Astolphe-Louis-Léonor, Marquis de Custine was a French aristocrat and writer who is best known for his travel writing, in particular his account of his visit to Russia, La Russie en 1839. This work documents not only Custine's travels through the Russian Empire, but also the social fabric, economy and way of life during the reign of Nicholas I.
Marquis de Custine
Delphine de Custine, his mother.
Ignacy Gurowski
Nicholas I was Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland. He was the third son of Paul I and younger brother of his predecessor, Alexander I. Nicholas's reign began with the failed Decembrist revolt. He is mainly remembered in history as a reactionary whose controversial reign was marked by geographical expansion, centralisation of administrative policies, and repression of dissent. Nicholas had a happy marriage that produced a large family; all of their seven children survived childhood.
Portrait by Franz Krüger, c. 1832
Portrait of Grand Duke Nicholas Pavlovich (c. 1808), by anonymous painter after Johann Friedrich August Tischbein, located in the Russian Museum, Saint Petersburg
Nicholas I "Family Ruble" (1836) depicting the Tsar on the obverse and his family on the reverse: Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna (center) surrounded by Alexander II as Tsarevich, Maria, Olga, Nicholas, Michael, Konstantin, and Alexandra
Nicholas I with Alexander II in Bogdan Willewalde's studio in Saint Petersburg in 1854, oil on canvas, State Russian Museum