Brief summary of the beginning of the reign of Nicholas 1. Synopsis and presentation for the lesson "The internal policy of Nicholas I; methodological development in history (8th grade) on the topic. Measures to strengthen the position of the noble class

The reign of Nicholas 1 lasted from December 14, 1825 to February 1855. This emperor has an amazing fate, but it is noteworthy that the beginning and end of his reign are characterized by important political events in the country. Thus, Nicholas’s rise to power was marked by the Decembrist uprising, and the death of the emperor occurred during the days of the defense of Sevastopol.

Beginning of reign

Speaking about the personality of Nicholas 1, it is important to understand that initially no one prepared this man for the role of Emperor of Russia. 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, according to the laws of that time, power came to the middle son of Paul 1 - Constantine. And on December 1, the Russian government swore allegiance to him. Nicholas himself also took the oath of allegiance. 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 authority to manage to 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 characteristic of his character traits:

• Military education. It is known that Nikolai poorly mastered any science except military science. His teachers were military men and almost everyone around him 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, without exception, in the country to wear.
• Decembrist revolt. The first day of 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 foreign languages ​​were always spoken at court: Dutch, English, French, German. Nicholas 1 stopped this. Now all conversations were conducted exclusively in Russian, people wore traditional Russian clothes, and traditional Russian values ​​and traditions were promoted.

Many history textbooks say that the Nicholas era was characterized by reactionary rule. Nevertheless, governing the country in those conditions was very difficult, since all of Europe was literally mired in revolutions, the focus of which could shift towards Russia. And this had to be fought. The second important point is 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 was associated with attempts to transfer army orders and customs to everyday life and government of the country.

There is clear order and subordination in the army. The laws apply here and there are no contradictions. Everything here is clear and understandable: some command, others obey. And all this to achieve a single goal. This 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 introduce into all government bodies. First of all, in the Nicholas era 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 is interesting because it significantly expands the powers of ordinary police officers, giving them almost unlimited power. The third department 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 stage of the emperor's reign, Section 3 further expanded its powers, creating a network of agents to work abroad.

Systematization of laws

Even in the era of Alexander, attempts to systematize laws began in Russia. This was extremely necessary, since there were a huge number of laws, many of them contradicted each other, many were only in a handwritten version in the archive, and the laws had been in force since 1649. Therefore, before 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, who was given the authority to systematize the laws of the Russian Empire.

Speransky proposed carrying out all the work in three stages:

1. Collect in chronological order all the laws issued from 1649 until the end of the reign of Alexander 1.
2. Publish a set of laws currently in force in the empire. This is not about changes in laws, but about considering which of the old laws can be repealed and which cannot.
3. The 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 innovation (the only exception was the army). Therefore, he allowed the first two stages to take place and categorically prohibited 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 reign of Nicholas 1st that played a huge role in the formation of Russian absolutism. In fact, the country has not changed radically, but has received real structures for quality management.

Policy regarding education and enlightenment

Nicholas believed that the events of December 14, 1825 were connected with the educational 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 in the country be revised. As a result of this revision, any peasants were prohibited from entering higher educational institutions, philosophy as a science was abolished, and supervision of private educational institutions was strengthened. This work was supervised by Shishkov, who holds the position of Minister of Public Education. Nicholas 1 absolutely trusted this man, since their basic views converged. At the same time, it is enough to consider just one phrase from Shishkov to understand what the essence was behind the education system of that time.

Sciences are like salt. They are useful and can only be enjoyed if given in moderation. People should be taught only the kind of literacy that corresponds to their position in society. Educating all people without exception will undoubtedly 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, single-class education was introduced, based on parish schools. People were taught only 4 operations of arithmetic (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division), reading, writing, and the laws of God.
2. For the middle classes (merchants, townspeople, and so on) three-year education. Additional subjects included geometry, geography and history.
3. For the upper classes, seven-year education was introduced, the receipt of which guaranteed the right to enter universities.

The solution to the peasant question

Nicholas 1 often said that the main task of his reign was the abolition of serfdom. However, he was unable to directly solve this problem. It is important to understand here that the emperor was faced with his own elite, who were categorically against this. The issue of the abolition of serfdom was extremely complex and extremely acute. One only has to look at the peasant uprisings of the 19th century to understand that they occurred literally every decade, and their strength increased each time. Here, for example, is what the head of the third department said.

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

OH. Benckendorf

Nicholas the First himself also understood the 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 for changes to come from the people themselves.

Nikolay 1

A secret committee was created to solve peasant problems. In total, in the Nicholas 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 of giving peasants their own land and the right to work for themselves has not been resolved. In total, during the reign and work of 9 secret committees, the following problems of the peasants were resolved:

• Peasants were forbidden to sell
• It was forbidden to separate families
• Peasants were allowed to buy real estate
• 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 one must look for the basis that led to the events of 1861 and the abolition of serfdom.

Relations with other countries

Emperor Nicholas 1 sacredly honored the “Holy Alliance,” an agreement 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” did not give Russia anything. The Russians solved the problems of the Europeans and returned home with nothing.

Reign of Nicholas 1

In July 1830, the Russian army was preparing to march to France, where the revolution took place, but 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 the campaign against Poland, who defeated the Polish troops in September 1831. The uprising was suppressed, and the autonomy of Poland itself became almost formal.

In the period from 1826 – 1828. During the reign of Nicholas I, Russia was drawn into a war with Iran. Her reasons were that Iran was dissatisfied with the peace of 1813 when they lost part of their territory. Therefore, Iran decided to take advantage of the uprising in Russia to regain what it 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 visible weakness of Russia and regain some of the previously lost lands. As a result, the Russian-Turkish War began in 1828. It lasted until September 2, 1829, when the Treaty of Adrianople was signed. The Turks suffered a brutal defeat that cost them their position in the Balkans. In fact, with this war, Emperor Nicholas 1 achieved diplomatic submission to the Ottoman Empire.

In 1849, Europe was in revolutionary flames. Emperor Nicholas 1, fulfilling the allied dog, in 1849 sent an army to Hungary, 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 revolutionaries, keeping in mind the events of 1825. For this purpose, he created a special office, which was subordinate only to the emperor and conducted only activities against revolutionaries. Despite all the efforts of the emperor, revolutionary circles in Russia were actively developing.

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

1. Basic political principles of Nicholas's reign

Second quarter of the 19th century. entered the history of Russia as the “Nicholas era” or even “the era of the Nikolaev reaction.” The most important slogan of Nicholas I, who spent 30 years on the Russian throne, 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 drills, was a capable and energetic person who understood the need to reform Russia. However, the fear of revolution caused by the Decembrist uprising and the growth of the revolutionary movement in Europe forced him to shy away from deep reforms and pursue a protective policy that ended in collapse during 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 single set 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 a code of laws was entrusted to a group of lawyers led by M.M. Speransky. All Russian laws issued after 1649 have been collected and arranged in chronological order. They compiled 47 volumes of the Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire. In 1832, the 15-volume Code of Laws of the Russian Empire was published, which included all current laws. 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 authorities. 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 Department was first headed by the same Benkendorf, and then by L.V. Dubelt. Section III 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, monitoring suspicious people, reading letters, and managing censorship.

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

Censors were obliged to ban any edition, any publication if they saw even the slightest hint of criticism of the autocratic way of government or the Orthodox religion. Natural science and philosophical books that contradicted Orthodox dogma were prohibited. Even such a loyal writer as Thaddeus Bulgarin complained about the cruelty of censorship, saying that “instead of prohibiting writing against the government, censorship prohibits writing about the government and in favor of it.” Curiosities arose, as in the case when the censor prohibited the exclamation “These seem to be the pillars of the power 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 strictly 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 abolished. From that time on, discrimination against Poles began, which did not stop until the very end of the 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 revolution.

