Alexander I of Russia
He was keen on reform;
He is unfathomable;
He was the most beloved heir to the throne of Catherine the Great of Russia;
He was praised by the French Emperor Napoleon as "an extremely clever king";
He fled all the way;
He burned Moscow, the capital of Russia;
He left Napoleon overwhelmed and left speechless;
He defeated Napoleon's 600,000 elite French troops in one battle;
He is ruthless in iron blood;
He is capricious;
He swept across the line;
He is the ally of the Holy League of Europe;
He was hailed as the "Savior of Europe";
He was the most unfathomable king of Russia, Alexander I.
First, the emperor is heavy
Alexander was born in St. Petersburg on December 23, 1777.
He was the eldest grandson of Catherine the Great of Russia and the eldest son of Crown Prince Paul of Russia.
Catherine the Great
Crown Prince Paul
Alexander was just born and taken away by Catherine the Great and raised by herself.
Compared with her mediocre son Paul, Catherine the Great loved her grandson Alexander and intended to depose Crown Prince Paul and train Alexander as her heir to the throne.
At the behest of Catherine the Great, Alexander received a Spartan education from an early age.
Sleep in a hard-board bed and get up at dawn.
Every morning in a room below 15 degrees Celsius, take a cold shower with the window open.
Every day, I had a light meal, read books on Enlightenment thought, learned the etiquette of the French nobility, and trained in military martial arts.
Although the days were boring and harsh, Alexander, who was clever and able to speak, was very carefree and carefree in the palace.
Second, two-sided life
Alexander I
Before he was ten years old, Alexander discovered the difference between his grandmother Catherine the Great and his father Paul.
Catherine the Great was energetic, advocating reform, advocating adventure, and liking to be lively;
Paul is conservative, a strong believer in force, serious and indifferent, and meticulous.
After realizing the difference in the personalities of grandmother and father:
When he was in the palace, Alexander was humorous and funny, drinking, playing cards, dancing, circus, opera, Alexander was proficient in everything, and often sneaked horses and flattered, making Catherine the Great laugh;
Once he left the palace and went to his father Paul's side, Alexander would wear a neat and straight military uniform, with a cold and resolute expression, without a trace of personal feelings, which was the most perfect image of a Russian soldier in the eyes of father Paul.
Alexander, with his own practical actions, tried to satisfy both Catherine the Great and Paul.
Hypocrisy, playing tricks, and being good at hiding his true thoughts and true intentions were important reasons why Alexander I became the most unfathomable king of Russia.
Three, two-sided personality
The relationship between Catherine the Great and Crown Prince Paul became increasingly strained.
Catherine the Great's intention to bypass Paul and pass the throne directly to Alexander became increasingly apparent.
Catherine the Great invited the Swiss Enlightenment thinker Alarp as a teacher for Alexander.
Enlightenment thinkers
Alarp instilled in Alexander the idea of humanism, explaining the interconnected relationship between the interests of the state and the interests of the people.
Alexander thus formed a conservative system that, like the russian emperors, vigorously defended the decadent feudal monarchical system, but at the same time promoted liberal ideas, trying to achieve enlightenment in the rich country and strong army through reform, with two sides of the character.
Fourth, crazy suspicion
In 1790, with the intention of Catherine the Great, the 13-year-old Alexander married Princess Elizabeth of the Duchy of Baden in Prussia. Alexei Ivana.
Elizabeth. Alexei Ivana
On November 17, 1796, Catherine the Great died of a sudden illness, and was succeeded by Crown Prince Paul, known as Paul I.
Alexander became Crown Prince.
For Alexander, Paul I was always jealous.
He was jealous that Alexander had robbed his mother Catherine the Great of his favor.
He was jealous that Alexander had almost taken his throne.
Even if Alexander was his son.
He even suspected that catherine the Great, who was shrewd and capable and died suddenly, left many means for Alexander to succeed to the throne.
Thus, there was such a strange scene in Russian history that Tsar Paul I was madly jealous of his son for his throne.
Paul I
Young Alexander became more and more silent, and he did not easily express his emotions.
He buried his true thoughts, his true intentions, in his heart and never revealed them to anyone.
5. Acquiescence to a mutiny
The rude, tyrannical and insane Paul I advocated severe punishment to restrain the nobility and suppress the commoners, and he overthrew many of Catherine the Great's reform measures and exiled more than 12,000 reformist officials.
Catherine's reign, relying heavily on nobles and armies, is known as the "Golden Age of Russian Aristocracy".
With the reign of Paul I, the golden age of nobility and army was gone, and nobles and armies became the focus of Paul I's attack.
On March 23, 1801, the Russian nobles, who were extremely dissatisfied with Paul I, conspired with the officers to stage a mutiny, invaded the palace, and killed Paul I.
According to historical records, Alexander was aware of the mutiny, but he acquiesced to the mutiny, allowing the nobles and officers to kill his rebellious father.
Soon, Alexander ascended the throne, known historically as Alexander I.
Sixth, the people support
After Alexander ascended the throne, he overthrew a series of perverse measures taken by Paul I and revived the reform measures of catherine the Great.
Reliance on nobles and armies;
All reformist officials were pardoned and reinstated;
Many of the tortures against the population were abolished;
The importance attached to education and the investment in education is unprecedented in Russia.
Alexander I, who had embraced enlightenment ideas, was humble and gentle, and was able to listen to all sides, won the unanimous support of the Russian people.
Vii. The Battle of the Three Emperors
On November 6, 1804, Napoleon of France was crowned emperor.
France began to implement plans to dominate Europe.
Napoleon was crowned emperor
In August 1805, Russia, Great Britain, and Austria formed the Third Coalition against France.
