Emperor Nicholas 1 briefly. Tsar Nicholas I: what he did for Russia

Third son of Emperor Paul I and Empress Maria Feodorovna, brother of Emperor Alexander I, father of Emperor Alexander II, last grandson Great Catherine II, born during her lifetime - Nicholas I - cold-blooded, solemn, fair and sometimes sentimental.

One of the first emperors of Russia who proclaimed service to the Russian people as “first after God.” One of the first emperors who rejected luxury and royal indulgence, celebrations, balls and all kinds of entertainment. He believed that the throne and serving Russia were work, not pleasure and entertainment.

His life was boring, monotonous and simple, like everything that was connected with him. So, facts about Nicholas I - the Great Emperor of Russia.

Monument

This monument on St. Isaac's Square is so good that it has survived all the disasters of the past era. The Emperor, in the uniform of a guard officer, sits on a horse, which can be said to be dancing, rising on its hind legs and having no other support. It is unclear what makes her float in the air. Note that this unshakable instability does not bother the rider at all - he is cool and solemn.

This made the Bolsheviks’ project to replace the crown bearer with the “hero of the revolution” Budyonny ridiculous. In general, the monument caused them a lot of trouble. On the one hand, hatred of Nicholas the First forced the issue of overthrowing his equestrian statue in the center of Petrograd-Leningrad to be raised every now and then. On the other hand, the brilliant creation of Peter Klodt could not be touched without being branded as vandals.

I am inclined to be very critical of the reign of Emperor Nicholas I, which can hardly be called happy. It began with the Decembrist rebellion and ended with the defeat of Russia in the Crimean War. Entire libraries have been written about the dominance of the bureaucracy, spitzrutens, embezzlement during this reign. Much of this is true. The half-German-half-Russian system created by Peter the Great had already become quite worn out under Nicholas, but Nicholas was brought up by it. Without recognizing her in his soul, the king was forced to fight with himself all his life and, it seemed, was defeated.

Is it so?

It was under his reign that great Russian literature was born, which was hardly a matter of chance. Not without the influence of the sovereign, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin became a great poet.

Once the Emperor, after meeting with Pushkin in the Chudov Monastery, said to one of his entourage:

Do you know what I talked to today? the smartest person Russia?

With whom? - he asked.

With Pushkin, - answered the Emperor

The educated society of Russia, previously barely fluent in their native language, finally acquired a clearly defined national character and turned its face to God. “I put Nicholas the First above Peter the Great,” said Metropolitan of Kiev Platon (Gorodetsky). “For him, the Orthodox faith and the sacred covenants of our history were immeasurably more valuable than for Peter... Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich was wholeheartedly devoted to everything purebred Russian and especially to what stands at the head and foundation of the Russian people and kingdom - the Orthodox faith.”

“Where the Russian flag once rose, it can no longer fall”

In Nicholas we see the beginning of that restrained greatness that would characterize the three subsequent reigns. Chancellor Nesselrode once reported to the Tsar about Captain 1st Rank Nevelsky. He arbitrarily founded an outpost on Far East, raising the Russian flag over him. The location was controversial, which angered England. The dignitary offered to apologize to the British and demote the captain to sailor. “Where the Russian flag once rose, it can no longer fall,” the emperor replied... and promoted Nevelsky to admiral.

Under Nikolai Pavlovich, Russia suddenly grew into a power, against which all former opponents and allies rallied. A chain of mistakes made by the sovereign deprived us of victory in this battle. This was God’s will, but not crushing, but teaching. To everyone's amazement, Russia did not cower in fear, but became even stronger. Just as at the end of 1941, after terrible defeats, it crossed the line when it could be defeated from the outside.

“Thank God that you are Russian”

In 1826, a Russian contemporary described the appearance of the sovereign: “Tall, lean, had a wide chest... a quick look, a clear voice, suitable for a tenor, but he spoke somewhat patter... Some kind of genuine severity was visible in his movements.”

“Genuine severity”... When he commanded troops, he never shouted. There was no need for this - the king’s voice could be heard a mile away; the tall grenadiers looked like children next to him. Nicholas led an ascetic lifestyle, but if we talk about the luxury of the court, the magnificent receptions - they stunned everyone, especially foreigners. This was done in order to emphasize the status of Russia, which the sovereign cared about incessantly. General Pyotr Daragan recalled how, in the presence of Nikolai Pavlovich, he spoke French, grazing. Nikolai, suddenly putting on an exaggeratedly serious expression, began repeating every word after him, which brought his wife into a fit of laughter. Daragan, crimson with shame, jumped out into the reception room, where Nikolai caught up with him and, kissing him, explained: “Why are you burr? No one will mistake you for a Frenchman; Thank God that you are Russian, and being an ape is no good.”

The Russian kingdom is higher than any other - and the sovereign recognized this not out of an egoistic need to rise himself.

The Tsar generally thought very little about himself, contrary to the opinion of his hater, the Marquis de Custine, who believed that Nicholas was hypocritical. The only thing was that I was embarrassed by my early baldness. To hide this flaw, the sovereign wore a wig, which he parted with one day amid general laughter. This happened after the birth of her first granddaughter, in 1842. Having received the good news, Nikolai Pavlovich, in front of the formation of cadets, tore off the ill-fated wig from his head and, kicking it, shouted defiantly:

– Now I’m a grandfather, fuck him!

“Don’t hang royal portraits in taverns”

Let us retell a story that shows how little the sovereign valued himself personally. One of the old-timers of the Seventh Infantry Division stationed in Poland, Agathon Suleikin, celebrated his name day in the Tsar’s Tavern, where a portrait of Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich hung. They drank and started getting rowdy. The hero of the occasion, having heard that it was not proper to act outrageously under the portrait of the monarch, barked: “What do I care about the portrait! I am the portrait myself!” – and spat at the image of the emperor.

The news of this somehow reached the king. On the received report, Nikolai Pavlovich scribbled: “Inform private Agathon Suleikin before the front that I myself don’t give a damn about him. And since this unfortunate man, drunk, did not know what he was doing, the matter should be stopped, and portraits of the Tsar should not be hung in taverns.” To implement the resolution, a regiment was built where the soldier served. After the drum roll, the sovereign's message to Agathon Suleikin was read out. Everyone believed that he would then be flogged to death, meanwhile he was ordered to get back into line... The next Sunday, Suleikin lit an impressively sized candle to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and vowed never to drink alcohol again. He kept this promise.

The Tsar's nickname is Nikolai Palkin

“Why then was the Tsar nicknamed Nikolai Palkin?!” - the reader will exclaim. This offensive nickname was the invention of Leo Tolstoy. Suffice it to say that Tolstoy enlisted the good Doctor Haas as an accomplice of the executioners. It is clear that the sovereign had no opportunity to earn the respect of the classic.

Meanwhile, the time in which Emperor Nicholas lived was quite rough. The tsar himself was flogged mercilessly in childhood and adolescence, like most officers, and already they, having received such an upbringing, did not stand on ceremony with the rank and file. Therefore, it is stupid to evaluate the morals of that era from the standpoint of the present time. The only criterion worthy of attention is to look at whether the situation of the soldiers has worsened or not. For example, under Emperor Paul, officers began to be punished more often than soldiers. Under Alexander Pavlovich, a ban on corporal punishment was introduced for a soldier who received an award. Nicholas I reduced the number of strikes with spitzrutens three times. It was strictly forbidden to carry out executions without a doctor, who had the right to stop the flogging.

The following story shows how he treated the Russian soldier.

As you know, the sovereign walked the streets of St. Petersburg without security. Walking alone one day, he saw the funeral of a retired soldier. Following the coffin was only a poorly dressed woman, probably the wife of the deceased. The king joined her, and they walked together for some time. However, seeing the sovereign, other people began to approach - and soon hundreds of people silently walked next to their emperor, seeing off the private on his last journey.

Attention to the “little man” was characteristic feature Emperor. One winter, he noticed an official walking in only a frock coat. Having learned that the poor fellow had one, and a poor one, overcoat that was being repaired, the sovereign ordered a new one to be sent to him. Subsequently, making sure that this man was impeccably honest, Nikolai ordered his salary to be increased. The story is even more fantastic than Gogol's.

Cholera

Among the remarkable deeds of the sovereign were two episodes during the fight against cholera. In Moscow, the height of the epidemic occurred in 1830. Sometimes merciless measures were used to defeat the disease, but nothing helped. Everyone who had the opportunity fled the city. The Tsar went to Moscow to support the exhausted residents, despite the fact that doctors, including Fyodor Petrovich Gaaz, were against it.

“Crowds came running to the squares, shouting “Hurray!”, wrote L. Kopelev, “some knelt down, women cried... “Our angel... God save you!” Among others, this shocked Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, who noted that the willingness to risk his life to be with his people was “a trait that hardly any of the crowned people showed.”

In July next year cholera reached extreme levels already in St. Petersburg, where up to five hundred people died a day. Rumors began to spread that the doctors were to blame for everything, contaminating the bread and water. Riots occurred and several doctors were killed. One day a huge crowd gathered on Sennaya Square. Having learned about this, the sovereign, accompanied by several people, rushed there. Entering the middle of the crowd, he, thanks to his height, visible from everywhere, called people to conscience and ended his speech with a thunderous roar:

- On knees! Ask the Almighty for forgiveness!

