The Tsar Liberator
On 3 March 1861, Alexander II freed twenty-three million Russian serfs. For his troubles, he was blown apart by a bomb twenty years later. The country he tried to modernise would soon tear itself to pieces.
Russian Empire
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The Warning Shot
On 8 February 1904, Japan struck first at Port Arthur and shattered more than a fleet. Russia's defeat exposed the rot of Tsarism years before 1917 finished the job.