Chairman of the Public Monitoring Committee in the Perm region Georgy Sitnikov.
He clarified that 54-year-old prisoner Vagin was found dead in his cell last week.
“We received information that he had died. The cause of death was stated to be suicide,” Sitnikov noted.
At the same time, he expressed doubt that the thief in law committed suicide. According to the chairman of the Perm Public Monitoring Committee, about a year ago he personally met with Vagin when he was serving his sentence in. Sitnikov emphasized that at that time he did not see anything in the prisoner’s behavior that would indicate suicidal tendencies. The agency’s interlocutor noted that Vagon read books and felt “normal and quite optimistic.”
“We need to wait for the official version whether it was suicide or death from some disease,” Sitnikov concluded.
Earlier, on September 22, a message that Vladimir Vagin committed suicide was distributed by the Prime Crime news agency. As noted in the news agency, the body of the crime boss was found in the cell after lights out, in the period from approximately 22:30 to 23:00 local time (0:30 - 01:00 Moscow time).
As reported by the press service of the Main Directorate of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) of Russia for the Perm Territory, the causes of Vagina’s death are being investigated by the Investigative Committee. “To clarify the circumstances of the incident, a commission from the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia went to the Perm Territory,” the department noted.
Vagin was convicted in October 2015 in Nizhny Novgorod.
The court accused him of coming to one of the entertainment clubs at night on March 15, 2009 to help his friend Sergei Tishkov, who had a conflict with a group of vacationers at the Soho cafe. The showdown began on the street due to the fact that a lady’s bag was allegedly stolen from one of Tishkov’s acquaintances.
When Vladimir Vagin and several of his companions drove up to the cafe in a Bentley and BMW, he saw that his friend’s face was broken. After that, he immediately went to the offenders to sort things out. At the same time, he swore and waved a small knife-keychain.
His identity was known to his opponents. When they recognized him, they started shouting: “Vova, calm down!” — after which they ran away in different directions. The carriage chased one of them, but on the way it attacked a random visitor standing at the entrance, whom he mistook for one of the offenders.
As it turned out later, 23-year-old Fyodor Luchinkin, who was attacked by Vagina, was a professional kickboxer who also underwent retraining at the Nizhny Novgorod Academy. In the cafe where the brawl took place, the police officer was celebrating his birthday with his brother Alexander, who, by the way, turned out to be a martial arts master. Together they neutralized the crime boss, knocking him to the ground. However, in a general fight, Vagon inflicted a knife wound on Fedor Luchinkin in the chest.
When the thief in law found out about the identity of the victim, as the investigation reported, he fled to Dubai (UAE). Vagina was put on the international wanted list. In August 2014, after Vagon was extradited to Russia and delivered to the Nizhny Novgorod region, the criminal investigation into the incident in the cafe was resumed.
In 2015, he was charged with intentionally causing moderate harm to health, not dangerous to human life, but causing long-term health problems, and was sentenced to one year and nine months of imprisonment in a penal colony. At the trial, the arrested crime boss said that he did not even think about killing the stranger. In addition, he apologized to the victim for the stab wound.
In March of the following year, the verdict was appealed, and the appeal court changed the sentence for the convicted person to 7.5 years of imprisonment in a maximum security colony.
Alexander was the second child in the family, and the royal throne was not intended for him; he did not receive proper education in his youth, but only mastered the basics of military engineering, which was traditional for Russian princes. But after the death of his brother Nicholas and the announcement of Alexander III as Tsarevich, he had to master world history and history, literature, law, the basics of economics and foreign policy.Before ascending to the Russian throne, Alexander went from a Cossack ataman and a member of the State House of Ministers to a detachment commander in the Russian-Turkish War. After the assassination of his father, in March 1881, Alexander III became emperor of a great power. He had to spend the first years of his reign in Gatchina, under heavy security, since the discontent of the Narodnaya Volya terrorists did not subside for several more years.
