Nicholas 1

In Russia, there were titles used to address members of the Imperial House of Romanov and persons of noble origin:

"Your Imperial Majesty" - to the Emperor, Empress and Dowager Empress;
“Your Imperial Highness” — to the Grand Dukes, Grand Duchesses and Grand Duchesses (the children and grandchildren of the Emperor, and in 1797–1886, the great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren of the Emperor);
"Your Highness" - to princes, princesses and duchesses of the imperial blood after 1886;
"Your Serene Highness" - to dukes; younger children of the great-grandchildren of the emperor and their male descendants, as well as to the most serene princes by grant;
"Your Excellency" - to princes, counts;
"Your Excellency" - to the barons and all other nobles.

The most expensive desserts for the aristocracy of the mid-19th century In the mid-19th century, desserts for the aristocracy were not just food, but a demonstration of wealth, technical sophistication, and access to rare overseas ingredients.

The most expensive and prestigious desserts of that time:

Pineapple ice cream and sorbets
Cost: Extremely high. Growing pineapples in greenhouses in the harsh climate required coal-fired greenhouses. Combined with ice harvested and stored in underground glaciers until summer, this was food exclusively for the upper classes.
Intricate sugar and caramel sculptures (Croquembouche)
Ingredients: Caramel, nuts, custard. Specialty: Tall towers of profiteroles, held together by threads of melted sugar. Their creation required the meticulous work of personal pastry chefs serving at the court.
Blancmange with exotic fruits
Ingredients: Almond milk, gelatin (at that time it was obtained by long evaporation from bones), vanilla and expensive spices that were brought from the colonies.
Candied violets and roses (glazed flowers)
Specialty: An exquisite delicacy originating in France. Fresh flower petals were hand-coated with crystallized sugar. It was a symbol of refined luxury and high society.
Chocolate desserts with truffles
Specialty: In the mid-19th century, cocoa beans were a very expensive and rare imported product. Chocolate was served in the form of thick drinking chocolate, mousses, and expensive handmade hard candies, all flavored with expensive liqueurs.

Incidentally, serving desserts in aristocratic homes was a separate ritual: before serving the dessert, all crumbs were swept off the table with special brushes and sometimes the tablecloth was completely changed.

First of all, it's important to remember that this was the 19th century; there were no shawarma shops or fast food outlets. There were bakeries and pastry shops, but they were mostly frequented by servants and commoners. The aristocracy of the mid-19th century ate exquisitely, favoring complex French cuisine while maintaining elements of national tradition. The highest priority was the perfection of fresh produce—choice of meat, live fish, and seasonal vegetables.

Traditional diet
Breakfast (around 9:00–11:00): It was light. Coffee with cream, tea, fresh rolls, butter, eggs, as well as cold cuts and leftovers from the previous day's lunch were served.
Lunch (around 3:00–5:00 PM): The main meal of the day, consisting of many courses. It began with soups (consommés, clear broths with pies). This was followed by fish dishes, roasts (game, poultry), vegetable side dishes, and desserts.
Dinner: In aristocratic homes, dinner was eaten late (around 9:00–10:00 PM). It was a light meal, including cold appetizers, salads, pâtés, or leftovers from lunch.

What was served at the table?
Delicacies: French oysters, fresh caviar, truffles, asparagus and artichokes.
Poultry and game: Hazel grouse, partridges with chestnuts, pheasants with pistachios, baked turkeys and ducks.
Meat: Lamb sides, veal, roast beef.
Drinks: Champagne was a must at dinner parties, as well as expensive imported wines – claret, Bordeaux, Chablis.

There were different punishments for different classes.

Maids and servants were punished corporally (with rods and whips), withholding wages, fines, arrest, or dismissal with a "wolf ticket" (a notation in their passport that barred them from reemployment). Until 1861, landowners could whip serf maids and servants without trial. Sexual abuse was common. Masters, their sons, and guests often viewed their servants as their property.

