The main features of the national policy of Nicholas 1. Nicholas I

The reign of Nicholas 1 lasted from December 14, 1825 to February 1855. This emperor has an amazing fate, but the fact that the beginning and end of his reign are characterized by important political events in the country is noteworthy. So the coming to power of Nicholas was marked by the uprising of the Decembrists, and the death of the emperor fell on the days of the defense of Sevastopol.

Beginning of the reign

Speaking about the personality of Nicholas 1, it is important to understand that no one prepared this person for the role of Emperor of Russia from the very beginning. This was the third son of Paul 1 (Alexander - the eldest, Konstantin - the middle and Nikolai - the youngest). Alexander the First died on December 1, 1825, leaving no heir. Therefore, power, according to the laws of that time, came to the middle son of Paul 1 - Constantine. And on December 1, the Russian government swore allegiance to him. Including the oath of allegiance was brought by Nicholas himself. The problem was that Constantine was married to a woman of no noble family, lived in Poland and did not aspire to the throne. Therefore, he transferred the authority to manage Nicholas the First. Nevertheless, 2 weeks passed between these events, during which Russia was virtually without power.

It is necessary to note the main features of the reign of Nicholas 1, which were characterized by his character traits:

• Military education. It is known that Nikolai poorly mastered any sciences except military ones. His educators were military men and almost all of his entourage were former military personnel. It is in this that one must look for the origins of the fact that Nicholas 1 said "In Russia everyone must serve", as well as his love for the uniform, which he forced everyone to wear without exception in the country.
• Decembrist revolt. The first day of the power of the new emperor was marked by a major uprising. This showed the main threat that liberal ideas posed to Russia. Therefore, the main task of his reign was precisely the fight against the revolution.
• Lack of communication with Western countries. If we consider the history of Russia, starting from the era of Peter the Great, then at the court they always spoke foreign languages: Dutch, English, French, German. Nicholas 1 - it stopped. Now all conversations were conducted exclusively in Russian, people wore traditional Russian clothes, there was propaganda of traditional Russian values ​​and traditions.

Many history textbooks say that the Nicholas era is characterized by reactionary rule. Nevertheless, it was very difficult to manage the country in those conditions, since the whole of Europe was literally mired in revolutions, the focus of which could shift towards Russia. And this had to be fought. Second important point- the need to resolve the peasant issue, where the emperor himself advocated the abolition of serfdom.

Changes within the country

Nicholas 1 was a military man, so his reign is associated with attempts to transfer army orders and customs to everyday life and government.

The army has a clear order and subordination. There are laws and there are no contradictions. Here everything is clear and understandable: some order, others obey. And all this to achieve a common goal. That is why I feel so comfortable among these people.

Nicholas the First

This phrase best emphasizes what the emperor saw in order. And it was precisely this order that he sought to bring to all organs of state power. First of all, in the epoch of Nicholas there was a strengthening of police and bureaucratic power. According to the emperor, this was necessary to fight the revolution.

On July 3, 1826, the III department was created, which performed the functions of the highest police. In fact, this body kept order in the country. This fact interesting in that it will significantly expand the powers of ordinary police officers, giving them almost unlimited power. The third branch consisted of about 6,000 people, which was a huge number at that time. They studied the public mood, observed foreign citizens and organizations in Russia, collected statistics, checked all private letters, and so on. During the second phase of Emperor III's reign, the branch further expanded its powers by establishing a network of agents to work overseas.

Systematization of laws

Even in the era of Alexander in Russia, attempts began to systematize laws. This was extremely necessary, since there were a huge number of laws, many of them contradicted each other, many were only in the manuscript version in the archive, and the laws had been in force since 1649. Therefore, until the Nicholas era, judges were no longer guided by the letter of the law, but rather by general orders and worldview. To solve this problem, Nicholas 1 decided to turn to Speransky, whom he empowered to systematize the laws of the Russian Empire.

Speransky proposed to carry out all the work in three stages:

1. Collect in chronological order all laws issued from 1649 until the end of the reign of Alexander 1.
2. Publish a set of current laws of the empire. Here we are talking not about changing the laws, about considering which of the old laws can be repealed and which cannot.
3. Creation of a new "Code", which was supposed to amend the current legislation in accordance with the current needs of the state.

Nicholas 1 was a terrible opponent of innovations (the only exception is the army). Therefore, he allowed the first two stages to be held, categorically forbade the third.

The work of the commission began in 1828, and in 1832 the 15-volume Code of Laws of the Russian Empire was published. It was the codification of laws during the era of the reign of Nicholas 1 played a huge role in the formation of Russian absolutism. In fact, the country has not changed dramatically, but has received real structures for quality management.

Policy on education and awareness

Nikolai believed that the events of December 14, 1825 were connected with the education system that was built under Alexander. Therefore, one of the first orders of the emperor in his post happened on August 18, 1827, in which Nicholas demanded that the charters of all educational institutions of the country be revised. As a result of this revision, it was forbidden for any peasants to enter higher educational institutions, philosophy as a science was abolished, and supervision over private educational institutions was strengthened. The control over this work was performed by Shishkov, who holds the post of Minister of Public Education. Nicholas 1 absolutely trust this man, since their basic views converged. At the same time, it is enough to consider just one phrase of Shishkov in order to understand what the essence was behind the then education system.

Science is like salt. They are useful and can only be pleasurable if given in moderation. People should be taught only such literacy that corresponds to their position in society. The education of all people, without exception, will no doubt do more harm than good.

A.S. Shishkov

The result of this stage of government is the creation of 3 types of educational institutions:

1. For the lower classes, one-class education was introduced, based on parish schools. People were taught only 4 operations of arithmetic (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division), reading, writing, the laws of God.
2. For the middle classes (merchants, philistines, and so on) three-year education. As additional subjects, geometry, geography and history were found.
3. For the upper classes, a seven-year education was introduced, the receipt of which guaranteed the right to enter universities.

Solution of the peasant question

Nicholas 1 often said that the main task of his reign was the abolition of serfdom. However, he could not directly solve this problem. It is important to understand here that the emperor was faced with his own elite, which was categorically against this. The question of the abolition of serfdom was extremely complex and extremely acute. One need only look at the peasant uprisings of the 19th century to understand that they took place literally every decade, and their strength increased each time. For example, here is what the head of the third department said.

Serfdom is a powder charge under the building of the Russian Empire.

OH. Benkendorf

Nicholas the First himself also understood the full significance of this problem.

It is better to start changes on your own, gradually, carefully. We need to start at least with something, because otherwise, we will wait until the changes come from the people themselves.

Nicholas 1

A secret committee was formed to solve peasant problems. In total, in the Nikolaev era, 9 secret committees met on this issue. The greatest changes affected exclusively the state peasants, and these changes were superficial and insignificant. the main problem endowing the peasants with their own land and the right to work for themselves was not decided. In total, during the reign and work of 9 secret committees, the following problems of the peasants were solved:

• Peasants were forbidden to sell
• It was forbidden to separate families
• Peasants were allowed to buy property
• It was forbidden to send old people to Siberia

In total, during the reign of Nicholas 1, about 100 decrees were adopted that related to the solution of the peasant issue. It is here that you need to look for the base that led to the events of 1861, their abolition of serfdom.

Relations with other countries

Emperor Nicholas 1 sacredly honored the "Holy Alliance", a treaty signed by Alexander 1, on Russian assistance to countries where uprisings began. Russia was the European gendarme. In essence, the implementation of the "Holy Alliance" of Russia did not give anything. The Russians solved the problems of the Europeans and returned home with nothing.

The reign of Nicholas 1

In July 1830 Russian army was preparing for a campaign in France, where the revolution took place, but the events in Poland disrupted this campaign. A major uprising broke out in Poland, led by Czartoryski. Nicholas 1 appointed Count Paskevich as commander of the army for a campaign against Poland, who in September 1831 defeated the Polish troops. The uprising was crushed, and the autonomy of Poland itself became almost formal.

In the period from 1826 - 1828. reign of Nicholas I, Russia was drawn into the war with Iran. Her reasons were that Iran was dissatisfied with the peace of 1813 when, when they lost part of their territory. Therefore, Iran decided to take advantage of the uprising in Russia to regain what they had lost. The war began suddenly for Russia, however, by the end of 1826, Russian troops completely expelled the Iranians from their territory, and in 1827 the Russian army went on the offensive. Iran was defeated, the existence of the country was under threat. The Russian army cleared its way to Tehran. In 1828, Iran offered peace. Russia received the khanates of Nakhichevan and Yerevan. Iran also pledged to pay Russia 20 million rubles. The war was successful for Russia; access to the Caspian Sea was won.

As soon as the war with Iran ended, the war with Turkey began. The Ottoman Empire, like Iran, wanted to take advantage of the apparent weakness of Russia and regain some of the previously lost lands. As a result, in 1828 the Russian-Turkish war began. It lasted until September 2, 1829, when the Treaty of Adrianople was signed. The Turks suffered a brutal defeat that cost them their positions in the Balkans. In fact, with this war, Emperor Nicholas 1 achieved diplomatic submission to the Ottoman Empire.