5. Education system

Concerned about preserving loyal views in society and the people, the authorities constantly tightened school regulations. It was strictly forbidden to admit serfs into higher and secondary educational institutions. People of the “lower ranks” were supposed to receive education primarily in one-class parochial schools, where they taught the basic skills of reading, counting, writing and the law of God. There were three-grade schools for townspeople, and seven-grade gymnasiums only for nobles. 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 had not graduated from high school. The rights of universities were curtailed with the introduction of the new university charter of 1835.

In the 30s educational institutions' programs were revised. Teaching of natural sciences and mathematics was reduced in favor of 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 and opposed home education and private schools, since it could not control them in the same way as state-owned 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 became 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 constitute the indispensable conditions for the existence of Russia. Nationality was understood as the need to adhere to one’s own traditions and reject foreign influence. Calm, stable, beautifully quiet Russia was contrasted with the restless, decaying West.

The “theory of official nationality” clearly reveals a pattern in Russian history: any turn to conservatism and conservationism is always combined with anti-Westernism and emphasizing the peculiarities of one’s own national path.

The “Theory of Official Nationality” was used as the basis for teaching in schools and universities. Conservative historians S.P. became its guides. 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 above everything 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 madness. So, in 1836, by direct order of Nicholas I, P.Ya. was declared crazy. Chaadaev, who published bold and bitter (although far from indisputable) reflections on the history of Russia and its historical fate in the Telescope magazine.

At the end of the 40s, when revolutions began in Europe, it became obvious that Uvarov’s attempt to counter the revolutionary threat by instilling devotion to the throne and the church failed. Sedition penetrated more and more into Russia. A dissatisfied Nicholas fired Uvarov in 1849, relying only on suppressing free thought through repression. This marked a deep ideological crisis in power, which finally alienated society.

7. Financial reform

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

8. Peasant question

Nicholas I, like many in his circle, understood the need to abolish serfdom - this, in the words of Benckendorff, was the “powder keg” under the empire. However, the essence of his approach to this problem was expressed in the words he once uttered: “Serfdom is evil..., but touching 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 of a discussion of the issue of serfdom would be perceived unambiguously by the peasants: the tsar wants freedom, but the gentlemen are hindering it. As a result, discussions of the peasant issue were conducted in a narrow circle of officials and each time ended with serious decisions being postponed indefinitely.

In an effort to set an example of how to resolve 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 Kiselev reform after the name of the Minister of State Property P.D. Kiselev, according to whose project and under whose leadership it was carried out.

Kiselev declared his goal to bring the position of state peasants closer to the position of “free rural inhabitants.” The management of the state village was changed. The land holdings of state peasants increased significantly. The capitation tax began to gradually turn into a land tax. Hospitals and schools appeared, peasants received agricultural technical assistance and were able to use credit. Of course, even after the reform, the allotments of state peasants remained insufficient, and peasant self-government was subject to petty police supervision, but still the situation of state peasants improved significantly. It is no coincidence that the idea of ​​equalizing serfs with state-owned people spread widely.

Kiselev’s plan was precisely to carry out reforms, first in the state, and then in the landowner villages. However, due to the resistance of the serf owners, it was necessary to limit ourselves only to the adoption in 1842 of the Decree on “obligated peasants.” The decree somewhat expanded the ability of landowners to free serfs, granted to them under the decree on free cultivators of 1803. Now the landowner could, without asking permission from the authorities, provide the serf with personal rights and a land allotment, for which the peasant was obliged to bear duties. The former serf thus became the hereditary holder of the land, which remained the property of the owner. However, the main condition - the desire of the landowner - remained unshakable. Therefore, the immediate results of the decree were small: only 24 thousand serfs received freedom.

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

What to pay attention to when answering:

A characteristic feature of the reign of Nicholas I is the understanding of the need for reforms with the simultaneous lack of political will to implement them. Nicholas's policy (with the exception of the "dark seven years" after 1848) should be characterized not as reactionary, but mainly as protective, aimed at maintaining the existing situation unchanged until the time when reforms finally become possible.

2The censorship regulations, adopted in 1826 and nicknamed “cast iron”, were relaxed already in 1828, but its name very clearly characterizes the entire censorship policy of the Nicholas era.

Results of the reign of Nicholas I

Work done in 2001

Results of the Reign of Nicholas I - Abstract, History section, - 2001 - Historical experience of the reform activities of the autocracy in the first half of the 19th century. Results of the Reign of Nicholas I. Nicholas Considered the Main Goal of His Reign...

Results of the Reign of Nicholas I. Nicholas considered the main goal of his reign to be the fight against the widespread revolutionary spirit, and he subordinated his entire 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 sending of troops abroad in 1848 - to Hungary to defeat the national liberation movement against Austrian rule.

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

During his reign, a number of civilian departments received a military organization. The introduction of the military principle into public administration testified to the tsar’s distrust of the administrative apparatus. Nevertheless, the desire to subordinate society as much as possible to state tutelage, characteristic of the ideology of the Nicholas era, actually 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. The severe psychological shock from military failures undermined Nicholas's health, 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.

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

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Nicholas I Pavlovich (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 his brother Constantine to Alexander I, in which he refused the throne.

The manifesto on his accession to the throne was announced by Nicholas at a meeting of the State Council on December 25. A separate point in the Manifesto stipulated that the time of accession to the throne would be considered December 1 (the day of the death of Alexander I) in order to bridge 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 life in the Russian Empire, giving rise to certain hopes for change and, most importantly, for the abolition of serfdom. People who were on campaigns abroad and reached Europe saw how they live abroad, what living conditions they have, what laws, what kind of power, they wanted the same thing. 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 to do but act. So circles with like-minded people began to appear, after which Secret Societies were formed, and later this led to the Decembrist uprising.

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 units to prevent Nicholas I from ascending the throne.

Brief description of Nicholas 1

The goal of the rebels was the abolition of serfdom, 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 republic.

The rebels decided to block the Senate, send there a revolutionary delegation consisting of Ryleev and Pushchin and present to the Senate a demand not to swear allegiance to Nicholas I, declare the tsarist government deposed and publish 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 suppressed, 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 the government).

Domestic policy.

The historian Klyuchevsky gave the following characterization of the internal policy of Nicholas I: “Nicholas set himself the task not to change anything, not to introduce anything new in the foundations, but only to maintain the existing order, fill in the gaps, repair revealed dilapidations with the help of practical legislation and do all this without any participation from society, even with the suppression of social independence, through government means alone; but he did not remove from the queue those burning questions that were raised during the previous reign, and, it seems, he understood their burning importance 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 during the entire 30 years of the reign of Nicholas I. They also note that under Nicholas I, torture was not used against political prisoners.

The most important direction of domestic policy was the centralization of power. To carry out the tasks of political investigation, a permanent body was created in July 1826 - the Third Department of the Personal Chancellery - a secret service that had significant powers. The third department was headed by Alexander Benkendorf, and after his death, Alexey Orlov.

On December 18, 1826, the first of the secret committees was created, the task of which 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 suppressed 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, persecution of the Old Believers resumed.

As for the army, to which the emperor paid a lot of attention, Dmitry Milyutin, the future minister of war during the reign of Alexander II, writes in his notes: “Even in military affairs, which the emperor was engaged in with such passionate enthusiasm, the same concern for order and discipline prevailed.” , they were not chasing the significant improvement of the army, not adapting it to combat purposes, but only external harmony, a brilliant appearance at parades, pedantic observance of countless petty formalities that dull human reason and kill the true military spirit.”

One of the greatest achievements 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 ease the affairs of the serfs. A reform of state village management 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 prohibited the sale of serfs at public auction and the taking away of their plots, if they had any, and it was forbidden to separate members of the same family during the sale. However, the complete liberation of the peasants did not take place during the life of the emperor. 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 situation of state peasants improved, whose number reached about 50% of the population by the second half of the 1850s. A number of laws were passed to improve the situation of serfs. Thus, landowners were strictly forbidden to sell peasants (without land) and send them to hard labor (which had previously been common practice). Serfs received the right to own land, conduct business, and received relative freedom of movement.

