History of Russia
Heads of the stateTHE ROMANOVS
Emperor Nicholas I (1796-1855)
Reign
1825-1855.Parents: Emperor Paul I Petrovich and Empress Maria Fedorovna.
Wife:
Alexandra Fedorovna, the daughter of Frederick William III of Prussia, Princess Fredericke Luise Charlotte Wilhelmine (1798-1860).
Married: 1 July 1817.
Children:
Alexander Nikolaevich (see Alexander II)
Maria Nikolaevna (1819-1876). Educated by the poet Vasily Zhukovsky, she wept when she heard of the death of her Alexander Pushkin. Maria was known for her beauty, grace, charm, fine manners and strong character. She married Maximilian Eugene Joseph August Napoleon de Beauharnais, duke of Leuchtenberg and one of the cleverest and most handsome princes in Europe. Although they had seven children, Maria and Maximilian did not have a happy marriage.
Olga Nikolaevna (1822-1892) married Grown Prince Friedrich Alexander of Wurttemberg in Peterhof on 13 July 1846, who became King Karl I in 1864.z
Alexandra Nikolaevna (1825-1844) married Landgraf Friedrich Wilhelm of Hesse-Kassel on 28 January 1844. She died giving birth to a still-born son, Wilhelm, in Tsarskoe Selo
Konstantin Nikolaevich (1827-1892) was educated by Admiral Fedor Lutke. He was an admiral (1831), member of the State Council, and naval minister (1855-81). Reformed the Russian navy, building new ships powered by steam. Contributed to the reforms of Alexander II (1860s). Ruler of the kingdom of Poland (1862-64), where he survived an assassination attempt. Chairman of the State Council (1865-81). Withdrew from public life after the accession of Tsar Alexander III (1881). Married Princess Alexandra Friederike Henriette of Sachsen-Altenburg (Grand Duchess Alexandra Josifovna).
Nikolai Nikolaevich (1831-1891). Served in the Russian army, though not noted for his abilities as a commander. Married Princess Alexandra Friederike Wilhelmine of Oldenburg (Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna).
Mikhail Nikolaevich (1832-1909) was chairman of the State Council (1881-1905). Supported conservative groups of the nobility. Married Princess Cacilie Auguste of Baden (Grand Duchess Olga Fedorovna).
Important events:
......1825-1855 Nicholas I was more than just a limited man married to the army. He was an excellent draughtsman and, like another famous military commander, Frederick the Great of Prussia, played well on the flute. He attended the opera and ballet, danced well at court balls, enjoyed jokes, liked women and was a moderate drinker. Tall and stately, with a handsome, classical face, the emperor was extremely imposing. A contemporary wrote that he was "more German than Slav". This is nothing to be surprised at. as by this time, the Romanovs were only Russian in name.
......1817 The Slav blood in the Romanovs veins was further diluted in 1817, when another German princess joined the Imperial family. Nicholas married the daughter of King Frederick William III of Prussia, Princess Frederick Luise Charlotte Wilhelmine (1798 - 1860), who converted to Orthodoxy as Grand Duchess Alexandra Fedorovna. The granddaughter of Frederick the Great was taught Russian by the poet Vasily Zhukovsky.
Nicholas was born in Tsarskoe Selo on 6 July 1796, the last year of the reign of Catherine II. The empress described her impressions of her third grandson:"He is two feet in length, with arms no shorter than mine and a deep bass voice. I have never seen such a cavalier. If he continues to grow, his brothers will be dwarves in comparison with this colossus. Although he has two elder brothers, I believe that he is destined to rule". Nicholas was educated first by a Scottish nurse, Jane Lyon, and then by General Lamsdorf. The general was not particularly intellectual and used traditional teaching methods. His best way of getting his point across was to rap his pupil across the knuckles with a ruled or ramrod. Nicholas developed a dislike for abstract ideas and only brightened up when his lectures came to an end and he was allowed to engage in war games. As he was not expected to inherit the throne, Nicholas's education was limited to military and engineering disciplines.
