View source for Nicholas I of Russia

{{short description|Emperor of Russia from 1825 to 1855}}
{{Redirect|Imperator Nikolai I|ships with this name|Russian ship Imperator Nikolai I{{!}}Russian ship ''Imperator Nikolai I''}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Nicholas I
| image        = Botman - Emperor Nicholas I (cropped) (b).jpg
| caption      = Portrait by {{Interlanguage link|Georg von Bothmann|de|Georg von Bothmann}}, 1855
| reign        = 1 December 1825 – {{Nowrap|2 March 1855}}
| coronation   = 3 September 1826
| cor-type     = russia
| succession   = [[Emperor of Russia]]
| predecessor  = [[Alexander I of Russia|Alexander I]]
| successor    = [[Alexander II of Russia|Alexander II]]
| spouse       = {{Marriage|[[Alexandra Feodorovna (Charlotte of Prussia)|Charlotte of Prussia]]|13 July 1817}}
| issue        = {{Ubl
  |[[Alexander II, Emperor of Russia]]
  |[[Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (1819–1876)|Maria Nikolaevna, Duchess of Leuchtenberg]]
  |[[Olga Nikolaevna of Russia|Olga Nikolaevna, Queen of Württemberg]]
  |[[Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna of Russia|Alexandra, Princess of Hesse-Kassel]]
  |[[Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia|Grand Duke Konstantin]]
  |[[Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia (1831–1891)|Grand Duke Nicholas]]
  |[[Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia|Grand Duke Michael]]
}}
| full name    = {{Ubl
  |Nicholas Pavlovich Romanov
  |{{langx|ru|Николай Павлович Романов}}
}}
| house        = [[Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov]]
| father       = [[Paul I of Russia]]
| mother       = [[Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg)|Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg]]
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1796|7|6|df=yes}}
| birth_place  = [[Gatchina Palace]], [[Gatchina]], Russia
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|1855|3|2|1796|7|6|df=yes}}
| death_place  = [[Winter Palace]], Saint Petersburg, Russia
| burial_place = [[Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Saint Petersburg]]
| religion     = [[Russian Orthodox]]
| succession1  = [[King of Poland]]
| reign1       = 1 December 1825 – 2 March 1855
| coronation1  = 24 May 1829
| predecessor1 = [[Alexander I of Russia|Alexander I]]
| successor1   = [[Alexander II of Russia|Alexander II]]
| signature    = Signatur Nikolaus I. (Russland).PNG
}}
'''Nicholas I'''{{#tag:ref|{{langx|ru|Николай I Павлович|Nikolay I Pavlovich}}, {{IPA|ru|nʲɪkɐˈlaj ˈpʲervɨj ˈpavləvʲɪtɕ|IPA}}.|group=pron}} ({{OldStyleDate|6 July|1796|25 June}} – {{OldStyleDate|2 March|1855|18 February}}) was [[Emperor of Russia]], [[List of rulers of Partitioned Poland#Kings of the Kingdom of Poland|King of Congress Poland]], and [[Grand Duke of Finland]] from 1825 to 1855. He was the third son of [[Paul I of Russia|Paul I]] and younger brother of his predecessor, [[Alexander I of Russia|Alexander I]]. Nicholas's thirty-year reign began with the failed [[Decembrist revolt]]. He is mainly remembered as a [[reactionary]] whose controversial reign was marked by geographical expansion, centralisation of administrative policies, and [[repression of dissent]] both in [[Imperial Russia|Russia]] and among its neighbors. Nicholas had a happy marriage that produced a large family, with all of their seven children surviving childhood.<ref>Cowles, Virginia. ''The Romanovs''. Harper & Ross, 1971. {{ISBN|978-0-06-010908-0}} p.164</ref>

Nicholas's biographer [[Nicholas V. Riasanovsky]] said that he displayed determination, singleness of purpose, and an iron will, along with a powerful sense of duty and a dedication to very hard work. He saw himself as a soldier—a junior officer consumed by spit and polish. A handsome man, he was highly nervous and aggressive. Trained as a military engineer, he was a stickler for minute detail. In his public persona, stated Riasanovsky, "Nicholas I came to represent [[Tsarist autocracy|autocracy]] personified: infinitely majestic, determined and powerful, hard as stone, and relentless as fate."<ref>Nicholas Riasanovsky, ''Nicholas I and Official Nationality in Russia, 1825–1855'' (1959). p. 3.</ref>

Nicholas I was instrumental in helping to create an [[Greek War of Independence|independent]] [[Kingdom of Greece|Greek state]] and resumed the [[Russian conquest of the Caucasus]] by seizing [[Iğdır Province]] and the remainder of modern-day [[Armenia]] and [[Azerbaijan]] from [[Qajar Iran]] during the [[Russo-Persian War (1826–1828)]]. He ended the [[Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829)]] successfully as well. He crushed the [[November Uprising]] in [[Congress Poland|Poland]] in 1831 and decisively aided [[Austrian Empire|Austria]] during the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848|Hungarian Revolution]] of 1848. Later on, however, [[Foreign policy of the Russian Empire#Nicholas I, 1825–1855|he led Russia]] into the [[Crimean War]] (1853–1856), with disastrous results. Historians emphasize that his [[micromanagement]] of the armies hindered his generals, as did his misguided strategy. Several historians have concluded that "the reign of Nicholas I was a catastrophic failure in both domestic and foreign policy."<ref>
William C. Fuller, Jr., ''Strategy and Power in Russia 1600–1914'' (1998) p. 243.
</ref> On the eve of his death, the [[Russian Empire]] spanned over 20 million square kilometers ({{convert|20|km2|sqmi|disp= output number only}} million square miles), but had a desperate need for reform.

==Early life and road to power==
[[File:Tsar Nicholas I Pavlovich as a boy, circa 1808.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Portrait of Grand Duke Nicholas Pavlovich ({{circa}} 1808), by anonymous painter after [[Johann Friedrich August Tischbein]], located in the [[Russian Museum]], Saint Petersburg]]

Nicholas was born in 1796 at [[Gatchina Palace]] in [[Gatchina]], the ninth child of [[Paul I of Russia|Grand Duke Paul]], heir to the Russian throne, and Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna of Russia (née [[Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg)|Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg]]). 

He had six older sisters and two older brothers, namely the future [[Alexander I of Russia|Emperor Alexander I of Russia]] and [[Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia]].

Four months after Nicholas's birth, his grandmother, [[Catherine the Great]], died and his parents became Emperor and Empress of Russia. In 1800, at the age of four years, Nicholas was named Grand Prior of Russia and entitled to wear the [[List of Grand Masters of the Knights Hospitaller|Maltese cross]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Ceyrep|url=https://academic.oup.com/nq/article-abstract/s1-XI/286/309/4535653?redirectedFrom=fulltext|title=The grand master of the order of Malta|date=21 April 1855|journal=[[Notes and Queries]]|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|volume=s1-XI|pages=309–310|doi=10.1093/nq/s1-XI.286.309c|issue=286|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=An Official Statement from the Chancellery of the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. the Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, on the activities of organizations which falsely refer to themselves as the "Order of Malta"|url=http://www.imperialhouse.ru/en/interest/interest.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015043530/http://www.imperialhouse.ru/en/interest/interest.html|archive-date=15 October 2020|access-date=11 September 2020|via={{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20071030003235/http://www.orderstjohn.org/osj/pushkin.htm orderstjohn.org]}}|quote=Imperors Alexander I, Nicholas I, Alexander III, and Nicholas II were all Bailiffs Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Order of Malta.}}</ref> Nicholas grew up to be a fine young man. Riasanovsky says of him that he is "the most handsome man in Europe, but also a charmer who enjoyed feminine company and was often at his best with the men."<ref>Nicholas Riasanovsky, '' Nicholas I and Official Nationality in Russia, 1825–1855'' (1959) p. 19</ref>

[[File:Alte Nationalgalerie-Krüger-Regimentübergabe in Potsdam 1817 DSC8020 (cropped).jpg|thumb|''[[Parade in Potsdam in 1817]]'' by [[Franz Krüger]]. A painting commemorating his visit to [[Berlin]] to marry [[Alexandra Feodorovna (Charlotte of Prussia)|Princess Charlotte of Prussia]]]]
On 13 July 1817, Nicholas married [[Alexandra Feodorovna (Charlotte of Prussia)|Princess Charlotte of Prussia]] (1798–1860), who took the name Alexandra Feodorovna when she converted to Orthodoxy. Charlotte's parents were [[Frederick William III of Prussia]] and [[Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]. Nicholas and Charlotte were third cousins, as they were both great-great-grandchildren of [[Frederick William I of Prussia]].

With two older brothers, it initially seemed unlikely Nicholas would ever become Tsar. However, as Alexander and Constantine both failed to produce legitimate sons, Nicholas first came to attention as being likely to rule one day, or at least that his children may succeed. In 1825, when Tsar Alexander died suddenly of [[typhus]], Nicholas was caught between swearing allegiance to Constantine and accepting the throne for himself. The interregnum lasted until Constantine, who was in [[Warsaw]] at that time, officially forfeited his right to succession. This had been required by Tsar Alexander as a condition of Constantine's marriage to his second wife [[Joanna Grudzinska]]. On 25 (13 [[Old Style]]) December, Nicholas issued the manifesto proclaiming his accession to the throne. That manifesto retroactively named 1 December (19 November [[Old Style]]), the date of Alexander I's death, as the beginning of his reign. During this confusion, a plot was hatched by some members of the military to overthrow Nicholas and seize power. This led to the [[Decembrist Revolt]] on 26 (14 [[Old Style]]) December 1825, an uprising Nicholas quickly suppressed.

