Family of Emperor Nicholas I
Spouse. Nikolai's wife Alexandra Fedorovna (07/01/1798-10/20/1860), nee German princess Frederika-Louise-Charlotte-Wilhelmina, was born in Berlin in the family of the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm and was the sister of Emperor Wilhelm I. She married Nicholas, then Grand Duke, in 1817.
The marriage of Nikolai Pavlovich and Alexandra Feodorovna was a rare love marriage for the imperial family, which this time successfully combined with dynastic calculation. The empress herself subsequently described her feelings about marriage as follows: “I felt very, very happy when our hands joined; with complete confidence I gave my life into the hands of my Nicholas, and he never betrayed this hope.
Alexandra Fedorovna retained her fragile beauty and grace for a long time, and in the first years of marriage, Nikolai simply idolized her. Their family turned out to be quite prosperous in relation to the birth of children. Unlike the two older brothers, Nikolai became the happy father of seven legitimate offspring. His wife bore him four sons and three daughters: Tsarevich Alexander, Grand Dukes Constantine, Nicholas and Michael, Grand Duchesses Maria, Olga and Alexandra.
The father's favorite, who enjoyed his boundless trust, was the first-born Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich (04/17/1818-03/01/1881)- the future Emperor Alexander II. Brought up by the poet V. A. Zhukovsky, he grew up as a man with noble aspirations and impulses. In 1841, he became his wife Maria Alexandrovna (1824-1880), Princess Maximilian-Wilhelmina-Augusta-Sophia-Maria of Hesse-Darmstadt, daughter of the Grand Duke of Hesse (Ludwig II of Hesse-Darmstadt). While still an heir, Alexander Nikolayevich participated in government. He stayed in place of his father when he went on trips.
An outstanding personality was the second son of Nicholas I - Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich (09/09/1827-01/13/1892). The father-emperor's passion for the personality of Peter I affected his future. Contrary to the established tradition, from childhood he was assigned not to the ground guards regiment, but to the fleet. In 1831, at the age of four, the Grand Duke received the rank of Admiral General. In 1855, at the age of only 28, Konstantin began to manage the fleet as a naval minister. He turned out to be a very talented and active naval commander. Under him, sailing ships were replaced by steam ones, office work was simplified, corporal punishment of lower ranks was actually abolished earlier than in the army, capable officers and engineers were recruited to serve in the navy.
Konstantin Nikolaevich received a good education, was distinguished by a breadth of views, was known as a liberal in politics. He was one of the ardent supporters and an active promoter of the reforms of the era of Alexander II, especially the abolition of serfdom, which took place largely thanks to his support. Being from 1861 to 1863 the governor of the Kingdom of Poland, he advocated granting Poland greater rights within the Russian Empire. In 1865 he became chairman of the State Council.
After the death of Alexander II, Constantine, under pressure from his nephew, the Emperor Alexander III resigned from all public office and last years lived as a private person with his wife Alexandra Iosifovna, Princess of Saxe (daughter of the Duke of Saxe-Altenburg), whom he had been married to since 1848.
Their son Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich Romanov (1858-1913) one of the most famous grandsons of Nicholas I. He was born in Strelna, in the famous Konstantinovsky Palace, which now houses one of the residences of the President of Russia. Konstantin Jr. received an excellent home education. His father made sure that history was taught to him by a professor at St. Petersburg University, an outstanding scientist S. M. Solovyov and a no less famous author of historical novels K. N. Bestuzhev. Music theory was read to the young Grand Duke by G. A. Laroche, the author of works on Glinka and Tchaikovsky. His family loved music and literature. Konstantin Sr. was not only an outstanding military and statesman, but also the publisher of the once popular magazine "Marine Collection" (1848-1917), which published chapters from Goncharov's novel "Pallada Frigate", Ostrovsky's plays, stories and essays by Grigorovich , Pisemsky, Stanyukovich.
Konstantin Konstantinovich Romanov began his career as a military man. As a young midshipman, he made sea voyages on the frigates Gromoboy and Svetlana. At the age of 19 he took part in the Balkan War, in the fighting on the Danube, was awarded the Order of George of the 4th degree for bravery. After the fleet, he served in the Izmailovsky Guards Regiment, was the chief of the Tiflis Grenadier Regiment and the commander of the Preobrazhensky Life Guards. From 1889 until the end of his life, Konstantin Konstantinovich was president of the Academy of Sciences.
But Konstantin Konstantinovich Romanov gained the greatest fame and even fame in his lifetime as a poet, who published under the rather transparent pseudonym “K. R.". He wrote about himself: "... not because I am of a noble family, that royal blood flows in me, of the native Orthodox people, I will earn trust and love." K. R. published a lot, he had admirers in the capital and in the provinces, and among his friends were such famous figures of Russian culture as Tchaikovsky, Fet, Maikov. In a society of musicians, poets, artists, he was his own. Until now, Tchaikovsky's classic romance “I opened the window ...” to the verses of K. R. often sounds from the stage, and the poem “Poor Man” about the death of a simple soldier in the hospital has become a folk song. Poet Yevgeny Osetrov, our contemporary, writes that cripples and beggars sang "Poor fellow" in bazaars, marinas and on trains even after the Great Patriotic War, and in terms of popularity among the people it could only be compared with "The Death of the Varyag".
One of his best poems of 1887, “Dedication to the Queen of the Hellenes Olga Konstantinovna,” K. R. addressed to his sister Olga Romanova, married to the Greek queen:
You, you, my gentle angel,
I dedicate this work;
Oh, let it be loving and diligent
Your eyes will read it.
You gave me these lines
They are inspired by you
Let them be in a distant land
They are taken to you.
And if the chest hurts
Longing for our side
Let them then involuntarily
You will be reminded of me.
And let them help you
The one who is always and everywhere yours,
Who can't forget you
And whose soul is full of you.
Third son of Emperor Nicholas I Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich (Senior) (1831-1891) went on a military path. He had the rank of field marshal general, held the positions of inspector general of cavalry and engineering. In the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. was the commander-in-chief of the Danube army.
His son Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich (the Younger) (1856-1929) was a cavalry general, during the First World War he served as commander-in-chief of the Caucasian Front. He managed to survive during the years of the revolution and civil war, he ended his life in exile.
Subsequently, the youngest of the sons of Nicholas I played a large role in the state affairs of the empire - Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich (1832-1909). Also a professional military man, from 1862 to 1881 he was the governor of the Caucasus and the commander-in-chief of the Caucasian troops. Under him, Chechnya, Dagestan, the western regions of the Caucasus were pacified, new provinces and districts were established in the south of the Russian Empire. He participated in the Turkish war of 1877-1878, presided over the State Council from 1881.
Mikhail Nikolaevich was married to Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna, daughter of Duke Leopold of Baden. From this marriage he had five children: Grand Dukes Nikolai, Mikhail, George, Alexander and Grand Duchess Anastasia. Georgy Mikhailovich was the manager of the Russian Museum, and Alexander Mikhailovich was a major naval theorist, historian, bibliophile and one of the first Russian aviators.
The daughters of Emperor Nicholas I were destined for the traditional fate of the "Russian princesses" - to marry, forming a dynastic party beneficial for the state, and to engage in patronage and charity.
Older, Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna (1819 - 1876), in 1839 she became the wife of Duke Maximilian of Leuchtenberg. Her husband had a noble title and good family ties in Europe, but he did not have his own state, so their family lived in Russia. Maria Nikolaevna was the president of the Academy of Arts, chairman of the "Society for the Encouragement of Arts", made a great contribution to the development of domestic art.