Thousands of citizens, as one, fell to their knees. Almost a quarter of an hour ago these people were choking with rage, but suddenly everything became quiet and the words of prayer began to sound. On the way back, the king took off his outer clothing and burned it in the field so as not to infect his family and retinue.

Abuse

In the mornings, the king prayed for a long time, kneeling, and never missed Sunday services. He slept on a narrow camp bed, on which a thin mattress was placed, and covered with an old officer's overcoat. The level of his personal consumption was slightly higher than that of Gogol’s Akaki Akakievich.

Immediately after the coronation, food expenses royal family were cut from 1500 rubles per day to 25. Cutlets with mashed potatoes, cabbage soup, porridge, usually buckwheat - this is his traditional diet. More than three dishes were not allowed to be served. One day the head waiter could not resist and placed the most delicate trout dish in front of the king. “What is this, the fourth course? Eat it yourself,” the sovereign frowned. He rarely had dinner - he limited himself to tea.

But embezzlement under Nicholas I did not decrease at all; many even thought it had increased. This is all the more amazing since the sovereign dealt with this disaster for thirty years. brutal war. It should be noted the energy of provincial prosecutors: trials of embezzlers and bribe-takers have become commonplace. Thus, in 1853, 2,540 officials were on trial. It couldn't be any other way. The fight against the coming revolution forced the rules of the internal life of the empire to be tightened. However, the more zealously they fought against corruption, the more it spread.

Later, the famous monarchist Ivan Solonevich tried to explain this phenomenon in relation to Stalin era: “The more theft there was, the stronger the control apparatus should be. But the larger the control apparatus, the more theft: controllers also love herring.”

The Marquis de Custine wrote well about these “herring lovers.” He was an enemy of Russia and understood little about it, but he still made one diagnosis correctly: “Russia is ruled by a class of officials... and often ruled against the will of the monarch... From the depths of their offices, these invisible despots, these pygmy tyrants oppress the country with impunity. And, paradoxically, the All-Russian autocrat often notes that his power has limits. This limit is set for him by bureaucracy - a terrible force, because its abuse is called love of order.”

Only the inspiration of the people can save the Fatherland in difficult moments, but the inspiration is sober and responsible. Otherwise, it degenerates into unrest and rebellion, putting the country on the brink of destruction. The Decembrist uprising poisoned the reign of Nikolai Pavlovich, a man by nature alien to any harshness. He is considered some kind of maniacal adherent of order. But order was a means, not an end, for the king. At the same time, his lack of managerial talent had dire consequences. The maid of honor Anna Fedorovna Tyutcheva testified that the emperor “spent 18 hours a day at work, worked until late at night, got up at dawn... did not sacrifice anything for the sake of pleasure and everything for the sake of duty and took on more labor and worries than the last day laborer from his subjects. He sincerely believed that he was able to see everything with his own eyes, regulate everything according to his own understanding, and transform everything with his own will.”

As a result, “he only piled up a pile of colossal abuses around his uncontrolled power, all the more harmful because from the outside they were covered up by official legality, and neither public opinion nor private initiative had either the right to point out them or the opportunity to fight them.”

Emperor Nicholas I and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Ilya Repin

The officials became remarkably adept at imitating their activities and deceived the sovereign at every step. As an intelligent person, he understood that something was wrong, but he could not change anything, he only laughed bitterly at the futility of many of his efforts.

One day, while on the road, the emperor's carriage overturned. Nikolai Pavlovich, having broken his collarbone and left arm, walked seventeen miles to Chembar, one of the towns in the Penza province. Having barely recovered, he went to look at the local officials. They dressed in new uniform and they lined up in a line according to the seniority of ranks, with swords, and held triangular hats in their hands extended at the seams. Nicholas examined them, not without surprise, and said to the governor:

– I not only saw them all, but even know them very well!

He was amazed:

- Excuse me, Your Majesty, but where could you see them?

- In a very funny comedy called “The Inspector General.”

To be fair, let’s say that in the United States of that era, embezzlement and bribery were no less widespread. But if in Russia this evil was more or less eradicated in late XIX century, then in America it flourished for several more decades. The difference was that American officials did not have such influence over the life of the country.

"The first after God"

From this bleak picture one can imagine that in economic life The country was in complete stagnation under Nikolai Pavlovich. But no - it was during his reign that the industrial revolution took place, the number of enterprises and workers doubled, and the efficiency of their labor tripled.

Serf labor in industry was prohibited. The volume of engineering production from 1830 to 1860 increased 33 times. The first thousand miles of railway were laid, and for the first time in the history of Russia, construction of a paved highway began.

During his reign, Count Sergei Uvarov carried out a revolution in the fight against illiteracy.

The number of peasant schools increased from 60 to more than 40 times, 111 thousand children began to study. All state peasants were allocated their own plots of land and forest plots, auxiliary cash desks and grain stores were established, which provided assistance with cash loans and grain in case of crop failure. By the mid-1850s, there were practically no landless farm laborers left - everyone received land from the state.

The position of the serfs, who were considered landowners, improved significantly. Trade by peasants was stopped, they received freedom of movement, the right to own land, and conduct business. The “third department” received strict orders to ensure that landowners did not violate the rights of peasants. As a result, hundreds of landowners' estates were seized.

“A dog’s death is a dog’s death.”

Here is a case that fully characterizes the changes. One day a serf boy, the son of a huntsman, playing with the landowner's dog, injured its paw. The master rashly shot the child. His father came running to the shot, grabbed the killer, tied his hands, and sat him in a chair. In front of the assembled servants, he listed all the master’s atrocities and asked the question: what to do with the monster? Then he carried out the sentence of peace, after which he surrendered to the authorities... Having learned about what had happened, the sovereign freed the unfortunate man, writing in his own hand: “For a dog, a dog’s death.”

Where else was this possible? It was during the reign of Emperor Nicholas that the triad was born, which can be called the only possible Russian idea: “Orthodoxy, Autocracy, Nationality.” She was born to a wonderful scientist, Minister of Public Education Sergei Uvarov.

All sorts of “petty demons” still laugh at his beliefs, meanwhile Russia became the first country in the world to place nationality among the most important foundations of existence. For the false elite, the people are nothing more than cattle, for the bourgeoisie they are buyers, for politicians they are the electorate. Only for the Russian tsars did the people, regardless of rank and status, stand next to the Lord God in importance.

The throne is work, not pleasure

Nicholas I led an ascetic and healthy image life. He was devout and never missed Sunday services. He did not smoke and did not like smokers, did not drink strong drinks, walked a lot, and did drill exercises with weapons. I got up at 7 am and worked 16 hours a day. Discipline in the army was also established under him. He did not like luxurious royal outfits, preferred to dress in a simple officer’s overcoat, and slept on a hard bed.

Didn't shy away from connections on the side

In this regard, he was unable to show severity to himself, and was, like most rulers, a real womanizer. In 1817, he married Princess Charlotte of Prussia, daughter of Frederick William III, who after converting to Orthodoxy received the name Alexandra Feodorovna. They had 7 children, among them the future Emperor Alexander II. At the same time, he had many hobbies, and according to some sources, 7 illegitimate children. For 17 years he was in a relationship with Varvara Nelidova.

Laid the first roads and helped descendants in the Second World War

It was under him that for the first time in the history of Russia, intensive construction of paved roads began: the Moscow-St. Petersburg, Moscow-Irkutsk, Moscow-Warsaw routes were built. He started construction railways. At the same time, he showed amazing foresight. Fearing that the enemy would be able to come to Russia on a steam locomotive, he demanded to expand the Russian gauge (1524 mm versus 1435 in Europe), which helped us a hundred years later. In 1941 during the Great Patriotic War this significantly hampered the supply and maneuverability of the German occupation forces due to the lack of broad gauge locomotives.

"God punishes the proud"

After forty years, the emperor’s health began to fail more and more. His legs hurt and became swollen, and in the spring of 1847 he began to experience severe dizziness. At the same time, it seemed that the sovereign’s illnesses were somehow inexplicably transmitted to the entire country. Two disasters darkened the last years of Nikolai Pavlovich's reign. The first of them - defeat in the Crimean War - did not take long to arrive.

What was the source of the disaster? The fact is that the sovereign, following his older brother Alexander Pavlovich, perceived Russia as part of the European community of states, and the strongest militarily and the most mature ideologically. The idea was that only an unbreakable union of monarchies could resist revolution in Europe. The emperor was ready to intervene in European affairs at any moment.

Of course, this caused general irritation, and they began to look at Russia as a cure more dangerous than the disease itself.

It cannot be said that Nikolai Pavlovich exaggerated the danger of revolutionary sentiments in Europe. It was like a boiler, where the steam pressure was constantly increasing. But instead of learning to regulate it, Russia energetically plugged all the holes. This couldn't go on forever.

On February 21, 1848, on Maslenitsa, a dispatch was received in St. Petersburg that a revolution had begun in France. After reading it, the shocked sovereign appeared at a ball in the Anichkov Palace. At the height of the fun, he entered the hall with a quick step, with papers in his hands, “uttering exclamations incomprehensible to the listeners about the coup in France and the flight of the king.” Most of all, the tsar feared that the example of the French would be followed in Germany.

The idea was born to send a 300,000-strong army to the Rhine to eradicate the revolutionary infection. It was not without difficulty that the king was dissuaded from this. On March 14, a Manifesto followed, which expressed concern about “rebellion and anarchy spreading everywhere with impudence” and “insolence threatening Russia in its madness.” They expressed readiness to defend the honor of the Russian name and the inviolability of Russia's borders.

