Alexander I became Russian Emperor as a result of a palace coup and regicide on March 11, 1801.

In the first years of his reign, he believed that the country needed fundamental reforms and serious renewal. To carry out reforms, he created an Unspoken Committee to discuss reform projects. The secret committee put forward the idea of ​​limiting autocracy, but at first it was decided to carry out reforms in the sphere of administration. In 1802, the reform of the highest bodies of state power began, ministries were created, and the Committee of Ministers was established. In 1803, a decree was issued on "free cultivators", according to which landowners could release their serfs into freedom with land allotments for a ransom. After the appeal of the Baltic landowners, he approved the law on the complete abolition of serfdom in Estonia (1811).

In 1809, the secretary of state of the emperor M. Speransky presented to the tsar a draft of a radical reform government controlled- a project to create a constitutional monarchy in Russia. Having met the active resistance of the nobles, Alexander I abandoned the project.

In 1816-1822. nobility arose in Russia secret societies- Union of Salvation. Welfare Union Southern Society, Northern Society - with the aim of introducing a republican constitution in Russia or constitutional monarchy. By the end of his reign, Alexander I, under pressure from the nobles and fearing popular uprisings, refused all liberal ideas and major reforms.

In 1812, Russia experienced the invasion of Napoleon's army, the defeat of which ended with the entry of Russian troops into Paris. Russia's foreign policy has undergone fundamental changes. Unlike Paul I, who supported Napoleon, Alexander, on the contrary, opposed France, and resumed trade and political relations with England.

In 1801, Russia and England concluded an anti-French convention "On Mutual Friendship", and then, in 1804, Russia joined the third anti-French coalition. After the defeat at Austerlitz in 1805, the coalition fell apart. In 1807, the forced Peace of Tilsit was signed with Napoleon. Subsequently, Russia and its allies inflicted a decisive defeat on Napoleon's army in the "Battle of the Nations" near Leipzig in 1813.

In 1804-1813. Russia won the war with Iran, seriously expanded and strengthened its southern borders. In 1806-1812. there was a protracted Russo-Turkish war. As a result of the war with Sweden in 1808-1809. Russia included Finland, later Poland (1814).

In 1814, Russia took part in the work of the Congress of Vienna to resolve issues of the post-war structure of Europe and in the creation of the Holy Alliance to ensure peace in Europe, which included Russia and almost all European countries.

THE BEGINNING OF THE REIGN OF ALEXANDER I

And yet, the first years of the reign of Alexander I left the best memories among contemporaries, “A wonderful beginning of the Days of Alexander” - this is how A.S. Pushkin. A short period of enlightened absolutism set in.” Universities, lyceums, gymnasiums were opened. Measures were taken to alleviate the situation of the peasants. Alexander stopped the distribution of state peasants into the possession of the landowners. In 1803, a decree on "free cultivators" was adopted. According to the decree, the landowner could free his peasants by giving them land and receiving a ransom from them. But the landlords were in no hurry to take advantage of this decree. During the reign of Alexander I, only 47 thousand male souls were released. But the ideas laid down in the decree of 1803 subsequently formed the basis of the reform of 1861.

In the Unspoken Committee, a proposal was made to prohibit the sale of serfs without land. Human trafficking was carried out in Russia in undisguised, cynical forms. Announcements about the sale of serfs were published in newspapers. At the Makariev 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 until the end of his days he lived in the position of a foreign slave.

Alexander I wanted to stop such shameful phenomena, but the proposal to ban the sale of peasants without land ran into the stubborn resistance of the highest dignitaries. They thought it undermined serfdom. Without showing perseverance, the young emperor retreated. It was forbidden only to publish advertisements for the sale of people.

By the beginning of the XIX century. administrative system The state was in a state of apparent collapse. The collegial form of central administration that was introduced 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.

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 colleges, 8 ministries were created: military, naval, foreign affairs, internal affairs, commerce, finance, public education and justice. This measure strengthened the central administration. But a decisive victory in the fight against abuse was not achieved. Old vices settled in the new ministries. Growing, they rose to the upper floors of state power. Alexander was aware of senators who took bribes. The desire to expose them struggled in him with the fear of dropping the prestige of the Senate. It became obvious that it was impossible to solve the problem of creating such a system of state power that would actively promote the development of productive forces country rather than devouring its resources. A fundamentally new approach to solving the problem was required.

Bokhanov A.N., Gorinov M.M. History of Russia from the beginning of the XVIII to the end of the XIX century, M., 2001

"RUSSIAN POLICY DOES NOT EXIST"

Russian, Russian politics in the reign of Emperor Alexander I, one might say, does not exist. There is a European policy (a hundred years later they would say "pan-European"), there is a policy of the universe - the policy of the Holy Alliance. And there is the “Russian policy” of foreign cabinets that use Russia and its Tsar for their own selfish purposes by the skillful work of proxies who have unlimited influence on the Sovereign (such, for example, Pozzo di Borgo and Michaud de Boretour - two amazing adjutant generals who ran Russian politics , but for their long-term adjutant general who did not learn a single Russian word).

There are four phases here:

The first is the era of predominantly English influence. This is "the days of Alexander's wonderful beginning." The young Sovereign is not averse to dreaming in a circle of intimate friends about "projects for the Russian constitution." England is the ideal and patroness of all liberalism, including Russian. At the head of the English government, Pitt the Younger is the great son of a great father, the mortal enemy of France in general and Bonaparte in particular. They embark on a wonderful idea of ​​liberating Europe from the tyranny of Napoleon (England takes over the financial side). The result - the war with France - the second French war ... True, little English blood is shed, but Russian blood flows like a river at Austerlitz and Pultusk, Eylau and Friedland.

Friedland is followed by Tilsit, who opens the second era - the era of French influence. Napoleon's genius makes a deep impression on Alexander... The Tilsit banquet, St. George's crosses on the breasts of the French grenadiers... The Erfurt rendezvous - Emperor of the West, Emperor of the East... Russia's hands are untied on the Danube, where she is waging war with Turkey, while Napoleon gets freedom of action in Spain. Russia recklessly joins the continental system without considering all the consequences of this step.

Napoleon left for Spain. In the meantime, Stein's brilliant Prussian head had matured a plan for the liberation of Germany from the yoke of Napoleon - a plan based on Russian blood ... From Berlin to St. Petersburg is closer than from Madrid to St. Petersburg. Prussian influence begins to supplant French. Stein and Pfuel handled the matter skillfully, deftly presenting to the Russian Emperor all the greatness of the feat of "saving the tsars and their peoples." At the same time, their accomplices set Napoleon on Russia, in every possible way insinuating Russia's non-compliance with the continental treaty, touching on Napoleon's sore spot, his hatred for his main enemy - England. Relations between the Erfurt allies finally deteriorated, and a trifling pretext (artfully inflated by the efforts of German well-wishers) turned out to be enough to involve Napoleon and Alexander in a cruel three-year war that bled and ruined their countries - but turned out to be extremely profitable (as the instigators counted on) for Germany in general and for Prussia in particular.

