Emperor Alexander III (1845-1894) ascended the throne after the assassination of his father Alexander II by terrorists. Ruled the Russian Empire in 1881-1894. He showed himself to be an extremely tough autocrat, mercilessly fighting any revolutionary manifestations in the country.

On the day of his father's death, the new ruler of Russia left the Winter Palace and, surrounding himself with heavy guards, took refuge in Gatchina. That for many years became his main stake, as the sovereign was afraid of assassination attempts and was especially afraid of being poisoned. He lived extremely closed, and security was on duty around the clock.

The years of the reign of Alexander III (1881-1894)

Domestic politics

It often happens that the son holds different views than the father. This state of affairs was also characteristic of the new emperor. Having ascended the throne, he immediately established himself as a consistent opponent of his father's policy. And by the nature of his character, the sovereign was not a reformer and thinker.

Here one should take into account the fact that Alexander III was the second son, and to state activities from an early age they prepared the eldest son Nikolai. But he fell ill and died in 1865 at the age of 21. After that, Alexander was considered the heir, but he was no longer a boy, and by that time he had received a rather superficial education.

He fell under the influence of his teacher K. P. Pobedonostsev, who was an ardent opponent of Western-style reforms. Therefore, the new king became the enemy of all those institutions that could weaken the autocracy. As soon as the newly-made autocrat ascended the throne, he immediately removed all his father's ministers from their posts.

First of all, he showed the rigidity of character in relation to the murderers of Alexander II. Since they committed the crime on March 1, they were called March 1st. All five were sentenced to death by hanging. Many public figures asked the emperor to replace the death penalty with imprisonment, but the new ruler Russian Empire upheld the death sentence.

The police regime has noticeably increased in the state. It was reinforced by the "Regulation on enhanced and emergency protection." As a result, protests have noticeably decreased, and terrorist activity has sharply declined. Only one successful attempt was recorded on the prosecutor Strelnikov in 1882 and one failed on the emperor in 1887. Despite the fact that the conspirators were only going to kill the sovereign, they were hanged. In total, 5 people were executed, and among them was Lenin's older brother Alexander Ulyanov.

At the same time, the situation of the people was relieved. Purchase payments fell, banks began to issue loans to peasants for the purchase of arable land. Poll taxes were abolished, night factory work for women and adolescents was limited. Also, Emperor Alexander III signed a decree "On the conservation of forests." Its execution was entrusted to the governors-general. In 1886, the Russian Empire established a national holiday, the Railwayman's Day. The financial system stabilized, and industry began to develop rapidly.

Foreign policy

The years of the reign of Emperor Alexander III were peaceful, so the sovereign was called peacemaker. He was primarily concerned with finding reliable allies. Relations with Germany did not develop due to trade rivalry, so Russia moved closer to France, which was interested in an anti-German alliance. In 1891, the French squadron arrived in Kronstadt on a friendly visit. The emperor himself met her.

He twice prevented a German attack on France. And the French, in gratitude, named one of the main bridges across the Seine in honor of the Russian emperor. In addition, Russian influence in the Balkans increased. Clear boundaries were established in the south Central Asia, and Russia is fully entrenched in the Far East.

In general, even the Germans noted that the emperor of the Russian Empire was a real autocrat. And when enemies say this, it is worth a lot.

The Russian emperor was deeply convinced that the royal family should be a role model. Therefore, in personal relationships, he adhered to the principles of worthy Christian behavior. In this, apparently, the fact that the sovereign was in love with his wife played an important role. She was the Danish princess Sophia Frederika Dagmar (1847-1928). After the adoption of Orthodoxy, she became Maria Feodorovna.

At first, the girl was predicted to be the wife of the heir to the throne, Nikolai Alexandrovich. The bride came to Russia and met the Romanov family. Alexander fell in love with a Dane at first sight, but he did not dare to express it in any way, since she was the bride of his older brother. However, Nikolai died before the wedding, and Alexander's hands were untied.

Alexander III with his wife Maria Feodorovna

In the summer of 1866, the new heir to the throne made the girl an offer of marriage. Soon the engagement took place, and on October 28, 1866, the young people played a wedding. Maria fit perfectly into the metropolitan society, and a happy marriage lasted almost 30 years.

Husband and wife parted very rarely. The Empress even accompanied her husband on a bear hunt. When the spouses wrote letters to each other, they were filled with love and care for each other. In this marriage, 6 children were born. Among them is the future Emperor Nicholas II. Maria Feodorovna, after the start of the revolution, went to her homeland in Denmark, where she died in 1928, having outlived her beloved husband for a long time.

The idyll of family life was almost destroyed by a railway accident that happened on October 17, 1888. The tragedy occurred near Kharkov near the Borki station. The royal train was carrying a crowned family from the Crimea and was moving at high speed. As a result, he derailed on a railway embankment. At the same time, 21 people died and 68 were injured.

As for the royal family, at the time of the tragedy she was having lunch. The dining car fell off the embankment and collapsed. The roof of the car collapsed down, but the Russian Tsar, who had a powerful physique and a height of 1.9 meters, put his shoulders up and held the roof until the whole family got to a safe place. Such a happy ending was perceived by the people as a sign of God's grace. Everyone began to say that now nothing terrible would happen to the Romanov dynasty.

However, Emperor Alexander III died relatively young. His life was cut short on October 20, 1894 in the Livadia Palace (the royal residence in the Crimea) from chronic nephritis. The disease gave complications to the vessels and heart, and the sovereign died at the age of 49 (read more in the article Death of Alexander III). On Russian throne Emperor Nicholas II Romanov entered.

Leonid Druzhnikov

Alexander III was born in Tsarskoye Selo. He was born on March 10, 1845. He is the 2nd son of a famous father who ruled at that time - Emperor Alexander II. Nikolai, his older brother, died, after which, in 1865, he automatically becomes the sole heir.

In 1866, a great wedding celebration takes place with the daughter of one king of Denmark. Previously, Princess Sophie was the bride of his now deceased brother Nicholas.

He took the throne on March 13, 1881. The situation at that time was very difficult, both politically and economically. It was at this time that the hostilities carried out with Turkey fell, which could not but affect the financial situation and monetary system throughout the Russian Empire. At this time, his father was killed, in the death of which Alexander blamed the liberals, but very soon realized that this was not the case and went over to their side.

The main result of the emperor's activity is the conservation of the essential system.

The policy of the current ruler brought development not only in the field of trade and industry, but also coped with the shortage of finance in the country, which could not but allow the transition to gold circulation. This was the message for a fairly powerful economic recovery, which occurred in the second half of the 90s of the 19th century. On March 13, 1887, an attempt was made to assassinate the emperor. Just a week later, the perpetrators were caught and hanged.

His thirteen-year reign passed very peacefully, without any military clashes, for which he was called a real peacemaker king.

Biography of Alexander III very briefly

The future emperor of the Russian state was born on February 26 (hereinafter all dates are given in accordance with the Julian calendar), 1845, in the family of Emperor Alexander II and Maria Alexandrovna.

In the family, he was the second son, his elder brother Nikolai was to take the throne and received an appropriate upbringing. Alexander prepared for military service. Father fussed about marrying Alexander to Princess Alexandra of Denmark, but nothing came of it, and the future King of England, Edward VII, married her. Nikolai, Alexander's elder brother, traveling through Italy before his own wedding, received a bruise, as a result of which he died. After the death of his brother, Alexander became Tsarevich.

Tsarevich received additional education in line with the current situation. The Danish princess Dagmar, whom the late Nikolai was supposed to marry, liked Alexander at the first meeting. Later, the young king had feelings for her. On October 13, they became engaged, and Dagmar received the name Maria Feodorovna.

After the murder of his father, he ascended the throne, this happened on March 2, 1881. The coronation took place on May 15, 1883. Alexander and his wife had six children.

The murder of his father greatly influenced the domestic policy pursued by the emperor. So on April 29, 1881, the Manifesto on the inviolability of autocracy was signed. The change of course to a conservative one and a departure from liberal reforms became obvious. The document caused a resonance among the liberal-minded part of the government. Many ministers have resigned. Previous reforms began to be assessed in a negative light. As a result of such opinions, the government resolutely undertook to eliminate the problems generated by liberal reforms.