Reformer or peacemaker?
Alexander III began his rule of the country during a period of confrontation between two parties, and in order to bring this struggle to naught, he had to strengthen the position of the autocracy, decisively canceling his father’s idea of the constitutionality of the country. And by the end of the first year of his reign, he managed to stop the unrest and develop a network of secret police, and not without punitive measures. Alexander considered universities to be the main centers for the development of terrorism, and by 1884 he had almost completely gotten rid of their autonomy, introduced complete bans on student associations and their monopoly, and blocked access to education to representatives of the lower classes and Jews.Fundamental changes also began in the zemstvos. The peasants were deprived of the right to vote, and only representatives of the merchants and nobility now sat in state institutions. In addition, Alexander abolished communal land ownership and obliged peasants to buy back their plots, for which the so-called peasant banks were created.
The peacekeeping merits of this monarch consisted of strengthening the borders of the state, creating a more powerful army with a reserve reserve, and minimizing Western influence on Russia. At the same time, he managed to exclude any bloodshed for the entire period of his rule of the state. Moreover, he helped to extinguish military conflicts in other countries, which is why Alexander III was called a peacemaker.
Results of the monarchy of Alexander III
Alexander III earned not only the title of peacemaker, but also the title of the Russian Tsar himself. Of all the Russian rulers of those times, only he defended the interests of the Russian people, tried with all his might to restore the prestige and authority of the Russian Orthodox Church, attached great importance to the development of industry and agriculture, and cared for his people. And only he managed to achieve such great results in all areas of economics and politics.But along with these changes, a revolutionary spirit also crept into the thoughts of the Russian people. Alexander's son, Nicholas II, did not want to continue the development of the country to the extent and at the pace that was set by his father, which was the impetus for the development of discontent and the popularization of communist teaching in the country.
Born on March 10 (February 26, old style) 1845 in St. Petersburg. He was the second son of Emperor Alexander II and Empress Maria Alexandrovna.
He received the traditional military engineering education for grand dukes.
In 1865, after the death of his elder brother, Grand Duke Nicholas, he became crown prince, after which he received more fundamental knowledge. Among Alexander's mentors were Sergei Solovyov (history), Yakov Grot (history of literature), Mikhail Dragomirov (military art). The greatest influence on the Tsarevich was the law teacher Konstantin Pobedonostsev.
In the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878 he commanded the Rushchuk detachment in Bulgaria. After the war, he participated in the creation of the Voluntary Fleet, a joint-stock shipping company designed to promote the government’s foreign economic policy.
He ascended the throne on March 1, 1881 after the assassination of Alexander II by Narodnaya Volya terrorists. He spent the first years of his reign in Gatchina under heavy military and police protection.
In his father’s reforms, he saw, first of all, negative aspects - the growth of government bureaucracy, the difficult financial situation of the people, imitation of Western models. The political ideal of Alexander III was based on ideas about patriarchal-paternal autocratic rule, the inculcation of religious values in society, the strengthening of the class structure, and nationally distinctive social development.
On April 29, 1881, Alexander III issued a manifesto “On the Inviolability of Autocracy” and launched a series of reforms that were aimed at partially curtailing the liberal initiatives of his father-reformer.
The tsar's domestic policy was characterized by increased control of the central government over all spheres of state life.
To strengthen the role of the police, local and central administration, the “Regulations on measures to protect state security and public peace” (1881) was adopted. The “Temporary Rules on the Press,” adopted in 1882, clearly outlined the range of topics that could be written about and introduced strict censorship. In addition, a number of “counter-reforms” were carried out, thanks to which it was possible to suppress the revolutionary movement, primarily the activities of the Narodnaya Volya party.
Alexander III took measures to protect the class rights of noble landowners: he established the Noble Land Bank, adopted a Regulation on hiring for agricultural work that was beneficial for landowners, strengthened administrative guardianship over the peasantry, helped strengthen the communalism of peasants, and the formation of the ideal of a large patriarchal family.