The nobility were punished in more varied ways:

1. Civil execution: deprivation of noble titles, all rights, status, and property. 2) Penal servitude and exile (for serious crimes): most often applied only to men, but could also be applied to women.
2. Police supervision and deportation.
3. Secular ostracism (boycott): both noblemen and noblewomen could be excluded from high society, deprived of the right to attend balls and visits, which led to the isolation of the entire family.
4. Locking up in a monastery: For treason or scandalous behavior, with the consent of the church authorities, they could be “sent” to a monastery for repentance; most often, only women were punished this way; men could also be punished, but extremely rarely.

In general, they can send you to prison. Both noblemen and noblewomen, both servants and maids.

In the 19th century, the Russian Empire had a prison system. Moreover, prisons were located in virtually every city. The prison system at that time evolved and included several main levels:
The main political prisons: The main places of detention for state criminals were the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, and later the Shlisselburg Fortress.
Penal colonies: The harshest punishment after the death penalty was penal servitude. Special penal prisons were established in Siberia, such as the Aleksandrovsky Central Prison and the Nerchinsk penal colony.
General prisons: They are located in every city, but in the first half of the 19th century their condition was dire.

Washing and water procedures
At the beginning of the century, even in wealthy homes, water was a luxury, and baths were taken rarely, for fear of catching a cold or opening pores to infection.
By the mid-19th century, the situation had changed: the first sewerage and water supply systems were installed in London and other European cities, and public baths appeared.
In the Russian Empire, traditional baths were preserved and became an integral part of everyday life, where birch brooms were actively used.

Oral care
Toothpaste was provided in the form of "dental elixirs" and powders, which were often prepared at home.
Due to the lack of antiseptics, the recipes were exotic: powders could consist of crushed coral, rose water, charcoal, and even salt.
Feminine hygiene
During menstruation, reusable cloth pads or simply layers of dark clothing were used, which had to be washed by hand.
Only the nobility had access to a shower or a proper bidet. Often, wiping the body with damp sponges was sufficient.

Cosmetics and odor control
Fashionable women didn't have modern deodorants in their arsenal—they wouldn't be invented until the very end of the 19th century. The smell of sweat was masked with heavy floral perfumes.
The use of decorative cosmetics was considered a sign of bad taste, so white lead, blush, and powder were used sparingly. Hair was washed with regular soap, and shampoo was not invented until the end of the century.
Medical hygiene
Until the middle of the century, doctors didn't wash their hands before surgeries and childbirth. Only after the introduction of antiseptics did hand washing with soap and disinfecting instruments save millions of lives.

In general, everyone deflated once a week, sometimes once every two weeks; cleanliness was rare. Girls wore corsets for a beautiful waist, tightening it to 45-55 centimeters, distorting their internal organs. Light, airy dresses were the norm in winter. Opium was smeared on the face (not everyone, of course), and they washed their faces with ammonia in the mornings.

First of all, it's important to remember that in the 19th century, there were no cars or buses. The aristocracy of the mid-19th century traveled exclusively in horse-drawn carriages, which were strictly divided by status, season, and purpose.
For long journeys and trips with large groups, multi-seat carriages were used, and in the winter, the wheels were replaced with runners.

For each occasion and rank there was a specific type of transport:
For social outings (balls, theaters): Light, elegant carriages (coupes, berlins) drawn by a pair or four of thoroughbred horses were used. A liveried coachman and postilion were essential.
For everyday city trips: Gigs, phaetons and carriages (open or with a convertible top), as well as convertibles - light two-wheeled carriages - were used.
For long journeys: Stagecoaches were used, which were distinguished by their increased durability, capacity and the presence of luggage compartments.
For winter: Heavy wheeled carriages were replaced by light sleds covered with fur.

First of all, it's important to remember that a 19th-century Russian Imperial ruble is worth MUCH more than a 21st-century Russian ruble. One Russian Imperial ruble, converted to current prices (approximately $65–70 per gram of gold), is worth approximately 4,000–4,500 modern Russian rubles.

We shouldn't forget about the existence of coins and banknotes.

