Alexander's reign 1 internal policy of reform. Alexander I: internal politics

Hello, nowadays people are increasingly interested in the history of their fatherland and its popularity is growing literally before our eyes. Many take the Unified State Examination in history, which becomes more difficult every year and today, albeit briefly, we'll talk, perhaps, about one of the most interesting and controversial moments in the history of Russia - the Domestic Policy of Alexander 1, which took place against the backdrop of the era of revolutions in Europe and the Age of Enlightenment.

Emperor Alexander the First

Childhood and adolescence

The future manager spent his childhood under the strict supervision of his grandmother and his personal tutor, the Swiss Laharpe. It was they who introduced him to the works of great French educators such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau. During this period, the young man had already established liberal values ​​in his head, which later influenced his reign.

How did it all begin? “The Alexandrov days are a wonderful beginning...”

The reign of Alexander 1 began in 1801. Then, on the night of March 23-24, the father of the future emperor, Paul 1, was killed by a group of conspirators in the Mikhailovsky Castle, and with the tacit consent of his son, for which he would then feel remorse for the rest of his life. Before he could ascend the throne, the young ruler began vigorous activity to change the situation within the country.

Reforms began to be carried out to change all aspects of the Russian state together with the wisest manager M.M. Speransky, who had the greatest influence, and even Napoleon himself noted his literacy and abilities.

The same M.M. Speransky

It was the time from 1801-1806 that was considered the peak of reforms, and the period before the Patriotic War A.S. Pushkin aptly called “The Days of the Alexandrovs a wonderful beginning...”

• To assist the monarch, the Permanent Council was created in 1801. The young ruler found himself in a kind of “Bermuda triangle” of the courtiers of Catherine 2, Paul 1 and newly minted people. The activities of this council were aimed at repealing the unpopular reforms of his father and discussing bills, but then lost its role and was abolished in 1810. During its operation, the charters of the nobility were restored, the import of foreign literature was allowed, and nobles were allowed to travel abroad.
• In 1801-1803, a Secret Council was convened, which included Prince Kochubey, Count Stroganov, Novosiltsev and Prince Czartoryski. It was here that the most important reforms were prepared.
• 1802 – Ministerial reform, the idea of ​​which was to replace colleges with ministries. If in the collegiums a group of people did the work, then in the ministries he was alone. Ministries such as military, naval, foreign affairs, internal affairs, justice, finance, commerce and public education were created.
• The country had serfdom, which slowed down progress in Russia. It was necessary to solve the peasant question. Alexander 1 did not remove it, although in 1804-1805 it was completely abolished in the Baltic states, and therefore he issued a decree on free cultivators in 1803. Peasants could, for a ransom and the consent of the landowner, become free “free cultivators.”
• It is also worth mentioning the education system, because it was during this period that it was formed as compulsory, but it was class-based and divided into 4 levels. 1) Parish church year-long schools for peasants, where they taught counting, reading and writing. 2) District two-year schools for townspeople and merchants. 3) Provincial four-year gymnasiums for nobles. 4) Universities for nobles and especially gifted people of other classes. The Emperor contributed in every possible way to the development of education in the country and believed that everything should be built on it. From 1802 to 1819, universities were opened in Dorpat, Vilna, Kharkov, Kazan and St. Petersburg. In 1804, a “university charter” was issued, which established the autonomy of higher educational institutions, thanks to which the state did not interfere in their affairs.
• 1810 -Establishment of the State Council. It was the highest advisory body in the Russian Empire and existed until its very end. The most important bills were discussed here. The emperor could listen to advice, but only he himself made the decision.
• 1810 - Creation of Military settlements. Soldiers could live in a certain territory, take care of their household and live with their families.
• This allowed peasants to combine military service with ordinary life.

The middle and end of the reign. "Arakcheevshchina"

After the victory, Alexander dramatically changed his worldview. He was afraid of the spread of revolutionary people and exchanged reform activities for “reaction.”

Tsar's favorite A.A. Arakcheev

The removal of Speransky from power and the rise of Arakcheev became the cause of reactionary activity. This period lasted from 1812 until the death of the ruler in 1825. Characterized by police despotism and brutal discipline, harsh suppression of any unrest. Inextricably linked with military settlements in which iron order was established. However, despite this, the government took steps to gradually introduce a constitution

• In 1815, a constitution was granted to the Kingdom of Poland. Poland was allowed to have its own army and retain their ancient state body - the Sejm, as well as freedom of the press.
• The “Charter of the Russian Empire” was developed. Its introduction would mean colossal changes in the lives of citizens and, in fact, the introduction of a constitutional monarchy. With the rise of Arakcheev, this plan was discarded and forgotten. The strengthening of autocracy began.

Conclusion

The internal policy of Alexander 1 can be described as a controversial period, which is divided into two stages. First, these are radical transformations and reforms, then reaction and strengthening of autocratic power. But the contribution of this historical figure to our country cannot be denied.

In 1801, the eldest son of Paul I, Alexander I Pavlovich, ascended the Russian throne. He was the beloved grandson of Catherine II, and Catherine II, bypassing her son Pavel Petrovich, prepared him for the throne. Alexander's education and upbringing took place under the personal control of the powerful empress. A brilliant staff of teachers was selected, which included well-known Russian and foreign professors. Catherine II entrusted the moral education of the heir to the famous Swiss politician, the “republican” F. S. de La Harpe. He was a well-known liberal in Europe and an opponent of slavery. True, Swiss political figure had no idea either about the country to which he was invited, or about the Russian people in general. He tried to instill the lofty ideals of freedom, equality and brotherhood in his pupil for 11 years, while in France after the revolution of 1789 the implementation of these ideas led to the execution of the French king Louis XVI and cruel revolutionary terror, and Western society itself had already begun depart from these principles. One of the main results of such upbringing was that F.S. de La Harpe shook the confidence of Alexander Pavlovich - the future monarch - in his right to absolute power. Alexander Pavlovich began to believe that the autocracy of the Russian emperor should be limited by the constitution. In 1793, when Alexander was not even 16 years old, Catherine II married him to the 14-year-old Baden princess Louise, named Elizaveta Alekseevna in Orthodoxy.
On March 12, 1801, 24-year-old Alexander Pavlovich ascended the throne after the assassination of Paul I by conspirators. The Manifesto of Alexander I dated March 12, 1801 announced that Emperor Paul I had died suddenly of apoplexy. St. Petersburg society enthusiastically received Alexander I. And to many then the young Russian emperor seemed to be the chosen one of Fate - “... well, everything to him: appearance, and intelligence, and a powerful empire, and a beautiful wife...”. Alexander I was determined to carry out liberal reforms in the country: give society a constitution, abolish serfdom.

Liberal initiatives. Alexander I began to rule with the abolition of Paul I's decrees regarding the nobility. 10 thousand officers and officials dismissed by Paul for bribes were reinstated, the validity of the “Charter Letters” to the nobility and cities was confirmed, the Secret Expedition (a center of political investigation) was abolished, free travel of Russians abroad was allowed, the import of any books was prohibited, and torture was prohibited.
In the first years of his reign, the young emperor relied on a small circle of friends that had formed even before the start of his reign, which included P.A. Stroganov, A. Czartoryski, N.N. Novosiltsev, V.P. Kochubey. This entourage of Alexander I began to be called "Unofficial committee". Its members were young, tried to keep up with the spirit of the times, but had no experience in those state affairs that they discussed and decided to reform.
New Emperor began to carry out reforms in the field of central government, peasant issues and education.

Public administration reforms. In 1802-1811 ministerial reform was carried out. Instead of collegiums, 11 ministries were introduced. Unlike the collegiums in the ministry, matters were decided individually by the minister, responsible only to the emperor. For joint discussion by ministers general issues The Committee of Ministers was established. The Senate was given the right to control the created ministries and became the highest judicial body of the country.
Ministerial reform contributed to the improvement of the central administrative apparatus.
Alexander I considered the introduction of a constitution in the country, i.e. limiting one's absolute power is a good thing. But he realized that it was impossible to introduce constitutions in Russia while maintaining serfdom. And he decided to prepare society for the introduction of a constitution. To this end, he decided to restructure the entire system of power and management in Russia according to Western European models.
At the end of 1808, the development of a comprehensive government reform Alexander I instructed one of the most capable officials, his Secretary of State - MM. Speransky . MM. Speransky came from the family of a poor rural priest, but thanks to his extraordinary hard work, broad outlook, and education, he made a brilliant career. In addition, M.M. Speransky was known in capital circles as an ardent admirer of the French Emperor Napoleon I.
In October 1809 M.M. Speransky presented the tsar with a project of state reform called "Introduction to the Code of State Laws". (See textbook material) M.M. Speransky created a coherent system of local and central institutions on the principle of “separation of powers” ​​- legislative, executive, judicial. New approach M.M. Speransky’s approach to the problem of forming new authorities was that the actions of authorities, both central and local, should be brought under the control of society. The judiciary must be independent from other branches of government. Executive branch must be responsible to the legislature. Election was introduced into the judiciary and executive bodies four levels - at the level of volost, district, province, empire. Participation in management should be granted to persons who have a certain property qualification. Craftsmen, domestic servants, and serfs did not participate in elections, but enjoyed civil rights. The highest representative body of society under state power was to be the State Duma, reflecting “people's opinion.” Under the emperor, a State Council was created, which prepared and discussed bills.
MM. Speransky believed that Europeanized government institutions would prepare new people who would learn to manage power in the interests of the whole society.
M.M.'s plans Speransky caused sharp resistance from senior dignitaries. Famous historian N.M. Karamzin in 1811 he submitted a note to the tsar “On the ancient and new Russia". N.M. Karamzin argued that government in Russia should be unconditionally autocratic. The Constitution is appropriate where there is civil society, order, literacy, good morals. In Russia, it’s all about the people. There will be spiritual people in leadership positions at its height, - the state will prosper, they will wallow in vices - no constitution will make people better.
Alexander I had to choose between M.M. Speransky and N.M. Karamzin. By this time, Russian-French relations had worsened. And the reform project of M.M. Speransky was rejected. In 1810, the legislative advisory State Council was only established. (See textbook material) It included all ministers, as well as officials appointed by the emperor. In March 1812 M.M. Speransky was arrested and exiled to Nizhny Novgorod.
In subsequent years, the reformist sentiments of Alexander I were reflected in the introduction of a constitution in the Kingdom of Poland. According to the Congress of Vienna 1814 - 1815 Russia included the lands of Central Poland. From these lands, the Kingdom of Poland was formed as part of Russia. In November 1815, Alexander I signed the constitution of the Kingdom of Poland. Poland began to have the broadest autonomy. The Emperor of Russia was considered the head of the Kingdom of Poland. The highest legislative power belonged to the Sejm of Poland and the State Council. Suffrage was limited by property qualifications. Freedom of the press and personality was proclaimed, Catholicism was declared the state religion, but other religions were also granted equal rights.
At the opening of the Sejm in March 1818 in Warsaw, Alexander I made a speech in which he stated that he intended to “extend the constitutional order in Poland to all countries entrusted to my care.”
In 1818, Alexander I instructed the Minister of Justice N.N. Novosiltsev to prepare a constitutional draft for Russia, which was called the “Charter of the Russian Empire”. It used the principles of the Polish constitution. The main point of the project proclaimed the sovereignty of the imperial power. In addition, the creation of a bicameral parliament was proclaimed. The right to introduce laws into parliament belonged to the king. The project also intended to provide Russians with freedom of speech, religion, and equality of all before the law. The Charter provided for a federal structure of the state. But this project was not implemented.

