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Nicholas I of Russia

1796–1855

Born
6 Jul 1796, Pushkin
Country of birth
Russian Empire, today Russia
Died
2 Mar 1855, Saint Petersburg

Biography

AI-assisted · edited

Nicholas I of Russia: Emperor and Grand Duke of Finland

The collection records Nicholas I’s birth in 1796 in Pushkin. He was the son of Paul I of Russia and Sophie Dorothee of Württemberg, and his union with Alexandra Feodorovna is also recorded. 1234

From 1825 to 1855, he held the titles Emperor of all the Russias and Grand Duke of Finland. The two offices connect his reign to territories with distinct titles within the same royal record. 567

His reign is associated in the evidence with the Decembrist revolt, the Russo-Persian War of 1826–28, the Ninth Russo-Turkish War, and the Crimean War. The collection records his death in 1855 in Saint Petersburg, also with probable confidence. 89101112

Drafted with AI and edited against the collection. Open a citation to see the record, its sources and how certain it is.

facts
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sources
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Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

  • Birth6 Jul 1796, PushkinProbable1 source
  • TitleEmperor of all the Russias, 1825–1855Confirmed1 competing claim1 source
  • TitleGrand Duke of Finland, 1825–1855Confirmed1 competing claim1 source
  • Death2 Mar 1855, Saint PetersburgProbable1 source
  • EventCrimean WarConfirmed3 competing claims1 source
  • EventNinth Russo-Turkish WarConfirmed3 competing claims1 source
  • EventDecembrist revoltConfirmed3 competing claims1 source
  • EventRusso-Persian War of 1826–28Confirmed3 competing claims1 source
  • ParentSophie Dorothee of WürttembergConfirmed1 source
  • ParentPaul I of RussiaConfirmed1 source
  • UnionAlexandra FeodorovnaConfirmed1 source

A life in time

  1. Born · Pushkin

    Birth, Pushkin

  2. Child born: Alexander II of Russia

    Birth, Small Nicholas Palace

  3. Child born: Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia

    Birth, Pavlovsk

  4. Child born: unnamed daughter Romanov

    Birth

  5. Child born: Olga Nikolaevna of Russia

    Birth, Saint Petersburg

  6. Child born: second unnamed daughter Romanov

    Birth

  7. Child born: Joséphine Koberwein

    Birth, Smolensk Governorate

  8. Child born: Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna of Russia

    Birth, Pushkin

  9. Event · Emperor of all the Russias

    Event

  10. Event · Grand Duke of Finland

    Event

  11. Child born: Grand Duchess Elizabeth Nikolaevna of Russia

    Birth

  12. Child born: Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia

    Birth, Saint Petersburg

  13. Child born: third unnamed daughter Romanov

    Birth

  14. Child born: Aleksey Paskhin

    Birth, Saint Petersburg

  15. Child born: Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia

    Birth, Tsarskoye Selo

  16. Child born: Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia

    Birth, Peterhof

  17. Died · Saint Petersburg

    Death, Saint Petersburg

What was it like?

The world around Pushkin, 1796: who ruled, who else was alive, how people lived. This is general history, not a record about the family, and every item shows where it comes from.

Nicholas was Emperor of all the Russias from 1825 to 1855.

Known for

Titles held

  • Emperor of all the Russias1825–1855
  • Grand Duke of Finland1825–1855

In their life

  • Crimean War
  • Ninth Russo-Turkish War
  • Decembrist revolt
  • Russo-Persian War of 1826–28
Fashion

Russian court dress and military-style fashion

By the end of the 1770s, a distinct Russian court dress emerged for noblewomen, characterized by a short train and long hanging sleeves. Empress Catherine II sometimes wore a female version of a military regimental uniform, tailored in the style of an amazon riding habit and trimmed with gold lace.

Around 1800–1824

Basic peasant men's clothing

Peasant men typically wore shirts and trousers, while boys wore only shirts, with shirts often being secured at the waist with laces to keep them from interfering with work.

