Party control in the USSR. Central Control Commission of the CPSU

Emperor Alexander II, who went down in history with the nickname “Liberator” for the abolition of serfdom, was not popular with everyone among his contemporaries. In particular, he was especially disliked by representatives of radical revolutionary democratic organizations. He became the first Russian emperor to have so many assassination attempts made - before the tragic day of March 1, 1881, there were five, and with the last two explosions, the number of attempts increased to seven.

The executive committee of the Narodnaya Volya organization “sentenced” the emperor to death in 1879, after which it made two attempts to assassinate him, both of which ended in failure. The third attempt at the beginning of 1881 was prepared especially carefully. Various options for the assassination attempt were considered, and two of them were most actively prepared. Firstly, it was supposed to blow up A stone bridge across the Catherine Canal: this was the only bridge over which the emperor’s carriage could get to the Winter Palace when Alexander II was returning from Tsarskoye Selo station. However, this plan was technically difficult to implement, was fraught with numerous casualties among the townspeople, and in the winter of 1881 the tsar practically did not travel to Tsarskoye Selo.

The second plan provided for the creation of a tunnel under Malaya Sadovaya Street, along which one of the Tsar’s permanent routes ran, followed by an explosion. If the mine suddenly did not go off, then four Narodnaya Volya members should have thrown bombs at the Tsar’s carriage, and if Alexander II had remained alive after that, then the leader of the “Narodnaya Volya” Andrei Zhelyabov personally had to jump into the carriage and stab the Tsar. To implement this plan, house No. 8 on Malaya Sadovaya had already been rented, from which they began to dig a tunnel. But shortly before the assassination attempt, the police arrested many prominent members of Narodnaya Volya, including Zhelyabov who was arrested on February 27. The arrest of the latter prompted the conspirators to take action. After Zhelyabov’s arrest, the emperor was warned about the possibility of a new assassination attempt, but he took it calmly, saying that he was under divine protection, which had already allowed him to survive 5 assassination attempts.

After Zhelyabov’s arrest, the group was headed by Sofya Perovskaya. Under the leadership of Nikolai Kibalchich, 4 bombs were made. On the morning of March 1, Perovskaya handed them over to Grinevitsky, Mikhailov, Emelyanov and Rysakov.

On March 1 (13, new style), Alexander II left the Winter Palace for Manege, accompanied by a rather small guard (in the face of a new assassination attempt). The Emperor attended the changing of the guards at the Manege. And then he went to the Mikhailovsky Palace for tea with his cousin.

Emperor Alexander 2nd was born on April 29, 1818. Being the son of Nicholas 1st and heir to the throne, he received an excellent, comprehensive education. Alexander's teachers were Zhukovsky and military officer Merder. His father also had a noticeable influence on the formation of the personality of Alexander II. Alexander ascended the throne after the death of Nicholas 1st - in 1855. By that time, he already had some experience in governance, since he acted as sovereign while his father was not in the capital. This ruler went down in history as Alexander the 2nd Liberator. Composing short biography Alexander 2nd, it is necessary to mention his reform activities.

The wife of Alexander 2nd in 1841 was Princess Maximilian Wilhelmina Augusta Sophia Maria of Hesse-Darmstadt, better known as Maria Alexandrovna. She bore Alexander seven children, the eldest two died. And since 1880, the tsar was married (in a morganatic marriage) to Princess Dolgorukaya, with whom he had four children.

The internal policy of Alexander the 2nd was strikingly different from the policy of Nicholas the 1st and was marked. The most important of them was the peasant reform of Alexander the 2nd, according to which in 1861, on February 19, it was. This reform created an urgent need for further changes in many Russian institutions and entailed the conduct of Alexander the 2nd.

In 1864, by decree of Alexander the 2nd, it was carried out. Its goal was to create a system of local self-government, for which the institution of district zemstvo was established.

