Acid Reign: The Rule of Nicholas I Nicholas I has been portrayed, and perhaps rightfully so, as a strict and reactionary tsar. Indeed, his internal policies were often repressive -- he sought to nip any liberalism in the bud, often brutally. His approach to solving problems in the Empire and keeping control was to create the "Nicholas system", a bureaucratic system defined by and completely based on absolute monarchy. Nicholas revamped govermental structure by strengthening …showed first 75 words of 1642 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1642 total…provincial governors because they knew the degree of responsibility which they would have, and how few resources would be available to them. Overall, Nicholas I's reign did little to further Russia's progress, and in many ways made the country fall further behind Western Europe. Through his opressiveness, strictness, and love for bureaucracy, he put obstacles in the way of the "racing troika," as Nikolai Gogol once called Russia, and effectively tripped the horses. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**