==Emperor and principles==
[[File:Imperial Monogram of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, Variant.svg|thumb|left|100px|Imperial monogram]]
{{Conservatism in Russia|Politicians}}
===Early reign===
Nicholas completely lacked his brother's spiritual and intellectual breadth; he saw his role simply as that of a paternal [[Tsarist autocracy|autocrat]] ruling his people by whatever means necessary.<ref>W. Bruce Lincoln, ''The Romanovs'' (The Dial Press: New York, 1981) p. 411.</ref> Nicholas I began his reign on 14 December 1825 (old style),<ref>Edward Crankshaw, ''The Shadow of the Winter Palace'' (Viking Press: New York, 1976) p. 13.</ref> which fell on a Monday; Russian superstition held that Mondays were unlucky days.<ref name="W. Bruce Lincoln p. 409">W. Bruce Lincoln, ''The Romanovs'', p. 409.</ref> This particular Monday dawned very cold, with temperatures of −8 degrees Celsius.<ref name=" W. Bruce Lincoln p. 409"/> This was regarded by the Russian people as a bad omen for the coming reign.

The accession of Nicholas I was marred by a demonstration of 3000 young [[Officer (armed forces)|army officer]]s and other liberal-minded citizens. This demonstration was an attempt to force the government to accept a constitution and a representative form of government. Nicholas ordered the [[Imperial Russian Army]] to smash the demonstration. The "uprising" was quickly put down and became known as the [[Decembrist revolt]]. Having experienced the trauma of the Decembrist revolt on the first day of his reign, Nicholas I was determined to restrain Russian society. The [[Third Section of His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery|Third Section]] of the [[His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery|Imperial Chancellery]] ran a huge network of spies and informers with the help of [[Separate Corps of Gendarmes|Gendarmes]]. The government exercised [[Censorship in Russia|censorship]] and other forms of control over education, publishing, and all manifestations of public life.

Nicholas appointed [[Alexander Benckendorff]] to head this Chancellery. Benckendorff employed 300 gendarmes and 16 staff in his office. He began collecting informers and intercepting mail. Soon, the saying that "it was impossible to sneeze in one's house before it is reported to the emperor" became Benckendorff's creed.<ref>Montefiore, p. 493</ref>

===Local policies===
{{see also|Abolition of serfdom in Livonia}}
Tsar Nicholas abolished several areas of local autonomy. [[Bessarabia]]'s autonomy was removed in 1828, Poland's in 1830 and the Jewish [[Qahal]] was abolished in 1843. As an exception to this trend, [[Finland]] was able to keep its autonomy partly due to Finnish soldiers' loyal participation in crushing the [[November Uprising]] in Poland.<ref>Lifgardets 3 Finska Skarpskyttebataljon 1812–1905 ett minnesblad. 1905 Helsinki by Söderström & Co</ref>

Russia's first railway was opened in 1837, a {{convert|16|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} line between [[St. Petersburg]] and the suburban residence of [[Tsarskoye Selo]]. The second was the [[Saint Petersburg–Moscow railway]], built-in 1842–51. Nevertheless, by 1855 there were only {{convert|570|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} of Russian railways.<ref>Henry Reichman, ''Railwaymen and Revolution: Russia'', 1905 p. 16</ref>

[[File: Russia 1836 1½ Ruble.jpg|thumb|250px|Nicholas I "Family Ruble" (1836) depicting the Tsar on the obverse and his family on the reverse: [[Tsarina]] [[Alexandra Feodorovna (Charlotte of Prussia)|Alexandra Feodorovna]] (center) surrounded by [[Alexander II of Russia|Alexander II]] as [[Tsarevich]], [[Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (1819–1876)|Maria]], [[Olga Nikolaevna of Russia|Olga]], [[Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia (1831–1891)|Nicholas]], [[Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia|Michael]], [[Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia|Konstantin]], and [[Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna of Russia|Alexandra]] ]]

In 1833, [[Sergey Uvarov]], of the [[Ministry of National Education (Russian Empire)|Ministry of National Education]], devised a program of "[[Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality]]" as the guiding principle of the regime. It was a [[reactionary]] policy based on orthodoxy in religion, autocracy in government, and the state-founding role of the Russian nationality and equal citizen rights for all other peoples inhabiting Russia, with the exclusion of Jews.<ref>Nicholas Riasanovsky, ''A History of Russia'' (4th edition 1984) pp. 323–24</ref> The people were to show loyalty to the unrestricted authority of the [[tsar]], to the traditions of the [[Russian Orthodox Church]], and the [[Russian language]]. These romantic and conservative principles outlined by Uvarov were also espoused by [[Vasily Zhukovsky]], one of the tutors of the Grand Duke Alexander.<ref>W. Bruce Lincoln, ''The Romanovs'', p. 428.</ref> The results of these [[Slavophile]] principles led, broadly speaking, to increasing repression of all classes, excessive censorship, and surveillance of independent-minded intellectuals like [[Pushkin]] and [[Lermontov]] and to the persecution of non-Russian languages and non-Orthodox religions.<ref>W. Bruce Lincoln, ''The Romanovs'', p. 490.</ref> [[Taras Shevchenko]], later to become known as the [[List of national poets|national poet]] of [[Ukraine]], was exiled to [[Siberia]] by a direct order of Tsar Nicholas after composing a poem that mocked the Tsar, his wife, and his domestic policies. By order of the Tsar, Shevchenko was kept under strict surveillance and prevented from writing or painting.

From 1839, Tsar Nicholas also used a former [[Byzantine Catholic]] Bishop named [[Joseph Semashko]] as his agent to re-unite Orthodoxy with the [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Eastern Rite Catholics]] of [[Ukraine]], [[Belarus]], and [[Lithuania]] with the [[Synod of Polotsk]]. This caused Tsar Nicholas to be condemned by a succession of [[Roman Pontiff]]s, the [[Marquis de Custine]], [[Charles Dickens]],<ref>Charles Dickens, "The true story of the nuns of Minsk", ''[[Household Words]]'', Issue No. 216. Volume IX, pp. 290–295.</ref> and many Western governments. (See also [[Cantonist]]s.)

Nicholas disliked [[serfdom]] and toyed with the idea of abolishing it in Russia, but declined to do so for reasons of state. He feared the aristocracy and believed they might turn against him if he abolished serfdom. However, he did make some efforts to improve the lot of the Crown Serfs (serfs owned by the government) with the help of his minister [[Pavel Kiselyov]]. During most of his reign he tried to increase his control over the landowners and other influential groups in Russia. In 1831, Nicholas restricted the votes in the Noble Assembly to those with over 100 serfs, leaving 21,916 voters.<ref>Richard Pipes, ''Russia under the Old Regime'', p. 179</ref> In 1841, landless nobles were banned from selling [[serfs]] separate from the land.<ref>Geroid Tanquary Robinson, ''Rural Russia under the Old Régime: A History of the Landlord-Peasant World'', p. 37</ref> From 1845, attainment of the 5th highest rank (out of 14) in the [[Table of Ranks]] was required to be ennobled, previously it had been the 8th rank.<ref>Geoffrey Hosking, ''Russia: People and Empire'', p. 155</ref>

== King of Poland ==
Nicholas was crowned King of Poland in Warsaw on 12 (24) May 1829, per the Polish Constitution, a document he would not respect thereafter. He is the only Russian monarch ever crowned King of Poland<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Boltunova |first=Ekaterina |date=Spring 2021 |title=The Last King of Poland: Nicholas I's Warsaw Coronation and Russian-Polish Historical Memory |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/790722 |journal=Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=229–254 |doi=10.1353/kri.2021.0013|url-access=subscription }}</ref>{{Em dash}}although [[Alexander I of Russia|not the only]] one bestowed with the title.

==Culture==
The official emphasis on [[Russian nationalism]] fueled a debate on Russia's place in the world, the meaning of Russian history, and the future of Russia.{{citation needed|date=April 2019}} One group, the [[westernizers]], believed that Russia remained backward and primitive and could progress only through adopting European culture and institutions. Another group, the [[Slavophiles]], enthusiastically favored [[Slavs|Slavic]] culture and customs, and disdained [[Western world|the West]].