Exactly 6 years after the death of his father, an attempt was made on Alexander. However, death bypassed the king. The fault was the lack of thoughtfulness of the plan and, in general, an insufficiently serious attitude. The attempt was uncovered, and the main participants and instigators were arrested.

In the crash of the royal train, Alexander is injured, which leads to the development of kidney disease. The treatment did not work, and on October 20, 1894, the sovereign died.

Interesting Facts and dates from life

He was on the throne for thirteen and a half years and died 49 years old, having earned the title of "Tsar-Peacemaker" during his lifetime, since during his reign not a drop of Russian blood was shed on the battlefields...

Soon after his death, the historian V.O. Klyuchevsky wrote: “Science will give Emperor Alexander III a proper place not only in the history of Russia and all of Europe, but also in Russian historiography, will say that He won in the area where it is most difficult to achieve victory, defeated the prejudice of peoples and thereby contributed to their rapprochement, subjugated the public conscience in the name of peace and truth, increased the amount of goodness in the moral circulation of mankind, encouraged and uplifted Russian historical thought, Russian national consciousness, and did all this so quietly and silently that only now, when He no longer exists, Europe understood what He was for her."

The venerable professor was wrong in his predictions. For more than a hundred years, the figure of the penultimate Russian Tsar has been the target of the most impartial assessments; his personality is the object of unbridled attacks and tendentious criticism.

The false image of Alexander III is being recreated to this day. Why? The reason is simple: the Emperor did not admire the West, did not worship liberal-egalitarian ideas, believing that the literal imposition of foreign orders would not be good for Russia. Hence - the irreconcilable hatred of this Tsar from the Westerners of all stripes.

However, Alexander III was not a narrow-minded Western-hater, from the threshold rejecting everything that did not have a generic stigma: "made in Russia." For him, Russian was primary and especially significant, not because it was the best in the world, but because it was native, close, and his own. Under Emperor Alexander III, the words "Russia for the Russians" were heard throughout the country for the first time. And although he was well aware of the malfunctions and absurdities in Russian life, he never doubted for a moment that they should be overcome only relying on his own sense of understanding of duty and responsibility, not paying attention to what some "princess Marya Aleksevna" would say about this. ".

For almost two hundred years, this was the first ruler who not only did not covet the "love of Europe", but was not even interested in what they say and write about him there. However, it was Alexander III who became the ruler under whom, without a single gun shot, Russia began to gain the moral authority of a great world power. The imposing bridge over the Seine in the very center of Paris, bearing the name of the Russian Tsar, has forever remained a vivid confirmation of this...

Alexander Alexandrovich ascended the throne at the age of 36 on March 1, 1881. On that day, his father was mortally wounded by a terrorist bomb, who soon died, and Alexander Alexandrovich became the "Autocrat of All Rus'." He did not dream of a crown, but when death took away his father, he showed amazing self-control and humility, accepting what was given only by the will of the Almighty.

With great spiritual trepidation, with tears in his eyes, he read his father's testament, the words and instructions of the murdered. “I am sure that my son, Emperor Alexander Alexandrovich, will understand the importance and difficulty of his high calling and will continue to be worthy of the title of an honest man in every respect ... May God help him to justify my hopes and complete what I failed to do to improve the well-being of our dear Fatherland. I conjure him not to get carried away by fashionable theories, take care of its constant development, based on love for God and on the law. He must not forget that the power of Russia is based on the unity of the State, and therefore everything that can tend to the upheavals of the entire unity and to the separate development of various nationalities, is detrimental to her and should not be allowed.I thank him, for the last time, from the depths of his tenderly loving heart, for his friendship, for the zeal with which he performed his official duties and helped me in state affairs."

Tsar Alexander III inherited a heavy legacy. He was well aware that improvements in various areas life and government controlled necessary, they are long overdue, no one argued with that. He also knew that the "bold transformations" that were carried out in the 60-70s by Alexander II often gave rise to even more acute problems.

Already from the end of the 70s, the social situation in the country became so tense that some concluded that collapse would soon come. Others tried to move away from Petersburg: some to the estate, and some abroad.

The bleakness of the social situation was felt everywhere. Finances were upset, economic development slowed down, in agriculture stagnation was observed. The zemstvos did not cope well with the affairs of local improvement, all the time they asked for money from the treasury, and some zemstvo meetings turned into centers for public discussions of political issues that did not concern them in any way.

Almost anarchy reigned in the universities: anti-government publications were almost openly distributed, student meetings were held, where attacks on the government were heard. And most importantly: there were constant murders and attempts on officials and the authorities could not cope with terror. The monarch himself became the object of these villainous intentions and fell at the hands of terrorists!

Alexander III had an extremely difficult time. There were plenty of advisers: every relative and dignitary dreamed that the tsar "invited to the conversation." But the young Emperor knew that these recommendations were often too biased, too self-serving, to be trusted without looking back. The late father sometimes brought unscrupulous people closer to him, devoid of will and firm monarchical convictions.

Things had to be done differently, he was sure of that. First of all, it is not necessary to draw up new laws, but to ensure that existing ones are respected. This conviction matured in him in the spring days of 1881. Even earlier, in January, speaking at a meeting with the main patron of the "constitutionalists" Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, the future Tsar clearly stated that "he does not see the need to impose on Russia all the inconveniences of constitutionalism that impedes good legislation and governance." Such a statement was immediately interpreted by the liberal public as a manifestation of "reactionary convictions."

Alexander III never sought popularity, did not curry favor with entrepreneurs and regulars in St. Petersburg salons, either before he became Tsar or after. A few years after accession, talking with close associates, Alexander III said that he would consider "the constitution to be very calm for himself, but very dangerous for Russia." As a matter of fact, he repeated the thought expressed more than once by his father.

Long before his death, Alexander II realized that to give broad public freedoms, to which some of the most Europeanized compatriots urged him, was an unacceptable thing. In the empire of the double-headed eagle, the historical conditions for establishing the social order that existed in England or France had not yet taken shape. More than once he spoke about this both in a narrow circle and outside the royal palaces. In September 1865, receiving in Ilyinsky, near Moscow, the Zvenigorod district marshal of the nobility P. D. Golokhvastov, Alexander II outlined his political credo:

"I give you my word that now, on this table, I am ready to sign any kind of constitution, if I were convinced that it is useful for Russia. But I know that if I do it today, and tomorrow Russia will fall to pieces" . And until his death, he did not change his conviction, although then completely unsubstantiated allegations circulated that allegedly Alexander II intended to introduce constitutional government ...

Alexander III fully shared this conviction and was ready to change and improve a lot, without breaking or rejecting what seemed reliable and historically justified. The main political value of Russia was autocracy - sovereign rule, independent of written norms and public institutions limited only by the dependence of the earthly king on the Heavenly King.

Talking at the end of March 1881 with the poet's daughter Anna Fedorovna Tyutcheva, the wife of the famous Slavophil I.S. Aksakov, who published the popular newspaper "Rus" in Moscow, the Tsar said: "I read all the articles of your husband for Lately. Tell him I'm happy with them. In my grief, I was greatly relieved to hear the word of honor. He is an honest and truthful person, and most importantly, he is a real Russian, of which, unfortunately, there are few, and even these few have been eliminated lately, but this will not happen again.

Soon the word of the new Monarch sounded to the whole world. On April 29, 1881, the Supreme Manifesto appeared, thundering like the thunder of an alarm bell.

"In the midst of Our great sorrow, the voice of God commands Us to stand up cheerfully for the cause of government, in the hope of Divine Providence, with faith in the strength and truth of Autocratic power, which We are called to establish and protect for the good of the people from all encroachments."

Further, the new Tsar called on all the faithful sons of the Fatherland to take courage and contribute to "the eradication of vile sedition that dishonors the Russian land, to the establishment of faith and morality, to the good upbringing of children, to the extermination of untruth and theft, to establish order and truth in the operation of institutions granted to Russia by her benefactor beloved Parent."

The manifesto was unexpected for many. It became clear that the days of liberal smiles were over. The fall of political projectors? losers was only a matter of time.