It was the most important document of that era. Russia challenged the world revolution, theomachism and nihilism. The best people countries greeted the Manifesto with enthusiasm, and people started talking about the upcoming fight against the Antichrist.

Here is how F. I. Tyutchev responded to this event:

“For a long time now, in Europe there have been only two real forces, two true powers: the Revolution and Russia. They have now come face to face, and tomorrow, perhaps, they will fight. There can be no contracts or transactions between one and the other. What is life for one is death for another. The entire political and religious future of mankind depends for many centuries on the outcome of the struggle that ensued between them, the greatest struggle the world has ever seen.”

The Russians came to the rescue

The greater the tragedy that has darkened the position Russian Empire, were the false steps that followed the Manifesto. We are talking about Hungarian events. For decades, the Hungarians dreamed of getting rid of Austrian rule, having suffered a lot from it. In 1848 they rebelled - 190 thousand people took up arms. By the spring of 1849, the Hungarians had learned to beat the Austrians, and the collapse of the Habsburg Empire became inevitable. But at that moment Russian troops came to the aid of Austria.

The invasion of the Russian army was not only a military blow for the Hungarians, but also a moral one. After all, they dreamed that it would be the Russians who would free them, and they had every reason to hope for this. The Hungarians knew better than anyone how Austria felt about its great eastern neighbor. Their military leader Gyorgy Klapka once exclaimed in a conversation with a Russian parliamentarian: “Emperor Nicholas destroyed us, but why? Do you really believe in Austria's gratitude? You saved her from complete destruction, and they will pay you for it; Believe me, we know them and are unable to believe a single word they say..."

These were the bitter words of a man who understood perfectly well what he was saying.

The Russian army saved Austria many times, but the country, which called itself the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation, had colossal ambitions, fueled by papal Rome.

The help of the Orthodox insulted her all the more because Austria could not do without it. And, of course, at the first opportunity, Austria went over to the side of our enemies. This happened in 1854, after the attack of England and France on Russia. Instead of helping the savior, the Austrians began to threaten her with war. As a result, many Russian units had to be left to block the Danube. These were the troops that were so lacking in Crimea...

The suppression of the Hungarian uprising became one of the saddest pages of our history. In Europe, the view of Russia as a police country has finally become firmly established. Russian Field Marshal Osten-Sacken said bitter words in despair: “The Emperor has become very proud. “What I did to Hungary awaits all of Europe,” he told me. I am sure that this campaign will destroy him... You will see that it will not be in vain. God punishes the proud."

But it seems that it was not a matter of pride at all. Metropolitan Platon of Kiev, mourning Russian intervention in the Hungarian events (“after all, without this there would have been no Crimean War”), added that only the sovereign’s honesty was to blame. He did not know how to break his promises, even to such an addressee as Austria, whose ingratitude was well known.

In any case, we defeated ourselves in Hungary.

Death of the Emperor

The misfortune for Emperor Nicholas was that he found the time of the collapse of his hopes. This was the cause of his death, which can hardly be called natural. Rather, it was death. He fell along with his sailors and soldiers, Kornilov and Nakhimov, because the king’s heart was in Last year life was in Sevastopol, and not in St. Petersburg.

There were many formal reasons for war. England feared that Russia might enter the Mediterranean; France hoped, with the help of war, to return to the ranks of the great powers. As a result, the British, French and Turkish armies landed in the Crimea as “advanced detachments of civilization.”

Among the reasons that led us to defeat was terrible corruption: even regiment commanders sometimes did not hesitate to rob soldiers - what can we say about the rest... The appointment of Prince Menshikov as commander was extremely unsuccessful. When Saint Innocent of Kherson with the image of the Kasperovskaya Mother of God arrived at the location of our army retreating to Sevastopol, he said, turning to Menshikov: “Behold, the Queen of Heaven is coming to liberate and protect Sevastopol.” “You bothered the Queen of Heaven in vain, we can manage without Her,” answered the unlucky commander.

How could he achieve victory without having the slightest spiritual connection with the army? Meanwhile, this was a man invested with the sovereign’s trust. To complete the picture, let's say that St. Innocent was under special suspicion. Officials called him a democrat because, like the sovereign, he defended the need to liberate the peasants. Once they asked: “They say, Eminence, you preach communism?” The Bishop calmly answered this: “I never preached ‘take,’ but I always preached ‘give.’”

The English fleet appeared near Kronstadt. The emperor looked at him for a long time through the chimney from the window of his palace in Alexandria. Changes in his appearance began to appear in the fall of 1854. He lost sleep and lost weight. At night I walked through the halls, waiting for news from Crimea. The news was bad: on some days several thousand of our soldiers died...

Having learned about another defeat, the sovereign locked himself in his office and cried like a child. During morning prayer, he sometimes fell asleep on his knees in front of the images.

At some point, the emperor caught the flu. The disease was not too dangerous, but it was as if he did not want to get better. In thirty-degree frost, despite the cough, I went to regiment reviews in a light raincoat. “In the evenings,” writes one of Nikolai Pavlovich’s biographers, “many saw his two-meter figure wandering alone along Nevsky Prospekt. It became clear to everyone around: the king, unable to bear the shame, decided to destroy himself in a similar way...

The result was not long in coming: about a month after the onset of the illness, Nikolai was already in full swing making arrangements for his funeral, writing a will, listening to the death bill, last minute holding his son's hand."

“Sashka, I’m giving you the command in bad order!” - Nikolai Pavlovich said to his son on his deathbed and, addressing all his sons, said: “Serve Russia. I wanted to take on all the difficult things, leaving a peaceful, well-ordered, happy kingdom. Providence judged otherwise. Now I’m going to pray for Russia and for you..."

He died, according to A.F. Tyutcheva, in a small office on the ground floor of the Winter Palace, “lying across the room on a very simple iron bed... His head rested on a green leather pillow, and instead of a blanket, there was a soldier’s overcoat on him. It seemed that death overtook him among the deprivations of a military camp, and not in the luxury of a palace.” As the ensign wrote Izmailovsky Regiment Efim Sukhonin, the sad news caught the guardsmen on the march: “The memorial service was solemn. Officers and soldiers prayed on their knees and cried loudly.”

Epilogue

The horseman on St. Isaac's Square rests on a powerful pedestal with four female figures personifying Strength, Wisdom, Justice and Faith. The liberation of the peasants, the amazing judicial reform, all the good deeds of Alexander the Liberator were the embodiment of his father’s plans. Tied hand and foot by past and present, by the absence of comrades, Nikolai Pavlovich did what he had to do, in the hope that something would happen.

He was the flesh of a country where, in addition to fools and bad roads, there are an innumerable number of other misfortunes. Therefore, it is wrong to evaluate it by comparing it with some mental ideal. The one walking ahead, especially if he is a warrior and not a confessor, is almost always the most exhausted person of all, his own and others’ blood dries on his uniform. The question is, is he driven by love for the Fatherland or ambition, is he leading the people in the name of God - or in his own name? One day - this was in 1845 - the tsar suddenly said, turning to a friend: “It’s soon been twenty years since I’ve been sitting in this wonderful place. Often there are such days that I, looking at the sky, say: why am I not there? I'm so tired…"

No, Nikolai Pavlovich, it seems, did not lift a finger in his name - his service has been inspiring us with respect for a century and a half. Even the inscription on the monument under state emblem never shot down: “Nicholas I to the All-Russian Emperor.” A very simple inscription - like everything connected with it.

Other fun facts about Nicholas I

One of the officers of the Riga garrison named Zass, when marrying off his daughter, wanted her and her husband to have a double surname, in which Zass would come first. It seems that there was nothing strange in this desire... However, Mr. Colonel was a German and did not know Russian well... After all, the groom’s last name was Rantsev. Tsar Nicholas the First learned of this incident and decided that his officers should not be the object of ridicule. By his highest decree, the Tsar ordered the newlyweds to bear the surname Rantsev-Zass.

Nicholas I gave his officers a choice between a guardhouse and listening to Glinka's operas as punishment.

Having met a drunken officer, Nikolai scolded him for appearing in public in an unworthy manner, and ended his reprimand with the question: “Well, what would you do if you met a subordinate in such a state?” The answer to this was: “I wouldn’t even talk to that pig!” Nikolai burst out laughing and summed it up: “Get a cab, go home and sleep it off!”

In Paris they decided to stage a play from the life of Catherine II, where the Russian empress was presented in a somewhat frivolous light. Having learned about this, Nicholas I, through our ambassador, expressed his displeasure to the French government. To which the answer followed in the spirit that, they say, in France there is freedom of speech and no one is going to cancel the performance. To this, Nicholas I asked to convey that in this case he would send 300 thousand spectators in gray overcoats to the premiere. As soon as the royal response reached the capital of France, the scandalous performance was canceled there without unnecessary delay.

Of course, the most beautiful monument is the arch of the General Staff building, topped with a sculpture of Glory on the chariot of Victory. This chariot is a symbol of Russia's victory in the Patriotic War of 1812. Initially, the Arch was conceived by Alexander I in a strict, consistent style, without a chariot crowning it. However, Nicholas I, who replaced him, decided to give glory to the courage and valor of the Russian army. Upon completion of the construction of the Arch, Nicholas I doubted its reliability. To confirm the quality of his work, the architect Rossi, after dismantling the scaffolding, together with all the workers, climbed the arch. As it turned out, the structure withstood their weight. This legend was recorded by biographer Rossi Panin from the words of the architect’s granddaughter.