Using to the end weak sides Alexander I - a passion for posture and mysticism - foreign offices with subtle flattery forced him to believe in their messianism and, through their trusted people, inspired him with the idea of ​​​​the Holy Union, which then turned in their skillful hands into the Holy Alliance of Europe against Russia. Contemporary to those sad events, the engraving depicts "the oath of three monarchs on the coffin of Frederick the Great in eternal friendship." An oath for which four Russian generations paid a terrible price. At the Congress of Vienna, Galicia, which it had received shortly before, was taken away from Russia, and in exchange the Duchy of Warsaw was given, which prudently, to the greater glory of Germanism, introduced into Russia a hostile Polish element. In this fourth period, Russian policy is directed at the behest of Metternich.

WAR OF 1812 AND FOREIGN CAMPAIGN OF THE RUSSIAN ARMY

Of the 650 thousand soldiers of the "Great Army" of Napoleon returned to their homeland, according to some sources, 30 thousand, according to others - 40 thousand soldiers. In essence, the Napoleonic army was not expelled, but exterminated in the endless snowy expanses of Russia. December 21 reported to Alexander: "The war is over for the complete extermination of the enemy." On December 25, the tsar's manifesto, timed to coincide with the Nativity of Christ, was published announcing the end of the war. Russia turned out to be the only country in Europe capable of not only resisting Napoleonic aggression, but also inflicting a crushing blow on it. The secret of victory was that it was a national liberation, truly Patriotic, war. But this victory came at a high cost to the people. Twelve provinces, which became the scene of hostilities, were devastated. The ancient Russian cities of Smolensk, Polotsk, Vitebsk, Moscow were burned and destroyed. Direct military losses amounted to over 300 thousand soldiers and officers. Even greater losses were among the civilian population.

The victory in the Patriotic War of 1812 had a huge impact on all aspects of the social, political and cultural life of the country, contributed to the growth of national self-consciousness, and gave a powerful impetus to the development of advanced social thought in Russia.

But the victorious end of the Patriotic War of 1812 did not yet mean that Russia had succeeded in putting an end to Napoleon's aggressive plans. He himself openly announced the preparation of a new campaign against Russia, feverishly put together a new army for the campaign of 1813.

Alexander I decided to preempt Napoleon and immediately transfer military operations outside the country. In pursuance of his will, Kutuzov, in an order for the army of December 21, 1812, wrote: “Without stopping among heroic deeds, we are now moving further. Let's go through the borders and try to complete the defeat of the enemy on his own fields. Both Alexander and Kutuzov rightfully counted on help from the peoples conquered by Napoleon, and their calculation was justified.

On January 1, 1813, a hundred thousandth Russian army under the command of Kutuzov crossed the Neman and entered Poland. On February 16, in Kalisz, where the headquarters of Alexander I was located, an offensive and defensive alliance was concluded between Russia and Prussia. Prussia also assumed the obligation to supply the Russian army with food on its territory.

In early March, Russian troops occupied Berlin. By this time, Napoleon had formed an army of 300,000, from which 160,000 soldiers moved against the allied forces. A heavy loss for Russia was the death of Kutuzov on April 16, 1813 in the Silesian city of Bunzlau. Alexander I appointed P.Kh. as the commander-in-chief of the Russian army. Wittgenstein. His attempts to lead his own strategy, different from Kutuzov's, led to a number of failures. Napoleon, having inflicted defeats on the Russian-Prussian troops at Luzen and Bautzen in late April - early May, threw them back to the Oder. Alexander I replaced Wittgenstein as Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces with Barclay de Tolly.

In July - August 1813 England, Sweden and Austria joined the anti-Napoleonic coalition. At the disposal of the coalition was up to half a million soldiers, divided into three armies. The Austrian Field Marshal Karl Schwarzenberg was appointed commander-in-chief of all the armies, and the general leadership of the conduct of military operations against Napoleon was carried out by the council of three monarchs - Alexander I, Franz I and Friedrich Wilhelm III.

By the beginning of August 1813, Napoleon already had 440 thousand soldiers, and on August 15 he defeated the coalition forces near Dresden. Only the victory of the Russian troops three days after the Battle of Dresden over the corps of Napoleonic General D. Vandam near Kulm prevented the collapse of the coalition.

The decisive battle during the campaign of 1813 took place near Leipzig on October 4-7. It was a "battle of the nations". More than half a million people participated in it from both sides. The battle ended with the victory of the allied Russian-Prussian-Austrian troops.

After the battle of Leipzig, the allies slowly moved towards the French border. In two and a half months, almost the entire territory of the German states was liberated from French troops, with the exception of some fortresses, in which the French garrisons stubbornly defended themselves until the very end of the war.

On January 1, 1814, the Allied forces crossed the Rhine and entered French territory. By this time, Denmark had joined the anti-Napoleonic coalition. The allied troops were continuously replenished with reserves, and by the beginning of 1814 they already numbered up to 900 thousand soldiers. During the two winter months of 1814, Napoleon won 12 battles against them and drew two. In the camp of the coalition again there were fluctuations. The allies offered peace to Napoleon on the condition that France return to the borders of 1792. Napoleon refused. Alexander I insisted on continuing the war, striving to overthrow Napoleon from the throne. At the same time, Alexander I did not want the restoration of the Bourbons to the French throne: he offered to leave Napoleon's infant son on the throne under the regency of his mother, Marie-Louise. On March 10, Russia, Austria, Prussia and England signed the Treaty of Chaumont, according to which they pledged not to enter into separate negotiations with Napoleon about peace or a truce. The threefold superiority of the allies in the number of troops by the end of March 1814 led to a victorious end to the campaign. Having won in early March in the battles of Laon and Arcy sur Aube, a 100,000-strong group of allied troops moved on Paris, defended by a 45,000-strong garrison. March 19, 1814 Paris capitulated. Napoleon rushed to liberate the capital, but his marshals refused to fight and forced him to sign an abdication on March 25. According to the peace treaty signed on May 18 (30), 1814 in Paris, France returned to the borders of 1792. Napoleon and his dynasty were deprived of the French throne, on which the Bourbons were restored. Louis XVIII, who returned from Russia, where he was in exile, became the King of France.

ENTERTAINMENT AND ENTERTAINMENT OF THE ALEXANDER AGE

The holidays of the dynasty were national days of rest and festivities, and every year the whole of Petersburg, seized with festive excitement, waited for July 22. A few days before the celebrations, thousands of people rushed from the city along the Peterhof road: to know in luxurious carriages, nobles, townspeople, commoners - whoever needs it. A journal from the 1820s tells us:

“Several people are crowded on the droshky and willingly endure shaking and anxiety; there, in a Chukhon wagon, there is a whole family with large stocks of provisions of all kinds, and they all patiently swallow thick dust ... Moreover, on both sides of the road there are many pedestrians, whose hunting and strength of legs overpower the lightness of the wallet; peddlers of various fruits and berries - and they rush to Peterhof in the hope of profit and vodka. ... The pier also presents a lively picture, here thousands of people crowd and rush to get on the ship.