[[File: Bogdan Villevalde, Nicholas I of Russia and Alexander Nikolayevich in 1854.jpg|thumb|Nicholas I with [[Alexander II of Russia|Alexander II]] in [[Bogdan Willewalde]]'s studio in Saint Petersburg in 1854, oil on canvas, [[State Russian Museum]]]]

The Slavophiles viewed [[Slavs|Slavic]] philosophy as a source of wholeness in Russia and were sceptical of Western [[rationalism]] and materialism. Some of them believed that the Russian peasant commune, or [[mir (social)|Mir]], offered an attractive alternative to Western capitalism and could save Europe from social and moral revolution, thus representing a form of Russian [[messianism]]. However the ministry of education had a policy of closing philosophy faculties to curb destabilizing speculation.<ref>Hugh Seton-Watson, ''The Russian Empire: 1801–1917'' (1967) p. 277</ref>

In the wake of the Decembrist revolt, the tsar moved to protect the status quo by centralizing education. He wanted to neutralize the threat of foreign ideas and "pseudo-knowledge". However, his minister of education, [[Sergei Uvarov]], quietly promoted academic freedom and autonomy, raised academic standards, improved facilities, and opened higher education to the middle classes. By 1848 the tsar, fearing that political upheavals in the West might spread to Russia, ended Uvarov's innovations.<ref>Stephen Woodburn, "Reaction Reconsidered: Education and the State in Russia, 1825–1848," ''Consortium on Revolutionary Europe 1750–1850: Selected Papers'' (2000), pp. 423–431</ref> The universities were small and closely monitored, especially the potentially dangerous philosophy departments. Their main mission was to train a loyal, vigorous, manly senior bureaucracy unspoiled by effeminate office work.<ref>Rebecca Friedman, ''Masculinity, Autocracy and the Russian University, 1804–1863'' (2005)</ref><ref>Rebecca Friedman, "Masculinity, the Body, and Coming of Age in the Nineteenth-Century Russian Cadet Corps," ''Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth'' (2012) 5 #2 pp. 219–238 [http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_the_history_of_childhood_and_youth/v005/5.2.friedman.html online]</ref>

The Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg became the main source of recognition and support for artists. Nicholas I decided to control it personally, reserving the final say on artistic honors. As the tsar reprimanded and humiliated artists whose works he found distasteful, the result was fear, insecurity, and artistic mediocrity.<ref>Etta L. Perkins, "Nicholas I and the Academy of Fine Arts." ''Russian History'' 18 #1 (1991): 5–63.</ref>

Despite the repressions of this period, Russians outside official control produced a flowering of literature and the performing arts. Through the works of [[Aleksandr Pushkin]], [[Nikolai Gogol]], [[Ivan Turgenev]] and numerous others, Russian literature gained international stature and recognition. [[Ballet]] took root in Russia after its importation from [[France]], and [[classical music]] became firmly established with the compositions of [[Mikhail Glinka]] (1804–1857).<ref>Orlando Figes, ''Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia'' (2002).</ref>

Minister of Finance [[Georg von Cancrin]] persuaded the emperor of the benefits of inviting Prussian scientist [[Alexander von Humboldt]] to Russia to investigate regions that could produce mineral wealth. The Russian government financed Humboldt's eight-month expedition through Russia in 1829, which resulted in [[diamond]] finds in the Ural mountains. Humboldt published multiple volumes on his Russian expedition, which he dedicated to Nicholas despite his increasing disapproval of the tsar's policies.<ref>Helmut de Terra, ''Humboldt: The Life and Times of Alexander von Humboldt''. (1955) pp. 268, 283, 306–07.</ref>

== Treatment of Jews ==
In 1851 the Jewish population numbered at 2.4 million, including 212,000 in [[Congress Poland|Russian-controlled Poland]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gartner|first=Lloyd P.|title=History of the Jews in Modern Times|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1978|location=Tel-Aviv University|page=164}}</ref> This made them one of the largest ''[[inorodtsy]]'' (non-Slavic) minorities in the Russian Empire.

On 26 August 1827 the edict of military conscription (''Ustav rekrutskoi povinnosti'') was introduced, which required Jewish boys to serve in the Russian military for 25 years from the age of 18. Before that many of them were forcibly conscripted into [[Cantonist]] schools from the age of 12, while being a Cantonist did not count into the time of military service.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Gartner|first=Lloyd P.|title=History of Jews in Modern Times|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1979|location=Tel-Aviv University|page=168}}</ref> They were sent far away from their families to serve in the military so that they would have difficulty practising [[Judaism]] and become [[Russification|Russified]], and sometimes compelled to convert to [[Christianity]]. The poorer village Jews, those without families, and unmarried Jews were especially targeted for military service.<ref name=":0" /> Between 1827 and 1854 it is estimated that there were 70,000 Jews conscripted.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-10-23 |title=Jews Fled Russia to Escape Poverty, Oppression, and Czarist Edicts—and their Own Self-Interested Communal Leaders |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/why-jews-fled-russia-great-mirgration |access-date=2025-09-02 |website=Tablet Magazine |language=en}}</ref> 

Under Nicholas I, the [[Jewish agricultural colonisation of Ukraine]] continued with the transfer of Siberian Jews to Ukraine.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gartner|first=Lloyd P.|title=History of Jews in Modern Times|publisher=Oxford University press|year=1978|location=Tel-Aviv University|page=171}}</ref> In Ukraine, Jews were offered the opportunity to buy land, which left very little to support their families. On the other hand, these Jews were exempt from forced military conscription.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

Under Nicholas I there were attempts to reform the education of Jews with the object of [[Russification]]. Study of the [[Talmud]] was disfavored. Nicholas I further toughened censorship of Jewish books in [[Yiddish]] and [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] by allowing these to be printed only in [[Zhitomir]] and [[Vilna]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gartner|first=Lloyd P.|title=History of Jews in Modern Times|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1978|location=Tel-Aviv University|page=170}}</ref>

==Military and foreign policy==
[[File:equestriannicholas1.jpg|thumb|[[Monument to Nicholas I]] on [[St. Isaac's Square]]]]

Nicolas' aggressive [[foreign policy]] involved many expensive wars, having a disastrous effect on the empire's finances.{{citation needed|date=April 2019}} Nicholas lavished attention on his very large army; of a population of 60–70 million people, the army counted one million men. They had outdated equipment and tactics, but the tsar, who dressed like a soldier and surrounded himself with officers, gloried in the victory over Napoleon in 1812 and took enormous pride in its smartness on parade. The cavalry horses, for example, were only trained in parade formations, and did poorly in battle. The glitter and braid masked profound weaknesses that he did not see. He put generals in charge of most of his civilian agencies regardless of their qualifications. An [[Agnosticism|agnostic]] who won fame in cavalry charges was made supervisor of Church affairs. The army became the vehicle of upward social mobility for noble youths from non-Russian areas, such as Poland, the Baltic, Finland, and Georgia. On the other hand, many miscreants, petty criminals, and undesirables were punished by local officials by being enlisted for life in the Army. The conscription system was highly unpopular with people, as was the practice of forcing peasants to house the soldiers for six months of the year. Curtiss finds that "The pedantry of Nicholas's military system, which stressed unthinking obedience and parade ground evolutions rather than combat training, produced ineffective commanders in time of war." His commanders in the Crimean War were old and incompetent, and indeed so were his muskets as the colonels sold the best equipment and the best food.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Curtiss|first=John Shelton|year=1958|title=The Army of Nicholas I: Its Role and Character|journal=[[American Historical Review]]|volume=63|issue=4|pages=880–889 [p. 886]|doi=10.2307/1848945|jstor=1848945}}</ref>

For much of Nicholas' reign, Russia was seen as a major military power, with considerable strength. The Crimean War, fought shortly before Nicholas' death, demonstrated to both Russia and the world what few had previously realized: Russia was militarily weak, technologically backward, and administratively incompetent. Despite his grand ambitions toward the south and Turkey, Russia had not built railroad network in that direction, and communications were bad. The bureaucracy was unprepared for war being riddled with graft, corruption, and inefficiency. The Navy had few competent officers, the rank and file were poorly trained and most importantly its vessels were outdated; the army, although very large, was good only for parades, suffered from colonels who pocketed their men's pay, poor morale, and was even more out of touch with the latest technology as developed by [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]] and [[Second French Empire|France]]. By the war's end, Russia's leaders were determined to reform their military and society. As Fuller notes, "Russia had been beaten on the Crimean Peninsula, and the military feared that it would inevitably be beaten again unless steps were taken to surmount its military weakness."<ref>{{cite book|author=Fuller, William C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BNF318Pgq9kC&pg=PA273|title=Strategy and Power in Russia 1600–1914|date=1 October 1998|isbn=9781439105771|page=273| publisher=Simon and Schuster }}</ref><ref>Barbara Jelavich, ''St. Petersburg and Moscow: Tsarist and Soviet Foreign Policy, 1814–1974'' (1974) p. 119</ref><ref>William C. Fuller, ''Strategy and Power in Russia 1600–1914'' (1998) pp. 252–59</ref>

[[File:View of New Archangel, 1837.tif|thumb|right|270px|The [[Russian-American Company]]'s capital at New Archangel (present-day [[Sitka, Alaska]]) in 1837]]
An intensely militaristic man, Nicholas regarded the Army as the best and greatest institution in Russia and as a model for society, saying:<ref>Lincoln, W. Bruce "The Ministers of Nicholas I: A Brief Inquiry into Their Backgrounds and Service Careers" pp. 308–323 from ''The Russian Review'', Volume 34, Issue #3, July 1975 p. 312.</ref>
{{Blockquote|Here [in the Army] there is order. ... All things flow logically from one another. No one here commands without first learning to obey. No one rises above anyone else except through a clearly defined system. Everything is subordinated to a single, defined goal and everything has its precise designations. That is why I shall always hold the title of soldier in the highest esteem. I regard human life as service because everybody must serve.}}

