"Anichkov paradise" by Emperor Nicholas I. The Presidential Library reveals unknown pages of the life of the Russian Emperor

July 6, 2021, marks the 225th anniversary of Nicholas I. Making this anniversary, the Presidential Library's portal releases an updated and significantly improved collection of materials devoted to the Emperor. It comprises rare and ancient editions, as well as modern research, biographical essays and memoirs of contemporaries, Emperor's private correspondence and memoirs. They promote a new view on the personality of Emperor Nicholas.

"Our childhood was quite similar to the life of other children, except for etiquette, which was a thing of an extraordinary importance", states the publication Memories of the Infant Years of Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich, Recorded by Himself (1906). "We slept on iron beds, encircled by an ordinary curtain. <…> We also had to wear a white paper bed cap, but we had never put it on, hating it". Nikolai wrote the following about the move to the Mikhailovsky Castle, recently built by Paul I: "I remember that it was very damp inside. Servants put fresh bread on the windowsills to reduce the dampness. We all felt bad...". The parents did everything possible to solve difficulties for their children: "Father often visited us. I remember well that he was extremely cheerful. My sisters lived next to us, and from time to time we played and rode through all the rooms and stairs in a sleigh, I mean, on overturned chairs; even my mother took part in these games...".

...Nicholas, who had lost his father early, greatly appreciated strong family ties. "Nicholas was an ideal family man", writes the author of the essay Emperor Nicholas (1894). Besides, he was highly emotionally stable, had strong convictions and fairness of a knight".

"Nikolai Pavlovich lived with his wife, Alexandra Fedorovna, born Princess Charlotte of Prussia, for more than 37 years, bringing up four sons and three daughters.

He surrounded his wife with attention and love, care and devotion. Once, says the historian Ivan Bozheryanov in the Biography of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Emperor Nicholas I (1900), on her birthday, "...in Peterhof, upon leaving the church, the Emperor headed the Cavalry Regiment, whose chief was the Empress. As a simple general, he commanded a regiment during the parade, rendering military honours to its chief, the Empress, who watched the parade from one of the palace terraces. <...> At the pedestal of the bust of the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna by Rauch the Emperor ordered to write the words Happiness of my life.

"An eternal monument of devotion" calls Bozheryanov the palace and park ensemble Alexandria in Peterhof, created by Nikolai in honour of his wife, and "the surroundings that Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich presented to his beloved wife". There was another place in Peterhof, ruined now, which was often visited by Nicholas and Alexandra Fedorovna. It was a country house built by the Emperor, which he called Nikolskoye. "Oak benches and tables, log walls, simple dishes, a Russian stove - everything was quite simple. There was a soldier's overcoat, which the Emperor wore when the Empress came to the house to have tea in the hallway. He treated her here as his lady. There was a garden near the house and two cows that produced milk for the Empress's tea table", wrote Nikolai Yermilov, compiler of the collection Features of the Life of Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich. According to the Memoirs of his Contemporaries (1900). By the way, Alexandra Feodorovna, talking to her close mates, often called herself "the Peterhof landowner"...

Yermilov's book also describes the idyll that reigned between the spouses in Saint-Petersburg. "Without intention to be the Russian Emperor, the Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich lived in the Anichkov Palace very simply. He remained in a close circle of his beloved family like an ordinary man. He rarely attended the royal court... He devoted all his time to the family, studied music, painted and read... How he adored such a quiet family life is evidenced by the following words that he said to the wife: "If someone asks you what place in the world keeps true happiness, be kind, send this person to Anichkov paradise".

This way of life was dear to the Grand Duchess: "I needed a little to be satisfied - since I could be with my husband, I did not need any pleasures or enjoyment: I loved simple life and liked to stay at home... I preferred a good summer evening to all the balls in the world, and a heart-to-heart autumn conversation by the fireside to all winter finery", she confessed.

The first clouds over the "Anichkov paradise" appeared on the day when Alexander I informed the couple about the decision of Grand Duke Constantine to refuse to inherit the throne, giving it to Nicholas. The book of the historian Grigory Vasilich The Accession to the Throne of Emperor Nicholas I (1909) quotes the following words by Nikolai Pavlovich: "My wife and I occurred in the position... of people walking... along a road strewn with flowers when a yawning chasm suddenly opens up under the feet...".

The death of Alexander I and fruitless attempts to convince Constantine not to deny the throne forced Nicholas to make a difficult decision. On December 12, 1825, he wrote: "The will of God and the brother's sentence will soon be fulfilled. On December 14, I will be sovereign or dead. It is impossible to describe what is happening to me... there is no unhappy person than me! The will of God will perform!".

On December 14, 1825, the day of the ceremony of taking the oath, the Decembrist Revolt took place on the Senate Square in Saint-Petersburg. The book Emperor Nicholas I and His Reign (1859) gives a detailed description of the events of that day. Both the rebels and those who pacified the rebellions had a feeling of general confusion, depression and fear. "What a beginning of the reign!" said the Emperor to the Empress near the palace. Sad and painful silence was an answer".

Nicholas I ruled the Russian Empire for 30 years. His reign was marked by many changes - both successful and failed to stand the test of history. Only the relation of Nicholas to his family remained stable. The book Features of the Life of Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich invokes the following story. In the middle of the 1840s, during his visit to England, the Emperor met one of the servants, who assisted him in 1817. "Many years have passed since I was here last time", said Nikolai Pavlovich. - <…> Now, I am the Emperor and grandfather. Do you think that I am happy because I am a "great person"? Yes, I am happy, but not because of what you think. I will show you what my happiness is". Nikolas opened the box and took out miniature portraits. "It, he said, is the origin of my happiness: my wife and children".

The night on March 1, 1855, was the last in the life of the Emperor. Nikolas was fully conscious. He confessed, blessed the Empress and the Heir... "I have always prayed for Russia and all of you; I will pray there too". The Emperor addressed all people around: "Stay forever as you always have been in the close union of family love".