Alexander II of Russia

Alexander (Aleksandr) II (Russian: ????????? II ??????????) (April 17, 1818–March 13, 1881) was the Emperor (tsar) of Russia from March 2, 1855 until his assassination. As such, he was also the Grand Duke of Finland 1855-1881.

Assassination attempts

In 1866 there was an attempt on his life in Petersburg by Dmitry Karakozov. To commemorate his narrow escape from death (that he referred to only as "the event of April 4, 1866") he held a competition to design a great gate for the city. Architect, painter and costume designer Viktor Hartmann won the competition. The design was well-received and Hartmann thought it was his finest work but it was never built. The painting of the design later became Mussorgsky's inspiration for The Great Gate of Kiev from Pictures at an Exhibition.

Related Topics:
1866 - Petersburg - Dmitry Karakozov - Viktor Hartmann - Mussorgsky's - Pictures at an Exhibition

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On the morning of April 20, 1879, Alexander II was walking towards the Square of the Guards Staff and faced Alexander Soloviev, a 33 year-old former student. Having seen a revolver in his hands, the Tsar ran away; Soloviev fired five times but missed. He was sentenced to death and hanged on the May 28.

Related Topics:
April 20 - 1879 - May 28

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The student acted on his own, but other revolutionaries were keen to terminate Alexander. In December 1879 the Narodnaya Volya (People's Will), a radical revolutionary group which hoped to ignite a social revolution, organised an explosion on the railway from Livadia to Moscow, but they missed the Tsar's train. Subsequently, on the evening of February 5, 1880 the same revolutionaries set off a charge under the dining room of the Winter Palace, right in the resting room of the Guards a story below. The Tsar was not harmed as he was late to the supper, and the explosion did not destroy the dining room either, although the floor was heavily damaged.

Related Topics:
1879 - Narodnaya Volya - Livadia - Moscow - February 5 - 1880 - Winter Palace

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