Tsar Alexander I Worksheets
Do you want to save dozens of hours in time? Get your evenings and weekends back? Be able to teach about Tsar Alexander I to your students?
Our worksheet bundle includes a fact file and printable worksheets and student activities. Perfect for both the classroom and homeschooling!
Resource Examples
Click any of the example images below to view a larger version.
Fact File
Student Activities
Table of Contents
Add a header to begin generating the table of contents
Summary
- Early and Personal Life of Alexander I
- Ascension and Rule
- Death and Legacy of Alexander I
Key Facts And Information
Let’s find out more about Tsar Alexander I of Russia!
Tsar Alexander I, nicknamed “the Blessed,” was Russia’s emperor from 1801 until 1825. Following his father’s assassination, Alexander I succeeded to the throne and continued Russia’s absolutist policies. As a nationalist and Slavophile, Alexander I promoted Russian culture rather than embracing westernisation, as Peter the Great did. Alexander I also held the title king of the Congress of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland until his death.
Portrait of Tsar Alexander I of Russia
Early and Personal Life of Alexander I
- Born in St. Petersburg on 23 December 1777, Alexander was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. Along with his brother, Constantine, Alexander was raised by their grandmother, Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great.
- Named after the patron saint of Saint Petersburg, Alexander Nevsky, Alexander was tutored to imbibe the traditions of Russian autocracy. At 15, he married 14-year-old Prince Louise of Baden, who later took the name Elizabeth Alexeievna.
- The two had a distant relationship despite Catherine II’s presence in raising Alexander. In 1796, upon Catherine’s death, her son Paul succeeded the throne. Paul was unpopular among the people, while Alexander did not like his father either. Paul I accused his wife of conspiring with their son to seize power.
Ascension and Rule of Tsar Alexander I
- At 23 years old, Alexander became Emperor of Russia in 1901 following the assassination of Paul I. On 15 September 1901, he was crowned in the Kremlin.
Domestic Policies
- Among his initial domestic policies as tsar was the appointment of the Private Committee composed of his closest friends. As a believer in enlightenment ideas, the committee was designed to draw plans for reforms, including introducing a constitutional monarchy.
- Under his reforms, the old Collegia or government departments in Russia were abolished, and new ministries were created. The Committee of Ministers served as the highest governmental body of the empire from 1802 until 1906. It was only replaced by the Council of Ministers of the Russian Empire following the 1905-1907 Revolution.
- On legislation, the State Council, the supreme state advisory body to the tsar, was established. Under the council were four departments: Legislative, Civil and Ecclesiastical, State Economy and Industry, Science, and Commerce, each with its own presiding officer or State Secretary. Mikhail Speransky, one of Alexander I’s closest advisors, highly influenced these bureaucratic reforms.
- Also, not achieved until 1861, Alexander I and his advisors discussed the status of serfs during his reign. In his first year, his government created a new social category known as free agriculturists. They were peasants who were voluntarily emancipated.
- In addition to the existing universities in Russia, located at Moscow, Dorpat, and Vilna, Alexander I saw the foundation of three more, at St Petersburg, Kharkiv, and Kazan. While Alexander I was noted for his support and promotion of literature and science, the programmes benefited the wealthy nobility.
- After 1815, he reorganised the Russian army by creating military settlements. This special organisation combined military service and agricultural employment. The first settlement was established in Klimovichskiy Uyezd (present-day Belarus).
Foreign Policies
- When he ascended the throne, Alexander I reversed his father’s foreign policy and denounced the League of Armed Neutrality—an alliance between Denmark-Norway, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia.
- He made peace with Britain in 1805 and joined the War of the Third Coalition. However, the Russian defeats in Austerlitz and Friedland caused him to switch sides.
- After the Battle of Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, Napoleon entered triumphantly Vienna and negotiated with Alexander I.
- Napoleon urged Alexander that their empires were geographical allies and that they could rule the world. They met at Tilsit on 25 June 1807. Under the treaty, the Franco-Russian alliance was made at the expense of Prussia, led by King Frederick William III.
- Prussia ceded about half of its pre-war territories to France, which created the client states of the Kingdom of Westphalia, the Duchy of Warsaw, and the Free City of Danzig.
