The Presidential Library’s materials illustrate Emperor Alexander I: "He always followed the rules of harmony and order"

 “Alexander swore in his soul to be a friend, guardian, joy of Russia and all mankind entrusted to him by Providence. In his twenty-five-year reign, Russia and mankind saw the deeds he performed to fulfill this sacred vow", - said the writer and philologist Nikolai Grech in the book Biography of Emperor Alexander I (1835).

This and many other publications in the extensive electronic collection The House of Romanov. Zemsky Sobor of 1613 on the Presidential Library's portal are included in a separate collection Alexander I (1777-1825) dedicated to the emperor, who was born on December 23 (12 according to the old style), 1777.

Of greatest interest is the Sources section, which contains such rare materials as a letter from Alexander I to Napoleon I in connection with the entry of French troops into Russia on June 13/25, 1812 in French, a facsimile of the emperor's message in the publication Letter of Emperor Alexander I to Count II A. Tolstoy on the abandonment of the book. Kutuzov of Moscow: (September 8, 1812) by the historian Sergei Belokurov, as well as other rare publications of the first half of the 19th century. Among them are The Emperor Alexander in Paris, and the Fall of Napoleon... (1814), the collection Selected features and anecdotes of the Emperor Alexander I, the deliverer and peacemaker of Europe ...  (1826), notes by the publicist Ivan Naumov My feelings on the day of the namesake August Emperor Alexander I, August 30, 1815 (1815), letters and documents.

Alexander I, whom his subjects called The Blessed, was not only respected for his progressive transformations, honored as the inspirer of the victory over Napoleon in the Patriotic War of 1812, but also appreciated for his humanity and magnanimity.

“The sovereign was infinitely kind; nothing could darken his meekness and kindness, with which his whole being breathed", - according to the publication The Blessed Emperor Alexander, His Life and Reign. In turn, the writer Rafail Zotov in the book Alexandriada or Collection of Noteworthy Sayings of Emperor Alexander I... (1818) described the following situation: "one lady said to a Russian officer:" How beautiful your Emperor is!" - "This is not enough, he answered, He is kind and His kindness surpasses the beauty".

The seventh edition of the Library of the Twelfth Year, Sketches from the Life of Alexander I (1912), says: “The quality of a person who loves the good seems to have formed the hallmark of His beautiful and noble character. He always had the idea of ​​increasing the happiness of people, of preserving peace and harmony between them".

Many documents and testimonies of the era reflected the contrast between the two most significant historical figures - Napoleon Bonaparte and Emperor Alexander: “This, leading the Russians, was inspired by faith in God and hope in his just cause; and he, in the fury of his ambition, with the audacity of a tyrant, burst into the Russian borders... ", - emphasized the 1814 edition Emperor Alexander in Paris, and the fall of Napoleon...

The sources included in the collection provide historical facts. “Under Kulm, Vandam was taken prisoner, a French general, known for his inhumanity and cruelty ... Fearing righteous retribution for his atrocities, Vandam spoke to the Emperor with the following words: “The misfortune of being defeated, but even more being captured...” The Emperor, for this, deigned to give next answer: You cannot doubt My patronage. You will be taken to a place where you will feel no need for anything, except that the opportunity to do evil will be taken away from you. <...> When General Wintzengerode was taken prisoner by the French and presented to Napoleon, then this one, in whose eyes loyalty to the throne seemed a crime, immediately began to threaten him with inevitable death and all the horrors thereof", - says the book Life, Famous Deeds and Memorable sayings of the Emperor Alexander I... (1827).

Nicholas Grech in the Biography of Emperor Alexander I included the order of the Russian Emperor, given to the troops before entering France: "May peace and silence settle all over the globe! May each kingdom be prosperous under one government of its own, power and laws! May Faith, language, sciences, arts and trade flourish in every land, to the general prosperity of peoples! This is our intention..."

The writer Nikolai Danilevsky in his 1828 essay The Spirit of Crowned Spouses Who Repose in the Bose of Emperor Alexander I and Empress Elisabeth gave the emperor the following description: “He never changed His rules, which flowed from unshakable convictions, they were the fruits of sincere piety and the inspiration of a gentle philanthropy that would like to embrace the whole human race! He always followed the rules of harmony and order, which alone can be the basis of the state!..."