Alexander II

Alexander II defeated his half-brothers' faction at the Battle of Torgi with Kartlian auxiliary troops, securing the Kakhetian throne in 1574.

Nicholas I died on 2 March 1855 at the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg during the Crimean War.

Alexander II succeeded to the throne upon the death of his father in 1855, becoming Emperor at age 37.

Alexander II signed the Emancipation Manifesto on 3 March 1861, formally abolishing serfdom on private estates in the Russian Empire.

The manifesto was proclaimed to the serfs, initiating the transition from serfdom to free peasant status, though effects were not immediate.

The 1864 law created two separate tribunals with distinct courts of appeal, connected only through the Senate as the supreme court of cassation.

Alexander II signed the decree enforcing four regulations on 20 November 1864, establishing a unified judicial system in the Russian Empire.

Karakozov attempted to kill Alexander II at the Summer Garden gates in St Petersburg on April 4, 1866.

Karakozov was executed on 3 September 1866 (Old Style; 15 September 1866 New Style), following the failed assassination attempt.

Secretary of State Seward and Russian minister Stoeckl signed the treaty for the sale of Alaska on March 30, 1867, after an all-night session.

The formal transfer of Alaska occurred in Sitka on October 18, 1867, establishing the Department of Alaska.

Russia and Austria-Hungary signed the Schönbrunn Convention on 6 June 1873, preceding the formal League agreement.

Bismarck negotiated an agreement between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Germany on 22 October 1873.

Alfred married Maria in the Grand Church of the Winter Palace on 23 January 1874, celebrated in great splendour.

Alexander II signed the Ems Ukaz at Bad Ems, extending publication bans to all books and lyrics in the Little Russian dialect.

Emperors Franz Joseph I and Alexander II met on 8 July 1876 for secret talks on the Balkan crisis, later termed the Reichstadt Agreement.

One week after Montenegro declared war on the Ottoman Empire, the monarchs verbally agreed on non-intervention in the Serbian-Ottoman war and on Austrian neutrality.

Russia formally declared war on the Ottoman Empire in April 1877, with sources conflicting on whether the date was 17 or 24 April 1877.

Russian troops entered Romania through the Eiffel Bridge near Ungheni, resulting in Turkish bombardments of Romanian towns on the Danube.

Alexander II was killed by a bomb thrown by Narodnaya Volya members while returning to the Winter Palace from the Mikhailovsky Manège.