Petersburgers spent several days in Peterhof - the parks were open for everyone. Tens of thousands of people spent the night right on the streets. The warm, short bright night did not seem tiring to anyone. The nobles slept in their carriages, the burghers and peasants in the wagons, hundreds of carriages formed real bivouacs. Everywhere one could see horses chewing, people sleeping in the most picturesque poses. They were peaceful hordes, everything was unusually quiet and orderly, without the usual drunkenness and massacre. After the end of the holiday, the guests just as quietly left for St. Petersburg, life went back to its usual track until the next summer ...

In the evening, after dinner and dancing in Grand Palace a masquerade began in the Lower Park, where everyone was admitted. By this time, Peterhof parks were being transformed: alleys, fountains, cascades, as in the 18th century, were decorated with thousands of lit bowls and multi-colored lamps. Orchestras played everywhere, crowds of guests in masquerade costumes walked along the alleys of the park, parting in front of the cavalcades of smart horsemen and carriages of members of the royal family.

With the ascension of Alexander, St. Petersburg celebrated its first century with particular joy. In May 1803, there were continuous festivities in the capital. Spectators saw on the birthday of the city how a myriad of festively dressed people filled all the alleys of the Summer Garden ... on the Tsaritsyn Meadow there were booths, swings and other devices for all kinds of folk games. In the evening Summer garden, the main buildings on the embankment, the fortress and the small Dutch house of Peter the Great ... were magnificently illuminated. On the Neva, a flotilla of small ships of the imperial squadron, dismantled with flags, was also brightly lit, and on the deck of one of these ships one could see ... the so-called "Grandfather of the Russian Fleet" - the boat from which the Russian fleet began ...

Anisimov E.V. Imperial Russia. SPb., 2008

LEGENDS AND RUMORS ABOUT THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER I

What happened there in the south is shrouded in mystery. It is officially known that Alexander I died on November 19, 1825 in Taganrog. The body of the sovereign was hastily embalmed and taken to St. Petersburg. […] And around 1836, already under Nicholas I, rumors spread around the country that a certain wise old man Fyodor Kuzmich Kuzmin lived among the people, righteous, educated and very, very similar to the late emperor, although he did not at all pretend to imposture . He walked for a long time in the holy places of Russia, and then settled in Siberia, where he died in 1864. The fact that the elder was not a commoner was clear to everyone who saw him.

But then a furious and insoluble dispute flared up: who is he? Some say that this is the once brilliant cavalry guard Fyodor Uvarov, who mysteriously disappeared from his estate. Others believe that it was the Emperor Alexander himself. Of course, among the latter there are many crazy and graphomaniacs, but there are also serious people. They pay attention to many strange facts. The cause of death of the 47-year-old emperor, in general, a healthy, mobile person, is not fully understood. There is some strange confusion in the documents about the death of the king, and this led to the suspicion that the papers were drawn up backdating. When the body was delivered to the capital, when the coffin was opened, everyone was amazed by the cry of the mother of the deceased, Empress Maria Feodorovna, at the sight of Alexander’s dark, “like a Moor’s” face: “This is not my son!” There was talk of some mistake in the embalming. Or maybe, as supporters of the departure of the king say, this mistake was not accidental? Just shortly before November 19, a courier crashed before the eyes of the sovereign - the carriage was carried by horses. They put him in a coffin, and Alexander himself ...

[…] In recent months, Alexander I has changed a lot. It seemed that some important thought possessed him, which made him thoughtful and resolute at the same time. […] Finally, relatives recalled how Alexander often spoke of being tired and dreaming of leaving the throne. The wife of Nicholas I, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, wrote in her diary a week before their coronation on August 15, 1826:

“Probably, when I see the people, I will think about how the late Emperor Alexander, once speaking to us about his abdication, added: “How I will rejoice when I see you passing by me, and I will shout to you in the crowd“ Hurray! waving his cap.

Opponents object to this: is it ever seen to give up such power? Yes, and all these conversations of Alexander are just his usual pose, affectation. And in general, why did the king need to go to the people that he did not like so much. Was there no other way to live without the throne - remember the Swedish Queen Christina, who left the throne and went to enjoy life in Italy. Or it was possible to settle in the Crimea and build a palace. Yes, you could go to the monastery, finally. […] Meanwhile, from one shrine to another, pilgrims wandered around Russia with staffs and knapsacks. Alexander saw them many times in his trips around the country. These were not vagabonds, but people full of faith and love for their neighbor, eternal enchanted wanderers of Russia. Their continuous movement along an endless road, their faith, visible in their eyes and not requiring proof, could suggest a way out for the weary sovereign ...

In a word, there is no clarity in this story. The best connoisseur of the time of Alexander I, historian N.K. Schilder, the author of a fundamental work about him, a brilliant connoisseur of documents and an honest person, said:

“The whole dispute is only possible because some certainly want Alexander I and Fyodor Kuzmich to be the same person, while others absolutely do not want this. Meanwhile, there are no definite data to resolve this issue in one direction or another. I can give as much evidence in favor of the first opinion as in favor of the second, and no definite conclusion can be drawn. […]

Already on the day of his accession to the throne, the young emperor announced that he intended to govern the state in accordance with the principles that his late grandmother had instilled in him,. Both in official papers and in private conversations, he constantly emphasized that he was going to replace personal arbitrariness in all spheres of public life with strict legality, since the main drawback public order in the empire considered the arbitrariness of those in power.

Based on these intentions, from the very beginning of his reign, he took a course on liberal reforms and the development of fundamental laws. Literally within a month of his reign, he allowed everyone who was dismissed by his father to return to the service, lifted the ban on the import of many goods, including those that were prohibited by strict censorship - notes and books, and also reintroduced noble elections.

Government reform

From the very beginning, the young emperor was surrounded by a group of comrades who, at his request, helped him in carrying out reforms. They were V.P. Kochubey, P.A. Stroganov, N.N. Novosiltsev, A. Czartoryski. During 1801 - 1803. this so-called "Unspoken Committee" developed projects for reforms in the state.

It was decided to start with the central control. From the spring of 1801, a permanent "Indispensable Council" began to operate, whose task was to discuss decisions and state affairs. It included 12 dignitaries of the highest rank. Later, in 1810, it was transformed into the State Council, and the structure was also revised: General meeting and four departments - military, laws, public economy and civil and spiritual affairs. The head of the Council of State was either the emperor himself or one of its members, who was appointed by the will of the monarch. The Council was an advisory body whose task was to centralize legislative procedures, ensure legal norms and avoid contradictions in laws.

In February 1802, the emperor signed a decree that declared the Senate the supreme governing body in Russia, in whose hands the administrative, controlling and judicial power was concentrated. However, the first dignitaries of the empire were not represented in it, and the Senate did not have the opportunity to directly contact the supreme authority, therefore, even taking into account the expansion of powers, the importance of this body did not increase.