In 1849, Europe was engulfed in revolutionary fire. Emperor Nicholas 1, fulfilling the allied dog, sent an army to Hungary in 1849, where, within a few weeks, the Russian army unconditionally defeated the revolutionary forces of Hungary and Austria.

Emperor Nicholas 1 paid great attention to the fight against the revolutionaries, mindful of the events of 1825. To this end, he created a special office, which was subordinate only to the emperor and conducted only activities against the revolutionaries. Despite all the efforts of the emperor, revolutionary circles in Russia actively developed.

The reign of Nicholas 1 ended in 1855, when Russia was drawn into new war, Crimean, which ended sadly for our state. This war ended after the death of Nicholas, when his son, Alexander 2, ruled the country.

TOPIC 48.

INTERNAL POLICY OF RUSSIA IN THE II QUARTER OF THE XIX CENTURY.

1. The main political principles of the reign of Nicholas

Second quarter of the 19th century entered the history of Russia as the "Nikolaev era" or even "the era of the Nikolaev reaction." The most important slogan of Nicholas I, who had been on the Russian throne for 30 years, was: "The revolution is on the threshold of Russia, but I swear it will not penetrate it as long as the breath of life remains in me." Nicholas I, although distinguished, like his father and older brother, by an exaggerated love of parades and military drill, was a capable and energetic person who understood the need to reform Russia. However, the fear of the revolution, caused by the Decembrist uprising and the growth of the revolutionary movement in Europe, forced him to avoid deep reforms and pursue a conservative policy, which ended in failure during the years of the Crimean War.

2. Codification of laws

In the first years of the reign of Nicholas I, work was organized to codify Russian laws. A unified code of laws was last adopted in Russia in 1649. Since then, thousands of legislative acts have accumulated, often contradicting each other. The work of compiling the code of laws was entrusted to a group of lawyers led by M.M. Speransky. Everything Russian laws published after 1649 have been collected and arranged in chronological order. They made up 47 volumes of the Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire. In 1832, a 15-volume Code of Laws of the Russian Empire was published, which included all the laws in force. The publication of the Code made it possible to streamline the activities of the state apparatus.

3. Political investigation and censorship

In an effort to prevent the spread of revolutionary ideas and organizations in Russia, Nicholas I first of all significantly strengthened the repressive organs. A special corps of gendarmes was created, headed by A.Kh. Benkendorf, and later - A.F. Orlov. The whole country was divided into gendarmerie districts, headed by gendarmerie generals, who were supposed to identify and suppress sedition.

The activities of the gendarmes were directed by the special III Department of His Imperial Majesty's own Chancellery. The III Branch was first headed by the same Benckendorff, and then by L.V. Dubelt. The III Section was not numerous, but had a wide network of agents, with the help of which it was in charge of collecting information about the mood in society, followed suspicious people, read letters, and supervised censorship.

Censorship charters during the reign of Nicholas I changed several times, sometimes toughening, sometimes softening, but in general, censorship policy was aimed at strangling free thought and any dissent.

The censors were obliged to ban any publication, any publication, if they saw even the slightest hint of criticism of the autocratic form of government or the Orthodox religion. Natural-scientific and philosophical books that contradicted Orthodox dogma were banned. Even such a loyal writer as Faddey Bulgarin complained about the cruelty of censorship, saying that "instead of forbidding writing against the government, censorship forbids writing about the government and in favor of it." It came to curiosities, as in the case when the censor banned the exclamation "These, it seems, are the pillars of the might of Russia!", addressed to the columns of St. Isaac's Cathedral. The censor's remark read: "The pillars of Russia are ministers."

4. The Polish Question and Domestic Politics

The desire of Nicholas I to tightly control the ideological life of society intensified even more after an uprising broke out in Poland in 1830, caused by a violation of the constitution granted by Alexander I. The uprising was brutally suppressed, the Polish constitution was canceled. Since that time, discrimination against the Poles began, which did not stop until the very end of autocracy in Russia. The influence of the Polish uprising on the internal political situation in Russia was associated with Nicholas I's increased fear of the revolution.

5. Education system

Concerned about the preservation of loyalist views in society and the people, the authorities constantly tightened school charters. It was strictly forbidden to admit serfs to higher and secondary educational institutions. People of the "lower ranks" were supposed to be educated mainly in one-class parochial schools, where they were taught the elementary skills of reading, counting, writing, and the law of God. For the townspeople there were three-class schools, and only for the nobles - seven-class gymnasiums. Only the gymnasium program, which included literature, ancient languages, history, as well as mathematics and physics, made it possible to enter the university. True, there was a procedure for passing exams externally, which opened the way to universities for people who did not graduate from the gymnasium. The rights of universities were curtailed with the introduction of the new university charter of 1835.

In the 30s. educational programs have been revised. The teaching of natural and mathematical sciences was reduced in favor of the ancient languages ​​(Latin and Church Slavonic). Modern history and literature were not taught at all in order to avoid arousing "harmful thoughts".

The state sought to unify the system of educational institutions, opposed home education and private schools, since it could not control them in the same way as state gymnasiums and schools.

6. Ideology. The theory of official nationality

In an effort to resist revolutionary and liberal ideas, the autocracy resorted not only to repression. The king understood that views can only be opposed by other views. The official ideology of Nikolaev Russia was the so-called. "the theory of official nationality". Its creator was the Minister of Education Count S.S. Uvarov. The basis of the theory was the "Uvarov trinity": Orthodoxy - autocracy - nationality. According to this theory, the Russian people are deeply religious and devoted to the throne, and the Orthodox faith and autocracy are indispensable conditions for the existence of Russia. Nationality was understood as the need to adhere to their own traditions and reject foreign influence. Calm, stable, magnificently quiet Russia was opposed to the restless, decaying West.

The "theory of official nationality" clearly manifested the regularity of Russian history: any turn towards conservatism and guarding is always combined with anti-Westernism and emphasizing the peculiarities of one's own national path.

The "theory of official nationality" became the basis for teaching in schools and universities. The conservative historians S.P. Shevyrev and M.P. Pogodin. It was widely promoted in the press through the efforts of such writers as F. Bulgarin, N. Grech, N. Kukolnik and others.

Russia, in accordance with the "theory of official nationality," was supposed to look happy and peaceful. Benckendorff said: "Russia's past is amazing, its present is more than magnificent, as for its future, it is higher than anything that the most ardent imagination can imagine."

Doubting the splendor of Russian reality in itself turned out to be either a crime or evidence of insanity. So, in 1836, by direct order of Nicholas I, P.Ya. was declared insane. Chaadaev, who published bold and bitter (although far from indisputable) reflections on the history of Russia and its historical fate in the journal Teleskop.

In the late 1940s, when revolutions broke out in Europe, it became obvious that Uvarov's attempt to oppose the revolutionary threat by fostering devotion to the throne and the church had failed. Sedition increasingly penetrated into Russia. Dissatisfied, Nikolai fired Uvarov in 1849, relying only on the suppression of free thought through repression. This marked a deep ideological crisis of power, which finally alienated society from itself.

7. Financial reform

Kankrina One of the most successful steps of the government of Nicholas I was the monetary reform carried out by the Minister of Finance E.F. Kankrin. By the beginning of the reign of Nicholas I, Russia's finances were in complete disarray, especially due to the growing issue of depreciated paper money(banknotes). In 1839-1843. E.F. Kankrin carried out a reform that made it possible to stabilize the Russian currency. Credit notes were issued into circulation, which were freely exchanged for silver money. Kankrin sought the economical use of public funds, carried out protectionist measures, and did not allow an increase in taxes on the people in order to reduce the budget deficit. However, genuine financial stabilization was possible only on the basis of the steady growth of the peasant economy - the basis of the Russian economy. And this required a solution to the question of serfdom.

8. Peasant question

Nicholas I, like many in his entourage, understood the need to abolish serfdom - this, according to Benckendorff, "powder magazine" under the empire. However, the essence of his approach to this problem was expressed in the words he once uttered: "Serfdom is an evil ... but to touch it now would be an even more disastrous evil."

During the reign of Nicholas I, nine secret committees for peasant affairs were created. The secrecy was explained by the fact that the government was afraid to arouse the discontent of the nobles and cause mass unrest among the serfs. Any hint at a discussion of the issue of serfdom would have been taken unequivocally by the peasants: the tsar wants freedom, the gentlemen are hindering it. As a result, the discussion of the peasant question was carried on in a narrow circle of officials and each time ended with the fact that serious decisions were postponed for an indefinite period.

In an effort to set an example for solving the peasant issue, the government in 1837-1841. carried out the reform of the state village.

Activities of Nicholas I

It is often called the Kiselyov reform after the Minister of State Property P.D. Kiselyov, on whose project and under whose leadership it was carried out.

