Nicholas I of Russia

Born: 1796-07-07 Russia

Died: 1855-03-02 Russia

Alternate name: Pavlovich

Nicholas I was the czar of Russia. Born as Nikolai Pavlovich in St. Petersburg, he ascended to the throne in December 1825, and, after quashing a brief revolt against his rise to power, ruled with faith in the notion that autocracy, the Orthodox church, and the Russian Empire went hand in hand. Nicholas I was emperor during Imperial Russia's final bout of relative stability. Known for his love of military pomp, his style and system of rule demanded absolute discipline and obedience from his subjects. He presided over wars with Persia, Turkey, and the Ottoman Empire, crushed an uprising in Poland and incorporated it into the Russian Empire, aided the Austrian Empire in quelling the Hungarian Revolution, and suppressed minority religious groups. He died in St. Petersburg after thirty years of rule.

Charles C. Savage, Illustrated Biography, Or Memoirs of the Great and the Good of All Nations and All Times (New York: Phinney, 1856), 593, 596-98; W. Bruce Lincoln, Nicholas I Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1978), 10, 21, 240.