Nikolai's beloved daughter also became an educated and artistically developed person. I– Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna (1822-1892). She received an excellent upbringing and a good education in the field of literature and linguistics, listening to lectures by famous poets P. A. Pletnev and V. A. Zhukovsky, philologist Archpriest G. P. Pavsky. In 1846, the Crown Prince of Württemberg, later King Charles I of Württemberg, became her husband. There were no children in this marriage, but Olga Alexandrovna entered the history of this small German state as the creator of many charitable institutions.
Romantically, but sadly, the fate of the youngest daughter of the emperor - Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna (1825-1844). Contemporaries noted that this "princess" was distinguished by rare beauty and great musical abilities. The girl grew up tender, graceful and painfully fragile. Her singing teacher, Italian Soliva, immediately drew attention not only to the beautiful voice of his ward, but also to her frequent cough. He offered to show her to doctors in Europe, but the court physicians felt that this advice undermined their own authority, and insisted on the dismissal of the teacher. After some time, the state of health of the Grand Duchess also worried the life physician Mandt, but the imperial family did not listen to him.
When Alexandra was 19 years old, her father and mother decided to marry her off to the heir to the Danish royal throne, Friedrich Wilhelm, son of Landgrave Wilhelm of Hesse-Kassal and Landgraves Louise Charlotte. In 1843, the groom arrived in St. Petersburg and stayed here for several months. During this time, young people managed to fall in love with each other and wanted to get married. The court doctors convinced the imperial family that Alexandra Nikolaevna's health was changing for the better, no one wanted to take Mandt's dissatisfied grumbling seriously. And the prince in love did not notice anything, he was already counting the days until the wedding.
The marriage of Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna and the young Landgrave Friedrich Wilhelm of Hesse-Kassal took place on January 14, 1844. The young settled in the Winter Palace. But their happiness was short-lived. Soon Alexandra became worse, she was diagnosed with consumption, which progressed rapidly. In the spring, she was transferred to Tsarskoe Selo in the hope of the healing power of the village air. But that didn't help either. On the night of July 29, Alexandra Nikolaevna prematurely gave birth to a dead child, and a few hours later she died herself. So untimely withered this marvelous beautiful flower in the garden of the imperial family. The tale of the beautiful love of a prince and a princess turned out to have a sad ending.
Nicholas could rightfully be proud of his children and grandchildren. He and his wife spent a lot of effort to organize their education and upbringing. The Grand Dukes and Princesses, by tradition, studied at home, and not in public or private educational institutions. In the palace, they were surrounded by a whole staff of highly qualified teachers, from whom their parents demanded strictness towards their students. The "study plan" for the heir to the throne, compiled by V. A. Zhukovsky himself, was designed for 12 years and included Russian and foreign languages, exact and natural sciences, philosophy, history and ethnography, as well as various sports, arts and handicrafts.
For an unlearned task or serious mistakes, children were severely punished. They could be put on their knees facing the wall, depriving them of entertainment and pleasure. All punishments were recorded in a special journal. Attempts to complain about teachers by parents were suppressed.
The children had to observe strict etiquette. At the table, they were not allowed to talk unless they were addressed by adults. For violation of etiquette followed the deprivation of dessert. After dinner they were allowed to play a little. At exactly 9 pm they were to retire to their rooms and go to bed.
At the same time, adults in the royal family always found time to communicate with the children. The heirs of the emperor felt the constant attention of their parents to themselves, their care. Grand dukes and princesses did not grow up in complete isolation. For children's holidays, peers were invited to the palace - the sons and daughters of courtiers, teachers and doctors, pupils of the cadet corps. Among them, the royal children and grandchildren had friends. So they brought up sociability and the habit of secular life, the ability to behave with people of different classes.
The emperor's sons later used this system in raising their own children. Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich recalled that his father, Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich, demanded that his sons sleep on simple iron beds with thin mattresses. The Grand Dukes Mikhailovichi rose at six in the morning, prayed, took a cold bath and had breakfast with tea and butter sandwiches. They were not offered any other food, so as not to indulge and accustom them to luxury, which is far from always possible to surround the life of an officer. Then followed several hours of classes until lunch, during which the children sat at the table with their parents.
From the early age the grand dukes and princesses were brought up with an awareness of the predestination of fate. Boys could choose between serving in the cavalry, artillery or navy. The girls were free to choose their hobbies: music, drawing, needlework, literary studies. Prince Alexander Mikhailovich recalled that his little brother Georgy once timidly said during dinner that he would like to become not a military man, but an artist and paint portraits. A cold silence hung around the table, incomprehensible to the child. He only knew he had done something wrong when the footman didn't put the raspberry ice cream that all the other kids were eating on his plate.
Such a strict, if not harsh, upbringing in the 19th - early 20th centuries. was accepted not only in the Romanov family, but also in many royal and ducal houses of Europe. It almost always gave good results. Children grew up prepared for many trials. Many of them, especially those who did not become the head of state, had to participate in military campaigns and battles, endure the hardships of officer life, see blood and death and not be afraid of shots and cannon fire.
As the younger Romanovs grew up, the parents relaxed their control a little. The youth had the opportunity to have fun at numerous balls and masquerades, for which no funds were spared at the Nikolaev court. The Grand Dukes looked after the pretty ladies-in-waiting, but at the same time they did not forget: in order to maintain their positions in the imperial family, the girlfriend of life must be chosen not only with the heart, but also with the head, her nobility must correspond to the status of a member royal dynasty. In the middle of the XIX century. grand dukes married only princesses, and grand duchesses married princes. All the hobbies of youth had to remain as such and not turn into a serious relationship.
Emperor Nicholas I himself demonstrated an example of an attitude towards family duty. He treated his wife in a knightly nobility. In his younger years, he was sincerely devoted to her. But over time, their relationship has changed somewhat. Alexandra Fedorovna was distinguished by fragile health. Frequent childbirth undermined him even more. The Empress fell ill more and more often, doctors insisted on rest, trips to southern and foreign resorts. The emperor was bored in her absence and, in order to unwind, began to start small affairs with the ladies of the court, with whom such a handsome man could not but be a success. Nikolai never advertised his novels, sparing the feelings and pride of his wife, whom he still respected.
He continued to adhere to the lifestyle of a respectable family man. Close to the imperial couple, the maid of honor A. O. Smirnova-Rosset left in her memoirs detailed description the usual daily routine of Nicholas I. The king got up early and after the morning toilet took a short walk. At nine o'clock he drank coffee in his study, and at ten o'clock he went to the Empress's quarters, then went about his business. At one or half-past one, Nikolai again visited the Empress and all the children, walked again. At four o'clock the whole family sat down to dine, at six the king went out into the air, and at seven he drank tea with his wife and children. In the evening he worked for several hours in his office, at half past nine he talked with his family and courtiers, had dinner and walked before going to bed. Around twelve, the emperor and the empress went to rest. After the wedding, they always slept in the same bed. Smirnova-Rosset, like many courtiers close to the tsar, was surprised when the tsar visited Nelidova.
Varvara Arkadyevna Nelidova for many years was the mistress of Nicholas I, in fact, his second wife. By coincidence, she was the native niece of E. I. Nelidova, the favorite of his father Paul I. But, unlike his parent, Nikolai never forgot about his marital and paternal duty and was not going to divorce Alexandra Feodorovna, who was often ill. The Empress knew about this and was rather calm about her husband's cordial affection.
