Acid Reign: The Rule of Nicholas I

A detailed Summary of Acid Reign: The Rule of Nicholas I

Nicholas I has been portrayed, and perhaps rightfully so, as a strict and reactionary tsar. Indeed, his internal policies were often repressive -- he sought to nip any liberalism in the bud, often brutally. His approach to solving problems in the Empire and keeping control was to create the "Nicholas system", a bureaucratic system defined by and completely based on absolute monarchy. Nicholas revamped govermental structure by strengthening and centralizing bureaucratic structures to an unprecedented degree. He did this as an attempt to deal with all of Russia's problems himself. At most importantly the structure known as "His Majesty's own Chancery," which was the nerve-center of the empire's administrative mechanisms. With his new governmental structure, he hoped to create a machine that would, in theory, more quickly and efficiently carry out his will. The reality, however, was a little bit different than what he planned.

However strict or repressive Nicholas may have been, his policies are somewhat understandble considering what domestic and foreign events marked his reign. His accession in 1825 was threatened by an uprising of a group of noblemen who came to be known as the Decembrist

The fever rose greatly when they heard that the Polish army was to march with the Russians to crush the revolution and prevent the Belgians from acquiring their independence. On the night of November 29, a conspiracy of young cadets seized the residence of the Grand Duke Konstantin, the brother of the Tsar.

Overall, Nicholas I's reign did little to further Russia's progress, and in many ways made the country fall further behind Western Europe. Through his opressiveness, strictness, and love for bureaucracy, he put obstacles in the way of the "racing troika," as Nikolai Gogol once called Russia, and effectively tripped the horses.

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After all this rioting, Nicholas returned to the capital to confront his people. In a typical flourish of drama, he rode into the Haymarket, rose from his seat, threw off his cloak, pointed to the Church of the Savior, and in a booming voice yelled, "Hats off, and down on your knees!" The thousands of people did so. Then he raked them over the coals: "What did you do yesterday?... You have shamed me before the whole world! How could you believe that cholera is not here, when my brother has just died of it? You have killed some of the doctors, is that worthy of a Russian? Are you Frenchmen or Poles? You have sinned before God, how can I be responsible for you? My oath makes me responsible for your actions. Ask pardon of the Most High!" In a great finale, he began crying and outstretched his arms, saying "Come- if you wish to kill me with grief!"

However, Nicholas also feared the nobility, and gave them some accessions to their demands: in 1845, Nik changed the rules so that a guy would have to reach level 9 to achieve personal nobility and level 5 to receive hereditary nobility. Yet, promotion simply accelereated, thereby maintaining the flow of new people into the nobility.

On top of all these reasons to be strict, Nicholas was also very militarily-oriented. He was raised in a military fashion, he loved military parades and uniforms, and above all military precision and discipline. Nicholas' military bent expressed itself strongly in his new organization of the government. As the central part of Nicholas' reform, Nicholas divested the existing govermental entites, the State Council, the Committee of Ministers and the Senate, of their more significant functions and greatly expanded the power of his personal

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Approximate Word count = 1642
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History