This article explores the symbolic function of ritual and collecting
during the political rule of Tsar Nicholas I through a close reading
of the unpublished letters of the protégés of the emperor who played
decisive roles in the Society for the Encouragement of the Culture of
the Fine Arts in Finland. It explores how long-established aspects of
the psychology of authority and monarchical propaganda were performed
and expressed, and how they were deployed in the image creation and
governance of the empire. Also addressed are questions about the degree
to which the government’s view of Romantic nationalism was ambivalent,
and how the essentially ancien régime outlook of an enlightened autocrat
came to be reconciled with the radical views of the nationalists.

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