In this situation, the disinterestedness of V. A. Nelidova, who, apparently, sincerely loved Nikolai and agreed to any conditions, is surprising, just to stay close to him. Another imperial lady-in-waiting A.F. Tyutcheva, who met the royal favorite in the early 1850s, spoke of her like this: “Her beauty, somewhat mature, nevertheless, was still in its full bloom. She must have been about 38 at the time. It is known what position public rumor attributed to her, which, however, seemed to be contradicted by her demeanor, modest and almost severe in comparison with other courtiers. She carefully hid the grace that women usually flaunt in a position like hers.
Protecting his wife's pride and the future of the dynasty, Nikolai did not officially recognize the children born to him from his relationship with Nelidova. The imperial bastards were adopted by the count Petr Andreevich Kleinmikhel (1793-1869). Such a service rendered to the sovereign allowed him to take the position of an all-powerful temporary worker in the last years of the reign of Nicholas I. Kleinmichel was the head of communications and public buildings. He supervised the construction of the Petersburg-Moscow railway. Immediately after the death of Nikolai Kleinmichel, he was dismissed from all government positions for abuse of service.
The court life of the first two decades of the reign of Nicholas was marked large quantity balls and masquerades. Nicholas especially liked the entertainment in the Anichkov Palace, in which he and his wife lived while still being the Grand Duke and Princess. The emperor loved to dance and court young court ladies. Often these courtship ended in a little love adventure. A historical anecdote has been preserved that once, at a masquerade, an already middle-aged tsar was carried away by an elegant young coquette in a mask. All evening he hung around her and finally invited her into his carriage. When the mysterious counterpart of the emperor took off her mask in a closed carriage, the tsar saw the laughing face of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna, who wished to play a prank on her father in this way.
The swan song of Nikolai - a brilliant gentleman and a master of subtle flirting - was the winter of 1845, imprinted in the memory of the courtiers with an endless series of brilliant balls and parties. The maid of honor A. O. Smirnova-Rosset recalled these winter entertainments in the following way: “The Empress was still beautiful, her beautiful shoulders and arms were still magnificent and full, and by candlelight, at the ball, dancing, she still overshadowed the first beauties. In the Anichkov Palace they danced every week in the White Drawing Room; no more than a hundred people were invited. The sovereign was especially concerned with Baroness Krüdner, but he flirted like a young woman with everyone and rejoiced at the rivalry between Buturlina and Krüdner. The king knew how to weave love affairs and, despite his already considerable age, still enjoyed it.
In the last third of the reign of Nicholas, contemporaries increasingly began to notice that the emperor seemed to be weighed down not only by his state duties, but also by the very need to maintain the luxurious lifestyle traditional for his dignity, which he loved so much in his youth. The well-known artist and art critic A. N. Benois at one time accurately noticed a characteristic feature of the palace architecture and interior of the Nikolaev time: for his family, you can see the desire for intimacy, comfort, convenience and simplicity. When the empress left for treatment at the next resort, the king lived quite simply, almost like an ordinary officer in the barracks.
Approaching his fiftieth birthday, Nikolai felt more and more disappointed in life. The second Peter the Great obviously did not work out of him. Two decades of his reign were behind him, and he did not accomplish any brilliant military victories or grandiose reforms. Huge and methodical government job, which the sovereign performed from day to day, did not bring any significant results. Often Nikolai spent eighteen hours a day in labor and did not receive any benefit or pleasure from this. The maid of honor Smirnova-Rosset recalled how the tsar once said to her: “It will soon be twenty years since I have been sitting in this beautiful place. Often such days work out that I, looking at the sky, say: why am I not there? I'm so tired..."
Family life also became increasingly depressing. After the brilliant winter of 1845, the empress had to leave for Italy for several months in the spring: her health was greatly shaken. After this illness, Alexandra Fedorovna began to noticeably fade, which could not help but worry Nikolai. He valued in the empress a devoted friend and mother of his children and was afraid to lose her.
In such a depressed state, the emperor met 1848, when another wave of revolutions covered Europe. Nikolai again felt himself in demand in the role of a pan-European gendarme. Has begun last period his reign, which went down in history under the name of "Gloomy Seven Years".
By order of Nicholas I, a 300,000-strong army was advanced to the western borders of Russia, ready to suppress any rebellion in Prussia, Austria or France. In 1849, at the request of the Austrian emperor, Russian troops defeated the revolution in Hungary and prolonged the agony of the House of Habsburg for another 60 years.
Inside the country, in order to stop any revolutionary sentiments, they introduced the most severe censorship in the press. Rumors are spreading about the possible closure of universities. The former favorite of Nikolai, the Minister of Education S. S. Uvarov, was dismissed for a timid article in defense of university education.
Nicholas is doing everything to preserve the system of conservative autocratic power he built, but it is collapsing before his eyes, unable to withstand the last blow - a clash with major European powers during the Crimean War of 1853-1856.
After the successful suppression of the Hungarian revolution, Nicholas I finally believed in the power and invincibility of his army. The courtiers tirelessly praised the greatness of the empire. In 1850, the 25th anniversary of the "prosperous reign" of the emperor was celebrated with unprecedented splendor and splendor. Encouraged by the atmosphere of jingoistic patriotism that reigned in his inner circle, Nicholas believed that he could deliver a decisive blow to weak Turkey and gain complete control over the Black Sea straits. The old Byzantine project with the capture of Constantinople has surfaced again.
But Britain and France took the side of Turkey. A 60,000-strong Allied expeditionary force landed in the Crimea, armed with the latest military equipment of the time. Russia, which had the largest army in Europe, suffered a shameful defeat. She lost the entire Black Sea fleet. The heroism of ordinary soldiers and officers was not enough to resist the latest English rifles and long-range guns. A well-known politician, the future Minister of Internal Affairs P. A. Valuev wrote then about the Russian army and the empire as a whole: “Glitter from above, and rot from below.”
Emperor Nicholas I experienced this national humiliation almost the hardest. His army and navy, which he loved so much and which he was so proud of all his life, not only failed to conquer Turkish territories, but were not even able to defend their own. The usual commander-in-chief in his place had to resign as a man of honor. However, the law did not provide for such an opportunity for the emperor. Only death could save him from shame. The maid of honor A.F. Tyutcheva wrote: “In short term For a year and a half, the unfortunate emperor saw the scaffolding of that illusory grandeur crumbling under him, on which he imagined that he had raised Russia. And yet it was precisely in the midst of the crisis of the last catastrophe that the true greatness of this man was brilliantly revealed. He was mistaken, but honestly wrong, and when he was forced to admit his mistake and its disastrous consequences for Russia, which he loved above all, his heart broke, and he died. He died not because he did not want to survive the humiliation of his own ambition, but because he could not survive the humiliation of Russia.
In late January - early February 1855, a severe influenza epidemic took place in St. Petersburg. Almost the entire imperial family, many courtiers and servants, were ill. Nicholas I also fell ill. The flu turned into pneumonia, which neither the body of the patient himself nor the court physicians could cope with. Nicholas felt that he was dying. With him almost inseparably was the eldest son and heir Alexander. In a moment of revelation, his father told him: “I hand over my team to you, unfortunately, not in the order I wanted, leaving a lot of trouble and worries.”
