Czy Car Alexander I obiecywał więcej niż zdołał osiągnąć?

Do you agree with the statesman, that Alexander I promised much but achieved little?

Tsar Alexander I, as a child, had been intensively prepared to fulfill his future role of Tsar. His grandmother, Catherine the Great tried to imply in boy’s mind the need of reform, and of acting in the enlightened way. His father, Tsar Paul I, instead, wanted young Alexander to rule exactly like him – traditionally and conservatively. This gave a significant print in his future, as his reigns were rather the mixture of it all. Whether they were appropriate to his people’s will or not, will be considered beneath.

His first years of ruling seemed to be in a great accordance to what ought to be done. Alexander freed political prisoners, returned the exiles and abolished torturing. He disbanded the secret police and continued to codify the law. There was also an important improvement in education. Tsar build 3 universities and over 40 primary and secondary schools. Next achievement was relaxing the censorship and allowing the foreign books to enter Russia. He showed his independence and followed his own way, when he created the Secret Committee, involving his close nobleman friends, liberals, who were supposed to help him and advise in foreign as well as domestic affairs. This step occurred to be right, and soon the result of their work were 8 new government ministries – of Education, Commerce, Finance, Internal Affairs, Justice, Foreign Affairs, Admiralty and War.
When the Committee was dissolved, Alexander’s advisor became Michael Speransky, who made some proposals of reforms in Russia. According to them, the Council of State was created, which later introduced the first regular system of State budgets, and moreover clearly defined the duties of the government departments.
The foreign policy of Alexander I, in comparison of the domestic one was much more effective. He patched up the hostility towards British, and made with them a peace in June 1801. The subsequent success, a treaty with France, not only guaranteed good relations with this country (at least for some time), but allowed Russia to influence in German affairs.
What is more, Tsarist armies made several successes against Turkey and Sweden. A definite achievement for Alexander I was winning with Napoleon himself the ‘Was of Liberation’. Additionally, he managed to led his troops with Prussian and Austrian joining the soon, to Paris and entering this city in March 1814. After that, he was treated by the other powers with full respect, and as a hero, also in his country. Tsar has also some liberal ideas. He granted the constitution to Finland and Poland, as well as the civil rights. These were freedom from arrest and arbitrary imprisonment, freedom of religion and press, and a broad franchise.
Alexander thought out and gathered the heads of three important powers, and signed together the ‘Holy Alliance’, which proved his liberal way of thinking, but provided the thrones of the legitimate monarchs. In 1820, with Austria and Prussia, he signed the Troppau Protocol, which, although is treated negatively, actually, prevented any revolutions and disturbances in country, that were, from the Tsar’s point of view, a threat for Russia.
Generally, Alexander I had many options of reforming his country, but he never was as courageous to put them into life. This was for him, as a Tsar, too risky decision, which truly, might have put his political career in japerdy. Following this, then, some of his steps seem to be logical. Besides, controlling easy, silly peasants was much easier, than his intelligent friends, noblemen.




On the other hand, many of Tsar’s acts are wrong and inexplicable. When he was expected to abolish serfdom, he chose to ignore it, since he was afraid of nobility as well as the disorder in country. The only thing he did, was permitting the voluntary freeing the serfs by their masters. By this act, the Secret Committee was dissolved. When Speransky became his new advisor, Alexander was daunted by some of his suggestions of improving Russia. However, when some deeds of reforming were made, nobles forced Alexander to dismiss Speransky, what was a significant failure of Tsar, thus his advisor had a great ideas and ability to improve Russian fortune, and if he had not been ousted, he would surely have made a magnificent progress internally. When Alexander started to be much more interested in the foreign policy, it was obvious for people, that the idea of reforming was moved far away.
On the beginning, he made some reforms towards Poland, like new law codes, encouragement of education. After this, he set up his mind to made similarly with Russia, but it all ended up only in his promises, and in 1820, the situation in Poland was restored to those before the reforms. Tsar, though originally was to grant a new constitution for Russia, but it failed as well as the continuation of codification of the law. Alexander allowed two traditional and conservative ministers to dominate the government. All the works began to be judged, basing on the religious aspect. Jesuits were expelled from Russia, people of liberal ideas were removed from universities, the secret police was expanded. The education was very restricted – there was no permission to study abroad, and economics and such subjects like philosophy were withdrawn. Furthermore, the military colonies were set up. Military conscripts happed in rural territories, what caused that peasants to join the army. Thanks to this, they could live better than before, serve the country and be with the family together. But, unfortunately, their lives were as though one command, while they had to even reproduce on this, for the future of army, and those women, who could not give birth, were fined.
The result of Tsar Alexander I’s internally policy was a revolt, which broke out in 1825.
Meantime, in the foreign policy, there were rather no mistakes of Alexander. In 1807, there was, however, Treaty of Tilsit, inconvenient for Russia, but not so restrictive as well. Russia had to recognize French dominance in central and western Europe. Tsar could expand his area to Finland and Turkey, and could take part of Prussian Poland.

To sum up, I think, that Alexander I did achieved as much as he promised. First of all, what we have to take into account, was a really difficult situation in Russian Empire. This was impossible to succeed everything and fulfill people’s expectation during the reigns of only one Tsar. As we can see, Alexander I definitely, noticed and wanted some progress for Russia, and made some reforms. Even if they were changed later, we cannot take Alexander in the responsibility of that at all, as this was a result of policy of Alexander Golitsyn and Alexis Arakcheyev. Besides, the truth was, that there was rather a not too – far change expected, and Russians were not eager to follow the rest of Europe – they wanted the change, but also to retain Russian traditions, what it impossible to reach. That is why I agree with what Alexander said, that unfeasible was the task of reform, that Russia required, not only for a man of ordinary powers, but even for a genius.