NICHOLAS I: (1796-1855) Emperor of Russia 1825-55.

D.S., Nikolai, as Emperor, in Cyrillic, one page, folio, St. Petersburg, 2nd January 1832, in Cyrillic. The elegantly penned manuscript document is a decree addressed to the Chapter of the Orders of Russia and appoints Van Lennep, the Dutch Consul-General at Smyrna, to be a 'Knight of the Order of St. Anne 2nd Class, decorated with the Imperial Crown' and commands the Chapter to deliver to him the insignia of the Order with the prescribed certificate. Countersigned at the foot by Karl Nesselrode (1780-1862, Russian Foreign Minister 1814-56) as Vice Chancellor, 4th January 1832. About EX

Jacob Van Lennep (1769-1855) Turkish Merchant who served as Consul-General of the Netherlands at Smyrna.

Emperor Nicholas I also reigned as King of Poland (1825-30, 1831-55) and Grand Duke of Finland (1825-55) and is remembered as political conservative whose reign was marked by geographical expansion, repression of dissent and frequent wars that culminated in Russia's disastrous defeat in the Crimean War (1853-56). On the eve of the Emperor's death the Russian Empire reached its geographical zenith.