Czar alexander 1 biography books

Alexander I: Tsar of War and Peace

As Alan Palmer himself writes in his preface, 'Alexander 1, ruler of Russia for the first quarter of the nineteenth century, is remembered today mainly on three counts: as the Tsar who refused to make peace with the French when Moscow fell in 1812; as the idealist who sought to bind Europe's sovereigns in a Holy Alliance in 1815; and as the Emperor who died - or gave the impression of having died - at the remote southern seaport of Taganrog in the winter of 1825. Recent interest has concentrated, perhaps excessively, on the third of these dramatic episodes akthough it is natural that the epic years of the struggle with Napoleon should continue to excite the historical imagination.'

He has been dubbed 'The Enigmatic Tsar'. There are many contrasting opinions of him. Thomas Jefferson declared 'A more virtuous man, I believe, does no exist, nor one who is more enthusiastically devoted to better the condition of mankind. Castlereagh thought well of him, too, but both Metternich and Napoleon considered him inconsistent and untrustworthy. And Pushkin famously described him as 'a Sphinx who carried his riddle with him to the tomb.' an assessment even more piquant if it is true, as some maintain, his tomb in empty.

With his customary blend of meticulous scholarship and agreeable writing, Alan Palmer provides the most balanced and engaging portrait imaginable.

'A pleasure to read and unlikely to be replaced for many years' Philip Ziegler, The Times

'Excellent . . . a major biographical achievement, a notable contribution to our understanding of this still enigmatic monarch' Robert Blake, Spectator

  • Alexander I, nicknamed "the Blessed",

    • Alexander I: The Tsar Who Defeated Napoleon

    October 13, 2020
    A well-researched, well-written biography of Alexander.

    The narrative is readable if a bit wooden, and Rey does a great job putting Alexander into his historical and European context. She describes his dislike of the nobility, his self-loathing and guilt over the death of his children, and his ambivalence toward faith.

    Unfortunately, the book is a bit weak when it comes to his interaction with Napoleon. Even Rey’s coverage of 1812 seems barely adequate. Rey’s coverage of the diplomatic and strategic dimensions of the war are ultimately disappointing, as is the section on the Congress of Vienna. The sections on Alexander’s later life and his struggles with Russia’s problems are covered better.

    There are a couple typos; the Elbe is sometimes called “The Elba,” Nystad is called “Nystedt,” and Yaroslavl is called “Yaroslav,” for example. Also, the “University of Turku” is mentioned, even though it didn’t exist at the time. Pobedonostsev is called the”procurer” of the Holy Synod. Some Latin is mistranslated. Some wording doesn’t make sense, maybe due to the translation; Alexander being “received with luster,” or being confident in the “immensity” of the Russian climate. A blank check is called a “blank signature.” There’s a “French Abbot,” somebody called “Viscount Lord Castlereagh,” and Catherine the Great calls Alexander “this kid.”

    An in-depth, insightful biography.
  • In this magisterial biography, Marie-Pierre

    • Tsar Alexander I

    This is part of a series which provides studies of key, political figures in world history since 1500. The books are not biographies as such; rather they are designed to be succinct interpretative essays analysing the major features of the career within the context of its own time. This book covers the career of Tsar Alexander I of Russia (1801-1825) in the context of his times. Alexander (the Tsar of War and Peace) spent much of his reign locked in a titanic struggle with Napoleon which led to the 1812 invasion of Russia. After Napoleon’s defeat, Alexander promoted a new vision for Europe, ultimately embodied in the Holy Alliance (between Russia, Austria and Prussia). He was thus a dominant figure on the European stage as well as in the immediately Russian sphere. But he was a strangely contradictory character – he claimed to hate power but was a party to the coup that ended in the murder of his father, Paul 1; he claimed to “love constitutions”, yet failed to implement the constitutional programmes written in his reign for Russia; he hated serfdom, but did little to ameliorate the lot of serfs; he wanted to be a reformer but died a reactionary. Janet Hartley reviews his aims and actions, and finds him a more consistent figure than circumstances, and posterity, have allowed. The book sets Alexander in his full Russian and European context, and shows how circumstances restricted his freedom of action both at home and abroad. It establishes the main principles and considerations which governed his domestic and foreign policies, and shows them to have remained consistent throughout the reign and it argues that the ultimate significance of the reign lies in the alienation which began in Alexander’s time between the educated elite and the imperial regime, which was to undermine all attempts to reform Russia right through to the Revolution.Alexander I

    Year of publication :
    1994
    Place and publisher :
    Addison Wesley
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