The king's illness lasted two weeks. February 18, 1855 Nikolai died. Grand Duke Alexander Nikolaevich left in his diary the following entry about his father’s last minutes: “Mandt (imperial medical officer. – L. S.) Behind me. The sovereign asked Bazhanov (his secretary. - L. S.). Communion with all of us. Head is fresh. Suffocation. Strong torment. Says goodbye to everyone - with children, with others. I'm on my knees holding my hand. Pity her. Feels cold towards the end. At 1/4 of the 1st it's all over. Last terrible torment. Later, the wife of the heir, who was present at the death of her father-in-law, claimed that shortly before his death, shortness of breath stopped for several minutes, and Nikolai was able to speak. His last words to his eldest son were: "Keep everything - keep everything." At the same time, the emperor strongly squeezed Alexander's hand, showing that it was necessary to hold tightly.
After the death of Nicholas in St. Petersburg, it was rumored that the tsar had committed suicide. But there are no serious grounds for these gossips. If the emperor did anything to hasten his departure, then it was most likely an unconscious non-resistance to the disease that happened so opportunely.
Nicholas ruled Russia for 30 years. This is one of the longest reigns in the history of the Romanov dynasty. The sadder is that it was not happy for the country. The blame for everything is the personality of the emperor. Probably, the most accurate and figurative description of Nicholas I was given by A.F. Tyutcheva, who knew him well, the maid of honor, whose memoirs “At the Court of Two Emperors” we have repeatedly quoted: “Deeply sincere in his convictions, often heroic and great in his devotion to that cause, in which he saw the mission entrusted to him by providence, one can say that Nicholas I was the Don Quixote of autocracy, a terrible and malicious Don Quixote, because he possessed omnipotence, which allowed him to subordinate everything to his fantastic and outdated theory and trample underfoot the most legitimate aspirations and rights of his century."
But Nicholas I still benefited his empire: he raised the heir Alexander Nikolayevich a modern man, with strong character. And he was ready to carry out a significant part of the reforms that society expected first from his uncle Alexander I, and then from his father. The trouble is that these reforms are at least half a century late.
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Nicholas I Pavlovich - born: June 25 (July 6), 1796. Date of death: February 18 (March 2), 1855 (aged 58).
Nikolaev era in Russian history in itself is amazing: an unprecedented flourishing of culture and police arbitrariness, the strictest discipline and widespread bribery, economic growth and backwardness in everything. But before coming to power, the future autocrat hatched completely different plans, the implementation of which could make the state one of the richest and most democratic in Europe.
The reign of Emperor Nicholas 1 is usually called a period of gloomy reaction and hopeless stagnation, a period of despotism, barracks order and graveyard silence, and hence the assessment of the emperor himself as a strangler of revolutions, a jailer of the Decembrists, a gendarme of Europe, an incorrigible martinet, "a fiend of uniform enlightenment", "a boa constrictor , 30 years strangling Russia. Let's try to figure everything out.
The starting point of the reign of Nicholas 1 was December 14, 1825 - the day when the Decembrist uprising took place. He became not only a test of the character of the new emperor, but also had a significant impact on the subsequent formation of his thoughts and actions. After the death of Emperor Alexander 1 on November 19, 1825, a situation of the so-called interregnum arose. The emperor died childless, and his middle brother Constantine was to inherit the throne. However, back in 1823, Alexander signed a secret manifesto appointing his younger brother Nicholas as heir.
In addition to Alexander, Konstantin and their mother, only three people knew about this: Metropolitan Filaret, A. Arakcheev and A. Golitsyn. Nicholas himself, until the death of his brother, did not suspect this, therefore, after his death, he swore allegiance to Konstantin, who was in Warsaw. From this, according to V. Zhukovsky, a three-week “struggle not for power, but for the sacrifice of honor and duty by the throne” began. Only on December 14, when Constantine confirmed his renunciation of the throne, Nicholas issued a manifesto about his accession. But by this time, conspirators from secret societies began to spread rumors in the army, as if Nicholas intended to usurp the rights of Constantine.
December 14, morning - Nikolai familiarized the Guards generals and colonels with the will of Alexander 1 and documents on the abdication of Constantine and read out a manifesto on his accession to the throne. All unanimously recognized him as the legitimate monarch and pledged to swear in the troops. The Senate and the Synod have already sworn in, but in the Moscow regiment, the soldiers, incited by the conspirators, refused to take the oath.
There were even armed skirmishes, and the regiment went to the Senate Square, where it was joined by part of the soldiers from the Life Guards of the Grenadier Regiment and the guards crew. The rebellion flared up. “Tonight,” Nicholas 1 said to A. Benkendorf, “perhaps both of us will not be in the world, but at least we will die, having fulfilled our duty.”
Just in case, he gave the order to prepare crews to take his mother, wife and children to Tsarskoye Selo. “It is not known what awaits us,” Nikolai turned to his wife. “Promise me to show courage and, if I have to die, to die with honor.”
Intending to prevent bloodshed, Nicholas 1 with a small retinue went to the rebels. They fired at him. The exhortations of either Metropolitan Seraphim or Grand Duke Michael did not help. And the shot of the Decembrist P. Kakhovsky in the back of the St. Petersburg governor-general made it completely clear: the negotiating ways have exhausted themselves, one cannot do without buckshot. “I am an emperor,” Nikolai later wrote to his brother, “but at what cost. My God! At the cost of the blood of my subjects." But, based on what the Decembrists really wanted to do with the people and the state, Nicholas 1 was right in his determination to quickly suppress the rebellion.
Consequences of the uprising
“I saw,” he recalled, “that either I should take it upon myself to shed the blood of some and save almost certainly everything, or, sparing myself, decisively sacrifice the state.” At first, he had an idea - to forgive everyone. However, when during the investigation it turned out that the performance of the Decembrists was not an accidental outbreak, but the fruit of a long conspiracy, which set as its task, first of all, regicide and a change in the form of government, personal impulses faded into the background. There was a trial and punishment to the full extent of the law: 5 people were executed, 120 were sent to hard labor. But that's all!
Whatever they write or say for Nicholas 1, he, as a person, is much more attractive than his "friends on the 14th". After all, some of them (Ryleev and Trubetskoy), having incited people to speak, did not come to the square themselves; they were going to destroy the whole royal family, including women and children. After all, it was they who had the idea, in case of failure, to set fire to the capital and retreat to Moscow. After all, it was they (Pestel) who were going to establish a 10-year dictatorship, distract the people with wars of conquest, bring in 113,000 gendarmes, which was 130 times more than under Nicholas 1.
What was the emperor like?
By nature, the emperor was a rather generous person and knew how to forgive, not attaching importance to personal insults and believing that he should be above this. He could, for example, before the entire regiment ask for forgiveness from an officer unjustly offended by him, and now, given the awareness of the conspirators of their guilt and the complete repentance of most of them, he could demonstrate "mercy to the fallen." Could. But he did not do this, although the fate of the majority of the Decembrists and their families was mitigated as much as possible.
For example, Ryleev's wife received a financial assistance of 2,000 rubles, and Pavel Pestel's brother Alexander was given a lifetime pension of 3,000 rubles a year and he was assigned to the cavalry guard regiment. Even the children of the Decembrists, who were born in Siberia, with the consent of their parents, were determined in the best educational institutions at public expense.
