Alexander II: the last great tsar
Alexander II was Russia's Lincoln, and the greatest reformer tsar since Peter the Great. He was also one of the most contradictory, and fascinating, of history's supreme leaders. He freed the serfs, yet launched vicious wars. He engaged in the sexual exploits of a royal Don Juan, yet fell profoundly in love. He ruled during the "Russian Renaissance" of Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Turgenev -- yet his Russia became the birthplace of modern terrorism. His story could be that of one of Russia's greate…
Read More ↓Title Statements
- Full title :Alexander II : the last great tsar / Edvard Radzinsky ; translated by Antonina W. Boius.
Summary
Alexander II was Russia's Lincoln, and the greatest reformer tsar since Peter the Great. He was also one of the most contradictory, and fascinating, of history's supreme leaders. He freed the serfs, yet launched vicious wars. He engaged in the sexual exploits of a royal Don Juan, yet fell profoundly in love. He ruled during the "Russian Renaissance" of Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Turgenev -- yet his Russia became the birthplace of modern terrorism. His story could be that of one of Russia's greatest novels, yet it is true. It is also crucially important today. It is a tale that runs on parallel tracks. Alexander freed 23 million Russian slaves, reformed the justice system and the army, and very nearly became the father of Russia's first constitution and the man who led that nation into a new era of western-style liberalism. Yet it was during this feverish time that modern nihilism first arose. On the sidelines of Alexander's state dramas, a group of radical, disaffected young people first experimented with dynamite, and first began to use terrorism. Fueled by the writings of a few intellectuals and zealots, they built bombs, dug tunnels, and planned ambushes. They made no less than six unsuccessful attempts on Alexander's life. Finally, the parallel tracks joined, when a small cell of terrorists, living next door to Dostoevsky, built the fatal bomb that ended the life of the last great Tsar. It stopped Russian reform in its tracks. [from Publisher description].
Read More ↓Edition Statements
- Publication Date:2005
- Edition:Uncorrected proof
Publication Statements
- Language:eng
- Publication Date:2005
The Physical Object
- Description:xvi, 439 pages ; : 23 cm
Edition Identifiers
- ISBN:074327332X, 9780743273329
- oclc:ocn756866907
- LC Classification:DK220
Subjects
Writers
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate this work.
Related Works
more →
History in mathematics education: the ICMI study
Roman crossings: theory and practice in the Roman Republ…
Openness, secrecy, authorship: technical arts and the culture of knowl…
Long, Pamela O.
Openness, secrecy, authorship: technical arts and the culture of knowl…
Long, Pamela O.
Karkhanas under the Mughals, from Akbar to Aurangzeb: a study in economic development
Verma, Tripta
Roman crossings: theory and practice in the Roman Republ…
Files & Downloads
-
Alexander II: The Last Great Tsar -- (.pdf)
PDF · 10.3 MB · updated
Rate & Review