Alexander I of Russia (23 December 1777-1 December 1825) was Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825, succeeding Paul I and preceding Nicholas I.
Biography[]
Alexander Pavlovich Romanov was born in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire in 1777, the son of Czar Paul I of Russia and Empress Maria Feodorovna. He succeeded to the throne after his father's assassination in 1801, and he often used liberal rhetoric during the early years of his reign while continuing Russia's absolutist policies. He presided over the construction of more universities, abolished over-centralized collegium ministries in favor of creating a Council of Ministers, State Council, and Supreme Court to improve the legal system, and planned to set up a parliament and sign a constitution. Alexander rejected Peter the Great's Westernizing tendencies and identified with the nationalist Slavophiles, seeking for Russia to develop on the basis of Russian culture rather than European. From 1804 to 1812, he changed Russia's position towards France four times, initially joining the Third Coalition before suffering massive defeats at the Battle of Austerlitz and the Battle of Friedland and switching sides in 1807. He joined Napoleon's Continental System blockade against Britain and fought short wars with Britain and Sweden as a result, but the Russo-French alliance collapsed in 1810 due to disagreements over France's creation of the Duchy of Warsaw. In 1812, the French invasion of Russia descended into catastrophe even as the French were able to capture Moscow, and, as part of the coalition that deposed Napoleon in 1814, he gained Finland and Poland for his empire. After the Napoleonic Wars, he formed the Holy Alliance to suppress the revolutionary movements in Europe, supporting Austria's Klemens von Metternich in suppressing all national and liberal movements. He became increasingly reactionary during the second half of his reign and rolled back his previous reforms; he purged schools of foreign teachers, transformed education into a religiously-driven and politically conservative process, and created military settlements. He died in 1825, and the ensuing succession crisis led to the Decembrist revolt and ultimately the succession of his brother Nicholas I of Russia to the throne.
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