Transformations in the peasant question. At the very beginning of his reign, Alexander I took measures to alleviate the situation of the peasants. In 1801, it was allowed to buy and sell uninhabited lands to merchants, townspeople, and state peasants. In 1803, a decree “On Free Plowmen” was issued (See textbook material) according to which landowners, by mutual agreement with the peasants, received the right to free the peasants with their land for a ransom. Peasants freed by decree of 1803 moved into a special class of “free cultivators.” Now they had their own land and bore duties only in favor of the state. But during the entire reign of Alexander I, less than 0.5% of serfs passed into the category of “free tillers”. In 1804 - 1805 in the Baltic region (Latvia, Lithuania), peasants - householders received personal freedom, but for the plots of landowner's land provided to them they had to bear the same duties - corvee and quitrent.
In 1816, Alexander I approved a decree on the complete abolition of serfdom in Estland while preserving the lands for the landowners. In 1818-1819 the same laws were adopted in relation to the peasants of Courland and Livonia.
The emperor ordered the draft for the liberation of peasants to be drawn up A.A. Arakcheev , who carried out the assignment in 1818. According to the project, the tsar was supposed to annually allocate 5 million rubles to buy out the estates of landowners who would agree to make such a decision. But the A.A. project Arakcheev was not implemented. In the last years of the reign of Alexander I, the rights of landowners were expanded and their power over the peasants was strengthened. In 1822, landowners again received the right to exile their peasants without trial to settle in Siberia. The peasant question was no longer discussed during the life of Alexander I.
The transformations in the peasant question undertaken by Alexander I did not encroach on the rights and privileges of landowners, but were serious concessions to the development of capitalist relations in the country.

Reform in the field of education. In 1802, for the first time in the history of Russia, the Ministry of Public Education was created. From now on, the education of the people became the concern of the state. In 1803, a new regulation was issued on the structure of educational institutions.

• All educational institutions were divided into 4 levels:
• universities.
• provincial schools or gymnasiums;
• district schools;
• rural parochial schools;

The education system was based on the principles of classlessness, free education lower levels, continuity curricula. All these types of educational institutions, according to the plan, were supposed to constitute a complete system of public education.
Before this, only one university operated in Russia - Moscow, opened in 1755. During the reign of Alexander I, five more were opened - in Dorpat (Tallinn), Vilna (Vilnius), St. Petersburg, Kharkov, Kazan. In 1804, the university charter was adopted. Universities received broad autonomy: the right to choose a rector, professors, and independently decide administrative and financial matters.
In 1804, the most liberal one in the 19th century was adopted. censorship regulations. (See textbook material)
Alexander's reign was characterized by the broadest religious tolerance. Alexander I himself was indifferent to Orthodoxy. Evidence of this indifference was the appointment in 1803 of the freemason A.N. Golitsyn was the chief prosecutor of the Holy Synod.

Military settlements. Patriotic War of 1812-1814. caused great damage to the country's economy. The state's financial system was in disarray.
Under these conditions, the government decided to reduce the cost of maintaining the army through a special form of recruiting and maintaining the army - military settlements . The idea of ​​military settlements belonged to Emperor Alexander I. Even before the Patriotic War of 1812, he became fascinated by the Prussian experience, where at that time a soldier in service did not leave his homeland, remained connected to the land, worked on it and was cheap for the treasury. Alexander I tried to transfer the Prussian experience of army self-sufficiency to Russian soil.
The development of the project for military settlements was entrusted to General A.A. Arakcheev, who was then appointed chief commander of military settlements. The first military settlements were created in 1808; they began to be created en masse in 1815 - 1816. Military settlements began to be established on the lands of state-owned peasants in the Mogilev, Novgorod, St. Petersburg, and Kharkov provinces. Houses of the same type, symmetrically located, were built at state expense. Regiments of soldiers along with their families were settled in them. Local state peasants were “militarized.” The wives of soldiers and peasants also became villagers. The state took upon itself the maintenance and preparation for service of the children of military settlers. Upon reaching the age of 7, boys were enlisted in the cantonist battalions, and from the age of 18 they joined the ranks for 25 years. Upon reaching 45 years of age, military settlers were transferred to the “disabled” category. They had to simultaneously engage in agriculture and perform military service. They were also given loans, horses, livestock, equipment, and seeds. Daily life in military settlements was strictly regulated; for the slightest offense, peasants were subjected to corporal punishment, contacts with the outside world were strictly prohibited. By 1825, already 1/3 of the soldiers were transferred to the category of military settlers.
Military settlements fulfilled the task of saving military expenses: from 1825 to 1850. 50 million rubles were saved, but the very idea of ​​military settlements did not take root in society. The breakdown of Russian peasant life in the Prussian manner caused discontent among the settlers. The situation of the military settlers was perceived by society as “enslavement”, “St. George’s Day”. Peasants and soldiers started protesting against military settlements, sometimes they openly turned into riots. In 1817, a major uprising took place in Novgorod among schismatics who were transferred to the position of military settlers; in 1819 - in the city of Chuguev. As a result of the suppression of the Chuguev rebellion, 70 people were spotted by spitzrutens. In 1831, during the reign of Nicholas I, military settlements began to be gradually abolished, and in 1857 they were completely liquidated.
Curtailment of reforms. In the 1920s, it became obvious that reforms were bringing positive changes, but one of their results was an increase in tension in society. Opposition sentiments began to spread, and Alexander I began to hear rumors about the emergence of revolutionary organizations aimed at overthrowing the monarchy.
At the same time, important changes took place in his religious worldview. His soul suddenly reached out to Orthodoxy. The Emperor was given several meetings with a well-known figure in St. Petersburg Orthodox monk Photius. And Alexander I experienced a shock: he discovered Orthodoxy. Previously, he believed that all movements of Christianity are true and have the right to exist. Everyone can profess the trend of Christianity that he likes. Therefore, representatives of various movements of Christianity and sects that preached the denial of Orthodoxy, the church and church rituals received wide support from the highest circles in Russia. Now Alexander I came to the conclusion that for Russia the true faith is paternal (Orthodoxy). Russia must be Orthodox. Woe to Russia if its tsar is not Orthodox. Alexander I felt like a stranger in his own country. Alexander I's isolation from Orthodoxy became the cause of his personal drama.
In the 20s In domestic policy, Alexander I moved further and further away from the liberal ideas of his youth. In 1817, the Ministry of Spiritual Affairs and Public Education was created. It concentrated in its hands control over the education, upbringing and religious life of society. In 1821, a number of professors at Moscow and St. Petersburg universities for propaganda revolutionary ideas was put on trial. In 1822, Alexander I banned the activities of all Masonic lodges.
At the same time, Alexander I realized that his policy aimed at liberalizing society had failed. Opposition sentiments were brewing within the country, in society, and in the army. Peasant riots, Masonic circles, secret societies of noble youth - all this worried Alexander I. In addition, constant remorse over indirect involvement in the death of his father towards the end of his life turned into a painful sensation. Alexander I began to withdraw more and more from government affairs. A.A. became his only speaker on all issues. Arakcheev. The terrible flood in 1824 in St. Petersburg was a shock for him. The same flood occurred in the year of his birth - 1777. Alexander I decided that in this way fate outlined his life path.
There was no happiness in family life either. He and Elizaveta Alekseevna lived their lives separately from each other. Two of their daughters died young. Alexander I had no more heirs. Both felt deeply unhappy: at the end of their lives - no children, no successful reign. But both suddenly discovered each other. Now they spent all their time together and still couldn’t talk enough. The Emperor and Empress began to live the lives of private people and traveled a lot. In October 1825, during one of these trips to Taganrog, Alexander I caught a cold. Less than a month had passed when he suddenly died. His sudden death gave rise to many rumors. Legends arose that the tsar, tired of power, went to distant Siberia and became the elder Fyodor Kuzmich.
A year after the death of Alexander I, Elizaveta Alekseevna passed away.

Foreign policy. The main directions in foreign policy were Western and Eastern.
1. Eastern direction. In the 90s XVIII century Russia's position in Transcaucasia and the Caucasus began to strengthen. But by this time the Caucasus and Transcaucasia were already the sphere of influence of Turkey and Iran. Seeing Russia's offensive in the Caucasus, Türkiye and Iran intensified their expansion into Georgia. They carried out literally devastating raids on Georgia. The small Georgian people needed a strong patron. Georgia at that time was experiencing a period of feudal fragmentation and was divided into five principalities. By this time Kakheti And Kartalinya united into Eastern Georgia, Imereti, Mengrelia, Guria - to Western Georgia. In 1783, Eastern Georgia came under the protection of Russia. Since 1798, the ruler of Kartli - Kakheti kingdom was George XII Bagrationi . Being near death and lacking the strength to fight Iran's aggression, George XII turned to Russia with a request to accept Eastern Georgia as a subject of the Russian state and to abolish the Georgian throne so that it would not be a source of discord between Georgians. In 1801, Eastern Georgia became part of Russia, the Georgian throne was abolished, and control of Eastern Georgia passed to the royal governor. In 1803 - 1804 under the same conditions, the principalities of Western Georgia became part of the Russian Empire. But for Russia this meant war with Turkey and Iran.

