Alexander II (1855—1881) from the Romanov's dynasty was the Emperor of All-Russia, the King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Finland.

Alexander II was called the Liberator Tsar, because in 1861 he finally issued a long-awaited decree that abolished serfdom.

Alexander Nikolaevich Romanov (Alexander II), the son of Emperor Nicholas I got brilliant education. After the death of his father in 1855 Alexander II came to the throne. He started his rule with liberal transformations and declared amnesty to Decembrists and other participants of social movements.

In 1861 the serfdom was finally abolished in Russia and over 22 million serfs were released. In the 1860s-1870s other reforms followed regarding university education, court (he introduced a jury to the court of law), the press, the army and the local government.

Those liberal reforms nevertheless were incomplete. In the last decade of his reign Alexander II started to constrain the natural course of events and thus displeased certain radical cliques. Several assassination attempts were made on him.

In his foreign policy Alexander II tried to increase the influence of Russia on the Balkan States, and expand its area at the expense of development of Central Asia and eastern outskirts. During his reign Russia sold Alaska and Aleutian Islands to the USA, and defeated Turkey in yet another Russian-Turkish War.

Alexander II was mortally wounded on March, 13th, 1881 with a bomb thrown by Ignaty Gryniewietsky, a member of the Narodnaya Volya (People's Will) revolutionary and terrorist organization. On that day the tsar was going to sign a project of reforms in the field of government and economy.