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Nicholas I . Isabela De Jesus. Background . Born June 25, 1796 Rule 1825-1855 Third son of Paul I and Maria Fedorovna Grandmother Catherine the Great called him “colossus” Raised him herself until her death five months later
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Nicholas I Isabela De Jesus
Background • Born June 25, 1796 • Rule 1825-1855 • Third son of Paul I and Maria Fedorovna • Grandmother Catherine the Great called him “colossus” • Raised him herself until her death five months later • Education not as thorough and wasn’t a very good student
Background (cont.) • Extremely attractive • “On a visit to England in 1816 women found his fine Grecian nose, handsome face and imperial bearing an irresistible combination” • Fell in love with Princess Charlotte of Prussia (Mouffy)
Becoming the Czar • Eldest brother childless and second oldest renounced the throne • December 1825: Alexander I mysteriously dies in city of Taganrog • Had already given secret orders that Nicholas I should succeed him • Army swore allegiance to Constantine • 20 days of uncertainty, before Nicholas decided to declare himself emporer • “The morning after tomorrow I’m either Czar or dead.”
Decemberists’ Revolt • Small group of aristocratic officers • Felt Nicholas I did not deserve throne • Cheated Constantine • Wanted a free Russian state, with a federal government and constitution, instead of government under the tsar • December 14, 1825: the military was to swear allegiance to Tsar Nicholas I • 3,000 men revolt against Czar • Nicholas I attempted to initiate “Peace Talks” • Didn’t work, opened fire • Rebellion fails as result of a lack of organization and leadership
Result of Rebellion • Many executed, others sent into exile • Saw liberalism as a major threat • lived in fear of liberal revolts for the rest of his life • Initiated a nation-wide censorship • The Third Section • Restrictions forced the people's loyalty to the tsar and the Russian Orthodox Church.
“Autocracy, Orthodoxy, and Nationality” • Dreamt of ideal society modeled on patriarchal family where people are loyal to the unlimited authority of the Czar • Used to promote traditional Russian values and culture and suppress non-Russian nationalities and religions other than Orthodox Christianity. • "Russification" • centered on the "Nicholas System“ (based on "One Tsar, One Faith, One Nation“) • Gave way to Westernisers and Slavophiles • Westernisers= new ideas • Slavophiles = traditional “Russian” values • saw himself as God's general in charge of Russia's well-being and every citizen as his subordinate
Nicholas I and Literature • Literature flourishing in 19th century • Nicholas I took a personal involvement in lives of authors which was insulting and oppressive • Decided which of their works t0 publish and which not to publish • Thoroughly read books and articles, then suppressed them
Nicholas I and Dostoevsky • Events in Europe made Nicholas nervous • Put intellectuals and revolutionaries under surveillance • April 1849, Nicholas called for the arrest of all of the members of the PetrashevskyCircle • December 22, 1849 were going to be put to death, but Czar only wanted to teach them a lesson • Sent them to exile instead • Relation to Crime and Punishment • Fellow prisoner he met while exiled in Siberia served as model for character Svidrigailov
Death of Nicholas I • Crimean War • Nicholas wanted to expand into the Mediterranean and make territorial gains in the Ottoman Empire • Britain felt that it had to keep control over the Mediterranean sea routes and to preserve the Ottoman Empire as a barrier against Russian expansion • Nicholas dies February 18, 1855 after catching a bad cold • Rumors he poisoned himself after hearing of another military defeat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfg8zmpc0EI
Works Cited • Aprelenko, Maria. "Nicholas I – Russiapedia The Romanov Dynasty Prominent Russians." Get Russianalized – Russiapedia. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. <http://russiapedia.rt.com/prominent-russians/the-romanov- dynasty/nicholas-i/>. • Atchison, Bob. "Nicholas I - Alexander Palace Time Machine." Russian History Websites - Romanov Dynasty - Alexander Palace. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. <http://www.alexanderpalace.org/palace/NickolasPavlovich.html>. • Atchison, Bob. "Nicholas I - Alexander Palace Time Machine." Russian History Websites - Romanov Dynasty - Alexander Palace. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. <http://www.alexanderpalace.org/palace/NickolasPavlovich.html>. • Bloy, Marjie. "The Crimean War: General Causes." The Victorian Web: An Overview. 6 May 2002. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. <http://www.victorianweb.org/history/crimea/gencauses.html>. • Bowman, Rebecca. "Decembrist Revolt: 1825." Then Again. . . 12 Sept. 2002. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. <http://www.thenagain.info/webchron/easteurope/decrevolt.html>. • Gocsik, Karen. "Biography of Dostoevsky - Politics and Punishment." Dartmouth College. 9 Apr. 2003. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. <http://www.dartmouth.edu/~karamazo/bio03.html>.