These changes in the position of the peasants naturally caused discontent 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. During the same period, many technical schools and universities were opened. As the Soviet historian Zayonchkovsky wrote: “During the reign of Nicholas I, contemporaries had the idea that an era of reform had arrived in Russia.”

Industrial Revolution.

The state of industrial affairs at the beginning of the reign of Nicholas I was the worst in the entire history of the Russian Empire. In the West, by this time the industrial revolution was coming to an end, when it didn’t really exist in Russia. Russia's exports included only raw materials; almost all types of industrial products needed by the country were purchased abroad.

By the middle and end of the reign of Nicholas I, the situation had changed greatly. A technically advanced and competitive industry began to take shape. The textile and sugar industries developed. Machines 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, production of steam locomotives began in Russia. Railways were built. In 1837, the first railway St. Petersburg-Tsarskoe 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 roads began: the routes Moscow - St. Petersburg, Moscow - Irkutsk, Moscow - Warsaw were built. The construction of railways was also started and about 1000 miles of railway track was built, which gave impetus to the development of our own mechanical engineering.

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

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 Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria was saved.

Nicholas I was stupid and not far-sighted. The Russian emperor did not even ask for anything for Austria's help, saying that a word of thank you was enough for him. Although the Russian side spent money on the campaign, taken from the treasury and 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 feared excessive strengthening of Russia’s position in the Balkans, during the difficult Crimean War of 1853-1856 for Russia, thanked for the help by taking an unfriendly position towards Russia and threatening it with war if the Russian Empire did not make concessions to the coalition from France, England, Turkey.

Crimean War 1853-1856

The Ottoman Empire, which was no longer so strong, was dependent on other developed countries. One of them was England, which collapsed the Turkish economy and drove it into debt. Russia demanded to declare itself the patroness of all Christian people subject to the Sultan. This outraged the Ottoman Empire, because Christians were on its territory, which means they were under the protection 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 not to follow Russia’s lead, but to declare war on them. The British promised to help with troops, and huge debts to England did not give Turkey a choice.

In 1853, Türkiye 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, which defeated the enemy in Sinop Bay. Russia's military successes naturally caused a negative reaction in the West, which is exactly what the British wanted. 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 Russia's technical backwardness, it was difficult to resist these European powers. The main military operations took place in Crimea, but military clashes also took place on the Baltic Sea, in Petropavlovsk on the Pacific Ocean, and also on the White Sea. The enemies were unable to achieve military success anywhere except Crimea.

In October 1854, an anti-Russian coalition besieged Sevastopol. Despite the heroic defense of the 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 deeper into Russia, everyone was exhausted, no one had the strength to launch a march, and 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 prohibited from having naval forces, arsenals and fortresses in the Black Sea, and Russia was also deprived of the opportunity to conduct an active foreign policy in this region.

Panorama detail of Franz Roubaud's Defense of Sevastopol (1904)

Death of Nicholas I.

Nicholas I died on March 2, 1855. He took part in the parade in severe frost in only a light uniform. Immediately after this, rumors spread widely in the capital that Nicholas had committed suicide. The illness began against the backdrop of disappointing news from besieged Sevastopol and worsened after receiving news of the defeat of General Khrulev near Yevpatoria, which was perceived as a harbinger of an inevitable defeat in the war, which Nicholas, due to his character, could not survive. The Tsar’s appearance at the parade in the cold without an overcoat was perceived as an intention to get a fatal cold; according to stories, the life physician Mandt told the Tsar: “Sire, this is worse than death, this is suicide!”

Lesson type: problem-dialogical lesson.

Subject purpose of the lesson: perception and initial awareness of new material on the topic of the lesson.

Meta-subject goal of the lesson: to continue the formation of universal educational actions of students that have a meta-subject nature, which ensures the integrity of general cultural, personal and cognitive development and self-development.

Didactic task: ensuring perception, comprehension and primary memorization of knowledge and methods of action.

Self-awareness and self-determination.

Presentation of educational material taking into account the zone of proximal and current development.

Lesson objectives:

· developing skills in working with textual information (critical reading of sources, their comparative analysis, identifying contradictions, determining cause-and-effect relationships, characterizing a historical event, identifying the structure of a historical event, formulating a reasoned answer with a conclusion or generalization);

· formation of information transformation skills;

· developing skills in identifying problems and setting lesson objectives;

· development of the motivational, emotional, volitional sphere of students;

· development of communication skills based on the development of speech and thinking activity.

Active actions of students with the object of study. Maximum use of independence in acquiring new knowledge.

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Domestic policy of Nicholas I.

Lesson type: problem-dialogical lesson.

Subject purpose of the lesson:perception and initial awareness of new material on the topic of the lesson.

Meta-subject goal of the lesson:to continue the formation of universal educational actions of students that have a meta-subject nature, which ensures the integrity of general cultural, personal and cognitive development and self-development.

Didactic task:ensuring perception, comprehension and primary memorization of knowledge and methods of action.

Reflective activity of students:self-awareness and self-determination.

Teacher’s activities to ensure reflection:presentation of educational material taking into account the zone of proximal and current development.

Lesson objectives:

• developing skills in working with textual information (critical reading of sources, their comparative analysis, identifying contradictions, determining cause-and-effect relationships, characterizing a historical event, identifying the structure of a historical event, formulating a reasoned answer with a conclusion or generalization);
• formation of information transformation skills;
• developing skills in identifying problems and setting lesson objectives;
• development of the motivational, emotional, volitional sphere of students;
• development of communication skills based on the development of speech and mental activity.

Indicators of the planned result of solving problems:active actions of students with the object of study. Maximum use of independence in acquiring new knowledge.

Tools for creating a communication environment:UMK A.A. Danilova, L.G. Kosulina “History of Russia XIX century” 8th grade; lesson presentation, information sheet.

DURING THE CLASSES

1. Updating the topic and stating the problem

On the students' desks are information sheets with texts for the lesson.
On the screen is a slide with a photograph of the monument to Nicholas I.

The recording of the choir of the Valaam Monastery “God save my native Rus'!” .

Teacher: On February 21, 1855, a message appeared in Russian newspapers that came as a complete surprise not only to millions of Russian citizens, but also to the rest of the world. It was a manifesto about the death of the emperor. His death caused a wide variety of feelings in society.
For example, among the poems of F. I. Tyutchev there are dedicated to his memory:

You did not serve God and not Russia,
Served only his vanity,
And all your deeds, both good and evil, -
Everything was a lie in you, all the ghosts were empty:
You were not a king, but a performer.

But meanwhile, after meeting him, another great poet A.S. Pushkin wrote his famous “Stanzas”.

In the hope of glory and goodness
I look forward without fear:
The beginning of the glorious days of Peter
There were riots and executions.
Be proud of your family resemblance;
Be like your ancestor in everything:
Like him, tireless and firm,
And his memory is not malicious.

On the screen is slide No. 2 with a portrait of J. Doe “Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich” (1823), but without a signature.

Teacher: His reign began with the shooting and execution of his own subjects during the suppression of the uprising on December 14, 1825, and ended with the tragedy of military defeat in Sevastopol.

The slides “Revolt of the Decembrists” then “Crimean War 1853-1856” appear on the screen.

Between these two tragic events there were thirty years of the life of the empire, where everything was determined by the will of the monarch.

Question : Who do you think this person is?

Student answers: Nicholas the First.

Appears on the screen with a portrait of Nicholas the First. Sounds "Mighty King!" performed by the choir of the Valaam Monastery.

Teacher: How can you form an objective opinion about a person?

Student answers:A person is judged by his actions (evaluated by his deeds...).