On 2 December 1805, the Battle of Austerlitz broke out.
Emperor Alexander I of russia, Emperor Napoleon of the French Empire, and Emperor Franz II of the Holy Roman Empire all came to the battlefield, so this battle is also known as the "Battle of the Three Emperors".
Battle of the Three Emperors
This is a famous battle in the history of world wars.
In the end, the French army with a weak force of 70,000 troops, crushed the Russian and Austrian combined forces of 90,000 people, and achieved a great victory.
Divide Europe
On June 25, 1807, on the Neman River near Tirsit, Alexander I and Napoleon met on a boat.
This was the first meeting between Napoleon and Alexander I.
Napoleon had a particularly good impression of Alexander I, saying to Empress Josephine: "Alexander I was an extremely clever king, more intelligent than everyone thinks. ”
Napoleon
On 7 July, Russia and France signed the Treaty of Tilsith.
Contract Requirements:
Russia must cooperate with France in imposing a continental blockade policy on Britain;
Russia must recognize French control over Europe;
France acquiesced to Russia's acquisition of the Bialistok region of Poland;
For third countries hostile to the two countries, the two countries must act together.
The Treaty of Tilsiter was a treaty in which Russia and France allied themselves to divide the European sphere of influence.
Engels said: "Although Russia lost both battles, it gained new lands at the expense of yesterday's allies, and at the same time formed an alliance with Napoleon and divided the world." The West belongs to Napoleon, and the East belongs to Russia. ”
Napoleon and Alexander I
In 1808, Russia invaded Finland.
In 1809, Russia invaded Sweden and encroached on a large amount of Swedish land.
In 1809, Napoleon captured vienna, the capital of Austria, forcing Austria to sign the Peace of Vienna.
In 1810, France and Austria allied, France's national strength reached its peak, Napoleon became the hegemon of Europe, and was revered by Europeans as "Napoleon the Great".
From 1807 to 1812, it was the validity of the Treaty of Tyrsit and the honeymoon period of the alliance between Russia and France.
Burn it
In 1812, France, which occupied most of Europe, took aim at its former ally, Russia.
Napoleon personally led 600,000 elite French troops to attack Russia.
Napoleon's expedition to Russia
Alexander I sent envoys, and many times asked for peace, but they were rejected by the arrogant Napoleon.
Soon after, Alexander I issued an edict declaring that Russia would never compromise and would drive the enemy out of Russian land, and Kutuzov was appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian army.
The French were overwhelmed, first capturing Minsk, then Smolensk, and then Moscow, the capital of Russia.
Kutuzov
Sharp French army
On the night of September 16, 1812, Napoleon, who had occupied Moscow, was waiting for Alexander I to surrender.
Suddenly, the whole city of Moscow was filled with flames, and in an instant it turned into a sea of fire.
The fire burned for five days and five nights, and the guns and grain and grass of the French army were burned to ashes.
The majestic city of Moscow was also burned to rubble.
Napoleon was stunned, he did not expect that Alexander I was so fierce, in order to weaken the French army, even the Russian capital that had been built for hundreds of years- - Moscow dared to burn it.
Alexander I's indomitable and desperate battle to the end made Napoleon feel fear for the first time.
Majestic Moscow
Burned moscow
9. Refusal to make peace
In the blink of an eye, the cold winter in Moscow came, the temperature plummeted to minus 30 to 40 degrees, and the French army slept in the wilderness, hungry and cold.
Napoleon sent envoys to ask Alexander I for peace several times, but Alexander I refused.
On October 7, 1812, a distraught and helpless Napoleon decided to brave the snow and wind to urgently withdraw his troops.
Napoleon's expedition to Russia
Retreating French troops
The Russians began a full-scale counteroffensive against the French, and Kutuzov sent guerrillas to harass the French, and the cold and hunger accelerated the collapse of the French army.
On October 24, the Russian army won a decisive victory, and 550,000 elite French troops were buried in Russia.
The fiasco of the expedition to Russia changed Napoleon's fate.
The French Empire, which Napoleon single-handedly created, also began to decline and collapse.
Surrounded French troops
Annihilated French troops
10. Military parade in Paris
Napoleon's army, which swept across Europe, suffered a crushing defeat in the face of Russia's vast empire.
Russia has salvaged the defeat of europe as a whole.
Alexander I was hailed as the "Savior of Europe".
Invincible Napoleon
In 1813, Russia and Britain, Prussia, Austria and other countries formed the Sixth Coalition of France, and Alexander I was elected as the ally of the Holy Alliance in Europe.
In October, the Allied forces defeated France completely at the Battle of Leipzig, the First French Empire collapsed, and Napoleon was exiled to the island of Elba.
Battle of Leipzig
On March 31, 1814, Alexander I rode on a white horse and led the Russian army into Paris, France, where a grand military parade was held.
On October 1, 1814, the Allies convened the Congress of Vienna in Vienna, and Russia became the arbiter of European affairs and dominated Europe.
11. The Mystery of Death
In September 1825, Alexander I left St. Petersburg for recuperation in the remote but climate-friendly town of Taganrog.
Taganrog
Two months later, the Russian Imperial Palace announced that Alexander I died on November 19, 1825, at the age of 48.
The sudden death of Alexander I caused speculation.
Some say that Alexander I really died in 1825.
It is also said that Alexander I did not die, but under the pseudonym Fedor. Kuzmić lived in seclusion in a village in the Ural Mountains until January 20, 1864, when he died at the age of 87.
Alexander I and Fedor. Kuzmich
Alexander I was the most mysterious and unfathomable king in Russian history.