It would be appropriate to cite the statement of Count D.A. Tolstoy: “What the great sovereign would have done for his people if he had not met December 14, 1825 at the first step of his reign, is unknown, but this sad event should have had on him a huge impact. Apparently, one should attribute to him that dislike for any liberalism, which was constantly noticed in the orders of Emperor Nicholas ... "And this is well illustrated by the words of the tsar himself:" The revolution is on the threshold of Russia, but, I swear, it will not penetrate into it until it remains in me breath of life by the grace of God I will be emperor." From the time of December 14, 1825, Nicholas 1 celebrated this date every year, considering it the day of his true accession to the throne.
What many noted in the emperor is the desire for order and legality.
“My fate is strange,” Nicholas 1 wrote in one of his letters, “they tell me that I am one of the most powerful sovereigns in the world, and I should say that everything, that is, everything that is permissible, should be for me it is possible that I could, therefore, at my own discretion, do what I please. In fact, however, the opposite is true for me. And if I am asked about the reason for this anomaly, there is only one answer: duty!
Yes, this is not an empty word for someone who is accustomed to understand it from youth, like me. This word has a sacred meaning, before which every personal impulse recedes, everything must fall silent before this one feeling and yield to it until you disappear into the grave. That is my slogan. He is tough, I confess, it is more painful for me under him than I can express, but I am created to suffer.
Contemporaries about Nicholas 1
This sacrifice in the name of duty is worthy of respect, and the French politician A. Lamartine said well: “It is impossible not to respect a monarch who demanded nothing for himself and fought only for principles.”
The maid of honor A. Tyutcheva wrote about Nicholas 1: “He had an irresistible charm, could charm people ... Extremely unpretentious in everyday life, already being an emperor, he slept on a hard camp bed, hiding himself in a simple overcoat, observed moderation in food, preferred simple food, and almost did not drink alcohol. He stood up for discipline, but he himself was above all disciplined. Order, clarity, organization, the utmost clarity in actions - that's what he demanded of himself and others. I worked 18 hours a day."
Principles of Government
The emperor paid great attention to the Decembrists' criticism of the orders that existed before him, trying to clarify for himself a possible positive beginning in their plans. He then brought close to him two of the most prominent initiators and conductors of the liberal undertakings of Alexander 1 - M. Speransky and V. Kochubey, who had long since departed from their former constitutional views, who were to lead the work on creating a code of laws and reforming public administration.
“I have noted and will always celebrate,” the emperor said, “those who want fair demands and want them to come from legitimate authority ...” He also invited N. Mordvinov to work, whose views had previously attracted the attention of the Decembrists, and then often disagreed with government decisions. The emperor raised Mordvinov to the dignity of a count and awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called.
But in general, people who think independently irritated Nicholas I. He often admitted that he preferred not smart, but obedient performers. Hence his constant difficulties in personnel policy and the selection of worthy employees. Nevertheless, Speransky's work on the codification of laws successfully ended with the publication of the Code of Laws. The situation was worse with regard to resolving the issue of alleviating the situation of the peasants. True, within the framework of government guardianship, it was forbidden to sell serfs at public auctions with the fragmentation of families, give them as gifts, give them to factories or exile them to Siberia at their discretion.
The landlords were given the right to release the householders by mutual consent to freedom, and they even had the right to acquire real estate. When the estates were sold, the peasants received the right to freedom. All this paved the way for the reforms of Alexander II, but led to new types of bribery and arbitrariness in relation to the peasants on the part of officials.
Law and autocracy
Much attention was paid to education and upbringing. Nicholas 1 raised his first-born son Alexander in a Spartan way and declared: “I want to educate a man in my son before I make him a sovereign.” His teacher was the poet V. Zhukovsky, teachers the best specialists countries: K. Arseniev, A. Pletnev and others. Alexander 1 was taught the law by M. Speransky, who convinced the heir: “Every right, and therefore the right of autocracy, is right because it is based on truth. Where truth ends and untruth begins, right ends and autocracy begins.
Nicholas 1 shared the same views. A. Pushkin also thought about the combination of intellectual and moral education, who, at the request of the tsar, compiled a note “On Public Education”. By this time, the poet had already completely departed from the views of the Decembrists. And the emperor himself set an example of service to duty. During the cholera epidemic in Moscow, the tsar went there. The Empress brought children to him, trying to keep him from traveling. “Take them away,” said Nicholas 1, “thousands of my children are suffering in Moscow now.” For ten days, the emperor visited cholera barracks, ordered the construction of new hospitals, shelters, and provided financial and food assistance to the poor.
Domestic politics
If in relation to revolutionary ideas, Nicholas 1 pursued an isolationist policy, then the material inventions of the West attracted his close attention, and he liked to repeat: "We are engineers." New factories began to appear, railways and highways were laid, the volume industrial production doubled, finances stabilized. The number of the poor in European Russia was no more than 1%, while in European countries it ranged from 3 to 20%.
Much attention was also paid to the natural sciences. By order of the emperor, observatories were equipped in Kazan, Kyiv, near St. Petersburg; different scientific societies appeared. Nicholas 1 paid special attention to the archeographic commission, which was engaged in the study of ancient monuments, analysis and publication of ancient acts. With him appeared many educational institutions, including Kyiv University, St. Petersburg Institute of Technology, Technical School, military and maritime academy, 11 cadet corps, higher school jurisprudence and a number of others.
It is curious that, at the request of the emperor, in the construction of temples, volost administrations, schools, etc., it was prescribed to use the canons of ancient Russian architecture. No less interesting is the fact that it was during the "gloomy" 30-year reign of Nicholas 1 that an unprecedented surge of Russian science and culture took place. What names! Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Zhukovsky, Tyutchev, Koltsov, Odoevsky, Pogodin, Granovsky, Bryullov, Kiprensky, Tropinin, Venetsianov, Beauvais, Montferan, Tone, Rossi, Glinka, Verstovsky, Dargomyzhsky, Lobachevsky, Jacobi, Struve, Shchepkin, Mochalov, Karatygin and other brilliant talents.
The emperor supported many of them financially. New magazines appeared, university public readings were organized, literary circles and salons opened their activities, where any political, literary, philosophical issues were discussed. The emperor personally took A. Pushkin under his protection, forbidding F. Bulgarin to publish any criticism of him in the Northern Bee, and invited the poet to write new fairy tales, because he considered his old ones to be highly moral. But… Why is the Nicholas era usually described in such gloomy terms?
As they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Building, as it seemed to him, an ideal state, the tsar essentially turned the country into a huge barracks, introducing only one thing into the minds of people - obedience with the help of cane discipline. And now they have reduced the admission of students to universities, established control over censorship itself, and expanded the rights of gendarmes. The works of Plato, Aeschylus, Tacitus were banned; the works of Kantemir, Derzhavin, Krylov were censored; entire historical periods were excluded from consideration.
Foreign policy
During the period of intensification of the revolutionary movement in Europe, the emperor remained faithful to his allied duty. Based on the decisions of the Congress of Vienna, he helped to suppress the revolutionary movement in Hungary. As a sign of "gratitude", Austria allied itself with England and France, who sought to weaken Russia at the first opportunity. It was necessary to pay attention to the words of the member of the English Parliament T. Attwood in relation to Russia: "... It will take a little time ... and these barbarians will learn to use the sword, bayonet and musket with almost the same skill as civilized people." Hence the conclusion - as soon as possible to declare war on Russia.