• Russian-Iranian war (1804 - 1813). The Shah of Persia presented Russia with an ultimatum to withdraw Russian troops from Transcaucasia and began military operations against Georgia. The Russian government rejected the ultimatum. England and France sided with the Shah. A war has broken out between Russia and Iran. In general, it was successful for Russia. In 1813 it was signed Gulistan Peace Treaty . (See textbook material) Russia defended Georgia and annexed a number of khanates that made up Northern Azerbaijan: Haji, Karabakh, Tekin, Shirvan, Derbent, Kuba, Baku, Talysh. Dagestan and Abkhazia were also annexed. Russia received the exclusive right to have its own fleet in the Caspian Sea. Thus, Georgia and Northern Azerbaijan became part of Russia.
• Russian-Turkish war (1806 - 1812). The reason for it was the removal of the rulers by the Turkish Sultan Moldova And Wallachia (contrary to the Yassy Peace Treaty of 1791) and the appointment of Napoleon Bonaparte’s henchmen in their place. The Russian army won a number of successful victories on land (the capture of the fortresses of Bendery, Akkerman, Galati, Bucharest) and at sea (Admiral D.N. Senyavin defeated Turkish fleet in the Dardanelles and Athos battles in 1807). In 1812 the Turks were forced to conclude Treaty of Bucharest . They went to Russia Bessarabia , a number of regions of Transcaucasia, the privileges of the Christian peoples of the Ottoman Empire - Moldavia, Wallachia and Serbia for autonomous governance, as well as the right of Russia to the patronage of all Christian subjects of Turkey were confirmed.

2. The Western direction of foreign policy was a priority. In 1789, the monarchy was overthrown in France and established republican government. European states led by England begin a war against republican France. The French army defeated the first (1781), then the second (1798) anti-French coalition . In 1799, the young general Napoleon Bonaparte carried out a coup d'etat in France and effectively became the ruler of France. In 1804, having personally assumed the crown of Emperor of the French Republic, Napoleon decided to conquer Europe, and then the whole world. Napoleon needed a war. After the execution, on the orders of Napoleon, of a member of the French royal family, the Duke of Enghien, the whole monarchical Europe. In 1805, at Austerlitz, Napoleon defeated the third anti-French coalition European countries, which already included Russia. Europe has never seen such a defeat before. In 1807, in a series of battles near Preussisch-Eylau and Friedland, the fourth anti-Napoleonic coalition was defeated. All of Europe was at Napoleon's feet. Only insular England and Russia remained. In 1807, Alexander I and Napoleon met to conclude a peace treaty. Alexander I was forced to sign World of Tilsit with France, according to which Russia had to join the economic blockade of England, which was unfavorable for it, and on the border with Russia, Napoleon created the Duchy of Warsaw as a springboard for aggression against Russia. The temporary truce between France and Russia lasted until the summer of 1812. Back in 1810, Napoleon declared: “In five years I will be the master of the world. Only Russia remains, but I will crush it.”

Patriotic War of 1812 On the morning of June 12, 1812, the 500,000-strong Grand Army of Napoleon Bonaparte crossed the Neman River and invaded Russia. When Alexander I found out about this, he immediately sent his adjutant, General A.I., to Napoleon. Balashova. To all of Alexander I's proposals for peace, Napoleon had only one answer - “no!” Napoleon Bonaparte hoped to defeat the Russian army in a short-term campaign, and then force Russia to join the orbit of French foreign policy.
The personnel Russian army numbered more than 220 thousand people. It was divided into three parts, far apart from each other. First Army under the command M.B. Barclay de Tolly was in Lithuania, the second was a general P.I. Bagration - in Belarus, the third - general A.P. Tormasova - in Ukraine. From the very beginning of the war, Emperor Alexander I adopted the most irreconcilable policy towards Napoleon. He showed personal courage and was at the headquarters of M.B.’s army all this time. Barclay de Tolly.
In Russia, Napoleon Bonaparte hoped to use his usual tactics, with the help of which he defeated Western European armies in close Europe: the destruction of the Russian army piece by piece with lightning-fast, powerful blows. The French army quickly advanced deep into Russian territory, trying to deliver a crushing blow to the first army of M.B. Barclay de Tolly. The strategic situation required an early unification of the forces of the first and second Russian armies, which, for various reasons, was impossible to quickly accomplish. The superiority of the French army raised the question of the rapid replenishment of the Russian army. On July 6, 1812, Alexander I issued a manifesto calling for the creation civil uprising. (See textbook material) This marked the beginning of the partisan war of the Russian people against Napoleon's army.
Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army M.B. Barclay de Tolly chose the correct tactic in those circumstances - retreat. Near Smolensk, he managed to unite the first and second Russian armies and give battle to the French on August 2. The battle near Smolensk lasted two days. In it, the French army lost 20 thousand officers and soldiers, and the Russian army - 6 thousand.
The Russian army continued to retreat, and the war began to take a protracted character. This caused public discontent. M.B. Barclay de Tolly was accused of treason and complicity with the French. They began to demand that Alexander I put a Russian at the head of the army. August 8 instead of M.B. Barclay de Tolly appointed General Suvorov as Commander-in-Chief M.I. Kutuzov . M.I. Kutuzov realized that time and space would be Russia's allies against the French. About the French, he said: “They came on their own, they will leave on their own.” M.V. Kutuzov continued the tactics of the previous commander, but it seemed easier for the Russian troops to retreat with M.I. Kutuzov than with the “German Barclay”. M.B. Barclay de Tolly accepted his resignation courageously, but worried about it for the rest of his life.
Still, on August 26, 1812, near the village of Borodino (124 km north of Moscow) M.I. Kutuzov decided to give a general battle to the French. The battlefield was chosen near the village of Borodino. For his troops M.V. Kutuzov chose the following disposition: on the left flank the army of P.I. Bagration, covered with artificial earthen fortifications - flushes (later they were called Bagration flushes). In the center there was an earthen mound on which the artillery and troops of General N.N. were located. Raevsky. The right flag was covered by M.B.’s army. Barclay de Tolly. Napoleon adhered to offensive tactics. He intended to break through the Russian positions in the center, bypass the left flank, push back Russian troops from the Old Smolensk road and clear the road to Moscow.
On August 26, at half past five in the morning, the French launched an offensive. Napoleon unleashed the main blow on Bagration's flushes. Their assault continued without a break for six hours. Around noon, the French took flushes, but the left flank was not broken through. During the battle, both sides suffered heavy losses. General P.I. was mortally wounded. Bagration. The troops on the left flank retreated in an orderly manner. After this, the French directed the main attack on the battery of General N.N. Raevsky. M.I. Kutuzov ordered the Cossacks Ataman M.I. Platov and the cavalry corps F.P. Uvarov to carry out a raid behind the French lines in order to distract them from the attack on the N.N. battery. Raevsky. The French were forced to interrupt the offensive for 2 hours. At this time, fresh forces of Russian troops were brought to the center. Battery of General N.N. Raevsky was captured by the French only at 16 pm. (See textbook material)
The battle did not end with the victory of the Russian troops, but nevertheless the offensive pressure of the French dried up. Napoleon did not dare to bring his last reserve into battle - the imperial guard. The losses on both sides were enormous. The French lost 58 thousand soldiers, 47 generals; Russian army - 40 thousand soldiers, 24 generals. Half of the Russian army was destroyed. In such a situation, continuing the battle the next day with the French was risky. M.I. Kutuzov decided to take care of the army. The Russian army after Borodino began to retreat to Moscow. (See textbook material) On September 1, at the military council of the Russian army in the village of Fili, it was decided to leave Moscow. On the morning of September 2, 1812, the Russian army, together with its residents, left Moscow.
By the evening of September 2, 1812, Napoleon's troops entered Moscow. Napoleon was accustomed to the servility of the West and waited for a long time at the outpost for the Russians to bring him the keys to the city. But in the ancient Russian capital, a different meeting awaited the French. Moscow burst into flames. Meanwhile, the Russian army was retreating from Moscow along the Ryazan road. M.I. Kutuzov was pursued by French troops under the command of I. Murat. Then Russian troops carried out Tarutino maneuver - we abruptly changed the eastern direction to the southern one - we reached the Kaluga road. This allowed the Russian troops to break away from the French. A camp was set up in Tarutino, where the troops were able to rest and were replenished with fresh regular units, weapons and food supplies.
Over the next two months, all of Russia rebelled against Napoleon's troops: 300 thousand militia were deployed and 100 million rubles were collected.
Napoleon Bonaparte himself was in Moscow at that time. During a month of staying in an empty and hungry Moscow, burning in fires, his army was almost completely demoralized. Now the French emperor offered Alexander I to make peace. These days, Alexander I said significant words that “he would rather go with his people into the depths of the Asian steppes, grow a beard and eat potatoes, than make peace while at least one armed enemy remains on Russian soil”.
On October 6, 1812, Napoleon left Moscow. French troops retreated west along the Kaluga road. The French army was still a force, but it was already doomed: it entailed huge convoys of silver, furs, porcelain, and silks. Napoleonic army, once the best in Europe, turned into an army of marauders. And this was her death. She was melting before our eyes.
On October 12, a battle between Russian and French troops took place near the town of Maloyaroslavets. After this, Russian troops blocked the French retreat along the Kaluga road. The French were forced to turn onto the Smolensk road, along which they advanced on Moscow in August. In October - December 1812, the partisan movement in the country reached its greatest extent. Organizer partisan movement became M.I. Kutuzov. Among the leaders of the partisan movement was a famous poet, hussar colonel D.V. Davydov . The partisan detachments were led by landowners, soldiers who had escaped from captivity, and peasants. In the Moscow region, over 5 thousand peasants fought in the detachment of the serf peasant Gerasim Kurin. In the Smolensk province, Vasilisa Kozhina’s detachment included women and teenagers. The patriotic upsurge in society was so great that even the gypsies went to enroll as partisans. The War of 1812 became truly popular.
Further, the tactics of the Russian army consisted of parallel pursuit of the French army. The Russian army, without engaging in battles with Napoleon, destroyed his army piece by piece. The battle of November 14 - 17, 1812, when the French were crossing the Berezina River, completed the defeat of the French army. Napoleon Bonaparte himself at this time surrendered command of the pitiful remnants of his army to I. Murat and secretly went to Paris to recruit new soldiers. Only 30 thousand French soldiers crossed the Russian border.
On December 25, Alexander I issued a Manifesto, according to which the Patriotic War of 1812 was declared over, and the foreign campaign of the Russian army began to completely cleanse Europe of Napoleonic troops.
The Patriotic War of 1812 became a significant event in Russian history. The invasion of Napoleonic troops caused a rapid growth of national self-awareness. The War of Liberation of 1812 became the Patriotic War, because not only the regular army, but almost the entire population of the country fought against Napoleon’s troops. Russian society again, as in Troubled times, rallied to resist the invaders. 2 million people died in the war. Many western regions of the country were devastated by fires and robberies, the country's economy suffered significant damage, but Russia again defended its territorial integrity and independence. The unity of society and the patriotic impulse in the fight against the enemy made a huge impression on contemporaries and will forever remain in the memory of posterity. (See textbook material)

