The Manifesto on Unshakable Autocracy was issued by Tsar
Alexander III of Russia
Alexander III ( rus, Алекса́ндр III Алекса́ндрович, r=Aleksandr III Aleksandrovich; 10 March 18451 November 1894) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 13 March 1881 until his death in 18 ...
on April 29, 1881 (O.S.), about two months after the assassination of his father,
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Poland and Gra ...
. Influenced by, if not written by,
Konstantin Pobedonostsev
Konstantin Petrovich Pobedonostsev ( rus, Константи́н Петро́вич Победоно́сцев, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ pəbʲɪdɐˈnostsɨf; 30 November 1827 – 23 March 1907) was a Russian jurist, statesman, ...
, the Procurator of the
Holy Synod
In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod. For instance, the Holy Synod is a ruling body of the Georgian Orthodox C ...
, the manifesto rejected the more liberal reforms of his father (and some of his father's ministers) in favor of "unshakable autocracy" which had been given to the tsars as a sacred duty from God. The document summed up Alexander's counter reform policies.
In his book ''Russia: A 1,000-Year Chronicle Of The Wild East'', Martin Sixsmith compared the language of Alexander's document to
Ivan the Terrible's coronation speech. Sixsmith says that the "language is strikingly reminiscent of Ivan the Terrible's speech at his coronation in 1547: ''From this day I shall be the sole and absolute ruler, for a kingdom cannot be ruled without an iron hand...Broad and bounteous are our lands, but there is little order in them. Only absolute power can safeguard Russia..."
References
{{Reflist
1881 documents
1881 in the Russian Empire
19th century in the Russian Empire
Unshakable Autocracy