Alexander II

The eldest son of first the grand ducal, and since 1825, the imperial couple Nicholas I and Alexandra Feodorovna, daughter of the Prussian king Frederick William III.

Born on April 17, 1818, on Bright Wednesday, at 11 o’clock in the morning in the Bishop’s House of the Chudov Monastery in the Kremlin, where the entire Imperial family, with the exception of the uncle of the newborn Alexander I, who was on an inspection trip to the south of Russia, arrived in early April for fasting and celebrating Easter; A 201-gun salvo was fired in Moscow. On May 5, the sacraments of baptism and confirmation were performed over the baby in the church of the Chudov Monastery by Moscow Archbishop Augustine, in honor of which Maria Feodorovna gave a gala dinner.

The future emperor was educated at home. His mentor (with the responsibility of supervising the entire process of upbringing and education) was the poet V.A. Zhukovsky, teacher of the Law of God and Sacred History - Archpriest Gerasim Pavsky (until 1835), military instructor - Karl Karlovich Merder, as well as: M.M. Speransky (legislation), K. I. Arsenyev (statistics and history), E. F. Kankrin (finance), F. I. Brunov ( foreign policy), Academician Collins (arithmetic), K. B. Trinius (natural history).

According to numerous testimonies, in his youth he was very impressionable and amorous. So, during a trip to London in 1839, he had a fleeting, but strong, love for young queen Victoria, who would later become his most hated ruler in Europe.

Upon reaching adulthood on April 22, 1834 (the day he took the oath), the Heir-Tsarevich was introduced by his father into the main state institutions Empire: in 1834 to the Senate, in 1835 included in the Holy Governing Synod, from 1841 member of the State Council, in 1842 - the Committee of Ministers.

In 1837 Alexander committed big Adventure throughout Russia and visited 29 provinces of the European part, Transcaucasia and Western Siberia, and in 1838-39 he visited Europe.

The future emperor's military service was quite successful. In 1836 he already became a major general, and from 1844 a full general, commanding the guards infantry. Since 1849, Alexander was the head of military educational institutions, chairman of the Secret Committees on Peasant Affairs in 1846 and 1848. During Crimean War 1853-56, with the declaration of martial law in the St. Petersburg province, he commanded all the troops of the capital.

In his life, Alexander did not adhere to any specific concept in his views on the history of Russia and the tasks government controlled. Having ascended the throne in 1855, he received a difficult legacy. None of the issues of his father’s 30-year reign (peasant, eastern, Polish, etc.) were resolved; Russia was defeated in the Crimean War.

The first of his important decisions was the conclusion of the Paris Peace in March 1856. A “thaw” has set in in the socio-political life of the country. On the occasion of his coronation in August 1856, he declared an amnesty for the Decembrists, Petrashevites, and participants in the Polish uprising of 1830-31, suspended recruitment for 3 years, and in 1857 liquidated military settlements.

Not being a reformer by vocation or temperament, Alexander became one in response to the needs of the time as a man of sober mind and good will.

Alexander II

It is inappropriate to evaluate the results of the complex and contradictory reform activities of Alexander II in a reference article. At the moment we are interested in, only one reform has become a fact (but what a reform!) - the peasant one. But its practical implementation has only just begun. For details of the peasant reform, see the articles already posted earlier.
Next, I refer those interested to a rather good popular journalistic book: L. Lyashenko. Alexander II, or the story of three solitudes

***


Maria Alexandrovna (August 8, 1824, Darmstadt - June 8, 1880, St. Petersburg) - wife of the Russian Emperor Alexander II and mother of the future Emperor Alexander III.

Born Princess Maximilian Wilhelmina Maria of Hesse (1824-1841), after her marriage she received the title of Grand Duchess (1841-1855), after her husband’s accession to Russian throne became empress (2 March 1855 - 8 June 1880).

