Dynasties of Europe. “The Sphinx, unsolved to the grave”: how Russia has changed during the reign of Emperor Alexander I The Sphinx, unsolved to the grave

Alexander I was the son of Paul I and grandson of Catherine II. The Empress did not like Paul and, not seeing in him a strong ruler and a worthy successor, she gave all her unspent maternal feelings to Alexander.

Since childhood, the future Emperor Alexander I often spent time with his grandmother in the Winter Palace, but nevertheless managed to visit Gatchina, where his father lived. According to Doctor of Historical Sciences Alexander Mironenko, it was precisely this duality, stemming from the desire to please his grandmother and father, who were so different in temperament and views, that formed the contradictory character of the future emperor.

“Alexander I loved to play the violin in his youth. During this time, he corresponded with his mother Maria Fedorovna, who told him that he was too keen on playing a musical instrument and that he should prepare more for the role of an autocrat. Alexander I replied that he would rather play the violin than, like his peers, play cards. He didn’t want to reign, but at the same time he dreamed of healing all the ulcers, correcting any problems in the structure of Russia, doing everything as it should be in his dreams, and then renouncing,” Mironenko said in an interview with RT.

According to experts, Catherine II wanted to pass the throne to her beloved grandson, bypassing the legal heir. And only the sudden death of the empress in November 1796 disrupted these plans. Paul I ascended the throne. The short reign of the new emperor, who received the nickname Russian Hamlet, began, lasting only four years.

The eccentric Paul I, obsessed with drills and parades, was despised by all of Catherine’s Petersburg. Soon, a conspiracy arose among those dissatisfied with the new emperor, the result of which was a palace coup.

“It is unclear whether Alexander understood that the removal of his own father from the throne was impossible without murder. Nevertheless, Alexander agreed to this, and on the night of March 11, 1801, the conspirators entered the bedroom of Paul I and killed him. Most likely, Alexander I was ready for such an outcome. Subsequently, it became known from memoirs that Alexander Poltoratsky, one of the conspirators, quickly informed the future emperor that his father had been killed, which meant he had to accept the crown. To the surprise of Poltoratsky himself, he found Alexander awake in the middle of the night, in full uniform,” Mironenko noted.

Tsar-reformer

Having ascended the throne, Alexander I began developing progressive reforms. Discussions took place in the Secret Committee, which included close friends of the young autocrat.

“According to the first management reform, adopted in 1802, collegiums were replaced by ministries. The main difference was that in collegiums decisions are made collectively, but in ministries all responsibility rests with one minister, who now had to be chosen very carefully,” Mironenko explained.

In 1810, Alexander I created the State Council - the highest legislative body under the emperor.

“The famous painting by Repin, which depicts a ceremonial meeting of the State Council on its centenary, was painted in 1902, on the day of approval of the Secret Committee, and not in 1910,” Mironenko noted.

The State Council, as part of the transformation of the state, was developed not by Alexander I, but by Mikhail Speransky. It was he who laid the principle of separation of powers at the basis of Russian public administration.

“We should not forget that in an autocratic state this principle was difficult to implement. Formally, the first step—the creation of the State Council as a legislative advisory body—has been taken. Since 1810, any imperial decree was issued with the wording: “Having heeded the opinion of the State Council.” At the same time, Alexander I could issue laws without listening to the opinion of the State Council,” the expert explained.

Tsar Liberator

After the Patriotic War of 1812 and foreign campaigns, Alexander I, inspired by the victory over Napoleon, returned to the long-forgotten idea of ​​reform: changing the image of government, limiting autocracy by the constitution and solving the peasant question.

• Alexander I in 1814 near Paris
• F. Kruger

The first step in solving the peasant question was the decree on free cultivators in 1803. For the first time in many centuries of serfdom, it was allowed to free the peasants, allocating them with land, albeit for a ransom. Of course, the landowners were in no hurry to free the peasants, especially with the land. As a result, very few were free. However, for the first time in the history of Russia, the authorities gave the opportunity to peasants to leave serfdom.

The second significant act of state of Alexander I was the draft constitution for Russia, which he instructed to develop a member of the Secret Committee Nikolai Novosiltsev. A longtime friend of Alexander I fulfilled this assignment. However, this was preceded by the events of March 1818, when in Warsaw, at the opening of a meeting of the Polish Council, Alexander, by decision of the Congress of Vienna, granted Poland a constitution.

“The Emperor uttered words that shocked all of Russia at that time: “Someday the beneficial constitutional principles will be extended to all the lands subject to my scepter.” This is the same as saying in the 1960s that Soviet power would no longer exist. This frightened many representatives of influential circles. As a result, Alexander never decided to adopt the constitution,” the expert noted.

Alexander I's plan to free the peasants was also not fully implemented.

“The Emperor understood that it was impossible to liberate the peasants without the participation of the state. A certain part of the peasants must be bought out by the state. One can imagine this option: the landowner went bankrupt, his estate was put up for auction and the peasants were personally liberated. However, this was not implemented. Although Alexander was an autocratic and domineering monarch, he was still within the system. The unrealized constitution was supposed to modify the system itself, but at that moment there were no forces that would support the emperor,” the historian said.

According to experts, one of the mistakes of Alexander I was his conviction that communities in which ideas for reorganizing the state were discussed should be secret.

“Away from the people, the young emperor discussed reform projects in the Secret Committee, not realizing that the already emerging Decembrist societies partly shared his ideas. As a result, neither one nor the other attempts were successful. It took another quarter of a century to understand that these reforms were not so radical,” Mironenko concluded.

The mystery of death

Alexander I died during a trip to Russia: he caught a cold in the Crimea, lay “in a fever” for several days and died in Taganrog on November 19, 1825.

The body of the late emperor was to be transported to St. Petersburg. For this purpose, the remains of Alexander I were embalmed, but the procedure was unsuccessful: the complexion and appearance of the sovereign changed. In St. Petersburg, during the people's farewell, Nicholas I ordered the coffin to be closed. It was this incident that gave rise to ongoing debate about the death of the king and aroused suspicions that “the body was replaced.”

• Wikimedia Commons

The most popular version is associated with the name of Elder Fyodor Kuzmich. The elder appeared in 1836 in the Perm province, and then ended up in Siberia. In recent years he lived in Tomsk, in the house of the merchant Khromov, where he died in 1864. Fyodor Kuzmich himself never told anything about himself. However, Khromov assured that the elder was Alexander I, who had secretly left the world. Thus, a legend arose that Alexander I, tormented by remorse over the murder of his father, faked his own death and went to wander around Russia.

Subsequently, historians tried to debunk this legend. Having studied the surviving notes of Fyodor Kuzmich, researchers came to the conclusion that there is nothing in common in the handwriting of Alexander I and the elder. Moreover, Fyodor Kuzmich wrote with errors. However, lovers of historical mysteries believe that the end has not been set in this matter. They are convinced that until a genetic examination of the elder’s remains has been carried out, it is impossible to make an unambiguous conclusion about who Fyodor Kuzmich really was.

Three months before the birth of Grand Duke Alexander, the future emperor, the worst flood in the 18th century occurred in St. Petersburg on September 10, 1777. The water rose 3.1 meters above normal. Several three-masted merchant ships were nailed to the windows of the Winter Palace. Palace Square turned into a lake, in the middle of which the Alexander Pillar did not yet rise. The wind tore roofs off houses and howled in chimneys. Maria Feodorovna, Pavel Petrovich's wife, was so frightened that everyone feared premature birth.

When Emperor Paul was killed as a result of a palace conspiracy on March 11, 1801, Alexander was not yet 24 years old. But his character has already been formed. It was formed with the active participation of the crowned grandmother, Catherine II, who herself selected educators for her beloved grandson and herself wrote special instructions for them. On the other hand, Alexander was under the influence of his father, who demanded unquestioning obedience from him. Paul's orders were often canceled by Catherine II. Alexander did not know who to listen to or what to do. This taught him to be secretive and withdrawn.

Upon learning of his father's death, Alexander, despite the fact that he was privy to the conspiracy, almost fainted. The conspirators hardly managed to persuade him to go out onto the balcony of the Mikhailovsky Castle and announce to the assembled troops that the emperor had died of apoplexy and that now everything would be as under Catherine II. The troops were silent for a minute, then burst out in unison: “Hurray!” During the first days, Alexander, feeling remorse, could not gather his thoughts and in everything followed the advice of Count P. L. Palen, one of the main participants in the conspiracy.

After taking the throne, the new emperor abolished a number of laws and regulations introduced by his father. As had happened more than once when rulers changed, many convicts during the reign of Paul were released. Alexander I returned to the disgraced their positions and all rights. He freed priests from corporal punishment, destroyed the Secret Expedition and the Secret Chancellery, restored the election of representatives of the nobility, and abolished the dress restrictions imposed by his father. The people breathed a sigh of relief, the nobility and officers rejoiced. The soldiers threw off their hated powdered braids. Civil ranks could now again wear round hats, vests and tailcoats.

At the same time, the new emperor gradually began to get rid of the participants in the conspiracy. Many of them were sent to units located in Siberia and the Caucasus.

The first half of the reign of Alexander I was marked by moderate liberal reforms. They were developed by the emperor and friends of his youth: Prince V.P. Kochubey, Count P.A. Stroganov, N.N. Novosiltsev. The main reforms of the “Committee of Public Safety,” as Alexander I called it, gave the right to merchants and townspeople to receive uninhabited lands. The State Council was established, the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum and a number of universities were opened in different cities of Russia.