At the beginning of 1802, Alexander I carried out a ministerial reform, according to which the colleges were replaced by 8 ministries, which consisted of a minister, his deputy and an office. The minister was in charge of the affairs of his ministry and was personally accountable to the emperor. In order to organize a joint discussion, a Committee of Ministers was established. In 1810, M.M. Speransky prepared a manifesto, according to which all state affairs were divided into 5 main parts, and new departments were proclaimed - the Ministry of Police and the Main Directorate of Spiritual Affairs.

He also prepared a project of public administration, the purpose of which was to modernize and Europeanize governance through the introduction of bourgeois norms in order to strengthen the autocracy and preserve the class system, but the highest dignitaries did not support the idea of ​​​​transformation. At the insistence of the emperor, however, the legislative and executive power have been reformed.

Education reform

In 1803, an imperial decree proclaimed new principles of the education system in Russia: classlessness, free lower levels of education, as well as the continuity of curricula. The education system was under the jurisdiction of the General Directorate of Schools. During the reign of the emperor, 5 universities were founded, which were then given significant independence. Lyceums were also created - secondary educational institutions.

Projects for solving the peasant question

Immediately after ascending the throne, Alexander I announced his intention to stop the distribution of state peasants. During the first nine years of his reign, he issued decrees allowing state peasants to buy land, as well as forbidding landowners to exile serfs to Siberia. In famine years, the landowner was obliged to supply his peasants with food.

With the deterioration of the economic situation in the state, however, some paragraphs of the laws on the peasantry were revised: for example, in 1810 - 11. More than 10,000 state-owned peasants were sold, and in 1822 the landowners were given back the right to exile peasants to Siberia. At the same time, Arakcheev, Guryev and Mordvinov developed projects for the liberation of the peasants, which were never implemented.

military settlements

The first experience of introducing such settlements was in 1810-12, but this phenomenon acquired a mass character at the end of 1815. The purpose of creating military settlements was to free the population from the need to provide for the army by creating a military agricultural estate that would support and recruit itself. standing army. Thus, it was supposed to maintain the number of troops at the wartime level. The reform was met with hostility by both the peasants and the Cossacks: they reacted with numerous riots. Military settlements were abolished only in 1857 G.

Results

If at the beginning of the reign of Emperor Alexander his power was seen a real opportunity to improve the life of all the estates of the empire, then by the middle many were disappointed in him, almost publicly arguing that the ruler simply did not have the courage to follow those liberal principles, about which he speaks so much and enthusiastically. Many researchers tend to believe that the main reason for the failure of the reforms of Alexander I was by no means corruption and the people's tendency to conservatism, but the personal qualities of the sovereign.

Alexander I Pavlovich (1801 - 1825) - Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia, protector of the Order of Malta, Grand Duke of Finland, Tsar of Poland, eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Maria Feodorovna, nicknamed the Blessed, because "without God's mercy and miraculous help, Russia could not to overcome the invasions of the hordes of Napoleon invading it"

Dissatisfaction with the reign of Emperor Paul I was growing in the nobility. A conspiracy arose, headed by the St. Petersburg military governor, General P. A. Palen. He managed to convince the heir to the throne, Alexander Pavlovich, that he was threatened with the fate of Tsarevich Alexei. Alexander believed this all the more willingly because his father had long been dissatisfied with him, and in early March 1801 he put his son under arrest in his chambers. The prince agreed to a palace coup on the condition that his father remained alive. Palen swore to it. On the night of March 11-12, 1801 the conspirators burst into Paul's bedroom and demanded that he sign the act of renunciation. Pavel flatly refused. A sharp skirmish began, and Pavel, waving his hand, touched one of the conspirators, who was heavily drunk. Immediately there was a scuffle, and Pavel was killed. Tears gushed from Alexander's eyes when he learned that his father had been killed. “Enough childishness,” Palen said rudely, “go to reign ...”

Russian Empire in the 1st half XIX in.

By the beginning of the XIX century. The Russian Empire occupied a vast territory: from the White Sea in the north to the Caucasus and the Black Sea in the south, from the Baltic Sea in the west to Pacific Ocean in the east. Russia owned part of North America (Alaska). In the first half of the XIX century. the territory of Russia expanded even more due to the annexation of Finland, part of Poland, Bessarabia, the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, Kazakhstan, the Amur Region and Primorye ( from 16 million to 18 million square meters km) . The population has grown from 37 million to 74 million people. Siberia accounted for 3.1 million people, North Caucasus- about 1 million people. The composition of Russia included peoples of different nationalities, standing at various stages of social development.

In terms of its socio-economic and political development, Russia lagged behind the advanced Western European countries. The main obstacle to progress was serfdom. By the middle of the XIX century. the number of peasants in Russia was about 30 million human. Of these, about half were state peasants. In the North of Russia and in Siberia, the majority of the population belonged to this category. The state peasants lived more freely and had more land. Serfs numbered more than 14 million human. In the Non-Chernozem Provinces of Central Russia 2/3 of the population were fortresses. In the chernozem zone, less than half of all peasants belonged to the landowners, and in the Middle Volga region - about 1/3 . There were very few serfs in Siberia

During the period of the deepening disintegration of the old, feudal forms of economy, the autocracy was forced to make some concessions to the times, to carry out reforms that would adapt the old order to the new phenomena.

Domestic politics

The era of the reign of Alexander I (1801–1825) is characterized by the struggle of two directions in domestic politics : liberal and conservative. ( 1801 - 1812-14)

At the beginning of his reign, his domestic policy manifested striving for moderate liberalism .

• Reversal of Paul's Despotic Orders І

April 2, 1801 - Decree on the abolition of the Secret Expedition - the body of political investigation

March 15, 1801 - decree on the return of those repressed by Paul I (12 thousand people)

• improvement political system Russia under the influence of progressive forces

The inspirer of liberal state reforms was MM. Speransky, supporter of the idea of ​​the rule of law, the limitation of autocracy within the framework of legality. Alexander himself (raised by the Swiss La Harpe, a republican by conviction), surrounded by friends of his youth, the so-called Secret Committee (1801-1803), seriously thought about the legitimacy of autocracy and serfdom.

1801 - creation secret committee (P.A. Stroganov, A.A. Czartorysky, N.N. Novosiltsev, V.P. Kochubey were friends of Alexander I from youth. S.S. Speransky was involved in the activities of the committee

September 8, 1802 – establishment of ministries (8 ministries) : the ministers single-handedly (rather than collegially) made decisions and were personally responsible for them ( Completion of the process of reorganization of the Petrine central government system)

1802 - Creation of the Committee of Ministers. There is a body coordinating the activities of ministries

September 8, 1802 - Decree declaring the Senate the "custodian of the laws", the highest court, the body of supervision over the administration

January 1, 1810 – institution at the suggestion of M.M. Speransky State Council (existed until 1917) - a legislative body under the emperor

• Changes in the peasant legislation. An attempt to solve the peasant problem.

December 12, 1801 - a decree on the right to purchase land by merchants, petty bourgeois, state peasants (The beginning of bourgeois land ownership in Russia).

