Comparison Of Nicholas I And Nicholas II

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Nicholas 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...

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