History of Russia: From Peter the Great to Gorbachev

Alexander I: Imagining Reform (1x7)

Air date: Mar 23, 2022

A complex ruler—variously called a "sphinx," an "enigma," and even a "crowned Hamlet"—Alexander I exhibited many contradictions, including his ideas about power and order and their role in ensuring happiness; his sincere embrace of Enlightenment values; his love of military culture; his limited conception of constitutionalism, and his eventual retreat into mysticism and doubt.