Liberation campaign of the Russian army (1813-1814). The best part of the French army was destroyed in Russia. But Napoleon still kept all of Europe under his control. He assembled a new army, significantly larger in number than the forces operating against him, and did not abandon his hegemonic plans. To prevent new aggression, it was necessary to transfer military operations beyond Russia and achieve Napoleon’s complete surrender.
In January 1813, Russian troops entered the territory of Poland. Has begun foreign campaign of the Russian army . The entry of the Russian army into Europe served as a signal for a general uprising of European peoples against the rule of Napoleon. A new anti-Napoleonic coalition of European states was concluded - consisting of Russia, England, Prussia, Austria and Sweden.
In October 1813, a decisive battle took place between Napoleon's new army and the Allied armies. battle of Leipzig , which went down in history as the “battle of the nations.” More than half a million people took part in it on both sides. The French army was completely defeated, but Napoleon himself was able to escape from the encirclement. In January 1814, allied troops entered French territory. In March 1814, Russian Colonel M.F. Orlov accepted the surrender of Paris. Napoleon was exiled to the island of Elba in the Mediterranean Sea. The old royal dynasty of the Bourbons returned to the French throne. The monarchy in France was restored. But Napoleon once again amazed the world. A year later, with a detachment of 1,100 people, he unexpectedly left Elba and went to Paris. Already at the first meeting with government troops, he, unarmed, went to meet the soldiers: “Soldiers, do you recognize me? Which of you wants to shoot your emperor? Shoot!” The French soldiers rushed to Napoleon and began to cry and hug him. For them, he was the personification of their honor and glory. The regiments, divisions, and corps sent by the Bourbons against Napoleon were powerless. The army unconditionally went over to Napoleon's side. Without firing a shot, Napoleon occupied Paris. But this time his reign lasted only 100 days. In June 1815, near the village Waterloo in Belgium he suffered a crushing defeat from the combined forces of England, Holland and Prussia. Napoleon was captured and this time exiled to the island of St. Helena off the west coast of Africa under the supervision of his worst enemies - the British.
For six long years he languished on an abandoned island in the Pacific Ocean, deprived of the title of emperor, far from his beloved France, from his soldiers. Rejected by the whole world, the former great emperor reflected on his life path, on the reasons for his crushing defeat. In his memoirs he wrote: "The biggest mistake in my life was the war against Russia". May 5, 1821 Napoleon Bonaparte died. In 1840, his ashes were transported from St. Helena and buried in the Invalides (Pantheon of Great French Generals) in Paris, amid the jubilant cries of thousands of French people. France received its emperor.

Congress of Vienna (September 1814 - June 1815). In September 1814, the congress of states participating in the war with Napoleon began work in Vienna. Congress of Vienna had to decide fate post-war structure Europe and satisfy the territorial claims of the winning countries. 216 states took part in the congress, but main role Russia, England, Austria played. The Russian delegation was represented by Alexander I. The Congress of Vienna was liquidated political changes and the transformations that occurred as a result of the French Revolution of 1789 and the Napoleonic Wars. France was returned to its pre-revolutionary borders. The Congress of Vienna restored monarchical regimes in France, Italy, Spain and other countries. According to the decisions of the Congress of Vienna, Central Poland with Warsaw went to Russia. The Kingdom of Poland was formed from Polish and part of Lithuanian lands within Russia. During the Napoleonic wars, serfdom was swept away in a number of Western European countries, but the victorious countries did not dare to restore it.

Holy Alliance. In September 1815, on the initiative of Alexander I, the monarchs of Russia, Austria and Prussia signed the Act of Education in Paris Holy Alliance . Then almost all European monarchs joined the Holy Alliance. Alexander I became the head of the Holy Alliance. In those days, the Russian emperor was the most popular person in Europe. Wherever he appeared - youthful, handsome, in the uniform of a cavalry regiment - he immediately became the center of attention. Kings and generals crowded his reception room, he was the most welcome guest at balls of august persons, in the salons of the first beauties of Europe... Russia's influence on European politics was prevalent.

• The goals of the Holy Alliance were:
• support for old monarchical regimes based on the principle of legitimism (recognition of the legitimacy of maintaining their power);
• fight against revolutionary movements in Europe.

At subsequent congresses of the Holy Alliance in Aachen (1818) and Troppau (1820), a decision was made that gave the members of the Holy Alliance the right to intervene in the internal affairs of states in order to suppress revolutionary uprisings in them.
The significance of the Vienna System and the Holy Alliance was that over the next 10 to 15 years they provided universal peace and stability to Europe, exhausted by the Napoleonic wars. Then the Holy Alliance fell apart.

Decembrist movement. During the foreign campaign of the Russian army, thousands of Russian nobles visited Western Europe as victors. They not only crushed Napoleon’s troops, but also paid attention to the everyday life of Western European peoples, to political system in their states. They are amazed by the high level of individual freedom in France, democratic morals, and freedom of speech. Then they returned to their homeland, where most of the peasants were in serfdom. And the contrast between the victors and the vanquished shocked the noble youth. Some noble officers came to the conclusion that Western European society is more progressive than Russian society. In their opinion, the reason for the backwardness of Russian society is autocracy and serfdom.
The reign of Alexander I was the time of the formation of revolutionary ideology and the revolutionary movement. From 1811 to 1825 in Russia there were more than 30 revolutionary secret organizations nobles Most of them were military officers.

At the end of 1824, the leaders of both societies agreed to perform jointly in the summer of 1826.

Uprising in St. Petersburg on December 14, 1825 After the unexpected death of Alexander I on October 19, 1825 in Taganrog, an interregnum arose in Russia. The Decembrists decided to take advantage of this. On December 14, 1825, the day the manifesto of the new emperor was published, the Decembrists called an uprising. They intended to force the Senate to accept their document "Manifesto to the Russian People" and proclaim the transition to constitutional government.
Early in the morning, members of the “Northern Society” began agitation among the troops in St. Petersburg. Only at 11 o’clock was it possible to bring the Moscow Life Guards Regiment to Senate Square. At one o'clock in the afternoon the rebels were joined by sailors of the Guards naval crew and some other parts of the St. Petersburg garrison - about 3 thousand people in total. It turned out that the taking of the oath took place earlier than planned; the members of the Senate had already dispersed. In addition, the dictator of the uprising S.P. Trubetskoy did not show up for the performance. The new Emperor Nicholas I began negotiations with the rebels. They dragged on until six o'clock in the evening and did not bring any results. But after the Decembrist P.G. Kakhovsky mortally wounded the Governor General of St. Petersburg, Count M.A. Miloradovich, the tsar ordered to shoot at the rebels. Two or three grapeshots scattered the rebel troops. By evening, the leaders of the uprising were arrested, and the Decembrists' performance was suppressed. Head of the Southern Society P.I. Pestel was arrested by this time and revealed all the plans of the conspirators. However, on December 29, 1825 S.I. Muravyov-Apostol and M.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin raised an uprising of the Chernigov regiment in the south. January 3, 1826 government troops They suppressed this speech too.
Arrests of members of the society and an investigation began. In the case of the Decembrists, 579 people were involved, 289 people. were found guilty. Five people - P.I. Pestel, K.F. Ryleev, S.I. Muravyov-Apostol, M.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin and P.G. Kakhovsky were hanged. The rest, depending on the degree of guilt, were exiled to hard labor, to settlement in Siberia, demoted to the ranks of soldiers, and transferred to the Caucasus to join the active army. Only the son of Nicholas I, Alexander II, was pardoned by the Decembrists after his coronation.

Assessment of the activities of the Decembrists. There are different assessments of the activities of the Decembrists. IN Soviet time The prevailing point of view was that the Decembrists were honest and noble people, that their program provisions on the elimination of autocracy, the abolition of serfdom, the class system, and the creation of a republic reflected the most pressing problems of the progressive development of Russia. The merit of the Decembrists is that they laid the foundation for that social movement, the struggle of which will lead to the fall of the autocracy and the abolition of the serfdom. There is another point of view on the activities of the Decembrists. The Decembrist uprising is a utopian movement. Projects of the Decembrists on the introduction to Russia republican form rule or even constitutional monarchy were politically reckless. On the first day of the speech, the leaders of the movement did not go to Senate Square, thereby betraying their comrades and the soldiers involved in the rebellion. The Decembrists were “terribly far from the people.” They did not know their country, did not understand the peculiarities of the development of Russian society. They looked for the problem of Russia's lag not in the economy, but in the absence of political and cultural ideas of Europe in Russia. The Decembrists did not take into account that the democratic institutions that have developed in Europe are the result of a long and unique European history.

Topic: Domestic and foreign policy of Alexander I

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University: VZFEI

Introduction

The 19th century in the history of Russia began with a new and last palace coup. Emperor Paul I was killed, and his eldest son Alexander (1777 - 1825), the beloved grandson of Catherine, who herself supervised his upbringing, ascended the throne. She invited the best teachers, including F. C. Laharpe, who was discharged from Switzerland, a highly educated man, an adherent of the ideas of the Enlightenment and a republican in his views. He held the position of “chief educator” under Alexander for 11 years. Introducing his pupil to the concepts of the “natural” equality of people, the advantage of the republican form of government, the political and civil form of government, the “common good” that a ruler should strive for, La Harpe carefully avoided the realities of feudal Russia. Most of all he was engaged moral education your student. Subsequently, Alexander I said that he owed everything “good” he had to La Harpe.

But an even more effective school for educating the future emperor was the real conditions in which he had to find himself, the atmosphere of the warring “big court” of Catherine II in St. Petersburg and the small court of Father Pavel Petrovich in Gatchina.

Despite the fact that Alexander I emphasized the continuity between his reign and the reign of Catherine II, his reign was neither a return to the “golden age” of Catherine II, nor a complete rejection of the policy pursued by Paul, aimed at strengthening the autocratic power of the tsar. Defiantly emphasizing his rejection of the nature and methods of Pavlov's rule, he nevertheless perceived quite a few features of his reign, and in its main direction - towards further bureaucratization and centralization of management as a measure of strengthening the autocratic power of the monarch. Such “Gatchina habits” as adherence to military drill and love of parades were also well established in him.