Alexander III considered this outcome to be logical. On June 11, 1881, he wrote to his brother Sergey: “Having appointed new people almost everywhere, we have unanimously set to hard work and, thank God, we are moving forward with difficulty and little by little, and things are going much more successfully than under the previous ministers, who, by their behavior, forced me to fire They wanted to take me into their clutches and enslave me, but they did not succeed... ready to go straight and boldly towards the goal, not deviating to the side, and most importantly - not to despair and hope in God!

Although there were no persecutions, arrests, expulsions of objectionable dignitaries (almost all of them retired with honor, received appointments to the State Council), it seemed to some that an earthquake had begun at the top of power. The bureaucratic ear has always subtly caught the impulses and moods in the highest corridors of power, which determined the behavior and official zeal of officials.

As soon as Alexander III was on the Throne, it quickly became clear that with new government jokes are bad that the young Emperor is a tough man, even harsh, and his will must be obeyed unquestioningly. Immediately everything began to spin, discussions subsided, and the state machine suddenly started working with renewed vigor, although in last years During the reign of Alexander II, it seemed to many that she no longer had the strength.

Alexander III did not create any emergency bodies (in general, during his reign there were few new divisions in the state administration system), he did not carry out any “special purge” of the bureaucracy, but the atmosphere in the country and in the corridors of power changed.

Salon talkers, who had only recently passionately defended freedom-loving principles, suddenly became almost speechless and no longer dared to popularize "Liberte", "Egalite", "Fraternite" not only at open meetings, but even in the circle of "their own", behind the tightly closed doors of the capital's living rooms. Gradually, dignitaries who were known as liberals were replaced by others who were ready to serve the Tsar and the Fatherland unquestioningly, without looking into European cribs and not afraid to be branded as "reactionaries".

Alexander III boldly and decisively began to fight against the enemies of the state order. There were arrests of direct perpetrators of regicide and some other persons who did not personally participate in the March 1 atrocity, but were preparing other terrorist acts. In total, about fifty people were arrested, and five regicides were hanged by the court's verdict.

The Emperor had no doubt that Russia's enemies had to be fought uncompromisingly. But not only by police methods, but also by mercy. It is necessary to distinguish where are the true, irreconcilable opponents, and where are the lost souls, who, through thoughtlessness, allowed themselves to be drawn into anti-government actions. The emperor himself always followed the course of the inquiry on political matters. Ultimately everything judgments were left at his discretion, many asked for royal favor, and he should have known the details. Sometimes he decided not to bring the case to court.

When in 1884 a circle of revolutionaries was opened in Kronstadt, the tsar, having learned from the testimony of the accused that midshipman of the naval crew Grigory Skvortsov sheds tears, repents and gives frank testimony, ordered: the midshipman be released and not prosecuted.

Alexander III always had sympathy for those people who professed traditional values. Conformism, conciliation, apostasy caused nothing in his soul but disgust. His political principle was simple and consistent with the Russian administrative tradition. Malfunctions in the state must be corrected, proposals must be listened to, but for this it is absolutely not necessary to convene some kind of people's assembly.

It is necessary to invite experts, experts on a particular issue, to listen, discuss, weigh the pros and cons and make the right decision. Everything should be done according to the law, and if it turns out that the law is outdated, then it must be revised, relying on tradition and only after discussion in the State Council. It became the rule of state life.

The tsar repeatedly told his associates and ministers that "officialdom is a force in the state, if it is kept in strict discipline." And indeed, under Alexander III, the administrative apparatus of the empire worked in a strict regime: the decisions of the authorities were strictly implemented, and the tsar personally monitored this. Inefficiency, neglect of official duties, he could not stand.

The emperor introduced an innovation unprecedented in Russia: he demanded that he be presented with a statement of all outstanding orders and decisions, indicating the persons responsible for them. This news greatly increased the "labor enthusiasm" of the bureaucracy, and red tape became much less.

He was especially implacable towards those who used their official position for personal gain. There was no mercy for such people.

The reign of Alexander III was distinguished by a simply amazing phenomenon: bribery and corruption, which used to be a sad Russian reality, almost completely disappeared. The Russian history of this period did not reveal a single high-profile case of this kind, and numerous professional "exposers of tsarism" did not find a single corruption fact, although they were persistently searched for for many decades ...

In the era of the reign of Alexander III in Russia, strict administrative regulation of social life was maintained. Enemies state power subjected to persecution, arrests, deportations. Such facts existed both before and after Alexander III, however, in order to justify the immutable thesis about a certain "course of reaction", it is precisely the period of his reign that is often characterized as a particularly gloomy and hopeless period of history. Nothing of the sort has actually been observed.

In total, 17 people were executed for political crimes (for criminal acts in Russia there was no death penalty) during the "reaction period". All of them either participated in the regicide, or prepared for it, and not one of them repented. In total, less than 4 thousand people were interrogated and detained for anti-state acts (almost fourteen years). Considering that Russia's population at that time exceeded 120 million people, these data convincingly refute the stereotyped thesis about the "terror regime" that was allegedly established in Russia during the reign of Alexander III.

Judicial-prison "reprisals" are only a part of the "gloomy picture of Russian life" that is so often painted. Its essential point is the "oppression of censorship", which allegedly "strangled" any "freedom of thought".

In the 19th century, in Russia, as in all other, even the "most-most" democratic states, censorship existed. IN tsarist empire it not only protected moral principles, religious traditions and beliefs, but also performed the function of protecting state interests.

Under Alexander III, as a result of an administrative ban or for other reasons, mainly of a financial nature, several dozen newspapers and magazines ceased to exist. However, this did not mean that "the voice of the independent press has died out" in the country. Many new editions appeared, but many old ones continued to appear.

A number of liberally oriented publications (the most famous are the Russkiye Vedomosti newspaper and the Vestnik Evropy magazine), although they did not allow direct attacks on the government and its representatives, did not get rid of the critical ("skeptical") tone and successfully survived the "era of repression" .

In 1894, the year of the death of Alexander III, 804 periodicals in Russian and other languages ​​were published in Russia. Approximately 15% of them were state ("state"), and the rest belonged to various companies and individuals. There were socio-political, literary, theological, reference, satirical, scientific, educational, sports newspapers and magazines.

During the reign of Alexander III, the number of printing houses grew steadily; The nomenclature of produced book products also increased annually. In 1894, the list of titles of published books reached almost 11,000 thousand (in 1890 - 8638). Many thousands of books were imported from abroad. During the entire reign, less than 200 books were not allowed to circulate in Russia. (This number included, for example, the notorious "Capital" by Karl Marx.) The majority was forbidden not for political, but for spiritual and moral reasons: insulting the feelings of believers, propaganda of obscenity.

Alexander III died early, not yet an old man. His death was mourned by millions of Russian people, not under compulsion, but at the call of their hearts, who honored and loved this crowned ruler - a big, strong, Christ-loving, so understandable, just, such "his own".
Alexander Bokhanov, Doctor of Historical Sciences

On February 26, 1845, the third child and second son were born to the future Emperor Tsarevich Alexander Nikolayevich. The boy was named Alexander.

Alexander 3. Biography

During the first 26 years, he was brought up, like other grand dukes, for military career, since his elder brother Nikolai was to become the heir to the throne. By the age of 18, Alexander the Third was already in the rank of colonel. Future Russian emperor, according to the reviews of his educators, did not differ much in the breadth of his interests. According to the recollections of the teacher, Alexander the Third "was always lazy" and began to catch up only when he became the heir. An attempt to fill the gaps in education was carried out under the close supervision of Pobedonostsev. At the same time, from the sources left by the educators, we learn that the boy was distinguished by perseverance and diligence in calligraphy. Naturally, excellent military specialists, professors of Moscow University, were engaged in his education. The boy was especially fond of Russian history and culture, which eventually grew into real Russophilism.

Alexander was sometimes called slow-witted by members of his family, sometimes for excessive shyness and clumsiness - "pug", "bulldog". According to the memoirs of his contemporaries, outwardly he did not look like a heavyweight: he was well-built, with a small mustache, and a bald patch that appeared early. People were attracted by such traits of his character as sincerity, honesty, benevolence, lack of excessive ambition and a great sense of responsibility.

