ALEXANDER II ('The Liberator', 1818-1881, Emperor of Russia from 1855)

Superb Russian cabinet photo signed and dated showing him head and shoulders in uniform, 6½" x 4½", no place,

Alexander succeeded his father Nicholas I in 1855. He had been subjected to a rigorous military training by his father which had affected his health. He married Maria Alexandrovna, daughter of the Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, in 1841. He ended the Crimean War with the Treaty of Paris in 1856. A determined reformer the greatest achievement of his reign was the emancipation of the serfs in 1861 (hence his nickname), followed by the reform of the legal and administrative systems, widespread building of railways and schools and the establishment of elected assemblies in the provinces. He put down a Polish insurrection in 1863 with great severity. In 1864 Russia expanded to the South East, annexing Tashkent and the holy city of Samarkand, which was not given up without a fearful struggle. The walled city of Ura-Tyube and its citadel were only stormed two years later. Throughout his reign he maintained friendly relations with Prussia especially in the Franco-German War of 1870-71, and married his daughter to Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, son of Queen Victoria. He extended the Russian empire in the Caucasus and central Asia, and took the field with his army in the victorious war against Turkey (1877-78) winning the liberation of Bulgaria. On the death of his wife he married his mistress Katharina Dolgorukova. Despite his liberal views, his government was severe in repressing peasant unrest and revolutionary movements, especially the Nihilists. After several assassination attempts he was mortally injured by a bomb thrown at him in St Petersburg.

Item Date:  1876

Stock No:  28888