Let's break out a circular song
About the tsar in the Russian way.
Our Tsar loves his native Russia, He is glad to give her soul.
Directly Russian nature;
Russian look and soul, In the midst of a crowd of people
He is above all with his head.
Vasily Zhukovsky, Song of Russian Soldiers
Russia during the reign of Nikolai Pavlovich is considered to be "backward". They say that the Eastern (Crimean) War showed all the rottenness and weakness of the regime, which "missed" the industrial revolution that took place in the West. However, this is a deception. The war with the coalition of the advanced Western powers just showed the strength of the Russian Empire, which withstood with small losses in the fight against the entire West and continued to develop. And the government of Nikolai, on the contrary, actively developed industry, introduced various innovations, such as railways, and carried out large-scale construction. In the field of culture, the reign of Nicholas became the Golden Age of Russian literature and Russian art.
The myth "about the victory of obscurantism"
No matter what his enemies write and say about Emperor Nicholas I, no one can cross out the fact that his reign was the golden age of Russian literature and Russian art. In the Nikolaev era, such outstanding representatives of Russian culture as: A. S. Pushkin, V. A. Zhukovsky, F. I. Tyutchev, F. M. Dostoevsky, Lev Tolstoy, A. S. I. A. Krylov, N. Ya. Yazykov, M. Zagoskin, M. Yu. Lermontov, I. Kirievsky, S. T. Aksakov, K. K. Aksakov, Iv. Aksakov, A. S. Khomyakov, Yu. F. Samarin, I. A. Goncharov, I. S. Turgenev, A. F. Pisemsky, A. Fet, N. Leskov, A. K. Tolstoy, A. Ostrovsky; the brilliant mathematician NI Lobachevsky, the biologist K. Ber, the chemist Zinin, who discovered aniline; great artists A. A. Ivanov, K. P. Bryullov, P. Fedotov, F. Bruni, sculptor P. K. Klodt; composers M. I. Glinka, A. S. Dargomyzhsky; historians S. M. Soloviev, K. D. Kavelin; famous linguists F. Buslaev, A. Kh. Vostokov; the remarkable thinkers N. Ya. Danilevsky and K. Leont'ev and many other outstanding figures of Russian culture. The reign of Nicholas I - this is the heyday of Russian culture, never at the same time lived such a large number of outstanding figures of Russian culture, neither before Nikolai Pavlovich, nor after him.
In 1827 the Natural Science Society was founded. In 1839, the construction of the Pulkovo Observatory was completed. In 1846, the Archaeological Society was founded, the Archaeological Expedition was established, whose members saved many of the most ancient documents, which were doomed to destruction, since they were kept somehow. Russian national literature, Russian national music, Russian ballet, Russian painting and Russian science developed rapidly precisely in the highly discredited era of Nicholas. And not in spite of, but with the support of the Russian emperor.
Portrait of Nicholas. Painter N. Sverchkov
Backward Nikolaev Russia
Economy. In the first third of the 19th century, the economy of the Russian Empire began to lag more and more behind the leading powers in its development. Alexander Pavlovich left behind a heavy legacy, both in industry and finance. The state of affairs in industry by the beginning of the reign of Nicholas I was the worst in the history of the Russian Empire. An industry that could compete with the advanced Western powers, where the Industrial Revolution was already coming to an end, did not actually exist. Raw materials predominated in Russian exports; almost all types of industrial goods needed by the country were purchased abroad.
By the end of the reign of Tsar Nicholas I, the situation changed dramatically. For the first time in the history of the Russian Empire, a technically advanced and competitive industry, in particular, light industry, began to form in the country. The textile and sugar industries developed rapidly, the production of metal products, clothing, wood, glass, porcelain, leather and other products developed, and their own machine tools, tools and steam locomotives began to be produced. Hard-surface highways were intensively built. So, out of 7700 miles of highways built in Russia by 1893, 5300 miles (about 70%) were built in the period 1825-1860. The construction of railways was also started and about 1000 versts of railroad track were built, which gave an impetus to the development of its own mechanical engineering.