The preservation of autocracy and the prevention of revolutionary upheavals was also facilitated by the draft of state reforms developed by Secretary of State M.M. Speransky, who in October 1808 became the closest assistant of Alexander I. In the same year, the emperor unexpectedly appointed Paul I’s favorite A.A. Arakcheev as Minister of War . “Loyal without flattery” Arakcheev was entrusted by Alexander I to give orders that he had previously given himself. However, many provisions of the government reform project were never implemented. “A Wonderful Beginning of the Alexandrov Days” threatened to remain without continuation.

The emperor's foreign policy was also not distinguished by firm consistency. At first, Russia maneuvered between England and France, concluding peace treaties with both countries.

In 1805, Alexander I entered into a coalition against Napoleonic France, which threatened to enslave all of Europe. The defeat of the Allies (Prussia, Austria and Russia) at Austerlitz in 1805, where the Russian emperor was actually commander-in-chief, and two years later at Friedland led to the signing of the Peace of Tilsit with France. However, this peace turned out to be fragile: ahead were the Patriotic War of 1812, the fire of Moscow, and the fierce battle of Borodino. Ahead was the expulsion of the French and the victorious march of the Russian army through the countries of Europe. The laurels of Napoleon's victory went to Alexander I, and he led the anti-French coalition of European powers.

On March 31, 1814, Alexander I, at the head of the allied armies, entered Paris. Convinced that their capital would not suffer the same fate as Moscow, the Parisians greeted the Russian emperor with delight and jubilation. This was the zenith of his glory!

The victory over Napoleonic France contributed to the fact that Alexander I ended the game of liberalism in domestic politics: Speransky was removed from all posts and exiled to Nizhny Novgorod, the right of landowners, abolished in 1809, to exile serfs to Siberia without trial or investigation was restored, universities were limited in independence. But in both capitals various religious and mystical organizations flourished. Masonic lodges, banned by Catherine II, came to life again.

The patriarchate was abolished, the Synod was presided over by the Metropolitan of St. Petersburg, but the members of the Synod from among the clergy were appointed by the emperor himself. The chief prosecutor was the sovereign's eye in this institution. He reported to the sovereign about everything that was happening in the Synod. Alexander I appointed his friend Prince A.N. to the post of Chief Prosecutor. Golitsyn. This man, previously distinguished by freethinking and atheism, suddenly fell into piety and mysticism. In his house at 20 Fontanka embankment, Golitsyn built a gloomy house church. Purple lamps in the shape of bleeding hearts illuminated the strange objects resembling sarcophagi standing in the corners with a dim light. Pushkin, visiting the brothers Alexander and Nikolai Turgenev, who lived in this house, heard mournful singing coming from the house church of Prince Golitsyn. The Emperor himself also visited this church.

Since 1817, Golitsyn headed the new Ministry of Spiritual Affairs and Public Education. Secular life was filled with mysticism and religious exaltation. Dignitaries and courtiers eagerly listened to preachers and soothsayers, among whom there were many charlatans. Following the example of the Parisians and Londoners, a Bible Society appeared in St. Petersburg, where the texts of the Bible were studied. Representatives of all Christian denominations located in the northern capital were invited to this society.

The Orthodox clergy, sensing a threat to the true faith, began to unite to fight mysticism. The monk Photius led this fight.

Photius closely followed the meetings of mystics, their books, their sayings. He burned Masonic publications and cursed the Masons everywhere as heretics. Pushkin wrote about him:

Half-fanatic, half-rogue;
To him a spiritual instrument
A curse, a sword, and a cross, and a whip.

Under pressure from the Orthodox clergy, who enlisted the support of the all-powerful Minister of War Arakcheev and the St. Petersburg Metropolitan Seraphim, Golitsyn, despite his closeness to the court, had to resign. But mysticism among the nobility had already taken deep roots. Thus, prominent dignitaries often gathered at Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich’s place for spiritualistic seances.

In the 1820s, Alexander I increasingly plunged into gloomy reverie and visited Russian monasteries several times. He hardly reacts to denunciations about the organization of secret societies and increasingly talks about his desire to abdicate the throne. In 1821, the sovereign received another denunciation about the existence of a secret society, the Union of Welfare. To the remark of one of the highest dignitaries about the need to urgently take action, Alexander I quietly replied: “It’s not for me to punish them.”

He perceived the flood of November 7, 1824 as God's punishment for all his sins. Participation in a conspiracy against his father always weighed heavily on his soul. And in his personal life, the emperor was far from sinless. Even during the life of Catherine II, he lost all interest in his wife Elizaveta Alekseevna. After a series of fleeting connections, he entered into a long-term relationship with Maria Antonovna Naryshkina, the wife of Chief Jägermeister D.L. Naryshkin. At first this connection was a secret, but later the whole court knew about it.

From his marriage to Elizaveta Alekseevna, Alexander had two daughters who died in infancy. In 1810, his daughter died from his extramarital affair with Naryshkina. All these deaths seemed to the suspicious Alexander I as retribution for grave sins.

He died on November 19, 1825, a year after the most destructive St. Petersburg flood. He died in Taganrog, where he accompanied his wife for treatment.

The body of the deceased emperor was transported to St. Petersburg in a closed coffin. For seven days the coffin stood in the Kazan Cathedral. It was opened to members of the imperial family only once, at night. Relatives noticed how the emperor’s face changed. A few days before the death of Alexander I, a courier, outwardly very similar to him, died in Taganrog. Rumors spread that the emperor was alive, that it was not him who was buried, but that same courier. And in 1836, an old man appeared in Siberia, calling himself Fyodor Kuzmich. He was, in his own words, “a tramp with no memory of kinship.” He looked about 60 years old. By that time the Emperor would have turned 59. The old man was dressed like a peasant, but he behaved majestically and was distinguished by his soft, graceful manners. He was arrested, tried for vagrancy, and sentenced to 20 lashes.

Although, if the people had established the opinion that Fyodor Kuzmich was none other than Alexander I himself, it is doubtful that such a punishment could have taken place. Most likely, this rumor spread later.

Life surgeon D.K. Tarasov, who treated the emperor and accompanied him on a trip from St. Petersburg to Taganrog, described the course of the illness and death of the sovereign in such detail that the very fact of his death, it would seem, cannot raise doubts. However, doubts arose more than once. The aura of religious mysticism continued to envelop the image of Alexander I even after his death. It is no coincidence that Peter Vyazemsky once said about Alexander I: “The Sphinx, unsolved to the grave.”

Among the legends about this emperor there is this. In the 1920s, when the sarcophagus of Alexander I was opened in the tomb of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, it allegedly turned out to be empty. But there is no documentary evidence confirming this fact.

It is known that many outstanding people who lived in St. Petersburg had their own fateful numbers. Alexander I also had it. They turned out to be “twelve”. This number really seemed to accompany the sovereign throughout his life. He was born on December 12 (12/12) 1777. He ascended the throne on March 12, 1801, in his 24th year (12x2). Napoleon's invasion of Russia took place in 1812. Alexander I died in 1825, when he was 48 years old (12x4). His illness lasted 12 days, and he reigned for 24 years.

The Alexander Column on Palace Square is crowned by an angel with a cross. A snake writhes under the cross, symbolizing the enemies of Russia. The angel slightly bowed his head in front of the Winter Palace. It is no coincidence that the angel’s face resembles the face of Alexander I; During his lifetime, the Russian emperor was called the Victor. Moreover, in Greek his name means “winner.” But the face of this Winner is sad and thoughtful...

* * *
“...did Emperor Alexander I intend to leave the throne and retire from the world? This question can be answered quite affirmatively, with complete impartiality, - yes, he certainly had the intention of abdicating the throne and withdrawing from the world. When this decision matured in his soul - who knows? In any case, he spoke openly about this back in September 1817, and this was not a momentary hobby, a beautiful dream. No, he persistently repeats the mention of this intention: in the summer of 1819 - to Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich, in the fall - to Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich; in 1822 - behaves more than strangely on the issue of succession to the throne; in 1824 he tells Vasilchikov that he would be glad to get rid of the crown that oppresses him and, finally, in the spring of 1825, just a few months before the Taganrog disaster, he confirms his decision to the Prince of Orange; a decision that no prince’s arguments can shake.”

Bakharev Dmitry

A history teacher

Shadrinsk 2009

Introduction

I was briefly faced with the question of the topic of the essay - thanks to my passion for alternative history and the secrets of the past, I chose a topic from the group “Secrets and mysteries of Russian history.”

Russian history is extremely rich in such things as secrets and riddles. Figuratively speaking, the number of “white spots and underwater reefs” is very large. In addition, the wide variety of these “blank spots” indicates the imagination of our ancestors, who left such an “interesting” legacy to their descendants.

Among all these mysterious events, cases of imposture stand out as a separate group. Here it must be said that imposture is one of the most popular ways of “self-expression” in Rus'. Well, why shouldn’t Grishka Otrepiev remain Grishka Otrepiev, and Emelyan Pugachev Emelyan Pugachev? But no! This is how Russia recognized False Dmitry I and the self-proclaimed Peter III. Perhaps, without them, the fate of our Fatherland would have turned out completely differently.

