Emperor Nicholas I

More than one and a half centuries have passed since the death of Nicholas I, but even today, a equestrian sculpture of the Russian Autocrat towers over St. Isaac's Square in St. Petersburg. The hand of the vandal did not dare to touch it even during the years of rampant red terror and state Russophobia. Unfortunately, this cannot be said about the image that history conveys in distorted, almost caricatured descriptions of the Emperor and his time. The outstanding historian A.N. Bokhanov was the first to take on the courage to restore the historical truth about the personality and reign of Nicholas Pavlovich, whose rule fell during the most difficult years for Russia in the 19th century.