The beginning of a political career

His serene life ended when, in 1865, his elder brother Nikolai died suddenly. Alexander III was declared heir to the throne. These events stunned him. He immediately had to take up the duties of the Tsarevich. His father began to introduce him to state affairs. He listened to the reports of ministers, got acquainted with official papers, received membership in the State Council and the Council of Ministers. He becomes a major general and chieftain of all Cossack troops Russia. That's when I had to make up for the gaps in youth education. love for Russia and Russian history he formed the course of Professor S.M. Solovyov. accompanied him throughout his life.

Tsarevich Alexander III stayed for quite a long time - 16 years. During this time he received

Combat experience. Participated in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, received the Order of St. Vladimir with swords" and "St. George 2nd class. It was during the war that he met people who later became his comrades-in-arms. Later, he created the Volunteer Fleet, which was transport in peacetime and combat in wartime.

In domestic political life, the Tsarevich did not adhere to the views of his father, Emperor Alexander II, but did not oppose the course of the Great Reforms either. His relationship with his parent was complicated and he could not come to terms with the fact that his father settled his favorite E.M. in the Winter Palace with his living wife. Dolgoruky and their three children.

The Tsarevich himself was an exemplary family man. He married the bride of his deceased brother, Princess Louise Sophia Frederica Dagmar, who after the wedding adopted Orthodoxy and a new name - Maria Feodorovna. They had six children.

Happy family life ended on March 1, 1881, when a terrorist act was committed, as a result of which the father of the Tsarevich died.

Reforms of Alexander 3 or transformations necessary for Russia

On the morning of March 2, members of the State Council and the highest officials of the court took the oath to the new Emperor Alexander III. He said that he would try to continue the work begun by his father. But the firmest idea of ​​further actions did not appear for a long time. Pobedonostsev, an ardent opponent of liberal reforms, wrote to the monarch: “Either save yourself and Russia now, or never!”

The most accurate political course of the emperor was set out in a manifesto of April 29, 1881. Historians called it the "Manifesto on the inviolability of autocracy." It meant major adjustments to the Great Reforms of the 1860s and 1870s. The primary task of the government was to fight the revolution.

The repressive apparatus, political investigation, secret-investigative services, etc. were strengthened. To contemporaries, government policy seemed cruel and punitive. But to those who live at the present time, it may seem very modest. But now we will not dwell on this in detail.

The government tightened its policy in the field of education: universities were deprived of autonomy, a circular “On Cook's Children” was issued, a special censorship regime was introduced regarding the activities of newspapers and magazines, and zemstvo self-government was curtailed. All these transformations were carried out to exclude that spirit of freedom,

Which soared in post-reform Russia.

The economic policy of Alexander III was more successful. The industrial and financial sphere was aimed at introducing a gold backing for the ruble, establishing a protective customs tariff, building railways which created not only the means of communication necessary for the domestic market, but also accelerated the development of local industries.

The second successful area was foreign policy. Alexander the Third received the nickname "emperor-peacemaker". Immediately after accession to the throne, he sent out a dispatch declaring: the emperor wants to maintain peace with all powers and focus his special attention on internal affairs. He professed the principles of a strong and national (Russian) autocratic power.

But fate gave him a short life. In 1888, the train in which the emperor's family was traveling suffered a terrible wreck. Alexander Alexandrovich found himself crushed by the collapsed ceiling. Having great physical strength, he helped his wife, children and got out himself. But the injury made itself felt - he developed a kidney disease, complicated after the "influenza" - the flu. On October 29, 1894, he died before reaching the age of 50. He said to his wife: "I feel the end, be calm, I am completely calm."

He did not know what trials his dearly beloved Motherland, his widow, his son and the entire Romanov family would have to endure.

After the assassination of Alexander II on March 1, 1881, his son, Alexander III, ascended the Russian throne, with whose name both contemporaries and later researchers associate the onset of political reaction "under the guise of nationality and Orthodoxy."

Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov was the second of the six sons of Alexander II (Nicholas, Alexander, Vladimir, Alexei, Sergei and Pavel). He was born in 1845 and was not the heir to the throne. “Alexander III was not at all prepared to be emperor ... - we read in the memoirs of S. Yu. Witte, - one can say that he was somewhat in the pen: neither for his education, nor for his upbringing special attention they didn’t pay.” Nikolay was the heir.

Alexander III" >

The future Russian emperor, judging by the reviews of his educators, personal diaries, did not differ in the breadth of interests. And although S. M. Solovyov taught him a history course, K "P. Pobedonostsev taught him jurisprudence, General M. I. Dragomirov taught strategy, there was little success in the sciences, there were no military talents. According to the memoirs of the teacher Go-gel, Alexander "always was lazy" and began to study only after becoming an heir. This attempt to replenish his education was carried out by him under the guidance of Pobedonostsev. From the reports of the educators Zinoviev and Gogel we learn that the boy was distinguished by perseverance and diligence in calligraphy in front-line classes.

Diaries that Alexander III kept in different years his life, do not reflect the intellectual needs of the author. They recorded facts, opinions, experiences, attitudes towards certain events. Data on the weather, guests, daily routine are diligently reported. The emperor's notes in the memorial books that he kept from the moment of accession to the throne bear the same character. From these records, one can only learn about when the emperor got up, went to bed, what were the successes of the hunt, etc.

IN early age he was extremely shy, which caused him to be somewhat harsh and angular. In the family, Sasha was called "bulldog". And in his mature years, Alexander III "was not handsome, in manners he was rather ... bear-haired; he was very large in stature, and for all his physique, he was not particularly strong or muscular, but rather was somewhat fat and fat." This is how S. Yu. Witte, who was the Minister of Finance under Alexander III, saw him. The American historian Robert Massey in his book "Nicholas and Alexandra" emphasizes the terrible physical strength of the tsar: "He could bend an iron poker or a silver ruble."

The emperor, unlike his predecessors, was a good family man. After the death in 1865 of his elder brother, Tsarevich Nikolai, he inherited not only the throne, but also his bride, the Danish princess Dagmar (after the adoption of Orthodoxy, she received the name Maria Feodorovna). Alexander III loved his wife and remained faithful to her. After the wedding, the couple settled in the Anichkov Palace. Children followed one after another: Nikolai, George, Mikhail, Ksenia, Olga. “The birth of children is the most joyful moment of life, and it is impossible to describe it, because it is a very special feeling that is unlike any other,” Alexander shared with Pobedonostsev8. He was always affectionate with his children. But he especially loved his son Misha and allowed him to make fun of himself. In the memoirs of one of his contemporaries, close to the court, we find such an episode. Alexander III was with his family in the village of Ilyinsky visiting his brother Sergei. “The adults were sitting on the terrace lined with flowers, and Misha was digging down in the sand. Taking a watering can, Alexander III shouted: “Come on, Misha, get here!” Misha stood under the terrace, and his father poured a little Everyone laughed ... and they were already about to send the boy to change, as he demanded that his father take his place ... Alexander went off the terrace, and Misha ... sent all of her (watering cans. - V.K.) the king's bald head shining in the sun!"

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Family morality, inherent in the emperor himself, gave him the right to demand decent behavior from the household. Often the reason for the monarch's disgrace and removal from the court was the adultery of the grand dukes and princesses. “Emperor Alexander III was really the head of the royal family,” Witte believes, “he kept everyone ... in the appropriate position, everyone not only revered and respected him, but was also extremely afraid.”

In everyday life, Alexander III was simple and modest. According to Witte, during the emperor's trip along the South-Western Railway, Sergei Yulievich constantly had to see how Alexander III's valet Kotov darned the tsar's tattered trousers.