Kiselev proclaimed his goal to bring the position of the state peasants closer to the position of "free rural inhabitants." The management of the state village was changed. The land allotments of the state peasants increased significantly. The poll tax began to gradually turn into a land-trading tax. Hospitals and schools appeared, the peasants received agro-technical assistance, and were able to use credit. Of course, even after the reform, the allotments of the state peasants remained insufficient, and the peasant self-government was subject to petty police guardianship, but nevertheless the position of the state peasants improved significantly. It is no coincidence that the idea of ​​equating the serfs with the state became widespread.

Kiselyov's idea was precisely to carry out the reform, first in the state, and then in the landowner's village. However, because of the resistance of the feudal lords, it was necessary to confine ourselves to the adoption in 1842 of the Decree on "obliged peasants." The decree somewhat expanded the possibilities of the landlords to free the serfs, granted to them by the decree on free cultivators of 1803. Now the landowner could, without asking permission from the authorities, grant the serf personal rights and land allotment, for which the peasant was obliged to bear duties. The former serf thus became the hereditary holder of the land, which remained in the ownership of the owner. However, the main condition - the desire of the landowner - remained unshakable. Therefore, the direct results of the decree were small: only 24,000 serfs received freedom.

In order for the authorities to decide on the abolition of serfdom, it took the shame of the lost Crimean War.

What to look for when answering:

A characteristic feature of the reign of Nicholas I is the understanding of the need for reforms, while the lack of political will for their implementation. The policy of Nicholas (with the exception of the "gloomy seven years" after 1848) should be characterized not as reactionary, but mainly as protective, aimed at maintaining the status quo until the time when reforms finally become possible.

2The censorship statute, adopted in 1826 and nicknamed "cast iron", was softened already in 1828, but its name very clearly characterizes the entire censorship policy of the Nikolaev era.

The results of the reign of Nicholas I

Work done in 2001

The results of the reign of Nicholas I - Abstract, section History - 2001 - The historical experience of the reformist activities of the autocracy in the first half of the 19th century. The results of the reign of Nicholas I. Nicholas considered the main goal of his reign…

The results of the reign of Nicholas I. Nicholas considered the main goal of his reign to be the fight against the revolutionary spirit that spread everywhere, and subordinated his whole life to this goal.

Activities of Nicholas I

Sometimes this struggle was expressed in open violent clashes, such as the suppression of the Polish uprising of 1830-1831 or the dispatch of troops abroad in 1848 - to Hungary to defeat the national liberation movement against Austrian domination.

Russia became an object of fear, hatred and ridicule in the eyes of the liberal part of European public opinion, and Nicholas himself gained a reputation as a gendarme of Europe.

In his reign, a number of civil departments received a military organization. The introduction of the military principle into state administration testified to the tsar's distrust of the administrative apparatus. Nevertheless, the desire to subordinate society as much as possible to state guardianship, characteristic of the ideology of the Nikolaev era, in fact inevitably led to the bureaucratization of management.

The reign of Nicholas I ended in a major foreign policy collapse. The Crimean War of 1853-1856 demonstrated the organizational and technical backwardness of Russia from the Western powers and led to its political isolation. Severe psychological shock from military failures undermined the health of Nicholas, and an accidental cold in the spring of 1855 became fatal for him. The image of Nicholas I in later literature acquired a largely odious character, the emperor appeared as a symbol of stupid reaction and obscurantism, which clearly did not take into account the diversity of his personality.

End of work -

This topic belongs to:

Historical experience of the reform activity of the autocracy in the first half of the 19th century.

In the language of V. O. Klyuchevsky, from the ancient, that is, pre-Petrine. Russia came out not two adjacent periods of our history, but two hostile warehouses and ... M 1983, p. 363. 1 I. V. Kireevsky and A. I. Herzen wrote about this very convincingly even before Klyuchevsky.

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Nikolai I Pavlovich (g/f July 6, 1796 - March 2, 1855)

On the evening of December 24, 1825, Speransky drew up a Manifesto on the accession to the throne of Emperor Nicholas I. Nicholas signed it on December 25 in the morning. Attached to the Manifesto was a letter from brother Konstantin to Alexander I, in which he refused the throne.

The manifesto on accession to the throne was announced by Nicholas at a meeting of the State Council on December 25. A separate clause in the Manifesto stipulated that December 1 (the day of the death of Alexander I) would be considered the time of accession to the throne in order to close the gap of lack of power.

Decembrist revolt.

The events of the War of 1812 and the subsequent foreign campaigns of the Russian army had a significant impact on all aspects of the life of the Russian Empire, gave rise to certain hopes for change and, most importantly, for the abolition of serfdom. People who were on foreign campaigns and reached Europe saw how they live abroad, what living conditions they have, what laws, what kind of power, they wanted the same. But everyone understood that in Russia the emperors do not strive for this, everything remains at the same level and only the top of power enjoys life. There was nothing left but to act. So circles with like-minded people began to appear, after which secret society, and later this led to the uprising of the Decembrists.

The Decembrist uprising took place on December 26, 1825. The uprising was organized by a group of like-minded people, they tried to use the guards to prevent the accession to the throne of Nicholas I.

Brief description of Nicholas 1

The goal of the rebels was the abolition of serfdom, the equality of all before the law, democratic freedoms, the introduction of compulsory military service for all classes, the election of officials, the abolition of the poll tax and a change in the form of government to a constitutional monarchy or a republic.

The rebels decided to block the Senate, send a revolutionary delegation there consisting of Ryleev and Pushchin and present the Senate with a demand not to swear allegiance to Nicholas I, declare the tsarist government deposed and issue a revolutionary manifesto to the Russian people. However, the uprising was brutally suppressed on the same day. The surviving participants in the uprising were exiled, and five leaders were executed. Although the uprising was crushed, it was not useless. The Decembrist uprising laid a powerful foundation in the minds of people about the freedom of their rights, which led to revolutions in the future. (one of them is the February and October revolutions of 1917 and the overthrow of power).

Domestic policy.

The historian Klyuchevsky gave the following characterization of the internal policy of Nicholas I: “Nicholas set himself the task of not changing anything, not introducing anything new in the foundations, but only maintaining the existing order, filling in the gaps, repairing the dilapidations that were discovered with the help of practical legislation and doing all this without any participation of society, even with the suppression of social independence, by government means alone; but he did not remove from the queue those burning questions that were raised in the previous reign, and, it seems, understood their burning even more than his predecessor.

Some contemporaries wrote about his despotism. At the same time, as historians point out, the execution of five Decembrists was the only execution in all 30 years of the reign of Nicholas I. They also note that under Nicholas I torture was not used against political prisoners.

Centralization of power became the most important direction of domestic policy. To carry out the tasks of political investigation in July 1826, a permanent body was created - the Third Branch of the Personal Office - a secret service with significant powers. The third department was headed by Alexander Benkendorf, and after his death, Alexei Orlov.

On December 18, 1826, the first of the secret committees was created, whose task was to consider the papers sealed in the office of Alexander I after his death, and to consider the issue of possible transformations of the state apparatus.

Under Nicholas I, the Polish uprising of 1830-1831 was suppressed. After the suppression of the uprising, the Kingdom of Poland lost its independence, the Sejm and the army and was divided into provinces.

Some authors call Nicholas I a knight of autocracy: he firmly defended its foundations and stopped attempts to change the existing system, despite the revolutions in Europe. After the suppression of the Decembrist uprising, he launched large-scale measures in the country to eradicate the "revolutionary infection". During the reign of Nicholas I, the persecution of the Old Believers resumed.

As for the army, to which the emperor paid much attention, Dmitry Milyutin, the future Minister of War in the reign of Alexander II, writes in his notes: , they were chasing not for the essential improvement of the army, not for adapting it to a combat mission, but only for external harmony, for a brilliant view at parades, pedantic observance of countless petty formalities that dull human reason and kill the true military spirit.

One of the greatest merits of Nicholas I can be considered the creation of the code. Involved by the tsar in this work, Speransky performed a titanic work, thanks to which the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire appeared.

Peasant question.

After the Decembrist uprising, Nicholas I decided to pay attention to the problem of the situation of the peasants. Meetings of commissions were held to facilitate the affairs of serfs. A reform of the management of the state village was carried out and a “decree on obligated peasants” was signed, which became the foundation for the abolition of serfdom. The decree of Nicholas I of May 14, 1833 forbade the sale of serfs at a public auction and take away their allotments, if any, it was forbidden to separate members of the same family during the sale. However, the complete liberation of the peasants during the life of the emperor did not take place. Historians point to significant changes in this area that occurred during the reign of Nicholas I: for the first time there was a sharp reduction in the number of serfs. The position of state peasants improved, the number of which reached about 50% of the population by the second half of the 1850s. A number of laws were passed to improve the position of serfs. So, the landowners were strictly forbidden to sell peasants (without land) and exile them to hard labor (which had previously been a common practice). The serfs were given the right to own land, entrepreneurial activity and enjoy relative freedom of movement.