Nicholas was often exasperated by the slow pace of the Russian bureaucracy and had a marked preference for appointing generals and admirals to high government rank because of their perceived efficiency, overlooking or ignoring whether or not they were actually qualified for the role.<ref name="Lincoln, W pages 308-323">Lincoln, W. Bruce "The Ministers of Nicholas I: A Brief Inquiry into Their Backgrounds and Service Careers" pp. 308–323 from ''The Russian Review'', Volume 34, Issue #3, July 1975 p. 313.</ref> Of the men who served as Nicholas's ministers, 61% had previously served as a general or an admiral.<ref name="Lincoln, W pages 308-323" /> Nicholas liked to appoint generals who had seen combat, and at least 30 of the men who served as a minister under him had seen action in the wars against France, the Ottoman Empire, and Sweden.<ref>Lincoln, W. Bruce "The Ministers of Nicholas I: A Brief Inquiry into Their Backgrounds and Service Careers" pp. 308–323 from ''The Russian Review'', Volume 34, Issue #3, July 1975 pp. 313–314.</ref> This proved to be something of a handicap in the sense that the sort of qualities that could make a man distinguished on the battlefields such as bravery did not necessarily make a man capable of running a ministry. The most notorious case was Prince [[Alexander Sergeyevich Menshikov]], a competent brigade commander in the Imperial Army who proved himself out of his depth as a Navy minister.<ref>Lincoln, W. Bruce "The Ministers of Nicholas I: A Brief Inquiry into Their Backgrounds and Service Careers" pp. 308–323 from ''The Russian Review'', Volume 34, Issue #3, July 1975 pp. 315–316.</ref> Of the Emperor's ministers, 78% were ethnic Russians, 9.6% were Baltic Germans while the rest were foreigners in Russian service.<ref>Lincoln, W. Bruce "The Ministers of Nicholas I: A Brief Inquiry into Their Backgrounds and Service Careers" pp. 308–323 from ''The Russian Review'', Volume 34, Issue #3, July 1975 p. 314.</ref> Of the men who served as ministers under Nicholas, 14 had graduated from university while another 14 had graduated from a ''lycée'' or a ''gymnasium'', the rest had all been educated by private tutors.<ref>Lincoln, W. Bruce "The Ministers of Nicholas I: A Brief Inquiry into Their Backgrounds and Service Careers" pp. 308–323 from ''The Russian Review'', Volume 34, Issue #3, July 1975 pp. 314–315.</ref>

=== Europe ===
[[File:Nicholas I of Russia by Alexander Schwabe (1843, GIM) detail 01.jpg|thumb|Nicholas I in an equestrian portrait]]
In foreign policy, Nicholas I acted as the protector of ruling legitimism and as guardian against revolution. It has often been noted that such policies were linked with the [[Klemens von Metternich|Metternich counter-revolutionary system]] through the Austrian ambassador Count [[Karl Ludwig von Ficquelmont]].<ref>''[[Why Nations Fail]]'', Acemoglu, Daron; Robinson, James p. 224. {{ISBN|978-0-307-71921-8}}</ref> Nicholas's offers to suppress revolution on the European continent, trying to follow the pattern set by his eldest brother, Alexander I, earned him the label of "gendarme of Europe".<ref>Hosking (1997), p. 32</ref>

Immediately on his succession Nicholas began to limit the liberties that existed under the [[constitutional monarchy]] in [[Congress Poland]]. Nicholas was outraged when he learned of the [[Belgian Revolution|Belgian revolt against the Dutch in 1830]] and ordered the [[Imperial Russian Army]] to mobilize. Nicholas then petitioned the Prussian ambassador for Russian troops to be granted transit rights in order to march across Europe and restore Dutch hegemony over Belgium.<ref>Rendall, Matthew "Defensive Realism and the Concert of Europe" pp. 523–540 from ''Review of International Studies'', Volume 32, Issue #3 July 2006 p. 534.</ref> But at the same time, a [[cholera]] epidemic was decimating Russian troops and the revolt in Poland tied down Russian soldiers which might have been deployed against the Belgians.<ref name="Rendall pages 523-540">Rendall, Matthew "Defensive Realism and the Concert of Europe" pages 523–540 from ''Review of International Studies'', Volume 32, Issue # 3 July 2006 p. 535.</ref> It seems likely that Nicholas's hawkish stance was not a sincere prelude towards invasion of the Low Countries, but rather an attempt to apply pressure on the other European powers. Nicholas made it clear he would only act if Prussia and Britain also participated as he feared that a Russian invasion of Belgium would cause a war with France.<ref name="Rendall pages 523-540"/> Even before the Poles rose up, Nicholas had cancelled his plans for invading Belgium as it became clear that neither Britain nor Prussia would join in while the French openly threatened war if Nicholas should march.<ref>Rendall, Matthew "Defensive Realism and the Concert of Europe" pp. 523–540 from ''Review of International Studies'', Volume 32, Issue #3 July 2006 pp. 535–536.</ref> In 1815, Nicholas arrived in France, where he stayed with the Duke of Orleans, Louis Philippe, who soon become one of his best friends, with the grand duke being impressed with duke's personal warmth, intelligence, manners and grace.<ref>Riasanovsky, Nicholas ''Nicholas I and Official Nationality in Russia, 1825–1855'', Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1959 page 255.</ref> For Nicholas the worst sort of characters were nobility who supported liberalism, and when the duc d'Orleans become the king of the French as [[Louis Philippe I]] in the July revolution of 1830, Nicholas took this as a personal betrayal, believing his friend had gone over as he saw it to the dark side of revolution and liberalism.<ref>Riasanovsky, Nicholas ''Nicholas I and Official Nationality in Russia, 1825–1855'', Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1959 page 256.</ref> Nicholas hated Louis-Philippe, the self-styled ''Le roi citoyen'' ("the Citizen King") as a renegade nobleman and a "usurper", and his foreign policy starting in 1830 was primarily [[Anti-French sentiment|anti-French]], based upon reviving the coalition that had existed during the Napoleonic era of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Britain, to isolate France.<ref>Riasanovsky, Nicholas ''Nicholas I and Official Nationality in Russia, 1825–1855'', Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1959 pages 256–257.</ref> Nicholas detested Louis-Philippe to the point that he refused to use his name, referring to him merely as "the usurper".<ref>Riasanovsky, Nicholas ''Nicholas I and Official Nationality in Russia, 1825–1855'', Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1959 page 257.</ref> Britain was unwilling to join the anti-French coalition, but Nicholas was successful in cementing existing close ties with Austria and Prussia and the three imperial states regularly held joint military reviews during this time.<ref>Riasanovsky, Nicholas ''Nicholas I and Official Nationality in Russia, 1825–1855'', Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1959 pages 255–256</ref> For much of the 1830s, a sort of "cold war" existed between the liberal "western bloc" of France and Britain vs. the reactionary "eastern bloc" of Austria, Prussia and Russia.<ref>Riasanovsky, Nicholas ''Nicholas I and Official Nationality in Russia, 1825–1855'', Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1959 pages 255–256.</ref>

After the [[November Uprising]] broke out, in 1831 the [[Sejm of Congress Poland|Polish parliament]] deposed Nicholas as king of Poland in response to his repeated curtailment of its constitutional rights. Nicholas reacted by sending Russian troops into Poland and brutally crushed the rebellion. Nicholas then proceeded to abrogate the [[Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland|Polish constitution]] in virtual entirety and reduced Poland to the status of a province called [[Vistula Land]]. Soon after, Nicholas embarked on a policy of repressing Polish culture beginning with suppressing the [[Catholic Church in Poland|Polish Catholic Church]].<ref>An introduction to Russian history</ref> In the 1840s, Nicholas reduced 64,000 Polish nobles to commoner status.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Auty|first1=Robert|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xxREnBcMFcEC&q=partitions+of+Poland+absolute+monarchies&pg=PA180|title=Companion to Russian Studies: Volume 1: An Introduction to Russian History|last2=Obolensky|first2=Dimitri|date=7 July 1980|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=9780521280389|page=180|access-date=7 July 2018|via=Google Books}}</ref>

In 1848, when a [[Revolutions of 1848|series of revolutions]] convulsed Europe, Nicholas was at the forefront of reactionism. In 1849, he helped the [[House of Habsburg|Habsburgs]] to suppress the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848|revolution in Hungary]], and he also urged [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] not to adopt a liberal constitution.<ref>W. B. Lincoln, "Russia and the European Revolutions of 1848" ''History Today'' (Jan 1973), Vol. 23 Issue 1, pp 53–59 online.</ref><ref>Ian W. Roberts, ''Nicholas I and the Russian Intervention in Hungary'' (1991).</ref>

=== Ottoman Empire and Persia ===
[[File:Navarino.jpg|thumb|270px|The [[Battle of Navarino]], in October 1827, marked the effective end of [[Ottoman Greece|Ottoman rule in Greece]].]]

