During the first part of his reign Alexander II enacted many major reforms, touching all aspects of Russian society.

The most important reform by Alexander II, and the one by which his name will forever be remembered, is the abolishment of serfdom in Russia. It was only a year after taking the throne that Alexander II made his famous statement that it would be "better to abolish serfdom from above than to wait until it begins to abolish itself from below." Indeed, at that time serf uprisings against their masters were increasing in number and intensity. Just a couple years later, in 1861, Alexander II signed an emancipation manifesto, which abolished serfdom in Russia once and for all. In Russia there were twenty million serfs of private landowners, all set free by the emancipation. In addition, thirty million other peasants were affected by it. Problems did arise (The amount of land that they received, for instance, was too little.), but the emancipation of the serfs is still one of the greatest moments in Russian history.

In 1864, Alexander II continued to make changes, reforming the legal system and making the judiciary branch an independent part of the government. Trials were held publicly, and a new class of lawyers in Russia was created. Members of all layers of society were now equal in the eyes of the law. Corporal punishment was abolished. Being modeled after the system of progressive western countries, Russia's judicial system now became one of the best in the world.

The newly found freedoms and spirit in Russia during these times, however, also provided the right environment for a number of revolutionary groups with their own philosophy and agenda to grow. In turn, Alexander II became less progressive and increasingly reactionary during the second half of his reign.

The most dangerous revolutionaries proved to be a group called the "Will of the People" which believed that terrorist acts and assassinations of top government officials was the swiftest way for them to change society and to overthrow the government. It was a member of this group that assassinated Alexander II on March 11, 1881.

On March 11, 1881, Alexander was traveling in a closed carriage from Mikhailovsky Palace to the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. An armed Cossack sat with the coach-driver and another six Cossacks followed on horseback. Behind them came a group of police officers in sledges. All along the route he was watched by members of the People's Will. On a street corner near the Catherine Canal, Sophia Perovskaya gave the signal to Nikolai Rysakov to throw his bomb at the Tsar's carriage. The bomb missed the carriage and instead landed amongst the Cossacks. The Tsar was unhurt but insisted on getting out of the carriage to check the condition of the injured men. Alexander II approached the man who threw the bomb to ask if he did it. In a few moments, another nearby terrorist and member of the same group threw another bomb between him and Alexander II. Fatally wounded with his legs completely mutilated, Alexander II's last wish was to take him to his palace to die, which he did in several hours.