Historical portrait of Alexander the First

Alexander the First came to the throne in 1801 and reigned until 1825. His rule was remembered by the greatest victory over the French, led by Napoleon, the Arakcheevschina and the beginning of the solution of the question of the freedom of the peasants.

Biography of Alexander the First

Alexander the First was the beloved grandson of Catherine the Second. His father, Paul the First, and his grandmother had disagreements and relations did not develop, so Catherine the Great took her grandson to her upbringing and decided to make him the ideal future emperor. Tsarevich received an excellent Western education. He showed his sympathy for the French revolution, did not really respect the Russian autocracy and dreamed of creating a humane civil society.

After the death of Catherine the Second, her eldest son Paul the First ascended the throne. However, in 1801, his son Alexander the First staged a palace coup. Alexander was very worried about his father’s death and his whole life was haunted by guilt.

Domestic policy of Emperor Alexander the First

The emperor saw the rule of his grandmother and father and noted their mistakes. After the palace coup and becoming emperor, he first returned the privilege to the nobility, which was canceled by his father Paul the First. He also perfectly understood the seriousness of peasant problems. He wanted to alleviate their situation and put titanic efforts into it. He adopted a decree that, in addition to nobles, bourgeois and merchants can acquire free land and use peasant labor for economic activity. Also, a decree was soon issued under which the peasant could buy his freedom from the landowner. And the peasants who gained freedom acquired the right to personal property. Of course, the complete abolition of serfdom under Alexander the first did not happen, but huge steps were taken towards solving this issue.

The emperor reduced censorship, returned the foreign press to the state, and allowed the Russians to freely return abroad to the Russians.

Alexander the First carried out great reforms in public administration. He created the body - the Permanent Council, which had every right to cancel the decrees adopted by the emperor. Ministries were also created instead of colleges.

Alexander the First saw that Russia urgently needs highly qualified personnel. He carried out a number of reforms in education. He divided educational institutions into four levels, opened five new universities, dozens of schools and gymnasiums.