Rulers

Alexander II

The Tsar Liberator

Lifespan: 1818 — 1881
Reign: 1855–1881

After defeat in the Crimean War, he launched the Great Reforms: the emancipation of the serfs and reforms of the courts, local government and army. These changes coexisted with autocracy, repression of the opposition and imperial expansion. He was assassinated by members of Narodnaya Volya (People's Will) on 1 (13) March 1881.

Dynasty: Holstein-Gottorp-Romanovs
Centre of power: Russia
Parents: Nicholas I and Alexandra Feodorovna
Wives: Maria Alexandrovna; Catherine Dolgorukova (morganatic marriage)
Heir: Alexander III

Symbols and their dates

Romanov family coat of armsA family coat of arms approved in 1856. Used as a later emblem of the dynasty; it is not attributed to Michael I Romanov. Confirmation: Moscow Kremlin Museums, Carl Fabergé and the Stone-Carving Masters catalogue, desk seal bearing the arms of the House of Romanov. Historical depiction of the coat of arms; Runivers / Wikimedia Commons · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain (see source page)

Black, yellow and white flagThe heraldic colours were approved in 1858; their use changed in 1883–1896. This was not the flag of the entire imperial period. Heraldic colours of the Russian Empire, 1858; Wikimedia Commons · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain (see source page)

Sources

Great Russian Encyclopedia (in Russian)
Presidential Library (in Russian)

Symbols and their dates

Sources

Related cards and contemporaries