Alexander II of Russia

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

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Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/alexander-ii-of-russia

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was Alexander II of Russia born?April 29, 1818, Moscow, Russian Empire
2. When did Alexander II of Russia die?March 13, 1881 (age 63), Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
3. Who was Alexander II of Russia?Alexander II was the ruler of Russia from 1855 to 1881. He is remembered for freeing millions of serfs and selling Alaska to the United States.
4. How did Alexander II help people in Russia?In 1861 he issued the Edict of Emancipation, freeing over 23 million serfs. The freed people could marry, own property, and run businesses.

Serfdom: A system of unfree labor where peasants were legally bound to the land and subservient to a landowner.
Edict of Emancipation: The 1861 imperial decree that formally abolished serfdom across the Russian Empire.
Zemstvos: Provincial and district assemblies established in 1864, representing a form of local self-government.
Redemption Fees: Payments required from former serfs to landowners for the land they received after emancipation.