Maria was illegitimate daughter Wilhelmina of Baden, Grand Duchess of Hesse and her chamberlain Baron von Senarklen de Grancy. Wilhelmina's husband, Grand Duke Ludwig II of Hesse, to avoid scandal and thanks to the intervention of Wilhelmina's siblings, recognized Maria and her brother Alexander as his children (the other two illegitimate children died in infancy). Despite the recognition, they continued to live separately in Heiligenberg, while Ludwig II lived in Darmstadt.

Empress Maria Alexandrovna

In 1838, the future Emperor Alexander II, traveling around Europe to find a wife, fell in love with 14-year-old Maria of Hesse and married her in 1841, although he was well aware of the secret of her origin.

Wedding silver ruble of Nicholas I for the wedding of the heir to the throne Alexander Nikolaevich and Princess Maria of Hesse

On the initiative of Maria Alexandrovna, all-class women's gymnasiums and diocesan schools were opened in Russia, and the Red Cross was established.

Cities in Russia were named in honor of Maria Alexandrovna:
Mariinsky Posad (Chuvashia). Until 1856 - the village of Sundyr. On June 18, 1856, Emperor Alexander II renamed the village to the city of Mariinsky Posad in honor of his wife.
Mariinsk ( Kemerovo region). Renamed in 1857 (former name - Kiyskoe).

Here it is website(school local history museum), dedicated to Maria Alexandrovna.

* * *


At the moment in time we are interested in, the heir to the throne is considered... no, not the future emperor Alexander III. And the eldest son of Alexander II is Nikolai Alexandrovich.

Nikolai Alexandrovich (8 (20) September 1843 - 12 (24) April 1865, Nice) - Tsarevich and Grand Duke, eldest son of Emperor Alexander II, ataman of all Cossack troops, Major General of His Imperial Majesty's retinue, Chancellor of the University of Helsingfors.

Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich

In the early 1860s, accompanied by his tutor Count S.G. Stroganov, he made study tours around the country. In 1864 he went abroad. While abroad, on September 20, 1864, he became engaged to the daughter of Christian IX, King Danish princess Dagmar (1847-1928), who later became the wife of his brother, Emperor Alexander III. While traveling in Italy, he fell ill and died of tuberculous meningitis.

Heir Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich with his bride, Princess Dagmara

* * *


In total, at the time we are interested in, the imperial couple had seven children (and a total of 8 children were born in the family)

The first child of the future Emperor Alexander II and Maria Alexandrovna, Grand Duchess Alexandra Alexandrovna, was born in 1842 and died suddenly at the age of seven. After her death, no one in the imperial family named their daughters after Alexander, since all the princesses with that name died early, before reaching the age of 20.

Second child - Nikolai Alexandrovich, Tsarevich (see above)
The third is Alexander Alexandrovich, the future Emperor Alexander III (born in 1845)
Further:
Vladimir (born in 1847)
Alexey (born in 1850)
Maria (born in 1853)
Sergei (born in 1857) (the same one who would later be killed by the Socialist-Revolutionary terrorist Ivan Kalyaev in 1905)
Pavel (born in 1860)

At least two other members of the imperial family played a major role in carrying out the Great Reforms: Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich and Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna.

Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich (September 9, 1827 St. Petersburg - January 13, 1892 Pavlovsk) - the second son of the Russian Emperor Nicholas I.

His father decided that Konstantin should become almiral of the fleet and, from the age of five, entrusted his upbringing to the famous navigator Fyodor Litka. In 1835 he accompanied his parents on a trip to Germany. In 1844 he was appointed commander of the brig Ulysses, in 1847 - the frigate Pallada. On August 30, 1848 he was appointed to the retinue of His Imperial Majesty and chief of the Naval Cadet Corps.

In 1848 in St. Petersburg he married Alexandra Friederike Henrietta Paulina Marianna Elisabeth, the fifth daughter of Duke Joseph of Saxe-Altenburg (in Orthodoxy Alexandra Iosifovna).

