the beginning of the reign, Nicholas the First had to give orders for the execution of five members of the uprising, the so-called Decembrists. More such orders are not required; for the lower ranks they are replaced by corporal punishment, which usually have the same sad result. That is why Nikolai Pavlovich receives from the Russian people the unofficial epithet «Palkin». If the coup succeeds, a civil war would most likely occur, but, as it seems, this blood would lead the great terror and revolution of 1917.
In 1817, Nicholas, then still not considered the main pretender to the throne, married Friederike Louise Charlotte of Prussia, the daughter of Prussian King Frederick William III. As usual, the bride takes Orthodoxy, the name of Alexander Fedorovna, teaches Russian, but this does not reach the degree of perfection of Catherine II, and, as a rule, prefers to speak German.
The Interregnum and the Decembrist uprising are seen in Persia as a convenient moment for unleashing a war against Russia, returning the lost lands. The main goal of the Iranian Shah is Tiflis (Tbilisi). The first blow, July 16, 1826 on the Russian territory is inflicted by the 16 thousandth detachment of the Erivan (part of the territory of present-day Armenia and Turkey) serdar (leader), supported by the Kurdish cavalry of 12 thousand people. Then, on July 18, the border river Araks is crossed by the 40,000-strong army of Abbas Mirza. Russian troops are few and scattered, individual posts can not contain the onslaught of the enemy. The local Muslim population joins the Iranians, Armenians find refuge in the mountainous terrain, or fortresses with strong enough garrisons. On September 15, the Russian detachment smashes the 18,000-strong avant-garde of the Iranian army on the approaches to Tiflis with a swift bayonet attack: the losses of the parties, respectively, 27 and 2,000 people. Furthermore, on October 13, a separate Caucasian corps crushes the 35,000-strong Iranian army near the city of Elisavetpol (Ganja, now Azerbaijan), losing 60 people against 2000. Erivan (Yerevan) is being liberated, the military forces of the Persians are being forced into Iranian Azerbaijan (the historical region of Iran). On February 22, 1828, the Turkmanchai Peace Treaty was signed – the possessions of Russia were confirmed, the Armenian region (including Karabagh-Karabakh) was created from the territories of the Nakhichevan and Erivan khanates, as well as the Eastern (Persian) Armenia, to which 30,000 Armenians were resettled, 20 million rubles in silver.
In 1828 another Russian-Turkish war begins. Before that, the united Russian-French-English fleet, helping the Greek national revolution, broke the Turkish-Egyptian fleet in the Navarino battle (1827). In the Ionian Sea (between Greece and Italy), after refusing to accept an ultimatum, the murders of an English parlementer, go to the bottom of 60 ships of the Turkish-Egyptian fleet, the allies do not lose a single one. Offended Turkey closes the Bosporus Strait, and this is the reason for declaring really large-scale military actions.
The Russian 100,000-strong corps, acting against the 200,000-strong army Ports on the territory of present-day Romania and Bulgaria, in a series of battles, sieges of fortresses, etc., is making significant progress. In Transcaucasia, in the east of modern Turkey, several originally Ottoman cities are captured – Kars, Poti and Bayazet. It also surrenders Adrianople, the former capital of the Ottoman Empire (west of Turkey), Russian regiments march unhindered to Constantinople. Sultan agreed to all conditions, September 14, 1829 in Adrianople (Edirne) signed the Adrianople Peace Treaty. The possessions of Russia are confirmed, for the Russian and foreign ships the Bosporus opens. Poti and Anapa become part of the Russian Empire. The Porte recognizes the autonomy of Serbia, as well as the Moldavian and Valassian principalities. The governments of these state formations are now being formed under the control of Russia.
But, between Turkey and Russia, there are moments of complete mutual understanding. In 1831, Istanbul was threatened with the seizure of troops by the former vassal of Porta, Muhammad Ali of Egypt. The Sultan requests assistance from Russia, then on the shores of the Bosporus a 10,000-strong corps of Russian troops is landed. It prevents the capture of Istanbul and the possible disintegration of the Ottoman Empire.
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1. Banknote 5 rubles, circulation 1830—1849 g. Signature of the cashier is made manually. She is the same: «blue-eyed, cyanosis, titmouse»
2. Banknote 10 rubles, circulation 1819—1849. Nicknames: «red, rubella, cancer». A live goose is worth a ruble twenty, a dozen eggs 23 kopecks, a kilogram of fresh 25 kopecks.
The salary of an official of the lowest, 14th grade (collegiate assessor) is 35 rubles per month (banknotes). The usual «fatness» of bribes at this level is 150 rubles a year. The sovereign is indulgent towards this phenomenon. However, there is practically no corruption at the highest level, and the officials are fully competent.
3. Nicholas the First Emperor of All-Russia, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Finland (1796 – 1855). The cause of death is a severe cold, or, against the background of failures in the Crimean War, the acceptance of poison.
4. Konstantin Pavlovich (Romanov), adjutant-general, emperor of several days, the nominal governor of the kingdom of Poland (1799 – 1831). He died of cholera.
5. Alexander Pushkin, poet, the founder of the modern Russian literary language. Birth May 26, 1799 according to the modern (Gregorian) calendar, in the family of a non-titled (not having generic titles, such as the baron, earl …) noble family – what is happening, according to legend, from Ratmir (Ratshi), servant and friend of Alexander Nevsky. The birthplace is Moscow, the German settlement, a settlement now dissolved in the Lefortovo and Baumanskaya streets. The younger brother – Lev – personal secretary of the writer, combat officer, sister – Olga… nothing special marked, except that in childhood she was very friendly with Alexander. Since 1811 – six years of study at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. The first issue of this educational institution is marked by a surge of manifested and flourished talents. Since 1817, the work of a collegiate assessor (which is roughly equivalent to the rank of lieutenant), in so far as – in the College of Foreign Affairs. Further succession – travel, quarrels, reconciliation, flirting with beautiful ladies (Natalia Goncharova – one hundred and thirteenth love), writing poems. The poet’s account is 32 duels, of which 29 are canceled. On one of the fights, the duelists miss, on the second – Pushkin, in which an opponent has already fired, refuses satisfaction. The third conflict – with J. Dantes, who spoke in defense of the adoptive father, the Dutch ambassador, Louis Heckern, ends tragically.
The duel is set by very strict rules. Opponents are twenty paces from each other and at a signal they converge to the barrier indicated in five meters, thrown by greatcoats. During the passage of this path, a shot is fired. Dantes wounded Pushkin in the stomach. Alexander changes the pistol, the barrel of which is packed with snow, pulling the trigger. The bullet punches his hand and stops on his chest – supposedly stopped by a massive button. It is widely believed that by the time of the duel, d’Anthes prepares a cuirass made of high-quality steel.
The Baron, as well as the adoptive father, is expelled from Russia. Subsequently, Dantes holds high positions in the government of France.
Nicholas the First covers all the debts of the poet from the treasury (138 thousand rubles, of which