Although many of Alexander II’s reforms appeared liberal in nature, most of them did not turn out so in practice and were simply initiated to promote stability in the Russian Empire. Furthermore, Alexander II was reluctant to relinquish his absolute power. Combined with the fact that he displayed traits of an autocrat from time to time, particularly after an assassination attempt in 1866, these reasons make ‘Tsar Liberator’ an unsuitable title for him. Instead, a better term to describe Alexander II would be a ‘reforming autocrat.’ While, in many cases, he was genuine in his pursuit of reform, his intentions remained rooted to the perpetuation of the Tsarist autocracy. While Alexander II’s intentions were questionable, he was nevertheless
