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Alexander II of Russia

1818 CE – 1881 CE

Retrace Alexander II of Russia's life across the map — 13 events in chronological order, from a cinematic flythrough to a full timeline.

Life journey

1. Russian–Circassian War1711 CE
   The Russo-Circassian War, also known as the Russian invasion of Circassia, or termed by the Circassians as the Great War with the Tsar took place in the North Caucasus between July 1763 and June 1864. It began when the Russian Empire entered Circassia and occupied Mozdok, which prompted the Circassian people to organize a resistance movement to preserve their independence. Over the next century, the Imperial Russian Army expanded across the country until the last Circassian fighters were defeated in the Battle of Qbaada. It remains the longest war to have ever occurred in the Caucasus and in the history of Russia, as well as the longest and final war in the history of Circassia. Although it initially involved only Russia and Circassia, the conflict soon drew in a number of other Caucasian nations after they also became targets for Russian conquests, and it is consequently sometimes considered to be the western half of the Caucasian War.
2. Caucasian War1763 CE
   The Caucasian War or the Caucasus War was a 19th-century military conflict between the Russian Empire and various peoples of the North Caucasus who resisted subjugation during the Russian conquest of the Caucasus. It consisted of a series of military actions waged by the Russian Imperial Army and Cossack settlers against the native inhabitants such as the Adyghe, Abazins, Ubykhs, Chechens, Dagestanis as the Tsars sought to expand.
3. Russian conquest of Chechnya and Dagestan1817 CE
   The Russian conquest of Chechnya and Dagestan, whose later phase from 1829 to 1859 is also known as the Murid War, was the eastern theatre of the Caucasian War of 1817–1864. During this campaign, the Russian Empire conquered the independent peoples of the Eastern Caucasus.
4. Decembrist revolt1825 CE
   The Decembrist revolt was a failed coup d'état led by liberal military and political dissidents against the Russian Empire. It took place in Saint Petersburg on 26 December [O.S. 14 December] 1825, following the death of Emperor Alexander I.
5. Russian colonisation of Central Asia1839 CE
   In the 16th century, the Tsardom of Russia embarked on a campaign to expand the Russian frontier to the east. This effort continued until the 19th century under the Russian Empire, when the Imperial Russian Army succeeded in conquering all of Central Asia. The majority of this land became known as Russian Turkestan—the name "Turkestan" was used to refer to the area due to the fact that the vast majority of the population was inhabited by Turkic peoples, excluding the Tajiks, who are ethnolinguistically Iranian people; the ethnolinguistic map of the region has not changed significantly since then. Upon witnessing Russia's absorption of the various Central Asian realms, the British Empire sought to reinforce India, triggering the Great Game, which ended when both sides eventually designated Afghanistan as a neutral buffer zone.
6. Crimean War1853 CE
   The Crimean War was fought between Russia and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom, and Sardinia from October 1853 to February 1856. Geopolitical causes of the war included the Eastern question, the expansion of Russia in the preceding Russo-Turkish wars, and the British and French preference to preserve the Ottoman Empire to maintain the balance of power in the Concert of Europe.
7. Siege of Sevastopol1854 CE
   The Siege of Sevastopol lasted from October 1854 until September 1855, during the Crimean War. The allies landed at Eupatoria on 14 September 1854, intending to make a triumphal march to Sevastopol, the capital of the Crimea, with 50,000 men. Major battles along the way were Alma, Balaklava, Inkerman, Tchernaya, Redan, and, finally, Malakoff. During the siege, the allied navy undertook six bombardments of the capital, on 17 October 1854; and on 9 April, 6 June, 17 June, 17 August, and 5 September 1855.
8. Second Opium War1856 CE
   The Second Opium War, also known as the Second Anglo-Chinese War or Arrow War, was fought between the United Kingdom and France against the Qing dynasty of China between 1856 and 1860. It was the second major conflict in the Opium Wars, which were fought over the right to import opium to China, and resulted in a second defeat for the Qing and the forced legalisation of the opium trade. It caused many Chinese officials to believe that conflicts with the Western powers were no longer traditional wars, but part of a looming national crisis.
9. January Uprising1863 CE
   The January Uprising was an insurrection against Russian imperial rule in the Congress Kingdom of Poland and adjacent lands of the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Sparked by nationalist aspirations, political repressions, religious differences and opposition to conscription, it was organized by the clandestine Central National Committee and subsequently by the revolutionary Polish National Government. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last insurgents were captured in 1864.
10. Khiva campaign (1873)1873 CE
    In the Russo-Khivan War of 1873, Russia conquered the Khanate of Khiva, and it became a Russian protectorate.
11. Reichstadt Agreement1876 CE
    On the occasion of the Balkan crisis, Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary and Russian Tsar Alexander II met on 8 July 1876 for secret talks, the results of which were later termed the Reichstadt Agreement by historians for the sake of brevity. Both emperors were in an alliance with each other and the German Empire in the League of the Three Emperors, or Dreikaiserbund. Present were also the Russian and Austro-Hungarian foreign ministers, Prince Alexander Gorchakov of Russia and Count Gyula Andrássy of Austria-Hungary. The closed meeting took place on July 8 in the Bohemian city of Reichstadt.
12. Siege of Plevna1877 CE
    The siege of Plevna or Pleven, was a major battle of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, fought by the joint army of the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Romania against the Ottoman Empire. After the Russian army crossed the Danube at Svishtov, it began advancing towards the centre of modern Bulgaria, with the aim of crossing the Balkan Mountains to Constantinople, avoiding the fortified Turkish fortresses on the Black Sea coast. The Ottoman army led by Osman Pasha, returning from Serbia after a conflict with that country, was massed in the fortified city of Pleven, a city surrounded by numerous redoubts, located at an important road intersection.
13. Tenth Russo-Turkish War1878 CE
    The Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) was a conflict between the Ottoman Empire and a coalition led by the Russian Empire which included Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro. Precipitating factors included the Russian goals of recovering territorial losses endured during the Crimean War of 1853–1856, re-establishing itself in the Black Sea and supporting the political movement attempting to free Balkan nations from the Ottoman Empire.

Event data from Wikipedia/Wikidata (CC-BY-SA). Spotted a mistake? Email [email protected].