Alexander III Alexandrovich Romanov
Years of life: February 26, 1845, Anichkov Palace, St. Petersburg - October 20, 1894, Livadia Palace, Crimea.

Son of Maria Alexandrovna, recognized daughter of Grand Duke Ludwig II of Hesse and Emperor.

Emperor of All Russia (March 1 (13), 1881 - October 20 (November 1), 1894), Tsar of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from March 1, 1881.

From the Romanov dynasty.

He was awarded a special epithet in pre-revolutionary historiography - Peacemaker.

Biography of Alexander III

He was the 2nd son in the imperial family. Born on February 26 (March 10), 1845 in Tsarskoye Selo, his elder brother was preparing to inherit the throne.

The mentor who had a strong influence on his worldview was K.P. Pobedonostsev.

As crown prince, he became a member of the State Council, commander of guards units and ataman of all Cossack troops.

During the Russian-Turkish War of 1877–1878. he was the commander of the Separate Rushchuk detachment in Bulgaria. Created the Voluntary Fleet of Russia (since 1878), which became the core of the country's merchant fleet and the reserve of the Russian navy.

After the death of his elder brother Nicholas in 1865, he became heir to the throne.

In 1866, he married the fiancee of his deceased brother, the daughter of the Danish king Christian IX, Princess Sophia Frederica Dagmar, who took the name Maria Feodorovna in Orthodoxy.

Emperor Alexander 3

Having ascended the throne after the assassination of Alexander II on March 1 (13), 1881. (his father’s legs were blown off by a terrorist bomb, and his son spent the last hours of his life next to him), canceled the draft constitutional reform signed by his father immediately before his death. He stated that Russia would pursue a peaceful policy and deal with internal problems - strengthening the autocracy.

His manifesto on April 29 (May 11), 1881 reflected the program of domestic and foreign policy. The main priorities were: maintaining order and power, strengthening church piety and ensuring the national interests of Russia.

Reforms of Alexander 3

The Tsar created the state Peasant Land Bank to issue loans to peasants for the purchase of land, and also issued a number of laws that alleviated the situation of workers.

Alexander 3 pursued a tough policy of Russification, which encountered opposition from some Finns and Poles.
After Bismarck's resignation from the post of Chancellor of Germany in 1893, Alexander III Alexandrovich entered into an alliance with France (French-Russian alliance).

In foreign policy, for years of reign of Alexander 3 Russia has firmly taken a leading position in Europe. Possessing enormous physical strength, the tsar symbolized the power and invincibility of Russia for other states. One day, the Austrian ambassador began to threaten him during lunch, promising to move a couple of army corps to the borders. The king listened silently, then took a fork from the table, tied it in a knot and threw it on the ambassador's plate. “This is what we will do with your couple of buildings,” answered the king.

Domestic policy of Alexander 3

Court etiquette and ceremony became much simpler. He significantly reduced the staff of the Ministry of the Court, the number of servants was reduced and strict control over the expenditure of money was introduced. At the same time, huge amounts of money were spent on purchasing art objects, since the emperor was a passionate collector. Under him, Gatchina Castle turned into a warehouse of priceless treasures, which later became a true national treasure of Russia.

Unlike all his predecessor rulers on the Russian throne, he adhered to strict family morals and was an exemplary family man - a loving husband and a good father. He was one of the most devout Russian sovereigns, firmly adhered to the Orthodox canons, willingly donated to monasteries, to the construction of new churches and the restoration of ancient ones.
He was passionate about hunting and fishing, and boating. The emperor's favorite hunting spot was Belovezhskaya Pushcha. He participated in archaeological excavations and loved to play the trumpet in a brass band.

The family had very warm relations. Every year the wedding date was celebrated. Evenings for children were often organized: circus and puppet shows. Everyone was attentive to each other and gave gifts.

The emperor was very hardworking. And yet, despite a healthy lifestyle, he died young, before reaching the age of 50, completely unexpectedly. In October 1888, the royal train crashed near Kharkov. There were many casualties, but the royal family remained intact. With incredible efforts, Alexander held the collapsed roof of the carriage on his shoulders until help arrived.

But soon after this incident, the emperor began to complain of lower back pain. Doctors came to the conclusion that the terrible concussion from the fall was the onset of kidney disease. At the insistence of Berlin doctors, he was sent to Crimea, to Livadia, but the disease progressed.

On October 20, 1894, the emperor died. He was buried in St. Petersburg, in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
The death of Emperor Alexander III caused an echo throughout the world, flags were lowered in France, and memorial services were held in all churches in England. Many foreign figures called him a peacemaker.

The Marquis of Salisbury said: “Alexander III saved Europe many times from the horrors of war. From his deeds the rulers of Europe should learn how to govern their people.”

