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The Reigns of Paul I and Alexander I: Early Periods and Reforms

Explore the contrasting reigns of Paul I and Alexander I of Russia, their personalities, reforms, and the impact of key events like Paul's assassination and the Napoleonic Wars.

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The Reigns of Paul I and Alexander I: Early Periods and Reforms

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  1. Aleksandr I (r. 1801-1825)early period and reforms

  2. But first, Paul I, 1796-1801 • Born 1754 • Isolated, strict upbringing • Tutor Poroshin said Paul “always in a hurry.” • Catherine cold to him • Became very suspicious, especially of assassination • Married Maria Feodorovna (1776), who bore Aleksandr in 1777. • Worried about his legitimacy.

  3. "To Great Grandfather from Great Grandson" (Прадеду - правнук)”

  4. Paul’s reign, 1796-1801 • Knights of Malta (1798) • Chivalry • St. Michael’s Castle • Overturned many of Catherine’s laws • Decreed strict primogeniture • Anti-French, anti-West, then anti-British • pro-serf, restricted barshchina to 3/week; nobles saw as interference in their private affairs • Imposed travel restrictions • Corporal punishment

  5. Paul’s assassination, 23 March 1801 • Nikita PetrovichPanin • Petr von Pahlen • Zubov brothers • Gen. Levin Benningsen • Alexander agreed, but insisted Paul not be killed. • Alex was “shocked.” • Pahlen: “Enough of playing the child; come and rule!” • Legacy: guilt, no children, revealed his duality.

  6. Aleksandr’s early years • Grandma Catherine supervised education. • Tutor was Swiss republican La Harpe • From hatred between Paul and Catherine learned dissimulation. • 1793: married Elizabeth Alexeevna • Two girls, both died in infancy • Aleksandr: “I am the unhappiest man on the earth.” (to Swedish ambassador in March 1801)

  7. Aleksandr’s early reforms • Created “Негласный комитет” – Privy Council of young enthusiasts for reform • Two key problems: autocracy and serfdom • Neither were solved. • 1802: created new ministries to replace colleges: • Military Land Forces • Naval Forces • Foreign Affairs • Justice • Internal Affairs • Finances • Commerce • Education

  8. Aleksandr’s early reforms • Education: • Divided empire into six educational regions with curators • Founded Universities of Kharkov, St. Petersburg, and Kazan; reconstituted Dorpat (Tartu) and Vilna (Vilnius) universities • Progress slow, but from a very low beginning • But no state-run village schools, scrapped along with serfs’ emancipation.

  9. War “intervened” • Battle of Austerlitz, December 1805: Napoleon defeated Russia and Austria. • Battle of Friedland, June 1807: Napoleon defeated Russia again. • Treaty of Tilsit, July 1807 • Russia junior partner • Continental System • Prussia lost much • Duchy of Warsaw

  10. At home, Tilsit was very unpopular • “…in all the places in Russia most touched by education, the Tilsit peace made the saddest impression: in these places they knew that the alliance with Napoleon could be nothing other than enslavement to him, an acknowledgement of his power over us. I do not possess great wisdom but in this I saw the cruel unfairness of Russians; I became ashamed for them.” (F. F. Vigel, 1786-1856)

  11. Mikhail Speransky, 1772-1839 • Son of village priest • Rose to be two tsars’ advisor • Practical man • Civil service exam before promotion to 8th (hereditary) rank • Improved government finances • 1809 Constitution proposal: series of dumas, division of powers 1802: “I find in Russia two classes: the slaves of the sovereign and the slaves of the landowners. The first call themselves free only in relation to the second; there are no truly free people in Russia, apart from beggars and philosophers.”

  12. Why did Speransky fail? • Came from wrong estate? • Alienated nobility (exams and temporary tax) • Left to rely on Alexander alone • Alexander not willing to give up his authority. • Alex unpopular, used Speransky as scapegoat. • Speransky: “You know the suspicious character of the Emperor. Whatever he does he does by halves. He is too feeble to reign and too strong to be governed.” • March 1812: Alexander dismissed him.

  13. Napoleon’s Continental System, 1807-1812

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