| Nicholas I Of Russia |
Article Index for Nicholas I |
Website Links For Nicholas |
Information AboutNicholas I Of Russia |
|
Nikolai I Pavlovich ( ( June 25 , Old Style ), 1796 – March 2 ( February 18 , Old Style ), 1855 ), also Nicholas''', was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855 and King of Poland from 1825 until 1831 . He was born in Gatchina to Paul I Of Russia and Sophie Marie Dorothea Of Württemberg . He was a younger brother to Alexander I Of Russia and Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich Of Russia . PRINCIPLES Nicholas completely lacked his brother's spiritual and intellectual breadth; he saw his role simply as one paternal autocrat ruling his people by whatever means were necessary. Having experienced the trauma of the Decembrist Revolt , Nicholas I was determined to restrain Russian society. A secret police, the Third Section of Imperial Chancellery , ran a huge network of spies and informers with the help of Gendarmes . The government exercised censorship and other controls over education, publishing, and all manifestations of public life. In 1833 the minister of education, Sergey Uvarov , devised a program of "autocracy, Orthodoxy, and nationality" as the guiding principle of the regime. The people were to show loyalty to the unlimited authority of the Tsar , to the traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church , and, in a vague way, to the Russian nation. These principles did not gain the support of the population but instead led to repression in general and to suppression of non-Russian nationalities and religions in particular. For example, the government suppressed the Uniate Church in Ukraine and Belarus in 1839 . See also Cantonist s. CULTURE The official emphasis on Russian nationalism contributed to a debate on Russia's place in the world, the meaning of Russian history, and the future of Russia. One group, the Westernizers, believed that Russia remained backward and primitive and could progress only through more Europeanization. Another group, the Slavophiles, enthusiastically favored the Slavs and their culture and customs, and had a distaste for Westerners and their culture and customs. The Slavophiles viewed Slavic Philosophy as a source of wholeness in Russia and looked askance at Western rationalism and materialism. Some of them believed that the Russian peasant commune, or mir, offered an attractive alternative to Western capitalism and could make Russia a potential social and moral saviour. The Slavophiles, therefore, represented a form of Russian messianism.
|