How Nicholas I almost sent 300,000 spectators to Paris theaters
Once in Paris, they decided to stage a play on Russian history, in which Catherine II was exposed in a very frivolous light.
This news reached the Russian imperial house, and the reigning Emperor Nicholas I, through our ambassador to France, expressed his displeasure to the French government and asked them to cancel the performance.
To this, the answer was received that France is a free country with freedom of speech, and that everyone in it is free to express any thoughts, and in general, theatrical performance is a private matter, and the government should not go there.
After listening to this answer, Nikolai asked to convey that in this case he would be forced to send 300 thousand spectators in gray overcoats to the premiere of the play, who would be able to "boo" the performance.
The memory of 1812 was still fresh, so the play was removed from the program without further explanation.