These changes in the position of the peasants naturally aroused dissatisfaction on the part of large landowners and nobles, who saw them as a threat to the established order. Some reforms aimed at improving the situation of the peasants did not lead to the desired result due to the stubborn opposition of the landowners.

A program of mass peasant education was also launched. In the same period, many technical schools and universities were opened. As the Soviet historian Zaionchkovsky wrote: “During the reign of Nicholas I, contemporaries had the idea that an era of reforms had begun in Russia.”

Industrial Revolution.

The state of affairs of industry at the beginning of the reign of Nicholas I was the worst in the history of the Russian Empire. In the West, by this time, the Industrial Revolution was coming to an end, when it did not really exist in Russia. In Russia's exports there were only raw materials, almost all types of industrial products needed by the country were purchased abroad.

By the middle and towards the end of the reign of Nicholas I, the situation had changed dramatically. A technically advanced and competitive industry began to take shape. The textile and sugar industries developed. Machine tools and tools were produced. Products were made from metal, wood, glass, porcelain, leather, etc. The rapid development of industry led to a sharp increase in the urban population and the growth of cities.

After Nicholas I visited England, the production of steam locomotives was launched in Russia. Railways were built. In 1837, the first railway St. Petersburg-Tsarskoye Selo was opened, and in 1851 St. Petersburg-Moscow.

For the first time in the history of Russia, under Nicholas I, intensive construction of paved highways began: the Moscow-Petersburg, Moscow-Irkutsk, Moscow-Warsaw routes were built. The construction of railways was also begun and about 1,000 versts of railroad tracks were built, which gave impetus to the development of their own mechanical engineering.

To combat corruption under Nicholas I, for the first time, regular audits were introduced at all levels. Trials of officials have become commonplace. Nicholas I himself was critical of the successes in this area, saying that only he and the heir did not steal in his entourage.

Foreign policy.

At the request of the Austrian Empire, Russia took part in the suppression of the Hungarian revolution, sending a 140,000-strong corps to Hungary, which was trying to free itself from oppression by Austria. As a result, the throne of Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph was saved.

Nicholas I was stupid and not far-sighted. The Russian emperor did not even ask for anything for helping Austria, saying that a word of thanks was enough for him. Although the Russian side spent money on the campaign, taken from the treasury and the people who died in this campaign, Nicholas did not care, because the Russian land is rich in people, and the Russian people are rich in money. Moreover, later the Austrian emperor, who was afraid of an excessive strengthening of Russia's positions in the Balkans, during the Crimean War of 1853-1856, which was difficult for Russia, thanked for the help, taking an unfriendly position towards Russia and threatening her with war if the Russian Empire did not make concessions to the coalition from France, England, Turkey.

Crimean War 1853-1856

Not so strong anymore Ottoman Empire was dependent on other developed countries. One of them was England, which brought down the Turkish economy and drove it into debt. Russia demanded to declare itself the patroness of all Christian people under the citizenship of the Sultan. This angered the Ottoman Empire, because the Christians were on its territory, which means they were under the auspices of the Sultan. Fearing Russia, the Ottoman Empire was still ready to agree to such conditions, but there were the British who whispered to the Sultan that he should not follow Russia's lead, but declared war on them. The British promised to help with troops, and huge debts to England did not give Turkey a choice.

In 1853 Turkey declared war on Russia. The beginning of the war with Turkey in 1853 was marked by the brilliant victory of the Russian fleet under the command of the great Admiral Nakhimov, who defeated the enemy in Sinop Bay. The military successes of Russia caused a naturally negative reaction in the West, the one that the British were trying to achieve. The leading world powers were not interested in strengthening Russia at the expense of the decrepit Ottoman Empire. This created the basis for a military alliance between England and France.

In 1854, England and France entered the war on the side of Turkey. Due to the technical backwardness of Russia, it was difficult to resist these European powers. The main hostilities unfolded in the Crimea, but also military clashes took place on the Baltic Sea, in Petropavlovsk on pacific ocean as well as in the White Sea. Nowhere did the enemies manage to achieve military successes, except for the Crimea.

In October 1854, the anti-Russian coalition laid siege to Sevastopol. In spite of heroic defense city, under the leadership of Nakhimov, after an 11-month siege, in August 1855, the defenders of Sevastopol were forced to surrender the city (the hero Nakhimov was killed during shelling). But the enemy troops did not go deep into the depths of Russia, everyone was exhausted, no one had the strength to march, and even in the depths of Russia there was a fresh Russian army of many thousands ready to fight back.

At the beginning of 1856, Alexander II ended a stupid, unnecessary, bloody war for his father. He signed the Paris Peace Treaty. Under its terms, Russia was forbidden to have naval forces, arsenals and fortresses on the Black Sea, and Russia was also deprived of the opportunity to conduct an active foreign policy in this region.

Detail of Franz Roubaud's panorama Defense of Sevastopol (1904)

Death of Nicholas I.

Nicholas I died on March 2, 1855. In one light uniform, he took the parade in severe frost. Immediately after this, rumors spread widely in the capital that Nikolai had committed suicide. The disease began against the backdrop of disappointing news from the besieged Sevastopol and aggravated after receiving news of the defeat of General Khrulev near Evpatoria, which was perceived as a harbinger of an inevitable defeat in the war, which Nicholas, according to his temperament, could not survive. The tsar's exit to the parade in the cold without an overcoat was perceived as an intention to get a deadly cold, according to stories, the life doctor Mandt told the tsar: "Sir, this is worse than death, this is suicide!"

Years of life (1796-1855), years of government (1825-1855).

Nicholas is the third of the five sons of Emperor Paul I, therefore he could not count on the throne, which determined the direction of his upbringing and education. From an early age, he was fond of military affairs, especially his outside and prepared for a military career.

In 1817, Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich married the daughter of the Prussian king, who received the name Alexandra Feodorovna in Orthodoxy. They had 7 children, the eldest of whom was the future Emperor Alexander II.

In 1819, Emperor Alexander I informed Nicholas of the intention of their brother Konstantin Pavlovich to renounce his right to the throne, and, accordingly, power would have to pass to Nicholas. In 1823, Alexander I issued a Manifesto proclaiming Nikolai Pavlovich the heir to the throne. The manifesto was a family secret and was not published. Therefore, after the sudden death of Alexander I in 1825, confusion arose with the accession of a new monarch to the throne.

On December 14, 1825, the oath to the new Emperor Nicholas I Pavlovich was appointed. On the same day, the "Decembrists" planned an uprising with the aim of overthrowing autocracy and demanding the signing of the "Manifesto to the Russian people", which proclaimed civil liberties. Informed, Nicholas postponed the oath to December 13, and the uprising was crushed.

Domestic policy of Nicholas I

From the very beginning of his reign, Nicholas I declared the need for reforms and created a "committee on December 6, 1826" to prepare the reforms. An important role in the state began to play "His Majesty's Own Chancellery", which was constantly expanding by creating many branches.

Nicholas I instructed a special commission led by M.M. Speransky to develop a new Code of Laws of the Russian Empire. By 1833, two editions had been printed: The Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire, starting with the Council Code of 1649 and up to the last decree of Alexander I, and The Code of Current Laws of the Russian Empire. The codification of laws, carried out under Nicholas I, streamlined Russian legislation, facilitated the conduct of legal practice, but did not bring changes to the political and social structure of Russia.

Emperor Nicholas I in his spirit was an autocrat and an ardent opponent of the introduction of a constitution in the country and liberal reforms. In his opinion, society should live and act like a good army, regulated and in accordance with the laws. The militarization of the state apparatus under the auspices of the monarch is a characteristic feature political regime Nicholas I.

He was extremely suspicious of public opinion, literature, art, education fell under the yoke of censorship, and measures were taken to limit the periodical press. As a national dignity, official propaganda began to extol unanimity in Russia. The idea "The people and the tsar are one" was the dominant one in the education system in Russia under Nicholas I.

According to the "theory of official nationality" developed by S.S. Uvarov, Russia has its own way of development, does not need the influence of the West and should be isolated from the world community. The Russian Empire under Nicholas I was called the "gendarme of Europe" for keeping peace in European countries from revolutionary uprisings.

In social policy, Nicholas I emphasized the strengthening of the estate system. In order to protect the nobility from "contamination", the "December 6 Committee" proposed to establish a procedure according to which the nobility was acquired only by inheritance. And for service people to create new estates - "bureaucratic", "eminent", "honorary" citizens. In 1845, the emperor issued a "Decree on Majorates" (the indivisibility of noble estates during inheritance).

Serfdom under Nicholas I enjoyed the support of the state, and the tsar signed a manifesto in which he stated that there would be no changes in the position of serfs. But Nicholas I was not a supporter of serfdom and secretly prepared materials on the peasant question in order to make things easier for his followers.

