Comparison of nicholas i and nicholas ii
Comparison of nicholas i and nicholas iiNicholas I and Nicholas II both struggled with similar uncertainties of a possible revolution. Both came to a conclusion with a strong resemblance, and yet at the same time remained drastically different when their rule ended. While the names may suggest that Nicholas I was the father of Nicholas II, Nicholas I was actually Nicholas II’s great granduncle. The summarized history of their terms below will tell of and compare the Nicholas’ reigns of the Russian monarchy.
Nicholas I (1796-1855) was born at Tsarskoe Selo, the third son of Czar Paul I. Nicholas came to throne in 1825 after his brother Alexander I had died and his older brother Constantine had given up his claims to the throne. Nicholas’ first action was to put down, with great harshness, a revolt of officers and soldiers who had fought in Europe during the Napoleonic wars and favored reform in Russia. This uprising occurred in the month of December and the rebels became known in Russian history as “Decembrists.” The new czar ordered the principal leaders killed and the rest exiled to Siberia. He felt there was something wrong with the government of the country, and he thought that Russia needed more discipline rather than liberal reform. Nicholas ordered the codification of Russian laws, reformed finances, and attempted to set limits to serfdom. He made the censorship of newspaper and all opinion even stricter than before, and set up a secret police organization with spies throughout the country. These new measures made him and his government unpopular to say the least. Nicholas’ foreign policy was directed towards the east. He increased Russian territory at the expense of Persia soon after he came to the throne. In 1828 he fought a war with Turkey and won the Eastern Shore of the Black Sea and a protectorate over Moldavia and Wallichia for Russia. With great severity he put down a revolt of the Poles in 1831 and in 1849 he sent his troops into Austria to help the emperor put an end to a rebellion of the Hungarian subjects. Nicholas hoped to drive the Turks out of Europe. As an excuse for another war he demanded a protectorate over all Christian subjects in Turkey. This demand clashed with British and French interests and brought on the Crimean War in 1853. France and Sardinia joined the Turks to help them defeat Russia’s ambitions. Nicholas died before the war ended. His oldest son, Alexander II followed him as Czar.
Nicholas II (1868-1918) was born at Tsarskoe Selo, then son of Alexander III and the grandson of Alexander II. He received a military education and traveled through Greece, Egypt, India, and Japan before he became czar. In 1849, he received the crown and married the German princess Alexandra of Hesse, who bore four daughters and a son....
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