ALEXANDER I., PAULOWITSCII, Emperor and autocrat of all the Russias (1801-25), was b. Dec. 23, 1777. His education, in which his father, Paul I., had no hand, was conducted by his grandmother, Catharine II., and col. Labarpe and other tutors. He always showed great affection for his mother, Maria, daughter of Eugene, duke of Wurtemberg. With a humane and benevolent disposition, the "northern Telmaque" was imbued by Laharpe with the enlightened principles of the age. Prof. Kraft instructed him in experimental physics, and Pallas in botany. It was thought better not to devote his attention to poetry and music, as it would have required too much time to make any great acquirements. In 1703 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Karl Ludwig, crown prince of Baden, and on the assassination of his father Paul (q.v.), on the 24th of March, 1801, succeeded him upon the throne. Although A. doubtless knew of the con spiracy to dethrone his father, there is no reason to believe that he contemplated the crime of murder. His accession was celebrated by Klopstock in an ode, To Humanity, indicative of the high expectations formed of him. The young ruler seemed deeply penetrated with a sense of his obligation to make his people happy and to promote their civilization and prosperity. He was the first to lay the foundation of the national cul ture and popular instruction on a regular plan, to introduce organization into the internal administration, unshackle the industry of the nation, raise the foreign commerce of Russia, and awaken in the people a feeling of unity and a spirit of patriotism.
' Of specific internal improvements effected by A., his exertions on behalf of the lan guage, literature, and general culture of the Slavonic nations desdve special notice. Seven universities, at Dorpat, Kasan, Charkow, Moscow, Wilna, Warsaw, and St. Petersburg, were either instituted or remodeled by him; 204 gmynasiums and normal schools, and above 2000 district elementary schools, were erected; and fresh life and activity given to the higher scientific institutions in St. Petersburg and Moscow. He
did more than any other sovereign in Europe for the spread of the Bible, by supporting the Bible society (which was suppressed, however, in 1826); and in 1820 he had a bishop instituted for the evangelical Lutheran church, and a general consistory in St. Peters burg for the whole empire. He devoted large sums to the printing of important works, such as Krusenstern's Travels and Karamsin's History of Russia, and prized and rewarded scientific merit both at home and abroad. Several scientific collections were purchased by him, and in 1818 he invited two orientalists, Demange and Charmoy, from Paris to St. Petersburg, to promote the study of the Arabic, Armenian, Persian, and Turkish languages. Z oung men of talent were sent to travel at his expense. By the ukase of 1816 he prepared the way for the abolition of slavery in the Baltic provinces; he also declared that no more gifts of peasants would be made on the crown-lands. As early as 1801 he had abolished the secret tribunal which is said to have extorted bon fession from political offenders by means of hunger and thirst. The practice of slitting the nose and branding, which had been customary in connection with knouting, was also done away with. Laws were enacted to prevent the abuses of power by gov ernors. The privilege of the nobles, that their inherited property could not be con fiscated as a punishment, was raised by him to a common right for all subjects; and much was done in composing a code of civil law. He promoted the manufactures and trade of the empire by amending the laws regarding debt and mortgages, and by the institution of an imperial bank, the construction of roads and canals, making Odessa a free port, and, above all, by the ukase of 1818, permitting all peasants in the empire to carry on manufactures, which was before only allowed to nobles and to merchants of the first and second guilds.