At the same time, in the first half of the 1880s, he took a number of measures to alleviate the financial situation of the people and mitigate social tension in society: the introduction of compulsory redemption and the reduction of redemption payments, the establishment of the Peasant Land Bank, the introduction of factory inspection, and the gradual abolition of the poll tax.
The emperor paid serious attention to increasing the social role of the Orthodox Church: he increased the number of parochial schools and tightened repression against Old Believers and sectarians.
During the reign of Alexander III, the construction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow was completed (1883), parishes that had been closed during the previous reign were restored, and many new monasteries and churches were built.
Alexander III made a significant contribution to the restructuring of the system of state and public relations. In 1884 he issued the University Charter, which curtailed the autonomy of universities. In 1887, he issued a “circular on cooks’ children,” which limited the entry into gymnasiums of children from the lower classes.
He strengthened the social role of the local nobility: since 1889, peasant self-government was subordinated to zemstvo chiefs - who united judicial and administrative power in their hands to officials from local landowners.
He carried out reforms in the field of urban government: zemstvo and city regulations (1890, 1892) tightened the administration's control over local government and limited the rights of voters from the lower strata of society.
He limited the scope of the jury trial and restored closed proceedings for political trials.
The economic life of Russia during the reign of Alexander III was characterized by economic growth, which was largely due to the policy of increased patronage of domestic industry. The country rearmed its army and navy and became the world's largest exporter of agricultural products. The government of Alexander III encouraged the growth of large capitalist industry, which achieved notable successes (metallurgical production doubled in 1886-1892, the railway network grew by 47%).
Russian foreign policy under Alexander III was distinguished by pragmatism. The main content was a turn from traditional cooperation with Germany to an alliance with France, which was concluded in 1891-1893. The aggravation of relations with Germany was smoothed out by the “Reinsurance Treaty” (1887).
Alexander III went down in history as the Peacemaker Tsar - during his reign, Russia did not participate in a single serious military-political conflict of that time. The only significant battle - the capture of Kushka - took place in 1885, after which the annexation of Central Asia to Russia was completed.
Alexander III was one of the initiators of the creation of the Russian Historical Society and its first chairman. Established the Historical Museum in Moscow.
He simplified court etiquette and ceremony, in particular, abolished genuflection before the king, reduced the staff of the court ministry and introduced strict supervision over the expenditure of money.
The emperor was pious, distinguished by frugality and modesty, and spent his leisure time in a narrow circle of family and friends. He was interested in music, painting, history. He collected an extensive collection of paintings, objects of decorative and applied art, and sculptures, which after his death was transferred to the Russian Museum founded by Emperor Nicholas II in memory of his father.
The personality of Alexander III is associated with the idea of a real hero with iron health. On October 17, 1888, he was injured in a train accident near the Borki station, 50 km from Kharkov. However, saving the lives of loved ones, the emperor held the collapsed roof of the carriage for about half an hour until help arrived. It is believed that as a result of this excessive stress, his kidney disease began to progress.
On November 1 (October 20, old style), 1894, the emperor died in Livadia (Crimea) from the consequences of nephritis. The body was taken to St. Petersburg and buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
Alexander III's wife was the Danish princess Louise Sophia Frederica Dagmara (in Orthodoxy - Maria Fedorovna) (1847-1928), whom he married in 1866. The emperor and his wife had five children: Nicholas (later Russian Emperor Nicholas II), George, Ksenia, Mikhail and Olga.
The material was prepared based on information from open sources
In 1907, on the eve of the dissolution of the 2nd State Duma and the restriction of the electoral system, the Minister of the Imperial Court, Baron Vladimir Borisovich Fredericks, came to the former Minister of Finance Sergei Yulievich Witte with the question: “How to save Russia?” In response, Witte turned to the portrait of Alexander III and exclaimed: “Resurrect him!”