The number of cases of imposture in Russia is not just high, but enormous. This “folk pastime” was especially popular during the Time of Troubles. False Dmitry I (Grigory Otrepiev), son of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich Peter, who did not exist in reality (Ilya Gorchakov), False Dmitry II, a cloud of self-proclaimed princes: Augustus, Lavrenty, Osinovik, Clementy, Savely, Tsarevich Ivan Dmitrievich (Yan Luba) - the names can go on for a long time list. Even in the 20th century, imposture did not become obsolete, although even here it was not without the royal family: a breakthrough of “the miraculously saved children of Nicholas II,” and even the “emperor” himself; only later did the “grandsons of Nicholas II” appear, in particular Nikolai Dalsky, allegedly the son of Tsarevich Alexei. In 1997, crowned Nicholas III; Alexey Brumel, who proposed to crown either Yeltsin or Solzhenitsyn, and then declared himself tsar - and these are only the most famous, and how many cases of local significance! Suffice it to recall the works of Ilf and Petrov about the children of Lieutenant Schmidt.

But we are particularly interested in the earlier period. The beginning of the 19th century, the era of Alexander I. The mysterious death of Alexander. The unexpectedness and transience of his death, his strange hints the day before, the metamorphoses that occurred with the body of the late sovereign, the unprecedented security measures for the funeral and their extraordinary secrecy - all this caused rumors, gossip, and after the appearance in Siberia of a strange old man, in whom one soldier recognized the tsar , - and excitement. And what does the dying confession of the old man mean, that he is the late king - father? Perhaps the vain old man wanted worship before death and a royal funeral. Or perhaps the former emperor did not want to give his soul to God under someone else’s name. All this is fraught with an insoluble mystery that is unlikely to ever be solved, but I do not set myself any supernatural tasks - the purpose of this work is only to illuminate this mysterious event, consider all existing ones, reason about each of them and present them to your judgment .

It must be said that not all of the work is devoted specifically to the mystery of death.

Alexandra. The first two chapters tell about the youth, life and reign of the emperor, and only the third chapter talks directly about the mysterious death of the emperor. In conclusion, conclusions for each version are submitted for your judgment. I hope that my work will not disappoint you.

Chapter I. The Alexandrov Days are a wonderful beginning...

Alexander I, the eldest son of Paul I from his second marriage to Maria Fedorovna, was born in St. Petersburg. His upbringing was carried out by Empress Catherine herself, who took from her parents both the first-born Alexander and his young brother Constantine. She literally idolized young Alexander, she herself taught him to write and count. Catherine, wanting to develop the best inclinations in her children, personally compiled the “ABC”, where the teachers of her grandchildren were given clear instructions on education, based on the principles of “natural rationality, healthy living and freedom of the human person.”

In 1784, a general devoted to the empress was appointed chief educator. In addition to him, the young grand dukes have a whole staff of mentors and teachers. Among them: the scientist geographer Pallas, a professor - archpriest, a popular writer. Alexander is greatly influenced by another person - Friedrich Laharpe, a Swiss politician and a staunch liberal, a man called upon to give legal knowledge to the future king. He instilled in Alexander sympathy for the republican system and disgust for serfdom. Together with his teacher, the Grand Duke dreamed of the abolition of serfdom and autocracy. Thus, liberal views were instilled in Alexander from a young age. However, education based on humane principles was divorced from human reality, which significantly influenced the character of the heir: impressionability and abstract liberalism on the one hand, inconsistency and disappointment in people on the other.

But even though Alexander had a sharp and extraordinary mind by nature, as well as an excellent selection of teachers, he received a good, but incomplete education. Classes stopped simultaneously with the marriage of the future emperor to the Baden princess Louise (in Orthodoxy Elizaveta Alekseevna).

It cannot be said that his family life was successful. As bride and groom, the future spouses loved each other, but after the wedding the young Grand Duchess became interested in a more courageous man - Prince Adam Czartoryski. When, much later, she gave birth to a girl who looked remarkably like the handsome prince, Czartoryski was immediately sent as ambassador to Italy.

From an early age, Alexander had to balance between his father and grandmother who hated each other, which taught him to “live on two minds, keep two ceremonial faces” (Klyuchevsky). This developed in him such qualities as secrecy, duplicity and hypocrisy. It often happened that, having attended the parade in Gatchina in the morning, where everything was saturated with parade mania and drill, in the evening he went to a reception in the Hermitage, luxurious and brilliant. Wanting to maintain good relations with both his grandmother and his father, he appeared before each in a suitable guise: before the grandmother - loving, before his father - sympathetic.

Catherine cherished the idea of ​​transferring the throne directly to Alexander, bypassing his father. Knowing about this desire of hers and wanting to spoil relations with his father, Alexander publicly declared that he did not want to reign and preferred to go abroad “as a private person, placing his happiness in the company of friends and in the study of nature.” But Catherine’s plans were not destined to take place - after her death, the country was headed by Emperor Paul I.

Having become emperor, Paul did not exile and put his son into disgrace, as many might have thought. Alexander was appointed military governor of St. Petersburg, chief of the Semenovsky Life Guards Regiment, inspector of cavalry and infantry, and later chairman of the military department of the Senate. Fear of a tough and demanding father completed the formation of his character traits.

A few months before the tragic night of March 11-12, Vice-Chancellor Panin let Alexander know that a group of conspirators, including himself, intended to overthrow Paul from the throne, due to his inability to rule the country, and put Alexander in his place. Perhaps the Tsarevich would have stopped the coup attempt if Paul, like his mother, had not made Alexander understand that he did not intend to leave him the crown. Moreover, recently Paul has brought his wife’s nephew, the Prince of Württemberg, closer to him. He called a young man from Germany, planned to marry him to his beloved daughter Catherine, and even gave him hope of becoming an heir. Alexander, seeing all this, agreed to the coup, although without planning for his father’s death.

When, on the ill-fated night of March 11-12, he was informed that Emperor Paul was dead, he experienced severe shock and shock. Maria Fedorovna, Pavel's wife and Alexander's mother, added fuel to the fire. Having fallen into hysterics, she accused her son of killing his father, branding him a “parricide.” The conspirators barely managed to convince him to go out to the guards and say that Paul had died of an appoplectic stroke, and that the new emperor, he, Alexander, would rule “by law and according to his heart in the god of our late august grandmother.”

In the first months of the reign of the new emperor, it was not he who ruled in St. Petersburg, but the count, who considered himself the patron of the young sovereign. And, given Alexander’s completely depressed and depressed state, it was not at all difficult. But Alexander had neither the strength nor the will to fight the dictates of Palen. One day he complained to a member of the Senate, General Balashov, about his condition. The general, a straightforward and fair man, said to Alexander: “When flies buzz around my nose, I drive them away.” Soon the emperor signed a decree dismissing Palen; in addition, he ordered him to leave for his Baltic estate within 24 hours. The young sovereign understood perfectly well that people, having betrayed him once, would betray him again. So, gradually all the participants in the conspiracy were sent on a trip to Europe, exiled to their own estates, and attached to military units either in the Caucasus or Siberia.

Having removed all the conspirators, Alexander brought close friends to himself: Count Pavel Stroganov, Prince Victor Kochubey, Prince Adam Czartoryski, Count Nikolai Novosiltsev. Together with the emperor, the young people formed a “secret committee”, called by Alexander the “Committee of Public Safety”. At its meetings they discussed the transformations and reforms necessary for Russia. First of all, all the innovations of Paul I were canceled: charters of grant to the nobility and cities were restored, an amnesty was given to disgraced nobles who fled abroad, more than 12 thousand people exiled or imprisoned under Paul were released, the Secret Chancellery and the Secret Expedition were disbanded, restrictions on clothing were abolished, and more much more. Public education in Russia also received a powerful impetus: the Ministry of Public Education was created for the first time, and schools and gymnasiums were opened throughout the country. Two higher educational institutions were opened: the Pedagogical Institute and the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. Among his first graduates were his comrades.

The least was done for the most humiliated - the serfs. Although a decree was issued on free cultivators, the liberation of peasants according to it took place on such enslaving conditions that during the entire reign of Alexander, less than 0.5% of the total number of serfs were freed on his terms.

On behalf of the emperor, Speransky prepared many more good projects to transform Russia, but all of them remained idle. Even rumors that Speransky was preparing a project to abolish serfdom caused furious indignation among the nobles. Having met resistance once, Alexander no longer dared to carry out any reforms. Moreover, under pressure from society, he was forced to expel Speransky, an outstanding manager who was worth the entire “secret committee” combined. In addition, Speransky was suspected of secret sympathy for France, which on the eve of the war with her further increased hatred of him.

Chapter II. This is a true Byzantine...subtle, feigned, cunning.

Already at the beginning of Alexander's reign, one could assume a high probability of war with France. If Paul, before his death, broke off all relations with England and entered into an alliance with Bonaparte, then Alexander first of all resumed trade relations with England, and then concluded an agreement on mutual friendship, directed against Bonaparte. And soon, after Napoleon proclaimed himself Emperor of France, Russia joined the third anti-French coalition. Its allies were Austria, Sweden and England.

During the war, Alexander, for the first time among Russian sovereigns after Peter I, went to his army and observed the battle from afar. After the battle, he drove around the field where the wounded, his own and others, lay. He was so shocked by human suffering that he fell ill. He ordered help to all the wounded.

The culmination of the war of the third coalition against Napoleon was the Battle of Austerlitz. It was after him that the emperor disliked Kutuzov. Alexander, dissatisfied with the slow development of the battle, asked Kutuzov:

Mikhail Larionich, why don’t you go forward?

