Nicholas I: Emperor And Autocrat Of All The Russias (midland Books: No. 254)

For the people of St Petersburg the morning of 19 November 1825 seemed in no way unusual. Contents Preface A Note on Russian Names and Dates Part One: Prologue 1 1825: The Emperor is Dead! Long Live the Emperor! 2 The Education of a Drill-Master Part Two: Genesis 3 The Genesis of the Nicholas System 4 The Heritage of the Holy Alliance Part Three: Absolutism Triumphant 5 The Apogee of Autocracy 6 Europe's Gendarme Emerges Part Four: The Attack Begins 7 Nicholas and Russia’s Intellectuals 8 The Year 1848 Part Five: Dénouement 9 The Last Years of the Nicholas System 10 The Last Act: The Crimean War Notes and References Selected Bibliography Index This present study, among other things, redresses the balance to some extent in Nicholas's favor. Certainly it is not intended as an apology for Russia's firm, sometimes cruel, Emperor. It is, however, an effort to view Nicholas as his contemporaries saw him and, given the distance of some 150 years since his accession, to place him and his policies in a more balanced historical perspective. - Preface