On 14 January 1822, Tsar Alexander I signed a secret manifesto, making Nicholas the heir to the throne. Not even Nicholas himself knew of the existence of this document. When the news of Alexander's death in Taganrog reached St Petersburg on 27 November 1725, he immediately swore an allegiance of loyalty to his elder brother, Konstantin. The State Council, Senate and army did the same. At the same time, in Warsaw, Konstantin and the kingdom of Poland swore an oath of allegiance to Nicholas. When the confusion was eventually cleared up, the whole country prepared to take a new oath of allegiance to Emperor Nicholas I on 14 December 1825. That day, on Senate Square, several regiments refused to swear the oath to Nicholas. The tsar acted promptly and decisively. He surrounded the rebels with loyal forces and gave the order to open fire on them. The December Revolution was harshly suppressed. Fire of the ringleaders were executed, while 120 active participants were exiled or sentenced to hard labour. The soldiers and sailors who had joined the rebellion were subjected to corporal punishment and sent to fight in the Caucasus.
Nicholas was crowned in the Dormition Cathedral in Moscow on 22 August 1826. This was followed by a second Polish coronation in Warsaw on 12 May 1829. For his help in suppressing the December Revolution, Nicholas made Count Alexander Benkendorf the head of the Russian police.He promoted him to the rank of cavalry general and awarded him the Order of St Andrew. Benkendorf was entrusted with such delicate tasks as acting as the intermediary between the tsar and Alexander Pushkin (their extensive correspondence still survives). Between 1826 and 1829, Count Benkendorf kept the poet under close surveillance at the personal request of the emperor. Nicholas's behaviour on Senate Square in 1825 was not the only example of his personal bravery. On 23 June 1831, during cholera riots in St Petersburg, he went out alone to an angry crowd of several thousand people, demanding an immediate end to the disorders. He was equally courageous when the Winter Palace caught fire in December 1837, helping to put out the flames and save the palace property.
Nicholas's slogan was "autocracy, orthodoxy, nationality". His reign marked the heyday of absolute monarchy in Russia. Non-Russian nationalities were subjected to an intense policy of russification and christianisation. The Old Believers were persecuted. The nobility was given preference in everything. Censorship was increased. Almost the entire state budget was spent on the bureaucracy and army. Nicholas's authoritarianism led to a cult of lies, sycophancy and hypocrisy. Distrusting the bureaucratic apparatus, he extended the power of his own chancellery, which controlled the main branches of the administration, replacing the higher state organs. Defeat in the Crimean War led to the collapse of Nicholas's system and his own sudden death on 2 March 1855. Although he officially died of pneumonia, there were rumours that he had committed suicide or was poisoned. The tsar was buried at the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
Wife:
Alexandra Fedorovna, the daughter of Frederick William III of Prussia, Princess Fredericke Luise Charlotte Wilhelmine (1798-1860).
Married: 1 July 1817.
Children:
Alexander Nikolaevich (see Alexander II)
Maria Nikolaevna (1819-1876). Educated by the poet Vasily Zhukovsky, she wept when she heard of the death of her Alexander Pushkin. Maria was known for her beauty, grace, charm, fine manners and strong character. She married Maximilian Eugene Joseph August Napoleon de Beauharnais, duke of Leuchtenberg and one of the cleverest and most handsome princes in Europe. Although they had seven children, Maria and Maximilian did not have a happy marriage.