“I’m waiting for all the troops to gather,” answered Kutuzov.

After all, we are not in Tsarina’s Meadow, where they don’t start the parade until all the regiments arrive,” Alexander said dissatisfied.

“Sir, that’s why I’m not starting, because we’re not in Tsaritsyn’s meadow,” answered Kutuzov.

Kutuzov did not dare to adequately continue the dialogue with the Tsar and led his column into battle from an advantageous height. Napoleon immediately took it. The battle ended with the complete defeat of the Russian-Austrian troops.

After the battle, Alexander was completely out of control. The convoy and his retinue lost him. The horse, disobedient to a weak rider like Alexander, could not jump over the ditch that was in the way. It was then that, having nevertheless overcome a trivial obstacle, the 28-year-old emperor sat down under a tree and burst into tears...

Alexander's actions become completely unpredictable. Suddenly, to the post of Commander-in-Chief, he appoints a man absolutely unsuitable for this position - a 69-year-old field marshal. The army remains in Europe with the new commander-in-chief and immediately suffers a terrible defeat at Preussisch-Eylau. The future Minister of War, General Barclay de Tolly, was wounded there. He was treated for his wounds in the city of Memel. In a conversation with the emperor, the general spoke for the first time about the tactics of Russia's future war with Napoleon. In those years no one doubted that it would happen. At the bedside of the wounded Barclay de Tolly, Alexander heard bitter truths for the first time. There is no commander in Russia capable of resisting the military genius of Napoleon. And that the Russian army, apparently, will have to use the ancient tactics of luring the enemy deep into the country, which the general did successfully until he was replaced by Kutuzov. But he also continued what his predecessor had started.

In 1807, the Peace of Tilsit was concluded between France and Russia. It was signed personally by the two emperors, who met privately on a floating pavilion in the middle of the Neman River. They conditionally divided the zones of influence of each of them: Napoleon rules in the West, Alexander - not in the East. Bonaparte directly indicated that Russia should strengthen itself at the expense of Turkey and Sweden, while Italy and Germany would not be given to him, Napoleon.

His goals were quite obvious: to drag a potential enemy into two long, protracted wars at once and weaken him as much as possible. But it must be said that the Russian troops dealt with both rivals quite quickly, annexing Finland and the lands beyond the Danube.

Dissatisfaction with the Peace of Tilsit among people was growing. They did not understand how their emperor could be friends with this “fiend of the revolution.” The continental blockade of England, adopted by Alexander under Tilsit, caused significant damage to trade, the treasury was empty, and the banknotes issued by it were completely worthless. The Russian people were irritated by the appearance of the French embassy in St. Petersburg after Tilsit, its arrogant and self-confident behavior, and its great influence on Alexander. Alexander himself could not help but see that his policy did not find understanding and support among his subjects. The Peace of Tilsit increasingly disappointed him: Napoleon openly did not comply with the terms of the treaty and was not interested in Alexander’s opinion. This unceremonious behavior terribly irritated the Russian emperor. Gradually he began to prepare for war.

On the night of June 11-12, 1812, the emperor learned about the start of the war. During the ball, he was informed about Napoleonic crossing of the Neman, but the tsar continued to dance. Only after the ball did he announce the start of the war and leave for Vilna, to join the army.

Alexander sent a letter to the State Council of St. Petersburg with the following content: “I will not lay down my arms until not a single enemy warrior remains in my kingdom.”

He ended his address to the army with the words: “God is for the beginner.” He remembered this phrase from Catherine’s “ABC”, written by her with her own hand for her grandchildren. At first, Alexander himself was eager to lead, but soon became convinced of his inability to command troops and left the army in early July. Saying goodbye to Barclay de Tolly (this was in the stable where the general was cleaning his horse), Alexander said: “I entrust you with my army, do not forget that I do not have a second one - this thought should not leave you.”

The Emperor arrived in Moscow on July 11. Here he was literally shocked by the patriotic impulse of the people. So many people had gathered that he could barely make his way through the crowd. He heard the shouts of Muscovites: “Lead us, our father!”, “We will die or we will win!”, “We will defeat the adversary!” The moved emperor forbade the soldiers to disperse the crowd, saying: “Don't touch them, don't touch them! I'll pass! In Moscow, Alexander signed the Manifesto on a general militia, which a huge number of people joined.

Excitement and dissatisfaction with the retreat of the Russian troops grew more and more. Under pressure from public opinion, Alexander appointed infantry general Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov, whom he disliked but was beloved by the people, to the post of commander-in-chief. He immediately stated that Barclay de Tolly adhered to the correct tactics, and that he himself intended to follow them. Later, to please the Kutuzov society, the French fought the battle of Borodino. After him, Napoleon will say: “The most terrible of all my battles is the one I fought near Moscow. The French showed themselves worthy of victory, and the Russians acquired the right to be invincible.”

Despite the tsar’s demand for a new battle, Kutuzov, who had received the highest military rank of field marshal the day before, decided to surrender Moscow without a fight in order to preserve the army. This was the only correct solution for Russia.

The emperor had a lot of worries after the Battle of Borodino, the retreat and the fire of Moscow. Even after turning gray overnight, his intention not to yield to Napoleon remained unchanged. Napoleon, who had already begun to doubt the success of his campaign in Russia, tried to negotiate from busy Moscow, but Alexander remained silent.

Recent events, experiences and anxieties have changed Alexander enormously. Later he would say: “The fire of Moscow illuminated my soul.” The emperor began to think more often about life, sincerely believed in God, and turned to the Bible. His traits such as pride and ambition receded. So, for example, when the army wanted the emperor himself to become commander-in-chief, he categorically refused. “Let those who are more worthy of them reap the laurels than me,” said Alexander.

At the end of December 1812, Field Marshal Kutuzov reported to the Tsar: “Sovereign, the war ended with the complete extermination of the enemy.”

After the expulsion of Napoleon from Russia, the emperor insisted on continuing the war, although Kutuzov told him about the deplorable state of the army, and about the fulfillment of the vow “until not a single enemy warrior remains in my kingdom,” which was fulfilled, to which Alexander replied: “If you want a lasting and reliable peace, it must be concluded in Paris.”

The final stage of the Russian army's overseas campaign, the Battle of the Nations, ended with the victory of the anti-French coalition forces led by Russia. On the third day of the battles, Alexander personally commanded the troops from the “royal” hill, where the Prussian emperor and the Austrian king were with him.

Finally, the Allied troops occupy Paris. The Parisians rejoice when they realize that Alexander is not going to do to Paris the same as he did to Moscow. This is a triumph of Russian weapons and Russia! Russia did not know such success and influence even under Catherine. Alexander is the initiator of the Congress of Vienna and the Holy Alliance of Emperors. He insists on introducing a constitution in France, and at his request it also appears in Poland. It’s a paradox – an autocratic sovereign introduces constitutional law in foreign states. He also instructs his closest officials to carry out a similar project for Russia. But gradually, over time, Alexander’s ardor fades away. He is moving further and further away from government affairs. Towards the end of his reign, the emperor increasingly falls into melancholy, he is overwhelmed by apathy and disappointment in life. The gravity of his father's murder has weighed on him all his life, but now it manifests itself especially strongly. “The crowned Hamlet, who was haunted all his life by the shadow of his murdered father,” as they said about him. Right now he especially fits this description. He perceives any misfortune as God's punishment for his sins. He considers the death of two daughters from Elizaveta Alekseevna and a daughter from a relationship with Naryshkina a punishment for his sins. He was especially strongly influenced by the worst flood in history in St. Petersburg, on November 19, 1824, which served as the apotheosis of all misfortunes. Most likely, it was then that his decision to leave the throne finally matured, as he assured his loved ones. His statement is known that “he has already served 25 years, a soldier is given retirement during this period.”

Alexander becomes a religious and pious person. At the same time, Masonic lodges are multiplying throughout the country. This infection is spreading at truly enormous speed. When one of the officials remarked to the emperor that they should be banned, Alexander only quietly replied: “It’s not for me to judge them,” but nevertheless, before his death, he issued a rescript banning Masonic lodges.

On September 1, the emperor leaves for Taganrog. This departure was quiet and unnoticed, allegedly necessary in order to improve the empress’s health. But first, Alexander stops by at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, where they hold not a prayer service for him, but a memorial service! Then the emperor quickly leaves for Taganrog. There they live with the empress quietly and peacefully, not interested in business. Alexander makes several trips to nearby cities and suddenly falls ill. It is not known for certain whether it was malaria or typhoid fever. The doctors know how to treat him, but Alexander forbade them even to approach him.

Chapter III. "The Sphinx, not solved to the grave"

Disputes about the mysterious death of Alexander still continue. Or maybe not death at all? Let's consider all the oddities, one way or another, related to the circumstances of the death of the sovereign.

The first and most obvious is Alexander himself, who tirelessly repeated that he intended to leave the throne, that the crown had become too heavy, and the day was not far off when he would abdicate the throne and live as a private citizen.