However, Alexander I could not help but take into account the new “spirit of the times”, primarily the influence of French revolution on the minds. In the new conditions, he sought, without changing the main direction of the policy of Catherine II and Paul I to strengthen absolutism, to find ways to resolve pressing political problems that would correspond to the spirit of the times.

Already at the very beginning of his reign, Alexander I solemnly proclaimed that from now on the basis of his policy would not be the personal will of the monarch, but strict observance of the laws. At every opportunity, Alexander I liked to talk about the priority of legality, about his desire to “bring clarity and order” to the system of government and to put the relationship between government and subjects on a “legal basis.” The heritage was promised legal guarantees against arbitrariness. All these phenomena of Alexander had a great public resonance, because they corresponded to the main idea of ​​​​representatives of all directions of social thought of that time.

Domestic policy 1801 - 1812

Alexander 1 ascended the throne on March 12, 1801 at the age of 23. He had a good education. Being the heir to the throne, Alexander was a little opposed to his father. He said that he dreamed of giving the people a constitution and organizing their lives.

The shadow of his murdered father haunted Alexander until the end of his days, although soon after his accession to the throne he expelled the participants in the conspiracy from the capital. In the first years of his reign, Alexander relied on a small circle of friends that had formed around him even before his accession to the throne. P.A. Stroganov, A. Chartoryski, N.N. Novosiltsev, V.P. The Kochubeys still came to Alexander for tea, and at the same time discussed state affairs. This circle began to be called the Secret Committee. Its members, led by Alexander, were young, well-intentioned, but very inexperienced. And yet, the first years of the reign of Alexander I left the best memories among contemporaries, “Alexander’s Days are a wonderful beginning” - this is how A.S. described these years. Pushkin. Arrived a short period of enlightened absolutism." Universities, lyceums, and gymnasiums were opened.

The ideas of the Enlightenment had a certain influence on him. Alexander sought to modernize the socio-economic and political institutions(he had, in particular, a program for resolving the peasant issue through the gradual elimination of serfdom), thereby hoping to save the country from internal turmoil. The accession of Alexander I was marked by a series of measures that canceled those orders of Paul I that caused discontent among the nobility. The officers dismissed by Paul I were returned to the army, political prisoners were released, free entry and exit from the country was allowed, the “Secret Expedition” was destroyed, etc.

The first years of the reign of Alexander I were characterized by an intense struggle at the top around projects for various reforms of socio-economic and political nature. There were various groups in the ruling circles, each of which had its own recipes for solving the problems facing the country.

By organizing the Committee, the emperor tried not only to assemble his “team”, but also to create a headquarters that was supposed to develop projects for reforms in Russia. The Committee's plans were quite extensive: from a complete reorganization of public administration, the gradual abolition of serfdom to the introduction of a constitution in Russia. At the same time, the constitution was understood as the creation of a representative institution, the proclamation democratic freedoms, limitation through the law of autocratic power.

Over the course of a year and a half of work, the Committee outlined the main directions for future changes, focusing on two main problems: limiting serfdom and changing the form of government. However, the practical results of the activities of the “young friends” turned out to be insignificant. The dignitaries of Catherine's reign ("Catherine's old men") sought to strengthen the influence of the nobles and bureaucrats on the management of the empire. To this end, they advocated for expanding the functions of the Senate, in particular for giving it the opportunity to influence the legislative process. "Catherine's old men" were opponents of any changes in relations between peasants and landowners.

Participants in the palace coup, led by the former favorite of Catherine II P.A., spoke in favor of broader reforms. Zubov. They sought to transform the Senate into a representative body of the upper nobility, endowing it with legislative advisory rights in order to place the tsar's legislative activities under the control of the highest nobility. This group allowed for the possibility of a certain limitation of landlord power over the peasants, and in the future was ready for the gradual elimination of serfdom. Finally, among the higher bureaucracy there were many opponents of any changes at all. They saw the preservation of existing orders as the most reliable guarantee of social stability.

The bulk of the nobility was also very conservative. She sought to preserve her privileges and, above all, the unlimited power of the landowners over the peasants. The calm that came in the village after the suppression of a powerful wave of peasant uprisings in 1796-1797 strengthened the confidence of the overwhelming majority of the nobility in the inviolability of the existing system. Wide sections of landowners had a negative attitude towards any attempts to limit the freedom of expression of the emperor. In this regard, the reform plans hatched by various representatives of the ruling circles did not meet with sympathy among the noble masses. The layer of enlightened nobles, in whom Alexander I saw the support of his reform initiatives, was too thin. Any actions of the tsar that affected the privileges of the landowners threatened a new palace coup. In the socio-economic field, the tsar was able to carry out only some modest reforms, which in no way affected the serfdom and represented an insignificant concession to the wealthy strata of the city and countryside. On December 12, 1801, merchants, burghers and state-owned peasants were given the opportunity to acquire ownership of uninhabited lands (previously, ownership of land, inhabited or uninhabited, was the monopoly right of the nobility).

Transformation in central government bodies

The first half of Alexander's reign was marked by important changes in internal institutions. A notable step towards improving the state management structure was the Manifesto of September 8, 1802 on the establishment of ministries. Most historians agree that this is the most important, if not the only real transformative event carried out by Alexander in the first years of his reign. By the beginning of the 19th century. the administrative system of the state was in a state of obvious collapse. The collegial form of central government introduced by Peter I clearly did not justify itself. A circular irresponsibility reigned in the colleges, covering up bribery and embezzlement. Local authorities, taking advantage of the weakness of the central government, committed lawlessness.

The increasing complexity of the tasks facing the autocracy, as social progress changed the life of the country, required increased flexibility and efficiency in the work of the bureaucratic machine. The collegiate management system with its slow office work did not meet the requirements of the time. The publication of this Manifesto prepared the way for the replacement of collegiums with ministries, in which all power was concentrated in the hands of one person - a minister appointed by the king and responsible for his actions only to the monarch. The colleges themselves were not initially liquidated. They became part of the relevant ministries and continued to deal with current issues of public administration.

Simultaneously with the establishment of ministries on September 8, 1802, by a special decree of the emperor, the rights of the Senate were expanded. He was declared the “guardian of the laws,” the highest court, and a supervisory body over the administration (with the right to control the activities of ministers). However, in reality, these functions of the Senate turned out to be illusory, and the right it received to present its opinion to the emperor on decrees (some semblance of legislative initiative), as well as the responsibility of ministers to the Senate, were imaginary.

At first, Alexander I hoped to restore order and strengthen the state by introducing a ministerial system of central government based on the principle of unity of command. In 1802, instead of the previous 12 boards, 8 ministries were created: military, maritime, foreign affairs, internal affairs, commerce, finance, public education and justice. This measure strengthened central administration. But no decisive victory was achieved in the fight against abuses. Old vices have taken up residence in the new ministries. As they grew, they rose to the upper levels of state power. Alexander knew of senators who took bribes. The desire to expose them fought in him with the fear of damaging the prestige of the Senate. It became obvious that changes in the bureaucratic machine alone could not solve the problem of creating a system of state power that would actively promote the development of the country's productive forces, rather than devour its resources. A fundamentally new approach to solving the problem was required.

The reform activities of Alexander I were characterized by compromise and inconsistency, which caused a negative reaction from both the left and the right. Alexander I managed to find a person who could rightfully lay claim to the role of a reformer. It was Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky. In 1809, on behalf of Alexander, he drew up a project for radical reforms. Speransky based the government system on the principle of separation of powers - legislative, executive and judicial. Each of them, starting from the lowest levels, had to act within the strictly defined framework of the law. Representative assemblies of several levels were created, headed by the State Duma, an all-Russian representative body. The Duma was supposed to give opinions on bills submitted to its consideration and hear reports from ministers.

All powers - legislative, executive and judicial - were united in the State Council, whose members were appointed by the tsar. The opinion of the State Council, approved by the tsar, became law. If a disagreement arose in the State Council, the tsar, at his choice, affirmed the opinion of the majority or minority. No law could come into force without discussion in State Duma and the State Council.

The real legislative power, according to Speransky's project, remained in the hands of the tsar. But Speransky emphasized that the Duma’s judgments should be free, they should express “the people’s opinion.” This was his fundamentally new approach: he wanted to put the actions of the authorities in the center and locally under the control of public opinion. For the voicelessness of the people opens the way to the irresponsibility of the authorities.

Based on Speransky's design voting rights used by all Russian citizens who owned land or capital, including state peasants. Craftsmen, domestic servants and serfs did not participate in the elections, but enjoyed the most important civil rights. The main one of them was formulated by Speransky as follows: “No one can be punished without a judicial verdict.” This was supposed to limit the power of landowners over serfs. The project began in 1810, when the State Council was created. But then things stopped: Alexander I became increasingly comfortable with autocratic rule.

Speransky's reform projects became the object of intense struggle at the top. The conservative part of the nobility and bureaucracy opposed reform plans Speransky, seeing in them an undermining of the centuries-old foundations of the empire. The corresponding point of view was presented in expanded form by the outstanding Russian historian N.M. Karamzin in “Note on Ancient and New Russia” (1811), which was addressed to Alexander I. Considering autocracy as necessary condition well-being of the country, Karamzin categorically condemned any attempts to limit the supreme power. Ultimately, Speransky failed to implement his plans as a whole. Alexander I, remembering the fate of his father, could not ignore the decisive rejection of the reform initiatives of his adviser by the bulk of the nobility and the highest bureaucracy. True, in 1810 the State Council was formed as a legislative advisory body under the emperor. In 1811, the “General Establishment of Ministries”, prepared by Speransky, came into force. This extensive legislative act determined the basic principles of the organizational structure of ministries and the order of their activities. This law generally completed the ministerial reform that began in 1802 (most of the collegiums ceased to exist by 1811).

Peasant question

By decree of February 12, 1801, all non-nobles, with the exception of serfs: merchants, townspeople, state peasants, received permission to buy uninhabited free lands. Thus, the monopoly of the nobility on land was broken, and opportunities for entrepreneurship were somewhat expanded. On February 20, 1803, on the initiative of S.P. Rumyantsev (the son of Catherine’s field marshal P.A. Rumyantsev), the emperor’s decree “On free cultivators” appeared, which served as a reason for accusing Alexander I of hypocrisy. Indeed, the permission to free the peasants (with obligatory allotment of land) on the terms determined by free agreement (that is, for a ransom), received by the landowners under this decree, did not affect the serfdom system. The peasants who received their freedom on the basis of the decree began to be called “free cultivators.” This act had more moral than real significance: by the end of the reign, there were only 47 thousand “free cultivators”. However, if we assume that this decree was not so much a naive appeal to the good feelings of the landowners, but rather a test of their readiness for radical changes, then such a step seemed quite reasonable and necessary. In 1803, the Secret Committee was dissolved due to the rejection of its projects by the nobility and the emperor's unwillingness to take radical action.