Music

Popular instruments and music in society

In fashionable society, the harp and guitar became increasingly popular for accompanying sentimental songs and romances, while the polonaises of the Polish composer Kozlowski were played constantly in homes and at social gatherings.

Social work-based gatherings for youth

In urban areas, young people gathered for work-related social events like kapustki, where they engaged in cabbage chopping followed by singing and dancing once the older generation left the room. These gatherings served as important occasions for unmarried youth to socialize and choose a marriage partner.

Getting around

Horse-drawn travel at 5 km/h

In the late 18th century, nobility and officials primarily traveled between towns in horse-drawn carriages, kibitkas, or sledges in winter, with an average speed of about 5 km/h.

River crossings and ferry delays

Travel was often interrupted by river crossings, where passengers and carriages relied on slow ferries, leading to significant delays and occasional hazards like the loss of cargo or baggage.

Daily life

Peasant hygiene and living conditions

Peasant life included poor hygiene, as families often shared a single dirty cloth for two weeks to wipe their hands, faces, and kitchenware. In winter, young livestock were sometimes kept inside the peasant cabin, which, combined with smoky air, negatively affected living conditions and health.

Wooden homes and new urban layouts

In the late 18th century, ordinary urban houses were built of wood, which created a constant risk of devastating fires across entire neighborhoods. New urban houses began to feature central corridors instead of the traditional layout where rooms were arranged directly around a central stove.

Food

Daily Rye Bread Staples

Rye bread was the essential staple, with adults consuming nearly two pounds daily, often stored as a sourdough starter for up to two weeks.

Daily Sour Cabbage Soup

Shchi, a soup made from sour cabbage, onions, and beef or mutton, was a daily meal, often served with sour cream on non-fasting days.

Prices and wages

Annual earnings of textile workers

In 1796, women working in textile production could earn 50 to 90 paper rubles per year.

Daily wages for construction workers

In 1779 and 1780, unskilled construction laborers in Moscow earned 10 to 20 kopecks per day.

Work

Long hours in factory labor settings

Factory and manufactory work was grueling, with men often working 11 to 15 hours per day and some industries requiring 230 to 280 days of labor per year. Serfs employed in these settings were sometimes forced to live in barracks, isolated from their families.

Peasant life dominated by farm and corvee labor

The vast majority of the population were peasants who primarily worked on farms, with many required to perform corvee labor (barshchina) on landlords' fields for three to four days per week.

News and letters

Home Delivery of Money Started in 1781

By 1781, the postal system had expanded its services to include the delivery of money directly to a person's door, in addition to regular parcels and private correspondence.

The Imperial Russian Postal Relay System

In the late 18th century, the Russian Empire utilized a network of relay stations where mail was carried by postillions from station to station, with horses changing at each stop to maintain speeds of eight to twelve versts per hour depending on the season.

During their lifetime

  1. 1805

    State Peasant Resettlement Begins in 1805

    In 1805, the government launched a systematic state-sponsored resettlement policy, moving thousands of land-starved state peasants from crowded areas to borderland provinces with new tax exemptions.

  2. 1810

    Military Colonies Established in 1810

    Military colonies were created in 1810, aiming to combine army life with agricultural labor, which essentially turned the peasants' daily existence into a structured, barracks-like routine.

  3. 1837

    First Public Railway Opens in 1837

    In 1837, the first public passenger railway opened, running between St. Petersburg and Tsarskoe Selo, marking the beginning of the railway age in Russia.

  4. 1837

    Winter Palace Fire in 1837

    A devastating fire destroyed the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg in 1837, leading to a massive, rapid rebuilding effort that was completed within just 15 months.

  5. 1848

    Cholera and Crop Failures in 1848

    In 1848, a major cholera epidemic, coupled with a bad harvest and dry weather that caused widespread town fires, severely disrupted the lives of the agrarian population.

Family

Parents

Spouses

Children

Ancestors and children

Open the full tree

Four generations back to the right, the children to the left. The number beside a child counts the generations of descendants known after them.