Alexander II of Russia

Alexander II [RBX: SouthPark634] is the current ruler of Russia from the House of Romanov, reigning since the death of his father, Nicholas I, in 1855. He is also known as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania.

The Tsar's reign has been known so far for the reconstruction of Russia's army and navy following the humiliating defeat of the Crimean War at the hands of the Western powers under the reign of Nicholas I, where the Black Sea Fleet was decimated.

Otherwise, the Tsar is known for his more liberal views in regards to serfdom and other policies, for this facing opposition from his nobility but given the Tsar's absolute authority, this opposition means little.

Early Years
Alexander II was born to the then Grand Duke Nicholas Pavlovich, brother of Emperor Alexander I, son of Emperor Paul I and grandson of Empress Catherine the Great. Born in the Moscow Kremlin, his birth combined the blood of the House of Romanov and the House of Hohenzollern, his mother being a daughter of the King of Prussia. His early life was little indication of his eventual potential as Emperor, as his father was never expected to inherit the throne.

Tsesarevich
His father, Nicholas I, inherited the Russian throne in 1825 after the death of Alexander I and Grand Duke Constantine's refusal of the throne. With Nicholas crowned Emperor, Alexander was now made Tsesarevich, heir to the Russian throne. The political and intellectual atmosphere of the capital St. Petersburg was entirely shut off and closed to any sort of new ideas or enlightenment thought. Freedom of thought, religion, speech and expression were suppressed vehemently by his father and the authorities, leaving the capital in a state of limbo. Alexander, however, was given overly liberal tutors who influence the person he was to become.

Reign
Alexander II became Emperor in 1855 when Nicholas I died of pneumonia. The tsar's first priority was to end the wars in Crimea and the Caucasus ravaging Russia and the state treasury. He noticed military talent in then Major-General Vladimir Repnin after the war ended. He promoted Vladimir Repnin to General in 1856 and gave him the position of General-Field Marshal and Commander of the Russian Army in 1858. Repnin was further made Head of the Tsar's Government in 1858. With Repnin's advice, Alexander II's reign would go on to be one of the most prosperous times for the Russian Empire since the reign of Catherine the Great.

Soon after the conclusion of peace, important changes were made in legislation concerning industry and commerce, and the new freedom thus afforded produced a large number of limited liability companies. Plans were formed for building a great network of railways, partly for the purpose of developing the natural resources of the country, and partly for the purpose of increasing its power for defense and attack.

Alexander achieved the impossible when he finally challenged serfdom with a vengeance and proposed the serfdom emancipation act of 1861 which became one of his greatest achievements. The nobility were strongly against the emancipation act even calling it treason and the tsar a traitor to Russian ideals. In any event, serfdom was abolished and it prevented a rebellion that would have occurred if Serfdom wasn't abolished. Alexander granted more civil liberties to the citizens of Russia who made up more than 90% of the populace in comparison to the small amount of Nobles and Clergy in the Empire. He quickly began to draw up plans for the Emancipation of Serfdom, which received opposition from nobility.

It was during Alexander II's rule that the Caucasian War reached its climax. Just before the conclusion of the war with a victory on Russia's side, the Russian Army, under the emperor's order, sought to eliminate the Circassian mountaineers in what would be often referred to as "cleansing" in several historic dialogues. The ethnic cleansing of the Circassians by the Russian army under the order of Alexander II was considered genocide and has legally been considered as such. However, peace was restored to the Caucasian Mountains, and Russian military expeditions in the region continued.

Issue

 * Grand Duchess Alexandra Alexandrovna (30 August 1842 – 10 July 1849)
 * Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich (20 September 1843 – Present)
 * Tsesarevich Alexander Alexandrovich (10 March 1845 – Present)
 * Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich (22 April 1847 – Present)
 * Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich (14 January 1850 – Present)
 * Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna (17 October 1853 – Present)
 * Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich (11 May 1857 – Present)

Titles, Styles and Arms

 * 29 April 1818 – 1 December 1825: His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Alexander Nikolaevich of Russia
 * 1 December 1825 – 2 March 1855: His Imperial Highness The Tsesarevich of Russia
 * 2 March 1855 – 13 March 1881: His Imperial Majesty The Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias
 * Reference Style: His Imperial Majesty
 * Spoken Style: Your Imperial Majesty
 * Alternative Style: Sir