Bureaucracy
But it was not the loss in the Crimean War that was the most terrible defeat of Nicholas 1. There were worse defeats. The emperor lost the main war to his officials. Under him, their number increased from 16 to 74,000. The bureaucracy became an independent force acting according to its own laws, capable of torpedoing any attempts at reform, which weakened the state. And there was no need to talk about bribery. So during the reign of Nicholas 1, there was an illusion of the country's prosperity. The king understood all this.
Last years. Death
“Unfortunately,” he admitted, “more than often you are forced to use the services of people whom you do not respect ...” Already by 1845, many noted the emperor’s depression. “I am working to stun myself,” he wrote to King Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia. And what is such a recognition worth: “For almost 20 years now I have been sitting in this beautiful place. Often such days happen that, looking at the sky, I say: why am I not there? I'm so tired".
At the end of January 1855, the autocrat fell ill with acute bronchitis, but continued to work. As a result, pneumonia began, and on February 18, 1855, he died. Before his death, he told his son Alexander: “I wanted to take on all the difficult, all the hard, to leave you a kingdom of peace, order and happiness. Providence judged otherwise. Now I’m going to pray for Russia and for you…”
Exactly 200 years have passed since the Russian Emperor Alexander I and the Prussian King Wilhelm III officially announced the engagement of Charlotte Lotchen and Tsarevich Nikolai Pavlovich in Berlin.
Their marriage has endured many trials. In order to save the family, the daughter of the Prussian king Charlotte, when she adopted Orthodoxy, named Alexandra Feodorovna, had to come to terms with the role of the empress, the rigidity of her husband and his regular betrayals.
german beauty
Charlotte was born to William III and Queen Louise in 1798. The mother of the future Russian Empress was one of the first beauties of her time, who was favored by Napoleon and the Russian Tsar Alexander.
Nicholas I. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
The grown-up Charlotte was married to the brother of the Russian Emperor, Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich, which was solemnly announced in early November 1815. The couple was considered by that time one of the most beautiful in Europe. Their relations from the very beginning were very warm, despite the fact that this alliance was aimed primarily at strengthening Russian-German friendship. At the same time, the future spouses did not count on the crown, since Constantine was considered Alexander's heir.
A magnificent wedding was played in 1816. Charlotte of Prussia converted to Orthodoxy and became Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna. The wife of the future Tsar Nicholas I was well received at court, even the widowed mother-in-law Maria Feodorovna, known for her heavy disposition, warmly received her daughter-in-law.
The Russian language was taught to Alexandra Feodorovna by Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky, with whom the future empress struck up a strong friendship. Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin was also fascinated by her special. Alexandra Fedorovna, nicknamed at the court of Lalla-Ruk, the poet captured in the following lines:
... into a silent tight circle,
Like a winged lily
Hesitating, Lalla Rook enters,
And over the drooping crowd
Shines with a royal head
And quietly curls and glides
A star-harita among the haritas.
Nervous tic
The first-born appeared in the royal family in 1818. Alexandra Feodorovna went to give birth to her son from St. Petersburg to Moscow. There, the future Emperor Alexander II was born, who was destined to finish his father's work and abolish serfdom.
A difficult moment in the life of the family occurred after the death of Emperor Alexander I. He bequeathed that after his departure, his brother, Nikolai, should ascend the throne. To do this, Constantine had to abdicate, who was pathologically afraid of becoming king and being strangled, like his father. The eldest heir refused to return to St. Petersburg from Warsaw, and in the meantime there was "distemper" in the country. The interregnum led to the Decembrist uprising on Senate Square on December 14, 1825. For Nikolai and Alexandra Feodorovna, this day was one of the most terrible. They understood that not only the imperial crown, but also their lives could end. The future empress, after the upheavals, began to suffer from a nervous tic. The character of Nicholas after this uprising became stubborn and cruel, which further alienated him from his wife.
According to the memoirs of historians, Alexandra Fedorovna asked her husband to pardon the Decembrists, but he flatly refused, reminding her that these people wanted to kill their children.
Love on the side
It became a tradition for the family to celebrate the birthday of the Empress. In the summer of 1828, Nikolai and Alexandra Feodorovna visited Berlin. The 30th anniversary of the queen was celebrated here. Europe remembered the grandiose holiday under the name of the White Rose - that is how the Empress was poetically called. Nicholas I himself left for Russia, where he prepared a gift for his wife - a cottage in Peterhof. The palace was decorated in a pseudo-Gothic style, and the coat of arms became White Rose- favorite flower of the Empress.
Emperor Nicholas I on Senate Square on December 14, 1825. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
In the 1830s, public masquerades came into vogue. Here, the upper classes could feel more at ease and start love affairs. Meanwhile, the heyday of masquerades at that time is also associated with a significant change in the intimate life of the august couple. The frequent childbirth of Alexandra Feodorovna undermined her health. By 1832, doctors completely forbade her to have an intimate life, which is why Nicholas I had to come to terms with the need to refrain from intimacy with his wife. At masquerades, the king began to take one mistress after another. He did not tell his wife about this, but carefully monitored the fidelity of Alexandra Feodorovna. He even personally began to approve the list of those who would dance with the empress at official events. More than once a year, the same surname was not repeated in this list. A small hobby of the Empress with Prince Alexander Trubetskoy was severely suppressed by the emperor - the suitor was quickly sent abroad.
Nicholas I, who showed signs of attention to a large number court ladies, eventually flared strong feeling to Varvara Nelidova, who was also the native niece of his father's favorite. The new mistress of the tsar was the maid of honor of Alexandra Feodorovna. The queen, who could not help but notice the change in her wife, staged a riot. In 1845 she went to Italy and took Varvara Nelidova with her. Two weeks later, Nicholas I could not stand it and went after the travelers. They managed to discuss the extremely delicate situation in Naples and remove all questions. The three of them returned to St. Petersburg.
One by the bed
In 1853 the Crimean War broke out. Sevastopol fell, the landing of the Anglo-French troops in the vicinity of St. Petersburg was actively discussed. The betrayal of the former allies greatly crippled the king. Nicholas I eventually caught a bad cold and burned down from illness on March 2, 1855. Alexandra Fyodorovna was at his bedside during the last hours. The tsar, who observed decency, did not let Varvara Nelidova to his bed, who was not far from the door of his bedroom at the time of the tragedy.
The emperor left his mistress 200 thousand rubles. Nelidova decided to donate everything to charity and was left without a livelihood. Surprisingly, Alexandra Fedorovna forgave her rival and provided her with a court position. The memory of Nicholas I made them best friends until the end of their lives.
The Empress spent the rest of her life in foreign resorts - the damp climate of St. Petersburg greatly affected her health. Alexandra Feodorovna died on October 20, 1860. Varvara Nelidova survived her by 37 years, having managed to catch the coronation of her friend's great-grandson, who became the last Russian emperor.
The personality of Emperor Nicholas I is very controversial. Thirty years of reign is a series of paradoxical phenomena:
- an unprecedented flourishing of culture and manic censorship;
- total political control and prosperity of corruption;
- rise in industrial production and economic backwardness from European countries;
- control over the army and its impotence.
Statements of contemporaries and real historical facts also cause a lot of controversy, so it is difficult to objectively assess
Childhood of Nicholas I
Nikolai Pavlovich was born on June 25, 1796 and became the third son of the imperial Romanov couple. Very little Nikolai was raised by Baroness Charlotte Karlovna von Lieven, to whom he became very attached and adopted some character traits from her, such as strength of character, stamina, heroism, and openness. It was then that his desire for military affairs was already manifested. Nikolai loved to watch military parades, divorces, and play military toys. And already at the age of three he put on his first military uniform of the Life Guards Horse Regiment.