The second oddity is the mysterious departure and visit to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. His departure took place under extremely interesting circumstances. The tsar set out on the long journey completely alone, without an entourage. At five o'clock in the morning, long after midnight, the emperor's carriage drives up to the monastery, where he is met (!) by Metropolitan Seraphim, the archimandrite and the brethren. The emperor orders the gates to be closed behind him and no one allowed into the service. Having received a blessing from the Metropolitan, he, accompanied by the monks, goes inside the cathedral. Further opinions differ: according to one version, the usual prayer service was served, which Alexander always served before any long trip; according to another version, a memorial service was served for Alexander that night. At first this is unlikely, but why then was it necessary to come to the Lavra alone, so late, and order the gates to be closed? All this indicates that something unusual was happening in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra that night. Leaving the Lavra, Alexander, with tears in his eyes, said goodbye to the brethren: “Pray for me and for my wife.”

Even the disease from which the emperor supposedly died is another mystery. According to information that has reached us, this is either malaria or typhoid fever. The sovereign’s illness itself is also a complete surprise. No longer young, but not old either, the strong emperor was suddenly felled by an illness unknown to us. One thing is certain - the doctors know how to treat him, but Alexander forbids his relatives to allow him to see a doctor, which leads to an obvious result: on November 19, the emperor died. The next day, the king’s relatives and doctors were quite surprised: Alexander’s body, despite the recent date of death, was swollen, loose, emitted an unpleasant odor, his face turned black, and his facial features changed. Everything was attributed to the local air and climate. And a few days ago, courier Maskov, who looked extremely like the emperor, died in Taganrog, and his body mysteriously disappeared. His family still maintains a legend that it was the courier Maskov who was buried in the Peter and Paul Fortress instead of the emperor. There are several other oddities that cast doubt on the actual death of the emperor. Firstly, Alexander, an extremely pious man, could not help but confess before his death, but nevertheless, he did not do this, and even his relatives who were present there did not call a confessor, which indicates their dedication to the king’s (possible) plan. Secondly, subsequently it was not possible to find any documents related directly to the death of the emperor. And, thirdly, a memorial service was never served for the deceased Alexander.

The body of the late king was placed in two coffins: first in a wooden one, then in

lead. This is what Prince Volkonsky, who was responsible for transporting the body of the deceased to St. Petersburg, reported to the capital: “Although the body was embalmed, the local damp air turned the face black, and even the facial features of the deceased completely changed...

Therefore, I think that the coffin should not be opened.”

The body of the deceased emperor was transported to Moscow in the strictest secrecy, but despite this, rumors ran far ahead. There were all sorts of rumors about the deceased sovereign: That he was sold into foreign captivity, that he was kidnapped by treacherous enemies, that his closest associates killed him, and that, finally, he abdicated the throne in such an unusual way, that is, he fled, relieving himself of the burden of power . There were rumors that some sexton managed to spy who was being carried in a coffin. When he was asked if it was really the Tsar-Father who was being transported, he replied: “There is no sovereign there, it is not the sovereign who is being transported, but the devil.”

Upon arrival in Moscow, the coffin with the body was placed in the Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin, where the coffin, contrary to Volkonsky’s advice, was opened, but only the closest people said goodbye to the late sovereign. Some hotheads expressed the opinion that it would be necessary to verify the authenticity of the deceased, and perhaps they would have succeeded if not for the unprecedented security measures: the introduction of a curfew, enhanced patrols.

Alexander was buried on March 13 in St. Petersburg. But…

...another version of events is also possible. Then all the oddities turn into completely natural actions. It becomes clear that Alexander’s funeral service during his lifetime in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, and the excessive swelling and decomposition of the body - after all, courier Maskov died before Alexander. And we don’t even have to talk about the loss of documents, the “false” illness and the absence of a confessor. In addition, it is obvious that many of the emperor’s relatives were privy to his plan - how else can one explain the fact that no one ever ordered a memorial service for the deceased king.

Ten years have passed.

A strong, broad-shouldered elderly man drove up to a blacksmith shop in Krasnoufimsk, Perm province, and asked to shoe a horse. In a conversation with the blacksmith, he said that his name was Fyodor Kuzmich, he was traveling without any official need, just “to see people and the world.” The blacksmith became wary and reported the free wanderer to the police. The policeman asked the old man for documents, which he did not have. For vagrancy, Fyodor Kuzmich was sentenced to twenty lashes and exile to Siberia. He, along with the rest of the exiles, was sent along a convoy to the Krasnorechensky distillery, where they were assigned to settle. After living there for five years, Fyodor Kuzmich moved to the village of Zertsaly. He built himself a hut-cell outside the village, where he lived for many years.

The elder taught peasant children to read and write, history, geography, and the Holy Scriptures. He surprised adults with stories about the Patriotic War, military campaigns and battles. He knew court etiquette in detail and gave fairly accurate descriptions of famous people: Kutuzov, Suvorov, Arakcheev... But he never mentioned the names of Emperors Alexander and Paul.

The Siberian elder received anyone who wanted to and was always ready to give advice and provide all possible assistance. Among the acquaintances there were also influential people, such as Macarius, Bishop of Tomsk and Barnaul, and Athanasius, Bishop of Irkutsk.

Many then considered him a defrocked bishop, until one day a retired soldier Olenyev, passing through the village of Krasnorechenskoye, recognized the late emperor in Fyodor Kuzmich. This gave food for rumors and gossip. The rumor about the Siberian elder spread throughout Russia.

Among Fyodor Kuzmich’s friends was a wealthy Tomsk merchant, whom the elder met in 1857. Later, the merchant invited him to move to Tomsk, where he built a cell especially for him.

Fyodor Kuzmich agreed to this generous offer and left Zertsaly.

Before the death of the elder, the excited merchant asked him:

“The rumor is that you, Fyodor Kuzmich, are none other than Emperor Alexander the Blessed. Is it so?"

The elder, still in his right mind, answered him:

“Wonderful are your works, O Lord; there is no mystery that will not be revealed. Even though you know who I am, don’t make me great, just bury me.”

According to the will left by the elder, two objects were delivered to St. Petersburg - a cross and an icon. It was these items from Alexander’s belongings that disappeared after his death.

In this chapter we examined the circumstances of the death of Alexander and the life of the mysterious elder Fyodor Kuzmich

Conclusion

Whether Emperor Alexander really died or all this was a carefully planned show, we will most likely never know. But nothing prevents us from speculating a little on this topic.

Consider the first hypothesis. Despite all the oddities and evidence in favor of the second version, Alexander’s death in Taganrog looks quite likely. Firstly: at the death of the sovereign, many courtiers were present. And what, they were all initiated into the emperor’s idea? Unlikely. In addition, a whole group of doctors took part in the events of that night, whom Alexander would not have been able to deceive with his feigned death.

Let's skip the circumstances of his death and move on to the wanderings of Fyodor Kuzmich. Let's say Alexander miraculously managed to fool all the witnesses to his death, or spend a lot of money bribing them. Let's hypothetically assume that the mysterious Siberian elder is the escaped emperor. Let me remind you that Alexander died in 1825, and the first mention of the elder dates back to the autumn of 1836. Where has Alexander been all these years? After all, what appears before the blacksmith is, albeit an elderly man, but a strong and broad-shouldered man, full of strength and health. But Alexander was by no means physically strong, was a poor rider and had poor health. But by the time he appeared in Krasnoufimsk he was almost 60 years old! And after this he lives for another 30 years! Incredible!

Let us remember the moment when the retired soldier Olenyev recognized Emperor Alexander in Fyodor Kuzmich. Where could Olenyev, a simple private, see the emperor? In war, in parades. But did he remember the features of the royal face so well that he could later see them in a simple tramp? Doubtful. In addition, Alexander has changed a lot since then: he has aged, grown a beard. It is unlikely that a soldier who saw the emperor only a couple of times remembered him enough to recognize him many years later, an aged, bearded, gray-haired old man living in remote Siberia.

Hypothesis two. What speaks in favor of an alternative version of events? Quite a lot. Strange events before and after the death of the emperor. The inexplicable actions of people close to Alexander, as if they knew something that others did not know. All this undoubtedly points to the second version of events. He managed to negotiate with those who were present at his apparent death to secretly get out of the city. Where did he disappear for ten years in a row? He lived on some forest farm, restoring his health. After 10 years, I finally decided to leave the forest and immediately felt in my own skin the “touching care” of our state for its citizens. After wandering around, he will settle in the village of Zertsaly, where he will begin educational activities. He amazed the dark peasants with his knowledge in the field of history, geography, and law. He was a religious and pious man. Another proof is deafness in one ear (Alexander lost his hearing in his youth during shooting in Gatchina). The elder also knew the intricacies of court etiquette. If this can somehow be explained (he was a servant to some nobleman), then the exact characteristics that he gave to famous people cannot be explained.

Fyodor Kuzmich lived in a tiny hut-cell, was an ascetic and devoted a lot of time to God. All his life he had been atoning for some sin. If we adhere to the version that Alexander is the elder, then this sin may be parricide, which Alexander, while still an emperor, was extremely burdened by.

Another interesting point: when the soldier recognized Fyodor Kuzmich as the emperor, the fame of the mysterious old man spread throughout Russia. Did Alexander’s friends and relatives really know nothing about these rumors? And if they knew that, undoubtedly, why didn’t they order the execution of the daring impostor? Maybe because they knew that it was not an impostor at all? This is the most likely option.

And the last moment especially struck me. Although, perhaps all this is idle gossip of our inventive people. . According to its terms, a cross and an icon were delivered to St. Petersburg, things that belonged to Alexander and disappeared on the eve of his death. I will repeat and say that most likely this is fiction, but if suddenly it turns out to be true, then this case serves as irrefutable evidence of the second hypothesis.

