Latest / The Romanov Dynasty: Rise, Power, and Bloody End — Fexingo History / Alexander II: The Tsar Liberator and His Assassination
Transcript
- Lucas: So last time we talked about the 1913 tercentenary, that lavish spectacle that masked the cracks in the empire. But today I want to step back a generation, to a tsar who actually tried to fix those cracks — Alexander II. He's often called the Tsar Liberator, and for good reason. Luna: Liberator? That's a strong title for an autocrat. Lucas: It is, but he earned it — at least in part. In 1861, he signed the Emancipation Reform that freed Russia's serfs. Over twenty million people. It was the single biggest social reform in Russian history before the 20th century. But it came with a cost. Lucas: The serfs were freed, but they didn't get land for free. They had to pay redemption payments to the landowners, which kept them in poverty. And the land they did get was often poor quality. So while emancipation was a huge step, it created a new class of dissatisfied peasants. Luna: So it was more of a halfway measure than a real liberation? Lucas: Exactly. And Alexander didn't stop there. He also reformed the judicial system — introducing trial by jury, public hearings, and independent judges for the first time. He created the zemstva, which were local elected councils that handled things like roads, schools, and healthcare. And he reformed the military, reducing the term of service from 25 years to 15. Lucas: All of this was a genuine attempt to modernize Russia after the humiliation of the Crimean War. But here's the paradox: reforms create expectations. And when expectations aren't fully met, you get revolutionaries. Luna: Like the People's Will — Narodnaya Volya. Lucas: Exactly. By the 1870s, a radical movement had emerged. They were disillusioned with the pace of change and believed that only violence could bring down the autocracy. In 1879, a group split off to form Narodnaya Volya — the People's Will. Their main goal? Assassinate the tsar. Lucas: They tried several times. They mined the railway tracks near Moscow, but the tsar's train passed safely. They set off an explosion in the Winter Palace dining room, but the tsar was late for dinner. Each attempt only made them more determined. Luna: And they kept getting away with it? That's incredible. Lucas: Partly because the police were still catching up with modern methods. But also because Alexander, despite being the target, was reluctant to crack down too hard. He considered a proposal from his minister Mikhail Loris-Melikov — called the 'dictatorship of the heart' — which would have eased censorship and created a consultative assembly. Basically a step toward constitutional monarchy. Lucas: Loris-Melikov's plan was actually approved by Alexander on the morning of March 1, 1881. He was set to sign it into law later that day. But he never got the chance. Luna: That's the day he was assassinated, right? Lucas: Yes. March 1, 1881, in St. Petersburg. The tsar's carriage was returning from the Mikhailovsky Palace. As it turned onto the Catherine Canal embankment, a young man named Nikolai Rysakov threw a bomb under the carriage. Lucas: The explosion killed several guards and wounded bystanders, but Alexander stepped out of the damaged carriage, unharmed. He approached the captured bomber. That was a fatal mistake. Another conspirator, Ignacy Hryniewiecki, threw a second bomb directly at the tsar's feet. Luna: He didn't survive that. Lucas: No. Alexander was carried to the Winter Palace with his legs shattered and bleeding heavily. He died a few hours later. Ironically, he had just granted the reform that might have prevented his death — Loris-Melikov's plan was in his pocket. Luna: So what happened to the assassination plotters? Lucas: They were caught and tried. Five of the ringleaders — including the mastermind Andrei Zhelyabov and his wife, Sofya Perovskaya, who helped plan the attack — were hanged. But their act set back reform for decades. Alexander III, the new tsar, was horrified by his father's death and reversed course. He strengthened the autocracy, expanded the secret police, and persecuted minorities. Lucas: In a way, Alexander II's assassination sealed the fate of the Romanovs. It convinced later tsars that reform was weakness. And that rigidity, that refusal to change, would eventually lead to the revolution that ended the dynasty. Luna: So the Tsar Liberator's death wasn't just a tragedy — it was a turning point that pushed Russia toward disaster. Lucas: Exactly. It's one of those what-if moments in history. If Alexander had lived and implemented Loris-Melikov's plan, could Russia have evolved into a constitutional monarchy without the bloodshed of 1917? We'll never know. But the bomb on the Catherine Canal certainly closed that door.