Lot 2822
Russia. Platinum Pattern 1 ½ Roubles 1832. Nicholas I, 1825-1855. Proof struck in platinum. Edge plain. Diam. 38.6mm. Weight 35 grams. Obverse: Young portrait of Nicholas I after Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoi (1783-1873). Reverse features a contemporary version of the imperial, two headed eagle bearing sceptre and orb. One of only 2 pieces recently produced struck in platinum. Choice Brilliant Proof.
*Nicholas saw his role to be that of a paternal autocrat and having survived the Decembrist Revolt he was determined to keep heavy restraints on Russian society. Spies, informers and strict government censorship became the order of the day. Nicholas refused to abolish serfdom but did a little to improve the lot of the lowest strata of society.
He strengthened and centralized bureaucratic structures in Russia to an unprecedented degree. Harsh and despotic by nature, he had little time for abstract ideas and any signs of liberalism within Russia were brutally suppressed.
In 1831 the Polish Parliament had deposed Nicholas as ruler of Poland in response to his repeated curtailment of its constitutional rights. The Czar reacted by sending Russian troops into Poland, crushing the rebellion, abrogating the constitution, reducing Poland to the status of a Russian province and instituting a policy of repressing the Catholics.
When in 1848 a series of revolutions swept across Europe, Nicholas was the standard bearer for the forces of reaction. He urged Prussia not to accept a liberal constitution and in 1849 intervened on behalf of the Habsburgs.
But at the same time as he fought to maintain the status quo in Europe he sought to partition the Ottoman Empire and achieve a measure of Russian influence. Russia fought a successful war against the Ottomans in 1828 and 1829, and later, believing he would find allies among the European nations, Nicholas moved against the Ottomans again as they declared war on Russia in 1853.
Fearing a Russian victory, however, Britain, France and some of the Italian states joined forces against Russia in what was to become the Crimean War. Austria offered the Ottomans diplomatic support and Prussia remained neutral, leaving Russia without any allies. The European armies landed in the Crimea and laid siege to the well fortified garrison of Sevastopol, and after a year's siege the town fell, exposing Russia's inability to defend a major fortification on its own soil. Before this, however, Nicholas had died, pondering the hopeless situation he had created.
Estimated Value $2,000 - 2,400.
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