Alexander I 1777-1825, czar of Russia (1801-25), son of Paul I (in whose murder he may have taken an indirect part). In the first years of his reign the liberalism of his Swiss tutor, Frédéric César de La Harpe , seemed to influence Alexander. He suppressed the secret police, lifted the ban on foreign travel and books, made attempts to improve the position of the serfs, and began to reform the backward educational system. In 1805, Alexander joined the coalition against Napoleon I , but after the Russian defeats at Austerlitz and Friedland he formed an alliance with Napoleon by the Treaty of Tilsit (1807) and joined Napoleon's Continental System . Alexander requested M. M. Speranski to draw up proposals for a constitution, but adopted only one aspect of Speranski's scheme, an advisory state council, and dismissed him in 1812 to placate the nobility. During this period Russia gained control of Georgia and parts of Transcaucasia as a result of prolonged war with Persia (1804-13) and annexed (1812) Bessarabia after a war with Turkey (1806-12). Relations with France deteriorated, and Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812. Alexander's defeat of the French made him one of the most powerful rulers in Europe. At first his foreign policy was liberal, but from 1812 on, Alexander was preoccupied by a vague, mystical Christianity, which contributed to his increasing conservatism. Under the influence of the pietistic Juliana Krüdener and others, he created...
Alexander I 1777-1825, czar of Russia (1801-25), son of Paul I (in whose murder he may have taken an indirect part). In the first years of his reign the liberalism of his Swiss tutor, Frédéric César de La Harpe , seemed to influence Alexander. He suppressed the secret police, lifted the ban on foreign travel and books, made attempts to improve the position of the serfs, and began to reform the backward educational system. In 1805, Alexander joined the coalition against Napoleon I , but after the Russian defeats at Austerlitz and Friedland he formed an alliance with Napoleon by the Treaty of Tilsit (1807) and joined Napoleon's Continental System . Alexander requested M. M. Speranski to draw up proposals for a constitution, but adopted only one aspect of Speranski's scheme, an advisory state council, and dismissed him in 1812 to placate the nobility. During this period Russia gained control of Georgia and parts of Transcaucasia as a result of prolonged war with Persia (1804-13) and annexed (1812) Bessarabia after a war with Turkey (1806-12). Relations with France deteriorated, and Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812. Alexander's defeat of the French made him one of the most powerful rulers in Europe. At first his foreign policy was liberal, but from 1812 on, Alexander was preoccupied by a vague, mystical Christianity, which contributed to his increasing conservatism. Under the influence of the pietistic Juliana Krüdener and others, he created...
