Alexander iii

When Alexander II ascended to the throne in 1855, Russia, weakened by an ignominious defeat in the Crimean War, was in such a state of crisis that the new emperor had to introduce reforms on such a massive scale that they were comparable to the grandiose reforms of his famed ancestor, Peter the Great.

In order to carry out these reforms across the country, peace was required.

Alexander ii assassination

Alexander ii personality

How did alexander ii die

Alexander ii reign

Czar alexander ii

Thus, in 1856, the Treaty of Paris was signed, which in many points was not profitable for Russia, but which gave the country a much-needed peaceful respite. The main domestic issue to be faced was one on which the government and the elite were not unanimous: peasant reform.

Nonetheless, Alexander II agreed to the plan in which peasants were able to buy their personal freedom from landowners, and in this way he freed the peasants and abolished serfdom.