According to economic historians, this was facilitated by the protectionist policy pursued throughout the reign of Nicholas I. Thanks to the protectionist industrial policy pursued by Nikolai, the further development of Russia followed a path different from most countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America (colonies and semi-colonies of the West), namely, along the path of industrial development, which guaranteed the independence of Russian civilization. It should be noted that one of the main goals of England in the Eastern (Crimean) War was the elimination of protectionist economic policies in Russia. And the British achieved their goal, under Alexander II liberal politics prevailed, which led to serious problems of the national economy.
According to academician S. G. Strumilin, it was during the reign of Nicholas I that an industrial revolution took place in Russia, similar to that which began in England in the second half of the 18th century (Strumilin S. G. Essays on the economic history of Russia. M. 1960). As a result of the intensive introduction of machines (mechanical looms, steam machines, etc.), labor productivity rose sharply: from 1825 to 1863, the annual output of Russian industry per worker increased 3 times, while in the previous period it did not not only did not grow, but even declined. From 1819 to 1859, the volume of cotton production in Russia increased almost 30 times; the volume of engineering products from 1830 to 1860 increased 33 times.
The era of serf labor has come to an end. Serf labor in industry was quickly replaced by free labor, to which the Nikolaev government made considerable efforts. In 1840, a decision of the State Council, approved by Nicholas, was adopted to close all possession factories that used serf labor, after which more than 100 such factories were closed only in the period 1840-1850, at the initiative of the government. By 1851, the number of possessory peasants dropped to 12-13 thousand, while at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries. their number exceeded 300 thousand.
The rapid development of industry has led to a dramatic increase in urban population and urban growth. The share of the urban population during the Nikolaev period more than doubled - from 4.5% in 1825 to 9.2% in 1858.
A similar picture was observed in the field of finance. In the early 1820s, traces of the Patriotic War of 1812 and subsequent wars were still very noticeable, as were the mistakes of the Alexander government in the field of finance. The population of many provinces was ruined, the government's debts to private individuals were paid inaccurately; external debt was huge, as was the budget deficit. The normalization of the financial sphere is associated with the name of EF Kankrin. The emperor said to him: "You know that there are two of us who cannot leave our posts while they are alive: you and me."
The mainstays of the policy of Kankrin, who served as Minister of Finance from 1823 to 1844, linked the policy of protectionism, the restoration of metal circulation, and the improvement of government accounting and bookkeeping. In customs policy, Kankrin strictly adhered to protectionism. After the tariff of 1819, which, according to Kankrin, killed factory production in Russia, the government found it forced to resort to the tariff of 1822, drawn up with the participation of Kankrin. During his management of the Ministry of Finance, there were private increases in the salary of the tariff, which ended in 1841 with a general revision of it. Kankrin saw in protective customs duties not only a means of patronizing Russian industry, but also a way to generate income from privileged persons, free from direct taxes (the rich were consumers of luxury goods imported from the West). Realizing that it is under the system of protectionism that it is especially important to raise general technical education, Kankrin founded the Technological Institute in St. Petersburg. As a result of the monetary reform of 1839-1843. in Russia, a fairly stable system of monetary circulation was created, in which paper money was exchanged for silver and gold.
Large-scale imperial projects. In 1828, the construction of the General Staff building in St. Petersburg was completed (it had been built since 1819). The huge building, in addition to the General Staff proper, housed the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance. The main headquarters and its triumphal arch with a chariot in honor of the victory over Napoleon are among the main architectural symbols of St. Petersburg and Russia. The building has the longest classical facade in the world, 580 m.
The Bolshoi Theater in Warsaw is a grandiose building in the classicism style, built since 1825 and was inaugurated on February 24, 1833. In 1834, the construction of the connected building of the Senate and Synod was completed. 1843 the construction of the Kiev Imperial University of St. Vladimir. In 1839, simultaneously with the beginning of the construction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in the Moscow Kremlin, the construction of a new palace began, which was supposed to correspond to the partially revived metropolitan functions of the city. The construction of the Grand Kremlin Palace was generally completed in 1849, although individual parts, in particular the building into which the Armory moved from an old building from the time of Alexander I, were completed in 1851.