While Nicholas was attempting to maintain the status quo in Europe, he followed a somewhat more aggressive policy toward the neighbouring empires to the south, the [[Ottoman Empire]] and [[Qajar Iran|Persia]]. Nicholas was widely believed at the time to be following the traditional Russian policy of resolving the so-called [[Eastern Question]] by seeking to partition the Ottoman Empire and establish a protectorate over the Orthodox population of the [[Balkans]], still largely under Ottoman control in the 1820s.<ref name="Rendall pages 37-63">Rendall, Matthew "Restraint or Self-Restraint of Russia: Nicholas I, the Treaty of Unkiar Skelessi, and the Vienna System, 1832–1841" pp. 37–63 from ''The International History Review'', Volume 24, Issue #1, March 2002 p. 38.</ref> In fact, Nicholas was deeply committed to upholding the status quo in Europe and feared any attempt to devour the decaying Ottoman Empire would both upset his ally Austria, which also had interests in the Balkans, and bring about an Anglo-French coalition in defense of the Ottomans.<ref name="Rendall pages 37-63"/> Furthermore, in the war of 1828–29, the Russians defeated the Ottomans in every battle fought in the field and advanced deep into the Balkans, but the Russians discovered that they lacked the necessary logistical strength to take Constantinople.<ref>Rendall, Matthew "Restraint or Self-Restraint of Russia: Nicholas I, the Treaty of Unkiar Skelessi, and the Vienna System, 1832–1841" pp. 37–63 from ''The International History Review'', Volume 24, Issue #1, March 2002 p. 47.</ref>

Nicholas' policy towards the Ottoman Empire was to use the [[Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca|1774 Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca]] which gave Russia a vague right as protector of Orthodox peoples in the Balkans, as a way of placing the Ottoman Empire into the Russian sphere of influence, which was felt to be a more achievable goal than conquering the entire Ottoman Empire.<ref name="Rendall pages 37-63"/> Nicholas actually wanted to preserve the Ottoman Empire as a stable but weak state that would be unable to stand up to Russia, which was felt to serve Russia's interests. Nicholas always thought of Russia as first and foremost a European power and regarded Europe as more important than the Middle East.<ref name="ReferenceA">Rendall, Matthew "Restraint or Self-Restraint of Russia: Nicholas I, the Treaty of Unkiar Skelessi, and the Vienna System, 1832–1841" pp. 37–63 from ''The International History Review'', Volume 24, Issue #1, March 2002 p. 48.</ref> The Russian Foreign Minister [[Karl Nesselrode]] wrote in letter to his ambassador in Constantinople Nikolai Muravyov that the victory of [[Muhammad Ali of Egypt]] over Mahmud II would lead to a new dynasty ruling the Ottoman Empire.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Nesselrode continued that if the able Muhammad Ali became sultan then it "could, with the elevation of a new personage to the Turkish throne, revive new strength in that declining empire and distract our attention and forces from European affairs, and thus the monarch [Nicholas] is especially concerned to keep the sultan on his tottering throne."<ref name="ReferenceA"/> At the same time, Nicholas argued that because of the economic importance to Russia of the Turkish straits, through which Russia exports its grain, that Russia had the "right" to intervene in Ottoman affairs.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> In 1833, Nicholas told the Austrian ambassador [[Karl Ludwig von Ficquelmont]] that "Oriental affairs are above all a matter for Russia."<ref>Rendall, Matthew "Restraint or Self-Restraint of Russia: Nicholas I, the Treaty of Unkiar Skelessi, and the Vienna System, 1832–1841" pp. 37–63 from ''The International History Review'', Volume 24, Issue #1, March 2002 pp. 48–49.</ref> At the same time that Nicholas claimed the Ottoman Empire was within the Russian sphere of influence, he made it clear that he had no interest in annexing the empire. At another meeting with Ficquelmont in 1833, Nicholas, speaking with the "Greek Project" of Catherine the Great in mind said: "I know everything that has been said of the projects of the Empress Catherine, and Russia has renounced the goal she had set out. I wish to maintain the Turkish empire... It if falls, I do not desire its debris. I need nothing."<ref>Rendall, Matthew "Restraint or Self-Restraint of Russia: Nicholas I, the Treaty of Unkiar Skelessi, and the Vienna System, 1832–1841" pp. 37–63 from ''The International History Review'', Volume 24, Issue #1, March 2002 p. 50.</ref> Ultimately, Nicholas's policies in the Near East proved to be both costly and largely futile.
[[File:Siege of Erivan Fortress on 1 October 1827.jpg|thumb|270x270px|[[Capture of Erivan]] fortress by Russian troops under leadership of [[Ivan Paskevich]] in 1827 during the [[Russo-Persian War (1826–28)|Russo-Persian War]]]]
In 1826–28, Nicholas fought the [[Russo-Persian War (1826–28)]], which ended with Persia forced to cede its last remaining territories in the [[Caucasus]]. Russia [[Russo-Persian Wars|had conquered]] all the territories of Iran in both the [[North Caucasus]] and [[South Caucasus]], comprising modern-day [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Dagestan]], [[Armenia]], and [[Azerbaijan]], through the course of the 19th century.<ref>Timothy C. Dowling [https://books.google.com/books?id=KTq2BQAAQBAJ&pg=PA728 ''Russia at War: From the Mongol Conquest to Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Beyond''] p. 728 ABC-CLIO, 2 December 2014 {{ISBN|1598849484}}</ref> The treaty further conceded extraterritoriality to Russian subjects in Iran (capitulation).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Yarshater|first1=Ehsan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vBQZAQAAIAAJ&q=treaty+of+turkmenchay+capitulation|title=Encyclopædia Iranica, Volume 13|date=2004|publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul|isbn=978-0-93327-395-5|page=260}}</ref> As Professor Virginia Aksan adds, the 1828 [[Treaty of Turkmenchay]] "removed Iran from the military equation."<ref>Aksan, Virginia. (2014). ''Ottoman Wars, 1700–1870: An Empire Besieged'' p. 463. Routledge. {{ISBN|978-1317884033}}</ref>

Russia fought a successful war against the Ottomans in [[Russo-Turkish War (1828–29)|1828–29]], but it did little to increase Russian power in Europe. Only a small Greek state became independent in the Balkans, with limited Russian influence. In 1833, Russia negotiated the [[Treaty of Unkiar-Skelessi]] with the Ottoman Empire. The major European parties mistakenly believed that the treaty contained a secret clause granting Russia the right to transit warships through the [[Bosphorus]] and [[Dardanelles]] straits. This misconception led to the [[London Straits Convention]] of 1841, which affirmed Ottoman control over the straits and forbade any power, including Russia, from sending warships through them. Buoyed by his role in suppressing the revolutions of 1848 as well as his mistaken belief he could rely on British diplomatic support, Nicholas moved against the Ottomans, who declared war on Russia on 8 October 1853. On 30 November, Russian [[Pavel Nakhimov|Admiral Nakhimov]] caught the Turkish fleet in the harbor at Sinope and destroyed it.<ref>Edward Crankshaw, ''The Shadow of the Winter Palace'', p. 133.</ref>

[[File:Mirror Case Depicting the Meeting of Nasir al-Din Mirza and Tsar Nicholas I in Erivan, dated A.D. 1854 (interior panel, zoomed in).jpg|thumb|right|Interior panel of a mirror case commemorating the 1838 meeting of Iranian crown prince [[Naser al-Din Shah Qajar|Naser al-Din Mirza]] (later, [[Shah]]) and Tsar Nicholas I of Russia in [[Yerevan|Erivan]] in the [[Armenian Oblast]]. The scene at the center shows the seven-year-old prince sitting on the tsar's lap, accompanied by an entourage. Created by Mohammad Esmail Esfahani in [[Tehran]], dated 1854]]

Fearing the results of a total Ottoman defeat by Russia, in 1854 [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]], [[French Second Empire|France]], the [[Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861)|Kingdom of Sardinia]] formed a military coalition and joined forces with the Ottoman Empire against Russia. The preceding conflict became known as the [[Crimean War]] in the Ottoman Empire and Western Europe, but was labelled in Russia the "Eastern War" (Russian: Восточная война, ''Vostochnaya Vojna''). In April 1854, Austria signed a defensive pact with Prussia.<ref>Edward Crankshaw, ''The Shadow of the Winter Palace'', pp. 135–136</ref> Thus, Russia found herself in a war with every Great Power of Europe either allied against her militarily or diplomatically.<ref>Edvard Radzinsky, ''Alexander II: The Last Great Tsar'', p. 94.</ref>

In 1853 [[Mikhail Pogodin]], professor of history at Moscow University, wrote a memorandum to Nicholas. Nicholas himself read Pogodin's text and approvingly commented: "That is the whole point."<ref name="slate"/> According to historian [[Orlando Figes]], "The memorandum clearly struck a chord with Nicholas, who shared Pogodin's sense that Russia's role as the protector of the Orthodox had not been recognized or understood and that Russia was unfairly treated by the West." Pogodin wrote:<ref>{{cite book|last1=Figes|first1=Orlando|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dimVhWPx_88C&pg=PA134|title=The Crimean War: A History|date=2011|isbn=9781429997249|page=134|publisher=Henry Holt and Company }}</ref>
{{Blockquote|France takes Algeria from Turkey, and almost every year England annexes another Indian principality: none of this disturbs the balance of power; but when Russia occupies Moldavia and Wallachia, albeit only temporarily, that disturbs the balance of power. France occupies Rome and stays there several years during peacetime: that is nothing; but Russia only thinks of occupying Constantinople, and the peace of Europe is threatened. The English declare war on the Chinese, who have, it seems, offended them: no one has the right to intervene; but Russia is obliged to ask Europe for permission if it quarrels with its neighbor. England threatens Greece to support the [[Don Pacifico affair|false claims]] of a miserable Jew and burns its fleet: that is a lawful action; but Russia demands a treaty to protect millions of Christians, and that is deemed to strengthen its position in the East at the expense of the balance of power. We can expect nothing from the West but blind hatred and malice...|Mikhail Pogodin's memorandum to Nicholas I, 1853<ref name="slate">{{cite news |title=The Long History of Russian Whataboutism |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2014/03/russia-and-western-double-standards-the-long-history-of-russian-complaints-about-unfair-treatment.html |work=Slate |date=March 21, 2014}}</ref>}}