Alexander III Alexandrovich
“...on a heavy-footed horse,
The hooves pressed into the ground,
Half asleep, inaccessible to anxiety,
Standing motionless, squeezing the reins.”
V.Ya. Bryusov
Gatchina prisoner
On February 26 (March 10), 1881, on the day of his 36th birthday, Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich in his diary asked God for peace and quiet, “so that dear Russia and I could finally breathe freely and finally live serenely.” However, on March 1 (13), Grinevitsky’s bomb on the Catherine Canal ended these hopes. The Narodnaya Volya killed the Tsar-Liberator. At 3:35 in the afternoon, the large yellow standard on the pediment of the Winter Palace slowly slid down from the flagpole to the alarming sound of bells...
The new tsar believed in the effectiveness of terror no less than the Narodnaya Volya members and launched an anti-terrorist operation against them throughout the country. Mass arrests, repressions, and expulsions decapitated Narodnaya Volya. Moreover, shocked by the death of the emperor, Russia once again wanted a “strong hand.” In the spring of 1881, the “Holy Squad” was formed - a secret monarchist organization that partially duplicated the functions of the police. The main function of the “Holy Squad” was to protect the emperor; they destroyed opposition printing houses, tracked down revolutionaries and handed them over to the police...
In August 1881, the “Regulations on measures to protect state order and public peace” came into force. According to it, it was allowed to introduce a state of emergency in any province “to restore calm and eradicate sedition.” Adopted as a temporary measure for three years, it was in effect until 1917.
In the first months after the murder of his father, Alexander III locked himself in Gatchina under the protection of numerous guards. He did not come to St. Petersburg either for Easter or forty days. He was called the “Gatchina prisoner.”
Bulldog
Alexander was not prepared to inherit the throne; he was supposed to become a military man, like many great princes in the Romanov family. Only his elder brother Nicholas received the comprehensive education necessary for the future ruler. However, the heir to the throne suddenly fell ill and was sent to Nice for treatment, but the doctors’ efforts were in vain. In April 1865, Nikolai died.
Alexander inherited from his older brother not only the title of Tsarevich, but also his bride, the Danish princess Maria Sophia Frederica Dagmar. The common grief brought the young people together, who cared for the dying man together, and a year later Alexander proposed to “dear Minnie.” In October, the ceremony of betrothal, anointing and naming with a new name took place - Grand Duchess Maria Fedorovna.
In his youth, Alexander had exceptional strength - he bent coins with his fingers and broke horseshoes, however, he was completely devoid of the aristocracy of his grandfather and was distinguished by his heaviness, for which he earned the nickname Bulldog. To many, Alexander resembled the epic heroes - just as tall and strong, but stubborn and self-willed.
When Alexander was declared heir to the Russian throne, it turned out that the education he received was clearly not enough for his new status. In order to supplement the heir’s knowledge of history, the famous professor Sergei Mikhailovich Solovyov was invited, and the civil law course was taught by Konstantin Petrovich Pobedonostsev.
Refusal of reforms
It seemed to many contemporaries that Alexander III was acting contrary to his father in politics and personal life. If Alexander Nikolaevich openly lived in two families, and after the death of Maria Alexandrovna married Ekaterina Dolgorukaya in a morganatic marriage, then his son was an exemplary family man. If his father succumbed to reforms, trying to bring the social and political structure of the country into line with new circumstances, then Alexander Alexandrovich saw the main tasks in “preserving the purity of the “faith of the fathers”, the inviolability of the principle of autocracy and developing the Russian people.” In March 1881, Alexander III received an anonymous note, the author of which claimed that the late tsar “suffered not for the church, not for the cross, not for the Christian faith, not for Orthodoxy, but only for the fact that he dissolved the people, and this dissolved people killed his".
