries were keen to kill Alexander. In December 1879, 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 Tsar's train. Subsequently, on the evening of [[February 5]], [[1880]] the same revolutionaries set off a charge under the dining room of the [[Winter Palace]], right in the resting room of the guards a story below. Being late for supper, the Tsar was not harmed, although 67 other people were killed or wounded. The dining room floor was also heavily damaged.

== Assassination ==
[[Image:AlexanderII of Russia(monument).jpg|thumb|220px|right|<center>The new [[Monument to Alexander II (Moscow)|monument to Alexander II]] in front of the [[Cathedral of Christ the Saviour]] in Moscow]]
After the last assassination attempt, [[Michael Tarielovich, Count Loris-Melikov|Count Loris-Melikov]] was appointed the head of the Supreme Executive Commission and given extraordinary powers to fight the revolutionaries. Loris-Melikov's proposals called for some form of parliamentary body, and the Emperor seemed to agree; these plans were never realized as on [[March 13]] ([[March 1]] [[Old Style and New Style dates|Old Style Date]]), 1881 Alexander fell victim to an [[assassination]] plot.

As he had done every Sunday for a score of years, the tsar went to the Manege to review the Life Guards of the Reserve Infantry and the Life Guards of the Sapper Battalion regiments. He traveled both to and from the Menege in a closed carriage accompanied by six [[Cossacks]] with a seventh sitting on the coachman's left. The tsar's carriage was followed by two sleighs carrying, among other, the chief of police and the chief of the tsar's guards. The route, as always, was via the Catherine Canal and over the Pevchesky Bridge.

The street was flanked by narrow sidewalks on both the right and left side. A short young man wearing a heavy black overcoat edged towards the imperial carriage making its way down the street. He was carrying a small white package wrapped in a handkerchief. The youth was [[Nikolai Rysakov]],
<blockquote>
"After a moment's hesitation I threw the bomb. I sent it under the horses' hooves in the supposition that it would blow up under the carriage...The explosion knocked me into the fence."<ref>Radzinsky, Edvard, ''Alexander II: The Last Great Tsar'',(Freepress 2005) p. 413</ref>
</blockquote>

The explosion, while killing one of the Cossacks and seriously wounding the driver and people on the sidewalk, several critically, had only damaged the carriage. The tsar emerged shaken but unhurt. Rysakov was captured almost immediately. Police Chief Dvorzhitsky heard Rysakov shout out to someone in the gathering crowd. Realizing there was another (if not more than one) bomber near by he urged the tsar to leave the area at once. Alexander agreed to do so but only after he had been shown the site of the explosion. Completely surrounded by the guards and the Cossacks, the tsar made his way over to the hole in the street. It was then that a young man, [[Ignacy Hryniewiecki]], standing by the canal fence, raised up both arms and threw something at the tsar's feet. Dvorzhitsky was later to write:
[[Image:Church of the Savior on Blood.jpg|thumb|220px|left|<center>The [[Church of the Savior on Blood]] commemorates the spot where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated]]

<blockquote>
"I was deafened by the new explosion, burned, wounded and thrown to the ground. Suddenly, amid the smoke and snowy fog, I heard His Majesty's weak voice cry, 'Help!' Gathering what strength I had, I jumped up and rushed to the tsar. His Majesty was half-lying, half-sitting, leaning on his right arm. Thinking he was merely wounded heavily, I tried to lift him but the tsar's legs were shattered, and the blood poured out of them. Twenty people, with wounds of varying degree, lay on the sidewalk and on the street. Some managed to stand, others to crawl, still others tried to get out from beneath bodies that had fallen on them. Through the snow, debris, and blood you could see fragments of clothing, epaulets, sabers, and bloody chunks of human flesh."<ref>Ibid.p.415</ref>
</blockquote>

Later it was learned there was a third bomber in the crowd. [[Ivan Emelyanov]] stood ready, clutching a briefcase containing a bomb that would be used if the other two bombs, and bombers, failed.

Alexander was carried by sleigh to the Winter Palace, up the marble staircase, a trail of blood in his wake, and in to his study where, twenty-five years before almost to the date, he had signed the Emancipation Edict freeing the serfs. Alexander with both legs destroyed, was bleeding to death. Members of the Romanov family came rushing to the scene. One of them was the quiet, sensitive thirteen year old boy named Nicky, elder son of the [[Alexander III of Russia|heir-apparent Alexander]]; the boy would grow up to be tsar in his own right, Nicholas II.