He suffered the very first shock at the age of four, when his father Emperor Pavel Petrovich died. Since then, the responsibility of raising the heirs fell on the shoulders of the widow Maria Feodorovna.
Nikolai Pavlovich's mentor
Since 1801 and over the next seventeen years, Nikolai's mentor was Lieutenant General Matvey Ivanovich Lamzdorf, the former director of the gentry (first) cadet corps under Emperor Paul. Lamzdorf did not have the slightest idea about the methods of educating royalty - future rulers - and about any educational activity in general. His appointment was justified by the desire of Empress Maria Feodorovna to protect her sons from being carried away by military affairs, and this was Lamzdorf's main goal. But instead of getting the princes interested in other pursuits, he went against all their wishes. For example, while accompanying the young princes on their trip to France in 1814, where they were eager to take part in hostilities against Napoleon, Lamzdorf deliberately drove them very slowly, and the princes arrived in Paris when the battle had already ended. Due to the incorrectly chosen tactics, Lamzdorf's educational activity did not achieve its goal. When Nicholas I married, Lamzdorf was relieved of his duties as a mentor.
Hobbies
The Grand Duke diligently and passionately studied all the intricacies of military science. In 1812, he was eager to go to war with Napoleon, but his mother did not let him go. In addition, the future emperor was fond of engineering, fortification, and architecture. But Nikolai did not like the humanitarian disciplines and was negligent in their study. Subsequently, he greatly regretted this and even tried to fill in the gaps in training. But he never managed to do this.
Nikolai Pavlovich was fond of painting, played the flute, loved opera and ballet. He had good artistic taste.
The future emperor had a beautiful appearance. The growth of Nicholas 1 - 205 cm, thin, broad-shouldered. The face is slightly elongated, the eyes are blue, always a stern look. Nicholas had excellent physical fitness and good health.
Marriage
Elder brother Alexander I in 1813, having visited Silesia, chose Nicholas a bride - the daughter of the King of Prussia Charlotte. This marriage was supposed to strengthen Russian-Prussian relations in the fight against Napoleon, but unexpectedly for everyone, the young people sincerely fell in love with each other. On July 1, 1817 they were married. Charlotte of Prussia in Orthodoxy became Alexandra Feodorovna. The marriage turned out to be happy and large. The Empress bore Nicholas seven children.
After the wedding, Nicholas 1, whose biography and interesting facts are presented to your attention in the article, began to command the guards division, and also took up the duties of inspector general for engineering.
Doing what he loved, the Grand Duke treated his duties very responsibly. He opened company and battalion schools under the engineering troops. In 1819, the Main Engineering School (now Nikolaevskaya engineering academy). Thanks to his excellent memory for faces, which allows even ordinary soldiers to be remembered, Nikolai won respect in the army.
The death of Alexander 1
In 1820, Alexander told Nicholas and his wife that Konstantin Pavlovich, the next heir to the throne, intended to renounce his right due to childlessness, divorce and remarriage, and Nicholas should become the next emperor. In this regard, Alexander signed a manifesto that approved the abdication of Konstantin Pavlovich and the appointment of Nikolai Pavlovich as heir to the throne. Alexander, as if feeling his imminent death, bequeathed to read the document immediately after his death. November 19, 1825 Alexander I died. Nicholas, despite the manifesto, was the first to swear allegiance to Prince Konstantin. It was a very noble and honest act. After some period of uncertainty, when Constantine did not officially abdicate the throne, but also refused to take the oath. The growth of Nicholas 1 was rapid. He decided to become the next emperor.
Bloody beginning of reign
On December 14, on the day of the oath of Nicholas I, an uprising (called the Decembrist uprising) was organized, aimed at overthrowing the autocracy. The uprising was crushed, the surviving participants were sent into exile, five were executed. The emperor's first impulse was to pardon everyone, but the fear of a palace coup forced him to organize a court to the fullest extent of the law. Nevertheless, Nicholas acted generously with those who wanted to kill him and his entire family. There are even confirmed facts that the wives of the Decembrists received monetary compensation, and children born in Siberia could study in the best educational institutions at the expense of the state.
This event influenced the course of the further reign of Nicholas 1. All his activities were aimed at preserving autocracy.
Domestic politics
The reign of Nicholas 1 began when he was 29 years old. Accuracy and exactingness, responsibility, the struggle for justice, combined with high efficiency were the outstanding qualities of the emperor. His character was influenced by the years of army life. He led a rather ascetic lifestyle: he slept on a hard bed, covering himself with an overcoat, observed moderation in food, did not drink alcohol and did not smoke. Nikolai worked 18 hours a day. He was very demanding in the first place to himself. He considered it his duty to preserve autocracy, and all his political activity served this purpose.
Russia under Nicholas 1 underwent the following changes:
- Centralization of power and the creation of a bureaucratic apparatus of management. The emperor only wanted order, control and accountability, but in essence it turned out that the number of bureaucratic posts increased many times over and with them the number and size of bribes increased. Nikolai himself understood this and told his eldest son that only the two of them did not steal in Russia.
- Solution of the issue of serfs. Thanks to a series of reforms, the number of serfs was significantly reduced (from 58% to 35% in about 45 years), they received rights, the protection of which was controlled by the state. The complete abolition of serfdom did not happen, but the reform served as the starting point in this matter. Also at this time, an education system for peasants began to take shape.
- The emperor paid special attention to order in the army. Contemporaries criticized him for paying too much attention to the troops, while the morale of the army was of little interest to him. Frequent checks, reviews, punishments for the slightest errors distracted the soldiers from their main tasks, made them weak. But was it really so? During the reign of Emperor Nicholas 1, Russia fought with Persia and Turkey in 1826-1829, and in the Crimea in 1853-1856. In the wars with Persia and Turkey, Russia won. The Crimean War led to Russia's loss of influence in the Balkans. But historians call the reason for the defeat of the Russians the economic backwardness of Russia in comparison with the enemy, including the existence of serfdom. But a comparison of human losses in the Crimean War with other similar wars shows that they are less. This proves that the army under the leadership of Nicholas I was powerful and highly organized.
Economic development
Emperor Nicholas 1 inherited Russia, devoid of industry. All items of production were imported. By the end of the reign of Nicholas 1, economic growth was noticeable. Many types of production necessary for the country already existed in Russia. Under his leadership, the construction of paved roads and railways began. In connection with the development of railway transport, the machine-building industry began to develop, including the car-building industry. An interesting fact is that Nicholas I decided to build railways wider (1524 mm) than in European countries (1435 mm) in order to make it difficult for the enemy to move around the country in case of war. And it was very wise. It was this trick that prevented the Germans in 1941 from supplying in full ammunition during the attack on Moscow.
In connection with the growing industrialization, an intensive growth of cities began. During the reign of Emperor Nicholas I, the urban population more than doubled. Thanks to an engineering education received in his youth, Nikolai 1 Romanov followed the construction of all major facilities in St. Petersburg. His idea was not to exceed the height of the eaves of the Winter Palace for all buildings in the city. As a result, St. Petersburg has become one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
Under Nicholas 1, growth in the educational sphere was also noticeable. Many educational institutions were opened. Among them are the famous Kyiv University and the St. Petersburg Institute of Technology, military and naval academies, a number of schools, etc.