He was married to the daughter of the Danish king Christian IX, Dagmara of Denmark (Maria Feodorovna). They had children:

• Nicholas II (May 18, 1868 - July 17, 1918),
• Alexander (May 20, 1869 - April 21, 1870),
• Georgy Alexandrovich (April 27, 1871 - June 28, 1899),
• Ksenia Alexandrovna (April 6, 1875 - April 20, 1960, London), also Romanova by marriage,
• Mikhail Alexandrovich (December 5, 1878 - June 13, 1918),
• Olga Alexandrovna (June 13, 1882 - November 24, 1960).

He had a military rank - general-from-infantry, general-from-cavalry (Russian Imperial Army). The emperor was distinguished by his enormous stature.

In 1883, the so-called “coronation ruble” was issued in honor of the coronation of Alexander III.

The foreign policy of Alexander 3 often falls out of the children's memory, since it seems that nothing much happened during his reign. After all, he went down in the history of Russia as the Peacemaker - which means there were no wars - you don’t have to figure it out!

In fact, you can’t think like that: there are no topics in history in which you don’t need to learn anything. We bring to your attention a lesson summary for grade 8, in which this topic should be discussed in class.

Speaking of the internal politics of this king.

Contents briefly

The reign of Alexander III was one of the most peaceful in the entire history of the Russian Empire, for which people called him “the peacemaker.” But it was also a time of curtailing the reforms carried out by Alexander II. The emperor explained this by saying that the reforms gave a lot of freedom to people, which is why his father Alexander II died - his carriage was blown up by terrorists from Narodnaya Volya.

The foreign policy of Alexander 3 was restrained, peaceful and balanced. It was possible to establish friendship with the leading powers - England and France. The emperor was the guarantor of stability in Europe and the Asian possessions. Several large-scale wars were stopped, including with Japan. Military-political blocs were created: the “Triple Alliance” and the Franco-Russian Alliance, and the “Union of Three Emperors” was updated. The Trans-Siberian Railway was laid.

Main events

Key events with dates to keep in mind before the exam.

• 1881 - annexation of Ashgabat, creation of the Transcaspian region
• 1881, June 6 (new style 18) - creation of the updated “Union of the Three Emperors” (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia)
• 1885 - rapprochement with England
• 1887 - conclusion of a treaty with Germany
• 1882 - registration of the “Triple Alliance” with Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy, the first military-political bloc
• 1890 - “Trade War” with Germany
• 1891 - start of construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway
• 1895 - establishment of borders between Russia and England in Central Asia
• 1894 - 1895 — Sino-Japanese War

Plan

Briefly point by point, foreign policy can be described as follows:

• Characteristics of foreign policy;

• Main Events;

• Main differences;

• Conclusions.

Foreign Policy Objectives

1. Avoidance of war on the Balkan Peninsula;
2. Ensuring peace in Europe after the Patriotic and Russian-Turkish wars;
3. Delimitation of spheres of influence in Europe and Central Asia;
4. Russian-German relations;
5. Asian Question;
6. Establishment of friendly relations with France;
7. Search for allies in Europe.

Characteristics of foreign policy

Alexander the Third differed from his predecessors in his straightforwardness, impartiality and honesty. The latter was manifested in the rejection of “secret diplomacy”, when secret divisions of territory and the conclusion of secret treaties took place. He knew exactly where the country's sphere of interests was and sought its recognition from other rulers.

The basis of all victories in the world was that our Emperor did not follow the lead of many European monarchs and diplomats who tried to provoke a new war, but took a very stubborn and restrained policy. This was the key to maintaining calm for the monarchies of that time. Since the Empire managed to calm down the insolent Turks for a short time, granting freedom to the Balkans, in particular Bulgaria, then we can be entrusted with Europe.

Main events

If we talk about the Balkan issue, here we have given complete freedom of action - there are problems with other countries - solve them yourself! But we have lost influence in the Balkans.

If we talk about the European issue, they also showed restraint here: they accepted and made friends with France, although just recently we almost received the “key” to Paris! The next step was to conclude an agreement beneficial for the country, under which we would guarantee our security. This was done in 1887 with Germany - it was a “reinsurance treaty”. But Kaiser Wilhelm did not even think of living in peace with Russia, but secretly signed peace with Austria-Hungary, although this later backfired on them, but they did not know about it yet. And in 1890, a “customs war” began - the German authorities decided to raise duties on Russian goods. Friendship with Germany came to an end.

But we managed to formalize the first military-political bloc in history - the Franco-Russian alliance (the future Entente). Here we saved France from a war on two fronts - with Austria-Hungary and Germany. And Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy created the “Triple Alliance”, hostile to Russia and France.

