Alexander III

Alexander III (March 10, 1845 – November 1, 1894) became Tsar of Russia in 1881. Though he is credited with the modernization of Russia, he used a secret police to cement his power and censored the press. Alexander III exiled all political dissidents to forced labor camps in Siberia.

Through a process known as Russification, he forced everyone to speak Russian and oppressed ethnic minorities and made them live in segregated areas subject to "pogroms".