The Russian empire police under Nicholas I (1825-1855)

The article examines the activities of the Russian police during the reign of Nicholas I, based on the study of official documents. One of the first decrees of the emperor was the law on the prohibition of secret societies in Russia. To combat the influence of subversive literature, as well as its penetration into the country from abroad, decrees on censorship were approved. The creation of the Third Department, the Gendarme Corps, and the subsequent police reforms were the reaction of the country's monarchical authorities to the Decembrist uprising, as well as the uprisings in Poland of 1830-1831 and the peasant unrest in Russia. In order to streamline the work of ministers, governors and local officials, Nicholas I approved several laws designed to systematize and improve the work of the administrative apparatus in the country, as well as to introduce personal responsibility for the performance of official duties.