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As an heir, Alexander liked to drink. It came to real binges, from which he was subsequently cured by S. P. Botkin. But the passion remains. Together with his drinking buddy, the head of his guard, General P. A. Cherevin, Alexander drank quietly and had fun in a very peculiar way. “He lies on his back on the floor and dangles his arms and legs,” Cherevin said. “And whoever walks past from men, especially children, strives to catch his leg and knock him down. Only by this sign they guessed that he was tipsy.” When, in the late 1980s, Alexander III fell ill with a kidney disease and was strictly forbidden to drink, the Empress vigilantly ensured that her husband did not violate the ban. However, this was not always successful. A complex operation was carried out to deceive the empress. Boots were ordered with special tops, so that they included a flask of cognac. "The queen is beside us, we sit quietly, play like good boys. She moved away - we look at each other - one, two, three! - pull out flasks, suck and again as if nothing had happened ... Terribly he liked this fun ... "- said Cherevin.

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Contemporaries also noted the intemperance of Alexander III. The expressions "cattle", "scum" were ordinary words for him. In his diary, A.V. Bogdanovich, with reference to P.A. Monteverdi, editor of the Petersburg Newspaper, writes that "when the sovereign was not yet the heir, his entourage rejoiced that he would not be king - such a ferocious character he showed."

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Alexander III was not very intelligent. This is evidenced by people who knew him well. The head of the Main Directorate for Press Affairs, E. M. Feoktistov, who, on the whole, had a positive attitude towards the emperor, did not highly appreciate his mental abilities: "It cannot be denied that the sovereign Alexander Alexandrovich was intellectually insignificant - the flesh prevailed too much in him over the spirit ... It often happened that he expressed very sensible thoughts, and along with them those that struck with their purely childish naivety and innocence. Even the admirer of Alexander III, Minister of Finance S.Yu. Witte, was forced to admit that "... Emperor Alexander III was of a completely ordinary mind; perhaps, one can say, below average intelligence, below average abilities and below average education ... Emperor Alexander III had a small mind of reason, but he had a huge, outstanding mind of the heart.

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Probably, the "ordinary mind" and the lack of any "military talents" were one of the reasons that Alexander II was advised not to appoint the heir to the commander-in-chief of the entire army during the Russian-Turkish war. Alexander was entrusted with the modest position of commander of the Ruschuk detachment. Commander-in-Chief Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, Alexander's uncle, instructed him to guard the road from the Danube crossing at Sistovo to Tarnovo. The detachment almost did not take part in combat operations, the awards of the officers of the detachment were ignored. One of Alexander's companions, Count S. Shuvalov, wrote in his diary: "... It is a pity for the Tsarevich; his difficult situation."

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And one more fact that very clearly shows the critical attitude of contemporaries to Alexander's ability to govern the country. Professor of Moscow University A. I. Chivilev was horrified when he learned that his student was declared heir to the throne. In a conversation with his colleague Professor K. N. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, he said: "What a pity that the sovereign did not convince him to give up his rights: I cannot reconcile myself to the idea that he will rule Russia."

An ordinary mind, a lack of knowledge did not allow Alexander to navigate independently in the variety of questions that confronted him. Therefore, after his accession to the throne, it was the practice in the ministries to accompany each written report sent daily to the emperor with a short note outlining the essence of the matter - to facilitate the work of the sovereign.

During leisure hours, Alexander III did not read much. These were the novels of Leskov, Melnikov; I really liked the works of Markovich; did not like and did not understand many of the works of Tolstoy, did not know the works of Turgenev. The emperor did not read newspapers at all. "Of course, he reads little," General A. A. Kireev wrote in his diary, "the newspapers are hidden from him." He goes on to say that a kind of review was compiled for the tsar from newspaper information, which, after viewing it by the head of the Main Press Department and the Minister of Internal Affairs, was presented to Alexander.

The assassination of Alexander II made a stunning impression on his son. Fear of assassination literally poisoned his life.

Appointed in March 1881 by the St. Petersburg mayor, N. M. Baranov informed the sovereign about information allegedly received through the foreign police about new assassination attempts being prepared. Alexander III was not allowed outside the fence of the Anichkov Palace. Two days after the assassination attempt, I. I. Vorontsov-Dashkov, the Minister of the Court, sent a letter to Alexander III with a request not to take risks and move to the Winter Palace, so as not to endanger himself during daily transitions from the Anichkov Palace to the Winter Palace. Under the chairmanship of Vorontsov-Dashkov, a commission is formed to create a special honorary bodyguard for the sovereign. And for this purpose, in March 1881, a secret society, the Sacred Squad, was even created. The idea of ​​creating such an organization belonged to S. Yu. Witte, who was soon initiated into the members of this squad. The "Holy Squad" is "an attempt by government circles, the highest echelons of the bureaucracy to work out new means to combat revolutionary movement, whose organization had to be opposed by a secret society ... ". Representatives of the squad negotiated with the Executive Committee of the" People's Will ", which was asked to refrain from terrorist acts until the coronation of Alexander III. Fear that the revolutionaries would take advantage of the celebration to assassinate, forced the government to constantly postpone coronation; it took place only on May 15, 1883.

In those days, K.P. Pobedonostsev showed special concern for his pupil. In a letter dated March 11, 1881, he warned Alexander: "When you are going to bed, please lock the door behind you not only in the bedroom, but also in all the following rooms, up to the entrance." Pobedonostsev advised checking bells, furniture, people's reliability before going to bed, and "if anyone was even a little doubtful, you can find an excuse to remove him ...". Such concern contributed to the intensification of panic. March 27, 1881 Alexander III leaves St. Petersburg and settles in Gatchina. There he chooses for his stay not the main chambers, but "small gloomy and creepy" rooms on the mezzanine, where a person of average height could easily reach the ceiling with his hand. "In Gatchina, it is amazing ... the view of the palace and park, cordoned off by several rows of sentries, with the addition of police officers brought from St. Petersburg, horse patrols, secret agents ... The palace looks like a prison ...". D. A. Milyutin saw Gatchina like this. Alexander III voluntarily became a "prisoner of Gatchina".

The fears were not unfounded. In a letter to Alexander III published after the death of Alexander II, the Executive Committee of Narodnaya Volya announced that it did not intend to lay down its arms and would fight with even greater bitterness if the new tsar retained the autocratic form of government. On March 1, 1887, an attempt was made on the life of Alexander III. Participants in the failed attempt to assassinate the tsar P. I. Andreyushkin, V. D. Generalov, V. S. Osipanov, A. I. Ulyanov, P. Ya. Shevyrev were hanged on March 7, 1887.

Precautions were also taken in case the conspirators wanted to poison the sovereign. Each time they sent for provisions to a new place and to a new person. The suppliers did not know that their supplies were being taken for the king's table. The emperor ordered that new cooks be appointed daily, and at the last moment, unexpectedly for them. The cooks and cooks were carefully searched by the officers on duty.

During the long journeys of the sovereign and his family (to the south, abroad) 1 - 2 weeks before the passage of the royal train, the soldiers became a chain along the rails. The guns were loaded with firearms, the soldiers were ordered to shoot at anyone who approached the tracks. The imperial headquarters, created in 1884 to improve the protection of the king and his family, used other tricks. The direction of movement changed, and the troops were deployed along various railways. On another occasion, three identical trains were launched at short intervals, one after the other, and no one knew which one the tsar was in.

However, these preventive measures did not prevent the collapse of the sovereign's train on October 17, 1888, near Borki station. The entire train fell on the embankment, several people died. "During the crash, the emperor and his family were in the dining car... With his characteristic calmness... the sovereign got out of the car, reassured everyone, and helped the wounded." Of the members of the imperial family, the eldest daughter Xenia, who remained hunchbacked, suffered the most.

The cause of the accident was a violation of the rules of train traffic. The huge train, made up of heavy wagons, was pulled by two freight locomotives moving at an unacceptable speed. S. Yu. Witte, who at that time was the head of the South-Western Railway, had previously warned the Minister of Railways in the presence of Alexander III about the possible consequences of such a movement. After the crash, the tsar remembered this and offered Witte the post of director of the department of railway affairs in the Ministry of Finance.

In the event of his death, Alexander III appointed the eldest son of his brother Vladimir as regent. Therefore, Witte, who loved the emperor, was cunning when he wrote in his memoirs: "... Emperor Alexander III was an extremely courageous man ... In any case, he was never at all afraid of death."