February 20, 1803 - Decree "on free cultivators": landowners could release serfs with land for a ransom. (During the validity of the decree, about 150 thousand souls, or 0.5%, received their will.)

March 10, 1809 - a decree forbidding landowners to exile peasants to Siberia; a ban on publishing advertisements for the sale of peasants.

1804 - 1805 - prohibition in the Livonian and Estlyanl provinces to sell peasants without land. The duties of the peasants in favor of the landowners were fixed, peasant self-government was introduced

• The most consistent measures were those in the field of education.

1803 - new regulation "On the organization of educational institutions":

Unified School System - 4 steps:

– Parish schools (at the church) – 1 year

– County schools (for townspeople) – 2 years

– Provincial gymnasiums – 4 years

- Universities (for nobles)

Opening of universities:

— 1802 - in Dorpat (former Yuryev, now Tartu in Estonia)

— 1803 - in Vilna (Vilnius in Lithuania)

— 1804 - in Kharkov and Kazan

— 1804 - opening of the main Pedagogical Institute in St. Petersburg, transformed in 1819 - into a university

- 1804 - the adoption of the university charter, which establishes the autonomy of universities, the publication of a censorship charter that is liberal in nature

— 1805 – creation of a privileged lyceum: Demidovsky in Yaroslavl

— 1811 - creation of a privileged lyceum: Tsarskoye Selo

-1820 - Nizhyn Lyceum of Prince A. A. Bezborodko - higher educational institution in the city of Nizhyn, opened in memory of the Chancellor Russian Empire His Serene Highness Prince A. A. Bezborodko. Existed under various names in 1820-1875. Subsequently - Nizhyn Historical and Philological Institute of Prince A. A. Bezborodko, now - Nizhyn State University named after N. V. Gogol.

• Implementation of constitutional ideas

In 1808 MM. Speransky was instructed to prepare common project state reforms in Russia. Such a project was prepared by the end of 1809. The project was based the idea of ​​separating power into legislative, executive and judicial.

— legislature transfer to the State Duma;

— executive - ministries,

— and the judiciary - the Senate.

In the localities, administrative functions should be carried out by such elected bodies as provincial, district and volost dumas.

At the head of the state should be a monarch, invested with full power. Under him, it was necessary to have a State Council, which is an advisory body of dignitaries appointed by the monarch. Through the Council of State, all matters from lower bodies were to be received by the monarch.

Activities of M.M. Speransky caused sharp discontent among the reactionary nobility, whose ideologist was the court historiographer N.M. Karamzin. In the “Note on the ancient and new Russia He subjected Speransky's project to sharp criticism. Of all the proposals of Speransky, in 1810 the State Council was established as an advisory body under the emperor, and the number of ministries was increased from 8 to 11 and their functions were clarified.

In view of the threat of war with Napoleon, the transformations were suspended, and Speransky was sent into exile in 1812 due to the intrigues of the conservatives.

Consequences of the reforms:

• The reforms of Alexander I, for all their half-heartedness, contributed to the modernization of the country
• Created new authorities (State Council, ministries) existed until the beginning of the twentieth century
• A powerful impulse was educated

Since 1815, a conservative trend has intensified in the foreign policy of Alexander I : with his consent, the Austrian troops crushed the revolutions in Naples and Piedmont, and the French in Spain; he took an evasive position in relation to the Greek uprising of 1821, which he considered as a speech by his subjects against the legitimate monarch (sultan).

After graduation Napoleonic Wars many in Russia expected change. Alexander I understood their necessity. In private conversations, he said that the peasants must be freed

1816 - 1819 - decree on the liberation of the peasants of the Estland (1816), Courland (1817), Liflyansk (1819) provinces from serfdom (without land)

1818 – project General Count A.A. Arakcheev: the purchase by the state of landowners' lands and the allocation of land to peasants (2 acres per capita). For this purpose, 5 million rubles should be allocated annually. According to this project, the liberation of the peasants could stretch for 200 years. The Minister of Finance stated that there would be no money in the treasury for these purposes - 5 million rubles. annually. Then a special committee was formed to develop a new plan. The committee developed a project that did not require any expenses from the government, but was designed for an equally indefinite period.

1819 - project Minister of Finance and Destinies D.A. Guryev: the destruction of the peasant community and the formation of farm-type farms

Alexander I got acquainted with the projects, approved them and locked them in his desk. This issue was not discussed further.

1822 - restoration of law landlords to send serfs "for bad deeds" to Siberia

War of 1812 and foreign campaigns of 1812-1815. interrupted the active domestic political activities of Alexander I, but after the conclusion of peace, he began with liberal actions.

• November 27, 1815 – introduction of the Constitution (the most liberal in Europe) in the Kingdom of Poland , which was part of the Russian Empire, the establishment of an elected bicameral parliament (Sejm) (Poland became a constitutional monarchy)
• 1818 – order given by Alexander I N.N. Novosiltsev to prepare a draft constitution
• 1821 – draft constitution entitled "State statutory charter of the Russian Empire" prepared.

Russia received a federal structure, dividing into 12 governorships, each of which created its own representative body. The All-Russian Representative Assembly consisted of two chambers. The Senate became the upper house. Senators were appointed by the king. The members of the lower chamber (the Ambassadorial Chamber) were elected by local assemblies and approved by the tsar (one deputy out of three candidates). Of great importance was the proclamation in the Charter of guarantees of the inviolability of the individual, freedom of speech was proclaimed

(This project has not been made public and put into effect)

However, the European revolutions of 1820 — 1821 (Spain, Italy), unrest of soldiers and peasants in Russia, after the war of 1812, they did not receive freedom - all this led to the tsar's turn to a reactionary course

The name of this era is "Arakcheevshchina" - by the name of A.A. Arakcheev - the first minister and favorite of the king, organizer of military settlements.

• 1810 - 1857 - military settlements - a special organization of troops in Russia, combining military service with occupation agriculture. Created in Novgorod, Kherson, Vitebsk, Podolsk, Kyiv provinces, in the Caucasus . This helped to reduce the cost of the army, creating a reserve of trained troops. However, the brutal regime and strict regulation led to uprisings (1819 - in Chuguev, 1931 - in Novgorod)
• Strengthening the influence of the church and religion. 1817 - transformation of the Ministry of Education into the Ministry of Spiritual Affairs and Public Education (headed by Chief Prosecutor of the Synod A.N. Golitsyn)
• Persecution of education and the press. 1819 - 11 professors of Kazan University for freethinking. Opal at Moscow University. Tightening censorship
• In 1822, the Decree on the prohibition of secret organizations and Masonic lodges followed.

