Czar Alexander II of Russia Is Assassinated
Czar Alexander II of Russia, known as the "Czar Liberator," was assassinated on March 13, 1881, by a member of the revolutionary group Narodnaya Volya. This event occurred in St. Petersburg as Alexander was traveling in his carriage when a bomb was thrown at him, leading to his death. Born in 1818, Alexander II ascended to the throne in 1855 and is credited with significant reforms, notably the emancipation of serfs in 1861. This monumental change aimed to liberalize Russian society, ending centuries of serfdom that had left many in a state of oppression. Despite his efforts to modernize Russia, including addressing the grievances of the newly freed serfs, his reign faced increasing resistance from various revolutionary factions who viewed him as obstructing further reform. The assassination was the culmination of these tensions, and following his death, Alexander II was interred in the St. Peter and Paul Fortress, with a church erected at the site of his assassination to commemorate him. His legacy remains complex, reflecting both his attempts at reform and the turmoil that characterized late 19th-century Russia.
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Czar Alexander II of Russia Is Assassinated
Czar Alexander II of Russia Is Assassinated
On March 13, 1881 (March 1 by the Julian calendar, which was still in use in Russia at the time), a student named I. Grinevitskii of Narodnaya Volya (the People's Will), a revolutionary group, threw a bomb at Czar Alexander II as he rode in his carriage through the streets of the Russian capital of St. Petersburg. The bomb exploded and killed the czar.
Ironically, Alexander II had been one of the greatest benefactors of the Russian people. Born in 1818, he succeeded to the throne of the Russian Empire in 1855. His first success was achieving an end to the Crimean War with Great Britain and France in the Treaty of Paris of 1856. After that, Alexander addressed the long-standing issue of serfdom in Russia.
For centuries, the majority of the Russian people had been serfs, slaves to landowners and nobles who could buy, sell, and treat them as they wished. While serfdom was common in eastern Europe, there serfs typically had some rights, such as the right to stay on the land where they were born. There were no such protections in Russia, where the system was so brutal and so harshly enforced that even some nobles began to protest: The Marshal of the Nobility of Tver called the Russian system “one giant system of malfeasance raised to the level of statehood.” In 1861, however, Alexander II, “Czar Liberator,” freed the serfs and put Russia firmly on the path toward liberalization and Westernization.
It was not an easy path, however, and the emancipation of the serfs served to release many pent-up grievances throughout Russian society. Providing the newly freed serfs with land of their own was a long and difficult process. The peasants also wanted a voice in the political system, as did intellectuals, students, and the middle classes. The czar became more cautious. Impatient for further reforms, various revolutionary groups sprang up. Members of the People's Will plotted to kill Alexander as “an enemy of the people,” and on March 13, 1881, they succeeded. The czar was buried in the cathedral of the Sts. Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg. The Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood was built over the place where he was assassinated to honor his memory.