The Secret Committee proposed a ban on selling serfs without land. Human trafficking was carried out in Russia in open, cynical forms. Advertisements for the sale of serfs were published in newspapers. At the Makaryevskaya fair they were sold along with other goods, families were separated. Sometimes a Russian peasant, bought at a fair, went to distant eastern countries, where he lived as a foreign slave until the end of his days. Alexander I wanted to stop such shameful phenomena, but the proposal to prohibit the sale of peasants without land encountered stubborn resistance from senior dignitaries. They believed that this undermined serfdom. Without showing persistence, the young emperor retreated. It was only prohibited to publish advertisements for the sale of people.

The industrial development of the country in those years was difficult due to serfdom, since entrepreneurial activity was limited to landlord ownership of land and peasants, and the forced labor of serfs in industrial enterprises was unproductive and hampered technical progress. Thus, serfdom was first abolished in Estland, Livonia and Courland, and in 1817-1819. in conditions of secrecy, work is underway on a general plan for the abolition of serfdom. One of the documents on the liberation of peasants was developed under the leadership of A.A. Arakcheeva. His name has always been associated with a policy of extreme reaction.

Alexander I understood the need for change. In private conversations, he said that the peasants must be freed. After reading the anti-serfdom poem by A.S. Pushkin’s “Village”, the Tsar ordered to thank the poet for the good feelings that it inspired. But these were words. Things turned out to be different.

In 1816, on the initiative of the Estonian nobles, Alexander signed a decree freeing the peasants of the province from serfdom. The peasants received personal freedom, but lost their right to land and thereby found themselves completely dependent on the landowners. Nevertheless, in 1816-1819. on behalf of the emperor, Arakcheev’s office and the Ministry of Finance secretly prepared projects for the liberation of all serfs, and the projects were quite radical, in some ways ahead of the Regulations of February 19, 1861. Arakcheev proposed freeing the peasants by redeeming them from the landowner, followed by allotment of land at the expense of the treasury . According to Finance Minister Guryev, relations between peasants and landowners should be built on a contractual basis, and various forms of land ownership should be introduced gradually. Both projects were approved by the emperor, but neither of them was ever implemented. Rumors about the impending fall of serfdom began to actively circulate throughout Russia and caused a negative reaction from landowners.

Each released peasant had to receive a land allotment of at least 2 dessiatines. (essentially, it was a beggar's allotment). At this rate, serfdom should have completely disappeared no earlier than in 200 years. However, plans political reform and the abolition of serfdom remained unrealized. In 1816-1819 Only the Baltic peasants received personal freedom. It was not possible to push the landowners of Little Russia to such an initiative.

At the same time, the landowners retained full ownership of all land. In return for renting the landowner's land, peasants were still required to perform corvée duties. Numerous restrictions (for example, restrictions on the right to change place of residence) significantly curtailed the personal freedom of peasants. The landowner could subject “free” farm laborers to corporal punishment. Thus, in the Baltic states, numerous remnants of the former serfdom relations remained

However, the Minister of Finance stated that the treasury did not have 5 million rubles for these purposes. annually. Then, in 1818, a secret committee was created to develop a new plan. The committee members managed to develop a project that did not require any expenses from the treasury, but was designed for an equally indefinite period. The king got acquainted with the project and locked it in his desk. That was the end of the matter.

Foreign policy 1801-1812

Alexander I, like his predecessors, pursued an active foreign policy. The rapprochement between Russia and Georgia, which began in the second half of the 18th century, continued. It was based on a commonality of interests in the fight against Turkey and Iran, which were trying to subjugate the peoples of Transcaucasia. In 1801, when the situation in Georgia became extremely complicated, the Georgian Tsar George XII abdicated power in favor of the Russian Tsar. In 1804, a war between Russia and Iran began, which lasted until 1813. According to the peace treaty, Iran recognized the annexation of Dagestan and Northern Azerbaijan to Russia. Russian troops provided the peoples of Transcaucasia with protection from aggression from their southern neighbors and from raids by mountain tribes. The long-awaited peace has come to Transcaucasia.

The palace coup on March 11, 1801 led to changes in the foreign policy of tsarism. Alexander I immediately took steps to resolve the conflict with England, which caused discontent among wide circles of the Russian nobility. He canceled the campaign of the Don Cossacks to India organized by Paul I. In June 1801, a maritime convention was concluded between Russia and England, ending the conflict. The renunciation of hostility with England did not, however, mean a break with France. Negotiations with her continued and in October 1801 she gave assurances. Over 20 thousand Austrians with 59 guns surrendered. Kutuzov, however, managed to remove the Russian troops from under attack, who found themselves in a very difficult situation after the defeat of the main forces of the Austrians. The Battle of Austerlitz, which took place on November 20 (December 2), 1805, was, however, lost by the Allies with heavy losses. They lost about 27 thousand people and 155 guns. Napoleon lost over 12 thousand people. The third coalition effectively ceased to exist after Austria made peace with Napoleon in December 1805.

The struggle with France soon entered a new phase. In the fall of 1806, the fourth anti-French coalition formed, uniting Russia, England, Prussia and Sweden. The main forces of the coalition were the armies of Russia and Prussia. The allies acted uncoordinatedly, and in 1806-1807. Napoleon, with a lightning strike, completely defeated the Prussian army, occupied Berlin and occupied most of the territory of Prussia. The theater of military operations approached the western borders of Russia. Winter campaign 1806-1807 turned out to be very difficult for the French. In the bloody general battle of Preussisch-Eylau on January 27 (February 8), 1807, Napoleon failed to encircle and defeat the Russian army. Nevertheless, at the Battle of Friedland in June 1807, Napoleon was victorious. This circumstance, as well as the deterioration in Russian-English relations, forced Alexander I to begin negotiations with Napoleon. On July 7, 1807, a peace treaty between Russia and France and an allied treaty directed against England were signed in Tilsit. Alexander I had to recognize the redrawing of the map of Europe carried out by Napoleon. The Tsar, however, managed to convince Napoleon to preserve Prussia as an independent state, albeit within extremely reduced borders. From the Polish lands taken from Prussia, Napoleon formed the Duchy of Warsaw. Having become an ally of France, Russia took upon itself the obligation to join the continental blockade of England declared by Napoleon. After this, the Turkish government, instigated by French diplomacy, closed the Bosporus to Russian ships. In 1806, a protracted Russian-Turkish war began. The theater of military operations became Moldova, Wallachia and Bulgaria.

Russia did not suffer territorial losses, but was forced to join the continental blockade, i.e. break trade relations with England. Napoleon demanded this from all the governments of the European powers with which he entered into agreements. In this way he hoped to disrupt the English economy. By the end of the first decade of the 19th century. Almost all of continental Europe came under the control of the French emperor. Sweden refused to stop trading with England and break the alliance with it. There was a threat of attack on St. Petersburg. This circumstance, as well as pressure from Napoleon, forced Alexander I to go to war with Sweden. She sought to take revenge for the defeats she suffered in the wars with Russia in the 18th century. Military operations continued from February 1808 to March 1809. Sweden was defeated and was forced to cede Finland to Russia. Alexander I granted autonomy to Finland (it did not enjoy it under the rule of the Swedish king). In addition, Vyborg, which had been in the possession of Russia since the time of Peter I, was included in Finland. The Grand Duchy of Finland became a separate part of the Russian Empire. It minted its own coins and had a customs border with Russia.

The continental blockade was disadvantageous for Russia. Russian grain traders suffered losses, and the treasury did not receive export taxes. The severance of trade ties with England as a result of Russia joining the continental blockade greatly affected the interests of Russian landowners and merchants, leading to disorder financial system countries. Alexander I avoided strict compliance with the terms of the blockade, which irritated Napoleon. In the end, bypassing the agreement with Napoleon, trade with England began to be carried out on American ships, and a customs war broke out between Russia and France. The proud Alexander I was burdened by the Peace of Tilsit imposed on him and rejected Napoleon’s attempts to dictate his will to him. Napoleon saw that Russia had not submitted. Its destruction, followed by its dismemberment into several semi-independent states, was supposed, according to the plan of French strategists, to complete the conquest of continental Europe and open up tempting prospects for a campaign in India.

Relations with France quickly deteriorated. At the same time, a significant part of the Russian army was deployed in the south, where the war with Turkey continued. In 1811, Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1745-1813) was appointed commander of the army here. He managed to win a number of victories. Then, showing extraordinary diplomatic skill, Kutuzov persuaded the Turkish representatives to sign a peace treaty. The border with Turkey was established along the river. Prut, Bessarabia went to Russia. Serbia, which was under Turkish rule, received autonomy. This marked the beginning of her complete independence. In May 1812, less than a month before the French army invaded Russia, the military conflict with Turkey was settled.

Domestic policy 1812-1825

The second period of the reign of Alexander I (1815-1825) is characterized by most historians as conservative in comparison with the first - liberal. The strengthening of conservative tendencies and the establishment of a strict police regime is associated with the activities of the all-powerful A.A. Arakcheeva. However, it was precisely at this time that a number of liberal reforms were carried out, which does not allow us to unambiguously assess the second half of the reign of Alexander I as conservative. The Emperor did not abandon attempts to resolve the peasant issue and implement his constitutional ideas.

The period of the reign of Alexander I, which came after the war of 1812 and the defeat of Napoleonic France, was traditionally considered by both contemporaries and scientific literature as a period of mute reaction. He was contrasted with the first, liberal, half of the reign of Alexander I. Indeed, in 1815-1825. In the internal policy of the autocracy, conservative, protective principles are sharply strengthened. A tough police regime associated with the name of A.A. is being established in Russia. Arakcheev, who played a large role in government. However, Arakcheev, with all his influence, in principle was only an executor of the will of the monarch.

Alexander I did not immediately abandon the liberal initiatives that characterized the first half of his reign. In November 1815, the emperor approved a constitution for the part of Poland (Kingdom of Poland) annexed to Russia, according to the decisions of the Congress of Vienna. The Kingdom of Poland received fairly broad autonomy. The power of the Russian monarch in Poland was limited to a certain extent by the local representative body with legislative functions- The Sejm consisted of two chambers - the Senate and the Ambassadorial Chamber. Alexander I considered the granting of a constitution to the Kingdom of Poland as the first step towards the introduction of a representative form of government in the Russian Empire.

