Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

Born on July 6, 1796, at Gatchina Palace in Gatchina, Russia, Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia (Nikolay Pavlovich) was the third of the four sons and the ninth of the ten children of Paul I, Emperor of All Russia and his second wife Sophia Dorothea of Württemberg (Empress Maria Feodorovna). Because he had two, much older brothers, Nicholas was not expected to become Emperor.

Nicholas had seven older siblings and one younger sibling. Only one of his siblings did not survive childhood.

Nicholas (leaning against his mother) with his parents and siblings in 1800; Credit – Wikipedia

Four months after his birth, Nicholas’ grandmother Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia died and his father succeeded her as Emperor. His grandmother had taken away Nicholas’ two older brothers Alexander and Constantine to raise them in her apartments. Now Nicholas’ parents would be able to oversee his upbringing. For the first seven years of his life, Nicholas was under the care of his governess, the Russian noble Countess Charlotte Karlovna Lieven. Countess Lieven had previously been entrusted with the education of Nicholas’ sisters but with the death of his grandmother, the countess would also be responsible for Nicholas and his younger brother Michael. When Nicholas was four years old, Matvey Ivanovich Lamsdorf, an army general, was appointed as his tutor. General Lamsdorf stayed with Nicholas for seventeen years.

Nicholas’ father Emperor Paul planned to adopt policies that annoyed the the nonility. A conspiracy was formed to depose Paul. On the night of March 23, 1801, the conspirators charged into Paul’s bedroom, forced him to abdicate, and then strangled and trampled him to death. Paul was succeeded by his 23-year-old son Alexander I who did not punish the conspirators. Nicholas was only four-year-old and yet he vividly recalled that day for the rest of his life.

Nicholas as a boy, circa 1808; Credit – Wikipedia

Since Nicholas’ widowed mother Maria Feodorovna had been entrusted by her husband with the upbringing and care of their two younger sons Nicholas and Michael, Alexander I abstained from any influence on the upbringing of his younger brothers. Maria Feodorovna’s greatest concern regarding Nicholas was his enthusiasm for the military, an influence from his father Paul. Nicholas only excelled in his military studies, particularly military engineering and fortification. Later in life, Nicholas was horrified by his ignorance and attempted to rectify the gaps in his education.

In the autumn of 1814, Nicholas and his younger brother Michael visited Berlin, then in the Kingdom of Prussia. There he met Princess Charlotte of Prussia, the eldest daughter of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia and Luise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. It was love at first sight. In November 1815, arrangements were made for nineteen-year-old Nicholas to marry seventeen-year-old Charlotte to strengthen the alliance between Russia and Prussia. Nicholas’ brother Alexander I had no surviving children but Nicholas was not expected to inherit the Russian throne as his elder brother Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich was the heir. Charlotte was glad that she would not be the empress and would be able to live away from palace intrigues.

Princess Charlotte of Prussia with her groom, Grand Duke Nicholas Pavlovich of Russia, 1817; Credit – Wikipedia

Charlotte arrived in Russia in June 1817. She converted to Russian Orthodoxy on July 6, 1817, and took the name Alexandra Feodorovna. The next day, she was officially engaged to Nicholas and was created a Grand Duchess of Russia. The wedding was held on Alexandra Feodorovna’s 19th birthday, July 13, 1817, at the Grand Church of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Alexandra and Nicholas had seven children who would revive the Romanov dynasty:

Alexandra Feodorovna, 1817; Credit – Wikipedia

Because Nicholas’ eldest brother Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia had no surviving children, the second brother Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich was the heir to the throne. Constantine had married Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld in 1796. Juliane was very unhappy in the marriage, and separated from Constantine in 1799. She went back to her homeland permanently in 1801. In 1814, Constantine tried to reconcile with Juliana but was firmly rebuffed. In 1815, Constantine started a relationship with Polish noble Joanna Grudzińska, Princess of Łowicz. Finally, in 1820, after 19 years of separation, Constantine and Juliana’s marriage was officially annulled by Alexander I. Two months later, Grand Duke Constantine morganatically married Joanna Grudzińska. However, for Alexander I  to approve the marriage, Constantine was required to forfeit his rights to the Russian throne in favor of his younger brother Nicholas. The decision was kept secret and known only to a very few people in St. Petersburg.