Nicholas 1 was the third son of the emperor and Maria Feodorovna, so he should not have taken the throne. This determined the direction of his betrothal and upbringing. WITH youth Nikolai was interested in military affairs and was preparing for a career as a military man. In 1819, Emperor Alexander 1 announced the abdication of their brother Constantine from the throne. Therefore, in 1825, after the sudden death of Alexander 1, power passed to Nicholas. Years of reign: 1825 – 1855.

Domestic policy

Its main directions were “tightening the screws” for freethinkers on the one hand and cautious but progressive reforms on the other. The beginning of the reign of Nicholas 1 was marked in 1825, which was defeated. After this, the emperor intensified repressive measures. Several Decembrists were executed, hundreds were exiled to the Caucasus and Siberia.

Under Nicholas 1, the period of “enlightened absolutism” ended. There is a reduction in the economic and socio-political powers of the nobility in order to strengthen the autocracy. The participation of nobles in meetings decreased. Discipline has strengthened among civil servants.

The Third Department of the Emperor's Office was created under the leadership (later headed by Orlov), which opposed dissent, and also supervised the press, foreign citizens, analyzed the claims of serfs against landowners, etc. The correspondence was opened. After the Decembrist uprising, the emperor was panicky about any manifestation of activity in society.

During the same period, limited reforms were carried out. Legislation was streamlined, making administrative practice easier. In 1837, led by Kiselev, efforts began to be made regarding the management of the peasants. They received more land, medical posts were built in settlements and agricultural innovations were introduced. The rights of landowners began to be limited: peasants were forbidden to pay off their debts and were forbidden to be sent to work in the mountains.

From 1839 to 1843, a monetary reform was carried out under the leadership of Minister of Finance Kankrin. A clear relationship was established between banknotes and the silver ruble.

However, the main issue regarding serfdom was never resolved, as Nicholas feared social unrest.

Foreign policy

In the sphere of foreign policy, there were 2 main issues: Eastern and European. In Europe, Nicholas the First fought against the revolutionary movement. In 1830, the emperor sent troops to suppress the Polish national liberation uprising. In 1849, at the request of the Austrian ruler who later betrayed Russia, Russian troops suppressed the revolution in Hungary.

The eastern question affected the influence of powerful states on the European regions of the Ottoman Empire, since as a result of a fierce war, Russia received a certain territory on the Black Sea coast.

In the middle of the century, the Eastern Question escalated, which provoked the Crimean War. The Russian army carried out successful actions aimed at fighting Turkey in the Caucasus, and the fleet operated in the Black Sea. Later, France and England entered the war. There was a threat of the inclusion of Prussia, Sweden and Austria. Russia found itself alone with Europe.

The decisive arena of hostilities turned out to be Sevastopol, the defense of which lasted almost a year. As a result, the emperor was defeated in the war, which led to the loss of the right to have military base at the Black Sea. Thus, the main result of the foreign policy of Nicholas 1 was a quarrel with his Europe, a quarrel that greatly damaged Russia. However, this was not the king’s fault, since he was forced to defend the interests of his country.

Thus, the foreign and domestic policy of Nicholas 1 was quite conservative. But no one doubts that the emperor strove for the well-being of Russia and worked tirelessly for this.

>Biographies of famous people

Brief biography of Nicholas I

Nicholas I Pavlovich - Emperor of All Russia from 1825 to 1855, son of Paul I and Maria Feodorovna. Other titles - Grand Duke Finnish and Polish Tsar. Born on July 6, 1796 in Tsarskoye Selo (now the city of Pushkin); was the third son of the royal couple and grandson of Catherine II. From childhood he was enrolled in military service and was raised by General M.I. Lamsdorf. Everything that was not related to military affairs, namely various sciences, weighed on the boy. Throughout his life he retained a passion for construction and engineering.

Nicholas was not raised as a future ruler. However, after the sudden death of Alexander I, he assumed the throne. The political direction he chose was clearly different from all previously accepted forms and was rather conservative and anti-liberal. For educational and educational purposes, he was taken to some provinces of Russia and England. Therefore, he was well aware of the internal state and problems of the country. At the age of 21, he married the Prussian princess, who, according to the canons of Orthodoxy, received a new name - Alexandra Fedorovna. A year later, their first child was born - the future Emperor Alexander II.

Nicholas did not immediately come to the imperial position. He himself learned that he would become heir to the throne in 1819, but the corresponding manifesto was not made public, which caused an uprising of the Decembrists, dissatisfied with this turn of events. The Emperor took the oath of office in December 1825, and then he had to suppress the uprising. From the very beginning of his reign, he created a special committee to implement reforms. Under the leadership of Speransky this commission quickly developed a new Code of Laws and streamlined Russian legislation. At the same time, S.S. Uvarov developed the “theory of official nationality.”

According to the tsar, the people were supposed to live as one large, well-coordinated army, i.e. according to their own laws. He was distrustful of outside interference and liberalism. Thus, under Nicholas I, unanimity flourished in Russia, and he himself was a true autocrat. The emperor's foreign policy was marked by a number of wars. The most a bright event became the Crimean War. At the same time, he restored the principles of the Holy Alliance and raised the Eastern Question. As a result of the Russian-Turkish, Russian-Persian and Caucasian war, Russia annexed the east of Armenia, the entire Caucasus and part of the Black Sea coast. The ruler died in February 1855 in St. Petersburg.

Nicholas the First is one of the most famous emperors of Russia. He ruled the country for 30 years (from 1825 to 1855), in the period between the two Alexanders. Nicholas I made Russia truly enormous. Before his death, it reached its geographical zenith, stretching over almost twenty million square kilometers. Tsar Nicholas I also bore the title of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland. He is known for his conservatism, reluctance to carry out reforms, and his loss in the Crimean War of 1853-1856.

Early years and path to power

Nicholas the First was born in Gatchina into the family of Emperor Paul I and his wife Maria Feodorovna. He was the younger brother of Alexander I and Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich. Initially, he was not raised as a future Russian emperor. Nikolai was youngest child into a family in which, besides him, there were two eldest sons, so it was not expected that he would ever ascend to the throne. But in 1825, Alexander I died of typhus, and Konstantin Pavlovich abandoned the throne. Nicholas was next in the line of succession. On December 25, he signed a manifesto on his ascension to the throne. The date of death of Alexander I was called the beginning of the reign of Nicholas. The period between it (December 1) and its ascent is called intermediate. At this time, the military tried to seize power several times. This led to the so-called December Uprising, but Nicholas the First managed to quickly and successfully suppress it.

Nicholas the First: years of reign

The new emperor, according to numerous testimonies from contemporaries, lacked the spiritual and intellectual breadth of his brother. He was not raised as a future ruler, and this affected when Nicholas the First ascended the throne. He saw himself as an autocrat who rules people as he sees fit. He was not the spiritual leader of his people, inspiring people to work and develop. They also tried to explain the dislike for the new tsar by the fact that he ascended the throne on Monday, which has long been considered a difficult and unlucky day in Russia. In addition, December 14, 1825 was very cold, the temperature dropped below -8 degrees Celsius.

The common people immediately considered this a bad omen. The bloody suppression of the December uprising for the introduction of representative democracy only strengthened this opinion. This event at the very beginning of his reign had a very bad effect on Nicholas. All subsequent years of his reign, he will begin to impose censorship and other forms of education and other areas public life, and His Majesty’s Office will contain a whole network of all kinds of spies and gendarmes.

Strict centralization

Nicholas I was afraid of all kinds of forms of popular independence. He abolished the autonomy of the Bessarabia region in 1828, Poland in 1830, and the Jewish Kahal in 1843. The only exception to this trend was Finland. She managed to maintain her autonomy (largely thanks to the participation of her army in suppressing the November Uprising in Poland).

Character and spiritual qualities

Biographer Nikolai Rizanovsky describes the toughness, determination and iron will of the new emperor. It talks about his sense of duty and hard work on himself. According to Rizanovsky, Nicholas I saw himself as a soldier who devoted his life to serving for the good of his people. But he was only an organizer, and not a spiritual leader at all. He was an attractive man, but extremely nervous and aggressive. Often the emperor became too fixated on details, not seeing the whole picture. The ideology of his rule is “official nationalism.” It was proclaimed in 1833. The policies of Nicholas the First were based on Orthodoxy, autocracy and Russian nationalism. Let's look at this issue in more detail.

Nicholas the First: foreign policy

The emperor was successful in his campaigns against his southern enemies. He took the last territories of the Caucasus from Persia, which included modern Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Russian Empire received Dagestan and Georgia. His success in ending the Russian-Persian War of 1826-1828 allowed him to gain an advantage in the Caucasus. He ended the confrontation with the Turks. He was often called behind his back the “gendarme of Europe.” Indeed, he constantly offered to help put down the uprising. But in 1853 Nicholas the First got involved in the Crimean War, which led to disastrous results. Historians emphasize that not only an unsuccessful strategy is to blame for the dire consequences, but also the flaws of local management and the corruption of his army. Therefore, it is most often said that the reign of Nicholas the First was a mixture of unsuccessful domestic and foreign policies, which brought the common people to the brink of survival.

