Alexander I: Tsar of War and Peace

by Alan Palmer

  and short sight, 1, 2;

  his education, 1;

  learns English, 1, 2,

  and French, 1;

  his appearance, 1, 2, 3;

  Potemkin on, 1;

  his betrothal and marriage to Elizabeth Alexievna (Louise of Baden), 1;

  and the succession 1, 2;

  his friendships, 1, 2;

  his character, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7;

  at death of Empress Catherine, 1;

  recognized as Tsarevich, 1;

  tours western Russia, 1;

  suffers from his father’s mental vagaries, 1;

  at Mikhailovsky Palace, 1;

  suggestion of Regency made to, 1, 2;

  shocked by murder of Tsar Paul, 1, 2;

  his coronation, 1;

  and the army: with his father’s military forces, 1, 2, 3, 4;

  Arakcheev as military instructor of, 1, 2, 3;

  appoints Arakcheev to reform army, 1;

  sets off to join army (allied with Austria against Napoleon, 1805), 1;

  and Kutuzov, 1;

  at Olmütz, 1;

  in peace parleys with Napoleon, 1;

  at battle of Austerlitz, 1, 2, 3, 4;

  after battle, 1;

  at war on two fronts (1806), 1;

  appoints Kamensky as commander-in-chief, 1;

  inspects garrison towns (1807), 1;

  promotes military colonies, 1; 2, 3, 4, 5;

  plans campaign (1811), 1, 2;

  inspects border fortresses, 1;

  joins army (1812), 1;

  at Volna, 1;

  in retreat, 1;

  leaves army for Moscow, 1, 2;

  his difficulties over appointment of commander-in-chief, 1

  announces the news of Borodino, 1;

  refuses to consider peace, 1, 2;

  hears of French retreat, 1, 2;

  in Vilna (1813), 1, 2;

  appoints successor to Kutuzov as commander-in-chief, 1, 2, 3;

  satisfied with armistice, 1;

  asks for command of Allied forces, 1;

  battle of Leipzig, 1;

  presses for advance on Paris, 1; 2, 3;

  enters Paris (1814), 1;

  hears of Napoleon’s escape (1815);

  puts Russian armies on war footing, 1, 2;

  at review on Plain of Vertus, 1;

  his attitude to Semeonovsky mutiny (1820), 1;

  prepares troops to assist Austria (1821), 1;

  in internal affairs: his ideas of reform, 1, 2, 3;

  his Secret Committee, 1;

  some reforms initiated, 1;

  growing autocracy of, 1, 2;

  September Decrees for government reform (1802), 1;

  end of government by friends of, 1;

  his throne in danger? 1;

  sees Speransky’s reforms as modernization of Tsardom (1808–9), 1, 2;

  consults his confidants on proposed Council of State, 1;

  his enthusiasm for reform declines, 1;

  dismisses Speransky (1812), 1;

  appoints Arakcheev to deal with breakdown of administration (1816), 1;

  his attitudes to liberal ideas, 1;

  travels about Russia, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5;

  fails to live up to his reputation, 1;

  in foreign affairs, 1, 2, 3;

  see further under places and people involved;

  his religion: at church ceremonies, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5;

  turns to Bible for comfort and revelation, 1, 2, 3;

  has Bible translated into Russian, 1;

  interested in Society of Friends, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6;

  his periods of mystical exaltation, 1, 2;

  his relations with the prophetess Julie von Krüdener, see Krüdener;

  receives monk Photius, 1, 2;

  his personal relations and later days: and Queen Louise of Prussia, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5;

  his relations with his wife and with Maria Naryshkin, 1, 2, 3, 4,

  and with his sisters, 1;

  death of his baby daughter, 1, 2;

  and Grand Duchess Catherine’s marriage, 1;

  and Napoleon’s proposal for Grand Duchess Anna, 1;

  visits Grand Duchess Catherine in Tver, 1, 2, 3, 4;

  deaths of his daughters by Maria Naryshkin, 1, 2;

  death of Queen Louise, 1;

  falls ill, 1;

  rebuked by Grand Duchess Catherine (1812), 1, 2;

  visits his sisters, 1;

  death of Grand Duchess Catherine, 1;

  on Nicholas as future Tsar, 1;

  talks of abdicating, 1, 2;

  his reconciliation with Elizabeth during his illness (1824), 1;

  sees Neva floods, 1, 2;

  illness of Elizabeth, 1,

  leads to decision to spend winter at Taganrog, 1;

  prepares route for Elizabeth, 1;

  arranges to buy estate in Crimea, 1;

  succumbs to “Crimean fever”, 1;

  death of, 1;

  rumours about death of, 1, 2;

  his funeral at cathedral of Peter and Paul fortress, 1;

  his tomb opened and found empty, 1;

  perhaps buried at Nevsky cathedral, 1

  Alexander II, Tsar, reputed to have moved body of A from Peter and Paul fortress to Nevsky monastery, 1