On the night of March 11-12, 1801, the last palace coup took place in Russia. Conspirators from the highest St. Petersburg nobility killed Emperor Paul I. His eldest son Alexander ascended the Russian throne. Having ascended the throne, Alexander did not dare to directly pursue a policy of absolutism. His first domestic political activities were connected with the correction of the most odious orders of Paul I, which caused indignation not only of the St. Petersburg aristocracy, but also of the general Russian public. He spoke out against the despotism and tyranny of his father, promised to pursue a policy "according to the laws and heart" of his grandmother Catherine II. This combined both his liberal views and the desire to win popularity in society. Alexander restored the "Charters of Letters" canceled by Paul to the nobility and cities, announced a broad amnesty to people who were persecuted under Paul. Free entry and exit abroad was again allowed, the import of foreign books, restrictions on trade with England and regulations that annoyed people in everyday life, clothing, social behavior, etc. were canceled. These measures created Alexander the glory of a liberal.

In 1802 the obsolete colleges were replaced by ministries. This measure completed the process of delimiting the functions of state administration bodies. It led to the approval of the sectoral management system, the change from collegiality to one-man management, the direct responsibility of ministers to the emperor, increased centralization and the strengthening of autocracy. In Russia, a stratum of bureaucracy began to take shape, entirely dependent on the mercy of the tsar and the salary received for his service. For the joint discussion of certain issues by the ministers, the Committee of Ministers was established (in 1857 it was transformed into the Council of Ministers, which existed until 1917).

In 1802, the Senate was reformed, becoming the highest judicial and controlling body in the system of state administration. His participation in legislative activities was expressed in the fact that he received the right to make "representations" to the emperor about obsolete laws.

The most active supporter of the idea of ​​reforming the public administration system was M.M. Spe-ransky. Implementation of the M.M. Speransky could contribute to the beginning of the constitutional process in Russia. In his project - "Introduction to the code of state laws" - the principle of separation of the legislative, executive and judicial branches of power was outlined by convening a representative State Duma and the introduction of elected courts. At the same time, he considered it necessary to create a State Council, which would become a link between the emperor and the central and local authorities. All newly proposed bodies cautious M.M. Speransky endowed only with deliberative rights and by no means encroached on the fullness of autocratic power.

Against the liberal project of M.M. Speransky, a conservative-minded part of the nobles spoke out, who saw in him a danger to the autocratic-feudal system and to their privileged position. The struggle between liberals and conservatives ended in victory for the latter. M.M. Speransky was dismissed and sent into exile

The only result was the establishment of the State Council in 1810, which consisted of ministers and other high dignitaries appointed by the emperor. He was given advisory functions in the development of the most important laws (in this form, the State Council existed until 1906). Reforms 1802-1811 did not change the autocratic essence of the Russian political system. They only increased the centralization and bureaucratization of the state apparatus. As before, the emperor had supreme legislative and executive power.

In subsequent years, the reformist moods of Alexander I were reflected in the introduction of a constitution in the Kingdom of Poland (1815), the preservation of the Sejm and the constitutional structure in Finland, which was annexed to Russia in 1809, and also in the creation by N.N. on behalf of the tsar "The Charter of the Russian Empire" (1819-1820). The draft provided for the separation of the branches of power, the introduction of representative bodies, the equality of all citizens before the law and the federal principle state structure. However, all these proposals remained on paper.

In the last decade of the reign of Alexander I, a conservative trend was increasingly felt in domestic politics. By the name of her guide, she received the name "Arakcheevshchina". It was a policy aimed at strengthening absolutism and serfdom. It was expressed in the further centralization and petty regulation of state administration, in police-repressive measures aimed at destroying free thought, in the "cleansing" of universities, in the imposition of cane discipline in the army. The most striking manifestation of Arakcheevshchina was military settlements - a special form of manning and maintaining the army. The purpose of creating military settlements is to achieve self-sufficiency and self-reproduction of the army, to ease the burden of maintaining a huge army in peaceful conditions for the country's budget. The settlers had to earn their living by their labor, performing ordinary agricultural work, and at the same time perform military service. The whole life of the peasant family was strictly regulated. For the slightest violation of the schedule followed by corporal punishment. Trade, pro-thoughts, contacts with outside world were strictly prohibited. Arbitrariness of the local authorities reigned in the settlements. By 1825, about a third of the soldiers had been transferred to the settlement. However, the idea of ​​the self-sufficiency of the army failed. The government spent a lot of money on the organization of settlements. The military settlers did not become a special estate that expanded the social support of the autocracy, on the contrary, they were worried and rebelled. The government abandoned this practice in subsequent years.

Alexander I died in Taganrog in November 1825.

In the very early XIX in. Russia adhered to neutrality in European affairs. However, the aggressive plans of Napoleon, since 1804 the French emperor, forced Alexander I to oppose him. In 1805, the 3rd coalition against France was formed: Russia, Austria and England. The outbreak of the war was extremely unsuccessful for the allies. In November 1805, their troops were defeated near Austerlitz. Austria withdrew from the war, the coalition collapsed.

Russia, continuing to fight alone, tried to create a new alliance against France. In 1806, the 4th coalition was formed: Russia, Prussia, England and Sweden. However, the French army forced Prussia to capitulate within just a few weeks. Once again, Russia found itself alone in the face of a formidable and powerful enemy. In June 1807, she lost the battle near Friedland (the territory of East Prussia, now the Kaliningrad region of Russia). This forced Alexander I to enter into peace negotiations with Napoleon.

In the summer of 1807, in Tilsit, Russia and France signed a peace treaty, and then an alliance treaty. The Treaty of Tilsit obliged Russia to join the continental blockade of Great Britain and break off political relations with it. The rupture of traditional trade ties with England caused significant damage to the Russian economy, undermining its finances. The nobles, whose material well-being largely depended on the sale of Russian agricultural products to England, showed particular dissatisfaction with this condition and Alexander I personally. The peace of Tilsit was unfavorable for Russia. At the same time, he gave her a temporary respite in Europe, allowing her to intensify her policy in the eastern and northwestern directions.

Russo-Turkish War 1806-1812 was caused by Russia's desire to strengthen its position in the Middle East, to frustrate Turkey's revanchist plans and to support the Serbs who rebelled against the Sultan. It was held with varying success and had a protracted character.

In May 1812 the Treaty of Bucharest was signed. Bessarabia and a significant part of the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus with the city of Sukhum went to Russia. Moldova and Wallachia, remaining within Ottoman Empire got autonomy. Turkey granted Serbia greater autonomy. Russia became the guarantor of the fulfillment by the Port of this term of the agreement. The Bucharest peace treaty great importance. It was imprisoned a month before Napoleon's attack on Russia and frustrated his hopes of helping the Turkish army. The treaty allowed the Russian command to concentrate all its forces on repelling the Napoleonic aggression. The successes of Russian weapons and the conclusion of the Treaty of Bucharest led to the weakening of the political, economic and religious yoke of the Ottoman Empire over the Christian peoples of the Balkan Peninsula.

At the beginning of the XIX century. Russia's contradictions with Iran and its successes in the Caucasus led to the Russian-Iranian war of 1804-1813. Iran's attempt to prevent Russian penetration into the Transcaucasus was unsuccessful. During the war, he was defeated, and Russia conquered the territories of Northern Azerbaijan, inhabited by the peoples of the Muslim faith. The war ended with the Gulistan Peace Treaty of 1813, according to which Iran recognized Russian rule over the greater territory of Transcaucasia, Dagestan and the western coast of the Caspian Sea. This completed the first stage of the annexation of the Caucasus to the Russian Empire.

