Nikolay the First Pavlovich - the emperor, who ruled from 1825 to 1855 in the Russian Empire. Due to cruel corporal punishment, mainly in a military environment, he received the nickname "Nikolai Palkin", which later became widely known due to the story of the same name by L. N. Tolstoy.
Nikolay the first. Biography
Nicholas I was the third son of Maria Fyodorovna and Paul I. He received a good education, but did not show much zeal for study. He hated humanities, but he perfectly understood military art, knew engineering and was fond of fortification. The soldiers considered Nicholas the First arrogant, cruel and cold-blooded. Unfortunately, they did not like him in the army.
Nicholas I 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 Nikolai did not want to recognize the will of Alexander. Only after Konstantin repeatedly gave confirmation of his abdication of the throne, Nikolai the First issued a manifesto on accession to the throne.
On the very first day of the reign, a tragic event occurred on Senate Square - the Decembrists revolted. This incident left a deep mark in Nikolai’s soul and instilled in him a fear of free-thinking. The uprising was successfully crushed, and its leaders executed. Nikolay the First was a conservative and did not change the intended political course for about thirty years.
What domestic policy was led by Nikolay 1 (briefly)
Nicholas the First in every way suppressed all manifestations of free-thinking and free-thinking. The main goal of politics was the maximum possible centralization of power. Nicholas I wanted to concentrate in his hands all the levers of government. A special office was created specifically for this, which included six departments:
- the first branch was in charge of personal papers;
- the second was in charge of the law;
- secret office was the third department. She possessed the broadest powers;
- the fourth department was ruled by the emperor's mother;
- the fifth branch dealt with peasant problems;
- the sixth dealt with the problems of the Caucasus.
Nikolai the First fiercely and stubbornly defended the foundations of the autocracy and thwarted attempts to change the system in any way. After the Decembrist uprising 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.
Bureaucracy was the pillar of the throne. Nicholas the First did not have confidence in the nobles, since they deceived him and betrayed him, going to Senate Square. The reason lies in the Patriotic War of 1812. It was then that the nobles passed along with the ordinary peasants of half of Europe, saw the difference between the standard of living in Russia and the West. This rallied the estates in Russia. In addition, at that time the ideas of Freemasonry, which played an important role in revolutionary moods, were widely spread in the country.
Nicholas I did a lot in other areas of life. He solved many problems concerning peasants, corruption, development of transport and industry.