I am Nicholas I, I was Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland. I was the third son of Paul I and younger brother of my predecessor, Alexander I. My thirty-year reign began with the failed Decembrist revolt. I am mainly remembered as a reactionary whose controversial reign was marked by geographical expansion, centralisation of administrative policies, and repression of dissent both in Russia and among its neighbors. I had a happy marriage that produced a large family; with all of their seven children surviving childhood.