From the biography it follows that Alexander III did not belong to the number of people who cared about their health. Indeed, he managed to hide his kidney disease for a long time. But when the usually obese sovereign began to lose weight, relatives turned to the famous Moscow professor Zakharyin. He determined the hopelessness of the situation. From the spring to the autumn of 1894, Alexander III stayed on his feet. He died on October 20, 1894 in Yalta, sitting in an armchair, in full consciousness.

Such was the man who ruled Russia for 13 years.

Alexander III ascended the throne in a difficult political and economic situation: the terrorist activities of the Narodnaya Volya reached its climax, the war with Turkey completely upset the finances and the monetary system. Under these conditions, the young sovereign had to make a choice - either to continue bourgeois transformations, or to firmly and cruelly begin to fight against all sorts of liberal moods and aspirations. Russian society froze in anticipation.

But Alexander III in the first months of his reign was in no hurry to proclaim the principles of his policy. This created hope in the community. “One could hope that the resumption of legislative work, constituting the continuation and completion of interrupted reforms, moreover, with the assistance of representatives of local interests, contributes both to calming minds and raising government authority,” D. A. Milyutin wrote in his diary.

The first statements and orders of the emperor were completely in the spirit of the previous course. It is known that in January 1881, the Minister of the Interior, Count M.T. Loris-Melikov, offered Alexander II his program. Its first part provided for the expansion of the rights of zemstvos, the press, the partial decentralization of administrative management, some financial and economic measures, including the completion peasant reform. The development of these measures was proposed to be carried out in temporary preparatory commissions with broad participation in them of representatives from zemstvos and city dumas. This project was called the "constitution" of Loris-Melikov. On the morning of March 1, Alexander II signed these papers and ordered them to be published in the Government Bulletin. But after his death, they could not be made public without the consent and signature of the new sovereign.

Loris-Melikov turned to Alexander III with a question whether the publication of this document should be suspended. The emperor did not hesitate to answer that the last will of the late king must be carried out. It seemed that it had finally happened: Russia would receive a constitution. The "Liberal Party" may triumph.

But the supporters of the reactionary course were not inactive either. Regicide inspired them. On March 1, 1881, late in the evening, K.P. Pobedonostsev appeared at the Anichkov Palace and begged Alexander III to dismiss Loris-Melikov. And although the tsar did not consider this possible, nevertheless at two o'clock in the morning Loris-Melikov received an order from the Anichkov Palace to suspend the printing of the program and subject it to a new discussion. On March 6, Pobedonostsev wrote to Alexander III: “Do not leave Count Loris-Melikov, I do not believe him. He is a magician and can still play a double game. If you give yourself into his hands, he will lead you and Russia to death ... And he not a Russian patriot. Take care, for God's sake, Your Highness, lest he take possession of your will... The new policy must be declared immediately and decisively. ..".

On March 8, a meeting of the Council of Ministers was held, at which the fate of Loris-Melikov's "constitution" was to be decided. Anticipating the discussion, Alexander said: “Count Loris-Melikov reported to the late sovereign about the need to convene representatives from zemstvos and cities. This idea was generally approved by my late father. However, the issue should not be considered a foregone conclusion, since the late father wanted to convene the Council of Ministers for its consideration."

How the discussion of this issue proceeded, we learn from the notes of a participant in the meeting of the Minister of War D. A. Milyutin. "From ... Count Sergei Grigorievich Stroganov, they heard that in the proposed program of peaceful legislative work, signs of revolution, constitution and all sorts of troubles are visible ... The sovereign listened with noticeable sympathy to the ultra-conservative speech of the old reactionary." But everything said by Stroganov and other ministers was pale and insignificant in comparison "with the long Jesuit speech delivered by Pobedonostsev; this was no longer one refutation of the measures proposed now, but a direct, sweeping censure of everything that had been committed in the past reign; he dared to name the great the reforms of Emperor Alexander II were a criminal mistake ... It was a denial of everything that formed the basis of European civilization."

"End of Russia!" - such is the leitmotif of Pobedonostsev's speech. "We are offered to set up a talking shop ... Everyone is chatting, and no one is working. They want to set up an all-Russian supreme talking shop."

The sovereign decided to reconsider Loris-Melikov's proposal again. The project was handed over to the commission, which never met again. The document was buried.

Despite Pobedonostsev's speech, the ministers who defended the liberal program still hoped to convince the sovereign to approve it. Loris-Melikov and Milyutin, discussing the state of affairs after the meeting, came to the conclusion "that both should remain in a wait-and-see position for some time, until it becomes clear which of the two opposite paths will be chosen by the emperor."

At a meeting on April 21, the question of the representation of zemstvos was again raised. Loris-Melikov, Milyutin, and other ministers argued the need for further development and completion of the reforms begun by Alexander II. But Alexander III no longer hesitated in assessing this project. “Our meeting today made a sad impression on me,” he wrote to Pobedonostsev. “Loris, Milyutin and Abaza positively continue the same policy and want to bring us to a representative government one way or another, but for now I will not be convinced that this is necessary for the happiness of Russia Of course, this will not happen, I will not allow it. It is unlikely, however, that I will ever be convinced of the benefits of such a measure, I am too sure of its harm. smart people who can seriously talk about a representative beginning in Russia, precisely learned phrases that they read from our lousy journalism and bureaucratic liberalism. I am more and more convinced that I cannot expect good from these ministers ... "

Pobedonostsev could celebrate victory. The fate of Loris-Melikov, Abaza and Milyutin was decided. But they didn't suspect it. And on April 28, 1881, a regular meeting was held, where a heated debate about the Zemstvos continued. Loris-Melikov's proposals to revise certain articles of the Regulations on zemstvos and city institutions, to involve zemstvos in the legislative development of questions on measures to improve the welfare of the peasant population were approved by all those present, except Pobedonostsev. The presiding Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich proposed a compromise: for the first time, limiting himself to calling from the provinces a small number of efficient and completely trustworthy people known to the government. The task of such a meeting is a preliminary discussion of the very question of the procedure for calling representatives of the zemstvos to process known bills in cases where the government recognizes this as useful.

And suddenly, those gathered with surprise learn from the Minister of Justice the news that the highest manifesto has been prepared for tomorrow. The author of the manifesto is K. P. Pobedonostsev. This was startling news. How?! A week ago, the sovereign expressed the wish that a preliminary agreement between the ministers be necessary. And suddenly such an important state act appears behind their backs.

On April 29, 1881, the manifesto "On the Inviolability of Autocracy" was published. “A special and unexpected thing has happened,” wrote Secretary of State E. A. Peretz, impressed by the manifesto. “A manifesto has been published declaring the sovereign’s firm intention to protect the autocracy ... The manifesto breathes partly with a challenge, a threat, but at the same time does not contain anything comforting neither for the educated classes, nor for the common people. In society, he made a depressing impression."

Insulted, Loris-Melikov, Abaza and Milyutin resigned, which was accepted. In the last conversation with Loris-Melikov, the sovereign spoke quite frankly that at the present moment, when the whole task was precisely to "strengthen the autocratic power", Milyutin, Loris-Melikov, Abaza were unsuitable for him.

The struggle of two government groups - supporters of the reactionary course and the group of Loris-Melikov - ended in victory for the first. It was "a struggle within the ruling class, reflecting the difference in the views of different statesmen on the ways and means of strengthening the autocratic state", - considers the largest researcher in the history of Russian tsarism P. A. Zaionchkovsky.

A combination of objective and subjective factors determined this victory. IN Russian society there was no force capable of resisting, counteracting the turn of the political course towards reaction. Representatives of government liberalism, led by Loris-Melikov, were demoralized by the assassination of the tsar. Under these conditions, it was the position of the sovereign that could become decisive in choosing a political course. Was Alexander III a convinced reactionary at the time of his accession to the throne? I think not. Rather, he was a conservative politician. When he was heir, liberal thoughts were not alien to him. Sometimes Alexander opposed and went against the opinions and tendencies of his father, read Slavophile articles by Yu. F. Samarin and I. S. Aksakov. A year before the death of his father, in February 1880, the future emperor corresponded with Loris-Melikov on the issue of a legislative institution. It seemed that the minister convinced Alexander of the need to involve representatives of the zemstvos in the discussion of state affairs. On April 12, 1880, the Tsarevich, having learned that Alexander II approved the liberal program of Loris-Melikov, wrote to the latter: “Thank God! I cannot express how glad I am that the sovereign accepted your note so graciously and with such confidence, dear Mikhail Tarielovich. .. Now you can safely go forward and calmly and persistently carry out your program for the happiness of your dear homeland and the misfortune of the ministers ... I congratulate you from the bottom of my heart ... ".