In the north of Europe as a result of the Russian-Swedish war of 1808-1809. Finland was conquered, which greatly strengthened the northwestern borders of Russia. The Grand Duchy of Finland was created, headed by Russian emperor. Finland became part of Russia as an autonomous state, governed by its own internal laws, which had its own treasury and the Sejm (parliament). (Finland withdrew from Russia in December 1917)

Thus, at the beginning of the XIX century. Russia, having not achieved success in the fight against Napoleonic France, strengthened its position in other foreign policy areas and significantly expanded its territory.

The Patriotic War of 1812 is the largest event in Russian history. Its emergence was caused by Napoleon's desire to achieve world domination. In Europe, only Russia and England retained their independence. Despite the Treaty of Tilsit, Russia continued to oppose the expansion of Napoleonic aggression. Napoleon was especially annoyed by her systematic violation of the continental blockade. In a military conflict between the two sides, Napoleon became the aggressor. He started hostilities and invaded Russian territory. In this regard, for the Russian people, the war became liberation, Patriotic. It was attended not only by the regular army, but also by the broad masses of the people.

The expulsion of the French from Russia did not mean the end of the struggle against Napoleon. He still kept almost all of Europe in check and cherished hegemonic plans. To ensure its security, Russia continued hostilities and led the movement for the liberation of the European peoples from French domination.

In January 1813, Russian troops entered the territory of Poland and
Prussia. She made an alliance with Russia. They were joined by Austria, England and Sweden. In October 1813 there was a battle near Leipzig. Napoleon was defeated. This led to the liberation of all German states. In March 1814, Paris fell. Napoleon was exiled to Fr. Elbe.

In September 1814 - June 1815, the victorious powers decided on the issue of the post-war structure of Europe. It was difficult for the allies to agree among themselves, as sharp contradictions arose, mainly on territorial issues. The decrees of the Congress of Vienna led to the return of the old dynasties in France, Italy, Spain and other countries. The resolution of territorial disputes made it possible to redraw the map of Europe. From most of the Polish lands, the Kingdom of Poland was created as part of the Russian Empire. The so-called "Viennese system" was created, implying a change in the territorial and political map of Europe, the preservation of noble-monarchist regimes and European balance. Russia's foreign policy was oriented towards this system after the Congress of Vienna.

In March 1815, Russia, England, Austria and Prussia signed an agreement on the formation of the Quadruple Union. It was aimed at putting into practice the decisions of the Congress of Vienna, especially as far as France was concerned. Its territory was occupied by the troops of the victorious powers, and it had to pay a huge indemnity.

In September 1815, the Russian Emperor Alexander I, the Austrian Emperor Franz and the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III signed the Act on the Formation of the Holy Alliance. Alexander I himself was its author. The text had a religious and mystical character and contained the obligations of Christian monarchs to provide each other with all possible assistance. Hidden under a religious veneer political goals: support for the old monarchical dynasties on the basis of the principle of legitimism (recognition of the legitimacy of maintaining their power), the fight against revolutionary movements in Europe and the containment of many peoples in artificial state borders created by the decisions of the Congress of Vienna. At the congresses of the Holy Alliance in Aachen (1818) and Troppau (1820), the principle of legitimism was supplemented by a new political principle, which gave the right to armed intervention of members of the union in the internal affairs of other states in order to suppress revolutionary actions in them (principle of intervention). England, which was not formally a member of the Holy Alliance, in fact supported its conservative international politics. France became a member of the Holy Alliance in 1818 after the adoption at its congress in Aachen, at the insistence of Tsar Alexander I, a decision to withdraw the occupying troops from its territory.

The Quadruple and Holy Alliances were created due to the fact that all European governments understood the need to achieve concerted action to solve contentious issues. However, the alliances only muffled, but did not remove the sharpness of the contradictions between the great powers. On the contrary, they deepened, as England and Austria sought to weaken the international prestige and political influence of Russia, which had increased significantly after the victory over Napoleon.

In the 20s of the XIX century. The European policy of the tsarist government was associated with the desire to counteract the development of revolutionary movements and the desire to shield Russia from them. The revolutions in Spain, Portugal and a number of Italian states forced the members of the Holy Alliance to consolidate their forces in the fight against them. The attitude of Alexander I towards revolutionary events in Europe gradually changed from reservedly expectant to openly hostile. He supported the idea of ​​the collective intervention of European monarchs in the internal affairs of Italy and Spain.

Ticket 1. Domestic policy of Alexander I

At the beginning of his reign, Alexander I tried to carry out a series of reforms that were supposed to stabilize the economic and political situation in the country. In his reform activities he relied on the so-called. A secret committee, which included statesmen of moderate liberal sentiments (Stroganov, Kochubey, Czartorysky, Novosiltsev). The most serious reforms were in the sphere of the political system. In 1802, new central government bodies appeared - ministries, which, together with local institutions introduced by the provincial reform of 1775, formed a single, strictly centralized bureaucratic system of government in Russia. In the same year, the place of the Senate in this system was determined as a supervisory body - again purely bureaucratic - over the observance of the rule of law. Such transformations made it easier for the autocratic authorities to manage the country, but did not introduce anything fundamentally new into the state system. In the socio-economic sphere, Alexander I made several timid attempts to soften serfdom. The Decree of 1803 on free cultivators gave the landowner the opportunity to release his peasants with land for a ransom. It was assumed that thanks to this decree, a new class of personally free peasants would arise; the landowners, on the other hand, will receive funds for reorganizing their economy in a new, bourgeois fashion. However, the landlords were not interested in such an opportunity - the decree, which was optional, had practically no consequences. After the Peace of Tilsit (1807), the tsar again raised the issue of reforms. In 1808 - 1809. M. M. Speransky, the closest collaborator of Alexander I, developed the "Plan of State Transformation", according to which, in parallel with the administrative-bureaucratic management system pursuing the policy of the center, it was supposed to create a system of elected bodies of local self-government - a kind of pyramid of volost, district (county) and provincial councils. The State Duma, the highest legislative body of the country, was to crown this pyramid. Speransky's plan, which provided for the introduction of a constitutional system in Russia, provoked sharp criticism from the highest dignitaries and the nobility of the capital. Due to the opposition of conservative dignitaries, only the State Council, the prototype of the upper house of the Duma (1810), was established. Despite the fact that the project was created in accordance with the instructions of the king himself, it was never implemented. Speransky was sent into exile in 1812. The Patriotic War and foreign campaigns distracted Alexander I from domestic political problems for a long time. During these years, the king is experiencing a serious spiritual crisis, becomes a mystic and, in fact, refuses to solve pressing problems. The last decade of his reign went down in history as Arakcheevshchina - after the name of the main confidant of the king A. A. Arakcheev, a strong-willed, energetic and merciless person. This time is characterized by the desire to restore bureaucratic order in all spheres of Russian life. Its most striking signs were the pogroms of young Russian universities - Kazan, Kharkov, St. Petersburg, from which professors objectionable to the government were expelled, and military settlements - an attempt to make part of the army self-sustaining, planting it on the ground, combining a soldier and a farmer in one person. This experiment turned out to be extremely unsuccessful and caused powerful uprisings of military settlers, which were ruthlessly suppressed by the government.