Olga Nikolaevna (1822-1892) married Grown Prince Friedrich Alexander of Wurttemberg in Peterhof on 13 July 1846, who became King Karl I in 1864.z
Alexandra Nikolaevna (1825-1844) married Landgraf Friedrich Wilhelm of Hesse-Kassel on 28 January 1844. She died giving birth to a still-born son, Wilhelm, in Tsarskoe Selo
Konstantin Nikolaevich (1827-1892) was educated by Admiral Fedor Lutke. He was an admiral (1831), member of the State Council, and naval minister (1855-81). Reformed the Russian navy, building new ships powered by steam. Contributed to the reforms of Alexander II (1860s). Ruler of the kingdom of Poland (1862-64), where he survived an assassination attempt. Chairman of the State Council (1865-81). Withdrew from public life after the accession of Tsar Alexander III (1881). Married Princess Alexandra Friederike Henriette of Sachsen-Altenburg (Grand Duchess Alexandra Josifovna).
Nikolai Nikolaevich (1831-1891). Served in the Russian army, though not noted for his abilities as a commander. Married Princess Alexandra Friederike Wilhelmine of Oldenburg (Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna).
Mikhail Nikolaevich (1832-1909) was chairman of the State Council (1881-1905). Supported conservative groups of the nobility. Married Princess Cacilie Auguste of Baden (Grand Duchess Olga Fedorovna).
Important events:
- 1826 - Foundation of the Third Department or secret police.
- 1826-28 - Russo-Persian War ending with the signing of the Treaty of Turkmanchai on 10 February 1828, giving Russia part of Persian Armenia.
- 8 October - Victory of Admiral Mikhail Lazarev over the Turko-Egyptian fleet at the Battle of Navarin.
- 1828-29 - Russo-Turkish War ending with the signing of the Treaty of Adrianopole (2 September 1829), giving Russia part of the eastern shore of the Black Sea, the Akhaltsikhski Pashalyk and the mouth of the Danube.
- 1830-31 - Popular uprising in Poland.
- 23 June 1831 - Cholera riots in St Petersburg, Nicholas addresses a crowd of live thousand people on senate Square and calls for an immediate end to the disorders.
- 1832 - Foundation of the Military Academy.
- 1833 - Pavel Schilling invents the world's first electromagnetic telegraph. God save the Tsar (music by Alexei Lvov and words by Vasily Zhukovsky) adopted as the national anthem.
- 1834 - Opening of St Vladimir University in Kiev. Yefim and Miron Cherepanov build the world's first railway at the Lower Tagil Factory in the Urals.
- 1835 - Compilation of the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire, covering over thirty thousand laws in forty-five volumes.
- 1837 - Opening of a railway line between St Petersburg and Tsarskoe Selo.
- 17 December 1837 - Fire destroys the inside of the Winter Palace.
- 1838 - Boris Jacoby invents the process of electroforming.
- 1839 - Opening of the Nicholas (Pulkovo) Astronomical Observatory. Abolition of the Uniate Church in the Ukraine and White Russia.
- 1848 - Police surveillance of the universities and students going abroad.
- 1849 - Russian forces led by Count Ivan Paskevich of Erivan. Prince of Warsaw, crush the Hungarian revolution. The Russian action is widely condemned in Western Europe.
- 1851 - Opening of the Nicholas Railway between St Petersburg and Moscow.
- 1852 - Opening of the New Hermitage, designed by German architect Leo von Klenze.
- 1853 - General Vasily Perovsky captures the Kokand fort of Ak-Mechet (now Kzyl-Orda) on the River Syr Darya in Central Asia.
- 1853-56 - Crimean War. Britain, France and Sardinia inflict a series of defeats on Russia.
- 1855 - Treaty of peace and friendship with Japan.
......1825-1855 Nicholas I was more than just a limited man married to the army. He was an excellent draughtsman and, like another famous military commander, Frederick the Great of Prussia, played well on the flute. He attended the opera and ballet, danced well at court balls, enjoyed jokes, liked women and was a moderate drinker. Tall and stately, with a handsome, classical face, the emperor was extremely imposing. A contemporary wrote that he was "more German than Slav". This is nothing to be surprised at. as by this time, the Romanovs were only Russian in name.