Teacher: Therefore, we will talk about (announces the topic of the lesson) The internal policy of Nicholas I.

Teacher: When he ascended the throne, Nicholas did not have a clear idea of ​​what kind of Russian Empire he would like to see.
But after the dull and gloomy last years of the reign of Alexander I, the accession of thirty-year-old Nicholas brought a clear revival to the life of the country.
The emperor soon managed to win the sympathy of secular society. Maid of honorof the Highest CourtAnna Fedorovna Tyutcheva wrote in her diary about Nicholas I: “No one better than him was created for the role of autocrat. He had both the appearance and the necessary moral qualities for this purpose. His impressive and majestic beauty, majestic posture... everything breathed in him like a living deity, an omnipotent ruler... This man never experienced a shadow of doubt about his power or its legitimacy.”

Teacher: What qualities does A.F. Tyutcheva note in Nicholas I?

Student answers:

Teacher: Pay attention to the previous statements of A.S. Pushkin and F.I. Tyutchev. What is the question?

Students' answers.Conflicting assessments of the activities of Nicholas I.

Problem: Why did the activities of such a purposeful person have such ambiguous and contradictory assessments from his contemporaries?

Students' assumptions:

2. Learning new material

Teacher: During the investigation of the Decembrists, a number of serious shortcomings in the government of the country were discovered. Nicholas tried to streamline Russian legislation. (The Decembrists spoke about the need for this during the investigation).
What measures did the emperor take to resolve this issue and strengthen the state apparatus? Let's turn to the text of the textbook (p. 64).

Assignment to students:answer the questions:

1. What goal did the emperor set for himself?
2. What measures did you take?
3. Why did these measures not produce the expected results?

Student answers:

1. Strengthening the role of the state apparatus (preserve and strengthen the existing system)

2. Strict centralization of management, complete unity of command at all levels of management:

Expanded the scope of activity of His Imperial Majesty's Own Office;

He created the II department of his office headed by M.M. Speransky - his main task: the preparation of a unified set of laws;

He created a secret committee headed by Count Kochubey and was tasked with drawing up a draft for public administration reform.

3. These measures did not give the expected result, because Not trusting society, Nicholas the First saw his main support in the army and bureaucracy. At this time, there was an unprecedented expansion of the bureaucratic apparatus. By the end of the reign of Nicholas the army of officials amounted to 90 thousand people (for comparison, at the beginning of the reign of Alexander the First there were 15 thousand officials).

Teacher: N.I. Grech, publicist, former voluntary agent of the III department of His Imperial Majesty’s Own Chancellery, assessing the results of changes in this area, wrote: “In our country, abuses have merged with social life and have become a necessary element of it. Can there be order and prosperity in a country where out of 60 million it is impossible to recruit 8 smart ministers and 50 honest governors, where theft, robbery and bribes are at every step, where there is no truth in governance?
- What can be concluded?

Student answers:The events carried out by Nicholas the First strengthened the role of officials and did not give the desired result because led to an increase in bribery and corruption. Even Nikolai himself was the first to once say in a moment of insight: “Russia is ruled by the chiefs” (i.e., the middle bureaucracy).

Teacher: And now A.S. Pushkin gives a different assessment of Nicholas I: “He’s good, he’s good, but he’s made fools for thirty years.”

Physical education “Yes” - “No”

Teacher: If you agree with the statement, stand up, if you don’t agree, sit down.

Suggestions and statements:

1. Alexander I established ministries (yes)

2. The Peace of Tilsit was concluded between Russia and England (no, Russia and France)

4. According to the program N.M. Muravyova, Russia was supposed to become a constitutional monarchy (yes)

5. The decree on “free cultivators” was issued in 1805 (no, in 1803)

6. The words: “The most terrible of all my battles is the one I fought near Moscow” belong to Napoleon (yes)

7. Swiss politician, educator of the future emperor F.S. La Harpe was a supporter of the ideas of conservatism (no, liberalism)

8. Stroganov, Novosiltsev, Czartoryski, Stroganov, Kochubey - members of the Secret Committee (yes).

Teacher: Okay guys, sit down.

So let's continue: What issue of the internal policy of the Russian state was the most pressing in the 19th century?

Student answers:Peasant question.

Teacher: Since the key issue in domestic policy was still the peasant question, let's take a look:

1. How did Nicholas the First feel about serfdom?
2. Was he going to cancel it?

Let us turn to the source document “From the speech of Nicholas I at a meeting of the State Council on March 30, 1842” (see information sheet).

Conclusion:

1. Serfdom is evil.
2. The abolition of serfdom is a more disastrous evil.
3. It is premature to resolve this issue.
4. Nicholas was afraid of a peasant revolt.

Teacher: However, the emperor understood that it was still necessary to resolve this issue.
The first step in this direction was the transformation in the situation of state peasants (19 million people).
- By Why did the transformation affect only state peasants?(The state could dispose of them).

- What measures have been taken to resolve this issue?

Let's turn to the text of the textbook on page 66.

Let's answer the questions:

1. Goals of the reform.
2. Main activities.
3. Pros and cons of the reform.
4. Result.

Student answers:

1. The reform was aimed at improving the situation of state peasants and raising their standard of living.

2. Introduction of peasant self-government; resettlement of peasants to vacant lands in other areas; introduction of “public plowing”.

3. Pros: the creation of schools and hospitals, the construction of “public plowing” roads in case of crop failure, resettlement from land-poor areas to free lands.

cons: “potato riots”, because the peasants saw in the “public plowing” an attempt to introduce government corvee; landowners' dissatisfaction with Kiselev's reform (improving the living conditions of state peasants will increase the desire of their serfs to move into the government department).

4. The situation of state peasants has improved significantly.

Teacher: So, Nicholas the First took measures to change the situation of the serfs (Pages 66-67 of the textbook).

Answer the questions:

1. What were these measures aimed at? (Aimed at improving the situation of serfs).
2. Did they solve the main problem - the abolition of serfdom?(No)

Assignment for students(work in pairs): fill out a diagram reflecting measures to resolve the peasant issue

Peasant question

position of power

Conclusion: All these measures improved the situation of state and serf peasants, but did not solve the main issue - the abolition of serfdom, and did not give serfs freedom and land.

Teacher: Nicholas I was given a historical chance to become a liberator of the peasantry, but he did not take advantage of it. Why? Let's turn again to his own words (Document “From the speech...”).

Student answers:

He was afraid of a peasant revolt;

He was afraid to take responsibility for the consequences of the abolition of serfdom.

Teacher: One of the most important directions of the reign of Nicholas the First was the fight against any manifestations of disagreement with the policies of the authorities. He organized and brought under his personal control the activities of the political police (p. 68)

Answer the questions:

1. What measures were taken by the emperor to strengthen the fight against revolutionary sentiments?

2. What is the meaning of creating the III Department of His Imperial Majesty's Chancellery? What tasks were set for him by Nicholas I?

Student answers:

1. The III department of the royal chancellery was created, headed by General A.Kh. Benckendorff; the “Charter on Censorship” was adopted, nicknamed “cast iron” (works that condemned the monarchical system of government were not allowed to be published. It was forbidden to express unauthorized proposals for government reforms, and religious freethinking was suppressed).

2. The third department was entrusted with all political affairs, monitoring the mood of minds, looking for the slightest manifestations of “sedition” (what is prohibited is illegal).

3. Division III was engaged in detective work and investigations in political cases, carried out censorship, fought against Old Believers and sectarianism, investigated cases of cruel treatment of landowners with peasants, etc.

Teacher: Complete the task, find the error in the document:

Student answers: Points 5 and 10 were not included in the terms of reference of the III department: 5) and 10) are the functions of the V department, created to manage educational institutions and charitable organizations.