The murder of his father destroyed these sentiments, restored him against the so-called "liberal party" of Loris-Melikov, which he considered responsible for the death of Alexander II. According to the correct remark of G. I. Chulkov, the "lazy and clumsy mind" of Alexander III could not give birth to any independent idea. He needed a leader, a mentor.

From the first days of his reign, Konstantin Petrovich Pobedonostsev became the emperor's closest political adviser. “Someone will be the chief adviser to the young tsar?” asked A. V. Bogdanovich, the wife of the Minister of Internal Affairs E. V. Bogdanovich, the hostess of the St. Petersburg salon, where ministers and governors, metropolitans and maids of honor, diplomats and writers gathered. - God forbid so that only Pobedonostsev remains. He is harmful to both Russia and the tsar. "

KP Pobedonostsev, the son of a professor at Moscow University, was born in 1827. He received his education at the School of Law. He began his service in the Moscow departments of the Senate. As a professor at Moscow University in 1860-1865, he gained fame as the author of the three-volume Code of Russian Laws. The outstanding Russian lawyer A.F. Koni, who listened to Pobedonostsev’s lectures, wrote in his memoirs: “Above the pulpit towered a figure with a pale, thin, smooth-shaven face, in thick tortoiseshell glasses, through which intelligent eyes looked tired and indifferent, and from bloodless lips poured lazily, noiselessly monotonous speech. Pobedonostsev, preceded by literary fame and fame as an experienced civilist, inspired us with respect, but did not enliven us and left us indifferent to his subject.

In 1865 he was appointed a member of the consultation of the Ministry of Justice. In 1868, Pobedonostsev was a senator, and in 1872, a member of the State Council. His approach to royal family happened in the 60s of the 19th century, when the young professor was entrusted with teaching law to the grand dukes. His closest relations with the future Emperor Alexander III were established in the second half of the 70s. This is confirmed by the number of Pobedonostsev's letters to the heir. In 1880, on the initiative of Tsarevich Alexander, Konstantin Petrovich took the post of chief prosecutor of the Holy Synod, otherwise - the minister for the grandfathers of the Russian Orthodox Church. At the same time, he assumed the duties of a political mentor to the eldest son of Alexander III, Nicholas.

According to his political views, which are set out in letters to the emperor and in the book "Moscow collection" (1896), Pobedonostsev belonged to the representatives of extreme reaction. "Autocracy, Orthodoxy, nationality" - this is how briefly the political creed of this statesman can be formulated. He was a supporter of unlimited autocracy, the preservation of noble privileges, and an ardent enemy of Western European forms of public life. The "evil and sharp mind" of the chief prosecutor lashed out with criticism at bourgeois parliamentarism, the venality of the deputies, and the falsity of their eloquence. "One of the most deceitful political principles there is the beginning of people's power, unfortunately, the idea that has been established since the time of the French Revolution that all power comes from the people and has its foundation in the will of the people. This is where the theory of parliamentarism comes from, which is still misleading the mass of the so-called intelligentsia and, unfortunately, has penetrated into Russian crazy heads, "he wrote in his article" The Great Lie of Our Time ". Since the Zemstvos in Russia were arranged according to the parliamentary principle Pobedonostsev is merciless towards jury trials, university autonomy, and secular public education.

Contemporaries unanimously recognized in him a large, sharp and subtle mind, broad education and at the same time narrowness of judgment, intolerance. He hated the intelligentsia, could not stand any dissent - neither political nor religious. “The state recognizes one religion out of all as a true religion and exclusively supports and patronizes one church, to the prejudice of all other churches and confessions,” Pobedonostsev wrote in the Moscow Collection. “This prejudice means in general that all other churches are not recognized as true or completely true; but in practice it is expressed in an unequal form, with many different shades, and from non-recognition and condemnation comes to persecution. Based on these principles, the Minister of Religion persecuted all Old Believers, sectarians and representatives of other religions. In the literature, we find a comparison of Pobedonostsev with Thomas Torquemada, head of the Spanish Inquisition in the 80s of the 15th century.

The impact of Pobedonostsev's speeches, letters and articles on listeners and readers was intensified by the fact that, in defense of his reactionary views, he introduced "fiery faith, exalted patriotism, deep and immutable conviction, broad education, a rare power of dialectics ... perfect simplicity and great charm of manners and speech".

But, filled with "reasonable and talented criticism", he suffered from "a complete absence of positive life creativity ...". Here is another point of view: "... There was no person who would be so frightened of any decisive action ... one had only to hint that one cannot sit idly by, measures must be taken ... and he was immediately horrified." A person was needed who could embody Pobedonostsev's ideas. The autocrat became "a beast of burden, on which he put his heavy burden of the Victorious."

In the second half of the 80s, Alexander III was less and less inclined to heed the advice of his teacher. The main reason for the loss of influence on the sovereign was the lack of a positive political program. This was also pointed out by the emperor himself in a conversation with S. Yu. Witte: "... Pobedonostsev is an excellent critic, but he himself can never create anything ... one cannot live by criticism, but one must go forward, one must create, but in In this regard, K. P. Pobedonostsev and other persons of his own direction can no longer be of any use ... ". During the first half of the 80s of the XIX century. government policy was built under the influence of the "criticism" of Pobedonostsev, who became the creator of counter-reforms in Russia.

The first signs of a departure from the course adopted in the last reign were the removal from the post of chairman of the State Council of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, who, in his views, was a resolute supporter of bourgeois reforms; an attempt to reconcile Loris-Melikov with Pobedonostsev; expressed sympathy for I. S. Aksakov’s speech against “the unreasonable and criminal encroachments and aspirations of pseudo-liberalism, which wants to push Russia onto the wrong path of constitutional reforms that are alien to its national genius.

But the so-called "reactionary party", whose leader was Pobedonostsev, could not immediately begin to implement its plans. In the situation of continuing unrest in the country, Alexander III did not dare to go over to reaction. Figures of the transitional period appeared on the political scene in Russia: the Minister of the Interior, Count N. P. Ignatiev, the Minister of Finance, Professor N. X. Bunge, and the Minister of Education, Baron A. P. Nikolai.

The new interior minister took steps to stabilize the political situation in the country. According to the adopted "Regulations on Measures to Protect State Order and Public Peace", all administrative power - from the minister, the governor to the district police officer - received exclusive rights. Any province could be declared under martial law, each inhabitant could be sent out of the province by the power of the governor.

But Ignatiev could not but understand that it was difficult to establish order by repressive measures alone. In May 1882, he presented to the sovereign a draft deliberative Zemsky Sobor, the convocation of which should have been timed to coincide with the coronation of Alexander III. Again, Pobedonostsev intervened immediately. “After reading these papers,” he wrote to the emperor on May 4, 1882, “I was horrified at the mere thought of what could follow when Count Ignatiev’s proposal was carried out ...” In a letter dated May 6, Pobedonostsev even more bluntly: "The more I think, the more horrific the enormity of this project horrifies me...". At a personal meeting with the sovereign, he argued that it was necessary once and for all to put an end to attempts "to carry out dangerous experiments on the fundamental foundations of our state system, which, fortunately, Loris-Melikov did not succeed." The last attempt to "update" Russia was thwarted.

On May 27, 1882, a meeting was held in Gatchina to discuss the proposed project. No matter how Ignatiev tried to present the convocation of the Zemsky Sobor as a decoration for the magnificent atmosphere of the coronation of the king, a symbol of unity with the people, to prove the harmlessness of this undertaking, not a single vote was cast in favor of Ignatiev. The Minister of the Interior was becoming undesirable in this position.

