Nikolai the First Pavlovich - Emperor who ruled from 1825 to 1855 in the Russian Empire. Due to cruel corporal punishment, mainly in the military environment, he received the nickname "Nikolai Palkin", which later became widely known because of the story of the same name by Leo Tolstoy.
Nikolay the first. Biography
Nicholas I was the third son of Maria Feodorovna and Paul I. He received a good education, but did not show much zeal for study. He hated the humanities, but he perfectly understood the art of war, knew engineering and was fond of fortification. The soldiers considered Nicholas the First to be arrogant, cruel and cold-blooded. In the army, unfortunately, they did not like him.
Nicholas the First ascended the throne after the death of his brother Alexander. The second brother Constantine abdicated during his lifetime. However, this decision was kept secret until the death of Alexander the First. For this reason, at first Nicholas did not want to recognize Alexander's will. Only after Konstantin re-confirmedhis renunciation of the throne, Nicholas I issued a manifesto on accession to the throne.
On the very first day of his reign, a tragic event took place on Senate Square - the Decembrists revolted. This incident left a deep imprint on the soul of Nicholas and instilled in him a fear of free thinking. The uprising was successfully put down and its leaders executed. Nicholas the First was a conservative and did not change the intended political course for about thirty years.
What domestic policy did Nicholas 1 lead (briefly)
Nicholas the First in every way suppressed all manifestations of freethinking and freethinking. The main goal of the policy was the maximum possible centralization of power. Nicholas I wanted to concentrate in his hands all the levers of government. Especially for this, a personal office was created, which included six departments:
- first department was in charge of personal papers;
- the second was in charge of legislation;
- secret office was the third department. She had the widest powers;
- fourth department was ruled by the emperor's mother;
- fifth department de alt with peasant problems;
- the sixth de alt with the problems of the Caucasus.
Nikolai the First fiercely and stubbornly defended the foundations of autocracy and stopped attempts to change the system in any way. After the uprising of the Decembrists on Senate Square, Nikolai held events in the state, the purpose of which was to eradicate the “revolutionary infection”. The third department of the personal office was engaged in political investigation.
The bureaucracy was the backbone of the throne. Nicholas the First did not have confidence in the nobles, as they deceived him and betrayed him by going to Senate Square. The reason lies in the Patriotic War of 1812. It was then that the nobles went through half of Europe together with ordinary peasants, they saw the difference between the standard of living in Russia and in the West. This rallied the estates in Russia. In addition, at this time, the ideas of Freemasonry were widespread in the country, which played an important role in revolutionary moods.
Nikolai the First did a lot in other areas of life. He solved many problems concerning peasants, corruption, development of transport and industry.