Military affairs and the army

Nicholas I is known for his large army. It numbered about a million people. This meant that approximately one in fifty men was in the military. Their equipment and tactics were outdated, but the Tsar, dressed as a soldier and surrounded by officers, celebrated his victory over Napoleon every year with a parade. Horses, for example, were not trained for battle, but looked great during processions. Behind all this brilliance there was real degradation. Nicholas placed his generals at the head of many ministries, despite their lack of experience and qualifications. He tried to extend his power even to the church. It was headed by an agnostic, known for his military exploits. The army became a social elevator for noble youth from Poland, the Baltics, Finland and Georgia. Criminals who could not adapt to society also sought to become soldiers.

Nevertheless, throughout the reign of Nicholas, the Russian Empire remained a force to be reckoned with. And only the Crimean War showed the world its backwardness in the technical aspect and corruption within the army.

Achievements and censorship

During the reign of the heir, Alexander the First, the first railway in the Russian Empire was opened. It stretches for 16 miles, connecting St. Petersburg with the southern residence in Tsarskoe Selo. The second line was built in 9 years (from 1842 to 1851). It connected Moscow with St. Petersburg. But progress in this area was still too slow.

In 1833, the Minister of Education Sergei Uvarov developed the program “Orthodoxy, Autocracy and Nationalism” as the main ideology of the new regime. People had to demonstrate loyalty to the Tsar, love for Orthodoxy, traditions and the Russian language. The result of these Slavophile principles was the suppression of class differences, extensive censorship and surveillance of such independent poet-thinkers as Pushkin and Lermontov. Figures who wrote in a language other than Russian or belonged to other faiths were severely persecuted. The great Ukrainian singer and writer Taras Shevchenko was sent into exile, where he was forbidden to draw or compose poems.

Domestic policy

Nicholas the First did not like serfdom. He often toyed with the idea of ​​repealing it, but did not do so for reasons of state. Nicholas was too afraid of increasing free-thinking among the people, believing that this could lead to uprisings similar to the December one. In addition, he was wary of the aristocrats and was afraid that such reforms would make them turn away from him. However, the sovereign still tried to somewhat improve the situation of the serfs. Minister Pavel Kiselev helped him with this.

All the reforms of Nicholas the First were centered around the serfs. Throughout his reign, he tried to tighten his control over the landowners and other powerful groups in Russia. Created a category of state serfs with special rights. Restricted the votes of representatives of the Honorable Assembly. Now only the landowners, who controlled more than a hundred serfs, had this right. In 1841, the emperor banned the sale of serfs separately from land.

Culture

The reign of Nicholas the First is the time of the ideology of Russian nationalism. It was fashionable among the intelligentsia to argue about the place of the empire in the world and its future. Debates were constantly waged between pro-Western figures and Slavophiles. The first believed that the Russian Empire had stopped in its development, and further progress was possible only through Europeanization. Another group, the Slavophiles, argued that it was necessary to focus on the original folk customs and traditions. They saw the possibility of development in Russian culture, and not in Western rationalism and materialism. Some believed in the country's mission to liberate other peoples from brutal capitalism. But Nikolai did not like any free-thinking, so the Ministry of Education often closed philosophy faculties because of their possible negative impact on the younger generation. The benefits of Slavophilism were not considered.

Education system

After the December Uprising, the sovereign decided to devote his entire reign to maintaining the status quo. He started by centralizing the education system. Nicholas I sought to neutralize attractive Western ideas and what he calls “pseudo-knowledge.” However, Education Minister Sergei Uvarov secretly welcomed freedom and autonomy educational institutions. He even managed to raise academic standards and improve learning conditions, as well as open universities to the middle class. But in 1848, the tsar canceled these innovations out of fear that pro-Western sentiment would lead to possible uprisings.

The universities were small, and the Ministry of Education constantly monitored their programs. The main mission was not to miss the moment of the emergence of pro-Western sentiments. The main task was to educate young people as true patriots of Russian culture. But, despite the repression, at this time there was a flourishing of culture and the arts. Russian literature has gained worldwide fame. The works of Alexander Pushkin, Nikolai Gogol and Ivan Turgenev secured their status as true masters of their craft.

Death and heirs

Nikolai Romanov died in March 1855 during the Crimean War. He caught a cold and died of pneumonia. Interesting fact is that the emperor refused treatment. There were even rumors that he committed suicide, unable to bear the pressure of the catastrophic consequences of his military failures. The son of Nicholas the First, Alexander the Second, took the throne. He was destined to become the most famous reformer after Peter the Great.

The children of Nicholas the First were born both in marriage and not. The sovereign's wife was Alexandra Feodorovna, and her mistress was Varvara Nelidova. But, as his biographers note, the emperor did not know what real passion was. He was too organized and disciplined for that. He was favorable towards women, but none of them could turn his head.

Heritage

Many biographers call Nicholas's foreign and domestic policies catastrophic. One of the most devoted supporters, A.V. Nikitenko, noted that the entire reign of the emperor was a mistake. However, some scientists are still trying to improve the king's reputation. Historian Barbara Djelavic notes many mistakes, including a bureaucracy that led to irregularities, corruption and inefficiency, but does not consider his entire reign a complete failure.

Under Nicholas, Kyiv was founded National University, as well as about 5,000 other similar establishments. Censorship was omnipresent, but this did not at all hinder the development of free thought. Historians note the kind heart of Nicholas, who simply had to behave the way he behaved. Every ruler has his failures and achievements. But it seems that it was Nicholas who the people could not forgive anything. His reign largely determined the time in which he had to live and govern the country.

The reign of Nicholas 1 lasted from December 14, 1825 to February 1855. This emperor has an amazing fate, but it is noteworthy that the beginning and end of his reign are characterized by important political events in the country. Thus, Nicholas’s rise to power was marked by the Decembrist uprising, and the death of the emperor occurred during the days of the defense of Sevastopol.

Beginning of reign

Speaking about the personality of Nicholas 1, it is important to understand that initially no one prepared this man for the role of Emperor of Russia. This was the third son of Paul 1 (Alexander - the eldest, Konstantin - the middle and Nikolai - the youngest). Alexander the First died on December 1, 1825, leaving no heir. Therefore, according to the laws of that time, power came to the middle son of Paul 1 - Constantine. And on December 1, the Russian government swore allegiance to him. Nicholas himself also took the oath of allegiance. The problem was that Constantine was married to a woman of no noble family, lived in Poland and did not aspire to the throne. Therefore, he transferred authority to manage to Nicholas the First. Nevertheless, 2 weeks passed between these events, during which Russia was virtually without power.

It is necessary to note the main features of the reign of Nicholas 1, which were characteristic of his character traits:

• Military education. It is known that Nikolai poorly mastered any science except military science. His teachers were military men and almost everyone around him were former military personnel. It is in this that one must look for the origins of the fact that Nicholas 1 said “In Russia everyone must serve,” as well as his love for the uniform, which he forced everyone, without exception, in the country to wear.
• Decembrist revolt. The first day of power of the new emperor was marked by a major uprising. This showed the main threat that liberal ideas posed to Russia. Therefore, the main task of his reign was precisely the fight against the revolution.
• Lack of communication with Western countries. If we consider the history of Russia, starting from the era of Peter the Great, then at court they always spoke foreign languages: Dutch, English, French, German. Nicholas 1 stopped this. Now all conversations were conducted exclusively in Russian, people wore traditional Russian clothes, and traditional Russian values ​​and traditions were promoted.

Many history textbooks say that the Nicholas era was characterized by reactionary rule. Nevertheless, governing the country in those conditions was very difficult, since all of Europe was literally mired in revolutions, the focus of which could shift towards Russia. And this had to be fought. The second important point is the need to resolve the peasant issue, where the emperor himself advocated the abolition of serfdom.

Changes within the country

Nicholas 1 was a military man, so his reign was associated with attempts to transfer army orders and customs to daily life and governance of the country.

There is clear order and subordination in the army. The laws apply here and there are no contradictions. Everything here is clear and understandable: some command, others obey. And all this to achieve a single goal. This is why I feel so comfortable among these people.

Nicholas the First

This phrase best emphasizes what the emperor saw in order. And it was precisely this order that he sought to bring to all organs. state power. First of all, in the Nicholas era there was a strengthening of police and bureaucratic power. According to the emperor, this was necessary to fight the revolution.

On July 3, 1826, the III Department was created, which performed the functions of the highest police. In fact, this body kept order in the country. This fact It is interesting in that it significantly expands the powers of ordinary police officers, giving them almost unlimited power. The third department consisted of about 6,000 people, which was a huge number at that time. They studied the public mood, observed foreign citizens and organizations in Russia, collected statistics, checked all private letters, and so on. During the second stage of the emperor's reign, Section 3 further expanded its powers, creating a network of agents to work abroad.

Systematization of laws

Even in the era of Alexander, attempts to systematize laws began in Russia. This was extremely necessary, since there were a huge number of laws, many of them contradicted each other, many were only in a handwritten version in the archive, and the laws had been in force since 1649. Therefore, before the Nicholas era, judges were no longer guided by the letter of the law, but rather by general orders and worldview. To solve this problem, Nicholas 1 decided to turn to Speransky, who was given the authority to systematize the laws of the Russian Empire.

Speransky proposed carrying out all the work in three stages:

1. Collect in chronological order all laws issued from 1649 until the end of the reign of Alexander 1.
2. Publish a set of laws currently in force in the empire. This is not about changes in laws, but about considering which of the old laws can be repealed and which cannot.
3. The creation of a new “Code”, which was supposed to amend the current legislation in accordance with the current needs of the state.