Now the work has come to an end. I hope that the main goal of the work, covering the mysterious death of Emperor Alexander I, was successfully completed. In addition, Alexander was shown as a personality and historical character, not the worst, I must say. In fact, he lived two lives: the first, although not pure and noble in all places, but still worthy; and the second, bright and clean. Starting from scratch, Alexander definitely made the right decision. May you also be lucky when you start with a clean fox

List of used literature

Bulychev Kir (Igor Vsevolodovich Mozheiko), “Secrets of the Russian Empire”, Moscow, 2005

, “Royal Dynasties”, Moscow, 2001

“The Riddle of Alexander I”, http://zagadki. *****/Zagadki_istorii/Zagadka_Aleksandra. html

, “Rulers of Russia”, Rostov-on-Don, 2007

"Royal Dynasties", Moscow, 2002

"The Sphinx, unsolved to the grave"

http://www. *****/text/sfinks__ne_razgadannij_d. htm

Shikman A., “Who is who in Russian history”, Moscow, 2003.

Application

Alexander I Blessed

Application 2 .

Secret committee

The mysterious Siberian elder Fyodor Kuzmich

The personality of Alexander the Blessed remains one of the most complex and mysterious in Russian history. “The Sphinx, unsolved to the grave,” Prince Vyazemsky will say about him. To this we can add that beyond the grave the fate of Alexander I just as mysterious. We mean the life of the righteous elder Theodore Kuzmich the Blessed, canonized as a Saint of the Russian Orthodox Church.

World history knows few figures comparable in scale to Emperor Alexander. This amazing personality remains misunderstood today. The Alexander era was perhaps the highest rise of Russia, its “golden age”, then St. Petersburg was the capital of Europe, and the fate of the world was decided in the Winter Palace.

Contemporaries called Alexander I “an angel on the throne,” the conqueror of the Antichrist, and the liberator of Europe. European capitals greeted the Tsar-Liberator with delight: the population of Paris greeted him with flowers. The main square of Berlin is named after him - Alexander Platz. I want to dwell on the peacekeeping activities of Tsar Alexander. But first, let us briefly recall the historical context of the Alexander era.

The global war, unleashed by revolutionary France in 1795, lasted almost 20 years (until 1815) and truly deserves the name “First World War,” both in its scope and duration. Then, for the first time, millions of armies clashed on the battlefields of Europe, Asia and America; for the first time, a war was waged on a planetary scale for the dominance of a total ideology. France was the breeding ground of this ideology, and Napoleon was the disseminator. For the first time, the war was preceded by the propaganda of secret sects and mass psychological indoctrination of the population. The Enlightenment illuminators worked tirelessly, creating controlled chaos. The age of enlightenment, or rather darkness, ended with revolution, guillotine, terror and world war.

The atheistic and anti-Christian basis of the new order was obvious to contemporaries. In 1806, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church anathematized Napoleon for his persecution of the Western Church. In all churches of the Russian Empire (Orthodox and Catholic), Napoleon was declared the Antichrist and the enemy of the human race.

But the European and Russian intelligentsia welcomed Napoleon as the new Messiah, who would make the revolution worldwide and unite all nations under his power. Thus, Fichte perceived the revolution led by Napoleon as preparation for the construction of an ideal world state. For Hegel, the French Revolution “revealed the very content of the will of the human spirit.” Hegel is undoubtedly right in his definition, but with the clarification that this European spirit was apostasy. Shortly before the French Revolution, the head of the Bavarian illuminators, Weishaupt, sought to return man to his “natural state.” His credo: “We must destroy everything without regret, as much as possible and as quickly as possible. My human dignity does not allow me to obey anyone.” Napoleon became the executor of this will.

After the defeat of the Austrian army in 1805, the thousand-year-old Holy Roman Empire was abolished, and Napoleon - officially "Emperor of the Republic" - became the de facto Emperor of the West. Pushkin will say about him:

Rebellious liberty heir and murderer,
This cold-blooded bloodsucker,
This king, who disappeared like a dream, like the shadow of dawn.

After 1805, Alexander I, remaining the only Christian emperor in the world, confronted the spirits of evil and the forces of chaos. But the ideologists of the world revolution and globalists do not like to remember this. The Alexander era is unusually eventful: even the reigns of Peter the Great and Catherine pale in comparison. In less than a quarter of a century, Emperor Alexander won four military campaigns, repelling the aggression of Turkey, Sweden, Persia and, in 1812, the invasion of European armies. In 1813, Alexander liberated Europe and in the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig, where he personally led the allied armies, inflicted a mortal defeat on Napoleon. In March 1814, Alexander I, at the head of the Russian army, entered Paris in triumph.

A subtle and far-sighted politician, a great strategist, diplomat and thinker - Alexander Pavlovich was unusually gifted by nature. Even his enemies recognized his deep and insightful mind: “He is as elusive as sea foam,” Napoleon said about him. How, after all this, can we explain that Tsar Alexander I remains one of the most slandered figures in Russian history?

He, the conqueror of Napoleon, is declared a mediocrity, and the Napoleon he defeated (by the way, who lost six military campaigns in his life) is declared a military genius. The cult of the cannibal Napoleon, who covered Africa, Asia and Europe with corpses, this robber and murderer, has been supported and extolled for 200 years, including here in Moscow, which he burned. Globalists and slanderers of Russia cannot forgive Alexander the Blessed for his victory over the “global revolution” and the totalitarian world order.

I needed this long introduction in order to outline the state of the world in 1814, when, after the end of the World War, all the heads of European states met at a congress in Vienna to determine the future order of the world.

The main issue of the Vienna Congress was the issue of preventing wars on the continent, defining new borders, but, above all, suppressing the subversive activities of secret societies. Victory over Napoleon did not mean victory over the Illuminati ideology, which managed to pierce all the structures of society in Europe and Russia. Alexander’s logic was clear: whoever allows evil does the same. Evil knows no boundaries or measures, so the forces of evil must be resisted always and everywhere.

Foreign policy is a continuation of domestic policy, and just as there is no double morality - for oneself and for others, there is no domestic and foreign policy. The Orthodox Tsar could not be guided by other moral principles in his foreign policy, in relations with non-Orthodox peoples. Alexander, in a Christian way, forgives the French all their guilt before Russia: the ashes of Moscow and Smolensk, robberies, the blown up Kremlin, the execution of Russian prisoners. The Russian Tsar did not allow his allies to plunder and divide defeated France into pieces. Alexander refuses reparations from a bloodless and hungry country. The Allies (Prussia, Austria and England) were forced to submit to the will of the Russian Tsar, and in turn refused reparations. Paris was neither robbed nor destroyed: the Louvre with its treasures and all the palaces remained intact.

Europe was stunned by the king's generosity. In occupied Paris, crowded with Napoleonic soldiers, Alexander Pavlovich walked around the city without an escort, accompanied by one aide-de-camp. The Parisians, recognizing the king on the street, kissed his horse and boots. None of the Napoleonic veterans thought of raising a hand against the Russian Tsar: everyone understood that he was the only defender of defeated France. Alexander I granted amnesty to all Poles and Lithuanians who fought against Russia. He preached by personal example, firmly knowing that you can only change others with yourself. In the words of St. Philaret of Moscow: “Alexander punished the French with mercy.” The Russian intelligentsia - yesterday's Bonapartists and future Decembrists - condemned Alexander's generosity and at the same time prepared regicide.

As the head of the Vienna Congress, Alexander Pavlovich invites defeated France to participate in the work on an equal basis and speaks in Congress with an incredible proposal to build a new Europe based on evangelical principles. Never before in history has the Gospel been laid at the foundation of international relations. In Vienna, Emperor Alexander defines the rights of peoples: they must rest on the precepts of the Holy Scriptures. In Vienna, the Orthodox Tsar invites all monarchs and governments of Europe to abandon national egoism and Machiavellianism in foreign policy and sign the Charter of the Holy Alliance (la Sainte-Alliance). It is important to note that the term "Holy Alliance" itself in German and French sounds like "Holy Covenant", which strengthens its Biblical meaning.

The Charter of the Holy Alliance will be finally signed by the participants of the Congress on September 26, 1815. The text was compiled personally by Emperor Alexander and only slightly corrected by the Emperor of Austria and the King of Prussia. Three monarchs, representing three Christian denominations: Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism, address the world in the preamble: “We solemnly declare that this act has no other purpose than the desire to demonstrate before the whole world its unshakable intention to choose as a rule, as in the internal government of its states, and in relations with other governments, the commandments of the Holy Religion, the commandments of justice, love, peace, which are observed not only in private life, but should guide the policy of sovereigns, being the only means of strengthening human institutions and correcting their imperfections.”

From 1815 to 1818, fifty states signed the charter of the Holy Alliance. Not all signatures were signed sincerely; opportunism is characteristic of all eras. But then, in the face of Europe, the rulers of the West did not dare to openly refute the Gospel. From the very inception of the Holy Alliance, Alexander I was accused of idealism, mysticism and daydreaming. But Alexander was neither a dreamer nor a mystic; he was a man of deep faith and clear mind, and loved to repeat the words of King Solomon (Proverbs, ch. 8:13-16):

The fear of the Lord hates evil, pride and arrogance, and I hate the evil way and deceitful lips. I have advice and truth, I am the mind, I have the strength. By me kings reign, and rulers legitimize truth. The rulers and nobles and all the judges of the earth rule over me.