- Tied with the Continental System, Russia fought small naval wars with Britain from 1807 until 1812.
- In 1809, Alexander I assisted Napoleon in the War of the Fifth Coalition against the Austrian Empire.
- By 1810, the alliance collapsed, and once an admirer of Napoleon Bonaparte, Alexander I opposed him and described him as “the oppressor of Europe and disturber of the world’s peace.”
- Other than their questionable loyalty to one another, the Franco-Russian relationship was further strained when Alexander I rejected Napoleon's marriage proposal to the tsar’s youngest sister, Anna Pavlovna, and in 1810, the French annexation of Oldenburg.
Napoleon, Alexander I, Queen Louise, and Frederick William III of Prussia, 1807
- Their trade with Britain grew after Russia’s withdrawal from the Continental System. Meanwhile, relations between France and Russia worsened.
- It is believed that during the war, mainly between France and Britain, Alexander I remained as neutral as possible. Secretly, he did not employ trade blockade as required by the Continental System and continued to trade with Britain.
- By 1812, Russia signed a treaty for mutual defence with Sweden. Under the Treaty of Bucharest, Russia formally ended its war with the Ottoman Empire.
- However, in the same year, Napoleon invaded Russia. The occupation of Moscow cut Alexander I’s remaining ties with France. The battle was one of the bloodiest single-day actions of the Napoleonic Wars, with over 70,000 casualties.
- Following a difficult victory, the Sixth Coalition was formed. Russia allied with Britain, Prussia, Sweden, and Spain against France. By 1814, the coalition defeated Napoleon and Alexander I, leading the Russian Army, along with the King of Prussia and Prince Schwarzenberg, to enter Paris.
- Chaired by Austrian minister Klemens von Metternich, Alexander I participated in the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815), a series of diplomatic meetings aimed at agreeing on the new European order following Napoleon's fall.
- Prussia, Austria, Britain, and Russia dominated the negotiation table at Vienna. While France ceded its recent conquests, Prussia gained most of the Kingdom of Saxony and parts of the Duchy of Warsaw. Meanwhile, Austria gained much of northern Italy, while Russia added the eastern and central parts of the Duchy of Warsaw.
- The Congress of Vienna also created the Kingdom of the Netherlands as a buffer between France and the German Confederation.
Death and Legacy of Tsar Alexander I
- In 1825, Alexander I travelled south of Russia, where he caught typhus. By 19 November (Old Style), the tsar died at Taganrog. A few months later, his wife also died from illness. His younger brother, Nicholas I, succeeded to the throne after the renunciation of his other brother, Konstantin.
- In addition to Russia, Alexander I also became the first king of the Congress of Poland following the agreement between Russia, Prussia, and Austria on 3 May 1815. Despite not being independent, Polish elites welcomed the transformation of the Duchy of Warsaw.
- Considered liberal for its time, Alexander I granted the Kingdom of Poland a constitutional monarchy as stipulated by the Congress of Vienna. The 165-article constitution stipulated freedoms of speech and religion.
- However, his liberal beliefs were somehow shaken by conspiracies against him, particularly the murder of dramatist and agent August von Kotzebue.
- In the later years of his rule, Alexander I came under the influence of Metternich. His response to the Greek revolt against the Ottomans, specifically the expulsion of Alexander Ypsilantis, was a matter of politics and an attempt to stabilise Europe. This changed when Alexander I realised Austria’s true intent. As a result, his policy over the revolt swung toward the Greek cause.
- In 1823, Alexander I’s anti-cholera campaign, in response to the first Asian cholera pandemic that reached Astrakhan, was imitated by other countries.
Frequently Asked Questions About Tsar Alexander I
- Who was Tsar Alexander I?
Tsar Alexander I was the Emperor of Russia from 1801 to 1825. He was the grandson of Catherine the Great and played a significant role in European politics during the Napoleonic Wars.
- How did Alexander I become Tsar?
Alexander I became Tsar after the assassination of his father, Tsar Paul I, in 1801. Many believed that Alexander may have been aware of the plot, though this remains debated.
- What were Alexander I’s domestic policies?
Early in his reign, Alexander introduced moderate reforms, including attempts to modernise the government and improve education. However, after 1812, he became more conservative and autocratic, limiting reforms.