Nicholas 1 was a terrible opponent of innovation (the only exception was the army). Therefore, he allowed the first two stages to take place and categorically prohibited the third.

The work of the commission began in 1828, and in 1832 the 15-volume Code of Laws of the Russian Empire was published. It was the codification of laws during the reign of Nicholas 1st that played a huge role in the formation of Russian absolutism. In fact, the country has not changed radically, but has received real structures for quality management.

Policy regarding education and enlightenment

Nicholas believed that the events of December 14, 1825 were connected with the educational system that was built under Alexander. Therefore, one of the first orders of the emperor in his post happened on August 18, 1827, in which Nicholas demanded that the charters of all educational institutions in the country be revised. As a result of this revision, any peasants were prohibited from entering higher educational institutions, philosophy as a science was abolished, and supervision of private educational institutions was strengthened. This work was supervised by Shishkov, who holds the position of Minister of Public Education. Nicholas 1 absolutely trusted this man, since their basic views converged. At the same time, it is enough to consider just one phrase from Shishkov to understand what the essence was behind the education system of that time.

Sciences are like salt. They are useful and can only be enjoyed if given in moderation. People should be taught only the kind of literacy that corresponds to their position in society. Educating all people without exception will undoubtedly do more harm than good.

A.S. Shishkov

The result of this stage of government is the creation of 3 types of educational institutions:

1. For the lower classes, single-class education was introduced, based on parish schools. People were taught only 4 operations of arithmetic (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division), reading, writing, and the laws of God.
2. For the middle classes (merchants, townspeople, and so on) three-year education. As additional items focused on geometry, geography and history.
3. For the upper classes, seven-year education was introduced, the receipt of which guaranteed the right to enter universities.

The solution to the peasant question

Nicholas 1 often said that the main task of his reign was the abolition of serfdom. However, he was unable to directly solve this problem. It is important to understand here that the emperor was faced with his own elite, who were categorically against this. The issue of the abolition of serfdom was extremely complex and extremely acute. One only has to look at the peasant uprisings of the 19th century to understand that they occurred literally every decade, and their strength increased each time. Here, for example, is what the head of the third department said.

Serfdom this is a powder charge under the building of the Russian Empire.

OH. Benckendorf

Nicholas the First himself also understood the significance of this problem.

It is better to start changes on your own, gradually, carefully. We need to start at least with something, because otherwise, we will wait for changes to come from the people themselves.

Nikolay 1

A secret committee was created to solve peasant problems. In total, in the Nicholas era, 9 secret committees met on this issue. The greatest changes affected exclusively the state peasants, and these changes were superficial and insignificant. The main problem of giving peasants their own land and the right to work for themselves has not been resolved. In total, during the reign and work of 9 secret committees, the following problems of the peasants were resolved:

• Peasants were forbidden to sell
• It was forbidden to separate families
• Peasants were allowed to buy real estate
• It was forbidden to send old people to Siberia

In total, during the reign of Nicholas 1, about 100 decrees were adopted that related to the solution of the peasant issue. It is here that one must look for the basis that led to the events of 1861 and the abolition of serfdom.

Relations with other countries

Emperor Nicholas 1 sacredly honored the “Holy Alliance,” an agreement signed by Alexander 1 on Russian assistance to countries where uprisings began. Russia was the European gendarme. In essence, the implementation of the “Holy Alliance” did not give Russia anything. The Russians solved the problems of the Europeans and returned home with nothing.

Reign of Nicholas 1

In July 1830 Russian army was preparing for a campaign in France, where the revolution took place, but events in Poland disrupted this campaign. A major uprising broke out in Poland, led by Czartoryski. Nicholas 1 appointed Count Paskevich as commander of the army for the campaign against Poland, who defeated Polish troops. The uprising was suppressed, and the autonomy of Poland itself became almost formal.

In the period from 1826 – 1828. During the reign of Nicholas I, Russia was drawn into a war with Iran. Her reasons were that Iran was dissatisfied with the peace of 1813 when they lost part of their territory. Therefore, Iran decided to take advantage of the uprising in Russia to regain what it had lost. The war began suddenly for Russia, however, by the end of 1826 Russian troops completely expelled the Iranians from their territory, and in 1827 the Russian army went on the offensive. Iran was defeated, the existence of the country was under threat. The Russian army cleared its way to Tehran. In 1828, Iran offered peace. Russia received the khanates of Nakhichevan and Yerevan. Iran also pledged to pay Russia 20 million rubles. The war was successful for Russia; access to the Caspian Sea was won.

As soon as the war with Iran ended, the war with Turkey began. The Ottoman Empire, like Iran, wanted to take advantage of the visible weakness of Russia and regain some of the previously lost lands. As a result, the Russian-Turkish War began in 1828. It lasted until September 2, 1829, when the Treaty of Adrianople was signed. The Turks suffered a brutal defeat that cost them their position in the Balkans. In fact, with this war, Emperor Nicholas 1 achieved diplomatic submission to the Ottoman Empire.

In 1849, Europe was in revolutionary flames. Emperor Nicholas 1, fulfilling the allied dog, in 1849 sent an army to Hungary, where within a few weeks the Russian army unconditionally defeated revolutionary forces Hungary and Austria.

Emperor Nicholas 1 paid great attention to the fight against revolutionaries, keeping in mind the events of 1825. For this purpose, he created a special office, which was subordinate only to the emperor and conducted only activities against revolutionaries. Despite all the efforts of the emperor, revolutionary circles in Russia were actively developing.

The reign of Nicholas 1 ended in 1855, when Russia was drawn into new war, Crimean, which ended sadly for our state. This war ended after the death of Nicholas, when the country was ruled by his son, Alexander 2.

TOPIC 48.

INTERNAL POLITICS OF RUSSIA IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF THE 19TH CENTURY.

1. Basic political principles of Nicholas's reign

Second quarter of the 19th century. entered the history of Russia as the “Nicholas era” or even “the era of the Nikolaev reaction.” The most important slogan of Nicholas I, who spent 30 years on the Russian throne, was: “The revolution is on the threshold of Russia, but, I swear, it will not penetrate it as long as the breath of life remains in me.” Nicholas I, although distinguished, like his father and older brother, by an exaggerated love of parades and military drills, was a capable and energetic person who understood the need to reform Russia. However, the fear of revolution caused by the Decembrist uprising and the growth of the revolutionary movement in Europe forced him to shy away from deep reforms and pursue a protective policy that ended in collapse during the Crimean War.

2. Codification of laws

In the first years of the reign of Nicholas I, work was organized to codify Russian laws. Unified Code of Laws last time was adopted in Russia in 1649. Since then, thousands of legislative acts have accumulated, often contradicting each other. The work of compiling a code of laws was entrusted to a group of lawyers led by M.M. Speransky. All Russian laws issued after 1649 have been collected and arranged in chronological order. They amounted to 47 volumes Full meeting laws of the Russian Empire. In 1832, the 15-volume Code of Laws of the Russian Empire was published, which included all current laws. The publication of the Code made it possible to streamline the activities of the state apparatus.

3. Political investigation and censorship

In an effort to prevent the spread of revolutionary ideas and organizations in Russia, Nicholas I first of all significantly strengthened the repressive authorities. A special corps of gendarmes was created headed by A.Kh. Benkendorf, and later - A.F. Orlov. The whole country was divided into gendarmerie districts headed by gendarmerie generals, who were supposed to identify and suppress sedition.

The activities of the gendarmes were directed by the special III Department of His Imperial Majesty's own Chancellery. The III Department was first headed by the same Benkendorf, and then by L.V. Dubelt. Section III was not numerous, but had a wide network of agents, with the help of which it was in charge of collecting information about the mood in society, monitoring suspicious people, reading letters, and managing censorship.

Censorship regulations changed several times during the reign of Nicholas I, sometimes becoming stricter, sometimes softening somewhat, but in general the censorship policy was aimed at strangling free thought and any dissent.

Censors were obliged to ban any edition, any publication if they saw even the slightest hint of criticism of the autocratic way of government or the Orthodox religion. Natural science and philosophical books that contradicted Orthodox dogma were prohibited. Even such a loyal writer as Thaddeus Bulgarin complained about the cruelty of censorship, saying that “instead of prohibiting writing against the government, censorship prohibits writing about the government and in favor of it.” Curiosities arose, as in the case when the censor prohibited the exclamation “These seem to be the pillars of the power of Russia!” addressed to the columns of St. Isaac's Cathedral. The censor's remark read: "The pillars of Russia are ministers."

4. The Polish question and domestic politics

The desire of Nicholas I to strictly control the ideological life of society intensified even more after an uprising broke out in Poland in 1830, caused by a violation of the constitution granted by Alexander I. The uprising was brutally suppressed, the Polish constitution was abolished. From that time on, discrimination against Poles began, which did not stop until the very end of the autocracy in Russia. The influence of the Polish uprising on the internal political situation in Russia was associated with Nicholas I's increased fear of revolution.

5. Education system

Concerned about preserving loyal views in society and the people, the authorities constantly tightened school regulations. It was strictly forbidden to admit serfs into higher and secondary educational institutions. People of the “lower ranks” were supposed to receive education primarily in one-class parochial schools, where they taught the basic skills of reading, counting, writing and the law of God. There were three-grade schools for townspeople, and seven-grade gymnasiums only for nobles. Only the gymnasium program, which included literature, ancient languages, history, as well as mathematics and physics, made it possible to enter the university. True, there was a procedure for passing exams externally, which opened the way to universities for people who had not graduated from high school. The rights of universities were curtailed with the introduction of the new university charter of 1835.