Development of communications. In 1824-1826. Simferopol-Alushta highway was built. In 1833-1834. The Moskovskoye Highway was put into operation - the first non-city road in central Russia with a hard (crushed stone) surface according to the concepts of that time. Construction began in 1817. By the end of the reign of Alexander I, the first stage of the highway from St. Petersburg to Novgorod with a branch to Gatchina was put into operation. In the years 1830-1840. the Dinaburgskoe highway was built - a gravel road, stone bridges and stone post stations between St. Petersburg and the Dinaburg fortress (later Dvinsk, now Daugavpils), which stood on the banks of the Western Dvina. In fact, this was the first part of the Petersburg-Varshavskoe highway. In 1837, a highway between Alushta and Yalta was opened on the southern coast of Crimea. The road continued the previously built Simferopol-Alushta highway.
In 1849, the country's largest paved road at that time (about 1,000 versts) was put into operation, passing from Moscow past the Bobruisk fortress to the Brest-Litovsk fortress, where it was connected to the Varshavskoe highway, which had been built earlier. In 1839-1845. built the Moscow-Nizhny Novgorod highway (380 versts). In 1845, the Yaroslavl highway (from Moscow to Yaroslavl) was put into operation. In 1837-1848, the Alushta-Yalta highway was extended to Sevastopol. South of Novgorod, the two main roads from St. Petersburg to the center of the country - Moskovskoe shosse and Dinaburgskoe shosse - finally diverged, so it was decided to connect both highways with one more highway from Novgorod to the outskirts of Pskov. The Novgorod-Pskov highway was built by 1849. At the same time, the Shimsk-Staraya Russa branch (Starorusskoye highway), which was put into operation in 1843, was built approximately from the middle of this highway.
In 1825-1828, the canal of Duke Alexander of Württemberg was erected, it connected the Mariinsky water system (now the Volga-Baltic waterway) with the basin of the Northern Dvina. The canal is named after the head of the Russian Ministry of Railways Alexander, Duke of Württemberg, who organized its construction. By 1833, a radical reconstruction of the Obvodny Canal in St. Petersburg was carried out. The canal became the actual border of the city, and later served as a place of attraction for industry, as a convenient transport highway. In 1846 the Belozersky Canal, 63 versts long, was put into operation. In 1851 the Onega Canal was built. In 1837-1848. there was a radical reconstruction of the Dnieper-Bug waterway.
In 1837, the Tsarskoye Selo railway was put into operation - the first in Russia and the sixth in the world public railway, 25 miles long. In 1845-1848. the first major railway on the territory of the empire, the Warsaw-Vienna railway (308 versts long), was gradually put into operation. In 1843-1851. the first railway with a gauge of 1524 mm was built - the double-track Petersburg-Moscow railway (604 versts). In the years 1852-1853. the first stage of the Petersburg-Warsaw railway was built (the Petersburg-Gatchina section). Further road construction was slowed down by the Crimean War and its consequences.
During the Nikolaev period, large bridges were built. In 1851, the largest in Europe at that time, the Vereby bridge, 53 m high and 590 m long, was opened. The bridge passed through a deep ravine and the Vereby river on the route of the Nikolaev railway. In the years 1843-1850. according to the project of engineer S. Kerbedz, the Blagoveshchensky bridge across the Neva was erected in St. Petersburg. The bridge with a length of 300 m had 8 spans; for the first time in Russia, a swing-out swing system was produced on it. In 1853, Nikolayevsky chain bridge across the Dnieper in Kiev, one of the largest in the world for its time, was commissioned.
The largest fortresses. Nicholas himself, like Peter I, did not hesitate to personally participate in the design and construction, focusing his attention on the fortresses, which later literally saved the country from much more sad consequences during the Eastern (Crimean) War. The fortresses in the west and northwest covered the central regions of the Russian Empire, and did not allow the enemy to deliver a more serious blow to Russia.