Then Emperor Alexander turned his gaze to Central Asia - Ashgabat was included in the Empire, forming the Trans-Caspian region. The Queen of England was concerned about this fact, because it threatened the interests of the crown. The All-Russian Emperor was able to resolve the issue peacefully by moving towards rapprochement with England in 1885 and convening a commission that determined the border of the states in 1895.

By that time, in the Far East, which was not yet very developed and far from St. Petersburg, Japan had shown its claims. This seriously alarmed the monarch and his entourage, because Japan could easily attack Russia, as happened with China (Japanese-Chinese War of 1894-1895). It was decided to begin building the Trans-Siberian Railway in 1891. Soon, this step justified itself, giving a powerful impetus to the development of Siberia and the Far East. Japanese troops captured Port Arthur, Manchuria and the Liaondong Peninsula, but Russia, Germany and France are forced to abandon all conquests.

Main differences in foreign policy

We will present this point in the form of a small table:

Conclusions

The reign of Alexander III can be safely called “stable” and “calm.” The monarch's conservatism and tenacity contributed to gaining the authority of a reliable ally and a fair arbiter in international disputes.

The people accurately nicknamed Alexander III the “peacemaker tsar,” capable of solving problems through diplomatic means. And we need to say “thank you” to him for the Trans-Siberian Railway, because the remote outskirts of the Empire will now be able to develop and attract more and more people!

Domestic policy of Alexander III (briefly)

Domestic policy of Alexander III (briefly)

The initial period of the reign of Tsar Alexander III fell on the era of struggle between two parties: monarchical and liberal, which wanted the ruler to continue the reforms of Alexander II. The ruler himself abolished any possibility of Russia being constitutional and began to strengthen the autocracy.

On August 14, 1881, the government passed a law according to which a state of emergency could be introduced and punitive measures applied to suppress unrest and terror. A year later, the secret police appear.

At the same time, Alexander the Third was confident that all disagreements and troubles in the state grew from the education of the lower classes and the freethinking of his subjects, which was a consequence of his father’s reforms. Thus began the era of counter-reform policies.

Universities were considered the main source of terror, and therefore in 1884 the so-called university charter was issued, which sharply limited the autonomy of educational institutions and introduced strict censorship in the country.

At the beginning of April, the Tsar published a Manifesto, which was compiled by one of his confidants, the reactionary K. Pobedonostsev. This document significantly limited zemstvo rights, and their actual work was taken under the close control of governors. From now on, the majority of assessors in the city dumas were officials and merchants, and in the zemstvo dumas there were up to 90% of the nobles. This became possible due to an increase in property qualifications.

In 1890, the ruler of Russia, Alexander the Third, adopted an updated regulation on zemstvos. Now the court had become dependent on the government, and the magistrates' courts were on the verge of liquidation.

At the same time, communal land use and the poll tax were abolished, and compulsory land purchase was introduced. At the same time, prices were reduced. In 1882, the Peasant Bank was opened, the purpose of which was to issue loans to peasants for the acquisition of private property and land.

The Tsar understood the importance of army reserves and for this reason formed reserve regiments and infantry battalions. In addition, he created a cavalry division that was capable of fighting both on foot and on horseback.

To conduct battles in mountainous areas, artillery siege battalions were formed, as well as mortar regiments and batteries of mountain artillery. And to transport troops, a special railway brigade is being created.

In 1892, river mine companies, military dovecotes, aeronautical units, and fortress telegraphs also appeared.

“Peacemaker” - this is how the reign of Alexander 3 was described. The internal one was carried out brilliantly by this sovereign. He was not prepared to be the heir to the throne, but due to tragic circumstances, Alexander had to become one. Loving his homeland, caring for his people, their identity, he managed to raise the state, exhausted by the war with the Turks, financially and morally. This is one of the few sovereigns who managed to provide his people with a life without war, because during his reign the Russian Empire had no conflicts with any of the states. In the article we will tell you what kind of emperor Alexander 3 was. Domestic and foreign policies will also be briefly described and analyzed.

Alexander III: accession to the throne

How did Alexander come to the Russian throne? He was not born heir to the throne. His elder brother, Nicholas, was to inherit the crown. However, the latter dies. Accordingly, young Alexander is urgently being prepared so that he can take over with dignity the work of his father, Emperor Alexander II.

In general, Alexander III was prepared for a brilliant military career, but the plans were not destined to come true. After the death of his brother, Tsarevich Nicholas, Alexander was urgently taught foreign languages, geography and other sciences necessary for the future emperor.