Foreign policy of Nicholas I

The most important aspects of foreign policy during the reign of Nicholas I were the return to the principles of the Holy Alliance (Russia's struggle against revolutionary movements in Europe) and the Eastern Question. Russia under Nicholas I participated in the Caucasian War (1817-1864), the Russo-Persian War (1826-1828), the Russo-Turkish War (1828-1829), as a result of which Russia annexed the eastern part of Armenia , the entire Caucasus, received the eastern coast of the Black Sea.

During the reign of Nicholas I, the most memorable was the Crimean War of 1853-1856. Russia was forced to fight against Turkey, England, France. During the siege of Sevastopol, Nicholas I was defeated in the war and lost the right to have a naval base on the Black Sea.

The unsuccessful war showed Russia's backwardness from the advanced European countries and how unviable the conservative modernization of the empire turned out to be.

Nicholas I died on February 18, 1855. Summing up the reign of Nicholas I, historians call his era the most unfavorable in the history of Russia, starting from the Time of Troubles.

AD29. Culture and art of Russia in the first half of the 19th century

Early 19th century - the time of cultural and spiritual upsurge in Russia. The Patriotic War of 1812 accelerated the growth of the national self-consciousness of the Russian people, its consolidation, which largely determined the progress and achievements of Russian culture and science. A characteristic feature of this period is the democratization of culture, an increase in the number of its leaders from the unprivileged classes. The policy of "enlightened absolutism" pursued by Alexander I (1801-1825) also contributed to the cultural upsurge. Under Alexander I, the system of primary, secondary and higher education. The government paid great attention to the development of higher education. During the reign of Nicholas I, schools became class-separated.

Russian science in these years has achieved great success. Naturalists I.A. Dvigubsky and I.E. Dyadkovsky argued that the living beings inhabiting the Earth change over time, that all natural phenomena are subject to the general laws of development, physical and chemical processes. Doctor Diadkovsky developed ideas about the leading role nervous system in the human body. KM Baer made a number of major discoveries in embryology. The great Russian surgeon N. I. Pirogov laid the foundation for military field surgery. In the Crimean War, for the first time on the battlefield, he used anesthesia during an operation, used a fixed plaster cast to treat fractures. The opening of the Pulkovo Observatory in 1839 was of great importance for the development of astronomy. At the beginning of the XIX century. the first source of electric current was invented. The chemist K. G. Kirchhoff discovered the catalytic reaction for the conversion of starch into sugar. The Baltic physicist and chemist K. I. D. Grotgus formulated the first theory of electrolysis and the law of photochemistry. Chemist G. I. Hess discovered the basic law of thermochemistry - the conservation of energy in relation to chemical processes. Chemist N. N. Zinin synthesized aniline, laid the foundation for the chemistry of paints. The chemist A. M. Butlerov created the theory of the chemical structure of matter. P. G. Sobolevsky and V. V. Lyubarsky made discoveries that laid the foundation for powder metallurgy.

feature of the first half of the nineteenth century. was the rapid introduction of scientific and technical ideas into production. A characteristic phenomenon of the cultural life of Russia in this period is the revival of interest in historical science. Russia was becoming a great maritime power, new tasks arose before geographers. New islands were discovered in the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, new information was obtained about the life of the peoples of Sakhalin and Kamchatka, and maps were compiled. A separate passage was made from the Hawaiian Islands to Alaska. In 1821, during a round-the-world trip made under the command of F. F. Bellingshausen and M. P. Lazarev, the greatest geographical discovery of the 19th century was made. - A sixth part of the world is discovered - Antarctica.

Literature in the first half of the 19th century becomes a leading area of ​​cultural and public life Russia. It reflects advanced social ideas, the pressing problems of life. It forms national identity, refers to the historical past of the country. Since the 30s of the XIX century. realism is affirmed in Russian literature. The main principles of this ideological and aesthetic trend are a true reflection of objective reality; the truth of life, embodied by various artistic means; reproduction of typical characters in their typical circumstances. The number of newspapers and magazines increased sharply, although their circulation was small. Since 1838, the Provincial Gazette began to appear in each province. The official newspaper was Sankt-Peterburgskiye Vedomosti. In 1823-1825. As in literature, in the theater in the 1920s and 1930s, classicism and sentimentalism were pushed aside by romanticism. M. S. Shchepkin, a reformer of Russian acting art, is rightfully considered the founder of realism on the Russian stage. The formation of a single direction and art of designing a performance begins with him. His satirical roles - Famusov and Gorodnichiy - had a social sound. All the work of the great actor was associated with the Maly Theater, which contemporaries called the second Moscow University.

Russian music of this period is characterized by an appeal to folk melodies and national themes. The works of composers A. A. Alyabyev, A. E. Varlamov, especially their romances, were very popular. A. N. Verstovsky created the talented opera Askold's Grave. Pushkin's plot formed the basis of the opera "Mermaid" by A. S. Dargomyzhsky. But truly national music was created by the great M. I. Glinka, who wrote many romances, songs, the symphonic play Kamarinskaya. His operas A Life for the Tsar and Ruslan and Lyudmila became true masterpieces. Glinka's works are realistic and deeply folk. The composer himself claimed that "the people themselves create the music, and we only arrange it."

In painting, the interest of artists in the personality of a person, in the life of ordinary people, and not just gods and kings, is growing. A gradual departure from academism, the center of which was the Academy of Arts, is planned. An outstanding representative of the academic school of this period was K. P. Bryullov. In his painting "The Last Day of Pompeii", the artist showed the heroism, dignity and greatness of ordinary people in the face of a natural disaster. Bryullov was also a brilliant master of ceremonial and psychological portraits.

30-50s - the period of the decline of Russian classicism in architecture, a period of eclecticism (a mixture of styles) begins. The buildings of the New Hermitage, the Nikolaevsky and Mariinsky palaces in St. Petersburg can serve as an example; modern Greek style, baroque, renaissance are used here. In Moscow, the creator of the eclectic Russian-Byzantine style K. A. Ton built the Grand Kremlin Palace, the Armory. For more than 40 years, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior was built on the banks of the Moscow River in honor of the deliverance of Russia from the Napoleonic invasion. In 1931, the temple was destroyed by the Bolsheviks, and its restoration began only in 1994.

1. THE ACCESSION OF NICHOLAS I TO THE THRON

When Alexander died without heirs in 1985, his brother, Grand Duke Konstantin, stood closest to the throne. But Constantine did not want to be king. He renounced the throne in favor of his younger brother Nicholas, who was then twenty-nine years old. Nikolai did not receive an upbringing befitting an heir. Perhaps that is why he became a relatively good king, from the point of view of tsarism.

2. MAIN FEATURES OF THE INTERNAL POLITICAL COURSE OF NICHOLAS I. "PROTECTIVE" POLICY AND REFORMATION

In the domestic policy of Russia in the first half of the 19th century, there were two important milestones: the end of the Patriotic War of 1812 and 1825 - the change of reign and the uprising of the Decembrists.

These events caused an increase in conservatism and even reaction in the domestic political course. In the reign of Nicholas I, among the priorities was the codification of laws. The lack of proper order in Russian legislation as main reason Numerous abuses in court and administration were constantly pointed out in their testimony by the Decembrists, whose criticism and proposals Nicholas I treated with great attention. Nikolai saw the main goal of codification as being, without introducing any "innovations", to streamline Russian legislation and thereby provide a clearer legislative basis for Russian absolutism. Almost all the work on codification was carried out by M. M. Speransky.

According to Speransky's plan, the codification of laws had to go through three stages: at the first stage, it was supposed to collect and publish in chronological order all the laws, starting with the "Code" of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in 1649 and until the end of the reign of Alexander I; on the second - to issue a Code of effective laws, arranged in a subject-systematic order, without making any corrections and additions; the third stage provided for the compilation and publication of the "Code" - a new systematic set of current legislation, "with additions and corrections, in accordance with the rights and customs and the actual needs of the state." The II branch had its own printing house, which printed prepared volumes of the Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire. During 1828-1830. 45 voluminous volumes and 3 volumes of indexes and appendices to them were published. They compiled the "First Assembly", which included 31 thousand legislative acts for 1649-1825. In addition, 6 more volumes of laws were published, published from the end of 1825 to 1830 - these volumes began the "Second Assembly", which included laws issued during the reigns of Nicholas I and Alexander II.

At the same time, on the basis of the Complete Collection of Laws, the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire was being prepared. When it was drawn up, laws that had lost their force or were replaced by subsequent acts were withdrawn. The text processing of the articles of the "Code" was also carried out. At the same time, all corrections, and even more additions, were made only with the sanction of the emperor, who controlled the entire course of codifications. The prepared "Code of Laws" was previously considered by a special Senate commission, then its individual parts were sent to the ministries. In 1832 it was published in 15 volumes containing 40,000 articles. In addition, the “Code of Military Decrees” (12 volumes), the “Code of Laws of the Ostsee and Western Provinces” and the “Code of Laws of the Grand Duchy of Finland” prepared by Speransky were published.