  Alexander Nevsky, St, 1, 2

  Alexandra Feodorovna (Charlotte of Prussia), wife of Grand Duke Nicholas, 1, 2;

  on Arakcheev, 1;

  records A’s intention that Nicholas should succeed him, 1

  Alexandra Pavlovna, Grand Duchess (sister of A), 1;

  wife of Archduke Joseph;

  dies in childbirth, 1

  Allen, William, of Society of Friends, 1;

  in Russia, 1, 2;

  at Verona, 1

  Alsace and Lorraine, Prussian efforts to obtain, 1

  Ambrose, Metropolitan, 1

  Amiens, Treaty of (1802), between Britain and France, 1

  Anglo-Rrussian Convention (1801), 1;

  Anglo-Russian Alliance (1805), 1

  Anichkov Palace, St Petersburg, assigned to Grand Duchess Catherine and her husband, 1

  Anna Feodorovna (of Saxe-Coburg), wife of Grand Duke Constantine, 1, 2;

  returns to Germany, 1;

  marriage annulled, 1

  Anna Pavlovna, Grand Duchess (sister of A), 1;

  Napoleon offers to marry, 1, 2;

  married to Prince of Orange (1816), 1, 2;

  A visits, at Brussels, 1;

  sees flood at St Petersburg, 1

  Ansbach; Prussian territory of, violated by Napoleon, 1,

  and ceded to France (1805), 1

  Anstedt, Jean: envoy to Prague (1813), 1, 2;

  in Russian delegation at Vienna, 1

  Arakcheev, Alexei, 1, 2;

  introduces A to military service, 1, 2, 3;

  dismissed by Tsar Paul, 1, 2;

  Paul tries to recall, 1;

  recalled by A to reform army, as Inspector-General of Artillery, 1, 2;

  with A at Olmütz, 1;

  head of commission to inquire into failure of artillery at Austerlitz, 1;

  A’s reliance on, 1;

  appointed War Minister, 1;

  and Speransky’s reforms, 1, 2;

  Chairman of Military Department, Council of State, 1;

  organizes military colonies, 1, 2, 3, 4;

  Secretary for Military Affairs to A (1812), 1, 2, 3;

  heads committee to appoint commander-in-chief, 1;

  Deputy Chairman of Committee of Ministers (1816), 1;

  administrative system of, 1; 2;

  in control of internal policy (1820), 1;

  involved in ousting of Golitsyn (1824), 1;

  puts forward Photius, 1;

  and murder of his mistress, 1

  army, European, proposal for, 1

  army, Russian: Prussian methods introduced by Tsar Paul into, 1, 2, 3;

  A summons Arakcheev to reform, 1, 2;

  levies of serfs for,
1, 2, 3, 4;

  slow to mobilize, 1, 2;

  strength of, during peace negotiations (1814), 1, 2;

  at A’s death, declares for Constantine, 1n

  artillery: Arakcheev and, 1;

  at Austerlitz, 1, 2;

  at Pultusk, 1;

  at Borodino, 1

  Artois, Comte d’, brother of Louis XVIII, 1

  Auerstadt, battle of (1806), 1

  Augereau, Marshal: A waltzes with widow of, 1

  Austerlitz, battle of (1805), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  Austria: Russia assists, against France (1790), 1;

  adheres to Anglo-Russian alliance (3rd Coalition, 1805), 1;

  and Poland, 1;

  at war with France (1805), 1;

  defeated, 1, 2;

  effect of Tilsit agreement on, 1;

  feeling against France in, 1, 2;

  Napoleon and, at Erfurt, 1, 2;

  challenges France and is defeated (1809), 1, 2, 3;

  A strengthens relations with, 1;

  signs commitment to France (1811), 1;

  concludes armistice with Russia (1813), 1;

  joins 4th coalition against France, 1;

  in Teplitz Treaties with Prussia and Russia, 1;

  in Quadruple Alliance, (1814), 1, (1815) 2;

  with Allies in advance westward, 1, 2;

  A and political influence of, 1, 2;

  Congress of Vienna and, 1, 2, 3;

  causes of friction between Russia and, 1, 2;

  entente between Britain and, 1;

  and unrest in Italy (1820–1), 1, 2, 3;

  see also Francis II, Metternich

  Baader, Franz von, Catholic publicist, 1, 2

  Baden: Napoleon and, 1;

