Struggle in Russia

Alexander II had never been a strong-willed person. Compared with his father's decisiveness and neatness, he was capricious and procrastinating on many things. It was always difficult for him to make up his mind and stick to the end.

For example, when he was traveling around Europe when he was just an adult, he suddenly fell in love with Queen Victoria. He was very fond of the future Queen of England and even wrote to Nicholas I expressing his feelings for the queen. love.

But he was soon beaten by Nicholas I, because Nicholas I would never allow his eldest son to go to England to become a royal husband.

Faced with his stubborn father, Alexander II quickly backed down and honestly went to marry a German bride as his crown prince.

Although this is a trivial matter, it is enough to illustrate his character.

Ever since he was young, he has always been ambiguous and always wavering in his stance. It is difficult to say whether it is a good thing or a bad thing for such a person to be the tsar in charge of Russia.

The good thing is that he will not be as controlling as Nicholas I, always trying to dominate the entire country by himself. It is possible that he can listen and modernize the conservative and barbaric Russia a little bit.

But the bad thing is that as long as he encounters problems and troubles, he may waver and give up his ideas and persistence. Moreover, he is prone to "soft ears" and will scratch his head and beard for good and bad opinions.

This makes his governance a mixed bag, which makes people feel mixed.

But at the moment when Nicholas I died, Alexander II's indecision turned out to be an advantage.

At this moment, Russia is sitting on the crater of a volcano, and any drastic action may cause this country to be completely destroyed by a ground plane.

Whether Alexander II advocates reform or conservatism, if he makes his attitude clear as soon as he comes to power, it is likely to light the fuse, causing reformers and conservatives to merge, and plunge the entire country into turmoil.

"Sasha, I think the most important thing for you right now is to stay calm and maintain stability. Don't do anything else, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous!"

In the imperial study, Grand Duchess Elena faced the frowning Alexander II and expressed her opinions bluntly.

To be honest, her statement surprised Alexander II because he had always known that this aunt was a staunch reformer and had been running around and shouting for reform. He originally thought that Grand Duchess Elena would be firm. He was asked to start reforms immediately!

"I remember," Alexander II asked in confusion, "I remember that you have always supported reform, right?"

Elena squeezed out a bit of a smile,

He replied: "I do support reform. To this day, I still think that the only way out for Russia is reform, but..."

"but what?"

"But supporting reform does not mean that I think reform should be started immediately!" Grand Duchess Elena replied.

Alexander II blinked, he could not understand Grand Duchess Elena's words more and more.

"Reform also depends on timing," Grand Duchess Elena replied, "and now is undoubtedly the worst time. We are facing huge difficulties both internally and externally. At this time, we must be cautious and maintain stability first. , hastily starting reforms will not only bring no good results, but may intensify the problem and make our situation even more difficult!"

Alexander II understood now. To be honest, Grand Duchess Elena's knowledge far exceeded his expectations. He began to re-examine his aunt and found that this woman was much wiser than he imagined.

To be honest, Alexander II was actually not clean when he was hiding in the Winter Palace these days. The conservative forces that supported reform always tried their best to infiltrate into the Winter Palace, constantly trying to lobby and test his attitude. pinterest

These guys always muttered in his ears in a roundabout way: "Reform! Reform quickly!" or "No reform! Reform is a dead end!"

He was almost driven crazy by these chattering noises. These guys always forced him to express his attitude immediately and always tried to put him on fire. This was especially the case with relatives and friends who were once very close to him. This made him very tired!

But Grand Duchess Elena did not do this. She very considerately stood in his perspective and helped him think about countermeasures. She was unbiased and completely based on the facts, and she was completely considerate of him. This is really rare!

Alexander II felt tears in his eyes

The water was swirling, and he was really moved. Apart from his Queen Maria, Elena was probably the second relative who was so kind to him!

"Thank you for your advice, it is very important to me... At this difficult time, you made me feel a rare sense of family affection, which is so precious to me!"

When she walked out of the Winter Palace, Grand Duchess Elena let out a long sigh and said to Nikolay Milyutin in the carriage: "Sure enough, it is exactly what the count expected. He does not want to reform immediately..."

Nikolay Milyutin's face also collapsed, because he once still had hope for Alexander II's sway. He believed that the reason why Alexander II swayed was that he had realized the necessity of reform. As long as he actively If you work hard, it may be possible to kick off the reform process.

But now, this hope has been shattered. Alexander II's attitude is to maintain the status quo, and maintaining the status quo is tantamount to no reform. uuread a book

Even if Grand Duchess Elena said that Alexander II might support reforms in the future, who can say for sure what will happen in the future? It is very likely that he will not

It's just perfunctory.

"This is not good news," Nikolai Milyutin said with a solemn face, "But the count makes us wait again, why are we waiting!"

Grand Duchess Elena sighed and said: "The Earl should have the Earl's consideration. Since he has already guessed His Majesty's thoughts, there will definitely be targeted arrangements. He cannot let this opportunity pass by!"

Nikolai Milyutin also sighed, and now he can only think like this, but he still doesn't understand why Count Rostovtsev can stay calm so much. He would have exploded a long time ago!

Some people can hold their breath, but others cannot. While Count Rostovtsev was calmly waiting for the opportunity, Count Uvarov could no longer bear it. He asked old Adlerberg to help him contact Alex. Queen Mother Sandra, he was going to work hard on this Queen Mother to open a breakthrough.

"Count Uvarov?" Queen Mother Alexandra didn't expect Count Uvarov to come to him. She didn't even understand why the count came to her, but seeing that the other party was an important minister of the country and old Ade For the sake of Lebesgue, she agreed unconventionally: "Then please invite the count in!"