......1817 The Slav blood in the Romanovs veins was further diluted in 1817, when another German princess joined the Imperial family. Nicholas married the daughter of King Frederick William III of Prussia, Princess Frederick Luise Charlotte Wilhelmine (1798 - 1860), who converted to Orthodoxy as Grand Duchess Alexandra Fedorovna. The granddaughter of Frederick the Great was taught Russian by the poet Vasily Zhukovsky.
Nicholas was born in Tsarskoe Selo on 6 July 1796, the last year of the reign of Catherine II. The empress described her impressions of her third grandson:"He is two feet in length, with arms no shorter than mine and a deep bass voice. I have never seen such a cavalier. If he continues to grow, his brothers will be dwarves in comparison with this colossus. Although he has two elder brothers, I believe that he is destined to rule". Nicholas was educated first by a Scottish nurse, Jane Lyon, and then by General Lamsdorf. The general was not particularly intellectual and used traditional teaching methods. His best way of getting his point across was to rap his pupil across the knuckles with a ruled or ramrod. Nicholas developed a dislike for abstract ideas and only brightened up when his lectures came to an end and he was allowed to engage in war games. As he was not expected to inherit the throne, Nicholas's education was limited to military and engineering disciplines.
On 14 January 1822, Tsar Alexander I signed a secret manifesto, making Nicholas the heir to the throne. Not even Nicholas himself knew of the existence of this document. When the news of Alexander's death in Taganrog reached St Petersburg on 27 November 1725, he immediately swore an allegiance of loyalty to his elder brother, Konstantin. The State Council, Senate and army did the same. At the same time, in Warsaw, Konstantin and the kingdom of Poland swore an oath of allegiance to Nicholas. When the confusion was eventually cleared up, the whole country prepared to take a new oath of allegiance to Emperor Nicholas I on 14 December 1825. That day, on Senate Square, several regiments refused to swear the oath to Nicholas. The tsar acted promptly and decisively. He surrounded the rebels with loyal forces and gave the order to open fire on them. The December Revolution was harshly suppressed. Fire of the ringleaders were executed, while 120 active participants were exiled or sentenced to hard labour. The soldiers and sailors who had joined the rebellion were subjected to corporal punishment and sent to fight in the Caucasus.
Nicholas was crowned in the Dormition Cathedral in Moscow on 22 August 1826. This was followed by a second Polish coronation in Warsaw on 12 May 1829. For his help in suppressing the December Revolution, Nicholas made Count Alexander Benkendorf the head of the Russian police.He promoted him to the rank of cavalry general and awarded him the Order of St Andrew. Benkendorf was entrusted with such delicate tasks as acting as the intermediary between the tsar and Alexander Pushkin (their extensive correspondence still survives). Between 1826 and 1829, Count Benkendorf kept the poet under close surveillance at the personal request of the emperor. Nicholas's behaviour on Senate Square in 1825 was not the only example of his personal bravery. On 23 June 1831, during cholera riots in St Petersburg, he went out alone to an angry crowd of several thousand people, demanding an immediate end to the disorders. He was equally courageous when the Winter Palace caught fire in December 1837, helping to put out the flames and save the palace property.
Nicholas's slogan was "autocracy, orthodoxy, nationality". His reign marked the heyday of absolute monarchy in Russia. Non-Russian nationalities were subjected to an intense policy of russification and christianisation. The Old Believers were persecuted. The nobility was given preference in everything. Censorship was increased. Almost the entire state budget was spent on the bureaucracy and army. Nicholas's authoritarianism led to a cult of lies, sycophancy and hypocrisy. Distrusting the bureaucratic apparatus, he extended the power of his own chancellery, which controlled the main branches of the administration, replacing the higher state organs. Defeat in the Crimean War led to the collapse of Nicholas's system and his own sudden death on 2 March 1855. Although he officially died of pneumonia, there were rumours that he had committed suicide or was poisoned. The tsar was buried at the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
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