In the 30s educational institutions' programs were revised. Teaching science and mathematical sciences decreased in favor of ancient languages ​​(Latin and Church Slavonic). Modern history and literature was not taught at all in order to avoid arousing “harmful thoughts.”

The state sought to unify the system of educational institutions and opposed home education and private schools, since it could not control them in the same way as state-owned gymnasiums and schools.

6. Ideology. The theory of official nationality

In an effort to resist revolutionary and liberal ideas, the autocracy resorted not only to repression. The king understood that views can only be opposed by other views. The official ideology of Nikolaev Russia became the so-called. "the theory of official nationality". Its creator was the Minister of Education, Count S.S. Uvarov. The basis of the theory was the “Uvarov trinity”: Orthodoxy - autocracy - nationality. According to this theory, the Russian people are deeply religious and devoted to the throne, and the Orthodox faith and autocracy constitute the indispensable conditions for the existence of Russia. Nationality was understood as the need to adhere to one’s own traditions and reject foreign influence. Calm, stable, beautifully quiet Russia was contrasted with the restless, decaying West.

The “theory of official nationality” clearly reveals a pattern in Russian history: any turn to conservatism and conservationism is always combined with anti-Westernism and emphasizing the peculiarities of one’s own national path.

The “Theory of Official Nationality” was used as the basis for teaching in schools and universities. Conservative historians S.P. became its guides. Shevyrev and M.P. Pogodin. It was widely promoted in the press through the efforts of such writers as F. Bulgarin, N. Grech, N. Kukolnik and others.

Russia, in accordance with the “theory of official nationality,” was supposed to look happy and peaceful. Benckendorff said: “Russia’s past is amazing, its present is more than magnificent, as for its future, it is above everything that the most ardent imagination can imagine.”

Doubting the splendor of Russian reality in itself turned out to be either a crime or evidence of madness. So, in 1836, by direct order of Nicholas I, P.Ya. was declared crazy. Chaadaev, who published bold and bitter (although far from indisputable) reflections on the history of Russia and its historical fate in the Telescope magazine.

At the end of the 40s, when revolutions began in Europe, it became obvious that Uvarov’s attempt to counter the revolutionary threat by instilling devotion to the throne and the church failed. Sedition penetrated more and more into Russia. A dissatisfied Nicholas fired Uvarov in 1849, relying only on suppressing free thought through repression. This marked a deep ideological crisis in power, which finally alienated society.

7. Financial reform

Kankrina One of the most successful steps of the government of Nicholas I was the monetary reform carried out by Minister of Finance E.F. Kankrin. By the beginning of the reign of Nicholas I, Russia’s finances had fallen into complete disarray, especially due to the growing issue of depreciated paper money(notes). In 1839-1843 E.F. Kankrin carried out a reform that stabilized the Russian currency. Credit notes were issued and freely exchanged for silver money. Kankrin sought to use public funds economically, implemented protectionist measures, and did not allow an increase in taxes on the people in order to ease the budget deficit. However, true financial stabilization was possible only on the basis of sustainable growth of the peasant economy - the basis of the Russian economy. And this required resolving the issue of serfdom.

8. Peasant question

Nicholas I, like many in his circle, understood the need to abolish serfdom - this, in the words of Benckendorff, was the “powder keg” under the empire. However, the essence of his approach to this problem was expressed in the words he once uttered: “Serfdom is evil..., but touching it now would be an even more disastrous evil.”

During the reign of Nicholas I, nine secret committees for peasant affairs were created. The secrecy was explained by the fact that the government was afraid to arouse the discontent of the nobles and cause mass unrest among the serfs. Any hint of a discussion of the issue of serfdom would be perceived unambiguously by the peasants: the tsar wants freedom, but the gentlemen are hindering it. As a result, discussions of the peasant issue were conducted in a narrow circle of officials and each time ended with serious decisions being postponed indefinitely.

In an effort to set an example of how to resolve the peasant issue, the government in 1837-1841. carried out the reform of the state village.

Activities of Nicholas I

It is often called the Kiselev reform after the name of the Minister of State Property P.D. Kiselev, according to whose project and under whose leadership it was carried out.

Kiselev declared his goal to bring the position of state peasants closer to the position of “free rural inhabitants.” The management of the state village was changed. The land holdings of state peasants increased significantly. The capitation tax began to gradually turn into a land tax. Hospitals and schools appeared, peasants received agricultural technical assistance and were able to use credit. Of course, even after the reform, the allotments of state peasants remained insufficient, and peasant self-government was subject to petty police supervision, but still the situation of state peasants improved significantly. It is no coincidence that the idea of ​​equalizing serfs with state-owned people spread widely.

Kiselev’s plan was precisely to carry out reforms, first in the state, and then in the landowner villages. However, due to the resistance of the serf owners, it was necessary to limit ourselves only to the adoption in 1842 of the Decree on “obligated peasants.” The decree somewhat expanded the ability of landowners to free serfs, granted to them under the decree on free cultivators of 1803. Now the landowner could, without asking permission from the authorities, provide the serf with personal rights and a land allotment, for which the peasant was obliged to bear duties. The former serf thus became the hereditary holder of the land, which remained the property of the owner. However, the main condition - the desire of the landowner - remained unshakable. Therefore, the immediate results of the decree were small: only 24 thousand serfs received freedom.

In order for the authorities to decide to abolish serfdom, it took the shame of the lost Crimean War.

What to pay attention to when answering:

A characteristic feature of the reign of Nicholas I is the understanding of the need for reforms with the simultaneous lack of political will to implement them. Nicholas's policy (with the exception of the "dark seven years" after 1848) should be characterized not as reactionary, but mainly as protective, aimed at maintaining the existing situation unchanged until the time when reforms finally become possible.

2The censorship regulations, adopted in 1826 and nicknamed “cast iron”, were relaxed already in 1828, but its name very clearly characterizes the entire censorship policy of the Nicholas era.

Results of the reign of Nicholas I

Work done in 2001

Results of the Reign of Nicholas I - Abstract, History section, - 2001 - Historical experience of the reform activities of the autocracy in the first half of the 19th century. Results of the Reign of Nicholas I. Nicholas Considered the Main Goal of His Reign...

Results of the Reign of Nicholas I. Nicholas considered the main goal of his reign to be the fight against the widespread revolutionary spirit, and he subordinated his entire life to this goal.

Activities of Nicholas I

Sometimes this struggle was expressed in open violent clashes, such as the suppression of the Polish uprising of 1830-1831 or the sending of troops abroad in 1848 - to Hungary to defeat the national liberation movement against Austrian rule.

Russia became an object of fear, hatred and ridicule in the eyes of the liberal part of the European public opinion, and Nikolai himself acquired a reputation as the gendarme of Europe.

During his reign, a number of civil departments received military organization. Introduction of the military principle into public administration testified to the tsar’s distrust of the administrative apparatus. Nevertheless, the desire to subordinate society as much as possible to state tutelage, characteristic of the ideology of the Nicholas era, actually inevitably led to the bureaucratization of management.

The reign of Nicholas I ended in a major foreign policy collapse. The Crimean War of 1853-1856 demonstrated the organizational and technical backwardness of Russia from the Western powers and led to its political isolation. The severe psychological shock from military failures undermined Nicholas's health, and an accidental cold in the spring of 1855 became fatal for him. The image of Nicholas I in later literature acquired a largely odious character; the emperor appeared as a symbol of stupid reaction and obscurantism, which clearly did not take into account the diversity of his personality.

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Historical experience of the reform activities of the autocracy in the first half of the 19th century.

In the language of V. O. Klyuchevsky, from the ancient, i.e. pre-Petrine. Russia emerged not from two adjacent periods of our history, but from two hostile warehouses and... M 1983, p. 363. 1 I. V. Kireevsky and A. I. Herzen wrote about this very convincingly even before Klyuchevsky. Moreover...

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Nicholas I Pavlovich (July 6, 1796 - March 2, 1855)

On the evening of December 24, 1825, Speransky drew up a Manifesto on the accession to the throne of Emperor Nicholas I. Nicholas signed it on December 25 in the morning. Attached to the Manifesto was a letter from his brother Constantine to Alexander I, in which he refused the throne.

The manifesto on his accession to the throne was announced by Nicholas at a meeting of the State Council on December 25. A separate point in the Manifesto stipulated that the time of accession to the throne would be considered December 1 (the day of the death of Alexander I) in order to bridge the gap of lack of power.

Decembrist revolt.

The events of the War of 1812 and the subsequent foreign campaigns of the Russian army had a significant impact on all aspects of life in the Russian Empire, giving rise to certain hopes for change and, most importantly, for the abolition of serfdom. People who were in foreign trips and they reached Europe, saw how they live abroad, what their living conditions are, what laws, what kind of power, they wanted the same thing. But everyone understood that in Russia the emperors do not strive for this, everything remains at the same level and only the top of power enjoys life. There was nothing left to do but act. This is how circles with like-minded people began to appear, and then Secret society, and later this led to the Decembrist uprising.

The Decembrist uprising took place on December 26, 1825. The uprising was organized by a group of like-minded people; they tried to use the guards units to prevent Nicholas I from ascending the throne.