After the Napoleonic wars, the advanced part of Russian society expected that new times would begin in the history of Russia. Soldiers and officers, having become acquainted with more free life European peoples perceived the sad Russian reality in a new light. The serf peasants, who had been in the militia, who had experienced all the hardships of camp life, who had looked death in the eyes, were convinced with grave disappointment that they did not even deserve freedom.

He made a corresponding hint in March 1818 in a speech delivered at the opening of the Polish Sejm; the emperor declared his intention to give a constitutional structure to all of Russia. This speech was received with delight by all leading Russian people. Work on the project was carried out under the direct supervision of Prince P.A. Vyazemsky, poet and statesman. The Polish constitution was taken as a model. Speransky's design was also used. By 1821, work on the “State Charter of the Russian Empire” was completed. Important had a proclamation in the Charter of guarantees of personal inviolability. No one could be arrested without being charged. No one could be punished except in court. Freedom of the press was proclaimed. If the Charter had been put into effect, Russia would have embarked on the path to a representative system and civil liberties. In 1820-1821 revolutions took place in Spain and Italy, and the war of independence began in Greece. These events seriously frightened the king. After hesitating a little, he did what he had done many times before. The draft “Charter of Charter” was put in the back drawer of the table and forgotten. Alexander's reign was drawing to a close. Words never translated into deeds. On behalf of Alexander I, one of the former members of the Secret Committee (N.N. Novosiltsev) began work on a draft constitution for Russia. The document he prepared (State Charter of the Russian Empire) introduced the federal principle of government; legislative power was divided between the emperor and bicameral parliament- the Sejm, which consisted (as in Poland) of the Senate and the Ambassadorial Chamber. Senators were appointed by the king, and members of the lower house were partly also appointed, and partly elected on the basis of multi-degree elections. Russia received a federal structure, dividing into 12 governorships, each of which created its own representative body. The charter provided citizens of the Russian Empire with freedom of speech, religion, and the press, and guaranteed personal integrity. This document said nothing about serfdom. By 1821 - 1822 Alexander I's refusal to make any changes became a fait accompli. Supporters of change constituted an insignificant minority in ruling circles. The tsar himself, convinced of the impossibility of carrying out any serious reforms under these conditions, evolved more and more to the right in his views. It was a painful process that ended for Alexander I with a severe mental crisis. Having abandoned reforms, the tsar set a course for strengthening the foundations existing system. The internal political course of the autocracy from 1822-1823. characterized by a transition to outright reaction. However, already from 1815, the practice of public administration in many significant respects sharply contrasted with the liberal initiatives of the monarch that were conceived and partially implemented. The offensive of reaction along all lines became an increasingly tangible factor in Russian reality.

Military settlements

Moreover, the policy of Alexander I began to change for the worse. The Tsar had long been concerned that the army recruitment system (“recruitment”) did not allow a sharp increase in the size of the army in wartime and reduction in peacetime. Paul also planned the construction of military settlements. The fact is that the idea was based on progressive and humane intentions. In addition to the self-sufficiency of the army, which, of course, was important, the emperor tried, with the help of military settlements, to reduce the number of serfs in the western and central provinces. By buying up land and peasants from landowners devastated by the war, the government narrowed the boundaries of the spread of serfdom, because military settlers were supposed to become, in fact, state peasants.

Alexander accepted this idea through Arakcheev. War Minister Barclay de Tolly was against this idea, but on the instructions of the tsar, the first experiments were undertaken before 1812. In 1815, Alexander returned to the idea of ​​military settlements. It became his obsession. From Chudov began a strip of military settlements, the main part of which was deployed in the Novgorod province. Their construction was entrusted to Arakcheev. Military units were brought into the villages, and all residents were placed under martial law. In reality, military settlements became the cause of disturbances and riots. One village that did not want to accept soldiers was blocked, and hunger forced the peasants to surrender. The life of the villagers was real hard labor. From the age of 12, their children were taken away from their parents and transferred to the category of cantonists (soldiers' children), and from the age of 18 they were considered to be on active military service. The entire life of the military villagers was subject to a strict barracks routine and was strictly regulated. The arbitrariness of the authorities reigned in the settlements, and there was a system of inhumane punishments. All adult peasants under 45 were dressed in military uniform and shaved. Peasant huts were demolished, and identical houses were built in their place, designed for four families, who were supposed to run a common household. The entire life of the military villagers was meticulously detailed. Deviations from the schedule were strictly punished, which cost entire cartloads of spitzrutens. The main activity was military exercises. They had no right to go to work, engage in trade or fishing. Military villagers experienced the double hardships of soldier and peasant life. All agricultural work was carried out only by order of the commander. And since the officers were primarily interested in shagistics and they knew little about agriculture, it happened that the bread fell off the tree and the hay rotted in the rain. Crafts and trade could only be carried out with the permission of the authorities. As a result, all trade ceased in the area of ​​military settlements. Wealthy peasants, who were more independent, experienced especially great oppression. Arakcheev believed that “there is nothing more dangerous than a rich villager.” A military villager could even get married only with the permission of his superiors. Contemporaries observed tragicomic scenes when boys and girls lined up in two lines and the commander assigned a bride to each guy.

There were repeated uprisings in military settlements (the largest was in 1831 in the Staraya Russa region). Nevertheless, the system of military settlements, based on the grossest violation of human personality, lasted until 1857. By the end of the reign of Alexander I, 375 thousand state peasants became military settlers, which made up about a third of the Russian army under the command of Arakcheev. Military settlements were organized in St. Petersburg, Novgorod, Mogilev, Kherson, Yekaterinoslav and other provinces. In fact, the settlers were enslaved twice—as peasants and as soldiers. Their life was regulated by army norms. Cruel punishments followed for minimal offenses. The military settlements did not live up to the hopes that the ruling circles pinned on them. However, Alexander I, convinced of the advisability of “settling” the army, with tenacity worthy best use, defended the course taken, once declaring that military settlements “will be there, no matter what, even if the road from St. Petersburg to Chudov has to be paved with corpses.”

Foreign policy 1812-1825

The victory over Napoleon greatly strengthened Russia's international position. Alexander I was the most powerful monarch in Europe, and Russia's influence on the affairs of the continent was greater than ever. Protective tendencies were clearly manifested in the policy of autocracy and in the international arena. Founded in 1815, the Holy Alliance was supposed to unite all the conservative forces of Europe in the name of the triumph of legitimist principles and the fight against the revolutionary movement. The members of the Union sought to oppose the ideas of the revolution to the principles of Christian morality. However, European monarchs did not at all intend to limit the fight against the revolution, which threatened the absolutist order, only to the spiritual sphere. The further, the more the Holy Alliance took the path of direct intervention against those countries in which legitimate dynasties were threatened.

In 1818, the Aachen Congress of the Holy Alliance took place. The secret protocol, which was signed by the representatives of Russia, England, Austria and Prussia, confirmed the obligations of these countries to take measures to help “prevent the disastrous consequences of a new revolutionary upheaval” if one again threatens France.

In 1820, the revolution began in Spain. In the same year, a popular uprising broke out in the Kingdom of Naples. In this situation, in 1820, the next congress of the Holy Alliance opened in Troppau. Alexander I arrived in Troppau, hoping to obtain from his partners decisive measures aimed at combating the revolutionary movement. At the congress, a resolution was adopted proclaiming the “right of intervention” in the internal affairs of countries engulfed in revolution. The congress participants instructed Austria to send its troops to Naples to restore order. The work of the congress itself was moved from Troppau to Laibach, located closer to the Italian border. In March 1821, the Austrian army suppressed the revolution in the Kingdom of Naples. Another revolutionary center arose in Piedmont. Alexander I expressed his readiness to send troops there from Russia to “pacify” the rebels. However, the king's help was not needed. In April 1821, Austrian troops suppressed the Piedmontese Revolution. In accordance with the decisions of the Verona Congress, an intervention was carried out in revolutionary Spain. The principles of legitimism triumphed in the Iberian Peninsula with the support of French bayonets. However, the troops of Russia, Austria, and Prussia were also put on combat readiness.

The Holy Alliance was conceived by Alexander I not only as a unification of European monarchs to fight the revolution. The king also considered it as an alliance of Christian sovereigns to protect Christian peoples Balkan Peninsula from the yoke of Muslim Turkey. However, Russia's partners, fearing the strengthening of its positions in this region, were not at all going to act in unison with the tsar in cases where eastern affairs were discussed. Meanwhile, in 1812, a liberation movement against the Turkish yoke began in Greece. Alexander I initially refused the rebels any support. The Austrian Chancellor K. Metternich, fearing the establishment of Russian influence in Greece (in the event of its liberation from Ottoman rule with the help of Russia), skillfully played on the legitimist feelings of the tsar, presenting the Greeks as rebels who opposed their legitimate sovereign, the Turkish Sultan. Public opinion Russia, however, reacted negatively to the position taken by the monarch. The atrocities of the Turks in Greece aroused the indignation of the advanced part of the nobility. On the other hand, many senior dignitaries also advocated providing assistance to the rebels, guided by the need to ensure the security of the southern borders of the country, to establish Russian influence in the Balkans, and considering it unacceptable to abandon fellow believers - the Orthodox Greeks - to the mercy of fate. In addition, the Turkish government, by closing the Bosporus and Dardanelles to Russian exports under the pretext of fighting Greek smuggling, dealt a heavy blow to the economic interests of very wide noble circles. Alexander I could not ignore all this. Ultimately, in the summer of 1821, he ordered the Russian ambassador to leave Constantinople, and diplomatic relations between Russia and Turkey were interrupted.

Alexander I, however, was not going to start a war with the Ottoman Empire over Greece. At the Congress of Verona, the king, together with other members of the Holy Alliance, signed a declaration in which the Greek uprising was condemned as revolutionary. Meanwhile, England, trying to undermine Russia's authority in the Balkans, came out in defense of the Greek independence fighters and even provided them with a loan in 1824. The policy of autocracy has clearly reached a dead end. The prospect of Greece being drawn into the orbit of influence of the British Empire was becoming a reality. Attempts by tsarist diplomacy to resolve the Greek issue, acting together with partners in the Holy Alliance, were unsuccessful. In this situation, Russia had to finally take an independent position in relation to the Greek uprising. In August 1825, the Russian ambassadors in Vienna and London were instructed to make appropriate statements to the governments to which they were accredited. The Eastern crisis, which erupted with the outbreak of the Greek uprising, entered a new phase. It fell to the new Emperor Nicholas I to resolve the most complex problems generated by the events in the Balkans.