The last unfinished reform of Alexander II was Loris-Melikov’s project on the participation of representatives from zemstvos and some cities in the preparation of legislative measures. “I also fear that this is the first step towards a constitution,” wrote Alexander III; the ideas of autocracy and elections were incompatible for him. On the eve of the meeting of the Committee of Ministers to discuss the “Loris-Melikov Constitution,” Pobedonostsev, who became Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, wrote to the new emperor: “This is a terrible hour and time is running out. Either save Russia and yourself now, or never. If they sing the old siren songs to you about how you need to calm down, you need to continue in the liberal direction, you need to give in to so-called public opinion - oh, for God’s sake, don’t believe it, Your Majesty, don’t listen. This will be death, the death of Russia and yours.”
Despite the fact that supporters of the reforms were in the majority, everything was decided by the opinion of the tsar, expressed by Pobedonostsev: “The nation expects firm and authoritative action... and one should not take measures that reduce the authority of the authorities, allow society to talk about such things, about which until now it has not had the right to speak.”
On April 29 (May 11), 1881, the “Manifesto on the Inviolability of Autocracy” was published. “In the midst of Our great sorrow, the voice of God commands Us to stand vigorously in the work of government, trusting in Divine Providence, with faith in the power and truth of autocratic power, which We are called upon to affirm and protect for the good of the people, from any encroachments on it.”
Reaction
“In those years, distant, deaf,
Sleep and darkness reigned in our hearts:
Pobedonostsev over Russia
Spread out the owl's wings",
Three decades later, Alexander Blok wrote about this time. Surprisingly, neither the chief prosecutor of the Holy Synod, nor the emperor himself sought to understand the real reasons for what was happening in the country, considering all Russian troubles to be a consequence of the reforms of the 60s, which disrupted the normal course of patriarchal Russian life. Alexander Alexandrovich even asked the question: “With the abolition of serfdom, did not the people’s power weaken?”
In accordance with the new doctrine, the government began “counter-reforms”, gradually destroying the achievements of the reign of Alexander II. In 1884, a university reform took place, which deprived universities of their independence; from now on, rectors, deans and professors were appointed by the Ministry of Education. In 1887, a “circular about cooks’ children” was published, which ordered that “children of coachmen, footmen, cooks, laundresses, small shopkeepers, etc.” should not be admitted to the gymnasium, because it was the commoners who joined the ranks of the revolutionaries.
A zemstvo counter-reform was carried out - Alexander did not want to put up with all-class elected representation - the “zemstvo parliament”. The government gradually abolished the basic principles of jury trials: independence, transparency, irremovability.
Alexander’s favorite slogan was the motto “Russia for Russians.” Moreover, “only the Orthodox were considered truly Russian, and only the Russian could be truly Orthodox. A person’s religious affiliation measured his political reliability,” wrote Prince Sergei Mikhailovich Volkonsky. Repeating after Pobedonostsev that “the Jews penetrated everywhere, undermined everything,” Alexander III looked condescendingly at anti-Semitic sentiments. The Pale of Settlement was reduced, and a percentage norm was established for Jews in secondary and higher educational institutions. Nationalism became one of the principles of the reign of Alexander III.
At the same time, the government of Alexander III managed to make a real revolution in industry. The output of iron, steel, oil and coal increased at a record pace.
During the entire 13 years of Alexander III's reign, Russia did not wage a single war. Having seen with his own eyes all the horrors of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-78, the emperor had an extraordinary appreciation for peace. Moreover, he acted as a guarantor of peace not only for Russia, but also for Europe, for which he received the title of “Peacemaker.”
On October 17, 1888, the royal train crashed at Borki station, 50 kilometers from Kharkov. When the train crashed, the roof of the carriage collapsed, and the mighty Alexander held it on his shoulders until help arrived. True, after this incident the emperor began to complain of pain in the lower back. It turned out that the blow from the fall marked the beginning of kidney disease, from which Alexander III died a few years later.