On the eve of the meeting, Pobedonostsev, talking with M. N. Ostrovsky, Minister of State Property, suggested who it would be desirable to replace Count Ignatiev in the event of his removal. Count D. A. Tolstoy seemed to him the only suitable figure. After the meeting, Pobedonostsev went directly from Gatchina to negotiate with Tolstoy, on May 28 he already reported to Alexander III: “This morning I carried out the order of your imperial majesty: I was with Count Tolstoy and explained to him ... When your majesty would like to call him, he will honor it is my duty to report to you my views on certain essential matters in this department."

On May 30, D. A. Tolstoy was appointed Minister of the Interior. For S.Yu. Witte it was obvious that "the Emperor Alexander III appointed him Minister of the Interior ... precisely because he had ultra-conservative views." The entire liberal community gasped in indignation. "According to the general opinion, now a dictatorship was to come ... which would strengthen power and put an end to all unsightly phenomena in our public life with harsh measures," we read in the memoirs of E. M. Feoktistov. testified to a decisive turn in the policy of Alexander III.

Briefly headed the ministry public education and Nikolai. A year later, I. D. Delyanov replaced him. D. A. Milyutin, having learned about this appointment, wrote in his diary: “This is almost the same as if Katkov had been appointed; this is the restoration of the ministry of Count Tolstoy, hated for all of Russia. Between the previous regime and the future, the difference is only in the lining: Tolstoy had gall on the lining; Delyanoff would have idiocy. Poor Russia."

So, the mobilization of forces capable of strengthening the shattered autocracy was essentially completed. It was possible to start implementing a program that could return Russia to pre-reform times.

The first victims of the new policy were the press and the school. The new censorship charter pursued the goal of strangling the opposition press. In 1883-1884. all radical and many liberal periodicals ceased to exist: Otechestvennye Zapiski by M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, Delo by N.V. Shelgunov, Golos, Zemstvo. In 1884, university autonomy was abolished, uniforms were reintroduced for students as a "means of supervision" over them, upon entering the university it was necessary to submit a characteristic "about reliability", tuition fees at universities increased five times. In 1887, a circular was issued, known as "the cook's children", according to which it was forbidden to admit the children of coachmen, lackeys, laundresses, small shopkeepers to the gymnasium. All primary schools were transferred to the church department - the Synod. “The political activity of such leaders of the last two tsars as K. P. Pobedonostsev and D. A. Tolstoy was deliberately aimed at delaying the enlightenment of the Russian people,” P. N. Milyukov gave such an assessment of government policy in the field of education.

In 1886 Tolstoy started the transformation of zemstvo institutions. The socio-economic development of Russia naturally led to a weakening of the position of the nobility in the zemstvos and an increase in the role of the commercial and industrial bourgeoisie, new landowners from merchants, and wealthy peasants. Most of all, the government was worried about the growth of opposition sentiments and the constitutional claims of the Zemstvo. Therefore, the purpose of the planned reforms was to strengthen the representation of the nobility, that is, the "nobility" of zemstvo institutions, according to Witte's exact remark. To this end, the qualification for the nobility was reduced and the number of noble vowels increased. The peasantry was deprived of elective representation. Vowels from the peasants were appointed by the governor himself. Not a single decision of the Zemstvo was taken without the approval of the governor or the Minister of the Interior.

One of the most reactionary reforms was the introduction in 1889 of the institution of zemstvo chiefs. Zemstvo chiefs were appointed by the Minister of the Interior from local hereditary nobles on the proposal of the governors. Having combined in their hands the functions of administrators and judges, they received unlimited power. The world court in the village was destroyed. All activities of peasant self-government were under their control. The peasants had no right to complain about the zemstvo chiefs. By this act, the autocracy essentially restored the power of the landlords over the peasants, which had been lost under the reform of 1861.

According to the recollections of witnesses of these transformations, primarily Witte and Feoktistov, even many of the conservatives did not sympathize with this institution. The Chairman of the State Council, Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich, attempted to influence the emperor through Pobedonostsev. “I myself can’t do anything, how many times I convinced the sovereign to arrange a meeting, to listen to both sides, but he didn’t want to hear about it,” complained Mikhail Nikolayevich. On December 29, 1888, Pobedonostsev sent a letter to Alexander III, where he very slyly stated the following: "... everyone fears that it is precisely this goal, i.e., the establishment of order, that cannot be achieved by such a setting of the institution. In vain, Count Tolstoy suspects a fundamental resistance... In the form in which Count Tolstoy's draft is presented, it is my deep conviction, shared by quite a few, that it can only cause harm and not only fail to establish order, but cause disorder, giving rise to a confusion of powers... To resolve these important questions quickly and without careful, detailed discussion would mean to stake the great question of establishing order and peace in rural population Russia".

But the sovereign was deaf to these arguments. Witte believes that "Alexander III insisted on this idea ... precisely because he was tempted by the idea that all of Russia would be divided into zemstvo plots, that in each plot there would be a respectable nobleman who enjoys general respect in the given area, that this a respectable nobleman-landowner will take care of the peasants, judge them and dress them up. Justifying his idol, Witte writes that if this was a mistake, it was in the highest degree sincere, since the emperor was "deeply cordial to all the needs of the Russian peasantry ...".

The judicial reform was also changed: the activities of the jury were significantly limited.

The result of the transformations carried out by Alexander III and his government was not just the conservation of the feudal political system, but also its strengthening.

Government policy in the field of industry and finance differed from the political course. Objectively, it contributed to the further movement of Russia along the capitalist path.

Under Alexander III, "customs policy turned sharply from free trade to protectionism", protective measures were expanded in relation to industry, a transition was made to new bourgeois principles of taxation, the "nationalization" of railways began, and a drinking and tobacco monopoly was introduced. These measures have contributed further development trade, industry, the elimination of the budget deficit, which made it possible to carry out a reform - to move to the gold circulation. Industrial and financial policy Alexander III created the prerequisites for a powerful economic recovery in the second half of the 1990s.

The government of Alexander III was forced to recognize the existence of the labor question. In order to mitigate clashes between industrialists and workers, the working hours of women and adolescents were limited, a factory inspectorate was established, and mandatory rules were issued on the conditions of factory work.

Speaking about the agrarian policy pursued by Alexander III, it is necessary to note its contradictory nature. As early as the Minister of Finance, A. A. Abaza, a number of reforms were outlined, which were carried out by his successor, N. Kh. In 1882, the government established the Peasant Land Bank, which issued loans for the purchase of land to peasants. This contributed to the spread of private land ownership among the peasants.

But with one hand, strengthening the bourgeois foundations in the countryside, with the other hand, the government created barriers to the capitalization of the countryside. For the economic support of the local nobility in 1885, the Noble Land Bank was created, from which the nobles received loans on very favorable terms. But it was literally state money thrown to the wind, because in most cases they were drunk, eaten up, lost. As G. V. Plekhanov rightly remarked, "this led the 'first estate' to economic collapse and complete demoralization."

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a series of laws were adopted aimed at preserving the patriarchal peasant family and community: family sections and limited early redemption of allotments.

The difference in approaches to the development of an economic and political course cannot be explained only by the feeling of "respect for the state ruble, the state penny, which Alexander III possessed", or by his understanding that "Russia can become great only when it becomes a country ... industrial" . Neither Alexander III nor his finance ministers could ignore, firstly, the interests of the state treasury, and secondly, the strengthening of the state's defense power. Finally, it must be borne in mind that the economic sphere was largely outside the power of the autocracy.

In area foreign policy Alexander III was guided by the national interests of Russia. He did not share the pro-German sentiments of his father, Alexander II. The unfavorable position of Germany towards Russia in the Balkans further cooled Russian-German relations, and rapprochement with France began. The thirteen-year reign of Alexander III passed peacefully, without major military clashes. This policy brought him the laurels of the "peacemaker" king.

Estimates of contemporaries of the reign of Alexander III are mutually exclusive. Let's take a look at the brightest ones. S. Yu. Witte: ",. Emperor Alexander III was far from being appreciated by his contemporaries and the next generation, and the majority are skeptical about his reign. This is highly unfair. Emperor Alexander III was a great emperor." G. V. Plekhanov: "For thirteen years Alexander III sowed the wind..."

K. P. Pobedonostsev retired during the reign of Nicholas II, after the publication of the Manifesto on October 17, 1905. In March 1907, he died.