The Formation of Reformer Image on the Example of Alexander II: the Features of Communication with the Public

The diploma is devoted to an image formation of a monarchical state head on the example of the Alexander II’s image building during the global reforms preparation and implementation. The interaction of the government with the Russian and foreign public is analysed. The content of the concepts ‘the image of the first person of the state’ is disclosed and its key characteristics are described. On the basis of the research, the main stages, practices and methods of forming and strengthening the image of Alexander II during the global reforms of the middle of the XIX century are revealed. The reign of Alexander II is a crucial period in Russian history. Global reforms (the abolition of serfdom, changes in the army, judicial and education systems) were initiated, like all Russian reforms of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, by the government, but caused, among other things, by the active participation of the general public. That is why establishing a dialogue between the government and the society becomes one of the priorities of the Russian government of that time. The defeat in the Crimean War and the need to overcome political isolation are becoming important strategic tasks for the government and stimulate the establishment of communication not only with the domestic but also with the foreign public. The scientific novelty of the research is that Alexander II's internal and foreign policy is studied from the point of communications role in the state head’s image formation. Communication technologies and methods which were used by the Russian government during the formation of the monarch’s image are analysed.