Along with the crown from Nicholas, Alexander also receives a bride, the Princess of Denmark, who received the name Maria in baptism. The young people were so shocked by the death of the Tsarevich, with whom they were on friendly terms, that they named their first-born Nicholas.

What did Alexander III receive at the beginning of his reign? A country devastated and exhausted by the Russian-Turkish war, anti-government sentiment rampant in all public groups. Let us recall that the emperor’s father, Alexander II, died at the hands of terrorists.

Zemstvo and judicial reforms

On March 1, 1881, Alexander III ascended the throne. Domestic and foreign policy can be briefly characterized as follows: firmness and determination. Let's look at the main aspects.

The first thing the new sovereign took on was the suppression of all kinds of freethinking. He believed that it was precisely this that was to blame for most of Russia’s troubles. Do not forget that his father also became a victim of terror, which arose from excessive education. Alexander II was a guardian of education; in contrast, Alexander III made a number of decisions.

In 1884, a decree was issued concerning the activities of universities (the emperor considered them to be a hotbed of freethinking). The document abolished all kinds of meetings within educational institutions, prohibited student courts; access to higher education was closed to the lower classes.

As for local power, it was strengthened by the following measures: zemstvos began to be strictly controlled by governors, and the rights of officials were sharply curtailed. Officials were only from the upper strata; the peasantry was not allowed into power and did not participate in elections.

There have also been changes in the judicial system. They are closely related to reforms in zemstvos. The courts were now directly subordinate to the state, publicity in proceedings was quite strictly limited, and qualifications were also introduced for jurors.

The situation of the peasants

Alexander III also affected the peasantry. Their position after the famous reform of 1861 was unenviable: lack of money to buy land, debts, inability to run their own business - all this forced ruined people to leave for the cities. Alexander III makes a number of decisions to stabilize the situation. Thus, peasants' debts are forgiven and the tax rate on land purchases is reduced. A special Peasant Bank is also being created, where people could take out loans for farming (interest rates were low).

Thus, agriculture in the country begins to develop, centers specializing in a certain area appear: industrial crops (Baltics), grains (Ukraine), livestock breeding (Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod, etc.)

Military reform

The domestic policy and foreign policy of Alexander 3 were aimed at strengthening autocracy within the country. Military reform contributed to this for many.

We should not forget that Alexander was initially prepared for a military career; he knew this matter well and understood it. Although Russia did not fight wars during his reign, the army became very strong. All kinds of defensive structures and mountain divisions were created, and great importance was given to both cavalry and infantry.

For the purpose of training, cadet corps are opened on the basis of military gymnasiums. Not only young soldiers are being trained, but command staff are also being trained. Promotion is based only on seniority.

A special role is assigned to military infrastructure. This is how special railway brigades arise, called upon to deliver employees to their places of deployment when necessary.

Another innovation is the armament of the army. The three-line rifle becomes the main weapon, the shape changes (it is now more convenient for soldiers).

National reforms

The domestic policy and foreign policy of Alexander 3 were also strengthened due to a tough national position. The idea that the Russian Empire was intended only for Russians came precisely from the lips of Alexander III. Many are based precisely on this idea.

The Emperor is taking serious steps to strengthen the Orthodox faith. The border regions of the country were especially weak in this regard. Active construction of Orthodox churches begins. At the state level, citizens of non-Orthodox faith and non-Russian nationalities are beginning to be oppressed. The Poles and Jews suffered the most. Russification work is underway in Ukraine and the Baltic states.

Financial system and industry

The domestic policy and foreign policy of Alexander 3 were based on the realities of which emperor received the country. It was in great economic decline. Accordingly, one of the main tasks that needed to be solved was to lead the country out of the economic crisis. To this end, the best figures of the era are involved in reforms in the financial and industrial spheres.

Thus, Bunge proposed abolishing the poll tax; instead, it was proposed to pay excise taxes on alcohol, tobacco, sugar or oil. In addition, the tax rate on property, for example, on land and urban real estate, increases. In order to reduce the budget deficit, customs duties are increased.

As for industry, it is growing at a rapid pace. Metallurgy, textile and engineering production are particularly thriving. The latest methods of oil production are being developed. Thus, according to this indicator, Russia comes out on top.

Let us briefly show what reforms Alexander III carried out. Foreign and domestic policies (table):

Domestic policy

As for foreign policy, it is not for nothing that this emperor is called a “peacemaker” - he did his best to protect his country from military conflicts. He also attracted other countries to similar actions.

During his reign, the Russian Empire became closer to Great Britain and France, but weakened its position in the Balkans.

Confrontation with Germany in terms of customs relations has strained economic relations.

Thus, the domestic policy and foreign policy of Alexander 3 contributed to the economic, national and industrial rise of the country.