The main line of coins included the following denominations:
Copper coins: polushka (quarter kopeck), denga (half kopeck), kopeck, 2, 3, and 5 kopecks. They were used for small everyday payments.
Silver: 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 kopecks, as well as poltina (50 kopecks) and 1 ruble. Larger denominations of 1.5 rubles (also known as 10 zlotys for circulation in the Kingdom of Poland) were also common.
Platinum (rare): issued only between 1828 and 1845 in denominations of 3, 6 and 12 rubles.
Gold: 3, 5 and 10 rubles (chervonets, half-imperials and imperials).

The main denominations of paper money in the 19th century included:
3 rubles (appeared as deposit tickets under Kankrin)
5 rubles
10 rubles
25 rubles (at the beginning of the century they were popularly known as white "swans")
50 rubles
100 rubles

Here is the average salary of people of different classes:
The annual cash income of an ordinary peasant family at that time was about 70-80 rubles.
Palace servants in the 19th century earned an average of 100 to 300 rubles a year, making them the elite among all servants of the Russian Empire.
Noble ladies received a salary from the state treasury in the amount of 600 to 4000 rubles per year (depending on whether the lady was married or not and what family she came from)
High-ranking officials (1st-4th grade, ministers, senators, governors) received from 4,000 to 10,000 rubles.
Mid-level officials (grades 5-8, department heads, clerks) received from 700 to 1,500 rubles per year
Lower-ranking officials (grades 9-14) received 150-400 rubles per year.
By the way, the heir's nannies received about 100 rubles a month.
The Tsarevich received approximately 200,000–210,000 rubles annually from the treasury and the appanage department (or about 20,000 rubles per month). The monarch received the same amount.

The Winter Palace is located in the capital, St. Petersburg. The four-story building contains over 1,000 rooms, and is built in a Baroque and Rococo style. There are approximately 8,000 servants in the palace. Here are all the palaces in St. Petersburg:

There are more than 10 official imperial palaces in St. Petersburg. The exact number depends on whether one includes summer country residences in the suburbs (Peterhof, Tsarskoye Selo) and grand ducal estates.
Key imperial palaces located within the city:
The Winter Palace is the main official residence of the Russian emperors.
Mikhailovsky Castle (Engineering) - built for Paul I.
The Anichkov Palace is the oldest surviving palace, gifted by Elizabeth Petrovna to Alexei Razumovsky; incidentally, it was Nicholas's favorite palace.
The Marble Palace was built for Count Orlov, but later became part of the imperial palaces.
The Tauride Palace is the residence of Prince Potemkin, purchased by the treasury.
The Summer Palace of Peter I is the wooden summer house of the city's founder in the Summer Garden.
Yelagin Palace (Yelaginoostrovsky) - built for Empress Maria Feodorovna.
Kamennoostrovsky Palace is the former residence of Alexander I.
Palace of Peter II

The time is now in the 1820s and 1830s. In any case, there are no telephones, internet, televisions, refrigerators, gas stoves, street lamps, lamps, etc.
Medicine isn't very developed these days either. For fashion's sake, girls would drop belladonna into their eyes to make them water, apply mercury powder to their bodies to make them whiter, bathe in arsenic baths, and do many other things just to appear more delicate and fragile.
Clothing and fashion were completely different - instead of the usual panties, women wore trousers, and men wore long johns.
Girls wear full dresses with long, floor-length skirts. There are three dress styles: house dress, casual dress, and evening dress. The latter is considered more formal. A casual dress should be comfortable, a corset is optional, sleeves can be long or short, and the neckline can be anything the wearer desires. A casual dress should be more revealing, a deep neckline is undesirable, sleeves should not be short, and a corset is required. An evening dress is a ball gown—full, detailed, and long. A corset is required, the neckline can be more revealing, although closed sleeves are also welcome. Short sleeves are preferred, but sleeves are optional. Each type of dress is worn for different occasions.
Men, however, have a different fashion. Instead of pants, they wear tight leggings. A uniform or frock coat is worn over the top. The uniform is more formal. It's usually covered with medals and cockades, with epaulettes or shoulder straps on the shoulders and cuffs at the ends of the sleeves.