Under Nicholas I, the “Complete collection of spiritual legalizations in Russia since the establishment of the Holy Synod”, “Collection of marine legalizations from 1845 to 1851” were also published. ”and“ Code of Laws of Nomadic Aliens of Eastern Siberia.

Speransky's codification plan was not implemented at its final and most significant stage - the preparation and publication of the Code of the Russian Empire. Nicholas I rejected the third stage of codification, which provided for the introduction of "innovations".

The codification of laws carried out under Nicholas I undoubtedly streamlined Russian legislation. However, it did not change the political and social structure autocratic-feudal Russia, nor the system of government itself, did not eliminate arbitrariness, red tape and corruption, which reached a special flowering precisely in the reign of Nicholas. The development of bureaucracy led to paperwork, which proceeded uncontrollably in clerical secrecy. The bureaucratic apparatus of government increased sharply: in the first half of the 19th century. the number of officials increased from 16 thousand to 74.3 thousand. Nicholas I saw the vices of the bureaucracy, complained that "the clerk rules the empire", but it was impossible to eliminate these vices under the conditions of the absolutist regime.

Nicholas I considered the issue of serfdom to be the most important. The position of the landlord peasants was alleviated. The government issued a number of laws that emphasized that "a serf is not a simple property of a private person, but, first of all, a subject of the state" (V.O. Klyuchevsky).

It should be noted that during the reign of Alexander I and Nicholas I, criticism of the autocrats as the guardians of serfdom intensified among the nobility. Alexander I in 1803 issued a decree "On free cultivators", Nicholas I in 1842 issued a decree "On obligated peasants", which allowed the landowner to voluntarily release his peasants to freedom. But the consequences of these decrees were insignificant. From 1804 to 1855 only 116,000 serfs were set free by the landlords. This testified that the landlords were primarily interested in maintaining serfdom.

Much more was done for the state peasants. There were about 9 million of them. From 1837 to 1841, a system of measures was taken to manage the state peasants.

Under the leadership of P.N. Kiselyov carried out a reform of the state village. 6 thousand rural communities were created. They were granted the right to self-government and the right to elect justices of the peace. According to the decree of 1843, not a single district chief had the right to interfere in the affairs of the community.

The peasants were given about 2.8 million acres of free land; 3 million acres of forest were transferred to educated rural communities.

Much attention was paid to raising the agrotechnical level of peasant agriculture. Over a thousand rural credit societies and savings banks were created for the state peasants; 98 thousand brick houses were built for the peasants. Much has been done to protect the health of the peasants and education. In 1838, the peasant communities had 60 schools with 1,800 students, and in 1866 they already had 110 schools with 2,550,000 children. The state peasants were exempted from road repairs. Then the peasants began to be transferred to quitrent.

Reformation of the state village under the leadership of Count P.D. Kiselev became an undoubted achievement of the Nikolaev time. As a result of the measures taken, the legal and material situation of the state peasants improved significantly. The landlord peasants began to look with envy at the state peasants.

Educational policy became more and more conservative. In 1828, the lower and secondary specialized educational institutions were reformed.

Different levels of the school were cut off from each other and intended for different classes:

Rural parish schools - for peasants;

County schools - for city dwellers;

Gymnasiums - for the nobility.

Since 1832, S.S. became the Minister of Public Education. Uvarov. He became the author of the famous formula "Orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality", which argued that these three forces are the basis of the Russian political system and ensure order and harmony in society. The Uvarov triad was created as a counterbalance to revolutionary France, in which they tried to put the principles of freedom, equality and fraternity as the basis of the state, social and even family structure. Under the Minister of Education S.S. Uvarov, the education and upbringing of Russian youth was based on respect for Orthodoxy, autocracy and nationality. In 1835, a new university charter was issued, according to which the autonomy of universities was sharply reduced. The activities of Kazan, St. Petersburg, Moscow universities were checked. A number of professors who promoted revolutionary ideas were put on trial. Education fees were raised, student enrollment was reduced, curricula were revised. The charter of 1835 abolished the departments of philosophy, political economy, natural law and statistics at the universities. At the same time, in 1835, the Imperial School of Law was founded - an elite educational institution for the training of employees of the Ministry of Justice and the Senate. A number of teachers were sent on a business trip abroad in order to improve their qualifications.

The reign of Nicholas I was marked by the appearance in 1833 of the first official national anthem "God Save the Tsar". The words of the English anthem "God Save the King" poet V.A. Zhukovsky translated into Russian, and the composer A.F. Lvov wrote a melody for them.

In the spirit of autocratic beginnings and centralization of administration, Nicholas I sought to strengthen the regime of personal power - concentrating in his hands the solution of both general and private affairs, often bypassing the relevant ministries and departments.

The activities of the third branch of the imperial chancellery received notorious fame. The favorite of Nicholas I, General A. Kh. Benckendorff, was placed at the head of the III branch. He was also the chief of the Gendarme Corps. Back in January 1826, he presented Nicholas I with a draft “On the Structure of the Higher Police”, on the basis of which the III Department of the Imperial Chancellery was created. Benkendorf held the posts of head of the III department and chief of the gendarmes until his death (1844). He was replaced by another favorite of the king, a prominent military and statesman, Count A. F. Orlov. The prerogatives of Section III were truly all-encompassing. It collected information about the moods of various segments of the population, secretly supervised "unreliable" persons and the periodical press, was in charge of places of detention and cases of "split", observed foreign nationals in Russia, identified carriers of "false rumors" and counterfeiters, collected statistics and perusal of private letters, supervised the actions of the administration. It was the organ of informing the tsar about all the "incidents" in the Russian Empire. Nicholas I carefully read the reports and reports of the head of the III department. The activity of the III branch gave rise to a wide practice of denunciations. Section III had its own network of secret agents, and in the 1940s created secret agents abroad to spy on Russian emigrants. Under her vigilant supervision were the publishers of the Russian foreign press, Prince V. V. Dolgorukov, A. I. Herzen and N. P. Ogarev.

In the sphere of economic policy, the autocracy was more consistent and went much further than in matters of social policy. The very process of the country's economic development made it necessary to patronize industry, trade, and ultimately to promote the development of bourgeois relations. Tsarism sought to take advantage of the capitalist relations that were developing in the country. Hence the planting of industry, the establishment of banks, the construction of railways, the foundation of special technical educational institutions, the encouragement of the activity of agricultural and industrial societies, the organization of exhibitions, etc.

Headed from 1824 to 1844. The Ministry of Finance E.F. Kankrin carried out a number of measures to strengthen the financial system of the country, which had been upset during the previous reign. He sought to maintain a favorable trade balance and increase budget revenues by raising direct and indirect taxes, restoring drinking farms, and devaluing banknotes that had fallen in price.

An important economic measure was carried out by Kankrin in 1839-1843. monetary reform. Before that, there was a double cash account in Russia - for banknote rubles and silver rubles, while the exchange rate of banknotes was subject to constant fluctuations. Since 1839, a hard credit ruble was introduced, equated to 1 ruble. silver and backed by gold and silver coins. The manifesto of June 1, 1843 announced the beginning of the exchange of all banknotes in circulation for state credit notes at the rate of 1 credit ruble for 3 rubles. 50 kop. banknotes. By 1851 the exchange was completed. In total, about 600 million assign rubles were exchanged for 170 million credit ones.

Reform 1839-1843 Kankrina temporarily strengthened the monetary system. However, the government could not get out of the financial crisis: by the end of the reign of Nicholas I, especially in connection with the sharply increased spending during the Crimean War, banknotes began to fall in price, domestic and external public debt increased significantly; in 1855 it almost doubled the revenue of the state budget.

3. THE MAIN DIRECTIONS OF THE FOREIGN POLICY OF RUSSIA IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF THE XIX CENTURY. PARTICIPATION IN THE SOLUTION OF THE "EASTERN QUESTION"

The social and political situation in Europe, which was seething with bourgeois revolutions, had a great influence on the worldview and activities of Nicholas. In the second quarter of the 19th century, Russia was a large and militarily strong state capable of effectively resolving its foreign policy issues. At the beginning of the reign of Nicholas I, Russia's military-technical lag behind Europe was not yet as noticeable as later. The Russian army was numerous and was considered one of the best in the world.

The main directions of foreign policy have been preserved since the end of the 18th century, when Russia began to take shape as a huge Eurasian empire. New Russian emperor hastened to announce the continuation of the foreign policy of his predecessor. But later he made it clear that in pursuing policy in Europe, Russia would rely more on own forces than "federal solidarity". Nicholas I maintained relations with the German states, primarily with Prussia, which has long occupied a leading position in Russian-German trade relations. At the same time, there was a tendency towards rapprochement between Russia and England and France. During the reign of Nicholas I, the central place in foreign policy was occupied by the Eastern question - relations with the Ottoman Empire. For Russia, an important task was to strengthen its positions on the Black Sea coast and protect the borders in the south of the country. The Black Sea has become of great importance.