<P>The dying tsar was given Communion and Extreme Unction. There was nothing to do now but wait. When asked how long it would be, the attending physician Dr. S.P. Borkin replied, "Up to fifteen minutes"<ref>Ibid. 419</ref>
At 3:30 that day the standard of Alexander II was lowered for the last time.

<p>The assassination also caused a great setback for the reform movement. One of Alexander II's last ideas was to draft up plans for an elected parliament, or [[Duma]], which were completed the day before he died but not yet released to the Russian people. The first action Alexander III took after his coronation was to tear up those plans. A Duma would not come into fruition until 1905, by Alexander II's grandson, [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]], who commissioned the Duma following heavy pressure on the monarchy by the [[Russian Revolution of 1905]].

<p>A second consequence of the assassination was anti-Jewish [[pogroms]] and [[May Laws|legislation]], deriving in part from the fact that one of those implicated in the assassination, [[Gesya Gelfman]], was of Jewish origin.

<p>A third consequence of the assassination was that suppression of civil liberties in Russia and [[police brutality]] burst back with a full force after experiencing some restraint under the reign of Alexander II. Alexander II's murder and subsequent death was witnessed firsthand by his son, Alexander III, and his grandson, Nicholas II, both future Tsars, who vowed not to have the same fate befall them. Both used the Okhrana to arrest protestors and uproot suspected rebel groups, creating further suppression of personal freedom for the Russian people.

<br style="clear:both;">

==Ancestors==
<div style="clear: both; width: 100%; padding: 0; text-align: left; border: none;" class="NavFrame">
<div style="background: #ccddcc; text-align: center; border: 1px solid #667766" class="NavHead">'''Ancestors of Alexander II of Russia'''
</div>
<div class="NavContent" style="display:none;">
<center>{{ahnentafel-compact5
|style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%;
|border=1
|boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Alexander II of Russia'''
|2= 2. [[Nicholas I of Russia]]
|3= 3. [[Charlotte of Prussia]]
|4= 4. [[Paul I of Russia]]
|5= 5. [[Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg)|Sophie Dorothea of Württemburg]]
|6= 6. [[Frederick William III of Prussia]]
|7= 7. [[Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|8= 8. [[Peter III of Russia]]
|9= 9. [[Catherine II of Russia]]
|10= 10. [[Friedrich II Eugen, Duke of Württemberg]]
|11= 11. [[Friederike Dorothea of Brandenburg-Schwedt]]
|12= 12. [[Frederick William II of Prussia]]
|13= 13. [[Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt]]
|14= 14. [[Charles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]
|15= 15. [[Friederike Caroline Luise of Hesse-Darmstadt]]
|16= 16. [[Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp]]
|17= 17. [[Anna Petrovna of Russia]]
|18= 18. [[Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst]]
|19= 19. [[Johanna Elisabeth, Princess of Holstein-Gottorp]]
|20= 20. [[Karl Alexander, Duke of Württemberg]]
|21= 21. [[Maria Augusta Anna of Thurn and Taxis]]
|22= 22. [[Friedrich Wilhelm, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt]]
|23= 23. [[Sophie Dorothea Marie, Princess of Prussia]]
|24= 24. [[Prince Augustus William of Prussia]]
|25= 25. [[Louise Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg]]
|26= 26. [[Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt]]
|27= 27. [[Karoline of Zweibrücken]]
|28= 28. [[Charles Louis Frederick, Duke of Mecklenburg-Mirow]]
|29= 29. [[Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen]]
|30= 30. [[Georg Wilhelm of Hesse-Darmstadt]]
|31= 31. [[Maria of Leiningen-Dagsburg]]
}}</center>
</div></div>

==See also==
*[[Tsars of Russia family tree]]

==Gallery==
<center><gallery>
Image:Tsar Alexander II -4.JPG|<center>Portrait of Tsar Alexander II wearing the greatcoat and cap of the Imperial Horse-Guards Regiment. circa 1865
Image:Tsar Alexander II -3 cropped.JPG|<center>Photo of Tsar Alexander II. 1871
Image:Tsar-liberator-imagesfrombulgaria.jpg|<center>The [[Monument to the Tsar Liberator]] in [[Sofia]] commemorates Alexander II's decisive role in the [[Liberation of Bulgaria]] from Ottoman rule during the [[Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78]].
Image:Chenstokhov.jpg|<center>A monument to Alexander II in [[Jasna Góra Monastery|Częstochowa]], the spiritual heart of [[Poland]].
</gallery>
</center>

