While an effort to expel an growlingly troublesome ethnic minority, the Czar wished the colony to remain "Russian" in character. Initially emigration to the Russian Northwest was very slow due to the transportation difficulties, but this would soon be bolstered by political unrest and governmental expulsions. Many clandestine organizations had been preparing for an uprising when Czar Alexander I died unexpectedly in 1825. Following his death, there was considerable confusion about the succession to the Russian Imperial throne. Because the next in the royal line, Alexander's brother Constantine, had relinquished his right to the claim. A group of officers commanding some 3,000 men refused to swear allegiance to any new Czar. These officers proclaiming instead, their loyalty to a Russian constitution. These events occurred in December 1825, and the rebels have come to be known as the Decembrists. The issue of succession was settled in favor of Alexander's brother Nicholas, and he was crowned emperor Nicholas I, Under the leadership of Czar Nicholas I, the loyal factions of the army were able to easily overcame the revolt. The Decembrists who remained alive were arrested.		Many were exiled to the Russian Northwest colony. Czar Nicholas I's declaration of the "Autocracy, Orthodoxy, and nationality" policy in 1833 further persuades many Russian subject to seek opportunity outside of Russian proper. The Northwest colony was seen as an oasis of freedom and liberal enlightenment within the empire. Although many hardships would be encountered in the transit across Siberia and ocean to the new world, the relative promise on the colony became a beacon drawing in intellectuals and army deserters alike. With the mass settlement of the region, its vast natural resources where soon revealed. Beyond the tremendous fish, fur and timber found in the coastal regions of the colony, the inland revealed tremendous riches in gems, gold, silver, and other metals. By the 1860's inland mines often produced a sum greater then the price, initially paid by Czar Alexander I of the entire colony, in a single day.