Nicholas I

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 Decembrists. He dealt with the uprising quickly and firmly. He and his administration sentenced the five most important rebel leaders to death by hanging and sentenced many others to hard labor in Siberia. Later in 1830 Europe went through some revolutionary crises.

The youth of Poland had been restless since July 1830.

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 ...

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...ucated and badly trained.

Further, anotherer main problem, besides the unwieldliness of the system was the problem of attracting qualified people. Local officials were poorly educated and badly trained, often having learned their narrow routines through a crude apprenticeship system. The head of the Third Department reported in early 1830s that educated and established people were reluctant to become provincial governors because they knew the degree of responsibility which they would have, and how few resources would be available to them.

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.