Kovno Governorate

Lithuania, 1842–1918. Draft, not yet reviewed

Kovno Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (guberniya) of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Kovno (Kaunas). It was formed on 18 December 1842 by Tsar Nicholas I from the western part of Vilna Governorate, and the order was carried out on 1 July 1843. The governorate included almost the entire Lithuanian region of Samogitia and the northern part of Aukštaitija. Kaunas Fortress was constructed and renovated between 1882 and 1915 to protect the Russian Empire's western borders.

Seat of power: Kaunas

Rulers

Nicholas I of Russia

Emperor of all the Russias, 1825–1855

He was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1825 to 1855. He is mainly remembered as a reactionary whose controversial reign was marked by geographical expansion, centralisation of administrative policies, and repression of dissent both in Russia and among its neighbors.

Portrait of Nicholas I of Russia: Georg von Bothmann, Public domain, file

Alexander II of Russia

Emperor of all the Russias, 1855–1881

He is also known as Alexander the Liberator because of his historic Edict of Emancipation, which officially abolished Russian serfdom in 1861. However, many of these reforms were met with intense backlash and cut back or reversed entirely, and Alexander eventually shifted towards a considerably more conservative political stance following an assassination attempt against him in 1866.

Portrait of Alexander II of Russia: Attributed to W. & D. Downey, Public domain, file

Alexander III of Russia

Emperor of all the Russias, 1881–1894

He was highly reactionary in domestic affairs and reversed some of the liberal reforms of his father, Alexander II, a policy of "counter-reforms". During his reign, Russia fought no major wars, and he came to be known as The Peacemaker.

Portrait of Alexander III of Russia: Sergey Lvovich Levitsky, Public domain, file

Nicholas II of Russia

Emperor of all the Russias, 1894–1917

He was the last Emperor of Russia from 1 November 1894 until his abdication in 1917. Despite ostensibly presiding over a constitutional monarchy, Nicholas resisted political reform and retained autocratic control over the nation's governance even after the establishment of the Duma.

Portrait of Nicholas II of Russia: Unknown author (originally uploaded to Wikimedia Commons on 22 August 2012 by Peruanec), Public domain, file

Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia

Emperor of all the Russias, 1917–1917

He was designated Emperor of Russia after his brother abdicated in 1917 and proclaimed him "Emperor Michael II", but Michael declined to take power a day later.

Portrait of Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Culture

During World War I, the complex was the largest defensive structure in the entire state, occupying 65 km2 (25 mi2).
The complex is the most complete remaining example of a Russian Empire fortress.
Poles and Lithuanians unsuccessfully rebelled against Russian authorities in 1831 and 1863.
After the 3rd partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, Lithuania became part of the Russian Empire.

Picture

Kaunas Fortress is the remains of a fortress complex in Kaunas, Lithuania.

Image: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Sources

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.