The most important problem for Russia's foreign policy was to ensure the most favorable regime for the Black Sea straits - the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. The free passage of Russian merchant ships through them contributed to the economic development and prosperity of the southern regions of the state. The Caucasus remained an important direction of Russian policy. She tried to expand her Caucasian possessions, make finally stable borders in the Transcaucasus, ensure free and safe communication with the newly acquired territories, and firmly include the entire Caucasian region in the Russian Empire.

Russia's rival in this region was Iran. Under a peace treaty with Iran, Russia secured significant territories of Eastern Transcaucasia and the western coast of the Caspian Sea. In the 20s of the 19th century, Persia (Iran) sought the return of the Talysh and Karabakh khanates. A strong anti-Russian grouping formed at the Shah's court. In June 1826, the Iranian army invaded Karabakh. The Russian-Persian war began. The Iranian commander-in-chief intended to put an end to Russian possessions in Transcaucasia with one blow.

The Russian army in this region was not numerous. Only the extraordinary heroism of the Russian soldiers made it possible to hold back the offensive. Russian troops actively supported the Armenian and Georgian volunteer detachments. Russian soldiers, having conquered the important fortress of Erivan, captured the city of Tabriz and went to the capital of Persia, Tehran. Persia sued for peace. In February 1828, the Turkmanchay peace treaty was signed. Under this treaty, the khanates of Erivan and Nakhichevan became completely part of Russia. The Armenian region was formed on the territories of both khanates.

In relations with the Ottoman Empire, the fact that Turkey included many Christian and Slavic peoples of the Balkan Peninsula, who saw Russia as their only protector and savior, became increasingly important. Even during the reign of Alexander I, the reason for the aggravation of the Eastern Question, which developed into an international crisis, was the beginning of the Greek revolution. Russia, like other European countries, did not miss the opportunity to use the aggravation of the situation in the Ottoman Empire in connection with liberation struggle Greek people to realize own plans in the Middle East and the Balkans.

In the 1920s, the Eastern Question acquired the significance of one of the biggest problems in international politics. Emperor Nicholas I, assuming the throne, found relations between Russia and Turkey very tense, but still he did not see the need to fight the Turks because of the Greeks. Initially, Nicholas I, together with Great Britain, exerted diplomatic pressure on Turkey.

However, she was adamant and continued to suppress the uprising of the Greeks with particular cruelty. The European governments, including the Russian, under the influence of the tendencies of the "Holy Alliance" for a long time did not dare to intercede for the rebellious Greeks before the Turkish Sultan. Only in 1827 did it become clear that diplomacy was powerless. In this regard, the Russian, English and French squadrons entered the bay where the Turkish fleet was located, and as a result of a short battle completely destroyed it. Russian-Turkish relations deteriorated sharply. In April 1828, Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire. Military operations unfolded in Transcaucasia and the Balkans. The stubborn resistance of the Ottoman troops in the Balkans came as a surprise to the Russian high command and the tsar himself.

The Balkan peoples sought to help the Russian troops, seeking official permission from the high command for joint military operations against the Turks. The military committee led by the tsar rejected the possibility of using the help of the Serbs, but in 1829, when it was to go to the Balkans, Russia nevertheless took advantage of the help of the Bulgarian volunteers.

As a result of inflicting a number of military defeats on the Turkish troops, the Russian army took Andrianopol, which meant the end of the war was approaching. This was also facilitated by the successes of the Russian army on the Caucasian front, thanks to the high fighting qualities of the army. The result of the offensive in the Kars direction was the capture of a powerful fortress of the Turks in Western Armenia. This was the great event of the military campaign of 1828. After these events, a peace treaty was signed in 1829.

Significant territories of the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus and part of the Armenian regions belonging to Turkey passed to Russia. Broad autonomy was guaranteed for Greece, on the basis of which the creation of an independent Greek state was proclaimed in 1830.

Thus, as a result of the Russian-Turkish war, Russia fulfilled its historical mission in relation to the Greek people. As a result of the signing of the Adrianople Peace Treaty, Russia could consider major conflicts unleashed that arose in Russian-Turkish relations during the Eastern Crisis of the 20s: freedom of merchant navigation in the straits, the rights of the Danube principalities and Serbia, the autonomy of Greece. Thus, by virtue of the terms of the Peace of Adrianople, Russia received the right to interfere in the internal affairs of Turkey as an intercessor and patroness of the sultan's subjects of the same tribe and of the same faith.

As a result of the Russian-Turkish and Russian-Iranian wars of the late 20s of the XIX century, Transcaucasia was finally included in the Russian Empire: Georgia, Eastern Armenia, Northern Azerbaijan. Since that time, Transcaucasia has become an integral part of the Russian Empire.

The beginning of the 30s of the 19th century was full of events in both main directions of Russia's foreign policy - European and Middle Eastern. In 1830-31, a wave of revolutions swept through Europe, which also affected Russia itself. As soon as the Persian and Turkish wars ended, the government of Nicholas I had to enter into an armed conflict with Poland. The French and Belgian revolutions gave impetus to the Polish uprising, and at the end of 1830 an open uprising broke out in Warsaw. The Romanov dynasty was declared deprived of the Polish throne, a Provisional Government was formed, and an insurgent army was formed. Initially, the rebels were successful. But the forces were unequal, and the uprising was

At the end of the 1940s, a new, even more formidable wave arose in Western Europe. In February 1848, a revolution broke out in France, in the spring - in Germany, Austria, Italy, Wallachia and Moldavia. Nicholas I considered all these events as a direct threat to the Russian autocracy. That is why he took an active part in the suppression of the revolutionary movement.

In 1849, Nicholas helped Austria put down a revolution that broke out in Hungary, which was then part of the Austrian Empire. Also, Russian troops strangled revolutionary uprisings in Moldova and Wallachia. Nicholas, of course, experienced anxiety during the revolutions of 1848-1849. in Europe. He personally wrote the Manifesto, in which he spoke of the "new troubles" that agitated Western Europe after the "long-term peace", about the "mutiny and cashlessness" that arose in France, but also covers Germany, threatens Russia.

Russia's interference in European affairs, its defense of the old order, caused indignation in the liberal circles of European countries. Nikolai earned himself the title of "gendarme of Europe." Thus, both the governments and the peoples of Europe feared and disliked Russia and its reactionary and arrogant tsar and were glad to take the first opportunity to destroy the power and influence of Russia in European affairs.

When the European revolutions of 1848-1849 died down, Nicholas I decided to strengthen the strategic position of his empire. First of all, the emperor wanted to solve the problem of the Black Sea straits. According to the agreement then in force, the Russian navy could pass through the Bosporus and Dardanelles. In addition, Nicholas I sought to strengthen the political influence of Russia in the Balkan Peninsula. With the hands of Turkey, England hoped to strengthen its influence in Asia Minor and the Caucasus, to push Russia back from sea ​​routes. The French emperor Napoleon III was looking for an opportunity to show himself in practice, to assert the authority of his throne.

The Austrian Empire, which owed its calmness to Russia after the suppression of the Hungarian revolution, could not but intervene in the fate of the Balkans, on the territory of which it itself counted. Turkey, relying on the support of the Western European states, nurtured broad plans of conquest against Russia. The prestige of the Russian name fell in Turkey. The dispute between Russia and France over the rights of Catholics and Orthodox in Jerusalem could not hide the political background, which consisted in the struggle for influence in the Middle East between European states. In addition, Turkey, where quite a lot of Christians lived, refused to ensure their equality with Muslims. Thus, since Russia had no allies, the Crimean War began in an atmosphere of diplomatic isolation of Russia, which had to fight against a coalition of the most technologically advanced states. To settle the issue, Emperor Nicholas I in 1853 sent an extraordinary envoy, Prince Menshikov, to Constantinople, who demanded from the Porte the confirmation of the Russian protectorate over all Orthodox in the Turkish Empire, established by previous treaties. After almost 3 months of negotiations, Prince Menshikov, having received from the Porte, supported by England and France, a decisive refusal to accept the note submitted by him, returned to Russia on May 9. Then Emperor Nicholas I, without declaring war, brought Russian troops, under the command of Prince Gorchakov, into the Danubian principalities.

The conference of representatives of Russia, England, France, Austria and Prussia, which met in Vienna to settle the disagreements by peaceful means, did not achieve its goal. At the end of September. Turkey, under the threat of war, demanded the cleansing of the principalities within a two-week period, and on October 8, the British and French fleets entered the Bosphorus, violating the convention of 1841, which declared the Bosphorus closed to military courts of all powers. On October 23, the Sultan declared war on Russia. The Crimean War began as an aggressive one on both sides. If tsarism sought to seize the Black Sea straits and expand its influence in the Balkans, then England and France sought to oust Russia from the shores of the Black Sea and from the borders of Transcaucasia. The Ottoman Empire also pursued its own revanchist goals in this war. In November 1953, the Russian Black Sea squadron (under the command of Admiral Nakhimov) destroyed the Turkish fleet in the bay of Sinop, and soon the Western powers - England, France and Sardinia openly opposed Russia. Austria, for its part, ultimatum demanded from Russia the cleansing of Moldavia and Wallachia; Nicholas was forced to comply with this demand, but in view of the menacing situation occupied by Austria, he had to leave a large army on the Austrian borders, which thus could not take part in hostilities against the Western allies. In September 1954, the Allies landed a significant number of French, British and Turkish troops in the Crimea and soon began the siege of Sevastopol. Only at the end of the summer of 1955 did the Allies manage to capture south side Sevastopol and force the Russian troops to retreat north. Both sides were exhausted. In March 1856 in Paris, England, France and Russia signed a peace treaty.

