Alexander I was the Emperor of Russia (Tsar) between 1801 and 1825.
He was born Aleksandr Pavlovich on December 23, 1777 in Saint Petersburg. Alexander was the eldest son of Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg.
He and his younger brother Constantine were raised by their grandmother, Catherine the Great.
Alexander became Emperor of Russia when his father was assassinated on March 23, 1801. Alexander, then 23 years old, was in the palace at the moment of the assassination and his accession was announced by General Nicholas Zubov, one of the assassins.
He abolished many barbarous and cruel punishments then practiced and in 1802 introduced a more orderly administration of government by the creation of eight ministries.
Alexander improved the condition of the serfs and promoted education, doubling the number of Russian universities by establishing those at Saint Petersburg, Kharkov, and Kazan.
He was born Aleksandr Pavlovich on December 23, 1777 in Saint Petersburg. Alexander was the eldest son of Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg.
He and his younger brother Constantine were raised by their grandmother, Catherine the Great.
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| Portrait of Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich, 1800, by Vladimir Borovikovsky |
Alexander became Emperor of Russia when his father was assassinated on March 23, 1801. Alexander, then 23 years old, was in the palace at the moment of the assassination and his accession was announced by General Nicholas Zubov, one of the assassins.
He abolished many barbarous and cruel punishments then practiced and in 1802 introduced a more orderly administration of government by the creation of eight ministries.
Alexander improved the condition of the serfs and promoted education, doubling the number of Russian universities by establishing those at Saint Petersburg, Kharkov, and Kazan.
Alexander's greatest achievement was his victory over Napoleon, who had invaded Russia in 1812, only to lose his army in a disastrous retreat from Moscow. As part of the winning coalition against Napoleon, he gained territory in Finland and Poland.
Alexander married Louise of Baden, known as Elisabeth Alexeyevna on October 9, 1793 at the Winter Palace when he was fifteen and she was fourteen.
Initially the union was happy. Elisabeth was beautiful, but shy and withdrawn. Alexander later told his friend Frederick William III that the marriage, a political match devised by his grandmother, Catherine the Great, had regrettably proved to be a misfortune for him and his wife.
They had two daughters, both of whom died in early childhood.
Alexander I was the godfather of future Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom who was christened Alexandrina Victoria in honor of the Tsar.
Despite being the father of several illegitimate children, Czar Alexander I was a devout Christian who was behind in 1812 the founding of the Russian Bible Society, which translated the Bible into Russian. During the Napoleonic Wars he corresponded with several evangelical European leaders and as Napoleon’s campaign reached a critical stage the tsar found solace in a mystical pietism and regularly held prayer meetings.
In 1815 Alexander instituted the Holy Alliance of Austria, Russia, and Prussia. The purpose of the alliance, as it was conceived, was to achieve the realization of high Christian ideals among the nations of Europe, but it soon ceased to have any real importance.
The last years of Alexander’s life and reign were reactionary and despotic. Fearful of plots against him; as a result he ended many of the reforms he made earlier.
In the autumn of 1825 Tsar Alexander I undertook a voyage to the south of Russia due to the increasing illness of his wife. During his trip he himself caught a cold, which developed into typhus from which he died in the southern city of Taganrog on December 1, 1825.
Alexander's sudden death in Taganrog, under allegedly suspicious circumstances, caused the spread of the rumors that Alexander did not actually die, but disappeared to live the rest of his life in anonymity.
He left no legitimate children, as his two daughters died in childhood, so he was succeeded by his younger brother Nicholas I.
Source Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia
Alexander married Louise of Baden, known as Elisabeth Alexeyevna on October 9, 1793 at the Winter Palace when he was fifteen and she was fourteen.
Initially the union was happy. Elisabeth was beautiful, but shy and withdrawn. Alexander later told his friend Frederick William III that the marriage, a political match devised by his grandmother, Catherine the Great, had regrettably proved to be a misfortune for him and his wife.
They had two daughters, both of whom died in early childhood.
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| Alexander and Elisabeth |
Alexander I was the godfather of future Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom who was christened Alexandrina Victoria in honor of the Tsar.
Despite being the father of several illegitimate children, Czar Alexander I was a devout Christian who was behind in 1812 the founding of the Russian Bible Society, which translated the Bible into Russian. During the Napoleonic Wars he corresponded with several evangelical European leaders and as Napoleon’s campaign reached a critical stage the tsar found solace in a mystical pietism and regularly held prayer meetings.
In 1815 Alexander instituted the Holy Alliance of Austria, Russia, and Prussia. The purpose of the alliance, as it was conceived, was to achieve the realization of high Christian ideals among the nations of Europe, but it soon ceased to have any real importance.
 |
| Portrait of Emperor Alexander I |
The last years of Alexander’s life and reign were reactionary and despotic. Fearful of plots against him; as a result he ended many of the reforms he made earlier.
In the autumn of 1825 Tsar Alexander I undertook a voyage to the south of Russia due to the increasing illness of his wife. During his trip he himself caught a cold, which developed into typhus from which he died in the southern city of Taganrog on December 1, 1825.
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| Death of Alexander I in Taganrog (19th century lithograph) |
Alexander's sudden death in Taganrog, under allegedly suspicious circumstances, caused the spread of the rumors that Alexander did not actually die, but disappeared to live the rest of his life in anonymity.
He left no legitimate children, as his two daughters died in childhood, so he was succeeded by his younger brother Nicholas I.
Source Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia
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