Conclusion

Alexander I ruled in an era of struggle between an outdated, but still retaining a margin of safety, feudal and emerging bourgeois system. This is the reason for his desire for liberal reforms, which never reached completion. The desire to establish new orders collided with customs and traditions that had not been eradicated. As a result, there was a change in the emperor’s policy towards reactionary actions.

The merits of Alexander I in foreign policy relations are indisputable. It’s amazing how it was possible to lead the country out of the isolation “inherited” from his father in a short period of time. And not just to bring it out, but to ensure that the leading European powers began to reckon with the empire and even fear its rise above Europe.

Now some historians believe that the emperor’s personality was deliberately praised in the “commissioned” works of his contemporaries. In addition, Alexander was surrounded by truly outstanding people (M.M. Speransky, M.I. Kutuzov, N.M. Karamzin, etc.), who could set off any person. But it’s unlikely that private letters and memoirs were also written “to order.” Alexander I is a truly outstanding politician and diplomat. And the fact that his projects remained only projects is to blame for the time. Perhaps if such a person had appeared in another era, everything would have been different.

However, it was from the era of Alexander I that society began to prepare for changes and a new way of life. Of course, there was no unity of opinion in society: it was at this time that the Decembrist movement was born, which, to a certain extent, can be considered the result of the policies of Alexander I.

The Russian economy developed slowly and lagged behind many states, due to the preservation of the feudal-serf system. Military actions in which the country took an active part also had a negative impact.

Of course, the turn to reaction had a negative impact on the overall impression of Alexander’s reign. On the other hand, Alexander I, making sure that liberal reforms he could not implement, he was forced to re-enforce the old order.

List of used literature

1. Russian history. XX century / A.N. Bokhanov, M.M. Gorinov, V.P. Dmitrenko and others - M.: ACT Publishing House LLC, 2001.

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All domestic politics this period was directly related to the personality of the new emperor - Alexander I (1801-1825), with a change in his views. In the domestic policy of this period, two stages can be distinguished.

1.Liberal reforms (1801-1820). A characteristic feature of the first stage is attempts to carry out large-scale reforms. The reasons for the transition of the government of Alexander I to reforms: first of all, these are the personal views of the emperor, brought up in the spirit of the ideals of the Enlightenment.

Attempts at peasant reform:

1803 - decree on “free cultivators”. The significance of its adoption: the first real attempt to begin the abolition of serfdom by buying out entire families or villages of peasants, by mutual agreement with the landowner. But in practice, the decree did not play a noticeable role: by 1858, only 152 thousand souls, or 1.5%, were freed;

Results: the first step was taken towards the abolition of serfdom, but it itself was not abolished, since the overwhelming majority of landowners opposed it.

Attempts to reform the state system:

1801 - the beginning of the activities of the Secret Committee. Development of reform projects, including the draft Charter of the Russian people. She had to provide the entire population civil rights and was considered as part of a future constitution, but was never published.

1809 - Speransky's constitutional project. Remained unrealized. If the project were implemented in Russia, a constitutional monarchy would be established

Conclusion: most of Alexander I’s reforms ended in failure. Reasons for this:

The nobility did not support the reform;

Personal qualities of Alexander I - weak will, hesitation, fear of a palace coup;

Russia waged continuous wars; in this situation there was no time for reforms.

2. Transition to conservative politics (1820-1825). The second stage of Alexander I’s domestic policy was marked by a gradual abandonment of reforms and a transition to the conservation of existing relations. Reasons: the revolutionary wave in Europe in the 1820s, the emperor’s disappointment in the possibility of preventing revolution through reforms.

Organization of military settlements. On the one hand, this was an attempt to solve the problem of financing the army, on the other hand, it was one of the indirect ways to solve the peasant issue: after 25 years of service, the military settler received freedom. It should be noted that military settlements aroused the indignation of both the common people (uprisings in Chuguev and near Novgorod in 1819, in the Semenovsky regiment in 1820 due to the extremely cruel orders that reigned in the settlements.), and the enlightened nobility.

In the 1st quarter of the 19th century. Russia's foreign policy was determined by its opposition to Napoleonic France, which was striving for world domination. In 1805, Russia, in alliance with Austria and England, entered the war against Napoleon. The war was unsuccessful for the allies, and at Aysterlitz (at the end of 1805) the Russian and Austrian troops were defeated. In the bloody battle of Preisch-Eylay, Russian troops under the command of Benigsen repelled Napoleon's onslaught, but in the summer of 1807 Napoleon managed to defeat the Russians at Friedland .

Alexander I was forced to make peace with Napoleon and conclude the unfavorable Peace of Tilsit in 1807. Alexander I agreed to join the continental blockade of England, stop trade and any kind of relationship with her. The “Duchy of Warsaw” was formed under the protectorate of Napoleon on the border with Russia.

Napoleon allowed his new ally (Russia) to strengthen himself at the expense of Turkey and Sweden. As a result of the war with Turkey (1806-1812), Beccapabia was annexed to Russia. The war with Sweden (1808-1809) ended with the annexation of Finland (while maintaining its autonomy).

The year 1812 was approaching. Napoleon's troops capture large territories and move towards Russia.

The cause of the war, according to a number of historians, was violations by both Russia and France of the articles of the Treaty of Tilsit (ships under a “neutral flag” were allowed to enter Russian ports, and English goods could also be under the neutral flag). Napoleon annexed the Duchy of Oldenburg and recognized Alexander I's demands for the withdrawal of French troops from Prussia and the Duchy of Warsaw as insulting.

In June 1812, Napoleon, at the head of the 600,000-strong “great army,” began his march on Russia. By that time he had never been defeated and had won many victories. The entire people of Russia rose up to defend the fatherland. The war on the Russian side had a liberating, fair character.

Russian troops were few in number. The Russian army had 200,000 people, divided into three armies: Barclay de Tolly, Bagration and Tormasov.

On June 6, 1812, Napoleon entered Russia without even declaring war. He spoke about his victory and the destruction of Russia. Emperor Alexander, announced to the people about the enemy’s invasion, added: “We have no choice but to put our forces against the enemy’s forces. I don’t need to remind the leaders, commanders and warriors of their duty and courage. Since ancient times, the blood of the Slavs, resounding with victories, has flowed in them. Warriors “You will defend the faith, the fatherland, freedom. I will not lay down my arms until there is not a single enemy left in my kingdom.”

On June 12, Napoleon's main forces invaded across the Neman near the city of Kovno. Russian troops, divided into separate armies and inferior to the enemy in numbers, were forced to retreat. The news of the invasion of Napoleon's army stirred up all of Russia, generating patriotism.

The advance of the invaders across Russian soil was not calm; Napoleonic troops met stubborn resistance. At the end of July - beginning of August, fierce fighting began in the Smolensk region. The heroism of the Russian troops manifested itself with renewed vigor in the battle of Borodino, when the Russian army under the command of M.I. Kutuzov decided to give a general battle. However, the enemy was still strong. And the wise Kutuzov ordered a retreat: the army needed replenishment with reserves, it was necessary to replace retired generals. Continuing the forced retreat and ordering to leave Moscow without a new battle, Kutuzov took into account that Napoleon’s army had to fight not only against Russian regular troops, but also against the people.

After the failure at Maloyaroslavets, when, during the retreat from Moscow, the French troops were stopped by the heroic act of Kutuzov’s troops, Napoleon gave the order to retreat along Smolensk road. The strategic initiative finally passed to the Russians. Strong blows to the enemy were delivered near Vyazma and Krasny. The Patriotic War of 1812 ended with a brilliant victory for Russian weapons.

No matter how glorious the wars of Emperor Alexander I were, they cost Russia dearly. He devoted the last years of his reign to, as far as possible, making amends for the losses caused by the wars. There were no significant changes in the internal structure of Russia at this time.

The main employee of Alexander I during the second half of his reign was the gloomy temporary worker, General Arakcheev. Arakcheev was appointed head of military settlements. The purpose of military settlements was to reduce treasury expenses for the maintenance of the army. The entire life of the peasants was constrained by the strict rules of military discipline, and therefore the population considered this system to be the worst kind of serfdom.

Born December 23, 1777 From the very beginning early childhood he began to live with his grandmother, who wanted to raise him to be a good sovereign. After Catherine's death, Paul ascended the throne. The future emperor had many positive character traits. Alexander was dissatisfied with his father's rule and conspired against Paul. On March 11, 1801, the Tsar was killed, and Alexander began to rule. Upon accession to the throne, Alexander 1st promised to follow political course Catherine the 2nd.

1st stage of transformation

The beginning of the reign of Alexander 1st was marked by reforms; he wanted to change the political system of Russia, create a constitution that guaranteed rights and freedom to everyone. But Alexander had many opponents. On April 5, 1801, the Permanent Council was created, whose members could challenge the tsar's decrees. Alexander wanted to free the peasants, but many opposed this. Nevertheless, on February 20, 1803, a decree on free cultivators was issued. This is how the category of free peasants appeared in Russia for the first time.

Alexander carried out an education reform, the essence of which was the creation of a state system, the head of which was the Ministry of Public Education. In addition, it was carried out administrative reform(reform of the highest authorities) - 8 ministries were established: foreign affairs, internal affairs, finance, military ground forces, naval forces, justice, commerce and public education. The new governing bodies had sole power. Each separate department was controlled by a minister, each minister was subordinate to the Senate.

2nd stage of reforms

Alexander introduced M.M. into his circle. Speransky, who was entrusted with the development of a new government reform. According to Speransky's project, it is necessary to create a constitutional monarchy in Russia, in which the power of the sovereign would be limited to a bicameral parliamentary body. The implementation of this plan began in 1809. By the summer of 1811, the transformation of the ministries was completed. But due to Russian foreign policy (tense relations with France), Speransky’s reforms were perceived as anti-state, and in March 1812 he was dismissed.

The threat from France was looming. June 12, 1812 began. After the expulsion of Napoleon's troops, the authority of Alexander I strengthened.

Post-war reforms

In 1817-1818 People close to the emperor were engaged in the gradual elimination of serfdom. By the end of 1820, a draft of the State Charter of the Russian Empire was prepared, approved by Alexander, but it was not possible to introduce it.

A feature of the internal policy of Alexander I was the introduction of a police regime and the creation of military settlements, which later became known as “Arakcheevism.” Such measures caused discontent among the broad masses of the population. In 1817, the Ministry of Spiritual Affairs and Public Education was created, headed by A.N. Golitsyn. In 1822, Emperor Alexander I banned secret societies in Russia, including Freemasonry.