Austria offered the Ottomans diplomatic support, and Prussia remained neutral, thus leaving Russia without any allies on the continent. The European allies landed in [[Crimea]] and laid siege to the well-fortified Russian [[Sevastopol Naval Base]]. The Russians lost battles at Alma in September 1854<ref name="l425">W. Bruce Lincoln, ''The Romanovs'', p. 425.</ref> and then at Inkerman.<ref name=l425/> After the prolonged [[Siege of Sevastopol (1854–55)]] the base fell, exposing Russia's inability to defend a major fortification on its own soil. On the death of Nicholas I, Alexander II became emperor. On 15 January 1856, the new emperor took Russia out of the war on very unfavorable terms, which included the loss of a naval fleet on the Black Sea.

==Death==
[[File:Nicholas I on his deathbed.jpg|thumb|Nicholas I on his deathbed (1855)]]
Nicholas died on 2 March 1855, during the Crimean War, at the [[Winter Palace]] in [[St. Petersburg]]. He caught a chill, refused medical treatment and died of [[pneumonia]],<ref>Peter Oxley, ''Russia: from Tsars to Commissars'', Oxford University Press, (2001), {{ISBN|0-19-913418-9}}.</ref> although there were rumors he was committing a passive suicide by refusing treatment.<ref>Yevgeny Anismov, Rulers of Russia, Golden Lion Press, St. Petersburg Russia (2012).</ref> He was buried in the [[Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Saint Petersburg|Peter and Paul Cathedral]] in St. Petersburg. He reigned for 30 years, and was succeeded by his son Alexander II.

==Legacy==
[[File:Franz Krüger - Porträt Nikolaus I. von Russland.jpg|thumb|Portrait by [[Franz Krüger]]]]

There have been many damning verdicts on Nicholas' rule and legacy, despite occasional efforts to revive his reputation. At the end of his life, one of his most devoted civil servants, [[Aleksandr Nikitenko]], opined, "the main failing of the reign of Nicholas Pavlovich was that it was all a mistake."<ref>{{cite book|last=Crankshaw|first=Edward|url=https://archive.org/details/shadowofwinterpa0000cran|title=The Shadow of the Winter Palace: the Drift To Revolution 1825–1917|publisher=Penguin|year=1978|location=London|page=[https://archive.org/details/shadowofwinterpa0000cran/page/50 50]|isbn=9780140046229|url-access=registration}}</ref>
In 1891 [[Lev Tolstoy]] popularised the nickname Николай Палкин (Nicholas the Stick) in reference to the late emperor's passion for military discipline.<ref>
See Tolstoy's story [https://ru.wikisource.org/wiki/%D0%9D%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B9_%D0%9F%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%BD_(%D0%A2%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%B9)/%D0%94%D0%9E Николай Палкин] (Nicholas the Stick), first published in 1891. – "— А ужъ палками — недѣли не проходило, чтобы не забивали на смерть человѣка или двухъ изъ полка. Нынче ужъ и не знаютъ, что такое палки, а тогда это словечко со рта не сходило. Палки, палки!.. У насъ и солдаты Николая Палкинымъ прозвали. Николай Павлычъ, а они говорятъ Николай Палкинъ. Такъ и пошло ему прозвище."
</ref>

Historian [[Barbara Jelavich]] points to many failures, including the "catastrophic state of Russian finances", the badly-equipped army, the inadequate transportation system, and a bureaucracy "characterized by graft, corruption, and inefficiency".<ref>{{cite book|last=Jelavich|first=Barbara|url=https://archive.org/details/stpetersburgmosc00barb|title=St. Petersburg and Moscow: Tsarist and Soviet Foreign Policy, 1814–1974|year=1974|page=[https://archive.org/details/stpetersburgmosc00barb/page/119 119]|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn= 9780253350503|url-access=registration}}</ref>

[[Kiev University]] was founded in 1834 by Nicholas. In 1854, there were 3600 university students in Russia, 1000 fewer than in 1848. Censorship was omnipresent; historian [[Hugh Seton-Watson]] writes: "the intellectual atmosphere remained oppressive until the end of the reign."<ref>{{cite book|last=Seton-Watson|first= Hugh|url= https://archive.org/details/russianempire1800000seto|title=The Russian Empire: 1801–1917|year=1967|page=[https://archive.org/details/russianempire1800000seto/page/278 278]|url-access=registration}}</ref>

The Frenchman [[Marquis de Custine]] wrote the widely-read travel book ''[[La Russie en 1839]]'' ([https://books.google.com/books?id=fVLd-1tVCigC ''Empire of the Czar: A Journey Through Eternal Russia'']). He speculated that Nicholas had a kind heart, but his sincere sense of duty forced him to impose severe discipline: "If the Emperor has no more of mercy in his heart than he reveals in his policies, then I pity Russia; if, on the other hand, his true sentiments are really superior to his acts, then I pity the Emperor."<ref>{{cite book|last= Kennan|first= George F.|url= https://archive.org/details/marquisdecustine00kenn_0|title= The Marquis de Custine and his Russia in 1839|publisher= Princeton University Press|year= 1971|isbn= 978-0-691-05187-1 |author-link= George F. Kennan}}</ref>

According to a popular [[urban legend|legend]], when the [[Saint Petersburg–Moscow Railway]] was planned in 1842, Nicholas drew a straight line between the cities on a map, and decreed this as the path of the new rail line. Some ridiculed this as the epitome of Nicholas' mindless despotism, while others praised the tsar for overcoming local interests that wanted the railway diverted their own way. In fact, however, the tsar had merely endorsed the straight path recommended by engineers.<ref>
coat of arms [[File:Russian Empire coat of arms 1825-1856.png|thumb|1828-1856]]
{{cite journal |last= Haywood|first= Richard Mowbray|year= 1978|title= The 'Ruler Legend': Tsar Nicholas I and the Route of the St. Petersburg-Moscow Railway, 1842–1843|journal=Slavic Review|volume=37|issue=4|pages=640–650|doi= 10.2307/2496130|jstor= 2496130|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Honours==
{{infobox hrhstyles
| royal name=Nicholas I of Russia
| dipstyle=[[His Imperial Majesty]]
| offstyle=Your Imperial Majesty
| image=Coat of arms of the Russian Empire.svg
| image_size=75}}