In 1849 he was appointed to sit on the State and Admiralty Councils. In 1850 he headed the Committee to revise and supplement the General Code of Naval Charter and became a member of the State Council and the Council of Military Educational Institutions. Promoted to vice admiral in 1853. During the Crimean War, Konstantin Nikolaevich took part in the defense of Kronstadt from the attack of the Anglo-French fleet.

Since 1855 - admiral of the fleet; from that time on he managed the fleet and the maritime department as a minister. The first period of his management was marked by a number of important reforms: the previous sailing fleet was replaced by a steam one, the available composition of coastal teams was reduced, office work was simplified, and emerital cash desks were established; Corporal punishment has been abolished.

Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich

Adhered to liberal values, in 1857 he was elected chairman peasant committee, who developed reform projects.

Viceroy of the Kingdom of Poland from June 1862 to October 1863. His viceroy fell on the period before and during the January Uprising. Together with the civil governor of the CPU, Marquis Alexander Wielopolsky, he tried to pursue a conciliatory policy and carry out liberal reforms, but without success. Soon after Konstantin Nikolaevich arrived in Warsaw, an attempt was made on his life. Journeyman tailor Ludovic Yaroshinsky shot him point-blank with a pistol on the evening of June 21 (July 4), 1862, when he was leaving the theater, but Konstantin Nikolaevich was only slightly wounded. (more details about the events in the Central Election Commission on the eve of the January Uprising will be discussed in a separate article)

* * *


Really an outstanding person was Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, widow of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich ( younger brother Alexander I and Nicholas I).

Before accepting Orthodoxy - Princess Frederike Charlotte Marie of Württemberg (German: Friederike Charlotte Marie Prinzessin von Württemberg, December 24 (January 6) 1806 - January 9 (22), 1873)

Princess of the House of Württemberg, daughter of Duke Paul Karl Friedrich August and Princess of the Ducal House of Saxe-Altenburg Charlotte Dahlia Friederike Louise Sophia Theresa.
She was brought up in Paris at the private boarding house Campan.
At the age of 15, she was chosen by the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, also a representative of the House of Württemberg, as the wife of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, the fourth son of Emperor Paul I.
She converted to Orthodoxy and was granted the title of Grand Duchess as Elena Pavlovna (1823). On February 8 (21), 1824, she was married according to the Greek-Eastern Orthodox rite with Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich.

In 1828, after the death of the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, according to Her Highest will, control of the Mariinsky and Midwifery Institutes passed to the Grand Duchess. She was the chief of the 10th Dragoon Novgorod Regiment.

She showed herself as a philanthropist: she gave funds to the artist Ivanov to transport the painting “The Appearance of Christ to the People” to Russia, and patronized K. P. Bryullov, I. K. Aivazovsky, and Anton Rubinstein. Having supported the idea of ​​​​establishing the Russian Musical Society and Conservatory, she financed this project by making large donations, including proceeds from the sale of diamonds that personally belonged to her. The conservatory's primary classes opened in her palace in 1858.

She supported the actor I. F. Gorbunov, the tenor Nilsky, and the surgeon Pirogov. She contributed to the posthumous publication of the collected works of N. V. Gogol. She was interested in the activities of the university, the Academy of Sciences, and the Free Economic Society.

Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna

In 1853-1856 she was one of the founders of the Holy Cross community of sisters of mercy with dressing stations and mobile hospitals - the community charter was approved on October 25, 1854. She issued an appeal to all Russian women not associated family responsibilities, with a call for help to the sick and wounded. The premises of the Mikhailovsky Castle were provided at the disposal of the community for storing things and medicines; the Grand Duchess financed its activities. In the fight against the views of society, which did not approve of this kind of activity by women, the Grand Duchess went to hospitals every day and bandaged the wounded with her own hands.