Conclusion: Thus, the activities of the III Department created an atmosphere of mistrust and denunciation. The identified “seditions” were often incorrect and exaggerated. Therefore, both the guilty and the innocent could suffer heavy punishments.

Teacher: So, let’s return to our problem: “Why did the activities of such a purposeful person have such ambiguous and contradictory assessments from his contemporaries?”

- The statement of the historian V.O. Klyuchevsky will help us solve our problem. Characterizing the general concept of Nikolaev’s rule, he noted: “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 are revealed with the help of any practical legislation, and doing all this without any participation from society.” , even with the suppression of social independence.”

Solution to the problem:Under Nicholas the First, a well-thought-out system of state control over the social, political, economic and cultural life of the country was created. In practice, the principle of strict diligence and unquestioning obedience was consistently followed. There was no desire for radical changes in Russia; only small, partial reforms were carried out.

3. Consolidation of the studied material.

Test “Russian domestic policy during the reign of Nicholas I”

1. Establish a chronological sequence of events and number them.

a) Publication of a new censorship law

b) Publication of the first complete set of laws

c) Publication of the first set of existing laws

2. Choose the correct answer: Which of the listed provisions of the noble policy of Nicholas I correspond to reality?

a) a ban on splitting noble estates between heirs

b) increasing the property qualification for electors to the bodies of noble self-government

c) a ban on non-nobles occupying official positions

a) P. D. Kiselev b) M. M. Speransky c) E. F. Kankrin

4. Continue the logical series: State village reforms:

a) the introduction of peasant self-government;

b) the opportunity for the resettlement of land-poor peasants to the eastern regions of the country;

V) ...

G) ...

5. Choose the correct answer: During the reign of Nicholas I

a) retail sales of peasants were:

prohibited or allowed

b) the liberation of the peasants during the ruin of their owner was:

prohibited or allowed

c) after the inventory reform, the duties of peasants were:

enlarged or precisely fixed

6. Find a match and write the answer numbers in the empty cells:

1. Establishment of the Third Department a) 1825
2. Death of Nicholas I b)1826
3. Decembrist uprising c) 1832
4. Completion of the codification of law d) 1855

7. Fill in the missing words:

State village reform is a reform carried out by the Minister of State Property _______________, which resulted in a significantly ___________________ situation _________________ peasants.

4. Reflection. Compose a syncwine “On the personality of Nicholas I”

Line 1 – one noun expressing the main theme of the syncwine.

Line 2 – two adjectives expressing the main idea.

Line 3 – three verbs describing actions within the topic.

Line 4 – a sentence or phrase that carries a certain meaning.

Line 5 – conclusion in the form of a noun (association with the first word).

1. Nicholas I

3. Strengthened, strengthened, controlled, created, published, organized, prohibited, controlled.

4. “Russia is ruled by mayors”; strict centralization of management; preservation and strengthening of the existing system; reliance on the army and officials.

5. Emperor, autocrat, Russian Empire.

5. Homework:Paragraph 10; questions and assignments

Nikolai was born in 1796. He was younger than the brothers Alexander and Konstantin, so he received a different upbringing. Nikolai did not have extensive knowledge, especially in the humanitarian field. He was not involved in solving public affairs; he was being prepared for a military career. The distinctive character traits of the future monarch were vindictiveness and stubbornness. At the same time, he was a decent and caring family man.

J. Doe. Portrait of Emperor Nicholas I. 1820s.

Nicholas's accession to the throne was marked by the Decembrist uprising, which was brutally suppressed. In a letter to his brother on December 14, 1825, Nikolai wrote: “My dear Konstantin! Your will is fulfilled: I am the $-$ emperor, but at what cost, my God! At the cost of the blood of my subjects! At the beginning of his reign, the king tried to understand the existing order.

He himself personally inspected the nearest metropolitan institutions: it used to be that he would swoop into some government chamber, scare the officials and leave, making everyone feel that he knew not only their affairs, but also their tricks. He sent trusted dignitaries to the province to carry out a strict audit. Horrifying details were revealed; it was discovered, for example, that in St. Petersburg, in the center, not a single cash register was ever checked; all financial statements were deliberately prepared falsely; several officials with hundreds of thousands went missing. In the courts, the emperor [found] two million cases in which 127 thousand people were in prison. Senate decrees were left without consequences by subordinate institutions. Governors were given a one-year deadline to clear the backlog; the emperor reduced it to three months, giving the faulty governors a positive and direct promise to bring them to justice.

Having set himself the task of maintaining the existing order, Nikolai focused his efforts on centralizing control. Unlike his liberal brother, he did not set a goal for Russia to borrow European political institutions and principles. Nikolai was convinced that the country should develop based on traditional values ​​and institutions. From his reign in the 19th century. Russia's new turn towards pochvennichestvo began.

From the document (V. O. Klyuchevsky. Course of Russian history. Lectures):

Emperor Nicholas I was not prepared and did not want to reign. Forced to reign, he walked to an unexpected and unwanted throne through the ranks of rebellious troops... The Troubles of December 14 were considered as a serious violation of military discipline, resulting from the wrong direction of minds. Therefore, strengthening discipline and reliable education of minds should have become the immediate and most important internal tasks of the reign... The time of this emperor was an era of extreme self-assertion of Russian autocratic power...

transformation of Nicholas I

Codification of legislation

Nicholas became convinced of the need to strengthen the regime of personal power. For this purpose, the functions of His Imperial Majesty's Own Office were expanded.

In April 1826 it appeared II department the personal office of Nicholas I, who was tasked with putting in order the legislation in force since 1649. The Emperor realized the importance of improving legislation and streamlining the system of public administration on this basis. The emperor instructed the implementation of the codification of tens of thousands of various decrees that appeared since the time of the Council Code Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky, Member of the State Council. Speransky's views underwent changes after the exile and trial of the Decembrists; he admitted the prematureness of his early liberal projects. Within three years, all the laws issued over 180 years were collected, arranged in chronological order and printed in 45 volumes entitled "Complete collection of laws of the Russian Empire". Then Speransky began creating a second collection of $-$ "Code of Laws of the Russian Empire", in which he selected all the current legislation and presented it in a systematic manner. The 15-volume Code of Laws was published in 1833. Speransky hoped that it would become a preparatory work for the creation of a new legal code. But Nicholas I limited himself to putting the old legislation in order and rejected this proposal.

Creation of a political investigation system

The events of December 14, 1825 convinced the tsar of the need to strengthen the political security system. Therefore, his next step was the formation of a police apparatus with punitive and control functions. On June 3, 1826 it was established III department of his office and led by the chief of gendarmes Alexander Khristoforovich Benkendorf. It carried out investigations and investigations into political affairs, monitored schismatics, sectarians, and foreigners, and carried out censorship. A. X. Benkendorf, a participant in the Patriotic War and the foreign campaign of the Russian army, who took an active part in the investigation into the Decembrist case, created a wide secret agent network and established secret supervision over the activities of private individuals and officials.

From the document (A.H. Benckendorf. Notes):

Having never thought of preparing for this type of service, I had only the most superficial understanding of it, but the desire to be useful to our new sovereign did not allow me to shy away from accepting the position created by him, to which his high trust called me. It was decided to establish a corps of gendarmes under my command. (...) The Third Department of His Imperial Majesty’s own chancellery, established at that time, represented the focus of this new administration under my command (...).”

The III department turned into an independent administrative body, influencing state and public life on behalf of the emperor, regardless of existing laws. In 1827, a special “Regulation on the Corps of Gendarmes” came into force. The territory of Russia (with the exception of Poland, the Caucasus and the lands of the Don Army) was divided into gendarmerie districts led by gendarmerie generals in order to establish supervision over the local administration, collect operational information about the mood in society, search for fugitive peasants, enforce laws and court sentences. In 1837, the rural police were created: the counties were divided into smaller administrative units $-$ camps $-$, headed by a bailiff appointed by the governor, who relied in his activities on the patrimonial police and the sots and tens elected by peasant assemblies.