During the reign of Nicholas, construction continued (it began to be built in 1810) and the improvement of the Dinaburg fortress. The fortress was officially commissioned in 1833. In 1832, General I. Den, at the confluence of the Vistula and Narews, began the construction of a new grandiose citadel - the Novogeorgievskaya fortress. It was the largest and strongest fortification of its time in the world. The construction was completed in 1841. According to Totleben, Novogeorgievsk became the only fortress in the country fully completed and meeting its purpose. In the future, the fortress was modernized more than once. At an accelerated pace in 1832-1834. the Alexander citadel was built. A large brick fortress in Warsaw was built after the suppression of the Polish uprising, both for the defense of the country and for controlling the situation in the Kingdom of Poland. During his visit to the city, Nicholas directly said to the residents of the city who had violated their loyalty to the Russian throne that next time the fortress, if something happened, would blow the Polish capital into rubble, and after that he himself would not restore Warsaw. In 1832-1847. a powerful fortress was erected on the banks of the Vistula in the Lublin province - Ivangorod.
In 1833-1842. was built one of the largest fortresses on the western border - the Brest Fortress. The fortress consisted of four fortifications located on partially and completely artificial islands. In the center was built a Citadel with a temple and a ring-shaped defensive barracks with a length of 1, 8 km made of extra strong bricks. The citadel was covered from all sides by the Kobrin (Northern), Terespolsk (Western) and Volyn (Southern) fortifications. Each fortification was a powerful fortress with an echeloned defense. Later, the fortress was modernized several times. The Brest Fortress subsequently covered itself with unfading glory during the Great Patriotic War and became one of the national symbols of Russian civilization.
Kholmsky Gate of the Citadel of the Brest Fortress
The Kronstadt fortress, badly damaged by the flood of 1824, underwent radical reconstruction at that time. The grandiose construction, like military training, was actually carried out under the direct supervision of the king, who personally designed its fortifications and visited the fortress during this period on average 8 times a year, often without warning. The reconstruction of the central fortress of Kronstadt in stone (1825-1840) was carried out. The tree-earthen sea fort "Citadel" ("Emperor Peter I"), which was badly damaged by the flood of 1824, was reconstructed; it was decided to rebuild it in stone (1827-1834). The sea fort "Emperor Alexander I" (1838-1845) was built. In 1850, the Knyaz Menshikov battery was commissioned. The battery was built in the form of a three-story structure with a battle platform at the top of extra strong brick, completely faced with granite. The battery was armed with 44 three-pound bombing guns, which were the most serious naval guns of the time. In the years 1845-1849. the first stage of the largest and strongest fort of the Kronstadt fortress was built - the "Emperor Paul I" fort. The walls of the fort were 2/3 of granite, which made them almost invulnerable to the artillery of that time. By the beginning of the Crimean War, the fort was already ready to take part in hostilities, although its construction was fully completed only later. It should be noted that with the outbreak of the Crimean War in 1854, an unplanned major emergency strengthening of the Kronstadt fortress began. Thus, the capital of the Russian Empire was reliably protected from the sea and the Anglo-French fleet during the Eastern War did not dare to attack Petersburg.
Fort "Emperor Alexander I"
Since 1834, a radical reconstruction of the sea fortress of Sevastopol began. At this stage of work, the main attention was paid to strengthening the defense from the sea, which is not surprising, given that the Russian Empire then had the strongest army in the world, but the fleet was inferior to the advanced powers (England and France). By 1843, large Aleksandrovskaya and Konstantinovskaya casemated coastal batteries (forts) were commissioned. The modernization of the fortress continued until the beginning of the Crimean War. The coastal fortifications were completely completed, so the enemy did not dare to attack Sevastopol from the sea during the war. However, land fortifications began to be actively built only in 1850 and did not have time to be completed. They were completed by the forces of soldiers, sailors and townspeople already during the siege by the allied army.
Thus, it is obvious that Nicholas I was branded “despot and tyrant”, “Nikolai Palkin”, since he defended Russia's national interests in the most active way, was a real knight who did everything in his power to make the empire prosperous and a mighty power.