  Duc d’Enghien abducted from, 1;

  Empress Elizabeth visits, 1, 2

  Bagration, Prince: cavalry commander (1805), 1, 2, 3;

  at Austerlitz, 1, 2, 3, 4;

  feted in Moscow, 1;

  commands Russian rearguard (1806), 1n;

  Grand Duchess Catherine and, 1, 2, 3;

  idol of soldiery, 1;

  commands 2nd Army in 1812 campaign, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5;

  A’s letter of rebuke to, 1;

  feud between Barclay de Tolly and, 1, 2;

  mortally wounded at Bordino, 1, 2

  Bagration, Princess Katharina (widow of foregoing and cousin of A); A’s visits to, in Vienna (1814–15), 1, 2, 3, 4;

  in Paris, 1

  Bakhchisarai, A visits, 1, 2, 3

  Bakounina, Ververa, on A’s entry into Moscow, 1

  Balashov, General: Minister of Police, 1;

  brings news of French invasion to A, 1;

  emissary from A to Napoleon, 1, 2;

  wants A to leave army, 1, 2

  Balkans: French agents in, 1;

  Czartoryski favours forward policy in, 1;

  Napoleon and Russian policy in, 1;

  memorandum of Capodistrias on, 1;

  risings against Turkey in, 1, 2, 3, 4:

  A’s proposals for, 1

  Banbury: enthusiasm for Russians in (1814), 1

  banks: failures of, in Germany and Paris (1810), 1, 2

  Barante, C. de, French diplomat, on Capodistrias, 1

  Barclay de Tolly, General: War Minister, 1, 2;

  commands 1st Army in 1812 campaign, 1, 2;

  made commander-in-chief, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5;

  feud between Bagration and, 1, 2;

  confirmed in command, 1,

  and as War Minister, 1;

  reappointed commander-in-chief (1813), 1, 2;

  in Poland (1815), 1;

  opposes military colonies, 1

  Bartenstein Convention, between Prussia and Russia (1807), 1, 2, 3

  Basle, Allied sovereigns at (1814), 1

  Bautzen, battle of (1813), 1

  Bavaria: Austrian thrust into (1805), 1;

  thrust checked by Napoleon, 1;

  Napoleon concentrates forces in, 1;

  deserts Napoleon (1813), 1

  Beauharnais, Eugene: made Viceroy of Italy (1805), 1;

  commands Italian corps of Grand Army (1812), 1, 2, 3;

  A’s attentions to (1814), 1

  Beauharnais, Hortense: A’s attentions to (1814), 1;

  expelled from France (1815), 1

  Benckendorff, Countess Sophia, governess to A, 1

  Bennigsen, General: involved in murder of Tsar Paul (1801), 1, 2, 3;

  high appointments for, 1;

  commander-in-chief (1806), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5;

  at Tilsit, 1;

  decorated by Napoleon, 1;

  in 1812 campaign, 1;

  gives ball for A at his estate at Zakret, 1;

  considered for commander-in-chief;

  appointed chief-of-staff, 1

  Berezina river, 1;

  French cross, 1

  Berlin: A visits (1805), 1;

  Napoleon in (1806), 1;

  liberation of (1813), 1, 2

  Bernadotte, Marshal: with Napoleon (1805), 1, 2;

  elected Prince Royal of Sweden, 1n;

  opposes French influence in Baltic, 1;

  meets A at Äbo, 1, 2;

  as possible commander of Allied forces, 1;

  as possible ruler for France, 1, 2, 3;

  halts his army in the Netherlands (1815), 1

  Berri, Duc de, assassination of (1820), 1

  Berthier, General, chief-of-staff to Napoleon, 1, 2

  Bessarabia, ceded to Russia (1812), 1n

  Bessières, Marshal, at Moscow, 1

  Bialystok province, transferred from Prussia to Russia (1807), 1

  Bible: A turns to, for comfort and revelation, 1, 2, 3;

  A persuades Holy Synod to have Russian translation of, 1

  Blücher, General, Prussian commander: at battle of Dresden (1813), 1;

  considered for command of Allied forces, 1;

  in France (1814), 1, 2, 3, 4;

  at Oxford, 1;

  in 1815 campaign, 1, 2;

  at Russian review in Paris, 1

  Borodino, battle of (1812), 1

  Bouche, Mme, prophetess from Marseilles, 1

  Bourbon dynasty: question of restoration of, 1;

  A’s attitude to, 1, 2, 3;

  Mme von Krüdener foretells disappearance of, 1;