J. Doe. Portrait of A. H. Benckendorf

Estate reform

December 1826. was created Secret Committee led by Count Viktor Pavlovich Kochubey, member of the Secret Committee, and Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky to consider the papers sealed in the office of Alexander I after his death and to study the issue of possible transformations of the state apparatus. Nikolai posed the question to the committee: “What is good now, what cannot be left and what can be replaced with?”

The committee prepared two important projects for estate and administrative reforms. The first project provided for the abandonment of the Table of Ranks and the abolition of “personal length of service.” Access to the nobility was limited; nobility was acquired only by right of birth or by virtue of the highest award. The project introduced new classes of “official,” “eminent,” and “honorable” citizens, exempt from capitation wages, conscription, and corporal punishment. Those promoted in the service were included in the new class of “official citizens”, lower officials, large capitalists, persons who graduated from universities, $-$ into the class of “eminent citizens”. Smaller merchants and industrialists formed a layer of “honorary citizens.” This innovation would protect the nobility from being “contaminated” by foreign elements.

Disagreeing with the opinion of the committee as a whole, the emperor extracted from its project those parts that did not raise any doubts among the authorities. In 1831, the Manifesto “On the procedure for noble meetings, elections and services thereon” was published, in which “full-fledged” (property) nobles were separated from “non-full” ones (who did not have a certain number of peasant souls or acres of land).

The second project proposed some separation of legislative, executive and judicial powers. The function of the State Council remained only to discuss bills. The Senate was divided into the supreme body of government $-$ The governing Senate, consisting of ministers, and the highest body of justice $-$ The judicial Senate. A similar principle was used as the basis for the system of local authorities in provinces, districts and volosts.

The projects of the committee on December 6, 1826 were only partially implemented. In 1832 the law established a secondary class of "honorary citizens" two degrees of $-$ “hereditary honorary citizens” (children of personal nobles, as well as large capitalists, scientists, artists) and “personal honorary citizens” (children of clergy who did not receive an education, and graduates of higher educational institutions). Decree of 1845. increased the ranks that were required to obtain nobility in order of service. Hereditary nobility was now granted to civil ranks from class V, military $-$ from class VI, and personal nobility $-$ from class IX to civil and military ranks. In 1845. was published decree on majorates, prohibited the division of estates, numbering more than 1000 souls of serfs, between the sons of a nobleman, and demanded the transfer of estates to the eldest son.

Bureaucratization and militarization of management

An important characteristic of the public administration system under Nicholas I was bureaucratization all aspects of the life of society, which gave V. O. Klyuchevsky grounds to assert that “the building of the Russian bureaucracy was erected under Nicholas I.”

From the document (V. O. Klyuchevsky. Course of Russian history):

Whether this bureaucratic mechanism has achieved the state goal better than before is answered simply by one number. At the beginning of his reign, the emperor was horrified to learn that he had carried out 2,800 thousand cases in all official places in the Department of Justice alone. In 1842, the Minister of Justice presented a report to the sovereign, which stated that in all official places of the empire, another 33 million cases, which were set out on at least 33 million written sheets, had not been cleared. These are the results achieved by the bureaucratic building completed during this reign.

The system of strict bureaucracy created under Nicholas I alienated power from society. It led to the dominance of the office, gave birth to obedient executors, formalist officials, brilliantly described by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin.

From the document (M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. The story of a zealous boss):

In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, there lived a zealous leader. At that time, between the authorities, two main rules were adopted in the leadership. The first rule: the more harm the boss does, the more benefit he will bring to the patronymic. Science will be abolished by $-$ benefits, the population will be frightened by $-$ even more benefits. It was assumed that the fatherland always arrived in an upset state from the previous authorities to the new ones. And the second rule: have as many scoundrels at your disposal as possible...

Kukryniksy. From illustrations to the satirical novel by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin “The History of a City”

Other features of the control system were the strengthening of the police character and militarization control apparatus. Military men were appointed to the posts of heads of many ministries and departments and provinces under Nicholas I.

The city self-government bodies $-$ six-voice duma were under the constant control of governors and city police. City parliamentary assemblies were abolished. The “General Order to Civil Governors” adopted in 1837 was intended to centralize and militarize local government. The governor was declared the plenipotentiary owner of the province. He had to ensure the exact execution of the decrees of the Emperor and the Senate, and the instructions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

In the matter of streamlining city government, the “Regulations on the Public Administration of St. Petersburg” of February 13, 1846, which was based on the class principle, played an important role. It created a hierarchical pyramid of city residents: on the first step there was a hereditary nobility, followed by $-$ personal nobles and honorary citizens, then $-$ merchants, on the fourth and fifth steps, respectively, were the townspeople and artisans. Each estate sat separately in the city duma and elected representatives to the administrative council, the executive body. The 1846 law made city bodies dependent on the bureaucracy. A government official was introduced into the administrative council, and the governor was given the opportunity to intervene in the affairs of city government.

Protective measures in the field of censorship and education

Among the protective measures of Nicholas I, “cast iron” stands out Charter on censorship of June 10, 1826 The main body of censorship became the Supreme Censorship Committee, consisting of three ministers of public education, internal affairs and foreign affairs. The charter defined the duties of the censor from an educational and pedagogical point of view down to the smallest detail. In 1848, to prevent the penetration of revolutionary and liberal ideas into Russia, the so-called "Buturlinsky Committee"(named after the first chairman) - the highest censorship body that exercised supervision over printed works. M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, I. S. Turgenev, Yu. F. Samarin suffered from censorship terror, and Catherine II’s letters to Voltaire were banned.

Educational institutions were subjected to strict supervision. In 1827, the tsar forbade the admission of serfs to secondary and higher educational institutions. In 1828, the new school charter destroyed the continuity between parish and district schools and gymnasiums. Corporal punishment was introduced in all lower and secondary schools, and teachers convicted of “freethinking” were expelled from service. Adopted in 1835 University Charter along with granting universities some rights of self-government and freedom of teaching, it provided for the opening of departments of the laws of improvement and deanery at law faculties of universities. At these departments they studied laws on population, national food, public charity, improvement in cities and villages, and law. University autonomy was in practice replaced by the supervision of universities, which was entrusted to the trustees of educational districts. Control over universities tightened after the European revolutions of 1848. The teaching of philosophy was abolished, the sending of young scientists abroad to prepare for professorships was stopped, and restrictive quotas were introduced for the admission of students to higher educational institutions. The Minister of Education S.S. Uvarov, who tried to protect universities, left his post prematurely in 1849.

Financial reform

The most significant government activities of Nicholas I were those carried out by the Ministry of Finance in the late 1830s. monetary reform and the reform of state peasants carried out by the Ministry of State Property.

Currency reform 1839–1843 was the result of the activities of a writer, scientist, general Egor Frantsevich Kankrin(1823–1844), who replaced Guryev as Minister of Finance. He managed to sharply reduce government spending, collect a significant reserve of gold and silver in the state treasury, and strengthen the exchange rate of the Russian ruble. The reform established a system of silver monometallism. Depreciated paper notes were replaced by government bank notes, exchangeable for gold and silver. The practice of internal and external loans was introduced, and “deposit notes” and “series” began to be issued, which had the same value as silver coins.

E. F. Kankrin

Peasant question

Regarding the peasant question, the emperor shared the point of view of A.H. Benckendorff, who argued that serfdom was “a powder magazine under the state.” He instructed the development of this issue Pavel Dmitrievich Kiselev, member of the State Council, supporter of the abolition of serfdom. P. D. Kiselev, a participant in the Patriotic War and foreign campaigns of 1813–1814, the Russian-Turkish War of 1828–1829, during the uprising on December 14, 1825, headed the headquarters of the second army, after the defeat of the movement he was forced to justify himself from accusations of connections with the Decembrists. In 1829–1834 Kiselev ruled the Danube principalities under Russian protectorate, where under his leadership the first constitutions of Moldavia and Wallachia $-$ organic regulations were adopted. The regulations gave personal freedom to peasants and the right to move from one landowner to another; landowners were prohibited from evicting peasants if the latter fulfilled their duties; landless farm laborers were to be allocated land.

