Судан и Большой Ближний Восток

171 Alexander S. Zdanevich. The Crisis of Autocracy in Russia (the mid-19th — early 20th С.)... “Activities of A.M. Gorchakov, as Russian Foreign Minister, left a notice- able mark on the history of diplomacy. Consistently defending the country's national interests after the defeat in the CrimeanWar and bringing Russia onto the European stage again as not only a continental, but also amaritime power is the undoubted merit of the noble diplomat”. 1 The extensive program of reforms carried out under Alexander II significantly changed the state of affairs, both in the state itself and beyond. The issue of expanding the borders of the empire remained acute in the face of active opposition from the Great Britain and other political actors. It seemed that society expected changes in the system of government. Limitation of the powers of the reigning house could be initiated through the introduction of a constitutional monarchy. But Alexander II never decided to take radical measures. The efforts of the monarch were generally focused on liberating the peasants from the yoke of serfdom. The emperor went down in history under the glorious name of Tsar the Liberator. The era of Alexander II ends with a tragedy towards which the emperor had been heading for many years, unable to overcome the inertia of tradition, concentrating at the end of his reign on preserving autocracy as a stronghold of the state. This tradition was inherited in its entirety by his successor, Alexander III. Alexander III, who ascended the throne, was to some extent doomed to be involved in a series of internal and external actions that were “protective and reactionary in nature.” Sedition within the imperial borders was suppressed and terrorist activity practically ceased. However, in the foreign policy of the empire, Alexander III demonstrated a constant, consistent desire for a balance of power in Europe. Throughout the reign of Alexander III, there was a tendency to pursue a national centripetal policy within the borders of the empire. In the Baltics, Poland and Finland, extensive consistent measures 1 Ахтамзян А. А. Верный сынОтечества // Этносфера . 8 (119). 2008. С. 3. URL: https://mgimo.ru/library/publications/32618/?utm_source=yan- dex.ru&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=yandex.ru&utm_refer- rer=yandex.ru (дата обращения: 31.10.2023).