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{citation style}}
*{{1911}}

==Further reading==
*Moss, Walter G., ''Alexander II and His Times: A Narrative History of Russia in the Age of Alexander II, Tolstoy, and Dostoevsky''. London: Anthem Press, 2002 (available [http://www.emich.edu/public/history/moss/ online])
*[[Edvard Radzinsky|Radzinsky, Edvard]], ''Alexander II: The Last Great Tsar''. New York: [[Free Press|The Free Press]], 2005

==External links==
{{Commons|Alexander II of Russia}}
{{wikisource author|Alexander II Nikolaevitch}}
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/inourtime_20050106.shtml The Assassination of Tsar Alexander II] from [[In Our Time (BBC Radio 4)|''In Our Time'' (BBC Radio 4)]]
*[http://www.alexandrite.net/chapters/chapter1/ Insidious Siberian]

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{{s-hou|[[Romanov|House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov]]|17 April|1818|13 March|1881|[[House of Oldenburg]] }}
{{s-reg}}
{{succession box|title=[[List of Russian rulers|Emperor of Russia]]|before=[[Nicholas I of Russia|Nicholas I]]|after=[[Alexander III of Russia|Alexander III]]|years=[[March 2]], [[1855]]–[[March 13]], [[1881]]}}
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{{Russian emperors}}
{{House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov}}


{{Persondata
|NAME=Alexander II
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Nikolaevich, Aleksandr II
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=Emperor of Russia
|DATE OF BIRTH= {{birth date|1818|4|17|mf=y}}
|PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Moscow]]
|DATE OF DEATH= {{death date|1881|3|13|mf=y}}
|PLACE OF DEATH= [[St. Petersburg]]
}}
[[Category:Russian emperors]]
[[Category:House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov]]
[[Category:Rulers of Finland]]
[[Category:Orthodox monarchs]]
[[Category:Russian people of the Crimean War]]
[[Category:Murdered Russian monarchs]]
[[Category:Assassinated Russian people]]
[[Category:Assassinated monarchs]]
[[Category:Knights of the Garter]]
[[Category:Knights of the Golden Fleece]]
[[Category:People from Moscow]]
[[Category:1818 births]]
[[Category:1881 deaths]]
[[Category:Grandchildren of Paul I of Russia]]

[[ar:ألكسندر الثاني]]
[[bg:Александър II (Русия)]]
[[ca:Alexandre II de Rússia]]
[[cs:Alexandr II. Nikolajevič]]
[[cy:Alexander II o Rwsia]]
[[da:Alexander 2. af Rusland]]
[[de:Alexander II. (Russland)]]
[[et:Aleksander II]]
[[es:Alejandro II de Rusia]]
[[eo:Aleksandro la 2-a (Rusio)]]
[[fr:Alexandre II de Russie]]
[[gl:Alexandre II de Rusia]]
[[ko:러시아의 알렉산드르 2세]]
[[hr:Aleksandar II., ruski car]]
[[io:Aleksandr 2ma]]
[[it:Alessandro II di Russia]]
[[he:אלכסנדר השני, קיסר רוסיה]]
[[ka:ალექსანდრე II (რუსეთი)]]
[[lv:Aleksandrs II]]
[[lt:Aleksandras II (Rusija)]]
[[hu:II. Sándor orosz cár]]
[[mr:झार अलेक्झांडर दुसरा]]
[[nl:Alexander II van Rusland]]
[[ja:アレクサンドル2世]]
[[no:Aleksander II av Russland]]
[[nn:Aleksander II av Russland]]
[[pl:Aleksander II Romanow]]
[[pt:Alexandre II da Rússia]]
[[ro:Alexandru al II-lea al Rusiei]]
[[ru:Александр II]]
[[sr:Александар II Романов]]
[[sh:Aleksandar II., ruski car]]
[[fi:Aleksanteri II (Venäjä)]]
[[sv:Alexander II av Ryssland]]
[[tr:II. Aleksandr (Rusya)]]
[[uk:Олександр ІІ (російський імператор)]]
[[zh:亚历山大二世 (俄国)]]