For the cross that the sisters were to wear, Elena Pavlovna chose St. Andrew's ribbon. On the cross there were inscriptions: “Take My yoke upon you” and “You, O God, are my strength.” Elena Pavlovna explained her choice like this: “Only in humble patience do we receive strength and strength from God.”
On November 5, 1854, after mass, the Grand Duchess herself put a cross on each of the thirty-five sisters, and the next day they left for Sevastopol, where Pirogov was waiting for them.
On N.I. Pirogov, the great Russian scientist and surgeon, was entrusted with training and then supervising their work in the Crimea. From December 1854 to January 1856, more than 200 nurses worked in Crimea.
After the end of the war, an outpatient hospital and free school for 30 girls.

Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna among the sisters of mercy, mid-1850s

The Grand Duchess provided guardianship to the school of St. Helena; founded in memory of her daughters the Elisabeth Children's Hospital (St. Petersburg), and the Elisabeth and Mary orphanages (Moscow, Pavlovsk); reorganized the Maximilian Hospital, where, on her initiative, a permanent hospital was created.

Since the late 1840s, evenings were held in the Mikhailovsky Palace - “Thursdays” at which issues of politics and culture, literary novelties were discussed. The circle of Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, which met on “Thursdays,” became the center of communication for leading statesmen - the developers and conductors of the Great Reforms.
According to A. F. Koni, meetings with Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna were the main discussion platform where plans for reforms in the second half of the 19th century were developed. Supporters of reforms called her among themselves “the benefactor mother.”

In an effort to cause a positive shift in the sentiments of the nobility regarding peasant reform, in 1856 she took the initiative to free the peasants on her estate Karlovka, Poltava province, which included 12 villages and hamlets, 9090 acres of land, with a population of 7392 men and 7625 women. A plan was developed with the manager, Baron Engelhart, which provided for the personal liberation of the peasants and the provision of land to them for a ransom.
In March 1856, Elena Pavlovna, together with N.A. Milyutin (brother of D.A. Milyutin, also a liberal statesman and one of the main developers of the peasant reform) an action plan was developed for the liberation of peasants in Poltava and adjacent provinces, which received the preliminary approval of the Sovereign.
By patronizing liberal figures - the Milyutin brothers, Lansky, Cherkassky, Samarin and others - Elena Pavlovna acted as one of the leading forces of the upcoming peasant reform.
For her activities to liberate the peasants, she received the honorary title in the society “Princesse La Liberte”. She was awarded a gold medal by the Emperor.

Elena Pavlovna was a widely educated person, in her youth she was friends with A.S. Pushkin, then with I.S. Turgenev, communicated with all the then intellectual elite Russia; attended lectures on a variety of subjects, including technical subjects - agronomy, military statistics, etc.

The death of her 4 daughters and her husband (in 1849), for whom she mourned until her death in 1873, made a grave impression on the Grand Duchess.

Growing up in a Protestant family, Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna was a deeply religious Orthodox Christian. Having been baptized in honor of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Queen Helen of Constantinople, she became close to the Feast of the Exaltation, especially caring for the Exaltation Church of the Moscow Yamskaya Settlement in St. Petersburg; as a gift to the temple she brought icons of Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine and Helen with particles of the Cross of the Lord, the honorable relics of John the Baptist, Apostle Andrew the First-Called, Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine and St. John Chrysostom; I ordered a large altarpiece of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross for the church. The image was created by the icon painter Fadeev in a specially designated hall of the Mikhailovsky Palace.
On behalf of Elena Pavlovna, they were translated and published in French Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, short prayer book and the penitential canon of Andrew of Crete, “to acquaint foreigners with the beauty and depth of our worship and make it easier for those who have accepted Orthodoxy to understand our prayers.” In 1862, in Carlsbad, A.I. Koshelev, with the approval of the Grand Duchess, initiated a subscription for construction there Orthodox church, completed within two years.

According to Count P. A. Valuev, with the death of Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna in 1873, “the brilliant mental lamp went out. She patronized many things and created many things...”; “It’s unlikely that anyone will replace her,” I. S. Turgenev wrote sadly.