The Historical Museum opens the exhibition "Nicholas I. The ideal autocrat"

On September 16, 2025, the exhibition "Nicholas I" opens at the State Historical Museum. The Ideal autocrat", dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the accession to the throne of the monarch, whose image is as multifaceted and contradictory as the era of his reign.

The Decembrist revolt and the tragic events on Senate Square set the tone for the entire reign of Nicholas I.: "I ascended the throne, starting with the shedding of the blood of my subjects. But I humble myself before God and ask the Almighty: may the state avert such disastrous incidents from me forever." Trying to be an ideal monarch and considering stability the highest good for his subjects, Nicholas I ruled rigidly, judiciously and inspiringly: the "Nicholas era" became the golden age of Russian culture and science, a time of unprecedented success in industry, trade and economics.

"The Historical Museum, continuing a series of exhibitions dedicated to the Russian rulers, for the first time in a long time addresses the contradictory image of Nicholas I and the period of his reign, which was not fully appreciated by contemporaries and researchers. At the exhibition, visitors will be able to get acquainted with the unique documentary and visual heritage of Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich; objects related to his childhood and youth, marriage and official activities before his accession; rare documents and numismatic monuments recreating the history of the interregnum," says Alexey Levykin, General Director of the Historical Museum.

The exhibition will feature more than 260 items, including the monarch's personal belongings. Of particular interest is the collection of military uniforms, portraits of crowned heads, as well as the main associates of Nicholas I: A.H. Benkendorf, S.S. Uvarov, M.M. Speransky, I.F. Paskevich. It is known that Nicholas I loved painting, patronized the high arts, and painted well himself. Thus, the exhibition will feature a self-portrait of Nicholas I and a painting by his favorite battle artist A.I. Ladurner. Interestingly, Ladurner's painting, depicting the approach to the Winter Palace of the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment on December 14, 1825, was based on a pencil sketch made by the main participant in those events, Emperor Nicholas I.

The exhibition will feature items from the collection of the State Archive of the Russian Federation, the Moscow Kremlin Museums, the New Jerusalem Museum, the Central Museum of Railway Transport of the Russian Federation, the Borodino Field Museum Reserve, the Peterhof Museum Reserve, the Russian Institute of Art History, the Russian State Library, as well as from the private collection of A.G. Egorov.