The Timid Path

On December 12, 1801, 23-year-old Tsar Alexander I, who had been on the throne only since March of that year, issued an ukaz. This particular decree was not something historians have considered extremely significant in the scheme of Alexander’s reign, but it merits attention for a few reasons.

First of all, December 12 was Alexander’s birthday (according to the Old-Style Julian calendar; according to today’s Gregorian calendar he was born on December 23). The fact that he issued this ukaz on his own birthday would seem to suggest it was related to a heartfelt goal.

So what was in this document?