For Alexander I, history was a manifestation of God's Providence, the Manifestation of God in the world. On the medal that was awarded to the victorious Russian soldiers, the words of King David were engraved: “Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to Your Name give glory” (Psalm 113:9).

Plans for organizing European politics on evangelical principles were a continuation of the ideas of Paul I, the father of Alexander I, and were built on the patristic tradition. Thus, Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk in his work “True Christianity” devoted two chapters to the topic of royal power. In Christian society, Saint Tikhon distinguishes between dual power: secular and ecclesiastical power. He writes: “The monarch must remember that just as Christ himself, the King of kings, was not ashamed to call us brothers, so even more so should he, as a human being, consider people like himself as brothers. A crown adorned with virtues is glorified more than one victorious over external enemies" ( Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk. Creations in 5 volumes. M., 1889. T. 3, p. 348).

These words seemed to directly refer to Alexander, the conqueror of Europe. Another great contemporary of Alexander I, Saint Philaret (Drozdov), proclaimed bibliocentrism as the basis of state policy. His words are comparable to the provisions of the Charter of the Holy Alliance. The enemies of the Holy Alliance understood perfectly well against whom the Alliance was directed. Liberal propaganda, both then and after, in every possible way denigrated the “reactionary” policies of the Russian tsars. According to F. Engels: “The world revolution will be impossible as long as Russia exists.” Until the death of Alexander I in 1825, the heads of European governments met in congresses to coordinate their policies.

At the Congress in Verona, the Tsar said to the French Foreign Minister and famous writer Chateaubriand: “Do you think that, as our enemies say, the Union is just a word covering up ambitions? […] There is no longer a policy of English, French, Russian, Prussian, Austrian, but there is only a general policy, and it is for the sake of the common good that peoples and kings must accept it. I should be the first to show firmness in the principles on which I founded the Union.”

In his book “History of Russia” Alphonse de Lamartine writes: “This was the idea of ​​the Holy Alliance, an idea that was slandered in its essence, representing it as base hypocrisy and a conspiracy of mutual support for the oppression of peoples. It is the duty of history to restore the Holy Alliance to its true meaning.”

For forty years, from 1815 to 1855, Europe did not know war. At that time, Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow spoke about the role of Russia in the world: “The historical mission of Russia is the establishment of a moral order in Europe, based on the Gospel commandments.” The Napoleonic spirit will be resurrected with Napoleon I's nephew, Napoleon III, who, with the help of a revolution, will seize the throne. Under him, France, in alliance with England, Turkey, Piedmont, with the support of Austria, will start a war against Russia. The Europe of the Vienna Congress will end in Crimea, in Sevastopol. In 1855 the Holy Union will be buried.

Many important truths can be learned by contradiction. Attempts at denial often lead to affirmation. The consequences of the disruption of the world order are well known: Prussia defeats Austria and, having united the German states, defeats France in 1870. The continuation of this war will be the war of 1914-1920, and the consequence of the First World War will be the Second World War.

The Holy Alliance of Alexander I remains in history as a noble attempt to elevate humanity. This is the only example of unselfishness in the field of world politics in history when the Gospel became the Charter in international affairs.

In conclusion, I would like to cite the words of Goethe, spoken in 1827 regarding the Holy Alliance, after the death of Alexander the Blessed: “The world needs to hate something great, which was confirmed by his judgments about the Holy Alliance, although nothing greater and more beneficial has yet been conceived for humanity! But the mob doesn't understand this. Greatness is unbearable for her.”

PARADOXICALLY, BUT THERE WAS A MONARCH IN RUSSIA WHO DECLARED: “WHATEVER THEY SAY ABOUT ME, I WILL LIVE AND DIE A REPUBLICAN.”

At the beginning of his reign, Alexander I carried out moderate liberal reforms developed by a secret committee and M.M. Speransky - permission to purchase land by all free persons, free passage abroad, free printing houses, a law on free cultivators, according to which, as a result of transactions with landowners, About 84,000 peasants were freed. New gymnasiums, universities, parish schools, theological academies, the Imperial Public Library, etc. were opened. The Tsar showed intentions to establish a constitutional monarchy in Russia.