Andreev. Portrait of Count P. D. Kiselev

In March 1835, under the leadership of P. D. Kiselev, a Secret Committee was created, which developed a plan for the gradual abolition of serfdom with the complete dispossession of the peasantry, which was not implemented. In 1836, he was entrusted with leading the V Department of the personal office of Nicholas I, after which Kiselev became “chief of staff for peasant affairs.” He insisted on the gradual introduction of freedom, “so that slavery would be destroyed by itself and without upheaval of the state.” The tasks of expanding peasant land use, easing the burden of feudal duties, introducing agronomic innovations and cultural and everyday improvements dictated the need for good administration. To this end, in 1837. was created Ministry of State Property, which, under his leadership, began reform of state peasant management 1837-1841. The task of the new ministry included taking care of the economic well-being of state-owned peasants, collecting taxes from them, caring for medical care and spreading literacy.

During the implementation of the reform, state peasants received broad local self-government, which developed under the control of state property chambers created in all provinces. They united into special rural societies; from several such societies, volosts were created, governed by elected volost assemblies. In villages, village elders were elected at village meetings. Having streamlined the administrative management, Kiselev created parish schools, which began to be called “Kiselevsky” schools. The administration demanded that peasants sow the best land with potatoes and introduce public plowing. The reform improved the situation of state peasants, determined the procedure for allocating them with land and resettlement, and facilitated the collection of taxes. Since 1837, more than 2 million dessiatines of land were allocated to peasants with little land, 2.5 thousand parish schools were organized in villages, and 27 hospitals were built.

The negative side of the reform was the emergence of a large and expensive apparatus of officials. She was resisted by the landowners, who feared the strengthening of the struggle of the serfs to move into the state department. The peasants were dissatisfied with the administration’s calls to sow the land with potatoes and introduce public plowing. Their response to the “beginning of government corvee” was “potato riots” in the North, in the Urals and the Volga region.

A. M. Tagaev-Surban. "Potato Riot"

Certain measures to improve the situation of serfs were taken in the 1840s. IN 1842. it turned out Regulations on obligated peasants, in which the question of the procedure for the peasants' exit from dependence was left to the landowners. As a result, the landowners voluntarily transferred only 27,708 of their serfs to the position of “obligated” for the entire reign of Nicholas I. In 1827–1846. the right of landowners to exile serfs to Siberia was limited, the right to 4.5 acres of land was assigned to the male revision soul, and it was forbidden to sell serfs separately from the family. In 1847–1848 Inventory rules were drawn up that determined the size of allotments and duties of peasants in three provinces of the Western Territory. This regulation limited the right of landowners to land owned by serfs. However, the measures taken were insufficient to resolve the peasant issue; they indicated rather a desire to “transform” the system of serfdom rather than eliminate it.

Results of the domestic policy of Nicholas I

The domestic policy of Nicholas I showed that the stability and stability of society were most important to him. The Tsar was concerned about the well-being of citizens, but at the same time fought against dissent, for example, with the movement of noble revolutionaries. Not trusting society, Nicholas I relied on the official bureaucracy. Cruelty and rationality $-$ characteristic personality traits of the tsar $-$ influenced the formal attitude of his government to state affairs. The emperor tried to understand the existing order, took on many innovations, but did not always understand their essence. Therefore, officials from the time of Nicholas I also turned out to be formal executors of his will. They did not try to carefully consider an individual case, did not strive to find the most suitable solution for each problem. Their main concern was to comply with rules and regulations, regardless of whether they were reasonable or likely to lead to results contrary to what was intended. Impunity and mutual responsibility completed the decomposition of the bureaucracy.

Nicholas I failed to become the second Peter the Great, whose policies the Tsar looked up to. The main efforts of Nicholas I were aimed at strengthening centralization, combating ideas of a revolutionary nature, and increasing the role of the emperor's office. Financial reform has had some success. The peasant reform concerned only the state village and was half-hearted. Social reform could not solve the problem of bringing all classes into the service of the monarch. Bureaucratization and formalism characterized the work of the public administration mechanism.

Historians about the reign of Nicholas I:

Official noble historiography spoke positively about the reign of Nicholas I. In the works of M. A. Korf, N. K. Schilder, I. Ilyin, K. Leontyev, I. Solonevich, both the personality of Nicholas and his internal politics were idealized. N. K. Schilder (1842-1902) is considered an apologist for his reign, who highly appreciated the state activities of Nicholas I. He contrasted the cosmopolitan nature of the policies of Alexander I with the national policies of Nicholas I.

Liberal historiography (V. O. Klyuchevsky, A. A. Kiesevetter, A. A. Kornilov, S. F. Platonov) spoke about the “break of power with society” under Nicholas I. At the same time, A. A. Kornilov believed that “the government system of Nicholas I was one of the most consistent attempts to implement the ideas of enlightened absolutism.”

A.E. Presnyakov became one of the first historians to call this period “the apogee of autocracy.” The historian wrote: “The time of Nicholas I is an era of extreme self-assertion of Russian autocratic power at the very time when in all the states of Western Europe monarchical absolutism, broken by a series of revolutionary upheavals, was experiencing its last crises.”

Soviet historiography (B. G. Litvak, N. M. Druzhinin, N. P. Eroshkin) was critical of Nicholas’s reign, emphasizing the increased importance of the Third Section and the bureaucracy during his reign. All his activities were presented as a preparatory stage for the Crimean catastrophe, and all attempts by the Nikolaev government to resolve the peasant issue were called “empty troubles.” Thus, B. G. Litvak compares the long-term discussion of the issue of the emancipation of serfs in the “secret” committees of Nicholas I with “the dance of a cat around a pot of hot porridge.” Soviet historians saw the main reason for this in the government’s fear of discontent on the part of the nobility and in the hope of Nicholas I that the Russian landowners themselves would “ripen” and propose to carry out a reform.

In modern historiography, there has been a certain rethinking of the era of the reign of Nicholas I: historical science has moved away from an unambiguously negative assessment of his reign, the era of Nicholas I is considered as a stage in the general forward movement of Russia, a stage all the more important because it preceded the reforms of the 1860s. In 1997, the editors of the Rodina magazine held a special round table about the era of Nicholas's reign. Leading experts on the history of Russia in the first half of the 19th century took part in it. S. V. Mironenko, V. A. Fedorov, A. V. Levandovsky, D. I. Oleynikov, S. S. Sekirinsky, Yu. A. Borisenok. Modern historians have different assessments of the results of the activities of Nicholas I. There are many researchers who adhere to traditional views on Nicholas I and the era of his reign. T. A. Kapustina writes: “There is hardly a more odious figure in Russian history than Nicholas I. Historians unanimously consider his reign to be the period of the darkest reaction.” V. Ya. Grosul still calls the reign of Nicholas I “the apogee of autocracy”: the emperor, in his words, “squeezed almost everything he could out of feudalism.”

In modern literature there is another point of view on the reign of Nicholas I. It denies much of what Soviet historiography wrote about Nicholas I. A. B. Kamensky points out that it would be incorrect to “represent Nicholas as a stupid martinet, an insensitive and cruel persecutor and reactionary.” The historian draws parallels in the destinies of Nicholas I and his older brother Emperor Alexander I: both of them tried to carry out reforms necessary for society, but encountered insurmountable difficulties associated with conservative public opinion, the absence in society of those political forces that could support reform efforts emperors. Therefore, according to Kamensky, the main issue during the reign of Nicholas I was the question of “preserving the political regime and state security.”

