Nicholas the First. Accession and Domestic Politics

Nikolay First Pavlovich - the emperor who ruled from 1825 to 1855 in the Russian Empire. Because of cruel corporal punishment, mostly in the military environment, he received the nickname "Nikolai Palkin", which later became widely known because of the eponymous story of Leo Tolstoy.

Nikolay is 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 studying. He hated the humanities, but he understood military art very well, he knew engineering and was fond of fortification. The soldiers considered Nicholas I to be arrogant, cruel and cold-blooded. In the army, unfortunately, they did not like him.

Nicholas I first ascended the throne after the death of his brother Alexander. 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 Alexander's will. Only after Constantine repeatedly confirmed his refusal to the throne, Nicholas the First issued a manifesto on the accession to the throne.

On the first day of the reign, a tragic event occurred on the Senate Square - the Decembrists rebelled. This incident left a deep imprint in the soul of Nicholas and instilled in him a fear of freethinking. The uprising was successfully suppressed, and its leaders were executed. Nicholas the First was a conservative and did not change the planned political course for about thirty years.

What internal policy did Nicholas 1 conduct? Briefly.

Nikolay the First in every possible way suppressed all displays of freethinking and free-thinking. The main goal of politics was the utmost possible centralization of power. Nikolay First wanted to concentrate in his hands all the levers of governance of the state. Specially for this purpose, a personal office was created, which included six branches:

- the first branch was in charge of personal papers;

- the second was in charge of the legislation;

- the secret chancellery was the third department. She had the most extensive 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.

Nicholas the First fiercely and stubbornly defended the foundations of the autocracy and stopped attempts to change the system in any way. After the Decembrist uprising in the Senate Square, Nikolai held events in the state whose goal was the eradication of the "revolutionary contagion." The third department of the personal chancery was engaged in political investigation.

The government was the backbone of the throne. Nicholas the First did not have any confidence in the nobles, since they deceived him and betrayed him, coming to the Senate Square. The reason lies in the Patriotic War of 1812. It was then that the noblemen went along with the common peasants of half of Europe, saw the difference between the standard of living in Russia and in the West. This rallied the estates in Russia. In addition, at that time the ideas of Freemasonry were widely spread in the country, which played an important role in revolutionary moods.

Nicholas the First did a lot in other spheres of life. He solved many problems concerning peasants, corruption, development of transport and industry.