In foreign policy he maneuvered between France and England. By 1812, pushed by the nobility, he was preparing for war with France, but Napoleon, being ahead of the curve, started the war first, thereby confusing the cards and forcing the army to retreat. A liberal in relations with foreign countries, who established autonomy and personally opened the parliaments of Finland and Poland, Alexander pursued an extremely tough policy in Russia. He died childless in a legal marriage. A misunderstanding over the succession to the throne led to the Decembrist uprising. His grave, opened in 1926, turned out to be empty, which gave rise to the assumption that he did not die, but initiated death in order to go to the Holy Land. There is still a legend that another person was buried under the guise of Alexander I, and he himself lived in Siberia until 1864 under the name of Elder Fyodor Kuzmich. However, there is no reliable confirmation of this legend.
...No other Russian sovereign has had as many contradictory opinions expressed as about Alexander I. Prince P.A. Vyazemsky called him “a sphinx not solved to the grave,” and the Swedish ambassador Lagebjörk called him “sharp, like the tip of a sword, sharpened, like a razor, and deceitful like the foam of the sea.”
From childhood, Alexander experienced either the ardent affection of Catherine II or the cruel suspicion of Paul I, was torn between his brilliant and life-loving grandmother and his extravagant father, between the corporal tyranny of his parent and the democratic, humane upbringing of his teacher, the Swiss Laharpe. Not feeling safe in Gatchina, the residence of his father, Paul I, he learned to hide and remain silent under a smile. Later, in 1803, already being emperor, Alexander I, distrustful, resourceful, secretive even with his advisers and ministers, exclaimed: “What is this? Am I not free to do what I want?
“He is very tall and quite well built, especially in the hips; his feet, although a little large, are very well chiselled; light brown hair, blue eyes, not very large, but not small either; very beautiful teeth, charming complexion, straight nose, quite beautiful...” - here is a brief description of Alexander’s appearance made by his bride Elizabeth in 1792.
Later, already suffering from myopia and increasing deafness, he did not give up his panache, the desire to please and win hearts. He could not resist the temptation to show off a beautiful phrase, and the more the meaning of these phrases was unclear, the more easily he adapted them to his intentions, which, however, were just as vague and indefinite. Being ambitious, touchy, vindictive and selfish, he abandoned his childhood friends one after another, with the exception of the teacher La Harpe. Alexander I was fickle to such an extent that even his signature changed. Duality was one of the main character traits of the king. However, despite his fickle mind and changeable moods, he at times showed exceptional generosity of soul and absolute devotion.
Endowed with a subtle and flexible mind, Alexander was drawn to culture and loved meeting foreigners (in Russia he was even reproached for giving them the best places). Being more European than other kings, he was not loved by the people, since he differed in character from his compatriots. Only in some exceptional cases (the Patriotic War of 1812) did the hearts of Russians turn to him.
Before his father's accession to the throne, Alexander was very attached to his parents. After his accession to the throne, Paul I began to fear his son and not trust him. He subjected Alexander to arrests, was going to imprison him in a fortress, and deprive him of his rights to the throne. In this difficult situation, threatening unforeseen troubles, Alexander was forced to remain on guard, avoid any clashes, and lie. He is used to “breaking a comedy.” This largely explains his character flaws.
Alexander I behaved very respectfully and nobly with his mother, Maria Feodorovna (she gave birth to ten children; two of her sons became kings, two daughters became queens), although after the tragic death of her husband, Paul I, she laid claim to the throne, wishing become the new Catherine II and thereby take away the rights of her eldest son. He will not be angry with her for this, but he will establish secret surveillance of the correspondence that the restless and wayward widow maintained with untrustworthy individuals. Alexander gave her complete freedom of action, despite the fact that the salon of the former empress often became the center of opposition.
The Emperor invariably showed friendliness towards his brother, Grand Duke Constantine, awkward by nature, unbalanced, funny, suffering from dangerous diseases - a living portrait of his late father, Paul I.
To his sister Catherine, Duchess of Oldenburg, and in his second marriage, Queen of Württemberg, the young Tsar showed ardent affection, which was highly valued by this charming, intelligent and ambitious woman, who knew how to foresee far and make firm decisions. Here are some excerpts from Alexander's letters to Catherine. “If you are crazy, then at least the most seductive of all crazy people... I am crazy about you, do you hear? ). “I love you to the point of madness, to the point of madness, like a maniac!.. Having run around like crazy, I hope to enjoy the rest in your arms... Alas, I can no longer use my former rights (we are talking about your legs, do you understand? ) and cover you with the most tender kisses in your bedroom in Tver..." (April 25, 1811). What do you think about these “brotherly” letters?
In general, Alexander I loved to pursue women, but his weakness prevented him from being persistent in his courtship. He was, with rare exceptions, fickle in his relationships with his mistresses, just as with his friends, he loved to show off. Perhaps he was somewhat influenced by the love affairs of his grandmother, Catherine II, about which he was aware. Alexander I had many fleeting connections. For example, with the French women Mademoiselle Georges, actress Phyllis, Madame Chevalier. But he experienced real passion only for Maria Naryshkina, born a Polish princess. She was the wife of the richest dignitary Dmitry Naryshkin, who held a high position at court and was recognized as the “king of the scenes” and the “prince of puns.” Not very smart, not distinguished by fidelity, this mistress was constantly nearby, holding the king with her beauty, grace and force of habit. The Tsar did not hide this connection; he spent many evenings in a magnificent palace on the Fontanka or at a luxurious dacha on Krestovsky Island in St. Petersburg (this is where Maria Antonovna Naryshkina lived). At one time there was even a rumor that the tsar was going to annul his marriage and Naryshkina’s marriage in order to marry her. From this almost official relationship, a daughter was born, named Sophia. Let us note an even more unsightly fact: Alexander I encouraged the love affair of his wife, Elizabeth, with his best friend, Adam Czartoryski, a Polish nobleman. The love affair of the beautiful Polish woman Naryshkina with Prince Gagarin put an end to her affair with the emperor, for the sovereign, encouraging his wife’s infidelity, could not stand the infidelity of his mistresses.
However, let us return to the question of the role of the emperor in the “big politics” of the Russian state. The reign of Catherine II is usually called the “era of enlightened absolutism,” but there is reason to assert that it did not end with the death of the “great empress,” but continued throughout the reign of Alexander I. The young monarch cared about improving the legal structure of the Russian Empire and developing firm signs for administrative and educational institutions of the feudal state. The legislative activity of the tsar and his talented assistants (primarily M. Speransky) is striking in the breadth and depth of the problems they developed, indicating the intention of Alexander I to limit the arbitrariness of the bureaucracy and the absolute power of the monarch, to introduce Western liberal norms and principles into Russian practice. The liberal tendencies in the domestic policy of Alexander I are evidenced by his first decrees upon his accession to the throne. By decree of March 15, 1801, the tsar declared a complete amnesty for political exiles, prisoners in prisons and emigrants. On April 2, Alexander I issued a decree on the destruction of the “Secret Expedition” (secret police), the very name of which brought people into cold awe. On May 28, a decree was issued banning the printing of advertisements for the sale of serfs without land. All these historical acts gave A.S. Pushkin the basis to say: “Alexander’s days are a wonderful beginning.”
Simultaneously with the abolition of repressive administrative measures of the previous reign, Alexander I immediately began to transform government institutions. By the Manifesto of September 8, 1802, a ministerial system was established to replace the collegiate or collegial system of government. The ministerial system introduced by the reformers turned out to be the best form of governing a huge centralized state. Transformative plans accompanied the entire period of the reign of Alexander I. Having improved the activities of the Cabinet of Ministers, he intended (in 1820) to change the entire previous structure of governance of the vast empire.
Under Alexander I, the necessary conditions were created for a faster (than before) development of domestic entrepreneurship, and they began with the tsar’s manifesto of January 1, 1807 “On granting new benefits to the merchants,” stimulating the development of national trade. The merchants received a number of significant social privileges, and, in particular, were exempted from conscription duties for monetary contributions, and were allowed to create joint-stock companies. At the same time, foreign traders were deprived of their former advantages over Russian ones. According to this manifesto, domestic merchants of the 1st and 2nd guilds were largely equal in rights to the nobility; they were allowed to have separate meetings, their own elected bodies, trade courts, etc.
When characterizing the significance of the personality of Alexander I in matters of Russian foreign policy, one can talk about anything but the weak will of the emperor. Many facts of his reign indicate that he was by no means a weak-willed subject, but a fairly strong-willed ruler. This is evidenced, first of all, by his political course, which he pursued, despite the obvious and sometimes hidden opposition of the Russian conservative nobility. After all, going against the majority of the ruling class, especially in a country like Russia, where everyone remembered the fate of Peter III and Paul I (regicide), was a very risky endeavor. But even at the beginning of his reign, the tsar was not afraid of fighting the conservative elements of the Russian aristocracy. A particularly striking example of the emperor’s firmness in pursuing a new policy is the Peace of Tilsit with Napoleon (1807), the news of which literally caused a storm of indignation among the Russian nobles, who saw in the alliance of Russia with Napoleon an unambiguous threat to their privileges, and, in particular, to the strength of serfdom. , whose open enemy was then known as the French emperor. The nobility was sincerely afraid that friendship with the revolutionary leader of the French bourgeoisie would negatively affect the monarchist beliefs of the young Russian autocrat. Despite the fact that the emperor’s mother Maria Feodorovna joined the numerous and influential opponents of the Tilsit agreement with Napoleon, and his “young friends” - Czartoryski, Stroganov, Novosiltsev - were among the critics, Alexander I did not give up. He persistently pursued his then absolutely realistic foreign policy. History has shown that Alexander I was superior to Napoleon in the art of diplomacy.
Alexander I showed exceptional firmness and perseverance even when Russian troops, after the victorious Patriotic War of 1812, reached the borders and Napoleon’s defeated army was expelled from Russia. Russian military leaders, led by Field Marshal Kutuzov, advised the Tsar to give the exhausted troops a well-deserved rest and not to pursue the retreating French. Despite the weight of the arguments of the supporters of a respite in military operations, the tsar nevertheless ordered the troops to go on the offensive and open the so-called foreign liberation campaign of 1813. The decision made by Alexander was strategically completely justified. Napoleon failed to reorganize his demoralized regiments and provide effective resistance to the Russians. In addition, Napoleon's former allies betrayed him and sided with victorious Russia.
The firm and clear position of Alexander I in the war with Napoleon ultimately justified itself, and the Tsar entered Paris victoriously in March 1814. Entering Paris as the conqueror of Napoleon, Alexander I once proudly said to General Ermolov:
- Well, Alexey Petrovich, what will they say in St. Petersburg now? After all, really, there was a time when we, while glorifying Napoleon, considered me a simpleton.
What did Napoleon himself say about Alexander? In 1810 the Emperor of the French said to Metternich, the Austrian Foreign Minister:
- The king is one of those people who attract and seem created to charm those who encounter them. If I were a person susceptible to purely personal impressions, I could become attached to him with all my heart. But along with his outstanding mental abilities and ability to conquer others, there are traits in him that I cannot understand. I cannot explain this something better than by saying that in everything he always lacks something. The most amazing thing is that you can never predict what he will lack in this or that case, or in given circumstances, because this lack is endlessly varied.
Two years later, during the War of 1812, Napoleon unceremoniously called Alexander a “Byzantine” and a “Greek of the decline of the empire.” After his campaign in Russia, Alexander earned the following epithets from him: insincere, deceitful, insidious, hypocritical. Only on the island of St. Helena, shortly before his death, did he speak more kindly about Alexander.
In this regard, it should be noted that shameless compromise of their military-political rivals is a long-standing weapon of monarchs and diplomats. An example of the stunning deceit and duplicity of Western diplomacy is the following episode that occurred in Vienna in January 1815. Representatives of Austria (Metternich), England (Castlereagh) and France (Talleyrand) signed a secret treaty directed against Russia; which even provided for the possibility of starting military action against her if she did not renounce her territorial claims to Polish lands. This secret act meant the end of the anti-Napoleonic coalition. And only Napoleon’s return (“one hundred days”) from the island of Elba to France prevented the implementation of the treaty. A copy of this anti-Russian agreement was sent by Talleyrand to Louis XVIII in Paris, who, having learned about Napoleon's landing, hastily fled Paris (March 19, 1815), leaving this top-secret agreement in his office. Napoleon discovered him there and urgently sent him to Alexander I in Vienna in order to show the treachery of his recent allies and thereby persuade the Russian emperor to break with England and Austria and resume Franco-Russian friendship. And it is extremely remarkable how Alexander I acted in this situation. Having received revealing news from Napoleon, the tsar did not flare up against his unfaithful allies and did not take revenge on them. He invited their representatives to his office and, showing them evidence of their betrayal, said conciliatoryly:
- Let's forget about this episode. We must be together now to end Napoleon.
After the wars of 1812-1815. The authority of Alexander I both in Russia and throughout the world was extremely high. Decembrist S.P. Trubetskoy wrote: “At the end of the Patriotic War of 1812, the name of Emperor Alexander thundered throughout the enlightened world. Russia was proud of him and expected a new destiny from him. The era of independence has arrived. All that remained was to taste the fruits of this situation. The Emperor expressed his manifesto of gratitude to his army and all classes of the Russian people, who raised him to the highest level of glory, and promised, having established the calm of the general peace in Europe, to take up the organization of the internal well-being of his vast state entrusted by Providence.”
However, in all likelihood, the tsar’s constitutional fervor was cooled by such alarming events as the unrest in the Semyonovsky regiment (1820) and the anti-monarchist conspiracy being prepared by the Decembrists. At the end of May 1821, Adjutant General I.V. Vasilchikov reported to the Tsar the information he had received about the political conspiracy being prepared in the country and showed a list of participants in the secret society. After listening to the report, the king said thoughtfully:
- Dear Vasilchikov, you, who have been in my service since the beginning of my reign, you know that I shared and encouraged these illusions and delusions. And it’s not for me to punish them (the conspirators).
As a result of this attitude of the emperor towards his political opponents, none of them were put on trial or subjected to any strict administrative persecution. The Tsar, as it were, amnestied the members of the “Union of Welfare”, but soon (in 1822) banned all Masonic and other secret societies that existed on the territory of Russia, which, however, did not prevent the emergence of the “Northern” and “Southern” societies, whose members later became Decembrists.
...Alexander I did not live to be 50 years old. By the end of his reign, the king went through a harsh school of events and difficult trials. His liberal thoughts and young sympathies were painfully affected by harsh reality.

Alexander Zhukovsky.