Crimean War 1853-56 demonstrated the organizational and technical backwardness of Russia from the Western powers, led to its political isolation. The severe psychological shock from military failures undermined Nikolai's health, and an accidental cold became fatal for him. Nicholas died in February 1855 at the height of the Sevastopol campaign. The defeat in the Crimean War significantly weakened Russia, and the Vienna system, which was based on the Austro-Prussian alliance, finally disintegrated. Russia lost its leading role in international affairs, giving way to France.

Nikolai was born the third son in the family of Emperor Paul I. His rights to the throne were initially illusory, so military discipline was put at the basis of the upbringing of the Grand Duke.

The Grand Duke was married to the daughter of the Prussian king, baptized Alexandra Feodorovna. The family had 7 children. The eldest son of the couple became the next emperor.

After the renunciation of the rights to the throne of his brother Konstantin, Nikolai Pavlovich was proclaimed the heir of his elder brother, the childless Emperor Alexander I. The Manifesto on the succession to the throne published by Alexander I was kept secret for some time, therefore, after the sudden death of the emperor, tension arose in the country.

The nobility, having returned with a victory from France, already ripe for changing the internal policy of Russia, was preparing a coup. On December 14, 1825, the oath to Nikolai Pavlovich was appointed - disgruntled nobles, who received the name "Decembrists" in history, planned an uprising on the day of the oath. Their goal was to overthrow the autocracy.

Since Nicholas knew about the intentions of the dissatisfied, the oath was postponed to December 13th. The uprising was crushed.

Domestic policy of Nicholas I

Realizing that the country needed reforms, Nicholas I created a special committee that was involved in their preparation. The Chancellery played a serious role in the policy of the state.

M. M. Speransky and a special Commission developed the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire. Codification of laws was made, legislation was streamlined, legal practice appeared. But all this did not bring changes to the social policy of Russia.

Nicholas I was against liberal reforms and the constitution. He believed that society should be similar in structure to the army. Therefore, the main feature of his political regime is the militarization of the entire state apparatus under the rule of the autocrat.

Under strict censorship at that time were:

• literature,
• art,
• education,
• periodicals.

In the social sphere, emphasis was placed on strengthening the estate system: for example, the nobility was only inherited. The "Decree on Majorates" forbade the division of estates when children entered into an inheritance.

New classes were created for employees:

• official,
• eminent,
• honorary.

S. S. Uvarov introduced the "theory of official nationality", which proclaimed the uniqueness of the development of our state, which does not need "the influence of the West" .

In serfdom, nothing has changed.

Foreign policy of Nicholas I

Nikolai believed that Russia had a unique path of development and therefore should be isolated from Europe, whose influence it did not need. In the West, the emperor began to be called "the gendarme of Europe" behind his back.

In foreign policy, Nicholas I adhered to two postulates:

• the principle of the Holy Alliance - the fight against revolutionary movements Europe.
• Eastern Question: Caucasian War (1817-1864), Russo-Persian War (1826-1828), Russo-Turkish War (1828-1829) - aimed at annexing Armenia, the Caucasus and the eastern coast of the Black Sea.

Nicholas I was a cautious and prudent person, therefore he did not make drastic changes in the domestic policy of the Russian Empire. One of the main activities of his government was the codification Russian legislation, carried out for the first time in Russian history by M.M. Speransky. The most important problem under Nicholas I remained the peasant question, which was never finally resolved under the emperor. Some reforms were carried out, first in relation to the state peasants, and then to the landowners, but complete solution problem was not achieved. You will learn more about all this in this lesson.

Ascended to the throne, NikolaiII realized that the Russian Empire needed reforms. However, instead of drastic changes, Nikolai, a cautious man, preferred first to achieve stability in the state and the stability of Russian laws.

The emperor was well aware of the problem of the peasant question, but during his reign he did not find an opportunity to resolve this issue to the end. Nikolay, unlike his predecessor, tried to solve not only global national problems, but also delved into problems at a lower level. He wanted to control all the affairs that took place in the Russian state. For this the monarch significantly expanded the powers of his own Chancellery. After that, the Chancellery began to control the activities of ministries and other departments, in fact becoming the most important institution in the Russian Empire.

In 1826, by decree of NicholasIThe second branch of the Chancellery was created. M.M. became its leader. Speransky (Fig. 2), whose exile actually ended in 1816, and in 1821 he returned to St. Petersburg. The task of the Second Division was codification, that is, the streamlining of Russian legislation. This work was very necessary, since in the Russian legislation at the time of the reign of Nicholas I there was a huge number of laws, starting from the 1500s. Which of them are active and which are not, was a very important issue in the territories of parts of the Russian Empire. Attempts to codify Russian legislation have been made before, but without success. MM. Speransky, in just 5 years, carried out a grandiose project - in 1832 the “Complete Collection of the Laws of the Russian Empire” was published, and a year later, in 1833, the “Complete Collection of the Acting Laws of the Russian Empire” was published.

Rice. 2. M.M. Speransky - Russian statesman ()

As for the peasant question, NicholasI understood the need to abolish serfdom. But his first steps in peasant policy were aimed at improving the situation of not all, but only state peasants. This was done by an associate of the emperor, a member of the State Council and Minister of State Property P.D. Kiselev (Fig. 3). Among the peasant reforms of Kiselyov, the following can be distinguished:

1. The construction of schools and hospitals has increased in state villages.

2. Special lands were allocated, which were used jointly by members of the peasant community to prevent crop failure and famine. Basically, the above-mentioned lands were planted with potatoes from above. The people were very unhappy with this, so the peasants raised the so-called. "potato riots" (Fig. 4): in 1834 there was a rebellion of specific peasants, and in 1840-1844. - revolt of the state peasants.

3. An attempt was made to solve the problem of lack of land. In those regions of Russia where the peasants did not have enough land, state peasants were transferred to free plots, mainly to the east. Later, this practice was significantly expanded.

Rice. 3. P.D. Kiselev - the creator and leader of the peasant reforms ()

Rice. 4. Potato riot ()

The first steps taken by the government of NicholasIin relation to the state peasants, caused dissatisfaction with the landlords. This happened because the life of the state peasants in the course of the reforms really improved, and this caused grumbling among the serfs. That's why further development reforms P.D. Kiselev was not received.

The Russian government did not stop only at the state peasants. Soon laws were issued concerning serfs. They were as follows:

1. Prohibition Act retail peasants. This meant that now the landowner did not have the right to sell the peasants separately, excommunicating them from the family, but could sell them only as a whole family (Fig. 5).

2. Permission for landowners to release peasants without land, as well as permission for landowners to release peasants with land. But for such a release, the peasants had to pay certain debts to their former owner. This law was called the decree "On obligated peasants" (1842).

3. The peasants received the right to redeem the land (and, accordingly, be released) in the event that the estate in which they lived is sold for the debts of the owner.

4. Peasants received the right to buy property - uninhabited land or buildings.

Rice. 5. Peasant family of the XIX century. ()

All the above reforms were only the first steps in the peasant question, and both the landlords and the peasants did not actively use the new opportunities. However, it is worth noting that the peasant reforms of Nicholas I were an important step towards the abolition of serfdom.

Bibliography

1. Korkunov N.M. Significance of the Code of Laws // Journal of the Ministry of National Education. - 1894. - No. 9.

2. Lazukova N.N., Zhuravleva O.N. Russian history. 8th grade. - M.: "Ventana-Count", 2013.

3. Lyashenko L.M. Russian history. 8th grade. - M .: "Drofa", 2012.

4. Nicholas the First and his time / Comp., entry. Art., comment. B. N. Tarasova. - M., 2000.

5. Nicholas I: personality and era: new materials / Ed. ed. A. N. Tsamutali; resp. comp. T. V. Andreeva and others - RAS, St. Petersburg. Institute of History. - St. Petersburg, 2007.

6. Troyat A. Nicholas I / Per. c fr. E. Sutotskaya. - M., 2007.

7. Yurtaeva E. A. The historical experience of creating the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire // Journal Russian law. - 1998. - № 1.

4. Internet portal "Studopedia.ru" ()

Homework

1. Why did the main state body under Nicholas I become his own office? What was she doing? What powers did she have?

2. What is the codification of Russian legislation? By whom and how was it carried out?

3. List the reforms in relation to the state peasants. What did they lead to?

4. List the reforms in relation to the landlord peasants. What were the consequences of this?