The heyday of culture
The 19th century was a real flowering of literary creativity. Pushkin and Lermontov, Tyutchev, Ostrovsky, Turgenev, Derzhavin and other writers and poets of this era were incredibly talented. At the same time, Nicholas 1 Romanov introduced the most severe censorship, reaching the point of absurdity. Therefore, literary geniuses periodically experienced persecution.
Foreign policy
Foreign policy during the reign of Nicholas I included two main areas:
- Return to the principles of the Holy Alliance, the suppression of revolutions and any revolutionary ideas in Europe.
- Strengthening influence in the Balkans for free navigation in the Bosporus.
These factors caused the Russian-Turkish, Russian-Persian and Crimean wars. The defeat in the Crimean War led to the loss of all previously won positions in the Black Sea and the Balkans and provoked an industrial crisis in Russia.
Emperor's death
Nicholas 1 died on March 2, 1855 (aged 58) from pneumonia. He was buried in the Cathedral of the Peter and Paul Fortress.
And finally...
The reign of Nicholas I, undoubtedly, left a tangible mark, both in the economy and in the cultural life of Russia, however, it did not lead to any epoch-making changes in the country. The following factors forced the emperor to slow down progress and follow the conservative principles of autocracy:
- moral unpreparedness to govern the country;
- lack of education;
- fear of overthrow due to the events of December 14;
- feeling of loneliness (conspiracies against father Paul, brother Alexander, abdication of the throne by brother Constantine).
Therefore, none of the subjects regretted the death of the emperor. Contemporaries more often condemned the personal characteristics of Nicholas 1, he was criticized as a politician and as a person, but historical facts speak of the emperor as a noble man who fully devoted himself to serving Russia.
In the Russian Empire, secret noble societies arose, which aimed to change the existing order. The unexpected death of the emperor in the city of Taganrog in November 1825 became the catalyst that intensified the activities of the rebels. And the reason for the speech was the unclear situation with the succession to the throne.
The deceased sovereign had 3 brothers: Konstantin, Nikolai and Mikhail. The rights to the Crown were to be inherited by Constantine. However, back in 1823 he renounced the throne. Nobody knew about this except Alexander I. Therefore, after his death, Constantine was proclaimed emperor. But he did not accept that throne, and did not begin to sign the official abdication. A difficult situation has arisen in the country, since the entire empire has already sworn allegiance to Constantine.
Portrait of Emperor Nicholas I
Unknown artist
The next oldest brother Nicholas took the throne, which was announced on December 13, 1825 in the Manifesto. Now the country had to swear allegiance to another sovereign in a new way. Members of a secret society in St. Petersburg decided to take advantage of this. They decided not to swear allegiance to Nicholas and to force the Senate to declare the fall of the autocracy.
On the morning of December 14, the rebel regiments reached Senate Square. This rebellion went down in history as the Decembrist uprising. But it was extremely badly organized, and the organizers did not show decisiveness and ineptly coordinated their actions.
At first, the new emperor also hesitated. He was young, inexperienced and hesitated for a long time. Only in the evening Senate Square was surrounded by troops loyal to the sovereign. The rebellion was crushed by artillery fire. The main rebels in the amount of 5 people were subsequently hanged, and more than a hundred were sent into exile in Siberia.
So, with the suppression of the rebellion, Emperor Nicholas I (1796-1855) began to reign. The years of his reign lasted from 1825 to 1855. Contemporaries called this period the era of stagnation and reaction, and Herzen A.I. be called an autocratic freight forwarder who has the main task was not to be late even for 1 minute for a divorce."
Nicholas I with his wife Alexandra Feodorovna
Nicholas I was born in the year of the death of his grandmother Catherine II. He did not differ in special diligence in studies. He married in 1817 the daughter of the Prussian king Frederick Louise Charlotte Wilhelmine of Prussia. After the adoption of Orthodoxy, the bride received the name Alexandra Fedorovna (1798-1860). Subsequently, the wife bore the emperor seven children.
In the family circle, the sovereign was a docile and good-natured man. The children loved him, and he could always find a common language with them. In general, the marriage was extremely successful. The wife was a sweet, kind and God-fearing woman. She spent a lot of time on charity. True, she had poor health, since St. Petersburg, with its damp climate, did not act on her in the best way.
The years of the reign of Nicholas I (1825-1855)
The years of the reign of Emperor Nicholas I were marked by the prevention of any possible anti-state actions. He sincerely strove to do many good deeds for Russia, but did not know how to proceed. He was not prepared for the role of an autocrat, so he did not receive a versatile education, did not like to read, and very early became addicted to drill, rifle techniques and stepping.
Outwardly handsome and tall, he did not become either a great commander or a great reformer. Parades on the Field of Mars and military maneuvers near Krasnoye Selo were the pinnacle of military leadership talents for him. Of course, the sovereign understood that the Russian Empire needed reforms, but most of all he was afraid of harming the autocracy and landlord property.
However, this ruler can be called humane. For all 30 years of his reign, only 5 Decembrists were executed. There were no more executions in the Russian Empire. This cannot be said about other rulers, during whose time people were executed by the thousands and hundreds. At the same time, a secret service was created to carry out political investigation. She got the name Third branch of the personal office. It was headed by A. K. Benkendorf.
One of the most important tasks was the fight against corruption. Under Emperor Nicholas I, regular audits began at all levels. The trial of stealing officials has become a common occurrence. At least 2,000 people were tried every year. At the same time, the sovereign was quite objective in the fight against corruption. He claimed that among high-ranking officials, only he did not steal.
Silver ruble depicting Nicholas I and his family: wife and seven children
Any change in foreign policy was denied. The revolutionary movement in Europe was perceived by the All-Russian autocrat as a personal insult. From here came his nicknames: "gendarme of Europe" and "tamer of revolutions." Russia regularly interfered in the affairs of other peoples. She sent a large army to Hungary to suppress the Hungarian revolution in 1849, brutally cracked down on the Polish uprising of 1830-1831.
During the reign of the autocrat, the Russian Empire participated in the Caucasian War of 1817-1864, the Russian-Persian War of 1826-1828, the Russian-Turkish War of 1828-1829. But the most important was the Crimean War of 1853-1856. Emperor Nicholas I himself considered it the main event of his life.
The Crimean War began with hostilities with Turkey. In 1853, the Turks suffered a crushing defeat in the naval battle of Sinop. After that, the French and British came to their aid. In 1854, they landed a strong landing in the Crimea, defeated the Russian army and laid siege to the city of Sevastopol. He bravely defended himself for almost a year, but, in the end, surrendered to the Allied forces.
Defense of Sevastopol during the Crimean War
Emperor's death
Emperor Nicholas I died on February 18, 1855 at the age of 58 in the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. The cause of death was pneumonia. The emperor, suffering from the flu, took the parade, which aggravated the cold. Before his death, he said goodbye to his wife, children, grandchildren, blessed them and bequeathed to be friends with each other.
There is a version that the All-Russian autocrat was deeply worried about the defeat of Russia in the Crimean War, and therefore took poison. However, most historians are of the opinion that this version is false and implausible. Contemporaries characterized Nicholas I as a deeply religious person, and suicide by the Orthodox Church has always been equated with a terrible sin. Therefore, there is no doubt that the sovereign died from an illness, but not from poison. The autocrat was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, and his son Alexander II ascended the throne.
Leonid Druzhnikov
