Alexander I of Russia

Aleksander Pavlovich Romanov or Tsar Alexander I (The Blessed), (Russian: ????????? I ????????) (December 23, 1777–December 1, 1825), Emperor of Russia (reigned March 23, 1801–December 1, 1825), King of Poland (reigned 1815–1825), son of the Grand Duke Paul Petrovich, afterwards Paul I, and Maria Fedorovna, daughter of the Duke of Württemberg.

A mysterious person

The strange contradictions of his character make Alexander one of the most interesting Tsars, as he is one of the most important figures in the history of the 19th century. Autocrat and "Jacobin", man of the world and mystic, he appeared to his contemporaries as a riddle which each read according to his own temperament. Napoleon I thought him a "shifty Byzantine", and called him the Talma of the North, as ready to play any conspicuous part. To Metternich he was a madman to be humoured. Castlereagh, writing of him to Lord Liverpool, gives him credit for "grand qualities," but adds that he is "suspicious and undecided".

Related Topics:
19th century - Jacobin - Napoleon I - Byzantine - Talma - Metternich - Castlereagh

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