  Wellington and, 1;

  see also Louis XVIII

  Boyen, General von, Prussian patriot, 1

  Britain: Czartoryski and, 1;

  Tsar Paul at first allies Russia with, 1,

  and then puts an embargo on trade with, 1;

  Convention between Russia and (1801), 1;

  Treaty of Amiens between France and (1802), 1;

  resumes war with France (1803), 1;

  Russian mission to propose Grand Design to (1804), 1;

  counter-proposals by, 1;

  subsidies to Russia from, 1, 2, 3;

  Napoleon desires Russian alliance against 1, 2, 3;

  Russia committed to Continental System against, 1, 2;

  Russia breaks off relations with, 1;

  Russian need to trade with, 1;

  A uncertain about, 1;

  technical state of war between Russia and, ended by treaty (1812), 1;

  feeling in, warms to Russia (1813), 1;

  A gives assurance of no peace with France without consulting, 1;

  in 4th Coalition (1813), 1;

  in Quadruple Alliance, (1814) 1, (1815) 2;

  Louis XVIII’s thanks to, 1;

  A’s visit to, 1;

  at Vienna, 1, 2;

  entente between Austria and, 1;

  Cato Street conspiracy in, 1;

  suspects Russia of wanting naval bases in Spain, 1;

  sends observer to Troppau Congress, 1;

  deprecates interference by one State in affairs of another, 1;

  and Balkans, 1, 2

  Bucharest Treaty, between Russia and Turkey (1812), 1, 2

  Budberg, General Andrei: Foreign Minister, 1, 2, 3;

/>   at Tilsit, 1, 2, 3, 4;

  wishes to retire, 1

  Bülow, General von, Prussian commander: at Waterloo, 1

  Buxhöwden, General, Russian commander (1805), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5;

  in Finland (1808), 1

  Canning, George, British Foreign Secretary, 1, 2

  Canning, Stratford, British Minister in Constantinople, 1

  Capel, Maria on A at Dover, 1

  Capodistrias, John: in Russian delegation at Vienna, 1, 2, 3;

  and 2nd Treaty of Paris (1815), 1, 2;

  at Foreign Ministry: A’s relations with, 1, 2, 3;

  at Aix Congress, 1, 2;

  Austrians distrust, 1;

  at Troppau Congress, 1, 2, 3;

  and Balkans, 1, 2

  Carbonari, 1

  Carlsbad Decrees, repressive measures (1819), 1, 2

  Castlereagh, Viscount, British Foreign Secretary: on A, 1, 2;

  and war aims (1813), 1, 2;

  during advance into France, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5;

  disturbed by A’s ascendancy, 1, 2, 3, 4;

  wants early settlement with France, 1;

  in Vienna, 1, 2, 3, 4;

  on Julie von Krüdener, 1, 2;

  and Holy Alliance, 1;

  and Quadruple Alliance, 1;

  A proposes disarmanent in letter to, 1;

  friendship of Metternich and, 1;

  proposes Aix Congress (1818), 1, 2;

  and Balkans, 1;

  and Spain, 1;

  suicide of, 1

  casualties: at Austerlitz, 1, 2;

  at Borodino, 1;

  at Eylau, 1;

  of French in Russia, 1;

  of advancing Russians, 1

  Cathcart, Lord, British Ambassador in St Petersburg, 1, 2, 3;

  on A and Metternich, 1

  Catherine II of Russia (the Great), 1;

  reforms by, 1;

  and A, 1;

  and A’s marriage, 1;

  visits Crimea, 1;

  question of successor to, 1, 2;

  last years of, 1;

  death, 1;

  burial, 1

  Catherine Pavlovna, Grand Duchess (sister of A), 1;

  and Tilsit agreement, 1, 2;

  and Bagration, 1, 2, 3;

  suggested as bride for Napoleon, 1;

  marries George of Holstein-Oldenburg (1809), 1, 2,

  and settles at Tver, 1;

  dislikes Speransky, 1, 2, 3;

  as champion of conservatives, 1, 2;

  and Napoleon’s proposal to her sister Anna, 1, 2;

  A visits at Tver, 1, 2, 3, 4;

  birth of son to, 1;

  against A as commander (1812), 1, 2, 3;

  birth of second son to, 1, 2, 3;

  reproves A, 1, 2;

  death of her husband, 1;

  at Teplitz, 1, 2;

  meets Metternich, 1;

  question of second marriage for, 1, 2, 3;

  in England (1814), 1

  passim; in Vienna, 1, 2;

  married to William of Württemberg (1816), 1;

  A visits at Stuttgart, 1;