Alexander II., Emperor of Russia (1855-81), was born April 29, 1818. He was carefully educated by his father, Nicholas, who professed himself delighted with the manifestations of 'true Russian spirit' in his son. At sixteen, he was declared of age, made commandant of the Lancers of the Guard, Hetman of the Cossacks, first aide-de-camp of the emperor, and subjected daily to a life of manoeuvring, reviewing, and military parade, which at last seriously injured his health. He then travelled through Germany to recruit his energies, and while there in 1841, concluded a marriage with the Princess Marie (1824-80), daughter of the Grand-duke of Hesse. He now vigorously applied himself to his duties as chancellor of the university of Finland. By his dexterous and winning manners, he found his way to the hearts of the Finns, and weakened their ancient love of independence. On his accession to the throne, March 2, 1855, he found himself in a very critical position. He had two parties to conciliate—the old Muscovite party, zealous for the prosecution of the Crimean war, and the more peaceable portion of the nation, with whom he sympathised.
By temporising he was enabled to conclude a peace. Throughout his reign, he had to hold the balance between Conservatives and extreme Radicals, but succeeded in guiding and promoting reform. The grand achievement of his reign, which was in great measure his own deed, was the emancipation of the serfs—23,000,000 souls—in 1861. Reforms of the tribunals, of civil and criminal procedure, and of municipal institutions followed. In 1865 Alexander established elective representative assemblies in the provinces. He resisted strenuously all foreign interference with Polish affairs during the insurrection of 1863, which was suppressed with great severity. During his reign, the Russian empire was widely extended in two important regions, in the Caucasus and in Central Asia. The capture of Schamyl, the famous Circassian chief, in 1859, closed in favour of Russia her long struggle with the tribes of that country. In 1864 Russia began her decided advance against the khanates of Central Asia, and in a few years reduced them all more or less completely to subjection. During the Franco-German war of 1870-71, Alexander maintained a very sympathetic attitude towards Germany, a policy which was continued and extended in subsequent alliances both with that country and Austria. The marriage of his only daughter Marie with the Duke of Edinburgh in 1874, has had no permanent effect in allaying the mutual jealousies of Russia and England. The Czar shared the national sympathy with the Slavic races under Turkish rule, and took the field with the army during the momentous war between Russia and Turkey in 1877-8. But the most remarkable feature of the second half of his reign was the struggle of the Russian autocracy with the revolutionary party, called Nihilists. Like his uncle, Alexander I., he was personally a liberal and humane monarch, but he could not keep pace with the more forward portion of his subjects; hence the reactionary tendency of many of his later measures. His government repressed the revolutionists most severely, and they sought vengeance by attacking the person of the Czar and his officers. Repeated attempts were made to assassinate Alexander. In 1879 he was shot at in his capital; in the same year, the train in which he was supposed to be travelling was blown up by an elaborate mine beneath the railway; in 1880 a violent and destructive explosion was effected by dynamite below the imperial apartments in the Winter Palace at St Petersburg. On 13th March 1881, he was so severely injured by a bomb thrown at him near his palace, that he died a few hours after. See Laferté, Alexandre II. (1882).