When Alexander I told Alexandra and Nicholas that they were to be Emperor and Empress, they were taken aback. Nicholas wrote, describing his feelings, “My wife and I remained in a position which I can liken only to the sensation that would strike a man if he were going calmly along a comfortable road sown with flowers and with marvelous scenery on all sides when, suddenly, an abyss yawns wide beneath his feet, and an irresistible force draws him into it, without allowing him to step back or turn aside.”

On December 1, 1825, 47-year-old Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia died from typhus, not in St. Petersburg, but in Taganrog, Russia. Because of his wife’s health issues, Alexander and Elizabeth Alexeievna had been living in a warmer climate, in the city of Taganrog, Russia by the Sea of Azov, 1155 miles/1,858 km from St. Petersburg. The secrecy of the decision to replace Constantine with Nicholas as heir to the throne backfired. Only three men, apart from Alexander himself, were aware of his decision, and none of them was present in the Winter Palace when the news of Alexander’s death reached Saint Petersburg on December 9, 1825.

Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

Military governor Mikhail Miloradovich persuaded the hesitant Nicholas to pledge allegiance to Constantine, who then lived in Warsaw as the Viceroy of Poland. The State Council agreed with Miloradovich and all the troops stationed in Saint Petersburg recognized Constantine as their Emperor. Constantine repeated his rejection of the throne and blessed Nicholas as the Emperor. However, Constantine refused to come to Saint Petersburg, leaving the dangerous task of resolving the crisis to Nicholas.

Evidence of a revolt (called the Decembrist Revolt) that would involve Russian army officers leading soldiers in revolt against Nicholas becoming Emperor, forced Nicholas to act. On December 26, 1825, Nicholas proclaimed himself Emperor of All Russia. By noon, the government and most of the troops of Saint Petersburg pledged allegiance to Nicholas. However, the Decembrists incited three thousand soldiers in support of Constantine and took a stand on Senate Square in St. Petersburg.  The battle in Senate Square cost over 1,200 lives, crushed the revolt, and resulted in 29-year-old Nicholas becoming the undisputed Emperor of All Russia and Alexandra Feodorovna becoming Empress. Alexandra and Nicholas were crowned at the Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin on September 3, 1826.

Nicholas at Senate Square during the Decembrist Revolt; Credit – Wikipedia

Nicholas ruled the Russian Empire in an authoritative and reactionary manner for 29 years. Among the events of Nicholas I’s reign were:

Although Nicholas had mistresses and illegitimate children, his love for Alexandra continued. When part of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg in 1837 caught on fire, Nicholas ordered that a small box with letters Alexandra had written him during their engagement be saved. Alexandra’s health had always been frail and she suffered several minor heart attacks. Nicholas had a villa built for Alexandra in the Crimea where the climate was warmer but because of the Crimean War, Alexandra only stayed there once. In 1854, Alexandra was very ill and close to death but she survived.

The next year, Nicholas caught a chill, refused medical treatment, and developed pneumonia. Knowing he was dying, Nicholas retained his composure and said goodbye to his children and grandchildren. He blessed them and reminded them that they should remain friendly with each other. In the early afternoon of March 2, 1855, Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia died at age 58 at the Winter Palace.  He was buried at the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. His eldest son succeeded him as Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia. Alexandra Feodorovna survived her husband by five years and was buried next to him.

Tomb of Nicholas I; Photo Credit – www.findagrave.com

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Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. (2018). Nikolaus I. (Russland). [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolaus_I._(Russland) [Accessed 30 Jan. 2018].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Nicholas I of Russia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_I_of_Russia [Accessed 30 Jan. 2018].
  • Lincoln, W. Bruce. (1981). The Romanovs: Autocrats of  All the Russias. New York, NY.: Doubleday
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. (2018). Николай I. [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9D%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B9_I [Accessed 30 Jan. 2018].