{{columns-list|
* {{flag|Russian Empire}}:<ref name="Almanach">{{cite book|title=Almanach de la cour: pour l'année ... 1817|publisher=l'Académie Imp. des Sciences|year=1817|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=8ZpKAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA61 61], [https://books.google.com/books?id=8ZpKAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA76 76]}}</ref>
** [[Order of St. Andrew|Knight of St. Andrew]], ''6 July 1797''
** [[Order of St. Alexander Nevsky|Knight of St. Alexander Nevsky]], ''6 July 1797''
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Kingdom of Prussia (1803-1892).svg}} [[Kingdom of Prussia]]:<ref name="Berlien1846">{{cite book|author=Johann Heinrich Friedrich Berlien|url=https://archive.org/details/derelephantenor00berlgoog|title=Der Elephanten-Orden und seine Ritter: eine historische Abhandlung über die ersten Spuren dieses Ordens und dessen fernere Entwicklung bis zu seiner gegenwärtigen Gestalt, und nächstdem ein Material zur Personalhistorie, nach den Quellen des Königlichen Geheimen-Staatsarchivs und des Königlichen Ordenskapitelsarchivs zu Kopenhagen|publisher=Gedruckt in der Berlingschen Officin|year=1846|pages=[https://archive.org/details/derelephantenor00berlgoog/page/n198 160]-161}}</ref>
** [[Order of the Black Eagle|Knight of the Black Eagle]], ''31 January 1809''<ref>''Liste der Ritter des Königlich Preußischen Hohen Ordens vom Schwarzen Adler'' (1851), "Von Seiner Majestät dem Könige Friedrich Wilhelm III. ernannte Ritter" [https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/de/view/bsb10362193?page=26 p. 16]</ref>
** [[Order of the Red Eagle|Grand Cross of the Red Eagle]], ''31 January 1809''
* {{Flagicon image|Svensk flagg 1815.svg}} [[Sweden]]: [[Order of the Seraphim|Knight of the Seraphim]], ''4 September 1812''<ref>{{cite book|author=Per Nordenvall|title=Kungliga Serafimerorden: 1748–1998|year=1998|isbn=91-630-6744-7|location=Stockholm|language=sv|chapter=Kungl. Maj:ts Orden}}</ref>
* {{flag|Spain|1785}}: [[Order of the Golden Fleece|Knight of the Golden Fleece]], ''13 April 1817''<ref>{{cite book|url=http://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/issue.vm?id=0000936054&search=&lang=en|title=Guía de forasteros en Madrid para el año de 1835|publisher=En la Imprenta Nacional|year=1835|page=72|language=es|chapter=Caballeros existentes en la insignie Orden del Toison de Oro}}</ref>
* {{flag|Kingdom of Bavaria}}: [[Order of St. Hubert|Knight of St. Hubert]], ''1823''<ref name="Bayern1852">{{cite book|author=Bayern|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qC9RAAAAcAAJ|title=Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Königreichs Bayern: 1852|publisher=Landesamt|year=1852|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=qC9RAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA7 7]}}</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Pavillon royal de France.svg}} [[Bourbon Restoration in France|Kingdom of France]]: [[Order of the Holy Spirit|Knight of the Holy Spirit]], ''1824''<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Teulet|first1=Alexandre|date=1863|title=Liste chronologique des chevaliers de l'ordre du Saint-Esprit depuis son origine jusqu'à son extinction (1578–1830)|trans-title=Chronological list of knights of the Order of the Holy Spirit from its origin to its extinction (1578–1830)|url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k122126/f382.item.zoom|journal=Annuaire-bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire de France|language=fr|page=122|access-date=24 March 2020|number=2}}</ref>
* {{flag|Denmark}}: [[Order of the Elephant|Knight of the Elephant]], ''24 January 1826''<ref name="Berlien1846" />
* {{flagdeco|Kingdom of Sardinia}} [[Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861)|Sardinia]]: [[Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation|Knight of the Annunciation]], ''15 April 1826''<ref name="Cibrario1869">{{cite book|author=Luigi Cibrario|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q2aP6enNFoYC&pg=PA3|title=Notizia storica del nobilissimo ordine supremo della santissima Annunziata. Sunto degli statuti, catalogo dei cavalieri|publisher=Eredi Botta|year=1869|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Q2aP6enNFoYC&pg=PA104 104]}}</ref>
* {{flag|Netherlands}}: [[Military William Order|Grand Cross of the Military William Order]], ''11 May 1826''<ref name="Military William Order">{{cite web|date=11 May 1826|title=Militaire Willems-Orde: Romanov, Nicolaas I Pavlovitsj|trans-title=Military William Order: Romanov, Nicholas I Pavlovich|url=https://www.defensie.nl/onderwerpen/onderscheidingen/dapperheidsonderscheidingen/databank-dapperheidsonderscheidingen/1826/05/11/romanov-nicolaas-i-pavlovitsj|access-date=7 June 2020|website=Ministerie van Defensie|language=nl}}</ref>
* {{flag|Austrian Empire}}: [[Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary|Grand Cross of St. Stephen]], ''1826''<ref>[http://tornai.com/rendtagok.htm "A Szent István Rend tagjai"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222022855/http://tornai.com/rendtagok.htm|date=22 December 2010}}</ref>
* {{flag|Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach}}: [[Order of the White Falcon|Grand Cross of the White Falcon]], ''3 November 1826''<ref>''Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach'' (1840), "Großherzogliche Hausorden" [https://zs.thulb.uni-jena.de/rsc/viewer/jportal_derivate_00184597/Staatshandbuch_Film_Nr_11_0328.tif p. 6] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607093315/https://zs.thulb.uni-jena.de/rsc/viewer/jportal_derivate_00184597/Staatshandbuch_Film_Nr_11_0328.tif |date=7 June 2020 }}</ref>
* {{flag|Württemberg}}:<ref name="Württemberg1854">{{cite book|author=Württemberg|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3VsAAAAAcAAJ|title=Königlich-Württembergisches Hof- und Staats-Handbuch: 1854|publisher=Guttenberg|year=1854|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3VsAAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA32 32], [https://books.google.com/books?id=3VsAAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA58 58]}}</ref>
** [[Order of the Crown (Württemberg)|Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown]], ''1826''
** [[Military Merit Order (Württemberg)|Grand Cross of the Military Merit Order]], ''6 October 1826''
* {{flag|Two Sicilies}}:<ref name="Berlien1846"/>
** [[Order of Saint Januarius|Knight of St. Januarius]], ''1826''
** [[Order of Saint Ferdinand and of Merit|Grand Cross of St. Ferdinand and Merit]]
** [[Order of Saint George of the Reunion|Grand Cross of St. George of the Reunion]]
* {{flagcountry|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}}: [[Order of the Garter|Knight of the Garter]], ''16 March 1827''<ref name="p56">Shaw, Wm. A. (1906) ''The Knights of England'', '''I''', London, [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924092537418#page/n141/mode/2up p. 53]</ref>
* {{flag|Baden}}:<ref>''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden'' (1853), "Großherzogliche Orden" [https://digital.blb-karlsruhe.de/blbihd/periodical/pageview/1870865 pp. 30], [https://digital.blb-karlsruhe.de/blbihd/periodical/pageview/1870871 36], [https://digital.blb-karlsruhe.de/blbihd/periodical/pageview/1870880 45]</ref>
** Grand Cross of the [[House Order of Fidelity]], ''1827''
** Grand Cross of the [[Military Karl-Friedrich Merit Order]], ''1827''
** [[Order of the Zähringer Lion|Grand Cross of the Zähringer Lion]], ''1827''
* {{flag|Grand Duchy of Hesse}}: [[Ludwig Order|Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order]], ''11 April 1830''<ref>{{citation|title=Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Großherzogtums Hessen: für das Jahr ... 1854|date=1854|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=TPhSAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA8 8]|chapter=Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bsb&pg=PR1|location=Darmstadt|language=de|access-date=12 March 2020}}</ref>
* {{flag|Kingdom of Saxony}}: [[Order of the Rue Crown|Knight of the Rue Crown]], ''1836''<ref name="Sachsen1854">{{cite book|author=Sachsen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IRBTAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA3|title=Staatshandbuch für den Freistaat Sachsen: 1854|publisher=Heinrich|year=1854|page=3}}</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Flag of Anhalt Duchies.png}} [[House of Ascania|Ascanian duchies]]: [[Order of Albert the Bear|Grand Cross of Albert the Bear]], ''12 June 1837''<ref name="Anhalt-Köthen1851">{{cite book|author=Anhalt-Köthen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OI4AAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA10|title=Staats- und Adreß-Handbuch für die Herzogthümer Anhalt-Dessau und Anhalt-Köthen: 1851|publisher=Katz|year=1851|page=10}}</ref>
* {{flag|Oldenburg}}: [[House and Merit Order of Peter Frederick Louis|Grand Cross of the Order of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig, with Golden Crown]], ''17 January 1839''<ref name="Oldenburg1854">{{cite book|author=Staat Oldenburg|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bsb&pg=PR1|title=Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Großherzogtums Oldenburg: für ... 1854|publisher=Schulze|year=1854|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=RARTAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA27 27]}}</ref>
* {{flag|Kingdom of Hanover}}:<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=np9jAAAAcAAJ&pg=PP7|title=Hof- und Staats-Handbuch für das Königreich Hannover|publisher=Berenberg|year=1853|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=np9jAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA32 32], [https://books.google.com/books?id=np9jAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA56 56]}}</ref>
** [[Order of St. George (Hanover)|Knight of St. George]], ''1840''
** [[Royal Guelphic Order|Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order]]
* {{flagicon|Hesse}} [[Electorate of Hesse]]: [[House Order of the Golden Lion (Hesse-Kassel)|Grand Cross of the Golden Lion]], ''4 May 1844''<ref name="Hessen-Kassel1853">{{cite book|author=Hessen-Kassel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r_BSAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA11|title=Kurfürstlich Hessisches Hof- und Staatshandbuch: 1853|publisher=Waisenhaus|year=1853|page=11}}</ref>
* {{flagicon|Saxe-Coburg and Gotha}} {{flagicon|Saxe-Altenburg}} {{flagicon|Saxe-Meiningen}} [[Ernestine duchies]]: [[Saxe-Ernestine House Order|Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order]], ''1847''<ref>{{citation|title=Adreß-Handbuch des Herzogthums Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha|date=1854|page=[https://zs.thulb.uni-jena.de/rsc/viewer/jportal_derivate_00245938/Sachsen_Coburg_Gotha_165771801_1854_0045.tif?logicalDiv=jportal_jparticle_00483206 29]|chapter=Herzogliche Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden|chapter-url=https://zs.thulb.uni-jena.de/rsc/viewer/jportal_derivate_00245938/Sachsen_Coburg_Gotha_165771801_1854_0000_00.tif?logicalDiv=jportal_jpvolume_00265698|location=Coburg, Gotha|publisher=Meusel|language=de|access-date=12 March 2020}}</ref>
* {{flag|Kingdom of Portugal}}: Grand Cross of the [[Sash of the Three Orders]], ''31 May 1850''<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bragança|first1=Jose Vicente de|last2=Estrela|first2=Paulo Jorge|date=2017|title=Troca de Decorações entre os Reis de Portugal e os Imperadores da Rússia|trans-title=Exchange of Decorations between the Kings of Portugal and the Emperors of Russia|url=https://www.academia.edu/35782766|journal=Pro Phalaris|language=pt|volume=16|page=9|access-date=19 March 2020}}</ref>|colwidth=25em}}