2. Foreign policy Alexandra I.

During the reign of Alexander 1, the Russian Empire steadily expanded its possessions and pursued an active foreign policy. The rapprochement between Russia and Georgia continued, which began as early as the 18th century. Georgia sought protection from the expansion of Iran and Turkey in an alliance with Russia. In 1801, the Georgian tsar George X11 renounced power in favor of the Russian tsar.

From 1804 to 1813 there was a war between Russia and Persia. According to the Gulistan Treaty of 1813, Dagestan and Northern Azerbaijan became part of Russia. The peoples of Dagestan even earlier expressed their desire to accept Russian citizenship and took an oath of allegiance. Now it has been enshrined in an international treaty.

In 1805 Russia entered into an alliance with England and Austria against France. Napoleon Bonaparte came to power in France and proclaimed himself emperor. Napoleon won a brilliant victory over the Allied army at the Battle of Austerlitz. Turkey, incited by France, closed the Bosporus to Russian ships. This was the reason for the Russian-Turkish war, which began in 1806 and lasted until 1812. Military operations were conducted in Moldavia, Wallachia and Bulgaria.

In Europe, a new coalition is being formed against France, consisting of England, Russia, Prussia, Saxony and Sweden. The wars of European countries against Napoleonic expansion were called coalition wars. The armies of Russia and Prussia fought inconsistently, in 1806-1807. Napoleon won a number of serious victories. In 1807 The Russian army was defeated near Friedland. After the meeting of Napoleon and Alexander in the town of Tilsit, a peace treaty was concluded, which many considered a shame for Russia.

According to the Treaty of Tilsit, Russia was forced to join the continental blockade of England, that is, to stop trade relations with her. This Napoleon wanted to weaken the economic power of England. Sweden refused to break off relations with England. There was a threat of an attack on St. Petersburg. Under pressure from Napoleon, Alexander declared war on Sweden, which lasted from 1808 to 1809. As a result, Sweden was defeated and Finland went to Russia. As part of the Russian Empire, Finland received autonomy and, together with Vyborg, became known as the Grand Duchy of Finland. It minted its own coin and had a customs border with Russia.

Relations between Russia and France were getting worse. Russia suffered losses from the termination of trade with England, which she supplied with bread. Russia resumed trade with England on American ships, and a customs war broke out between Russia and France. The crushing of Russia became the goal of Napoleon. And the Russian army at this time is at war with Turkey, which, despite the defeat, delays the signing of peace under the influence of France. In 1811, Kutuzov became the commander of this army, who not only won a number of military victories, but also, having shown diplomatic abilities, signed a peace treaty with Turkey a month before Napoleon's invasion of Russia. According to the Belgrade Treaty of 1812, the border with Turkey was established along the Prut River, and Bessarabia ceded to Russia. Serbia remained under Turkish rule, but gained autonomy.

Patriotic War

The cause of the war was the violation by Russia and France of the terms of the Tilsit Treaty. Russia actually abandoned the blockade of England, accepting ships with English goods under neutral flags in its ports. France annexed the Duchy of Oldenburg, and Napoleon considered Alexander's demand for the withdrawal of French troops from Prussia and the Duchy of Warsaw insulting. A military clash between the two great powers was becoming inevitable. June 12, 1812 Napoleon at the head of the 600 thousandth army, crossing the river. Neman, invaded Russia. With an army of about 240 thousand people, the Russian troops were forced to retreat before the French armada. On August 3, the 1st and 2nd Russian armies joined forces near Smolensk, and a battle was fought. Napoleon failed to win a complete victory. In August, M.I. Kutuzov was appointed commander-in-chief. A talented strategist with great military experience, he was very popular with the people and in the army. Kutuzov decided to give battle near the village of Borodino. A good position was chosen for the troops. The right flank was defended by the Koloch River, the left was defended by earthen fortifications - flushes, they were defended by the troops of P.I.Bagration. In the center stood the troops of General N.N. Raevsky and artillery. Their positions were closed by the Shevardinsky redoubt. Napoleon intended to break through the Russian formation from the left flank, and then direct all efforts to the center and press Kutuzov's army to the river. He directed the fire of 400 guns at Bagration's flashes. The French launched 8 attacks, which began at 5 o'clock in the morning, incurring in them huge losses. Only by 4 o'clock in the afternoon did the French manage to advance in the center, temporarily capturing Raevsky's batteries. In the midst of the battle, a desperate raid into the rear of the French was made by the uhlans of the 1st cavalry corps of F.P. Uvarov and the Cossacks of Ataman M.I. Platov. This held back the attacking impulse of the French. Napoleon did not dare to bring the old guard into battle and lose the backbone of the army away from France. The battle ended late in the evening. The troops suffered huge losses: the French - 58 thousand people, the Russians - 44 thousand. Napoleon considered himself the winner in this battle, but later admitted: "Near Moscow, the Russians won the right to be invincible." In the Battle of Borodino, the Russian army won a great moral and political victory over the European dictator. On September 1, 1812, at a meeting in Fili, Kutuzov decides to leave Moscow. The retreat was necessary to save the army and further struggle for the independence of the Fatherland. Napoleon entered Moscow on September 2 and stayed there until October 7, 1812, waiting for peace proposals. During this time, most of the city was destroyed by fires. Bonaparte's attempts to make peace with Alexander I were unsuccessful.

Kutuzov stopped on the Kaluga direction in the village of Tarutino (80 km south of Moscow), covering Kaluga with large supplies of fodder and Tula with its arsenals. In the Tarutinsky camp, the Russian army replenished its reserves and received equipment. Meanwhile, a guerrilla war broke out. Peasant detachments of Gerasim Kurin, Fyodor Potapov, Vasilisa Kozhina smashed the food detachments of the French. There were special army detachments of D.V. Davydov and A.N. Seslavin.

Leaving Moscow in October, Napoleon tried to go to Kaluga and spend the winter in a province not devastated by the war. On October 12, near Maloyaroslavets, Napoleon's army was defeated and began to retreat along the devastated Smolensk road, driven by frost and hunger. Pursuing the retreating French, the Russian troops destroyed their formations in parts. The final defeat of Napoleon's army took place in the battle near the river. Berezina November 14-16. Only 30 thousand French soldiers were able to leave Russia. On December 25, Alexander I issued a manifesto on the victorious end of the Patriotic War.

In 1813-1814, the Russian army marched abroad to liberate Europe from Napoleon's rule. In alliance with Austria, Prussia and Sweden, Russian troops inflicted a number of defeats on the French, the largest was the "Battle of the Nations" near Leipzig. The Treaty of Paris on May 18, 1814 deprived Napoleon of the throne and returned France to the borders of 1793.