Centralization of management

Education and Press Policy

Higher specialized educational institutions: 1828 $-$ Technological Institute, 1830 $-$ Architectural School, 1832 $-$ School of Civil Engineers, 1835 $-$ Survey Institute and School of Law.

Measures to strengthen the position of the nobility

ruin of the nobility (54% of estates were mortgaged by 1844);

growth in the share of official nobility (52%);

low proportion of nobles in universities (35%).

Privileges to the nobility:

providing loans;

allocation of land from the state fund;

free education in educational institutions;

assistance with rank production.

Peasant question

frequent peasant riots.

In response, the government made a number of declarative concessions that did not have a significant impact on the situation. The creation of 10 secret committees on the peasant issue during the reign of Nicholas I.

Industrial, Trade and Financial Policy

weak rates of urbanization (8% by the end of the reign) with a gradually occurring industrial revolution and an increase in workers in industry three times during the reign of Nicholas I;

state interest in industrial development;

poor development of communications in the vast empire;

growing budget deficit.

Limited reforms failed to bring about the industrial revolution, nor did reducing the budget deficit, which by 1855 was twice the surplus.

Emperor Nicholas 1st was born on June 25 (July 6), 1796. He was the third son of Paul 1st and Maria Feodorovna. He received a good education, but did not recognize the humanities. He was knowledgeable in the art of war and fortification. He was good at engineering. However, despite this, the king was not loved in the army. Cruel corporal punishment and coldness led to his nickname Nikolai Palkin becoming entrenched among soldiers.

In 1817, Nicholas married the Prussian princess Frederica-Louise-Charlotte-Wilhelmina.

Alexandra Fedorovna, the wife of Nicholas 1st, possessing amazing beauty, became the mother of the future emperor - Alexander 2nd.

Nicholas 1st ascended the throne after the death of his older brother Alexander 1st. Constantine, the second contender for the throne, renounced his rights during the life of his elder brother. Nicholas 1st did not know about this and first swore allegiance to Constantine. This short period would later be called the interregnum. Although the manifesto on the accession to the throne of Nicholas 1 was published on December 13 (25), 1825, legally the reign of Nicholas 1 began on November 19 (December 1). And the very first day was darkened on Senate Square. The uprising was suppressed, and its leaders were executed in 1826. But Tsar Nicholas 1st saw the need to reform the social system. He decided to give the country clear laws, while relying on the bureaucracy, since trust in the noble class had been undermined.

The domestic policy of Nicholas I was distinguished by extreme conservatism. The slightest manifestations of free thought were suppressed. He defended the autocracy with all his might. The secret chancellery under the leadership of Benckendorf was engaged in political investigation. After the censorship regulations were issued in 1826, all printed publications with the slightest political overtones were banned. Russia under Nicholas 1st quite closely resembled the country of the era.

The reforms of Nicholas I were limited. The legislation was streamlined. Under his leadership, the publication of the Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire began. Kiselev carried out a reform of the management of state peasants. Peasants were allocated lands when they moved to uninhabited areas, first aid stations were built in villages, and agricultural technology innovations were introduced. But this happened using force and caused sharp discontent. In 1839-1843 A financial reform was also carried out, establishing the relationship between the silver ruble and the banknote. But the question of serfdom remained unresolved.

The foreign policy of Nicholas I pursued the same goals as his domestic policy. During the reign of Nicholas I, Russia fought the revolution not only within the country, but also outside its borders. In 1826-1828 As a result of the Russian-Iranian war, Armenia was annexed to the territory of the country. Nicholas I condemned the revolutionary processes in Europe. In 1849 he sent Paskevich's army to suppress the Hungarian revolution. In 1853 Russia entered into

The article briefly describes the main points of the domestic and foreign policy of Nicholas I. The reign of this emperor is assessed as extremely conservative, completing the process of transforming Russia into a bureaucratic state, begun by Peter I.

1. Introduction
2. Foreign policy of Nicholas I

Domestic policy of Nicholas I

• The Decembrist uprising (1825) had a great influence on the mood of Russian society. The performance of the nobility, considered the main support of power, showed the significant influence of supporters of regime change. Nicholas I was a very smart politician; he studied all the materials related to the Decembrists and made an assessment of them when developing a domestic political course.
• Nicholas I sought to further centralize and bureaucratize the state system. Autocratic power took shape in its classic form. The III Department of His Majesty's Office, which dealt with political affairs, for a long time became a symbol of the police state, exercising supervision over all areas of Russian life.
• The peasant question was still acute in Russia. Nicholas I recognized this, but argued that the abolition of serfdom was a long process, and that extreme measures in resolving the issue were undesirable and premature.
• During the reign of Nicholas I, a number of committees were created to resolve the peasant issue, the activities of which were headed by Count Kisilev. The result of his activities were the laws of 1837-1842. Reforms began among state peasants, who were supposed to gradually switch to cash rent with equal distribution of land. To improve the peasant situation, schools and hospitals were opened. In relation to privately owned peasants, a modification of the law on “free cultivators” was adopted. The peasants could, at the voluntary request of the landowner, receive freedom and land allotment, but perform certain duties for this. Thus, economic dependence was maintained.
• The main actions of Nicholas I, which made it possible to define his reign as extremely reactionary, were carried out in the field of education and censorship. A ban was imposed on peasants entering secondary and higher educational institutions. In fact, education became a noble privilege. Censorship rules have been significantly tightened. Universities are placed under full state control. The official motto of the reign of Nicholas I was “Orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality” - the basis for the education and development of Russian society.
• Measures were taken to strengthen the position of the nobility. Nicholas I relied on civil servants. The condition for obtaining hereditary nobility was the achievement of the fifth class on the “Table of Ranks” (instead of the eighth).
• In general, all the actions of Nicholas I were designed to complete the formation of a bureaucratic state with the absolute power of the monarch.

Foreign policy of Nicholas I

• In the field of foreign policy there were two questions: European and Eastern. In Europe, the task of Nicholas I was to fight the revolutionary movement. During the reign of Nicholas I, Russia received the unofficial status of the gendarme of Europe.
• The Eastern Question concerned the division of the influence of leading states on the European possessions of the Ottoman Empire. As a result of the war with Turkey in 1828-1829. Russia received a number of territories on the Black Sea coast, Turkish policy was included in the orbit of Russian diplomacy.
• In 1817, Russian military operations began in the Caucasus region. This was the beginning of the Russian-Chechen conflict.
• The Eastern Question escalated by the middle of the century, which led to the Crimean War (1853-1856). The Russian army conducted successful operations against Turkey in the Caucasus, and the fleet in the Black Sea. This led to the entry of England and France into the war. There was a threat of Austria, Prussia and Sweden being included in the war. In essence, Russia found itself alone with the whole of Europe.
• Crimea is becoming the decisive arena of hostilities. The joint Anglo-French fleet blocks the Russian squadron in Sevastopol, and the successful actions of the landing force lead to its encirclement. The defense of Sevastopol begins, lasting almost a year. After a series of bloody attempts to take the fortress by storm and the unsuccessful retaliatory actions of the Russian army to lift the blockade, the allies manage to capture the southern part of the city. The fighting actually stops. The same situation arises in Transcaucasia. In addition, in 1855, Nicholas I suddenly died.
• In 1856, a peace treaty was signed, which dealt a serious blow to Russia's positions. It was forbidden to have a Black Sea fleet; bases and fortresses on the Black Sea coast were to be destroyed. Russia refused the patronage of the Orthodox population of the Ottoman Empire.
• Thus, the domestic and foreign policy of Nicholas I was carried out in a conservative spirit. Russia became an absolutist state. Monarchical power was declared an ideal and was supposed to dominate throughout Europe. The Eastern Question was not associated with autocratic tendencies and was a logical stage in the protection of Russian interests on the world stage.