Brief description of Nicholas 1

The goal of the rebels was the abolition of serfdom, equality of all before the law, democratic freedoms, the introduction of compulsory military service for all classes, election of officials, abolition of the poll tax and change of the form of government to a constitutional monarchy or republic.

The rebels decided to block the Senate, send there a revolutionary delegation consisting of Ryleev and Pushchin and present to the Senate a demand not to swear allegiance to Nicholas I, declare the tsarist government deposed and publish a revolutionary manifesto to the Russian people. However, the uprising was brutally suppressed on the same day. The surviving participants in the uprising were exiled, and five leaders were executed. Although the uprising was suppressed, it was not useless. The Decembrist uprising laid a powerful foundation in the minds of people about the freedom of their rights, which led to revolutions in the future. (one of them is the February and October revolutions of 1917 and the overthrow of the government).

Domestic policy.

The historian Klyuchevsky gave the following characterization domestic policy Nicholas I: “Nicholas set himself the task of not changing anything, not introducing anything new in the foundations, but only maintaining the existing order, filling gaps, repairing revealed dilapidations with the help of practical legislation, and doing all this without any participation from society, even with the suppression of social independence, alone government funds; but he did not remove from the queue those burning questions that were raised during the previous reign, and, it seems, he understood their burning importance even more than his predecessor.”

Some contemporaries wrote about his despotism. At the same time, as historians point out, the execution of five Decembrists was the only execution during the entire 30 years of the reign of Nicholas I. They also note that under Nicholas I, torture was not used against political prisoners.

The most important direction of domestic policy was the centralization of power. To carry out the tasks of political investigation, a permanent body was created in July 1826 - the Third Department of the Personal Chancellery - secret Service, who had significant powers. The third department was headed by Alexander Benkendorf, and after his death, Alexey Orlov.

On December 18, 1826, the first of the secret committees was created, whose task was to consider the papers sealed in the office of Alexander I after his death, and to consider the issue of possible transformations of the state apparatus.

Under Nicholas I, the Polish uprising of 1830-1831 was suppressed. After the suppression of the uprising, the Kingdom of Poland lost its independence, the Sejm and the army and was divided into provinces.

Some authors call Nicholas I a knight of autocracy: he firmly defended its foundations and suppressed attempts to change the existing system, despite the revolutions in Europe. After the suppression of the Decembrist uprising, he launched large-scale measures in the country to eradicate the “revolutionary infection”. During the reign of Nicholas I, persecution of the Old Believers resumed.

As for the army, to which the emperor paid a lot of attention, Dmitry Milyutin, the future minister of war during the reign of Alexander II, writes in his notes: “Even in military affairs, which the emperor was engaged in with such passionate enthusiasm, the same concern for order and discipline prevailed.” , they were not chasing a significant improvement of the army, not adapting it to combat purpose“, but behind the external only harmony, behind the brilliant appearance at parades, the pedantic observance of countless petty formalities that dull human reason and kill the true military spirit.”

One of the greatest achievements of Nicholas I can be considered the creation of the code. Involved by the tsar in this work, Speransky performed a titanic work, thanks to which the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire appeared.

Peasant question.

After the Decembrist uprising, Nicholas I decided to pay attention to the problem of the situation of the peasants. Meetings of commissions were held to ease the affairs of the serfs. A reform of state village management was carried out and a “decree on obligated peasants” was signed, which became the foundation for the abolition of serfdom. The decree of Nicholas I of May 14, 1833 prohibited the sale of serfs at public auction and the taking away of their plots, if they had any, and it was forbidden to separate members of the same family during the sale. However, the complete liberation of the peasants did not take place during the life of the emperor. Historians point to significant changes in this area that occurred during the reign of Nicholas I: for the first time, there was a sharp reduction in the number of serfs. The situation of state peasants improved, whose number reached about 50% of the population by the second half of the 1850s. A number of laws were passed to improve the situation of serfs. Thus, landowners were strictly forbidden to sell peasants (without land) and send them to hard labor (which had previously been common practice). Serfs received the right to own land, conduct business, and received relative freedom of movement.

These changes in the position of the peasants naturally caused discontent on the part of large landowners and nobles, who saw them as a threat to the established order. Some reforms aimed at improving the situation of the peasants did not lead to the desired result due to the stubborn opposition of the landowners.

A program of mass peasant education was also launched. During the same period, many technical schools and universities were opened. As the Soviet historian Zayonchkovsky wrote: “During the reign of Nicholas I, contemporaries had the idea that an era of reform had arrived in Russia.”

Industrial Revolution.

The state of industrial affairs at the beginning of the reign of Nicholas I was the worst in the entire history of the Russian Empire. In the West, by this time the industrial revolution was coming to an end, when it didn’t really exist in Russia. Russia's exports included only raw materials; almost all types of industrial products needed by the country were purchased abroad.

By the middle and end of the reign of Nicholas I, the situation had changed greatly. A technically advanced and competitive industry began to take shape. The textile and sugar industries developed. Machines and tools were produced. Products were made from metal, wood, glass, porcelain, leather, etc. The rapid development of industry led to a sharp increase in the urban population and the growth of cities.

After Nicholas I visited England, production of steam locomotives began in Russia. Railways were built. In 1837, the first railway St. Petersburg-Tsarskoe Selo was opened, and in 1851 St. Petersburg-Moscow.

For the first time in the history of Russia, under Nicholas I, intensive construction of paved roads began: the routes Moscow - St. Petersburg, Moscow - Irkutsk, Moscow - Warsaw were built. The construction of railways was also started and about 1000 miles of railway track was built, which gave impetus to the development of our own mechanical engineering.

To combat corruption, under Nicholas I, regular audits were introduced for the first time at all levels. Trials of officials have become commonplace. Nicholas I himself was critical of successes in this area, saying that the only people around him who did not steal were himself and his heir.

Foreign policy.

At the request of the Austrian Empire, Russia took part in the suppression of the Hungarian revolution, sending a 140,000-strong corps to Hungary, which was trying to free itself from oppression by Austria. As a result, the throne of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria was saved.

Nicholas I was stupid and not far-sighted. The Russian emperor did not even ask for anything for Austria's help, saying that a word of thank you was enough for him. Although the Russian side spent money on the campaign, taken from the treasury and people who died in this campaign, Nicholas did not care, because the Russian land is rich in people, and the Russian people are rich in money. Moreover, later the Austrian emperor, who feared excessive strengthening of Russia’s position in the Balkans, during the difficult Crimean War of 1853-1856 for Russia, thanked for the help by taking an unfriendly position towards Russia and threatening it with war if the Russian Empire did not make concessions to the coalition from France, England, Turkey.

Crimean War 1853-1856

The Ottoman Empire, which was no longer so strong, was dependent on other developed countries. One of them was England, which collapsed the Turkish economy and drove it into debt. Russia demanded to declare itself the patroness of all Christian people subject to the Sultan. This outraged the Ottoman Empire, because Christians were on its territory, which means they were under the protection of the Sultan. Fearing Russia, the Ottoman Empire was still ready to agree to such conditions, but there were the British who whispered to the Sultan not to follow Russia’s lead, but to declare war on them. The British promised to help with troops, and huge debts to England did not give Turkey a choice.

In 1853, Türkiye declared war on Russia. The beginning of the war with Turkey in 1853 was marked by the brilliant victory of the Russian fleet under the command of the great Admiral Nakhimov, which defeated the enemy in Sinop Bay. Russia's military successes naturally caused a negative reaction in the West, which is exactly what the British wanted. The leading world powers were not interested in strengthening Russia at the expense of the decrepit Ottoman Empire. This created the basis for a military alliance between England and France.

In 1854, England and France entered the war on the side of Turkey. Due to Russia's technical backwardness, it was difficult to resist these European powers. The main military operations took place in Crimea, but military clashes also took place on the Baltic Sea, in Petropavlovsk on Pacific Ocean, as well as on the White Sea. The enemies were unable to achieve military success anywhere except Crimea.

In October 1854, an anti-Russian coalition besieged Sevastopol. Despite heroic defense city, under the leadership of Nakhimov, after an 11-month siege, in August 1855, the defenders of Sevastopol were forced to surrender the city (the hero Nakhimov was killed during shelling). But the enemy troops did not go deeper into Russia, everyone was exhausted, no one had the strength to launch a march, and in the depths of Russia there was a fresh Russian army of many thousands ready to fight back.

At the beginning of 1856, Alexander II completed a stupid, unnecessary, bloody war. He signed the Paris Peace Treaty. According to its terms, Russia was prohibited from having on the Black Sea naval forces, arsenals and fortresses, as well as Russia was deprived of the opportunity to conduct an active foreign policy in this region.

Panorama detail of Franz Roubaud's Defense of Sevastopol (1904)

Death of Nicholas I.

Nicholas I died on March 2, 1855. He took part in the parade in severe frost in only a light uniform. Immediately after this, rumors spread widely in the capital that Nicholas had committed suicide. The illness began against the backdrop of disappointing news from besieged Sevastopol and worsened after receiving news of the defeat of General Khrulev near Yevpatoria, which was perceived as a harbinger of an inevitable defeat in the war, which Nicholas, due to his character, could not survive. The Tsar’s appearance at the parade in the cold without an overcoat was perceived as an intention to get a fatal cold; according to stories, the life physician Mandt told the Tsar: “Sire, this is worse than death, this is suicide!”