Alexander II. Comp. Barykina I.E., Chernukha V. G.

The reign of Alexander II is one of the most significant, fruitful and dramatic in Russian history. The humane pupil of Zhukovsky, who freed the peasants, who returned the Decembrists from Siberia, who decided - despite the fierce opposition - to the necessary reforms, the emperor turned out to be a tragic figure. Entering a difficult conflict with court circles and the heir because of his love for the young princess E. M. Dolgorok and marriage to her, he was not understood by the Russian society, which he dreamed of happy. He failed to restrain the protective structures that irritated and offended people, and was spent and killed by his subjects. The whole life of man and the sovereign - from childhood to terrible death - passes to the reader against the backdrop of a stormy era. The book consists of dozens of vivid evidence. We see Alexander II through the eyes of his mother, his friends, his associates, his opponents. Many materials are inaccessible and first presented to the attention of a wide reader.