== Issue ==
Nicholas I had seven legitimate children with his wife, [[Alexandra Feodorovna (Charlotte of Prussia)|Alexandra Feodorovna]].<ref>Sebag Montefiore, p. 475</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
!Name
!Birth
!Death
!Notes
|-
|[[Alexander II of Russia|Emperor Alexander II]]
|29 April 1818
|13 March 1881
|married 1841, [[Princess Marie of Hesse]]; had issue
|-
|[[Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (1819–1876)|Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna]]
|18 August 1819
|21 February 1876
|married 1839, [[Maximilian de Beauharnais, 3rd Duke of Leuchtenberg]]; had issue
|-
|[[Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia (1822-1892)|Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna]]
|11 September 1822
|30 October 1892
|married 1846, [[Charles, King of Württemberg]]; had no issue
|-
|[[Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna of Russia|Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna]]
|24 June 1825
|10 August 1844
|married 1844, [[Landgrave Friedrich-Wilhelm of Hesse-Kassel|Prince Frederick William of Hesse-Kassel]]; had issue (died in infancy)
|-
|[[Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia|Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich]]
|21 September 1827
|25 January 1892
|married 1848, [[Alexandra Iosifovna|Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg]]; had issue
|-
|[[Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia (1831–1891)|Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich]]
|8 August 1831
|25 April 1891
|married 1856, [[Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna|Duchess Alexandra Petrovna of Oldenburg]]; had issue
|-
|[[Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia|Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich]]
|25 October 1832
|18 December 1909
|married 1857, [[Olga Feodorovna, Grand Duchess of Russia|Princess Cecilie of Baden]]; had issue
|}

Many sources state that Nicholas did not have an extramarital affair until after 25 years of marriage, in 1842, when the Empress's doctors prohibited her from having sexual intercourse, due to her poor health and recurring heart attacks.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}} Many facts dispute this claim. Nicholas fathered three known children with mistresses prior to 1842, including one with his most famous and well documented mistress, [[Varvara Nelidova]].{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

With [[Marianne Koberwein|Anna-Maria Charlota de Rutenskiold]] (1791–1856){{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

*[[Joséphine Koberwein|Joséphine or Youzia Koberwein]] (12 May 1825 – 23 February 1893)

With Varvara Yakovleva (1803–1831){{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

*[[Olga Carlovna Albrecht]] (10 July 1828 – 20 January 1898)

With [[Varvara Nelidova]] (d.1897){{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

*[[Alexis Pashkine]] (17 April 1831 – 20 June 1863)

== Ancestry ==
{{unreferenced section|date=March 2016}}
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
| boxstyle_1 = background-color: #fcc;
| boxstyle_2 = background-color: #fb9;
| boxstyle_3 = background-color: #ffc;
| boxstyle_4 = background-color: #bfc;
| boxstyle_5 = background-color: #9fe;
| 1 = 1. '''Nicholas I of Russia'''
| 2 = 2. [[Paul I of Russia]]
| 3 = 3. [[Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg)|Duchess Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg]]
| 4 = 4. [[Peter III of Russia]]
| 5 = 5. [[Catherine the Great|Catherine II of Russia]]
| 6 = 6. [[Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg]]
| 7 = 7. [[Princess Friederike of Brandenburg-Schwedt]]
| 8 = 8. [[Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp]]
| 9 = 9. [[Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russia]]
| 10 = 10. [[Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst]]
| 11 = 11. [[Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp|Princess Johanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp]]
| 12 = 12. [[Charles Alexander, Duke of Württemberg]]
| 13 = 13. [[Princess Marie Auguste of Thurn and Taxis]]
| 14 = 14. [[Frederick William, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt]]
| 15 = 15. [[Princess Sophia Dorothea of Prussia]]
}}

==See also==
* [[History of Russia]]
* [[Imperial Russia]]
* ''[[La Russie en 1839]]''
* [[Third Section of His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery|The Third Section]]
* [[Tsars of Russia family tree]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=pron}}

{{Reflist}}

==References==
* The first draft of this article was taken with little editing from the [[Library of Congress]] Federal Research Division's Country Studies series. As their home page at http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html says, ''"Information contained in the Country Studies On-Line is not copyrighted and thus is available for free and unrestricted use by researchers. As a courtesy, however, appropriate credit should be given to the series."'' Please leave this statement intact so that credit can be given.
* {{country study|country=Russia|abbr=ru}}

==Further reading==
{{See also|Bibliography of Russian history (1613–1917)}}
* Bolsover, George H. "Nicholas I and the Partition of Turkey." ''Slavonic and East European Review'' (1948): 115–145 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/4204004 online].
* Cannady, Sean, and Paul Kubicek. "Nationalism and legitimation for authoritarianism: A comparison of Nicholas I and Vladimir Putin." ''[[Journal of Eurasian Studies]]'' 5.1 (2014): 1–9 [https://scholar.google.com/scholar?output=instlink&q=info:9G2QHFpCOuYJ:scholar.google.com/&hl=en&as_sdt=1,27&scillfp=16430984853535952813&oi=lle online].
* Crisp, Olga. "The state peasants under Nicholas I." ''Slavonic and East European Review'' 37.89 (1959): 387–412 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/4205065 online].
* Curtiss, John Shelton. "The Army of Nicholas I: Its Role and Character." ''American Historical Review'' 63.4 (1958): 880–889 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1848945 online].
* Hamlin, Cyrus. "The Political Duel Between Nicholas, the Czar of Russia, and Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, the Great English Ambassador." ''Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society'' Vol. 9. (1893) [https://www.americanantiquarian.org/proceedings/44769420.pdf online].
* Hosking, Geoffrey A. ''Russia: People and Empire, 1552–1917'', (Harvard University Press, 1997)
* Kagan, Frederick W. ''The military reforms of Nicholas I'' (Palgrave Macmillan US, 1999).
* Kutscheroff, Samuel. "Administration of Justice under Nicholas I of Russia." ''American Slavic and East European Review'' (1948): 125–138. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2492189 in JSTOR]
* Lincoln, W. Bruce. "Nicholas I: Russia's Last Absolute Monarch," ''History Today'' (1971) 21 #2 pp.&nbsp;79–88.
* Lincoln, W. Bruce. ''Nicholas I: Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias'' (1989) [https://archive.org/details/nicholasiemperor00linc online]
* Monas, Sidney. ''The Third Section: police and society in Russia under Nicholas I'' (Harvard University Press, 1961)
* Presni͡akov, A. E. ''Emperor Nicholas I of Russia: the apogee of autocracy, 1825/1855'' (1974) [https://archive.org/details/emperornicholasi0000pres online]
* Pintner, Walter McKenzie. ''Russian economic policy under Nicholas I'' (1967) [https://archive.org/details/russianeconomicp0000unse/page/n5/mode/2up online]
* Rendall, Matthew. "Restraint or Self-Restraint of Russia: Nicholas I, the Treaty of Unkiar Skelessi, and the Vienna System, 1832–1841." ''International History Review'' 24.1 (2002): 37–63.
*Rebecchini, Damiano. (2010). "An influential collector: Tsar Nicholas I of Russia." ''Journal of the History of Collections.'' V. 22, Issue 1, (May): 45–67.
* Riasanovsky, Nicholas V. "'Nationality' in the State Ideology during the Reign of Nicholas I." ''Russian Review'' (1960): 38–46 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/126191 online].
* Riasanovsky, Nicholas V. ''Nicholas I and Official Nationality in Russia, 1825–1855'' (1967) [https://archive.org/details/nicholasiofficia00rias online]
* Roberts, Ian W. ''Nicholas I and the Russian intervention in Hungary'' (Springer, 1991).
* Stanislawski, Michael. ''Tsar Nicholas I and the Jews : the transformation of Jewish society in Russia, 1825–1855'' (1983) [https://archive.org/details/tsarnicholasij00stan online]

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* {{Cite EB1911 |last=Phillips |first=Walter Alison |author-link=Walter Alison Phillips |wstitle=Nicholas I. | volume= 19|short=x}}
* {{YouTube|SS5oCZvCdhM|Romanovs. Romanovs. The seventh film. Nicholas I; Alexander II}} – Historical reconstruction "The Romanovs". StarMedia. Babich-Design(Russia, 2013)

{{S-start}}
{{S-hou|[[House of Romanov|House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov]]|6 July|1796|2 March|1855|[[House of Oldenburg]]}}
{{S-reg}}
{{S-bef|rows=1|before=[[Alexander I of Russia|Alexander I]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[Emperor of Russia]]<br>[[Grand Duke of Finland]]<br>[[King of Poland]]|years=1 December 1825 – 2 March 1855}} 
{{S-aft|rows=1|after=[[Alexander II of Russia|Alexander II]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{Russian emperors}}
{{Russian grand dukes}}
{{Monarchs of Poland}}
{{Russification}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholas of Russia}}
[[Category:Nicholas I of Russia| ]]
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[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Christ (Portugal)|3]]
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[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in the Russian Empire]]
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